Chapter XXI

Content Warnings:

-some conspiracy stuff

-light vomiting

-vertigo

-implied abuse

-most of this is done through dream interpretation, so it is toned down from any sense of reality

Lyn popped out into the Reflect Realm. She groaned as she leaned against a telephone box. She could hear someone having an intense conversation in there, but paid little mind.

"No…progress…?" Dusty asked.

"What do ya think?" she snapped.

"Grumpy,"

"Thanks for the concern," she responded, lighting a cigarette.

"Just…head…north…," it complained.

"I'm not goin' on some wild goose chase without gettin' a wee info. I'm a gambler, not an eejit{idiot},"

"Gambler idiot,"

"I'm a smart eejit," Lyn remarked, putting out the cig. "Come on, let's take a wee break and get a cuppa. Preferably black,"

"Can't…drink…no…choice…,"

"Ain't that all of us?" Lyn remarked, passing by Amara.

Chapter XXI

Lynception 

AKT II

Look up, Patridiot

Ever been in a children's book? That's what this part of the dream felt like. The fog and sky became the world itself. 

Buildings became islands and sidewalks became walkways connecting said islands. The roads had completely vanished, leaving a lime green abyss that one wouldn't want to fall into. Good thing Lyn and Amara came in floating over it.

"Crap,"

"We're gonna die…,"

They both fell. 

Lyn tossed Amara onto the sidewalk. She rolled, scratching along the sidewalk and almost falling off. She looked down at the edge, nearly hyperventilating. Down below, she saw Lyn fall into the green abyss.

She threw up a cloud.

She got to her feet and looked around nervously. She kept at the centre of the sidewalk, not wanting to risk falling. Just glancing over the edge made her feel dizzy.

She carefully walked forwards as though she were on a tightrope, arms spread and left toe to right heel to right toe to left heel. She looked down, keeping a close eye on where she moved her feet.

"Amara!" a familiar voice called out.

Eyes widened, Amara looked up to see Armina before her. Not just Armina, child Armina stood above her. Looking at herself, Amara realised she had been downsized herself.

"I got us some grub!" Armina announced.

"Armina-?" 

She pulled her along to their castle on a small, nearby island. It was a giant dumpster with towers at its corners. Amara chuckled looking at it.

Inside, Armina immediately got to work on making food. Out of the paper bag she pulled a potato the size of a watermelon. Using a mallet, she quickly began mashing it.

"How is it so…?" Amara questioned, tilting her head left and right.

"I swiped this here tater from Mr. Hilter{reference to the sketch from episode 12 of Monty Python's Flying Circus},"

"Won't he get mad if he finds out?" She questioned, unable to hide her drool for the potato.

"Dontcha worry an Omnes darned thing," Armina advised, splitting up the mashed potatoes.

There was a thumping outside, "WHERE ARE YOU!?"

Armina pressed her fingers against her lips. They quietly dug into the potato as the thumping continued.

---

Lyn fell in a loop. After a while she'd just end up falling back near the same place again. She summoned a pocket watch with a purple-red serpent swirling around it.

"I don't have time for this,"

She crashed through the sidewalk, falling far too fast for it to survive. She was sent bouncing around from island to island like a cartoon character. Eventually one of them stopped her.

She shattered the building on the island, revealing the insides were made up of metal, computers, and wires. It was entirely mechanical.

"Not much of a dream world now is it?" she remarked, dusting herself off.

The sidewalks for several islands had been destroyed. She picked up one of the wires. Her scarf made a smirk-ish type movement.

She spun the wire around like a lasso, playing with it round and round. She lasso'd onto a nearby island and pulled herself over that way.

"AYEEEEEEE!" she called out.

---

Armina peered out of the castle, "He's gone,".

They tip-toed out of the castle. Armina helped lead Amara along.

"Wanna go see Arturia'n'Arnold?" Armina asked with a soft smile.

"Won't their pa-,"

"Nah, their pa's too darn busy lookin' fer us,"

Amara squeezed her eyes, thinking through what she wanted, "Let's go then! I wanna play football!"

They two ran along. A nearby radio started glitching as they got further away.

"The centre of our world has been stolen," Donna reported.

"It must've been that intruder. There's an enemy within our Realm and we must expunge them," Adolpha added.

"Indeed. If the core is allowed to run free, who knows what could happen. She mustn't reach-,"

"We know! We know! Any and all civilians should try to find and capture the core at any cost! And if the enemy within is seen, you all know what to do,"

---

The skybox had become all distorted. The clouds became black and the green became dark. There was a horrible breeze twisting about.

Lyn hooked onto one of the islands. It shook, trying to throw her off.

"Don't give free rides, do ya moron?" she remarked, leaping off. "Fine by me,"

She spread her cape and glided over the sky with the momentum from the island. Multiple other islands spun around, trying to play keep-away. Her eyes sharped.

She latched her wire to one and PULLED herself forwards, jumping off of it and flying through the air. Sidewalks shot at her.

She shot a couple of them, destroying parts of their bodies. She leapt off of those fragments and landed on one of the sidewalks. She grabbed a piece and sliiiid down like she were snowboarding.

In the distance, she saw an area where the sky remained bright and colourful. Her scarf smirked for her.

---

The sisters approached a castle of charred wood. Many wooden soldiers opened the gates for them. Amara's eyes were widened and her mouth agape.

As they entered, they reached a massive European Football arena. Sitting above it was child Arturia, dressed in attire befitting a queen. She had an emerald crown, a long flowing, white cape, and a verdant green dress.

Standing below her by an entire set of stairs was child Arnold. He hadn't grown a beard and his hair was slicked back. He wore a princely suit in the same colours as Arturia's clothes, and held a plate as though he were a butler delivering hors d'oeuvres.

"Armina'n'Amara!" Arturia announced, a bright smile on her face. "Arnold, let me down!"

Arnold pulled a lever and her throne stepped down the stairs to greet the pair. He followed after her, keeping in tow. A bright smile flashed from his face.

"What 're y'all doin' here!?" Arturia exclaimed.

Amara looked down, her face flustered, "we were hopin' to play football with y'all,"

Arnold glanced at Arturia with concern. She glanced back.

"Speak,"

"Isn't that dangerous, what if yer Pa returns from work early,"

"Ya worry too much," Arturia assured, patting Arnold on the shoulder.

"He does have a point…," Amara questioned, pausing.

There was a fog in her mind. Within it was some kind of screaming.

Armina placed a hand on her shoulder, "Dontcha worry, I can get us away if somethin' goes wrong,"

"See," Arturia added. "There's nothin' to worry about. Man if it were legal, it would've been nice to bring ya into the family instead Armina,"

"An' I wish I had been brought in by a different family," Arnold added.

"That would've been mighty nice," Arturia nodded along. "SO LET'S GET THIS STARTED!"

She turned to the guards, "READY THE PLAYERS!"

The wooden soldiers all shed their armour to reveal football attire. The teams were quickly set ablaze. On one end, an army of wooden soldiers led by Arnold with Arturia as the goalie. On the other end, Armina was a one woman player with Amara as her goalie.

"Arm-IIII-na! Arm-IIII-na! Arm-IIII-na!" She chanted.

She responded by giving her the thumbs up. She walked to the centre of the ring, facing off against Arnold.

"No hard feelins'?" She asked.

"'Course not, I'm the one holdin' the line," he remarked, pointing back to Arturia with his thumb.

A gong rung! A ball dropped between them, and the pair entered a dance, dusting up a storm. Their feet constantly darted left and right, each of them trying to take hold of the ball.

Eyes sharpened, Armina took the ball! Amara cheered her on, arms raised high.

Armina slipped through the rest of the team. She was too small and agile for them to catch.

They tried surrounding her, creating a fence that not even her size could slip through, but that was child's play for her. She KICKED the ball up high, over them.

Before they could scatter, she flipped off of one of them. There she and the ball were, mid air.

Using her flip, she SHOT the ball to the goal in an EXPLOSION OF FORCE! Arturia flinched, letting it through!

"GOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLL!" Amara exclaimed!

"THERE YOU ARE!" another voice roared.

The green sky turned dark. The walls of the Castle distorted and lit aflame. A flaming wooden giant, with a head like a candle wick forced his way in. Armina immediately rushed towards Amara.

Arturia rushed over to the giant, "Father! I am the lady of this house, I order you-,"

"You are a child!" he exclaimed, tossing her aside.

Arnold made sure to catch her unconscious body. The wooden soldiers charged him, but were quickly burnt up by his flames.

Armina reached Amara, "We gotta go,"

"YOU WON'T BE GOING ANYWHERE BUT A BOARDIN' SCHOOL YOU SLUDGE RATS! POLLUTIN' MY HOME WITH YER FILTH!"

Amara looked down. There was a ringing in her head! It was loud, like a speaker shoved right against her ear drum. [A woman with flowing reddish brown hair that covered one of her ocean blue eyes flashed in her mind].

Armina picked the dazed Amara up on her back. She sped past the giant, heading straight towards the gate!

"YOU WON'T GET AWAY!" He roared, THROWING a fireball at the gate.

The wood doors crashed down, creating a wall of flames. Armina ssshharpened her eyes and LEAPT above it.

Escape was only possible for one….A fire ball hit them both, scattering them. Amara rolled onto the ground of the Castle's insides, while Armina crashed outside.

Her eyes widened and she rushed over to the wall of flames, "AMARA!!! AMARA RUN!!!"

"WELL ONE SLUDGE RAT IS BETTER THAN NONE, I GUESS!" THE GIANT LAUGHED. "I'LL BET THERE'LL BE GOOD PAY FOR THIS!"

Arnold got in his way, arms spread, "Wait, sir! Let 'em go, I'll take on another-!"

"I didn't ask fer yer opinion! I barely asked fer a son in law!" He exclaimed, picking Arnold up by his head and tossing him aside.

Amara kept staring at the ground, that dizzy ringing in her head. She muttered incomprehensible words to herself as the giant grew closer and closer.

"OY! LOOK UP PATRIDIOT!" an annoying voice called out. "Ya ain't gonna see nothin' lookin' down!"

Amara looked up to see Lyn shoot in from above the flames. She SMASHED her feet into the giant's head, jumping off the beast and kicking him back.

"WHO IN NIGRUM CAVEA….!?" he exclaimed.

"animas tenebrarum, eejit," she called out, tap dancing the flames off of her feet.

"What're ya doin' here?" Amara exclaimed, lifting herself up.

"I ain't ya teach'r Patridiot," she responded, looking around the environment. "It's been a wee bit since I've played any football, but I don't remember the rules involvin' fire, do ya think Wickerman{reference to the film of the same name}?"

"What the f-?!"

"Language Wickerman! We've gotten this far, let's not raise the ratin' now!" She interrupted, putting her hands in her imaginary pockets and circling the giant.

"YA LITTLE BRAT! YER THE ENEMY WITHIN FROM THE RADIO!"

"Oh, I'm famous already, guess you'll want me autograph," she remarked, pointing her left handgun and readying her whip in her right. "Come get it then,"

He rapidly threw fireballs at her. She countered with purple shots.

At the same time, she swung her whip, wrapping it around the giant's foot. With both hands she THREW the giant into one of the walls.

Snapping her fingers, she fired at will. He roared, engulfing himself in flames and charging through the shots.

She cartwheeled around the charge. He quick turned to her and SLAMMED HIS HAND into the ground, creating a WAVE of flames!

She leapt into the air in response! She wrapped her whip around his lowered arm and DRRRAGGED him forwards.

She let out a shot into his shoulder, leaving a gaping hole! Eyes widened, it exploded in an even greater rage.

He shot around the field, leaving streams of fire as he aimed for her! She tap danced around each attack until he LEAPT UP into the air!

He crashed down to the ground in a MASSIVE ball of flames! He let out an angry laugh.

"What's got ya laughin'?!" She asked from the edge of the arena, safe for the flames.

"YOU-!?"

She whipped him in the face multiple times before wrapping the whip around his neck. She pulled herself over to him and shot him in the face six times in a row!

The flames around his head went out! 

He struck down on her before she could reload! She spun to the side.

He side struck at her with his arm, but she ducked low. He stomped on her, but she slid between his legs.

"Makes sense ya wouldn't have none down there," she remarked, pulling her whip. "Lucky me,"

The giant was immediately restrained. Lyn had been carefully wrapping her whip around his limbs.

He fell to the ground.

She stepped onto his back and pointed her fingers at his head, "Goal,"

His entire head was erased. Amara stared stunned.

"YA DID IT!" She exclaimed.

"'Course I did, Patridiot!" she responded.

Amara had returned to her adult self. She glared at her.

"Can I get a better nickname?! Also…if ya were animas tenebrarum, wouldn't-?!"

"AMARA, WE GOTTA GET OUT OF HERE!" Armina interrupted. "THE DRESCHERS'RE COMIN'!"

"DON'T NEED TO TELL ME TWICE LASS!" Lyn responded, opening a new portal. "Let's tour elsewhere, Patridiot,"

"Wait, we can't just-,"

"No time," Lyn exclaimed, pulling her into the portal.

...….

The flames died down and rain fell. Armina finally re-entered the castle.

"What happened?" Arturia asked, awakening.

Armina stared where the portal had been. She sharpened her eyes and squeezed her fists.

To Be Continued...…