Dreams were a privilege afforded only to those who felt safe enough in this world to dare to do so while they slumbered. Still, amidst all the chaos and stress from the day's events, the fatigue that followed it may have been enough to push Marcie past the point of insecurities and into the deeper subconsciousness known as dreamland.
Most of her dreams were usually vivid, but random. At least, they used to be before her accident. She hadn't been able to dream at all since then. But as she slept beneath the down comforter of her avian benefactor, strange images began to fill behind her eyelids.
This was a very strange dream indeed. It began with a memory, though the details of it were skewed. She couldn't make out her parents' faces, but there she was, in the back of their car. Their conversation was blurry at first so she leaned forward.
"Ssshhhhsss same world is be-shssshhss dying sssssssshhhhsss, we need more… sssshssssss" Marcie leaned forward more. She couldn't quite hear her father properly.
"Nnnnnnnnnnnoooo one caressssssshhhhhh ssshhhhsssss primitive ssssssssshhhhhhhssss belongs to uuuuuusssssshhhhhssssshss…." her mothers voice was louder and sounded more ghostly. Both of their voices were theirs, but at the same time, weren't theirs.
Marcie leaned back on her bench seat, not really understanding what was being said. There was a flash of light and the scene warped to follow her memories but the movements of the people and objects were much more fluid-like than reality would have deemed possible.
When it stopped moving, she looked around. Her parents were gone and it was just her. The wreckage of the freeway pile up felt like a mountain and Marcie had crawled out of the crushed vehicle. As she made it out, her eyes met with a grotesque monster that mainly looked like a combination of fleshy organs and muscles all coated in a thick slime.
Marcie was frozen in place and couldn't move as the creature searched around. As it spotted her, without any eyes, it lunged at her. Marcie let out a loud shrill scream that echoed in her head as the dream faded away. The scream though, it not only remained, but got louder and contorted into the screeches of the Asprey bird.
Marcie's eyes shot awake as she immediately followed the sound of the bird's cries. It was fighting something, or rather, something was invading the nest. As the bird took a bite out of the intruder, the familiar howling yips and hoots clued Marcie in to who it was.
Those damn monkeys were back. They were stubborn and relentless. The bird was doing a decent job fending them off, she outranked them after all, but Marcie was still on high alert. Even if the bird was stronger than them, there were so many of them.
Just as the bird defeated one, two more would pop up from the cliff below in its place. Marcie shifted to the middle of the nest surrounding the eggs. It was likely these were the prizes they were after. One monkey managed to break through and rushed towards the nest. It's expression was filled with a craze of confidence like it had already succeeded. Marcie pointed her hand out towards the monkey as though to aim and just before the monkey got to the nest, she released a discharge of electricity.
The attack felt like it had some form of sentience, like it knew exactly where Marcie wanted it to go. It was the only way to explain it really, because actual electricity behaves way more differently. Regardless, she was thankful for this strange power. The bolt easily hit its target and the monkey screeched before falling lifeless to the ground.
It immediately evaporated just like all her other successful battles and certainly would show up in her inventory if she were to check. The mother bird had witnessed the exchange amidst her own brawling until she felt her wings being violently latched upon by the increasing hoard of monkeys.
Some of them fell lifeless almost immediately as the signs of electric charge sizzled down the hairs of their pelts. Marcie, however, was growing tired quickly. She hadn't had an opportunity to eat yet since this whole nightmare started and the electric attacks were draining her own energy quickly. Marcie managed to only fire off a few more shots before she slumped down into the eggs exhausted.
The fight was far from over though. Marcie hoped that her assistance was enough, but when another monkey's figure loomed over the nest in anticipation, she knew this was not going in a desirable direction.
"Noo!!" she shouted and held her hands up. As one monkey reached towards the nest, it acted like it hit an invisible wall and retracted its reach in confusion. Marcie would see the subtle fluctuations of a honeycomb pattern in the air between her and the beasts, it reflects the morning rays of the sun with glimmers of pearlescent glass.
Marcie had activated her ultimate shield ability as a dome around her and the eggs. More beasts surrounded her now and the mother bird was trying to fend them off as best she could. The monkeys started pounding fists against the dome shield in frustration but Marcie refused to let it up.
It was an ample distraction for the monkeys while the mother bird picked them off one by one. Perhaps this would work if she could hold out long enough. A loud howl rang from the cliff side and Marcie's attention turned to it immediately. It was the leader of the troupe of monkeys. She recognized it immediately by the silver in its mane.
As it hollered to its compatriots, the monkeys that were hounding on the nest stopped and rejoined their leader. The monkey's attacks immediately became far more coordinated and became completely focused on the mother bird.
It was too many for her to handle, not unless she had some wicked area attack as a trump card. Marcie kept her shield up, ensuring the safety of the eggs. At first, the bird was still doing alright, but when the troupe's leader joined the fight, it lunged on top of the Asprey and got its long lanky arms around her neck.
Just from that one action alone, threw the Asprey out of sorts and the monkeys began to quickly overwhelm her. Her struggling body pulled to the ground and swarmed by the surviving beasts. It managed to let out a desperate shout in Marcie's direction before she succumbed to the onslaught.
Marcie's heart dropped and tears began to fall while the monkeys jeered and hooted in their victory. As the bird drew its last breath, a small white glowing puff left its beak and floated to Marcie, bypassing her shield and entering her chest.
~Ding!
*In your desperate attempt to protect her young, you have been blessed by the sky guardian. Her will and spirit has been passed on to you.*
Glancing down at the eggs that lay next to her and her heart sank even more. Their mother was gone and her shield time was quickly running out. The beasts had already gone back to pounding on her shield in attempts to break through.
Marcie stared at the mothers beaten body while her mind raced. The sounds of the monkeys, while loud and chaotic, felt dull in those moments. Marcie glanced back down at the eggs surrounding her and with one hand still up to keep the shield established, she gently touched each egg.
One by one, they disappeared. The tears still streamed down her face. When the monkeys noticed their ultimate prize was vanishing, they became more irate and the pounding became even more violent.
"Don't worry… I'll make sure they grow up…" Marcie muttered. When all the eggs were now safely in her inventory, she dropped both of her hands. Piece by piece the shield began to dissipate.