*yoyo, back with another one. Steady progress at a steady rate. We'll see how it all evolves. Let me know what you think, and enjoy. Peace out and Deus vult.*
Their return was done in the same icy fashion that Mark had chosen for their entrance, skipping a large section that they would otherwise have had to walk. The Bloodhound Family members could only watch from below as three figures came skating along a path of ice that grew beneath their feet, only to soon vanish without even a droplet of water as a trace.
The ones who saw it happen simply chose to blame it on perhaps too much SoulGlad or something—just whatever worked for them to seem like they weren't in the right state of mind, and that didn't happen. The last thing they needed was a one-time random apparition right before the Charmony Festival. Thus, they were on high alert, but of course, the trio of ice skaters never pulled the stunt again.
So, they crawled back through the sewers where Firefly first took them and reached the main area of Golden Hour.
"We should go meet with the group, but... where is everyone?" asked Stelle, looking around with curious eyes. The silence was eerie and totally unfit for a bustling place like that. Mark's focus went on his memories, and he quickly braced himself for the meeting with their good old 'Sampo'.
"We meet again, my dear friend..." he said in the same nonchalant manner of his, yet the hints of seriousness in his voice were far from normal. The group approached slowly, keeping a safe distance. Mark simply looked over his way, staring with a deadpan expression and a tiny little smirk.
"Heh, sure looks like we meet again... Sampo..." he grinned, his gaze stern.
"It looks like you have not taken my warnings to heart... A pity. Did that girl manage to enchant you both?"
Mark sighed, crossing his arms, stepping between Sampo and the other two.
"Now listen here... Don't think me stupid. I know who and who not to trust. You're not Sampo, that much I gathered. Stupid idiot, he owed me no debt, alas... it is in character for him to do those things. Still, not like you cared that much about impersonating him well. You're too stiff and serious to make for a good Sampo."
Stelle's eyes widened, looking between the two, and even the fake was a bit surprised—emotion that they didn't bother to hide anymore.
"Heh, I see... he was right. You are interesting, and you didn't hide to show it. So, tell me... do you know what the main party is going after? The secret hidden behind this sweet dream. You two who worked together to save the ice world... I'm really, really disappointed in you."
The air around them grew heavy, and floating fish of a beautiful mix of orange and red swam around in nothingness. Their eyes grew heavy, minds ringing. Sampo's eyes glowed red, an ominous hue. While Stelle and Firefly were about to pass out by his side, Mark stood strong, staring down at the now revealed figure... Sparkle, a tiny girl with a mask wore sideways on her head, two ponytails moving with each step.
"I see... the Masked Fools show themselves, huh? To think you'd try such a nice little trick," chuckled Mark. She walked by him and made sure the other two were asleep within the dream.
"Hm, you sure seem resilient. From what Sampo had told me, you were interesting, but not this tough to deal with. I take it that you didn't idle around," she chuckled, taking in his appearance from head to toe.
"How could I idle when pranksters like you love to hang around? You're lucky I know you're helping us, otherwise, this would have gone south really quick without issues. Trust me, I tend to hold back, but pull more stunts like this, harmless as they may be, and I promise that I'll spank you like a child."
She grinned, not buying it. "No way you'd actually stoop so low, right?" but soon her confidence faltered as the dead-set look on his face didn't budge at all. He was dead set on the plan, willing to go through with it.
"Don't test your luck too much. Better stay out of trouble, harmless as they may be. I know that you followers of that Aha or whatever the fucker's called love causing a mess here and there to twist the story and cause some unexpected twists, but if I were you, I'd watch myself."
She simply walked around him, keeping just enough distance to be out of his touch, but little did she know that he could easily grab her. Still, no harm could be done within the dream, at least from what he knew by normal standards. Thus, she kept studying him.
"I see... you seem like the Laughter would enjoy your presence... someone who loves straying off the beaten path. Just be careful, Nameless... until then, I'll send you to sleep too, since your friends are waiting for you, and I know you don't want to keep them waiting."
Mark smirked, closing his eyes willingly. Sparkle touched his forehead, and there he was, standing in a weird version of the hotel room, just like the one where he had met Acheron for the first time. He walked out, finding Stelle and Firefly in the hall.
"We're within the deeper area of the dream, you two," he said in a matter-of-fact voice, speaking like being there was a normal occurrence. His mind was buzzing loudly, the memories a jumbled mess that clashed with his being. Shadows danced towards the end of the corridor, moving left and right with sickening movements that made his iris loop around in a circle.
"The deep area of the dream? What do you mean by that, Mark?" asked Firefly, looking at him with a worried expression. Stelle stared at his eyes too, which had come to a sudden halt. He took a deep breath before speaking.
"It's what I gathered on the go, and more speculation than anything, but this should be something like a dream beneath the surface... no clue how to put it into words. Just know that this is also within the dream, but sort of off limits cuz it's a bit more dangerous. Just stick close, and we'll see where the exit is."
Firefly spoke again, all while they began following Mark, who walked ahead.
"I think you two must have experienced it all—the sound of ticking clocks as we woke up. This place must be related to the Watchmaker, and perhaps to his legacy as well."
Mark nodded, walking ahead, focusing on the shadows that were already a part of him, mundane in their own right. One would get used to the same thing repeating over and over, and yet Mark was far from having reached that point. It all crumbled down once he began feeling weird touches within the dream world. He doubted his own judgment at times, but with their strange nature, it was safe to assume that even the furthest fetched hint could hold substance. Thus, paranoia began settling in.
"I should be extremely careful. Acheron's invitation to a 'dance', the way her eyes trailed in the same way as mine, is no common thing. It all has a form of union, something to hold it all together, yet here I am, struggling to piece it all. Is it because my mind is in a constant buzzing state? No matter where I look, the world is loud, too loud... my thoughts might get the better of me. I can't think for the life of me..."
Stelle and Firefly followed closely, watching as the rooms they ventured into changed shape constantly. Members of the Sweet Dreams Troupe littered the scenery, only to be quickly put out of commission by a frustrated Mark who couldn't seem to get a grip on the details in front of him. Firefly and Stelle enjoyed the experience, having fun as they walked on the walls, watching the floors shift and turn, all while he tirelessly forced his mind to cough up answers without straining his mind too much. It was a game of asking questions and trying to gauge the pain.
"Let's see what I should dance around. For now, I should figure out some stuff related to the stupid dream here. What to even think of? It must be something related to the future for it to work, so I should perhaps try and make a lucky guess. Let's see... this very spot where we are now is where the Watchmaker's Legacy is."
The pain he felt came in at the mention of the Watchmaker's Legacy, but thinking about it as a whole, it was too mild. Moving on to the next, he focused on asking if this deeper dream is where the legacy could be found. The pain increased a little.
"Are there other areas in this deeper dream?"
Sparks went up in his mind, which meant that the affirmation, albeit vague, was right. Still, the ringing in his head took him out of his own game. Focusing became more difficult the more time he spent trying to question everything. Being in a place that felt completely familiar while also foreign didn't help either.
Before he knew it, their steps had taken them to a water fountain that stood on the wall, which was normally the floor. To the side, a glowing opening in the ceiling, now a wall too, glowed with a strong blue light.
"Incredible..." gasped Firefly, looking over the sight. "This is really a sight that can only be witnessed in a dream..."
Mark looked with a hint of curiosity at the 'ceiling', which was broken into bits, floating cubes that spun slowly around the center of that hole. It was quite an interesting sight, that much he had to admit. Firefly turned to look at them, focusing on Mark for a moment longer. Stelle did the same, looking at him for a moment.
"These words have been appearing and vanishing persistently for a while now. Whose thoughts are they? And who is this Mikhail?"
"Mikhail... where have I heard this name?" said Stelle, pondering the question with a hand on her chin. Mark's pupils shrank as the work hit him square in the face, widening at once as the pain struck like thunder. The discomfort was evident on his face, with or without him meaning to make it known. Both of them walked to his side, helping him stand. He hadn't even realized it, but his legs were shaking.
His mind was at war with himself. It was something new, like the information was his and wasn't at the same time. It tried to reach out to him, to grab him and latch on, but something held it back in place, as if it was meant to stay away from him for the time being. The strong deja vu became even more, the shadows looming more over him, increasing in size with each breath that came and went.
"I... Mikhail... it sounds familiar, but... I can't fully... recall it... Nameless..."
Nameless. Yes, Mikhail was a Nameless. Still, why did the image of Misha come to mind? It was all such a jumbled mess, like cables tangled together, trying to somehow separate themselves from one another but instead pulling more on the wrong sides until it was all a huge mess.
"Nameless? Mikhail? Is he one of the old Astral Express members that Pom-Pom wanted us to look for?" asked Stelle, holding him from the side, staring at his pale face. Mark didn't say anything more, falling silent as the shadows before him grew in size, almost like a tsunami coming to swallow them. As it was about to crash into them, he closed his eyes, tightly, but nothing happened.
"Mark, you should lie down," said Firefly, and the two of them helped him lie on the floor, uncomfortable as it was. Still, it was better than forcing him to stand in that confused state.
"I... damn... something's very wrong with this place... Penacony as a whole... I don't like it one bit..." muttered Mark, breath labored. It wasn't just the Watchmaker's Legacy that mattered, but something entirely different.