Logfile from Brass&Steel.

<OOC> Zach says, "So, are we going to assume that Zach finally hauls ass
and try to enter Goldies dreams, or will there be any contact made
first?"

<OOC> Goldie says, "Which ever you prefer to try. After all, Zach is the
one who gets to ICly decide which will happen."

<OOC> Zach says, "Well the last meeting between them left the ball
somewhat on Goldie's half. He wanted to giver her time to think and
decide whether she would trust him. Sorta."

<OOC> Zach says, "But he can't let it 'slide' forever... :)"

<OOC> Goldie gives a nod at that, "I can see your point there."

<OOC> Zach has an Oath about not refusing help to innocents. Goldie is an
innocent in his book so far, and he feels those chains tugging. Idea:
We'll do a straight Dream-visit now, that may or may not prompt Goldie to
seek Zach out again?

<OOC> Goldie nods again, "That would be fine by me. I have a few things
already worked out for in her dreams."

<OOC> Goldie says, "Do you want to start by Singing the ong and seeing
how long you are going to have in there?"

<OOC> Zach says, "Good. :) I just read the relevant chapters of the
Marches. Am v. intimidated. This'll be interesting. ;P Zach will have
taken his car and gone somewhere out of town and a bit away from people.
Then he'll Sing and spend Essence, yes."

<OOC> Goldie checks something, still not having a copy of the Marches
handy, "Was the way that I mentioned to you last time we spoke the right
way of doing things?"

<OOC> Goldie would IC be asleep most often in the morning, not sleeping
at night that much...

<OOC> Zach says, "Um. You use the Dreaming skill like the Ethereal and
Celestial Songs of Dream, but without the essence cost."

<OOC> Zach had figured that. She did say something about trying to avoid
sleeping, but sooner or later she will fail. And the wee hours of the
morning are the hardest to stay awake.

<OOC> Goldie nods, "I just wanted to be sure of it before we started.
And, for some strange reason, Goldie wouldn't be resisting the use of her
own Dreaming skill..." ^_-

<OOC> Zach on the other hand... :)

<OOC> Goldie sticks out her tongue at the insominiac. ^_-


<<<<Scene Start>>>>

Elswhere - Zach gets all comfy in his car and starts the ritual of
singing and waving his hands around for an hour.

<OOC> Zach thus getting a +4 on the roll without spending Essence. :)
TN10

AutoJudge:  Zach rolls: 2 + 4 = 6 . Check die: 4

Meanwhile, in a small private spot, Goldie has curled up into a small
ball and reluctantly allowed herself to slip off into sleep...

<OOC> Zach says, "That's 8 minutes of dreamtime..."

AutoJudge:  Zach spends 1 essence.

<OOC> Goldie says, "You seem to have made it... And isn't that 8 minutes
of -outside- time rather than in dream time?"

<OOC> Zach blushes. That's what I meant. <:P

As the Song rings out in the Symphony about Zach, he finds his
consciousness slipping from the physical world into an entirely different
environement. One which is radically different than the car in which he
has been a monent before.

Zach's vessel slump back into the seat, fast 'asleep', as he himself
takes a tentative look around to get his bearings. (I wonder if it
worked... I hope I'm in the right bubble...)

In the dream Zach appears on a dark and ill-defined street, cobbles or
perhaps concrete beneath ones feat and the only light coming from the
wide and brightly lit shop windows which spilled illumination from their
displayes across the street. Goldie herself can not be immediately seen,
but the wind carries a faint utterly broken sobbing inescapably to Zach's
ears.

It is cold here, bone chillingly cold in a way that makes one crave any
warmth at all.

Zach sniffs the air out of habit and pulls his jacket, for he has the
image of the trusty old leather jacket on him, tighter about him. Hearing
the sobs, he wastes no time and starts to follow the sound quietly. Like
a shadow.

The air carries a mixture of armoma's from the 'shops', of food, alcohol,
blood, sex, and less definable things all together in a somehow heady
mix.

As Zach walks along the street, various voices call out from the
direction of the shop windows and from the midst of the light. At a
distance, the light is a glare which makes details impossible to make up
but there is sense that it is warm and inviting there. The sobs seem to
come from further ahead where a unlit street lamp stands, the first that
has existed on the street.

Zach keeps a sharp eye and ear out for lurkers and surprises. There is a
somewhat familiar feel to this place and yet not. He's been to so many
big cities and walked in their less than family-friendly neighborhoods.
They are all the same, and even this image doesn't change that. It's a
city. He heeds not the calls from the shops and the
other....establishments. Love for sale is not love worth having. Quietly
and carefully he draws nearer to the source of the heart-wrenching sobs.

Goldie is hard to spot, almost enveloped in the shadows and darkness like
an animal caught in a pit of tar, but she is crouched at the base of the
lamppost and staring at the display opposite her as though unable to turn
her eyes away from it. She is silent, utterly silent and whitelipped,
with the sobs coming from the window that she is looking into.

Zach stops when he comes near anough to see Goldie and notice that she
doesn't seem to be the source of the sobbing. Curious and wary, he turns
his head a little to follow her look. What is it she is looking at that
terrifies her so...

The light from the shop front is less blinding when looked into directly,
instead clearly illuminating a scene held within with each and every
detail clearly and remorselessly shown. While the wamrth and light is
inviting, what can be seen there is far less so as a teenage girl with
half torn off clothing is under the less than tender 'ministrations' of a
gang. It is the girl who is sobbing so heart brokenly, with the boys
jeering and laughing at this as every moment seems as bad as the first.

There is a space in the scene which is shown, an undefined area the size
of girl where someone might easily step into the sistuation and join in
with the gang and abet their obvious pleasures with enjoyment of ones
own.

Zach's face darkens and a scowl manifests. He had a pretty good idea what
sparked Goldie to run this particular scene in her own little horror
show. He hesiatates a bit. Should he speak or act...

<OOC> Zach says, "I take it you mean that it is possible to walk into the
'shop' and enter the scene on the other side of the panorama window? Or?"

<OOC> Goldie says, "Yes, it seems that way. There is utterly nothing
stopping one simply walking into one of the scenes..."

The pitch of the cries changes subtly and Goldie lets out a whimper of
her own, the unknown girl in the scene before her having suddenly gained
Hachilah's face, form, and innocent manner even as the boys seem to
restart their 'game' from the beginning.

Zach stiffens and stares. This is just too much! He hasn't got much of an
idea how to do this, but will damn well do /something/. Long legs take
him swiftly and quietly up close and personal to the scene. He raises his
voice and says in a stern merciless growl, "This stops. NOW!" His hand
whip out to grab the 'ministerer' currently on top of the girl by his
belt and pull him off.

AutoJudge:  Goldie rolls: 3 + 4 = 7 . Check die: 4

Stepping into the window is simple enough, no barrier holding Zach back
from doing so, and he finds himself on the other side with a 'hole' in
the air which shows the street when Goldie is looking horrified. The
young man in gang colours looks utterly surprised by this intrusion as he
is hauled away from his enjoyment, but his fellows start to sneer and
weapons varying from knives to pistols are pulled and readied as one
announces, "Yer gonna get yer ass kicked, mister..."

<OOC> Zach says, "Will this be Ethereal combat with Int+Fight (for my
part) or ?"

<OOC> Zach says, "And what happens if you whip up an Ethereal Shield in a
situation like this?"

<OOC> Goldie checks the description, "The listing doesn't make it clear,
but I would say that it would work against them as well as a Corporeal
Sheild would work on their equivilents on Earth."

<OOC> Goldie is a little unsure as to whether you would be effectivly
fighting Goldie's mind when you face off against these... "It would be
Etheral Combat if it did come down to 'kick and punch' type stuff
though."

<OOC> Zach says, "That's what I thought too. It says vaguely in The
Marches that you may use Shields to defend yourself. (duh) :) I'll try
Singing it. TN 7"

<OOC> Goldie says, "Feel free to go ahead."

AutoJudge:  Zach spends 1 essence.

AutoJudge:  Zach rolls: 3 + 3 = 6 . Check die: 5

<OOC> Zach says, "8 rounds..."

Zach grins nastily - /very/ nastily to the young men. "I think /not/."
Then he waves his left hand in a short, gesture of warding while the
right hand keeps a firm grip on the hooligan with his pants on his knees.
He actually yanks him upwards so quickly and powerfully that the little
bastard slams his face in the 'floor' as his trousers slide off.

A look of outrage crosses the faces of the man's 'compatriots', the
distinctive click of a safety being heard over the howl of outrage and
anguish from the one who' face just encountered the floor. Before things
can go further though, a voice pipes up from the window as Goldie steps
into the scene.

Goldie 's clothes change to match those of the scene as she steps into
the situation, a jacket bearing their colours and some underwear being
its current sum and total. With what is obviously meant to be a winsome
smile, but ends up being more terrified than anything, she says, "Guys,
he didn't mean it... Why don't we go some place for some fun, or
something? He isn't worth it..."

Zach looks at Goldie and then looks around at the gang. He shakes his
head slowly, eyes glowing with fiery menace and anger. "I came for the
girls and I will leave with the girls. That includes /you/ Goldie. I
suggest you dismiss these idiots before /I/ do." There is a confidence in
his voice that speak of deep, hidden layers in his words. He stands
relaxed, seeming completely at ease within himself. Clearly he is either
a complete and utter loon with a death wish. Or not...

AutoJudge:  Goldie rolls: 4 + 4 = 8 . Check die: 2

<OOC> Zach says, "If the dudes start shooting, Zach wants to try to
change their guns into water pistols. It's a Will roll for him, and he
needs a CD 2 to do it. If you resist, you can either use your Dreaming
skill or pure Will. Higher CD wins."

Goldie simply looks confused at this statement, seemingly unable to
comprehend what Zach meant about 'dismissing' things. One of the gang
stepped up behind her, hands going around her body and doing something
illdefined that made a look of intense shame wash over her face even as
she submitted to it. One of the gang shook his head sadly, "Idiot." then
raises his gun and is about to pull the trigger.

<OOC> Goldie nods, "Make your roll then."

AutoJudge:  Zach rolls: 2 + 3 = 5 . Check die: 3

<OOC> Zach made it.

AutoJudge:  Goldie rolls: 4 + 3 = 7 . Check die: 2

<OOC> Goldie says, "Made it as well, but you win."

Zach ooc :nods. Phew... -But has Shields still, I think?

<OOC> Goldie nods, "You still have Sheild up as well."

"What the fu..." The man starts to swear as, instead of a bullet the gun
produces merely a stream of water shooting forth to Zach's forehead. Even
the water doesn't reach Zach though, diverted neatly by the glow about
him to splatter utterly harmlessly away.

Zach just smiles disturbingly pleasant to the man with the gun, shrugs
and focuses on Goldie after a quick look at the weapon. "Would you like
me to kill them, or will you come with me? It's either or."

AutoJudge:  Goldie rolls: 5 + 2 = 7 . Check die: 6

<OOC> Goldie says, "That was a Dreaming roll to alter things."

Zach is a tall man in his thirties, probably about 6'3". Slim, well built
and rather handsome, his apperance is one of goodnatured machismo. He
carries himself well, but seems to be under some strain judging from his
frown and the wariness in his green eyes. Movements are smooth and
precise. His hair is relatively short cut, black and wavy. A workman's
tan is visible, and hints to much time being spent outdoors. The man is
wearing a red cotton shirt, black shoes and black leather trousers with a
line of silvery ornamentation up along the seam on his left leg. The
black leather jacket he's sporting is a typicel biker's jacket. It has
obviously seen a lot of wear. It is however well cared for with no
visible tearings or holes.

Goldie begins to seem confused once more, then blinks slightly and looks
around her as though with fresh eyes. A low growl escapes her throat as
she is fondled again and she glares at her surroundings, lashing out at
thin air and some how hitting it. The scene shatters like glass, small
shards of gang members, the false Hachilah, and the very room falling
about the pair as they find themselves standing back on the cold street
from before.

Goldie shivers, still dressed as she had been in the scene, then notices
that Zach is still here and backs away, "Wha...?"

Goldie pages: Basically, I had thought that you had moved away from the
'script' enough for Goldie to realise that she was dreaming and so I had
her act rather than react.

Zach nods to her with some satisfaction. "Good one, kid. Now I suggest
you either get dressed or do something about the temperature here. It's
freezing." He looks around the area to check for lurkers and beasties.

Goldie absently closes the jacket, her legs and feet still bare, but
continues to stare at Zach as though she expects him to suddenly leap
over and bite her, "You're still here?"

Goldie exclaims a moment later, "You can't be still here! I'm in the dark
now..."

Zach nods again, favouring her with a crooked smile. "Yes I'm still here,
and yes you're in the dark now. But you don't have to be. You can change
that, just like you changed that there," he points behins them at where
the window was, with his thumb. "Say, how 'bout turning the lights on and
get some warmth around here? It's just a dream so you can basically do
whatever you like with it." You say, "It is /yours/ after all..."

Goldie shakes her head despite the fact that she is shivering slightly,
her habitual 'accent' nowhere in evidence now, "It's not safe to have it
warm here. All those things don't like it out here in the cold and dark
and if I started making it warm then I'd start to want other things as
well."

Zach sighs. "Then at least dream up some clothes for yourself, kiddo." He
stands there calmly, studying her in silence. No signs of him planning to
jump over ant bite her. "And 'those things', I take it you mean your
personal nightmares? Like the one we just saw?"

Goldie closes her eyes, a haunt expression on her face, as she says
indistinctly, "...theyrenotnightmares..." She paused, then opened her
eyes and looked at Zach and repeated more clearly, "They are not
nighmares. They are all the stuff that I have done or wanted to do."

Zach nods and finds a nice piece of wall to prop up. He's so helpful. "I
know. But in here they are nightmares and instruments of torture. Out in
the waking world they are memories. You go on torturing yourself like
this and you will get nowhere but Misery Meadow. This is your dreamworld
and it is yours to shape and control. Use your talent to help yourself
instead of destroy yourself."

Goldie looks over at Zach, folding her arms about herself as thought
trying to give herself a hug, "But I don't deserve to forget. I remember
helping them and -enjoying- it, of getting involved and giving them
fucking -advice- on what to do! It might have been in my head with me,
but I was the one who did those things." She looks about when she speaks
the word 'it', almost as though she half expects something to appear at
the sound of the word.

Zach purses his lips in thought and frowns slightly. "You're both right
and wrong, Goldie. First - forgetting is not something you deserve or
don't deserve. I'm not telling you to forget about what you succumbed to,
I'm trying to tell you that you need to deal with it and move on. You
have done some very bad things, but you had 'help'. You would never have
done what you did if that monster hadn't forced you to. They push you to
deeper and deeper depravity, to you no longer recognize yourself and are
unable to tell the difference between your Self and it." His voice is
calm and confident. "By torturing yourself senselessly night after nigth
after night, you are playing straight into its....hands. It /wants/ you
to suffer."

Goldie stares along the street, at the array of shining, tempting
windows, and says, "I can't just ignore it all though. Sometimes...
sometimes I can't remember if I like doing something from before or if it
is one of the things that It liked me doing. Or if I would have liked
them if I had had a chance to try them out alone."

Goldie pages: If it is getting late for you then we can finish things.
Otherwise, there is always a chance to help Goldie face some of the other
windows...

You paged Goldie with 'It's 00:45 and I have work tomorrow. <:)'.

Zach moves to lay a hand on her shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze. Then
he lets go. "Things will never be like before. You cannot go back. And
that means also that you cannot do a damn thing to undo the bad things
you've done. Tormenting yourself into oblivion is /not/ the way to atone.
I speak from personal experience here. You have to take back control of
your dreams. Deal with the nightmares and put them to rest. They are
memories. You learn your lesson, you atone and then you /move on/. You're
a smart, bloody-minded kid Goldie. You can go places and make a
difference - make an impact. But only if you face down your nightmares
and banish them to Memory Lane." He smiles to her. "I''ve promised to
help, and I stand by that. But you are the key and the lock. All I can do
is play the guide. I'll see you around, kiddo. Take care..."

Zach steps back and waits for the mists of images and dreams to claim him
and let him pass back to his Vessel.

As Zach fades from Goldies dreasm, he might catch sight of her taking on
a stubbornly determined look as she began to walk over towards one of the
other remaining 'windows'...

<OOC> Goldie smiles, "Well, that was interesting. Sorry about arriving
late though..."

<OOC> Zach says, "No probs. It was worth the wait. Nice, icky
dreamscape!"

<OOC> Goldie says, "Thank you. I basically had this idea of Goldie being
literally 'out in the cold' and the warmt and temptation beckoning her
towards things that she really didn't want."

<OOC> Goldie says, "Now, you go off and sleep well..."

<OOC> Zach grins. It's nice in a gloomy, dark way. I look forward to play
some more in there. Help Goldie kick dreamy ass (preferably not mine:).
Now get out on the grid and annoy some people! You knwo they deserve it!
;P

<OOC> Goldie smirks, "Will do, and I will get them to blame you if I need
an excuse."

<OOC> Goldie waves and heads away for now.