[h3] The dream, [color=gray]Ka'van[/color] and [b]Alice[/b] [/h3]

[hr]

It seemed the others could handle themselves. The gym calmed down as Jane, Ricardo paired off, Joseiah and Yatzi. The others slowly trickled out into their own business. Pleased at the relative, [i]relative,[/i] mind you, calm, Alice Jefferson decided to go to the smaller, secondary gym to get some alone time and work out in peace.


After Silas's visitation, Ka'van felt the need to get out of his room for a little while. He decided to take a trip to the hot tub to try and relax a little. The hot, bubbling water always managed to take some edge off of his mind. On the way there, he noticed that Ricardo and the some of the team were still in the gym. He hurried by the window, desperately not wanting to be spotted by the man.

Ka'van spent about half an hour in the pool area before he began to feel tired again. He figured it was due to his restless nap. Surely the demon couldn't be controlling him [i]that[/i] much, right? He dried off and hung his towel over his shoulders to head back to his apartment. He passed the gym window again, and saw that Alice was just getting set up for her nightly routine. He walked by unnoticed, and silently retreated to his quarters.

The grey skinned alien took a quick shower to rinse off the chlorine, then put his pajama pants back on. He collapsed into his bed, hoping that Silas's pep talk would help his dream situation. He turned his heat blanket on, and soon dozed off to the sound of waves.

An hour or so later, the sun was setting and Alice was alone in the gym. She had come back after everyone was gone to get some time to think and workout. As entertaining and loveable as Ricardo was, and as funny as Joseiah was, sometimes she could use some time to sort of 'meditate' if that was the right word.

The gym was a large facility, with a black rubber tiles absorbing most of the light coming from the motion activated lights above. As such, when Alice walked in, only the lights around her activated. She stopped and stretched for a few minutes.

[b]"HIVEMIND, spot me,"[/b] She said in a clear, firm voice into the dimly lit room. A light on the bench press machine lit up green. There was a bench press machine hooked up to the HIVEMIND network for safety and performance. Alice lay down, the weight bar above her, wrapping her hands around it in the proper place.

[b]"HIVEMIND, begin."[/b] WIth a grunt, 55 pounds of weight began pressing down on Alice. She brought it down close to her chest, and releasing her breathe she pushed it away.

"One." A robotic voice said. Alice repeated the process.

"Two." It said again, monotone and informative.

"Three."

"Four." Alice saw something out of the corner of her eye- one of the lights to the far right side of the room had turned on. She thought almost nothing of it and continued.

"...Six."

"Seven."

Another light. Again, not much was thought, as the Tower was a secure place. She wanted to get her few reps done, wind down and go to bed.

"...Eleven."

She heard something clank, fall with a heavy thud and then roll across the floor.

"...Twelve."

[b]"HIVEMIND, pause."[/b] Alice said, slightly winded from her exercise. She set the bar back into its place with a clank and then pulled herself up into a sitting position on the bench. A dumbell had fallen from its place and had rolled to a stop at the foot of the bench. The lights flickered off, and once again the light above Alice was the only source in the room. She looked around, an eyebrow raised. There was no one in here. 

[i]He was standing in the dark; Ka'van couldn't tell where he was. Not until a light came on overhead. He jumped a little, startled by his own reflection in the floor to ceiling mirror right in front of him. There, the red eyed man stared back at him. Ka'van blinked; he was at the gym? The lights across the room came on, and he turned to see a figure approaching.

[color=gray]"Alice?"[/color]

The woman was silent as she approached. In her hand, a sword of hard light began to form. Ka'van backed away, eyes on the blade. [color=gray]"What are you doing?" [/color]

[b]"You're unfit to work for Horizon," [/b]The woman said, her voice monotone and flat. She lunged at him, brandishing the blade. Ka'van quickly conjured a shield to block and push her away. But the woman was relentless.

[color=gray]"Alice, please, I don't want to fight you,"[/color] He said, trying to keep his cool. But she wouldn't have it. Alice charged at him again, this time, encasing him in a dome of blinding light. He couldn't see his surroundings, and fumbled to find something to defend himself with. His hand fell onto a weight, which he lifted with his telekinesis and launched at her...[/i]

Alice startled at the sight of something black and round soaring across the gym. She tracked it with her eyes, and it smashed against the concrete with an unpleasantly loud clank. The light above it activated, revealing the cracked weight sitting in in the silence.

[b]”What..?”[/b] Alice questioned aloud to herself, standing up and glancing around.

[i][b]”You’re pathetic,”[/b]Alice said, deflecting the weight effortlessly aside with a Hard Light shield. The light briefly faded, allowing Ka’van to see that Alice was suited up in her Victory suit, which was reflecting light from around the room.The helm was faceless, but irradiated cold, steely hatred.  Victory strode forward, sword and shield in hand, slashing at Ka’van’s shield. The sword sliced through the air, leaving behind streaks of white. [/i]

[i][b]”You can’t hide. I’ll purge you from this world.[/b][/i]

[i][color=gray]"This isn't real,"[/color] Ka'van said, mostly to himself. He used his powers to push the woman back. He could get the upper hand; he knew he could. This was one on one, not like the last time he'd fought her. Ka'van would use her own tactic against her. He reached out his hands, using his power to create a dome of pitch blackness that would engulf them. While most of his enemies couldn't see in the dark, Ka'van had no problem. His eyes let off a soft, red glow in the darkness.

[color=gray]"You can't control me,"[/color] He said, speaking directly to the demon he knew to be directing this show. The beast, an inky black shadow in the background, had drawn closer in this dream. It was more clear this time, it's giant mouth of snarling fangs open. It's body sported a multitude of tentacles and four, spider like legs. It, too, had bright red eyes. However, as obvious as the beast may seem, Ka'van was unable to see in the dream. He could only see the emotionless, faceless killer before him.

The Victory summoned a javelin into its hands. It rocketed towards him like a lightning bolt, penetrating the darkness and shattering the shield of darkness, but scattering into the void with a flash. He lifted a rack of weights and sent it flying at the Victory. Several hit the mirror behind them, shattering it. [/i]

Alice picked up the cracked weight. Glancing suspiciously around, she idly walked in front of the gym’s large mirror to observe it from both sides at once. There was a dent in the concrete where it collided, and the whole thing cracked straight through into the center gap, Alice could see by looking into the mirror. That was when Alice noticed too late a large, looming object dart towards her reflection. Alice whipped around as a stray 30 pound weight collided with her forehead. 

[i][b]”You’re trapped. You can feel it, can’t you?[/b][/i] A cage of Hard Light formed around the both of them, slowly beginning to close in.

[i]Ka'van felt his confidence waver as the cage formed around them. He instinctively tried to phase through it, but couldn't. He took a deep breath, he had to keep his cool. He turned back to face the Victory, steeling his face.

[color=Gray]"What are you trying to do here? Scare me? I've lived with you my whole life."[/color] His words sounded brave, but there was a shaken undertone just below the surface. The demon could sense it. It fed on it. Before the evil Victory could make its next move, Ka'van grabbed a few shards of broken glass with his powers and sent them flying towards her, through the bars of the cage. [/i]

Alice woke up, confused, on the ground, one eye covered in blood pouring from her split forehead. There was a storm of broken glass, shards embedded themselves andd slice into her legs and midriff. Stunned, she summoned forth a small, flickering barrier of Hard Light just around her on the floor, not quite feeling the piercing agony through the haze of semi-consciousness. 

[i]The cage bars fused together, the glass clattering harmlessly off. [b]”I want you cleansed.”[/b] The Victory said bluntly, cruelly. The cage continued to constrict, the bars becoming serrated. The Victory watched emotionlessly. The light grew in intensity, the cage closing in. A long, thin spear appeared in the Victory’s hands once more. With careful precision, it lined up the killshot, sliding past the bars…[/i]

Ka’van awoke, once again covered in a cold sweat. He groaned softly, knowing he had once again fallen victim to his dreams. The grey skinned alien slowly slid out of bed; he wouldn’t be sleeping again tonight. 

Alice awoke once more, not realizing she had passed back out. The room had gone quiet. She groaned as she painfully struggled to a sitting position. There was blood in her eye, and her jumpsuit was dotted with small spots of crimson.

Hands shaking, Alice reached for her HIVEMIND comms device on her belt.

[b]”Requesting medical assistance in the gym…”[/b] She paused, looking around with a incredulous expression. In the silence of the gym, she barked a harsh, mono-syllable mockery of a laugh as she reflected upon her most recent experience. She activated her comm again.

[b]”Something, somewhere, has gone terribly, terribly wrong.”[/b]