While an armored poodle and a humanoid dragon look on, the wide double doors before them creak open, revealing a dark, enclosed space. Abruptly, something else emerges from within. It's…

… a fox! Specifically, an ornately dressed fox covered in frills and lace, wearing an enormous feathered hat and strumming a lute. He beams a smile at Envoy and Elise. "Hello, my friends! It's been so long! Would you like to hear my latest song?"

The Dragon sighs, but says, "Of course, sing away. This is the Land of the Insane, after all."

"Oh of course, I would not dream of stopping you," answers Elise as she gestures for the bard to play.

The minstrel looks thrilled at the prospect of such an appreciative audience. He strums a few more bars, clears his throat, then begins.

The little red fox capers, strumming his lute cheerily through a brief musical interlude, then continues.

The fox completes his song with a musical flourish from his lute, and then sweeps his hat off. "Thank you! Thank you! You've been a wonderful audience!" Bowing low as he speaks, he backs off, still bowed, through the doors, then turns with a flick of his red tail and disappears into the darkness within.

Envoy frowns. "That does not bode well. This sounds like a realm of silly games."

The poodles considers the song for a moment. As she goes to open her mouth to pose a question, she finds him gone. Her brow creases in annoyance at this before she decides moving on would be best. "And, of mercenaries, murderers, and thieves. It seems to be one excessive test of one's mind and morality, as opposed to Inala who tempted us with our desires."

Just inside the double doors, flickering torch-light reveals two corridors, side by side. One slants downwards, the other, upwards.

"Morality," the Dragon says, "is not my bailiwick." With that, she gestures towards the choices. "Up, or down?"

"Then allow me to handle that." The two corridors are glanced at, each in turn before the noble points towards the center. "Perhaps neither?" She begins walking for the wall between them. "Both look difficult. Perhaps between them is another straight path. If not, I suggest up."

Envoy ponders. "Up may lead us down, according to the Fox."

As Elise approaches the wall between the two corridors, it looks solid enough.

Elise continues towards the wall and reaches out to touch it. "Then down."

The wall feels solid, too.

The Dragon follows along behind the Poodle.

After the wall is touched, the officer turns on her heel and begins making her way towards the downward slope. "Down we go then. Come along, do not dally."

As Elise sets foot briskly onto the downward slope, she nearly stumbles as her foot encounters the surface of the floor long before she expected it to – like trying to take a step down only to discover the stairs lead up. When she looks at her footing, however, her leading leg seems decidedly lower than the one behind – just as she would expect from the direction of the slope.

"Problem?" Envoy asks from behind.

"Be careful. The slope is an illusion. You are correct in determining that it does in fact go up; however, do not trust your eyes," answers Elise as she steadies herself from falling. She takes a moment to shake off the strangeness of it all before she closes her eyes and begins going "up".

Envoy takes a few moments to get used to the oddity, but follows along with her eyes open anyway.

With her eyes closed, and feeling her way more cautiously along the floor, Elise finds it easy to move forwards. As the dragon watches her walk, however, there seems something jarringly wrong with the image of the poodle, who is clearly walking down a slope, but using motions of her body and legs that just do not match with the angle of her progress. It makes her head hurt.

Finding her progress unhindered now, Elise continues to make her way along the slope until something odd occurs, or her attention is called for.

"I am not suited for this environment," the Dragon finally admits, and pulls out one of her mirrors at random, figuring any other Aspect will fare better, and gazes at her reflection.

"Well pick one of you who is, and try not to drive me insane yourself with all your bizarre shape-changing," says Elise back to Envoy as she makes her way forward.

The Dragon transforms, melting into a giant figure with a the black body of a hippogryph, a unicorn's head with flames licking where its mane should be, and large Eeee wings whose tips are forced down by the narrowness of the corridor. The being's head is also forced to stoop on a serpentine neck at it stands in the passageway. The body ripples occasionally, oddly, as if different features of it were occasionally manifesting elsewhere.

The Aspect called "Black Father" continues to follow Elise quietly, apparently not troubled by the reversed nature of the direction of travel.

Meanwhile, Elise continues to make her way slowly upwards, and of course with her eyes closed, she doesn't even see the transformation behind her.

After an unknown length of time, during which Black Father finds the cramped confines of the corridor increasingly unpleasant, Elise's hand encounters a solid surface before her. Behind her, Envoy can see the shape of a reversed door in the wall: the molded arch of the "top" of the doorway just reaches the floor, while the "base" of the door is flush with the ceiling. The door knob is mounted on the same side as the hinges, and is set about four feet up from the floor – or about waist-height from the ceiling.

"You'd better open your eyes," Envoy rumbles hollowly. "We have reached a door."

"The slope has ended. We have arrived … " The poodle pauses in her words and turns around. Her eyes widen and she backs against the wall. "Oh … Oh my!" She reaches for her sword.

"It is I, Envoy," the dark figure says, although its voice is a bit of a monotone. "I am the Black Father, the Aspect created by Morpheus to bind the others together."

"Oh," is all the poodle can manage to say. She draws her sword anyway and steps over carefully towards the Black Father so that she might reach out and touch him.

Envoy steps back out of reach. "Do not be so forward. Attend to the door, Elise. My Aspect is not like the others."

The sword is lifted and readied. "I will not," says Elise, a hint of defiance in her voice. "Were you Envoy, you would know full well what the fox told us. How am I to know that you are truly real? I cannot, and your avoiding my test is disturbing."

"I am not real," the Aspect explains. "I represent Envoy's Super-Ego, the arbiter of her morality and sense of purpose. I tame the Probe's nature to allow Envoy the concentration she needs to perform magic. I temper the Immortal Dragon's cold rationality with the Child's compassion, and I protect the Child from that which would harm her."

Elise doesn't lower her sword, but she does at least back up and move for the door. "Very well. Since I am inclined neither to hurt Envoy or join the murderers here, I shall believe you. For now," she tells the Aspect.

"This hall is confining," the dark Aspect says. "If you will not open the door, then allow me to."

"Confining for someone who is not real?" asks Elise as she moves closer to the door. She reaches to feel for the knob while never moving her eyes from the Dark Father, turning the knob when she finds it.

The knob turns easily in Elise's hand, and starts to drift open as soon as it unlatches … Never mind that the hinges are on the wrong side. What it's turning on isn't really clear.

Now that the door opens, the poodle turns to climb her way up and pass through the doorway, sparing the door itself an confused look as she does so.

Envoy flows through the open doorway behind Elise.

As Elise and Envoy step through the doorway, they find themselves tumbling to the landing, which, like the doorway, was set as if the roof was actually the floor … which, now, it apparently is.

The landing the pair falls upon is perhaps halfway "up" from what presently appears to be the floor.

Envoy rights herself (himself?) and picks out the exits. "Do you have any preferences?"

Dozens, if not hundreds, of exits appear to lead out from this massive area, although exactly how one might get to any of them on foot is not entirely clear.

On an archway crossing about twenty feet over their heads, a small non-morphic cat walks along nonchalantly. After a moment, it sits and starts washing one of its paws, then pauses to look "up" (relative to its orientation) at the travelers crossing below it.

A resounding clang can be heard as Elise's sword hits the ground due to tumbling. The poodle woman sits up and rubs her head with her free hand. "Anchor Over Star," she says as she spies the new room, "how strange … And no, feel free to choose. I will follow you."

As they watch the bizarre landscape of this chamber, they catch glimpses of other figures, almost all Eeee, moving through the area. A few move with a purposeful air along the steps; some take frequent breaks, pausing to look around them like sleepwalkers. Most skulk forward secretively, avoiding attention as they creep towards their various different goals.

The dark Aspect turns towards the first upward (from its perspective) reaching stairway. "I suggest continuing upwards, then. Locally, at least."

"What of all these persons? Or that cat there? Perhaps we should follow that cat, as it seems unique amongst the many Eeee here," suggests Elise as she stands up and begins following along. "Oh, and when you have time, I wish to hear of this Morpheus."

Envoy pauses to look 'up' towards the cat, and even tries to reach out towards that platform. "Morpheus is the god of dreams. It is he I seek to free by challenging the Seven Sisters."

As they climb the staircase beside the landing which leads "up" (relative to present orientation), this time their senses of sight and touch agree on where the steps should be. It leads them about ten feet below the archway the cat travels on, and when Envoy reaches out to it, the feline makes a little "mew" sound and walks unhurriedly towards the outstretched hand.

"Then that is our objective here? To free a god?" The poodle stops now as the 'Black Father' reaches for the cat, and leans on her sword. "I am not terribly fond of the idea of freeing trapped gods, or that you have become somehow entangled with one. Tell me, have you any idea why Morpheus has summoned me? I certainly have no connection to him."

Still keeping the hand outstretched, Envoy continues, "There are those among the mortals that have an ability to interact more fully with the dream realm. You are one of those people. You may have received a talisman of Sifran crystal in the waking world, which enhances this ability."

"The ex-Duchess's crystal gift … Yes, I have indeed. I wear it as a symbol of luck, for it helped save my life when I sought to undo a haunting." The Gallee considers Eve and how she may be related to this, but frowns when she finds the whole scenario far too confusing. "So, you say that I am here simply because I have this ability, perhaps drawn here in hopes I will assist without much more reasoning than that?"

The small cat languidly makes its way along the archway towards the Aspect's fingers. Eventually, it reaches a point where it can stretch out its neck to sniff at the finger tips, which it does, then reaches out with its left forepaw to bat at one digit tentatively, claws partly extended.

Envoy wiggles the fingers to keep the cat's attention, and asks Elise, "Can you see a path that will let you cross over to the stairs the cat is on? If not, how high can you jump?"

"Of course," the Black Father goes on, "you should also consider the possibility that this kitten is a horrible monster in disguise."

batbatbat The cat looks pleased by its new toy, and rolls onto its back to get hind feet engaged in the act of molesting the Black Father's hand.

"Do answer my questions," says Elise, eyes narrowing ever so slightly. "I dislike attempts to distract me. However, I will attempt to see if I can get over to that side while you formulate an answer." The sword is lifted and placed on a shoulder before Elise begins searching for a way over.

Envoy says, "You would likely end up here regardless, for this realm was created to trap those that walk the dream paths. You may take your chances, or attempt to set things right, as you choose."

The task of searching out the pathways of these staircases is an eye-straining one. The steps the pair currently rest on lead to the far wall, then bend at a ninety degree angle to move at a slant along that wall, eventually reaching another ninety degree bend, which brings it to a third wall and heading the opposite direction from the way they currently move. It would still be going "up" and but its "up" is opposite Elise's present "up". The poodle's own head starts to hurt.

Elise nods as she continues searching. "Thank you, and yes, I will attempt to 'set things right', as you put it. I for one am tired of being toyed with as if I were a puppet on strings." She rolls her eyes as the act of searching for a way around becomes painful. "Would you be so kind as to simply lift me, and see if my proximity to the above stairs allows me to become aligned with that plane?"

The feline nibbles at the tip of Envoy's index finger playfully, then yawns hugely and rolls to its feet once more, shaking itself off before it starts washing one of its hindlegs.

Envoy looks at Elise with eyes that seem to change size and shape. "Should I lift you right-side up, or upside-down?"

"Lift me as I am now. I will brace myself and prepare should I suddenly find that I am being dropped on my head. And do be careful," answers Elise as she walks over to stand beside the Black Father.

The hybrid creature grips the poodle around the waist, and lifts.

As Elise approaches the archway while being lifted, she places her hands out to either side of the wide archway, just barely able to reach both sides. With her hands braced around the stone lip at either side of the arching path, she can both lift herself closer to the surface, or push herself away from it. She pulls herself closer in cooperation with Envoy's lifting, while the cat watches incuriously for a moment before returning to its grooming.

"Are you feeling any change in gravity?" asks the figure holding up Elise.

"None, however maybe one must be more properly aligned with the floor. See if you cannot get me upon the inside of the archway that I hold now, and I will try to place a foot upon the floor," replies Elise.

Envoy shifts her grip and tries to lift Elise closer, so that her feet can be used.

The Black Father's muscles strain with the effort of curling the poodle's body about and holding her in place near the pathway. As Elise's feet near the path, however, something abruptly seems to shift, and gravity snaps on, causing the canid's booted feet to thunk onto the stone. The cat starts at the sudden movement, jumping to one side and arching its spine.

Elise now stands on the arched pathway, bent over so that her hands are holding the lip of the path while her feet rest a little ways back.

Envoy releases Elise, and watches to see how the cat reacts. "Does the room look any different to you from that path?"

"I do believe I have something here," mentions Elise as she lets go and stands 'up', straightening herself out as she does so. She notes the cat and steps away from it as she turns to inspect the room. "Allow me to check."

From the poodle's newfound perspective, the Black Father appears to be standing facing the wrong way on a staircase that descends, upside down, from the direction of the ceiling. The room is every bit as confusing now as it was before, albeit from a different direction.

With a shake of her head, Elise shows that no, it isn't any different. "It looks quite the same, except now I have new areas to walk to. Perhaps you should attempt to simply fly up here and we will search for an exit."

The Black Father spreads its bat-wings and makes a leap for the archway.

Although the aspect was jumping in a direction which had been up, as soon as feet leave the staircase, gravity pulls straight downwards, making the maneuver seem like a dive headlong for the floor. It's all Envoy can do to catch the archway on the way towards it, and the hybrid body tumbles in a crash along the pathway, almost knocking into Elise.

Envoy clings to the arch until she regains her balance. "Awkward," is her only comment.

Having such a large body crash into the ground near her, Elise hops back away in surprise. "Ohh, you really should be more careful with yourself," she says, smiling slightly. A hand is lifted and gestured towards the cat. "What shall we do with that?"

The pathway they stand on leads, the way the poodle currently faces, towards an arched doorway. The opposite direction leads towards another wall, where a staircase climbs upwards. The cat on the path twitches its whiskers and walks over to Envoy's prone form, patting at one leg with a paw, curiously. It mews.

"You are the canine," the Aspect comments, getting to its feet. "Perhaps if you chase it, it will lead us to a tree."

"Mew?"

Losing interest in the Black Father, the feline pads over to Elise's feet instead. It pats at one of her boots inquisitively, then circles around her legs, rubbing up against one calf.

"There is no need to invoke ancient stereotypes," says Elise indignantly. She shrugs, and sighs shortly after. "Very well. It is better than simply standing here," she lowers her gaze to eye the cat, "although I do believe it will need some more motivation than my species." She lifts her sword and swings the tip towards the floor, producing a loud clank.

A mrop? sound emerges from the feline and it leaps backwards at the clank of the sword on stone. Then it crouches low against the archway, and makes a pounce for the sword tip! batbatbat

"Perhaps barking would help," Envoy suggests quietly, her monotone voice making it unclear if she is serious or poking fun.

batbatbat

"I do not 'bark'. I am a noble of Rephidim; it is beneath me," says Elise as she lifts her sword away from the cat. She places her sword on her shoulder and studies the feline in front of her. Her ear flicks and she lifts a foot to stomp it. "Begone, you strange Khattan facsimile!"

The cat looks disappointed at the disappearance of its latest plaything, and flattens its ears back as Elise stomps her foot down. It jumps away from beneath the descending foot, then turns about and pounces on the boot. Its fangs and claws scrabble harmlessly for purchase on the smooth chitin.

The cat is removed from the boot by a swift shaking of Elise's leg. "I am not particularly good with animals. Perhaps you should try," she says.

Envoy leans over Elise's shoulder and helpfully says, "Boo!"

Looking disgruntled at the boot's lack of vulnerable spots, the feline shimmers its fur with an "I meant to do that" look after Elise shakes it off. It walks a half dozen feet towards the staircase at the far side of the pathway, flashes the pair an annoyed look, then sits down to groom its tail.

"Follow it," Envoy says to the poodle, having no way to get around her on the narrow archway.

Having no argument against following, Elise moves along after the cat. "Perhaps I will bark. We cannot possibly appear any more harmless, or silly for that matter," she mentions.

"You should not underestimate your abilities," the Black Father advises as it follows along. "Especially in this realm."

With a flick of its freshly-washed tail into the air, the cat stands before pacing insouciantly to the staircase leading "up" from the arched path. It slinks about halfway up the first flight of steps, then stops again, plopping down to wash the fur of one shoulder.

"It is my pride and dignity I am more concerned with," notes Elise as she walks along. When she nears the cat again, she clears her throat and gives it a single loud bark.

"Cats enjoy stealing the pride and dignity of others," Envoy says, keeping close behind the poodle. "Perhaps that is it why it likes you?"

Elise tightens her grip on her sword. "Oh hush."

If anything, the feline looks insulted. Ears flattened against its head, it seems to roll its eyes before getting to its feet and wandering desultorily upwards again. There's a ninety degree bend up ahead, causing the stairs to turn perpendicular to themselves, and the cat takes a little hop between the differently-oriented steps, then proceeds on its way to the next landing, where it waits to see if it's still being "pursued."

Without much in the way of hesitation, Elise continues after the cat. "I hope your Morpheus appreciates what I am doing here for him," she says as she follows along. When she nears the cat again she gives another bark.

"Mrewp!" The cat leaps to its feet and dashes through the darkened archway of this landing.

"Careful going through the archway," Envoy advises, still following behind Elise.

Her sword is taken off her shoulder, and Elise gives a nod she understands. Undaunted, she continues to follow the cat to the archway.

This passageway looks larger and more well-appointed than the last one. A plush red carpet covers the left wall, while the right wall has a stippled texture to it. The floor and ceiling both are painted in warm beige tones, with a narrow border of dark brown running along the right side on both floor and ceiling.

Envoy tilts her head sideways to the right, to see the hall correctly.

That does make the passageway seem a bit more … normal.

"It would appear that another gravity change may be forthcoming." Hesitantly, Elise lifts her leg to place her foot on the red carpeted wall in an attempt to see if the gravity changes any.

The tug on the foot against the carpeted wall feels disorienting, since even though it rests at right angles to Elise's other foot – still outside the corridor – the pull on both limbs seems to indicate they are both on the "floor". The sensation in the rest of her body is unpleasant.

The cat they were following earlier is nowhere to be seen.

Elise frowns at this feeling, ears twitching nervously. "This is a highly disagreeable sensation, as if I am being pulled by two gravity sources. I am proceeding inside before I am made sick by it," she tells the Aspect behind her. A deep breath is taken and the poodle steps in preparing to brace herself for the gravity shift.

The shadowy Aspect waits until Elise is clear, then leaps through the archway while trying to twist her body to the right.

The poodle and Envoy accomplish this shift fairly easily, compared to the previous ones, and are soon standing in the corridor. A warm glow can be seen coming from around the first bend.

The Gallee exhales and nods her head a little. "Certainly much better," she says. Her head is then lifted to inspect the stippling on the ceiling she noticed to see if it forms any patterns or such.

It looks random, just small dots of some substance covering the ceiling.

"What do you make of these dots?" asks Elise as she leans closer to examine them.

The substance might be plaster.

"They look like random dots of plaster used to stipple ceilings with," Envoy says after a brief examination. "Let us see where this hall leads to."

"Interesting, it is an method of architecture I have not often seen," says Elise. She nods her head a little and begins walking down the corridor.

When they turn the corner, they can observe that the glow emanates softly from panels in the ceiling, never appearing to flicker, the way fire or candle light would. The effect reminds them of the occasional florescent lighting in the Temple, except that it is more consistent and far less harsh.

Envoy looks at the poodle oddly. "Of all the odd architecture you have encountered in this realm, it is random specks of plaster that confound you?"

"It simply is not done in the buildings I have seen. Nor is," she gestures up towards the lights, "that. I expect strangeness to abound in this land. I also expect Babelite architecture, but I do not expect such things as these lights and the speckles. It is not common."

"The light fixtures are common to the Temple, but nothing else I have seen," adds Elise.

The corridor makes seemingly random turns, first right and then left, as the two walk forward through it. After a several turnings, Envoy hears a sound behind them.

"Perhaps that is the point," Envoy says as she paces the Gallee. "To provide you with a potentially dangerous distraction?"

"This is all very odd. So much order and complexity, in such a chaotic world," notes Elise as she follows the corridor, oblivious to any noise.

"Such is the nature of madness," Envoy offers, looking back over her shoulder to see if she can spot the source of the sound she hears.

Nothing appears to be behind them but more blank corridor, and the conversation covered any additional audible oddities.

"I am certain you are more familiar with its workings than I. Having so many shapes must bend one's mind," says Elise as she continues along inspecting things as she goes.

Envoy pauses, and examines the way before them. "I heard a sound behind us, so there may be something coming towards us from the front."

The sound behind them grows louder, now audible to both. It resembles the noise of chitin clicking against plaster.

"Someone walking … on the ceiling?" Envoy guesses, looking to Elise for her impression.

Elise raises her eyes towards the ceiling in front of her and readies her weapon. "I shall look forward. It would be best you watch behind us; that way we cannot miss anything," she suggests.

The clicking sounds become very distinct, and there are many of them, each snapping and clattering against plaster.

Envoy stands back-to-back with Elise, and watches the corridor. "They sound like insects."

As the clattering grows even louder and nothing materializes, it becomes clear that these would be very large insects, if that's what it is.

"Until we see something," Envoy says, "I suggest we continue on down the hallway. We may come upon some shelter or escape."

The click of Elise's nails on her sword hilt betrays her apprehension. "Being this is Babelite culture, and knowing what I do about law, I would suggest they may be horribs. However, they may just as well be any number of bugs found in Ashdod. I agree with your suggestion. Let us move quickly onward."

Even as they resolve to advance, from the turn ahead, Elise sees a beast emerge, walking on the ceiling. It has a chitin-covered body, the front part of which rears back so that its head almost reaches the floor. The quasi-insect head features two pairs of wicked-looking mandibles, and the six pairs of legs running the length of the body which do not contact the ground all terminate in sharp claws. More legs appear from around the corner as the creature advances towards the poodle. It makes no sound at all, but the clattering behind her almost demands her attention, so loud has it become.

"We must decide where it is. I suggest it is behind us, and we should dash through what must be an illusion," says Elise even as she raises her sword in preparation to strike.

"After you," the Black Father says, turning to look at the creature rushing towards them.

While they speak, the whole of the creature continues to come into view. So far at least fifteen feet of it has become visible, and more of it is still around the corner.

Once Envoy agrees with her suggestion the poodle dashes forwards as she said, right towards the creature. "First Ones protect us!" she yells, as she swings her sword at the bug-like image.

Envoy hmms. "Battle lust is a form of madness, too… ," the Black Father comments quietly, and awaits the outcome of Elise's charge.

The poodle's charge has a bizarre effect on the monster: although it's still moving its limbs as if it were advancing upon her, it's actually moving farther away as she runs towards it. When she turns the corridor in her headlong flight, the monster awaits her at the far end, still moving as if towards her.

Envoy hurries to follow, lest she lose sight of Elise.

"I was simply being careful! One does not charge monsters, illusions or no, with cautionless faith. It is simply suicidal," calls Elise back behind her. She continues to make her way towards the image before her least it catch up with her from behind.

"You may have been correct," the Aspect calls to the Poodle. "If the sound behind us were the actual creature, then running from that would increase the distance between us, which the image is displaying."

Elise makes her way toward the retreating image and flicks an ear. "I would rather we not allow it a chance to regain the ground it has lost. Let us move along, and leave it here as a memory," she says.

As they slow their rush towards the image of the monster, the image continues to grow more distant for a few moments, then it lowers a set of limbs to the ground and begins to move its legs more quickly still. clickclickclickclick The gap between the monsters and the travelers shrinks, though not nearly as quickly as their apparent relative velocities would suggest.

"We must reach the end of this hall, or a doorway," Envoy urges, and picks up her pace.

"Faster now. It seems to realize we have caught onto the game. Run!" calls Elise. She swings her sword back a bit so as to streamline her self and keep the blade from brushing against the walls, before she breaks into a run.

The renewed rush of speed makes the gap close less quickly, but the monster is still narrowing it. As they turn another of the seemingly endless windings of this passageway, it's only a dozen feet in front of them.

"Do you suppose that thing could turn around if it passed us?" Envoy asks as the pair hurries down the corridor.

Figuring now is not the time for dignity or reserving one's energy, Elise presses herself into a sprint. "Likely not, but that would require we pass the head of it. I have no great desire to do that!"

Envoy, unburdened by armor, runs a trifle faster than the canid, pulling a little ahead of her. Their most determined efforts to outrun it seem doomed to futility, as while they talk it gains another three feet on them.

"Keep going until it is close. If we have no other option, we must either face it or leap over it!" yells Elise as she pushes herself, chitin plates clanking and mixing with the monster's own sounds.

"This is not working," the Exile says. "We need a different strategy."

Elise brows narrow. "Shall we turn now, and face it? Assuming it can actually be seen at all?" she asks, still dashing onwards.

Another two feet gained, and the monster rears forward, preparing to make a lunge, apparently for the Black Father, as that's the leading individual.

"With so many legs," Envoy says, "It may not be able to stop quickly enough. We can dive to the floor and see if it goes past us."

"Down then!" yells Elise as she spins around to duck, facing the sound. She keeps her sword held out and upward at an angle, so that should it leap into her, it will leap into her sword as well.

Envoy flattens herself to the carpet – relatively speaking, considering her bulk.

Elise feels a swoosh of air pass over her as she turns and drops, and there's a screeching sound as claws dig furrows into the plaster of the ceiling. She feels her sword scrape against something, then sees the image of the monster run past overhead.

Feeling something solid connect with her blade, the officer pulls herself up and thrusts the sword skyward in hopes of impaling the monster that might still have a section above her.

The blade swings wide of the image of the monster which is still rushing past above her, and impacts with nothing further. The full bulk of the creature – a good thirty feet – screeches past, and then the poodle can see the end of the entity … which features another head. Eyes glowing, it sweeps down for a strike at her.

"It has two heads!" cries Elise in alarm as she lifts her sword to deflect the head. "We need another plan!"

"Can you impale it to the ceiling?" Envoy asks.

The monster's head passes harmlessly through the sword raised to deflect the blow … and Elise feels a screaming pain as mandibles latch into her from behind, one almost cracking the carapace of her own armor, the other piercing through her side, where the armor joint lays.

Envoy grabs for Elise's legs, to make sure she doesn't get dragged off!

A scream comes from the poodle as the mandible digs into her side. She staggers forward from the impact and cannot do much more than looked stunned for a few seconds before she is able to focus and move to try and pry the creature off with her sword.

The Black Father latches onto Elise's feet. This seems to leave the dazed canid nicely pinned for the monster's next strike, which the image – still floating before them – seems prepared to launch into.

Envoy tries to pull Elise back down and towards the image of the monster … which is the opposite direction the creature should actually be.

Rather than stand there and be hit again, Elise takes her chances with dropping forward to the ground. That is, towards the image. However the pull causes her to fall back in Envoy's direction instead.

The insect-thing's strike swooshes by harmlessly overhead. Once again, the passage of air over the two moves in from the opposite direction as the strike appears to come from by sight.

"Are you able to move still, Elise?" Envoy asks.

The image of the monster slowly draws its head back from where it was above the Aspect and the poodle, who both lie prone on the red carpet now, their bodies more or less lengthwise along the corridor, their heads towards the image, while the clattering noise of the creature – and the disturbance in the air when it moves – suggests that it's behind them. The image begins clattering sideways along the ceiling, curving its body to start descending the wall, while it readies its head for another strike.

Envoy lets go of Elise, and kicks out with a heavy-hoofed foot upwards and away from her own head, trying to connect with the creature's invisible head.

"I will live," replies the poodle as she strains to hoist herself to her feet quickly. She spins once she is up and readies her blade, although the foot causes her to not swing. "Look at the image! Tell me when to swing!"

The hybrid's awkward position on the floor makes the maneuver difficult to pull off accurately, but she does cause the image to skitter its torso sideways, withdrawing its own strike while it evades her blow.

Envoy watches the image of the head even as she tries to guess its actual location. "Hold on, it's moving sideways … swing horizontally above my hoof."

With the location given, Elise takes a step forward and swings her blade in a horizontal slice from the floor to the ceiling.

The sword connects two-thirds of the way through the motions with a solid thunk, and Envoy watches a wound blossom on the side of the monster's neck, ichor leaking down it. Bubbling-squeaky sounds emerge from where the sword has penetrated.

Envoy turns onto her back and tries another kick at the creature's head, now that she has a better idea where it is.

The monster's body had been undulating closer while the fight goes on, and the Father aspect sees the original head come around the corner just before rolling over to kick the wounded one. The hoof connects this time against an invisible target, with a satisfying crunch of chitin, and they both hear a thud, as of something falling heavily to the floor.

Envoy watches the image again to see if the creature will try to attack again.

Since she is still looking at the empty space before her, and not the image behind her, Elise can only ready her weapon and steel herself against a attack that may come at any moment. "Do you see anything?" she asks.

With an enraged roar of pain, the original head launches forward, all six of its foremost legs primed, spear-like, in an attack aimed somewhere just past Envoy.

Envoy calls, "It's rushing to attack with its first head now – get ready to strike!"

Her sword is lifted to where it can be brought forward quickly. "Just say when!" she says.

By the time Envoy finishes that comment, the image has already rushed past her view area.

"Now!"

The metal blade is brought forward in a heavy arc that makes the air whistle with its passing.

The blade arcs down too late, as something large crashes into Elise while her arms are still bringing the swing fully to bear. Surprisingly, nothing pierces her, though she can smell fetid breath and feel mandibles click together harmlessly above her head. The force of the impact knocks her backwards to the ground.

The Black Father stands up, and tries to grab the segmented body that should be above her, if she hasn't become too disoriented.

With a clatter the poodle crashes to the ground and slides a few inches. Her sword, knocked wide by the impact, manages to scrape against the wall before nearly bouncing from her grasp when she collapses. The fallen poodle groans loudly from the impact as her already damaged body throbs with pain.

Envoy could, a few moments ago, see the image of the segmented body next to her. The poodle was knocked back through the image of it, which caused the image to do another strange "jump" backwards, away from the flying body. The image of the creature's head is now a few feet behind the poodle, and recovering itself for another strike.

Envoy realizes her miscalculation as she now sees the creature before her, preparing for a strike, which means the actual creature is behind her. She spins around to find Elise collapsed and hurt, and kicks at the air beyond the poodle's feet, as high up as she can reach.

The hoof knocks into something solid in the air, and the insect's strike goes wild. There's faint twitchy sounds on the carpet before Elise, as of something moving there.

Envoy grunts and has to look over her shoulder to see the effect of the kick.

The glance over her shoulder reveals that the creature seems only a little dazed. It rears back on its hind legs and gathers itself for another lunging strike towards the pair.

Seeing Envoy's foot connect with something near her own feet, Elise scoots forward to deliver a strong upwards kick from the floor with her armored boot.

The insect was a bit faster than Elise this time, having already drawn away from the Father's blow when the poodle tries for a kick, thus causing her blow to miss.

The Aspect takes advantage of the pause to rummage through her pouch in search of the Freeze Wand.

Having her foot strike nothing, Elise prepares for the counterattack she expects by backing with one hand, while the other hand holds her sword out defensively front of her.

While the Black Father frantically searches through his pouch for the freeze wand, the insect launches itself at Elise. Pain-maddened by the death of its other head, its unseen body sinks onto the blade of Elise's sword unflinchingly, while its six legs spear on top of the half-prone poodle. Three invisible legs skitter off the armor, but one sinks into her hip, another her shoulder, a third her waist. Its mandibles close about her neck with an unpleasant crunch, even while its eyes glaze over from the sword, thrust to the hilt, through its body.

Unable to find the Wand, Envoy pulls out the mirror with the single golden hair tied around the handle, and stares into it.

The insect's limbs thrash about randomly, as it collapses onto the poodle, forcing her body into a supine position on the floor, while Black Father's form gives way to the Dragon's.

The Dragon takes a quick look behind her to see the position of the bug, and then kneels down to feel around Elise's neck for the mandibles.

A gurgle escapes the throat of the poodle as her body hits the floor. The hand that once grasped the sword falls nervelessly to the ground beside her with a quiet thump. Her eyes gaze off at the ceiling, her face still holding the look of shock she must have had when the mandibles closed around her neck.

The image of the bug remains; as while it lived, the position of its while it perishes remains inverted from where the actual body must be.

Working by touch, Envoy attempts to pry the carcass of the monster off of Elise's body.

With some effort, the dragon manages to free the canid's body from the insect's. Blood flows even more freely from the puncture wounds the monster left, and as she lifts the creature's mandibles away from the poodle's neck, Elise's head flops to one side at an unnatural angle, while blood drips from between the cracks of the gorget.

Envoy places her head close to the poodle's nose to listen for breathing.

Drops of red liquid burble out of Elise's throat with each faint, labored breath.

As the bug is fully removed from off her battered and broken body, Elise's eyes begin to focus. She stares at the hood of the dragon for a moment before Envoy's head comes into view. "M-my father died, fi-fighting the Eeee," whispers the poodle before she coughs raggedly.

"Wake up, Elise," the Dragon says. "You are having a nightmare."

"Nightmare?" asks the poodle as her eyes lose focus and search blindly around the room. " … Dark, I … Mystic … f-find him."

"You can search later," Envoy says, still in a calm voice. "It's time to wake up now."

The Gallee attempts to lift her hand, but she is too weak and the effort is futile. "Tired … ," she whines softly, eyes ceasing to search the room to gaze lifelessly into the distance once again. Quietly her hand ceases to strain and her breathing becomes erratic for a moment before it stops completely.

Envoy retrieves Elise's sword from the invisible corpse of the monster, and lays it across her breastplate, folding the poodle's fingers around the hilt. "Forgive me for not changing sooner, Elise. I could have burned the bug for you. I hope you wake up in the morning and remember none of this."