Chapter Text
Aurora: “Wake up, young Dreamer.”
Idéa: “...”
Aurora: “This is your Dream World.”
Idéa: “...”
Aurora: “...?”
Idéa: “Zzz… Zzz…”
Aurora: “...”
Idéa: “Zzz…”
Aurora: (“Did she… fall asleep? Inside a dream? ”)
Idéa: “Zzz… Zzz…”
Aurora: (“Seems like she hasn’t slept well in days…”)
Idéa: “Zzz…”
Aurora: (“I’ll be nice and let her rest for now… At least, until—”)
|< Idéa, you’re back! And you… intruder. >|
Aurora: (“—I deal with that monstrosity.”)
In comparison to Aurora’s Dream World, yours is a much less developed one; the ground is covered in thick, black glass, there is a green carpet with yellow dots where the both of you are standing (or sleeping) on, and there’s a bed to the left and right of you guys. There are also random things scattered across your dreamscape, like a bicycle, or a potted plant, but they are more scarce than in Aurora’s Dream World. However, what she doesn’t have is this floating monstrosity in flower form circling above her head at all times.
|< How dare you ruin my plan? I had no idea such a being could interfere with me like that. >|
Aurora: “And I had no idea a being like yourself could be so ugly.”
|< … >|
Aurora: “...Heh—”
|< I’ve tolerated you long enough. >|
This black flower demon rushes towards Aurora at breakneck speed, almost as if it were a ravenous animal desperate for its next meal. However—
Aurora: “Delphie, Psychic!”
—it is held in place by Aurora’s unique-looking Delphox’s Psychic.
|< … >|
Aurora: “Sure, this may not be my Dream World, but I am the Queen of Dreams for a reason!”
|< Don’t get so full of yourself, self-proclaimed princess. >|
Aurora: “Excuse me? I am a queen, thank you very much. And besides—”
A small smirk creeps its way onto Aurora’s face.
Aurora: “—you seem like one of my subordinates right now. Powerless. Serving me. You know, the whole shebang.”
|< … >|
Aurora: “Anyways, before I take care of you, mind telling me who you are, exactly?”
|< … >|
Aurora: “...”
As Aurora is fixated on trying to get this creature-demon thing to spill the beans, its vines slowly make their way behind both her and her Delphox without them noticing, until—
|< Arrogant fools. >|
—the vines suddenly wrap around the both of them—
|< AHHH! >|
—who are suddenly cloaked in an inferno of flames thanks to Delphie’s Fire Blast and Psychic combo.
Aurora: “You know, you don’t have to call yourself out like that… We both know that you're an arrogant fool, after all.”
|< … >|
Aurora: “I’m not arrogant enough to act like this all the time, you know. But…”
|< … >|
Aurora: “In this realm, I am the one in control. So leave—”
???: “Enough complaining! You’ll play with your imaginary friend when we’re done!”
Aurora: “...”
Aurora’s Dad?: “At this rate, you’ll fail to take over my position within the company!”
Aurora grits her teeth.
Aurora’s Dad?: “Now, read! And if I ever catch you asleep in here again, I’ll take all of your toys away.”
Aurora: “...”
Aurora’s Dad?: “Don’t look at me like that. You may hate it now—”
Aurora: “Why the hell do you know this?”
Aurora’s Dad?: “Didn’t I tell you to stop complaining—”
Aurora: “Fire Blast.”
Instantly, the pale-white Delphox sends the flower chimera disguised as Aurora’s Dad flying across the empty Dream World with a Fire Blast, disintegrating its physical form in the process.
Aurora: (“Good riddance… Anyways, let’s set up those barriers before things get worse.”)
Aurora closes her eyes for a moment before spreading her arms wide open, summoning a pink, magical barrier with swirly patterns on it. She also included a ring of talismans around the barrier for good measure. Immediately after setting up the barrier, the flower monstrosity reemerges and attempts to tackle the barrier with its full power, but it is unable to make a dent on the barricade.
Aurora: (“Guess that works… for now, at least.”)
|< What— hell did— intruder!? >|
Aurora: “...Sorry, what was that?”
|< Once I— barrier— her body— eliminate you— >|
Aurora: “Yeah, good luck with whatever you just said.”
|< I will— >|
Aurora: “Delphie, Psychic.”
The flower chimera gets smashed into the cold, hard ground several times before disintegrating. Aurora stands still for a few minutes, waiting for any sign of the monstrosity to reappear, but…
Aurora: (“It’s gone… for now. Probably waiting for me to leave this place or something.”)
She turns and looks down at you, still sleeping like a baby despite everything that just happened a few minutes ago.
Aurora: “...”
Idéa: “Zzz… Zzz…”
Aurora: “...”
Idéa: “Zzz—”
Aurora: “Wake up, IKEA—”
Idéa: “Who the FUCK said that— I mean, who said that!?”
Aurora: “...”
Idéa: “...”
Aurora: “Consider that payback for waking me up that one time.”
Idéa: “You uh, weren’t even actually asleep that one time—”
Aurora: “And I would’ve been, had you not interrupted my fake snoozing.”
Idéa: “...”
Aurora: “...”
Idéa: “So you were pretending—”
Aurora: “Anyways, I have some things to discuss with you.”
Idéa: “...”
Aurora: “I was planning on leaving you alone, but…”
She stares into the distance, unable to see anything beyond a black, void-like expanse surrounding your Dream World.
Aurora: “That creature in your head… It’s sentient. Sooner or later, it will find a way to break this barrier.”
Idéa: “...”
Aurora: “You know who I’m referring to, right?”
Idéa: “...Yes.”
Aurora: “...”
Idéa: “...”
Aurora: “...Does Born know about this?”
Idéa: “...”
Aurora: “...”
Idéa: “No… No one does, except a friend of mine.”
Aurora: “...”
Idéa: “Basically, I came across these shiny rocks called Artifacts, and they basically fucked with my head in exchange for some wacky powers.”
Aurora: “...”
Idéa: “I can like, get more info about items, read vague descriptions of people, and see ghosts or something. But this… takeover?”
Aurora: “...”
Idéa: “It’s never happened before. Apparently, it was waiting until I came across the third artifact before hijacking my body…”
Aurora: “...”
Idéa: “...”
Aurora: “...Why would you keep picking up these artifacts if they negatively affected your mental state? ”
Idéa: “...”
Aurora: “...”
Idéa: “I uh… wanted to… get stronger?”
Aurora: “...”
Idéa: “...”
Aurora: “What are you, Born? ”
Idéa: “...”
Aurora: “...Nevermind, dumb question. You’re literally Born’s mentee, so I shouldn’t be surprised— Actually, now that we’re on that topic, I’m curious.”
Idéa: “...”
Aurora: “Why did you choose Born out of all people? No offense, but you don’t seem like the type of person to choose Born.”
Idéa: “...”
Aurora: “...”
Idéa: “...I uh, fell asleep during the orientation.”
Aurora: “...”
Idéa: “And uh, kinda looked at the selection screen and went ‘oh this Born guy seemed cool and he’s like the strongest guy here so yeah I would be an idiot to pass up on him’ and immediately regretted the decision seconds later.”
Aurora: “...”
Idéa: “...”
Aurora: “...So what you’re telling me is…”
Idéa: “...”
Aurora: “You decided on a whim.”
Idéa: “...”
Aurora: “...”
You nod your head in shame and embarrassment.
Aurora: “...You could’ve taken your time, you know?”
Idéa: “...”
Aurora: “...”
Idéa: “There was… a line forming behind me.”
Aurora: “...”
Idéa: “Yeah…”
Aurora: “...”
Idéa: “...”
Aurora: “...Nevermind. In any case, my work here is done. Let me know if anything comes up.”
A white light envelops the two of you, ready to send you back to the world of the living.
Aurora: “Also, don’t pick up any more of those weird rocks, alright? My generosity knows no bounds, but my tolerance for stupidity sure has its limits.”
Idéa: “...”
Aurora: “...”
Idéa: “Thank you, Aurora. You really saved my life back there.”
Aurora: “...”
Idéa: “...”
A slight smile forms on her face before the two of you wake up.
Aurora: “Don’t worry about it.”