Collision Code

by SSJRandomMaster

Act 3 Chapter 37

Act III: Collision of Wills
Chapter 37: The Mask Breaks
------------------------------------------
They came in endless numbers: dozens of shadow monsters ran out from behind the trees, easily clearing the ravine’s gap with a single jump. John and Rainbow had just arrived in the dream, only just saving Scootaloo from a fall. But it was already clear that there was more to worry about now.

“John, get Scoots out of here. I can’t go full throttle if I’m worried about her,” Rainbow said. John nodded and walked over to Scootaloo, putting his palm to her head. Instantly, his eyes began to glow together with his palm. Within a few seconds, something happened that he hadn’t seen before. Before he could react, the white glow suddenly fluxed, changing a deep purple, and with a spark of magic, John’s hand was repelled from Scootaloo’s head.

“Ack!” she cried out from the magical feedback. Rainbow took a step back.

“What was that!?” Rainbow asked. John didn’t answer, looking down at his palm. It was trembling from the force that repelled it. This was a first; any other time he’d done this, it was a simple matter. But now, it felt like something was keeping him from doing it again, and he had a pretty good idea on who was behind it.

"Kurama’s probably behind this,” John tightened his fist. The other creatures were getting closer; he had no time to try again. With that in mind, “No way around it, we have to find him with we wanna get out of here.”

Rainbow looked to John, then back to Scootaloo. She couldn’t fight if she had to keep her safe the whole way. It was going to be hard; she would have to keep away from the monsters until one of them could figure out something better. “Think you can find him?”

John didn’t answer. With so many creatures having his magical signature, he was picking up traces of Kurama’s magic everywhere. But he didn’t have a choice. As long as Scootaloo couldn’t wake up, they weren’t going anywhere.

“Here they come,” said John.

Rainbow took to the sky once the creatures reached them. John rushed straight into the crowd, sending each one that came close flying with a single punch. For now, he decided keeping them away from Rainbow was top priority. That, and finding Kurama. He was running towards the forest; if Kurama was hiding anywhere, he’d probably be hiding there. As he ran, the other creatures began to follow him. Unable to fly, he was the only target they could reach.

Inside of the forest was even worse. From every shadow cast, the creatures were crawling out. In terms of sheer numbers they were impressive, but in terms of strength, they were lacking. Last time Kurama had tried this, he’d created just one large, powerful monster as bait to another dream. Yet now, he was able to manage an army of smaller, weaker creatures now. Though it could be a strategy, John saw it as Kurama running out of options.

Don’t matter what it is if I can’t find him though… With so many coming out, John wasn’t able to get a fix on their origin. He needed some way to keep more from coming, and maybe dwindle their numbers if possible. But what could he do? It wasn’t like he could bring light into the forest…

“Or can I…?” John asked, as an idea sparked in his head. Smirking, flames began to expel from the sides of his mouth as he took in a breath. He wasn’t able to use Corey’s spell, true, but there were other ways of making things brighter. Opening his mouth, John belched out a blast of fire which incinerated any creature in its path. Within seconds, the fires began to spread from tree to tree. Sure enough, the shadows within the forest were disappearing, replaced by the inferno he’d started.

It was working, but there were still more places for them to come out. He needed to reduce that number more. He continued to breathe fire in all directions, hoping to flush out Kurama one way or another.
-----------------------------------------
“Good thing this is a dream…” Rainbow said, watching the smoke and flames rise up from under the tree line. With no collateral damage being real, John was able to go all-out without worry, “Wish I was part of it, though…”

As though the forest itself was answering her plea, several objects shot out from the treetops. At first, Rainbow didn’t know what to make it. That is, until the objects opened up and revealed themselves to be more black creatures. But unlike the others, these had one significant difference: they had wings.

I just had to say something… Rainbow groaned internally, already preparing to fly away from them. They continued to pursue her, several more soon joining in the chase. At any other time, Rainbow would have moved so fast she’d have been nothing but a blur to them. But right now, she had a passenger with her, and she definitely couldn’t deal with high speeds. Her hands were also occupied with holding Scootaloo on her as well, propping her legs so that she couldn’t flail about. But that didn’t mean she was defenseless, and she was prepared to prove that.

As the creatures continued to close in, Rainbow decided to change it up. Turning around, she instead charged towards them. Scootaloo looked worried, but voiced nothing. She trusted Rainbow, and that trust was rewarded. When Rainbow reached one of the creatures, she showed her mettle and delivered a strong flying kick to its face. The creature was stunned by the attack, unable to evade the heel kick which caused it to spiral downwards.

After the first creature was attacked, the others decided to surround Rainbow. Slowly, they cycled her like sharks, prepared to go on the move. Rainbow flew in place, eyes closed, waiting, feeling for the right moment. Soon enough, they moved, closing in on her from all around. She was ready; at the final moment, Rainbow dropped from their path and the creatures rammed into one another. Rainbow then flew around until she was above them and finished them with a strong downwards kick using both of her feet.

“You’re the best, Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo cheered, enjoying the first-person view of Rainbow’s show. Rainbow smirked, but she already knew it wasn’t over yet. There was still more on the way.

“Not over yet, Scoots,” Rainbow said, going on to fight the new batch of monsters. As she flew, her rainbow trail painted the sky, something that John could see from below…
-----------------------------------------
John looked up, seeing the creatures flying behind her, letting out a growl at the sight of them. The forest was already well beyond hope of stopping the flames. Creatures below were already being immolated, and they couldn’t do anything to him to begin with.

Convinced that the work on the ground was done, John took off to the sky. He’d left one friend to fight alone before, and he wasn’t going to make that mistake again.

“I’m coming—“ John stopped. Something was wrapping around his arms and legs, “What!?”

He looked down, seeing a familiar sight: tail tips, all of them belonging to Kurama. Growling again, he resolved to pull at them, but then another wrapped around his waist and pulled harder. He was being pulled from the sky with a strength Kurama should not have had in his state. But before John could find a way to explain this, one last tail wrapped around his neck.

“Six?!” One final pull finally overpowered John’s flight and he was reeled back towards the ground like a fish stuck to a lure.

“Shit!” John swore, seconds before he collided with the ground, the smoldering forest around him crumbling from the impact. It didn’t end there, though. The tails kept a grip on him and began to drag him through the forest, slamming him through trees and rock alike.

After seconds of being dragged, John had enough. He pulled at one of his arms as hard as he could, managing to get it near his head. Once he was able to reach, he acted and bit down hard on the tail wrapped around his arm. The tactic worked as John was suddenly thrown through the air, all six tails unfurling from around him. He recovered from the throw quickly, finding the tails once again as they retracted back into the forest.

“Not this time!” John roared, charging after them, blowing his fire towards the forest around them. As he broke through the tree lines, he saw him, Kurama, standing before him.

“This is the last time, Kurama, I swear it!” John charged the fox, Kurama reacting in kind, his tails more than willing to attack as well. One by one, they whipped at John, and John met each with his own attack. And with each attack dealt, each attack repelled, John took a step forward.

“And what might you do this time that might make the result different?” Kurama questioned. Though his voice was still as monotone as ever, there was something different. His voice was slightly hurried, and his edge was gone. His unfeeling expression hid shades of concerns for his own wellbeing. The mask, the one he’d wear in front of those he hunted was beginning to crumble, showing the real Kurama on the inside.

“I’ve got an idea or two!” Kurama’s tails had been moving at incredible speeds, and yet still, John managed an impressive feat. He managed to track them, and grabbed on to two of Kurama’s tails. Kurama grunted in surprise. He would have tried to do something, anything to get John to let go, but he was already too late to try. John pulled hard on the tails as hard as he could, swinging Kurama around. There was no mercy in his conduct as he slammed Kurama into several trees. With one final pull, John yanked Kurama and slammed him into the ground.

“Let her go, Kurama,” John demanded, “Let her go and I’ll end this quickly!”

Slowly Kurama got up from the ground, dusting off the dirt from his fur with his tails. “I’ll let her go…” For a brief moment, John had believed that was it, but the hope was crushed as soon as it grew, “When I’m done with her…”

Kurama let out a sinister laugh, a sadistic smile spread across his lips, and John wanted nothing more than to rip it off. Tightening his fists, John charged again, running at full speed. This time, however, Kurama didn’t attack back. Instead, he backpedaled away, keeping his distance.

No, not again, you’re not getting away again! John thought to himself, his eyes trembling with adrenaline. He was so close, he could feel it. He could put a stop to all of it here and now, and he knew he had to. But in his moment of desperation, he forgot to check his surroundings, and where Kurama was luring him.

He never saw it coming.

Before John realized it, he was once again flying, between two cliffs. Only when he looked down into the ravine between them did he regret that he had. At that very moment he let his guard down, Kurama finally retaliated. With great force, John was struck over the head with all six tails, and was knocked down into the ravines. John couldn’t stop himself as he spiraled down, hitting the ground at full force. Lying on his front, John rolled over with a grunt, the impact having knocked the wind out of him.

Opening his eyes, he could see the top, Kurama staring back down from above. As John tried to recover, he saw Kurama’s tails move, piercing into the rock walls at his sides. John saw them change color, glowing with the same magic Kurama used before. He knew what was coming, and he knew he had to act quickly. Getting to his feet, John braced himself, just as the walls beside him came crashing in.

The walls struck him hard, his arms just barely capable of keeping them from crushing his body completely. But he wasn’t out of the woods. He could still feel the force behind them. The walls were still trying to close the gap. Through grit teeth, he looked up, prepared to curse Kurama, but he couldn’t. Kurama was no longer there. His eyes opened wide as he understood why, and with a horrid roar, he voiced his displeasure.
-----------------------------------------
Unknown to what had happened, Rainbow was still making quick work of the creatures that flew around her. Though she couldn’t move at top speed, she was still more than enough for them. She just needed to keep it up until John could find Kurama and knuckle down on him. She was starting to like her chances, starting to see that just like before they’d finally find a way to overcome the odds. But the odds no longer seemed in her favor when she saw something heading towards her.

“No…” It wasn’t one of the flying creatures this time. Instead, it was the very fox she’d thought was being taken care of. She looked around. John had to be around somewhere, but he wasn’t. No matter how much she searched, she couldn’t find him. But she wasn’t going to show her fear, not in front of someone who needed to feel safe.

“So, you decided to show your face, huh?” Rainbow’s voice may have been filled with bravado, but she was siding with caution this time, “Well then, I guess I can finally repay you for the pain you’re causing my friends.” Kurama chuckled at Rainbow’s attempt at intimidation. It didn’t work at all.

“Trust me, you have no idea what kind of pain they’re going through. But you will, I can assure you of that,” Kurama only moved an inch forward and Rainbow had already reacted, flying as fast as she could away from Kurama. She was fast; she could probably take Kurama and never be touched once. But she wasn’t going to risk Scootaloo’s safety, and she couldn’t put her down with those creatures flying everywhere. She needed to find John. If he was held up somewhere or still trying to find Kurama, she had to tell him where he was. But she couldn’t, the fires of the forest were too great for her to fly through.

“Look over there!” Rainbow looked over to where Scootaloo was pointing to, wondering what she’d seen. She was looking at the ravine, but she didn’t know why. That is, until she saw it move. Not only that, but it was considerably smaller than it was before.

There! Rainbow thought to herself as she prepared to fly in its direction.

But before she could move towards it, Rainbow felt a cold chill run up her leg. With a gasp, she looked down. One of the creatures had grabbed hold of her when she wasn’t looking, and it wasn’t going to let go. Soon, one became two, then three, and so on, enough that even with their abysmal strength they were able to overpower her. Before she knew it, Rainbow was pulled down to the ground, clinging on to Scootaloo so that they wouldn’t be separated. But that was of small comfort as she saw Kurama growing closer to them.

She scowled at her position. She couldn’t get away and she couldn’t fight back. All she could do was watch as Kurama grew closer. She saw Scootaloo move her head, about to see Kurama as well, but Rainbow stopped her.

“Don’t look, Scoots, don’t look,” she said, never breaking eye contact with Kurama, “Just close your eyes…” She wanted to add something else, something encouraging, something like “It’ll be okay, I’m here for you, and you’ll be okay”. There were so many things she wanted to say, but she couldn’t. She knew she’d just be lying.

“All the faith you had in him, wasted,” said Kurama, magic building at the base of his palm. Rainbow looked to him, a scowl still fresh on her face. Even with the inevitable about to happen, she wouldn’t show fear, not now.

“No, it isn’t, and hasn’t been. He’ll come through for us, believe me. Time’s running out, Kurama, and it’s not my friends’.”

Kurama narrowed his eyes at Rainbow, only able to see the last bravado of a dead pony. The orb of magic at the base of his palm began to move towards her, getting close to Rainbow’s body. Only when it was an inch away from her did it stop, and then fully expand until it encased her whole body. As the magic engulfed them, both Rainbow and Scootaloo let out a scream, something that hadn’t gone unheard.
-----------------------------------------
Still deep in the ravine, still pushing against the walls closing on him, John heard their screams. In that moment, he heard something crack. Maybe it was the wall. Maybe it was something in his mind, but he heard it. And in that moment, he let out another roar, one that echoed all around and towards the area above. And finally the walls began to move outwards as she forced them apart. Kurama could see this, and knew his time had come to leave. His body fading away just as John’s body shot through the opening, slamming down on where he used to be.

Though Kurama was gone, he was far from John’s mind at the moment. The orb that captured Rainbow and Scootaloo was floating, the two inside still screaming. The world around them was beginning to break apart as Scootaloo was starting to fade away.

“No, not again!” John ran forward, taking a single step towards the orb before it finally exploded. As the magic drowned the world around him, John was not pushed away, not this time. He was instead pushing forward, taking one strained step after another as he felt the magic try to pierce his mind. He could still see them. They were in the middle, scared and in pain, and he needed to help them. So he pushed forward, pushed himself to his limits.

As he drew closer, Rainbow noticed him, reaching out a hand to him and he was close to grabbing it. He reached out his own hand, inches away from grabbing on to Rainbow’s. But before he could grab hold of it, before he could finally save her, she disappeared.

“No…”

A second later Scootaloo vanished as well.

“No!”

And when the world around him evaporated, John was once again expunged from the dream, screaming.

“Nooooooooooooo!!!”
-----------------------------------------
Rainbow stood up, gasping. She didn’t know where she was, but she knew what happened to her.

“Scoots!?” she called out. There was no response, not one single sign of life anywhere near her. Her heart beat was accelerating. Something was supposed to happen, something horrible. But as the seconds passed she found that nothing had happened. Her mind was racing, so many possibilities for a nightmare that would be used to torture her mind and soul. But what would it be? What would Kurama use against her?

“C’mon, what are you waiting for?!” Rainbow called out, almost daring Kurama’s nightmare to try her. Still, nothing came. She didn’t relax, though. She started to walk backwards, looking left and right to an ever expanding field. The only source of light was the many stars in the sky, and the blood red moon above.

But as she moved, she didn’t notice something behind her, not until she almost fell in. “Whoa!” She yelled, nearly losing her footing. The ground behind her seemed to disappear without a trace. Getting both feet back on solid ground, Rainbow turned around. What she saw was a rectangular hole in the ground, and a stone slab embedded into the ground.

“What?” Rainbow took a step back, words beginning to carve themselves into the stone slab. In seconds, it was finished, and she could read the words clearly.

“Here lies Rainbow Dash, gone and forgotten.”

Rainbow took several quick breaths before starting to laugh. “Oh, is that it? You think seeing my grave is supposed to scare me? Well, no dice!” she yelled, trying to find any signs of Kurama in her dream. This didn’t feel right. Everyone she’d seen had started screaming within seconds of being put into a nightmare, so what was taking so long this time?

But what she hadn’t known, is that for some of the victims of Kurama’s hunts, he took his time and made sure to perfectly set up their nightmares. From the sides of the grave, several cloaked figures seemed to rise up from the ground, shovels in hand. Rainbow looked both ways as she took a step back, prepared for a fight. But her back soon came into contact with something hard. Slowly, she turned to see what it was: a coffin with her cutie mark engraved on it. With a creak the door began to open, inviting her to enter, but she wasn’t going to do so willingly.

“I don’t think so!” she said, flaring her wings, preparing to take flight. But she couldn’t, because before she could take off, two bindings wrapped themselves around them. Her wings were now pinned down to her back; she wasn’t able to get away. At that moment, the coffin lunged at her, closing the door on her and trapping her inside. Once locked, it turned around and allowed itself to fall to the ground.

“Oof!” Rainbow grunted as she felt the impact, her breath getting aster as she tried to turn around. She pushed at the door with all her might, but it wouldn’t even budge. And through the window placed at face-level, she saw the cloaked figures moving. Using their shovels, each one began to drop dirt into the hole.

“No, no, no!” Rainbow began to scream, banging at the inside of the door. She was trapped, and soon, she would be buried alive.
-----------------------------------------
There was nothing more unnerving than the wait, unable to do anything, unable to see what is happening. Held in a constant loop of worry of what could happen with every passing minute. Twilight paced the floor beside John and Rainbow, her eyes locked with theirs, waiting for then the glow will fade. Not far from her Applejack tapped her foot on the ground, growing restless with every passing second. Pinkie and Fluttercruel stood to the side, trying to have some kind of a conversation. If nothing else, it was helping them keep their minds off of what everyone was trying not to think about.

Time was running out, they didn’t have room for any more setbacks. The condition of Kurama’s victims was growing worse at a faster pace. At this rate, his first targets weren’t going to last much longer. What happens next, what could possibly define how many lives could either be lost or saved, it all depended on what happens when the glow of their friends’ eyes finally fade.

They all waited to the point where they were sure they’d go mad, but finally, something changed. The flow of their eyes began to fade, everyone’s attention quickly turning to the two. First was John’s eyes which returned to normal. But he didn’t move, his facial expression didn’t change. They were going to speak up, ask him if he’d finally done it, but they were silenced by what happened next. When the glow of her eyes finally faded, Rainbow’s body fell limp, her head falling to rest on John’s chest.

Everyone gasped, bracing themselves for what they knew was coming next. And it did in full force. Rainbow began to scream in absolute terror as she pounded away at John’s chest. They were about to move, about to make their way towards Rainbow, but something got in the group’s way.

“P-Pinkie, what are you—“ Everyone could see a pink object in their path—it was Pinkie, her back to them with her arms spread out. But there was something else: her body was trembling. If they could see her face at that moment, they’d see the total terror in her eyes.

Unable to move forward now, everyone watched as John finally moved. Gently, he picked up Rainbow from her seat and carried her up the stairs. Even as she screamed, even as she struggled against him, John never once showed any emotion on his face. As soon as he disappeared from sight, Pinkie moved.

“Move, move, into the kitchen!” Pinkie said, pushing at the rest of the group. Eventually, they obliged. Once everyone was in the other room, they finally decided to speak up.

“What was that about?” asked Applejack.

“He’s… he’s about to pop,” Everyone fell silent. Though they were warned this could happen, they never thought of what to do if it did.

“Are you sure, Pinkie?” asked Twilight.

“I’m very sure, and have no idea what’ll happen if he does. I don’t know what’s keeping him from it now, but as soon as that runs out, there won’t be anything to stop him.” Everyone went motionless for a moment. At first Pinkie thought they were processing this, only to find that they were in fact staring at something behind her. Slowly, she turned to see who it was: John, standing at the entrance with the exact same expression he’d had since coming back into the real world.

It was one thing when he was trying to contain his anger, but now that he wasn’t showing so much as a single twitch of emotion, they never thought there could have been anything scarier.

“Twilight…”

She jumped at the mention of her name.

“Can you come with me?”

Twilight stood for a second before giving a nod, making her way out of the room. The others were going to join her, but stopped when John held out his hand.

“Please, just… stay here,” John said, turning and walking away before anyone could give a response. In the other room, Twilight watched John walk back to his seat, not once making eye contact with her.

“John, what’re you—“ she started, but John didn’t wait.

“I need you here for when it happens. Please… just trust me… one more time…”

A part of her didn’t like how he said that. But before she could voice her concern, he was gone, already deep into the dream realm where she couldn’t reach him. Still worried, all she could do was stand there and wait, wondering just what someone in his state might do now.
----------------------------------------
He slowly stood. He didn’t know how long it had been since he was thrown into this, but his heart was growing weak. Corey shook his head, hands pressed to his face. He’d never felt this cold, and he’d never felt this alone. He shivered, zipping up his hoodie, as the chill hit him. His ears pinned backward as he put up his hood, and he finally opened his eyes, releasing an exhausted, sad sigh as he took in the surroundings.

He was surrounded by crystals on all angles, similar to the crystal palace. However, while the crystals there were colorful, these were dull and lifeless, some of them cracked. Each of these grayed crystals seemed to be heavily frostbitten, and a fog seemed to glide in from nowhere once again.

“No…” Corey said in a low voice to himself, his hot breath turning the air in front of him to vapor, “Not again…”

Author's Note:

Here we are. The arc's almost done. Just a few more chapters to go. Yeah.

Comments

[first hand account]

FAAAK FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK!!!
no seriously fuck cliff-hangers.