The Flying City

[42zombies]

"I wasn't sure if we had the same favorite foods, so I tried to get a little bit of everything." The Wizard said casually, trying to ignore the hostile atmosphere. "If you could get Ed and Eddy to join us? I can easily provide their favorites."

There was someone else in the room.

"Ah. Morpheus."

The stranger was impossibly familiar. He dressed in all white-- indeed everything about him was white; his hair, his skin, his clothes. He wore an emerald amulet around his neck which shined brighter than any human jewel possibly could. His eyes weren't eyes. They were stars floating in the vast blackness of space-- brilliant and terrifying. Those were the two perfect words to describe him.

I see you have guests. Interesting.

"I suppose I should introduce this man." The Wizard said, cutting at an omelette in front of him. "You've all met him before, though I doubt any of you remember him. He is one of the Endless; the Lord of the Dreaming. He is, simply, Dream."

When Dream spoke, it wasn't in words; it was in memories and echoes. It was hauntingly beautiful, and beautifuly haunting.

I found your city disturbing, Wizard. You circumcised these people; severed them from the dreaming. I felt as if I were walking through a city of the blind, deaf and dumb. I ask that you let my siblings and I into the city.

The Wizard was deadly silent.

[Felix Falora]

Masahiro smirked. "Come now Eddy. We shouldn't always be wrathful. Vengeance is a bitter art, one we keep taking time and time again. Perhaps now is the time to sit down and practice the art of civility, lest we become unstable like a certain soul destroying angel."

"You're one to talk!" Felix responded, the comedy most likely lost on everyone else as childish banter.

"Introductions?" Masahiro said as he sat down. "I guess so. I am Masahiro Watanabe, God's judge and deliverer of his judgement. So far, I find the Wizard guilty of creating a perfect utopia and putting himself up on the level of a god... but judgements must not always be settled by force. Maybe we can talk this out."

"If we could, I wouldn't be here," Felix said with a sigh. "I am Felix Falora, the right hand of God and deliverer of his wrath. I punish the sinful whose crimes threaten God. The utopia that the Wizard has created is indeed such a threat. It's my job to..."

"We can get to that later," Masahiro said, cutting him off wisely considering the offenses he was probably about to put out. "For now, we should eat. If the Wizard wanted us dead, I'm sure he could go about it in ways more morbid then poisoned food."

Dream took the angels off guard. Both refused to respond. Masahiro, however, offered a slight smirk as he took a bite out of some potato salad on his plate. Felix just remained speechless and unmoving, waiting for something to happen.

[gantzgun74]

Gantz considered Masahiro's words, before grinning lightly. "I suppose the angel has a point." It was only then that the boy took a seat at the table, Rosaline joining quite hesitantly. All things considered though, she had good reason to be. Morpheus had this aura about him that, was quite intimidating.

Remembering common courtesy he pulled out the chair for Rose, allowing her to sit down, before sitting himself. Stretching lightly, he appeared to find a delicious slice of steak, and helped himself. Rosaline, of course, looked at the boy as if he was nuts, but decided to follow along. Otto and Wally meanwhile remained standing, looking at everyone as if they were Bat NUTS. "Care to join us, Otto? Wally?"

"NO WAY IN HELL." Otto growled darkly.

"Seriously mate, whatever happened to being mortal enemy- OH! Pizza!" Any coherent thought that Wally was about to utter was silenced when Gantz pulled out a slice of pizza from among the wide selection. He was quick to join the gang, before simply just taking an entire pizza tray rather then a plate.

Otto looked quite confused at this, and quite betrayed honestly. "Come on man, what do you have to lose? I mean after all, Masahiro has a point, and besides, if the wizard was going to kill us, don't you think he woulda done that already?"

"If the shoe fits." Otto answered simply. However, he groaned after a moment, seeing he was severely outvoted. He took a seat after a moment, but didn't DARE touch the food. Misty was in the same boat, apparently, but she followed Otto's example.

When introductions came up, Gantz raised a hand in a wave. "The name's Gantz, Gantz van Drake; Jack of all trades, Mage of all trades, and weilder of Soul Calibur, at your service."

Of course Rosaline was a bit put off by the casual tone Gantz was using, but hey... He had her do far stranger stuff before. "Rosaline Gates. Member of Clan Highwind, and a spellsword. I'm one of Gantz's closest confidants and a decent Raptor and Ravager." She didn't seem too concerned that no-one at this table likely had no knowledge of Ivalician job classes, especially for the Gria Race.

Wally was quite busy stuffing his face with pizza slice after pizza slice before he smiled and introduced himself... With his mouth chock full of chewed up pizza. "Wa-y Ki-ara-i. Easur eeting ou." Those who knew him well, wouldn't have needed him to repeat that.

Otto meanwhile, shook his head in disbelief at his partner. "Otto Shinryu..." That appeared to be all he wanted to say on the matter.

"And I'm Misty, a once-been member of the Team, and a good friend of Gantz's." Misty said simply, not bothering to touch the food herself.

[nintendonut1]

"Hiya, Dream!" Ed waved, recognizing him right off the bat. It was hard not to remember a face like THAT from his comics. "The Endless are so cool... oh! My name is Ed!" he introduced himself, pointing his fork at himself proudly and accidently splattering food on his shirt. "...oops."

"...hmph." The Super Child of Speed shared in Otto's distrust, hardly touching the food. "I'm Eddy, and that's all you gotta know!"

Double D dabbed the napkin to his face as he finished chewing parts of the cassarole he was working on. "And my name is E... Double D." No sense in telling those who didn't know his identity. It was best not to stoke that flame.

[42zombies]

Dream didn't seem to share in Ed's enthusiasm. He simply sat at his seat, not bothering to touch his food.

There is no need for any introductions. I have met all of you, however briefly. All of you have been visitors in my domain.

"Well, now that we have that out of the way, I suppose we should get down to business." The Wizard put down his fork and looked down at his half-eaten meal.

"You all want to kill me. What's stopping you?"

The change in mood was palpable. The Wizard's voice was as stoic and calm as ever; he even seemed more calm than usual, if that was possible. The brief pause between his words was a chilling, awkward silence.

"Do you know what this tower is?" The Wizard looked up, looking into Edd's eyes. "It's all that's left of me. It's my mind after the countless years I spent drifting in the void. It isn't a place; it's an idea. If you destroyed it from the inside-out, you could kill me once and for all."

[Firebreath Fishslap]

"Th-That's all it would take!?" Miriam said. She stood up and unsheathed her blade. "Then I'll take this tower down block by block, if I have to!"

Flamel leaned over and clasped his hands together, resting his elbows on the table at the same time. He looked over his hands at the Wizard as he spoke, ignoring Miriam's words at the same time.

"Simple ignorance, really," Flamel said. He unclasped his hands to absentmindedly start stacking a few unused cups and silverware on top of each other. "And such wanton destruction would only harm those you have pulled into your utopia. You claim they can't die, can't feel pain..." He picked up his own fork and held it up to eye level. "But I wonder how the collapse of such a glass tower would affect them."

He tapped his own tower with the fork, sending the items he'd gathered scattering. When they hit the table, they transformed into liquid gold.

"Not only that, but like you said, this tower is not a place. It is an idea, and ideas are not so easily broken. This tower is a manifestation of your will itself, not just what remains of your mind.

"The real question isn't why you're telling us this fact... but why isn't everyone at this table being entirely honest," Flamel clasped his hands back together and looked over them at everyone in the room, his eyes resting on Double D and Miriam for a bit longer than the others. "The only completely honest one here is that manifestation of Dream."

[42zombies]

"Oh, I think one of you could destroy it quite easily, if they put their mind to it." The Wizard said calmly. "This tower is a manifestation of my will."

Under the wide brim of his hat, the Wizard's eyes focused on Edd.

"I think I could destroy it if I really wanted to."

[nintendonut1]

Double D began to notice many eyes were on him. Beside him, Eddy seemed almost impatient for him to say something. And he would when he was ready to, wiping his face clean and taking a sip of his drink.

"...I think," he finally spoke. "...the reason why we haven't attempted to destroy you yet..." He turned to fully face... himself. "...is that then you wouldn't be able to answer our questions, would you?

"Tell me, Wizard... after giving up everything you had... all for the ability to make a world like this possible... what does that leave you in the end?" he asked honestly. "An empty city with empty people?

"And considering all that I have now... I know for a fact that you had to give up much for this."

Eddy smacked his forehead. Well, that HAD to tip SOMEONE off who he really was. Nice GOING, Sockhead! What on earth are you DOING!?

[Felix Falora]

"Some of us might not be destroying it because of... ties we hold," Masahiro said. "Others might be too dumbfounded to act. But even if we were to destroy this tower, there must be some reason you're telling us about the fashion in which it goes. Everything you've done, Wizard, has proven to have a greater motive behind it. Telling us the way to destroy your tower probably has a motive as well... and I think I know what it is."

"Most of us became aware of its opening when we felt it. The rift was too powerful to ignore; even those who cannot easily feel such power would've noticed it. I think I understand what your target is, Wizard, because of what power you could amass taking it over... You're aiming for the Prime World, the world of gods, aren't you?"

[42zombies]

The Wizard didn't answer the angel's question. Something was wrong.

"Give up... you think I chose this?"

His hands shaking, the Wizard slammed his fist onto the glass table, shattering it. At once, the shards of glass and all of the food that had fallen to the ground vanished into the ether. And the Wizard, for the first time in three-thousand years...

... the Wizard screamed.

"Do you think I would willingly sacrifice my friends?! My family?!" The Wizard screamed, the glass on the walls beginning to melt as the Wizard's cold demeanor gave way. "Do you think this was my choice, Eddward?! That I would willingly let everything die just so I could create a paradise?! You don't seem to understand that I want to... to..."

Stop.

The single word unspoken by Dream was enough to bring Wizard to a stop. Dream was staring at the Wizard with the bottomless pits that he called eyes.

Eddward... you and I have not spoken in many years. You have not slept nor dreamt in many a decade. You've become something less than human.[/b]

The Wizard chuckled a little. "Maybe. I can't feel, can I?" He looked down at his feet. "But it's all for the best. It's to save everyone from what happened to my world."

The Wizard looked up, his eyes focused on Eddward one more time. "Oh, me; you think I made a sacrifice? Maybe I did. But not by my own choice." A sad laugh escape his throat. "Let me tell you how my world was stolen from me..."

[gantzgun74]

Otto looked around at the tower all around him, actually taking in everything that was going on for once. He understood that destroying this tower would destroy the wizard... But at what cost? Not only that, but destroying it would not be easy. When the Wizard appeared to regress into memories, he lifted an eyebrow, scowling. "Peh..."

Gantz meanwhile listened with keen interest, almost seeming sympathetic with the Wizard's plight. He didn't know the man's struggles... But honestly, it would've been nice to put a backstory along with this power, so he could better understand this man. "Continue Wizard. This should be an interesting story."

In all truth, Rosaline already had a bad feeling about this. In all likelyhood, it was beginning to be apparent that the Wizard's own history would be even more tragic then Gantz's own. He had lost friends and family members before, and it left a deep imprint on the boy; deeper then anyone but herself knew.

Wally meanwhile was pouting miserably. "Aw man... That pizza was good too..."

[nintendonut1]

Double D jumped nearly out of his chair at the Wizard's screams, natural fears resurfacing as Eddy caught him from behind so he wouldn't fall back.

"Nice JOB, Sockhead," Eddy hissed into his ear. "You went and got your alter ego all pissed off now~"

"Eddy. Shut up." The kid gaped as Edd shrugged him off, meeting the Wizard's gaze more firmly. "...Go on, then. Do enlighten us."

[42zombies]

The Wizard nodded, his hands folded behind his back calmly.

"As you know, Eddward, I come from a world that is more lika Razputin's than yours..." he began. As he spoke, the entire room melted away, giving way to an entire universe unfolding around them. There was no floor or ceiling; only stars and planets and suns, and the group floating in the infinite void.

And behind the Wizard was a very familiar blue-and-green planet.

"This is all an illusion; merely to illustrate my story." The Wizard explained. "You'll see what I mean soon enough." With a snap of his fingers, they were dragged down towards that little, insignificant planet. They floated above a tiny little suburb, invisible to the denizens below.

"I was a psychic; not an official Psychonaut, but more of a civilian advisor," The Wizard explained. "Though many of us had been tempted, none of the Peach Creek children had joined the Psychonauts. We stuck to our simple life, more or less. And I was happy with..."

The Wizard cringed a bit. "... there was a girl." He explained simply. "I met her through the Psychonauts. And we were happy, for a while. Then..."

The peaceful scene below seemed to freeze solid. Only a few figures moved, scurrying about like panicked bugs. Red cracks began to appear in the sky, like some horrible decay. The air began to hiss as everything slowly began to turn red; and whatever turned red began to disappear.

"... the Final Nightmare..." The Wizard muttered.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Ford and Flamel had both watched with a somewhat amused expression as the Wizard suddenly flipped. They didn't say anything at all as the situation continued. Really, they were taking note of the Wizard's weakness. And they weren't the only one. Miriam seemed to be rather focused on the situation as well.

As the hologram came up and the Wizard began to explain, Miriam suddenly seemed a bit... distant. She was focusing on the situation, but she seemed a bit distant. And then, while the others were watching things on the hologram of the Wizard's old home, she stood up and started walking over to his side.

"...I see," Ford said. "So, your home was--"

"Yes, yes. Your home was destroyed by this, oh, Final Nightmare thing, which then led you to decide that your utopia was the only way to stop the kind of pain you'd experienced back home, yes, yes, we've all heard it before."

Standing behind the Wizard, leaning on her large sword (which had been driven into the marble floor in order to create an arm rest), was a blond haired woman with silver eyes like Miriam had. She was smirking, and flicked the back of the Wizard's hat with her finger.

"A Freudian Excuse is no Excuse at all, Wizard," Ms. Dopple stated. "And your excuse is as Freudian as it gets." She seemed very amused with the situation at the moment.

[42zombies]

"You don't understand; this is no excuse... it's a defense." The Wizard explained harshly. "The Final Nightmare is fear and hate and sorrow personified. It is a storm of emotion that prowls the void, seeking out worlds that give off enough negative energy for it to sense.

"It always leaves survivors; a handful of people to spread fear and paranoia for it to eventually feed on again." The Wizard explained, waving a hand and destroying every concrete thing in the room. They were floating in the Void between dimensions; there were distant specks that could possibly be other universes, but who could tell?

"I followed the Final Nightmare; I studied it." The Wizard explained calmly. "I learned how to become invisible to it; to destroy all negative emotion. If I could do this, I could save all life in the multiverse."

The Wizard closed his eyes. "The Final Nightmare takes many forms; it is the ultimate fate of all worlds. It is Revelations; it is Ragnarok and the nuclear warhead. But, through my control, I have found a way to save all life."