Snippet #2274885

Erixianti's eyes widened as she slowly processed what was happening. The roof crumbled beneath her feet and she was barely able to catch sight of Quinn, whose face was twisted in an expression of pure horror and shock. The small girl's locks tumbled after her as her frame fell through the gap between the buildings and gravity took over. Her mind was racing, yet not one of the thoughts were coherent or made sense. Indeed, for the tiny, petite doll was overtaken with fear and the terrifying emotion made it impossible for her to think properly. Her bear gripped her arms tightly as the two of them descended at an increasingly rapid pace.

She squeezed her eyes shut, not even able to release a single scream on her way down. Yet before she felt the impact of the harsh ground, something soft wove around her body. Trembling from head to toe, she could not bring herself to open her eyes. Whatever was beneath her had cushioned her fall but the shock of what had transpired was still racking through her body. She heard a yell from up above her, the screech definitely sounded of the jester, who seemed to be readying herself to follow Erixianti down.

She felt her bear pat her cheeks and one of her eyes was forced open as a padded paw tugged at her eyelid. Her vision was a bit blurry at first, but she caught a whisper of green, a blurry figure of a young looking, green-haired youth visible out of the corner of her eye. There was also a glint of something metallic and shiny but it seemed she would not have time to look around to better observe. She was barely able to register that as her bear frantically put its paws beneath her chin and forced her face upwards so that she caught sight of Quinera leaping off the edge of the roof downwards.

Something was very wrong.

The ground beneath her form seemed to heave as her surroundings began to distort and the flying debris even became blurry around the edges. With a sickening jolt, her mind began to register what was happening and Erixianti tried to stand in an effort to stop it. But it was futile, she was still too weak from her fall, and she would not be able to say anything in time. A blinding light began to fill the area as the jester nearly reached the intended target--and then the landscape was filled with a stark whiteness. A shockwave coursed through her body, shooting up her limbs and causing an uncomfortable feeling to settle in her gut. Her body felt like lead and it was difficult to move, to even remotely take a single step forwards.

The world around her was like a blank canvas and, as if being sketched by a child, wobbly lines shot out above her. They began to carve out the hesitant shapes, all misshapen and ghastly thin. She clutched at her bear tighter, yes, she knew what was happening. The dream world was reconstructing itself, as it was prone to do when a strong pulse of energy from a mind shot out. The question was, where were they going? In the rush of all the events, Erixianti wasn't sure if the figures she had seen before had been taken with them--but she was sure, at least, that Quinn was here with her. After all, her knight had to be! A guardian never left the side of the heroine, not when the adventure came along.

Her bear was fidgeting in her grasp--clearly discontent at what was transpiring. She tried to make silent, hushing gestures to calm it but it was to no avail. The structures continued to build themselves, much like scattered pieces of debris fitting together like disfigured pieces of a puzzle. What had been Tinker Tocker had all but faded and the visage of the landscape was constructing itself. As the blank space began to disappear and the setting warped into a more firm one, she made out the large shapes of torn, ripped teddy bears. Ah, that was why her bear was ill at ease.

She frowned as a grayish tinge took over the sky and broken, rotted objects appeared one-by-one. Each object resembled a disheveled toy, as if it had been carelessly tossed around and worn down to the absolute last threads. Dread filled her as she processed where the dream world had altered to.

'Mechanoid Paranoia...' The thought stole across her quickly and immediately, Erixianti tried to adjust herself. As soon as the name of the place crossed her, everything in the appearance finalized--disjointed robots and bits lying about.l Some meters from her lay Quinn, who was unconscious and sprawled about. She immediately ran over to her guardian, not paying attention to anyone else that might've been around her. Quinera had saved her, so she would stay and watch over her until the jester woke up. It was the least she could do. And honestly, she felt kind of lonely now that her first friend wasn't coherent. So the little doll curled up right on the ground next to her companion, staring into her face until the other woke up.