Neo Ace Academy (an Exocrisis Blue Mecha story)

Neo Ace Scene 07 - Dream of Void

Mayumi was completely naked. She drifted without any sense of direction through a brilliant blue void. The only feeling she had was a sense of detachment. She felt no embarrassment despite her nudity. There was no one to see her and it felt perfectly natural. She turned her head and a few strands of longer hair from the sides of her head drifted into her sight. The void was always empty, without emotion or sensation. It was never too hot or too cold, but just right.

The blue that surrounded her was dazzlingly bright. It was pure, beautiful, and she saw it all through wide-open eyes. Despite the glare she didn't squint and it didn't hurt to look. She was not sure what the void was. It did not seem like heaven as there were no clouds or trumpets, and no place on Earth could ever match the color.

I must be dreaming again, she thought to herself. She had been here before. At the age of nine she began to have strange dreams that were both good and bad. She thought she remembered having similar dreams when she was even younger but the memories were vague. The good dreams were always pretty, full of colors, and sometimes very peaceful. The nightmares were horrible events that were dark, frightening, and full of malice.

During her nightmares, she could sense malevolent things in the darkness that delighted in rending the body and soul of a person in the most painful manner. Sometimes she would awake screaming in the middle of the night. Her foster parents had taken her to the best doctors they could find. The only diagnosis the doctors could come up with was some type of post-traumatic stress disorder. After all, she had been the sole survivor of a horrific crash that had killed her parents. They tried medications that only helped to moderate the symptoms.

After months of marginally successful treatment, Hiro had offered to help her now frantic foster parents. Her uncle used his medical industry connections to send her to specialists who utilized high-tech dream therapy to treat the disorder. When she began dreaming they induced a semi-lucid state where they could interact with her and the dream. It was unconventional therapy that used experimental technology to dream dive with her. This way they were able to shape the dreams and help her fear them less. Strangely enough, the dream therapy worked and both the good dreams and the nightmares had receded with time.

Has it been a year since I had one of these dreams, Mayumi thought to herself? It had certainly been a long time. Normally, her blue-sky dreams had been restful, and she would awake refreshed. However, Mayumi began to sense that something was different this time. Something was not quite right. The serenity was disturbed, like the faintest of ripples on a still pond. She began to look around to see if she could spot anything different.

Then she saw it.

It was a speck of darkness almost too small to be seen in the perfect blue. What is that? She was almost compelled to know. She tried to approach it, but could not. She had tried swimming before in her dreams and knew that didn't work. She wanted to get closer, though.

She then willed herself closer. At first nothing happened, but suddenly she sensed she was moving in the direction of the speck. Her motion was gradual, but she could tell she was able to control her movement. She had a big smile on her face. This was amazing - she could now fly! Testing her abilities, she swooped around like a bird, her arms outstretched. After playing around for a bit she turned her attention back to the speck.

She began to fly towards it. After flying for awhile she realized that she wasn't getting there very quickly. I need to go faster, she willed. Concentrating on more speed she realized that she was now rocketing towards the speck. She felt no breeze on her skin, but she could sense the speed. It was another amazing feeling.

The speck was now big – as big a house. It was a perfectly formed circle of absolute blackness that seemed to absorb all of the light around it. A shiver ran through her body. This couldn't be happening. The darkness felt like one of her nightmares – fear seemed to emanate from it. She had never had one of her calm dreams and her nightmares mix together before.

She willed herself to slow down her speed and could feel her velocity dropping. As she came close to stopping she realized that the darkness was now tugging at her. It was like she was being dragged downstream in a river. She willed herself to break free and reverse direction. Even as she tried to fly away, the pull intensified. Feelings of panic began to surface. She could feel the things in the darkness now. They hungered after all these years and needed to be fed.

Mayumi willed herself even harder to escape. She began to make progress, inching away from the darkness ever so slowly. The pull then intensified and she lost ground. The things wanted her. She was being sucked in.

"No!" She screamed. She was flailing. Spiraling down into the darkness.

Then she remembered her dream training. She needed to wake up. Take control again.

The darkness enveloped her. Her fear grew into terror despite her willing herself to wake up. The brilliant light was gone and she was falling. The darkness thickened and grew cold. Even in the darkness she could sense shadows thickening around her. It's too late to escape, she thought. Then the iciest cold touch grazed her foot.

"Aigghh!" Mayumi sat straight up in her bed. Her pajamas were sticky with sweat and droplets had formed on her forehead. Her breathing was coming in ragged breaths like she had just run a race.

"You okay?" Her red headed roommate, Mary Flannigan, was looking her in the face. "Mayumi?"

Recognition appeared in Mayumi's eyes as she recognized her friend. "Mary... ," she spoke out.

Mary gently held her friend's hand. "That was one bad dream you had there. I'm surprised you didn't wake the dorm with that scream."

"It was terrible," Mayumi replied. She was getting her composure back. It was just a dream. "I haven't had a dream like that in years."

"Glad I don't get those. Is everything okay now?"

"Yes, I'll be fine." Mayumi reassured her worried friend. "I'm sorry I woke you."

"As long as you're okay." Mary watched Mayumi's face carefully. "Want to talk about it? That helps sometimes. And I'm awake now anyway!" she joked.

"I'll tell you about it another time. But—thanks for being here for me. I'm glad we're roommates." She hid her slight worries from her friend, and knew she would need to contact Hiro about it later though.

"Of course. That's what friends are for." Mary then got a mischievous smile on her face. "If you don't want to talk about that, then let's talk about Jake."

"Jake?" Mayumi looked shocked.

"Yes. Jake." Mary emphasized. "I think he really likes you. Just look at the way he talked with you at dinner. And how he tried to save you in the simulation. He's not as discreet as he thinks. Geraldo's a jerk, but he is pretty sharp."

Mayumi blushed. "I don't know. I... I guess I really thought he was just a good friend."

"You're blushing," Mary teased. "If there is something there between you two, you could do way worse than Jake. He's a good guy."

"You're terrible!" Mayumi blurted out, her bad dream momentarily forgotten.