Fabula Orbis 20: Nightmare Found

[BreakABone]

This is yet another new name. Again in Latin and roughly translates to World Tales or Tales of the World.
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Across the bay, a battalion of Combine soldiers had reached the shore in search of their masters. Without the guidance of Dylflon however, it proved difficult for them to comprehend what to do. One by one they entered the murky waters only to make it a few feet away from shore and sink to the bottom.

The number of Combine soldiers at the bottom of the bay floor grew at an alarming rate until there only remained a handful in line. They all eagerly awaited their turn to take a dip but they were soon called off by an unknown presence.
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Bube sat in his brother’s room distraught over the fact that he had yet to return home. While he was unsure how he knew it, he was positive that his brother was in danger. If only there was some way he could assist him he felt.

He sat down on Nighthawk’s bed and picked up a frame picture of the two of them when they were younger. Suddenly a song that his mother use to sing to them all the time came to mind; Bube became to silently sing it to himself.

While he was singing, he could see flashes of what was going on. He saw Nighthawk stranded at some body of water. He could see that he was not alone. He was with those who cared to protect him and those that would do them harm.

He than saw that Nighthawk while physically at the bay seemed out of it. Bube had another idea as he raced down the hall to his room to find his book of music.
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“Okay… time-out! Is there a playbook or something I could get a copy of here? It seems that the rules just change whenever.”

“Like I told you before; once you learn the rule of the game this domain becomes a playground. You may have come across a MINOR breakthrough, but NEVER forget who controls this area.” The now dragon like man sharpened his talons along his slithering tongue. “So do you want to go back into your cage and make this easy for both of us or do you want to feebly attempt to take me on?”

Nighthawk took a second to think about his possible options. “Hey, it’s not going to do me much either way so might as well…” He attempted to catch his opponent off guard by delivering a blow before he completed his thought.

His foes however saw through his plot pretty quickly and dodged the blow with an angelic grace. “Really? Have you not picked that much up yet? We are inside your mind, it is kind of hard for you to surprise me. I mean look ABOVE you!”

Nighthawk glanced up and bright as the sun itself there was a light bulb over his head. “Of course… a bright idea.”

A slow, deliberate clap broke from the strange gentleman. “That was a freebie, but honestly expected you to have figured that one out on your own by now. So I really see no point in continuing this fight if it took you that long to realize the most basic of rules here. The more complex stuff may fry your puny little brain.”

His brain of course! Nighthawk sprung into action again as the bulb over his head grew brighter. He charged at the dragon-man once more, but this time before he could dodge; Nighthawk stopped short. He had expected the light bulb to be a giveaway so he used it to his advantage. When the dragon-man returned unscathed from his attack, Nighthawk delivered a devastating right jab which landed squarely on his jaw. He followed that up with a high knee to the gut.

The strange fellow with the bird-like wings now doubled over out of breath. Nighthawk continued the assault, but then he heard something that rang through his mind. He heard the sound of muffled laughter break out from the man he was not beating up.

Then he expanded his wings and knocked Nighthawk back. When he emerged, he showed no sign of wear or that he just been in a battle. “Hahaha. That was fun, and not a bad idea, but I HATE to keep reminding you… as long as you don’t know the rules this is a game you CAN NOT win.”