Chapter 8: Chapter 7 – Pathetic?

"Whats going on?"

All three people in different parts of the house headed to where Dream was at. They saw him standing next to the table with a very happy face. On the table was a bag they didn't recognize. It was yellow and green with weird letters on it.

"Are you okay Dream? What happened?" (Luna)

"Hey Luna..." (Dream)

"...Yes?"

"Have you ever tasted heaven?"

"Uhh.. I'm not sure what you mean..."

"Come here."

"...okay?"

Luna walked cautiously over to Dream who maintained eye contact with the bag. When she was next to him, he grabbed the bag and started to peel it open. He then took out... something.

"Eat this."

"I'm not sure I want to."

"Luna. You will never regret this decision for the rest of your life."

Dream spoke with a serious voice but a smiling face. And seeing that he wanted her to try it that bad, she took the piece of food and put it in her mouth.

"...Mmmmm..."

After the sugar hit her tongue, she was introduced to a new world of flavor she had never felt before. A childish smile slowly crept up on her face as she chewed with her eyes closed.

After Dream gave Luna some of the forbidden fruit, he took a handful himself and threw it into his mouth. The flavor was heavenly and Dream fell in love all over again with one of his favorite candies.

When luna finished the food, she opened her eyes and looked to Dream.

"Do you have more of that?"

"I do. You liked it?"

"It was amazing... You want something for it?"

"Not right now. Here, take this."

Dream summoned another bag and tore it open.

"Its called candy. It's all inside the bag."

"Thank you so much!"

Luna excitedly thanked Dream and started stuffing her face with sour patch, giggling away with glee. Meanwhile, the other two looked at them with stupid expressions. The amount of emotion exchanged during that conversation was shocking. 

"What the hell just happened?" (Iris)

"I'm not sure myself." (Riddick)

"You guys want some too?"

Dream turned to the two of them and offered them some. Both tried it and loved it, though they tried to be casual about it. Dream knew that he had won points with all of them.

Processed candy was something totally foreign to this world. Dream had never thought he would taste the sweet bliss of diabetes in a bag again. That's why he hailed the high heavens upon knowing he could summon candy! He gave everyone a bag and told them to wait for lunch for another. He couldn't get them addicted because that would hurt his mana pool no matter how little the cost was.

Although, there was something else in his catalog that he didn't show everyone because of this.

'Soda! Oreos! Ice cream! Pizza Rolls! There's much more than just MREs! I guess I didn't look hard enough the first time. Now, I just need to figure out how can I get my music...'

Dream started wondering about other things he could buy. There were all kinds of devices inside the catalog, enough to feel like a person back on Earth. The problem was the Internet.

'I could get a phone, sure. But without anything on it like apps or data, it's just an over-glorified flashlight. I should figure out how to get data from Earth. But that would require a signal to cross dimensions, which I don't have the power to do right now. Or maybe...'

Dream kept pondering on his own about various possibilities. He had one idea, but wasn't sure how effective It would be. It probably wouldn't be able to happen right now either.

...

Everyone looked forward to the candy as their dessert for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It was nice having something that tasted different considering they've been eating the same stuff for years. But this was the root of one of the problems Dream had, which he voiced on the second day. 

"What the hell do you guys do every day? The only things I've seen happen is Luna cutting up a bull and Scarlet frying some meat. The first was only interesting for like 10 minutes and I wouldn't dare go near the other. What do you guys do for fun around here?" (Dream)

"Hmm..." (Riddick)

Riddick pondered a moment on Dream's question. There was hardly an entertainment business on this new world and finding fun things to do was lower on the priority list when there's powers and levels to raise. Not to mention they were in the middle of nowhere.

"I guess we practice our magic. I've been teaching my daughters how to wield their skills since they were young. That and basic combat techniques. I guess I could teach you a thing or two if you're bored and you want to join us." (Riddick)

"Really? I didn't see you guys doing anything earlier."

"Well we were busy cutting and prepping the surplus food. That stuff might actually last us a week. But we usually do training between breakfast and lunch and sometimes more after dinner. I can also give you information about this world. Common knowledge you'll need to know before you travel."

"Nice! I would greatly appreciate that. I have many questions too."

"No problem. We've had breakfast so I guess we can do some training. Luna! Iris! Let's do some training! I'll let you have a go at the Boy!"

"Ok!" (Luna)

"Don't blame me if he dies!" (Iris)

Riddick smirked at Dream after hearing the responses from the girls.

"You disappoint me old man... I thought us men were a team..." (Dream)

"*puii* Team my ass! You had it coming, Boy. Besides, I needed some way to motivate them. A calf ripe for the slaughter such as yourself is the perfect prey for those foxes." (Riddick)

Riddick spat at Dream's optimism. But Dream wasn't too worried. Sure they had more stats, but don't forget where Dream came from.

"Heh, don't underestimate me, old man. My world may not have had mana, but that means we fought with technique instead. The ways of martial arts have been perfected over thousands of years. Strength is nothing if you don't know how to use it." (Dream)

"Oh? Confident are we? Well let's see if you can walk the walk. Everyone! Outside!" (Riddick)

Riddick gave a shout and everyone walked outside the cottage. Dream looked over to Iris and saw a wide, evil grin on her face. 

'She's really gonna kill me, isn't she? There's probably gonna be no rules with her. Let's just make sure I have my balls by the end of this.'

Both girls had come out dressed in tight-fitting, athletic-type clothes that allowed for movement. And although Dream had seen them throughout the day, he couldnt get over how seriously hot they were. They had athletic bodies, which were definitely Dream's favorite. Dream had always played sports so he developed a thing for girls with toned bodies. And,

'You can wrap them up however you want, but you can't hide a true bust! Those are at least C's. They were truly blessed.'

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Dream was already falling in love! Luna was more graceful, and Iris was a hottie. They had their own vibes. They truly were two sides of a coin.

"So how are we doing things?" (Dream)

Dream let none of his perverted nature leak out and asked his question. He was also rather serious about training because he wanted to see if he could get a skill. He knew some martial arts like wrestling and juijitsu, but he had only done them for a couple of years. He didn't know if that was enough.

"I'll let Luna fight you first. She isn't the one radiating with killing intent and will probably be safer." (Riddick)

"Thanks for letting me live a little longer." (Dream)

"Sure thing." (Riddick)

Dream sincerely thanked Riddick and squared up with Luna. She was looking at him with a little excitement on her face. It was probably the first time she had fought someone other than her father or sister so she looked forward to it.

"What are the conditions for defeat?" (Dream)

"Until you give up, broken bones, or are incapacitated." (Riddick)

"Alright." (Dream)

"You ready?" (Luna)

Luna asked Dream and he nodded. A serious look was on both their faces as they walked toward each other. Moments later, the first blows were traded.

And after 2 minutes, Dream lost miserably.

"Damn! How hard are your knuckles?! And your shins are like steel!"

Dream complained while lying on his back. He already had bruises forming on his arms and legs. Luna was absolutely solid! Bones of steel!

She punched and kicked and Dream didn't have too hard of a time blocking, but the force of each hit was ridiculous. Her strength was clearly much higher than his and her body was much tougher. He wasn't even able to go in for some grappling as she just out maneuvered him.

Riddick watched Dream as he laid miserably on the floor.

"You got in a couple of jabs, but they were nothing big. Your attempt to bring her to the floor went horrible as well. What exactly did you do on your world? I'm guessing it wasn't one of those super good martial arts." (Riddick)

"I did do some martial arts, but it was mainly sports." (Dream)

"Sports?" (Luna)

"Ya. It was a form of entertainment in my world. Races, ball games, even shooting with weapons similar to the one I have."  (Dream)

"Really? What did you play?" (Luna)

"I ran races. I used to be a short distance sprinter. And one of the fastest for my age."

"You? The fastest? You couldn't outrun a rock with those lousy reaction times!" (Iris)

Iris started throwing out insults. Dream doesn't usually take kindly people insulting his hard work, but this world's standards are a bit different. Dream sucked down his irritation.

"Hey! We had no mana on my world so yes, I was pretty fast. I could tell you with certainty that the fastest man to ever run could barely match my speed as I am right now." (Dream)

"Thats it? It sounds like everyone on your world was rather pathetic if you ask me." (Iris)

'Pathetic? Is this girl serious?'

Iris spat out those words with venom in her voice. Hearing that, Dream also snapped a little as he had already been on edge. He spat back.

"Well excuse me, bitch. Such speed may not seem like much to you, but it was the pinnacle of human ability on my world. To get there took YEARS of all-day specialized training. We trained with all our heart and soul for competitions that lasted seconds. Competitions where not a single mistake could be made! And for some of us, those competitions were our ticket to success. A single mistake could ruin your life and send you down the road to hell."

Dream got up and began shouting in her face, not realizing how mad he was getting.

"There were no skills. There was no system. No stats. And no BULLSHIT mana to magically make you stronger! It took years of blood, sweat, and tears to learn and perfect our techniques. And even then, should you slack off a bit, you get sent back to square one! I'm sorry if that seems pathetic to you, but it was damn hard work for us! And do you know how much it fucks you up when everything you've worked for is shot to hell in mere moments?! And are told that there's no coming back?! Because I do, and it's the reason I'm here!

So don't you DARE go insulting the life's work of people who just wanted to succeed in something!! Fuck!"

"..."

After cursing to the sky, Dream turned and started walking into the forest. He realized that he needed to cool his head, and he couldn't do that with Iris there.

He actually wasn't planning to go off like that, but as more was said, the more emotional he got. He probably ended up going overboard.

'Damn... Riddick will definitely want me gone now. I ruined a perfectly good chance to get started in this world. But she went a little fucking far with that.'

Dream happened to be one of those athletes who put everything on the line for his sport. The cruel training he went through everyday to cut off tenths of a second from his time. All for a competition that only lasted 10 seconds! That would all be fine with him, but at one of the state competitions in his last year of high school, Dream had overexerted on his form which led to a torn hamstring. He recovered, but he had no chance at competing again. 

He didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the fact that such a small mistake in a technique he had been practicing for years could lead to his career being thrown to hell. 

He also understood the frailty of humans when he heard how his girlfriend died. She was shot in the leg, which should have been non-lethal. But the bullet hit the femoral artery, which made her bleed to death. If the bullet had only been a centimeter towards any other direction, she would still be alive.

Such small things could change everything. But there were also those who fought tooth and nail to make something for themselves or their family and succeeded. Dream always respected those people as he knew how hard it truly was. So when Iris basically called everyone on planet Earth pathetic for simply not having mana, he took exception to that.

..............

........

Iris on the other hand, was frozen stiff. Dream had been an energetic, happy guy sparring with her sister less than a minute ago. The way he flipped a switch like that surprised her.

When she insulted his world, she wasn't thinking very much about it. But she got a hint of how harsh she'd been after Dream had slowly gotten up and by the end, had almost been right up in her face. She could feel the rage in his voice as he approached her which made her want to fight back, but there was something else there that made her keep her mouth shut.

You see, both Luna and Iris were born with a special power. An Innate one passed down to them. They were able to deeply sense the state of people's souls. What Iris sensed at the beginning was sadness and disappointment. But as Dream finished, a deep despair had appeared in his soul. She couldn't say anything for fear of taking things even farther.

If he were only mad, then Iris would respond in kind. She had always been hot-blooded and wouldn't back down from anyone's challenge. But that wasn't anger. 

After Dream had disappeared in the forest, Iris spoke up.

"Hey, dad? He's 18 years old, right? How did Dream die? " (Iris)

"...He never told me. But Iris, that was pretty harsh. I don't like the fact that he yelled at you like that, but he wasn't unjustified either. Though I'm also glad you could at least keep it under control and let him walk away." (Riddick)

"I'm worried though. He's not okay. What happened to him in his world?" (Luna)

"What do you mean he's not okay?" (Riddick)

Riddick was surprised when Luna said that. All he saw was an insulted hot-blooded boy letting off a little steam. But apparently his daughter saw something different.

"His soul had deep despair in it. It was masked by the sadness and rage, but it was still there." (Iris)

"Hmm. Well he did die at least once, so there may be a lingering despair from that process. Either way, he'll need some time to gather himself. We can wait while he cools off." (Riddick)

Riddick led his daughters inside the house, waiting for Dream to return.

 

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