fear itself

[deadthenred]

WHO: Bucky Barnes + ???
WHERE: the dreamscape
WHEN: vague pre-event beforetimes.
WHAT: three nightmares.
NOTES OR WARNINGS: feelings of inadequacy, vampires

[ In his dreams, it's 1943 again. ]

1)

[ Maybe you've had this nightmare before. Like showing up to take a final for a class you've forgotten to attend the whole semester, this is one that repeats.

There's a podium, a microphone— one of those old-timey, radio looking pieces. Behind the podium is an enormous star-spangled flag. There might be cameras in the audience, too, but the people out there are dark, nebulous, hard to see. One thing's for sure, though: they're all watching.

You gotta make a speech. ]

2)

[ The signs on the buildings here are all in French, but the soldiers are speaking English. They're crowded around their jeeps, mostly, biding time until reinforcements arrive and they can follow Patton up to the front. The only electricity right now is coming from batteries, and there are still holes in all the buildings from when the Germans blew right through, and the roads are still more mud than pavement.

Winter was unkind, in this part of Europe. It's still cold.

In fact, Bucky's teeth are close to chattering as he approaches the dark house, the street illuminated by memory, if not by lamplight. Some part of his subconscious knows what he's gonna find here. ]

Look. [ He turns to whoever's he's walking with, younger than usual, the cold snapping in his voice. ] Maybe we shouldn't go in.

[ A lot of people in this town have died, recently. Not all of them have stayed dead. ]

3)

[ The picture is black and white, but you can tell that the man's uniform is red, white, and blue. Captain America, the name blares in the tin of a radio announcer. He has the strength of ten men, the speed of ten horses, and the heart of a can-do patriot. He's the latest miracle of American engineering, and he's fighting on the side of freedom! So look out, Hitler and Hirohito—

And then the man smiles like a poster, except he's not a poster anymore, everything's all in living color. And he looks straight ahead, and says: ]

What makes you think you could ever keep up?

Comments

[deadthenred]

I dunno, can you? [ These dreams seem to work differently every time— which makes perfect nonsense. They're dreams.

Having a gun is never a bad idea, according to Bucky, and he's got a Thompson SMG strapped over his shoulder now. But this time… ] Maybe an axe would be better.

[ He pushes in the front door, and it gives way easy. It's dark inside, the wallpaper peeling in places, everything a muddy grey. The only sign of a struggle is the broken windows and dirt on the floor, but there's the sound of shallow breathing upstairs. ]

[riskless]

[ she considers this. frowns down at her hands. she's heard they can manipulate the dreams, change them, and she knows this one isn't hers, but she's already making conscious decisions. so... why not try?? ] If you can dream it, you can achieve it.

[ the next thing she knows, there's an axe in her hands, one that looks a little like andy's. now she just has to channel andy. ]

[ nile follows after him, eyes darting up when she hears the breathing. ] You still didn't tell me what we're up against here.

cw: death, injury

[deadthenred]

If we're lucky, just a couple of injuries. [ If you can dream it, you can achieve it, maybe. In a lower voice, he says: ] Somethin's been hurting the soldiers stationed here. The townsfolk, too.

[ But he doesn't want whoever's up the stairs to hear them, and when they walk in it's clear enough why. The poor sap is moonlight pale, hair sticking sweaty to his face. There's blood coming from his mouth or his throat or somewhere inside of him— well, all blood comes up from the inside, but the way his uniform is folded round the neck, it's hard to tell how he's been injured.

"Cold…", he says. "So cold… in Europe…" Bucky kneels down beside him, takes him by the hand, even though the soldier's fingers don't move.

"I saw you once before— y'know— in France, don't 'member the town." The soldier is looking at Bucky or through him, at someone who isn't really there. But Bucky answers, not missing the beat. ]

That was some rough fighting.

[ "Not for you," the soldier replies. "Seein' you in action, that was somethin'. Guy like you, a hero… never thought you'd have the time for a grunt like me."

But at that Bucky shakes his head. ]

I'm only a soldier, just like you. We're just doin' our duty.

[ And even though Bucky doesn't even look all of his nineteen years, there's a feeling that this isn't the first time he's sat with a fella bleeding to death.

It won't be long before the soldier passes. Then they'll see what becomes of his bones. ]

[riskless]

Not sure I like the vagueness of "something." [ she grumbles it, keeping her voice low when she picks up on his need for quiet. ]

[ she moves into the room with her axe ready to strike, but when she sees the man on the floor it shifts into something more defensive. she keeps her distance, scanning the rest of the room to make sure no one (or nothing) else is around. peering at the way the soldier's blood is gushing, she resists the urge to touch her own neck, thinking of her own first death. ]

[ it's bad enough watching a stranger die like this. it makes her wonder after dizzy, briefly, considering she'd watched nile die, and they were friends. how desperate she was to help, despite knowing it was futile. ]

[ but the man told her to come in armed, so she's not letting herself get too lost in own memories when these are unfolding in front of her. ]

We're all soldiers here. [ maybe she can offer something small anyway. a tiny bit more understanding. ]

[deadthenred]

[ Bucky looks away from the dying soldier, at the woman standing next to him, and decides she isn't lying. He nods once, an acknowledgement, and then swallows, even though he hasn't got anything in his mouth.

After the soldier passes, he grips his gun a little tighter. ]

Now we wait.

[ Wait for what? They don't need to wait long for the answer. The man isn't dead a few breaths before his eyes snap open, glinting in the near dark. ]

[riskless]

[ afghanistan 2020, belgium 1940. circumstances, reasoning, all different, but there is still that familiarity that comes with soldiering. maybe that's why it was easy to fall into place with the others, when they'd all been soldiers too. ]

[ the man grips his gun, and nile adjusts hers on the axe. the waiting is short lived, and really there is only one thing nile has to say about the dying man's reawakening. it isn't anything like hers are. it's too fast, with no actual healing. ]

What the fuck?

[deadthenred]

[ Soon the corpse transforms underneath the shadows, limbs growing longer. It shudders upward, suddenly, lunging at Nile, at warmth, the uniform hanging in awkward tatters around its body. Suddenly it doesn't fit. Its fingers have gnarled into claws, and its teeth are very sharp, monstrous. But for all that, it can move.

As he sees the creature head toward Nile, Bucky calls out: ]

Use the axe!

[ He doesn't stand still, either. He lets his gun drop to his side, instead running to grab a big splinter from the broken window. ]

[riskless]

[ her 'what the fuck' physically manifests in her expression, slow churning horror and confusion mixing with her fight or flight instinct. ]

[ fight wins out, especially when her dream buddy barks out the order. ]

What the fuck! [ she hisses out, swinging the axe with her entire weight behind it, slamming the blade down into the monster's shoulder. ]

[deadthenred]

[ It's a strong blow. The vampire staggers, but doesn't fall. Because vampire. ]

You gotta take off the head.

[ The creature reaches its good arm towards her throat. Bucky lunges, with the pointy end of the piece of wood pointing forward, less daunted than he probably ought to be. Given the vampire. ]

[riskless]

[ she yanks the axe back out when the creature lunges at her, ducking as its hands swipe. ]

Love a good decapitation.

[ at least that explains the axe recommendation. nile staggers back a few feet, studying the thing as it shuffles around, temporarily distracted by bucky's makeshift weapon when it pierces it from behind. ]

If you can keep its attention, I'll see what I can do about the head situation.

[deadthenred]

[ After Bucky stabs the creature through the heart it freezes. It isn't dead, falling to its knees and then the floor. Bucky stands behind it, empty-handed. He looks at the ground, and then back up at her, holding the axe. ]

I can do it, if you want.

[ There's nothing eager in his eyes. It's lousy work, but he figured he'd offer. He's the one who has to carry all of this, after all. ]

cw decapitation???

[riskless]

[ this is some real weird vampire shit. it probably is vampires. the guy is dreaming it with so much familiarity she can't help but think it's... a real thing, in some capacity. he seems resigned to taking the kill, like he's done it too many times, and it just makes nile feel more determined. ]

No, I got this. [ besides, it feels weird to hand over andy's axe to a stranger. she moves in closer, takes a deep breath, then lifts the axe up. she isn't sure how much force it's gonna need, so she again throws as much of her weight into as she can, bringing the blade down at its neck. ]

[ it only goes about halfway through. ] Shit. Gimme a break.

[ she jerks the axe out and swings it down in the same spot; this time it works turning herself into a human guillotine, and the head rolls over on the floor. ]

[deadthenred]

[ A stranger who looks approximately seventeen. Especially when his brow is furrowed like it is right now. ]

Jesus.

[ He says, but not like a prayer. It's a gruesome sight, even if there isn't as much blood as there oughta be. The corpse withers, unnatural, when its head is cut off. It'll be dust before too long.

It feels right not to say anything more, at least for a little bit. ]

[riskless]

[ nile stumbles back a few feet, putting more distance between herself and the corpse, closing her eyes to give herself a moment to catch her breath. at least this is only technically a dream. ]

[ she follows suit with the silence, but her grip is still tight on the axe. she's come back to life plenty of times herself, she's not taking any chances on this... thing. she watches as it seems to start crumbling, but even then the axe remains poised defensively. ]

[ she glances at her companion, tilting her head questioningly. ]

[deadthenred]

Something's been— [ He frowns, and corrects himself. ] Somethin' was turning our boys into vampires.

[ Because part of him recognizes that this all happened before, more or less, even though it's all fake, a dream. ]

This is the first we had real proof.

[ He can see how close she's clutching that axe, so he nods, just the once. ]

He's not gonna be coming back.

[ But he won't blame her if that's as reassuring as combat orders from a ninety-day wonder. ]

[riskless]

Vampires. [ she fucking KNEW it. ]

[ with this confirmation, nile reflects on the entire scene up until this point, putting everything into a bigger context. the cold, the weird decapitation rules, the dust body. ]

[ her grip doesn't slacken when he tells her it's over, but she does at least lower it so it's not as imposing on a now empty room. ]

Don't vampires usually make other vampires? That's the lore where I'm from, generally speaking. Or did we take out the big bad?

[deadthenred]

Usually. [ Could be some kinda ancient blood magic ritual, but the Nazis didn't go in for that stuff as much as you'd believe. ]

But the soldiers have only been here a few weeks, since the counteroffensive. The— [ a hesitance, like he's trying the phrase out ] big bad has been here longer.

Pvt James Barnes, by the way. [ It's the tone of voice that usually comes with a handshake, but he doesn't offer. There's still a corpse on the ground. Decency doesn't seem to fit. ] I'm usually older than this.

[riskless]

[ big bad is a great word for the lexicon. ] Coulda been buying his time. But I'm not that much of a vampire expert. [ she read twilight as a youth, and she doesn't think that counts. ]

Nile Freeman. Used to be a corporal. [ he doesn't offer his hand, so she doesn't push for it either. ] I'm not. Probably won't get much older for a while either.

[ in theory. but she doesn't know how it works on this earth, given none of them heal here. ] This is World War II, right? You an old man now?

[deadthenred]

[ He whistles low. Yeah, she had the army look, even if she obviously didn't belong here. ]

Depends. When's now? [ It's a very sarcastic teenager voice for an old man. Bucky still feels old, even if, physically, he isn't. He's confused about modern music. His bones hurt. ]

We dealt with Baron Blood a couple years back. [ 'Cause when you think "Nazi vampire" you think Baron Blood. ] Made a couple calls, when this started, but what's left of him's still in that crypt back in London. Could still be this is the remains of somethin' he started.

[riskless]

Well into the 2500s apparently. But I'm from 2020. [ and she was probably going to see the 2500s anyway, just not by skipping out on those 500 years. ]

Baron Blood? [ "are you for real?" ] That should have been a dead giveaway for vampire. You gotta take care of his real corpse eventually too?

[deadthenred]

Yeah, that drip ran around dressed like a Lugosi sequel. [ Nothing about Baron Blood was subtle. ] We killed him, but— [ He pinches his fingers to his face, thinking. This knowledge is from outside the dream, something he didn't know about at the time. ]

Later we'd find out the Super-Axis resurrected him, somehow. Some kinda creep-o vampire science. [ Typical, right? ] Anyway, this isn't him. At least, not directly. [ He's sure of that. Part of him's sure of what has to come next, too, but he doesn't wanna go there, so he adds: ]

It was 2019 for me.

[riskless]

Super Axis and vampires. Your version of World War II sounds supernaturally fucked up instead of just the regular kind. [ SUPER AXIS?? ] Least we don't have vampires to deal with, unless you killed 'em all and kept it a secret.

[ nile pauses. he said he's not normally this young, but - ]

So you are an old man.

[deadthenred]

It's the standard issue kind of fucked up, too. [ Eds. note: see Doctor Strange vs Dracula: The Montesi Formula to find out what happened to the vampires! ]

Hey. Don't rub it in.

[ It'd make sense, though, if an old man was young again in his dreams. Probably. ]

[riskless]

Doubly fucked. [ she is just forever glad to have avoided that conflict, vampires and all. ]

You brought it up first. Besides, I know some very old men who look pretty good for their ages. Not sure age means much anymore.

[deadthenred]

Yeah, vampires. [ He scuffs his boot on the floor, making a line in the dust.

Of course, Bucky knows a few other ways. Hell, Bucky knows Thor. Still, the thing he says has nothing to do with that. ]

It meant a lot to me, back then.

[ As in, the time he's dreaming up right now. ]