006 Genes [Dream]
Warnings: Death, gore, violence, child abuse, etc. Generally unpleasant things. Action or Prose is ok!
As the dream unfolds, you find yourself in a lush, dark forest. The moon and stars shine brightly above you, dimly illuminating the path through the forest with their natural light. The cleared path ahead weaves and turns over and through hills. Off in the distance, you think you spy a bearded woodsman sitting in front of a stump, quietly splitting logs.
When you approach him, the only thing the old woodsman tells you is to beware, as a group of thieves lives here. He motions off in the distance, smoke eminating from a bright red source. You can vaguely make out the shape of a house from it, and decide to investigate. Drawing closer, your suspicions are confirmed. High atop a hill is a house, slowly crumbling from the hellish heat of the flames. Drawing closer still, you can make out at least four shapes. One of them you might recognize as Ryu, though perhaps not as old as you might be used to.
The second shape looks... Disturbing, to say the least. It's another boy, similar in age to Ryu, but his violet hair is clumped with dirt and caked with blood, and his skin looks almost rotting. The boy's grip is tight on Ryu's free hand, the other holding a sword. "What will we do? We're homeless again, lost. They're going to kill us, you know." The violet-haired boy let out a raspy laugh, making the grip on Ryu's wrist that much more painful. Somehow, you recognized this boy as Teepo. You're not sure where the name came from in your memory.
As you draw closer, the other two shapes take on a clearer form. A pair of anthropomorphic unicorns, with horns extending from their foreheads. One of them has an almost aqua color to his skin, and his mane and tail a hue of light green. The other horse stands close to his counterpart, this one with an olive complexion and a deep green mane. Their muscular forms appear almost red in the light of the fire, and from their sneering laughter and blood covered hands, it's not difficult to tell what happened here.
"Kids these days just don't learn, do they?" The first unicorn, Balio, speaks with a neighing laugh. "Sometimes you get too big for your britches."
The second unicorn, Sunder, joins in his brother's laughter. "Right as always, bro! It doesn't matter how far you go, or how determined you are. We'll always be here to remind you. Make you remember. You'll never find a home again, or your family. Why make friends when they can all just disappear?"
"S-SHUT UP!" Ryu yells, swinging his sword wildly at the two. Teepo's iron grip keeps him from moving with any sort of threatening speed. Balio takes the opportunity to punish him, sending both boys flying back towards the house with a powerful kick. Ryu is already beaten, bloody, and broken, but he still tries to get up, even with Teepo's decaying form continuing to grab and claw at him. "They're going to kill us, kill us, kill us, kill us. You're going to let me die now, or are you going to kill me again yourself?" Teepo whispered in Ryu's ears, though his words also echo in yours.
What will you do? Let the boy fight alone and watch the scene unfold? Or step in and help?