Sandman 4.0(Closed for Sinister Spiders)

Don

Don took the comment as encouragement to continue, he decided to remove his clothing the old fashioned way; with a little flair added, he ripped the shirt off and threw it to the side and tore of his pants as if they were tear-aways. He elected to keep his underwear on.

Now mostly naked, Don swooped back in and advanced his kissing and touching to the next level, his hands roamed the length of her body, paying special attention to her breasts and inner thighs, he pressed his barely contained hardness against the soft fabric of her panties. His tongued danced relentlessly with hers and in his mind he knew she would be his.

Jo watched Do, her eager eyes raking his vague dream form, wanting to see more of him.

And she wasn't disappointed.

Her dreamself laughed as she watched him rip his clothes off, adding a dramatic flair to their encounter. As soon as he flung his arms back the fabric dissipated into nothingness. Her amusement was short lived though, and her anticipation back in full force as he climbed atop her, his hands roaming up and down her sides, his lips capturing her own in a passionate kiss that claimed her for his own.

And she no longer wanted to fight it.

So Jo pushed on, her hands wrapping around his shoulders as she kissed his neck, taking a deep breath of him and finding him delightful even as she had no idea what he truly smelled like. All she knew was that his musk had her hips bucking, her damp and panty-clad womanhood pushing up against his hard arousal.

Don

Don could no longer compartmentalise his feelings toward Jo. He could sense the chemistry between it was like an electric shock of pure bliss every time their lips connected. Could he truly turn this girl over, someone who made him feel real again? Right now the answer was no, he was too lost in the moment.

Don had a feeling that he used to findit a challenge to decipher the lock of a woman's bra but in the dream world he was a god. In record time he removed the unwanted garment and took a moment to marvel at her exposed body. Although it was only a representation of her real self it was enough for him to move to the next level.

He lunged at her right breast and took her nipple deep into his mouth, his left hand kneaded her left side all the while his groin pressed even hard against her pelvis.

Every step Don took was a step in the right direction. Each movement met with a moan of approval from Jo. Her bra all but vanished and soon he had made for her breasts, lips and hands attending to them with all of he enthusiasm of a man starved. As her pleasure rallied she couldn't help but grind against him, her hands going down to take a firm hold of his arse as she rolled her hips upwards.

Then the scraps of fabric between them were too much. Jo's hands traveled to his sides, she grabbed the waistband of his underwear and slid it down, his hips jerking back to allow her the room to free him. Then her own underwear came next. She had trouble getting it off properly, and she didn't want to lose contact with his body, so she merely pushed it aside. The hot length of his rod fell against her sensitive folds and she groaned into his ear right before she nipped at it.

He felt so good against her.

Jo reached down, placing her hand against his cheek and guiding his face up to her own. When he was at her level she kissed him, her lips parting his and her tongue darting into his mouth as she moved her hips from side to side, assisting his member to settle more fully amongst her folds. He was hot and firm, but she needed more. She pulled her hips back into the mattress, his tip lowering to her entrance, probing it, stretching it.

"Are you this sexy in real life?" She asked, just as his rod was about to invade her.

But then, something odd.

A feeling of lightness warred with her arousal. It took her a few moments to realise what it was.

"No!" Jo cried, struggling, fighting that irresistible pull on her.

One minute she was beneath Don, about to be impaled by him, and the next she was in her bed, fully dressed and panting like the hot mess she was. Her alarm was blaring on her bedside shelf and she swore loudly.

Don

Don couldn't begin to describe the frustration he felt when Jo de-materialised from underneath him. Was it her game? Work him up? Distract him from the truth?

His world was becoming so much more complicated now, his only goal was to return to the real world and now with Roy asking about Jo, he wasn't sure anymore.

Don stayed in position for the moment, half naked and panting. He needed a moment to catch his breath and collect his thoughts. He needed more information and he knew where to get it.

Don found himself back in Wild West town. He went straight for the bar. As expected Joe was behind the counter.

"Haven't seen you in a while Don, have you found the drifter?"

"Not really. But I'm close."

"That's some good news son. Have a drink on the house." Joe began to pour a shot for him.

"Sorry Joe. I don't have time to sit and drink today. I need more information."

Joe paused in thought.

"I see, well you know how this works. You give me something, I give you something."

"Joe, I seriously don't have time for this game. " Don snapped. Joe smiled lightly in return.

"Time is an illusion here, you know that better than anyone. Do you even know how long you've been away?" Don looked away.

"You know, you're not the only one in the DHub with problems son." Joe's voice took on a serious note.

"Sorry Joe, it's just lately things have been off. I..don't have any information as such, well maybe I do, but I can't be sure."

"Cryptic ah? Well you're entitled to your secrets, most folk have em by the boat load. Tell you what, you can owe me one okay? It wont be cheap but I know you're good for it."

"Thank you Joe, listen. I need information on a girl named Joanna Johnson, shes new to the DHub but she special."

"Joanna Johnson? Hmm? I've heard that name before, someone else came in here asking about her too." Don sat up straighter.

"Really? Who?"

"Didn't give me her name. She was full of mystery that one but she knew a lot about other interesting endevours."

"Where is she now? Please I know I'm overstepping here but I need to know"

"You're in luck this time, I happen to know shes at the Inn across the way."

"Thanks Joe, I really do owe you." Don jumped up and left in a hurry. Maybe he would this time he would get more answers.

Don looked over at the rickety building next door. The Last Stand. It might seem odd to have an establishment meant for sleeping in a dreamworld but it usually wasn't used for sleeping. Don burst through the doors and headed to the counter. The inn keeper was an aged woman who didn't even look up at his entrance. Dorris, like Joe always seemed to be around, she wasn't as friendly and acted as if everything you said wasn't worth her time.

"Dorris, I need to see a woman." She didn't respond. In fact, she continued to read what appeared to be a cheap worn out romance novel.

"Dorri...." She put her hand up to stop him. After an excruciatingly long wait she looked up, upon recognising his face her expression immediately turned to a scowl.

"What do you want?" she barked.

"Please Dorris I need to see a woman."

"A woman? You're not going to cause a scene like the last few times are you?" Dorris growled. She wasn't wrong, last time he came to the Inn it was to take care of a unscrupulous business man who was stalking people in their dreams, Don used his assertive personality to make sure the man would never return to the DHub.

"No, not this time." Don replied. Dorris didn't look convinced.

"I'm pretty sure I wont this time." Don added. Dorris huffed.

"Your type are always the same, gallivanting around thinking you're a hero. Well news flash kid, you're not. You're just some little boy having a cock fight with other little boys." Don didn't appreciate the analogy but he didn't have any ineligible come back.

"Please Dorris, I promise I will try not to cause I scene." Don begged.

"No. I've had enough of cleaning up after your messes. This place aint like one of your playgrounds out there, we have to rebuild everything you destroy manually. Now get out of here!" She boomed. Don was of the mind to bypass her and find her himself but Dorris wasn't his enemy and he didn't need anymore of those.

"Dorris, you dont understand, I'm not trying to be a hero, I just want to speak to this woman and I will be out of your hair."

"No means no! You should know that..."

"Send him up." a soft voice called from above the stairs. Don looked up but couldn't see past the balcony, he could definitely sense someone there though. Someone familiar?

"Fine, go. This is the last time though kid. Next time I'm not even going to talk to you." She dismissed him before he could even thank her. Don didn't want to waste anymore time, he headed up the stair case toward the mystery woman. When he got to the top he saw someone he didn't expect.

It was the woman that led him to Roy.

She wasn't wearing the bunny suit this time, this time she sported a silky red dress that clung to her petite frame. She didn't say anything when she saw him, it was as if she was expecting him. She gave him a sultry smile and then beckoned him with her index finger. Don edged closer, was this a trick? Again he asked himself, who was this woman? I why did it feel like he knew her? She turned and headed toward one of the rooms, her movements seemed purposefully seductive, hips swaying hypnotically in time. Don couldn't lie, she was a beauty. The dress matched her bright red hair perfectly and her skin seemed flawless. It was only a projection, but a well made one for sure.

Just as he passed the threshold of the door he was attacked. She lunged at him with her entire body using an unexpected amount strength, he found himself pinned against the wall in a matter of seconds, before he could mount a counter attack her lips her upon him. It suddenly dawned on him that she wasn't trying to hurt him, in fact it was quite the opposite.

Though the kiss wasn't welcome it felt far too comfortable. He'd done this before, many times before. After the work out with Jo he didn't realise how much tension he'd been holding back, before long he found himself kissing back. She broke the kiss first.

"Wow. I didn't realise how much I missed that." She smirked moved in for another round. Don pushed back.

"Wait, I'm sorry I can't...its just." Don stumbled over his words. Her mood visibly sank.

"You really don't remember do you?" She said sadly.

"I'm sorry, there is something but, please just tell me, who are you? Who am I?" Don sounded desperate but he didn't care.

"I can't tell you. I'm sorry, its not part of the deal. I wish I could, I truly do but..." She looked away, her face a mask of emotions.

"It's Roy isn't it? Maybe I can help." Don began but she stopped him short.

"No, you can't. Roy is..well its not just Roy okay? Please you need to just give him the girl."

"Why? Who is she?" Don found his hands around her shoulders now and not that gently either.

"Shes not who she says she is okay? Trust me on this?" She seemed scared now and Roy couldn't tell if it was from him or from something else.

"Please you have to give me something, anything. No one will tell me a thing." Don moved closer to her, almost intimately. Something told him it wasn't the first time.

"Shes..shes.." She looked toward the window suddenly.

"You have to go. Now!" She pushed him away as if to iterate the urgency.

"Wait, wh..." Don began but cut himself short, he sensed them entering the world and heading toward their position.

"I can stall them, but you need to leave. I promise everything will be clear when you get give Roy the girl."

"Wait I can't just leave you here, those hunters are dangerous." Don reached for her arm and placed his hand gently around her wrist. She looked at his arm for a moment before responding.

"Don't worry about me I can take care of myself. You need to go now, there's an exit right around the corner." She took him by the shoulders and easily guided him out of the room and around of the corner. By this stage he was pretty certain she was more than just a Dreamwalker. Before pushing him through she whispered one last thing.

"My name is Charlotte."

Jo spent the day cursing herself and her dreamself. The memories of what had happened with Don were fresh in her mind, replaying like a broken video feed, and blushed every time she thought of just how far they had gotten in such a short time. She tried to tell herself that it was because she had let her dreamself take over, but she knew it was a lie. She had wanted it too. What made it all the more embarrassing was that she knew that Don was real too, out there somewhere, and that he would know what they had done. She wondered what the real Don was like, what he would think of their encounter.

Fortunately the tail end of her shift had been busy, and she had spent the time rushing from patient to patient. It had wiped her mind of all worry for a few hours. That was, of course, until she went home.

That night, Joe fiddled with the settings on the Sandman unit, so that she wouldn't connect to the public Dnet. For that night and the four that followed she stuck firmly to her own dreams, taking Don's advice and learning to control herself better. It had worked of course, and as she read more of his journal it all started to make much more sense.

On the fifth night the embarassment of her forwardness had faded somewhat, and she reconnected to the public servers. When her consciousness switched from awake to asleep, she found herself in a bombed out looking city, clutching a chunky black gun and standing with some of the people she had gone to university with.

"Quick, they're coming!" One of the guys, Peter, called. Jo turned around to see a group of garish zombie-like creatures ambling towards them with surprising speed. She felt her legs start moving, and she didn't bother arguing with her dreamself's instincts.

Don

Don had been milling over his encounter with Charlotte, the truth hidden behind the veil of mystery didn't make anything easier for him. Why was Jo so important to them, it couldn't just be her abilities, after all she was still learning so there had to be something else. He felt an undeniable pull toward Charlotte, he wanted to do what she asked but something about it still seemed off. A growing part of him wanted to ignore her, Roy and everything else. Being in the dream world wasn't all bad, he could do almost anything he wanted, ever wanted. Who needed memories anyway. Perhaps it was time to start fresh.

Don sat for a moment on a mountain of spaghetti, nearby dreamers were either consuming the scenery or jumping around on it. A sudden pain permeated through his entire body. Don writhed around on sauce covered pasta trying to get a grip on his situation. He couldn't sense any immediate threats around him but it was as if his whole being was under attack.

Don managed to gather enough strength to raise his hand, it shuddered between being completely transparent to solid again, he could only imagine that the same was happening to the rest of his body. Don tried to block everything out, he focused on his dream-self and his immediate surroundings. From what he could tell the cohesive bonds keeping his existence in the dream world was destabalising; it wasn't like waking up. It was like dying.

Don focused his abilities trying to find a way to keep himself together, all he could see around him was the environment of the dream and the other dream-walkers. He noted something interesting, something he'd never paid attention to before. The energy tendrils that kept other dreamers in the world, it almost looked like he could draw upon it. He was desperate and in so much pain. Without any further thought Don used the same ability that allowed him change the world to gather what he needed.

It worked. The pain dissipated, he felt solid again. Unfortunately his victims didn't appear so, they exhibited similar symptoms that he had only moments before. In attempt to save himself he had condemned others. Don contemplated returning what he stole until he saw the after effects, each of them woke up. As far as he could tell they were pulled back into the real world.

What was going on with him? Was being in the dream world for so long finally taking its toll? Now that Don had regained his composure he noticed that Jo had reentered the world. The urgency of his decision had transitioned to the next level, he needed to do something soon or there would be nothing left of him.

Don found himself in what looked to be a post apocalyptic world over run by flesh eating zombies. Don had frequented worlds like this before but this time he wasn't here for the entertainment value. He found her fleeing from and with her own constructs, Don placed himself in her path so she would easily see him.

The first street the team had tried to escape down had shattered beneath them, falling away into blackness. They had backed up, almost tripping over each other to go back. They had run straight into a pack of zombies. Arms, weapons and blood had flown, and Jo managed to escape down a side street with a couple of others. She was letting her dreamself take charge in this, having almost forgotten this was a dream at all.

"TO THE VOLCANO!" A voice called from behind her. For the first time Jo noticed the huge mountain in the distance, smoke bubbling up from the top and forming fluffy grey clouds above it. She turned then, following the crew down the street that seemed to go in the right direction, breathing hard and hoping for dear life that the volcano would be their salvation. She was at the back of the pack, and she looked over her shoulder, getting the sense that there was a horde of zombies ambling along behind her.

When Jo turned back she let out a cry of surprise and jumped back, she stumbled to the ground, knowing that it should have hurt when she landed but it didn't.

"Don!" She panted, eyebrows furrowing at the strangeness of seeing him there. Then it hit her. In the panic and fast pace of the dream she had forgotten that it was, in fact, a dream. Her face flushed with embarassment as she got to her feet. A look back over her shoulder had the faceless horde gaining on them, and she took a deep breath and attempted to appear nonchalant about the fact she had just been running as though her life depended on it.

"Good to see you again," she said with a grin, as though she hadn't a care in the world. She bit her lip, unsure whether she should kiss him, shake his hand or pat him on the shoulder.

Don

Despite everything that was happening to and around him Don was still pleased to see Jo, even when out of breath, sweating and wearing a combat style outfit she was still a beautiful sight.

"I'm..better now that you're here." Don blurted. He'd almost told her about the incident from the previous world.

"Hey do you wanna get out of here?"

"Uh," Jo looked over her shoulder at the approaching undead horde, "Yes, I would love that!" She said with a nervous laugh. Don was watching her, completely unfazed my the surroundings. She knew he had much more experience with the Dnet than she did, she wondered if dreams like this were commonplace.

Don

When Jo responded she looked both happy and nervous, he didn't realise what it meant until he turned to look behind him. A horde of flesh eating zombies limped toward them hell bent of consuming their flesh, at least that's what her dream was designed to do. Don had to remind himself that Jo was still new to the Dream world and the potential of her abilities.

"Oh yeah I suppose we should get out of here."

Don took her hand and guided her to a short cut through one of the nearby buildings. This time he led them both into Dream limbo; the place between dreams.

"Welcome to Limbo. The place between dreams, I thought we could practice some new skills here." Don stated, to demonstrate he materialised a bouquet of flowers out of thin air and handed it to her.

Jo was relieved beyond belief when Don took her hand and guided her out of her dream, into a nowhere place. There was a reason that zombies tended to feature in her darker dreams, and it wasn't because she thought they were cute.

Jo looked around the nowhere place in awe, taking the flowers with an amused laugh and curtsy.

"Much better than post-apocalyptic zombie," she said appreciatively, holding the flowers close to her chest. When she looked at him memories of their last interaction flooded back to her and her cheeks warmed.

"I, uh, I've been practising the last few nights. That's why I wasn't here," she said, unable to meet his gaze.

Don

Don raised an eyebrow at her confession.

"Well I can see that you and your dream-self are well are truly connected now, you must show me what you can do. Start with something small."

Jo took a moment to consider her options. Last time she had gotten far too carried away, even if it had been fun. Her dreamself didn't seem to be as hung up on the zombies as she was, and she could feel the draw of arousal that she felt towards Don. It would be so easy, she knew, to give in and tumble with him again.

Instead she walked over to him, she plucked one of the flowers from the bunch and set it behind his ear with a grin. Her movements were smooth and controlled as she easily managed to convince herself that this was in her best interests.

"The start of the dream is hardest," she said, "Trying to get past the initial disorientation and breaking out from it."

Don

"Well done, fine motor control is difficult. Especially when you're dream-self wants to do all sorts of crazy stuff."

"Lets try something else, something small."

Don made the flowers into a small rock only about the size of his palm.

"Oh and don't worry about the DHub tracking us, in Limbo we can't do almost anything we want."

Jo leaned over with a frown, plucking the rock from Don's hand and looking at it. She knew it was a rock, but the weight and measure of it felt off somehow. She concentrated, picture it turning back into the flowers had been.

She concentrated.

And concentrated some more.

She concentrated until the world around her blurred.

"I cant do it!" Jo snapped, holding the rock back out for Don and gritting her teeth in frustration.

Don

Don couldn't help but let the smirk form on his face.

"Try to change the shape of the rock in your hand, if you start with something already in the dreamworld its easier. Think about what you know a rock to be, remember your subconscious is responsible for how the dream is created so you need to call upon your own knowledge to shape your surroundings."

What Jo really wanted to do was throw the rock out of a window. But there were no windows around so she took a deep breath and decided to go with Don's idea. He was only trying to help, after all.

So she concentrated again. If she couldn't turn the rock into a flower, then she would-

Then, in her hand, the rock shifted. It lengthened and changed, morphing into a flower-shaped rock.

"Yes!" Jo cried, jumping in excitement and holding up the hard grey flower in triumph.

Don

"Well done! You're getting the hang of it."

"Lets try a few more things." Don suggested.

They tried several different exercises from rock and flowers to slightly larger and more complex objects. She seemed a lot more comfortable with her abilities and also with him. Don decided they needed a break. He created a comfortable sofa for them to relax on. This seemed the best time to get her to open up a little more to him, perhaps she would slip up and let a secret out.

"So, tell me a little more about yourself." Don quested.

Overall Jo was pleased with her progress. They fell into an easy rapport as he taught her how to transform increasingly larger parts of the environment, and with so much opportunity to concentrate she found it worked well. She knew that it wouldn't go nearly so well in an actual dream, but the fact that she could do it at all was promising.

When Don called for a break she plopped down on the couch and smiled at him.

"What do you want to know?" She asked, wracking her brain for something interesting to tell him. There were already a few things he would remember from previous encounters. "I live in New Zenith... I work at the hospital there as a doctor..."She trailed off, looking around. "I also normally don't go beyond kissing on a first date," she added with a wry smile, eyes twinkling with amusement.

Don

Don couldn't help but chuckle loudly at her comment. At least now her interest in him was very clear.

"Really?" Don leaned in to give her a chaste kiss on the lips. He then moved his lips close to her ear.

"Tell me more about who you are, not just what you do."

The shiver that ran down Jo's spine was completely involuntary. Don't kiss had primed her with warmth, and his words lit a low, simmering fire within her. She pushed the feelings down, though. She had made herself a promise.

It was with a sense of remorse that Jo sat back, giving Don an apologetic smile.

"Gosh, there isn't all that much to me Don. Not that I can think of. I'm pretty boring really..." Jo cast around, cheeks flushing as her mind wandered off to other things she would rather be doing with this mysteriously intense dream man.

"Oh!" Jo said, pleased that she had thought of something, "I have a love for classic movies. You know the old two dimensional ones? With the terrible special effects? Yes, those are the ones I love the best."

Don

Don picked up on Jo's body language, she wasn't rejecting him exactly but she also wasn't completely on board either.

"Movies? Wow that's really old school, I didn't think anybody on the outside watched those anymore." Don commented, he wasn't ready to back off just yet so he positioned himself to her side and placed an arm around her shoulders.

"So what kind of movies do you like?"

Jo laughed at the question.

"Oh, only the worst kinds!" Jo chuckled, cheeks glowing, "You know- the ones where the old computer generated monsters jump out and eat people. Where they always split up and get stolen buy aliens. The ones where women take showers and get murdered to ridiculous music. Horrors, really. Though they are more of a comedy for me. I mean, did they really take them seriously back then? They look terrible!" She said. She didn't shrug out of his arm; she liked him, she did, but she wanted to take it slow.

"My first date was at one of those movies. It was horrid. The date, not the movie. The date was good, but the guys tried all of those old school moves. The yawn and stretch, the putting the arm around shoulder thing. The grope. Gosh, I was just pleased that he didn't to the dick in the popcorn thing-" Jo froze, mouth open when she realised what she had said.

"So, tell me about you Don. You are an enigma to me."

Don

Don chuckled at her anecdote, he'd never had trouble when it came to the opposite sex, at least in the DHub. Don decided not to mimic her terrible date and kept his hand on her shoulder.

"Enigma is good. Keeps things interesting." Don looked into her eyes and sported a cheeky smile. He realised they were likely playing a game of give and take, based on what he'd been told he knew he shouldn't give her anything, of course perhaps if he told her enough she might give him more.

"I'll be honest with you...I don't remember who I am." Don looked away into the distance of nowhere. A sadness filled his chest, it was the first time he'd told someone the truth in such a long time he'd actually forgotten how depressing it was.