ImpSyndrome

I'm amazed at how quickly this one was finished, especially after how long Chapter 3.5 took. Anyway, here's the first of the hArtist entries, where Maxwell has an interesting encounter with the mental projection of our very own Kitty Kross.

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While exploring the corridors of the Nexus one day, I came across something odd: a door that looked different from the others. Where most of the doors to the "Mental Scopes", as I've come to call the rooms that each person's mind projects into the Nexus, appear as simple white-washed doors with a simple brass nameplate stamped onto them, the odd door out looked like something out of the Dark Ages: a tall oaken gate with not a speck of paint on its unfinished surface stood a few feet larger - in both of its frontal dimensions - than its blank counterparts, and the name "Kitana Evangeline Kross" was emblazoned on what appeared to be a gilded nameplate. Intrigued by the unique nature of the door, I cautiously pulled the portal open by the iron handle that hung at waist-level on the right side of the massive and heavy door. A bright light shone forth from inside the room, forcing me to shield my eyes; still wary of the Scope's contents but still infinitely curious, I wandered inside, completely unprepared for the strange new realm that awaited me.

The light that had drawn me into the Scope was actually a simulated sun, shining high above in its noon-time position above me. The large oaken door I had opened to reach the Scope, which had slammed shut behind me as I entered, had led me into the middle of an expansive ring of dirt and sand, with twelve-foot-high cobblestone walls enclosing the arena on all sides. Overlooking the circular space was a lone tower, where a balcony looked out over the arena; though the brilliant sunlight impaired my vision somewhat, I was able to make out the figure of a single person leaning over the edge of said balcony, apparently watching me. I considered trying to call out to this person, but my thoughts were interrupted when I heard someone running towards me. I turned just in time to see a muscular warrior, at least a foot taller than myself, clad in luminous steel and wielding a massive stone mace, rushing me head-on with his weapon held high in his left hand, a battle-cry rising from his throat and filling the air around us. With all the strength I could muster, I pushed off the dirt and leaped to one side as the heavy weapon slammed into the ground, turning the ground I had just been standing on to dust and sending sand into the air around the gladiator. With the precious time bought by the apparent difficulty had by the warrior in lifting his weapon again, I checked the battleground and searched for others, making sure that no one else could try to sneak up on me.

I returned my attention to my opponent as he wrenched his mace from the ground and faced me again; he hefted his weapon over his shoulder and charged at me once more, his every step causing the ground to tremble beneath his powerful legs. I backed up to the rounded wall of the arena and waited for my overwhelming adversary to cross the distance between us; as he closed in and swung his weapon, I rolled to the side again, and his weapon slammed into the cobbled stone, spraying chunks of polished rock and hardened mortar everywhere. Intent on freeing his weapon from its new resting place in the wall, the warrior focused his power on trying to rip it free, giving me a perfect opening; I ran forward and jumped as I approached, striking out at the barbarian's head with the strongest roundhouse kick I could muster. As the gladiator turned his head towards me, the front of my foot made solid contact with his face, breaking his nose and sending him sprawling onto the ground. Ignoring the searing pain I had incurred in my foot when I had kicked the man, I ran up to him as he laid in the dirt, clutching his bleeding nose with one hand and groaning, and jumped onto his armored torso. I grabbed his head and brought it close to mine, snarling with anger and frustration.

"Why did you attack me," I dared the downed man, desperately trying to keep the rush of adrenaline from fueling my rage. "I don't even know where I am; couldn't you have just told me to leave?!"

Straining his voice through the pain of his broken nose, he replied, "This is my job as...one of the royal guards...of Lady Kitana Evangeline...Those who would threaten my lady...are not welcome here..."

"What on earth were you thinking, you fool of a man," I shouted in his face. "You can see that I'm unarmed; you're not protecting anyone, you're just jumping any person that comes through that door!! A single blow from that earthen mace could kill a man!! What motives have you to attack anyone that enters this room?!"

My rage took over at that point, and I was about to beat the warrior's head against the ground in an attempt to knock some sense into him, but I was stopped when I heard a woman's voice call to me, begging me not to strike him again. I turned in the direction of the tower to see a young woman with long golden hair, dressed in a gown of an icy blue that shone in the sunlight, standing in a doorway adjacent to the one I had used to come to the arena, which had apparently just opened up out of what had appeared to be the solid stone base of the tower. She was accompanied by four men wearing similar armor to the barbarian I was standing over, each of them wielding an identical steel longsword. With their weapons drawn and pointed at me, I felt I had no other choice but to drop the defeated warrior's head and back away from him. As he leaned against the wall, trying to manage his broken nose, I looked up to the window, where I had seen the spectator before being attacked; noting that the watcher was no longer present there, I could only guess that the woman standing at the base of the tower was the person at the balcony.

"You were watching from that window," I asked her, gesturing to the tower above. "Couldn't you have just shouted down from there?"

"Yes, I was," she answered, "and yes, I could have done that, but I do not make a habit of looking down on others, in any sense of the phrase. I may be regarded as a princess here, but I am not so haughty to belittle another person."

"So you settle for making your allies beat them to death while you watch from afar? That seems VERY humane," I said, my response dripping with sarcasm.

"Kurt over there," the lady replied, pointing to the warrior with the broken nose, who was now preoccupied with removing his stone mace from the wall where it was stuck, "was instructed to challenge any man who came to this place in search of me, not to kill random innocents. Unfortunately, he is somewhat...overzealous in his duties; he may have mistaken you for another of my suitors."

"I'm sorry...a suitor? Forgive me, but my intent for entering this place was not to seek your hand. I was simply curious about that door of yours, and when I walked through it, your 'Kurt' leaped upon me with his mace in hand."

"Well, you did look up to the tower balcony; it is possible that he believed you were searching for me specifically. Perhaps he only meant to frighten you as he took a swing or two at you, but I suppose he was afraid that he might appear to be slacking if he did not take you seriously."

"Oh, believe you me, he took me VERY seriously...So, now that we've settled that bit of nonsense, I have a few things to ask you."

"You're not the only one with questions to ask, my violent young friend," she said, motioning for her guards to sheath their weapons and stepping into the arena. "First of all, who are you? I've never met a man who could topple Kurt with a single blow, especially unarmed."

"My name is Maxwell," I replied, thankful that I did not appear to need to fight off the rest of her guards after defeating one of their own. "And you are?"

"The lady of this castle, of course...as Kurt probably told you. My name is-"

"Kitana Evangeline Kross, I know. I read the name off the gold plaque on the outside of your door...which brings me to my next question: how did you change the appearance of that door in the Nexus? I've tried it with mine, but it never seems to work."

"Oh...So you know about the hallways, then," the princess pondered quietly, as if she didn't want her allies to overhear. "I believe we should talk inside. Please, come with me, Maxwell; if we are to discuss the hallways, we should speak in private."

At her subsequent request, Kitana's guard broke ranks, rushing to their broken comrade Kurt, whose bleeding had finally stopped. I suddenly felt sorry for the man; as angry as I was at his reckless attack, I wondered if I had been too hard on him. Regardless, my attention returned to my hostess as she turned back to the tower from whence she had descended waiting for me to follow. I obediently matched her step and shadowed her as she entered the stone archway that had, for all I knew, appeared in the tower at her command. As soon as I was inside, I felt a rush of wind as an air current swept by me before being snuffed out; I turned hard on one heel to see that the doorway I had just passed through had vanished just as quickly as it had opened, as if the stone had never been missing. I spun back around, about to ask how such a thing was possible, but my hostess was already ascending the staircase inside the tower, which presumably led to the balcony from which she had previously been watching me. Not wanting to be left behind, I quickly rushed up the stairs and rejoined Kitana, climbing the staircase until reaching a somewhat slim version of the door I had used to enter her Mental Scope. The princess paused for a moment before reaching out to the door and lightly tapping it with three fingers; almost immediately, the door slowly opened inward, granting us access to what appeared to be the lady's social chambers.

The room was ovular in shape, with the balcony overlooking the arena taking up the left half of the room. The wall on the opposite cylindrical wall had no balcony; built into it was a large recess used as a library, sporting six shelves packed end to end with books of all kinds. A velvet-cushioned chair and matching ottoman, with a tall iron hook wearing a lantern standing overhead, rested near the bookshelves; this was most likely Kitana's study. The lady voiced a request, presumably to the Nexus itself, for the addition of another seat to the room, and another chair appeared across from the velvet one; she sat down in the lavishly-decorated study chair, while I followed suit and sat down in the one she had just conjured up.

As I took my seat, I got my first good look at Kitana up close. A gilded circlet rested on her forehead, set with a perfectly-rounded sapphire in its center that perfectly matched the hue of her eyes, its golden band partly hidden behind her flowing blonde hair. A pendant of three gemstones, the center one larger than its two counterparts, hung around her neck; try as I might, I could not identify the stones set into the golden slots of the pendant. The sunlight shining through the balcony reflected from their surfaces, creating a beautiful abstract mosaic on the ceiling that shifted and tilted with every breath she took. The gemstones weren't the only things reflecting the sunlight, either; as I looked down from the ceiling, I noticed that bright-yellow gold trim lined her dress, adding a subtle hint of royal dignity to it.

"So," the lady asked me plainly, recapturing my attention, "you know about those hallways and the doors along them...Then do you understand the nature of this place? I mean, do you understand where you are and who you are?"

"Of course," I returned, "this is a Mental Scope, the projection of a human mind, within the Nexus, the collective unconscious described by Prof. Carl Jung. And I, Maxwell, am the mental personification of my physical self. This place is not real; it is only a world of dreams, thoughts, and memories."

"This 'Nexus' may be made of thoughts and memories, but it's very real; it exists within the mind of every person on the planet. If this place was not real, we couldn't have this conversation, could we? No, we'd have to meet in person...if this place was an illusion. But I'm here, and you're here as well; that's proof enough that we exist, that the Nexus exists."

"...It seems I still have quite a bit to learn about the Nexus," I mused, shocked that she was so learned about the ways of our realm. "I had no idea you were so wise in the ways of our mental plane, Lady Kitana."

"Please, just call me Kitty," she replied with a smile. "I may act like a lady for my friends out there, but I'm really a very simple woman at heart."

"I see...Well, Kitty, how did you come upon all this knowledge? How long have you been active in the Nexus?"

"Oh, most all of my life. It wasn't until several years ago that I began experimenting with this room; since then, I've learned that these...Mental Scopes - wasn't that what you called them? - can open up into entire worlds within the Nexus. That's how I made my room into my castle: my fortress, safe within my mind."

"That's another thing I was meaning to ask you: the stone archway you walked through to meet me. Did you create that opening in the tower's base?"

"Yes," she answered nonplussed, "and I returned it to its original state after you followed me so no one would bother us. All those men down there...They're nice, of course, and they treat me well, but sometimes I wish for more...something less like devotion and more closely resembling affection."

"I understand what you mean," I replied, thoughts of Ophelia rushing through my head at the sound of my own words. "Who are all those men, anyway? Kurt, and those guards...Are they other people within the Nexus, or do they reside here?"

"They were created here," Kitty answered, "by my own two hands. See, for a while, this room was empty of life, except for me...I got lonely, to be honest. Wishing for a companion, I created them with the powers of the Nexus and made myself into their queen; they've served me ever since. Still, I think I'm looking for something else...A partner, perhaps..."

For the first time, I questioned the methods by which I had created Ophelia; knowing that this woman had made her servants and guardians without any sort of sacrifice, I had to wonder if there was some other way I could have completed the ritual.

"Of course, they're not real humans," Kitty continued, breaking my concentration. "They're only images conjured up by my mind...They're about as real as a person can be, but...If I wanted a real flesh-and-blood companion, well...actually, it's impossible, now that I think of it. That requires much more than just thoughts..."

"It requires a sacrifice," I said, finishing her sentence, "of one's own body...to create a new life. That is the law of the human nature, as it is for all living things; something cannot be made from nothing."

"Exactly," she responded, smiling. "You're more intelligent than you give yourself credit for, Max; you may not know the same things about the Nexus as I do, but you are still wise beyond your years."

"...Thanks, I'll...I'll try to remember that, I suppose."

"So, Max, how long have you been here? In the Nexus, that is."

"Ah, let's see...I suppose it's been about six months now; I only recently opened my eyes to this realm. I learned how to manipulate my Mental Scope within a month or so, and I've only recently begun exploring other Scopes, like this one."

"How did you find me here, anyway? Was this your destination by choice?"

"No, I didn't plan to come here originally, but when I noticed how different your door was from all the others, curiosity got the best of me, and I wandered in here...I do apologize if I caused you any trouble, but I was afraid for my life."

"I understand, but you don't need to be; there's a safeguard in place that protects all human life from total destruction. Even if Kurt had struck you, I doubt you would've died anyway."

"Oh, I...I see...Well, I suppose I owe Kurt down there an apology for breaking his nose, then."

Kitty chuckled lightly at this, responding, "I'll be sure to let him know that there are no hard feelings."

"I'd appreciate that, thanks. I was lucky today, but I'd hate to be on Kurt's bad side; he has a mighty swing."

"Only when he needs to, though. So, what is the Nexus like, outside of the Scopes? You know, the hallways and such...Are they all the same?"

"Yes, until today, I believed that all the doors in the Nexus' maze of corridors looked identical. Wait...You mean you haven't ever been out in the Nexus?"

"I prefer the solitude of my castle over the vast unknown of the Nexus; while it's not the most exciting way of life, it's where I feel more comfortable."

"I suppose we differ in that regard," I responded. Trying not to sound spiteful of her opinion, I added, "I have learned much from the Mental Scope provided to me, but I believe the real secrets of the Nexus lie in the corridors somewhere. By exploring as much of the Nexus as I can, I hope to find a center to this strange place some day."

Kitty smiled and said, "I understand your feelings, but don't get lost in your mad quest for truth; remember, just because something exists, that doesn't mean it needs a reason to."

Sensing that our conversation was over, I stood up from my chair, turning to the exit to leave, but before I reached the open doorway leading to the staircase, I turned back to Kitty and asked, "By the way...How DID you make the door look the way it does in the Nexus? I never did get an answer from you, did I?"

"No, you didn't," Kitty said slowly as she closed the distance between us. "But if you want me to tell you...I need to ask you for something in return...as a favor, that is..."

Wondering why she wanted a favor all of a sudden when she had volunteered her previous information so freely, I asked, "Well, what kind of favor would you ask of me?"

The lady blushed as she approached me cautiously, and she waved her hand to the balcony; a stone wall rose up from the edge of the overlook and shut us in, letting only a few slivers of light in from between the cracks in the mortar. Not understanding what was going on, I asked her what her intention was, but she wouldn't say anything until we were touching toes.

"It's...nothing serious or anything," she said anxiously. "If you want me to tell you about the door, I just want you to...to kiss me."

"I beg your pardon? We just met; what exactly do you mean-"

"In real life, I have a boyfriend; he's a great guy, and he treats me well. But the person you see here isn't the same as the person I am physically; even with all these people around me, those guards who swear their loyalty to me, the champions who would fight for me...I still get rather lonely here, by myself, with no one to keep me company...That's why...I just want to know if we ought to be friends."

"And to that end, you want me to kiss you? That seems like a bit of a stretch..."

As much as I wanted to argue the point, I could see that my argument was not going to win out over her request. Besides, I could empathize with her, to a degree; she was alone, just like I was before I created Ophelia, and in a world as vast and confusing as the Nexus, she needed someone who she could trust, some pillar of strength that she could lean upon if she needed to. That empathy was the reason that I eventually stopped trying to avoid her, quashed my inhibitions, leaned forward and brought my lips to hers, gently kissing her for a few seconds before backing away. Kitty shut her eyes quietly, enjoying the emotions she was experiencing, before waving her hand and allowing the stone wall to recede, restoring her balcony to its original state.

"All you need to do to change the door," she said slowly, after a few awkward seconds. "is manipulate it while standing outside of the room. Just remember that the door will change inside the room if it changes in the hallway; I had to learn that the hard way."

I nodded and voiced my thanks for her advice, but before I turned to the staircase to leave, she called me back, saying, "Max...Thank you...I'm glad we met...and I hope we can be friends."

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Hope you all enjoyed reading the first of the hArtist entries; more to come soon!! Major kudos to Kitty, for allowing me to use her mental persona and for helping me make this part of the story as awesome as it is. Up next on the list is Quad, who brings the sexy duo of Valerie and Marishka into the Nexus.

Here's the list of participants again, for anyone who doesn't remember what order we're going in.

--UsakosKitty featuring: herself - COMPLETE!!
--QuadManXXX featuring: Valerie and Marishka - COMING SOON
--Gnomduploom featuring: Rene
--UsakoMan featuring: himself
--Steveman featuring: Steve and Yumi
--Dark-Kuja featuring: Janette and Jenny
--Chaosflare featuring: Chaos
--Dead-Dolls featuring: Melissa
--Ultamisia featuring: Aurlena
--Jezebel1669 featuring: Divebomb and Slice
--RandomReduX featuring: Tara
--XANA150 featuring: Brian/Xana and Brianna
--SpaceCoyote featuring: Levistus and Elyria
--Thebenja featuring: himself
--jenniforth featuring: herself
--thetruehentaiaddict featuring: Maria
--wicked13joker featuring: himself