Match 19258 Dominic Cobb vs. Princess Luna

[broadwaybeyonder]

Harrison Vaughn sat behind a folding table on the convention floor.  He occasionally glanced up to see guests sporting their MLP gear and cosplays walking past.  Some stopped for a moment to examine the pictures he had arranged for his booth, only for one of their companions to whisper in their ear and rush off.  Most of them merely took one look at the sign with his name on it and gave him an accusatory stare before storming off. 

Harrison sighed and wiped his glasses on his shirt.  It was awkward enough being at these conventions in his twenties, let alone with everyone there convinced that the only reason he got a booth was because of his father’s money. 

“Excuse me?” 

Harrison jumped slightly in his seat and quickly put his glasses back on.  Standing in front of his table was an attractive woman around his age with blonde hair.  She gave a friendly smile as Harrison stammered.  “Um, uh, yes?  I mean, hi!” 

“Take it easy, buddy.  I was just wondering if you could help me find my way around this place.”  Harrison cleared his throat and stood up, his knees bumping into the table.  He desperately tried to maintain his composure as he replied.  “Er, well, they do hand out maps of the convention floor at the front desk where you checked in.” 

“Well, the thing is, I really can’t go there.  I didn’t check in at the front desk.”  Harrison looked around then leaned to speak more softly.  “But you need to check in to get your pass.  How did the guard let you through?”  The woman gave a cheeky wink and shrugged.  “I asked nicely.” 

Harrison gave a nervous laugh as the woman went on.  “My name’s Natalie, by the way.  I’m in town on summer break and noticed all these people wandering past my hotel dressed in this horse stuff.” 

“Pony.” 

Natalie gave a knowing look to Harrison, who mentally kicked himself for saying anything.  “The… the characters are… ponies.” 

“So, I was right.  This is where all the bronies come to play?”  Natalie looked down at the pictures on Harrison’s table.  “And where they show off all their fanart.  Did you draw all of this?” 

“Uh, yeah.  Yes!  I mean, I’ve been working on them for a long time.  Ever since I watched the show.  I know there’s a lot of artists around.  Well, not as many with show off the air now.  I mean, I guess you’ve probably seen better stuff than mine.”  Natalie picked up a picture of the Mane 6 in an action pose battling a monster.  “To be honest, I like your stuff better.  Some of the other artists seem to have kind of… overactive imaginations, if you know what I mean.”  Harrison nodded as Natalie picked up another picture.  “Ooh!  What about this one?”  It was a picture of a pony with a blue coat, wings and a unicorn horn.  She wore a harness with a symbol of the moon emblazoned on it, with a matching image on her flank.  In the painting she was posed in mid-leap in a field of stars, almost as if she was about to jump out from the page. 

Harrison took a deep breath.  “That’s Princess Luna.  In the show, she’s the sister of Princess Celestia, the ruler of Equestria.  After the Mane 6 freed her from a spell that had turned her to the evil Nightmare Moon, she became the ruler of the night, and the guardian of dreams.”  Natalie looked at the picture and nodded in approval.  “She looks pretty cool.  I bet you’re selling a lot of these.” 

“Not really,” Harrison sighed, slouching back in his chair.  “You can just have that one if you want it.  Doesn’t matter anyway, I guess.  Most people at these conventions think I’m just here because my dad paid for it.  And everybody who doesn’t go to these conventions just thinks I’m a weirdo because I watched ‘My Little Pony’ at all.” 

“Well, I wouldn’t say you’re just a weirdo,” said Natalie.  Harrison perked up, then Natalie grinned.  “You’re an extremely talented weirdo.”  Harrison blushed and looked down as Natalie put the picture back on the table.  “I’ll tell you what, Harrison.  How about after you’re finished here for the day, you show me some more of your pictures?  You can come over to the hotel, you can tell me more about ‘My Little Pony’ and I can give you something for the pics I like.” 

“But I told you you don’t have to pay me anything,” said Harrison.  “I don’t need any money.”  Natalie leaned over the table close to Harrison’s face with a look in her eyes.  “Who said anything about money?” 

Harrison’s jaw nearly made contact with the table as Natalie produced a pen and wrote an address on the back of the Luna picture.  “I’m in room 406.  I’ll leave the door open.  See you at 7ish.” 

“Uh, yeah.  I mean, yes!  Thanks.  I’ll uh see you there!” 

Natalie handed the picture back to Harrison and strode off.  Harrison was so enraptured looking at the address that he failed to notice ‘Natalie’ looking over her shoulder with a guilty expression on her face. 

5 minutes before 7, Harrison rushed up the stairs of Natalie’s hotel with a manila folder filled with his fanart tucked under his arm.  Reaching the 4^th floor, his eyes darted around the hall until he found room 406.  He darted for the door, stopped himself, and took a deep breath before knocking.  The door creaked open slightly to reveal the darkened room inside.  Harrison poked his head in and glanced around.  “Natalie?  Um, it’s me?  Harrison?  From the convention?  I brought some pictures that I thought you’d like?”  Harrison took a step into the room, blinking and wishing his eyes would adjust to the darkness faster.  “Look, uh, Natalie?  Are you here?  I’d just like to show you these pictures.  You don’t have to…” 

Harrison heard the door close behind him.  Before he could react, he felt someone grab his arm and yank it behind his back.  He struggled to free himself, but he felt a needle insert itself into his neck.  “Nat..a..lie,” he breathed as the anesthetic did it’s work.  Harrison fell unconscious, face first onto the bed. 

“Told you he’d fall for it.”  Dominic Cobb flicked on a light to see Eames and Yusuf standing over the now sleeping Harrison.  Arthur stood across the room with Ariadne by his side, taking off the wig she wore as Natalie.  She looked at Harrison with concern as Eames continued.  “Show one of these geeks a pretty face and they’ll run straight into an oncoming train.” 

“Is he stable?” asked Cobb.  Yusuf rolled Harrison over and checked his vitals.  “Everything looks good.  He’ll be out more than enough for you to get what you’re looking for.”  Cobb nodded.  “Alright.   Hook him up.” 

Yusuf started attaching the PASIV device to Harrison.  Arthur turned to Ariadne as she tossed the wig on a chair.  “How about you?  You good?”  Ariadne slowly nodded.  “I’m fine.  I just… I’m just not sure this was the only way we could have done this.” 

“Careful, Arthur,” smirked Eames.  “I think she’s got a crush on pony boy.” 

“Knock it off,” said Cobb, stepping in between his team.  “We all agreed to this.  Saito wants the information from Vaughn’s computer.  The only other person who knows the code is Harrison.  We go in, get him to lead us to the code, and get out.” 

“Right,” interrupted Eames.  “And if it’s so simple, why did you need me for this bit?  We’ve checked this guy’s background a hundred times.  There’s no chance he’s gotten his subconscious trained like Fischer.” 

“We’re not taking that chance.  After this job, we’re done.” 

“As long as Saito doesn’t try to drag us into another job,” said Arthur.  Cobb nodded ruefully and Yusuf called out.  “Alright!  He’s all set.  Ready for you.” 

The team positioned themselves around the rooms to prepare to fall asleep.  Cobb continued to give instructions to Yusuf as he hooked him up to the PASIV.  “Give us three hours.  Saito has the entire hotel on lockdown so there shouldn’t be any interruptions.  Any signs of trouble or we’re not awake in three hours, give us the kick.” 

“Got it,” nodded Yusuf.  “Pleasant dreams.”  Cobb closed his eyes to the gentle whirring of the PASIV. 

 

The next Harrison knew, he was walking past booths at the Brony convention with ‘Natalie’ on his arm.  “So glad you offered to show me around, Harry,” ‘Natalie’ said.  Harrison looked around, trying to gather his bearings.  “I… did?” 

“Of course you did, silly.  Last night.  You do remember last night, don’t you?” 

“I… I don’t know.  It seems sort a… blurry.” 

“Well, you did have a few glasses of champagne in you.  I warned you to pace yourself, but you were having so much fun.”  ‘Natalie’ squeezed the arm tighter and smiled.  “I hope I gave you a few things you will remember?” 

Harrison looked stunned, then laughed nervously.  “Yeah, yeah.  You sure did.” 

From a distance, Cobb, Arthur, and Eames watched Ariadne and Harrison make their way across the convention floor.  “So far so good,” said Cobb. 

“Not surprising given who was teaching her,” said Eames.  “She picked up disguises in dreams like a natural.” 

“It’s not over yet,” said Arthur.  “Now she has to reel him in.” 

“So, Harry,” ‘Natalie’ said as they stopped by a standee of Rainbow Dash.  “Seeing as how you came to see my hotel room, maybe you can take me over to yours?  You can show some more of your pictures, we’ll have some more champagne…” 

“But I showed you all my pictures last night.  I mean, I must have.” 

“Well, you should me some good ones.  But I bet you were holding back on me a little bit.  Don’t you have some more pictures in your room?  One’s you’ve never shown anybody?  Things that mean the most to you?”  Harrison slowly started to nod.  “Yeah.  Yeah, there is a safe in my room.  I must have my best stuff in there.” 

“And there you are,” said Eames.  “Ariadne goes to the room, opens the safe, and buried under a bunch of pony art will be something old ‘Harry’ won’t even realize: his father’s codes.” 

Suddenly an explosion rang through the convention center.  Harrison subconscious projections shouted and pointed in shock at the glowing ball of light that had appeared hovering 12 feet over the convention floor. 

“Arthur?  What the hell is that?” 

“I… I don’t know, Dom!  Maybe Yusuf is trying to wake us up.” 

“But there’s no way we’ve been under long enough!  Something’s wrong.” 

Eames pulled out a pistol and cocked it.  “Whatever it is, better be ready for anything.” 

Harrison looked spellbound at the swirling lights, and Ariadne started pulling on his arm.  “Harry, we better go.  Take me to the hotel.  Please!” 

There was another burst of light, and everyone’s eyes went wide.  Suspended in the air and flapping her wings, Princess Luna looked down imperiously at the projections before her.  Her eyes narrowed at Harrison. 

“Thou art Harrison Vaughn?” 

Harrison’s jaw dropped.  “Uh, yeah?  Who… what are you?” 

“I am Princess Luna, Harrison Vaughn.  And I am here to rescue you.  You are being deceived!” 

Cobb, Eames, and Arthur stepped behind a booth.  “Any brilliant ideas, Arthur?” snarked Eames, holstering the pistol.  “I don’t know, Cobb,” said Arthur.  “Maybe it’s another projection.  The kid’s watched the show so much it’s become a part of his subconscious.  Or…”  Arthur’s voice trailed off as Cobb stared at him.  “Or what?” 

“From Ariadne’s research on the show, the character of Luna is able to observe and interact with people’s dreams.” 

“Are you having a laugh?” interrupted Eames.  “It’s just a character on a tv show!  It’s not real!” 

“We don’t have time to figure this out,” said Cobb.  “You two need to keep that thing occupied, I’ll get Ariadne and Harrison to the hotel.  It’s only a matter of time before the projections start coming after us.” 

“But… I don’t understand,” said Harrison in wonder.  “Who’s trying to deceive me?” 

“Harry, let’s go!” Ariadne said urgently. 

“I’m sorry, Harrison,” Luna proclaimed.  “Your commitment to the land of Equestria is admirable.  But that is why I cannot allow your dreams to be manipulated!”  Luna’s horn began to glow and she pointed it at Ariadne. 

“Harry!” 

KABOOM! 

An explosion sent Luna hurtling backward.  Eames held his grenade launcher and admired his handiwork.  “Scratch one unicorn!” 

Cobb rushed past projections to Harrison and Ariadne, the artist still in shock.  “That’s… that’s Princess Luna!”  Cobb grabbed Ariadne’s hand.  “Natalie, we need to move.  Now!”  Harrison spun around to see Cobb.  “Who are you?” 

“No time to explain, Harry,” shouted Ariadne.  “We got to get out of here!”  Harrison looked at an enraged Luna rising out of the wreckage of several booths, then took off running with Cobb and Ariadne. 

Luna took to the air as Eames and Arthur advanced with weapons drawn.  “This dream is of your making!” she cried out.  “I do not know what you are planning, but you are not welcome here!” 

 

OK:

Cobb’s crew wins by holding off Luna until they can get the codes from Harrison. 

Luna wins by destroying Cobb’s crew and forcing them out of the dream. 

Game On! 

[Callisto]

Learn More About
Dominic Cobb
Read more about Dominic Cobb at Wikipedia
Official Site: Warner Bros Links: Wikipedia imdb official site

Princess Luna
Read more about Princess Luna at Wikipedia
Official Site: Hasbro Links: Wikipedia My Little Pony Wiki Villains Wikia

[Pizzaguy2995]

And here I was worried I was the only Brony on the site. Nicely written story Broadway.

Princess Luna is gonna win no doubt, she can control and manipulate dreams in far greater ways than Cobb and his crew, plus she’s been doing it for far longer. Not to mention her base power is far superior.

[Venom 2009]

Good match. I give the setup a 5.0.

I have to go with Princess Luna here.

[Callisto]

Match Final Results

Member Ratings:
5.00 - Pizzaguy2995
5.00 - Venom 2009
4.00 - Boratz
5.00 - StormChaser

FPA Calculation:
4 Total Votes cast
19.00 Total Combined Score
19.00 / 4 = 4.75 Final Rating on the match

MATCH SCORE
Dominic Cobb: 1
Princess Luna: 5

[broadwaybeyonder]

THE BOTTOM LINE

Cobb shoved Ariadne and Harrison into Harrison’s hotel room and slammed the door.  Harrison tried to catch his breath on the bed as Cobb spun to face Ariadne.  “Now you’re going to give me some damn answers, Natalie,” Cobb shouted.  Ariadne saw the look in Cobb’s eyes and worked out a sob.  “Richie, I… I don’t know what you’re talking about!” 

“I leave you alone for one weekend and I find you hooking up with this geek?!” 

Harrison looked confused.  “Umm, shouldn’t we be talking about how Princess Luna is blowing up the convention center?”  Cobb grabbed Harrison by his jacket and yanked him to his feet.  “Listen, dork!  I don’t know what the hell that was, but right now I don’t care!  I want to get me and my girlfriend out of this city, and unless you want to see how fast you can reach the ground from that window you’re going to help us.” 

Back in the convention center, Arthur leapt out of the way of a blast from Luna’s horn.  Eames had tossed aside his pistol and his RPG launcher and had dream-constructed a bazooka.  “How many times do we have to shoot this bloody thing?!”  Luna swooped down towards Eames, who fired the rocket.  Luna spread her wings and a magic glow surrounded here.  The rocket bounced off the forcefield and exploded into a row of vendor stalls.  Subconscious projections dressed like bronies scrambled for cover as Eames struggled to reload.  Princess Luna glared at him.  “Your weapons are naught to a princess of Equestria!”  She fired another blast from her horn that sent Eames sprawling.  Luna landed between Eames and his weapon, horn glowing dangerously.  “Begone from this dream!  And never return!”  The light enveloped Eames and when it had faded, he was gone. 

Another rocket flew in and connected with Luna.  Arthur looked on grimly as the princess gave a scream of pain.  “He better be awake right now.  Because if he’s dead, you’re going to see just how deadly a dream can be.”  Luna faced Arthur, her eyes blazing.  “I know how dangerous dreams are, intruder!  And I also know the strength of nightmares!  And if I must call on them to protect the dreams of this boy, then I SHALL!”  Darkness surrounded Princess Luna, her screams morphing into maniacal laughter.  Her wings became bat-like, and her teeth sharp and pointed.  Arthur looked in terror at Nightmare Moon, before she charged at him with her horn lowered. 

Harrison fumbled with the dial on his room safe as Cobb stood over him.  “I’ll do what you say!  You can have all the money I have in here!  Just please don’t hurt me!” 

“Just hurry it up!” snapped Cobb.  Harrison glanced at Ariadne who looked ashamed back at him.  “Was this why you were nice me?  So your boyfriend can take all I have?”  Cobb could see Ariadne weaken.  “I’m sorry, Harrison.  But we have no choice.”  Harrison closed his eyes, gave the dial one last turn, and opened the safe.  “There.  Take whatever you want.”  Cobb moved to the safe.  “Natalie, watch the door.  You, just step aside.”  Harrison hurried out of the way and Cobb started sifting through the piles of sketches and photos.  Harrison picked up one and looked at it in surprise.  “Hey.  I don’t remember drawing this one.  I was just thinking about this on the flight over here.”  He looked to Ariadne.  “How can it be here when I haven’t drawn it yet?” 

“Because it isn’t real, fool!” 

The wall exploded and the three people fell down.  Nightmare Moon cackled as she hovered over them.  “A clever game.  Sneaking into other people’s dreams.  But now the game ends!”  Cobb tossed aside the pictures and pulled out his pistol.  “Ariadne, run!”  Nightmare Moon swooped down, knocked aside the pistol with her wing and stabbed Cobb in the heart with her horn.  “Dom!” Ariadne screamed.  Nightmare Moon stalked around the room as Harrison scurried between her and Ariadne.  “This can’t be happening!” he said.  “It must be a dream!  I gotta wake up!  Somebody wake me up!” 

“Aw, poor Harrison,” Nightmare Moon sneered.  “You think because you can create your sorry excuses for art that you will ever be accepted?  Ha!  I have a good mind to turn your dreams into my own personal land of nightmares!” 

“No!” 

Nightmare Moon glared at Ariadne as she stepped around Harrison.  “You can’t do that!  I know who you are!  What you are!  You are still Princess Luna!  You can’t hurt Harrison!” 

“And why not?” Nightmare Moon scoffed.  “What’s the difference between me and your friends?  You travel into people’s dreams and steal what you want, regardless of what it means to them in the waking world.  If you wished to join me, I can show you what true power in the dream world can do!”  Ariadne steadied her breath.  “Perhaps you’re right.  I was wrong to treat him like I did.  But all I know is that I won’t let you hurt him now!” 

Nightmare Moon drew close enough that her horn was inches from Ariadne’s face, then her expression softened.  “Well spoken, Ariadne.”  To Ariadne and Harrison’s surprise, darkness surrounded Nightmare Moon until Princess Luna stood restored in her place.  Harrison massaged his brow in disbelief.  “Okay this is beyond insane.” 

“Do not be afraid Harrison Vaughn,” Luna said.  “From now on you have my word that your dreams will never be tampered with.  Is that not so?”  Ariadne slowly nodded.  “Yes.  You have my word.”  Harrison stood open mouthed for a moment, then sighed.  “Great, I guess.  Um, any chance I could wake up now?”  Princess Luna smiled and pointed her horn at the pair.  The two closed their eyes as the light from her horn enveloped the room. 

 

Ariadne’s eyes opened to see Cobb and Yusuf looking over her.  “Ariadne?  Are you with us?”  Ariadne turned to her left to see Harrison still asleep on the bed.  “Yes, Dom.   Is everybody here?” 

“Apart from feeling like someone dropped a brick wall on top of me,” groaned Eames.  Arthur was finishing closing the case with the PASIV inside.  “At least you didn’t get stabbed in the chest by the horn of a… whatever that was.”  Yusuf looked confused.  “What kind of dream was that?”  Cobb retied his tie and visually scanned the room.  “No time to explain, Yusuf.  The mission was a failure.  And something tells me we shouldn’t be going in again for a second try.” 

“But why?  Was the projections give you trouble again?”  Ariadne looked down at the sleeping Harrison.  “Let’s just say he’s got someone looking out for him.” 

When the effects of the drugs had wore off, Harrison woke up to find himself alone in a hotel room.  He never did learn what happened to Natalie, but a few weeks after the convention he received a letter from an animation studio.  Apparently, they had received copies of his artwork from an anonymous source and were wanting to offer him a job on a new show they were developing. 

Cobb and his team would refuse to do anymore jobs for Saito, but the businessman was determined to continue exploring how the PASIV technology could be used to grow his empire.  That is until he suffered what doctors referred to as a complete mental breakdown.  He refused to go to sleep, fighting off any attempt to be sedated.  He spent all his time in his padded room saying the same phrase in Japanese over and over. 

“Naitomeamun.  Naitomeamun.  Naitomeamun.  Naitomeamun.”