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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Post by Robot on Feb 27, 2021 1:15:38 GMT
The dull clunk of metal on metal rouses Thel before long. The floor jostles beneath him. His left arm is a number of feet from him, teetering and wobbling, no longer under his control. On opening his eyes, it has all become as the encroaching watchers were.
Patience's head lays beside him, still staring, a mass of those cubes where her body once was, the unit by the wayside, discarded. Her attention fixates on him. The entire gym quakes as though moving. They are alone, but very much not alone.
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Post by DataNinja on Feb 27, 2021 1:18:39 GMT
He finds himself transfixed, frozen as his mind attempts to figure out exactly what he's seeing. Once it manages to fully register, he just screams in terror. There's nothing else to do...
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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Post by Robot on Mar 1, 2021 19:25:53 GMT
"We don't understand Thel.". Patience's brow furrowed, her hair beginning to gray, a squareness to her jaw that wasn't present before. The eyes don't blink, don't flinch, not even hers. The boy's joints feel stiff, his remaining limbs have begun to twitch and judder of their own accord.
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Post by DataNinja on Mar 1, 2021 19:38:49 GMT
"I... I don't either, Patience," Thel says, tears beginning to well up in front of his vision. "I can't even tell what's real and what's not anymore. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry..."
He feels helpless, in this endless staring void, with everyone and everything falling apart. There's nothing he can do, he can't help anyone...
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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Post by Robot on Mar 1, 2021 20:06:51 GMT
"The trials ahead cannot be won with words..." Patience cautions as her head finished squaring, features fading into two of those cubes that roll apart across the pile opposite each other. Thel, similarly begins to come apart... A square foot cube at a time as he lays in his despair.
Then, he was in darkness again. The room that saw, with its hundreds of eyes, replaced by a single one. Fierce and vibrant blue, it lacked the glow of the others. A plume of whitish hair covered the creature's other. A red collar round it's neck, features altogether frayed and spectral otherwise.
"Be not afraid.". It declared in a rich masculine voice.
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Post by DataNinja on Mar 1, 2021 20:18:53 GMT
"...fear is all I have left," he admits, to whatever's in front of him. "Fear of not understanding. Of not being there for the people who need me, who trust me. I don't know what's going on anymore. I'm a mess. I'm broken. I just... I'm scared. Scared of falling apart. In all senses of the word. Scared of losing my grip on reality."
"...the more I think I understand, the more the world seems to pull away."
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6,672 posts
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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Post by Robot on Mar 1, 2021 20:26:09 GMT
"That is why I have come.". It moved nearer without a sound until it alighted in front of Thel. "To tell you the dreams will not end until the events pertaining to them are resolved. They will never be pleasant, and always by my hand.". A sleeved arm came to rest against his chest, and he offered a bow.
"My counterpart fears for you, but may not intrude. She has sent me in her stead, neither of us is much for conversation, but I will offer what comfort I may."
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Post by DataNinja on Mar 1, 2021 20:32:07 GMT
"I... I see..." he says. "Will they... will they continue to spill out, into my waking life? I... I don't know if I can handle that. I feel like I'll just... shatter."
"...and," he asks quietly, "why me? Why me of all people? ...not that I'm really a person."
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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Post by Robot on Mar 1, 2021 20:45:49 GMT
"They will.". The dark creature stated with certainty. There was no pity in its tone, nor did it seem to revel in Thel's suffering. "You have been named a Dreamer by the Wishing Star. So then, myself and Cresselia will ever be your patrons. In these dark times, when men dream their dark dreams, the night grows troubled. You are sensitive to it now, the cycle of things past and future."
Square shouldered, the creature held it's posture and gaze. "I am Darkrai, the Keeper of Nightmares."
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Post by DataNinja on Mar 1, 2021 20:52:04 GMT
That didn't really answer his question, but... it's probably the best that he's going to get. It's crushing to know, though, that things will worm into his day. That the nightmares will intrude.
"Is... there a way for me to tell? What's real, and what isn't?" Thel asks, desperately.
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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Post by Robot on Mar 1, 2021 21:03:15 GMT
"You cannot feel pain here, nor read. Beyond that... Keep an object on your person, small, that has weight. Something that is distinct and not easily changed. Memorize every little detail of it. How it behaves when tossed or spun. It will define the dream from the real for you, when it shows itself to be counter to your memory."
There was a long sigh from Darkrai, and his blue eye pierced some point in the darkness. "She sends her warm regards. I shan't repeat them, but she wishes to meet you someday, to share her finest works with you."
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Post by DataNinja on Mar 1, 2021 21:17:32 GMT
"...thank you," Thel says, gratefully. "I will take that to heart. I... I'm sorry you have to deal with me. I'm sure there is much else for you to do, rather than keep me company and answer questions."
"And I would be honoured to meet with her, if she would wish to meet me. Meeting others and getting to know them is... one of the joys of life."
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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Post by Robot on Mar 1, 2021 21:26:56 GMT
"On the contrary. My tasks are easier and fewer then ever.". Darkrai corrects Thel. "With the tragedy that passes by the day, the fearful take their warnings with little coaxing. The guilty punish themselves for making a world encumbered by waking nightmares harder.". He seems dour about it, or maybe that is just how he is.
His attention again slides to that distant point in space, and he shook his head. "Had your dreams been pleasant, you would have paid them less mind then you already do. She is making some... Analogy about bugs and long fermented and soured juices.". He waved it off.
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Post by DataNinja on Mar 1, 2021 21:34:31 GMT
"I see..." Thel says.
"...and, that is true. Though I cherish all my happy dreams, they are not at the forefront of my mind. Not in the same way. This... certainly ensures that it constantly remains within thought. Apparently to such a degree that they cause me to create physical reminders..."
He doesn't understand the analogy, but there are a lot of things he doesn't understand. Especially about these two. But just in general.
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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Post by Robot on Mar 1, 2021 21:42:13 GMT
"Cresselia is a moonlit sky with fluffy clouds and bright stars on a warm summers eve, tended by fireflies and the songs of insects and toads. I am the night of the new moon when things unseen and unrequited shift about in the pitch darkness, only making themselves known when it is too late for their victims. We are as night and day, and when you come to know her, you will not be so thankful for my presence."
Darkrai retreated a short distance. "Unless there is more, I would quit this place."
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Post by DataNinja on Mar 1, 2021 21:55:26 GMT
"There are things that are perhaps less welcome, but necessary..." Thel says. "And I'm still grateful for any aid. You mentioned, too, that it was something else that... chose me. So I don't hold it against you."
"I... think I'm better now," he says. "Thank you. I'll not keep you, if you wish to go."
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6,672 posts
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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Post by Robot on Mar 1, 2021 22:01:48 GMT
"The Wishing Star. You asked for the power you now bear, and it was granted. A waking dream, in a moment with the one you love the most.". He spoke as he turned, beginning to fade into the surrounding black, until his hair, eye, and collar were all that were visible.
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Post by DataNinja on Mar 1, 2021 22:06:09 GMT
"W-what...?" he asks, shocked. And shaken. "W-wait, please. What do you mean? I... I don't remember asking for anything like this. I don't understand..."
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6,672 posts
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I'm not going to say it was damage, but it was damage.
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Post by Robot on Mar 1, 2021 22:13:18 GMT
"You wanted to know that everything would turn out alright for you and yours... And now you bear the sight. The ability to know and intervene. Things will, or won't, but you will be in the midsssssssssssst...". And he was gone.
Thel woke on the floor of Jasmine's gym, curled against Patience and his pile of Pokemon. Soft rumbles and snores filled the room. There were no eyes in sight.
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Post by DataNinja on Mar 1, 2021 22:23:20 GMT
Thel doesn't have even words at the moment, though that night flows back unbidden, in much the same way as the memories had when learning from Serenity. So, in the last instant before he woke up, he understood. Understood the magnitude of it all.
The sight of Patience, whole and well... it's enough to just break him down again, as he just quietly lets all his emotions out. Tears of relief mix with those of guilt and sorrow and fear. He wants to just cling to Patience, in relief she's okay... but he knows she doesn't like that.
After a while, he finally feels empty. The emotions will flow no longer. He knows he won't be able to get back to sleep, so he instead just... watches the breathing of the others, feeling the collective warmth and huddle. It's something small, but it gives him comfort. And that's what he needs right now.
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