entrancelogs | and these shadows keep on changing, and I'm haunted

Entry tags:

and these shadows keep on changing, and I'm haunted

Who: Vexen [

bloodluna], Reika [

subzeroes]
Where Vexen's Room, and then ~~Vexen's brains~~ ~~dreams~~ the Mansion of Sleep
When: Evening, sometime on June 17.
Rating: PG-13, will be updated as necessary.
Summary: Vexen's been having sleeping problems. Or more accurately... he's been having problems staying awake. Now it's time for Saix to try a slightly unorthodox solution... with slightly questionable results.
the Story:
"Are you sure this is going to work?"

The scientist looks at the berserker skeptically, eying the contents of the teacup he's holding in his hands. It looks disgusting; the smell isn't any more promising than the appearance of the contents. He's stripped down to a shirt and pair of comfortable linen trousers, and is currently sitting on the edge of the bed. From what he's described to Saix of his dreams, it doesn't matter what he wears before he sleeps: he wakes up in the plain, standard black of the Organization's coats every time.

He's not sure how optimistic he feels about the chances of this working, but he's desperate enough to try. On a good day, he sleeps twelve hours. Slowly but surely, despite all his efforts, that number's crawling higher. Any attempt to interrupt his sleeping cycle inevitably ends in him sleeping for longer, or going so far as to drop unconscious where he stands.

The last time he had, he knocked over a beaker of boiling water on his own hand. It sports a heavy bandage wound over its palm, now, though by all accounts its healing well enough.

Lacking a scientific explanation for the phenomenon of his recurring dreams-- which have been occuring for about a month now-- the scientist's desperate enough to try something that might actually be more on the same wavelength as... whatever's happening to him. Lately, he feels like he's coming closer and closer to the heart of whatever it is he keeps seeing in his dreams. Perhaps, if he stays long enough, he'll find his answer.

"Run your plan by me again, would you?" He stares into the cup, though, not at Saix.

What is he going to see in his dreams tonight?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Saix had spent a little more time watching over Vexen, lately. Enough to satisfy himself that there was no scientific method of divining what was happening to the man.

Saix wasn't attempting a scientific method, however.

"In your terms, it's merely mild hallucinogens and a reminder to induce lucid dreaming. In my terms," he presses his fingers to the bottom of the cup and lifts, gently, encouraging Vexen to take a drink, "it will allow you to pull me into your dream to see what you see."

There was a piece of string, stretched out neatly, by Saix's other hand. It was perfectly ordinary string; all it was needed for was to remind Vexen in his dream that Saix should be there. The hallucinogens just made the transition easier.

"I can better identify what is happening if I can see it for myself."

"If you say so. Do I have to take all of this?" Vexen can't help but recoil a little as the press of Saix's fingers brings the cup-- and its offensive odor-- closer to his nose. Dimly, he's aware he's whining no better than a child forced to take some disgusting medication, but for all intents and purposes, in this case, he is one. The scientist feels completely out of his depth, not that he'd admit to as much, and whenever that happens... well.

If one can't claim superiority, belligerence is always the next best option. Vexen's had enough experience to at least put on a good show of it.

Edited 2009-06-17 18:07 (UTC)

"No," Saix answers, "just one mouthful." If Vexen thinks he has something to complain about, he should be glad he isn't in Saix's position; he's the one who has to drink everything Vexen leaves.

"You can hold you nose if it helps." From anyone else, that might sound like an attempt at humour, or even sympathy. From Saix it sounded more like a cold statement of fact.

It had been unsettling to realise Vexen was sleeping so much. The scald on his hand hadn't been the final straw for Saix, but it had been a catalyst. Whatever it was, it was only getting worse; leaving it in the hopes that Vexen could sleep it off, or work through it himself was not working.

Sighing, the older man tosses his head, shaking his hair out of his face. "I suppose I'll just have to take comfort in your discomfort, then." However ridiculous the idea is, it's actually a little bit cheering.

Vexen doesn't hold his nose as he brings the cup to his mouth, even if the stench makes him want to gag; he won't give Saix that satisfaction. Whether he really has any pride left to lose at this point is debatable. The scientist doesn't choke as he swallows, and once he's done, he shoves the cup at Saix, lips thinning as though to keep himself from spitting it right back out.

"Your turn." Quickly, Vexen settles on the bed, scooting over to one side to allow Saix room to slide on it as well. He's not sure what Saix is to him, at this point, but he's reasonably certain he can be trusted-- he wouldn't be in his room if he didn't.

What that implies in the long run, however, he doesn't look at.

Saix closes his eyes and downs the concoction in a few, swift swallows. It tastes as foul as it smells, but there was little that could be done about it. He wasn't doing this for his own health.

He wasn't sure if he could be said to be doing it for Vexen's, either.

Putting the cup down, he picks up the string, and settles onto the bed beside Vexen. He's only wearing his trousers, no boots, no coat, and no shirt, though they're safely folded within reach. Gently, he takes Vexen's hand in his own, and ties their hands together.

"If I am not there in your dream, I will be at the other end of this. Remember that. This is how you will find me."

However intimate sleeping side by side in the same bed may be, however one may take binding their hands together, the important thing is that Vexen remembers that Saix should be there and finds him.

Otherwise, none of this will work.

"I'll remember. It's very difficult to forget." Vexen sighs, his eyes already shut as he lies stiffly on the sheets. He's awkward about the physical contact, and he subtly scoots away, so he's not close enough to feel Saix's body heat.

The last thing Vexen's told Saix of is that he woke up in the middle of opening a door, but he didn't get a chance to wake up before he stepped inside. He's been recording his dreams every time he wakes, but sometimes they feel so long that he can't remember all the details.

So he's started keeping notes in his dreams as well, putting them in the pockets of his coat and on what scrap paper he can find. He doesn't find them in his own pockets when he wakes, but every time he wakes in the dream, they're there.

It feels like a game. One that's all too real, and one he can't choose when to start playing or stop.

Despite the awkwardness of the situation, and his reservations about what will happen once Saix is in the dream-- if this method works, and if it goes as Saix plans-- Vexen falls asleep easily.

"Good."

That is half of what concerns Saix about Vexen's dreams. Mere dreams should not be a continuation from where you left off, recurring dreams should not cause you to fall asleep while standing upright. Whatever is going on has no natural explanation, nor a psychological one, as far as Saix can tell.

There's something else, and he doesn't know what. Though he intends to see if he can find out.

Vexen falls asleep first. That much was only to be expected. Saix makes one last check of the binding at their hands, and then lies back and closes his eyes, to let sleep take him, too.

He had, at least, made sure he would sleep. It doesn't take him that long.

The Manor of Sleep, which exists only in dreams. She still wanders there, despite being welcomed to Wonderland.

When Vexen and Saix "wake" up into the dream, they find themselves at the bottom of a few steps leading to the door Vexen was about to open. When the door is opened, it leads into a circular room. In front of them was an altar. On either side of the altar were what appears to be human skin, torn off the entire body and tattooed with familiar blue ink and pattern to Vexen.

In the middle of the room hangs a small cage, with a young woman sleeping inside. A very familiar woman, but without the tattoos that cover her body today.

Vexen reaches the dream before Saix does, of course, even if it's by scant minutes. He wakes where he was-- in the middle of pushing a door open-- and he hesitates, waiting. It's not until he glances at his hand that he remembers what he was waiting for.

But Saix isn't in evidence, and the room yawns open in front of him. He hesitates only for a few moments before he shakes it off and decides to push through the doorway, flicking on his flashlight (the batteries haven't run out yet, and he's not sure when they will) and taking a look around the dusty room.

Distasteful. He wrinkles his nose, hovering in the doorway and hesitating to step any further in.

"Vexen."

Saix stands at the bottom of the stairs, foot on the bottom step as though he'd followed Vexen down. He's here, at least, so it had worked. Saix just didn't know where 'here' was.

He walks up, behind Vexen, taking a few moments to look around and take in the surroundings. Around Vexen's shoulder, he can see into the room beyond, and the macabre display. What he sees doesn't register on his face, he wears the same calm expression as always, but a careful eye might catch the flicker of a deepening frown.

"Do you recognise that?" Saix certainly doesn't.

Edited 2009-06-17 20:07 (UTC)

The flashlight beam swings over to Saix once he starts speaking, and he relaxes, faintly. "I see your methods have worked. However unorthodox they may be."

In this strange dream world, Vexen seems paler and more gaunt-- as though every minute he spends awake in the real world equates to home much rest he gets here. Despite all his reservations, he's glad to have Saix with him. It's oddly... reassuring, knowing that you aren't alone in some demented delusion.

"This is the first time I've been inside this room." He sighs, then beckons Saix over. "Let's start by examining the most obvious items. They're the only clues we really have." Trying to understand the motives of a ghost he doesn't even know the name of is a headache. He plods over to the altar, grimacing at the unpleasantly familiar designs, one hand jerking up to the nape of his neck almost instinctively.

The tattoos only appear on his skin after he wakes.

"What do you make of it?" he leans close to the altar, holding up the flashlight so Saix can see as well. The cage caught his interest as well, but that will be harder to examine, considering it's suspended.

He's not sure he wants to know the contents.

Saix makes no comment about the fact that his methods have worked. So far, all it has worked to do is bring him here. It doesn't mean he will be able to understand anything about it, which is the real intention behind the exercise.

He follows Vexen, seeing by the light of his flashlight. The altar isn't familiar except in the sense that all altars everywhere are a variation on the same theme. Usually, they all serve the same purposes, too; worship, veneration, or sacrifice.

The tattoos aren't of a familiar design, although human flesh at an altar is a familiar enough concept.

His gaze travels upwards, to the cage, not that he can see what's contained within it.

"Right now, I couldn't say. Is any of this familiar to you?"

On the altar, there are three colorful orbs placed in a row, with a final orb missing. But as luck would have it, it seems to be sitting at the foot of the altar just a little ways away, along with an old, worn-out book. Inside the book, it details a ritual called "The Tearing."

"The tattooed priestess who cannot enter the sleep of no regrets must be stripped of her tattoos and sent to the other shore.

The removed tattoos must then be enshrined in the tranquility of the stone shrine and the lullaby must be sung to pray for an end to the pain.

The tattoo priestess who will not sleep, who cannot endure the pain, will be enshrouded in misery and cast into the Rift."

Placing the final orb in its place on the altar causes a brief song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJ8bH1lfYgE) to emit from the colored stones. Once the song ends, the cage up above starts to rise up and carry the sleeping woman to what seems to be the third floor of this manor.

"None of it," Vexen says, staring at the altar and its contents. "I think these are someone else's memories."

Trying to search for more of a hint as to the purpose of the room, he turns the flashlight, until the light catches the objects on the floor. Naturally enough, it's the book that Vexen is drawn to first-- he notices the orb, and the flashlight's glint makes it obvious, but he's much more interested in writing than trinkets.

He tilts the flashlight in his hand, flipping through the contents quickly. his frown deepens the more he reads; when he's done, he reads the information about the 'The Tearing' to Saix out loud.

"Seems like this was a room for such things." He waves at the human skins next to the altar, feeling his own skin crawl unpleasantly. 'Sleep of no regrets' sounds unpleasantly ominous. He looks at Saix, faintly irritated. "I don't suppose you know anything that might put this in context, do you?"

While Vexen reads the book, Saix retrieves and examines the orb. It's obvious enough where it belongs, and the urge to place it there is as strong as the urge to flick an unknown switch, or open a freshly unlocked door.

They're stupid, suicidal urges, and ones that Saix is aware of, but not prone to. Instead, he waits, holding the orb in one hand while he examines the other three, and listens to Vexen read from the book.

Altars, priestesses, rituals, and sleep, all contained within a dream. The tattooed skin obviously once belonged to such a priestess. One who could not sleep. 'Stripping of the tattoos', then, required flaying, and not any neat excommunication of the priestess with additional laser surgery to remove the markings.

Whatever the purpose of them, it seems important that they sleep. There are consequences for those who cannot or will not do so.

Sleep. Regrets. Pain. Misery.

"Unfortunately, I do not."

Slowly, carefully, Saix places the last orb in its slot on the altar.

"Unfortunate," Vexen mutters-- and looks up, sharply, as the song begins playing softly, from a source he can't find.

Sleep, Priestess, Lie in peace.
Sleep, Priestess, Lie in peace.
If you cry, the boat you'll ride
The last trip to the other side...

He twists his head around, trying to find the source of the song-- only to startle again, as the cage above them begins to rise. The flashlight's beam isn't that strong, and now that the cage is further up, he can't make out what's inside-- aside from the fact that it's a human being, or something shaped like one.

"Curioser and curioser," he mutters, before he can think better of it. Then he frowns, listening to the last verse.

Go to the other side.
Go to the other side.
Cast the boat, take a ride.
Cross the RIFT, to the other side.
Further, and further, to the other side.
It must sail, bearing your tattoos
And our offering of tears...

Vexen may find it curious. Saix finds it ominous, and he watches the cage disappear above their heads before he turns to Vexen, listening to the song finishing.

"That must be the lullaby," he says, once silence descends again. It has the right tempo and tone for one, but the words are unsettling, in the current circumstances.

Whatever lies within the cage has travelled upwards. Perhaps following it might lead to more questions; Saix doesn't expect to find answers. Questions are useful, however, because enough of them will give away the shape of the answer.

"There doesn't appear to be anything else of interest here. Let's head upwards."

Forgetting himself for the briefest moment, he tugs on Vexen's sleeve, just once, gently, as he heads back for the door they entered through. He hesitates slightly at the top of the stairs, glancing around before going right, and climbing another set of stairs. He tries not to stray too far away from Vexen as he does.

At the top of the stairs is a small, open library. There are several small bookshelves, making the small room even smaller. All the books look really old and worn out. Most of them are hard to read by now but two books are labeled with particular interesting titles: "The Piercing of the Soul" and "The Unleashing"

"If the feelings of loss for those who crossed to the other side begin to spill into dreams, they shall bring great trouble in this world.

Those feelings of loss must be etched into the priestess as tattoos in the Piercing of the Soul.

The tattooed priestess who has been engraved with the pain shall then bear that pain into her sleep and calm the troubles of this world."

"The priestess' pain is reflected in the Mirror of Loss.

The commandment must be placed upon the priestess' empty eyes.

If tattoos should enter her eyes, the empty eyes will become mirrors and all her pain shall be unleashed.

If the commandments break and the priestess awakes, the gates will open and the Rift shall spill forth from the Chamber of Thorns.

The Rift which spills forth will pass through dreams into the world and love shall be consumed by torment."

There's another small altar in the back of library. On it is a book labeled "Commandment Tome." It is written in dark red ink.

"The chosen maiden is put onto the Boat of Passing. The boat sways as it is sent to the Kuze Shrine. The Living flesh is cut, the tattoos etched in. Pain of the Holly shall be sealed within her. All her love shall be interred into a mirror. This she must break, shatter herself. Her attachments to this world must be broken.

The Piercing of the Soul thus concludes. Impale her with the stake of tattoos. The Rite of Commandment must be conducted. Sleeping undisturbed for eternity. Dreaming the endless dream of the Rift. Enclosed, entombed in her Chamber of Thorns. She shall continue to feel the Pain of the Holly for all time."

In the back of the tiny library near the altar is a ladder leading up. Climbing the library leads to a bare room with only a door. Through that door is a room divided into three sections by screens. The lights continuously flicker on and off in there. There is only one other door that leads out of the flickering light room. It leads into the circular room where the woman was carried to.

It's dusty, as well, and Vexen holds his breath so as not to inhale too much of it as they step inside-- it's the only way to go. The dust motes suspended in the air glow as the flashlight hits them, and he squints.

Here it's bright enough to see without the aid of a flashlight-- though where the source of the light is is rather difficult to tell, and it seems to flicker like an old fluorescent lamp. Vexen nods at Saix, starting to move a little further away. The library-- for that's what this must be-- is small enough there's no fear of getting lost.

"Look around on that side and see if there's anything interesting." This time, it's the bookshelves he heads for, running his hands along the spines of the tomes and skimming each of their contents briefly. It's obvious when he finds something of interest, because he pulls one of the blank pages out of one of the less interesting books and starts to scribble notes, squinting at the cramped print.

Saix doesn't particularly need the instruction, but he obeys anyway, plucking out books and glancing at their covers and their contents for more information.

He doesn't particularly like anything he reads. It all alludes to the same as before, but now there are other words that stand out and make the situation seem more and more unpleasant, more and more concerning.

The priestesses sound like sacrifices, and seals. How to stop it, or even if it should be stopped, he cannot judge.

It may even be the opposite. Vexen is being dragged here in his sleep for some reason. There are not tattoos on him, though, and he's definitely not female, Saix can vouch for it, whereas all of these priestesses are women, and are tattooed. Still, they're a central theme, and the things done to them, and that they do as a result, grow more elaborate with every reading.

He replaces the books. His footsteps take him a little further from Vexen again, towards the ladder situated at the back of the room. He stops short of climbing it, however, looking around at Vexen.

"Something interesting?" He asks, seeing him busily scribbling notes. Saix is aware that is like asking if Vexen has found sand in a desert, but it could at least be uniquely coloured sand, so to speak.

In that time, Vexen has meandered over to the altar, and he's taking notes on those pages as well. He taps the book under his hand, looking distracted.

"Tattoos keep coming up," he mutters. "Those skins we saw back there..."

They were marked in a horribly familiar way. Nonetheless, he shakes his head.

"The ghost I saw," he murmurs, lowly. "She was tattooed in a similar manner."

And so am I, at least right after I wake. Not that Saix has been able to see the tattoos himself.

Attachments to this world must be broken. It's a familiar sentiment, although Saix isn't sure why. Any time he tries to grasp the idea, and the familiarity, it slips out of reach, hovering tantalisingly close, and always just beyond his grasp.

He pushes the thought away, and responds to Vexen. "They seem to be representative of 'feelings of loss'." If loss spills into dreams, it causes trouble, and the priestess' function is to soothe it.

Which she does by sleeping, and bearing the pain.

"They are sacrifices," he murmurs, mostly to himself.

Feelings of loss. He hadn't known it was possible, but those words make Vexen's uneasiness spike sharply.

Love shall be consumed by torment. Despite himself, those words keep ringing in his head; Vexen knows he's not going to be forgetting them anytime soon. "What bothers me is this." He taps the paper. "'When the commandments break and the priestess awakes'... it would seem this may be related to the song we heard earlier. I can't say I remember the rest of the lyrics, but it seems to be an injunction to this 'priestess' to remain in ... slumber. Perhaps it was artificially induced."

He hesitates, then shakes his head.

"We'd better move on. Let's go-- I believe if we follow this, we will find ourselves near the same level that cage was raised to, though I'm not eager to examine its contents..." Perhaps it will yield a clue.

The scientist moves ahead, without waiting for affirmation and ascends the ladder.

Once the two get to the caged room, they would see the young woman, dressed in a white kimono and blue hakama. She's still sleeping and doesn't seem aware of the intrusion. In contrast to the rest of the rooms, this room is dark.

However, once they approach her, she fades away from the cage as if an illusion... or a ghost. An item shines inside the cage, left behind on the cloth she slept on. It looks like a small circular mirror. When they pick it up to examine it, they would see the snake pattern on the back of the mirror.

And a familiar voice would echo in the room omniously, a voice familiar to Vexen by now.

"Let me sleep... forever..."

Once Vexen has gone up, Saix follows, carefully paying attention to what lies inside. The cage from the altar room below, and a woman...

Or not.

He walks closer to the cage, looking inside at where the woman had lay, and had now left something behind. Obviously, she had been, or was, the latest priestess.

"The Chamber of Thorns, perhaps?" It was the easiest conclusion to reach on the matter.

"I don't know," Vexen frowns, stepping closer to the cage. "But it's a possibility. Still, these rooms tend to be named for... architecture, if nothing else. Places like this tend to enjoy the literal." The memory of the castle at the World That Never Was comes to mind, and he mentally amends that opinion to add, Unless you're Xemnas.

More impulsive than Saix, he reaches in, taking the mirror out, and turns it in his hands. It isn't much larger than the mirror he used to communicate with Saix, once.

And the design on the back is hauntingly--

Let me sleep... forever.

The scientist nearly drops the mirror, already-clammy skin going almost sickly pale.

"That's her," he snaps, a fear beyond death making him grab Saix's arm and haul him out of the door, before he can have any stupid ideas like waiting for it. "Move! If she touches you, you're going to end up just like me!"

Without waiting for Saix's protest, he yanks him into the next room, and out the door, starting down the ladders. Staying here gives them no options, but if they can at least get out-- they'll have somewhere to run to.

Anywhere but here.

The change in Vexen makes Saix's attention snap from the cage to Vexen's face, in time to have his arm grabbed and Vexen begin to haul him for the door.

More than anything, he runs to keep up with Vexen in the hopes of an explanation.

"Vexen." There's a distinct note of irritation in his voice as Saix reclaims his arm, but it's gone in a moment as though it had never been there. "What are you talking about?"

I don't run.

Saix stops at the bottom of the stairs that led up to the library, his expression serious and gaze fixed on Vexen's face. "What are you running from?"

the same voice utters, this time from behind the two. As if on cue, Reika suddenly appears standing at the top of the stairs, like she had been there all along. Watching, waiting.

"I found you," she declares, immediately starting to proceed down the stairs with one arm stretched out to grab them.

Luckily not too far away from where Vexen and Saix were standing, was another door that led into a hallway this time. In that hallway was yet another door just to the immediate left, but this one would lead to a very familiar place...

"A ghost," Vexen answers, softly. But it's not that long before Reika appears and conversation doesn't appear to be an option any longer. "Stop being stubborn, for once in your life." He shakes his head, backing away.

"She hasn't appeared in a while, which means you must be attracting her."

It means little to Saix as he turns to face the ghost descending the stairs. His claymore falls into his outstretched hand with the same solidity and sureness as if this were real. The boundaries in this place are so blurred.

Though if this woman is a ghost then Saix can't vouch for how much it will be of use.

"Then you've seen her before. What happened?"

There are better times and better places to ask that question, but Saix will not run with his tail between his legs.

Reika doesn't seem phased at how odd it was when Saix summons his weapon out of nowhere. She just stops before him, reaching straight for his neck with one arm.

Saix growls, a low, animal sound as he swings the claymore at the ghost. The spikes open with a clang as he strikes, hitting as hard as he can.

Then he backs off, moving to Vexen's side, his eyes staying trained on the ghost.

Reika's upper body swings back from the blow, but her feet remains planted. She readjusts herself calmly. It doesn't seem like, despite the spikes, it wounded her at all. She proceeds forward without a word, intending to catch them in her grip again.

"Stop aggravating her and move!" Vexen snarls, suddenly. Before Reika can grab at the claymore, Vexen's already seized Saix, yanking him away and down the corridor. The hunted, loping pace he's running at suggests this isn't the first time he's had to deal with this.

He shoves open the door they come to and slams it behind them, but doesn't stop running: the moment they reach the next door, he moves through that too--

And suddenly, everything around them is nothing but brilliant white, and Vexen's steps slow to a halt, suddenly forgetting himself.

Against all the odds, it seems, they've ended up in one of the bottom rooms of Castle Oblivion. There's even a small laboratory setup in one corner, glowing fluids streaming through glass containers.

This time, Saix puts up less resistance to being hauled off in whatever direction Vexen decides to run in. Fighting the ghost didn't appear to have any effect, except to give it pause. Still, Saix keeps his claymore in hand, running with Vexen through doors, until they come to a halt.

He recognises Castle Oblivion, or at least its décor, but it has no place here. An effect of this being a dream, perhaps, or something more significant?

"Vexen?" The call of his name is as much for Vexen's attention as it is a request for an explanation, or at least information.

The sound of his name seems to snap Vexen out of it; immediately, he turns, shutting the still-open door hastily behind him. It blends nearly-seamlessly into the wall, and Vexen turns back to Saix, looking around with a slightly dazed expression.

"I'm... this was one of my rooms in Castle Oblivion." Evidently. He frowns. "I don't know what it's doing here." He moves over to one of the tables, running his hands over the notes and books piled there, and frowns.

"This was exactly the way I left it, before..." Before he was ordered to confront Sora. The scientist's mouth twists at the memory.

"That door should lead to a corridor to the other rooms." He indicates the only other door in the room.

If Saix opens it, though, all he'll find is another room, with another set of doors, but this time completely bare.

It would take keen eyes to notice, but the flicker of a frown crosses Saix's face as Vexen trails off. Saix can guess what it was like this before; he doesn't require elaboration.

He makes his way to the other door, opening it. There's more of Oblivion there, but they're not personal quarters, or at least not ones that are used, and he shuts the door again, turning to Vexen.

"This hasn't been here before?" Saix wonders at the significance of it being here now, or being here at all.

"No. It hasn't." Personally, Vexen isn't sure what to make of it either. "I don't know why it's here now, but he can't think it means anything positive.

"We should probably move on." Deeper into the heart of the mystery, as it were. He opens the door Saix rejected, only to frown as he stares beyond it.

"This is a room that should be five floors above us. Why it's here now..." He shakes his head. "Well, I suppose we can safely assume none of them will lead anywhere we expect."

"There's nothing here out of place, aside from the rooms?" Saix asks, before he moves on. He hesitates for only as long as it takes to let his claymore go, fading back into nothing.

At least that would make sense for dreams. So far, the rest of it had been unsettlingly coherent. True dreams, more often, are no such thing. Indoor rooms can lead to gardens, and a single step can take the dreamer between continents. This room might be too perfect a depiction but, it didn't connect to where it should.

It was more familiar territory, somehow. More normal, and expected.

He opens another door, looking beyond.

That definitely doesn't belong here. "More familiar territory."

"Nothing," Vexen shakes his head, hesitates, and pockets one of his notes.

"Familiar...?" He frowns, stepping close behind Saix, and looks beyond.

A plain green lawn. An ironwrought gate. And a mansion perfect for ghosts.

"Twilight Town," he says, softly.

"Are these all significant places for you?" Vexen's personal quarters in Oblivion were, and Twilight Town had been making its presence felt in a few ways, of late, between one course of events and another. The room from the fifth floor of Oblivion, he can't place so well in terms of importance, if it holds any at all. It may merely serve as transition between the others.

He walks through the door, for a clearer view of this rendition of the town, and looks around. He remembers this town rather well, but anyone from the Organization would.

There's something odd about this depiction of this town, really, like it doesn't extend much more than a hundred meters or so in any direction. Trying the gate will reveal that it's locked, and looking back, the door appears to have formed in mid-air. There's a curious sense of two-dimensionality about it; reaching out to touch the 'sky', one might encounter something that feels like a wall even if one's eyes insist that it has depth and light.

"Yes," Vexen answers, quietly, absently. "This was where I died."

He frowns at that spot in front of the gates, and shakes it off.

"There doesn't seem to be any other doors here. Let's look for another way out."

Althoug he can't shake the suspicion they're only falling further in.

Ah.

Saix doesn't say anything, but he understands well enough. It explains other things, too, like Vexen's unease when Namine had manipulated the mansion, resulting in a facsimile of Twilight Town to appear there.

He turns, following Vexen back through the door, and back to the room they had come from. "This, at least, must come from you. Unlike the library, and the altar room." And the Chamber of Thorns.

"I suppose--"

Vexen stops midsentence, coming to a standstill, as something dark flutters at the edge of his vision, like the hem of a cloak-- or a leather coat. A door that wasn't open before is open now, inviting, and the flicker of cloth appears again, at the end of the hallway it reveals.

The scientist chances a glance at Saix, frowning, then follows his instinct and moves forward, mirror held tightly in his hand.

He freezes when Zexion's voice, an echo of memories past and old conversations replayed, becomes audible.

I've identified the scent. The Schemer's shade tilts its head, turning to look at them calmly.

It's Riku.

And then it disappears.

Vexen's exhale comes as a slow, steady breath as he pulls his thoughts together. He stops when the sound of boots softly clicking along the corridor further ahead becomes audible. The sound may not be familiar to Saix, but it clearly is to the scientist, who stiffens visibly and keeps his head bowed.

When Saix looks up, there's a perfect replica of him-- albeit a semi-transparent one-- in the middle of the hallway, gazing at them calmly.

Without a word, it turns and begins to walk away.

Edited 2009-06-22 15:29 (UTC)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

and these shadows keep on changing, and I'm haunted

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