Electra Posted May 27, 2011 Posted May 27, 2011 "I see me too," Wander murmured, though she didn't sound exactly happy about that. The shattered, demented girl in the cell wasn't exactly a reassuring or flattering reflection. For now though, Singularity seemed to be calmer, releasing her own skull to pat the bear again and smooth its fur. She still didn't appear thrilled to have them there, especially Eve, but it was a start. Inside her mind, Eve could sense a waiting, cautious and pessimistic, but not quite as hostile. There was also the wooziness of what was probably a mild concussion, but Singularity didn't seem concerned by that part. "Nobody's going to hurt you," Wander said again. "This is a safe place. They treat you well here, don't they?" After a moment's hesitation, Singularity nodded assent.
April Posted May 28, 2011 Author Posted May 28, 2011 The telepath gave Wander a sympathetic look as she closed the short distance between them and lightly touched the taller teen's arm. --I didn't mean like that.-- Eve thought, --I merely meant that she could be better than what she was forced to be.-- Giving her friend a smile and a reassuring squeeze of the arm Eve turned back to face Singularity. "Erin," the mindwalker said still speaking in stereo, "To find out what I need to fix I am going to have to perform a deep scan. But I promise you, I will only do so if I have your permission."
Electra Posted May 28, 2011 Posted May 28, 2011 "No," Singularity muttered, rubbing her cheek against the bear's head. Wander sighed. "Do it," she told Eve. "If you have to do it, better to get it over with, right? She's not likely to ever say yes to getting her mind messed with." Folding her arms, Wander studied her confined counterpart, the only sign of her own continued stress a foot that wouldn't stop tapping.
April Posted May 28, 2011 Author Posted May 28, 2011 "If I do that then how does that make me any different from the monsters that made her like this?" Eve asked. "I would be just another telepath forcing my will on her because it suits my purposes, and I won't do that." She sighed and gave a frustrated shake of her head. "You do want help, right?" She asked Singularity. "To make the nightmares and bad memories go away?"
Electra Posted May 28, 2011 Posted May 28, 2011 Singularity stared into Eve's eyes, her own face impassive, all but slack. Over the mental link, though, Eve could feel the fog of a growing despair, and a feeling that swirled around a few moments before coalescing into an actual coherent thought. What else is there? Behind that thought, for just a moment, Eve got a glimpse of a mind so full of horrors, it didn't seem as though there'd be room for anything else to exist. It didn't look like an appealing place to visit.
April Posted May 29, 2011 Author Posted May 29, 2011 "Merde," Eve whispered as her face drained of all color. It was a given that Eve had glimpsed some pretty terrible things over the past three years since her psychic ability came to the fore, most the worst having been seen during the visit to Anti-Earth. But none of that prepared her for the horrors on the scale she just glimpsed. And she wanted to dive into that, to take away Singularity's nightmares, and bad memories, to undo the damage Pathos had done. Passing a hand over her face, willing some of the color back into her pale complexion, the telepath cut a quick glance at Wander. "Nothing worth doing is ever easy." Turning back to face Singularity, she shared with the powerhouse some of her own memories. As she shared memories of friendship, and love, the telepath quietly said, "There is plenty more than terror, Erin. So much more."
Electra Posted May 29, 2011 Posted May 29, 2011 Singularity hid her face as Eve pushed memories into her through the link. She could feel them wash over her, pretty and tempting to look at, to hold onto, but they weren't her own thoughts. They were fake, not real, just a trick. Suddenly, she got an idea. Memories could go two ways. Maybe the telepath would go away if Erin could just fight back. Across the link, she forced her own memories to the forefront of her mind and through to her foe. The memories didn't survive the process well, all broken fragments, but even momentary views of dead loved ones and the crushing grief that accompanied it, the terror of armies of walking dead bearing down on her, the rage and helplessness and hatred of capture and prolonged captivity, all those were enough to make quite an impression across the link.
April Posted May 29, 2011 Author Posted May 29, 2011 Eve reeled from the backlash, her own mental defenses unprepared for the reversal. The telepath sank to the ground with a sob, the brief glimpses she saw before did nothing to prepare her for the horrors that now caught her off guard. Unknowingly mimicking Singularity's earlier action, Eve knotted her hands in her hair whimpered, repeating, "No, no, no."
Electra Posted May 29, 2011 Posted May 29, 2011 Wander crouched down next to Eve and put her hand on her shoulder, her own face whiter than usual. She'd only gotten echoes over the link, but most of it wasn't new material to her and she got the gist of what was happening. "Stop it, now," she told Singularity sternly. "She doesn't need to see any of that. You're hurting her." Truthfully, Wander wasn't sure if she was so concerned about Eve's peace of mind or her own. She didn't like any of those images being shared any more than Eve probably wanted to see them. In the cell, Singularity raised her head, arms wrapped around her knees. She smiled with satisfaction. "Mine," she said, very definitely. The alien thoughts were gone, all that was left was, if not pleasant, at least her own.
April Posted May 30, 2011 Author Posted May 30, 2011 Eventually the telepath's breathing calmed and she removed her hands from the side of her head. Eve noticed the taste of copper in her mouth, apparently she had bit her lip when Singularity surprisingly reversed the tables on her. "Clever girl," the telepath thought, wiping away some of the blood and rising back to her feet, accepting the steadying hand from Wander. Even now, though the link was closed Eve could still bring to mind the things she saw. She looked at the smiling powerhouse, sitting smugly in her cell and favored the girl with a wintry smile. "I will assume that means I have permission to perform the scan." Not waiting for an objection the telepath once against thrust her mind into Singularity's, scanning through her memories. The telepath was looking for moments of good, of happiness, but she knew that to do so she would find a whole lot of terrible.
Electra Posted May 30, 2011 Posted May 30, 2011 There was a moment of disorientation as the link was established, Eve's own consciousness temporarily distancing itself from her body in order to delve within the shattered mind of the girl she was trying to help. Opening her mental "eyes" as the link took hold, Eve found herself in a dark, strange room, with walls that seemed to be made up of broken rubble and a few pinpricks of reddish light shining through cracks in the ceiling. There was a broad doorway behind her that appeared to have been hacked out with a sledgehammer, offering easy access to whatever was on the other side of the walls. In the corner, in the darkest part of the room, a figure was huddled, hiding.
April Posted May 30, 2011 Author Posted May 30, 2011 Sorely tempted though she was to go through the doorway, to explore Singularity's consciousness and find what she was looking for, the telepath couldn't turn her attention away from the huddled figure. This was the first time Eve had performed a deep delving like this so she wasn't quite sure what was a memory and what was a subconscious manifestation. "Only one way to find out," she resolved as she approached the hooded figure, lifting off the ground on luminous orange wings resembling ribbons of flame. "Hello?" the telepath called softly, "Can you hear me"
Electra Posted May 30, 2011 Posted May 30, 2011 The light from Eve's wings cast flickers of illumination into the darkness, chasing away the shadows that concealed the figure's identity. It was obviously Erin, but not the Erin Eve knew, or even Singularity. This Erin was a young teenager, thirteen or fourteen years old, with the soft features and lingering baby fat of a childhood not long behind her. She was definitely smaller than the Erin that Eve knew, and looked like if she uncurled and stood, she'd be barely taller than Eve herself. Erin put up an arm to shield her eyes from the light. "Please. Don't," she asked, her voice small.
April Posted May 30, 2011 Author Posted May 30, 2011 Eve kneeled next to the young looking Erin, her wings of fire soon having traces of blue and yellow-green join the orange. The ribbons of telekinetic energy moved on their own accord, some of them lightly brushing against Erin's cheek, others wrapping around her and the telepath, illuminating their surroundings. "It's OK Erin," the young Martel whispered. "I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to help you, to protect you." The telepath plucked an object from recent memory, one that she knew calmed the powerhouse, and handed the teddy bear to Erin. "This bear, it makes you happy, right? Can you show me the other places that make you feel like this bear does?"
Electra Posted May 30, 2011 Posted May 30, 2011 Erin picked up the bear and cradled it protectively, frowning as she looked down at its worn face and dirty paws. Memories began to flow across the broken walls like scenes from a movie projector, the most recent first. Erin cuddled the bear as she lay in her cot in her cell, stomach full and mind quiet in a place where no one had hurt her that day. Erin received the bear from the woman who looked like Mom (and here the images skipped and jumped with confusion and anxiety over a puzzle not yet solved.) The man in black helped her get out of the box, made her feel safe for the first time in a long time. There was a jump, and then suddenly the images sped up, became more frenetic. Erin, her arms bound behind her, watched the bear being destroyed along with all her things by a single blue energy blast while someone laughed out of sight. Erin was wrestled to the ground, the bag with all her possessions torn away when she was too exhausted to fight anymore. She wept anguished tears into the bear's dirty fur as she sat in an open-topped Jeep.The bear was a pillow as Erin slept in the dirt outside a city where the smell of death was so strong that even in memory it turned the stomach. The bear sat next to a dirty blanket- With a strangled cry, Erin threw the bear at the wall, shutting down the flow of images and plunging the room back into darkness but for Eve's light. "No," she sobbed, curling back in on herself as though that would protect her private thoughts somehow. "Mine..."
April Posted May 30, 2011 Author Posted May 30, 2011 "Yes, yours." the telepath said brushing a hand through the young Erin's hair before rising back to her feet, and picking up the thrown bear. Setting it down next to the young woman, Eve turned and regarded the door for a moment. "And mine as well," she thought, for she was Sage, and she remembered everything. It was going to be a long process, the telepath knew, but at least she had a starting point. Stepping through the broad doorway, chasing down the the terrible memories that were revealed to her. When she found them she intended to muddle them, subduing the vivid memories and disconnecting the attached emotions. "I will be back," Sage promised young Erin. "I will make this right."
Electra Posted May 30, 2011 Posted May 30, 2011 "No, stop, please!" Erin cried, though the despair in her voice made it clear she didn't expect her tormentor to listen. There was a quick shimmer of color over Eve's body as she stepped into the doorway, and suddenly it was not Eve's own self-projection that appeared, but Erin's perception of her. Looking down at herself, Eve saw bright-colored clothing and a fall of vivid red hair, and a long, bloody knife in one hand. From out of nowhere, there was the memory of laughter. Eve could recognize her friend Alex's voice, but a different tone than her friend would ever take, angry, malevolent, and mean.
April Posted May 31, 2011 Author Posted May 31, 2011 The bright clothing, the red hair, the long bloody knife; individually each one of these things would have gave the telepath pause but combined the effect was devastating. With revulsion and horror etched on her face the telepath threw the knife away and fled through the doorway and hastily withdrew her consciousness from Singularity's. The transition, not to mention being compared to Pathos, was not kind to Eve as she stumbled, dropped to one knee and retched on the prison floor. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I'll leave you alone, I'm so sorry," the telepath whispered when she was able to speak again. The young Martel glanced up at Wander, tears in her eyes and she shook her head slightly.
Electra Posted May 31, 2011 Posted May 31, 2011 Wander looked worriedly from Eve to Singularity and back again, even as she patted Eve's back while the girl retched. "Are you okay?" she asked with concern, perhaps to both of them. The moment Eve had closed her eyes, Singularity had slumped over as well, abrupt as a puppet with her strings cut. Even now she was only starting to wake up, blinking with confusion as she came back to herself. Wander left her to do that and turned her attention to her friend, pursing her lips at the sorrow and defeat in Eve's eyes. "I'm sorry, I knew this wasn't going to be easy," she said awkwardly. "I mean, my brain's a terrible place for psychics, and she's so much worse. I know you did what you could." In the cell, Singularity woke up with a sense of unreality. The telepath had gone away! She had said to go away and the telepath had gone away and it hadn't even hurt. She didn't know what to make of it, but the feeling of relief was immense. She looked up and studied the pair outside her cell with wide eyes, trying to understand what had just happened. Maybe the telepath and the not-Mom were telling the truth. Maybe it wasn't like Pathos. It was very hard to believe.
April Posted May 31, 2011 Author Posted May 31, 2011 "In the end there was nothing, is nothing, I can do," Eve confessed, the notes of frustration in her voice echoing along the mental link. "She thinks I'm just like Pathos, and maybe she's right. I was too quick to ignore what she wanted, too caught up in thinking I could just fix things." At this particular moment Eve wasn't happy with herself. She had twisted Singularity's attempt to defend herself against psychic intrusion and used it as a tool and an excuse to do what she wanted. Just like Pathos. Just like any other tyrant, wielding their power like a cudgel over those that lack the power to defend themselves. The telepath closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I've come so close to compromising my own ethics. Sure a sign as any that I need to leave." Standing up the telepath took one last glance at the cell before turning away.
Electra Posted May 31, 2011 Posted May 31, 2011 "Eve, wait," Wander said quickly, before the telepath could get too far. "I know you're just trying to help, even though it's hard. That's what a good person does." She paused for a second. "And have you even noticed yet that you've been talking aloud this whole time?" The odd double-speak was a very strange sensation, but as far as Wander could tell, it seemed unintentional. Inside the cell, Singularity continued to watch the byplay with interest, seeming more comfortable when the focus was not on her.
April Posted May 31, 2011 Author Posted May 31, 2011 "Talking? Don't be absurd." Eve thought as she stopped and glanced back at Erin, the telepaths face shadowed by several emotions; among them regret, frustration and anger. "It's not that it's hard, Wander. It would be so very, very easy to do what I wanted to do. If we were out in the field fighting to protect others or ourselves I wouldn't hesitate." Eve whirled back to face the cell where Singularity was watching and pointed at the prisoner. "But this is different. Look at her, she's defenseless against whatever abuses anyone wants to heap on her, and she has been for years! I realize now that I can't just rewrite her into the hero I know she can be. I am not a tyrant and she is not a toy." Eve's mouth closed with a click and a heartbeat later her eyes widened in shock with comprehension following quickly on its heels. "Wha-?"
Electra Posted May 31, 2011 Posted May 31, 2011 "There, you see?" Wander said, smiling a little despite the seriousness of the situation. "You started right about the time she got you really mad, just started screaming at her to shut up, but not only with your mind. And you've been talking aloud this whole time since." She shrugged one shoulder. "It's nice, isn't it? And it gives you another tool to use, besides getting in there telepathically and hoping she doesn't go nuts." Singularity could tell when she was being talked about and looked cautious, but not exactly afraid.
April Posted June 3, 2011 Author Posted June 3, 2011 "Two years ago I gave up on the idea of ever speaking again," Eve told Wander, looking somewhat embarrassed by the admission. From what she knew of Eve, Erin could easily conclude that this was a girl who was unaccustomed to failure. The telepath sidestepped a maintenance worker who moved past her with mop and bucket, who mercifully made no remark about the lunch Sage unceremoniously deposited on the prison floor, and approached Wander. Eve hesitated for a moment then gave her friend a hug, propriety be damned. "I'm not giving up on you. One day you will sleep without nightmares," Eve said past Wander's shoulder, green eyes full of promise locked on Singularity. Releasing her friend from the embrace, the telepath nodded once, curtly, to Singularity before turning to leave.
Electra Posted June 3, 2011 Posted June 3, 2011 Erin stiffened for a moment, not sure what to make of Eve's assurances. It wasn't until she pulled away enough to realize that Eve was looking around her that she figured out she hadn't been the target of that comment. Singularity was still staring at Eve, watching the telepath with the focus of someone who's been handed a difficult puzzle to solve. The look, for once very focused and nearly clear-eyed, looked more like the Erin Eve knew than anything the damaged girl had done so far. "Just give me a minute," Wander requested before Eve could get to the end of the corridor. "I just have a few last things." Eve could hear her friend talking to the guards in a low voice about the bruises Singularity had picked up, whether she was eating, sleeping, and bathing properly, whether it seemed like she could read. For all her diffidence, Wander obviously had a strong interest in her counterpart's well-being and progress. On the other end of the corridor, behind the opaque metal cell door they'd passed earlier, someone was singing, a crooning song in an unknown language, in a voice that sent chills up the spine.
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