| The Dark Half | ||
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| Summary: Tabitha wakes up to find herself in the body of her younger personality prompting Xue to start experimenting to see just what Tabitha is and how her body reacts to things only to wake up something dark that had so far been buried. After that, a brief walk down memory lane and a little more shape shifting hijinks.     |
An alchemical or magical penguin or prinnies paradise. The entire room is blanketed in ice and snow. Icicles hang from the edges of the table in the middle of the room, upon which lie at least 3 open books of magic, a calcinator, mortar and pestle, and ingredients strewn about the remaining surface almost haphazardly. A shielded window, protected by some kind of energy, gives view over a large majestic facility from several floors up, which itself can be seen to be floating even higher up off of the ground far below. A bed sits off to one side, as cold and snow-ridden as the rest of the room, although appearently the occupant doesn't mind. A large cabinet sits t othe far left, filled with books of varying topics, some arcane, some mundane, some just plain wierd. Another cabinet beside it contains what appears to be an old, worn set of metal half-plate, which has seen better days, it would seem. Abruptly Tabitha bolts upright, her eyes wide with fear and confusion. She looks around trying to figure out where she is and relaxes only once she's recognizes Xue's workshop once again. Catching her breath, the girl looks down at herself as her brain tries to recall just what's happened to her. As such it takes her a moment before she realizes something is wrong. "What happened ta my clothes..." Her voice trails off into a whisper as a hand goes to her throat. The girl coughs and tries again, nervously trying out her higher-pitched and younger sounding voice. "Uh.. Xue? XUE?!" Swinging her legs off the edge of the cot, Tabitha looks ready to cry as her feet don't even touch the floor anymore. "PLEASE tell me what happened to me!" Xue is at her desk, as always. It makes one wonder if she ever really sleeps, or if she even NEEDS to sleep anymore. Questions for another tale, however. She turns in her chair slowly as Tabitha wakes up, quickly coming to 2 concluding: the first is that the normal personality has control once again, and the second, mroe obvious one is that her body has NOT changed itself to fit that personality. Xue points a finger at a nearby wall, which quickly begins to frost over, and becomes reflective. Looking back at Tabitha, she says "Take a look, then i'll tell you". Tabitha drops to her feet and walks over to the wall. Her eyebrows raise in confusion. "Tabby?" The Neko sways and waves at the reflection a moment before sighing heavily. "So I'm guessin' this is related to th' new crowd of voices in my head?" The little girl crosses her arms and turns back around to face Xue. "Last thing I remember is runnin' out of the UR with Tabby babbling in my head about somethin'." The girl rolls her eyes. "I guess maybe the whole not sleeping thing was a bad idea, huh?" Xue nods "More than likely. She was in control when i went with her to the UR, to see if i could connect and get familiar with her. She went to the bathroom, and when she came out, your body looked like it does now. I've put some spells in place on you to keep tabs of any further changes, and to relay arcane signatures and other such things should it happen again, so i can see if its magic, or something else. In the meantime, I want you to try something. Get a picture of yourself in your mind. Focus on it. Believe with your whole being that it IS you, inside and out. Once you do that, look for that image in the mirror". The girl sweatdrops and starts patting herself down looking for... there it is. She pulls out a small black bubble wand from her back pocket, rolls her eyes again, and flicks it through the air as if to shake something off of it. Instead of bubbles filling the air it changes shape, growing larger and more sinister until it takes the form of the black bladed Dread Dagger. "Or I could probably just use this." The girl takes the dagger, gripping it with both hands, and swings it down to stab herself in the leg. Well, she starts to anyways. Still holding the dagger in mid-swing she pauses and starts patting herself down again with one hand. She stops at the plaid skirt, rubbing it slightly. "...oh no. No. That's goin' too far!" The girl dashes into Xue's bathroom once again leaving the cryomancer alone momentarily. "YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!" There's an audible stabbing noise and a grunt of pain before Tabitha returns at her proper age and attire. A spot on her pants indicates where she stabbed herself with a small bit of blood drawing attention to it. "Well, that's better." Xue smirks as Tabitha runs into the bathroom, her mind, via her enchantmentsm monitoring everything concerning Tabithas body as she does what she does. Theres a wince as she hears Tabitha stab herself, then she suddenly loses her amused expression, and just staaaares at the door to the bathroom. This can't be right.... can it? She's still staring, thinking through this new information as Tabitha walks back in. For the first time since they met she gets to see Xue suprised. Tabitha takes one look at Xue and without some kind of context her imagination runs wild. Immediately her face turns beet red. "What?!" She looks back at the bathroom door and then back to Xue, her eyes now frantic. "No, no. See I-I was commenting on what she was wearing! I didn't!!" The girl thumps against the wall behind her, and that's about when her brain goes back into gear. She looks down at the dagger still in her hand and sweatdrops heavily. "O-Oh!! Oh, this! What? I figured out how to change my form a long time ago. It's easier than doin' the whole goin' black thing." She places a hand over her chest and takes a deep breath, waiting for her heart to stop beating a mile a minute. Xue s eyebrows go up as she slowly smiles, shaking her head "I'm not sure i've ever seen anything like YOU before..... no, i don't mean the shape changing, and no i don't mean the ears and tail". She leans back in her chair "As i told you, i put some divination spells on you while you were asleep to monitor things. I can monitor things about your aura at will while their active. They just relayed some intersting information". She motions her closer "Come here a moment. I want to test something to see if i'm right before going into detail.....". She produces a small cloud of cold mist in her hand, suspended in place. She focuses a bit, and her irises go from deep blue, to solid purple. Small sparkles start to appear within the mist, and she holds it up "Touch this with your finger, carefully. Stop when or if it begins to hurt you". The girl's skin begins the tingle the second Xue's eyes change colors. Assuming it's just a side effect of the energies being used, Tabitha steps closer. Her hair seems to stand on end long before she ever actually gets to make contact. Reaching out with one slender finger, the girl's face contorts just before she touches it. Pain rockets through Tabitha's body, her body turning solid black in reaction to the spell's magics. With a howl of pain she's knocked backwards, her form going limp and lifeless as it hits the floor. For a moment she doesn't move; she doesn't even breathe but then she sits up somehow like a puppet being pulled on strings. The darkness begins to withdraw from her skin leaving not a red short-jacket and a white low cut shirt covering her modesty, but instead an orange tank top. Around her neck hangs a broken crystal pendant. With a fanged smile the girl leaps to her feet, one hand resting atop a sheathed red tanto worn at her hip. "Well, THAT was cool!" The girl continues to grin as she looks over Xue. "Get it? I'm bein' punny." Yes. Yes she is. Xue smirks, with a nod. The spell fades from her hand, and her eyes slowly return to their normal color. Then Tabithas clothes change. If Xue hadn't known from Nny that the 'killer' was based on Samantha, she would be in shock right now. For now, she can only investigate.... "An interesting look..... come from anywhere specific?". Xue's demeanor seems as cold as the rest of the room currently after what just happened. The Nekojin looks down at herself as lesions start appearing up and down her arms. "Oh. No. This old thing?" She looks up again, her face decayed and strips of flesh hang from the bone beneath. "Just some old beat up thing I found one day." The corpse goes to take a step forwards but vanishes, appearing just behind Xue and close enough to lean forward and speak directly into her ear. "Y'know how ya always like th' whole cold thing? It's -always- cold where I live..." Vanishing again, 'Tabitha' appears back in front of Xue where she'd stood originally. Her body is no longer decayed, but the clothes and the crystal haven't changed. "By the way, I just looooove what'cha did with th' place. Living in caves is so underrated." Xue tilts her head, eyes glowing momentarily. Her expression is a puzzled one "Are you one of Tabithas personalities... ? or someone or something else?" The woman glares her eyes, her ears reflexively drawing back in sync. "I resent that remark! -I- was the first! -I'm- the original!!" She draws the tanto and in one smooth motion places the tip of the blade against Xue's throat. "You're just as bad as all th' others!" A manic smile dances across her face as she leans forwards just enough to pierce the skin. "But that's fine. When I get done there won't be any others... One bitch down, right? Thank you for showin' me th' way out, by the way! Arigatou gozaimasu!" She smiles a little too happily before she turns away, sheathing the blade and speaking to the room instead. "I have a knack for killin' clones ya know. Even got th' last one to hug me before I shoved Johnny's dagger into 'er chest." A thin line of red appears as the knife is pressed.... If 'Tabitha' is paying attention, she may notice something off. If she isn't, well, Xue IS bleeding a bit.... Her expression becomes one of increasing anger, and as the monologue is finished, Xue draws her sword and leaps from her chair, blade swinging at Tabithas neck! Should Tabitha counterattack or attempt to guard against it, it just passes through and vanishes, being just an illusion. The REAL Xue, meanwhile, fires a chilling blast of magic from a few feet to Tabithas left, which if successful should temporarily encase her body below the neck in ice. Either way, Xue moves in, careful to try to avoid the dagger, a hand snaking out to try to grab Tabithas head. If she can get back into her mind, maybe she can fix the damage.... somehow. Better than fighting here. 'Tabitha' still has her back to the illusion and ignores it, waiting instead for the real one which she correctly assumes will appear as soon as- Leaping away from the magical attack, the woman dives behind the cot and pulls it down as a makeshift shield to give herself enough time to use the dagger's powers to drop into her own shadow. Rising up from behind Xue with her location now known, she stands ready with the tanto in one hand and the dagger in the other. "Oh look. Did I strike a nerve? I could strike more than that..." However she instead puts away the weapons and stands with her arms out to the sides, palms open. "But why go through all that? Can't we just be friends? Like th' good old days!" She grins again, but raises her hands above her head. "Naaaah. That life is dead. Tell ya what. Free shot. C'mon! Kill me now or regret it th' rest of your life!" Xue stands there, eye to eye but a few feet away, hand on sword. The angry look in the illusions eyes was as illusory as it was. Her expression is a neutral mask of tactical consideration. At Tabithas offer, she slowly draws her blade, blue fire extending down it's length. She draws several runes in the air in front of her, which then fizzle once completed. She holds her sword in an executioners stance, blade high and to the side "As you wish!". She comes in, the blade coming down towards Tabithas neck..... In the brief moment the blade starts to swing the girl's expression goes blank. Her body starts to crumble like a toy with the rubber band inside cut. Before she can actually fall, she stands up straight again - her eyes huge and full of terror as the mind of Tabby takes control and begins to scream uncontrollably. The little girl sees the person she's been trusting with the calm look of murder on her face and that blade coming down for her. If Xue hesitates, no matter how briefly, she'll throw herself backwards into a ball and attempt to crawl as far away from her attacker as she can without turning away. Of course, while still screaming the entire time. A noble attempt at self preservation, and one that would likely work against anyone else. Xue, however, CAN be just as cold as her element.... Luckily, not this time. With practiced ease from over a century of swordplay and adventuring, Silverfrost stops in the air and is pulled to the side by one hand, as the other reaches out to try to plant itself firmly on the top of Tabbys head, glowing with magic. The girl flails her head back and forth as Xue tries to touch her. The energies in the magic just enough to set off the body shifting to the younger form Tabby held earlier. Reaching for anything she can the little girl goes so far as to throw the dagger blindly as well as anything else she can get her hands on if it means keeping the cryomancer a little further away. "STAY AWAY FROM MEEE!!!" Xue does the exact opposite of what Tabby wants. Instead of avoiding the knife, she actually steps into it, taking a mean stab to the ribs in the process. She wraps the other arm around her, dropping Silverfrost in the process, to keep her still, and casts the mindwalk spell. (Time to finish this..... ) is her last thought before the spell kicks in..... Darkness... blinding darkness... As the spell connects to Tabitha's mindscape all that assaults Xue is a darkness that seems to soak its way into one's very soul. There's no light, no heat... just nothing. Suddenly a blinding flash of light erupts out of nowhere, expanding outwards like a child being torn from the womb and seeing the world for the first time. As a cloudy fog slowly washes away from her eyes she'll see... nothing. The world is dark, like a country road at night, with only the dim glow of a moon above to give anything to help the transition. There are no stars above, and no lights in the distance. In fact, this is a country road at night, as the details of the dirt road beneath her slowly fade into view. Xue winces as she lands. The stab, while it will bleed, it will take quite awhile to start bothering her due to the speed of thought..... hours in the mind can be minutes of real time. Still, the less shes here, the better for them all. Slowly, she takes in the surroundings..... looking for any indicator of direction or orientation. None being seen, she starts walking down the road slowly towards the direction over which the moon hangs, just at random As she walks Xue will no doubt notice the unearthly silence about the place. There are no noises in the background. No wind howling through the trees. Yet, there is a sound. It's faint but it's there. Voices which are distorting as they travel through the darkness up the trail from where the cryomancer is currently stepping. If she continues towards it she'll definitely be able to pick out two voices, a male and a female... and something else. Something moving through the trees... Xue locks on to the voices, and makes her way closer, using the darkness to try to get into earshot and make out the conversation..... Getting closer she'll see the two people walking side by side. A burning sphere of light seems to hover just off to the side of them. A rudimentary light; a magic torch. Details are still hard to make out, but the woman definitely has cat ears and a tale - not that it should come as any surprise in Tabitha's head. The woman continues to chat to the slender man walking alongside her. "...you think we might be up against any one of the innumerable horrors from your past, and yer suggestin' we make as much noise as possible? I knew there was a reason I didn't take you into the Badlands all that much..." She laughs softly, glancing about into the darkness. Abruptly another voice suddenly speaks from behind Xue. "You shouldn't be here." The woman will find one of Tabitha's voices standing behind her, bound still in a straitjacket. Unlike last time, the girl seems to be in control of herself. "This isn't a good place." Xue eyes the aspect, glad it seems to be in control of itself "I've come to help get this sorted out. You all can't continue like this. Some level of balance among you must be found or you may not survive......". She eyes the straight jacket "Will you help me?" The girl shakes her head, "You don't understand. There already is a balance. If you change things now..." From behind them comes a guttural scream. A girl leaps out of the trees and latches onto the woman, her nails aiming to rip out the woman's throat. The man simply laughs, "Oooooh right. That's what went through my mind when I stabbed you!" The woman twists at the hip and whips her wrist around, using the weapon in her grasp to rather brutally slap the girl's hands away. It is almost instantly followed by an outside crescent kick, a sneaker whipping through the air to strike the attacker with a grazing blow that keeps her at distance long enough for a good look to be had.The girl screams in rage at the man and continues to try and attack the woman, "YOU FUCKING JACK-ASS!!! DID YOU STOP FOR A GODDAMNED SECOND TO SEE WHERE THE FUCK YOU THREW ME WHEN YOU DROP KICKED ME OFF OF TWISTED?!? YOU FUCKING SON OF A WHORE!!!!" The straight jacketed Tabitha sighs, "Look, things happen for a reason. We exist for a reason. You don't understand!" With each pause she takes a step back, trying to lead Xue away from the conflict going on behind them. Xue sighs, looking back from the group, and keeping pace with the one in the straight jacket, since she seems to think it important to be a distance.... for now "Then explain it to me. Help me understand. I can't let one of you continue going on a potential murdering spree" The girl shakes her head frantically at the request. "I-I can't! Not here, not now! Right now everyone is distracted, but soon it'll be over. If we talk about her she'll wake up." Her arms move to cover her mouth. Apparently she wasn't exactly restrained after all. Even still her arms are held within the overly long sleeves of the jacket, and the jacket is clearly fully fastened all the way up. Xue sighs "Allright.... i'll leave you to it.... but i want answers at the first available opportunity....." she looks back at the group of 3, and shakes her head..... but better to listen to someones aspects than to force things. It'll usually do more harm than good. She looks back "Are you able to surface and have control like the others? The girl follows Xue's gaze back to the trio who sound much more calm at the moment, if the tone of the voices is any indication. In the momentary silence a few sentences trickle down the trail. "Nobody deserves to be me. The real deal ain't exactly a barrel o' laughs, but tryin' ta fill in for the pain and the heartache I've caused... you were always gonna lose out." The straight jacketed girl hums in thought, drowning out what's being said again. "I might, but there are conditions. I'm th' only one who hasn't got a name, and that makes it harder." In the silence another piece of that conversation drifts down, "...but I came to help you. Whatever that takes." Xue looks back up narrowing her eyes, trying to see if.... is that thin figure who she THINKS it is. She whispers back to jacketed "Is that Nny?". she wouldn't be suprised if so....."I've been wondering about that since last time.... why don't you have a name? What about you are they so afraid of that Tabitha hasnt done so?" The girl shrugs her shoulders at the later questions. "No one's afraid of me. I'm just not that important. When they wake up I won't be able to remember much. I think I got stuck with th' forgotten, and while they remember it I can't." With a slight sniffle she raises an arm and wipes her eyes. "That's probably why..." The trio up the road continue their conversation with the eldest female stepping away, raising her arms as if to gather power. "Not /quite/ so bad. I guess y'didn't miss me enough to remember me all that well, Johnny. She's right; you do suck..." The girl nudges Xue suddenly, pulling her attention back from the scene playing out. "It's almost over. If you give me a name we could keep it a secret. Then they'll never know!" She seems almost excited by this idea. "But whatever you do, ya gotta do it quick. You don't want to be here when this is finished..." Xue gives a strange soft smile, one that has some kind of history behind it, as the presence of some kind of memory becomes clear in her gaze "If there is enough for you to be sentient within this mess, then you MUST have some importance, even if just that as an individual". She kneels down and pats her shoulder "I give you the name Colleen, then. It was the name of my predecessors sister, and i name you in her memory". Colleen smiles warmly and opens her mouth to speak, only to be drowned out by the exclamation of, "HISHOUKEN!" An explosion of blue-white chi roars out from the trio behind them. Not much can be seen before it changes. As it fades into further blueish colors, a tear rips through the night sky running fully a dozen feet before a flap of existence lifts at each edge, falling away to leave a crack barely wide enough to step into. The girl grabs Xue's arms and shakes her. "Leave NOW! PLEASE!!" Xue looks up, and nods as the blast occurs. With a mental thought, she ends the spell, returning herself to her own mind....... Xue's Room(#2239R) An alchemical or magical penguin or prinnies paradise. The entire room is blanketed in ice and snow. Icicles hang from the edges of the table in the middle of the room, upon which lie at least 3 open books of magic, a calcinator, mortar and pestle, and ingredients strewn about the remaining surface almost haphazardly. A shielded window, protected by some kind of energy, gives view over a large majestic facility from several floors up, which itself can be seen to be floating even higher up off of the ground far below. A bed sits off to one side, as cold and snow-ridden as the rest of the room, although appearently the occupant doesn't mind. A large cabinet sits t othe far left, filled with books of varying topics, some arcane, some mundane, some just plain wierd. Another cabinet beside it contains what appears to be an old, worn set of metal half-plate, which has seen better days, it would seem. The cryomancer will awaken to find Tabby's body unconscious and still slumped against the wall where she 'left' her. A line of drool hangs out of her mouth, collecting in a puddle in the middle of her shirt. If she attempts to speak or shake the girl, Tabitha will awaken with a start much like she did this evening originally. She won't say much, but she'll grip the sides of her head and moan in pain a moment before curling up in a ball on the floor. "...I feel like I'm hung-over..." Xue comes to suddenly as her spell ends. She resists throwing up, then grunts sharply in pain as the injury on her side reaches her brain. She stays upright though, as she looks down at the gash, her blood already freezing as it makes contact with the air, sealing the wound rather quickly (Enchantments still in place..... ) she glares at the weapon as she feels its 'pull' faintly. She doesn't like it one bit..... Xue kneels down next to Tabitha, checking her over for injuries "Things got..... interesting...." Luckily the girl has no physical injuries herself and as Xue checks her over she pushes herself back up to a sitting position. Abruptly she jumps a little as she rolls onto the seat of her skirt and checks for something on the ground before realizing what she felt. "Oh lord... I'm a kid again, an' I realize why she was wearing that now." Tabitha moans as she rubs her head again. "Do I want ta ask what happened? I feel like I've been crying and I've got a headache larger than my head..." Xue says, "some violent personality took over after you were blown back by the experiment, and when i moved to engage it in combat it swapped to Tabby to try to make me hold off attacking due to her terror.... i went into your head to try to fix whatever may be wrong, but it looks like someone else may have beaten me to it.... there was an explosion in your head, which is when i left" Tabitha raises an eyebrow at Xue before shaking her head in disbelief. "Y'know, if anyone had told me something like that a week ago I woulda thought they were crazy." She tries to push herself to her feet but loses balance and falls back on her ass before she ever gets half way up, looking sickened by the impact. "...I need a shower." She shakes her head in disgust a moment and tries again, this time catching herself on the wall and wobbling. "Xue? Thank you, y'know... for everything. I don't think many other people woulda stuck their necks out for me after just meeting me." She crosses her arms, leaning against the wall a moment with her eyes closed. "...but I think maybe I need to get outta here. I mean for starters I can tell whatever happened scared the little one to death, and it kinda worries me I don't hear her right now." She opens her eyes and looks up at Xue sadly, "...but I'm starting to wonder if half my problem is that you keep stirring th' hornets nest in my head." It's a valid point, things have gotten much more dramatic since she started keeping Xue's company. Xue gives a semi-sad look, but nods "The little one was terrified i was going to kill her, though that was never my intention..... try to make sure she knows that in the future.....". She picks up her sword, sheathing it "Doors always open. Just want to help any way i can..... " (guess i'm watching from a distance from here on out....) she thinks to herself "... and be careful..... stirred up or not, something in your head is NOT safe, for you potentially, but moreso those around you" Tabitha catches the look and frowns, but chooses not to say anything until Xue finally pauses. "I'll make sure. Umm.. Look. I still can't go back to whatever Diablo was cooking up. Sooner or later I'm gonna have to deal with that, probably sooner. For now I was just thinkin' I'd take Sun up on her couch offer. Tabby seems to like her anyways. ...I can check back, or you could drop in and check on me if you think I need it. I think you an' her are the only real friends I have at the moment." Xue nods "Any time, and i'll be honest: i WILL be keeping tabs on you, just in case, pun not intended" She playfully taps Tabitha on the tip of her nose "Just try to keep your nose clean.... ok? I don't plan on going anywhere". She also pulls out a small stick "Here. If you ever need me, break that. I'll know it, and come running". Her comments are so corny, the girl actually has to stop herself from smiling - especially after the nose tap. Instead Tabitha allows herself to smirk and takes the stick with a nod. With a heavy sigh she looks down at her younger body a moment before glancing back up at Xue. "Speaking of clean... do you think I could borrow your shower?" She tugs lightly at the wasteband of her skirt, her cheeks burning crimson. "Apparently my younger self has decided she's not fully 'trained' yet an' you scared her /really/ badly." Her voice having faded out to almost a whisper, the girl pauses momentarily to compose herself before continuing. "I'm a little afraid to find out what would happen if I changed back like this..." Xue says, "Ha!" she sits back in her chair, giving a smirk and a nod "Well, seeing someone come at you with a sword covered in blue flame and glowing eyes can do that to a child, sadly......" She points to the bathroom "Go ahead..... dont worry, its all enchanted. Pipes would freeze. So it'll run as long and any temperature you want"." Tabitha finally allows herself to smile widely as she expresses, "Oh my god, thank you!!" She barely hesitates to run past Xue and into the back, snatching up the dagger off the floor along the way... Xue watches Tabitha go. She's seen enough people come and go in her time. She has to admit she'll miss this one, but has to let her make her own choices on her path..... Once Tabitha is out of the room, Xue looks down at her side at the wound. It's sealed nicely, luckily. It'll scar, but whats one more..... She turns around to her desk, pulls out a cube of glass. Slowly a cube of ice freezes around it, using it asa framework to hold its shape. She narrows her eyes as she looks closely at the object that materializes within it..... A fragment of moving shadow, a very small piece of essence she took as a sample from Tabithas form. What secrets does it hold, she wonders..... Time will tell! Sliding open the drawer again, she puts it away for later study. | |
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