scribble_puppet | Central Silent Hill/Alchemilla Hospital (Foggy World)

Central Silent Hill/Alchemilla Hospital (Foggy World)

Their feet hit gritty pavement.

It's the middle of a block of foggy street in a run-down commercial district. Not the skyscrapers of New York, but squat, huddled old buildings of a quaint New England town. Behind them is a dusty toy store; other storefronts litter the street to either side and in front.

The whole place echoes emptily, the movement of the fog the only sound other than themselves.

Amber scuffs a sneaker on the asphalt. "So... yeah. Here it is."

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"Um..."

She looks down at her hand immediately, then looks away and scuffs the ground.

"Dunno... I mean... I don't think anything's different."

Rachel also peered down at the hand, then tilted her head to the side. ::In a place like this everything is connected. Like strings knotting memories together, or scents that lead back to something. It's your mind, you can follow any connection you like. Start with your hand. Feel it. Can you feel any connections in it?::

She gives a noncommital grunt. "It's connected to my fuckin' arm, so?"

But it's also connected by a faint chain, barely visible- a thin pen line leading off into the darkness of one tunnel.

::Your arm, your bones, your blood, nerves, skin, and mind.:: she agreed grimly. ::And, also, this.:: she reached out carefully to tweak that thin chain. Like plucking a guitar string just enough to set it humming.

::Do you feel that?::

"OW! FUCK!"

Yes. She does.

And so does the tunnel- things shake and crack.

::Shhhh:: she soothed, standing well clear of the chain now. She was going to focus on shoring up the tunnel around with flame licked resolve. A calm, solid emotion to seep into cracks and fissures.

Strength. She had plenty to spare.

::Can you follow it?::

She spends a moment waiting for everything to go back to normal.

"...I guess?" She gingerly reaches for the line, wincing a bit as her fingertips brush it. Gritting her teeth, she follows its path into the tunnel.

The path is long and winding. Once, sunlight filters in through a long grating above, and the constant background noise becomes louder- it's the voices of people, a cacophony spattering the walls around them. Amber rushes through, head hunched down between her shoulders to block the noise out.

::You're very brave, Amber.:: Rachel admitted, following closely in the girl's wake.

Those voices were...she couldn't tell if they were external influences or internal. They could be memory, but they also could be a form of attack. Such things could wear down a persons confidence and defenses. Either way, she didn't like them.

She reached out, gently, to place her fingertips on Amber's shoulder. ::You don't have to listen to them. They can't touch you:: with those words she gave Starsong, a wild taste of freedom and glory to counter counter the cacophony.

She pauses, taking in the new sound and the gentle touch.

"there's always so many," she mutters.

::Who are they? How long have they been here?:: She asked quietly. They had the time in the world, so it would be alright to pause and think about it.

She might be able to help.

"everyone. forever."

She crams her hands in her pockets and hunkers against the wall.

"just won't fucking shut up."

::Is there any resonance with the chain and your hand here?:: She tilted her head to listen better. What kind of voices would play in a girls mind forever.

::Stand straight Amber. Don't let it defeat you in your own mind. This place is Yours::

She shakes her head. "No... 's just there."

The kind of voices that come from around her. Accusations. Anger. Frustration. Whispers about her- she's different, wrong, bad.

Amber shakes her head and walks. "Just don't listen..."

::I really am going to get you and your mom to move. That's...:: it wasn't right for anyone to grow up with that. ::...not something you should ever have to deal with.:: She desperately wanted to introduce the girl to Hank. He was such a gentle man.

::Sometime later we can come back here. I can show you how to lessen it all.::

"...okay..."

The tunnel goes deeper, and then there's a metal wall with a locked door. Scarred into the metal is the same seal (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v480/furikku/SilentMilliways/halo2.jpg) Amber usually draws unconsciously.

"Now what?" she asks dully.

::Are you tired? Is it hard to be near this?:: she asked, walking past Amber to lay her hand on the door. She needed to get a sense of it, and if it would harm Amber if it was opened.

"I don't know..."

It's

It runs throughout her, through her soul, like veins and arteries. Like breath.

Oh...

::There's a choice, Amber::

Well. This was going to be tricky. And strange. Something so interwoven was nasty and hard to route out.

::Let me show you::

There were pictures and paths, every trace that Rachel felt through the door she displayed for Amber. It was like a cancer, unasked for and unbidden, twined through her friend.

::It can be fixed::

She screams

No

Red was also HERS. A color of life and freedom, of tearing through the stars and ignoring any chains.

Red was birth blood and lava, new beginnings in new worlds.

RED was a heart beating, pounding through every challenge with adrenaline fueled glee.

RED was hers, as was Amber, and she would not allow this to twist and harm her.

::Amber::

::Amber::

::Hold onto yourself::

::I'll hold onto you::

She'd hold onto her friend in safer reds, feather soft and strong as steel. Wings of Will and Rage tempered into Protections. Reds in which other colors could dwell...Blues of courage, Greens of strength, and fleeting, dancing Gold of Hope.

. Only you heal us these wounds.

I give to you unreservedly, my body and my eternal soul.

As proof of your miraculous power, guide our obedient and willing souls to the Road of Paradise

Blood and fire pumping through the tunnels
A heart beating
New life in this world
Life that cannot live in this world without a sacrifice

RachelRachel
I can'tcan't
What am II

::You're Amber:: There wasn't a single iota of doubt in that mental tone. ::And something powerful has decided to be a parasite.:: She really couldn't think of any other way to phrase it. This thing fed and fed and detracted from Amber's health.

::I'm going to lock it in better. Just hold on to me.::

Holding onto someone

sounds good

sounds scary

because

she needs someone

she can't rely on anyone

she's slipping away

she reaches out

fingers digging into

Rachel

::I have you:: The words were simple and pure, the action behind them less so. What flowed from that contact was a stream of emotion and images. Amber as Rachel saw her, all sharp edges and softer smiles, tensions, fears, and hopes. A burning set of lines amidst shadows, held together by odd flares and coiled emotion.

Amber, defined as best Rachel could.

And more, she was taking everything other, everything alien, and forcing it back with a finely honed rage that was sharper than any knife.

walls and bars and locks

walls and walls and walls

and darkness

the something inside her settles

and sleeps

In the "real" world, Amber is on the ground, sweating and panting.

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