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Post by Alicia Westfield on Apr 8, 2018 2:26:11 GMT
Not one of them had expected either of the other patients from the previous day to be up and about like Alicia could be at the moment. In hindsight, it wasn’t that far fetched though. Isaac was certainly injured, yes. But most certainly not to the same extent that Alicia and Mitsuko were. Regardless, he came around at a... well, very bad time.
Both spirits winced as sound of Isaac’s voice coming from the other side of the door after a couple knocks. Alicia squeaked, almost pitifully as dread came over her expression. She most certainly wasn’t ready to talk with the imp on anything. Given what had happened, that likely topic was far too much for her to handle at the moment, at least she thought so.
“No... nonononono...” she whispered out, biting her lip and edging away from the door a bit more, drawing a sheet up over her right arm.
”... We can’t just ignore him, Alicia...” Sol countered back with a sigh. ”He only has good intentions coming here at this time...”
”She might be able to handle it better if someone didn’t try to rush things...” Kisara snapped to the dragon, uncharacteristically aggressive and caustic in her approach on her point. She only got another soft sigh from the dragon in turn. ”What do you want to do, Alicia? You can’t hide forever. Just like Elliot can’t hide forever. Just like how no one can truly hide forever.”
“...” The spirit wielder went about bundling herself up so she was covered up from the neck down in sheets and turned herself away from the door. “C-Can you guys handle it? I... I’m scared...”
”Of...?” Sol asked her, tilting her head.
“... I don’t know what I’m scared of... but... I just am.” The bearer of Steel shuddered and curled up, squeezing her eyes shut. “Please, you two...”
Kisara sighed and went over to the door opening it and letting the imp in. All three of them were quiet at the moment, and from what Isaac would be able to see of Alicia with her back turned to him... the poor girl looked utterly miserable. And there was a grim tension in the room from the earlier argument between the spirits. And they apparently weren’t inclined to speak up first.
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Apr 8, 2018 4:10:43 GMT
When it took almost a minute for the door to open, and Kisara did so without a single word, Isaac's heart practically sunk into his chest. He knew Alicia wouldn't be happy to see him, but this? She was physically turned away, not even wanting to look at him. How disgusted did she have to be? If his conversation with Mikemon had helped cheer him up some, Alicia was reminding Isaac just how disgusted he was with himself.
"Right," he said, looking down at his feet from the complete and utter shame of it all. "I knew this was a stupid idea. But . . ." He sighed, trying to work up the strength to look up, even as he withered under what he was sure were judging stares from Sol and Kisara.
Finally he managed to look up, even if he needed to squeeze his eyes shut and clench his fists tight to do so. "Look, I'm sorry, okay?" he blurted, voice cracking slightly. "I'm sorry for getting out of control during our battle. I'm sorry for what happened to Mitsuko. I'm sorry for not checking on you the second I was awake. And I'm sorry for not being there to keep you safe so none of this even happened. And . . . and . . . I'm sorry for dropping all contact and running off like that. I know it was a mistake. I know I shouldn't have done that. And I know it's too late to make good for any of it. But . . . I'm sorry.
I'll go now. Thanks for listening." And with that Isaac turned away, prepared to leave just as quickly as he had come.
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Post by Alicia Westfield on Apr 8, 2018 13:09:27 GMT
It was chilling, honestly. He blamed himself for everything? For doing what he had to do to survive her blind and maddened rage? For being driven to such desperation that his own corruption found an opening to twist him? How could he think any of this mess was his fault?
The two spirit’s gazes were the farthest thing from judgmental, even if he wasn’t seeing it for himself. Sol’s expression was fairly neutral mainly, only a glint in slightly widened eyes betraying his concern. Kisara, meanwhile, was far more expressive, worry plain to be seen in her own eyes for both of them. Neither of them blamed him for anything. The corruption was unfortunate to say the least, but if he hadn’t been there Mitsuko would’ve certainly been dead. And the reverse was likely true as well. Without Mitsuko, Isaac would be the one who needed an empty grave.
The bearer of Steel shuddered at the thought. She knew she’d come so close to actually killing two of the people she cared about most... Him saying that he was going to leave cracked the shell she was secluding herself in. Without even really thinking, she threw the sheets off and practically launched herself from the bed at him. The poor imp had no chance to really react as she hugged him tight, using the momentum from her leap to roll and sit herself up. That wound up placing Isaac squarely in her lap and caught in such a tight grip that he’d find there would be no way to wiggle out, even if he wanted to.
She had no words right now. Alicia didn’t trust her own voice as far as she would be able to throw it. Since she had no skill in ventriloquy, this of course meant she didn’t trust it at all. The only sounds she’d uttered with soft, choked sobs as tears ran down her cheeks in thin streams. Of course, given that the sheets she was covering up with were gone, Isaac would be able to see that her entire right arm was bandaged from finger tip to shoulder. A cursory glance would reveal much the same about her left leg.
”None of this is your fault, Isaac...” Sol intoned as he leaned out the door to look at the pair. ”What transpired yesterday was a series of terrible events compounding upon each other to create a true disaster for all involved. And yet any change in the events would’ve certainly resulted in an outcome far worse than what has occurred.”
”And, much as she believes otherwise, it’s not her fault either. No one could’ve predicted all of this. No one could’ve truly prepared for what occurred.” Kisara noted as well, joining the steel dragon in his observation.
Well, regardless of his feelings, Isaac likely wasn’t going anywhere any time soon.
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Apr 17, 2018 1:52:19 GMT
There were a lot of ways that Isaac could see this conversation playing out. Somehow, Alicia flinging herself at him like a missile and basically rolling him onto her lap was not even one of those foreseen ways. He let out a slight squeak of surprise and pain as his still-sore ribs were now being pushed in by Alicia's incredibly tight hug, which almost felt like he had been caught in a steel vice. Maybe the pressure would've been alleviated if Isaac leaned back a little, but there were two rather large and noticeable reasons why Isaac didn't exactly feel like doing that right now.
He could feel a few droplets of water falling down on his shoulder. Were those tears? He shuddered a little as he felt them fall, wiggling a hand out of Alicia's deathgrip to gently give her a pat on the hand. "Hey, come on," he said, voice soft both from the fatigue of the previous night and from an attempt at sounding sufficiently comforting. "You didn't do anything wrong. I . . . you never have, I promise. Please, please, please don't cry. Not when you've already got so much to worry about. You don't need to worry about me, too."
He could faintly make out the bandages spanning large portions of her body. Now that was something to worry about, not Isaac's own ridiculousness.
Then again, Isaac would be a hypocrite if he tried to offer that advice. He sighed as he turned to face Sol, or at least tried to turn as much as possible without getting suffocated or crushing himself in Alicia's grip. "I know, Sol. But . . ." he said, trailing off slightly. "It's a lot harder to feel that way when you've got the blood on your hands, you know? I mean, I'm pretty sure Alicia already told you all about what happened."
Deep down, though, Isaac couldn't ignore that they were right. There was nothing any of them could have done different. Not with how much Isaac and Alicia had each been corrupted. The decision was out of their hands, even if it felt so painfully otherwise. "Where were you guys? It was so weird, not hearing you around," Isaac asked, wondering if they, too, had been helpless to stop this.
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Post by Alicia Westfield on Apr 17, 2018 16:39:01 GMT
The bearer of Steel shook her head slowly as she continued to sob and cry, only loosening her grip slightly when he squirmed to free an arm. “I should’ve... should’ve...” she choked out softly. Shuddering, she sighed and gave up vocal communication. Even when she tried, her voice betrayed her and refused to work right.
”Alicia’s convinced that she could’ve done something different, some manner of action that could’ve prevented this chaos from happening. It really is heart wrenching to see both of you blame yourselves for what happened...” Kisara sighed softly as she spoke up. She bit her lip after that and looked down.
”Kid... you’re preaching to the choir here...” Sol commented, grimacing noticeably as a related memory was dug up by the feeling being mentioned. ”As for where we are... Alicia’s maddened rage resulted in her leaving her D-Scanner behind. Tethered to it as we are, we were several miles away from the chaos at the very least. Far outside the maximum tether range of the device. In fact, I can’t help but feel some of the guilt for Mitsuko’s condition. The one thing I was able to do, to fling a message to someone who could intercept her, had directly brought Mitsuko into the situation. Thusly... some of the blame for her injury falls to me as well.”
So the truth was out now, about their own inability to affect the situation. It would also explain why they had been silent. They certainly couldn’t speak into a situation they weren’t present for at the time. Perhaps the reason they weren’t present would be... interesting though...
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Apr 18, 2018 1:17:28 GMT
Isaac couldn't just leave Alicia like this, even if he was in kind of an awkward position right now. He turned around to face her, hugging her gingerly to avoid injuring any sore body parts. "You did everything you could've," he said, blinking back his own tears so he didn't end up crying on Alicia's shoulder. He was the one trying to comfort her here, not the other way around! "I . . . I could've held my emotions in check, at least. But you really didn't get a choice, you know? Whatever was out there in the Dark Area, it wasn't you. It couldn't have been. Hell, I'm amazed Mitsuko even reached you. But no chance in hell I'm blaming you for what that thing did, you hear?"
She didn't even have Sol and Kisara with her. With her guides, and the very sources of her power, absent, what was she even supposed to do? "God, I can't imagine how scary that must've been," Isaac said. "For all three of you. I'm so glad that you're back now, though. I think Alicia really needs the comfort . . . "
Wait. Isaac wasn't the most book smart guy around, but even he was fairly sure that spirit users generally needed spirits to Spirit Digivolve. It was kind of in the name, several times over. It also didn't make sense that a human being could spontaneously erupt into a dinosaur without at least some sort of magic rock making an allowance. "So if you guys weren't there, and you're the source of Alicia's Digivolutions . . .
What happened?"
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Post by Alicia Westfield on Apr 24, 2018 3:34:56 GMT
Alicia sighed deeply at Isaac’s assurances contrary to her guilt in this matter. She did really appreciate it, all things considered. It truly did touch her heart that even with this mess he still held such a strong opinion of her. If only opinions could change the facts...
”It was nothing short of a miracle, indeed. The method she used frankly shouldn’t have worked in the circumstances that were present, on review.” Sol mused softly with the note. Truly, the makeshift DNA was a long shot at best and a pipe dream at worst. But she and Patamon had made it happen.
Of course, Isaac was hardly a dull kid... he pretty quickly attempted to piece two and two together and noticed there was something missing after getting six instead of four. He’d also probably notice how his innocuous question got big and obvious winces and shared glances from all three. And for Sol to be openly displaying such trepidation regarding the question... well it didn’t bode well about the answer.
“... Plugging my ears...” Alicia suddenly commented, releasing Isaac from her grip so she could cup her hands over her ears and close her eyes. It was as if she was trying to close herself off from the world around her. That would be tally number two in reasons to raise the red flag on this matter.
”What happened... is not an easy question to answer. And she’s blocking off senses because recalling it is stressful. Stressful enough that we suspect it could push her over the edge into a relapse of the disaster. Not nearly as severe, but a terrifying possibility. As for what happened...” Kisara trailed off there, letting Sol take over.
”Alicia was the victim of a coordinated kidnapping attempt, having needed to come into the Dark Area I search of one of her Spirit Totems. Tased into unconsciousness and abducted in short order. I’ll spare you the horrifying details of how it all went down. Suffice to say, it was bad, and it was mentally scarring. It... also ended up with the totem she’d been seeking irrevocably fused into her core Fractal Code. Because of that... should she ever deign to access that form again, she needs only will it, regardless of our presence or absence. It has been transformed and morphed to the point where it is unrecognizable as a fragment of MY power. Now, it is Alicia’s power, through and through, and with that comes a dependency on its presence.”
That... would probably be a terrifying revelation to hear for many reasons. ”She’s pretty badly traumatized it seems. Selective blurring of her own memory as a kind of survival mechanism to put it off until she can properly cope. If that’s even possible, given the severity that time might never come...”
Kisara went over to them and nudged Alicia in the shoulder a bit, and the bearer of Steel consequently opened her eyes and uncovered her ears. The redhead smiled, but unfortunately it wasn’t anywhere near as vibrant as it used to be. Even when she tried to hide it, her struggling was plain as day right now. It certainly lended weight to the fear that Alicia might never recover...
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on May 8, 2018 3:38:06 GMT
If even Alicia was plugging her ears for this, something major had to be afoot. Isaac slid off of her lap as she finally released him, instead walking behind her to gently place a hand on her shoulder. It wasn't much. Hell, it was barely anything. But Isaac would be damned if he was about to just leave her alone to her thoughts, even if he couldn't do much for her right now.
If only Isaac himself was prepared to hear it. He squeezed his eyes shut and averted his gaze, as if trying to look away from the mental image that Sol was giving him. He kept his hand on Alicia's shoulder, but she would notice he was straining to avoid putting a bunch of pressure on her. His other fist was caught in a grip so white-knuckled that the material of Isaac's gloves was audibly straining under it. His ears were folded back like a dog poised to attack, and sweat was starting to gather atop his brow. If Sol and Kisara looked closely, they would see it was red rather than its usual color.
So, too, were Isaac's eyes when he opened them. They were an almost pinkish red color, and his irises almost seemed to flare from the intense glare he was boring into the wall. "When I find who did this," he started, taking in a deep breath as if just talking was exerting him. "I'm making them regret the day they hatched." His voice almost seemed to distort on that last sentence, and a slight pinkish tinge started to spread across his usual purple hue.
Then it ended as suddenly as it began, Isaac recoiling back and clutching his skull as if suffering from an awful headache. When he opened his eyes again, they were back to the lighter-than-usual green that they had settled down at. "Maybe after a few more days of rest, first . . ." he said, looking down at his feet sheepishly.
Isaac tried to shake the headache and get up to his feet, but it was clear his legs were still a little wobbly. Had he even given himself any bedrest since coming here? He turned to Kisara, sighing heavily. "It just ain't fair, you know?" he complained. "Can't think of a person who deserved it less. And god, seeing her like this . . . "
If only Isaac knew these arguments could quite possibly be turned on him.
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Post by Alicia Westfield on May 17, 2018 16:59:39 GMT
”You will be doing no such thing, Isaac...” Sol commented and sighed. ”The one responsible no longer walks this world. And will not revive even if he wanted to.” Alicia had already seen to that in her maddened rampage, after all... And he wasn’t deaf, the distortion in Isaac’s voice was clear as day. That along with the ‘sweat’ painted a bad picture. ”Never mind how much the move will stress already fragile control...”
”So, are you the pot or the kettle this week...?” Kisara suddenly asked, having grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat off his brow real quick, grimacing at the burns on it when she pulled it back. ”She’s not the one who got roped into tangoing with the D-Reaper of all things... I’ve never seen something this bad before. I didn’t even know the fiendish creature could even do something like this.”
Sol nodded as well, sighing. The steel dragon could only wish he had a physical body again, if only so that he could take a stand for these young ones. To handle these trials for them as he could see how much it was ripping both of them apart. Alas, such was wishful thinking, all he could do was guide and advise as best as he could to keep them on right track regarding their sanity.
”Oh how far the the mighty hath fallen...” Sol muttered to himself. Kisara glanced over at him and sighed, understanding what the dragon meant by that. ”I always was more suited to going out and doing things myself.”
“You did seem like that kind of guy...” Alicia mused, taking the chance to hug Isaac tight again, forcing him back into sitting in her lap. The little imp wasn’t going to rest on his own so someone had to make him rest. Besides, she was a bit too frazzled to want to let go of someone close to her for longer than she needed to. It was something that was hard to explain.
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on May 23, 2018 2:04:58 GMT
Isaac calmed down some, his heavy breaths easing as he heard that the one who hurt Alicia had already been brought to justice. "Good. I hope he rots," he grumbled, venom shuddering through his voice as he said it. He couldn't stand very effectively at the moment, but he could certainly hate with the best of them! He'd just have to hate while bracing himself with one hand.
At the mention of the D-Reaper, Isaac just shook his head furiously. "If it wasn't be, it'd be Maia," he said, savoring the name a little as he said it. At least her being okay was the one good thing to come out of this shitshow. "Don't get me wrong. This sucks. Like, it beyond sucks. And I'm probably never gonna forgive myself for what happened to you and Mitsuko. But . . . I'd do it a million times again if it meant I was keeping her safe." The fact that Isaac could still muster up the strength to be a hopeless romantic despite everything was pretty incredible. Some things just never changed, huh?
His musings were interrupted as Alicia shoved him back into her lap. He huffed, crossing his arms and blushing slightly. "Sheesh, this is getting embarrassing . . ." he muttered. "I swear, if the Reaper doesn't break me first, it'll be you breaking my ribs . . ." Even in his exasperation, though, it was hard for him not to sound fond of Alicia. She was a surrogate big sister, even if one who was currently threatening to split him in half.
"Well, Sol's right on one thing," he said, wheezing slightly from the pressure of the hug. "None of us are the type to sit on our hands. So something tells me this is gonna be one miserable waiting room in the meantime."
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