No matter how far you run

[not_heavens_adam]

Who: Johnny and OPEN
When: Evening
Where: Edge of the plaza
Warning: Mention of rape and gore in the comments likely.
Status: Open

[Johnny sat, back to the wall of an alley, knees drawn to his chest, and the phantom weight of someone who shouldn't be there resting against him.

When the demon first showed up, Johnny had panicked, thinking the time had finally come when Barry showed up in the bubble and ruined everything Johnny had here. He'd run, but no matter where he'd gone, Barry had always been there. The demon had talked and talked to Johnny...but he'd yet to rip into the vampire and that told him more than anything that this wasn't real.

Even talking to Fai, realizing it was a walking nightmare, he had refused to reach out. If he admitted that Barry was there, that he was still deathly terrified of the demon, then that would mean admitting he was still under the incubus' control. He would always be under Berry's -Belial's- control. No matter what he tried to tell himself.

That was how he found himself curled into a ball, face buried in his arms, as the demon made himself comfortable and told Johnny everything he didn't want to hear; he was a monster, unfit for the friends he had, he only put them in danger by being around them, they would all die anyway, why get close? All he needed was Barry...]

Addie~ You belong to me, Addie. We were made for each other~ You know that....no one else should come between us~

[Johnny shook his head weakly, the fight long since sucked out of him. He just wanted it to all go away.]

Go away....please.

Comments

[behind_my_smile]

[Fai had sought out Johnny almost as soon as the other had fled after talking to him. Behind him Ashura was still evident, but far less traumatizing as he had been at first. Talking about him had helped at least a little, even if Fai hadn't revealed everything.

Lucky for Fai, he knew Johnny's scent well by now and was able to find the other easily, still obviously tormented by his own ghosts.]

Johnny..[Fai hurried up and stood between Johnny and the ghost.] You have to talk about it...if that is what will make it go away then you have to try!

[runbysmiles]

[ Sora was walking around the bubble trying to out walk his own nightmares but it wasn't easy. Eveywhere he turned he kept seeing his friends, disappearing, fading, going away. He paused when he heard Johnny's voice. ]

Johnny?

[ He moved a little closer towards the vampire. ]

[not_heavens_adam]

[Fai's voice cut through Berry's sweet tone and caused him to look up at the other vampire.]

Fai..

[His eyes drifted to the king who still haunted his friend, but the difference was noticeable. Is that how it would work for him too?]

I don't...[He'd never told anyone the whole story. Jacob came closest and that was so long ago.]

How much do I have to say?

[not_heavens_adam]

[Johnny looked up, searching for the person who had called his name. His expression turned to one of concern when he saw the boy.]

Sora...are you out for a walk?

[Cause walking right on past might be a better option.]

[runbysmiles]

[ Sora nodded. ]

Yeah, I was.

[ Call it intuition but Sora wasn't about to go anywhere. ]

Are you okay? What are you doing out here by yourself?

[not_heavens_adam]

[It had been a while since he'd felt the need to do so, but he called on one of his forced smiles and nodded.

Sora was far too innocent for this.]

Yeah~ I just went out for a walk and got tired. I'm okay~

[runbysmiles]

[ Sora frowned and moved a little closer to Johnny. Those bright blues of his seeming to stare straight through him. ]

Are you sure?

[ He was worried. With all these nightmare things going around he was really worried for his friend, though they'd only really spoken once. ]

[behind_my_smile]

[Fai knelt down, glancing back at Ashura.] I don't know. Probably the more we tell, the better it will be.

[Looking back at Johnny, Fai settled more comfortably on the ground, still making sure to put himself between the nightmare and his friend.]

Just tell what you can..and we'll see what happens.

[not_heavens_adam]

I....[How much did he want to say?]

His name is Barry. He's a clone of the demon Belial back home.

And he was made for me. He and I....we were supposed to be together but...

[His voice trailed off. He'd never actually said the words out loud. Not to Rayfell, not to Jacob...no one.]

[not_heavens_adam]

[Those eyes made him a bit uneasy...and he realized he was loosing his touch with the lying. Practice made perfect, and he was out of practice.]

...yeah. Isn't it a bit late for you?

[Yeah, he was definitely scrambling for something to say that wouldn't give him away.]

[runbysmiles]

[ Sora still didn't trust that. His instincts were still telling him otherwise and as he got even closer to Johnny he stopped. His eyes popped wide and he stared just over Johnny's shoulder. Who was that person? They hadn't been there before. ]

Who...Who is that?

[ Something about the pale haired person made Sora uneasy. ]

[behind_my_smile]

[Fai shifted closer and around so that he could sit beside Johnny. He wanted to watch the ghost now to see what happened as they talked. He had been too scared to do so for his own nightmares. He hooked his arm through Johnny's and leaned against him, not sure if Johnny wanted to be held while he told the story but allowing for contact if he needed it.]

But...?

[not_heavens_adam]

[His stomach twisted at Sora's question, and he just shook his head.]

It's no one. Don't look at him.

Besides....you seem to have your own ghosts at your back.

[not_heavens_adam]

[Johnny's eyes fell on Berry, and he leaned ever-so-slightly against Fai. He knew he should tell, Fai had trusted him to tell his story...besides, he didn't have to say every little detail.]

...but he hurts me. Just being near him...

[He sighs, deciding blunt honesty was the fastest and least painful way to go about this.]

His expression of love is to rape me and rip me apart. He thinks...if he eats my flesh, it'll bring us closer together.

And he'd like nothing more than if I did the same to him. But I won't.

[It wasn't just the physical, it was the mental...but there was some of that that he didn't even want to admit to himself.]

[behind_my_smile]

[That takes Fai by surprise a little and his first desire is to defend his friend and try to take Barry out. But he knows that this isn't the real thing..he understands that now and fighting him won't do much good.]

I'm glad you won't do it. I'm sorry you've had to deal with that. Were you able to get away from him?

[not_heavens_adam]

[He finally looks up, a small, humorless, smile on his face as he stares at the wall across from them.]

I tried. But I only have the one world to run in. He finds me...and he punishes me...and then I run again.

This place saved me by taking me...but, if he ever showed up here...

[there was even less room to run...and worse-]

Everyone I love here would die; he's a very jealous person.

[behind_my_smile]

I guess we have that in common too..[If Ashura arrived the same fate would befall everyone depending on what state of mind the man was in. Perhaps Fai would be lucky and this new world would see the Ashura he had always known and trusted..not the one that tore everything down.]

Neither of our nightmares are really here though..perhaps this is our time to face our fears and overcome them.

[not_heavens_adam]

[His voice became rough and he shut his eyes, as if he could make the nightmares disappear like that.]

I...I don't know how. It's been five hundred years...I wouldn't even know where to start.

[Now he knew a life without Barry constantly at his heels and destroying everything Johnny loved, but he didn't know life without the fear. When it came to Barry, he was always afraid.]

[behind_my_smile]

[Fai looked towards Ashura and just watched for a moment.] By looking at them..to start with. They can't hurt us like the real ones want to. This may be the only chance we can truly look at them and say what we want to.

[not_heavens_adam]

[Slowly, Johnny turned his eyes to meet the garnet ones of the demon at his side.]

Where do I even begin? There's so much I'd say....but he never listens.

[behind_my_smile]

These ones might. Just..start talking. Whatever you have always wanted to say. Maybe this time you'll be able to say it.

[not_heavens_adam]

[He felt a little silly, talking to someone he knew wasn't really there, but looking into those eyes and the small, faintly amused, smile on that traitorously angelic face...he got a surge of anger and frustration that he tried to put into words.]

I hate you.....do you know that? Every time I've ripped your head off your shoulders or gutted you, I've wished it would stick, I've wished that you wouldn't heal and that it would all just stop.

I would give anything to make it stop.

I don't feel love or affection or anything like that when you torture me or kill anyone you perceive as 'in the way' it just makes me hate you more.

...but maybe you prefer it that way. Maybe I've been going about this all wrong, if I was indifferent...if I just laid there and let you do what you wanted, gave you nothing, would that piss you off more? I hope I never get a chance to find out.

...I died to kill you....and I don't regret it at all. I hope you rot in Hell.

[He sighed and closed his eyes, leaning back against the wall and turning his face as though he could hide from all that he'd said in Fai's hair. He was tired.]

[sorcery_fledgling]

[By now, Rinoa was starting to have a slightly better idea of what was going on. These ghosts and haunts weren't real, but persistent nonetheless. Besides her own walking nightmare, who was still following her around, Rinoa had another concern on her mind:

What sort of demons were her friends having to face?

And she was about to face another example as she turned down the alley and found Johnny sitting there. Her heart froze when she came closer, his own nightmare materializing in front of her once she was within reach.]

Johnny...

[not_heavens_adam]

[Tiredly, Johnny looked up at Rinoa as she approached, trying to decide what to say. His eyes drifted to wha the assumed was Rinoa's nightmare and decided to focus on that.]

Hey....you affected by this too?

[sorcery_fledgling]

Seems like it. She won't shut up.

[Likewise, Rinoa would rather pay attention to Johnny's walking phantom.]

Looks like we both have chatterboxes.