vatheon | Yes, it's me knocking at your door

Entry tags:

Yes, it's me knocking at your door

Who: Rinoa, Johnny, and Sola in the beginning
What: Johnny's hermit mode has gone on long enough. And Rinoa wants A Talk
Where: Johnny and Sola's home
When: Tonightish
Style: Going with brackets but I'll match you guys
Status: Closed

[Patience wasn't something Rinoa was fond of. Yet patient she had been, at least for a few days. She'd been hoping Johnny would come around, with more than an anonymous text. So she waited for him, checking her SFC often, hoping to see something from him.

Nothing. Quite frankly, now she was just fed up.

Since contacting him probably wouldn't work, she decided to take matters into her own hands.

And that's how she wound up in front of his door, pounding on it with barely contained fury.]

Johnny! Johnny, open up! We need to talk! And don't think for a minute I'm going to go away if you ignore me!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Johnny turned his head so it wasn't fully under the pillow...but he decidedly didn't look at her.]

I can't fight him, Rinoa.

I can't do anything.

What do you mean you can't fight him? I know what you're capable of. You're strong. And you're not alone.

[He tenses up before, angrily, ripping the pillow away from his face and sitting up.]

Don't say that. I am alone. I need to be.

I shouldn't even be here with the Fais or Sola.

You shouldn't be here. Why do you think I was avoiding you?

[His anger startles her, enough to be taken aback for a moment and stare.

But she isn't unused to this. She quickly recomposes herself and fires right back.]

Because you're afraid. And you think pushing your friends away is the only way to protect them.

[He didn't like being called on it...but he wasn't going to argue, there was no point.]

It is the only way.

Do you know what he would do if he knew what you meant to me?

Probably something horrible. I know he tricked Sola already.

He would torture you...probably in front of me.

If you're lucky, he'd kill you, plain and simple.

I can't have friends, Rinoa. You're better off going home, taking a long shower to get rid of my scent, and forgetting all about me.

If he killed me, I'd get brought back to life, right? And I've been tortured before.

[Rinoa huffs at him.]

If he tried to touch me, I'd give him a bigger dose than what your door got. Because you're my friend and friends stick together, through good and bad. And if you think I'm being naive or I don't understand, I do!

...you don't know what he's capable of.

...there was a girl once, back home. She didn't know her limits on how often she needed to feed, and lost control. I gave her my blood and that helped her get back to her life...he blew her up just because she'd drunk from me.

She wasn't even important to me. He's an incubus..but he's got the power of Hell itself on his side. You're powerful...but I don't know if your magic would have any affect; it's not a theory worth testing.

I don't know what I'm capable of, either. My power comes from a Sorceress who is capable of bending and compressing time. Of possessing others and controlling them. And that's only the bit I know of her.

[It scares her to think she has that sort of power in her, of what she's capable of.]

Not that I would ever do those things, but... my point is, Barry might be strong, but so am I. So are you. So is Sola. So are a lot of others here. Let your friends stand by you. Because I know the ones who truly are your friends, like me, will stay with you no matter what you say or do.

[She crosses her arms stubbornly.]

Go ahead. Sit there and tell me to go away. Push me away. I'm not going anywhere, because that's what friends do. Trust me... [Her expression falters a bit, thinking on past things.] I've seen Squall try. I even tried doing it once. It doesn't work.

[He pauses and looks down, voice loosing the edge it had before; he wouldn't push her...

Truthfully, he didn't want to. He just didn't know what to do like this.]

I don't want you or anyone else hurt. Especially not because of me.

This is my demon.

[Sensing the change in demeanor, she walks over and sits down next to him.]

Just because it's your demon doesn't mean you have to face it alone. Would you tell me I had to face being a Sorceress alone, even though it would mean my friends would be safe from me and what I could wind up doing?

[He looked over to her and shook his head. He knew she was right.]

No. Of course not.

[He was torn. Part of him wanted to run. Just, get up and go and never reach out to anyone again. Another part wanted to continue hiding here no matter what. Another still wanted to curl up next to Rinoa for a little while...and then fight. Do something to get at Barry.

But knowing how hurt Sola had gotten, finding Barry stuck in a lip-lock with Fai...that last one was just too risky.]

Back in April, a bit after we met...I was having these nightmares. In them, Barry would slowly destroy everyone important to me who I knew here. It was only a nightmare, but it felt so real and terrifying.

I can't let that become reality.

[He looked away from her and at the floor. He was on the edge of telling her something he hadn't told anyone or even hinted at...it was like looking over the edge of a cliff you were thinking of jumping off.

The worst part was, he already knew how she was going to react...but..]

...I want to go to Barry. I want to end this. If I do, you have to promise you won't come after me.

[She knew something of nightmares, of fearing what would happen to your loved ones because of you, directly or not. It was hard to see Johnny suffer through this. But Barry was here now, and something had to be done.

For a long, painful moment she's silent, mulling over his decision. Admittedly, she was terrified for him, because she didn't know what Barry would do. She had yet to even meet him.]

I think you do need to confront him. But... are you sure you should go alone? What if something happens to you?

[The look of surprise that crossed his face quickly melted as he realized she'd misunderstood.He shook his head.]

When he first came here, I did fight him. I lost..pretty badly. That's not what I mean...

[He hesitated a moment. He could just leave it there, let her misunderstand...but he really hated lying to Rinoa..and he'd already come this far.]

The only reason anyone would get hurt is if they stood between Barry and what he's after. If I give him what he wants...no one will get hurt.

[There's a long, long pause, where she's absolutely still and doesn't sound a word. Like she was in shock, or turned to stone.

Then it starts. First with her hands beginning to shake, and then her whole body. Her lips begin to tremble, and her hands fist against her legs in an effort to get them under control. Or perhaps, to keep herself from lashing out from the emotion welling up in her.]

No ... no, no you can't! You can't do that! You can't surrender to him! I'll help you fight! Me, and - and Sola, and this Fai, and - the Embryon! Let me talk to them! They have demon forms, so they could probably be a match against Barry! Against all of us, he wouldn't stand a chance!

[Her voice isn't so authoritative as it is desperate, and it's clear she's trying hard not to cry.]

Why does he want you anyway?! What's his deal?

[Excellent hearing is blessing and a curse of the Hylian people and Sola is no exception. Even behind the closed door, he can hear Johnny's explanation and it hits him like a charging bull, freezing him in place just as it did to Rinoa.

Give himself up for the good of everyone else. Only it's not good. It's not good at all! He'd fought so hard to keep Johnny safe and the vampire wants to go deliver himself to Barry trussed up on a platter?!

The door bounces on its hinges with the force that Sola throws it open.]

You can't do that! I won't let you!

[He looks up at Sola's intrusion and his voice goes flat. He hadn't wanted Sola to know, but it seemed it was too late for that.]

You couldn't stop me even if you tried.

[It was a bit harsh, but it was true.]

He wants me because...I belong to him, for lack of a better term. He owns me. I ran away, so he wants me back.

[That was as simple as he could put it.]

[Rinoa jumped a bit at Sola's entrance. On the plus side, it helped her get rid of the shakes that had almost overtaken her. Glancing at Sola, she shoots him a desperate look before turning back to Johnny.]

You can't own a person. I don't care what his or anyone's justification of it is. You're you, and you belong to yourself. Johnny, you can't go. This isn't the answer.

[This time, the tears do spill as she looks down at her knees.]

I'll check on you every day. I mean it. And if I don't hear from you in a 24 hour period, I'll start looking. And Barry will be the first one I go to.

[And suddenly she knows how Squall felt, when he rescued her from the Memorial. So this is why...]

Even if you do surrender to Barry, I'll come after you. We all will, I know it. And every single friend of yours will fight to get you back!

[You couldn't stop me even if you tried.

It hurts because it's true. Because no matter how hard Sola had been trying, he can't protect Johnny if he keeps running and refuses to be protected. It hurts and he's angry that it hurts.]

So what if he owns you!? You'd come after me if Master Ganondorf took me ever so I'm not letting Barry take you! I don't care if he hurts me again because nothing he'd do would be worse than letting him take you so stop being an idiot right now!

[He doesn't cry, for once, but his fists are balled so tightly that his knuckles are practically white with the tension.]

[Golden eyes traveled from Rinoa's tear-stained face to Sola's angry one and then back down to the sheets he was perched on.

His head was buzzing...he honestly didn't know what to do or what to think.

This is why he'd never had friends. Barry only ripped them to shreds if he tried and they only got hurt because of him. He was a monster who got people hurt, so he stayed away..and then he'd come here and people had already been hurt because of him; people he would die for a thousand times over.

There was no other option! But...Rinoa would get hurt..and Rinoa knew Serph who knew Ky. Sola would get Fai and everything...everyone...he'd lose everything. And that seemed to be the outcome no matter what path he took.

-He stayed hiding, Barry would grow impatient and rip everything apart.
-He turned himself in, his friends had the potential of doing something stupid and being ripped apart.
-He gathered said friends and led them to the slaughter all in the hopes of replicating a near-impossible scenario

A scenario that had gotten him killed once already...who else would die if this happened?

The vampire's eyes prickled and he shut them, teeth clenching tightly. Still, he couldn't stop that foreign liquid from escaping past his eyelashes. Once the first one broke, there was no stopping the rest of them. He just...didn't know. Everything felt hopeless and he was completely useless in doing anything at all.

The walls were closing in around him, crushing him, and he felt small and insignificant beneath them.]

.......I-I'm sorry...

[Sorry he couldn't be the knight he had been, couldn't be the vampire lord he supposedly was, couldn't be the friend he'd hoped to be.

Sorry he couldn't protect the only things that really mattered to him.]

Edited 2012-12-10 06:35 (UTC)

[It was like instinct. The moment she saw the tears, she immediately threw herself forward and hugged him. Her arms were tight around him, like they could hold back the pain and despair that seemed to leak from him.]

Don't be. This isn't your fault. You... you're not the one who brought him here.

[They could not send him away, this much was true. But something had to be done.

It took everything she had to not let her own arms shake, to let him feel her worry. She would be strong for him, somehow. Because he deserved it, and needed it right now.]

He has to have a weakness. What can be done to stop him?

[Sola wants to do the same, to wrap his arms around his matesprit, to somehow make everything be alright. His chest aches, the feeling somehow far more painful than anything Barry had dealt him the day the demon had arrived. He knows he must be strong too, has to stand straight and stick to his convictions. And he'll fight again, he will, he'll face death for the man sitting huddled against Rinoa on the bed. Again and again if he has to, until Johnny is free.

He knows it's not what Johnny wants, but he can't let him fall into Barry's hands. He can't. He would honestly rather die.

He can just imagine the look on Johnny's face if he were to voice that and his stomach twists uncomfortably. So he stays silent, fists clenched, anger draining from his face into fear and worry and a helplessness he tries to fight but can't help but feel.

Yet he knows he'll fight regardless. They all will, because Johnny means something to each of them, is precious to each and every one of them, and they won't let him come to harm.]

[He felt like crying forever, but only spared himself a few minutes before shoving it all back down and corking it.

He didn't pull away from Rinoa, instead he almost melted against her, not minding that it was against what his mind was telling him to do--who cared?

But, at her question, he shook his head. Of course there was, there's a way to stop just about everything except God and the Devil...but it didn't matter.]

I can't tell you...and before you get at me about being difficult- I mean it: I can't tell you.

I wasn't just being dramatic when I said Barry owns me.

[That small, humorless, smile that so often accompanied self-degrading comments the vampire made re-purposed itself for the moment and held the company of an equally humorless laugh.]

It really is hopeless.

[Her heart sank at that. But it made sense. If Johnny could tell them or do it himself, he likely would have done so by now, instead of hiding. This was going to be a lot more difficult than she realized.

But it didn't matter. Some way or another, Barry was going to be stopped.]

It's not hopeless. Just... a little harder. Is there anything you can tell us about him, something that might help?

[The wheels in her mind were already churning, trying to come up with solutions. She knew nothing about incubus or vampires - save for the one week she was one - or any of that. But perhaps someone else did.]

You said he was an... incubus? What is that exactly?

[Suddenly, she looked over her shoulder at Sola.]

You confronted him at one point, right? Or at least you met him. Did you notice anything?

Yes, it's me knocking at your door

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)