fandomhigh | Detention, Depths of the Castle, Thursday

Sookie's mind was open -- she'd created a bright, clear, fairly abstract space, all light and shades of blue.

<< Submission? >> Sookie appeared in her mental landscape, as she physically shut her eyes. << Who said anything about submitting? >> Her projection of herself was a healthier, stronger Sookie, tan and toned and clean.

Unopposed, Raven easily slipped inside, glancing around with a look that might have been actually impressed. Even broken down, Sookie was still powerful enough to create this, and to be strong in her mind's eye.

<< You will submit, >> she said, her expression growing bored. << It is inevitable. >>

<< Haven't yet, >> she replied with a curved smile. Her hands glowed with a faint, pink light, electricity crackling across her palms. << You've tried so hard and you've still failed. Try and make me. You can't. >>

While the crafting of her mental space had gone well, Sookie's broken shields were another story. Anyone with any telepathic sensitivity in the room would be able to see what was happening, because she was making absolutely no effort to hide it.

And for those who couldn't, Sookie's palms in the real world had begun to glow softly. They were useless, but it was unconscious.

Edited 2012-07-26 14:21 (UTC)

And in the real world, Raven had pressed her hands against the wall to either side of Sookie's head, her face close enough to kiss. Her eyes were closed, and her fingernails scraped against the wall.

<< I can, >> Raven said. << I can and I will. >> Her own form began to change, the demon side of her stronger in this place. Her skin reddened, and her eyes, four of them now, glowed red. Talons sprouted from her fingertips.

Sookie smiled -- her skin in its entirety was glowing, now, a soft gold. She didn't care. She was weightless, powerful -- it was a heady, sweet feeling. She had been weak and afraid for months, but what did she have left to fear?

She couldn't spend the rest of her life trapped in her own mind. She refused.

<< Sure, >> she agreed with a shrug, before grinning and lifting her hands out before her face. Bolts of violet electricity shot forth from her palms towards Raven. They were not what they would have been, once -- she still wasn't as powerful as she could be -- but her power was growing with her confidence.

What was there to lose? What could she do to her that hadn't already been done?

<< I'm not scared of you. >>

Raven threw up her arms as the blast of energy struck her and sent her flying backwards and crashing to the ground. Grimacing in pain, she picked herself back up. That. Hurt.

<< Impressive. But it will not be enough. >>

She lifted her hand, and ~~hot pink~~ red energy sprang from her fingertips, arcing toward Sookie.

And the funny thing was, it did hurt. She did feel pain, even here in her own mind. It wasn't real, it wasn't real, it wasn't real -- that was what she'd been telling herself all week, but what was real anymore?

This was.

Sookie took the energy straight to the chest, falling back to the ground. Her projection flickered slightly, fogging at the edges, but picked herself back up again.

Externally, Sookie was sweating. The electricity that was traveling along her arms was putting her hairs on end, and her hair was beginning to stick to her temples.

She shook.

<< It's still more than you thought I could do, >> Sookie replied, lashing a hand out to shoot another purple bolt, this time at Raven's head. It was weaker than her last, by a small margin, but she wasn't going to yield. << It's more than you thought any of us could do. You tried to break me into a million little pieces and you failed, Raven. >>

<< I have not failed yet, >> Raven said, holding her arms out to her sides almost to welcome the blast from Sookie. Her own red energies gathered around her head and shot toward the purple bolt on its way toward her, slamming into it in the air between them. The conflicting energies sparked against each other, each vying for dominance.

At the same time, Raven tried to spare a little of her focus to affect Sookie's mental landscape, making it darker, colder.

Sookie was distracted by that, her efforts now dueling between keeping the energy where it was, and brightening up her mind.

A feeble amount of light peeked in, but it was overcome quickly. And wasn't that what she had expected?

She was going to lose.

She'd known going in that this was likely. But she refused to give up, yet, drawing a little bit more strength to push her energy bolts towards Raven. She strained, the edges of her mental landscape beginning to crack and fray. And in the real world, Sookie's nose began to bleed.

Raven's fingernails -- claws, really -- dug into the plaster of the wall as she loomed over Sookie's body, the only outward sign that somewhere else, something was going on.

In Sookie's mind, she pressed harder, forcing Sookie's purple energies back. << You cannot win this, >>, she taunted her. << I am more powerful than you. I know all your fears. >>

She began to re-write the world around them, littering the ground with the still and bloody bodies of people Sookie knew. Bobby, no longer made of ice. Her brother Jason. Gran.

She was breaking.

It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair at all -- she had thought she could win this, and she couldn't, and that was fine. Sookie had always known there was a chance that Raven would win this. But she couldn't let her hurt the people she loved in the process.

<< You're more powerful, but you're never gonna know why this scares me, >> Sookie snapped, her mental voice growing louder, harsher. She shot another bolt of energy towards Raven, to join the others that were pushing back towards her. It suddenly occurred to her that it might be her own powers, turned against her, that won this.

It was happening too fast. She was never going to get the chance to see anyone again, whole and real. But she refused to let her despair get the better of her, or distract her. That was what Raven wanted.

<< You might be more powerful, but you'll never be whole. Because no one will ever love you, >> she ground out, her hair whipping around her face as the landscape began deteriorating faster. << You asked me yesterday to show you what love is, and this is your answer. >>

Sookie's body was trembling, her eyes scrunched up. Electricity crackled up her arms and into her hair, but otherwise, there was no indication of what was happening in their joined minds.

She hurt, and suffocated, and bled, but she wasn't gone yet. Not yet.

Raven snarled, lifting her arms in front of her to send more and more energy at Sookie. She shouldn't care about not being loved, but some small part of her craved the unknown. Anger and fear and hate and even lust were all so easy to find and feast upon. She wanted the rare treat of love to savor, and it had proven elusive so far, locked away in the hearts of the people she tormented.

<< You will give me everything! >> she shrieked. << Everything! >> She reached out with her powers to draw into herself all of Sookie's hopes and joys, sorrows and fears, everything. Even if it just left a shell behind.

Sookie resisted, even though she knew what was going to happen. She'd pushed too hard, and Raven had snapped as she'd known she would.

She held onto her hopes, her fears, her triumphs and tragedies -- everything that made her Sookie. She held them tight, as long as she could.

Everything splintered around her. Time stood still, and did backflips, and spun. Nothing made sense and suddenly everything made sense. She was exhausted, and hateful, and loving and broken into a million little pieces, but not because of her, not because of her, and everything was exploding and contracting and she was ripping apart into nothing.

And in the external world, Sookie's lips barely moved. "Bobby, I lo -- "

Something far away in her brain split, shattered, and Sookie stopped shuddering. Her mental landscape blinked out, as quickly and smoothly as turning off a television. Her eyes were still open, unblinking and brown, and after a moment of tottering on her own, Sookie's body fell backwards.

Eyes glowing red, panting, chest heaving, Raven pushed away from the wall as she yanked her mind of out Sookie's as she died. For a moment she looked down in confusion at Sookie's crumpled body, not quite realizing what she'd done.

"Sookie?" she said softly, poking her shoulder. "Wake up."

She'd tormented people, cruelly and viciously, but never before had she killed. And for one brief moment the shattered pieces of her mind clicked into place, and she stared in horror at what she'd done.

The emotions coming off of Sookie and Raven had been enough to pull Phoebe out of the safety of her own mind. She stayed pressed against the wall, wishing like hell that she had any kind of power that would help Sookie in the battle she seemed to be waging. When the emotions from Sookie suddenly stopped, Phoebe got to her knees and then to her feet. She stared, hoping that she was wrong, but then she saw Sookie's body fall and there was nothing at all coming from the other girl.

Phoebe pressed her hands tight against her mouth to keep herself from screaming.

Bobby had been spending more and more time inside his own head lately, where it was safer. But even then, Sookie was there, had always been there, a comforting presence just on on the edges of his consciousness.

Until, suddenly... she wasn't.

The first sound Bobby made in days was a desperate wordless keening, loss and rage and hopelessness all in one.

And then a thought occurred to him that broke through that haze. A single, simple thought: being close to her wouldn't hurt her anymore. He could hold her again, after years of only getting to do so on the astral plane.

So he moved, something else he'd done rarely in his time here, and knelt to pick up her body before slowly, carefully carrying it back to his own corner.

They wouldn't be separated again. He'd see to that.

"Bobby? Bobby, please..."

Oh, god. Was there anything that could make this more of a nightmare?

Please what, Dinah? Bobby didn't understand what you wanted from him. Didn't understand anything but the body he held cradled in his arms: cold and lifeless, just like he was.

Dinah was choking back sobs with everything she had. "Don't--" Don't withdraw? Don't grieve? "Please come back. Please let... let her go."

She didn't really have any hope he would. But she had to ask.

Re: Visiting Hours [07/26]

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Re: Visiting Hours [07/26]

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Re: Visiting Hours [07/26]

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Re: Visiting Hours [07/26]

no-songbird.livejournal.com - 2012-07-26 21:54 (UTC) - Expand

Stark knew that sound. Stark had heard that sound far too many times. Stark had made that sound. Stark hated that sound. And when he heard it he stopped, bowed his head and closed his eye for a long moment. But that wouldn't help. But maybe there was something he could offer to Bobby. He was, after all, far too well-versed in death.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to Bobby as he approached, stopping before he got too close. He knew better than to get too close. "So sorry. So so sorry. It hurts. I know it hurts. I know."

Poor words. But all of them were. Nothing anyone could say would help now. Later, perhaps. But not right now.

Bobby looked up at those soft-spoken words. Here was someone who understood, he could tell.

Hopefully that meant he wouldn't try and take Sookie away from him. Because no one was going to do that to him again.

At least he'd heard. That was good. He met Bobby's eyes with his own and nodded slightly, just once.

"I'm going to stay here," Stark said, still very softly. "If...if you don't mind. Right here. Unless you want me to go."

And he would go. Though probably not very far. It wasn't good to be too alone, not like this. Even if none of them were ever alone down here. Not really.

No. No.

Rinoa watched Sookie fall as though it were slow-motion. One minute, her friend, fighting to protect all of them from that horrible hell-demon, and the next -- the next, there was no spark in her eyes. There was only a shell of what had once been Sookie.

Sookie was gone.

Sookie wouldn't ever see the sunshine again, or take them all home for a big family Christmas, whatever that even was. Sookie wouldn't make them smile or send calm out, even when she was exhausted herself, or --

Oh, Hyne's mercy, Sookie would never anything. Ever.

She had been right before. Hyne had no mercy. No gods did. They were all going to die in here, one by one by ...

Karla glanced over to see Sookie's body fall backwards almost in slow motion. There was a part of her that wanted to scream and cry and buck off the compulsion, but the pink, fuzzy blanket of calm covered that back up again.

Well, shit. There went a whole afternoon's worth of effort, wasted. Ugh. She'd have to take this up with Raven later.

She felt a bit of wetness on her cheeks. Huh. Raising her hand, she found her eyes were tearing up. How odd. Shrugging, she did the only thing she could do--looked around to see who the most broken of the prisoners were, and see if she couldn't salvage something of this wreck.

God, Raven.

Stark stopped his pacing mid-step and turned quickly in Sookie and Raven's direction.

"Nononono," he protested almost inaudibly.

He wasn't sure how long it had been since the last time he'd felt someone die. Time didn't mean much down here. Time never meant much when you lived in a box or a cage or a cell. But it hadn't been long enough. It was never long enough anymore.

Death was not a bad thing, not always. He knew that better than most. But here it only meant that the others had won, again.

Perhaps it was a good thing he had practiced his prayers this morning. It made those for the dying easier to speak between gritted teeth now as he headed in that direction. It was too late to do anything now. He couldn't help. He should have been able to. He was Stykera and that was what he was for. But she was gone and all that was left were prayers.