[open] do angels dream of electric sheep

[r3f4c70r3d]

Who: Angel and Various
Where: The meshwork/dreamscape
When: Chapter 4
Summary: A catchall post for Angel's dreams, in case I do more than one
Restrictions/Warnings: tbd

Comments

a place called home

[r3f4c70r3d]

The dream starts in a chamber, dark with high ceilings and strange technology spread throughout the room but all of it leads to the center. That's where you'll find Angel drenched in purple light, with wings like her namesake spread out behind her, her arm aglow with a bright pattern that reaches up, spreading over her collarbone and ending right below the heavy looking collar placed around her neck.

When the scene shifts it's as if it is loading in, pixels blending out and together to create a different but very similar room, smaller in size but the intention is the same. Angel is still central, and though the markings on her arm remain, her wings are no longer present. She sits in front of a set of screens, some physical some holographic, all shifting as she watches them. From your vantage point, you can see that something is plugged into the back of her neck, its thick cord hitting the floor from where she sits and leading out into the shadows.

Angel sighs deeply, and that's when it will hit you. A deep, all encompassing loneliness. It seeps through your skin, down into the muscle and right to the bone, impossible to shake, but along with it an acceptance, as if this emotion has been here so long that its original source is simply accustomed to it, that they've forgotten anything else and thus there is nothing to miss.

And then, Angel looks up.

[brokeassgoing]

This is kind of how he'd imagined a dank nerd's lair to be-- but sweatier. Less depressing since they have all that trolling to do. Then again that's completely stereotypical, and says nothing for how boggled down he feels right now-- like he's the one in that collar. Badou has to say something, do something, to shake off this feeling.

He spins on his heel, thoughtful:

"Think there's a good echo in here? You'd be surprised what a couple showtunes can do."

[r3f4c70r3d]

[ It takes her a second to register that someone is actually there, her mind at first so baffled that it denies the possibility outright, then presume he's some kind of sleep deprived hallucination. When she realizes a few seconds later that no, there really is a stranger in here, her eyes widen in a mix of horror and panic, all the screens she had been looking at blinking and going dark at once. ]


How- who are you? How did you get in here?

[How did all her security feeds and the measures Jack had set up miss this? Nevermind how this stranger found her bunker in the first place.]

[brokeassgoing]

Hey, turn on the lights, I'm blind enough--

[hands held up, palms out, he doesn't move any closer]

My name's Badou, and I don't really know but its alright. I'm not gonna do anything, okay?

[r3f4c70r3d]

[ Angel doesn't move as she looks Badou over. She's never seen this guy before, he's not one of her marks or even on Jack's radar. When she replies her tone has become a lot sterner as she tries to mask how frantic she's actually feeling, though more than anything she's confused.

He doesn't know? What was that supposed to mean, he just materialized here? Woke up here? Does Jack know about this? No, he would have told her, and if he finds out this guy is capital "d" Dead, regardless of his motivations. ]

What do you mean you don't know?

You shouldn't be here, what do you want?

[brokeassgoing]

To not be here! I don't...know, like I've been saying. I don't wanna be here, no offense.

[it isn't that he hates the scrutiny, it's necessary these days, but he feels just as antsy as she does, his heart quickening in his throat.]

If you just show me exit or whatever, that's fine. I don't want any trouble.

[r3f4c70r3d]

[ Angel narrows her eyes, what this guy is saying doesn't add up. She can't just let him go though, no one can know where she is lest people with nefarious intentions kidnap and exploit her (and ironic worry considering that's exactly what Jack does already, but that's what years of conditioning will do to you.) Besides, the door locks from the inside. ]

You can't do that. I don't know how you found your way in here, but I can't allow you to leave so easily.

[ Then her sharp tone deflates into one with a lot less confidence behind it, she's really out of her depth here. ]

That, and there isn't a way out.

[brokeassgoing]

[his hands drop to his sides in dismay]

You're just bein' philosophical about this, right? There's gotta be a way out...like a bathroom, with a window I can sneak out of. I don't know how I did either but it ain't my fault!

[r3f4c70r3d]

[This guy is becoming less and less of a threat, even if she'd still like to know how the heck he got in here, it seems like the guy is at just as big of a loss as she is.]

No, I'm being very literal. There is no way out, no windows, there's only the one door and it's locked.

[brokeassgoing]

[his eye widens and then he covers his face with his hands]

WHY IS IT LOCKED?! ARE YOU DOIN' SOME KINDA WEIRD CULT SHIT HERE? MONO-A-MONO WITHOUT THE CHANTING? I WON'T TELL ANYONE I PROMISE JUST LET ME OUUUUTTTTTT...

[r3f4c70r3d]

[ She startles at his sudden bout of screaming, bringing her hands up to her ears,his voiced bouncing off the walls of the bunker. ]

I'm not doing any- even if you won't, it's not like I have the key!

[ And when the man who does comes around this unlucky stranger is dead and Angel is in big trouble. ]

[brokeassgoing]

WHAT KIND OF FUCKING MASOCHISTIC TORTURE YOGA IS THIS?! Why wouldn't you have a key!

[he drags his hands down his face and whimpers]

[r3f4c70r3d]

Please stop yelling!

[ Though she's raising her voice at this point too. ]

I don't have a key because-

[ Because her father is a control freak, because she has dangerous abilities that can't be left unchecked, because the world outside can't be trusted, because she's a prisoner, and if she could just get up and leave she would have turned her back to this place a long, long time ago. Probably. ]

Because.....it's safer that way.

[ That justification always sounds weak even (especially) to herself ]

[rhygret]

And just like that, Rhys feels like a child again.

He's seven, vying and yearning for the attention of his parents who would rather cut off one of his limbs and replace it than face any defective comments about their pedigree and close relation. He's alone: Vaughn isn't in his life yet. There's no one to look at his feats or accomplishments and tell him he did a good job. No one to teach him how to properly tie his shoes. No one to help because he only has one arm and he can't do it himself.

He just wants them to care, he just wants this girl to care and he hates it, that feeling of suffocating loneliness and need for human contact.

He's young again, and wants nothing more than to curl up and pretend it isn't real.

[r3f4c70r3d]

[ Angel is startled when she sees the child-sized form standing in the corner of her room, right at the point where the soft glow from her monitors gives way to shadows. She squints, trying to get a better look, to see if he's even really there and not her eyes just playing tricks on her after staring at screens for a countless number of hours- when was the last time she slept- doesn't matter, even after rubbing here eyes the boy remains standing there.

When she speaks her tone is guarded but not threatened, it's just a child... right? Children can be dangerous maniacs too, remember that little girl who loved explosives she shakes her head quickly again, trying to stave off what must be the sleep deprivation before she says, simply ]

Who's there?

[rhygret]

[ The sound of her voice doesn't startle him, because Rhys knows she's here in the same way he knows he's horrendously lonely and miserable for it; they're constants in this world, and not even the sight of what looks like a real-life angel can manage to take that from him right now. He wishes he were home. He wishes he had someone--anyone--to make him feel better.

He wishes he were anyone else.

Angel speaks to him and Rhys grips the hem of his shirt tightly and stares even more unhappily into the floor below, as if that minuscule act of defiance will make any sort of difference at all. ]

I... Y-you. You have to introduce yourself first, that's. Those're the rules. [ because he's a Kendry and "he needs to start acting like it," in his mother's unkind words. ]

[r3f4c70r3d]

[ It really is a child, something Angel hasn't seen in person since she was one herself, though she still can't quite make out his features in the dim lighting. Never the less she remains on guard, this situation is way to abnormal not to. On the rare occasion someone besides Jack has come into this place, he's still been there to accompany them, someone else being here alone...that's unprecedented to say the least.

For now an introduction is out of the question, regardless of these apparent rules, so she moves on to the next obvious question.]

How did you get in here?

[ As she asks this she stands, taking a few, very cautious steps forward to get a better look at her visitor, the cord from her neck dragging behind as she does. ]

[rhygret]

[ To his credit Rhys doesn't retreat because he's...well, he's been taught not to? He's one of Land Kendry after all; there's no one in all the Quad that he should have need to retreat from. Not even the other families. It's what he's been taught, and...honestly he's not easily made uneasy. He's young, spoiled. Entitled. And he's not afraid of this strange woman despite his obvious handicap and the fact that-- ]

I don't know. [ He knows he was somewhere else before he was supposed to be here, but he doesn't know where that is or why. ]

I just am?

[r3f4c70r3d]

Did someone bring you here?

[ No one brings people to Angel, not anyone good, at least.

From this distance Angel is starting to get a better look at him, though the details of his face are still hard to make out. No older than 10, and about a head shorter than her, though what really draws her attention is his lack of limb. She gestures lightly towards it, because if he's anything like her... ]

How did that happen?

[ It does't seem like he's going to run, his stance is solid even though his voice sounds so unsure, something about him seems as alone and lost as she is and in this strange moment she can find a kind of camaraderie in that. Though it's a risky move Angel continues to make her way towards him, angling her head to get a better view of his features with the poor light. ]

[rhygret]

[ Rhys doesn't retreat, but he doesn't look happy either as attention is drawn to his missing limb and has him reaching up to hold the area with a troubled expression. He holds for a moment and debates what he wants to say versus what he's been told to say, so what he eventually manages out is: ]

My arm didn't work good, so mom and dad had the doctor take it away.

[ It doesn't work because he's inbred and they want it gone so he isn't an embarrassment. They don't actually care about his well-being at all so long as he's fit to inherit their land and wealth once he's old enough. ]

[r3f4c70r3d]

[ That was a pretty rude question, Angel realizes at the boys sudden unease and feels instantly guilty about it. ]

Oh, um. I'm sorry. Things were taken from..me........too...

[ She trails off, at this point she's close enough to make out his features clearly, and there is something startlingly familiar about them. A face much younger than what she's used to, a face she's never seen (never thought she would see) in person, a face she greets almost every morning.

But that's impossible, right? Rhys is an adult man, isn't he? Without siblings let alone children, so how...?

There's only one way to know. ]

My name is Angel.

excuse me foronly ever using 1 icon...lmao

[rhygret]

I'm Rhys.

[ If it seems impossible, well...technically it'd make sense if either of them realized they were in a dream. Angel's emotional state has affected Rhys's and the him that stands here before her is the one that most strongly resonated with those extreme feelings of loneliness.

He hasn't had a single friend yet. His parents haven't hired Vaughn, and the one to do most of his educating and rearing has been an emotionless AI. It's not....a very pleasant time in his memories. But it's the him that stands before her now, obviously giving her a once-over. ]

...You don't look like you're missing anything. [ All her limbs are attached, he means. ]

its ok not like there is much to choose from lol

[r3f4c70r3d]

[ Too bad neither will come to that realization.

Angel is surprised, but she also isn't. It's hard to comprehend this moment, a person here who shouldn't be, an age they shouldn't be, this place...she shouldn't be?

She opens her mouth to answer- it's inside of me- but nothing comes out, instead her vision begins to swim, or maybe the world is actually changing? Transforming back and forth into the place it was and the place it is, almost like the environment is breathing. There are other's here with them, though they're just fuzzy silhouettes, remaining in her peripheral and impossible to identify. They should be here, she brought them here.

Feelings of loneliness give way to confusion, uncertainty, urgency, panic.Her left arm feels like it's on fire, the intensity of the glow now so bright it huts to look at, forced beyond it's natural capacity, it feels like it's going to explode-

Finally she finds her voice, a hoarse cry as she reaches out towards Rhys, tipping forward as she does ]

Help- Vault hunter-!

and when will I ever use them again lbr

[rhygret]

A-Angel?? What's going on, are you-- [ Rhys is half her size and only had one arm to work with, but when she pitches forward he still tries to reach out like he'll be able at all to catch or support her if she really falls.

Or...he was. The moment the suffocating loneliness replaces itself with panic Rhys is older, twelve and sporting a second arm that look organic for all intents and purposes. He's taller, still lanky--but he can latch onto her now like he intends to never let her go.

The last time he felt like this Vaughn had been taken away by people who'd intended to kidnap Rhys. They'd taken something that was his and he'd been terrified of never getting it--him--back. ]

Angel!

[r3f4c70r3d]

[ Her hands meet his forearms, catching and steadying herself with his help. If his non-organic arm can feel sensation, then her touch will feel hot, like an electronic that's overheated. The light the markings on her arm were emitting has dimmed somewhat, but not substantially.

Her breath comes out labored as she looks up at him, barely registering that he has changed, what has to be done is too important and she's running out of time.

With resignation she realizes it was always going to come to a moment like this, that ever since she was brought to this place all roads lead here, but she's determined to see this though even if it's the last thing she does.

It's a determination that's strong enough the change the rooms atmosphere again, the room around them solidifying into a large metal chamber, it's walls alight with holographic screens, it's ceiling filled with large glass tubes of purple liquid that funnel into Angel's center. The glow of her arm is increasing again and she know's her time is up. ]

What are you waiting for?! You have to stop him, you have to stop me! As long as he has his catalyst no one else stands a chance.