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Of Horrors Best Unspoken; October (hopefully) Freeform
Topic Started: Oct 20 2013, 08:52 AM (269 Views)
DarthEevee
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Cute and Fluffy Evil Overlord
Word Count: An online word counter gives me 3939, since it seems OpenOffice has a wonky counter (it gives me 4018).
Reward Desired: Fog Clear (maybe?)
Summary: Lex looks for ghosts in the fog, and finds the revenants of her past hard to endure. Whether she can survive the experience or it breaks her at last...
Notes: I am apparently a guinea pig here. This is partially an experiment, and partially just because I really do want to tell this story sometime (if I can get a computer or actually find the time without one to type it up somehow still). I seriously don't actually care if this actually gets approved for obtaining Fog Clear, I just want to tell it. So yeah. If people want me to go and actually do the quest for realz with a mod or the like, I'm cool with that. I just wanted this story to go on.
Spoiler: click to toggle


This is an entry for the October Freeform Contest.
Edited by DarthEevee, Oct 30 2013, 11:31 AM.
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DarthEevee
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Water splashed every which way as Lex crashed to her knees, stumbling over yet another tree root hidden in the water. Her shoes scrabbled for purchase on the slippery earth, as she struggled back to her feet. She looked around wildly, breath coming in harsh, panting gasps. Every direction was exactly the same, ghostly, moss-draped trees floating in a sea of fog and swamp water. Things flickered and danced at the edge of vision, but always just out of sight.

She had to get out of here...

Shhh, it's all right, baby... we're together. You should stop running. I'll keep you safe... He was suddenly there behind her, when there had been nothing there a moment before. Lex had been sure there was nothing before. She bounded a few paces away with a shriek.

LIAR!

I love you, how is that a lie? You're my little girl, and I love you... She backed away from him as he moved closer, shaking her head violently, wrapping her arms around herself. My precious little girl...

No... Her breath caught on a sob as she shook her head again. Lex backed away further, stopping as she stumbled over a slime-covered stone. Leave me alone!

Just stay with me, and we'll be happy again, like we were before...

I was never happy with you! Lex slashed a hand through the air in negation as she shouted at the thing. It wasn't him, it couldn't be him, he was dead and she had...

The handsome face twisted slightly for a moment. Now who's the liar? You know you love me, you've always loved me... He moved forward, spreading his arms as if to give her a hug.

DON'T TOUCH ME! She whirled and fled into the fog, heedless of the tears streaking her cheeks, only aware of the need to get away, to get out of here, away from this man she hated.

You've always loved me... and you always will...

The words, whispered from nowhere and everywhere at once, stabbed at her as she fled the apparition blindly. Did they hurt because they were another lie... or because they were the truth?

Daddy's little girl...
Edited by DarthEevee, Oct 29 2013, 10:42 AM.
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DarthEevee
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Oh, ew. Lex peered over the edge of the matte black metagross she rode on, at a particularly slimy-looking rotted stump. I'm a bit surprised there's not more muck like that around here, though. Thought marshes were supposed to smelly, rotted and covered in slime. Guess I shouldn't complain, though. And I certainly can't complain about anything since I'm not trudging through it anyhow, right?

'You are welcome.' The mindvoice echoed slightly in the back of her mind, as if from a deep hole. 'If it makes you happy, it makes me happy.'

Lex shook her head a little and patted the metal construct. Yeah, I know... you're my Glitch. You can be happy on your own though, if you want to. It'd be a lot better. I'm... not really a happy person.

'I know. Neither am I.'

You don't have to be just like me, you know... Lex sighed, settling down as they drifted through the foggy terrain.

'I am your Glitch.'

That's not all you are, though, Glitch... is it? Lex waited, but the psychic remained silent after that. She shook her head a little, squinting as she tried to see what was all around them. Bloody fog...I hope this is worth it. I'm still not even sure what I'm looking for or supposed to be trying to find...what was the poem again, NAVI?

In the wettest marsh, in a pool of steam
The ghost of mist and fog is seen
Attacks will go right through, or miss
But all it wants is just--


The AI piped up promptly into her ear, breaking off as the poem ended. And as you know, it ends there, and there's nothing more. There's a dozen or two words that could rhyme, though not too many of them really would fit, like epiglottis. As we've discussed. And others are generally unlikely, though I suppose there is always an off chance it is looking for royalty. I am not sure where you'd pick up a princess, however. Royalty is a bit out of vogue these days.

Yeah, and not much hope it's looking for swiss cheese, being a ghost. I suppose the real challenge is just finding it, not giving it what it wants, I guess. I've kissed worse things. She shrugged a little, dismissing the matter. Seriously, it's not like there's much clue other than 'wettest marsh,' and this place is pretty wet, and definitely wetter than Murmur Valley's marsh... how many ponds have we gone over or past now?

'Counting the two ahead, seventy-seven. Counting the Bay beside us, seventy-eight. I am not sure we should count the Bay, however. It is a bit large for a pond.'

That was supposed to be a rhetorical question, Glitch. Lex rolled her eyes and shifted. But seriously... there wasn't anything at the Bay, which has got to be the wettest part of this place, so where else could we go?

There are rumors about lights dancing in the fog of the Ignis Fattis, perhaps. A ghost might make sparkly lights to try to attract whatever it's hoping for.

I suppose. So that's...ugh, back on the other side of the Bay. Mighta been nice to have that occur to us sooner. So, I guess we either circle all the way around this, or we turn around and go back. It's either that or fly over it...

'Whatever you would prefer. I probably would sink if I tried to go over the whole bay, however.' Going over a one to five inch water depth was one thing, the entire bay was another.

Lex frowned and rapped lightly on the metagross' head. Sometimes, I wish you'd actually express some opinions of your own, Glitch... let's just get there.

'As you say.' Lex sighed and gave up, settling down as comfortably as she could as the living supercomputer picked up speed, heading around the perimeter of the Bay. Unfortunately, it was going to take most of the afternoon, no matter which way they went.

The evening light glittered in the fog, giving the marsh an almost surreal glow, though the muck was no slimier here than anywhere else. The mud was slippery at times, but not really slimy with algae. Lex slid off Glitch, making a slight face as she splashed into the water. Slightly more what I'd been thinking, but it's still certainly not Halloween horror movie material, she muttered as she looked around at the mossy tree trunks she could see in the misty evening light.

I'd expect a ghost to be more into creep factor, but what do I know... Lex sighed as she moved into the fog, looking around warily. Shadows crept over terrain, cloaking it in an almost further mysterious aura. Maaaan... I hope we don't have to search all night for this thing... The hacker sighed as it occurred to her that ghosts tended to be nighttime things.

'I would not know. I cannot find anything out of the ordinary.' Glitch thrummed as he hovered alongside her, green eyes glowing faintly in the dim light. 'Something does feel... odd about this land, however. I do not understand it.'

Odd how, Glitch? Lex stopped, frowning over at her companion, but the metagross was silent. She sighed after a pause and moved forward again. I guess all we can to is just keep looking. If there's nothing here, then I guess we try another - did you see that? She broke off abruptly, jerking around to peer into the fog to their right.

'See what?'

I thought... eh, probably my mind playing tricks on me... Lex shook her head a little. However, she set off in that direction anyhow, slowly. And stopped again after a dozen or so paces, looking left suddenly. Are you sure..?

'I have not noticed anything. What are you seeing?' The metagross didn't sound dubious, or doubting, simply curious.

I don't know. It's like... someone with a glowstick or something, a glow or a shadow that moves in the fog, but then it's gone, like they were at the edge of what I can see... She headed after it again with a frown, then changed direction abruptly once more as something flickered to the right again.

'The rumored lights of this swamp, perhaps?' Lex stopped dead, looking back at her metagross. 'NAVI did say...'

Lex's mind froze as something suddenly spoke out of the fog behind them.

There you are, sweetie. I've missed you...
Edited by DarthEevee, Oct 31 2013, 05:20 PM.
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DarthEevee
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'Nononononono... it can't be you you're dead and you can't be here and you aren't supposed to be here and...' Lex's mind gibbered as it ran in little circles, trapped once more in a familiar prison. It was one she'd thought she'd won free of ages ago. She scrabbled at the walls desperately, but they were as solid as ever. She just thought she'd left them behind, but they'd hidden behind a coat of paint or two, waiting.The handsome man who had appeared out of nowhere approached her, smiling that same old smile.

I've been waiting so long, sweetie. My little girl... you missed me too, didn't you? 'Nonono, go away I don't want you here you're supposed to be dead...' Lex stood, still as a statue, staring blankly at the man approaching her. Aren't you glad to see your dear old Daddy again, princess?

I-I... 'No, just tell him no and to go away, I hate you I don't want you I want to be left alone and you're dead and...' Lex stood frozen as he walked up to her, smiling and devouring her with his gaze. She felt it tearing away at all her protections, leaving her as naked and helpless as if she'd just gotten out of the bath...

But that was years ago. She was free. She just had to tell him to go away. "Y-es..." It was horrifying to hear the word come out of her own mouth, in direct violation of her own desperate thoughts, still running in little circles, trapped.

I missed you so much... One hand reached up to touch her face. I lo-

A metallic screech interrupted him, fingers just inches from her cheek. Glitch, glowing a purplish-black, rammed into the man. Lex might not be free to act, but he was. And he flew straight threw the apparition as if it weren't there, slamming into a tree behind them.

Glitch, no! It broke her paralysis, if nothing else, and Lex scrambled after her pokemon. 'You can't be hurt, please don't be hurt...' He couldn't hurt her friends, he just couldn't...

Childish fantasies have no place here, baby. Come on, let's go home...

Glitch! Lex scrabbled to hold onto something, anything, but the metagross melted into nothing. GLITCH!!

Shhh, it's all right, sweetie. You don't need fantasies like that silly thing, we'll just go home and you can get some rest. Then everything can be just like it was... just like you want it to be... Arms wrapped around her, somehow solid as the moss and rocks under her knees. But Glitch had passed straight through him...

Let me go! I don't want to go home! Lex tried to pull away, weakly, but it wasn't much. 'I don't want to go home, home was destroyed, ripped apart just like you were and there's no home to go back to and you're supposed to be dead... dead and gone and I'm supposed to be free...'

He wasn't real, sweetie... it's all right, you need to rest, that's all...

HE WAS TOO REAL! Lex tore free, scrambling to her feet, panting and wild-eyed. She whirled to face the apparition it wasn't her father, it couldn't be her father, he was dead and buried and it couldn't possibly fists clenching at her sides. Bring him back!!

I can't bring back what never existed. Honey, calm down. You've just been having some bad dreams lately. You get some rest and you'll realize how silly you're being right now... let's go home...

NO!! She shrieked and backed away, shaking her head violently in negation. Refusing to accept what he was saying. Refusing to accept that he was real. 'But weren't you just hunting for ghosts? Oh, Arceus...' Lex shivered in sudden terror, backing away a few paces, staring at her father as he looked at her with those eyes. The eyes that ate away at her, left her with nothing, took away all of her hope and life and innocence, leaving an empty shell, a husk that walked and breathed and did whatever they wanted...

It couldn't be his ghost, he'd never been here, it was too solid and real and Glitch had passed straight through him before being... before he went away... 'But what if I brought him here with me? Oh, please don't be real, I can't... I can't...'

It's okay, sweetie. I'm here. I'll keep you safe... He took a step toward her, but stopped as she leaped back with a wild cry.

LIAR! Lex felt like her throat was torn raw as she screamed the word at him. It echoed strangely in the fog-filled swamp, as she fought to breathe and think. I hate y-you and I don't want to g-go anywhere with you! L-leave me alone! You're d-dead and you sh-should go b-back to... to...

He was suddenly beside her, arms wrapped around her as she sobbed uncontrollably. Shhhh... it's all right, Daddy's here. I won't go away. I'll protect you, like I promised... She shivered, feeling the walls closing in to trap her again, choking her. She couldn't she wouldn't she had to...

'You can't protect me from you... I'm all alone...'

Export completed. NAVI's voice echoed hollowly in her ear, causing her to jump in surprise, startled anew. Blue Screen glowed brightly against the darkness, whirring loudly as energy flared in a pyramid about him. A burst of static caused Lex to wince in pain, and NAVI fell silent, as her computer sparked slightly on her wrist.

Blue!! Lex tried to jerk free of her father in sudden terror, the memory of Glitch just... melting under her fingers burning fresh and terrifying in the back of her mind. Her father shoved her away anyhow, as if protecting her. For a moment, his face twisted, a terrifying visage, as if for just a moment, showing the true face of what lay under that smile and those eyes.

You will not interfere again, he stated flatly as he marched on the porygon-z. You have no place here any longer. The energies flared and a beam of coruscating light slashed against the night. A moment later, the digital pokemon was swatted aside as easily as a fly. Blue squealed in confusion, unable to process how the attack had missed when they had been at point blank range. You have done more harm than good, with your fantasies and harmful ideas you give her. Leave us be.

Silence answered the statement, as the light faded away once more and he turned back to face the girl. You're safe now, my... But Lex was gone.
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DarthEevee
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Didja know that everyone lies, Blue? Yeah, even me, Blue. Even me...

I love you...

I hate you!

Now who's the liar?

'I hate you.'

You've always loved me... and you always will...

'Liar... I hate you... I've never loved you...'

You know you love me, you've always loved me...

'No...'

Just stay with me, and we'll be happy again, like we were before...

'I was never happy...'

You've always loved me... and you always will...

'No...'

Daddy's little girl...

Leave me alone!

'But I don't want to be alone...'
Edited by DarthEevee, Oct 30 2013, 10:22 AM.
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Lex slammed into the ground as she tripped over another buried root, choking on the water as she flailed feebly for a moment, curling up into a ball as she coughed. She couldn't run any more. Vaguely she felt one hand touch her shoulder gently.

L'me 'lone.. she managed to slur through the haze, but it lacked any force. She just didn't care any more. She was all alone now...

I'm here for you, sweetie, it's all right.

You're dead, she replied dully, with half a shake of her head. Her eyes remained closed, and she didn't bother trying to move.

That was just a bad dream. You're safe and I'll make sure you... At that, Lex managed to muster the energy to shove his hand away and half sit up, glowering.

You'll do nothing for me except leave me alone! I want..! I... want... She deflated again, defeated. What did she want? She thought she'd known, once...

You don't want to be alone. The words cut like a knife right to the heart of the matter. He was right, damn him. He was right. She didn't want to be alone. She couldn't stand being alone. She could have left him, so many times, so many years. But she had stayed, like an idiot, like a fool, stayed with him because he was all she had. She built those walls herself, built her own little prison in the world, trapped herself there as effectively as he had started it all, so long ago...

Then... then Blue had shown up, and put a tiny crack into it... she'd thought she was free, but she wasn't. She hadn't been alone, and she'd run. Only when she wouldn't be alone... she'd just been running from everything. From accepting anything, from living with it, from her own life. She'd run from it all. Like she was running now. Except she couldn't run any more.

She'd never been free. And once more she was trapped in a prison of her own making. You loved me, and I love you and we'll always be together. You're my little girl, and I'll always love you... She'd never be free. It was no use fighting. And she'd be alone again... she'd always been alone since mother died...

Always... alone...

No. Lex opened her eyes to meet his, not flinching as they bored into her, reading every inch of her soul like an open book. She took a shuddering breath, and stared back, keeping her thoughts focused on that. Mother had died, and then... and then... You never loved me.

You know that's not true. I love you, I've always loved you and you...

Lex managed a raspy bark of a laugh, cutting him off. No, you only loved yourself. Maybe I loved you once upon a time. Before... before... She couldn't force the words out, choking on them. Before... m-mother died. You just loved what you saw in me, something to r-replace... something to be what you thought you had lost. Dammit, I l-loved y-you and then you... you.. The words tumbled out as she shook like a leaf, but she refused to back down. 'And then you betrayed me and tore me apart and stole my life from me...'

D-damn you anyway! I l-loved you and I w-worshiped you and I t-th-thought you l-loved me and then y-you... she couldn't continue, choking down the tears she refused to let spill. The silence was almost deafening, letting her hear her own heartbeat thundering in her ears as her terror threatened to swallow her again, put her back into her little prison, where she hid from the world, from everything that hurt her, that kept her safe from all her fears...

If she let fear win... the box was waiting. She remembered that now. For years...

But I do love you. Lex let out a hysterical laugh, several tears using the opportunity to race down her cheeks, and he reached out to rub them away. Her hand leaped out like a snake to stop it from getting there. She blinked as she caught it, staring down before letting go hurriedly, as if he'd burned her with that contact. I just want to make you happy... What made her happy? Did anything at all make her happy any more?

'If it makes you happy, it makes me happy.'

Give me my Glitch back. Lex took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to steady her nerves, to not let the terror clawing at the back of her mind drag her back down to drown in the little cage of safety. It wasn't safety; it was a little death. She'd been dying for years because she'd been too afraid to live. Could she live like that forever? Was it living at all?

I told you, he was never...

He IS real! You're what's not real here and I don't need you to be happy. I don't need any... one... she trailed off as the words registered. How many times had she said them before now? How long had she been...

Liar. He was right, but it didn't sting like she expected. Maybe she just didn't care any more. Or maybe...

Shut up. Lex stood up on shaking legs, hands balling into fists. She stared into the handsome face, as the face of her father looked back at her. Silence reigned for a heartbeat, then another. She trembled, fighting the fear and the self-loathing and the pain. She couldn't go back.

She punched him.

Her fist encountered nothing but air and she stumbled from the force she had put behind the blow, whirling. He stood behind her, a slightly wistful expression on his face as he stared at her, as if he'd never even moved, not even to turn around to face her again.

The expression was so out of place on him that she stared for several seconds. Then she sagged, all the tension melting away her as quickly as the shuddering sigh she made left her lips. You're not my father. She turned away. He's dead. And good riddance.

You can't make me happy. And I'm not alone. Not any more.
She had Blue, and Glitch, and Ziggy, too, even. And... she didn't dwell overmuch on the thought of a certain gray-haired young man, and a dragon. She wasn't alone, not at all. For the first time in a long time, she really wasn't, and she'd been focusing so hard on not needing anyone that she hadn't seen that she'd found what she had really been looking for.

Lex paused, looking over her shoulder at the silent figure, studying him for a moment. If you are somehow his ghost, though, you can go back and rot in whatever hell is waiting for people like you. If not, you can tell him I said that if you see him. And send him there for me. That... might make me happy. I doubt it, though. I'm not a happy person. She laughed, not quite bitterly. A hesitant pause followed before Lex blew the wraith-like apparition a kiss as she turned and walked away. I'm going to go find my Glitch. He... he can make me happy, sometimes. And Blue, too.

She wouldn't cry for the man that she'd loved. That gentle, smiling man that picked her up and laughed as he kissed her mother... she wouldn't cry for the little girl the man she'd called her father for the past five years destroyed. She couldn't. She had no tears left. She would leave them behind, though. She had to or she'd never be free.

Goodbye... daddy...
Edited by DarthEevee, Oct 31 2013, 05:09 AM.
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'Lex? Are you all right?' The words rang hollowly, rattling as painfully in her skull as if someone had just shouted in her ear. Lex squawked, flailing a little as she stumbled on a patch of mud and splashed into the water.

By Moltres' fire... geez Glitch, don't do that! she sputtered, shaking water out of her hair.

'You weren't responding. I was not sure you were all right. I wanted to make sure you were all right. I was...' The metagross seemed at a bit of a loss as he thrummed, moving over beside her once more, and she used him to lever herself back out of the mud.

Worried about me? Lex chuckled, and then blinked suddenly as things clicked back into place. What about you? I mean, you just... melted... and Blue! Where's Blue? She looked around a little wildly. Blue poked his snout into her heads-up display, chirruping in confusion. I... mean, he... you... they... what happened to... she sputtered to a halt. She appeared to be right back where they had started. How in..?

Glitch thrummed softly, eyes glowing a little as he spoke. 'I saw some of the lights, I think, you were speaking of, but I didn't chase them when you stopped walking. You didn't answer for a while. I could not figure out what was going on, but then the lights just vanished. Are you certain you are all right?'

...yeah, Glitch. Lex looked around the fog. Just... fine. Nothing but a bad dream, I think...

Was it, though? Yeah... just a dream. Sorry I worried you.
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Holy shit.

Have I mentioned ever that I love your interpretation of the Fog Clear ghost? Because I love your interpretation of the Fog Clear ghost.

That bit of gushing out of the way...This made me cry. By my second read-through of it, there were genuine tears in my eyes. You get into Lex's head so well, and just every bit of fear, anger, and sadness in her tortured and, most importantly, conflicted mind showed through and hit me as I was reading. The ghost's actions are so chilling, because that wistful look it gives her right before she leaves makes it all hit home what it was doing. It was willing to drag Lex back into that little mental prison in order to make her stay and probably thought that was exactly what she wanted.

The bits with Glitch, Blue, and even Navi disappearing were also wonderful, and I adore how Lex and Glitch interact with one another in general.

I could probably go on for a while. Simply put, I love the piece. The only error I could find was a mixed-up colour tag; you gave Lex Ben's font colour for one line.

Whether Lex gets Fog Clear out of it...Well, I don't know if that's up to me or up to Admins, and what sort of price that would have, so I'm going to give you your score now and I guess one of them can decide whether or not you get that part? I personally think this more than earned it, though.

Creativity: 5
Believability: 5
Technical Prowess: 4

With bonuses, your score comes to 134 :lp . With the 1.5x contest bonus, it becomes 201 :lp .
:ultraball2 :ultraball2 You Both...:pokeball2 :pokeball2 :pokeball2 :pokeball2 :pokeball2 :pokeball2
Beware of the Chikorita...Are Just...I Am A Fairy
APL=49.5
...My...
APL=17.8
Fire In Your Eyes (Little Hillmoss)...Playthings.Urban Jungle (Kevin Baconville)
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DarthEevee
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Well, that'll teach me to assume that my FF isn't going to be graded within twenty-four hours of posting so figuring I could proofread before it did get graded. XD There were another minor error or two that I found after rereading it myself, but don't go looking for them, my OCD tendencies made me fix them anyhow. *coughs*

But yeah. Admins can hash out how the Fog Clear thing works when they have a moment or three to decide how to actually do it, but whee.

Quote:
 
The ghost's actions are so chilling, because that wistful look it gives her right before she leaves makes it all hit home what it was doing. It was willing to drag Lex back into that little mental prison in order to make her stay and probably thought that was exactly what she wanted.


This, this is all the reward I wanted, really. To know that I did that just right. That I actually, without having to say it, made at least one person realize what that ghost was trying to do all along, what it was thinking, what it believed. And I admit, I kinda am finding I rather am growing a bit fond of the Fog Clear ghost as it is in my head, too. I wasn't sure at first, but now...

But yeah. Thank you for the surprisingly fast grade, and for the praise. And don't forget to take the 4 LP earned from grading this. *nods*
Edited by DarthEevee, Oct 31 2013, 06:21 PM.
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