story time >XD crossed to fragmentedminds
Jun. 1st, 2005 11:55 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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multiplicity_archiveshey all
i know i said id post the first chapter of the story were working on like... a week ago, but things have been hectic, and i havent been too eager to display my weak story telling prowess..
some things to keep in mind are that its been a long time since ive written anything, and even when i did they never amounted to anything, and were mostly just reveries i wish i could have lived instead of this nightmare. cody and i havent taken the time to create names for all the characters, and have just been using people from our system(s), though that will change down the road most likely. for now it just makes things easier, especially keeping the characters in character, haha. just gotta ask whoever what they would do in the given situation >XD
im having a hard time deciding whether to end the first chapter here, or to expand on things a little more..
some of the story is based on us of course, and the setting is in our inner world. the same can be said about some of our experiences..
anyways, try not to get too frustrated with my crappy writing... ^^;
It was early morning on a cold Autumn day when Atty met Neville. He was the exact same age as her, had the same black hair as her, and same red eyes.
"What'cha doin'?" he asked her, fidgeting with his hands as he stared down at his feet.
"Hiding from daddy," she replied.
"What's a daddy?"
"A daddy is a daddy, silly goose. Everyone has a daddy."
"I don't..." he said solemnly, still looking down at his feet.
"What's your name?" she asked him.
"I don't have a name either..."
"You can have my middle name, I'm not using it," she offered.
"What's your middle name?"
"My middle name is Neville, Neville," she giggled.
Neville looked down at his feet to blush, and when he looked up, she was gone.
So the legend goes of how our guardian and core met. They were born into a frail sickly body, stuck in an abusive house, so Atty spent much of her time bedridden, finding solace in the confines of her mind. Neville had been stuck in the inner world from day one, isolated from others but able to hear everything going on in the outer world. He spent the first five years of his life this way, which makes it hard to say who had it worse in the beginning. Atty was abused, and Neville was alone, so I suppose that would depend on personal opinion.
These were the days before I was part of the system, so that is all I can tell you about its humble beginnings. I had just barely found my way to Skyhigh Apartments before this mess of a situation happened. My name is Ciel, and prior to working at the apartments as a guardian's apprentice, I was a secretary in the town's reception center. I also cannot tell you much of what led to the current events, only that Atty was up front with Neville, and that they were on their way in the Outer World to school, via bus. I cannot tell you much about Sebastion other than the fact that despite not having the pleasure of meeting this character, most everyone of the Solace and Reverie systems hate him with a passion. He and Atty were in a relationship, and just days ago he admitted to cheating on her, which was a big enough of a deal as it was. As you can imagine, we of the Reverie System are a close knit family, and we take none too kindly to anyone who hurts one of us. As though that were not enough, he made it clear he had never believed in any of us from day one. That made it personal. Atty ran from the scene, heartbroken and in tears, and we did our best to console her. After a weekend of crying and finding comfort in her friends in the Outer World, Atty seemed ready to move on. She had gotten on the school bus like any other day, Sebastion had just been picked up from his stop, and then there was darkness...
I awoke to an unfamiliar scene. Soft green grass lay beneath me, and I was met by the soft purple night sky. The stars lighting it slowly came into view as my eyes came into focus. Several inward bound souls streaked across the skyline, resembling shooting stars in slow motion. I let out a soft sigh as I tried to sit up, and felt an indescribable surge run through my head. I let out a scream as I gripped at my head, only to be met with the same sensation in both arms. In a panic, I tried to rise to my feet, only to find that the sensation was coursing through every inch of my body. It was like nothing I had ever felt before. My movements betrayed me as I writhed around on the ground, no longer even able to let out a scream. I could hear Dual, but he sounded distant as darkness overtook my vision.
I slowly stirred to the sight of a familiar looking ceiling. My eyes came to focus quickly as I looked around the small room. I was back at the apartments, in my own room. Everything was a complete mess, which struck me as odd, since I am something of a neat freak. The whole room, in fact, was in shambles. It looked like an earthquake had struck. I tried to sit up, but found myself unable to move. Lowering my eyes, I found that much of my upper body was tightly wrapped up in bandages. A little yellow sticky note was on my stomach, which said "Call out when you wake up -Dual". I let out a sigh as I sharply exhaled. Hammering noises resounded through the hallway, startling me.
"Dual?! Dual!" I cried out. The hammering noises stopped. Footsteps approached the doorway.
"Ciel! Oh, thank goodness you're awake!"
Somnia stepped into the room, carefully maneuvering around the assorted books and pieces of armor on the floor. She pressed her hand to my forehead with a worried look on her face.
"Somnia... what is going on?"
She grimaced as she sat on the bed and rested her hand on mine.
"What do you think of it? The sensation, I mean. This is the first time you've ever felt something physically, isn't it?"
I paused and blinked twice.
"What do you mean? You mean that this is what 'feeling' is?"
She nodded yes as she raised my hand up, rubbing my bandaged palm with her thumbs.
"You've never been up front to the Outer World, so you've never had the chance to feel something besides emotions. It's incredible, isn't it? What you're feeling right now is 'sore' and 'pain'."
I closed my eyes to slow things down and try to take it in. A question finally formed in my head.
"What has happened? What has changed?"
She rested my hand back at my side, and looked down at the ground.
"We don't know for sure. Atty and many of the others are nowhere to be found, and the apartment is falling apart. The laws of the Outer World seem to have meshed with ours, so there are many things that are going to be completely new to you."
I closed my eyes again as a feeling of uneasiness worked its way up from my gut. I tried to choke it back, but felt the tears start to well up in my eyes. I wasn't even sure why exactly I was crying.
Somnia bent down and wrapped her arms softly around me in a hug.
"Oh, Ciel..."
I tried to lift my arms to hug her back, but they refused to budge as the pain pulsed through them.
I sniffled as she kept hugging me.
"Where is Solett?"
I could feel her let out a heavy sigh as she continued hugging me.
"She is not here... is she?"
"No," she replied. "I don't know where my baby is."
She stopped hugging me, and sat back, looking into my eyes. Tears had welled up in hers as well. She patted my head and then rubbed my hair around.
"Things are going to be all right though. Dual and London are still here, as is Ellie. I'm sure we'll figure this out and get things back to normal. Rest for now, it's been a long day."
I weakly nodded and watched her make her way out of the room. She stopped at the doorway, looked back at me, and forced a smile. I smiled back as best I could, and she walked out into the hallway. I felt my eyelids droop over my eyes as my mind raced, and soon enough I was fast asleep.
I found myself struggling through a nightmare that I couldn't explain. I saw Atty lying on a bed, bandaged up like myself, only with tubes and needles in every inch of her arms, fast asleep. Then I saw what she must have been seeing while she was up front. We were on a bus, sitting next to her friend April. They were talking, but the words weren't discernible. The bus came to a stop, and Sebastion entered, and sat down a few seats in front of the girls. The bus started moving, and the two started talking again. Atty was on the outside of the seat, April was on the inside, next to the window. There weren't many people on the bus from what I could see. They talked a little more, then Atty looked up to make eye contact with April. She screamed as she saw a huge truck barreling their way across the intersection. April turned around, and screamed as well. In a reflex action, she pushed Atty hard enough to knock her to the other side of the bus. There were a few other screams as April leapt into the middle walkway of the bus. The truck collided with the middle of the bus. Glass shattered, metal twisted in Atty's direction. The world felt like it was shaking apart, and when the grill of the truck was inches away from hitting Atty, there was darkness.
I sat up in a cold sweat, letting out a shriek. I was back in my room. I had spooked the living daylights out of Somnia, who was in the middle of things. Some of the books had been stacked on the bookshelf, my armor was hanging neatly from the rack near the doorway. I stared at her for a few moments, taking deep breaths and exhaling sharply.
"You had the nightmare, didn't you?" she asked softly.
I nodded yes and flopped back down.
"I had it too. It must be what happened before everyone got seperated."
"I see," I said, trying to calm my voice.
"I've been talking to Dual. He says that if we're still alive, it means everyone else might be as well. The fact that the doorway is still intact means Atty is definitely alive."
I stared up at the ceiling, trying to piece together the new pieces of information.
"How did we get seperated like this though? It does not make any sense..."
"I've never seen anything like this personally, but Dual says things like this have happened before to other systems. When the body we're all linked to in the Outer World dies, the doorway falls apart to dust, and anyone up front gets booted back to the Inner World. In cases where the body is nearly killed, all the people attached to it can be hurled as far away as you can imagine."
I managed to raise my hand to my face, and covered my eyes.
"What are we going to do? Why did this have to happen?" My voice started crackling. Anxiety was getting the better of me. Somnia put the books in her hand on the bookcase, and sat on the bed again. She ruffled my hair a little, and lifted my hand from my eyes.
"What else? We're going to find everyone else, and get our family back together again, but first you need to rest some more."
She was no longer forcing her smile. It was comforting, just like everything else about her. She was in her early thirties, though she looked much younger than that. She had soft, caring brown eyes with matching brown hair, and was the same height as me at 5'6". She was Solett's mother, and was a mother figure for every other young person in the system.
"But-but..." I stammered, still sinking deeper into panic.
"I know. You're anxious to find the others. We all are. I want so badly to see Solett and know that she's all right. I know you do too, but you're injured, and you must rest. London and I are going to do a runthrough of the town first thing in the morning to look for the others, and to alert everyone of what's happened."
I relaxed finally as she kissed my forehead and walked to the doorway.
"Everything will be all right, I promise you," she said as she leaned against the doorway looking at me. "Ellie is going to help us find Atty, then Atty can help us find everyone else. Before you know it, we'll all be back together as one big happy family. Good night, Ciel."
She left the door open and quietly padded down the hallway to the living room. I made an effort to sit up, but my arms were still like wet noodles. I managed to scoot up enough against the headrest until I was sitting upright, and looked around the room. Somnia had cleaned up much of the mess. The walls still looked trashed and crumpled. I imagined it looked this way in the entire apartment. The room was very spartan, but I liked it that way. If I was expected to be a guardian someday, I had to start living like one. Plain white walls, plain wood molding around the doorway and crevices. A bookcase full of books about world history lay flush against the corner, and all my pieces of armor were hanging from the wall. It was plain, like everything else. The breastplate, grieves,, and bangles were all made of some kind of superhardened plastic. Lightweight, but not much protection. My only weapon was my tower shield, which was the only thing made of metal. It was enormous, nearly half my size, and weighed nearly a quarter of what I did. There were two small leather straps on the back of it, and a large one for slinging it over one's back, as well as a built-in slot for a short sword, if I ever learned to use one. The front was entirely plain. I was still an apprentice, after all, and hadn't earned the right to bear the Solace emblem.
My thoughts turned to all the others. They were all out there, alone and in danger in places they had never seen before. Somnia had done her best to ease my fears, but I knew the reality of the situation. I cringed at the thought of the little ones like Bonaparte and Quistin, out there, by themselves, in a big scary world. My stomach knotted up as I thought more and more about them. I couldn't just sit around like this, something had to be done. I forced myself up, tossing the sheets off. The only part of me bandaged up was my midsection and chest. I had faded khaki cargo pants on. I pulled them up a little on my waist, and grabbed a plain white t-shirt from the floor. My dresser, and all of its contents had been scattered across the floor. It was a painful ordeal just to get the shirt on, but as I moved, the severity lessened. A few minutes later, I'd gotten my plate, my boots and bangles on, and had slung my shield over my back. My whole upper body throbbed with pain, but it was nothing I couldn't manage.
My walking was slow and labored as I silently pushed the door to the living room open. I peaked in, and saw Somnia peacefully cuddled up to Ellie on one of the sofas, both sound asleep. A grin formed at the corners of my mouth at the sight, and I closed the door as much as I could without turning the knob. A hand suddenly grabbed my arm, and spun me around. I found London glaring down at me, her pale grey eyes studying me closely. I looked up at her, dumbfounded and waiting for her to scold me for sneaking around when she suddenly pulled me down the hallway towards the east exit.
"You're going out to look for the others, are you not?"
I bit my lower lip while looking up at her. She had me pressed up against the wall, and was fully outfitted for battle. She stood at just under six foot tall, and was more than intimidating, she was downright frightening.
"Yes," I whispered. I tried to keep my lower lip from quivering, and my body from shaking as she stared deeply into my eyes. I'm supposed to be courageous and such, after all.
"Good!" she exclaimed quietly. A huge grin sprawled across her face. I subconsciously started breathing again as she took me by the shoulder and started walking me to the exit. She pushed one of the double doors open, causing her platinum hair to waft about in the rush of air. We walked to the concrete steps and stopped. I looked over at her just before she gave my ribs a sharp poke through the side of my armor. I exhaled sharply, trying not to yelp as she pinched down, forcing me butt down to the ground. I finally put a hand on her wrist, making a feeble attempt to get out of her grasp, but to no avail. Beads of cold sweat ran down my face as she removed her grip. I choked in some air as she ruffled my hair.
"Do not do that," I managed to gasp. "That is condescending."
"I do it because you are so adorable. It is brave of you to make the effort. Solace will be most proud of you when he learns of your desire to help the others."
She was resting her hand on my head as she talked.
"However, you are in no condition at all to be traipsing about the countryside, by your lonesome no less! I understand your eagerness to find your family, but you must see through your impatience. What good will you do anyone in your injured state?"
Words escaped me. These were all things I realized, I just didn't want to admit them.
"You and Ellie are the only two who will be able to find Atty and the others. Do you understand why you are so important? Ellie is too young, it would be too dangerous for her to go with us. It is for that reason that it will be up to you to reunite us."
"I understand," I said with hesitation. "I apologize for acting foolishly."
She lifted my head by the chin and looked down at me.
"There is nothing foolish about wanting to protect those you love. You are a kind, selfless person, and I know that you will make a fine guardian one day."
The wind picked up, sending a chill down my spine. I looked down the dark and empty street that led out of Skyhigh, and felt some my previous enthusiasm diminish. My mind bounced between all my friends who were out there, probably waking up to the same situation I did. Only Dual wouldn't be there to carry them back home though. The ever present lump had found its way to my throat again as I thought more and more about everyone's predicament.
"Come, let us go back inside and rest. Tomorrow will be a new day with many chances."
I looked up and took her face in. My anxiety from before had passed, and I finally noticed the sunken rings around her eyes. Her normally pristine face was worn and dirty. It looked as though she'd been awake for days. This was the first time I'd seen her actually look vulnerable, and it made her all the more beautiful.
"Yes," I agreed. I imagined I was faring just as badly in appearance. The thought of rest was suddenly very appealing. Just walking outside had been something of a labor.
"You need not worry about anyone standing guard tonight, many of the city's inhabitants are still here and are handling that for us."
She gave me a hand up and draped her arm around my shoulder as we walked back to the hallway. I opened the door for her, receiving a smile and pinch on the cheek in turn. I was too exhausted to even form a scowl.
I turned into my hallway, and shuffled to my doorway. She walked past me towards the stairwell, then stopped and turned to look at me.
"Is something the matter?" I asked after a few seconds.
"No," she replied softly. "I was just thinking. It is nothing, though. Rest well and have sweet dreams." She trudged up the stairs, her silver armor barely audible as she ascended.
I settled down on my bed face first, too tired to bother fiddling with my armor. Sleep seemed to overtake me before my face even connected with the pillow.
I awoke, feeling as though I had only slept for seconds. No dream, or nothing that I could remember. There was hammering coming from the hallway again. I sat up and rubbed the sleepiness out of my eyes as it continued.
"Oi. OI! What are you doing?!"
It was Dual.
"I'm fixing the place up!" I heard Somnia snap back as the hammering stopped.
"No you're not, you're hitting the bloody wall with a bloody hammer!"
"How else do you think I'm going to fix this place up?" she replied with all seriousness.
"You could start by getting some nails, some wood, and some insulation instead of just putting more holes in the wall!"
"Well I don't know how to do this, I'm just trying to help!" she yelled back with a huff.
I had risen to my feet and peered out of my doorway while they were squabbling. There looked to be about two dozen holes the size of a hammer head in the wall in a random pattern. Somnia was in a plain blue dress, Dual in his armor that was strikingly similar in design to mine, only made of a reddish ceramic.
"Look, I'm just trying to get a little shuteye, yeah? I've been up for a couple of days now, I'm a bit tired is all," he said by way of apologizing.
"I'm sorry," she replied. "I'm just anxious to do something to help, anything, ya know?"
I padded up to them and said my good mornings.
"Ciel, it's bloody good to see you up and moving. How are you doing, boyo?" Dual asked.
"I can not say I have felt better," I said jokingly.
They both smiled and we all walked into the living room. Ellie was still sound asleep on the couch in the corner. Dual flopped onto the couch opposite Ellie, Somnia sat next to him, and I took up the third and final spot. Dual slouched deep in the couch. He wearily blinked a couple times, then closed his eyes and was out cold. Somnia gazed at him affectionately, leaned over and pecked him on the forehead. London suddenly shuffled into the room, the rings around her eyes even darker than I remembered. She looked longingly at the spot Somnia was sitting at. Knowing what London had in mind, Somnia stood up and offered her seat. I stood up as well as London shuffled to the couch. With a last bit of effort she backed onto the couch, then slumped over asleep on Dual's shoulder. Somnia mouthed out "Awww" at the scene, then led me by my hand to the hallway.
She paced back and forth in front of me, looking as lost in thought as any one could.
"Did you have any visions of Atty or the others last night?"
"None aside from what caused all of this," I replied.
"I still can't sense Solett or Quistin... I'm so scared for my babies..."
"I know," I said quietly. "I am too, I want so badly to know Solett is all right and still alive out there..."
There was an uneasy silence. It felt like the weight of everything was all on my back. Being seperated from the girl I love, becoming acquainted with the concept of physical pain, the current situation, all of it was swimming through my little mind.
I looked into Somnia's eyes and sighed.
"Things are never going to be the same..." she said softly. I wanted to say otherwise. I wanted to be able to dismiss that statement with a smile, but I couldn't. The optimistic mask she was wearing last night had given way to hesitant acceptance.
"I promise I will do my best. We will get everyone back together some day, I just know it." I didn't, but I liked to believe that I did.
"That's not enough," she said, her voice rising slightly. "I want to do my best as well, and I can't do it sitting around here waiting for you and the others to go rescue my children."
She was standing rigid, her fists clenched tightly, her eyes narrow.
"Train me how to fight."
"Of course I will train you how to fight," I replied after a couple seconds.
"No, Ciel, I'm dead serious. You can't brush me off on this one, you have to train me how to fight."
This was a side of her I had yet to see. From what I had seen so far she was a bumbling, yet nurturing mother of two who spent all day sleeping or playing with the little ones.
"Somnia... I am still an apprentice myself... I cannot teach you how to fight."
"Yes you can. You know more about fighting than I do, so there is at least a little bit you could teach me."
"You know I care about you, but I cannot train you."
"Why?" she asked, getting huffy. "Is it because you think I'm not strong enough? Is the grandma too old to swing a shield around like you?"
I paused for a moment to look at her from head to toe. Despite being the same height as me, she must have only weighed in at 115 pounds. Still, I did not have any question as to her strength. Years of carrying around children and cleaning the house had given her defined arms and legs.
"That is not what I am concerned about, I promise you. I do not want to train you because..."
"Because why?" she asked, a little more calmed down.
"Because if you went out with us and got hurt, I could never forgive myself..."
She relaxed and leaned against the wall.
"Look, Ciel, I understand why you have your reservations about this, but look at the current situation... London and Dual only have a handful of their soldiers, and the rest of Solace is gone. There are so few of us that we don't really have a choice what role to play now, if we're going to find everyone we all have to be ready to fight... and when that time comes that I know where Solett and Quistin are, I want to be ready to do just that."
She was absolutely right. In my short time at the apartments, I'd already learned that there was no winning an argument against Somnia or her children.
"All right," I conceded, "but at least run it by London before we get started."
She clapped her hands together and smiled wide, then darted into the living room. Her voice was muffled as she informed London that she was going to be training with me. London slurred a response of some kind back, then there was a moment of silence.
"I'll need some armor, can I use yours?" There was another slurred response from London that resembled a "no", then some shifting sounds, and Somnia came plodding out with London's upper plate in tow.
I gave her a look of disbelief.
"What?" she asked innocently. "She wasn't using it."
I peered into the room. London's grieves and bangles were still in place, but all she had on aside from that was a baggy white undershirt, and black stockings. She had managed to nestle up even closer to Dual. I closed the door, and motioned towards the stairwell with my head. We ascended to the third floor, where things were still a mess. The apartments had been damaged quite severely when the accident happened. I stopped in the open doorway to the training room and sighed at the state of things. All the armor and weapons were strewn across the worn wooden floor.
"Well," I said "take your pick."
I carefully stepped over all the articles of equipment to the corner, and started putting things back in their place. She left London's armor at the doorway, and started rooting through the mess, banging shields and such around.
"What weapon should I choose?" she asked with her hands on her hips.
"Whatever interests you," I replied.
"Yeah, but see, I don't know what interests me, I'm kinda clueless about these things," she said as I placed a helmet back on a hook.
I picked up a plain tower shield just like mine and turned around to place it on a shelf.
"It is easy to choose a weapon if you know what kind of fighting style you like."
She tilted her head and watched me set the shield down gently.
"Well, what do you use?" she asked.
"A shield," I replied matter-of-fact.
"And?"
"And what?" I asked.
"A shield, and what?" she reiterated.
"Just a shield."
"Why just a shield?"
"I was told when I first became an apprentice that fighting with only a shield is one of the most difficult styles to master. It is very unique, and it lets you choose between not only attacking the enemy, but also protecting your friends," I explained.
"Hmm." She plodded over and picked up the shield I had set down with some effort.
"Is this the same as the one you're using?" she asked.
"Yes," I replied. "It is a training shield, so it is much heavier than the regular ones."
She ran a finger along the dented surface of the iron beast.
"I'll use a shield then too," she said with a smile.
I nodded. "All right. The sooner we get this mess cleaned up, the sooner we can begin."
Twenty minutes later we had put everything back in its place as best we could. Somnia had chosen hardened plastic armor, just like mine.
"All right," I said, picking up one of the training shields, "see these two little leather straps? Take your dominant arm, and slide it through so that you are holding the one on the left side with your hand." She complied, then looked back at me.
"The first move I was taught was the step swing. As you have already noticed, these shields are not on the light side, so in order to do any damage with them, you must utilize your weight to your advantage when swinging it around."
I spread my feet apart at an angle, and hunched slightly. She took the same stance as me.
"Now, as you take a step forward with your right foot, lower your shield as low as you can, and raise it at the same angle I do with all your force."
I demonstrated, swinging my shield in an uppercut motion that would have been viciously painful if it connected with someone. The wind from the swing caused her hair to sway a bit, and her eyes widened. Pain coursed through my as of yet healed body, but I did my best to hide it.
"Hmm." She looked at her shield, hunched down, took a step and swung at the same time, and did a full spin, almost falling on her butt as the shield flew from her hands and went crashing through the wall. She opened her mouth in horror, then covered it with her hands and looked at me with wide eyes.
"Sorry!" she yelped. It was quiet for a moment, then there was a loud THUNK as the shield landed on the grass outside.
"What the H-?!" A familiar voice shouted from outside.
We ran to the hole in the wall, poking our heads out to see Kaz and Valentine staring back up at us. Nine young men, all clad in the same getup as Valentine, were mingling with each other quietly.
"I like what you've done with the place," Valentine said sarcastically. "Very nice."
"Val!" Somnia shouted as she skittered out of the training room and down the stairs.
"What have I missed?" he shouted up to me.
"Much," I yelled back down. "You will hear all about it from Somnia."
"Hmm," he replied thoughtfully. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and strolled towards the entrance. I watched as Kaz edged his way to the shield, squatting down and poking at it as though it were dead body. He looked up at me after a few pokes.
"Wow, you guys shuah know how to have fun awound heauh!"
"I will meet you inside," I shouted down to him. I watched as he scampered inside, and turned for the staircase, only to find myself face to face with a very upset London.
anyways... -_-;
i know i said this story was about a singlet ending up in a multiple's system, it is, i just havent gotten to him yet :p sebastion is the singlet in question of course
in chapter 2, valentine will get filled in on whats happened, then will tell ciel and co. about kaz randomly showing up in his city, and how on the way over to skyhigh they saw a Cavian officer preparing an attack group not far from skyhigh. they get london and dual up to speed as well, and they decide that cavians must be stopped before they can raise an entire army and invade skyhigh. ciel, london, dual, and valentine set off with their soldiers in tow, and form up to attack the cavians, but something goes wrong... and thats all the teaser you guys get :p rest assured that sebastion the doubtful singlet will make his grand appearance though ^^
anyways, hope you liked, and anyone who would like to get into the story, ya know, wouldnt mind having you or your system members being part of it, let us know, there are tons of spots that still need filling :D
-lukies + cody
i know i said id post the first chapter of the story were working on like... a week ago, but things have been hectic, and i havent been too eager to display my weak story telling prowess..
some things to keep in mind are that its been a long time since ive written anything, and even when i did they never amounted to anything, and were mostly just reveries i wish i could have lived instead of this nightmare. cody and i havent taken the time to create names for all the characters, and have just been using people from our system(s), though that will change down the road most likely. for now it just makes things easier, especially keeping the characters in character, haha. just gotta ask whoever what they would do in the given situation >XD
im having a hard time deciding whether to end the first chapter here, or to expand on things a little more..
some of the story is based on us of course, and the setting is in our inner world. the same can be said about some of our experiences..
anyways, try not to get too frustrated with my crappy writing... ^^;
It was early morning on a cold Autumn day when Atty met Neville. He was the exact same age as her, had the same black hair as her, and same red eyes.
"What'cha doin'?" he asked her, fidgeting with his hands as he stared down at his feet.
"Hiding from daddy," she replied.
"What's a daddy?"
"A daddy is a daddy, silly goose. Everyone has a daddy."
"I don't..." he said solemnly, still looking down at his feet.
"What's your name?" she asked him.
"I don't have a name either..."
"You can have my middle name, I'm not using it," she offered.
"What's your middle name?"
"My middle name is Neville, Neville," she giggled.
Neville looked down at his feet to blush, and when he looked up, she was gone.
So the legend goes of how our guardian and core met. They were born into a frail sickly body, stuck in an abusive house, so Atty spent much of her time bedridden, finding solace in the confines of her mind. Neville had been stuck in the inner world from day one, isolated from others but able to hear everything going on in the outer world. He spent the first five years of his life this way, which makes it hard to say who had it worse in the beginning. Atty was abused, and Neville was alone, so I suppose that would depend on personal opinion.
These were the days before I was part of the system, so that is all I can tell you about its humble beginnings. I had just barely found my way to Skyhigh Apartments before this mess of a situation happened. My name is Ciel, and prior to working at the apartments as a guardian's apprentice, I was a secretary in the town's reception center. I also cannot tell you much of what led to the current events, only that Atty was up front with Neville, and that they were on their way in the Outer World to school, via bus. I cannot tell you much about Sebastion other than the fact that despite not having the pleasure of meeting this character, most everyone of the Solace and Reverie systems hate him with a passion. He and Atty were in a relationship, and just days ago he admitted to cheating on her, which was a big enough of a deal as it was. As you can imagine, we of the Reverie System are a close knit family, and we take none too kindly to anyone who hurts one of us. As though that were not enough, he made it clear he had never believed in any of us from day one. That made it personal. Atty ran from the scene, heartbroken and in tears, and we did our best to console her. After a weekend of crying and finding comfort in her friends in the Outer World, Atty seemed ready to move on. She had gotten on the school bus like any other day, Sebastion had just been picked up from his stop, and then there was darkness...
I awoke to an unfamiliar scene. Soft green grass lay beneath me, and I was met by the soft purple night sky. The stars lighting it slowly came into view as my eyes came into focus. Several inward bound souls streaked across the skyline, resembling shooting stars in slow motion. I let out a soft sigh as I tried to sit up, and felt an indescribable surge run through my head. I let out a scream as I gripped at my head, only to be met with the same sensation in both arms. In a panic, I tried to rise to my feet, only to find that the sensation was coursing through every inch of my body. It was like nothing I had ever felt before. My movements betrayed me as I writhed around on the ground, no longer even able to let out a scream. I could hear Dual, but he sounded distant as darkness overtook my vision.
I slowly stirred to the sight of a familiar looking ceiling. My eyes came to focus quickly as I looked around the small room. I was back at the apartments, in my own room. Everything was a complete mess, which struck me as odd, since I am something of a neat freak. The whole room, in fact, was in shambles. It looked like an earthquake had struck. I tried to sit up, but found myself unable to move. Lowering my eyes, I found that much of my upper body was tightly wrapped up in bandages. A little yellow sticky note was on my stomach, which said "Call out when you wake up -Dual". I let out a sigh as I sharply exhaled. Hammering noises resounded through the hallway, startling me.
"Dual?! Dual!" I cried out. The hammering noises stopped. Footsteps approached the doorway.
"Ciel! Oh, thank goodness you're awake!"
Somnia stepped into the room, carefully maneuvering around the assorted books and pieces of armor on the floor. She pressed her hand to my forehead with a worried look on her face.
"Somnia... what is going on?"
She grimaced as she sat on the bed and rested her hand on mine.
"What do you think of it? The sensation, I mean. This is the first time you've ever felt something physically, isn't it?"
I paused and blinked twice.
"What do you mean? You mean that this is what 'feeling' is?"
She nodded yes as she raised my hand up, rubbing my bandaged palm with her thumbs.
"You've never been up front to the Outer World, so you've never had the chance to feel something besides emotions. It's incredible, isn't it? What you're feeling right now is 'sore' and 'pain'."
I closed my eyes to slow things down and try to take it in. A question finally formed in my head.
"What has happened? What has changed?"
She rested my hand back at my side, and looked down at the ground.
"We don't know for sure. Atty and many of the others are nowhere to be found, and the apartment is falling apart. The laws of the Outer World seem to have meshed with ours, so there are many things that are going to be completely new to you."
I closed my eyes again as a feeling of uneasiness worked its way up from my gut. I tried to choke it back, but felt the tears start to well up in my eyes. I wasn't even sure why exactly I was crying.
Somnia bent down and wrapped her arms softly around me in a hug.
"Oh, Ciel..."
I tried to lift my arms to hug her back, but they refused to budge as the pain pulsed through them.
I sniffled as she kept hugging me.
"Where is Solett?"
I could feel her let out a heavy sigh as she continued hugging me.
"She is not here... is she?"
"No," she replied. "I don't know where my baby is."
She stopped hugging me, and sat back, looking into my eyes. Tears had welled up in hers as well. She patted my head and then rubbed my hair around.
"Things are going to be all right though. Dual and London are still here, as is Ellie. I'm sure we'll figure this out and get things back to normal. Rest for now, it's been a long day."
I weakly nodded and watched her make her way out of the room. She stopped at the doorway, looked back at me, and forced a smile. I smiled back as best I could, and she walked out into the hallway. I felt my eyelids droop over my eyes as my mind raced, and soon enough I was fast asleep.
I found myself struggling through a nightmare that I couldn't explain. I saw Atty lying on a bed, bandaged up like myself, only with tubes and needles in every inch of her arms, fast asleep. Then I saw what she must have been seeing while she was up front. We were on a bus, sitting next to her friend April. They were talking, but the words weren't discernible. The bus came to a stop, and Sebastion entered, and sat down a few seats in front of the girls. The bus started moving, and the two started talking again. Atty was on the outside of the seat, April was on the inside, next to the window. There weren't many people on the bus from what I could see. They talked a little more, then Atty looked up to make eye contact with April. She screamed as she saw a huge truck barreling their way across the intersection. April turned around, and screamed as well. In a reflex action, she pushed Atty hard enough to knock her to the other side of the bus. There were a few other screams as April leapt into the middle walkway of the bus. The truck collided with the middle of the bus. Glass shattered, metal twisted in Atty's direction. The world felt like it was shaking apart, and when the grill of the truck was inches away from hitting Atty, there was darkness.
I sat up in a cold sweat, letting out a shriek. I was back in my room. I had spooked the living daylights out of Somnia, who was in the middle of things. Some of the books had been stacked on the bookshelf, my armor was hanging neatly from the rack near the doorway. I stared at her for a few moments, taking deep breaths and exhaling sharply.
"You had the nightmare, didn't you?" she asked softly.
I nodded yes and flopped back down.
"I had it too. It must be what happened before everyone got seperated."
"I see," I said, trying to calm my voice.
"I've been talking to Dual. He says that if we're still alive, it means everyone else might be as well. The fact that the doorway is still intact means Atty is definitely alive."
I stared up at the ceiling, trying to piece together the new pieces of information.
"How did we get seperated like this though? It does not make any sense..."
"I've never seen anything like this personally, but Dual says things like this have happened before to other systems. When the body we're all linked to in the Outer World dies, the doorway falls apart to dust, and anyone up front gets booted back to the Inner World. In cases where the body is nearly killed, all the people attached to it can be hurled as far away as you can imagine."
I managed to raise my hand to my face, and covered my eyes.
"What are we going to do? Why did this have to happen?" My voice started crackling. Anxiety was getting the better of me. Somnia put the books in her hand on the bookcase, and sat on the bed again. She ruffled my hair a little, and lifted my hand from my eyes.
"What else? We're going to find everyone else, and get our family back together again, but first you need to rest some more."
She was no longer forcing her smile. It was comforting, just like everything else about her. She was in her early thirties, though she looked much younger than that. She had soft, caring brown eyes with matching brown hair, and was the same height as me at 5'6". She was Solett's mother, and was a mother figure for every other young person in the system.
"But-but..." I stammered, still sinking deeper into panic.
"I know. You're anxious to find the others. We all are. I want so badly to see Solett and know that she's all right. I know you do too, but you're injured, and you must rest. London and I are going to do a runthrough of the town first thing in the morning to look for the others, and to alert everyone of what's happened."
I relaxed finally as she kissed my forehead and walked to the doorway.
"Everything will be all right, I promise you," she said as she leaned against the doorway looking at me. "Ellie is going to help us find Atty, then Atty can help us find everyone else. Before you know it, we'll all be back together as one big happy family. Good night, Ciel."
She left the door open and quietly padded down the hallway to the living room. I made an effort to sit up, but my arms were still like wet noodles. I managed to scoot up enough against the headrest until I was sitting upright, and looked around the room. Somnia had cleaned up much of the mess. The walls still looked trashed and crumpled. I imagined it looked this way in the entire apartment. The room was very spartan, but I liked it that way. If I was expected to be a guardian someday, I had to start living like one. Plain white walls, plain wood molding around the doorway and crevices. A bookcase full of books about world history lay flush against the corner, and all my pieces of armor were hanging from the wall. It was plain, like everything else. The breastplate, grieves,, and bangles were all made of some kind of superhardened plastic. Lightweight, but not much protection. My only weapon was my tower shield, which was the only thing made of metal. It was enormous, nearly half my size, and weighed nearly a quarter of what I did. There were two small leather straps on the back of it, and a large one for slinging it over one's back, as well as a built-in slot for a short sword, if I ever learned to use one. The front was entirely plain. I was still an apprentice, after all, and hadn't earned the right to bear the Solace emblem.
My thoughts turned to all the others. They were all out there, alone and in danger in places they had never seen before. Somnia had done her best to ease my fears, but I knew the reality of the situation. I cringed at the thought of the little ones like Bonaparte and Quistin, out there, by themselves, in a big scary world. My stomach knotted up as I thought more and more about them. I couldn't just sit around like this, something had to be done. I forced myself up, tossing the sheets off. The only part of me bandaged up was my midsection and chest. I had faded khaki cargo pants on. I pulled them up a little on my waist, and grabbed a plain white t-shirt from the floor. My dresser, and all of its contents had been scattered across the floor. It was a painful ordeal just to get the shirt on, but as I moved, the severity lessened. A few minutes later, I'd gotten my plate, my boots and bangles on, and had slung my shield over my back. My whole upper body throbbed with pain, but it was nothing I couldn't manage.
My walking was slow and labored as I silently pushed the door to the living room open. I peaked in, and saw Somnia peacefully cuddled up to Ellie on one of the sofas, both sound asleep. A grin formed at the corners of my mouth at the sight, and I closed the door as much as I could without turning the knob. A hand suddenly grabbed my arm, and spun me around. I found London glaring down at me, her pale grey eyes studying me closely. I looked up at her, dumbfounded and waiting for her to scold me for sneaking around when she suddenly pulled me down the hallway towards the east exit.
"You're going out to look for the others, are you not?"
I bit my lower lip while looking up at her. She had me pressed up against the wall, and was fully outfitted for battle. She stood at just under six foot tall, and was more than intimidating, she was downright frightening.
"Yes," I whispered. I tried to keep my lower lip from quivering, and my body from shaking as she stared deeply into my eyes. I'm supposed to be courageous and such, after all.
"Good!" she exclaimed quietly. A huge grin sprawled across her face. I subconsciously started breathing again as she took me by the shoulder and started walking me to the exit. She pushed one of the double doors open, causing her platinum hair to waft about in the rush of air. We walked to the concrete steps and stopped. I looked over at her just before she gave my ribs a sharp poke through the side of my armor. I exhaled sharply, trying not to yelp as she pinched down, forcing me butt down to the ground. I finally put a hand on her wrist, making a feeble attempt to get out of her grasp, but to no avail. Beads of cold sweat ran down my face as she removed her grip. I choked in some air as she ruffled my hair.
"Do not do that," I managed to gasp. "That is condescending."
"I do it because you are so adorable. It is brave of you to make the effort. Solace will be most proud of you when he learns of your desire to help the others."
She was resting her hand on my head as she talked.
"However, you are in no condition at all to be traipsing about the countryside, by your lonesome no less! I understand your eagerness to find your family, but you must see through your impatience. What good will you do anyone in your injured state?"
Words escaped me. These were all things I realized, I just didn't want to admit them.
"You and Ellie are the only two who will be able to find Atty and the others. Do you understand why you are so important? Ellie is too young, it would be too dangerous for her to go with us. It is for that reason that it will be up to you to reunite us."
"I understand," I said with hesitation. "I apologize for acting foolishly."
She lifted my head by the chin and looked down at me.
"There is nothing foolish about wanting to protect those you love. You are a kind, selfless person, and I know that you will make a fine guardian one day."
The wind picked up, sending a chill down my spine. I looked down the dark and empty street that led out of Skyhigh, and felt some my previous enthusiasm diminish. My mind bounced between all my friends who were out there, probably waking up to the same situation I did. Only Dual wouldn't be there to carry them back home though. The ever present lump had found its way to my throat again as I thought more and more about everyone's predicament.
"Come, let us go back inside and rest. Tomorrow will be a new day with many chances."
I looked up and took her face in. My anxiety from before had passed, and I finally noticed the sunken rings around her eyes. Her normally pristine face was worn and dirty. It looked as though she'd been awake for days. This was the first time I'd seen her actually look vulnerable, and it made her all the more beautiful.
"Yes," I agreed. I imagined I was faring just as badly in appearance. The thought of rest was suddenly very appealing. Just walking outside had been something of a labor.
"You need not worry about anyone standing guard tonight, many of the city's inhabitants are still here and are handling that for us."
She gave me a hand up and draped her arm around my shoulder as we walked back to the hallway. I opened the door for her, receiving a smile and pinch on the cheek in turn. I was too exhausted to even form a scowl.
I turned into my hallway, and shuffled to my doorway. She walked past me towards the stairwell, then stopped and turned to look at me.
"Is something the matter?" I asked after a few seconds.
"No," she replied softly. "I was just thinking. It is nothing, though. Rest well and have sweet dreams." She trudged up the stairs, her silver armor barely audible as she ascended.
I settled down on my bed face first, too tired to bother fiddling with my armor. Sleep seemed to overtake me before my face even connected with the pillow.
I awoke, feeling as though I had only slept for seconds. No dream, or nothing that I could remember. There was hammering coming from the hallway again. I sat up and rubbed the sleepiness out of my eyes as it continued.
"Oi. OI! What are you doing?!"
It was Dual.
"I'm fixing the place up!" I heard Somnia snap back as the hammering stopped.
"No you're not, you're hitting the bloody wall with a bloody hammer!"
"How else do you think I'm going to fix this place up?" she replied with all seriousness.
"You could start by getting some nails, some wood, and some insulation instead of just putting more holes in the wall!"
"Well I don't know how to do this, I'm just trying to help!" she yelled back with a huff.
I had risen to my feet and peered out of my doorway while they were squabbling. There looked to be about two dozen holes the size of a hammer head in the wall in a random pattern. Somnia was in a plain blue dress, Dual in his armor that was strikingly similar in design to mine, only made of a reddish ceramic.
"Look, I'm just trying to get a little shuteye, yeah? I've been up for a couple of days now, I'm a bit tired is all," he said by way of apologizing.
"I'm sorry," she replied. "I'm just anxious to do something to help, anything, ya know?"
I padded up to them and said my good mornings.
"Ciel, it's bloody good to see you up and moving. How are you doing, boyo?" Dual asked.
"I can not say I have felt better," I said jokingly.
They both smiled and we all walked into the living room. Ellie was still sound asleep on the couch in the corner. Dual flopped onto the couch opposite Ellie, Somnia sat next to him, and I took up the third and final spot. Dual slouched deep in the couch. He wearily blinked a couple times, then closed his eyes and was out cold. Somnia gazed at him affectionately, leaned over and pecked him on the forehead. London suddenly shuffled into the room, the rings around her eyes even darker than I remembered. She looked longingly at the spot Somnia was sitting at. Knowing what London had in mind, Somnia stood up and offered her seat. I stood up as well as London shuffled to the couch. With a last bit of effort she backed onto the couch, then slumped over asleep on Dual's shoulder. Somnia mouthed out "Awww" at the scene, then led me by my hand to the hallway.
She paced back and forth in front of me, looking as lost in thought as any one could.
"Did you have any visions of Atty or the others last night?"
"None aside from what caused all of this," I replied.
"I still can't sense Solett or Quistin... I'm so scared for my babies..."
"I know," I said quietly. "I am too, I want so badly to know Solett is all right and still alive out there..."
There was an uneasy silence. It felt like the weight of everything was all on my back. Being seperated from the girl I love, becoming acquainted with the concept of physical pain, the current situation, all of it was swimming through my little mind.
I looked into Somnia's eyes and sighed.
"Things are never going to be the same..." she said softly. I wanted to say otherwise. I wanted to be able to dismiss that statement with a smile, but I couldn't. The optimistic mask she was wearing last night had given way to hesitant acceptance.
"I promise I will do my best. We will get everyone back together some day, I just know it." I didn't, but I liked to believe that I did.
"That's not enough," she said, her voice rising slightly. "I want to do my best as well, and I can't do it sitting around here waiting for you and the others to go rescue my children."
She was standing rigid, her fists clenched tightly, her eyes narrow.
"Train me how to fight."
"Of course I will train you how to fight," I replied after a couple seconds.
"No, Ciel, I'm dead serious. You can't brush me off on this one, you have to train me how to fight."
This was a side of her I had yet to see. From what I had seen so far she was a bumbling, yet nurturing mother of two who spent all day sleeping or playing with the little ones.
"Somnia... I am still an apprentice myself... I cannot teach you how to fight."
"Yes you can. You know more about fighting than I do, so there is at least a little bit you could teach me."
"You know I care about you, but I cannot train you."
"Why?" she asked, getting huffy. "Is it because you think I'm not strong enough? Is the grandma too old to swing a shield around like you?"
I paused for a moment to look at her from head to toe. Despite being the same height as me, she must have only weighed in at 115 pounds. Still, I did not have any question as to her strength. Years of carrying around children and cleaning the house had given her defined arms and legs.
"That is not what I am concerned about, I promise you. I do not want to train you because..."
"Because why?" she asked, a little more calmed down.
"Because if you went out with us and got hurt, I could never forgive myself..."
She relaxed and leaned against the wall.
"Look, Ciel, I understand why you have your reservations about this, but look at the current situation... London and Dual only have a handful of their soldiers, and the rest of Solace is gone. There are so few of us that we don't really have a choice what role to play now, if we're going to find everyone we all have to be ready to fight... and when that time comes that I know where Solett and Quistin are, I want to be ready to do just that."
She was absolutely right. In my short time at the apartments, I'd already learned that there was no winning an argument against Somnia or her children.
"All right," I conceded, "but at least run it by London before we get started."
She clapped her hands together and smiled wide, then darted into the living room. Her voice was muffled as she informed London that she was going to be training with me. London slurred a response of some kind back, then there was a moment of silence.
"I'll need some armor, can I use yours?" There was another slurred response from London that resembled a "no", then some shifting sounds, and Somnia came plodding out with London's upper plate in tow.
I gave her a look of disbelief.
"What?" she asked innocently. "She wasn't using it."
I peered into the room. London's grieves and bangles were still in place, but all she had on aside from that was a baggy white undershirt, and black stockings. She had managed to nestle up even closer to Dual. I closed the door, and motioned towards the stairwell with my head. We ascended to the third floor, where things were still a mess. The apartments had been damaged quite severely when the accident happened. I stopped in the open doorway to the training room and sighed at the state of things. All the armor and weapons were strewn across the worn wooden floor.
"Well," I said "take your pick."
I carefully stepped over all the articles of equipment to the corner, and started putting things back in their place. She left London's armor at the doorway, and started rooting through the mess, banging shields and such around.
"What weapon should I choose?" she asked with her hands on her hips.
"Whatever interests you," I replied.
"Yeah, but see, I don't know what interests me, I'm kinda clueless about these things," she said as I placed a helmet back on a hook.
I picked up a plain tower shield just like mine and turned around to place it on a shelf.
"It is easy to choose a weapon if you know what kind of fighting style you like."
She tilted her head and watched me set the shield down gently.
"Well, what do you use?" she asked.
"A shield," I replied matter-of-fact.
"And?"
"And what?" I asked.
"A shield, and what?" she reiterated.
"Just a shield."
"Why just a shield?"
"I was told when I first became an apprentice that fighting with only a shield is one of the most difficult styles to master. It is very unique, and it lets you choose between not only attacking the enemy, but also protecting your friends," I explained.
"Hmm." She plodded over and picked up the shield I had set down with some effort.
"Is this the same as the one you're using?" she asked.
"Yes," I replied. "It is a training shield, so it is much heavier than the regular ones."
She ran a finger along the dented surface of the iron beast.
"I'll use a shield then too," she said with a smile.
I nodded. "All right. The sooner we get this mess cleaned up, the sooner we can begin."
Twenty minutes later we had put everything back in its place as best we could. Somnia had chosen hardened plastic armor, just like mine.
"All right," I said, picking up one of the training shields, "see these two little leather straps? Take your dominant arm, and slide it through so that you are holding the one on the left side with your hand." She complied, then looked back at me.
"The first move I was taught was the step swing. As you have already noticed, these shields are not on the light side, so in order to do any damage with them, you must utilize your weight to your advantage when swinging it around."
I spread my feet apart at an angle, and hunched slightly. She took the same stance as me.
"Now, as you take a step forward with your right foot, lower your shield as low as you can, and raise it at the same angle I do with all your force."
I demonstrated, swinging my shield in an uppercut motion that would have been viciously painful if it connected with someone. The wind from the swing caused her hair to sway a bit, and her eyes widened. Pain coursed through my as of yet healed body, but I did my best to hide it.
"Hmm." She looked at her shield, hunched down, took a step and swung at the same time, and did a full spin, almost falling on her butt as the shield flew from her hands and went crashing through the wall. She opened her mouth in horror, then covered it with her hands and looked at me with wide eyes.
"Sorry!" she yelped. It was quiet for a moment, then there was a loud THUNK as the shield landed on the grass outside.
"What the H-?!" A familiar voice shouted from outside.
We ran to the hole in the wall, poking our heads out to see Kaz and Valentine staring back up at us. Nine young men, all clad in the same getup as Valentine, were mingling with each other quietly.
"I like what you've done with the place," Valentine said sarcastically. "Very nice."
"Val!" Somnia shouted as she skittered out of the training room and down the stairs.
"What have I missed?" he shouted up to me.
"Much," I yelled back down. "You will hear all about it from Somnia."
"Hmm," he replied thoughtfully. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and strolled towards the entrance. I watched as Kaz edged his way to the shield, squatting down and poking at it as though it were dead body. He looked up at me after a few pokes.
"Wow, you guys shuah know how to have fun awound heauh!"
"I will meet you inside," I shouted down to him. I watched as he scampered inside, and turned for the staircase, only to find myself face to face with a very upset London.
anyways... -_-;
i know i said this story was about a singlet ending up in a multiple's system, it is, i just havent gotten to him yet :p sebastion is the singlet in question of course
in chapter 2, valentine will get filled in on whats happened, then will tell ciel and co. about kaz randomly showing up in his city, and how on the way over to skyhigh they saw a Cavian officer preparing an attack group not far from skyhigh. they get london and dual up to speed as well, and they decide that cavians must be stopped before they can raise an entire army and invade skyhigh. ciel, london, dual, and valentine set off with their soldiers in tow, and form up to attack the cavians, but something goes wrong... and thats all the teaser you guys get :p rest assured that sebastion the doubtful singlet will make his grand appearance though ^^
anyways, hope you liked, and anyone who would like to get into the story, ya know, wouldnt mind having you or your system members being part of it, let us know, there are tons of spots that still need filling :D
-lukies + cody
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Date: 2005-06-03 03:08 am (UTC)If the goal of the story is to have a piece of literature that portrays multiples in a positive light away from DID and other such stereotypes, then you may wish to more slowly introduce the reader to the surface confusion of the inner world.
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Date: 2005-06-03 11:21 pm (UTC)That being said, this looks promising... I'm interested in seeing where you go with the rest of this.
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Date: 2005-06-04 12:18 am (UTC)-lukies
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Date: 2005-06-04 04:19 pm (UTC)