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Post by Amy81 on Aug 31, 2006 12:20:22 GMT -6
After the demon failed with Brie and Artus, it flew off, contemplating what to do next. Suddenly struck with inspiration, it flew off with new purpose...
The doctors were doing their best to try and save Captain Amy, but the medlab operating room was not where the demon knew Amy would be. It flew once around the room, casting a shadow barely detectable if anyone in the room had allowed themselves to be at all distracted, then it slipped silently into the recesses of Amy's mind...
Amy was sitting in a meadow when he found her. As far as the eye could see were flowers, and it was as serene a setting as there could possibly be if not for the one solitary figure which stood some distance away, motionless yet seemingly staring in her direction. The demon looked out at it as he approached Amy from behind.
"What place is this?" the demon asked her. He knew exactly what it was, but it was important to proceed slowly with these things. To talk, attempt to lower defences a little.
Amy didn't jump at his voice, she just seemed to know he was there. "A scene from a children's story" she replied, not taking her eyes off the figure in the distance.
"I thought it might be a memory from the Agro ship" the demon said, knowing full well it wasn't.
Amy shook her head. "It's from a story about how you can't crush the human spirit" she explained. "The cylon out there can't figure out why no matter how many times he returns to this place and stomps out all the flowers, they grow and multiply ever greater each time he returns."
"Doesn't he frighten you, standing out there, staring at you?"
Amy shook her head again. "He can't see me. His mind is stuck in a loop. He knew there was a connection between the flowers and humanity, but he couldn't grasp it, and his mind is stuck now. He'll stand there and think about it forever."
Time to move on, the demon thought. "You know you aren't really here. Do you know where you really are right now?"
Amy nodded. "On a hospital gurney. They're taking away my baby, and trying to save my life...."
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Post by Amy81 on Sept 4, 2006 9:58:12 GMT -6
"Why did you pick this place to hide in inside your mind?" the demon asked. "Surely there were other memories, one's that didn't hold a cylon in them to spoil things."
"It's what they do" Amy said, pointing to the cylon. "Not exactly that one, but cylons in general. They hurt me, hurt my baby, and took away the things I wanted most."
"And what was that?"
"A happy life, with a child to raise, and maybe, just maybe a lasting, loving relationship. I thought that if I stared at this cylon long enough, I could figure out why they did what they did to me."
"Any luck?" the demon asked.
"No. I guess I'm just stuck in a loop too."
The demon stared at Amy. Time to take things further....
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Post by Amy81 on Sept 6, 2006 6:28:45 GMT -6
"There are other reasons why you picked this scene, Amy, isn't there? It's a flawed scene, spoiled somehow just like how you seem to manage to spoil things. Isn't that right, Amy?"
Amy sat in silence. After a long pause, the demon sat down next to her. "You wonder about it, don't you? How the things you touch seem to spoil. Your relationship with Charybdis, the baby, nearly every single mission you've ever been on has been tainted somehow. You wonder where that comes from, don't you?"
Amy looked over at him, studying his features, trying to remember something that danced just out of memory's reach. "I know you" Amy said at last, uncertainty clear in her voice. "We've talked before."
"But you remember nothing from it" the demon said. "Wouldn't you care to have the peace that comes from knowing where you come from, and why you are the way you are?"
"I know where I come from" Amy said.
The demon shook his head. "No, you don't. Come with me, and I will show you."
"Follow you? No thanks" Amy said, looking back out at the meadow.
The demon stared at her, studying her, more determined than ever....
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Post by Amy81 on Sept 14, 2006 6:04:58 GMT -6
"I offer you peace" the demon said.
"You offer me damnation" Amy said. "Now, I've answered your questions with no strings. So why do I have to follow you for you to show me something? Because you can't be trusted, that's why."
The demon sat silent, appearing to be lost in thought. Inside, he was smiling, for this is what he wanted all along. Sure there wouldn't be strings now, but by the end she'd be so entangled she would never be able to resist. "Fair enough" the demon said. "You drive a very hard bargain, but to prove I'm only here to help you, I will show you something free of all strings. Now, what is it you wish to know?"
"If you really know something I don't, show me where I come from" Amy replied. Before she could say more, the meadow vanished and she found herself in a ship's corridor...
"You recognize anyone?" the demon asked.
Amy looked and saw a door open. Out stepped a warrior, his clothes ruffled. He was breathing heavily, and obviously had been drinking. As he walked down the corridor unsteadily, he walked with a limp.
"It's Ange!" Amy shouted out. "But so much younger."
"About 24 yarhens younger, give or take" the demon said.
Amy looked down the corridor, her eyes following Ange as he managed to reach the corner and disappear from view. "He looks horrible" she said, concerned for him.
The demon smiled, but said nothing.
Suddenly there was a noise in the room Ange had just left. Amy looked back toward the doorway, and could hear the sounds of someone beginning to cry. Amy looked at the demon, who remained silent but gestured toward the doorway, indicating that Amy should take a look. Amy hesitated, expecting some sort of trick, but when all that remained was the sounds of crying, Amy walked slowly to the doorway.....
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Post by Amy81 on Sept 18, 2006 19:08:10 GMT -6
Amy felt strange, like she was intruding on something she had no business getting involved in, but she couldn't help herself, as if an invisible hand were guiding her and the choice was no longer hers. She poked her head inside the room, her face twisting in horror at what she saw.
Brie!
And there was no mistaking what had happened.
Amy's mouth moved, trying to form words but none came. Instinctively she stepped into the room, wanting to help, but stopped when she remembered she wasn't really there.
Brie!
Amy looked back at the demon. "Ange, he... he...?" The demon nodded slowly, his expression neutral. Amy looked back at Brie, her eyes watering at the sight of her best friend trying to pull herself together. She was so young, beautiful even like this, but there was something more, a resemblance that Amy had never noticed before in the present-day Brie she knew...
"You see it, don't you?" the demon asked. "If you sat next to her, you'd surely look like sisters. I wouldn't say twins exactly, but you really can't ignore the similarities..."
"Shut up" Amy snapped. She was kneeling next to Brie, wanting so much to stroke her hair, tell her it would be all right. She reached out, her hand close to Brie's head. Tears fell freely as she ached at her inability to help her friend. But she wasn't really a friend at all. She was... No, it couldn't be true!
"I know all your questions, Amy" the demon stated. "Yes, it really happened. She ended up pregnant, abandoning the baby as soon as it was born. Seems her career was more important. A baby girl, reaching for her mother, passed off to a pair of farmers instead..."
"No" Amy cried, tears coming harder. "She wouldn't do that..."
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Post by Amy81 on Sept 19, 2006 12:34:05 GMT -6
"She wouldn't do that..." Amy repeated, her voice softer, somehow managing to sound sadder as she thought about what the demon had said.
"She did" the demon continued, enjoying the sight of the past Brie and present Amy both on their knees crying. "Abandoned the girl, never once taking the time to visit the child. Figuring the girl was better off, but she wasn't, was she?"
"Shut up" Amy managed to say.
"A child who grew up wondering why she didn't fit in, wondering why she was so unlike her parents... and oddly enough finding herself identifying with an injured ex-warrior who liked to tell old glory day stories to young girls. Someone you were especially fond of back then, even if it made little sense to you. Sure makes a lot of sense now, doesn't it?"
Amy was silent, tears still rolling down her cheeks.
"Ange" the demon said, expecting some response: "Your father."
Again Amy didn't respond.
"Don't you see?" the demon asked, showing some excitement. "Isn't it liberating? You were destined to be a warrior! You came from warrior blood! You were on the right path, the true path all along. You weren't some confused farmer girl, you were a warrior. Always and forever. It should have filled you with joy and contentment! Too bad though, nobody was willing to tell you the truth. To end your confusion and questioning..."
"Did Ange..." Amy suddenly started to ask.
"Know you were his daughter?" the demon finished for her, "No. You were just a young child who he'd happened across one day, and with whom he took his time nurturing a relationship, a trust. Inspiring dreams in you, and... well, other things in him."
It added up too well to be anything but the truth. She willed herself to stop crying, her own pain beginning to overcome the hurt she felt for Brie and what had happened to her. She could see the life that should have been, could have been, but wasn't. So many secrets and lies, and no one willing to tell the truth. But one thing still didn't fit. "If he didn't know I was his daughter" Amy asked, "then why did he... bother spending time with me?"
The demon sensed a shift, smiling inwardly. Amy was nearly his now. The mistrust was gone from her voice, and from her heart as well. "Because, dear child" the demon replied, "it turns out telling stories and building trust weren't all he liked to do..."
Amy turned to look at the demon, to ask what he had meant by that, but suddenly the scene changed again, and Amy found herself getting to her feet in a corridor of the Agroship, the demon still by her side....
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Post by Amy81 on Sept 26, 2006 19:11:52 GMT -6
"Why are we here?" Amy asked.
"You'll see" was all the demon said in reply.
"What yahren are we in now?" Amy wondered aloud as she stood up.
"You'll see" was again the reply. The demon smiled slightly.
"This is the security wing quarters area" Amy observed, recognizing the section of the agro ship they stood in.
"Very good" the demon replied. "What else can you tell me?"
"Look..." Amy started to say, but then a door suddenly flew open and a frightened, panic stricken girl ran out into the hall. Amy braced for a collision, but since she wasn't really there the girl ran right through her. And in that instant when they both occupied the same space, Amy's mind was flooded with a snapshot of what was going through the fleeing girl's mind...
Amy turned in shock, watching the girl disappear from view. "Th- that was me...." she said in a soft, incredulous voice. "By the lords..."
"Coming back to you, is it?" the demon asked. Amy fell silent, speechless at what had flashed through her mind. "Oh look" the demon went on, "It's your dad, and Aunt Emma. Boy do they look worried." The demon noted with delight the look of contempt and hatred on Amy's face as she looked at them both.
Ange and Em had come to the door, very concerned looks on their faces. "I thought you were keeping an eye on her" Ange said angrily.
"This was your deal" Em replied just as angrily. "We're finished now. She's long gone..."
"Maybe she won't tell" Ange said hopefully.
Em burst into laughter. "Yeah. Like there's a chance that would happen. We'd better make plans to vanish if things hit the fan."
The door closed. Amy had tears in her eyes, and she sank to the floor as her legs sagged beneath her. She lowered her head, crying softly.
"Is there anyone in your life that treated you well?" the demon wondered, shaking his head. "Your trust gets betrayed again and again it seems. I wonder what Ange would do if he knew you were his daughter. I hate to say it, but I think he probably would like the whole thing even more..."
"Shut up" Amy moaned between sobs.
"And where's your mom during all this?" the demon asked. "Either of them? Well, we know your real mom was nowhere to be found, but you'd think your pretend mother would have kept a better eye on you. Don't you think so?"
Amy said nothing, continuing to cry, face to the floor. Ange. Someone she admired and trusted. Her father! How could he? To anyone? And Em! She let it happen...
"Seen enough here I take it" the demon observed. Before Amy could think of replying, the scene shifted again. Amy raised her head up, recognizing the room as she looked around.
It was Colonel Charybdis's quarters....
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Post by Amy81 on Sept 27, 2006 12:18:13 GMT -6
"I don't think I can take anymore" Amy said quietly, her voice shaking.
"Come on" the demon said, "we're just getting started here!"
"I was born out of hate" Amy said. "Not love...."
"And don't forget abandoned" the demon reminded her. "As for love, you could say your real father gave you love... well, sort of."
"Frack you" Amy snapped.
"Well, if it is love you are searching for, wouldn't this be the place you'd find it? You and Charybdis are engaged after all." The demon smiled. "What harm would it be to just... poke around here a little?"
Amy nodded, thinking it over. "Show me" she said at last....
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Post by Amy81 on Sept 28, 2006 11:13:23 GMT -6
The demon was going to play hot-cold with Amy, but decided against it. It would ruin the flow to do anything jarring. The truth itself is jarring enough to the poor soul. How strange, the demon trafficking in truth in order to gain a convert....
"Whatever you do" he said, "don't look in the turboflush." Amy gave him a look, then headed that way. "I don't know why they call it a turboflush" the demon went on, talking to himself. "Is it a normal flush unless it's going to clog up? Then you kick in the turbo?"
Amy's scream shut him up. Even for an evil old soul like this demon was, the sound of her scream gave him chills....
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Post by Amy81 on Oct 3, 2006 13:30:34 GMT -6
Amy came back into the main room, her face pale. The demon actually felt sympathetic, but this was no time for sentiment. There wasn't room for sentiment ever, but once in a while a stray feeling did pass through him. It never felt good when it happened.
"How?" she managed to ask. "He couldn't have done that to himself..."
"Elmer never did approve of Charybdis, now did he?" the demon asked her gently.
Amy shook her head.
"He always thought of Charybdis as a skirt chaser" the demon went on, "an opportunist who took advantage of a wide-eyed young cadet, and kept up a relationship that had a whole bunch of reasons to not ever get started." Amy nodded. It was the truth. It was how Elmer felt about it.
"After you were reported dead" the demon continued, "Elmer, foster dad that he was..."
Amy looked up at mention of this, a little color suddenly returning to her cheeks.
"...he really took your death hard" the demon recalled. "It triggered a whole bunch of pent up emotion, and when Charybdis testified that you and he, well, did the wild thing before your very important mission, Elmer couldn't believe Charybdis would take advantage of you that way at such a critical moment, just to satisfy his urges."
"What Charybdis and I did was mutual" Amy said flatly. "It was what we wanted. What I wanted."
"No one can blame you for such flawed decision making, in light of your past emotional experiences" the demon countered.
"What do you know about it?" Amy asked defiantly.
"Apparently a lot more than you" the demon said in an authoritive tone. Amy didn't reply. She averted her eyes, looking down. "Elmer's death: Charybdis told you all about it after you woke up, correct? That it happened here, and that Charybdis was a suspect in what is considered a murder investigation?"
Amy shook her head. "No" she said softly, thinking back. "He never said anything."
"Really?" the demon said, injecting a little surprise into his voice. "I would think in a loving, open relationship like what the two of you surely have, he would have mentioned it, especially if he had nothing to hide."
"Did Charybdis murder Elmer?" Amy asked.
"No, if it makes you feel better." The demon paused for a moment. "But he might as well have. Elmer came here very distraught, determined to defend your honor. He lashed out at Charybdis, obviously very upset and emotionally unraveled. Did Charybdis see any of the signs? Who knows. But he left Elmer here alone, getting away as soon as the opportunity arose. Duty or something. It's always that way with him, isn't it? Always ducking out."
Amy looked up at the demon, but said nothing.
"Elmer took his own life moments later." The demon took on a sad look. "Are you sure Charybdis said nothing of this?"
Again Amy said nothing....
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