[thread; closed]

[soulparadox]

Who: Nataku and Alucard.
Where: Basement of the Liebert Manor.
When: After midnight.
Summary: Finding reasons to need drugs.
Rating: It's Alucard. :|
Other: Oh god, why?

Comments

[bird_0f_hermes]

The pawns she had chosen in this game of hers were quite disappointing. She couldn't blame them, however. They were the best out of the bunch, which in and of itself only served to further depress her. How was she expected to have any fun if she was working with such low quality materials? It tempted her to simply destroy them, to crush them in between her fingers until they slipped through like grains of sand.

Nataku had failed her, and would continue to fail her. If he died, Johan would merely purchase his life and Nataku would proceed in existing as a failure. The same could be said of all Johan's toys. So, Alucard had deemed it necessary to play with them in manners that didn't involve death. Tempting as it was to simply destroy them over and over again until Johan tired of buying their lives back or was forced to punish her for it... it was beneath her. She had to see his face twisted in pain, in rage, just once. Then, she would have won.

Maybe she was a petulant child. Maybe she enjoyed playing games that could put her in ill standing with her Master. But he was a masochist, wasn't he? Johan wanted her to push at him. He wanted her to bite back. That was the fun of their game. That was the way his world worked. Everything was intended to turn in on itself. The last man standing wouldn't really win anything, would he?

She lifted her head at the sound of Nataku's approach. There was nothing in the basement besides the stench of old blood long since cleaned over with bleach and a single chair in which Alucard was seated. One leg was folded daintily over the other, her hands clasped atop her knee. She was waiting for him expectantly in the dark. The light clicked on overhead as he finally entered far enough into the room.

He was thinking to himself. Talking to himself, even. She tilted her head quizzically. "Are you troubled by something, big brother?"

[soulparadox]

He had initially flinched in reflex at the sudden light. However, his hand had not raised to cover his face, to help make the brightness less glaring. Instead, he acknowledged that it hurt slightly and let the matter go just as easily. Another raise of the hand to rub the area underneath his synthetic eye. "Why are you seated in the dark?" Made a faint gesture around the room as though she was not aware that she had been in it.

"Yes." Nataku answered honestly enough. Never saw reason to lie unless told to do so. It made little sense to lie when it was easier to be straight-forward with what it was that he wanted to say. However, he was uncertain if he should explain exactly what it was that he was troubled by. He would soon be over it, would he not? "But, it is not something to be concerned about, little sister." He would learn to handle these feelings so that he would not do something that he would later regret. He would regret it, wouldn't he?

"That is not why I came here, correct?" He walked closer to her, before uncertain as to what to do because she was the one seated in the chair and there were no other chairs present. Kneeling down in front of her, he found this to be a comfortable enough spot for him to sit. It was how he sat when he was with Johan, was it not? One hand over his knee and the other rested on the floor. "Still..."

"Are you hungry?" He was the one that called her out, was he not? Even if she was the one to set the place and time; it was because of his questions that she was in this situation now. It would seem like he should do his best to accommodate her. "Would you like me to make you some dinner before we speak?"

He also wanted to ask just where she had been. It had seemed like she had vanished from the manor. But so did many other of their guests. It was a confusing sort of situation to be in. Not knowing where the others were, not knowing if he should ask on their whereabouts or not. Did so purely because he was also uncertain if he cared enough to know or not. And now wondered if that cold feeling in his chest was guilt. Guilt for not worrying about her. Or if it was related to the temperature of the basement. Difficult to say at this time. "It would be no problem."

[bird_0f_hermes]

He was a curious creature, wasn't he... Curious and interesting in some way. She had the resources to figure out exactly what, exactly who, he was and who he always had been, yet she didn't. Perhaps half the fun was not knowing.

She stretched a gloved hand forward, index finger finding the base of his chin and tilting his head up. "I'm not interested in human food, and you're incapable of satiating my hunger, so let's not discuss dinner. You had a question you'd like answered. About medications, correct?"

[soulparadox]

He blinked. Unable to help her? However, he nodded once at her request. He would not bring up dinner to her. Did that mean that he could never bring up such a thing? Yes, it seemed like that would be how things were. The entire decision on food took just a few seconds, but obvious as he kept making small movements of his head from side to side before finally setting on the answer that he wanted.

"You are correct." He nodded once. "I do not understand what someone meant that they needed medication. Is it because they live in this city? Even so, the correlation does not make sense to me." A pause. "Does it make sense to you, little sister?"

[bird_0f_hermes]

"Medications are not always used as they should be," she explained patiently. "The way drugs work with the typical human's bloodstream is interesting. Each has its own effect. For example..."

She opened up her palm, and there sat three little pills - one, white and round with no distinguishing features, the second blue and oval, the third larger than both and dark orange. "Let's play a game and see what these do, hm? Maybe you can better understand through self-discovery."

[soulparadox]

At least he understood her explanation as to why people took medication, because of what it did to their body. But did admit that he did not understand what that meant. And it seemed like he would not have to worry too much about that question.

"You wish me to ingest these pills?" It was not so much a question but making sure that he understood how this game worked. He did not believe that his little sister would do something to bring him harm -- even though, he had tried to hurt her more than once. Did he believe that it was not in her nature? No. All humans were capable of injuring another. But why was it that he thought that she would not. Familial ties? Perhaps. That seemed like the most reasonable.

[bird_0f_hermes]

"Take just one," she said, smiling at him in a manner that suggested at the ulterior motives behind her seemingly innocent offer. She wouldn't put him in harm's way, no... not any real harm. Not this way. Disposing of him through the usage of drugs? Please. That was utterly pathetic. She would bleed him dry and drink every last drop of fluid that poured from his veins when she decided to do away with him.

But...

She would teach him, while he was alive, that she wasn't to be taken lightly. That this disobedience... this fool-hardy affection towards Johan... was not a game. If he didn't obey her, then he would, eventually, be disposed of in a very messy and unpleasant way.

It was time for Nataku to fear her. All three drugs were hallucinatory off-shoots of something similar to LSD. All three would do the very same thing. It didn't matter which he chose. As soon as they had gone to work, she intended to throw him into a nightmare inside of his own mind, one born of very real fears he needed to fully realize and respect.

"Swallow one, big brother," she said. "Like Alice in Wonderland, let's go down the rabbit hole."

[soulparadox]

"Just one." Nataku repeated calmly. He stared for a moment at her, trying to understand the smile that she was giving him. It eventually seemed like it did not matter, as did she not always smile in that manner? That meant that he never understood what her smile meant. But did they really mean anything? His gaze shifted slightly to the side, to stare at the wall, uncertain where his thoughts were going and deciding that he should return them to the matter at hand.

Pushing himself up off the ground, away from his knelt position, so that he could actually take one of those pills from her, his own hand raised to take one of the pills from her. Hovered just a few inches away from one to the other. Difficult as always to make a decision on his own. But had he not done so a short while ago, when he thought that he would no longer be upset about Alucard's words and lash out at her; to think that he should kill her and hope her dead? "Hm." He finally took one from her -- the white one.

"Alice in Wonderland. A story about a girl who dreamed of going to another world, but she learned that she rather liked her old world better, correct?" Did not wait for an answer as he set the white pill into his mouth, wondering if he should look for a glass of water in the kitchen. Would have held it there had it not dissolved few moments after. He waited, wondering if he should take his seat once more. Did not believe that he felt much different.

A few moments passed before he noticed that the walls appeared to be moving. His head tilted slightly at them, not certain that that was a particularly good sign. "There appears to be an earthquake but--" If that were the case, why was not Alucard affected by it as well. Thought it best to sit now. Moving to take his seat once more, or kneeling position, he found that it was difficult to do so. Falling on his side instead. The floor had moved slightly, or seemed to be vibrating.

Turned to ask his little sister as to what was happening, before having the same confused expression as before. It appeared as though she had grown slightly -- by slightly her presence had taken up the rest of the side of the room. Staring up towards the ceiling, where he believed her head to be, he asked, "Why?" Did she change her shape just as she had before when she became that man? He once more reached out to her, to where he thought that her dress was, and found that he was holding nothing. "I do not understand." His eyes closed, hoping that everything would calm when he opened them once, gain.

[bird_0f_hermes]

Her little brother was so precious.

She laughed as his body slumped and then fell entirely, his eyes traveling over the scenery as if it were rotating around him - and it very well might've been. She slapped a knee before getting to her feet, crouching in front of him and tilting her head in the same direction as his was lying against the floor. "Silly boy. You're so very, very silly. How you've managed to survive this long in a world you so very obviously have such a limited grasp of honestly eludes me."

He had been sheltered, that much was for certain. Perhaps it was time for him to see the heart of the beast that he so coveted. Johan, Alucard, the countless spawn in Abyss, the innumerable aristocrats crawling like ants in Elysium, or scraping out a living in Terra... all of them. Every single one, with extremely few exceptions. All of them were monsters in their own way.

She reached forward, gloved fingers caressing his cheek almost lovingly, as dozens of centipedes and cockroaches began slithering from her sleeves, crawling over her coat, his clothing, his face... moving everywhere as the shadows of the room stretched and expanded as if the light source was shifting perversely. "I want you to understand something, Nataku," she said. "Many mortals use drugs to chase away their demons."

[soulparadox]

Nataku also was not sure how it was that he continued to live as long as he had. The amount of times that he had encountered death or otherwise unfortunate circumstances was staggering since he had left the Flemming estate. Wondered if that meant that he should not have left, but he would not have met those that knows now. Was that too a consequence? Positive? Perhaps. He opened his eyes to his little sister's voice, prepared to answer her, feeling it rude to speak to her with his eyes closed.

His words were lost as he felt that he was more concerned with the fact that she still had not returned to her normal size. Appearing more like he was staring at one eye than her face. There seemed to be something crawling just underneath the surface of her skin, however. Creating something of waves across her face along with various bumps and what could only be described as swirls. They left horrid red streaks on her otherwise lovely face. "Little sister." There was muted concern about this.

He flinched slightly when she touched the side of his face, obviously had not been expecting such an action, but he had been more concerned about what was happening to her than anything else. On reflex, he tried to slap her hand away as he felt his clothing, his skin, seemingly suffering the same fate that he had seen. "Demons? But I have no demons." He made various swatting gestures to try to get the bugs off of his person. Feeling an irrational fear that they would try to eat him if he did not hurry to do so. He did not want to die as of yet.

His ribbon lashed out irrationally in the small room. Attacking the shadows which he felt were reaching out to him. Was he afraid of them grabbing him? Another irrational fear? He was uncertain. All that he did know was that he soon turned so that he could try to leave the room. Standing seemed impossible with the floor constantly moving, the walls now seeming to encroach upon him. He turned over so that he was on his stomach, trying to crawl away from his little sister on his hands and knees. Still brushing his hand through his hair to try to get the bugs away.

[bird_0f_hermes]

The ribbon shredded at shadows as if they were physical things to cut, falling away like dripping liquid before merely growing back. It was as if the darkness was a physical, corporeal thing... living and breathing, an extension of Alucard herself.

She let him attempt to swat away her hand and at the insects crawling over both of them, an amused smile on her face before he tried to retreat. Was he going to flee from this unpleasantness? She laughed, shaking her head before gently bending down and hugging him from behind, running her gloved fingers through his hair comfortingly and holding him in place.

"Don't run from me, big brother," she said, her enjoyment of the spectacle he was making of himself obvious in her voice. "And don't be foolish. Every man has demons. You are no different..."

[soulparadox]

His expression did show some surprise that his attacks were doing nothing. If he was his normal state, he would probably comment that it was because that they were shadows and therefore impossible to actually hurt. Not realizing that it was his little sister. Regardless, he did return to what he was doing until a portion of the wall, one close to the floor, started to crack from the repeated swings of his ribbon at the shadows. Though, it was more that his ribbon was acting on its own than from his direction -- trying to protect its master who was uncertain as to what he was seeing.

He did halt, had to halt, in his escape when she wrapped her arms around him. Nataku looked back at her, becoming increasingly distressed at what he was seeing. "Little sister, it would be nice if you let me go." His voice shifted from the usual bland tone that it had to something that seemed close to panic. As close to panic and fear that he would ever reach as even in this situation he did not raise his voice over the usual manner in which he spoke. His ribbon pausing in attacking the shadows to shift as though planning on pulling her off of him so that he could run away -- or crawl away.

"But." Uncertain how he would finish this sentence. He did not consider it running away from her as it was just what was wrong with the room. However, it was difficult to formulate these obvious statements when he kept turning his face away to look at the floor -- something that was moving rapidly, yes, but better than constantly swatting at the bugs that he felt over his body and hair as well as his sister. Feeling the latter to be rude, even in the state that he was in. "Me? I do not ... know my demons."

[bird_0f_hermes]

"What do you suppose Johan's demons are, Nataku?" She mused aloud, as if genuinely curious. As if she didn't already know herself. She stroked his hair lovingly, the shadows shifting and writhing to consume even more of the room, obscuring the light as if a sudden fog of darkness had poured into the basement. "Or... Nina's?"

The light momentarily flickered, and then everything went dark. When it came back a second later, Alucard was no longer clutching at her brother's body. The shadows, the insects - everything was gone. Except...

A drip.... drip... drip... came from the far corner, where the lone lightbulb hanging from the ceiling could not reach - the shadows.

[soulparadox]

Realizing that his ribbon would not save him, he let his arms drop. It seemed somewhat pointless to fight a battle that he would lose. Should one not always try to fight those that they can win? He turned his head toward Alucard, wondering if she was as worried as he was about being devoured by the darkness and insects. It seemed like she was not. Was that a blessing? He did not know. Regardless, he flinched a little at the idea that he did not know what his surrogate father's demons were, or what Nina's.

He opened his mouth to ask if Alucard knew before the lights went out. Was it simply an automatic response? Nataku tried to cling to her, to hold her -- for her safety or his protection; that was unknown as well. However, he fell to his side when he found that he was holding nothing. Looking around as the room still spun, but there was no longer a threat. "Alucard?" Why was she the one to be eaten?

His balance was still disrupted, but he moved to crawl out of the room on his hands and knees -- finding it easier to do now for obvious reasons even if his going was somewhat crooked. What was he to do? Tell Johan what had happened, perhaps. That seemed like the logical response. He did wish to see his father after everything else that he had seen. The emotion tearing at his heart, making it swell and burn. Enough that he felt if he had the ability to express it, it would end in him ceasing in his scrambling movements to merely lie where he is and wait for someone to find him. Fear. He was actually afraid of something.

It would be analyzed later.