recolle | [OPEN] Prick your fingers, it is done, the moon has now eclipsed the sun

Entry tags:

[OPEN] Prick your fingers, it is done, the moon has now eclipsed the sun

WHO: Albert Wesker (eventually) and whomever decides to join him (presumably you!)
WHERE: Dreamscapes.
WHEN: Slightly backdated to 8/24.
WHAT: Dreamdiving.
WARNINGS: Medical experimentation, brainwashing, child abuse, violence, body horror, depictions of self-harm, a general blanket warning that Wesker has been through Some Shit and as such this is probably going to suck on several levels.

[It's cold.

It isn't the familiar drop in temperature that might come from the weather, but a sterile, artificial chill, the sort associated with medical work - hospitals and laboratories and other places that bring with them a sharp, chemical smell and an unpleasant sense that you don't really want to be there.

Of course, the metal table against your back probably isn't doing much to keep you warm, either.

Trying to sit up will be a bit of a problem, given the heavy restraints locked around your wrists and ankles, your hips and your upper body; they're a combination of metal and leather, old-fashioned and imposing, clearly designed to restrain something very, very powerful, and they're keeping you from going very far. You can look around enough to tell that where you are is...probably not somewhere you want to stay for long - it is, in fact, a laboratory of some sort, full of instruments and vials and jars of things that don't look very nice, the metal walls giving way somewhere just on the edges of your line of sight, turning into something else - a sort of open entrance to what looks like a cave of some sort. Either way, it'll probably take you somewhere that isn't here if you follow it. Tipping your head back will show another potential exit to the area - a metal door in the wall near all the instruments and materials.

Of course, you can't really utilize either route if you're bound down, now, can you? You should probably work on figuring out what you're going to do about that, first.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[It isn't over.

The first thing that's likely noticeable is that the wheelchair is gone, having been replaced by something less purposeful, a high-backed chair set up atop those couple of steps leading up toward the center of the room. There are still two people in the room, however; Spencer is present, not seated or bound down by any sort of medical apparatus - he still looks old but he looks like a good amount of his health has been restored, and he's standing to the right of the chair itself, his left hand resting on the shoulder of the person seated there.

And the person he's got his hand on is Wesker, because of course it's Wesker; he's dressed all in black, in the leather and the long coat that he wore that night he tried to unleash Uroboros into the world, and he's got his legs crossed and his hands folded in his lap and he's sitting very, very still, and even though he's got those dark glasses on, covering his eyes, it seems obvious that he isn't really seeing very much. He doesn't respond to your entrance, and even if you can't see his eyes, his gaze seems very solidly focused on the three inches of dead space in front of his face.

The wind picks up outside.

Spencer tips his head at you. He doesn't take his hand off Wesker's shoulder. In the end, he's the one who speaks.]

Good of you to join us.

[He had figured for several different scenarios, but this certainly isn't one of them. For a moment he's just confused, but that quickly gives way to that same raw, untapped anger from earlier.

Spencer's done something to Wesker. Hell if he knows what, but this has to be his doing. He nearly asks, he nearly lets himself lose his composure and as good as it would feel to just be upset about all of this, he's got people relying on him and he can't afford to slip up now.

So he takes a moment to breathe and settle himself before speaking up.]

You'll have to forgive me for the delay, there was quite a lot to see on the way here!

[He's managing to keep his voice light and he's even smiling, but it's not exactly a pleasant expression.]

I've always appreciated thorough people. People who ensure that they're doing the best they can, even if their best isn't good enough.

[Wesker still isn't moving or responding.]

[He wants to snap, but eventually he settles on ignoring the jab.]

What did you do to them? Albert and the boy.

Albert is fine. If anything, he's better than he was. He does have his life's work to carry out, after all... He'll be able to focus on it a bit more strongly now. He's gotten...distracted, nowadays.

Your life's work. Not his.

[He can't manage to hold the anger back any longer and that's snapped out before he can stop himself.]

How did you do it? How did you get him to... "focus"?

[Spencer laughs a bit at that, though the sound is quiet and thin.]

Our work is one and the same - or did he never explain to you what he was trying to do...?

[His grip tightens against Wesker's shoulder; he doesn't seem interested in answering that second question.]

Are you really so full of yourself that you're going to try to take credit for everything he tried to do? He made that decision on his own.

Everything he's done - everything he's become - is because of me. His ambitions are mine; his drive exists because I put it there. Every element of his personality - his strengths and his weaknesses both - were selected and crafted and molded into the ideal. My ideal.

Albert was never designed to be anything more than what he was created to be. That's how this works.

Next you're going to tell me that he was supposed to kill you and it was all part of your grand master plan, ja? Don't be ridiculous. Albert was just as much his own person then as he is now. What you did to him left a lot of scars, but he pressed on and he did what he wanted to do.

And do you like the world he tried to create? Is that what you would have wanted for him...?

No, of course not. But after everything he went through - after everything you put him through - I'm not surprised he ended up so angry and hurt that he wanted to create a world with a place for him in it. Almost everyone he met early on in his life had been awful to him, no thanks to you or Umbrella.

He has a chance to do things differently now - he'll never be the same person he was. If you're going to try to take credit for everything Albert did, then surely you've realized that you've failed. Albert didn't succeed in unleashing Uroboros, and it's certainly not something he's going to try to do now.

Are you sure...?

[That seems to have amused him, really.]

You're so certain he won't... Did he tell you that? What makes you think he hasn't lied about that, too?

Of course I'm certain. Albert's a good person - despite everything he's been through, he keeps trying to do what he thinks is right. Sometimes he falters, and he doesn't believe he can ever be a good person. He's been through so much in this life and his past one, and whether it's Retrospec or Umbrella, it seems like something's always going to try to knock him down.

But he gets back up every time, and no matter what. So no matter what he remembers of his past life and no matter what strange things happen in places like this, he'll make it through.

He's not going to attempt the same thing in this life even if Retrospec hands him Uroboros. I know he won't.

So what do you plan to do now...?

[Just through idle curiosity.]

Standing around and singing Albert's praises won't do you any good, especially when I know him far better than you ever could.

I could ask you the same thing. You seem to have control over this entire place, but I don't see what the purpose of it is. What do you plan on doing now that you've done this to him?

[Yeah, there isn't much sense in arguing dream logic, but at the same time he doesn't have an answer to that and doesn't want to admit it, so here we are.]

He has a purpose to fulfill, now that he's come back. The strongest and most obedient of my children, in the end... He'll do what he was meant to do, once he's ensured that you're out of the way.

Why even let me come all this way to begin with? If you just wanted to kill me, you could have had Birkin do it while I was strapped down.

Birkin probably would have just found the entire experience "interesting" and kept you alive for fun. As for Sergei - before you ask - he was always Marcus' boy, not mine.

And after that? You couldn't be bothered to finish me off yourself?

[Ah, right, he kind of forgot to ask—]

What did you do to that boy? What was that device on his chest?

[His left hand goes to his chest, gripping the fabric there tightly; he's not really aware he's doing it.

(Also he absolutely buttoned the shirt back up and fixed the cravat, I just forgot to mention it, whoops.)]

Let me guess... You want to try to save him, too.

[He shifts a bit, letting his grip tighten on Wesker's shoulder again for a brief moment before he withdraws his touch.]

This is a waste of time. Destroy him, Albert. You have no use for him anymore.

[Wesker doesn't hesitate in responding, despite how still and silent he's been; he simply moves without speaking, rising from the chair to stand up in one fluid motion, his gaze fixing on Jaeger as one of his hands tightens at his side, like he's trying to sort out the best way to go about this.

However, one thing does seem clear - he will attack you unless something can be done somehow.]

[Dammit. He figured this was going to happen at some point, but he was hoping he'd have a bit more time to try to figure out how to approach this. He can't let himself die and he can't allow Wesker to hurt him, and neither of those are going to be easy if Wesker has his powers, which he's sure he does.

No, saying it's not going to be easy is understating it. It sounds impossible.

Wesker's stronger and faster than he is, and even if he wasn't, Jaeger's certainly not capable of hurting him. Even if he could attempt it, Wesker's both resilient and durable, and he'd probably just break his weapon if he tried.

Fighting Wesker simply isn't an option. That leaves Spencer.

Of course, there's no guarantee that killing Spencer will free Wesker from whatever this is. There's no telling what will happen if he kills Spencer - and that's assuming he could even manage it in the first place. Spencer isn't the frail old man from the dream, but even if he doesn't have any sort of powers here, Wesker most likely won't let anything happen to him. Even if Jaeger could theoretically get off an accurate shot before Wesker approached (doubtful, given his speed), Wesker could kill him before he'd have time to defend himself. Maybe he could kill Spencer, but would doing that free Wesker or just make him angry?

It's not an option he likes, and maybe later he can be bothered by how calm he is about the idea of killing another person, even in a dream world like this.

That really only leaves one option, and it's the least likely to work.]

Albert, I know you can hear me. I'm sure you've heard all of what we just talked about, ja?

[Despite the situation and how fast his mind is racing, the words are even and calm. It takes some doing to get his expression under control, because blinding rage is surprisingly hard to subdue, but that isn't going to help anyone right now. Outright dismissing Spencer like this probably won't work, but it really does seem like his only option right now.]

I know you're worried about becoming the same person you were in your past life. I know you're bothered by everything you did there, and you don't want to repeat that. But you are your own person - both then and now. Your decisions are your own, and you don't have to do this.

I trust you, and I trust you'll do everything you can to fight this.

[To his credit, Wesker doesn't simply rush you.

When he approaches his steps are even and measured; it's not in the same way that someone would if they were truly calm, precisely, his measured is closer to Sergei's type of measured, the sort of thing that implies that he hasn't quite decided how much he's going to fuck with you before you die. He does approach, however, and it's difficult to say if he's hearing you - or if he is hearing you, exactly how much he's processing anything you're saying.

He tips his head a little at the notion that he's apparently trusted, however; the gesture is accompanied by something that's not quite a shrug, but still has a clear meaning behind it.

Your mistake.]

[Well, at least he's not being rushed. He doesn't like it and his grip is still tight on the briefcase, but he's not moving to transform it. He's tense and he doesn't like any of this, but the one thing that keeps him talking is that this is Wesker's dream. He has to be capable of hearing what Jaeger's saying.]

You've never given me a reason to doubt you, Albert. You've always been patient with me, even when I was having a lot of trouble addressing my problems and trusting you. It's always been so important to me, and I could never thank you enough for it.

So much of this experience has been trying to convince me not to trust you, but you know I always will, ja? Nothing that happens here will ever shake my trust; nothing anyone here says or does will change my mind.

I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere. We can face this together.

[He doesn't move from where he's standing, but he does hold out a hand.]

It'll be okay. Whatever happens here, whatever you decide to do, we'll make it through.

[As always, it's difficult to see his eyes due to the sunglasses he's always wearing, but his gaze does seem to track Jaeger's hand at least somewhat; he seems to consider the gesture for a moment before accepting Jaeger's hand readily.

It isn't a nice response; he'll use it to jerk him closer, not particularly seeming to hold back much on the strength angle - you are coming closer to him and you're doing it in a hurry and he's going to be rough about it - before his free hand closes hard on Jaeger's throat.

He's not strangling him, not yet, not properly. But the pressure is likely...not pleasant, and it's definitely a threat to.]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject