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

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.]

[He has a brief moment of hope, that maybe everything is going to turn out okay, before that abruptly comes crashing down as he's yanked forward and Wesker's hand is on his throat.

To his credit, he doesn't panic. In fact, he's almost alarmingly calm given the situation, but once again he runs through every option he can think of.

He still has his briefcase and he might even be able to transform it before Wesker starts strangling him, but it's not like it'll do any good. There isn't much he can do in such close quarters and even if he could, he doesn't want to hurt Wesker. He doesn't think he could.

So that leaves continuing to talk, and he probably doesn't have much time left to do that.

...No, he can think of something else.

Jaeger shifts a bit so he can try to take Wesker's hand properly and while he does that, he drops the briefcase. His free hand moves to wherever Wesker would presumably be keeping his heart stone, and he hopes it's still there.]

I'm always going to be here for you, and I'm always going to do everything I can to help you. Please let me help you now.

[The words are quiet and gentle, and he isn't breaking eye contact. He's not afraid.]

[Its clear that he doesn't seem to understand what Jaeger is trying to do with his hand, but it's the sound of the briefcase hitting the floor that seems to startle him; thankfully he keeps control of his grip and doesn't let his hand tighten against Jaeger's throat any more than it already is, though there's an unmistakable tension coursing through his body that just seems to get worse as Jaeger reaches out to touch him.

He usually keeps the stone in his inside jacket pocket, over the left side of his chest; he'll draw back a little, physically, when Jaeger tries to make contact - he doesn't seem to want to be touched there, for whatever reason.]

[Normally he'd stop. He doesn't ever want to make Wesker uncomfortable and if things were different now, he'd ask him about it instead of blindly proceeding. But his options are incredibly limited right now and this is... well, it's something, so he's going to pursue.

Wesker's obviously faster than he is, but he'll try to reach that pocket anyway.]

[It'll become clear rather quickly that it isn't the pocket that's the problem.

It's obvious that he's tempted to pull away again, that some part of him is screaming for him to draw back again, to reestablish distance between them or maybe just break his neck and be done with it - but there's something else there as well, something holding him in place despite the tension and the mild shaking he's doing, and when Jaeger's hand makes contact with him two things are probably going to become clear.

The first is that the heart stone is still in his pocket.

The second is that Jaeger can probably feel something attached to Wesker's chest underneath his clothes.]

[He finds the heart stone and while that's certainly nice, it's suddenly no longer his biggest concern.

His first thought is to draw away, both because Wesker doesn't seem to want him near that thing and because you don't just touch something like that on someone's chest, even if they can't feel it. It's weird and invasive. But he recognizes this, and it rekindles his anger from earlier.]

...I promised I'd help you. Back in the cell, do you remember? I told you I'd find a way to free you, and I left something with you, as a promise I'd come back.

[He doesn't pull back, instead he shifts a bit to rest his hand on the device. He's not making any move to do anything else - he's certainly not going to try to yank it out or anything like that.]

Do you trust me, Albert? Will you let me help you?

[It's perhaps most telling that he's letting Jaeger touch it at all; it's still covered up fully by his clothes, but he also doesn't seem to be pulling away when Jaeger rests his hand over it. That said, it's difficult to tell how much of this he's taking in, how much he's really able to understand, and for a long moment a lack of physical response is all Jaeger receives.

When that moment passes, however, Wesker's grip loosens a bit at his throat; he's not fully letting go, but it's likely a lot easier to breathe, at least.]

[Honestly, that alone says more than words could. He understands how nerve-wracking that could be, to let someone touch something like that. He does wait to see if he gets any further response, and Wesker's hand loosening on his throat is certainly appreciated.]

I'm going to find some way to remove this. You won't be his puppet any longer. I'm going to ask you to keep fighting it; I know you can do it.

[The words are soft and he doesn't move from where he's standing. He has to figure out how to manage this, but given what he saw of the boy's device, it doesn't look like something that can be removed easily...]

Albert.

[Spencer's voice is thin but it's sharp, piercing the quiet like needles; Wesker's gaze flicks toward him, though he doesn't move one way or another, and after a moment Spencer continues.]

Do you think i don't understand what you want? This world has nothing for you. Maybe you can pretend it does. Maybe you can even pretend you're happy for a while. But you're never going to be, are you? You're never going to be satisfied; Umbrella will always call you back, and you're always going to return.

You already have all you could possibly want. And when that isn't enough for you, you'll destroy it and start over. You're perfect, Albert. Exactly as you were created to be. You just have to accept it.

Stop toying with him and take your place. You don't need him anymore.

[Jaeger's grip tightens on Wesker's hand, but when he speaks up again, it's just as calm and quiet as before.]

I know you have difficulties believing you won't turn out like your past life. It's okay to be worried about it, but I know you're a different person now. Your experiences in your past life were horrible, and they shaped you in ways I still have a hard time imagining. But that doesn't mean your experiences from this life are any less important, ja? They've also shaped you, you know.

Do you remember your father? Your dogs? What about all the people that are important to you now? We're all going to be here for you; you'll have a very hard time getting rid of us!

Things are different for you in this life. You're not alone, and you're never going to be. If you need help, we'll be here. You aren't anyone's creation - you're your own person. Spencer, Umbrella, Retrospec... they can't control you.

It'll be okay. I promise, it'll be okay.

This world will never have a place for you in it.

[Spencer's words ring out high and piercing; as always, they're thin, but they're firm.]

This world wasn't meant for people like you, Albert. You've always known that, haven't you? You've thrown away people more important than him, all in the name of remaking the world in your image.

Do you really think it will upset you, if he dies? Oh, you'll tell yourself it will - you'll tell yourself you'll mourn him, you'll miss him, you'll care... But you won't, will you? It will inconvenience you, but it won't matter. Because you've never been like the rest.

We understand you. Umbrella understands you. You know how glad I was to see you, my child... You know that this is where you belong in the end. Somewhere that you aren't seen as defective, somewhere that you don't have to pretend anymore. Somewhere that will let you create your perfect world. That's what you really want.

[Again, Wesker doesn't verbally react, but it's obvious that he doesn't like this; his expression is remaining alarmingly unreadable but he's shaking badly, something Jaeger can probably feel easily given his position, and his grip slackens again against Jaeger's throat like he's considering letting go.]

[Jaeger's been doing a good job of keeping his attention on Wesker, regardless of what Spencer says, but the moment the word "defective" is thrown out there, his eyes dart in Spencer's direction and his expression quickly goes dark. It takes him longer than he'd really like to recover, but Wesker is much more important than Spencer, so he'll do his best to remain focused on his boyfriend and not on the crazy old man who's doing a great job of pissing him off.]

He really is trying everything he can think of, isn't he? I know it hurts to hear all of that, but I promise we'll make it through. He wouldn't be this desperate if he didn't think he was losing his control over you.

[The words remain soft and his grip tightens on Wesker's hand reassuringly.]

You aren't defective. You've been through a lot of terrible things and they've shaped you, and sometimes that means you don't react the same way as everyone else. That doesn't make you defective. You survived and you continue to push forward, and you always do your best. If there's ever something you don't understand or don't know how to handle, you can always ask me. I'll always be right here beside you.

[He shifts a little after a moment, pressing closer if Wesker will allow him.]

This man claims to know what you want, but he just wants to control you. What is it you really want to do, Albert?

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