[dream]

[notvitiligo.livejournal.com]

[warning for light torture elements]
[She's Cinderella, running down polished glass hallways. (She is also, at the same time, a rat.) A labyrinth, with walls stretching above her head, too thick to shatter. There's a goal, a reward, a way out somewhere, if she can just find it.

[The center: sunflower seeds (huge to a human, normal-sized to a rat), colored green and silver. She reaches for the reward.]

ZAP

[The shock is painful and from nowhere (or a hand on the dial in Milgram's experiment). She backs away, turns to try the maze again.]

ZAP

[She freezes, waiting for the pain to fade.]

ZAP

[It continues no matter what, and there's nothing to do. And now the maze is clear (her perspective is overhead, even as she's stuck below) and there is no exit, no reward, only endless glass walls, teasing offers of treats, and now the shocks.]

ZAP ZAP ZAP ZAP

[She sags, sliding down the wall and pulling her knees to her chest, and tries to restrain the twitching of her muscles against the torture.]

Comments

[mnementomori]

Y-yeah, it's me--th...they're hurting you!

[she steps back and summons her Keyblade, swinging it as hard as she can, hoping to make a dent in the wall.]

[notvitiligo.livejournal.com]

[She watches impassively- still occasionally jerking involuntarily. A chip flies off the wall, clattering on the floor. Jessica scoots back in surprise.]

[mnementomori]

[Xion is the one that came up with the suggestion "when in doubt, give it a good smack", and despite her size she lays into that wall with gusto. Her friend is in pain, there's no way she's backing down.]

Don't worry, I'll get you out!

[notvitiligo.livejournal.com]

[This is not something Jessica was expecting. Apparently, neither were whatever entities designed the place, because there's soon a gaping hole in the glass wall.]

um... wow.

ZAP

[mnementomori]

[she jumps a little, startled, but holds her hand out through the opening she made.]

Come on--I, I know it must hurt, but if I break the walls we can get out!

[notvitiligo.livejournal.com]

[She reaches for Xion, then suddenly retracts her hand.] Flesh is a conductor...

I don't know if there's an out. I think it's just... this place.

[mnementomori]

A what? [wat is science.]

This place? You mean the Garden? [she's not completely aware she's asleep at the moment.] But there has to be some way to make it stop!

[notvitiligo.livejournal.com]

If you touch me, you might get hurt, too.

No, this... [She breaks off in mid-gesture, her eyebrows crinkling in confusion.]

...that's weird. I don't remember getting here from the Gardens.

[mnementomori]

Oh...

Neither do I. But weird stuff happens all the time...

[she doesn't sound entirely sure, though.]

[notvitiligo.livejournal.com]

[She thinks about it, then shakes her head.] Well, um...

I guess I'm kind of glad to have you here, at least. I appreciate the, um... [She gestures at the broken wall.]

[mnementomori]

It's always better not to be alone. [she musters a smile.] Anyway, we're friends. So of course I'll help you if you're in trouble.

[notvitiligo.livejournal.com]

....thanks.

[She smiles, as tears drip from her eyes. The punishment seems to have stopped for the moment.]

[mnementomori]

Are you...crying?

[she reaches out to take Jessica's shoulders, forgetting what she said earlier.]

It's okay. We'll get out of this.

[notvitiligo.livejournal.com]

oh. S- sorry, I... [she scrubs at her eyes under her glasses.] sorry.

[mnementomori]

It's okay. [she pulls the other girl into a hug.] You shouldn't apologize for that.

[notvitiligo.livejournal.com]

[She hugs back, tightly.] I don't know what's wrong with me... I should be used to this by now.

[mnementomori]

Getting hurt? No, you shouldn't...it's just not fair.

[notvitiligo.livejournal.com]

It doesn't matter if it's fair... the universe doesn't work on fairness.

I just... wish I had a way to fix it.

[mnementomori]

Fix...it? Fix what? [she leans back slightly, to look at Jessica's face, worried.]

[notvitiligo.livejournal.com]

Y'know... [she gestures, trying to sculpt her unease into coherent words]

Whatever's wrong with me. I thought I could find it or something here, but...

[mnementomori]

What...what are you talking about? There's nothing wrong with you. You're Jessica, and you're my friend.

[notvitiligo.livejournal.com]

[She pulls back a bit.]

Haven't I mentioned my, um, condition?

[And now there are electrodes all over her, with wires stretching upwards, disappearing into the high ceiling.]

[mnementomori]

You, you said you were different from other people, but that doesn't make it wrong...!

[she starts a little.]

What are those things?

[notvitiligo.livejournal.com]

[And now she is much smaller and younger.]

They gotta monitor me... there's pulse and a lot of brain stuff and things like that.

[mnementomori]

Pul...what? Jessica?

[she reaches for the girl, despite the previous warning.]

Do they hurt?