melodiesoflife | I've made mistakes [semi-open]

Entry tags:

I've made mistakes [semi-open]

Who: Dylas and somewhat open (to friends, to people who would stop by the labs late at night).
When: Mid-January, 2AM at night
Where: Aqures Ixen Laboratories
What: Dylas confronts his shadow—alone and in the dark. Concerned, his Moogle, Koporo, frantically searches for help. But will it be too late?
Warnings: Violence, swearing, definitely blood, mentions of things in his permissions post.

['I need to face it after midnight’. That’s what he’d told the Moogle lab workers, citing his Vampire job as his reason behind facing his Calamity Self so late at night. In truth, he hadn’t heard a lot about the process. He knew enough about it that he didn’t want anyone else there while it happened, at least. It was something he’d handle himself. After spending so much time in Ryslig, forced to endure horror after horror, surely it wasn’t something he’d need the assistance of others for.

He was wrong, and his decision left Koporo flying out of the lab, hurriedly seeking out Dylas’ “friends”, waking them if he had to, urging them to come to the laboratory. ‘Dylas is making a big mistake, kupo! It’s really bad, kupo!’

When the first person arrives to the labs, they’ll find two sights instead of one. Dylas is always the first sight. He always stands at over seven feet tall. The obsidian black claws on his hands always look ominous, as does the way his face always contorts when it snarls. His long periwinkle hair and matching tail flow behind him as he takes a defensive stance against the opposite figure, a mirror copy except for three notable features: the Calamity version of himself isn’t fatigued, and his purple eyes are glowing forebodingly.

Dylas glances in the direction of the first person to find him, his ears flicking in the direction of arriving footsteps. There’s panic in his eyes, and then resolve. He’s clutching his right arm, part of his jacket burned away from a previous blast and leaving burned skin beneath it.]

Go home! I don’t need you here!

[But then the Other Dylas turns towards the first arrival...and starts to cry, lifting his arm to cover his face as he resumes his sobbing.]

W̨e'̶re͏ ̢so lon҉e̢ly͠..̷.̵!͞ ͜Wé'̷re͠ ͞alw̨ays ́so ͞lonel̢y!

[Dylas' eyes flick back to his other self's and then to the floor as his Calamity counterpart continues to cry and sniffle.]

Don't listen to him! He's a lying asshole!

[ooc; This is open to anyone Dylas would consider a friend or anyone who would stop by so late at night! If you’re unsure as to whether or not Koporo would seek out your character for help, just shoot me a PM or a plurk at

ForestTemple. ♥♥]

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‘Dylas is making a big mistake, kupo! It’s really bad, kupo!’ Those words had Midna bolted upright in bed in and flying in the direction on the lab in no time. Her own moogle had been awoken with the same fright, following in her wake as she muttered to herself things sounding like, 'what an idiot,' or '—could be so stupid!' and even, 'why didn't he tell me... tch.'

She'd managed to work herself up so much on the way that when she finally saw him— them, and then realized the shadow was sobbing, she turned her anger on the real Dylas, the one ordering her home.

"What are you doing in here by yourself!"

Ales was almost knocked out of his chair. The Teensie was half-asleep when Koporo nudged him awake. In this case, "nudge" meant "surprise shaking and yelling". He had to be thankful that they gave large chairs to the smaller lab members when he felt the back of his head bang against the soft seat.

"Dylas? Already?" He wasn't particularly fond of Dylas, but he didn't hate him either. If anything, he was grateful that there were other nonhumans among the Heroes, particularly one who wasn't completely idealistic.

He took his time in regaining his senses before sliding off the chair, spending a minute wondering where he was supposed to go, then slapping himself when he realized it was just the same place he' been last week with Sephiroth. By the time he had reached the room, Midna had beat him.

Before he could even make a response, the sobbing caught his attention. It was a familiar scene: Ales on one end, a pathetic version of himself on the other. The desperation not to let anyone else realize it was him before the Shadow starting spewing secrets kept in his locked file.

Dylas has issues. was the biggest thing he got from this, and he stayed back, mostly out of fear.

Koporo wished he could have found more support for his Hero of Light, but he wasn't able to. Having arrived after Midna, the Moogle cowered behind a chair peeking out at the pair of Dylases.

"This isn't anything I can't handle!"

He'd barely been fast enough to dodge that last attack. Maybe Monk and Vampire weren't the best job choices for him after all, but he'd have plenty of time to think about that later if he survived. Dylas made a fist with his left hand while his right still sat over burned skin, clenching his fist so hard that his claws started to dig into his palm. He positioned himself to spring forward, but that's when his other self started to speak.

"Seè h̶o̶w lone͢ly̶ ́we a̷r͏e͟?̨ ͞N̨o o͡n͟e ̵c̷ame͘!͡ N͘o ͝o͞ne imp͠o͏r̢t͡a͟nt ̷at̕ all͟! ͞J͞us͞t ҉th͜e͢ ͜gir͡l who̕ con̴f͘us̕e̷s͡ ͏y͞ou̴ ánd t̨he͠ i͘n͞sect͡ you͞ wis͝h̴ ̧w͠o҉u̶l̷d̛ ̴be͘ ͡yo͟ur͘ ͞f̨rien̷d̡!̴ ͟Wh̡at i͏s ̢i͟t͢ yo̵u͏'͟r̨e ̕a̵lwąys ̵th̨ink̸ing?"

And then the Calamity Dylas starts to sob again, standing and wailing at the sky like he's nothing more than a child.

"̷I di͟d͞n't͜ ąsk̕ t҉o͜ ̡be͜ ͜a͡ ͠mon͘ste̕r͞! I w̷ish͠ ̕it ͞h̨ad ͟n̵ever h̷àpp̵e͟n̶e͜d͞!́ Ẃh́y̢ did̀ it͠ ̵ha҉v͢ę ̧t̀o happ̨e̴n t̡o͘ m͝e, w̧h̕a̧t did͠ I d́o̢ ̴w̶r͟ong҉? W͡h̡y ̸wo҉n'̶t̴ ̛an̕yo͡ne c͠o̡nşole̶ ͠me?͟ ̷W̸hy̷ m͘e͜,͜ ͜w͢h̷y ̕m̶e, ̡w͞ḩy me?͠"

And with that, the Calamity Dylas snaps, his voice being replaced by a snarl as he rushes forward and slams Dylas to the ground his throat. A struggle ensues, one where Dylas tries to free himself while his Calamity self tries to keep him pinned and struggling to breath. Dylas glances at Midna and Ales with desperation and fear in his eyes, but then he steels his gaze, an aura surrounding his body as he uses the Monk's Boost ability even while being choked.

"B͝ec͞au̵se ҉y͝ou̵'̶r͢e ̡no͡thin̛g ͠but̢ ̴a̵ ͡c͞ơw͢ar̀d̵! ̵Y͢o͟u͘ ̴won't҉ tell̡ pe̡opl̸e̸ ̵ąny͢t҉h̷i͟ng!̵ Y͠ou'r̨e l̶on͘e̴l̢y a͢n̵d̶ ́yo̵u'̡re hurt a̸nd͠ ̢you͞'re͝ şcar̢e͠d, so͢ ͝yơu̶ ̀p҉us͞h ̵ev̧er̡yo͡n͝e̕ ͘aw̨ay!̕ ̶I͏t҉'̷s͏ a̛l҉l y͠o͝ur fa̛ul̕t! You'r̀e ̵not͝ coòl ҉a͟nd͏ s̸tr͢o҉n̸g a̸n̡d͜ t̕r̢oųbl҉ed,͠ ͟w̧e͘'̛re ́l̢ońel͢y! ̴W̶e're͞ ͡so͜ ͝lon̛ely and͝ ̶sca̢re̴d!"

( this was... hard to listen to. although nothing in midna's expression betrayed the thoughts that the calamity version of dylas was stirring in the room, she found herself wanting to reach out to comfort the dylas she knew, the one that she shared a home with... a tiny hand started to invade the distance between imp and wendigo... just as the rush of violence ensued.

pulling back, with a near snarl of her own, midna activated her Copies as ten versions of herself appeared in a circle around the two dylases, rushing inward to strike at the calamity version all at once, ten tiny claws coming down.

it wasn't a strong attack, but she hoped to at least free the real one in the madness. )

[This is sounding all too familiar. Lonely, wanting to be comforted, keeping away from people that could offer friendship. Lydia refused to listen to his own Shadow and kept a tight hug on Ales, but there was two problems with that method. One: Ales wasn't used to giving out hugs, and a tiny angry Teenie is not someone you'd expect to offer one. Two, Dylas' Calamity self was busy fighting the real one. No opening there.]

Leg Shot!

[His trusty attack strikes the Shadow, but does not successfully impair it from moving. Whether he got it to stop it in its tracks or not, Ales rushes after Midna to stop some several feet away.]

Then stop blaming yourself and do something about it! No one wants to talk to you, you don't want to talk to them, what did you expect?!

[Heavens to Polokus, looking back, past Ales was an idiot. He could have spoken about feeling abandoned - not as a child, that was an awful time - and if it weren't for the Shadow business, he'd be stuck on this nauseating cycle towards pure apathy. Dylas is going through the same motions, and it's sickening.]

[The Calamity snarls again, this time at Midna. In response to so many attacks at once in addition his leg scraped by the leg shot, he effortlessly flips Dylas over and uses him as a shield while Midna's attack connects. It scratches up the both of them in equal measure in the process. In the end, Midna's plan was successful, because Dylas' Calamity Self tossed him a few feet to the side so he could continue speaking.]

W̡h̡y̢ ͝do̡n̨'̧t ̕yo̢u̡ ͏a͘sk h̸im̷ ̛yo̧ur̨se҉l͢f̴?͜ Nơ—Į'̵l̵l d̕o̕ it.͟ ͏W͜h̶y ͢d͏o͢n̢'t ̛you͘ op̛en up ̢t͢ǫ ͘pe͞ople ͝an͜y̴m̢o̢r͟e͝,͏ ͟D͝yl͘as? ̸Is̕ ̀i̷t b̀e̴c͟aúse—

[Dylas pushes himself back into a crouch, his breathing rough an uneven from having his throat crushed those few seconds. When he hears that distorted voice speaking through its sniffles, he opens his mouth to yell, but all that comes out is a cough as he gaps for breath.]

—Y̡o̵u̧ ͟e͞nj̡oye͢d it̶? You ̛laughed ̵when͠ ̸ỳou͝ h͏u͠r̡t͝ ͡t̷ḩo͡s͢e m̷e͝n a̴t͟ t̷hè f҉estiv҉al! ̀Y͏ou̡ made ͏a̛ g͝ame ou̷t o͠f ̶it͏. ͠Y̴ou͞'̸r̸é ҉a҉ mon͘s͘t͟e̡r͡, y͞ou'r̵e ̢a ́mo̵nste͠r,̴ ͞you're a ͡mo͟n̛s̷te͘r̵!̛

[By the end, Dylas' calamity self has gone from crying to mocking Dylas with those repeating words, like a kid teasing another kid. Dylas can't take it, and he rushes forward, ready to put his Boost to good use.]

Shut your trap, dammit! Don't listen to him, none of this is true! It's never been true!

[And in response to that, the Calamity Dylas lifts his clawed hand and thrusts those claws directly into Dylas' chest without missing a single beat, stopping Dylas in his tracks as he looks down at the almost knife-like wound in his chest, sputtering.]

[Ales doesn't hear himself scream. He doesn't scream at the sight of blood, he tells himself. He doesn't scream when faced with death or when things don't go his way. He certainly doesn't scream when he watches someone cut another that deep and the blood spray onto Ales.

Maybe he can't hear his screaming over the voice telling him to run a Healing Program on the real Dylas.

His voice is audible to himself once more, but it sounds like babbling out of shock. It takes a few seconds before he can even hear himself once more.]

and-and-when people don't trust you, you think you can't talk to them again? You think that's true? I thought so, but then people proved me otherwise? That I can make up for going and and ruining everyone's lives because I thought that was best for them? [A nervous laugh.] Heroes are crazy! They trust anyone, even me! I put my only friend in danger, and they tell me I can start over! What a riot!

( an eye goes wide at the scene— as her clones connect to damage dylas himself. as she watches him struggle to speak, for breath, she has to stop herself from reaching out to him. but watching that claw slice through his chest is enough to break her silence. )

Dylas! ( she cried, in conjunction with ales' scream, a hint of something in her voice. desperation? damn...
as the other man speaks, trying to talk some sense into the dylases, midna's ponytailed hand rushes forward in a telekentic attack, moving to try and grab at the calamity version, taking the offensive as the teensie does the opposite.

there's a hushed order she gives to her moogle as she tries to keep the fiend in her hairy, glowing grasp— which is losing its steam quickly. these illusionist abilities hardly compared to her true powers, even if they could mirror them at times.

as the attack looses its potency finally, the imp rises, having composed herself thanks to ales taking the reigns, her expression blank again, hoping that healing program was enough to at least curb the injury... just for a little while longer. hang in there, dylas... you idiot. )

Is all of it really a lie? Everything he's saying? ( as the clouds begin to dissipate, her eye is glued to dylas alone. ) You know neither of us here will take you seriously when you call yourself a monster, but the rest of it...

Is it such a terrible thing... to admit to being lonely?

[There's too much to focus on. Almost. His adrenaline is pumping through each undead, vampiric, whatever vein in his body. He can feel the healing program, but it's slow. Because of his job class, it barely heals him, lacking the effectiveness that blood could carry. He'd boosted his attack earlier to try and bite his calamity self, but that's proving more and more difficult.

The Calamity version of himself makes his first move that turn by turning towards Midna and Ales, using Fulminating Oblivion to unleash a wave of dark energy aimed at the two of them. Curiously, he decides not to hit Dylas with the attack, leaving him squirming in his grip while he tried to get the upper hand. Midna's attack on him isn't strong enough to break his hold on Dylas, and the pair of them are yanked by Midna's hand.

Predictably, the Calamity Dylas sobs, his voice still a distorted version of Dylas' own.]

S̴-s͜tơp͏!͜ ̡You'̢r̸e̷ h̴u͞r̀ting m͘e, Mid͟n̸a! ͝Yo͝u'r̀e húrting ̶hi͝m, ͢t́oo͢, a̡nd̛ d̨o̶n't̸ y͡ou͡ know ͟ho͘w̵ ͝m̕u͢ch̨ ͡he͞ tŗust̵s y͞ou̸? ͜Ho̴w muc͟h ͢h͏e͜ ̕want͡s̴ to̷ ͘t͟h̷a̸n̴k̀ ҉you̕?͡ ͡But ̛h͢e c̛ąn't!͠

[The wound in his chest slowly restoring itself gives Dylas just enough freedom to fight the grip on him for a moment. He's panting as he starts to push those claws out of him by wrenching the Calamity's arm away.]

You...you don't understand, I'm supposed to...endure this all on my own. I'm not the only one it happened to. What he's saying, not all of it is a lie, but...

[The Calamity version of himself suddenly snaps violently, his aura shifting with such dangerous intent that even Ales will feel it, and Midna, who is much closer, will feel it the worst. Taking his second turn, he once again pushes his claws into Dylas, growling, snarling, voice breaking.

That's when a sound rings out above everything else. It's the sound that comes before something horrible, something that Dylas can't fight. It's the sound of his limit break. It's the sound of Wendigo about to occur, it's the sound of everyone in the room becoming his target.]

H̬̮̮͇̰̳a̙.̮͉̼͖.͚̭ͅ.̱h̤̫a͕h̪a̦̥!͎̯̮̳̩ ͕Do̻̲̣̤̲ ͕̬̟̺̝̩y͍̼̞̼̪o̳̗u͇̬̠̞̗̯ ̻̗̜t̟h̬͈̞̝̠i̹͈n̤̘̮̬͇̠ͅk ̯͕̱͈͚h̻͖e ̳̬̣͇͓̘̙c̮̗̖̳͈̮ͅa̻̹̱̩n̙̟̘ ͖̻͍̗̠͖ͅa͚̠̬̝̞̗͈c̳̫̺͙c̤̣̤e͈̫̞̞̥p̳t ͇̟̣̦̺ͅm̘̳͎̠e̞̠̻̹͕͚ ̖͙̹̘̻̣i͙̩̗f̦̯̺ ͖̞̝̲̩̤h͓̹͇ͅe͚̯ ̟̦͉̳c͚̳͉͍̬ͅa̫̥̘͈̣̻n̝̱̱̪'̩̰t ͕e̳͍v̦͔en ̙̭̗t͔a̦͓̹̻̩̹l͎̫̬k̜͓͕̗̟?̰ ͉̱H̗͈͙e ͍̱̭̼ͅd̘͕̣̙̱o͙̞e͇̭s͕̺̻n̹̫̤̩'̜̦t̹͕̲͔͎ ̻̻̭͓w͚̳͍̼͍a̭̗͖̞͔̻n̗͎̻̯̝̟t͍̹ ͎̗ṱ̲͖o͚̳ b̠̪̱͈͉͈e̯̱̲͚ ̞șe͚ͅe̮n̹̺̗̭̝̼̙ ̤̺ͅl̪͍̳̜̜̥ͅi͕̖̦̫̪̲ke͇ ̙̞t̺̜h̥̺̲i̲̭ͅs̠̥͖,͈̲̦ ̠m̼͖̼̝͚̼̘a̺y̖͈̹̮͎̰ͅb͔e̦̙̜̗ ͍̥̗͚̖̞ͅy̘̹̠͉̜̭̬o͕̠̭̘̟u͍͎̜̖ t̹͇͉w̗o ̦̦̦̜̻͙ͅc͎̼a̝̤͔̹̥̲̺n̲̣ ̖̣̗̻͙͈p͓u̫̯͚͇̪̞̥t̫̫̞̗̝͔͍ ̟̤͚͕̞͖͇ẖ̼͇̞̙i̠͇͖̬m̱͓̻̤̖͓̺ o̙̪̥̜̭͓̼ut̘̺̬̺̤ ̻͓̰̹͙̻ọ̮̱̱͔f̟̱͈͈̻̼ͅ ̯͖̳̼hi̠̻̙̼̳͍s ̣̯̖͎͔m̩̪i̻͖̗̙͓͎̫ș͖ẹ̪̗͇r̥̖̫͙̟̳̞y̟̯!̜͔

[He lets go of Dylas at long last, but Dylas staggers to his feet. His stance is unnatural. His claws are growing longer, his body is growing so cold that the temperature in the room starts to drop. His eyes are glowing golden as he snarls and then roars at the first thing that he lays eyes on.

And he's staring right at Ales.]

Edited 2017-02-10 18:57 (UTC)

[The added weight of the computer on his arm does little to keep Ales standing after the dark energy attack. He trips onto his back, and thankfully his hat remains on. In the seconds that it takes him to recover and stand up, the sound of the Limit Break pierces his hazy thoughts. His eyes dart upward only to meet the dark form of the Wendigo.

He should regret having come here in the first place. Regret getting attached to Dylas enough that he might as well die here on the stop. The real cost of friendship, or at least half-hearted attempts at it.

Maybe he's just tired from fighting and yelling, but he stands there and in a quiet, annoyed voice:] Really.

[He prepares to run and waits for the moment Dylas makes a run for him, but he also puts up a Virtual Shield.]

Midna. Do you know how long this lasts?

( the shift in aura is stifling, causing midna to wince as she watches, feeling more helpless than ever at dylas' suffering. maybe it hit a little too close to home, as someone that also felt she had the weight of her own sins to bear, believing she too had to endure it alone...

there isn't an immediate response to ales' question, probably because she doesn't know the answer. instead, she activated her master of illusions ability, attempting to bend the light and shadow around the teensie, hoping to render him invisible to dylas' rage. )

Get out of here, find that moogle I sent away! I'll distract him!

( her pointed gaze is back on the real dylas again, though she addresses what the calamity version has to say. her teeth are pressed together tightly, to avoid any chattering from the sudden cold in the air around them.

they were all idiots. the inhabitants of this world, the heroes of light, the two of them that had come here to help... but especially dylas. the king of the idiots.

perhaps he needed a queen. )

If he wanted to thank me so badly, he can do it himself! I have no desire to hear it from you!

[The only humanity that remains in Dylas vanishes the moment his limit break activates. There's a look of pure terror on his face as he hears that sound. He knows what that sounds means, what he's about to start doing to these people he's spoken to over and over. One of them, a friend. The other...Ales, the "who the fuck knows" companion that he thinks is sort of cool.

But what's left behind is a shell. If his eyes were focused on the Calamity version of himself, it might have been a fight worth watching. His stance is inhuman. He looks like he's slowly stalking prey as he inches closer to Ales, sniffing the air, snarling, eyes not even blinking.

But then Ales disappears from his line of sight. Dylas looks alarmed and snarls again, head whipping in search of Ales, sniffing the air for his scent. Luckily, the limit break does not come with an enhanced nose, and his eyes fall next to Koporo, who had been standing between Midna and Ales for some time since arriving with Ales.

Koporo draws his dagger, boldly stepping forward if it means Ales will get to escape. He lives with Midna, too, he trusts her, even if he's shaking so much he can barely hold onto it.]

I-I-I'll fight, too, kupo. I can be a hero, too, k-kupo!

[Dylas' breath and the area around his claws grow so cold that mist starts to form, not unlike breathing on a cold day. His Calamity self is meanwhile quiet, tossing two laboratory Moogles into the fringes of the battlefield, ensuring that if Dylas turns around that they'll be targeted instead of himself.]

[Oh, that's fine, they have a Moogle to distract him.

....What is he thinking? Isn't this the kind of thing Lydia told him not to do anymore? Stupid Moogle, risking his life for nothing.

Ales shimmies towards Koporo until he's close enough that a whisper might go undetected by Dylas.]

Get out of here! We can handle this ourselves!

( midna's eye stayed trained on dylas, the calamity version all but forgotten now in light of this new crisis. all these moogles getting involved, and ales seemingly not budging on the issue, either. damn. damn! )

Don't be stupid! ( the message was both for koporo and ales, her illusion of the light wouldn't last much longer, why did all of them have to be so stubborn? following in the tradition of being stupid, she lowered her gaze for a moment, thinking how dylas might punish himself if either of these two got hurt, thinking of how he'd lock himself in some cell again...

and in that moment, she activated vanish, appearing behind dylas, her tiny arms lacing around his neck to the best of her ability. she attempted to pull his head back, trying to lift his chin, into some poor man's version of a headlock, needing to take his focus away from koporo. )

Didn't I tell you both to leave while you still can?! Hnngh—!

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I've made mistakes [semi-open]

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you both come in here, WITH PROSE...

omg im sorry!!!! i didn't even notice lol... IM SWITCHING because im annoying like that

team annoying small tag switchers

cw: blood and injury, i said this would be bad

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwJeMuxQrbA boss battle music

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i'm jammin'

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pls throw her aside, dylas bb