songerein | open; interactive dream in shackles

Entry tags:

open; interactive dream in shackles

Who: Daley Vigil and you
Which: Interactive dream, open!
What: Your character is now in prison, congratulations! Vigil, the chief warder here, is willing to listen to some final confessions before execution happens.
Warnings: Discussion of execution by hanging, spoilers for GAA2 Case 4 and possibly 5.

[As soon as any dreamwalker enters, they'll find themselves in shackles-- at least their ankles are, with no visible way to remove them. Guess that might be alarming by itself, but it's clear that the setting itself is a prison cell, complete with a cold ground, gray bricks, and a tiny window that might've given some light, but the only thing providing such a thing is a lit candle in the corner. If one's lucky, they aren't forced into some drab gray prison clothes, but not everyone falls in that.

A sad, if exhausted looking man appears to be standing just outside of the cell. There's a firearm strapped to his side, but despite that, he seems almost harmless, like he wouldn't think of pulling that weapon out. But maybe he's just not worried about any outbreaks, mostly because of the gate that's separating him from the prisoner. Guess anyone would feel safe because of that.

Nonetheless, it is this warder that speaks up first.]

...Tomorrow's the execution.

[Despite this being his job, he looks solemn as he announces that. And while he raises a hand to grip the front of his striped vest, he doesn't do anything to unlock the gate separating the prisoner and him.]

I... I know that I'm hardly the last person you'd want to see, but if there's anything you'd want to say, I'm willing to listen.

[Perhaps a final confession to one's crimes? Or him getting cursed at? Comments about how they're not guilty? Some lamenting about choices and leaving people behind? He's used to everything.]

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[The cracks are definitely noticeable, and Vigil can't help but send a few worried looks at the wall-- specifically the chains that are supposedly keeping him restrained. Barclay has been described as a fortress before, impenetrable and impossible to escape, but for the first time, he's truly worried. Can the structure truly withstand those mechanical arms? He wonders if he should get Governor Caidin, but he can't pull away now.

Also, 'our' work?? You know what, it's better not to ask about some things.]

...You may threaten me all you want. [While still maintaining that soft spoken voice, Vigil does manage to stand a little more firm. He seems determined despite the words hollered at him.]

I'm unfamiliar with your work, but whatever research you wanted to bring, doesn't excuse the deaths you caused. Families that were most likely broken apart. [.....] Does that truly not bother you?

[For brief moment, barely a split second, Vigil's words register for what they are and trigger a painful memory. Rosie. But such thoughts are soon drowned out and all but erased. Lingering on grief is a waste of precious time. Not important.

So he scoffs loudly and while he doesn't tug at the chains again, the actuators still squirm in a restless manner.]

They ought to be thanking me on their knees. Such attachment to other human beings is a weakness. The less of that we have, the less we stand to lose.

[He's getting the sense that this prisoner has suffered through great losses of his own, which does help explain his lack of remorse over his actions. It's not uncommon for him to deal with men who's lost everything.

He wonders if he'd react in a similar manner if he lost his entire family. Vigil can't quite imagine himself hurting anyone, but a different and still terrible thought props into his mind...

Mostly, he doesn't think he'd live much longer after such an incident.]

A life without the worry of loss, isn't much of a life at all.

[When it comes to that different, terrible thought, Otto had it as well. Just for a little while, before it was drowned out by something else. He'd call it resolution, others might call it spite. In truth, it's neither of those things. It's denial and justification, coupled with an advanced AI system that's manipulating his every move. Even in Songerein, where the AI system does not exist, he's not free of those nagging voices.

The mechanical limbs tug at the chains once more, but that's not all. They almost seem to be hissing, like snakes. His lips curl into a mean sneer. This warden's naivety is amusing, in its own way.]

A life without the worry of loss is a life unhampered. When one has nothing left to lose, one only stands to gain.

[As the limbs continue to struggle against those chains, Vigil's confidence in his overall safety starts to dwindle. Well, hopefully his family will be taken care of if something should happen to him now. Not that he wishes or wants for Evie to be left a widow, but it's quite hard to be optimistic about things right now.

Not that he's ever been optimistic about much of anything.

It's strange, but those mechanical arms almost seem alive. Is such a thing possible though? It is bizarre enough to see them attached to a man, but to think they're sentient in some way as well...]

...It still sounds like an entirely empty life to live. [Vigil shakes his head.] Of course, you can choose to live like that, until you decided to murder others. That couldn't continue.

[There's a very brief moment, just a flicker of a thought, where Vigil's words stir doubt. Had he decided to murder others? Wasn't it more like something that had simply happened? The doubt isn't allowed to exist for very long, though. Instead, there's only anger. He shouldn't expect this simpleton before him to understand anything.]

A miserable nobody like you can't tell us what to do!

[It all happens in an instant. One of the actuators tears the chains holding it straight from the wall. The shackles are still attached, dangling pointlessly just below the claw. Not slowing its momentum even in the slightest, it thrusts itself forward, through the gap between the metal bars, going straight for Vigil's throat.]

[Vigil barely has any time to react; he's only able to reach for his firearm before the claw snaps forward through the bars, grasping tightly around his throat

His gun drops uselessly to the ground as he grips the mechanical arm with both of his hands, his eyes watering as he feels his throat constrict under its grip. Otto may notice the dream shifting slightly for a few seconds, almost flashing completely black, before the environment returns to normal as Vigil continues to struggle in the actutator's hold.]

S-stop this... you don't want to...

[Suddenly, the scientist may start to feel an invisible grip wrapping around his own neck, similarly how it would feel to have a noose tied around it.]

[Otto doesn't take pleasure in this. He doesn't feel much of anything about it beyond determination. It's just something that he has to do. People need to be put in their rightful place, even more so when they get in his way. Despite that, his lips curl into a mean smirk as the gun drops to the floor. The black flashes go virtually unnoticed, as do Vigil's words.

But then he feels that invisible noose applying pressure to his throat- close to choking him. The claw holding Vigil snaps open again and his hands automatically shoot up to his throat, but there's nothing to grab hold of. No way to ease that dreadful feeling.]

[Vigil sucks in a deep breath as he feels the claw leave his throat, his right hand reaching up to rub the red mark that's now visible on his neck. It might be a little strange to see a bruise form so quickly afterward, but it's definitely there as Vigil continues to hold his throat. He definitely seems pained, as he remains hunched over slightly with his eyes tightly shut, but mostly he's just trying to get his anxiety and racing heart under control.]

....

[Unfortunately, the pressure around Otto's neck doesn't leave, but it's not tightening any further. Vigil himself doesn't seem to notice the discomfort of the prisoner, even as he finally reopens his eyes to warily look at him and his mechanical arms.]

Y-you really released me?

[He spared him after all that? Guess that's nice, if slightly unexpected.]

[He doesn't really hear Vigil's words. The pressure is still there and it actually succeeds in alarming him. He'd collapse to his knees if he could, but he's being held up by the three limbs that remain attached to the wall, even the ceiling. He can only hunch in on himself, his hands still on his throat. The tentacle hovering outside the prison cell hastily retracts itself to stick near Otto instead, as if hoping to protect him from the invisible threat.

Oh, he hates this.]

Stop... Stop it...! [The words are intended to be a growl, but with the way he's choking on them, that ferocity is lost.]

[As soon as Otto begins to plead, whatever haze Vigil got himself into dissipates, along with the pressure that's been around Otto's throat. Worried, Vigil hastily steps closer to the cell, although he stops himself from opening it. If perhaps the scientist didn't have all of those mechanical arms, he would've tried to open the gate and attend to him, but... he's still a little traumatized from earlier.

Still, he can't just leave him like this, right? Definitely not, even if he is to be executed tomorrow.]

H-hold on, I can call a medic if something's happening to you...

[He definitely seems unaware of the fact that he was the source of the whole choking sensation.]

[The moment the faux noose dissipates, Otto draws in a few deep, heaving breaths. Thank god, for a second there he feared he'd be executed on the spot. Magic is the worst and were it possible, he'd remove it as a factor from this world. -Or was not magic at all? No, it must've been, right? What else would it...?

He shakes his head roughly. Last time medics tried to tend to him, his limbs killed them all. He doesn't care if people die, but he's not about to actively invite a situation like that. He'll just get blamed for that too.]

Shu... Shut up...!

[That's about all he manages to say, his voice hoarse. Still, when he finally lowers his hands, Vigil may notice a very familiar ring around Otto's throat; a slim red bruise, as if he's had a run-in with a certain redheaded Frenchman.]

[For once, Vigil doesn't startle when Otto snaps at him, just accepting the biting retort with calm. And okay, he's mostly just anxious and worried about the prisoner in front of him. It's really the first time he's seen someone choking like that-- is that how the prisoners look when they're eventually hanged? Gasping for air and pleading for it to stop? No, that's not how it works, because the execution should be instantaneous via the neck breaking--

The thought makes him grimace, any color from his face draining further, although he manages to ask Otto a question.]

W-what happened to your neck?

[The bruise is somehow familiar though. Subconsciously, he brings a hand up to his own neck, almost expecting to find a collar there. He feels nothing but his own skin, but something still bothers him... and he can't keep his eyes off the red mark around Otto.]

[The question does nothing but piss Otto off further. It's one thing to get back at him with brute force, but another to feign ignorance. The least the warder can do is own up this actions.

The one loose tentacle shoots forward again, this time slamming against the bars with a loud metallic clang. While the other three are still trapped, they too manage a ferocious jolting movement of sorts.]

You happened! Who else?

[He jumps slightly from the noise, but luckily, there's no other reaction from Vigil-- no sudden tightening around Otto's neck or anything of that sort. He mostly still looks distressed about the bruise that's still prominent on the scientist, while he absentmindedly rubs his own throat.]

I... did that?

[How could have he done such a thing? He's been on the other side of these bars this entire time. But something is telling him that such a thing is possible, even if it wouldn't be normally.]

I-I wasn't aware-- I'm sorry.

[He actually sounds apologetic. It doesn't matter if Otto's getting executed tomorrow, he doesn't want to cause him any undue harm beforehand.]

T-that's not how hanging works now-- [Vigil shakes his head, clamming up before he says anything more. What is he trying to say? That the actual execution should be painless? No, that's callous.]

["Hanging"... The word bounces around inside Otto's mind like a small wrecking ball, hitting far harder than the earlier mention of execution. Perhaps it's because he's just had a taste of what it'll be like. Through the frenzy, a very simple question rises to the surface. 'Can the actuators still function when all his higher brain functions cease?' Perhaps when he dies, they will die also and that will be the end of it.

The actuators catch wind of that thought. The free one turns to look at him almost as if it's offended and their presence floods his mind once more, drowning out anything but the need for survival. Otto's right hand moves to his head, clutching it.]

... We won't allow it. There will be no execution.

[It doesn't matter what he has to do to avoid that fate. It doesn't matter how many obstacles will be destroyed. He will live, and so will they.]

[Those are words he's definitely heard before, a last claim that a particularly stubborn prisoner would say. That they'll somehow escape, that there will be no execution, and then they'll find a way out and kill him. Vigil just lets out a small sigh, not truly looking too concerned by Otto's threat, even though he just got choked earlier.

...Guess this is the first time a prisoner has been able to reach him. So maybe he should be worried, but Vigil doesn't change his stance.]

I'm sorry it's come to this. [He looks off to the side, before folding one arm against his chest.] You can try hurting me again, but... someone else would cover my role here.

[The free actuator raises itself up a bit higher, its sharp jaws tilting and clicking. A curious metallic chittering sound hangs in the air, perhaps caused by the movements of its vertebrae. Or perhaps it was capable of chittering like an angry animal all along. As for Otto, he chuckles under his breath, one hand still on his head. It doesn't sound sarcastic, nor sadistic. If anything, it's a bitter sound.]

Then we'll just have to destroy this entire building, won't we...?

[That's... quite a large threat, but not completely unbelievable. It's not something Vigil can overlook, nor does he want to.]

You must realize that I can't let you do that.

[Although, he doesn't want to start choking him again or anything of that nature. Of course, he can also use his firearm, but that's also an unpleasant scenario. He just... really wants to avoid using physical force, but if Otto is going to be a source of danger, he can't turn away. It's his job as chief warder.

All of a sudden, more chains start to spring from the walls, tying around the actuators and pulling them tight against the building.]

[The warder won't let him do that? The mere notion of it is laughable. Who does this guy think he is? He's got no choice in the matter. Otto is about to point that out, but the opportunity to do so is robbed from him. The chains wind around the actuators- all four of them- and pull him a few steps backwards with a sharp jolt.]

Augh! Hey! What the hell?!

[Much as he struggles, the actuators are absolutely stuck now. The only literal wiggle room Otto's still got is his real limbs. That's bound to look pathetic.]

We can stay like this until tomorrow.

[Huh, it's strange, but he doesn't know the prisoner's name after all this. It feels a little rude to just call him 'prisoner,' but Vigil isn't about to refer to him as 'sir' either. So, he'll just stick with this.

He doesn't feel any sort of accomplishment having him stuck like this, but he doesn't have much regret forcing him into this position either. It will be a full on disaster if the structure that keeps the worst of Britain's criminals is destroyed.]

I'd prefer if we don't remain in this manner for that long, but we will if we must. [Get comfortable the hard way or the easy way.]

[Oh, this... This is hell. Now Otto's in a prison within a prison, as the tentacles keeping him in check are being kept in check in turn. And even now, the fight doesn't go out of him. He struggles a few more times, swinging his arms to see whether that will help ease the strain on the mechanical limbs. It doesn't.]

Do you expect me to beg for release, then? Promise I'll be a good boy from now on?

[Vigil just watches him struggle, and really, he finds no enjoyment out of this. For some reason, he feels like he can relate to feeling trapped, although maybe not fully in this manner. As such, he dares not admit his thoughts, letting his arms fold in front of his chest.]

I don't expect you to do anything. ...And I find it hard to believe that you'll remain still for the remainder of your time.

[He holds back a sigh. Guess this will be a long night.]

It seems that neither you or I will sleep.

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