008 || Backdated to Friday the 13th because fashionably late is where it's at

[common_name]

[When the outside world is gone, what are you left with? When its distractions are nothing but a distant memory, when your senses work a desperate overtime in a futile attempt to fill in the void, what stays? In an unpredictable reality, one that can change or be snuffed out at the drop of a hat, what can be considered a constant?

There's only one thing, what may be the most horrifying above all else to be left alone with, to have no choice but to face. Yourself.

With the lights out, with whispers constantly present in the back of her mind, with suspicions that may or may not be ungrounded gently tugging at her, just the right amount, it's hard for Julia to tell what's real. Maybe she's never really able to tell for certain, but on this day, it's enough to be more than unsettling.

No matter what she does, no matter where she goes, there's always a feeling that there's something just two steps behind her, watching, waiting to make the right move. Images, ones that were just flickers at first, disappearing when she blinked, but had over time become clearer, more lifelike. Her eyes are lying to her. Everything is lying to her. It has to...--

Nevertheless, she's now found herself in the second floor corridor, gun in hand, having set out to search for something. Something that's not really there, but that she can't stop herself from searching for all the same. At the moment the journal chooses to pick up some of this scene, she's taken a pause, her breath coming out in short gasps. Her steady grip on that gun begins to shake.]

It's over. [Her voice is about as steady as her grip; wavering in its best attempts to be firm. For anyone that would happen to also be in the area, it's not clear who or what she's actually talking to. Maybe she's trying to convince herself, make one last attempt to rationalize her way through whatever is going through her mind.] It's over.


[[OOC: Completely wide open :) Journal, hallway, whatever you want!]]

Comments

[spongetastic]

Julia...? You okay?

[common_name]

[A voice. Someone...? Where...?

She takes a breath in an attempt to steady herself again, but when she speaks, there's still a touch of uncertainty in her voice. For a woman that's normally so calm, so untouchable, something is starting to get to her. Whatever this is in her head.]

Peter? [She has to check.]

[spongetastic]

It's me. Are you okay? Do you need help?

[gottaknockhard]

[It's fair to say that Spike has been looking for her since this whole thing started. All the awkward situations and failure to save her from just about everything they've come across aside, he's not willing to risk the chance of her being alone when something big goes down. Because really, you never know when that will happen.

Thankfully, after deciding to check her room, he hears her voice from down the hall. Not enough to catch what she's saying, but enough to know it's her.

He approaches maybe a little too eagerly, sounding tentatively relieved.]

Julia.

[common_name]

[Okay. Something had answered her back. A small relief. That's about the best evidence she has right now that she's not going completely crazy. Even if she's still questioning. Best to go about this cautiously.

Nevertheless, her grip on the gun in her hand tightens. Not as if she's going to try to use it; as if she's trying to find something else that's tangible.]

I'm fine.

[common_name]

[There's no reassurance in this. No relief.

When she hears that approach, it only feeds off of her paranoia. She'd had the distinct sense of someone being there, and now she's had auditory confirmation. She freezes. Her blood runs cold.

Somewhere in there, the sound of that familiar voice does register, but she can't take it at face value. She can't trust anything her mind tells her. Can't--

She turns, and as she does, instinct takes over. There's almost a complete disconnect between her mind and her body as the gun in her hand is raised, pointing straight at him.]

[gottaknockhard]

[Spike doesn't slow down until he's close enough to feel that something is off, even if he can't quite make her out in the dark. She's afraid. Understandably, but he can't be so sure she isn't under the influence of ... whatever this is.

Suddenly the concern comes back, and he chooses his words carefully.]

Hey. It's me.

[common_name]

[Even that careful choice of words only taunts her.

Because something doesn't quite match up. In the darkness, she swears she sees something. Equally familiar, but not in the way she wants it to be. It's the vaguest traces of an outline, a tall, thin figure, the tip of a sword hanging around by the coattails when she blinks again.

A quick, desperate shake of the head is of no use. It's still there.

There's no sound, much less any response from her at all. Nothing but the cold click of the hammer being thumbed back.]

[spongetastic]

Okay. [but he will worry anyway]

[gottaknockhard]

[That sounds practically unmistakable, and somehow it seems to echo in the small hallway -- yet he doesn't quite believe it. How many times does she have to try and kill him before he takes the hint? Or maybe the castle finally figured out the quickest way to get to him. It's hard to tell either way, but he never was that bright.

One more time. He stays where he is, masked in shadows, and says her name again.]

Julia. [If he can just get her talking...] I'm not going anywhere.

[common_name]

[Just as quickly as it appeared, it's gone. Another blink, and all her eyes see is total darkness. It wasn't real, it was never real. On some remote level of consciousness, it registers that Spike's voice is coming from somewhere nearby. It's faint, quiet, and she can't make out any actual words apart from her name, but it's enough to put her somewhat at ease. At least to steady her hands and venture a sanity check.]

Spike--?

[She'd been just about ready to lower her gun when something intrudes on her newly-found calm and that question falls dead on her lips. A set of footsteps. A rustle of feathers. A gentle swish of coattails. They only become louder, clearer by the second. With a sharp intake of breath, she turns, almost wildly, trying (futilely) to scan the surroundings for any sort of visual confirmation.]

[gottaknockhard]

[He exhales, glad she at least knows who he is. Although the questioning in her voice leads him to quickly reassure her.]

Yeah, Spike. [Then just like that, he can tell she's distracted again. Some kind of hallucination probably. Spike really could burn this whole goddamn place down... but that doesn't help right now. He tentatively comes forward, and gets close enough to put a hand on her shoulder -- he doesn't though. Once he notices she isn't looking his way, he only tries to get in a better position to disarm her if need be.] It's okay. Just the castle again.

[common_name]

[That one moment of lucidity on her part will quickly become a thing of the past. Almost nothing that's being said to her is now getting through at all.

There are more of them. Footsteps, surrounding her on all sides, coming straight for her. They're after her and she knows it. She turns one way, and then the other, back and forth, back and forth, but she can find no sign of them. Nerves and tensions only rise higher and higher, almost to the point of panic. She's a sitting duck if she stays here. She can't--

All intentions to break away stop square in their tracks when her gaze comes back to the general direction that Spike is standing in. Because something comes to her in the darkness, clear as day: a diabolical smirk, set in a wispy frame of hair.

Her finger slips on the trigger.]

[common_name]

[A long moment of silence. Her thoughts are drifting back and forth, from non-reality to reality and back again. There are things occupying her attention. Whispers. Hints. Taunts. It's difficult to focus on anything from one moment to the next, no matter how hard she's trying to pull herself back.

Another breath.]

It's nothing. [If anything, it sounds like she's trying to convince herself.]

[gottaknockhard]

[He was afraid of this. Even with the other tricks that she's had played on her, he's never seen her so shaken up. It's a dangerous state for anyone to be in.

The sound of the bullet leaving the chamber and whizzing by Spike's ear is temporarily deafening, but it doesn't leave any holes in him. At practically point blank range, it's hard to dodge anything, so it's only his luck that she shot wide. Of course, any shooting in the hallway isn't going to come across well for anyone; which doesn't give him much of a choice.

He's less than gentle when he grabs at her wrist to try and loosen the gun. This could get worse very soon, and he's not going to let that happen.]

[spongetastic]

Okay. [will keep his journal open just in case]

[elementoflol]

[And of course, when someone is losing touch with reality, the thing they most want to see is...

...a pink pony go flying past on rollerskates, waving one wheeled hoof at Julia as she goes past.]

WHEEE~

[common_name]

[Armed with a now nonexistent grip on reality. It's one of the worst possible combinations that can happen in any scenario

Being grabbed like that, of course, isn't going to help anything.

If he doesn't think he's going to have a fight on his hands, then he's sadly mistaken. Not with her auditory hallucinations becoming more and more intense by the second, with that deluded sense of foreboding clouding whatever is left of her judgment, with everything in her screaming at her to run. She struggles against his grip with all the strength she has, holding onto that gun barrel like it's her last lifeline.

But, eventually, her physical strength proves to be the one that's limited, and it falls out of her hands.]

[common_name]

[She catches something out of the corner of her eye, some weird outline in the darkness, and she stops. Turns.

Was that a... hoof...?

... Yeah, that's a real help for her grip on reality at the moment.]

[elementoflol]

[She comes spinning back towards Julia, an expert on the skates.]

Hellooooooo!

[common_name]

[Weird. She's never heard that voice before. And it's not going away, no matter how many times she tries to shut her eyes to it. Maybe it's worth a check. She lets out a breath.]

Is someone--?

[elementoflol]

I'm Pinkie Pie.

[She skids to a stop in front of Julia, beaming up at the human woman happily.]

[gottaknockhard]

[The idea is to surprise her and knock the gun away, but Spike had a feeling it wouldn't be that easy. All the while he tries not to hurt her, which soon becomes more important than attracting attention. (The shot did enough of that for them, anyway.) Once he gets control of the gun, he flips the safety on and tosses it to the ground like someone who has done this a hundred times before.

After that, his focus is all on her. Both hands go up, which hopefully she can see are empty. Don't run.]

I'm sorry, I... [That's when he gets a good look at her face, brimmed with all the wrong kinds of emotions, and the words die away. What is he doing to her?

It takes him a moment more to recover his resolve.] ... Let's get you out of here.

[common_name]

[Losing that last defense may very well be enough to change something in her.

At the very least, the physical struggle is now apparently over. When the gun fell out of her grip, her hand simply fell limp to her side, and ever since, she hasn't moved. Like everything abruptly stopped working at that moment: her muscles, her senses. The only sound reaching her ears is now her own ragged breathing, an eerie contrast to the constant pounding from only moments before, as she's left only to helplessly stare into the darkness in front of her.

Images of reality start to come in flickers. But only in flickers. For a fraction of a second, there's Spike, but then he disappears, replaced with---]

You can't... [She averts her gaze down to the floor and shakes her head, almost furiously.] He's.....

[common_name]

[Squinting into the darkness, there's definitely something there. Maybe some proof that that voice isn't disembodied? That would be slightly encouraging, if anything. Enough to begin to ease her mind.

But, she'd swear that the outline of that form the voice is coming from is something not quite human.....

Just pardon her while she stares. She's not quite sure what to do with any of this at the moment.]