paradisa | 23 - dictated

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23 - dictated

[It's late at night when Phoenix spots the cat, as he's traversing the halls of the castle, headed back to his room.]

Oh--uh, hey there?

[Although the creature is a little too deep in his uncanny valley, he still puts on a friendly smile. It's not that much stranger than meeting a lion here, after all, right? Probably just a new resident from some weird world with bizarre cat things.]

...are you new around here?

[But the cat doesn't say anything. Phoenix shrugs and is about to wander on toward his destination, when suddenly there's a heavy weight flung into the left side of his body; he's knocked over, the journal skidding some distance away and falling open, to record the full attack.]

What--aaaaggghh!!! Get off me! Get... get away! No!

[The sounds of a struggle are plainly evident for a few moments more, before a rustling as the journal is quickly retrieved, and desperate panting, running--]

GLaDOS!!

[He reaches her door, on the same floor as his own room but further down the hall, and bangs frantically, begging to be let in.]

GLaDOS, please please open the door, please...!

[But no answer comes quickly enough, and the cat is there again, and Phoenix takes off once more, already knowing the sprint to his own room is fruitless--]

H...help! Somebody, please--it's following me! It's--

[And then a scream filled with fear and agony... and then silence, for a long while before Phoenix speaks again.

This time, his voice is hollow.]

Oh my god...

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[ GLaDOS feels everything too acutely- the way she can't feel any of her leg because it doesn't exist- the odd feeling of the smooth nub against her right hand's fingers despite it all- and most of all, how terribly sick she feels as a result, and so terribly frightful.

She's never felt fear on this scale, and her golden gaze is fixated on the faceless man appearing closer to them... and she's speechless, her throat closing up- it felt like there was more than a golf-ball in there...

She feels sweat beading under her hairline at the sheer amount of tension, even if she isn't moving. Somehow, she feels like she's been running a marathon- ha, ha- and the nub twitches, and she feels her whole body shudder violently in a wave of nausea.

So much, in so little time... ]

....... he-... he doesn't have...

[ GLaDOS is kind of desperate to see something normal and mundane right now, thank you very much. ]

[Frantically, Phoenix reaches for GLaDOS with his remaining hand, grabbing her shoulder in a deathgrip.]

Oh my god... Dhaos!! Where... where's your face??

Where's his face?!?

[Whether he's hanging on to GLaDOS to offer support or to ask for it, even he isn't sure. Regardless, he isn't letting go, and stares at her in horror rather than looking any longer at the abomination that once was Dhaos.]

[Dhaos tilts his head to the side for a moment in his usual thinking pose, pondering ways to tell them. They might not be able to hear him if he tries telepathy, and that wouldn't be of use to anyone. The solution he comes to is a little... different.

He attempts to mime cat ears by placing his hands on the top of his head, fingers pointed skyward.]

[ GLaDOS flinches when Phoenix grips her, but she finds herself relaxing slightly, swallowing, shifting closer to him and nearly gagging again as she felt the stump drag across with her. ]

... ghh... oh god...

[ she lets out under her breath, although it turns more into a frightened moan as she presses into his side, her own eyes glued to Dhaos. ]

... what...

[ She's very caught off-guard by the gesture, not understanding it whatsoever. What was he doing...? ]

A-are you... cursing us?? We don't need a curse, we need help!

[He's trembling next to GLaDOS, but tries to draw himself up bravely, despite still more or less being collapsed in a heap on the floor.]

What are you, really? You can't be Dhaos! Are you working with that thing?

[He shakes his head violently. Why would he work with the thing that made him like this?!

Giving up on the pantomime, Dhaos carefully takes the last few steps toward where he feels GLaDOS' energy, kneels down, and gathers her into a hug.

'I do not know if you can hear me dear sister, but I'm sorry that I could not protect you...'

[ GLaDOS is at least glad that he doesn't seem to be affiliated with that terrible thing, as Phoenix put it- but she flinches when he gets closer, heartbeat picking up. Thump.

Thump.

Thump thump thumpthumpthump-

And he's suddenly gathering her into a hug.

GLaDOS trembles a bit under the comforting touch, not used to such things from anyone but Wheatley, really- and it finally makes her lips tremble and her shoulders hunch up as she clings to him, feeling absolutely ridiculous as she did so.

And those words... GLaDOS is shocked that she can hear him speak, before realizing- he can't. So how is he conveying this? ]

... I... I don't need anyone to protect me. [ she mumbled stubbornly, keeping her voice low so it could stay steady, too. Already, it quivered the slightest bit, and she buried her face in his shoulder.

But then she turned her head to face Phoenix. ]

I think... whatever that thing was- it got him too.

[Phoenix is a little too put-off by Dhaos's lack of a face to really want a hug. As a matter of fact, he's been trying to inch away without being noticed, hoping to put some space between himself and what's left of Dhaos.

When GLaDOS calls attention to him, his heart begins to race once again.]

I... I'm okay. Don't worry about me.

[Phoenix's escape attempt doesn't go unnoticed; it's hard not to when he could hear their heartbeats, even from down the hall. This close, it's very easy to tell when the lawyer's heart rate picks up. Loosening his hold on GLaDOS a little, Dhaos instinctively turns towards the noise.

'...Does it hurt? Your heart is beating very quickly.']

[ She eventually pulls back, still feeling sick and terrible... but holding onto someone made her feel like she was dependent.

Which she wasn't, of course... she gives Phoenix a worried look. An almost pleading look, like a "please don't go anywhere and leave me here" kind of gaze. It didn't reach her mouth, though, as she pursed her lips tightly until she could speak with an even voice. ]

We should stay together, for now. In case...

[ It was a selfish want, really- she knew walking was definitely impossible, now, and she didn't want them to up and leave. She didn't want to be the only vulnerable one, the only one unable to stand.

This reminded her of her nightmare, admittedly. ]

[It pings Phoenix's memory of sharing GLaDOS's nightmare, too, and although he'd really rather not stick around anywhere there's a faceless something similar to an acquaintance of his, he nevertheless mans up a bit and decides to stay.

For GLaDOS. Not for Dhaos, and not for himself.

His eyes dart restlessly around the hall.]

We need to get somewhere safe. In a room, maybe. ...a well-lit room. The cat's still out there....

[Dhaos nods, and then carefully lifts GLaDOS into his arms. Not wanting to risk miscalculating and end up dropping her when he stands, the blond opts to use his magic to float into an upright position.

'Lead on.']

[ GLaDOS nods as well to Phoenix's comment, letting out a quiet sigh- relief? Definitely so. But that relief is short-lived when she's suddenly scooped up into Dhaos' arms, flinching in fear. And the floating is just more abnormal behavior, and she finds herself looking down at Phoenix, fearful. ]

We... we could go to my room- it's right nearby. [ she let out, in a halting, tense voice. ] Phoenix- can you lead him there?

[ She averts her gaze from her hips, where one simply just ends as though there never was a leg there. It was too disconcerting. Too different. Instead, she focused on Phoenix's face. ]

...yeah.

[Eyes still wide in a mixture of shock and fear, he's nevertheless more than happy to get up and go somewhere safer than this hallway.

Of course, getting onto his feet is easier said than done, as unbalanced and uncoordinated as he is at the moment. Still, he manages, forcing himself to watch GLaDOS just as she is watching him, as unwilling to look at himself as he is to see Dhaos right now.

He is in front of GLaDOS's door before he thinks to ask:]

...I wonder if we need a doctor.

[Dhaos feels GLaDOS flinch, though he mistakes it for fear of him dropping her.

'It will be alright. You will not fall.'

He ponders responding to Phoenix's comment about a doctor, but that was not for him to decide. It becomes rather difficult to be helpful with medical questions of this nature when one cannot see the injuries, and happens to be living purely on one's own magic. Besides, neither of them truly seem to want to acknowledge him at the moment. One does not need sight to know when one is being carefully ignored after all. Dhaos does not blame them for it; he imagines that he must be quite horrible to look at now that his facial features are gone.]

[ If she weren't in such a frightened and anxious state of mind, she might almost find it laughable how she and Phoenix stared at each other- their eyes were practically glued on each other at this point, and she found a comfort in him. Probably the fact that he had a face.

Although the comment about a doctor... she unwittingly looks back to the stump at her hip and her body moves in a revulsion, her gaze immediately shifting back to Phoenix. ]

Maybe... maybe we should discuss that inside.

The door's unlocked.

[ she spoke quickly, before suddenly coming to a very abrupt realization.

Wheatley was in there.

Her demeanor became even more anxious as she added: ]

We should- we should try to be quiet, too.

[Phoenix nods, understanding all too well the reason for GLaDOS's hesitation. Wheatley must be inside. He shudders to think what that reaction will be--and what Miles will think, too, when he sees the state of Phoenix's person now.]

...alright. In we go.

[He sighs and pushes the door open, keenly aware of the tingling he's now feeling from a limb that isn't there to tingle.

Provided nothing else hinders him, he'll be progressing on into GLaDOS's room uneasily.]

[Dhaos drifts into the room after Phoenix, feeling much less apprehensive than the spikey-haired lawyer. For the first time since that morning, he actually feels somewhat calm. He has a task to carry out, and it gives him something to focus on aside from his current state of being.]

[ The room is dark, but that's easily fixed by GLaDOS extending her arm as Dhaos drifts in, just hitting the light switch.

The light flickered on, and she breathed a sigh of relief as soon as it did. Everything in the room was normal- it resembled a small apartment, with a tiny kitchen and a table and everything. There was the doorway which led to the bedroom, and the door was pushed slightly ajar from GLaDOS' sprint out the door earlier.

Somehow, being back in here made her tremble even more violently, and her gaze moved apprehensively to the doorway into the bedroom. She didn't want Wheatley to see her... like this. She swallowed, her voice lowering into a confidential murmur. ]

We can sit at the table for now. And figure out what happened- and how we can get to the bottom of this.

[There's enthusiastic humming coming from the bedroom, and the light spilled through the cracks of the partially open doorway. Anyone paying enough attention would see the guy, pacing up and down his bedroom in his underwear while reading lines from a book.

Hamlet.

He often read to GLaDOS before bed, and while he had read ahead a few lines, he was still waiting for her return more or less. Lucky enough, despite the open crack, he didn't turn to look into the living room. He kept his eyes glued to the book, shouting out so she could hear him.]

Oh!...Wh-who was it?

(Also, The reason Phoenix lost his limb was Wheatley's fault. GLaDOS probably heard the door and Wheats was probably like "Nonono, wait... after I read you this part!")

[At GLaDOS's suggestion, Phoenix slides into a chair at the table, immediately hunching over to lay his head on the table's surface, still twitching periodically from the shock of everything that had just happened. He's not a very good guide for Dhaos, as all he really does is push out a chair for him--but he'd probably be quite a lot more considerate if he had his wits about him at the moment.

And then he hears Wheatley speak from the next room. He clears his throat.]

...Wheatley? Something's... happened.

[That's all he's got; finding the words to tell Wheatley that GLaDOS's injury was his own fault will have to come later.]

((Everything horrible in Phoenix's life is Wheatley's fault. The end. :|))

[Even with nothing more than the chair having been pushed out for him, Dhaos manages to find it's rough location. Figuring GLaDOS would be far more comfortable with the chair however, especially with the inevitable confrontation with Wheatley, he ever so carefully sets her down in it. He can sit on the floor; it's far more comfortable being close to someone than to be even a little bit away when all he can see is the darkness that reminds him so much of his imprisonment...]

[ She was so frightened, her heart-rate picking up as soon as she heard Wheatley's voice. And Phoenix's response makes her stomach churn in nerves.

She shivered as she was set down gently in the chair, her remaining foot resting on the floor... everything felt wrong. So wrong... the stump rubbed on the chair and she felt another wave of fearful nausea.

She was broken. She was broken and she was so afraid of having Wheatley see her. ]

I... It was Phoenix. We...

[ she called weakly, the fear rather obvious in her shaking voice- and she swallowed, not even bothering to speak any more than that.

Intending to rest her hand on her thighs, one misses and hits the smooth surface of the chair. She raises her hands instead to the table, clasping them together, shivering in another fit of revulsion. ]

... ugh...

Huh?
Oh, hello mate! How are you?

[He suddenly set his book down, stumbling to peek out from behind the door. Oh. It was Nick! Cue a wave and a friendly smile. The visit was unexpected, but at least he looked excited to see him, which was great considering he hasn't seen him in a while.

Don't mind him as he quickly worked hard removed the dog collar that was around his neck. ~~Don't ask. Never ask.~~ As he did, he flashed GLaDOS a 'why didn't you tell me there were other people here!?' look before he returned back to his forced smile to Nick. Oh? Was that Dhaos? He could only see his long blonde hair...

It was obvious he didn't see anything wrong yet.]

Dhaos, you're here too? Oh, look at this. This- this is great! A bit late... a bit unexpected, but still swell.

What's happened?

...something attacked us.

[Might as well get to the point as much as possible. He gestures between himself, GLaDOS, and Dhaos.]

We've all been... hurt.

[Shakily, then, he stands up from the chair, and despite his trepidation in doing so, pushes up the left sleeve of his t-shirt, rolling it back to expose the shoulder where it stops cleanly. His voice is pitched a little too high when he speaks next:]

You've gotta help us.

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Pfffft, Phoenix. XD

;-;

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paging wheatley! 8')

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why why why why WHY

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