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tampered2007-01-17 12:20 am
alessalearnt.livejournal.com) wrote in tampered2007-01-17 12:20 am
Log; Complete
When; January 16th - evening
Rating; PG
Characters; Alessa![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
alessalearnt & Hotaru silence_bringer
Summary; Hotaru is distraught, Alessa comforts her and offers to help.
Log;
Building seven, apartment twenty-three. This was it. Alessa heaved a deep sigh as she prepared herself for what had become a most trying day. She had looked for Sharon on her way to Hotaru's apartment, but there was no luck. She thought of Rose for a moment, and fought back tears. Alessa hadn't had the heart to tell her that she couldn't sense Sharon here anywhere. When the mother found out, she would be devastated. Damned City, and damned Silent Hill, she cursed inwardly.
She knocked on the door then, shoving her concerns for Sharon and Rose aside, more than prepared to help comfort this girl that reminded her of herself.
Hotaru glanced up from the pillow with a sniffle as she heard the knock at the door. She didn't know where Archer was, he seemed to have either gone out on his own or to have elected to do that whole invisible thing he did at times again. Either way, she didn't blame him. He probably feels bad because of me... Sliding off of the purple-coverlet, she wiped her eyes and padded across the livingroom. Unlatching the chain, she turned the knob and pulled open the door.
"Alessa-san..."
Alessa stepped through the door quickly, not wanting to stay out in the open for too long. She didn't know how quickly the word that the cult's most precious asset was out in the open and alone would get around to her enemies. She'd be safer in Hotaru's apartment, that was for sure.
"I'm sorry it took me so long, Hotaru," she apologized, glancing around the apartment with curiosity. "Why don't you have a seat, and I'll fix us some tea or something, okay?"
She didn't really know what kind of instincts were taking over, but she could assume that this was what it was like to be a mother or an older sister. She just wanted to make Hotaru happy again, and the words and actions just seemed to come naturally. She entered the kitchen and looked through the cupboards, finally finding some cocoa powder. "Do you like hot chocolate, Hotaru?" She called out.
With a slight nod, Hotaru went back to the couch and sat down, picking up the pillow she'd been hugging before. Violet eyes watched as the older woman puttered around in the kitchen, rummaging through cabinets and drawers. She supposed that maybe having a mother was something like that, having someone taking care of you and making you food and just being there. Nodding an assent at Alessa's words, she managed the barest smile. "Hai..Alessa-san. I like cocoa."
Alessa smiled, and made it quickly, bringing the hot beverage to the young girl. "Careful; the mug is hot." Alessa sat down next to her, and took a short sip of the drink before leveling her blue eyes on her young friend.
"Tell me what happened first, if you can, okay? Getting it out helps sometimes," she murmured, reaching out to run a hand through Hotaru's black hair lovingly. She couldn't recall how many times Xulchibara just sat and listened - she always felt better afterwards.
"O...ok.." She carefully set the cup down on the coffee table, trying to figure out how to start. But....the next thing she knew, her lower lip quivered and she wrapped her arms around Alessa's waist, sobbing into the front of the other girl's shirt. "It's my fault, and Archer's sick and it's because of me and all I ever do is make everything wrong and hurt people and I don't WANT to make him sick, but I want things to be like they were and I want him to kiss me and hold me but I don't want it to hurt him~!"
Alessa blinked suddenly, not used to this at all, but she quickly set her mug down and wrapped her arms around Hotaru in a tight hug. "Sssh, Hotaru, it's okay...it's okay," she murmured, rubbing the girl's back just like Valerie had done those months ago when she too was distraught.
"Why does it hurt Archer when you do those things?" She asked, curious. Hotaru could heal things. Why would a kiss hurt someone? It just didn't make any sense.
It felt...nice. Like home, in a way. And maybe that was part of the problem. Sure, the girl knew very well that she'd destroyed her world, that she couldn't go back to it. But...that didn't mean she didn't miss it. Didn't miss the friends and family that she'd left behind, the souls that she'd Silenced. And so for a moment, she just cried, clutching tightly to Alessa as she tried to get out her explanation. "Archer..Archer...is a..a spirit. He...do..doesn't get..tired or...hungry or...sleepy. He..he's not..sup..posed to. But..wh..hen he ki..kisses me...he...he...gets..ti..tired and..s..sick..."
Alessa just kept continuing what she was doing - it seemed to be working somewhat. Hotaru's explanation troubled Alessa, however. If Archer was a spirit, then why would kissing him take away his energy? Unless...
"But Archer lets you kiss him anyway, though, right?" Alessa asked, curious. "Surely it can't hurt him that badly if he still wants to kiss you..." She didn't know the whole situation or what was going on, really, but she would slowly piece it together.
She pulled back slightly, wiping her eyes though the tears didn't stop. "He...he wants to...but...he says he doesn't know if it's a good idea..." Looking up at Alessa, her lip started to quiver again. "I...I don't want to be hurting him, but it hurts me too!" She put her face in her hands and started crying again. "I love him, I want to be close to him, but I'm hurting him when I do and I don't know WHY!"
Her brow furrowed at this news. She wanted to talk to this Archer and get to the bottom of this. But that sounds exactly like what Hotaru should do, she thought, using her powers to create a black handkerchief. "It sounds to me..." Alessa began slowly. "...that you need to talk to Archer. I've had my fair share of romance troubles, trust me. When I first met Henry, I still was using the ephereal child form that Xulchibara had given me. I looked like a child. But that didn't stop us. Even the return of Xulchibara didn't stop us.
insanityizgood: "Love...is a very mysterious and interesting thing. You can never predict where it will go, and I think that you need to have faith in it, Hotaru. Love is one of those rare things in the world that we have to hold onto with every ounce of strength that we have." She used the handkerchief to wipe away the younger girl's tears away as gently as possible. "Trust in it."
Hotaru nodded slowly, pushing black bangs out of her eyes with one pale hand. "I did talk to him. But...he's hurting too. I can always tell when he's sad. And he doesn't know why it's happening, either. He said not to jump to conclusions, but...I know it's because of me...probably because of my powers...." She cocked her head to one side as Alessa spoke of Henry and her child-form. "You...were a child and he still loved you? That's...romantic. I DO trust it, and I trust Archer. I just...I want to do something, I want to fix it. But..I don't know how. The only thing that I can control is healing. The other power...it doesn't obey me, it obeys Saturn."
Saturn, huh... Alessa thought for a moment, biting her lip in concentration, when a thought came to her. "You know, when I first came here, Henry experienced something kind of like you are. He couldn't control his powers, and I had to kind of help him out a bit. Let me take a look and see exactly what's going on with you." She reached out and placed her hands on either side of Hotaru's head.
"I promise it won't hurt," she said. "Do you trust me?" Alessa wanted to be sure that Hotaru would allow her to do this - she didn't want to look into her mind without her permission.
Go inside her head? The idea didn't frighten her, really. It was strange, but she was honestly more worried that the Saturn-power would hurt her friend. But...if Alessa-san had done this before, then perhaps it would be ok. She nodded slightly. "Alright."
Alessa closed her eyes and willed her psychic powers to push past the barriers in Hotaru's mind - all of them. She had no clue what she would find there, but she had a hunch that it held the key.
Whether what she found was what she'd expected to find, was anyone's guess. But what she DID find was likely a good deal more then what she'd expected. Power, curling around her, snapping and crackling like live wires, coils like serpants lashing out and roiling through Hotaru's mind. The energy seemed almost to feed on itself, undulating with a pulse that mirrored the girl's heartbeat. Fingers of electrical surges pulled at Alessa, drawing her energy like poison from a wound, clinging to it as though to absorb her essence into itself. A twisting, writing vortex of fury that roared and raged through the girl's mind like a wild beast escaped from it's cage, the darkly-hued power bespoke destruction and chaos, quite the opposite of the timid girl in whom it's source rested.
Alessa's breath hitched and she closed her eyes tighter. I see....well, Silent planet, you may have taken what you wanted from the spirit, but you will NOT take anything from me! she mentally shouted at the churning power inside Hotaru. She withdrew from Hotaru's mind quickly, already having seen enough, but removed her hands from Hotaru's head slowly, so as not to frighten the girl.
"I understand the problem," Alessa said. "You have a very large amount of power inside of you, but you can only control a small aspect of it. When your emotions run high, your power gets even more out of control," she explained. "The same thing happened to me when I was young; I had so little self-control that I completely altered and changed the world I lived in.
"What you need to do is learn to control your power, and tuck it away until you absolutely need it." Alessa smoothed the younger girl's hair. "If you stay with us for a few days, we can help you master it, if you'd like. Afterwards, you should be able to interact with Archer in any way you please." Alessa smiled, praying that this information would give Hotaru a spark of hope.
Quietly, she looked down at her hands. "So it is my fault..." Biting her bottom lip, she looked as though she were about to cry. But with Alessa's mention of help, her eyes widened and she looked up at the pair of blue ones that stared down at her. They...could help her control it? Control the Saturn-power? "You...you and Rosu-poppa can do that?"
Alessa nodded. "We helped Vincent, Scarab, and Henry do it. And Xulchibara helped me control mine, too." Although he did relish in its chaos for more years than was necessary, she thought, but decided not to voice that opinion. That wouldn't help her feel better at all.
"So, if you want to, you can come back with me and we'll start tomorrow, okay?" she offered gently; it was time for her to get back to the manor either way. Henry and the others would get worried, and she knew Vincent couldn't keep his mouth shut forever. The truth that she ran off without protection would come eventually.
"O..Ok..." She wasn't too sure what Archer would think about it. Especially since she knew that he didn't like her staying away for too long. But..this was something he'd just have to trust her on. Standing up from the couch, she stepped into the kitchen and pulled out a pad of paper and a pen. Jotting down a quick note to Archer, she walked back over to where Alessa sat. "Ok, I'm ready."
Alessa rose from the couch, and wrapped her arm protectively around the girl's shoulders. "We're going to have to move quickly. There are people that want to hurt me because I listen, love, and follow Xulchibara. You understand?" She asked. She was certain the younger girl did, and so, as soon as they left the apartment behind them, she began to walk at a quickened pace.
Alessa felt somewhat accomplished. She had truly helped an innocent, and she didn't feel as...dark as she usually did. Almost as if God Herself was giving her a pat on the back in acknowledgement for what she had done to help Hotaru. Helping people...that is my calling, not judging...the others are better at that than I am, she thought, giving Hotaru a loving smile.
"Why would they want to hurt you because of Rosu-poppa? He's so kind to me, he can't be as bad as they think." Following along after Alessa, she could tell that the older woman was nervous. Reaching forward, she grabbed Alessa's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. "It's alright, Alessa-san. I won't let anyone hurt us."
Alessa kept her eyes open as they moved through the crowds towards the forest. Silently, she willed two of her more human-looking pets to meet them there, where they would be able to protect them from anyone who might be following. "No, he isn't...but people don't understand. I love Xulchibara very much, maybe even more than I love Henry, and they know that he cares for me too. If they hurt me, then they hurt him. I'm very important to him." She wasn't too sure if she should confide everything to Hotaru; the concept of the god they were going to attempt to birth might be a bit too much for her in her fragile state.
"If they know you're our friend, they'll want to hurt you too. So controlling your power is not only important in order for you to be with Archer, but so you can protect yourself when you need to as well." The forest was on the horizon, and Alessa felt a little surge of hope. So far, so good. No one has tried to attack us yet.
"Archer wouldn't let them hurt me. And...they probably couldn't even if they tried." She let her thoughts turn inward. No, there was likely very little that could hurt her. Afterall, not only was she already dead, but she was the soldier of ruin. Blessed with the very power of destruction. The one who could Silence worlds. "I have the power to destroy an entire planet, Alessa-san. I'll keep us safe." She smiled, to try and take away the weight of the words. Not everyone understood that, as Saturn, she could control her powers for the most part. But...it wasn't the same. She and Saturn, while two sides of the same coin, were also at the same time very different people.
Alessa nodded, silently acknowledging the girl's words. "I believe in you, Hotaru." She didn't really know what to say after that - she had very little experience in talking to girls around her own age. After all, she never had had any friends for as long as she could remember. It wasn't until she came here that there were people other than Xulchibara and her mother who actually cared for her.
"There are going to be two creatures waiting for us when we get to the forest. Now, Hotaru, no matter how frightening they look, don't be afraid, okay? They won't hurt you. They listen to what I tell them. They're like...pets, sort of. That's what I call them anyway. They'll protect us too." She didn't know how Hotaru would react to seeing two bubble-head nurses waiting at the edge of the forest, but she would have to trust that Hotaru would be brave and trust Alessa.
Hotaru nodded silently, violet eyes constantly scanning the city streets for any sort of threats that might be lurking. Alessa's words unnerved her slightly, but she pushed the slight fear back into her mind. She'd seen monsters. Most of them harmless people twisted by the darkness in their own hearts. Besides, what made something a true monster wasn't what it looked like on the outside. It was the inside that really told the truth. "Ok."
It was the final stretch in their quick walk, and Alessa picked up the pace. Before she knew it, they were in the forest, the trees surrounding them. "Wait for them," she told Hotaru, and listened.
Slowly, the sound of cooing noises drifted towards Alessa. Over here, darling ones, she called out to them mentally. There was a rustling of branches and bushes, and two bubble-head nurses came walking forward, their steps littered with twitches and unvoluntary tics. Thank you for coming, sisters, she told them, and they smiled. These two nurses had been twin sisters when they were alive, and their memories were all but gone - the only ones that remained were of Alessa and the bond the two of them shared.
"Hotaru, these two lovely ladies will escort us back home. They were twin sisters when they were human, you know." Lead the way, please, she said to them, and they gave a stuttering nod, moving forward slow enough for the two human girls to follow at a reasonable pace.
Surprisingly, it wasn't fear that crept up into her mind. Rather, it was something akin to sympathy. She cocked her head to the side, amethyst eyes slightly sad as she followed and watched them. "What...happened to them?" Hotaru watched their stuttering movements, feeling a tug at her emotions. They seemed so...so sad. Like shadows of what they had once been. Could they be healed? Returned to their original shape and form? If Usagi-chan were here...maybe she could heal them, turn them back to what they used to be.
"They..." Alessa hesitated, but decided to take the plunge. "I changed them. I did this to them. You see...when I was very young, some bad things happened to me. A man at my elementary school did some things he was not supposed to, and..." Her voice caught. Will it always be hard to talk about this? she thought, hating the pain that came with her story.
"A bad woman...her name was Christabella. She was the leader of the followed religion in the town I'm from, although my mother told me stories of a different religion, the one she grew up with. It was better than the one Christabella taught, in my opinion, and the religion I follow now.
"Either way, the only way anyone was able to be in the Silent Hill without any problems was to be associated with this cult. My mother is religious, and we had gone to their church numerous times. To make a long story short, I was burned alive as a witch, but for some reason, I did not die. Instead I was placed in the hospital, and many of the townspeople left. They were fed up with Christabella's insane rantings. I was....well, you can imagine the rage that was building up inside, and one day, it just exploded.
"I literally changed the nice, cheerful town I live in into a living nightmare, into my own personal hell. And these two came along with me. All of the 'tunnel horrors' you hear people talking about...the Pyramid Head monster, too. They are all mine. They listen to me, and protect me, because they pitied me and maybe even loved me. I could heal them, change them all back to normal, but..." She tugged a strand of her hair nervously. "...I like them this way."
"Because they remind you that even then, you had someone to care for you, right?" It made sense, in a way. Even though she was the one who had changed them, had turned them into what they now were, they had still protected her, still loved her in a way. It was no wonder that their current forms held a sort of nostalgic pull to her.
"Yeah, I guess you could say that," Alessa answered. "I never thought about it that way." They were nearing the manor now; Alessa could slowly but surely begin to feel the presence of Xulchibara, and she could tell that the twins in front of them were getting excited. They always got excited when Xulchibara was around, due to his chaotic nature, but they were even more excited when "mother" and "father" were in the same proximity.
Hotaru giggled slightly. "They're excited. I can tell." She could sense him too, slightly. Like a voice in the back of her mind, almost the same way she could always sense Archer.
They walked a bit further, and then the manor stood out in close proximity. The two twins turned to give their silent goodbyes to Alessa, thanking her for this chance to get out, and twitchedly made their way back towards the Underground. "Come on," Alessa said, feeling much more relaxed now that home is in sight. "Let's get you settled in and ready for tomorrow."
Nodding, she grabbed Alessa's hand with a smile. "Ok."
Rating; PG
Characters; Alessa
alessalearnt & Hotaru silence_bringer Summary; Hotaru is distraught, Alessa comforts her and offers to help.
Log;
Building seven, apartment twenty-three. This was it. Alessa heaved a deep sigh as she prepared herself for what had become a most trying day. She had looked for Sharon on her way to Hotaru's apartment, but there was no luck. She thought of Rose for a moment, and fought back tears. Alessa hadn't had the heart to tell her that she couldn't sense Sharon here anywhere. When the mother found out, she would be devastated. Damned City, and damned Silent Hill, she cursed inwardly.
She knocked on the door then, shoving her concerns for Sharon and Rose aside, more than prepared to help comfort this girl that reminded her of herself.
Hotaru glanced up from the pillow with a sniffle as she heard the knock at the door. She didn't know where Archer was, he seemed to have either gone out on his own or to have elected to do that whole invisible thing he did at times again. Either way, she didn't blame him. He probably feels bad because of me... Sliding off of the purple-coverlet, she wiped her eyes and padded across the livingroom. Unlatching the chain, she turned the knob and pulled open the door.
"Alessa-san..."
Alessa stepped through the door quickly, not wanting to stay out in the open for too long. She didn't know how quickly the word that the cult's most precious asset was out in the open and alone would get around to her enemies. She'd be safer in Hotaru's apartment, that was for sure.
"I'm sorry it took me so long, Hotaru," she apologized, glancing around the apartment with curiosity. "Why don't you have a seat, and I'll fix us some tea or something, okay?"
She didn't really know what kind of instincts were taking over, but she could assume that this was what it was like to be a mother or an older sister. She just wanted to make Hotaru happy again, and the words and actions just seemed to come naturally. She entered the kitchen and looked through the cupboards, finally finding some cocoa powder. "Do you like hot chocolate, Hotaru?" She called out.
With a slight nod, Hotaru went back to the couch and sat down, picking up the pillow she'd been hugging before. Violet eyes watched as the older woman puttered around in the kitchen, rummaging through cabinets and drawers. She supposed that maybe having a mother was something like that, having someone taking care of you and making you food and just being there. Nodding an assent at Alessa's words, she managed the barest smile. "Hai..Alessa-san. I like cocoa."
Alessa smiled, and made it quickly, bringing the hot beverage to the young girl. "Careful; the mug is hot." Alessa sat down next to her, and took a short sip of the drink before leveling her blue eyes on her young friend.
"Tell me what happened first, if you can, okay? Getting it out helps sometimes," she murmured, reaching out to run a hand through Hotaru's black hair lovingly. She couldn't recall how many times Xulchibara just sat and listened - she always felt better afterwards.
"O...ok.." She carefully set the cup down on the coffee table, trying to figure out how to start. But....the next thing she knew, her lower lip quivered and she wrapped her arms around Alessa's waist, sobbing into the front of the other girl's shirt. "It's my fault, and Archer's sick and it's because of me and all I ever do is make everything wrong and hurt people and I don't WANT to make him sick, but I want things to be like they were and I want him to kiss me and hold me but I don't want it to hurt him~!"
Alessa blinked suddenly, not used to this at all, but she quickly set her mug down and wrapped her arms around Hotaru in a tight hug. "Sssh, Hotaru, it's okay...it's okay," she murmured, rubbing the girl's back just like Valerie had done those months ago when she too was distraught.
"Why does it hurt Archer when you do those things?" She asked, curious. Hotaru could heal things. Why would a kiss hurt someone? It just didn't make any sense.
It felt...nice. Like home, in a way. And maybe that was part of the problem. Sure, the girl knew very well that she'd destroyed her world, that she couldn't go back to it. But...that didn't mean she didn't miss it. Didn't miss the friends and family that she'd left behind, the souls that she'd Silenced. And so for a moment, she just cried, clutching tightly to Alessa as she tried to get out her explanation. "Archer..Archer...is a..a spirit. He...do..doesn't get..tired or...hungry or...sleepy. He..he's not..sup..posed to. But..wh..hen he ki..kisses me...he...he...gets..ti..tired and..s..sick..."
Alessa just kept continuing what she was doing - it seemed to be working somewhat. Hotaru's explanation troubled Alessa, however. If Archer was a spirit, then why would kissing him take away his energy? Unless...
"But Archer lets you kiss him anyway, though, right?" Alessa asked, curious. "Surely it can't hurt him that badly if he still wants to kiss you..." She didn't know the whole situation or what was going on, really, but she would slowly piece it together.
She pulled back slightly, wiping her eyes though the tears didn't stop. "He...he wants to...but...he says he doesn't know if it's a good idea..." Looking up at Alessa, her lip started to quiver again. "I...I don't want to be hurting him, but it hurts me too!" She put her face in her hands and started crying again. "I love him, I want to be close to him, but I'm hurting him when I do and I don't know WHY!"
Her brow furrowed at this news. She wanted to talk to this Archer and get to the bottom of this. But that sounds exactly like what Hotaru should do, she thought, using her powers to create a black handkerchief. "It sounds to me..." Alessa began slowly. "...that you need to talk to Archer. I've had my fair share of romance troubles, trust me. When I first met Henry, I still was using the ephereal child form that Xulchibara had given me. I looked like a child. But that didn't stop us. Even the return of Xulchibara didn't stop us.
insanityizgood: "Love...is a very mysterious and interesting thing. You can never predict where it will go, and I think that you need to have faith in it, Hotaru. Love is one of those rare things in the world that we have to hold onto with every ounce of strength that we have." She used the handkerchief to wipe away the younger girl's tears away as gently as possible. "Trust in it."
Hotaru nodded slowly, pushing black bangs out of her eyes with one pale hand. "I did talk to him. But...he's hurting too. I can always tell when he's sad. And he doesn't know why it's happening, either. He said not to jump to conclusions, but...I know it's because of me...probably because of my powers...." She cocked her head to one side as Alessa spoke of Henry and her child-form. "You...were a child and he still loved you? That's...romantic. I DO trust it, and I trust Archer. I just...I want to do something, I want to fix it. But..I don't know how. The only thing that I can control is healing. The other power...it doesn't obey me, it obeys Saturn."
Saturn, huh... Alessa thought for a moment, biting her lip in concentration, when a thought came to her. "You know, when I first came here, Henry experienced something kind of like you are. He couldn't control his powers, and I had to kind of help him out a bit. Let me take a look and see exactly what's going on with you." She reached out and placed her hands on either side of Hotaru's head.
"I promise it won't hurt," she said. "Do you trust me?" Alessa wanted to be sure that Hotaru would allow her to do this - she didn't want to look into her mind without her permission.
Go inside her head? The idea didn't frighten her, really. It was strange, but she was honestly more worried that the Saturn-power would hurt her friend. But...if Alessa-san had done this before, then perhaps it would be ok. She nodded slightly. "Alright."
Alessa closed her eyes and willed her psychic powers to push past the barriers in Hotaru's mind - all of them. She had no clue what she would find there, but she had a hunch that it held the key.
Whether what she found was what she'd expected to find, was anyone's guess. But what she DID find was likely a good deal more then what she'd expected. Power, curling around her, snapping and crackling like live wires, coils like serpants lashing out and roiling through Hotaru's mind. The energy seemed almost to feed on itself, undulating with a pulse that mirrored the girl's heartbeat. Fingers of electrical surges pulled at Alessa, drawing her energy like poison from a wound, clinging to it as though to absorb her essence into itself. A twisting, writing vortex of fury that roared and raged through the girl's mind like a wild beast escaped from it's cage, the darkly-hued power bespoke destruction and chaos, quite the opposite of the timid girl in whom it's source rested.
Alessa's breath hitched and she closed her eyes tighter. I see....well, Silent planet, you may have taken what you wanted from the spirit, but you will NOT take anything from me! she mentally shouted at the churning power inside Hotaru. She withdrew from Hotaru's mind quickly, already having seen enough, but removed her hands from Hotaru's head slowly, so as not to frighten the girl.
"I understand the problem," Alessa said. "You have a very large amount of power inside of you, but you can only control a small aspect of it. When your emotions run high, your power gets even more out of control," she explained. "The same thing happened to me when I was young; I had so little self-control that I completely altered and changed the world I lived in.
"What you need to do is learn to control your power, and tuck it away until you absolutely need it." Alessa smoothed the younger girl's hair. "If you stay with us for a few days, we can help you master it, if you'd like. Afterwards, you should be able to interact with Archer in any way you please." Alessa smiled, praying that this information would give Hotaru a spark of hope.
Quietly, she looked down at her hands. "So it is my fault..." Biting her bottom lip, she looked as though she were about to cry. But with Alessa's mention of help, her eyes widened and she looked up at the pair of blue ones that stared down at her. They...could help her control it? Control the Saturn-power? "You...you and Rosu-poppa can do that?"
Alessa nodded. "We helped Vincent, Scarab, and Henry do it. And Xulchibara helped me control mine, too." Although he did relish in its chaos for more years than was necessary, she thought, but decided not to voice that opinion. That wouldn't help her feel better at all.
"So, if you want to, you can come back with me and we'll start tomorrow, okay?" she offered gently; it was time for her to get back to the manor either way. Henry and the others would get worried, and she knew Vincent couldn't keep his mouth shut forever. The truth that she ran off without protection would come eventually.
"O..Ok..." She wasn't too sure what Archer would think about it. Especially since she knew that he didn't like her staying away for too long. But..this was something he'd just have to trust her on. Standing up from the couch, she stepped into the kitchen and pulled out a pad of paper and a pen. Jotting down a quick note to Archer, she walked back over to where Alessa sat. "Ok, I'm ready."
Alessa rose from the couch, and wrapped her arm protectively around the girl's shoulders. "We're going to have to move quickly. There are people that want to hurt me because I listen, love, and follow Xulchibara. You understand?" She asked. She was certain the younger girl did, and so, as soon as they left the apartment behind them, she began to walk at a quickened pace.
Alessa felt somewhat accomplished. She had truly helped an innocent, and she didn't feel as...dark as she usually did. Almost as if God Herself was giving her a pat on the back in acknowledgement for what she had done to help Hotaru. Helping people...that is my calling, not judging...the others are better at that than I am, she thought, giving Hotaru a loving smile.
"Why would they want to hurt you because of Rosu-poppa? He's so kind to me, he can't be as bad as they think." Following along after Alessa, she could tell that the older woman was nervous. Reaching forward, she grabbed Alessa's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. "It's alright, Alessa-san. I won't let anyone hurt us."
Alessa kept her eyes open as they moved through the crowds towards the forest. Silently, she willed two of her more human-looking pets to meet them there, where they would be able to protect them from anyone who might be following. "No, he isn't...but people don't understand. I love Xulchibara very much, maybe even more than I love Henry, and they know that he cares for me too. If they hurt me, then they hurt him. I'm very important to him." She wasn't too sure if she should confide everything to Hotaru; the concept of the god they were going to attempt to birth might be a bit too much for her in her fragile state.
"If they know you're our friend, they'll want to hurt you too. So controlling your power is not only important in order for you to be with Archer, but so you can protect yourself when you need to as well." The forest was on the horizon, and Alessa felt a little surge of hope. So far, so good. No one has tried to attack us yet.
"Archer wouldn't let them hurt me. And...they probably couldn't even if they tried." She let her thoughts turn inward. No, there was likely very little that could hurt her. Afterall, not only was she already dead, but she was the soldier of ruin. Blessed with the very power of destruction. The one who could Silence worlds. "I have the power to destroy an entire planet, Alessa-san. I'll keep us safe." She smiled, to try and take away the weight of the words. Not everyone understood that, as Saturn, she could control her powers for the most part. But...it wasn't the same. She and Saturn, while two sides of the same coin, were also at the same time very different people.
Alessa nodded, silently acknowledging the girl's words. "I believe in you, Hotaru." She didn't really know what to say after that - she had very little experience in talking to girls around her own age. After all, she never had had any friends for as long as she could remember. It wasn't until she came here that there were people other than Xulchibara and her mother who actually cared for her.
"There are going to be two creatures waiting for us when we get to the forest. Now, Hotaru, no matter how frightening they look, don't be afraid, okay? They won't hurt you. They listen to what I tell them. They're like...pets, sort of. That's what I call them anyway. They'll protect us too." She didn't know how Hotaru would react to seeing two bubble-head nurses waiting at the edge of the forest, but she would have to trust that Hotaru would be brave and trust Alessa.
Hotaru nodded silently, violet eyes constantly scanning the city streets for any sort of threats that might be lurking. Alessa's words unnerved her slightly, but she pushed the slight fear back into her mind. She'd seen monsters. Most of them harmless people twisted by the darkness in their own hearts. Besides, what made something a true monster wasn't what it looked like on the outside. It was the inside that really told the truth. "Ok."
It was the final stretch in their quick walk, and Alessa picked up the pace. Before she knew it, they were in the forest, the trees surrounding them. "Wait for them," she told Hotaru, and listened.
Slowly, the sound of cooing noises drifted towards Alessa. Over here, darling ones, she called out to them mentally. There was a rustling of branches and bushes, and two bubble-head nurses came walking forward, their steps littered with twitches and unvoluntary tics. Thank you for coming, sisters, she told them, and they smiled. These two nurses had been twin sisters when they were alive, and their memories were all but gone - the only ones that remained were of Alessa and the bond the two of them shared.
"Hotaru, these two lovely ladies will escort us back home. They were twin sisters when they were human, you know." Lead the way, please, she said to them, and they gave a stuttering nod, moving forward slow enough for the two human girls to follow at a reasonable pace.
Surprisingly, it wasn't fear that crept up into her mind. Rather, it was something akin to sympathy. She cocked her head to the side, amethyst eyes slightly sad as she followed and watched them. "What...happened to them?" Hotaru watched their stuttering movements, feeling a tug at her emotions. They seemed so...so sad. Like shadows of what they had once been. Could they be healed? Returned to their original shape and form? If Usagi-chan were here...maybe she could heal them, turn them back to what they used to be.
"They..." Alessa hesitated, but decided to take the plunge. "I changed them. I did this to them. You see...when I was very young, some bad things happened to me. A man at my elementary school did some things he was not supposed to, and..." Her voice caught. Will it always be hard to talk about this? she thought, hating the pain that came with her story.
"A bad woman...her name was Christabella. She was the leader of the followed religion in the town I'm from, although my mother told me stories of a different religion, the one she grew up with. It was better than the one Christabella taught, in my opinion, and the religion I follow now.
"Either way, the only way anyone was able to be in the Silent Hill without any problems was to be associated with this cult. My mother is religious, and we had gone to their church numerous times. To make a long story short, I was burned alive as a witch, but for some reason, I did not die. Instead I was placed in the hospital, and many of the townspeople left. They were fed up with Christabella's insane rantings. I was....well, you can imagine the rage that was building up inside, and one day, it just exploded.
"I literally changed the nice, cheerful town I live in into a living nightmare, into my own personal hell. And these two came along with me. All of the 'tunnel horrors' you hear people talking about...the Pyramid Head monster, too. They are all mine. They listen to me, and protect me, because they pitied me and maybe even loved me. I could heal them, change them all back to normal, but..." She tugged a strand of her hair nervously. "...I like them this way."
"Because they remind you that even then, you had someone to care for you, right?" It made sense, in a way. Even though she was the one who had changed them, had turned them into what they now were, they had still protected her, still loved her in a way. It was no wonder that their current forms held a sort of nostalgic pull to her.
"Yeah, I guess you could say that," Alessa answered. "I never thought about it that way." They were nearing the manor now; Alessa could slowly but surely begin to feel the presence of Xulchibara, and she could tell that the twins in front of them were getting excited. They always got excited when Xulchibara was around, due to his chaotic nature, but they were even more excited when "mother" and "father" were in the same proximity.
Hotaru giggled slightly. "They're excited. I can tell." She could sense him too, slightly. Like a voice in the back of her mind, almost the same way she could always sense Archer.
They walked a bit further, and then the manor stood out in close proximity. The two twins turned to give their silent goodbyes to Alessa, thanking her for this chance to get out, and twitchedly made their way back towards the Underground. "Come on," Alessa said, feeling much more relaxed now that home is in sight. "Let's get you settled in and ready for tomorrow."
Nodding, she grabbed Alessa's hand with a smile. "Ok."