Dive In ⇒ w/ psychometer

[psychometer]

[It's a beautiful autumn evening. The sun is dipping below the horizon, the sky is mixed with hues of violet, reds, and blues. The leaves are browning and the air is crisper and chillier, a great contrast with the great heatwave of summer.

There's no one out during the after hours in this part of the city. The park while quiet and full of quaint charms has been avoided recently after seven unexplained disappearances. Certain officials have advised the locals to stay inside.

Oh, wait.]

Dancing in the moonlight,
Everybody's feeling warm and bright!

[Lien is walking past the warning signs and doing a little twirl all by herself. For someone who works on cold cases that usually involve murder in the first place, she sure is way too optimistic. She stops singing and calls to her companion that is not Jonah...]

Isn't the fresh air great? Man, I feel so energized!!

Comments

[blindknight]

[ He goes quiet, staring openly in Lien's direction. Of course, of course it would ask for something like that.

He would see again. But he'd lose her- he didn't care what that thing promised. He would lose her.

The thought occurs to him all at one that sight won't make everything better- losing it had lost him his friends, and any chance at a normal life but getting it back wouldn't bring those things back as well. No, it was Lien. Her presence- her enthusiasm, her acceptance, just her. She made everything better, and he would not give her away for the world.

He takes a deep breath. This was a delicate situation.

But it also seemed that on the heels of his revelation came another one- blooming in his mind like a flower. He suddenly just knew, like a wall had been knocked down, and the knowledge of his magic flowed freely into his mind. He could stop this, and it suddenly seemed very easy. ]

... You want me to break the seal? Fine. I'll do it. But I'll need my magic.

[psychometer]

Excellent.

[It seems convinced and very pleased.]

Your magic is quite intriguing boy. Will it take you a while?

[Meanwhile, the demon feels something within. Lien's hand is moving towards the stun gun in her jacket, slowly, ever so slowly.

Because Lien is trying to fight this parasite off, this thing possessing not only her mind, but it's trying to take over something in her she doesn't want it to touch]

[blindknight]

Not really.

[ And for the first time ever, his magic comes when he calls. A flash of light and Lindsey stands, armored and glowing. He glances over at Lien, and just like the first time they met, he can see her as she is. Short, lacking her usual smile in a disconcerting way, but not unpretty.

Unlike the first time they met, though, he looks deeper. It's intimate, and intrusive, but it's the only way. He doesn't know why he knows that but he does. He looks into her soul, her very being, and he can see everything that is Lien, and the dark tendrils of the demon trying to blot her out. She's fighting it, and doing a valiant job, but he can't let it go on a moment longer. ]

I'm sorry, Lien.

[ It's a brief apology, quiet, then he lunges toward her. A sword of pure light and power appearing in both hands as he brings it down in one powerful swipe, cleaving the demon from her soul. ]

[psychometer]

EEEEEEAAAAAAAAUUUUUUGHHHH!!

[The scream the demon emits is terrible as the sword of light cuts it down, its miserable existence no longer a threat. Its very body and soul have been cut and burned down.

As the shadow from her soul dissipates, the Knight can clearly see her form. The soul itself is soft and yet there are shimmering lines as if it were a patchwork of some sort, a soul made of different parts. The demon alluded to it after all; there was some strange unexplainable magic in her.

But it was still her. Lien's eyes return to their normal color and she looks upon Lindsey in his Knight form, dazed. Somehow she manages to hold up the stun gun and blithely remark.]

Ah. Guess I didn't need this after all.

And you're looking good Lindsey.

[She falls to her knees, feeling weak and light headed and not all quite there.]

[blindknight]

[ He doesn't want to intrude any more. There are things there he shouldn't be seeing, so he draws his gaze back, looking over her physical form again. What was it he'd thought earlier? "Not unpretty"? Well, that was just another way of saying pretty, wasn't it? And she really was.

Today must be the day for sudden realizations.

When she falls to her knees, Lindsey's right there kneeling beside her, one hand out to steady her. His armor dissolves, flaking off him in specks of light, and for once he's not exhausted or dizzy or sick after using her powers. He gives her a worried smile. ] You okay?

[psychometer]

[She smiles back, not registering the fact that she voluntarily reaches out for his arm to steady herself.]

Y-Yeah. That was... Ha. Haha. That's a first. That's never happened to me before. I mean, I heard things about monsters, but I didn't...

Oh god, rough n-night huh?

[She sniffs and Lien's voice sounds shaky as if she's on the verge of... Nope, she really is crying a few tears just fell down her face even though she's smiling.]

[blindknight]

Lien? [ It doesn't take a genius to figure out that tone of voice, and he instantly draws her into a hug. ] God, I'm so sorry.

[psychometer]

[The hug just cinches it. She sobs her one arm falling and dangling uselessly by her side and the other wiping the tears away from her face.]

W-What are you t-talking about you idiot?! I'm sorry! I-I'm such a dumb ass! I dragged us both into this, we could have g-gotten killed because of me!

[She's faced all sorts of murderers, criminals, and yet those types never threatened her sense of self like that demon did. Even worse, Lien felt awful because she put them both at risk out of misplaced confidence.

Her sobbing settles down once she leans her forehead against Lindsey's chest.]

I'm an idiot.

[blindknight]

Hey. You're not an idiot! You had no way of knowing what would happen.

[psychometer]

I totally am though!

[Oh wait, OOPS physical contact. She lifts her head up and waves her hands at him backing away slightly.]

A-AH!! Aw, crap, sorry for touching you!!

[blindknight]

Huh? Oh no, it's... I'd say you're... entitled at this point.

[psychometer]

[At least she's stopped crying although when he says that it makes her pretty surprised.]

I... Um.

You were able to become a Knight. Really quickly too.

[blindknight]

Yeah. I uh.

... I didn't want to lose you.

[psychometer]

...

[Lien falls silent and she lets her hand touch her forehead. She wasn't able to completely recall what the demon was saying while possessed, but now it's all coming back to her. The offer, the exchange, and the result.]

... You could have gotten your sight back.

[blindknight]

I almost said yes. It's what I've always wanted, since... since my accident. [ He hasn't really told her about it, aside from dropping hints. It's strange, yet somehow a relief, to be putting words to it. ]

But I realized that being able to see wasn't going to magically fix everything. And... even with my sight, my world would be just as dark without you in it.

1/2

[psychometer]

[Lien finds herself at a loss again and a warm sensation spreading across her face as she listens to his words.

She knows this feeling, it's a type of happiness that is achieved in a variety of ways that she isn't quite sure she wants to deal with right now--]

[psychometer]

Auuuuugggghhh!!

[... So she settles for bumping her forehead against his chest and letting it stay there, as if she's trying to hide her expression; but the fluster can be heard in her voice.]

You are so unreal! T-Those words are unreal! Who even says stuff like that anymore? Is that a Knight thing??

[blindknight]

[ That noise startles him at first, but she does manage to draw a laugh out of him. ]

I dunno. Maybe?

[ His moment of levity doesn't last long however, and he clears his throat. ] I have a confession to make.

[psychometer]

Ah... yeah, sure. Go ahead?

[She pulls back to look at him expectantly.]

[blindknight]

When I, uh, attacked the demon, I had to... God how do I even put this? I had to look into your soul.

[psychometer]

Oh.

[A beat.]

Ooooh!! Wait, I really DO have one?

[blindknight]

I... of course you do. Why wouldn't you?

[psychometer]

It's...

[Ever since she was young, she questioned her existence. She could accept that she was born artificially. She could even accept that she was a copy.

She just wasn't sure if it meant she was real and living. Even with the ghost's comforting words, she only came away with less doubts, not a clear answer.]

... Lindsey, what did you see? I told you before didn't I? I can read a lot of things with my touch, but souls aren't one of them. That's just territory I'm not able to cross like you.

My confession? I don't know that part of myself at all.

[blindknight]

[ He frowns a little, thinking. ] It was bright, strong- like your personality. But it was... I don't know, it looked sort of like patchwork.

[psychometer]

... So that's how it is huh??

[It feels... liberating to hear that. To know that there is something.

She deliberates over her next action for a few seconds, but then Lien... does put her hand over Lindsey's, smiling.

She had her own wall to jump and she finally crossed it too.]

I'm glad though. Thank you, Lindsey.