[backdated to December 20] my loving heart, lost in the dark

[badluckhealer]

Who: Agatha Sheridan, Shadow Agatha Sheridan, open
Where: Gemini district. 13th Hour. Outside the Mictlan. Heaven or Hell, Let's Rock!
Summary: A really long overdue confrontation - and not just because it's backdated.
Warnings: Frank discussion of a really shitty childhood, probably some talk of violence in there too. Oh, and there's gonna be a Shadow fight. That too....and the Shadow is one chatty little thing.


[She shouldn't be doing this. She knows that. Getting involved is against the rules Mother taught her. The rules of the family, the first rules she ever knew. Don't get involved. Just stay out of the way and don't start anything. And yet here she is, at the only place she can guess her Shadow would be.

And she's guessed correctly, given the other Agatha waving at her cheerily.]

Hello~

...

[The almost puppetlike Shadow seems unfazed by the lack of reply.]

Let me guess - oh wait, it isn't a guess - you're trying not to start anything, right~? The main directives that bitch taught us: neutrality, secrecy, stoicism, aidi-

...Don't insult Mother.

[The Shadow just sighs and shakes her head, throwing up her arms in a very 'whatcha gonna do' way. The real Agatha, on the other hand, just has her fists clenched and her eyes narrowed - subtle hints of anger, but very real.]

It isn't like you're not thinking it! I'm you, you know. And let's face it, didn't you always resent that witchy woman for how she treated you? Like you weren't even h-u-m-a-n. And it never got any better, did it~?

...Be quiet...

You're doing a pretty bad job of this whole "accept yourself" thing! But then, a puppet shouldn't even bother with that, right~? Puppets don't feel, they don't hurt, it's okay to make them bear the wounds of others! It's okay for them to be alone and never learn how to feel anything! As long as it does what it's supposed to do, it's okay, right~? And that's why you just. Can't. Accept. Change. Now can you~? It's just like the Other Ancestor said, you know, there's already a ton of healers here! We're completely redundant, us Sheridans, and you know it! But you just can't accept it now can you~?

We are not--

We are. Totally, totally redundant. There's no point to continuing as you did before...but you can't accept it! Because blah blah, duties of a child of the First City, blah blah, gotta make up for the first murder and all the other bullshit our other ancestors pulled, blah blah blah. I mean really, the Other Ancestor doesn't even seem to care, to say nothing of the one from our world? What's the point?

... Do not discuss things like this wh-

Where other people can hear them, right? That's mommy dearest speaking. Not you. Don't you have opinions and feelings of your own? Well, of course, otherwise I wouldn't be here! [The Shadow grins brashly.] So~? You still don't know anything about yourself, do you? You won't let yourself know, will you? I'm right, aren't I?


... [The real Agatha closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She knows she's supposed to just accept the Shadow. She knows this. That's what the guy on the network said. She has to just accept it. ... But it's...]

I can't...I can't!

[It's probably the first time she's outright howled in pain in years. The Shadow pauses at that, blinking, before looking...oddly gentle.]

...Wow. All of that pain, all of that misery...It's probably better if you don't have to deal with it anymore, huh? The truth is, you should've just stayed that smiling little girl who wanted to play at being a bird...but life made it otherwise. It's okay, I'll end it for you now.

[And just like that, a ragged, tattered version of Armaiti is summoned - along with the true one, in self-defense.

Round 1, start.]

Comments

[tyrantball]

BOOM.

Oh hey exploding chitin-sword out of nowhere impacting on the Shadow. Looks like Desco has mastered the surprise attack.

"You leave Aggie alone, stupidface dumbbutt!"

She has not, however, mastered the snappy one-liner.

I am attempting prose. This may be horrible.

[luckyuncle]

No. No, no, no, no, no.

This had been exactly what Jack didn't want happening.

When he had spotted the Shadow, he knew it wasn't the Agatha that he was used to -- but it was an Agatha that felt things, that voiced her opinion, that did all the things that he wished the true one would do.

He knew that he had to get the real Aggie -- his Aggie -- to resolve this matter non-violently, to see if her and her Shadow could come to terms with things.

Judging by the fight that was now raging nearby, that was not the case.

Jack dashes headlong into the clash of the twin Armaiti, just barely dodging an Agi thrown by True Agatha's Persona -- and spreads his arms out wide.

"Stop!"

[the_tv_is_a_lie]

"You're not ending anything."

Hey. Hey, Shadow Aggie.

Remember this guy? Remember his black coat-clad headgod? Remember how he was going to Power Slash you earlier in the week?

Well, guess what's headed your way now.