Dressed in only her puffy cuff jacket and her tights, Adagio Dazzle was a newborn puppy caught in the unforgiving breeze of the night. Her body shivered as she stumbled down a path of her own design, trying desperately to keep itself warm through motion. Her nest of orange hair, mussed and unkempt, performed a calm and rhythmic dance that contrasted these frantic movements. What was even more contrasting was the countenance she wore as she wandered. Her eyes were looking forward but aimed at nothing, unflinching in spite of the winds that tried to force them shut. Her mouth was a neutral curve, with the only signs of movement being its involuntary twitching. Her mind was just as unflappable, set on one destination that she never would've neared otherwise - at least, in her current state of being.
It was so easy to walk now as opposed to before. It had taken a Herculean effort not to rouse Aria and Sonata from their slumber. There were so many variables that had to be taken care of specifically for this moment. There was the rustling of her blankets, the creaking of the floorboards, the evasion of any object she would've otherwise bumped into and the shutting of the door on her way out. But in the end, it had been so worth it. Now she had the world to herself, and with her under its spell, the thorns that had buried themselves so deep into her sides were forgotten. As biting the winds were against the skin, she was ever so grateful for its low howl that seemed to etch itself into her eardrums. It was much better than the silence. Anything was better than the silence.
One of her shaking hands unconsciously reached out to grasp at the area of her breastbone and, after a few seconds, her fingers curled. Her nails dug into her skin, the resulting pain bringing up memories that she gladly would've kept suppressed to the end of her days. Her lips curled, her teeth bared and for the briefest of moments, her shaking was not simply due to the cold. But after what seemed like an eternity of glaring at the hand that was hurting her, she finally decided on dropping it. Her fingers dragged from skin to clothing, leaving five short scratches against her breastbone. The wind was like a vulture, eagerly lapping away at the wound and drawing out a pained hiss. After sucking in a breath that frosted her throat, she brought her arms to hug herself and kept to her path. Even then, the reminders of her failure danced through the tunnels of her conscience. There was a flash of light that had torn her from her home and threw her into this unfamiliar place. There was the misty green, always there but never enough to make a difference. There was a spiral of colors that stripped her of her power, as well as everything else she had found meaning in. All of it led to here, an everlasting stretch of darkness with only specks of white to keep her company.
But it was okay. There would be something much more inviting than this could ever be.
What remained of shattered senses allowed her to realize she was walking on asphalt. Her boots walked an empty road, a stretch of tongue that extended deep into the night's cavity. There were no cars on the road and there didn't seem to be any distant headlights. Anyone who happened to come up to her in a vehicle would've had to turn their lights off, and in the darkness, such things would've been suicide. She smiled at the thought.
The smile vanished when she felt a sudden itch in her throat. She coughed, coughed once more and coughed again, her lungs suddenly deciding to throw a tantrum. She fell on her knees, a spike of cold shooting up her body. It didn't stop her hacking, but it did sap her of even more precious body heat. She shot back up, stumbling and falling a few times as she attempted to right herself. For the next minute or so, she had to wait for her system to recompose itself, for the burning in her throat and the irritation of her lungs to cease. Then she was off again. Her nostrils flared and the scenf ot salt water was picked up before anything else was. The smile returned.
The beach was a place of popularity and festivity in the daytime, with the sun taking up its throne just above the ocean face. Now the moon served as its substitute, borrowing the brilliance of its sibling to decor the waters with a sparkling glimmer. The sight warmed her heart and prompted waves of nostalgia, but the feelings simply weren't strong enough. They were enough to make her stop in her tracks, her self-induced fog lifting just enough for her to admire the scape. She spread her arms out wide and embraced it all, shutting out everything else in favor of this moment. Even those in reality it was another part of this alien environment and merely a reflection, she could at least pretend it was home. It was certainly the best thing she could do at this point, shielding herself from even the likes of the vehicles running the path of the road.
And then she shook herself.
She was still on the road, and from one ear, she could pick up the sound of a roaring engine as it came closer and closer to her. With the rate at which the volume increased, it didn't seem like it was too intent on stopping. She knew it had her in its sights, for she could see the product of its headlights beaming on her body. But the question of why it wasn't slowing down or stopping was the farthest thing from her mind. Every part of her went into a state of alarm, screaming at her to jump out of the way before she was hit. But she remained still, playing the part of a paralyzed deer. Frightened and astonished eyes swung up to meet the retinas of the vehicle that would slay her, and an arm swung out in a feeble attempt to shield herself from what would've been five thousand pounds of death approaching her.
There was nothing there.
When her eyes looked up, she saw nothing but the emptiness of the vast space. There was no car or truck, no lights that washed over her, no roar of an engine. There was only the howling of the winds and the crashing of the ocean's waves against one another. For the next minute or so, she stood there with a body of that deer but the face of a lost, confused child. But it wasn't long before the slight increase of wind speed reminded her that she didn't have much time left. If she was going to act, it would have to be now.
She stepped off the road and onto the sands, her spiked boots struggling to find purchase on the new ground. As she came closer to the waters, the smell of salt became stronger. With that scent came more flashes of her own past, which carried much more therapeutic messages. As she stopped at the edge where the tides commonly stretched to their limit, the full extent of her her hypnosis was in effect. Turning back was just a silly thought in the back of her head. Regret was an unneeded and unnecessary feeling. There was no choice but to keep moving forward and never look behind her. Nothing could stop her now.
After looking around to make sure there was no potential interference, she shed her skin. First the belt, which was unclipped and thrown into the waters. Then the jacket, which threw itself courtesy of a little push from the winds. Following after was the leotard, then the boots and finally her underwear. As she watched the last of her articles float away with arms hugging her bare form, she took one last look at it all. Then, when she was sure that she was ready, she took in a deep breath and walked her first steps.
The water splashed against her feet.
Instantly, the hypnosis was washed away in the face of cold shock. She jumped away with a startled and pained yelp, falling onto her butt and attempting to dry her feet off with the grainy earth. For the next handful of seconds, she did nothing but nurse her soles and shiver. Her eyes regarded the water with fear, her chest rising and falling in parallel with her rapid heartbeat. But as the moment passed away, she found herself wheezing in preparation for another coughing fit. She grit her teeth in frustration, shifting herself so that she was facing the ocean on her hands and knees. She breathed in and out, once again trying to steel herself. Then, after she was sure she had erased her doubt, she started crawling to meet her destination.
This time, when the frosty liquid licked at her palms, she kept going. Her breaths were shuddering as they were vented through her teeth, and her eyes were trying to shut themselves courtesy of reflex. Tears were leaking from her orbs, burning her cheeks as they cascaded down to join their kin. As the water level rose up to her forearms and thighs, she could feel the first threads of her consciousness fray. But she continued, fighting her body's begging for her to stop, to get out while she still had her life. She didn't want her life - at least, not this one.
At last, she reached a point in where her hands and feet stopped meeting the natural floor. She found herself doggy paddling, her body nearly rendered stiff from the ocean's paralysis. So numb was she that she couldn't even feel her own lungs as they struggled for air. With her head just above water and fighting against desperate coughs, she took what was to be her final look at the shimmering moon. She kept it in her head, took in a deep breath and allowed her head to disappear below the surface.
Silence.
Other than the gurgling of the water in her eardrums, there was nothing but complete silence. The only thing she could concern herself with was the feeling of being encased in ice. Cold seeped through her skin, invaded her internal workings and effectively destroyed her ability to move any further. Every thought within her head was on the liquid thief stealing her strength away. But she did nothing but sink, further and further into the abyss. In the handful of seconds she was able to hold her breath, she was lost in a sensation of numbness and blistering frost. At the same time, it seemed so much more welcoming than what she had felt on her way. If she didn't have this form, everything would have been perfect.
She took in a breath without air, the cold water burning down her pipe and into her lungs. Her body immediately fought back, muscles instinctively struggling against the pressure that had quickly overtaken her chest. Legs and arms attempted to flail, but even when pushed to their limit, they couldn't fight against the overwhelming cold of the ocean. Her throat was waging a war against itself, torn between vainly attempting to cough out the water and steadily bringing it in. Even as she shut her eyes tightly, she still felt her consciousness fading away. She ignored the screaming, the begging and the crying. It meant little to her. She was so close, and she was literally tasting it. Try as it might, she would not let this broken vessel get the best of her.
She continued to push, and her efforts were rewarded with the visions again. She saw the blue light of her ancient adversary's shadows, the seven teenage brats who were supposed to be her keys to the kingdom, as its white flash burned through her and her underlings. She saw a similar light of the old magician Star Swirl himself, the scoundrel that had taken the fish out of its waters. After that, she flew through a series of flashes, backwards to history she had pushed aside. There was the harvest of her power. There was the meeting of her two partners. A lone journey through nowhere. The separation from her parents. Her childhood. Her raising. Her birth. Unity. Division. Insertion. Survival. Expulsion. Formation.
Blackness.
The road back had reached its end, and now she had reached her destination. Here, time had become nothing but a memory. Feeling had expired completely, to the point her corporeal form had vanished entirely. She was a mass of thoughts, a brain without a body drifting through the endless abyss. It would've been terrifying in any other situation. But as she wandered, she found herself in a state of complete serenity. For the first time in what seemed like ages, she felt a genuine sense of comfort. For the first time in what seemed like ages, she felt that familiar state of invincibility. It wasn't the kind of triumphant feeling she'd get when stomping her victims under her boots, or bringing down her enemies with a flair that could've only come from the likes of herself. It was as if she was being protected by a force she couldn't bring herself to describe, nor was it something she felt necessary to concern herself with. She rolled with the flow, traveling along this strange current and accepting whatever fate that was coming to her. She had no fear, for here there was nothing to fear. Nothing could hurt her.
Nothing could kill her. Nothing could stop her.
She waited patiently, watching as a pair of hands approached her. Her nonexistent eyes slowly closed, and as those hands reached her, she could only think of one word that expressed the situation above everything else.
Freedom.
Adagio Dazzle was still, lying on her back and with lifeless eyes staring into the sky.