//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 - Dubium // Story: A Ghost Within the Song // by Shadow_Wolf //------------------------------// Theme: The Beauty of the Beast - Nightwish The time needed to flee the bedroom was measured in seconds, yet to Adagio's stricken mind it seemed like an eternity before she escaped into the darkened hallway beyond. Closing the door with the barest of whispers, she felt her fingers numbly brush over her pendant once more as she sagged into the wall, tears still streaming down her cheeks as she tried to process what had just happened. This time, however, she could find no solace in the jewel's smooth weight despite the energy it still contained. In the bedroom, the air had been oppressive, almost suffocating at the last moment, but now that she was deprived of her fellow siren's body heat and the warmth of her pendant, Adagio felt the temperature around her plummet drastically. On a normal evening, her thin clothing would have been more than enough to resist such things, but now it seemed like a poor blanket indeed. Shivering heavily, she drew her arms around herself and rubbed them through the thin garment in a futile attempt to regain some warmth. As she stared into the darkness, however, her actions only seemed to make her that much colder. The cold had long since become familiar to her, incessant and remorseless as she lay within its embrace. Too often she wondered how she had managed to resist it for as long as she had, only to remember the friends who shared her suffering and her paltry talents that had so often been their sole source of comfort. Other times she asked herself how much longer she could go on, especially when huddled with them in some vain hope of retaining enough body heat to see them through to another day. That night, however, was different. Too cold to even shiver, her tears long since frozen into streaks of silver across her muzzle, she was certain that each barely audible breath that reached her ears would soon be the last she heard. So many times she had wondered waht they had done to deserve such a fate; but no answers ever came to her and now they no longer mattered. This time, she knew, there woudl be no more tomorrows. She had always been the one that cared for the others, usually able to coax at least a little food form even the most barren of soil, but it had never been enough. Now, drawn into the furthest corners of some ruin - perhaps a barn at one time - with snow tickling at her ears as it drifted through the gaps in the rotted wood, she felt the icy talons of oblivion leisurely settling into her bones. Even if they did not freeze tonight, starvation would claim them soon enough; all that remained was for the Harbingers to choose their final fate before guiding them towards Elysium and away from the cold once and for all. But somewhere in the darkness, the sound of ringing bells caused her ear to flick once more, and though she still felt the comforting touch of death reaching out to enfold her, for the first time in years she felt true warmth rush across her body. Raising her head, she felt the others press against her even as she sought that source of nearly forgotten heat, her eyes beholding a sight she could scarcely comprehend. There, bathed in a glow of radiant gold stood a tall and powerful stallion, his coat gray and pale beneath midnight blue robes. Under other circumstances she might have found him handsome, but at that moment she cared for nothing save the warmth. "Are... are you a Harbinger?" she asked, surprised at how hopeful she sounded. "No," he said as he extended his hoof towards her, "but if you will follow me, I will take you from this place, all of you." For reasons she could not explain, she hesitated, the power in the stallion's voice terrifying her, but despite that fear, she still reached out to take his hoof in her own... The hallway swam back into focus instantly, warmth flooding her limbs as she blinked in confusion. “What was that…?” she wondered. Perhaps it had been some lingering guilt over her earlier attempt to attack Aria, or perhaps it had been something more sinister? It had seemed almost like a waking dream, but was far too clear for such whimsy. Her thoughts churning, she found herself rubbing her pendant once more as she tried to focus; until a soft, choking sob nearby drew her attention. Had her ears been less sensitive she would have missed the sound entirely and that alone piqued her curiosity. Stepping from the hallway, the dim light from the stove illuminated an empty kitchen, though a small pool of crimson fluid upon the otherwise barren table sent a moment of panic rushing through her once more. Heart pounding, she fought it down to continue her search. "Sonata?" she called, her voice little more than a whisper, but loud enough to earn a muffled cry in return. Pirouetting, Adagio rushed into the living room, light flooding it as she flicked the switch upon entering and gasped at the sight of her fellow siren curled into a fetal ball at the base of the couch. "Sonata!" she shouted as she bolted to the prone girl's side, shaking her lightly as she sank to one knee and wincing at the moan that answered her action. “Sonata what happened!?” “A-A-Ada-Adagio,” she stammered, “It… it hurts…” Cursing silently as the world began to close in around her, much as it had tried to do earlier, Adagio shook her head to clear it as she focused on Sonata. Sometime after they had parted ways, she had changed into her burgundy hoodie and jeans and the material hid any visible injuries from her immediate gaze. Running her hand across the girl's exposed skin, however, revealed it to be clammy and feverishly hot; and while she could not fathom what was going on, her first thought was of the crimson fluid staining the kitchen table. Snatching the girl's wrists - all the while ignoring her wails - she checked them quickly, exhaling as smooth and unmarked skin greeted her inspection. Releasing her grip, she slid her arms around Sonata's body, awkwardly balancing her limp form against herself as she tried to raise them both up and nearly lost her grip twice before manhandling her friend onto the couch. Unfortunately, even in the new position she curled up almost immediately. While this made examining her more difficult, another quick inspection revealed that Sonata seemed soaked in sweat but was otherwise alright; and as Adagio tried to make her comfortable, she was suddenly struck by how right the concern over her fellow siren's well being felt to her, almost as if it had been some forgotten purpose discovered anew. Fingers stroking that burning cheek, she lowered her voice and spoke quietly, "Sonata, it's Adagio, open your eyes... I need you to tell me what's wrong. I need you to open your eyes and talk to me." Under that soothing tone, the blue girl's whimpers slowly subsided and her body relaxed as her eyes worked themselves open, bloodshot and puffy with tears. For several seconds they held each others gaze quietly, worry meeting uncertainty in equal measure as they stared. Finally though, the pain seemed to fade from those raspberry eyes as Sonata exhaled slowly. “Adagio?” she whispered. “It’s me, Sonata,” she replied. “I’m here.” Silence stretched between them once more as Sonata's hand reached out to take hold of Adagio, the latter of them letting out a sigh of confused relief as she felt that earlier fever draining away. All the while she watched as Sonata chewed her lower lip in a manner that could easily have been adorable had it not been so worrisome. Whatever she wanted to say though, Adagio swore to herself that she would give her all the time she needed to muster her thoughts. “I don’t want to do this anymore,” she said at length. “Don’t want to do what anymore,” she asked. Raising to one elbow, Sonata shuddered heavily as she looked away and released her grip on Adagio's hand. "This," she said, "all of this. I... just everything I guess. All of it, all the... all the fighting and the trouble making, all the negative energies... this place, this world... this... this prison that Starswirl sent us too. Adagio... I... I just want it to be over! I want it to stop!" Adagio felt herself smile as she listened, her hand raising to soothingly stoke Sonata’s hair as she moved to sit at her side. "What are you talking about," she asked. "Sonata, we’re sirens. We can’t go against our nature. You know that." "Why?" "What do you mean ‘why?’" Adagio asked in return. "It's, well, that’s just the way it is." "How do you know that?" Sonata whispered. "How do you know!? Have we ever tried anything else?" "I know, Sonata, and so do you." "No, Adagio, I don’t!" "Sonata, come on now," Adagio replied. "You know I’m right." "No! I don't!" she shouted, suddenly launching herself upwards and wobbling as she fought for balance while standing over Adagio's seated form, a look of fury on her usually unfocused features. "The only thing I know is that right now I'm hurting, Adagio! I never felt that kind of pain before! Never! And the only thing I can think of is that it didn't happen until we red again. I mean really fed and weren't hungry anymore! I never hurt like that before when we were hungry." "Sonata," Adagio said, as surprised by her own calm as he was by Sonata's outburst. "Listen to yourself, Sonata, you're not making any sense. We've always fed on negative energy, that's how it's always been because that's how a siren survives. It's not just what we do, it's basically what we are." "How do you know that, Adagio?" Sonata asked as she took a small step backwards. "I just know." "How do you know!?" Sighing softly, she pushed herself up to look the other girl in the eye, her heart nearly breaking at the turmoil she saw in her gaze. She did not show it, of course, but the question had left her momentarily stunned and Sonata's uncharacteristic lucidity only making everything that much stranger. After a moment, she reached out with her left hand to stroke the girl's cheek in an affectionate caress as she smiled to her sadly. "I just know, Sonata," she said. "But how do you know?" she replied, shivering. "Do you know how long we’ve done this? How long has it really been? Can you remember anything before Starswirl banished us? Do you remember our homes? What about our families? I mean, we had to come from somewhere right? Do you remember any of that, Adagio? Because… because I don’t!" Adagio shook her head slowly, answering Sonata in the only way she knew how; with silence. In response, she lightly brushed Adagio's hand away and reached up to smooth out the frazzled strands of her ponytail as a single tear ran down her cheek. Even then, however, she continued to look into Adagio's eyes and in that gaze they both saw a longing to understand what had happened and to say words that neither of them could give voice to or explain. In the end, Sonata was the first to turn away. "I'm not going to hurt like that again, Adagio, ever. I won't do it," she said, pulling up her hood to conceal her face as she turned and made for the door. "I'll starve first." "Sonata, what… where are you going?" Adagio asked. "Out," Sonata replied. "Out? Now?!" she sputtered, raising her voice for the first time. "Sonata I don’t know what’s going on but you can’t just leave! You were crying in pain a second ago and felt like you were ready to burn up. You… you look like you’re about to fall over right now! I can’t let you just leave!" "You said it yourself, Adagio, I’m a siren," she replied. "I’ll be fine, but I can’t be here right now. I just… I need some air. Thanks, for realizies." Adagio felt an icy weight settle into her chest as she watched Sonata walking away, her legs beginning to buckle to the point she allowed herself to sink into the couch before she could collapse on it. Instinctively, she reached out towards the empty space before her, her heart hammering as she tried to make sense of what she had just witnessed but found she could not. Sonata never looked back as she walked away, and by the time Adagio found her voice once more, the door had already closed. Despite everything, Adagio could not help but concede that Sonata had made a fair point with her questions; and even though she had calmly claimed that they had always been the way they were, in reality she was in no way certain of that. The earlier vision, coupled with a half remembered dream and fear that even now swirled through her thoughts only added to the doubt that seemed intent on crushing her beneath its weight. Unable to think, she instead leaned forward, cupping her face in her hands as she felt tears once again trickle into her palms. “What did you do to us…?” she whispered. If the silence around her held any answers, it did not deign to reveal them.