Galaxy's Edge Space Bar

[Terenia]

<<How do you know that name?>> William demands, his thoughts flickering through a jumble of memories. Some are incredibly mundane, human memories, though they come from a time long before Dalik's. They are filled with easy, crass humor and long nights at far more mundane bars. Games of dice, tankards of ale, and nights with women who wave to him from the docks when his ship finally leaves land.

<<You're a pirate,>> Dalik marvels, taking note of the sturdy, wooden ship with its vast sails. It's the sort of thing Cameron had only seen in cartoons and storybooks.

And then there are other memories. Memories of death and rebirth. Memories of shadows with teeth and claws. A gift of immortality, one William spurned and tried to run from. Dalik lingers on these, digging curiously into what is both his most recent and most distant past.

"D-Dalik?" Cameron's voice is a barely audible whisper, but it pulls Dalik from his thoughts all the same. She moves as if to step forward, then changes her mind and takes another step back.

Blinking out of his reverie, Dalik turns to find the girl he has called his host for years. "By the Kandrona, you're short," he marvels. Then he smiles at her. "It's alright, Cameron. It's me."

[Shenmue654]

<<Of course it was stupid of you--- You were on drugs! Hahahahaha!>> Jeffrey's laughter echoed throughout his head. This was rich! This was entertaining! <<But more importantly, Ms. Tapeworm...>>

A sudden image of a purple teddy bear that was dressed in a teddy-bear-sized version of the man's "super suit," or whatever that bizarre tailcoat and spandex getup was, suddenly appeared next to a blackboard. The little bear was using a pointer to point to a board which said, "My powers work better when people are a leeetle loopy~" and had a drawing of a man with spirals for eyes next to it.

An image of people injecting themselves with pinkish liquid suddenly appeared, and after that a lively Bar with people getting drunk, and after that an image of a woman crying in a gruesome situation. A woman clearly being tortured. <<Drugs. Drink. Demoralization! The three D's! And the surefire way of getting my tenor to break through the barriers in people's minds! You came in because I told you to. It was getting so damn dull, honey! I had to liven things up. >>

<<Besides, I've always wanted a head buddy, even if I can't control my own body. I get so lonely, dont'cha know.>>

[Myitt]

Jeffrey's lips part.

"What?" Myitt says with Jeffrey's mouth. "You were a...an interrogator?"

She suddenly slams down a fist, clattering a couple of utensils and glasses on the bar counter. "You enjoyed torturing that woman. Is that the kind of sick person you are?" Her eyes track as she rummages through his mind, seeking answers but also seeking an escape - anything but the images of horror.

Jeffrey's arms start to tremble, but it is only because Myitt herself is overcome with emotion and the effects of the drugs.

[Shenmue654]

<<Information? Hah! Oh honey, how advanced is your civilization anyway? Aren't you guys supposed to be spacefaring super-parasites? Torture is just flat-out useless for getting information! What it's good for is throwing people off-balance! Bonkers McFuzzbit level of nuts, you get me? I mean convincing you to come into my head while you're on Yeerk LSD or something? Easy peasy pudding and pie! Convincing somebody that they're a different person? A more...compliant person?>> A sudden image of a smiling receptionist dressed in purple appeared, but didn't stick. << Might bit harder. You gotta apply some force to do that.>>

Luckily, Jeffrey's disturbing voice was drowned out by Myitt's searching deeper into his mind. And while horror and suffering never seemed to be far away from where this man was--- He was known in his world as the infamous "Mind Melter," an unpredictable sadist who kidnapped people he could brainwash and killed those he couldn't--- there were clearly scenes in his mind of joy and warmth and happiness. Him drinking tea and eating meat at a restaurant with a man he referred to as his ex best friend--- Derek Rossum, a.k.a. Static. Derek had apparently once been a supervillain, and was now a superhero, an archnemesis. Heroes and Villains, almost just like in the comic books on Earth, in a massive city underneath a Dome. Derek and Void had been partners, owners of a sort, of a place called Draconis Corporation--- Almost a Supervillain megaconglomerate.

There were images of the man with a red-haired girl with pigtails--- Roselyn Justine Valmont. His daughter. His heart seemed to swell with love and pride involuntarily in any image where she appeared. She was adopted, but clearly that didn't matter much to Mind Melter. What he seemed to want fundamentally was for her to be happy. Although his memories seemed to imply that this was something that wasn't easy to do. There were other people, too-- Someone named Leandra or Seer--- A teleporting vigilante and assassin that he saw as a friend of his, but she didn't seem to see him as a friend.

<<...enjoying your trip down memory lane?>> His voice sounds wounded, like the memories themselves tend to sting.

[Myitt]

"I know..." Myitt says, grinding Jeffrey's teeth, "...that it's only good for destroying people."

She keeps a heavy shield between her thoughts and Jeffrey's mind, but it is clear from the roil of emotions seeping through that she had, at one point, been on the sorry end of something very like what that woman had been through.

"I'm getting out. I can't do this," she says to no one in particular.

[Shenmue654]

<<Right you are! That's all it's good for! Ehehe. But really? Leaving so soon? Awwww.>> There was visible disappointment echoing through Jeffrey's brain. <<But there's so much fun that could be had!>>

<<...by the way, what even happened? How'd you get screwed? Because you clearly were. Something about this rebellion of yours?>> He attaches actual concern to that statement.

[Myitt]

Tara stares at Myitt and Jeffrey from just a couple of seats over.

"Whoa, Myitt, don't lose it here," she advises, reaching a hand out to touch Jeffrey's hand lightly.

Myitt swallows and says, "I'm not losing it," though tears are springing to Jeffrey's eyes.

<<Do you really wanna know?>> Myitt asks Jeffrey bitterly. <<It's not a pretty picture. At least, not to me.>>

She opens her mind to him, to ten years earlier - had it really been that long?

A flash of bright pink hair. A woman telling her empty, soothing things. The black-on-black of an Imperial jumpsuit uniform.

Pain. Endless agony, the agony of starvation and helplessness wrapped up into one madness. Burns and lacerations and missing fingernails. Her poor host, dragged into this.

Because of her. Stronger than the pain by far was the crushing guilt. If she was going to die, let her die now, before the guilt killed her.

And knowing that somewhere nearby, her brother was dying the torture death of a traitor.

Just like she was.

For weeks.

Outwardly, she just holds Jeffrey's head in her hands, sobs wracking his frame.

The pain of the memory, and the pain of her loss. Daniel was dead, too, now. Daniel...Raikker... how many others would die, suffering, before the end?

[Shenmue654]

Jeffrey watched the sadness and pain of the scene play out before him with some combination of shock, horror, disdain, and interest. It was like there were two of him--- The him that remained human and felt something resembling sympathy, and the half that wanted to see what techniques they were using and what world this was. He'd been wrestling with these two his whole life, though, and the crazy one was winning out these days. So much the better-- The one with a conscience ate at him and drove him mad.  <<So. You ****ers aren't even the slightest bit different then, a million light years away. Killing and maiming each other for your stupid causes and reasons. Godammit. I hope my people changed.>>

<<...so your boy...that's what happened? You can't get him back?>> There was a nod.<<That explains why you're so drunk.>>

[Terenia]

Dalik's soothing words calm Cameron for a brief moment, and she inches closer. But then Myitt hits the table with Jeffrey's fist, and she jumps in the air, scurrying back like a wounded animal.

"No, Cameron, it's okay," Dalik says quickly. He steps toward her, but that seems to be a mistake. Her eyes widen with tear-filled fear. She casts a wordless look around the room, gaze lingering on the weapons that everyone seems to don. Dracon beams, swords, tail blades. With another small squeak she turns and runs for the exit.

"No, dammit!" Dalik hisses, lurching forward on legs far longer than he's used to. He makes it three steps before pulling to an abrupt halt, watching the door slam and Cameron lost behind it. He knows better than to chase her. She will only run further.

William's eyebrows furrow with a combination of concern and irritation. <<She can't be out there alone.>> His angry gaze finds Jeffrey. "You did this, didn't you?" Dalik demands, ignoring Myitt's presence and addressing Jeffrey. "I would never never leave Cameron! Not like this." He advances on Jeffrey, feeling a spike of anger, realizing with some satisfaction that beneath his calm guise, William has a temper. Particularly when it comes to a small, helpless girl.

[Myitt]

Myitt lifts her head, Jeffrey's cheeks streaked with tears. Her eyes are wide.

"Hey, I--" she croaks. "I'm not--I'm not Jeffrey, for ****'s sake! He made me do this, too! The ****, man?" With a wet swipe of the back of Jeffrey's hand she wipes at his nose.

"Sorry your girl ran away," she adds in a bitter mumble. She doesn't even have time to answer Jeffrey, her attention is so trained on what's going on outside of her head.

Tara slides off her chair. "Here, let me help you find her," she offers, and she advances toward the door of the bar, calling Cameron's name into the twilight of the parking lot.

[Shenmue654]

<<Whoah whoah, I did separate the two without the slightest regard for the consequences, but I mean....****. We're in trouble. You should probably leave.>> Jeffrey squirms, looking toward the irate Dalik in William's body nervously, but nothing happens. He doesn't actually move. <<Right, right. I can't control my body. Should we go after them? We could probably convince this Cameron woman to come back.>>

[Myitt]

<<She'll be fine,>> says Myitt. <<Though if she leaves, I can't exactly reinfest her. And then we'd be stuck together for a bit longer than we'd expected.>>

She sighs. <<While we're here, at least tell me a little more about yourself. I prefer to ask, rather than to pry through your mind.>>

[Shenmue654]

<<Hahah, okay then, whaddya wanna know?> His voice immediately reverts to that conversational swagger he'd taken up in the Bar.  <<Where do we start? The location? The job? Friends? "Friends?" My favorite color's purple.>>

[Terenia]

Dalik swallows. "Sorry," he mutters to Myitt. When Tara moves to leave he grimaces, but she is out the door before he can stop her. With a tense exhale, he follows.

"She won't come if you scream for her," he says, coming up behind Tara. He can't help but marvel at how much shorter she seems from William's height.

[Myitt]

Myitt laughs. <<That's Tara's favorite color, too.>>

She pauses. <<Tell me about your job. Can you help people as much as you hurt them?>>

--

Outside, Tara jogs across the gravel parking lot, weaving in between the first ships. "Cameron!" she calls.

She whirls to face Dalik, staring up at William's face, her chest heaving. "What the hell am I supposed to do?" she demands, eyes narrowed to slits. "Lure her with a ****ing carrot?"