DREAM μ 04

[unsureazure]

Warnings: BlazBlue spoilers, massive tl;dr, and required 3-minute YouTube viewing, I guess.
Effects: None, thankfully.

The dream starts with Noel fighting against a red-haired female soldier in a white uniform. The battle ends when the blue uniformed Lieutenant fired a blast that managed to bring the other soldier down to her knees. After a few minutes of making sure that the red-haired soldier wouldn't retaliate, Bolverk ceased control of Noel's movements and dissolved into particles of gold light.
 
"Tsubaki... I'm sorry, I..." Noel felt guilty. Even though Tsubaki said she was going to kill her, Noel still felt bad for letting Bolverk go so far in making her fight off her best friend.
 
"I knew this would happen," even at the face of defeat, Tsubaki stayed calm. "... But there are some things no one can avoid..."
 
"Tsubaki... you were holding back, weren't you?" Noel couldn't believe that someone like her, who graduated the Academy without being good at anything, won against an Honor Student who was also part of the Duodecim, the most elite noble families aligned with the Novus Orbis Librarium.
 
"No, I've always been serious... Always," Tsubaki denied with a small shake of her head. "It hasn't done me much good, though. I still lost. It's... strange, though. I don't feel sad or disappointed. I guess I've always felt that way... I never could beat you, Noel..."
 
"Tsubaki?! Wh-Why would you think something like that?" In Noel's head, such a notion was unthinkable.
 
"... That's a secret."
 
"Tsubaki..."
 
"Go, Noel. I'll be fine."
 
"... Okay, Tsubaki... I'm sorry."
 
"Don't worry about it," Tsubaki gives her a reassuring smile. "... Noel, do you really believe in what you're doing?"

"Yes..." Jubei had told Noel that she was the only one who could save Jin, and she made a promise that she'd see her choice through to the end. She was doing this for Tsubaki, who cared so much for Jin... It was more than a mission now.
 
"So do I... I understand why you have to do this."
 
"Okay, Tsubaki... and thanks. I'm... going to go now..."
 
"... Wait!" Tsubaki suddenly reaches out for Noel as she was about to step past her. "Before you go... can I... Can I see your face, Noel? Just one more time..."
 
"Eh!? U-Uh... sure... Of course, but..." Even as she spoke, Noel knelt down closer to Tsubaki.
 
"Thank you..." With those words, Tsubaki reached out and gently touched Noel's face. Tsubaki's delicate and slightly cold fingers felt somehow comforting... and awakened within Noel feelings of nostalgia. And with that, a strange burning sensation made itself known within Noel's eyes.
 
This is like the one time with Carl... Noel was experiencing Tsubaki's memories?!
 
Heh, u-umm... All right then. A-hem! First Lieutenant Tsubaki Yayoi. Your orders are as follows: Locate the whereabouts of Major Jin Kisaragi and Noel Vermillion... and terminate them.
 
The captain ordered her and Jin to be killed...? There's no way the Intelligence Department couldn't know that Tsubaki was close friends with both of them...
 
Oooooh! Right! Ah, there's one more little thing I forgot to mention. If it wouldn't be too much trouble, please don't forget to bring back Major Kisaragi's Yukianesa and Lieutenant Vermillion's Bolverk, okay?
 
And yet they...
 
Ah! Silly me... Actually, two things. You don't need to bother bringing their bodies back. They're traitors, so there won't be any sort of ceremony. I mean, to be honest, having a couple of corpses around would just kind of get in the way.
 
They gave Tsubaki this order knowing she had to accept it. A feeling that Noel rarely had started boiling within her. The feeling of anger. Tsubaki blinks in confusion when she sees the other girl suddenly fall silent.
 
"Noel...?"
 
"Ah, s-sorry...! I was, um... spacing out..." There was no way Noel could tell her what she saw.
 
"And to think that we were fighting just a few minutes ago... How strange," despite the situation, Tsubaki manages to give Noel a warm smile. It was... comforting for her. "I suppose there are some things about you that never change, Noel. Hehe."
 
"You think... so?" Noel couldn't help but return that smile with a sheepish on of her own, but it quickly fades into a frown of concern. "Anyway, what's gotten into you... wanting to see my face all of a sudden...?"
 
Noel didn't really need to ask, because she already knows. She's already seen it... The light in Tsubaki's eyes are nearly gone. The weapon Tsubaki had been using in attempt to kill Noel and Jin was causing her to go blind. Still, Noel wanted to hear it from her best friend herself.
 
"No, it's nothing. I'm fine," of course Tsubaki would deny anything was wrong with her. She's been like that since they were Academy students. "Thank you, Noel."
 
"Yeah... I'm sorry, Tsubaki... I'm leaving now."
 
"Good-bye..."
 
And with that, they parted ways as Noel ran past Tsubaki, and towards the path leading to the ominous building sitting at the top of the Hierachical City. Noel would report to the NOL branch, not in response to her orders, but for reasons that are entirely her own.
 
She needs to stop him before Major Kisaragi or Tsubaki get hurt even more. She needs to stop... Captain Hazama. He's probably waiting on the top floor. It's just a hunch Noel has---No, it's more than that. Noel almost feels like she knows he's there. A brief image appears before her eyes, a taunting, laughing, psychotic face of the man she would never forgive:
 
AHAHAHAHAHAAAA! You saw me... No, let's say you OBSERVED me!
 
Suddenly, static engulfs the Dreamberry's screen for a split second, but then quickly snaps to a scene of Noel making a fast ascent up a long flight up stairs, to the top of the building. Not wasting time, she flings the double doors open with all the strength she has.
 
"Captain Hazama!" she calls out to the man in the black trenchcoat that had been waiting for her.
 
"Oh? Ah, Lieutenant Vermillion," Hazama greeted her, as if paying no heed to her anger. "You're the first person to show up! Congratulations."
 
"I will never forgive you! Not ever!"
 
"My goodness, what's this? You certainly look awfully scary. Like you're ready to kill someone."
 
"What did you do to Tsubaki!?" Noel's voice carried more fury than she ever had before.
 
"Ah, so you observed that, huh? Yes... Yes, you have!" the grin on his face stayed intact. "Has anyone ever told you have the most stunning eyes?"
 
"I asked you what you did to Tsubaki!" Noel raised her voice even louder.
 
"Ahhh, right... Uh, what did you say her name was again? Tsubaki, right? I think I vaguely remember her... You'll have to forgive me. I mean, would you expect a carpenter to remember every tool he's ever used?"
 
"Captain Hazama... no... Yuuki Terumi!" What reflected against Noel's eyes wasn't the man in the black trenchcoat before her. What Noel saw... was a black figure that could only be described as a 'ghost'. "I will never forgive you! I will make you pay for what you've done!"
 
"Hahahahahahahaha! So, you can see me, can you?" It didn't take much time for Terumi to drop his condescendingly friendly facade of 'Hazama' and slip into his true, psychotic personality. "Oh my! Wonderful! Oh, this is simply delightful! And all this hate you've got for me... delicious! I like it---No, I LOVE IT! I guess that First Lieutenant Garbage turned out to be useful after all! Remind me to recommend her for a posthumous promotion."
 
"SHUT UP!" The expression on Noel's face is completely livid. She was ready to kill him.
 
"Yes, yes... You've got it! Strike me down with all of your hatred! You've got it! Let's see some more! I believe in you!"
 
"Hate...! Hatredmalicedespise!" Noel wasted no time in summoning her twin guns into her hands. "BOLVERK!"
 
"Yikes! Well, aren't you a scary little girl! Eh heh... Perfect... How about we take you out for a little test run?"
 
Again, static appears on the Dreamberry. Despite the lack of visuals, voices can be heard through the white noise if one listens hard enough.
 
"... Why?"
 
"Here, why don't you try and remember... Remember all the bad things those mean humans did to you."
 
"... Why?"
 
"Well, that one's easy! Because you're all creatures that are made to be loathed! Hated! Despised!"
 
"...Ah..."
 
"You did see it, right? The real world---the real story?! Can't you hear it? All those hideous little filth-covered monsters, crying! You've gotta feel it... Every single soul on this planet wants. You. Dead."
 
"But... why...?"
 
"... You really wanna know? Fine."
 
The white noise became louder and voices could no longer be heard. After a few seconds of that, the screen and sound finally cleared up. The location is the same, but it's clear that it takes place some time later... Noel stands there, defeated and seemingly almost traumatized to the point that it was like she was empty inside. And Terumi... Terumi just stood there unharmed, laughing and gloating.

-----------

 
[The nightmare may have ended in the Dreamberry, but for Noel, it was still going on, right inside her head. She laid on her back in the middle of a grass field in Espoir, her wide eyes staring towards the sky and her Dreamberry sitting next to her unnoticed. Slowly, she forced herself to sit up, slowly surveying the area. Though her eyes reflected a feeling of emptiness, the tears... they wouldn't stop as she cried soundlessly.
 
She... She wasn't a person. Only a puppet. A puppet built to kill everyone. So why... Why was she here in Somarium? In a dream world? She didn't understand.
 
... Dolls don't deserve to dream.]

Comments

video; ALL OF MY BAW. ;___; /ALL OF IT/

[atrumrebellis.livejournal.com]

[The Dreamberry broadcast sent a familiar feeling of pure hatred and anger toward Terumi through Ragna's body. There's obviously no bounds Terumi wouldn't cross, Ragna knew this. Seeing exactly what happened to Noel by Terumi's hands, however. Damn him. Damn that... degenerate son of a BITCH.]

[He only saw Noel slightly from where her Dreamberry was placed, so he couldn't tell the area all that well. But he knew needed to get to her.]

Noel, where are you?!

video; YES BEING NOEL IS SUFFERING

[unsureazure.livejournal.com]

[That voice... Slowly, Noel glances towards the Dreamberry, but she doesn't make any effort to pick it up. What's this all of a sudden, anyway? Didn't he say that he didn't want to talk?]

Ragna... Ragna, I...

[She... what? Noel is only a thing. Who cared where she was? She hugs her knees and buries her face into her arms, mumbling.]

It doesn't matter... Nothing matters.

video; Hell, being blazblue in general is suffering

[atrumrebellis.livejournal.com]

[Dammit. He needs to get to her.]

Don't give me any of that! Where are you?!

[Pause.]

... You said you wanted to talk, right?

video;

[unsureazure.livejournal.com]

[Hell if she knows. It's been a week in her time, too. So many things have been going on that she doesn't recognize her own location. So... She doesn't answer that.

When she hears the next part, however... She dully fires his response from that time right back at him:]

... Why would you waste your breath?

[Do you feel like a dick now, Rawrgna?]

video;

[atrumrebellis.livejournal.com]

[... Yes, he does, actually. If Noel was looking at the Dreamberry, she could see that his expression has an air of guilt to it. He stays silent for a while.]

[... If she's not gonna say where she is, there's always the beauty of audio.]

Then listen. Don't let to a goddamn word of what that asshole Terumi said get to you. Don't buy into any of his bullshit, Noel!

[iceblades.livejournal.com]

[At first, there are no words to speak in regards to her dream. It takes a moment before all the thoughts and emotions in Jin's mind sort themselves out, and even then, it's difficult to think clearly. There was too much information to take in, so many things had occurred in such a short span of time... but it was just a dream, wasn't it? Somehow that explanation didn't sit well with him; this couldn't have been a dream, but a memory; a memory of something that had yet to occur, at least for Jin.

His initial feelings of confusion gave way to frustration, and then to complete rage. Hearing the captain's voice was nothing short of maddening for reasons Jin couldn't seem to understand; yet he knew he'd been wronged by him at some point in his life. For the longest time he'd been suspicious of that man, and seeing Noel's dream just cemented those suspicions. Not only had he used Tsubaki, but Noel too? Who else has he corrupted?

Realizing how long the Dreamberry had sat idly in his hands, Jin inhales sharply before speaking. He does his best to compose himself, but he knew doing so was a wasted effort. He couldn't mask these feelings for long. As soon as he begins to speak, the facade of indifference quickly dissolves.]

Lieutenant Vermillion. Can you hear me? Snap out of it!

[unsureazure.livejournal.com]

[Who else had Captain Hazama corrupted? Why... The answer would be you, Jin. Not that it matters at the moment.

On reflex, Noel's body flinches when she hears the voice that inexplicably gave her much discomfort. Slowly, she glances at her Dreamberry screen, though she makes no effort to pick it up from the ground. It's... The Endbringer---No, that's not it. He hasn't tapped into the Power of Order just yet. Noel could observe it with her eyes. Still, eventually... He was going to truly be her enemy.]

Major... Kisaragi. [She manages to address him, her voice a bit cracked as if she hadn't used it for years.] I... you're right. Maybe I... should just disappear...

[iceblades.livejournal.com]

[As soon as her voice filters through the Dreamberry, his stomach turns. Weak. Pathetic. He hated everything about that voice of hers. As she spoke the words he'd once used to describe her, he couldn't help but feel disgusted. He gritted his teeth; it was going to take every fiber of his being to not snap at this girl. What was he trying to accomplish by helping her?]

Just shut up. [He glares at the screen, hands coiling into fists.] Are you really going to lie there and wallow in dispair? Get up.

[He pauses. What if...]

...What if Tsubaki saw you acting like this?

[unsureazure.livejournal.com]

...? Tsubaki...?

[That's right... The reason Noel went through all this trouble, from constantly chasing Jin to resolving to kill Hazama... It was all for Tsubaki's sake.]

She'd... probably worry about me. Though I'm not even worth it...

[Why does it even matter? Why is she still even talking to Jin, anyway?]

[iceblades.livejournal.com]

Yes. Tsubaki.

[He shakes his head in disgust. This girl was Tsubaki's friend, a close one at that. Whatever it was she saw in Noel, Jin sure wasn't seeing it right now. There were other things he could've been doing rather than wasting his breath like this, but he continued on anyway.]

Are you honestly dumb enough to think that she'd waste her time and energy on you if she didn't think you were worth it? Bullshit.

She clearly saw something in you worth appreciating. Tsubaki cares for you more than you realize. Stop letting her down.

[If it wasn't for that common bond they shared with Tsubaki, he'd see no need to talk to her like this. It was no business of his how Noel felt about anything, but he respected Tsubaki enough to believe that she saw something good in this girl, even if he'd never see it himself.]

[Video]

[substrictus.livejournal.com]

[All of what he'd seen had been a lot to take in and it was... truly heartwrenching for him. His expression soon stiffens and darkens out of worry and though off-screen, his hands clench into fists rather tightly.

Yes, before he might not have known her all that well but all of what happened to her... nobody deserved to have that happen to them like that. What... she went through was a lot to witness even from here but for her was so much... more. ]

Noel!! I... Snap out of it!

[A pause]

Where are you?

[That look in her eyes and seeing those tears... he wanted to stop them. She was a nice girl and well.. he didn't want her to be feeling like that]

[Video]

[unsureazure.livejournal.com]

[What did it matter where she is? She's only a weapon... A puppet. No one should care about her. It's just a wasted effort... Still, why did she recognize that voice? Slowly, her hand reaches out to pick up the Dreamberry, to get a better look at the face on the screen.]

You're... Oz.

[She states that dully as a fact, rather than showing any indication that she's happy to see him. It seems like what had happened broke her enough to be detached from all her emotions, except for despair.

It's then she notices the sapphire blue of her NOL uniform's sleeve. Confused, Noel glances down at her free hand. This... clearly wasn't the pure white suit of Mu-12-.]

...? Why am I... Why am I still 'Noel'?

[Hadn't she been tempered into the Godslaying Sword Kusanagi? Or had 'Noel' been cast into the world of Somarium because that side of her wasn't needed anymore? Still...]

I... I... Don't worry about me, Oz. I... don't deserve it.

[Video]

[substrictus.livejournal.com]

[It just... rouses something in him. Seeing her like this.

He can't explain what it is but... seeing her so blank and detached from her emotions when she speaks, even questioning her own existence. Painful. That's what it is; that feeling tugging at his heart.

Oz grimaced a bit before he shook his head.]

You DO deserve it, Noel.

I know there's a lot of people who care for you here. I didn't get to spend much time with you but from even then, I could tell you're a great person. That's not going to change.

[Video]

[unsureazure.livejournal.com]

['Person'. Noel already learned that such a word did not describe herself. Back then she had probably been aware of it, but had kept herself in denial. Now though... There was no way she could escape from the truth.]

B-But... You've seen it yourself... what I've become. I'm not even a person... And... I was about to destroy everything in my world. How can a thing like that deserve anyone's concern...?

[Video]

[substrictus.livejournal.com]

[Hearing her say that was enough to make him grimace a bit.

Yes. He'd seen all of it.

Though it doesn't stop him from venturing forwards. Her words are just enough to brace him as he exhales a heavy breath and averts his gaze from the camera for a moment.]

I've been told my existence in life is a sin.

Told by someone... that all I am is a filthy, vile thing. I used.. to believe the same thing you do now.

[Shakes his head]

You're a person to me and the people who know you here at Somarium right? Right now, you're Noel Vermillion. Not what you were then. No matter what I saw, I'll never think of you as a monster or a 'thing'.

Video

[snapekillsedgar.livejournal.com]

[Funny how the very first thing Elliot had felt was a sense of utter relief the moment he saw the notification about the dream. No matter how he tried to deny it to himself, living without Noel would have been boring.

He never expected how drastically his excitement would swing right into complete horror. As he watched, the less he understood and the less he wanted to understand, the more he wanted to shut the Dreamberry off and throw it across the room. Rage bubbled up inside of him, as he watched. It wasn't at Noel, and not at himself for totally missing the signs about what Noel really was.

That SNAKE!

Whoever that man, Hazama, Terumi... Whoever the hell he was, Elliot had never wanted to kill someone as much as he did in that moment. What he was doing would have been bad no matter who he was doing it to, but even worse, he did it to Noel!]

Noel! Don't listen to that bastard!

Video

[unsureazure.livejournal.com]

[If only it were normal circumstances, she would have instantly cried and blubbered for him to help her. Tragically, this is far from normal. Though tears were being shed, Noel turning to look down at her Dreamberry showed just how mentally damaged she is from the revelations of what she truly is. She's broken to the point that she's detached from any emotion that wasn't despair or fear.]

E-Elliot...

[Seeing his face, she should have been relieved. However, she instead couldn't help but wonder... If she wasn't a person, then did that mean her feelings for him were fake too? No... He didn't deserve something like that. Her blank expression turns into a more pained one as she averts her gaze.]

But... It's all true. I'm... not human...

[snapekillsedgar.livejournal.com]

SO WHAT?!

[Later, he wouldn't believe what he was saying, but in the moment, he couldn't question it. His gut was saying run with what he wanted to say, so he ran with it.]

I've known you for more then a year, and not once have I ever even noticed. Who cares if you're made, or whatever! You're you! No matter what, you're still the same Noel Vermillion that I know, and don't you DARE let anyone ever tell you you're not!

[unsureazure.livejournal.com]

[That manages to get Noel to respond with a small gasp of surprise. A very small one, brief and nearly inaudible, but... It certainly was there.]

Even if you say that, you saw everything, didn't you? What I turned into? I... I'm going to kill everyone in my world... How can you say that if I'm something so horrible?

[snapekillsedgar.livejournal.com]

[He only had to think on that for a few seconds, knowing he didn't believe that for a second.]

Because you wont. I know you wont.

WIBBLE

[disruptstatice]

[This is...

Noel isn't... even human? Leo quite honestly has no idea whatsoever to think about that. It's so... surreal somehow, to know there are others who are... different, maybe he should say, just like him. It's... really strange.

He almost feels a little numb, thinking about it and trying to work out how to feel about this.

So perhaps he should just... check on her, and leave that for later. Or never think about it again.]

Noel?

;~;

[unsureazure.livejournal.com]

[Not human at all. That completely explained just why there was a girl running around with Noel's face... Because Noel is just another copy. Just another puppet created for some purpose. Hers being to destroy everything alive in her own world.

It's obvious how much mental damage this revelation had done to Noel when she turns to glance down at the Dreamberry. It's almost as if she lost her very soul. It only takes a few minutes to recognize the person on the other line... It's only been a week, after all.]

... Ever since that time, I knew there was something wrong with me... But I always tried to run away from that fact. Though now... I can't do that anymore.

[Her hands go up to cover her face as she tries to hold back sobs.]

I'm sorry, Leo... I'm so sorry...

;;;;

[disruptstatice]

[This is almost some weird sense of deja vu. Because isn't that exactly what Leo has done a lot? And then apologising like that...

Like Elliot thinks he apologises needlessly.

It's really kind of weirdly familiar. He doesn't like it.]

For what?

[unsureazure.livejournal.com]

[Even in normal circumstances, she probably apologized way more than he did.

Though Leo has every right not to like the currently situation, because it really is terrible. After all, the mild-mannered girl who tried so hard to befriend him turned out to not be human. Even worse, she had become her world's enemy.

Noel attempts to explain herself, despite all the crying she's doing.]

If I... If only I knew that I was so dangerous, I... I wouldn't have gotten so close to you and Elliot...

[disruptstatice]

...

[If anyone hurts Elliot, it doesn't matter how much Leo cares for them, how close he is to them. None of that would matter. Generally, he would consider a threat something to get rid of immediately, all for Elliot's sake. But this is where he hesitates.

She hasn't even been close to doing anything. She has done far less than he has. As far as he can see, she hasn't hurt Elliot one bit, different from him. If going by that definition, he should have gotten rid of himself a long time ago, but he's too selfish for it. He wants to stay too bad for it. He uses the excuse that Elliot wouldn't want him to, but that shouldn't matter.

Just as long as Elliot is safe.

But he can't bring himself to want to kill Noel.]

You've never hurt him.

[Never, ever. She's worth far more than him...]

You're not any more dangerous than I am.