Dying Sanity (Open)

[Raal]

He had gone from dimension to dimension, hoping to avoid Oouxxi the best he could. He had taken great lengths to avoid any sort of capture or even baiting from his arch-nemesis. The psychic demon had even learned how to leap between dimensions via making temporary rift portals in his mad scramble for survival. Despite all of the new learnings that he discovered, all of his careful planning, all of his foresight... he did not foresee an allied betrayal. That betrayal had costed him.

The cost? Control over his own power. It was betraying him too. It was nearly uncontrollable now, but finding a massive cave full of psi-crystals kept it in check for the time being. He felt ill and tired, all the time. His own brain would conjure up illusions that made no sense to him, then fade off in the blink of an eye. The very thing he was born with was destroying him from the inside out. The only thing that was keeping him sane were the crystals he found, now being kept in an extradimensional pouch on his person.

He had also used a portion of his newly insane power to break open a temporary rift, walking through it with a slight limp in his step. Since the dimensional barriers were shattering, this slight tear in space would not have gone unnoticed by any who were attuned to magic, or even psychic energy.

The rift led him back to Genesis, fading off behind him as he walked through. Back to Hallowton, specifically. Why, in all the places he could have gone, did it have to be Genesis, and why Hallowton? Oh yes, because he actually did some business there. The last time he remembered anything in Hallowton, it was that big Vulture attack. Though just by looking on the city's current state, he had to ask himself, what happened NOW?! So much has changed!

Raal caught a whiff of disease in the air, as well as other paranormal sources. Oh, so that's what happened. Joyous. Pulling the tattered, hole-eaten cloak so nobody would think to look under the hood, he made the quiet trek down some street. He didn't bother to even look at the name of the street. What did it matter? The scents had told him that hell had broken loose once again, so all of the streets would be exactly the same anyway. Raal used another bit of psychic energy to further cloak his demonic form. It didn't help with his current predicament, but it would keep people from trying to make his sensitive ears bleed with their screaming.

He mindlessly walked at a leisurely pace, stopping only for a moment to take a look at his "human" form in a nearby mirror in the window of a shop. Shit, he looked like some homeless drug-addict wearing a car tarp. It surprised him at just how crappy he looked. The look only helped to further dampen his mood. Fantastic. Sick AND miserable. Son of a bitch. There was a bright side to this though. Maybe the humans would piss off and leave him be while he attempted to regain his footing and his senses! Speaking of humans, where were they?

Raal realized a moment later that he was the only one outside this late at night. Good. Perhaps he could find a spot to sleep quietly... hopefully. The chaos his powers presented would not allow him sleep. Trying's a better option than not doing it at all... he thought, moving into the nearest alley in an attempt to find something to hide under. Nobody would give two shits about him. After all, he had no friends.

He finally did find a place to hide, at least from human eyes.

[Ϟ Scar ϟ]

The alien had managed to keep away from infected people, feeding on the clean humans but the populations of the clean were fading, more were becoming sick or dying of the civil war that had been going on. Usually he would take advantage of a civil war but he wouldn’t want to get sick from any human disease or whatever kind it was, it would only cause it to mutate further to become far more deadly if it infected him which made him stick to hiding and slithering from the human population. He was sure if it had been the humans from where he had come from they would try to examine the disease and figure out what it was truly was and then they would do other weird human stuff he never wanted to figure out, all humans were to him was food, why should he understand their ways to examine or test things.


At least it was night in Hallowton, he could read somewhat and from what he could tell from a majority of the signs that was the town’s name. He had memorized areas with no humans with weapons, where the clean would go to hide from the sick; it was normal hunting grounds for him. Night was the only time he hunted though, on most other situations during the day he would sleep in a hidden cave he had made for himself to keep humans from discovering him. If humans found him he might have been locked up again or possibly killed and if people were alerted to his presence so he kept low, slaying people who could of saw them aside from that girl he had met, the girl who had made the prey who was as strong as him, but she wasn’t even human which intrigued him.


As he crawled under the roof tops he “saw” another possible feast to prey upon. This one seemed weak, easy to attack but he waited. His echolocation was able to determine if that was a possible good feast. He wished he would have seen a fat plump human, more blood, meat and easier to kill. But this human he had found or what he assumed to be human seemed easy to kill. Weak, puny and above all else he knew humans were too compassionate to leave friends out in this condition which meant no one would miss this creature he had discovered. However he felt like examining it first. Even if it managed to escape him no one would believe that he had saw an alien which made this target a perfect attack. A hiss escaped from it as it approached the being, the man would here the hissing as it was fairly in a normal tone of sound. Scar crawled down the wall above of the creature, slowly to make sure he blended in with the night.

[Raal]

Raal was roused from his sorry attempt at sleep by a hiss from above. Oh, another problem. It was fine; he couldn't get to sleep anyway. There was a brief pause from the psychic demon as an illusion was on the wall above him. Great, another one. His mind was fogged as he managed to stand up slowly, backing to the other wall to get a better look at the "illusion". He saw an outline through use of mental screening, but no definitive features. Oh joy, his brain was tricking him again. Now he was seeing a big creature on the wall.

He blinked once. It didn't go away. His tired dark eyes tried looking at something else, then back to the thing clinging on the wall. It still didn't go away. Raal pegged the theory that the illusions were getting longer and more realistic. Funny. He was used to making illusions to scare and kill other people, but to think his own birth power would betray him like this.... The irony was astounding. Whatever was done to him to throw off his psychic energy this much was absolutely remarkable.

In his groggy, dazed state, he actually asked the "illusion" out loud in a soft-spoken, broken voice, "Are you real?"

Damn, even his own voice sounded pathetic and pitiful. It fit his appearance like a glove. Complimentary.

[Ϟ Scar ϟ]

The alien titled it’s head as the person he examined. It moved away from him but he could see it now, his hissing quieted since he didn’t need it much to use his echolocation now but his instincts had always told him to keep hissing for things that he couldn’t see but for things he could more or less feel. He looked at the being more, if it was human it would be an interesting one, it looked much like a hobo from a television show that the humans he met watched called Family guy. It was always curios to see how humans could laugh at such weird things but humans were a weird species none the less.


It looked at the creature when he spoke. He seemed to be what the humans called drunk, it looked groggy and it’s voice sounded weird. And if this man was drunk he wouldn’t eat him, it tasted weird to eat drunk humans, which the last time he did he didn’t enjoy it at all. But this person that stood before the alien was interesting in his eyes. A possible drunk and lonely human who lived in an alleyway, something Scar had made his home in but that was only because humans often couldn’t see in alleyways, even more so when it was dark. That was the min thing that interested him, how the human could see him in the dark, in an alley while he was moving carefully, but now he had come to a complete stop on the wall.


Raal would then feel a small penetration into his mind, small but noticeable. The creature was going to speak to the humanoid that was there. It was very curios because no human could of seen him without special equipment and from what it could tell this human had no special equipment which made the question rise, what was he? The only being in which could of seen him was Clara and her creation, the monster he had killed before. He would still have a noticeable rigid in the left of his neck from where the demon bit down on it. Then the creature began to speak telepathically, the voice would sound dark and scratchy for he hadn’t completely learned human speech yet.

……. Yesss I am real….. I wish to know. What are you…. You do not seem to be human….

[Raal]

Raal's delusional daze had almost vanished when the "illusion" actually spoke to him telepathically. They had never done that before. None of the stuff his brain made him see ever spoke back. Maybe the creature was real after all, or maybe his brain was getting worse in its degradation. Now it wanted to know what he was. Grand. If things couldn't get any worse. Fine, sure, whatever, he'd show it.

Raal's "human" form melted away via distortion waves, to reveal his real form. His true form didn't look any better. Still gaunt, with wings that were slightly tattered on the edges and a tail that refused to move. The hood came off with the introduction of the horns on his head, exposing his wild black hair and dark, almost lifeless eyes. Purple energy sparked between his horns for a split second.

Demon. Psionic.

His mental voice wasn't any better than his actual one. It lost it's overwhelming boom. Now it was a pathetic scratch with a bit of energy buzz behind it. Well, whatever threw him off whack was more potent than he realized. He sat down, his legs positioning awkwardly to compensate for the angle. Why did this creature want to know? Oh well... he had time to chat. Might as well chat while waiting for the inevitable.

[Ϟ Scar ϟ]

The xenomorph hissed a bit at the demon when the human form it had melted away from the person that stood before him. But the hiss of hostility turned into a sound of formality, he looked like the creature Clara had used but this one seemed different, the alien was sure the demon he saw before him wasn’t one Clara had made. This one spoke and seemed far more intelligent then the ones she had used against the xenomorph before. But this form of creature he knew to be formidable. He titled his head when he saw the spark of energy. A sudden memory flashed to him when the human had imprisoned him.


The alien looked on interested at the demon in front of him. The xenomorph could feel it’s helplessness. The alien was a natural born hunter and like all hunters he could tell when something was weak or sick or old for that matter. It would allow him to hunt after the easier prey quickly. But he didn’t enjoy attacking sick or weak prey, he preferred to hunt stronger prey for the thrill of the fight of which he enjoyed last time he fought a monster like this. But now he had a name to place for them, demon. It allowed him to determine the difference between human and other creatures that weren’t animals. But a new word had come to him, Psionic.


The alien was once again intrigued by something. He was always curios about these demon creatures. This energy was interesting to him, he always wanted to learn how to mess with it but he didn’t ask Clara and from what he could tell this demon seemed weak as opposed to the one he had fought. And this interested Scar again, he wondered how it was possible for a creature of such power could become like this. Though he wouldn’t ask much. He preferred action as opposed to speaking telepathically, it was had for him to do in the first place and it reminded him of the foolish government the humans had called America, something he also despised that he knew nothing about.


The xenomorph began to crawl done from the wall, it’s tail moving about like a rattlesnake’s. It’s hissing grew louder it gave an air of interest as it moved to the alleyway ground. The creature moved elegantly along the wall. It’s back arched as it’s two hands pressed against the cold ground and it moved closely to the ground. Once it’s full body reached the ground it stood up to a towering height of eight feet tall. While it’s body seemed slender the creature but it also weighted over three hundred pounds, almost four hundred. It’s tail arched over it’s head and was pointed to the demon. It fell to the ground and cautiously approached the demon. And it spoke again.


…..Who….are you?..... I am called, Scar…..

[Raal]

The psionic watched the creature bring itself down to ground level, making itself look threatening. It was a nice display of an interesting creature such as this. Its speech was nothing to sneeze at either. Telepathy was hard to master. Raal's mouth tilted upward slightly, a ghost of a smile on his face. He hadn't smiled like this in a long time. He liked this creature so far. It didn't go away and it spoke. Something nagged at the back of his mind that the big thing was real and not just some deprived mirage. Raal didn't care.

He was too sick to care anyway.

His dark eyes studied the creature. Looked like some kind of cross between a bug and a snake. Hissed like one, and had an exoskeleton of some kind. Very interesting. The purple psionic energy briefly crackled again between his horns as he studied the predatory thing, tired eyes having a glazed appearance. Kinda pretty... like onyx or obsidian....

It introduced himself, and Raal replied, I am Raal. Nice to meet you Scar.

[Ϟ Scar ϟ]

The alien was curios of the demon that lay before it. It blinked, despite it’s blink not being visible because it’s eyes couldn’t been seen which lead to speculation if it had eyes but Scar had indeed. It had seen a majority of human reactions, though one which he was curios about was reproduction. He had seen flashes and images of what he had assumed it to be but it was very odd since it was on a device humans called computers and that man who had been operating said computer was very nervous or shy from what he could tell of the human’s reaction. But he shook the thoughts from his mind, human reactions were a different matter for he had a demon before him, a creature which interested him far more then humans had.


He saw the motion of a smile that Raal had made, it was much like what the humans that held him had down when someone on a television program had scored what was called a touch down but he doubted the demon was watching the program and Clara had somewhat smiled to him before when they met so he assumed that Raal was smiling at him. He had no idea why, humans often scowled or made other hostile remarks too him, been more so when he had gotten his name Scar. From the memory of slashing a human across the back. Of which the human had disserved being how he had entered the cage in which Scar was imprisoned in.


The alien backed up a bit and growled at the demon when the spark of energy appeared between it’s horns. The alien wasn’t too keen on being close to anything that had reminded him of his imprisonment, you could say he feared any form of electricity or anything that happened to look like it or to have the same mannerism of it. The alien noticed the eyes it had moved to examine the alien. Perhaps it was something that the demon had never met before because the previous demon that Scar had met outright attacked him and almost defeated him but he had won simply because of his acid blood. But he had a certain amount of respect for demons as they had been a symbol power to him as opposed to humans who were just food.


The xenomorph crouched low on all fours which was a relaxing position for him. It made him feel if he was on the hunt, low, ready to pounce unsuspecting prey but he wouldn’t be attacking anything unless anything had come down the alley. But it was prepared for that, it’s tail was curved in attack position like it usually was unless he was studying something that would lead to a fight, then he would swipe his tail long the ground much like a cat would. It wondered how Raal would react to touch, he knew Clara had disappeared and then re-appeared which he amused was the power of teleportation. But he would see if it would cause any movement from Raal, it was something the humans had called Scientific Method. The xenomorph’s tail approached and touched Raal’s left hand, not dangerous but just a soft touch, much like a person poking themselves with a pen.

[Raal]

Raal made no motions to attack. He didn't even bother to twitch his tail, the stinger-like end just sitting there like the broken electronics and garbage that swarmed the alley. The psionic kept his gaze on the alien, looking down at the tail as Scar poked his hand with it. He gently held the tail in response and gently shook it like shaking hands with a person. Raal released the tail, still smiling a little.

Well, our meeting is now official, Scar.

His clawed hand flopped back down to the cold ground, not even bothering to spend what little energy he currently had after that. He was more bony than he thought. Well, not like he could keep weight anymore. The psychic power now burns energy like crazy when being used. It wasn't like he could starve to death. He couldn't. The only reprieve he would get was a violent and bloody death. Damn it all.

Raal's expression remain unchanged, but his eyes had taken on a tiny hint of violet, an indicator of his underlying power.

[Ϟ Scar ϟ]

Scar examined the demon closer and saw that he had a tail, Scar didn’t know why but it caused him to trust Raal a bit more and because he didn’t teleport or attack when being touched. This made the alien somewhat more curios about him. But it was odd to touch something, usually when he did he killed or fought something, it was an odd feeling. While his exoskeleton kept a lot of things to harm him outside of his body the alien could feel the warmth of touch. Now he could somewhat feel how humans felt when they had embraced each other with hugs or other close gestures that made them touch. It was an odd experience, he never knew what he would learn when he escaped human control, all he knew that he would hunt and kill but never met others that interested him.


Though the alien titled it’s head when the demon shook it’s tail, it was an odd act. He had seen humans doing it before when they would met someone new or if they greeted a friend. The alien enjoyed the company of demons but when the humans often had debates about the bible, whatever that was, they would refer to demons as evil creatures who wanted nothing more then to destroy all living creatures. This interested the alien since even his human captures were wrong for he had met two creatures who he viewed as demons who were the only ones that had treated him like this, perhaps because humans feared him or because they were just food for him.


He examined the features of the demon, the xenomorph was curios to see what was wrong with him. The demon didn’t really seem to have much motivation to control his body from what the alien could tell. He titled his eyes at the slight color change of the demon’s eyes. His tail moved back behind him and curled up above the alien. It backed up a bit and move to awkwardly sit down on his two legs. Something he hadn’t one before to it would be an amusing sight. The alien was much like an infant with the world upon to him, all of this knowledge opened to the creature and with his short time he had spent on this new place he wondered what other things awaited him elsewhere.


However he began to feel a certain feeling of dread, something he hadn’t felt before, even when half of his neck had been chewed off of the demon he had fought before. He was wondering if this was the feeling some humans obtained when an ally was harmed and they had to get what they called, medical attention, he had no idea what that meant but it seemed to help because the human who was injured would return the next day. He wondered if the demon needed medical attention since he seemed weak and sick. The alien also wondered why he had felt like this, normally he would take advantage of a free and easy meal but this was different.

…. You are sick…….. Why?

[Raal]

His brain decided then and there to create an illusion against his will, the semi-transparent illusion so fragmented in appearance that it was hard to tell what it was. It moved as if it were a completed creation, but many of its features were missing. Strange, ancient words and symbols flashed and flickered along the walls, then the illusion faded off. He couldn't understand any of it as it was too fragmented, like shards of glass from a mirror, to make any sense of it.

Scar had sat down, almost looking like him. He would laugh a bit, but was too sick to even snicker.

His horns sparked again, purple energy bouncing along the floor like sparks from broken wires. By what just happened, he appeared to be busted in some way. Might as well tell him. Would not do him any good, but why the hell not?

Sick from own power. Power eating energy. No controlling it. Don't understand why....

Nice, he could barely make coherent sentences anymore. It left him breathless to talk, even mentally. Damn damn damn it all. He hated what karma's brought him down to. Did he deserve it? Pff, Raal has no clue. Was there a bright side? Psh, maybe. He'd have to wait and see.

[Ϟ Scar ϟ]

Scar was startled by the new creation that had suddenly appeared along the wall and out of pure reaction his tail flicked forward and stabbed into the illusion. His tail went straight through the wall because there was nothing there to brace the tail from going into the wall. He knew it didn’t look whole but it had startled him. With no effort his tail slithered from the wall. He couldn’t feel the creation either, he wondered what it was exactly but then it faded away. His tail coiled behind him once again as his attention was stuck on the where the illusion had been. At least something he was thankful for was that no one was awake in the room he had stabbed into, he wasn’t sure if his new friend could move, well in his eyes the demon was his friend.


He turned back to notice the spark of energy once more. His upper body arched forward and looked at the demon closely. He wondered why it was happening. He knew Clara could create things so easily but they were usually real, the demon and it’s head which she remade from the sand that head had turned into. But this one was far more interesting then what he had seen Clara do. It seemed that he could create images that weren’t really there. Like what humans called 3D, real in the form of sight but not actually there, it was quite interesting. He wondered how it was possible for people to do something like that, he new that demons were stronger then humans, quite interesting indeed.


Then the demon spoke to the alien once more. He could understand the gist of the message. The demon he had met seemed to be having a difficult time with doing things. The thing that just appeared to be a strained burst of power from the demon. And if he was able to do this as weak as he was now, Scar wondered how strong Raal would have been when he wasn’t weak. Raal seemed far stronger then the demon he had fought before which meant he knew Raal could easily do what humans call “wipe the floor with him”. This was interesting how something powerful could become like that, but Scar was a warrior xenomorph, the perfect killing machine. And if Raal was just a glimmer of the power in the new land Scar was in, he about wondered the possibilities which could of existed.

”Is it possible…. If I could help you in some way….?

[Raal]

Raal felt more tired than previous. All he wanted was sleep. The problem was the chaotic swirling nature of his abilities prevented him from doing so. That brief episode was proof of the chaos that spun in his mind. When his psionic power got stronger, it got more chaotic. Grand. Good thing he found something to keep it under control. Speaking of that... it was time to use a psi crystal. If he didn't insert one now, it would target his new friend.

Raal stuck his fingers into the pouch hooked onto his tattered pants and pulled out a glowing violet crystal shard that was far too big to fit in that tiny bag. How'd it fit in there? Anyway, the crystal itself was bright, and briefly lit a tiny area of the alley like a lantern. It was also causing bizarre distortions of the air itself and painting it with a faint purple haze. He didn't want Scar to see this, but it had to be done!

The demon jammed the glowing crystal directly into his forehead, burying it so deep it could no longer be seen. His forehead bled, yes, but with the crystal doing its work, that hole sealed up on its own. He now felt less tired, life lighting back up into his eyes. Raal felt less sick, but still pretty ill. Well, at the very least, moving and talking didn't feel as taxing as it did previous.

He responded as he felt something sticky on his back, I'm... not sure. Um, is there anything on my back?

Raal removed the cloak, and managed to turn around, exposing his back to Scar. There was indeed something on his back, and it was bleeding black in reaction to the crystal earlier. It looked like some kind of ancient symbol surrounded by odd words. The symbol and words were scratched into his skin, much resembling a brand from a branding iron or scarification. It was closer to scarification.

I can't see what's there. What is it?

[Ϟ Scar ϟ]

The alien examined the demon more. It’s attention was diverted to the crystal the demon had pulled out of his pocket. The crystal appeared to be linked to the demon’s power since it looked like the same shade of purple as the enrgy which had sparked from the demon had been. Scar wondered what the purpose of it was but it seemed vital the the demon if it was connected to the demon so Scar just sat and watched. He was alarmed when the demon pushed the crystal iside of his head causing him to bleed. Scar wondered why someone would harm themselves when the entire world existed for that to happen.


The xenomorph titled his head when the demon asked if he had anything on his back. It seemed weird to ask since the demon was wearing something on his back but Scar payed no mind to any human beliefs of the universe, he doubted that humans were een smart, they were so weak and pathetic to begin with. The alien had clicked his claws against the pavement and hissed a bit when Raal had turned his bac to show Scar. The alien wondered what the stuff could have been, it looked odd to him, like nothing he had seen before, which wasn’t much in the first place.


He examined the new words that he saw and wondered what they meant. He was also curios about the black blood that was coming from Raal’s black, or what any of it could of meant. He hissed a bit more to see if there was something he couldn’t seen but rather feel on the demon’s back. Scar reached out slowly and poked at the black stuff with a claw, not harmful but like how he had touched Raal’s hand before with his tail. He brought the claw to his head and began to smell it, curios to see if he could tell what it was by the smell. He then tried flicking it off but it was odd to him, a new texture something that had stuck to him. He growled a bit and scraped it off.

”…..Yess….. what issss it….?”

[Raal]

His new friend wasn't much help, but that was fine. The good thing was, he was inspecting it at least. His back felt so STICKY though... like tar was clinging to it. Raal's back was bleeding it though, so really, what was it?! It did feel like it was bleeding out of certain spots on his back though. Whatever it was, it was not random in the least. To Raal, it felt deliberate, like somebody scratched in certain places on purpose. It was a shame he couldn't actually look at his back himself to determine what it was. Wait a minute.

He was next to a mirror shop.

The demon managed to stand up and limp back to the shop's window, getting an idea. Perhaps a reflection can tell him! When he did get to the mirror, he turned around to find that only a form of distressed disappointing and confusion replaced his growing hope. The reflection didn't have anything. Nothing. All it showed was his gaunt self and his bones sticking out. Raal touched the tar-like blood substance on his back, rubbing some of the stuff between his index finger and his thumb. How weird. This was nothing like he had seen before.

This is very strange... there's nothing there but I'm sure there is something there... it feels like a ritual had been done....

The underlying confusion and distraught was a bit more to the surface than he realized.