When One Thinks Too Much, They Realize A Truth (Open)

[thethirdhalfa.livejournal.com]

It was a beautiful sight in the Sensorium. A bright blue sky with just enough clouds to be peaceful, but not depressing. The door would lead right into a group of trees the faded to a cliff outlet that could see all across green the sight below sky was forest covered Rocky mountains. Specifically in the Colorado region.

Many could call it breathtaking, to be perched on the edge of the cliff.

Which was where Dani was sitting. Which might not seem odd in itself, until someone took another look. First was there were rocks around Dani, seemingly set there purposefully. One was a rather large boulder, about half of Dani's size. Another was a rock that was covered in moss. These two were on her left. On her right were another took. One rock was malformed; it looked like two rocks had fused together, one smaller than the other. The second was just a normal rock. Not huge, not oddly shape, and all one color. A perfectly normal rock.

The second was, despite the beautiful sight, if one got a look at Dani's face, all they would see is a distant, depressed, guilty look on her face. If one were adept at reading body language, they could see it in her back even as she sat on the cliff edge.

Though the most surprising thing might be this was all deliberate on Dani's part.

Not that she planned to let people know, of course. She was hoping no one would come in (not knowing Sensoriums could be locked) and see the sight, but it was something she had to do. For you see, Dani had a lot of time to think back home. She was on her own for the better part of a year and without knowing what else to do besides hiding from Vlad and finding a way to stabilize herself, all she could do was think. And other than thinking of what she was studying, she could only think of that first part of her life with Vlad to when she said good bye to Danny.

Which meant thinking about the other clones. It hadn't come at first, not until she thought about things completely. She had been told she was 'better' than them. That they were 'experiments' and she was a 'result.' She was a better clone. She was a daughter, family, a child. She was not like them. They were weak and not good enough. So it was all right to destroy them for the chance to get Danny. Then she found out she was just Vlad's tool in his eyes. And then she remembered what Danny said that made her different. She wasn't 'mindless.'

It was about two weeks after she left Vlad that it finally hit her.

She knew the clones like neither did. They weren't mindless. She knew that. She saw how loyal they were to Vlad, she saw the fear in one of their eyes as he died. They had emotions. They could feel. No, the difference was she was smarter and her body allowed her the ability to transform without dying. But that didn't make them mindless. That didn't make them...

That didn't make them not people.

And it had been on that day she realized she had killed her own brothers. After all, what else could they be called? They were people just as much as her. She just got lucky to have enough intelligence to keep her body intact and rebel. They were stupid and naive and she had ignorantly went along to kill one directly with her own hand and allow the others to die. It was her fault. She hadn't done a thing and she should have realized it was wrong because she was smart enough to. They didn't deserve it. Not the ones who were made before her and not the perfect clone either. After all, he couldn't help Vlad wanted to make him. She could have tried to stop it...and she didn't.

Not that she blamed Danny for any of it, of course. Danny was just defending himself. He had every right to resist. He couldn't help they wouldn't stop until one of them gave and he was just more enduring. And the perfect clone wasn't even his target, just caught in the crossfire when he didn't make the realization that she hadn't made till later. No, he had reason to be blamed. And she would keep the truth of the matter secret so he never felt any guilt about it.

No, this...this she and Vlad were to blame. Vlad for not seeing them at all and her for being too arrogant to allow herself to see. Which was why she was here now. Because she was the only one who did see the truth right now. No one would remember them like she did. Though she had wanted to do this a year after she realized the truth, it was hard to keep track of dates. So she decided to do it now.

They deserved to have someone mourn for them.

Comments

[twelvevoltman.livejournal.com]

People who work hard need to take breaks, and Allen is on one of his when he enters the Sensorium.

"Wow, I haven't seen anything like this since I went to that conference in Vale," he comments before walking up behind Dani, not wanting to surprise her. "Nice view. Where's it from?"

A quick glance at her posture and expression tells him she's doing something close to brooding. He refrains from showing concern for a moment. If she wants to talk about it, he can ease into that portion of the conversation after a little bit more dialogue.

[thethirdhalfa.livejournal.com]

Dani froze when she heard a voice. She supposed it was too much to hope no one would come in.

And of course it had to be someone she knew. She didn't look at him, forcing a cheerfulness in her voice. It was quite obviously forced. Usually if she was a bit upset she could hide it, but she'd been too far deep into the sad memories to make it believable this time.

"Colorado. The Rocky Mountains. It's near the place I was created," Dani explained. She'd been there for the other clones for some training early on, before the melting was really noticeable.

[twelvevoltman.livejournal.com]

"Revisiting some old memories?" Yeah, definitely brooding. Allen didn't have to have analytical mastery to tell that the kid was in a bit of a mood.

[thethirdhalfa.livejournal.com]

Dani shrugged. "I liked the view, so I decided to make it again," she said. Well, she did like the view. And it seemed more fitting to go somewhere they'd all been. It was a partial truth, but while she was willing to talk about her creation, even the fact she had been fighting against Danny at first under manipulation, this was a bit more touchy for her.

[twelvevoltman.livejournal.com]

"Well hey, I don't blame you. It's pretty."

He sits down beside her, admiring the view for a moment, calculating an appropriate span of time before going on.

He peers at her again before speaking.

"I don't wanna put you on the spot, but I can tell something's got you down."

[thethirdhalfa.livejournal.com]

"What makes you say that?" Dani asked, her voice and posture visibly more tense.

[twelvevoltman.livejournal.com]

"I have superhuman powers of observation. Sorry."

Allen shrugs.

"But even if I just had normal ones, I'd probably still be able to tell, because I pay attention to the moods of people I like, and kid, we may have only known each other a couple of weeks, but you're one of them. So . . . you wanna talk, or you don't? 'Cause if you do, I'll listen, but if not, we can just sit here and enjoy the view."

[thethirdhalfa.livejournal.com]

Dani didn't answer for a while. "...it's not like you can tell me a solution. It's not that kind of problem."

[twelvevoltman.livejournal.com]

"Even if it was 'that kind of problem,' I have many degrees, but none of them are in psychiatry. I don't presume to give anyone advice. I'm not an advice kind of guy."

Sometimes. If he feels the advice is based in very solid fact.

"However, in actively discussing an emotional or theoretical problem, conversation can be a helpful means of sorting through facts, theories, and questions, encouraging the development of new connections and conclusions."

End textbook mode.

[thethirdhalfa.livejournal.com]

"I....don't know if there is anything that needs to be sorted out. I thought about it a lot," Dani admitted.

[twelvevoltman.livejournal.com]

Allen mentally simulates several responses before speaking.

"Do you think you would feel better if you explained your thought process to someone else?"

[lilyofthedrills.livejournal.com]

Yuri was looking perhaps for a place to have a snack or a movie theater or something, anything, to keep her young mind activated. But when she opened the sensorium door:

The sky was painted with purple streaks like a great painting and the ground was as deep ochre as dried blood. Her breath caught. The only thing missing was a couple of eagles and people on hanggliders and it could be a giant motivational poster.

When her eyes finally made the journey down to the cliff's edge, she saw Dani with her legs dangling off the edge, head bowed and seemingly deep in thought.

When you're that age, in compensation for not knowing so much about worldly things, you can sense certain things. You can almost feel someone's sadness and guilt like a constant low note that follows them, played by an invisible cellist.

The earth crunched like cereal under her feet as she walked. "Dani...what's wrong?"

[thethirdhalfa.livejournal.com]

She really didn't have luck on her side today, did she? "What makes you think anything is wrong? Just a nice view," Dani answered, forcing the depression out of her voice with little success.

[lilyofthedrills.livejournal.com]

Yuri gives a little concerned frown. There's something to her of Kumi, who bottled her problems away, subsumed them into the wild rush of alien hunting. "Because just now...You looked kindof sad."

[thethirdhalfa.livejournal.com]

"...nah, nothing's wrong. Everything is...just fine," Dani said.

[lilyofthedrills.livejournal.com]

And just as closed away sometimes. "W-well if something ever is c-come and tell me okay?"

[thethirdhalfa.livejournal.com]

Dani threw an obviously fake smile at Yuri. "Okay."

[halfa-hero.livejournal.com]

Danny had been trying to track down his clone/cousin/little sister, not for any real need, but just to make sure she hadn't gotten herself into trouble. Finally he checked in the Sensoriums.

"Heya munchkin. What's up?"

[thethirdhalfa.livejournal.com]

Dani had already been interrupted a few times, but that had been fine. They weren't Danny. Danny was the one she didn't want to know because she didn't want Danny to think about what was wrong with her.

So of course she got Danny.

Dani went rigid, sitting up straight when she heard Danny's voice. She looked back with a wide, forced smile. "Just enjoying the view!" She chirped with forced cheer.

[halfa-hero.livejournal.com]

"Okay, really. What's up?"


Danny may be oblivious most of the time. But Dani reacted the same way he did when he trying to cover up for something, and that was hard for even him to ignore.

[thethirdhalfa.livejournal.com]

Which was why she really hoped Danny wouldn't find her because it's incredibly hard to lie to someone with the same lying habits as you. "What do you mean?" She asked. That didn't mean she couldn't play dumb anyway.

[halfa-hero.livejournal.com]

Nope, sorry munchkin. Danny's not gonna let you avoid the conversation now.

"Dani, are you really gonna try to play dumb with me? Seriously, what's wrong?"

[thethirdhalfa.livejournal.com]

Dani could hope, darn it!

"...nothing?" She tried, though it was obvious she was realizing it wasn't working and trying to think of another way around telling him.

[halfa-hero.livejournal.com]

"Dani, stop trying to avoid the question and tell me what's wrong?"

[thethirdhalfa.livejournal.com]

Dani looked away. "...I don't wanna talk about it," she finally said.