Post by wblstudios on May 11, 2006 14:49:12 GMT -5
Ellis’ bedroom was as scarcely decorated as the rest of her apartment, almost like something out of a homeless file in a government folder somewhere. A few changes of clothes, the boxcutter and switchblade she’d regretfully forgotten at dinner, and a few second-hand posters... Coheed and Cambria, Evanescence, and a reminder of a one night stand that was the only good thing a shattered company did right over the course of an entire year. Yoshimitsu squinted at the posters in the dim lamplight, trying to make sense of this American youth culture he’d have to tap into should a couple of choice business deals come through.
Ellis, feeling like a stranger in her own apartment even with Yoshimitsu’s unthreatening form, simply sat on her rock-hard bed, awaiting the old man to finish taking everything in. “It’s a little creepy, almost like something from Silent Hill, isn’t it?”, he finally surmised. “Not the weird red part... you know the... thing... where the monsters are... the...”
“Otherworld?”
“Yes. But it’s more like the other normal thing. Where things kind of look normal, but they... well... something is askew. I couldn’t live here, but it seems like a great environment for someone like yourself. Where an artist can truly create! I like it! But where do you go to escape?”
“Escape?”
“Yes, escape from this... from... I swear, it’s not my English failing me. English is the international language of business, and I made sure Kikyo learned it as soon as possible. It’s just... I can’t find the word. How do you escape from this...”
“Darkness?”
“If you wish to put it that way.”
Ellis simply sighed. “Everything there is, it’s just a reflection on what’s inside. I am this... darkness.”
Yoshimitsu nodded slightly, going back to looking around. The poster advertising the one night stand in a New York ballroom kept his eye more than the others. “This one... it’s not like the rest, the rest are all bands. Is there a reason for this one?”
“I... just picked up a group of them at once. There was a yard sale. Mr. Daioh, what did you want to...”
“Would you mind if I told you a little story, Miss Ellis? There’s a folktale told often in these parts, a few of the locals even claimed to have been a part of it.”
“Mr. Daioh, I’m not in the mood.”
“Humor an old man, will you?”
A few tense seconds of silence led to Ellis sighing, defeated.
“There tells a legend of a long ago time. Once upon a time, there was a young man, a warrior, such as yourself. He saw the future ahead of him, saw a passion of a life’s work ahead of him, but even he didn’t know what sort of rewards he would reap. This man was... well, he was a dreamer of sorts. And for a while, this dreamer tried all that he could. Yet sadly, those in his arena couldn’t accept the warrior’s spirit inside this dreamer. Until one day, this young dreamer was visited by a demon from his past, a vengeful spirit that had taken the form... of a raven.”
Ellis’ dead grey eyes perked up, and for the first time, she focused on Yoshimitsu. “Wait a minute... You’re talking about the early days of E...”
“This is a purely fictional tale, I assure you. Now, this dreamer was haunted by the raven. In waking hours, in his sleep, this raven kept poking away at this man’s soul, reminding him of a past he’d rather not relive. The young dreamer was becoming a more popular warrior, however, regardless of the interference of this raven into his life. Some would say... because of it. Some who knew the man, would say that this dreamer would have fizzled out and faded, had it not been for this raven who awakened something deep inside him. Tell me, Miss Ellis. Have you changed, become stronger, because of this man who opposes you? Pecks at your soul? What would happen to your career, should he never have come around?”
It was food for thought. Her hatred for the Jack of Blades, the fury she felt towards him, drove her not only to realize her calling as the scion of darkness, but drove her to rise against the oppression. But that still didn’t make what he did right in her eyes.
“Anyways... these powerful warriors all eventually crossed paths with this dreamer and his raven. And through them, and through the dreamer’s war to fight the raven from his past, this band of warriors grew stronger and stronger. Word spread throughout the land of this gang of men. Yet, for nearly three years, for three long years, the dreamer had lost his fight to keep the raven under control.”
“Three years... Yoshimitsu, I don’t have that type of compunction.”
For the first time, Yoshimitsu’s eyes met Ellis, seemingly unhindered by their cold, dead gaze.
“I think you do. Because regardless of how many times the dreamer had lost in his struggle, the populace still held him in highest regard. They grew to love the dreamer and despise the raven, regardless of the fact that the man had never defeated the creature from his past.”
“And what of it?”
“And what of it? Do you hear the applause the audience gives you? How they feel your pain when Jack does these things to you? How they applaud your efforts to fight against him? I mean, for goodness’ sake, you almost cut the man in half! And what happens? They applaud you! Because they know, even in defeat, standing up to this darkness is a victory. When you go out there, you carry with you the weight of every person who can’t speak for themselves. Who can’t stand up against their own bullies. Ellis... you ARE the people. And just like the one night where the dreamer slew the raven and forced him to flutter away, when you finally get your day, when you finally slay your demon, the people won’t only applaud you, they’ll be right there with you. I think you understand that. But what you don‘t understand is that even in defeat... you‘ve become a hero just for standing up and saying ‘no more’. Take pride in that, and maybe... just maybe... this otherworld may recede a bit.”
“You certainly seem to hold me in high regard, Mr. Daioh.”
Yoshimitsu stood up, nodding slightly, as again his gaze drifted away. “No higher regard than my daughter has of you. And I’m sure she’s eagerly awaiting talking strategy with you, so let’s not keep her waiting. Besides, I have business to attend to myself. You see... I purchased this humidifier, and this de-humidifier, and I have this theory...”
---
The bedroom door unlatched, and swung open, revealing the two who’s not spent all that much time talking. Kikyo herself had nodded off, ever so innocent in sleep, on the couch. Rather than wake her and take her back to his hotel, Yoshimitsu entrusted her to Ellis. But before she could let Yoshimitsu leave, one final question cut her lips.
“This dreamer you spoke of... did he have a name?”
“Yes... I believe he did. I think it was... Thomas.”
“Thomas was a good person.”
“As are you, Ellis, as are you.”
The old man silently made his leave, leaving the sleeping angel under the unsleeping, unwavering, unbreakable guard of the living dead.
---
~Ellis
Ellis, feeling like a stranger in her own apartment even with Yoshimitsu’s unthreatening form, simply sat on her rock-hard bed, awaiting the old man to finish taking everything in. “It’s a little creepy, almost like something from Silent Hill, isn’t it?”, he finally surmised. “Not the weird red part... you know the... thing... where the monsters are... the...”
“Otherworld?”
“Yes. But it’s more like the other normal thing. Where things kind of look normal, but they... well... something is askew. I couldn’t live here, but it seems like a great environment for someone like yourself. Where an artist can truly create! I like it! But where do you go to escape?”
“Escape?”
“Yes, escape from this... from... I swear, it’s not my English failing me. English is the international language of business, and I made sure Kikyo learned it as soon as possible. It’s just... I can’t find the word. How do you escape from this...”
“Darkness?”
“If you wish to put it that way.”
Ellis simply sighed. “Everything there is, it’s just a reflection on what’s inside. I am this... darkness.”
Yoshimitsu nodded slightly, going back to looking around. The poster advertising the one night stand in a New York ballroom kept his eye more than the others. “This one... it’s not like the rest, the rest are all bands. Is there a reason for this one?”
“I... just picked up a group of them at once. There was a yard sale. Mr. Daioh, what did you want to...”
“Would you mind if I told you a little story, Miss Ellis? There’s a folktale told often in these parts, a few of the locals even claimed to have been a part of it.”
“Mr. Daioh, I’m not in the mood.”
“Humor an old man, will you?”
A few tense seconds of silence led to Ellis sighing, defeated.
“There tells a legend of a long ago time. Once upon a time, there was a young man, a warrior, such as yourself. He saw the future ahead of him, saw a passion of a life’s work ahead of him, but even he didn’t know what sort of rewards he would reap. This man was... well, he was a dreamer of sorts. And for a while, this dreamer tried all that he could. Yet sadly, those in his arena couldn’t accept the warrior’s spirit inside this dreamer. Until one day, this young dreamer was visited by a demon from his past, a vengeful spirit that had taken the form... of a raven.”
Ellis’ dead grey eyes perked up, and for the first time, she focused on Yoshimitsu. “Wait a minute... You’re talking about the early days of E...”
“This is a purely fictional tale, I assure you. Now, this dreamer was haunted by the raven. In waking hours, in his sleep, this raven kept poking away at this man’s soul, reminding him of a past he’d rather not relive. The young dreamer was becoming a more popular warrior, however, regardless of the interference of this raven into his life. Some would say... because of it. Some who knew the man, would say that this dreamer would have fizzled out and faded, had it not been for this raven who awakened something deep inside him. Tell me, Miss Ellis. Have you changed, become stronger, because of this man who opposes you? Pecks at your soul? What would happen to your career, should he never have come around?”
It was food for thought. Her hatred for the Jack of Blades, the fury she felt towards him, drove her not only to realize her calling as the scion of darkness, but drove her to rise against the oppression. But that still didn’t make what he did right in her eyes.
“Anyways... these powerful warriors all eventually crossed paths with this dreamer and his raven. And through them, and through the dreamer’s war to fight the raven from his past, this band of warriors grew stronger and stronger. Word spread throughout the land of this gang of men. Yet, for nearly three years, for three long years, the dreamer had lost his fight to keep the raven under control.”
“Three years... Yoshimitsu, I don’t have that type of compunction.”
For the first time, Yoshimitsu’s eyes met Ellis, seemingly unhindered by their cold, dead gaze.
“I think you do. Because regardless of how many times the dreamer had lost in his struggle, the populace still held him in highest regard. They grew to love the dreamer and despise the raven, regardless of the fact that the man had never defeated the creature from his past.”
“And what of it?”
“And what of it? Do you hear the applause the audience gives you? How they feel your pain when Jack does these things to you? How they applaud your efforts to fight against him? I mean, for goodness’ sake, you almost cut the man in half! And what happens? They applaud you! Because they know, even in defeat, standing up to this darkness is a victory. When you go out there, you carry with you the weight of every person who can’t speak for themselves. Who can’t stand up against their own bullies. Ellis... you ARE the people. And just like the one night where the dreamer slew the raven and forced him to flutter away, when you finally get your day, when you finally slay your demon, the people won’t only applaud you, they’ll be right there with you. I think you understand that. But what you don‘t understand is that even in defeat... you‘ve become a hero just for standing up and saying ‘no more’. Take pride in that, and maybe... just maybe... this otherworld may recede a bit.”
“You certainly seem to hold me in high regard, Mr. Daioh.”
Yoshimitsu stood up, nodding slightly, as again his gaze drifted away. “No higher regard than my daughter has of you. And I’m sure she’s eagerly awaiting talking strategy with you, so let’s not keep her waiting. Besides, I have business to attend to myself. You see... I purchased this humidifier, and this de-humidifier, and I have this theory...”
---
The bedroom door unlatched, and swung open, revealing the two who’s not spent all that much time talking. Kikyo herself had nodded off, ever so innocent in sleep, on the couch. Rather than wake her and take her back to his hotel, Yoshimitsu entrusted her to Ellis. But before she could let Yoshimitsu leave, one final question cut her lips.
“This dreamer you spoke of... did he have a name?”
“Yes... I believe he did. I think it was... Thomas.”
“Thomas was a good person.”
“As are you, Ellis, as are you.”
The old man silently made his leave, leaving the sleeping angel under the unsleeping, unwavering, unbreakable guard of the living dead.
---
~Ellis
