[Hero-IC] Heather Mason says, "Goin' out. Anyone need anything?"
[Hero-IC] Princess Lana says, "Perhaps Heather..."
[Hero-IC] Heather Mason says, "Okay."
[Hero-IC] Princess Lana says, "Where are you going?"
[Hero-IC] Heather Mason says, "Earth."
[Hero-IC] Heather Mason says, "...I guess."
[Hero-IC] The Guardian says, "Any particular region, ma'am?"
[Hero-IC] Heather Mason says, "Someplace where bad guys hang out."
[Hero-IC] Princess Lana says, "...Why?"
[Hero-IC] Heather Mason says, "Most likely place."
[Hero-IC] Princess Lana says, "Mot likely place to?"
[Hero-IC] Heather Mason says, "Find her."
You head for Liberty City - Staunton.
Liberty City - Staunton
Liberty City is a lawless urban sprawl lying along America's east coast. Rival gangs, representatives of the Mafia, Triads, and Yakuza, and one-man armies with enough firepower to take on the Army make living in Liberty City a chancy proposition at best. Crime occurs on the streets in broad daylight, and anyone could be a crook... anyone. Weapons are seemingly just waiting to be found in out of the way places, and people have been known to go around ripping others out of their cars just to get a ride. If you can survive here, you can survive anywhere.
Staunton, one of the large boroughs of the city, is full of tall buildings and winding streets. The masses of people rush about everywhere here, and there's a lot to do, whether criminal or otherwise.
Contents:
Alessa
Liberty City - Staunton Plaza
Liberty City - Jefferson St. Credit Union
Liberty City - Star Wolf Enterprizes Building
Obvious exits:
[O]ut leads to Terra Zone - Little States (Back East).
[Hero-IC] Princess Lana says, "I... see..."
[Hero-IC] Samus Aran says, "Find who?"
[Hero-IC] Heather Mason says, "Don't get the messages, do you?"
[Hero-IC] Samus Aran says, "I'd like to introduce you to a concept. It's called...not fighting fair. This is if you're going ot go hunt down someone to beat the heck out of them, you take a bunch of friends, and hit them when they're not looking so they don't get to fight back. Not particularly honorable. But highly effect."
[Hero-IC] Samus Aran says, "Also reduces the chance of you being ganged upon."
[Hero-IC] Dreamcaster says, "... Samus, don't set a bad example for the new people."
[Hero-IC] Dreamcaster says, "That ain't how we do things round 'ere."
[Hero-IC] Samus Aran says, "Bah. That's a GOOD example, thank you."
[Hero-IC] The Guardian says, "Samus!"
[Hero-IC] Samus Aran says, "And there is no reason WHY you should not do it that way. IT makes good tactical sense to achieve a goal."
[Hero-IC] Dreamcaster says, "Not the way you put it."
[Hero-IC] Dreamcaster says, "What you just suggested is no better than being a schoolyard bully."
[Hero-IC] Princess Lana says, "Look... Heather. Please don't go looking for a fight. Please."
[Hero-IC] Samus Aran says, "Mmmmhmm. So much better than going to where the bad guys out for the express purpose of finding someone to beat up."
It's not an easy walk. That's for sure. But she reaches the edge of the city.
She'd heard about this place, and she's ready. She doesn't know precisely what she's getting into, but it's probably no Silent Hill. Heather Mason came equipped with her attitude, and, with her weapons.
[Hero-IC] The Guardian, for reference, sounded happy to hear Samus just then. And continues, "It depends a little bit on the situation. I don't think it would be morally wrong to ambush superior forces, but doing it on an individual level..... um... am I rambling?"
[Hero-IC] Heather Mason says, "I'm not looking for just anyone. I'm looking for the b***h that killed my father."
[Hero-IC] Captain Gordon says, "What?! That is not the way of a Hero!"
[Hero-IC] Captain Gordon says, "A true hero is honest, and upholds the ideals of the people they defend!"
[Hero-IC] Samus Aran says, "Hey Guardian. It's been a while. Exactly. It's the same thing as being a bully. Being stronger, not fighting fair, and trying to beat them without taking damage yourself. The difference is the reasoning behind it. A bully uses these tactics to make themselves feel bigger, because they like beating up people who are weaker. A soldier does it to remove a threat."
Alessa came equipped with something rather similar. She's been doing what amounts to shopping in Liberty City, lately - of course, it's more like dipping out of the vast coffers of wealth that the city represents. Currently, though, she holds the pistol of her father and no other visible weapons, and is walking down a city street, eyeballing the cars as they go by. Waiting for the perfect one.
This is harder than it looks! Especially if you don't want to damage it. And she doesn't have the raw size that the Conventional Nameless GTA3 Hero does, either; she's gotten tossed out of a couple of automobiles, and it's not fun. Not fun at /all/.
[Hero-IC] The Guardian says, "You know, I wish we could have an argument that was something other than 'pragmatic tactics' versus 'idealistic chivalry'."
[Hero-IC] Captain Gordon says, "The hero's way is to fight /against/ insurmountable odds!"
[Hero-IC] The Guardian says, "I mean, I don't know... can't we argue about the transmigration of souls?"
[Hero-IC] Heather Mason clears her throat.
Heather Mason isn't here to steal a car. She passes them right by. Her skirt gets eyed by gang members, and she senses it, glaring right back, down an alley, where a bunch of thugs look ready to ambush her. A pause. She blinks.
Used to killing monsters, she's really not sure if she can actually turn her gun on a regular person. But she pulls out the small one, the handgun, nonetheless. And she just turns, and keeps on walking.
[Hero-IC] Heather Mason says, "Last call for anyone that needs anything."
Alessa walks out to the middle of the street - causing people to stop and honk their horns and shout 'asshole!' and assorted other M-rated things at her. Since she, herself, is of the M-rated persuasion, Alessa doesn't really care - instead crossing the street without further hijinks.
Approximately one block south and one block west of where these thugs are starting to eye her doppelganger. It's probably a good thing that Ammu-Nation is right where it is. Direct line of sight could cause problems, especially since they both have firearms.
Heather Mason is sticking to the sidewalk... occasionally glancing behind her shoulder to make sure she isn't followed.
And, then, she hears it. The subtle hum in her radio, that builds into a crackle. Static. She glances to the radio, then, all around, her dark eyes going wide in paranoia. The gun is pointed, here, and there, as she searches for the source. She takes a step forward, the sound growing louder... and when she's picked up the direction of the source of interference, she looks forward, and begins to walk, slowly, with marked steps.
Unfortunately for Alessa, she doesn't use her radio for this purpose. Why should she? Anything that shows hostility towards her in Silent Hill is quickly and easily dispatched, and only very rare things actually do.
So, she's canoodling along, eyeing the cars carefully... and then, largely due to not moving /that/ quickly, she approaches the intersection. Her attention, however, remains focused on the traffic... unfortunately, it's a string of Mafia Sentinels right now. Hardly worth the trouble.
Heather Mason at this point, is a bit on edge... well, a lot on edge. She senses movement behind her, and turns around quickly, firing off with the handgun. One shot rings out, and hits absolutely nothing, making a bullet mark in the concrete at the foot of one of the sentinals across the street. Well. Maybe that was a bad idea....
Then, Heather spins around, and her eyes fix on the intersection. She stops cold, staring. Her radio sparkles with static...and she doesn't even see it when the men across the street rush toward her.
A stray gunshot is nothing odd for Liberty City. Alessa's attention goes across the street to see the people who are now coming forwards towards that gunshot... which was rather close to her location, really.
And then, since she wasn't looking, she proceeds forwards at a good walking pace... on a direct collision course with Heather. Hopefully there will be no matter/antimatter style reaction from this impact.
(Although maybe that would be, in the long term, more condusive to public order.)
Heather Mason looks down the street...and takes it all in. One thing at a time.
She didn't even have a plan for this moment. Maybe it would be...over really fast. And then she could get a job, and get some kind of life back. Maybe it would be really easy. Maybe she wouldn't feel even the least bit bad about it. She stands, right where she's standing, and aims the handgun forward, training it on the head of the girl that's coming every closer, but not even paying attention to her. She cocks the gun, moves a bullet into the chamber. She's not much of a shot at this distance...but maybe.
And then, as if not using her own mouth, she calls out. "Alessa!"
Alessa comes to a complete halt and turns around, expression going from vague attentiveness to utter shock to a mix of terror and rage in approximately one second. Her mouth, rather foolishly, hangs open - and for just a second, she looks...
Well, she looks like she'd looked in that dark carousel. As if something that was being held up fell away for a moment. But then it comes back, barely a flicker, and she brings her OWN gun up, pointing it at the bleach-blonde figure - "You!" she says. And her voice is high, squeaky, and sounds perhaps half of the age she looks like.
All of the other gang activity on the street hangs back for a moment, in anticipation of watching two highschoolers kill eachother. That is what it looks like is about to happen.
Heather talks over a ring of static.... "Hi. Remember me?"
BLAM! The gun rings out down the street, the bullet streaking toward Alessa as if it had her name written on it.
Dahlia did it once, and Alessa was the source of the power. So, naturally enough, she can do it herself. One hand is brought up in a sort of waving-away gesture--
And there's a puff of dust from the street, as SOME kind of force - a force that can't, otherwise, be seen - pushed forwards, knocking the bullet away. And then Alessa says in the same squeaky tone, "A little bit." Before beginning, slowly, to walk forwards. "But not.. very well at all."
Heather Mason's eyes go wide for a moment. She hadn't imagined that would happen...
But, that IS why she has the katana. She slips the gun to one side, and pulls out the sword with the other hand, balancing it in her grip. Her shoulders go up, and down, as she takes an anticipatory breath. "Oh, yeah? Maybe I can jog your memory."
Alessa blinks again, and comes to a halt as she sees the katana. "...." She doesn't have one. Or at least, doesn't have one with her. She looks up again, brow furrowing as if she's straining to remember - neither advancing nor retreating.
"You could tell me your name - I can't really remember it... it isn't Claudia, is it?" Alessa says, sounding almost reasonable. Maybe slightly frightened as well. But then, she IS being advanced upon with a katana. She's allowed to have some minor nerves.
Heather Mason feels like she has the advantage now. Well, that's fine. Let her squirm. It was all she deserved... She starts to walk forward, low into her battle pose. Her eyes look as if they're sinking into her head...slowly, the dark circles getting darker. "My name is Heather... Heather Mason." No, not really. That's not really her name at all. "My name is Cheryl."
"All right," Alessa says, still standing there. She looks, if anything, distracted now. She isn't quite glancing to the side, but her eyes (and what color /are/ they? Either brown or a watery blue, but it's very hard to tell which one, somehow) flick towards the street every second or so. "All right," she repeats herself.
"Why are you coming after me with a sword?" she asks, after a few seconds' thought. She sounds, somehow, genuinely perplexed. It's either a very good act, or... nah, it /has/ to be an act. Right? Right.
Dammit. This little witch should know. She should know. She wasn't going to ruin Heather's revenge by not UNDERSTANDING why she was being destroyed. She wasn't going to do this to her!
Heather just gets mad, and she just charges. She charges with a slash and a shout, striking toward Alessa with the brunt of her aggression. Those who didn't know her would only think she was a bully, picking on a child. Maybe she is: but this is no child.
Alessa doesn't quite seem young enough to be a child - and she manages to step back, just getting sliced across the front in a rather shallow way, and making an unpleasant grunting noise. Blood starts to ooze down the urban-camoflage, probably increase its quality - and she brings up the pistol, aiming it at Heather and saying, again, and this time more plaintively, "What did I do to YOU?" Something floats into her head for a moment - an image of something wrapped in a dirty pink blanket - but...
Heather Mason lowers the blade, and preps it for another strike. The other girl could really take a hit, she realized...but that's all part of surving what she'd been through. Being burned alive...all of it. "It's what your followers did. And what they're trying to do." Her eyes flicker, going soft for just a moment, before they grow harsh again. "You don't know me? You DON'T EVEN KNOW ME?"
"Followers?" Alessa says, this time genuinely bewildered. She doesn't have any followers! Does she? She was the one they picked on in school! She backs away, taking a completely unaimed shot in Heather's general direction to try and keep her from approaching more closely.
"And... and... I /think/ I do, but..." Her own eyes narrow for a moment, and she says with sudden sarcasm, "But you're /grown/."
"Most people do." Heather is about to leap into another slash, but the bullet strikes the ground in front of her, and she jumps back suddenly. She can't take a shot the way Alessa can, let alone stop it in mid air. She stops, narrowing her eyes at Alessa. "They came out to Portland looking for me. You weren't around, and they needed someone to go back to Silent Hill. Someone to birth your disgusting god."
"Huh?" Alessa says. And now she DOES look genuinely blank. She has vague and shadowy memories of fighting this woman on a carousel, and losing, but they're like an especially vivid dream; memorable, but not really /real/... right?
Now she lowers the gun. Out of simple confusion. "To... /Portland/? You mean some of them were still /alive/?"
Heather Mason holds the blade out, even as Alessa lowers the gun. But she doesn't strike, she just threatens, the edge shimmering with the blood from the single strike. "Her name is Claudia. If I have to, I'll kill her too. I have to kill you...to end this nightmare."
Alessa says, with disconcerting surprise (and joy! yes, joy!) "Claudia! Claudia's alive?!" She steps forward, too, stupidly. But she's actually smiling, even though it looks like it's hurting her face somewhat to go into such an unusual expression. The rest, it seems, either went in one ear and out the other, or has yet to be processed.
This is getting more and more frustrating for Heather. This was...supposed to be rewarding. It wasn't supposed to feel like what it felt like...like sticking a knife into her own heart. She had all the memories, but they echoed, too, strangely, and when Alessa reveals how joyful she feels upon hearing Claudia is still alive, she suddenly remembers Claudia herself, as something less than a murderer. And in order to sober herself up to do what she has to do, she declares, tears welling in her eyes. "She killed my FATHER."
Alessa's mouth hangs open again. And the little illusion around her, whatever cunningly-crafted overlooks and trompe l'oeils it consists of, vanish. Completely. And they don't pop back for a good two or three seconds - it may not make her any more or less pitiful, but it certainly makes her much more unpleasant-looking.
And then, after that, she says in a small and totally blank voice, "She... Claudia... she...?" She seems to look at the woman who's aiming a sword at her -- or at least, towards her. But it would be more proper to say that she's looking /through/ her.
Heather Mason swallows. "I don't think anything I can do will bring Dad back. But I'd say ...getting rid of Samael is a pretty good start." She narrows her tearing eyes at Alessa. (Come on. Hold it together...do what you came here to do...)
"He's... dead?" Alessa says, disbelievingly. And then she turns away, looking over towards... empty space. (A mafiosi on the other side of the street, gifted by a lifetime of semi-regular church attendance, moves out of the way and heads, quickly, towards the nearby subway.)
"... are you... I mean, are you /sure/?" she asks, voice starting to fade back towards a more normal tone.
Heather Mason's voice is a razors edge, as tears start to leak out of her eyes. "Yeah." Her arm, held out for the strike, wavers.
Alessa drops the gun. Her hands lift, and she looks at them, face almost diffident. "... daddy," she says faintly. But she doesn't cry.
Instead, she turns her head and says, in a tone that's almost completely different from what she had been using before - despite being the exact same voice - "You killed him." (This is said, quite conversationally, to the air on the /other/ side of Alessa; the part that is not currently being menaced with a florist-skewering piece of Japanese steel.)
Heather Mason doesn't think Alessa is quite getting it. "N....no." She walks forward, meanacing with the sword. "I... I didn't do anything." Not understanding who Alessa is talking to, she thinks she, herself, is being accused. She raises the blade with shaking hands. Alessa's head is turned, but Heather doesn't mind hitting her in the back... she'll do this execution-style, make it fast. Every moment, it was getting harder do to. "YOU did."
Alessa turns her head towards Heather now - and her face is quite unpleasant looking. Apparently, she's dropped at least part of the illusion now. She says, through a mouth that looks like it's been reconstructed badly somewhere below skin level, "Why would I kill my own father?"
Then her head turns again - along with the rest of her. To address empty air. She takes a deep breath - and then screams.
"I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME!! ANSWER ME!! WHY DID YOU KILL HIM?!" And NOW she sounds, if perhaps not quite human, certainly pained. Her hands clench into fists, slowly... and then relax. And she turns back around, looking down at the dirty Liberty City sidewalk.
Heather Mason gasps on seeing the face.
Her own face. Her own face looking back at her through a veil of pain. She falters back, the blade lowering. "...It's never so hard for anyone else... is it?" she asks of nothingness, whispering. Her voice is thick with confusion, as she looks at Alessa. "Don't you WANT to destroy me?"
Alessa stands there, fists clenching and then unclenching, as she stares at the pavement. She doesn't quite quiver visibly, but that might just be some kind of problem with the muscles - Lord knows she probably has enough.
Finally, she says in a harsh and grating tone, "I... I... you were supposed... to... to be what Daddy wanted..."
Her head slowly lifts, and now her eyes are narrowed slits. "But now... now, even YOU ... you're coming after me...!" She sounds quite different than she did just a minute or so ago, when she was being puzzled at getting threatened with skewering and gunfire.
Heather Mason feels like she's detached from her own voice. "I have to. I won't turn back now... I won't. The only way to save ...everyone from what I might become..." She jerks the sword back, and then slashes out again, with a vicious slice toward Alessa's midsection... "Is to KILL IT!"
Alessa is too busy having her little snit to do more than take it - she doesn't look surprised, though. And when she sinks to the ground, she's clutching at her midsection with one hand... as if she's trying to hold something in. "Uhhhgh..." She stays crouched, there, on her knees. And then picks up the pistol she'd dropped. From the Brahms Police Department to father to her.
Without saying anything, she lifts it up and aims it approximately where Heather's legs should be. And just starts pulling the trigger without rhyme or reason.
Heather Mason is shocked to be shot, now, after she'd struck so solidly, and a bullet splatters into her shin, almost shattering it completely. She stumbles back, and grimaces. ... Dad's gun? Was that really dad's gun?? She screams in pain, and leaps with another slash, although she's already limping. "How dare you TAKE that?!"
Alessa rises to her feet and staggers a little. (Thankfully, the gun is - in Dual's words - @($#1474. Or else we could refer to Heather as 'Stumpy' from now on.) "He /left/ it," she says in a hazy tone. "He left it /at home./ And he was just as much my father as he was yours." She takes aim, now, at the girl's head...
And pulls the trigger four times, before realizing that the clip was empty. She looks at the gun, stupidly, and then fumbles in one pocket for more ammunition.
Heather Mason screams! She almost got her head shot off...and she wouldn't have even cared. That little witch was using HER dad's.... no, their dad's... weapon... "He's MY father! Mine! He said he'd protect.... ME!" She cuts out with the sword at this scream, slashing at Alessa's knees, aiming to bring her down. The blood from her own wound trails onto the sidewalk.
Alessa can tell when she's outmatched. Instead of fumbling for further munitions, Alessa just HURLS the gun forwards - the gun itself is a memento, but she has other mementoes of Harry - at Heather. And then... she...
Turns and runs away? But she knows exactly where she's going. Over a hill and into some bushes, and unless it's been taken recently, there will be something there. Something she can make good use of. She's leaving an obvious trail of blood, of course, but that can't be helped.
Heather Mason throws another useless slash, hitting air, before she realizes that Alessa is already going on her way. She breaks into a run to follow...or, at least tries to, but her leg being shot makes speed an impossibility. She hobbles...she almost loses her grip on the blade. As Alessa gets a bit of distance on her, she's forced to use the blood to track her, but she won't give up this easily.
Alessa curses herself inwardly for not bringing along some of those amazing energy drinks. And then she finds, behind a bush, just what she was looking for..
An UZI. Only one clip of ammunition, sadly, but it's a gun nonetheless. She crouches down, clutching her injured abdomen with one arm, and waits. Inside of her mind, part of her is near-catatonic with shock at the news of Daddy's death. But one of the advantages of being crazy is that it gives you a certain... durability in the face of this kind of thing.
Heather Mason reaches up into one of her vest pockets, and fumbles around.... grabbing out a small, round health drink. She puts her sword away on her belt-loop, just long enough to pull off the lid, and knock the thing back, letting the chemical energy dull her pain. Then, she reaches around her back, and pulls out the heavy, steel pipe. She gives it an experimental practice swing. Her voice is choked with tears as she advances. "I ... never meant to be the bad guy here. I ... just know what's going to happen if I don't get rid of you."
Fortunately, the lure of drama overcomes good tactical sense, and Alessa hisses from where she's crouched, "And what will you do after you do /that/? Do you really think it'll solve the problem?" She herself barely understands what she's saying. She does, though, punctuate it by bursting OUT of the bushes and staggering over towards the side, before bringing around the UZI and - well, she has yet to get the hang of this 'aiming' thing apparently. Bullets are sprayed around, the majority of them going up into the sky to accomplish nothing. Most, but not all.
Heather Mason shouts, and dives to the dirt, skidding on sidewalk. It would really be bad to be shot with THAT.... "I.... After that... I'll ..." No, Heather hasn't thought about it. It was really 'one thing at a time' where revenge was concerned. Shouldn't killing Alessa, for real, be enough to cleanse Silent Hill? Still huddled down, and rolling to her side, she drops the melee weapon, knowing it won't do her any good, and pulls the SMG off her shoulder. She points it forward at the bushes, arranging it awkwardly, not yet firing.
Alessa puts the UZI down with as little noise as she can manage, working almost entirely on instinct - and brings out the chef's knife she'd stuck into her waistband, almost as an afterthought, on her way into town. Perhaps something knew this was going to happen.
"Can't you THINK?" she says, her little-girl tones mocking now. "Figure it out - you're just wasting your time... unless you have some OTHER reason for doing what you're doing."
Shut up, me. I hate you.
That's the thought that slaps into Heather's head.... that's the thought that gives her the energy it takes to pull that trigger. A round of ammunition rat-tat-tats into the bushes, from where the last taunt sounded. It may strike, it may not.
Alessa gets hit. She's not dodging, so - well, of course she is. In the foot, however; she loses two toes, but those are of little consquence. She WILL need to replace the boot, however.
She lunges out of the bush, though, lifting up that sharp and still half-rusted knife as she advances, not making a single noise except for the sound of feet on grass - slamming it downwards as soon as she seems more or less in range.
The attack rams right into a prone body, as Alessa leaps and slams the knife into the back of Heather's shoulder. Heather lets out a grunt, and rolls over immediately, pushing Alessa away, dislodging the blade and losing her grip on the gun. Since it's still strapped around her shoulder, it slams into her gut as she rolls in the dirt, rather than being lost. That radio still crackles with static, growing only louder as Alessa and Heather are entangled with each other. She'd shut it off, but Heather's a bit occupied right now, reaching out her hand for the pipe she dropped, and gripping it with a white-knuckled grip. Through the static, Heather's words flicker in and out, like a bad transmission... "Just wanted.. .an ordinary life... with dad...."
Alessa pulls the knife back - and then says, anger and fury still easily discerned despite her squeaky voice - "What do you think I wanted!?" The knife is brought back again, and she screams, "But you can't! YOU CAN'T! You can't just leave well enough alone, you have to go and--" She cuts off abruptly, lunging forwards again. The pipe is, well, either not noticed or deliberately ignored.
Heather Mason rolls over onto her back, and blocks the next stab of the knife with the pipe she's now holding. Over the static and shouting, the 'CLANG,' of metal on hollow metal, resounds. Her arm strains. She's stronger than this smaller girl, but she's still fighting a supernatural force... "You... think THIS is WELL ENOUGH?"
Alessa's arm shivers visibly, but she brings it up and then shifts the knife to the other hand - circling warily towards one side. Is Heather really stronger than her? Maybe in body. In fact, almost certainly. But... "You never even looked into it! It's my mother! My MOTHER DID ALL THIS!" THe knife comes down again at 'this', or rather, jabs forwards.
Heather Mason screams as the knife strikes dirt...dangerously close to skewering her head. ...Our mother, really.... Her eyes go wide, looking from the knife, to Alessa. "Our mother... She only wanted YOU."
Alessa stares down with wide, almost blank eyes - whatever color they are, it's very faint. "She.. you think she wanted ME?" she asks, staying crouched down. Her breath is unpleasant, almost like something in her is rotting. Maybe that's not far from the truth. "She didn't want ME. She wanted a - a pot to plant her devil in. Don't you know - don't you remember, what she DID?" The knife is pulled out of the ground, but not jabbed forwards. Just yet. It is, though, held at the ready.
Heather Mason rolls out from under Alessa. She doesn't relish being pinned, and she tries to stand... As her scraped knees are bent, halfway up, she responds. "Yeah. And that's what she got, too." Her breath is ragged in her throat, and she pushes off from the ground, one solid push, to get herself to her feet. The pipe is still clenched in her hand. "Inside you. And inside me." Her eyes lower to the ground. "I remember."
Alessa stands up, too, holding that knife. "No," she says, sonorously. And then the illusion she had on vanishes completely. She says, standing still and waiting for - well, for whatever Heather'll do to, towards, and on her next - "I mean... this."
Alessa
This young woman, when viewed from the left side, is rather pretty - too skinny and pallid to really be beautiful, but a pleasant mix of exotic gypsy-like eyes with clean, milky-white skin, as well as straight black hair that's kept nice and neatly combed.
However, when seen from the right, it appears as if she's been infected with some nasty taint or disease - that's just the first impression that might be gotten, though, as it's actually only the half-healed scars of a severe burn. The bright, doll-like pink of healed flesh is rarely present, instead having a mottled mosaic of angry red flesh, brownish-black scabs, and the occasional hint of green.
The burns, which despite their obvious severity seem to go unbandaged, extend down her neck, although once more the majority of the damage is on the right rather than the left. Underneath the thin and old-looking unbuttoned blouse she wears, even more bandages are visible, as well as the scent of antiseptic and infection held warily at bay - and, faintly, of burning.
A gag forms in Heather's throat. It chokes from her stomach...up to her neck... and her deepened eyes seem to bulge in horror. "I... I....." She clenches her stomach suddenly. It hurts. It hurts... the static is piercing into her ears. "I remember..."
Alessa says, with some thickness, "And you say.. that mommy... wanted /me/." She sounds cold, and pitiless, but she isn't trying to stab the other girl or anything like that.
"Yes. She did." Heather looks up at Alessa, staring at her, forcing herself to examine that damaged face. "She wanted to purge me out of you." Her eyes meet Alessa's. "And that's what I am. Your... HER.... 'leftovers.'"
Alessa stares back. And doesn't say anything for a nice, long while. "... is that all you're going to be? Leftovers?" she finally says, voice still thick. It's the same squeaky, little-girl voice, but damaged; smoke inhalation, perhaps. Or infection of some kind.
Heather Mason starts to cry again in spite of herself. She's not exhausted physically...she can fight as long as she's alive, but, mentally, the mind bend of meeting... herself, for the first time, has been very difficult for her. "Without ...my dad. That's all I am."
Alessa feels the urge to say 'get over it' or something like that -- and that's when the part of her that's still curled up and crying, internally, over the news of her father's death awakens. And instead, she says in a ... nearly gentle tone, "He wouldn't want you to do this. ... Did you bury him?"
"No way... to do it." Heather's breath comes ragged, as she speaks.
Alessa nods, once, slowly. A small scab on her neck breaks and a trickle of dark blood oozes down at the peculiar motion; does this happen to her constantly, even if it never shows? "It can't be helped." She moves forwards with the hand holding a knife --
And then looks at it, as if confused. The knife is tossed off into the underbrush and the hand is extended again. "... what do you think he would want you to do?"
Heather Mason won't take Alessa's hand. She steps back as if she's shocked at the thought. But she looks up at Alessa...and then down at her own hand, still holding the pipe. She doesn't drop the weapon... but she slips it back onto her back. She shakes her head. "What do YOU think?" Her eyes narrow at Alessa with a curious peer. Does this... being know something she doesn't know about herself? Something ELSE?
Alessa looks up - she may be a little shorter than Heather, but that's understandable. She says, calmly, "You aren't strong enough to really fight me. If you really, in your heart of hearts... if you really think that what D- what Father wanted for you was to kill me... then become great enough to do it."
The girl, the demon, is right, but, as a matter of course, Heather blows her off. "Pft. What do you know?" And then, she turns away, and starts to walk back down the sidewalk. Muttering. "...what the hell do you know?"
Alessa says, but in a very quiet voice - probably not audible, unless the winds of Liberty City are extremely good at just that moment - "More than I want to." Then she, too, turns - to walk in the other direction.
Alessa escapes into a warp zone.
Alessa has left.