[Closed] He tells me that a monster lives inside

[ss_buttcrack]

Who: Crichton (Harvey), Ari Tayrey & Valdis
What: Harvey is finally putting his plan to get those revenge daggers into motion, but it won't go as smoothly as he hopes
When: Foward dated to the last day of September
Where: Ari's Cabin
Warning: Involuntary Drugging, violence, stabbing, blood, death


He's been patient. He's waited all month for this--carefully feeding Ari different degrees of that sleeping drug over the weeks to convince her that she's reaching a breaking point, all the while smiling sweetly through Crichton's teeth, acting like the concerned friend Crichton would be. Well, Ari, your troubles are almost at an end. He will be taking those hidden beacons of power he senses at long last. Even if he has to rip the wall down with his bare hands.

He shows up at Ari's cabin door, later in the evening, holding Crichton's well-used journal in one hand and a steaming cup of coffee in the other. There's an extremely large dose of sleeping drug laced in it. Enough to kill an average person, but Ari has proven she can handle much more than the average person. Regardless, this will keep her out for hours. He will be long gone by the time she wakes.

"Ready for a potential all-nighter?" he asks with Crichton's boyish exuberance. "I had a crazy idea I want to run by you."

Comments

[Stabbin' Time]

[ss_buttcrack]

With daggers in hand, Harvey calmly exits Ari's cabin, leaving her there on the floor (as requested) unconscious but alive. The first part of this plan did not go as elegantly as he would have liked, but he accomplished his goal just the same.

Now, he stalks his way down the hall to Valdis's door. Menace radiates from him and there's really no helping it. He'll just have to make this quick.

"Valis!" he puts extra fear into his--or should he say Crichton's?--voice as he pounds on her door. "Valdis, I need your help. Please, are you in there?"

[redlightgreenlight]

The aura approaching doesn't feel like Crichton, but the frantic pounding on her door, the sound of fear in her friend's voice overrides the caution she might normally approach this aura with. It's confusing the dissonance between caution and empathy. Valdis' love for Crichton prompts her to open the door.

"Crichton, what's wrong?"

She can smell Ari on him and any concern about the menace vanishes.

"Is Teyrey ok?"

[ss_buttcrack]

"She will live," Harvey hisses as he plunges the dagger into her chest with zero hesitation. "You should have been more worried about yourself."

[redlightgreenlight]

She manages to move just enough that the dagger misses anything vital, but it doesn't matter because the burning tells her everything she needs to know. Valdis tears away from him, trying to summon the energy to retaliate, but the energy flows to the wound trying to seal it. Her skin turns paler than normal, black veins spreading across her body as the poisonous hatred takes hold. She sinks to the floor as old wounds start opening up on her skin, black ichor flowing from each one.

[ss_buttcrack]

His lips, Crichton's lips, curl into a sickly satisfied grin. He's glad she evaded his killing blow. This is so much better, to watch her suffer, to watch the life drain from her slowly.

"You should have left me alone, Valdis. I warned you that you would regret crossing me. There is only one thing now that will make this moment sweeter. Can you guess what it is?"

He doesn't wait for a reply. He reaches inward and drags Crichton's consciousness to the surface, ruthlessly thrusting him back into awareness with the bloody knife still in his hand. Crichton blinks rapidly, then looks down and blanches in horror.

"Valdis! No! No, no, no, no!"

The dagger clatters to the ground. Crichton falls to his knees in front of Valdis, gathering her into his arms with hot tears already staining his cheeks. "Valdis, n-no. I'm sorry. I'm so... what can I do? I'll... call Watson? I'll... I'll get help!"

[redlightgreenlight]

Black blood bubbles up out of her lungs as she coughs, pain seizing every muscle in her body as her reserves continue to deplete, hopelessly attempting to heal the injuries that continue to open. Damn Harvey. Her fury has nothing to do with her own life and everything to do with the fact he's letting Crichton watch her die. She can barely feel him holding her, barely even understand the words coming out of his mouth.

"Crichton."

Black tears start oozing down her cheeks, her lungs so full of the poison she can't breathe. Everything starts going dark and she pulls at the Void, then her own soul, trying to find just a little more time. She finds enough.

"Check...Ari."

Her soul winks out of existence and in the corner, Revelations goes dark.

[ss_buttcrack]

"No... please..."

He bends over Valdis, cradling her close to his chest as she grows colder in his arms. The black tears oozing from her cheeks smear into the black of his shirt.

"P-please..."

She goes limp with Ari's name still on her lips. Now he's alone. Except... he isn't. He isn't. Harvey is laughing cruelly in his ears.

Crichton gently lowers Valdis's body back to the floor with trembling hands, wiping some of the ichor off on his leather pants numbly. How? How did this happen? How did Harvey... Ari, wait...

"Harvey! What did you do?! WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

The mental clone materializes in front of him, looking down at Valdis's body and tut-tutting softly. "She had those daggers hidden quite well. Lieutenant Tayrey was a good choice of keeper for them. Such a shame, I don't think she's going to want to work with me anymore after this..."

"No." Crichton backs away, shaking his head. "You didn't... FRELL! I need to... frell..." He can't run to Ari. He'd just be putting her right back in danger. Anyone who comes near him right now is in danger.

"Watson... I'll... okay..." It takes him three tries to get his phone out of his pocket with his hands still shaking and slick. He leaves black smudges on the keys as he types out the message.

After the first one is sent, he gathers himself to type out one more... to Erin.

After sending that message, Crichton slumps to the ground like a puppet with his strings cut. Pulling his legs up to his chest, he sits and waits, burying his face into his knees so he doesn't have to look at Valdis's body still lying lifeless on the floor at his feet. Harvey vanishes again, back into the recesses of his mind, but Crichton knows he's still watching. Waiting. He'll always be there... always.