Rip It Off Like A Bandaid (Blake/GM?)

[Zack Asiv]

Bailey as she pulls on it can feel the energy seeping into her skin, crawling beneath the surface, and after that moment, ripping the mask off it crumbled under her grip being demolished by what could only be described as falling into utter darkness. Bailey's mind would become an endless void where only she existed in an expanse of darkness. No floor, no air, no sense of direction. Just her alone with her nightmares, her terrors.

While her body would begin to experience the first awakening of this power. Her skin reddening as it seemed to split in multiple places, energy shooting from her body in a rush of harsh wind. Wind so strong it ripped the grass from the ground laying it bare, knocked trees down in the distance, rippling the ground in every direction up-heaving and tossing chunks of it at a time.

A guttural unnatural scream escaping her lips, echoed on top of it's self as if she had multiple vocal cords. Her hair turning black as a black face paint design would cover her face, her scream dieing down as the wind did, a smile crossing her face, wicked and twisted, but her eyes were still soft and caring. But frozen in place, in the newly terra formed location, not doing anything now.

Bailey would be greeted in her mind by another her, this other version.

"Hey... Bails. Guess what? You want to play a game? Cause I do."

[Bailey Oleander]

Bailey shuddered as she felt the energy seeping into her, a sensation of something beneath the surface and lurking there, growing more potent with each painful second. The mask in her hand crumpled beneath her grasp as she lost sight of the world around her. The forest turned to darkness, soundless, sightless, empty. Nothing but stillness, save for the sound of her own breathing.

Then the nightmares came. Strong and vivid, one at a time at first until they all started to bleed together, a part of her and yet still separate from one another. Her home, destroyed or taken over, nothing but rubble and ruins. Her family and friends, dead from the sickness that had taken the Elders. The experiments, only this time she had to kill them herself. Another version where she was forced to watch. Rhona, dead after her transformation and attack on them and the city. Blake, dead, knowing it was her fault after she left him after his exile, with every time she thought about turning back and didn’t. Not being able to stop the attck on Cabal. Aurora destroyed, with and without its king. Cabal in ruins after another attack. Her partner, dead, in ways she couldn’t even recognize how. Her, destroying the world around her with her own chaotic powers, embracing them, wanting them, a twisted laugh in her throat and echoing in the air. Blood seeping down her legs as a knife-like pain tore through her torso and she doubled over. Her father, coming back to life. Standing where she found his broken and twisted body, looking at her with his neck twisted while the rest of his body faced away from her, standing at sharp odd angles, lips forming words but no sound coming out.

The face of the first man she’d killed, his brother, her friend, staring at her with hate from behind the man with blank eyes that choked the life from her, telling her she deserved it.

Another version of her appeared, distracting her from the nightmares that gripped her. Dark hair, a twisted face. A shudder of horror ran down the blonde’s spine at the sight, knowing whose face it wore. She just didn’t know if it was actually a part of her, or a way to frighten her. She rolled her her lips inward at the baiting and shook her head in the mental cage she found herself in.

“No, I don’t.”

[Blake Oleander]

Blake rose an arm up to shield his face as the energy whipped around them and the transformations took over Bailey. Feeling the Demon within him howl and thrash. Gleeful as it howled in excitement and desire to combat. To overcome and dominate. Though Blake kept it at bay, well practiced by this point in the Demon and not allow it to control him and bend him to its will.

He wouldn't move to help Bailey, not yet. This was her battle more than anything. She needed to overcome what was inside of her and become its master. It was something Blake could not do for her.

[Zack Asiv]

Her form pouts and folds her arms in an exaggerated manner.

"Come on, Bails. It'll be fun I promise. Whats say we spin the bottle and do whatever it lands on, huh? Maybe save another village? it's one of the possibilities, swear."

[Bailey Oleander]

She was already liking this even less. Bailey frowned and gave a small shake of her head, a mixture of feelings churning in her stomach as the other woman taunted her. Dread, wonder, anticipation. Wanting to know what the plan was, wanting to stay far away from it and to make it stop. Somehow.

"Fun for you, maybe. Pretty sure the other options are worse." And that there was more of them. Her stomach churned at the thought, and the enjoyment this version of herself seemed to take in it. Or was it not her and she just coudln't tell the difference?

[Blake Oleander]

Blake continued to watch in silence, waiting to see if she was able to conquer her own inner demon or if he would need to put it down.

[Zack Asiv]

Bailey's real body turns slowly to look at Blake, her face frozen in a smile as black cracks appear at the edges of her smiling mouth. The barren area around them sparking with black and red plasma that sets the ground on fire for moments before extinguishing. It does nothing else yet.

With Bailey and the apparition or nega-version of her.

"You got it all wrong. Well at least the way you are looking at it. Say you come across a person running from a single bandit. It's obvious if left alone whoever has the most stamina will win the moment. What if you step in? You stop the bandit, that person is grateful and nothing happens. You stop the person and the bandit catches them. In thanks they share some loot. You throw the person a weapon to defend themselves with. You kill them both, you trip the bandit, you whistle... Literally anything, what would happen? How would they react? What happens after? What chain of events have you caused by introducing a small factor. You can command possibility its self and yet... What? Is it fear? Are you afraid of me?"

[Bailey Oleander]

Pain flickered across Bailey's face at the example her darker self gave. Logic and reason and wishful thinking, all rolled into one. There was no saying what would happen if she stepped in to save someone, or if she didn't. It didn't matter what her intent was - anything could happen. Good or bad.

Even the most well-intended actions could destroy everything.

And there it was, the question that all but made her shudder as she looked at his version of herself - it had to be herself, not just something wearing her face. Right?

And then the question. Not just her, not just what it meant, but what she was saying Bailey could do. The power to command possibility itself. Something that could be used and horribly abused to suit someone's wishes. And it came from her family.

"Yes," she whispered.

[Blake Oleander]

"Dig deep Bailey."

He continued to watch the thing wearing Bailey like a suit. A grim reminder of what he could have become himself.

[Zack Asiv]

The body's mouth opens, opening along the cracks as well for an impossibly large gaping mouth letting out a scream that causes shockwaves of wind and concussive force escape her, the normal wind in the area picking up, clouds appearing overhead, making the area fall into shade.

"Well that isn't nice, Bails. I am you after all. Though the you, you won't admit to. The other side of your curiosity. Where you draw the line and finally realize."

She puts her hands to her eyes and makes a whiney voice.

"Oh no, I better tell someone, or talk about this."

She then starts laughing.

[Bailey Oleander]

Bailey's curiosity may have been piqued, but so was the flush of anger on her cheeks as she listened to something wearing her face and claiming ot be her, only to mock her.

"Everyone has their limits." She tried to deflect the prodding statement as laughter filled the area. "It's not a bad thing. Even if I don't have the same as others, I've seen what it can lead me to." Again the flash of pain as she thought of the experiments, of the blind trust she'd had in the professor, and her commanders. Of speaking up of her own concerns and coming out here instead of potentially destroying a lab recently built in Aurora. There was only one of those things she wasn't ashamed of.

Still frowning, she surprised herself by holding her ground so far.

[Blake Oleander]

Blake would shield his face but still make no move as of yet.

[Zack Asiv]

The scream would stop as the eyes turned black and cracks appear at the corners of her eyes, her mouth hung open with black smoke draining from it in a constant flow unaffected by her breathing. The wind picking up as it the distance dark clouds could be seen beginning to funnel.

"Thats what pisses me off about you, Bails. Blamed yourself for something out of your control. Like your power. You are already taking the blame for it, you don't even fully understand what I can do. You deny me when you don't even know me! You have limits? Bah! You limit yourself because of fear, fear of yourself and what you are capable of. You can do ANYTHING and you chose to do nothing because you MIGHT do something bad again. It's seriously pathetic, Bails."

[Bailey Oleander]

She'd heard those words before.

"And using that power without restraint it destructive and pointless!" Bailey took a step forward. "Just because I CAN do anything doesn't mean I SHOULD. I could stick my hand in fire, but should I? No." She shook her head more vehemently.

'It's a part of you.' She'd talked about wanting to get rid of it, this thing that claimed to be her other side of curiosity, but it was a part of her. A part of her legacy. A part of what her child might one day carry in them. She took a deep breath, still frowning. She was just arguing with herself. She didn't have time for this.

"Fine then. What can you do. What should I know about you?"

[Blake Oleander]

Blake keeps staring her down!