little_gabriel (little_gabriel) wrote in marvel_nextgen,
@ 2010-01-13 20:57:00

Entry tags:

inactive - dream catcher, inactive - gabriel, plot-"nightmares of now"

A Nightmare Like No Other

It was night, but the sky was littered with stars. Beneath them was the lake where they first met. Alyssa's smile captured Gabriel's gaze, and he, too, smiled. The feeling he felt could only be described as a bubblnig sensation in his heart; it was neither hot nor cold, neither hard nor soft. It was just right. It was perfect. He closed his wings around her, and they shared the kiss he could now only dream of.

And that was when his dream had been penetrated by something foul. In his bed, Gabriel felt discomfort. In his dream, he opened his mouth to descrine his feelings in those three words, but the sound would not come. And then, he felt Alyssa being pulled away. Terror overcame both of them, but the sound of her screams and his shouts did not come. The dream was silent. And then bloodied hands arrested Alyssa from Gabriel's grasp, and they pulled her down into the lake below. Gabriel tried to follow, only to find a thick layer of ice blocking his path. He hit it with a hard thud, and watched with terror in his eyes as she was dragged deeper down.

He tried to break the ice, but he could not do it. And then a sound came; the only sound to exist in the dream world. It was the beat of a heart, getting slower, and slower, and slower still...

His ultimate nightmare had come; the nightmare where he could not save his wife from the clutches of death.

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dream_catcher
2010-01-14 01:24 am UTC (link)

Lucas steps from the surrounding darkness, becoming a part of the dream. He gains some sense of his surroundings, and feels the emotions flooding from the dream into - somewhere else. He can't quite perceive it.

He approaches Gabriel's position by the frozen lake, trying to get some sense of how best to approach this. He might be able to use his powers to affect the dream - but he's not sure that that's for the best for Gabriel's sanity or subconscious.

"Gabriel."

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little_gabriel
2010-01-14 01:45 am UTC (link)

In the midst of his fists pounding on the ice, Gabriel hears his name between the beats of the slowing heart. The voice is familiar, and he turns his head to see Lucas. Tears are rolling down his cheeks, and he mouths a desperate plea of help. But sound does not come from him, and he can't waste time trying to talk.

He begins to fly up, and stops when he is high. His body turns for nosedive down to the ice, and he flips before impact to ram through the ice.

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	nextgen_misc 2010-01-14 01:49 am UTC (link)
	Alyssa continued to struggle as the hands pulled her down, but she was overpowered by the sheer number of them. And she only had so much air. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	dream_catcher 2010-01-14 01:56 am UTC (link)
	This is hard to watch, and painful. So Lucas does what he can - there is no saving her, no reaching her. He moves to the side of the lake, and begins working his hands into the earth. A large stone becomes a headstone, and he clears snow aside to lay out a grave. "Gabriel, she's not gone. But I need your help." he calls, kneeling beside the site. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

little_gabriel
2010-01-14 02:05 am UTC (link)

He hits the ice and breaks a leg, He tries to cry out in pain, but still the sound does not come. It is only Lucas' voice that he can hear outside of the beating heart, and the words said to him were something to give him hope.

He flaps his wings and flies again, this time going over to Lucas. What he doesn't notice is the crack in the ice, only delivered after the slightest bit of hope comes to him. And the beating heart steadied it's pace (but this is not something Gabriel notices_.

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	nextgen_misc 2010-01-14 02:09 am UTC (link)
	Alyssa shuddered at the sight of Gabriel smashing against the ice, but it only made her work harder to break free of the hands grasping on to her. She didn't notice the crack int he glass, either. But she was briefly revitalized for some unknown reason. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	dream_catcher 2010-01-14 02:16 am UTC (link)
	Lucas sits cross-legged on the ground next to the site. Stretching forward, he digs his fingers into the cold, hard earth, scratching the beginnings of words. "I need you to tell me about her. Stories have great power, Gabriel. Sit with me while I heal your leg, and tell me her story, that I may invoke its power for you." he replies, remaining calm. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

little_gabriel
2010-01-14 02:29 am UTC (link)

There is more hope in what Lucas says, and the crack on the iced over lake gets little bigger. The beating heart gets a small bit faster, and Gabriel attempts speech once again. He can make a sound, but his voice is very quiet.

"H-her name is Alyssa," he began the story, "And she... she was my w-wife."

And he continues to talk about her, and the life they shared together. Tears rolled down his cheeks. Gabriel is overwhelmed.

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	nextgen_misc 2010-01-14 02:31 am UTC (link)
	Now she sees the ice crack more, and she fights harder even though she is running out of air. Alyssa manages to break the grasp of one of the hands. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

dream_catcher
2010-01-14 02:39 am UTC (link)

Lucas nods, fighting to continue forcing his fingers into the frozen-hard ground to scratch her story into the Earth that serves as her grave.

"Gabriel, do not think of the was. She is not gone. She /is/ the mother of your child, who if you do not embrace that she remains strong and vital in your heart and in your mind, he will never know what his mother is, and how much he means to her, and how much she is still a part of his life and his being, always. Her body is gone, but heart still beats in time with your own. She has to live on through you if she is to live at all."

The next words break his heart to say, but he speaks them calmly, clearly, nonetheless.
"Gabriel, some part of her will always be with you, but in order to hold most strongly to that part of her, you need to let the part of her that is no more go."

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little_gabriel
2010-01-14 02:46 am UTC (link)

His voice is strong after the story, but he can't accept what Lucas is telling him. Alyssa was his everything, and he lost everything when she died. Even Connor was lost to him. He couldn't connect with his son, and that was the true reason he asked left to find his mother, thus leaving Connor in Francesca's care.

"I... can't."

His voice begame weaker when he said that, and crack in the ice sealed back up.

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	nextgen_misc 2010-01-14 02:49 am UTC (link)
	Alyssa feels a hand ram into her stomach, and she loses whatever air she has left. She becomes weak again, and is pulled farther down into the lake until she soon reaches the bottom where she is pinned down and drowning. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

dream_catcher
2010-01-14 03:07 am UTC (link)

Lucas feels more of the strength leaving the dream, filtering into the other.

He sighs, leaving the story unfinished.

"Gabriel, I can show you the door, but cannot open it for you. This is a journey you need to take for yourself. I am leaving this grave here, so her story can be finished. She's still a part of you, but you need to find that part, and do whatever it takes to find peace with it." he says sadly.

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little_gabriel
2010-01-14 05:48 am UTC (link)

And Gabriel looks at the incomplete story. His heart feels like a knife has been plunged into it, and the decision he is trying to make kills him on the inside. It is something he never believed he was ready for, and he still doesn't think he is.

"I remember," he said, "When she died. They said it was an accident."

He paused.

"I ran away, and I left Connor with Francesca to try and connect to a life I had before Alyssa. But it didn't work. The idea of meeting my real mother was great, because it was something I thought I could control. I didn't think there were other factors. I didn't think about the rest of my family."

And then he met Lyta, and then later Warren.

"Lyta and Warren reminded me how unable I am to control the things around me, and it reminded me so much of Alyssa's death. It was something I couldn't control."

He was overwhelmed. Face and eyes: red. Tears streaming. Body shaking. Voice trembling. Head lowered.

"It's my fault."

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	nextgen_misc 2010-01-14 05:50 am UTC (link)
	Alyssa faded into unconciousness, and she was on the brink of death. But the hands let go of her, and she was slowly rising up in the water. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

dream_catcher
2010-01-14 06:01 am UTC (link)

Lucas shakes his head. "There is nothing wrong with wanting a connection to something greater. Seeking the family you never knew, looking for a part of you you felt lost... we cannot judge the moments behind us by their consequences, if we had no way to foresee them. Alyssa would not want this for you... and for you and Connor's sake, even if its not in this moment, you need to find a way to move on. I'll be there to help, but I can't take the steps for you. I will mourn for her, and I know, somewhere within you, she's still trying to reach you... to be pleasant memories and stories for your son."

He sighs. "Gabriel... do not look back so sadly. Think instead on how badly you wanted family, how much that connection meant to you. It will mean just as much to Connor someday. You need to find a way to let go of her, if for no other reason than so you can share all that is wonderful and bright and beautiful about Alyssa with your son. He needs family too."

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little_gabriel
2010-01-14 06:13 am UTC (link)

Gabriel was silent for a moment. The precious time he had previously been unwilling to let go by was now passing at, to him, felt like months. And he wiped his eyes clear of the tears.

"I don't know the stories of my family; of my mother, or my father, or my sister. At least, not the happy ones. You're right, Lucas. My son needs his father, and his aunt and grandfather, and the stories we can share with him. And most importantly the stories of his mother. Alyssa, I love you always; even in death. But now it's time to focus on the now."

When he finished talking, the night transformed into daylight. And the lake was free from the ice covering it.

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	nextgen_misc 2010-01-14 06:16 am UTC (link)
	Her body rose above the lake, and into the sky above. The sun shined brightly, and her warm smile gently caressed her beloved. She was dead, but she was still always with Gabriel in his heart. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

dream_catcher
2010-01-14 06:19 am UTC (link)

He nods, relieved, his fingers working into the Earth much more easily with the thaw.
"In time, you'll learn the stories of your family. You've been given the gift of more time, Gabriel. Its what she'd want for you. As long as she's here..." he touches his chest, "and here" he touches his forehead, "She'll never be gone. And your son will never have to wonder about his mother the way you did, his father the way you did. He'll know he came from two very good people. And she'll be a part of both of you."

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little_gabriel
2010-01-14 06:28 am UTC (link)

"Thank you, Lucas. And I apologize, but I really need some time to myself now. It's easy to say I've let go, but I just... need more time."

He had made progress, but Gabriel had not truly accepted Alyssa's death. It wasn't that easy to get over that sort of thing. And so he sat in front of the grave, where he would continue the process of dealing with Alyssa's death.

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dream_catcher
2010-01-14 06:32 am UTC (link)

He nods. The draw of energies from this place remains there, but not as strong as it once was. He's going to have to call this one a draw.

He stands up from the grave. "Mourning takes time, my friend. Its often a difficult process, I don't want you to feel rushed. Take all the time you need to find your peace. The beautiful things about Alyssa will be there to help you in time."

He turns and begins to walk away, slowly fading back out of the dream. Its a beginning, but only a beginning.

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	little_gabriel 2010-01-14 06:49 am UTC (link)
	Lucas left the dream, but Gabriel remained in front of the grave. He resolved, then and there, that he needed to discuss this with the only family he had left. (Reply to this)(Parent)

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