Dive Into The Heart: Brooklyn

Dive Into The Heart: Brooklyn
Date of Scene:	18 January 2013
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	An sleeping Brooklyn finds himself having an unusual dream...
Cast of Characters:	Mysterious Voice, Brooklyn
Tinyplot:	Fragmentary Passage

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Mysterious Voice has posed:
Falling asleep isn't the same for a gargoyle as with a human. There is no drifting, only awake one moment, asleep the next. Dreams are another matter entirely, though. At first, there is only the feeling of flight, the wind is cold. At first, there is the ghostly sound of a lute as someone plays a tune around the fire. Dogs bark and children laugh, bringing the scent of Wyvern - the scent of home.

Then, with a screech, it changes. There is scent of gasoline and smoke, taxis honk their horns and people shout. From one world to the next in a matter of a blink of an eye, but his eyes haven't opened yet. When they do, there is nothing but a black sea beneath him, stretching out as far as the eye can see. The wind that he feels is not wind at all, but air rushing past him as he falls. Wings do nothing here, all there is is the free fall into the dark water below.

It comes up quickly, his body sinking down into the depths, no sign of that life that he left behind. Dark. Nothing but the cold, black abyss. But then, a light shows. Just beneath him, a platform seems to appear out of the nothingness. Figures are drawn there like stained glass, the most noticable being that of King Mickey with his keyblade held high. Other, foreign faces surround him: a duck, a dog, a boy...

Just as his feet touch down on this new 'ground', a voice breaks the silence. Movement is easy here, not sluggish like when he'd been falling. Even so, the voice sounds far away, as if it is calling through from some other place. Deep, growling, gravely tones that would remind him of his missing leader. The one who had left him in charge. The one who had left him to protect the city.

"So much to do..."
"Such a long road ahead..."

Brooklyn has posed:
It was an odd sensation. Flashbacks of home, it felt like. Memories. Of both homes, his true one, long gone, and his adopted one, lost under his watch. This must be how Goliath felt, when Wyvern fell. That's what Brooklyn has been thinking for quite some time.

When his eyes open, however, and he finds himself floating over the strange black sea, at first he has no idea where he is. He tries to flap his wings, but finds gravity, or whatever strange force is mimicing gravity, has taken solid hold of him, and continues to pull him down towards that dark ocean. When the platform appears, shimmering into what he thought was nearly non-existant light, he finds himself in a position to land.

He knows the king, though he has not spoken with him since Manhattan fell. The others...He doesn't recognize, but knows they must be important. The voice makes his head turn, a slight tilt to his neck, as he tries to find the source of it. For a brief moment he thinks it may be Goliath, but he's not sure. His mentor and friend vanished before he could even ask what was happening, and Brooklyn has long assumed that he was lost when the Heartless struck, though he wouldn't tell any others about that line of thought. They needed hope, and a leader to look up to, and he had to assume that role.

Mysterious Voice has posed:
The voice is quiet for a time, leaving him alone on the platform with only the glow of light standing there against the darkness beyond. There is no escape, no way out, only this.

"Brooklyn..." The sound seems to come from all around, without any definite source. The voice is different this time, though. The base rumble of Goliath's baratone is overlayed by a lighter, feminine one that seems to carry a slight accent to it. This later one is unfamiliar, but something... something about it.

Beneath his feet, the ground shudders, giving the lurching feeling that it is about to give way. Instead, when he turns, there are three pedastils where none were a moment before. Each dias is lit from below, shining upon three symbols that float there in the air. A shield, a staff, and a sword lay waiting there, each one bearing some mark of the mouse-king. Could he have something to do with all this?

"Power sleeps within you, Brooklyn."

The two voices speak as one, urging him forward.

"If you give it form..." Goliath rumbles, although there is no sign of him anywhere.
"...it will give you strength." The girl speaks next, her voice pleading.

Brooklyn has posed:
The red gargoyle is quick to whip himself around at the shuddering of the platform, looking for where it is collapsing. Instead he finds the three pedestals, as he stands up, listening to the voices coming from everywhere at once.

Brooklyn moves forward, towards the three shrines. They look like shrines to him. He has so many questions, but...If it is Goliath talking to him, even over the distance, between worlds, then he will listen. He trusts Goliath completely, and has never been given reason not to.

He steps forward again, looking between the sword, shield and staff, "Do you want me to take one?" He asks into the darkness, hoping the voice can answer him back with some advice, or to tell him what it wants, instead of being as vague as it is.

Briefly, he wonders who the female voice is. It's not Elisa, although she did vanish with Goliath. It almost sounds familiar.

Mysterious Voice has posed:
"Choose." The two voices speak as one.

Before him, the three choices float: sword, staff, shield. He can walk up to each and examine them if he so chooses, but the ones speaking offer nothing in the way of advice.

Brooklyn has posed:
The thoughts race through Brooklyn's head, as he looks at the three choices. He moves close to the shield first. If he was a better defender, his city would not have been taken by the Heartless. He could have taken everything they threw at him, and kept coming.

His eyes drift over to the staff, as he moves to it. He's never been much of a magical person...Has past few experiences with it have been less than pleasant. But if he had a better grasp of magical concepts, could he have stopped Loki from being unleashed and saved Manhattan? He doesn't know, and there's no way to be sure, now.

Eventually he walks to the sword, and looks at it for a few long moments. This has always been his forte, he thinks. Engaging in combat, getting up close, claws and talons flashing. His leadership style has always been from the front, and he has heard the phrase 'The best defense is a good offense' on many an occasion, and has come to believe it's true.

Slowly, his hand extends out to grasp the hilt of the blade, as he moves to pull it back off of it's pedestal.

Mysterious Voice has posed:
The sword is warm and welcoming in his grasp. Finely crafted, it has the perfect balance. This is the weapon of a fighter, someone who faces all foes that come with bravery and courage. Someone who does not back down from a challenge.

"The power of the Warrior." The male voice rumbles.
"Invincible courage." The female murmurs.
"A sword of terrible destruction." This last part is said as one, almost as a warning.

Before him show battles of the past: The vikings as they came to raid Castle Wyvern, and the sword that Goliath caught in his hand. The brave knights protecting them with the gargoyles fighting along side. All the glory and all the terror that comes along with wielding such a weapon. Then, it shows a different battle entirely. A gargress stands amongst the Heartless, a katana raised in her hands. Sweat beads on her forehead as she fights them off.

Then it is gone.

"Is this the path you wish to take, Brooklyn?" The two voices ask, giving him one last chance to turn back and choose a different destiny.

Brooklyn has posed:
"It is." He says, "I will not use this to bring destruction." He says to the voices, as he brings the blade up in front of himself, to look at it, admire it. "But I will use it to strike at those who would bring harm to others. I will take the fight to them, instead of waiting for them to attack other worlds."

The sword feels rather good in his hand. Although he does not have formal training with it, like Hudson, it doesn't feel alien to him, either.

Mysterious Voice has posed:
"You have made your choice..." Goliath's voice like thunder.
"You will walk the path with a warrior's courage." The girl continues, pride in her tones.

"But..." As one, they call notice to the two remaining pedastils.

"Every choice has a price." The male voice explains, bringing with it images of the life they had left behind. He sees Goliath asking the Magus to turn him to stone, and himself already encased in sleep behind him. He sees Demona mourning them atop Castle Wyvern, and then the gargress again in modern times, an echo of her shouts about how the humans had betrayed them all.

"What will you give up in return?" The female asks, and as he returns from those memories, only the staff and shield remain.

Brooklyn has posed:
"Of course." He says, "Everything needs a consequence.." He looks between the shield and the staff, quickly considering his choice of the two. Between them, he considers, long and hard, before he looks to the staff.

"Magic has never been my forte...If I am going to use this power, I want to use it with what I already have. I will leave the magic to those with the experience to wield it properly."

Mysterious Voice has posed:
"The power of the Mystic."
"Inner strength."
"A staff of wonder and ruin."

Again, the two voices speak one line a piece, and then share the final truth of this power that he has chosen. This time, he is given no chance to confirm his decision. Like so often in life, you have to make a split second choice, and you can't go back to undo it.

"This is the power you forfeit."

The staff disapears first, then the shield, and finally the sword from his grasp. The world trembles, cracks appearing beneath his feet. Then... the plate shatters. He is falling again. Consumed in the darkness without any way of fighting it.

Below, a new pane of glass appears, carrying with it other faces. Goliath, Elisa, Lexington, Broadway, Hudson, Bronx... his clan. Smaller images surround them with the faces of those he has met on his journey. Yet there is one there that is still unfamiliar. A girl, with sweeping horns and a beaked nose and the most beautiful sky-blue skin one could imagine. She's a gargoyle, clearly, but not one he has ever seen before.

"You have chosen your power." The voices speak again, his feet finding purchase.

Around him, small black creatures rise up from the ground. The tiny heartless walk forward, looking at him with evil, yellow eyes. But he has no weapon now. No shield, no sword. There is the sinking feeling of helplessness that came that day on the rooftops when Demona had told him all about the human world. Could anything ever be done to stop them from destroying themselves? Could anything ever be done to stop the Heartless?

"Many a time you'll be expected to fight. No matter what, Brooklyn..."

As if summoned by Goliath's voice, the sword reappears in his hand, and with it... a strange power. The heartless approach, but that this time he has the strength to fight them.

"You must not forget..." The girl calls.

Brooklyn has posed:
Although he does not recognize the strange gargoyle female, he feels like he should know her. Like he does know her. Could she have been a member of his clan? She doesn't look it. The time to worry about that, however, is not now, as the Heartless have made their appearance.

The sword re-appears in his hands, as the sense of hopelessness that had been flowing over him faded, and a new emotion appeared within him. Courage, bravery. The heart it would take to do what was right. He took the sword, grasped solidly in one hand, and pointed it at the approaching Heartless, the tip of the blade aimed at the leader of this pack of black monstrosities.

"You've taken a lot from me. You've taken a lot from everyone I care about, but that ends now. I will put an end to the threat of the Heartless!" And with that, he unleashes a warcry, eyes going white, as he plants one foot solidly and leaps through the air, to strike at the head of the pack with his blade.

Mysterious Voice has posed:
It does not take long for Brooklyn to dispatch those weaker Heartless beneath the power of his sword, but there is something strange going on here. Rather than simply disappearing, each one leaves behind a fleeting image of a heart, which rises up and then vanishes.

"You must not forget..." Goliath growls sternly.
"..the things you fight for." The girl again.

The Heartless are gone, and in that moment a feeling of safety and security comes with it. In this place, the power within calls out to those memories of his that he holds most dear. It draws him to remember them.

Brooklyn has posed:
Once the Heartless have been dispatched, the gargoyle allows the sword to come down, as he looks at the hearts that rise up around him. The things he fights for.

Images in his mind, Lexington and Broadway, the three of them going on adventures, both at Wyvern, and in Manhattan. Bronx and Hudson sitting with Brooklyn, watching television on a cold winter night. Elisa, one of the first humans they met in the new world with honest intentions.

And of course, Goliath. At first he thinks of how Demona tricked him into betraying Goliath, but how he managed to save his friend. The times they've spent, on patrol, training, practicing their combat skills. He thinks of how he looks up to Goliath, and more so, how Goliath trusts him.

And then his mind begins to think of those he's encountered more recently. Deidra, the first gargoyle he encountered who wasn't from his clan, and that flicker of hope he got when he met her. Skyline, the street smart gargoyle who came to Manhattan to stand at it's defense, even though it was not her home. Tifa, Aerith and Auron, the humans who were entirely unphased by his appearance. Those are the people he fights for.

He is, for a moment, surprised when that blue skinned gargoyle comes into his mind again. He doesn't know her name, but he can't help but feel like she is the female voice talking to him. He doesn't know her, but he feels like he should..No, like he needs to know her. He will find her, wherever she may be in the multitude of worlds, but he knows somewhere in his heart that searching will not work. He has to wait for destiny to unite them, but he knows, somehow, that it will.

Mysterious Voice has posed:
"Do you know what I remember best about you?" It sounds like a phrase out of another conversation, another time and place. "The way you make me laugh." There is the fleeting image of that gargress standing there beside him, smiling at him as she reaches out and slides one hand into his. "Soon." She speaks the words, like a promise.

The scene plays out as if it were a memory, but like so much in this strange dream, it seems to come from some other place. The girl is gone then, leaving only the deep voice of Goliath left.

"The closer you come to the light..."

The words are a warning, and in that second, all of the joy that the girl's voice had brought him ebbs away. Something dark presses down, feeling like a weight on his heart.

"...the greater your shadow becomes."

Behind him, a dark form stretches. It appears as a gargoyle, but with cruel, curved talons and a huge body that rises up, one talon sweeping to try to grab him. The monster roars, causing the ground to tremble.

Then, there is a warmth of a hand on his arm.

"Let's do this." The ghostly form of the girl smiles, and it's enough to nearly break his heart.
"We are stronger together." Goliath's hand on his shoulder.
"It's time te show wha yer made of." Hudson chuckles.

All of them, his clan, the girl included. They are all there within him. They are the power of his heart. Together, they charge forward to help take on this enemy, but it only has eyes for him. If he is not strong enough to stand up to it, then nothing they can do will matter.

Brooklyn has posed:
The form of the monster scares him, as he looks up at it. It's like something out of a nightmare. Something Sevarius would create in that twisted lab of his, some monster to cause havoc on the city, on the people that Brooklyn swore to protect. Something that would hurt those that he loves.

No. He won't let that happen. He grabs the sword, in both hands this time, and puts everything he has into his legs, as he charges towards the massive shadow gargoyle. He fought to the last to defend Manhattan, to protect those who had stayed behind with him and fell. He would not back down from this threat, nor any other, especially when his friends and loved ones were willing to fight.

Again he leaves the ground, putting all of his momentum into a strike with the sword, aiming at the monster's face. He knows his team, his clan, is unbeatable when they put their minds and hearts to something, and he intends to show this creature that, first hand.

Mysterious Voice has posed:
The creature of darkness is strong, towering over the smaller forms of the clan of gargoyles as if they were nothing but toys to be played with and discarded. Where a talon sweeps, the ghostly images vanish into nothing, one by one returning them to the ether. In the end, there is just him and the girl.

She laughs, her back pressed against his. "It isn't easy, is it?" She asks, breathing heavily. "Don't worry. You're strong enough. You were chosen for a reason." The girl smiles then, turning to face the beast with a set of katana blades in her hands. Together, the two of them charge it a second time, but it seems... smaller somehow. The light that they bring together enough to make it a more reasonable beast to fight.

It takes time, but finally the monster falls, vanishing like so much ash being blown away by the wind. There is a feeling of joy. The warmth of the sword pulsing in his hand. Yet... they're gone. Everyone, even the girl... All that remains is him and a set of doors that were not there a moment before.

"Never forget." She whispers in his mind, "A true warrior's strength..."

Brooklyn has posed:
That moment of victory leaves him overwhelmed with pride, even as he looks around again, and sees everyone is gone. He doesn't frown, or sigh. He's still happy that, no matter where they all are, they're still connected. He looks towards the doors, and strides towards them, listening to the words of the gargess, as she talks to him in his mind.

He steps up to the doors, looking for a knob, or a handle, some way to open them. He has no idea where they lead, but truthfully it doesn't matter to him where they go, because there's no other aparent way off of this island of glass.

Mysterious Voice has posed:
The moment that he touches those doors...

The sun sets...

Could the dream have really taken him all day? Surely not. Yet somehow there is a weariness that comes with it, as if he hadn't really slept. Muscles ache, places where he was injured have phantom pains as if everything he experienced hadn't been a dream. As if it had been real... somehow.

But what could it mean?

There is no sword in his hand, and even now nothing feels /different/ about this waking world. Who was the girl? Why did she seem so... important?

So many questions, but for now... there are no answers.

Brooklyn has posed:
In his perch, Brooklyn roars as he shatters his stone skin, and stretches his wing and arms out, waking up. The soreness remains with him though, an odd feeling, as normally stone sleep is regenerative. This day's seems to have had the opposite effect. He drops down onto the ledge he was perched upon, and rests an arm on his knee, as he thinks of that female. Who she is, he has no idea, but he knows he will find her again. She promised as much.

He looks down at his hand, just to make sure there is no sword there, even though he felt as though he could still feel that perfectly balanced blade in his hand. A lingering memory of a dream, perhaps.