just_writing | Looking Glass

The sum total of my Rabbit Hole Day postings. For posterity.

I know, I have two hours left, but I honestly don't see myself adding to it. It's pretty much done.

Jan. 27th, 2005 @ 12:27 am
Current mood:

irritated

Past Midnight:
Akemi isn't speaking to me. I guess I really should have been paying more attention to what she was saying, but we were just coming to the most dangerous part of the forest and I really had to be on my guard. I think maybe I "uh-huh"d when I should have "uh-uh"d. She doesn't understand the pressures I'm under, I have to keep her safe and look out for the others at the same time... it's hard being one of the only flyers on the team.

Feel like I've been in Ultimate form for days now. Should probably rest.

Today, we should reach the shrine. I hope it's our turn.

Jan. 27th, 2005 @ 01:22 am
Current mood:

tired

Later:
So we're speaking again. It wasn't hard, I just stopped trying to get her to speak and she eventually felt the need to fill the silence. Turns out it wasn't that I'd agreed with the wrong thing, it was that I was trying to fool her in the first place. As though she couldn't tell. I should know by now, there's no secrets between Partners.

Humans.

From the top of that last hill we could see the Shrine, nestled down in the valley looking smug. Like it knew we were coming, and maybe if we'd snuck up a little better we would have caught it in the middle of something. Floating around, or doing tricks. Juggling. As it is, it's a simple stone structure, all sloped walls and pillars. Covered with vines. Despite its obvious age this whole area feels fresh, like it was only written into the World recently. Still has that "clean install" smell. I think the World may be helping us along, which should be a good thing. I'm not sure I like dancing on an invisible puppetmaster's strings though. Call me paranoid.

This may be my last post until we breach the shrine, I have to keep my wits about me. If this is my last post ... I told you so.

EDIT: Not my last post, so, okay I guess.

Jan. 27th, 2005 @ 12:27 pm
Current mood:

suspicious

Quick note:
We're in the shrine, no trouble at all. Kind of spooky. Dors just opened as we approcahd. All the others have had at least a guardian or a puzzle rr something. Mayeb there's someting further ion.

Bigger on the inside. No sign of the Key yet. This may turn out to be one of those days.

Jan. 27th, 2005 @ 04:28 pm
Current mood:

FURIOUS

Suddenly:
THEY HAVE TAKEN HER.

We turned around and all the childrn were gone. Even Sonhodramon can't find any traces of

I can't

I have to find her, damn the Keys, damn the Quest damn thw whole world I don't care fi she's not

if they've harmed a hair on her head i sear i'm going to DESTORY SOMETHING>

Jan. 27th, 2005 @ 05:04 pm
Current mood:

calmer

Presently:
Calmer now. Blasting the walls is not going to bring her back, though it did tell us something aboutthe strength of thsi rock. Akemi's a capable girl, I have to have faith that she'll be able to hanle whatever this place throws at ius. Bset way to help her is to figure out the rest of this place and move forwrd from there.

We've found a room that we thought was hemispherical, only it's actually a semicircle with one mirrored wall. (What's latin for half a hemisphere?) There's a pedestal in what we thought was the middle of the room, half in the glass. This could be important. Will keep you posted.

Jan. 27th, 2005 @ 09:40 pm
Current mood:

sleepy

Afterwards:
I'm not sure exactly where we are now. Some kind of desert, it's night. I think we're a long way from where we were.

We spent a while searching that chamber for clues, secret hatches or hidden items or signposts or something. It would have been a lot quicker if we'd asked Jinkouraimon right away. Naturally he noticed it first - he notices everything first - but he's so dependent on external orders that he doesn't volunteer information. He was so lost without Rai that it was hard enough to get him to move out of the corridor. So for what must have been almost twenty minutes, the rest of us poked and prodded the wall and stared blankly at the inscriptions on the pedestal without once stopping to ask ourselves what it was he was staring at.

You know how, once you've noticed something, you don't look at it again, and just assume that it matches up with whatever you saw earlier? Jinkouraimon was standing, in the middle of our hemi-demi-whateversphere, staring at the mirror. At the children in the mirror.

I don't know how long they'd been there. And I don't think they could see us like we could see them. But there they were, alongside our own reflections. They must have figured the room was important too, because like us they were feeling their way around. We tried feeling for where their reflections would have placed them, shouting their names, hammering against the mirror - nothing. The only one who displayed any kind of reaction was Akemi. She still didn't seem to see us, and it wasn't so much a direct reaction to anything we did, but while we were trying to attract their attention she began staring thoughtfully at the mirror. She had that distracted frown on her face that means she's trying to put things together in her head. She walked over to the pedestal; so did I. It was weird, watching our images intersect, superimposed like that. Like one of us was a ghost. Of course her face was somewhere around my abdomen, which didn't help.

Something inspired her to reach out and touch the surface of the pedestal. As she did, a small handprint lit up on its face (outside the mirror, exactly where her hand would have to be to cast that reflection) and burst into flame. I could feel its heat on my face, my wings - in the mirror her hand was on fire. She says that it didn't hurt her, but at the time I didn't know, because she had her other arm up to shield her eyes from the light. I almost tried to smash the glass again (that would have been smart, considering where Akemi was stood), and the other kids were trying to pull her away. She pushed them back. I realised she was waiting for something. I'm still not sure exactly what I was thinking, or if there was a thought process involved as such. Call it another example of that Trainer/Partner link I keep talking about. But instead of howling bloody murder, I reached out and placed my hand over hers.

At that moment I knew she could see me. She looked directly into my eyes and nodded. The entire room lit up, light from inside the rock, the walls, the floor, the dome of the roof, but mostly the pedestal, which was now burning like a small sun. Another small glowing shape rose out of its centre - the Key we've been looking for. With an expression of purest joy Akemi reached out and it landed softly in her cupped hands.

There was some exposition at this point, a booming voice proclaiming this to be the Key of Trust, me being its Guardian and her its Bearer or some such. I wasn't really listening. I'd noticed our reflections were gone, as was the mirror itself - we really were in a hemispherical room with our chosen children now. That was a lot more important than some old pronouncement about Responsibilities of Doom. As far as I'm concerned, we just carry on doing what we've been doing, no change in job description's going to bother me. Like I was ever going to not guard her.

And then we weren't there any more. For whatever reason the Shrine Guardian (I'm guessing) transported us some way towards the next Shrine (we're hoping), leaving us with the instruction to head in the direction of the rising sun. Being night, we figured it was a good opportunity to get some rest.

Which pretty much brings us up to date. Tomorrow, onwards and upwards. But for now I'm getting some much-needed downtime.

Sayonara.