(no subject)

There were so many sounds, so many images flashing past Atton’s eyes. It was hard to make sense of them all. They were just colours in vaguely human shapes, moving and twisting.

”Yeah, you’re right. He’s boring.”

“Yeah, and that puts him a few ranks up the ladder from you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? I’m not boring.”

Sometimes the blurring movement slowed, and he thought he could see briefly a lake and trees (or a metal room with window out to space, or a jungle, or a stormcloud crackling with green lightning in very direction), smudged and blurred, in one or two colours - like a child’s drawing.

”Your spirit, as diseased as it is, refuses to allow you to give up, no matter what threats you face, what wreckage you leave behind you.”

There were dozens of voices whispering in one ear, and one screaming in the other. In the end, Atton couldn’t make out what any of them were saying. After a while, he stopped caring.

”Are psychotic urges all that drive you?”

“Wh-What happened?”

“Not you, idiot.”

He didn’t feel him in his head. He searched for some trace of him amongst the myriad, broken images and found none. This dream, at least, was entirely from his own mind. With that in mind, it really should’ve made more sense.

”I mean, you’re kind of an idiot, Atton.”

He couldn’t figure out what it meant. The images passed too quickly to make any sense of them, blurred into each other. The sounds were either too quiet or too loud to hear, and they drowned each other out. He could smell something foul and oily nearby, taste something sweet and coppery and it was all so cold.

Eventually, the colours merged together, becoming dark grey, then black. Cold air that was definitely real stung his cheeks, and he could just hear the sound of footsteps approaching.

Atton knew he’d just lost something important. He just didn’t know what.

(no subject)

“You kriffer,” The Dark Jedi spat, pacing around the room as he withdrew from Atton’s mind. “You absolute kriffer. I know that the way to open the door is in your head somewhere. It doesn’t just open when they feel like it! Doors don’t do that. I won’t let it do that.”

Atton watched him silently. Suddenly, rocking back on his heels, the Dark Jedi laughed - almost hysterically, leaning against the wall.
“Your head’s all kriffed up, isn’t it? Crazy twisted, you can’t remember a single thing properly. I know the door doesn’t work like that. You know it too, you just ... it’s just all tangled up in your head, isn’t it?”

“My head’s fine.” Atton protested quietly, sitting down on his bunk and glaring at the Dark Jedi.

”Don’t lie to me!” His mirth vanished as quickly as it appeared. “I know. Everything’s jumbled and garbled in your head and that simply isn’t good enough. We’re going to have to do something about that, because you’re kriffin’ useless to me right now.”

Atton just stayed silent, eyes following the Dark Jedi’s pacing.

The Dark Jedi snorted.
“Well, aren’t you going to say anything? How the proud have fallen. Don’t worry about it. Don’t trouble yourself over this, I’ll sort it out.” He pulled out a leather bag, placing it on the end of Atton’s bunk. “Look at it, then. Take good, long looks at it,” The Dark Jedi smiled. “Y’see, I wouldn’t want you to be all damaged, when you leave. ‘S not what a courteous host does. And you’ve held back an awful lot of knowledge that I need.

“I’m going to leave. But when I come back, you will remember. And you will give me what I seek. It’s your duty as a guest, y’know.”

The Dark Jedi turned and left, sliding the many locks of the door closed. Atton listened carefully till the footsteps were far away, and dragged the bag towards him, rummaging around in it.

The items in it made no sense.

Cloth with a symbol he didn’t know the meaning of. Something metal and spherical. A book, battered and dirty. A blue crystal. A plastic rodent in an apron.

Atton stared at it, and stuffed them all back into the bag and tried the door. That was another thing that didn’t make sense. The door was always locked. Atton learnt long ago that trying to open it was useless.

He still tried to open it, though.

He just gaped when it clicked, and opened just a crack.

Taking a deep breath, he oened it and stepped through.