o13 ♠ 「accidental voice」

[defector]

[At first, there's nothing. No video feed, no sound.

Then, after a period of silence, there's the unmistakable sound of something--the Dreamberry--clattering to the ground. Those with sharper hearing might hear shaky breathing, in and out, before it's interrupted by a sound anyone could hear:

While it can't be seen, Dominic turns to the side and throws up, his body still trembling.]

[ooc: Seeing as how Dominic is a little busy being traumatized by the sight of Anemone's dismembered head, he will likely not be answering any replies. o/;]

Comments

[carpo-vita.livejournal.com]

[He'll slip you pills if he has to. :|

Either way, the trip is made in silence. The wait at the store wasn't long, so the stop was quick. It was when Hotel Dusk was just a few minutes away, and they were passing by the local park, that he briefly pauses to speak.]

We're almost there. ...I don't know what happened, Dominic, but I hope that you'll be able to tell me someday. What you're carrying looks too heavy for one person, [...] I'd think. [Just a remark, in the passing. "If you'd like some help"... That went without say, but with what he HAS said, he's ready to start walking again.]

[unfearful.livejournal.com]

[Dominic stops when Minato does, but he makes no indication that he intends on resuming. Instead, he stares at the ground, his body tense. It's tempting to succumb to the sorrow and let it consume him, because then maybe it wouldn't hurt so much. But there's a familiar tug, one he's felt over again in his life, but never as strongly as he had when he was ten years old.

He knows what it's trying to tell him. Or rather, what it's trying to do--pull him forward.

He still doesn't know what he's doing, and inside he's still screaming that he doesn't deserve this. Yet, after a silence that feels far too heavy to him, he speaks, still staring at the ground.]

... She's dead.

[carpo-vita.livejournal.com]

[...

He stops, and turns around.

Knowing Dominic, this "she" can only mean one person. And if he has just been made aware of her death when the call went on, then naturally, it would fully explain the strong reaction.

...Actually, the audio was vomiting, wasn't it? To learn the death of a loved one is devastating. To watch them be killed can be even more so, depending on how. He recalls clearly October 4th - the feeling of helplessness as they watched a teammate get shot down --

But then, if it's revolting enough to cause a reaction that strong...

Presumably the murderer would not be there to face Dominic, otherwise to see a loved one dismembered or worse in a gruesome way would surely trigger some sort of reaction, even in Dominic who's usually pretty subdued. So it should be safe to assume that if the killer was still around, Dominic wouldn't have just ran out of his apartment - especially not after a significant delay, one that he took to recover from trauma, and time that he would not have had, unless the culprit was already gone.

So whatever that he saw that confirmed Anemone's death, it was by himself. Likely after he woke up from sleep, coming home, or a sleep coma; meaning that he should have been vulnerable and/or alone at that time, so if the killer wanted, they could have killed him too.

They did not, and instead, made an 'example' out of the one person he treasured from his world instead.

...Well that narrows the list down considerably, doesn't it? Someone who would just mess with his friend, going so far as to kill? The fact that it would have happened - or at least, the end result would be present in Dominic's room, only confirms that it could not be an accident.

It was an orchestrated play by a very, very sick and twisted person.

The silence lasts for a few seconds, but enough for Minato to pool together what he knows and work through with logic, to arrive at the most likely conclusion.

This is different than his sister. Different than Shinjiro-senpai. This death-

Did it have any other purpose other than try to break Dominic? He has no doubt at this point that whatever is left back in that room, is a horrible sight that no normal person should behold. Then if that's the case...

He would want to console his friend, but he can't, not yet, not when the circumstances of Anemone's murder is THIS. So while his voice is still quiet when he speaks, there's an edge to it. Beating around the bush would be stupid at this point, and he plainly brings up the one name that he has on his mind.]

Vincent Nightray?

[unfearful.livejournal.com]

[Dominic's last comment cracked the wall he's put up. With Minato's words, it begins to fall.

He nods slowly, as his hands clench into fists. He has no real confirmation that it was Vincent, but even if their conversation just before receiving Anemone's head hadn't cinched it, Dominic wouldn't have suspected anyone else.

But even though Vincent was the one who orchestrated her death, he's not the one Dominic's pointing a finger at. No, the one he blames the most--hates more than anyone else--is merely himself.]

I...

[It's like a dam breaking. There's nothing holding back his emotions, as everything rushes over him. They're all as clear as day in his expression, even if he's still not facing Minato.

Anemone--

He falls to his knees, his hands loose now with his palms facing up towards him.

Anemone...!

He's sorry. He's so sorry. Yet there's no apology that can make up for this, and if he were to try and make one, it'd only sound hollow to his ears.

(If we were to take away sweet little Anemone in the dead of the silent night, I do wonder what would be left behind. Sir Dominic.)

Just--]

Why--Why did I let this happen!?

[Just a worthless person.]

[carpo-vita.livejournal.com]

[It's a mixed feeling. What he sees in front of him is something that he's seen before. Powerlessness, the inability to protect. Trying to shoulder everything alone. Making promises and falling through despite your word.

Despair, sorrow, anger, frustration, among many others. Yet the question that Dominic cried out was a simple one.

Turning around, he paces back to face Dominic.]

...You can't do everything alone. [He looks down at his friend, and if Dominic looks up, the slate gray of his eyes is unreadable. The moment that he processed the reason was also the moment that he felt his share of the blame fall in place: he was possibly the only person that Dominic has spoken to about Vincent's threat, yet he tried to abide by his friend's wish and assumed the danger to be only psychological.

He should have alerted the authorities while he could, even if Dominic would have been against it. ...So.] I've underestimated the lengths that he would go, too, despite being aware of what he's previously said to you. So if you must place the blame, then I would be responsible, too.

[... ...]

The police will have to be informed. [He speaks quietly after a considerable pause, despite realizing that these words may sound cold, even cruel, but Minato's always been a strong believer of 'there's no use crying over spilled milk'. They can't change the fact that Anemone is dead, only do what they can to clean up the mess that the sick game that Vincent's playing at has left behind. ...Whatever that Dominic saw back there, it can't stay there.]

[unfearful.livejournal.com]

["You can't do everything alone."

That, he knows--it's similar to what he told Renton so long ago, isn't it? That everyone has their limits. Yet he thought he could, at the very least, do this. This didn't involve the Coralian core, the virus, or a man bent on murdering the world.

But he overestimated himself, and Anemone paid the price for it. It's far from an unfamiliar feeling, this helplessness. He felt it when his parents died and he vowed to help change the world. He felt it again and again when he watched Anemone get hurt and he stood by and did nothing. He still felt it when he did something, but failed to protect her, nevertheless.

His life is just one neverending chain of it, really.]

It's my fault, though...!

[A part of him wants to protest when Minato mentions the police--there's a reason he never reported Vincent's threats before, after all. He doesn't know how much he trusts the police force, or whether or not he believes that they can honestly make a difference. However, he doesn't have the will.

Dimly, he wonders if he'll be fired for withholding this kind of information.

It doesn't matter now.]

[carpo-vita.livejournal.com]

That doesn't matter. We can't bring her back to life. The most that we can do now is to make a lesson out of this mistake: we can begin by taking every measure necessary so that this doesn't happen again to someone else that we care about. [He replies back, but the tone is harder. It may come off as insensitive in some ways, but it's probably because of things like these that Mitsuru appointed him as leader.]

I'll drop an anonymous note to a local officer about your apartment, and whenever you're ready, report Vincent Nightray. You asked me to keep an eye on Estelle Sidos, right? She needs to know, as well as the police so that she can be better protected. If there is anyone else, mention it as well. He's made his move: we shouldn't dawdle.

[That said, he extends a hand in front of Dominic's face and switches back to a quieter demeanor, now that he's laid out the list of things to do quite clearly in front of them.] Can you stand? It's fine if you need more time, but the couches at the Hotel would definitely be more comfortable.

[unfearful.livejournal.com]

I know. I know, damn it, I know...!

[Because it's like he's ten years old again, watching his parents die, but he knows that this isn't as bad. It might be his fault, whereas the war wasn't, but it's better than having everything ripped away from him again when he's barely old enough to understand what's going on. The dead can't be brought back to life, and nothing he does now will change that. He's always known that, ever since he lost everything--his home, his family--and had to work to replace it all.

He didn't give up when his parents died, or when the loneliness threatened to break him. He didn't give up when he realized the colonel's true motives and that everything he knew and fought for was a damn lie, or when Anemone fell into a coma and he finally understood how powerless he truly was.

"To choose what to lose and what to keep... that choice--if you're lucky--is up to you."

It's not what he'd have chosen, but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. And he hasn't fallen apart yet, has he?

(Somewhere, he acknowledges that he's never exactly had the time to, with everything that was going on in his world, but it's hardly as if he has time now. Maybe, when it's all over, can he finally allow himself to cry over everything that's happened. He doubts he will, though.)

He's not going to give up now--he can't, and he doesn't need Minato to tell him that.

Taking Minato's hand, he stands up. He refuses to let Vincent win. That hasn't changed.]

[carpo-vita.livejournal.com]

[That's more like it. He'll be happy to note that the grip Dominic gave him was just as strong as his own, and if he had a Persona right now it would have just gained a new and more powerful form and despite everything that still clouded his friend's eyes, behind it all, he could see a quiet but seething resolve. Still, even if he may just be burying the sorrow now, he's not denying any of it - merely putting it aside for later, once he finishes with what he has to do.]

Then we'll get on it once you've recovered. [Because don't deny that some rest and time-off to pull yourself back together will definitely do you good.] Ready to keep on going?

[unfearful.livejournal.com]

[Rest, maybe. Time-off, however, is practically a foreign concept to Dominic when there are things to be done.

... Break's going to rub this in his face the next time they talk, isn't he? But Dominic can handle him, at least.]

Yeah. I am.

[carpo-vita.livejournal.com]

[Nothing new to him. Akihiko was a train-o-holic, and Mitsuru was a plain workaholic. :|b Just rest is fine. Let's go with rest.

You do that. In the meanwhile. Minato'll start poking around Nightrays and associates' acquaintances too to fill his share of the load. 8|b]

Glad to hear it. This way, then: senpai's bringing dinner home tonight. Let's not be late, or there won't be any food left.

[unfearful.livejournal.com]

[Dominic's not sure if he can stomach food right now, or if he can even face other people, but he nods anyway.]

All right.

[carpo-vita.livejournal.com]

[The SEES is a pretty friendly bunch. You'll get used to it, as socially awkward as you are. Plus, we might've been walking for longer than you'd think - maybe you won't realize that you were hungry and CAN eat until you actually take that first bite.

...Well, he can hope! 8|; Either way, with a nod and a soft hum, he begins to lead the way again back to Dusk. Meet the family, Dominic. (http://community.livejournal.com/somarium/709034.html) :3c]