Categories > Celebrities > AFI > December Starlight
'Don't panic, Davey. You have to tell them, but don't panic.' Davey's thoughts were not helping him very much at the moment. He tried closing his eyes to block out the voice that mimicked his own, but it only worsened. 'You have to tell them about Nex.'
"I know!" he cried suddenly, breaking the silence of the room. He continued pacing the floor, walking around the inlaid designs adorning the marble. Normally this helped him think, but today it was only making things worse. "It hasn't even been a full day..."
He finally stopped walking in aimless circles and sat down in front of a mirror, catching sight of the more formal black uniform he wore. He folded his hands and closed his eyes, taking several deep breaths. 'I shouldn't be panicking like this.'
Davey...
"What?" he asked, turning at the sound of the voice. He saw no one and frowned, returning to his former state.
I'm going to get you, Davey.
His eyes flew open. The voice was in his mind, not coming from somewhere in the castle. 'Am I starting to go insane?'
"Davey?"
He turned sharply at the sound of the voice. This time he saw Shade standing on the other side of the room and breathed a sigh of relief. His mind was intact, if only for the time being.
"Hey, Shade," Davey said with a sad smile. The younger boy's eyes were red from crying.
"Everybody's almost ready. I just came to tell you not to worry. You'll do fine." Shade turned to leave, but Davey stopped him.
"Shade, I'm sorry about Nex. It's all my fault," he said sadly. Shade shook his head.
"No, it isn't. Don't blame yourself. I just wish I knew what happened, though..." Davey closed his eyes, feeling a headache coming on. He decided against mentioning the strange voice to Shade. The last thing either of them needed was more to worry about.
Shade saw a rabbit hiding nearby and gingerly picked it up, holding it carefully. The creature seemed calm in his hands.
"I'm sure you've figured out by now that Alchior loved rabbits," he said with a smile. Davey nodded and smiled as well.
"They seem to be everywhere, almost in every room."
"They are. They're supposed to be." Shade let his words hang in the air for a moment before giving Davey another comforting smile and leaving. Davey sighed heavily, still unsure of what to say.
'How are they going to take it?' he asked himself, staring at his own eyes in the mirror. 'I don't think I can do this.'
You won't have to worry much longer, Davey. I'll get you soon enough.
It was the strange voice again. He thought he recognized it, but it sounded weak and weightless, like it was hardly a breath of air.
By the way, good luck. You're going to need it.
This only served to make him more nervous. He tried to take a deep breath, but found that something was in his mouth. He frowned. This didn't make any sense. He carefully took the object between two fingers and picked it up, seeing that it was a piece of paper folded several times. When he finally did manage to return the paper to its normal size, what he saw terrified him.
It was as if someone had stolen the pendant from around his neck and made an exact copy of it in faded black ink. The image seemed ghostly and unreal. He had to wonder what it meant.
He decided not to think about it, lest he further increase the possibility that he would suffer a panic attack within the next few minutes. He heard the faint sound of nails scratching against marble, and saw another rabbit hiding at his feet, staring up at him with its nose twitching. He smiled softly and picked it up, feeling a wave of calm wash over him within seconds. The black rabbit continued to stare at him with curiosity sparkling in its twin dark eyes. A square patch of white fur covered its right eye.
"You're lucky," Davey muttered, still smiling. "You don't have anything to worry about."
He reluctantly set the rabbit back on the floor, watching as it scampered under the chair as if trying to hide from something. An odd foreboding feeling came over him for a brief moment. Something was coming, a strange, evil presence that felt familiar to him, but just barely so. Like the voice...he still wasn't sure where he remembered it from.
He knew it was time. He stood from his place and slowly turned around, eyes closed. He stood in place for several seconds, unmoving, and took a deep breath that felt sharp and cold in his lungs. Opening his eyes, he began to walk forward and out towards the balcony overlooking the courtyard where he knew they stood.
He looked down at the large mass of black that was the Despair Faction. They all stared up at him expectantly, most with solemn faces. Some of them knew what was coming; the rest just picked up on the mood.
Davey had never considered himself a public speaker of any sort. He did not do well in front of large crowds if he had to speak to them. But some unfamiliar feeling took away the absolute terror in his heart. Placing both hands on the wide railing before him in order to gain his balance, he began to talk.
"I don't know how many of you know what's happened," he began, raising his voice so they could hear him, "but that's why I'm here. You all need to know."
Davey told them everything. He assured them that the Ghosts - especially Zio - were all gone forever, and that the snow would melt soon enough, going into detail in an attempt to delay the topic of their beloved friend's death for as long as possible. When he finally did begin talking about Nex, he had to will himself not to cry.
He wouldn't remember every word he said to them. But he knew that what he said must have had some impact, because by the time he was finished every single person there was crying. Including himself.
"Her sacrifice will not be in vain," he said in a wavering tone. "As long as I am your leader, I will do everything I can to keep you safe. All of you." He bowed his head and turned to leave, but halted at a strange sound.
Someone was applauding. That one person quickly became a mass of people. Everyone in the Despair Faction. Davey turned back and smiled at them through his freely flowing tears, seeing countless smiles in response. He had done it. They were happy, truly happy.
He returned to the open, empty room and took his place in front of the mirror once again. The elation of knowing he had helped them still lingered in his heart, but his thoughts were beginning to race, again trying to recognize the sound of the mysterious voice.
Some time later he went out to the balcony once again, finding that the crowd had since dispersed. He stared up at the moon for a while, silently thinking about everything that had happened to him. 'I wonder if Jade will ever forgive me,' he thought solemnly, sighing. 'He's got to understand... I have other people to worry about...'
He lowered his gaze to the ground below upon hearing sharp, clear footsteps interrupting the silence. There was a girl standing there, wearing a formal black dress, staring up at him intently. Something clicked in the back of his mind. He knew where he'd heard the voice. Just as quickly as she had come, she turned on one heel and left.
He retreated inside as a new feeling of fear came over him. A single thought reverberated in his mind as he sat down and waited, seeing the rabbit come out of hiding. It wandered over to him, and he carefully picked it up.
"We should probably go see how Jade's doing," he said quietly. Naturally, the animal did not respond. "I just hope he'll be okay..."
A single touch on his shoulder sent a shockwave of painful electricity through him, absorbing the majority of his energy. He collapsed to the floor, clutching the rabbit closer to himself in an attempt to protect the creature. Surprisingly, it did not struggle to get away from him.
"I've won, Davey," said the menacing voice of Stella. "And you're going to die."
Davey felt the pendant around his neck grow warm, then painfully hot and burning. He was growing weaker by the second, loosening his hold on the rabbit. It quickly scampered away from him, and he closed his eyes. 'So this is what it's like to die,' he thought solemnly.
"No."
The sound of the familiar voice caused his eyes to fly open. He couldn't see who it was, but somehow he knew its owner had not come to hurt him. He heard Stella scream in pain, but it was quickly cut off as she fell to the ground. A rush of energy came back to him, and he managed to weakly stand just as a cloud of white sparkles disappeared into the air. Blinking in confusion to try and understand what was going on, Davey suddenly turned his attention to the black-haired person standing almost right next to him.
"Alchior?"
"I know!" he cried suddenly, breaking the silence of the room. He continued pacing the floor, walking around the inlaid designs adorning the marble. Normally this helped him think, but today it was only making things worse. "It hasn't even been a full day..."
He finally stopped walking in aimless circles and sat down in front of a mirror, catching sight of the more formal black uniform he wore. He folded his hands and closed his eyes, taking several deep breaths. 'I shouldn't be panicking like this.'
Davey...
"What?" he asked, turning at the sound of the voice. He saw no one and frowned, returning to his former state.
I'm going to get you, Davey.
His eyes flew open. The voice was in his mind, not coming from somewhere in the castle. 'Am I starting to go insane?'
"Davey?"
He turned sharply at the sound of the voice. This time he saw Shade standing on the other side of the room and breathed a sigh of relief. His mind was intact, if only for the time being.
"Hey, Shade," Davey said with a sad smile. The younger boy's eyes were red from crying.
"Everybody's almost ready. I just came to tell you not to worry. You'll do fine." Shade turned to leave, but Davey stopped him.
"Shade, I'm sorry about Nex. It's all my fault," he said sadly. Shade shook his head.
"No, it isn't. Don't blame yourself. I just wish I knew what happened, though..." Davey closed his eyes, feeling a headache coming on. He decided against mentioning the strange voice to Shade. The last thing either of them needed was more to worry about.
Shade saw a rabbit hiding nearby and gingerly picked it up, holding it carefully. The creature seemed calm in his hands.
"I'm sure you've figured out by now that Alchior loved rabbits," he said with a smile. Davey nodded and smiled as well.
"They seem to be everywhere, almost in every room."
"They are. They're supposed to be." Shade let his words hang in the air for a moment before giving Davey another comforting smile and leaving. Davey sighed heavily, still unsure of what to say.
'How are they going to take it?' he asked himself, staring at his own eyes in the mirror. 'I don't think I can do this.'
You won't have to worry much longer, Davey. I'll get you soon enough.
It was the strange voice again. He thought he recognized it, but it sounded weak and weightless, like it was hardly a breath of air.
By the way, good luck. You're going to need it.
This only served to make him more nervous. He tried to take a deep breath, but found that something was in his mouth. He frowned. This didn't make any sense. He carefully took the object between two fingers and picked it up, seeing that it was a piece of paper folded several times. When he finally did manage to return the paper to its normal size, what he saw terrified him.
It was as if someone had stolen the pendant from around his neck and made an exact copy of it in faded black ink. The image seemed ghostly and unreal. He had to wonder what it meant.
He decided not to think about it, lest he further increase the possibility that he would suffer a panic attack within the next few minutes. He heard the faint sound of nails scratching against marble, and saw another rabbit hiding at his feet, staring up at him with its nose twitching. He smiled softly and picked it up, feeling a wave of calm wash over him within seconds. The black rabbit continued to stare at him with curiosity sparkling in its twin dark eyes. A square patch of white fur covered its right eye.
"You're lucky," Davey muttered, still smiling. "You don't have anything to worry about."
He reluctantly set the rabbit back on the floor, watching as it scampered under the chair as if trying to hide from something. An odd foreboding feeling came over him for a brief moment. Something was coming, a strange, evil presence that felt familiar to him, but just barely so. Like the voice...he still wasn't sure where he remembered it from.
He knew it was time. He stood from his place and slowly turned around, eyes closed. He stood in place for several seconds, unmoving, and took a deep breath that felt sharp and cold in his lungs. Opening his eyes, he began to walk forward and out towards the balcony overlooking the courtyard where he knew they stood.
He looked down at the large mass of black that was the Despair Faction. They all stared up at him expectantly, most with solemn faces. Some of them knew what was coming; the rest just picked up on the mood.
Davey had never considered himself a public speaker of any sort. He did not do well in front of large crowds if he had to speak to them. But some unfamiliar feeling took away the absolute terror in his heart. Placing both hands on the wide railing before him in order to gain his balance, he began to talk.
"I don't know how many of you know what's happened," he began, raising his voice so they could hear him, "but that's why I'm here. You all need to know."
Davey told them everything. He assured them that the Ghosts - especially Zio - were all gone forever, and that the snow would melt soon enough, going into detail in an attempt to delay the topic of their beloved friend's death for as long as possible. When he finally did begin talking about Nex, he had to will himself not to cry.
He wouldn't remember every word he said to them. But he knew that what he said must have had some impact, because by the time he was finished every single person there was crying. Including himself.
"Her sacrifice will not be in vain," he said in a wavering tone. "As long as I am your leader, I will do everything I can to keep you safe. All of you." He bowed his head and turned to leave, but halted at a strange sound.
Someone was applauding. That one person quickly became a mass of people. Everyone in the Despair Faction. Davey turned back and smiled at them through his freely flowing tears, seeing countless smiles in response. He had done it. They were happy, truly happy.
He returned to the open, empty room and took his place in front of the mirror once again. The elation of knowing he had helped them still lingered in his heart, but his thoughts were beginning to race, again trying to recognize the sound of the mysterious voice.
Some time later he went out to the balcony once again, finding that the crowd had since dispersed. He stared up at the moon for a while, silently thinking about everything that had happened to him. 'I wonder if Jade will ever forgive me,' he thought solemnly, sighing. 'He's got to understand... I have other people to worry about...'
He lowered his gaze to the ground below upon hearing sharp, clear footsteps interrupting the silence. There was a girl standing there, wearing a formal black dress, staring up at him intently. Something clicked in the back of his mind. He knew where he'd heard the voice. Just as quickly as she had come, she turned on one heel and left.
He retreated inside as a new feeling of fear came over him. A single thought reverberated in his mind as he sat down and waited, seeing the rabbit come out of hiding. It wandered over to him, and he carefully picked it up.
"We should probably go see how Jade's doing," he said quietly. Naturally, the animal did not respond. "I just hope he'll be okay..."
A single touch on his shoulder sent a shockwave of painful electricity through him, absorbing the majority of his energy. He collapsed to the floor, clutching the rabbit closer to himself in an attempt to protect the creature. Surprisingly, it did not struggle to get away from him.
"I've won, Davey," said the menacing voice of Stella. "And you're going to die."
Davey felt the pendant around his neck grow warm, then painfully hot and burning. He was growing weaker by the second, loosening his hold on the rabbit. It quickly scampered away from him, and he closed his eyes. 'So this is what it's like to die,' he thought solemnly.
"No."
The sound of the familiar voice caused his eyes to fly open. He couldn't see who it was, but somehow he knew its owner had not come to hurt him. He heard Stella scream in pain, but it was quickly cut off as she fell to the ground. A rush of energy came back to him, and he managed to weakly stand just as a cloud of white sparkles disappeared into the air. Blinking in confusion to try and understand what was going on, Davey suddenly turned his attention to the black-haired person standing almost right next to him.
"Alchior?"
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