Accidental Video; Breakdown (Backdated to the 10th)

[ushahin]

[The first thing that is seen when the camera turns on is one bright, beady, avian eye. Fetch has been watching this device for months, and while he may not understand entirely how it works, he's out of options right now. He stares and pecks at it for a moment, then grumbles out a throaty Cawww! For anyone who understands the language of the birds, it's basically a cry for help, for he's become very worried about his companion. He picks up the device in his claws and turns it around.

The view is of the house Ushahin and Shadow share, but it looks as though someone has completely wrecked it. Things are broken on the floor, flung all over the place, the shades are drawn, leaving the room in shadows, and there in the corner the half-man is curled up, his back against the wall with his knees in front of him. His voice is hoarse as though he's been talking for hours.]

Gone. All gone. I should have known. Nothing ever lasts. They leave me, all of them, no matter what. Yes, this is my fate. Of course. That's the pattern Calanthrag showed me.

[For anyone who ever wondered what Ushahin meant when he said he wasn't entirely sane, this is what he was referring to. Those moments that happen where he entirely breaks down, sinking into the madness that clouded his thoughts. Though it is hard to see in the gloom, there is a dark helm right next to Ushahin's figure. This is the Helm of Shadows, a mighty piece of magic that amplifies the powers of a psychic. He traces one of his long fingers over it.]

I can't stand it. Not any longer.

[Fetch seems to know something is coming, and for the first time in his life, he defies his friend. Flying at him, he tries to get him to stop this course of action, trying to claw and peck at him. But it is too late. Ushahin's mind is made up. He bats away the raven and places the helm on his head.]

They will all know what it feels like.

[Then, his powers amplified by the helm, he broadcasts all that he feels to the residents of Hadriel. It won't affect all of them, but it will reach quite a few. There's pain, madness, despair, fear, and everything else that the Dreamer has experienced over the past year of his long life. Losing his best friend had just been the tipping point. The experience won't last for long, only a minute at the most, but it is a minute of sheer agony. When he is finished, he wrenches the helm off, and tosses it to the side. His eyes close, and while he isn't asleep, his strength is spent. At least the madness in his mind has been quieted.]

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[ushahin]

[Ushahin opens his eyes back up, the uneven one blazing with his fractured state of mind. He feels nothing right now but the culmination of a lifetime of painful memories.]

I have the pain of a thousand years in my head, pain that was magnified when everyone I loved and everything I cared about was taken away from me one year ago today. Forgive me when I say that I care very little what you think, young one.

[Fortunately, he's too tired to strike out, or Jason would likely be in a comatose state right now.]

[fulminatory]

Ohh, well. A thousand years obviously makes you the expert here. Clearly no one else could possibly understand what it feels like to lose everyone they -

[Everyone they love. Jason cuts himself off from completing that sentence. It's been mere days since Jason faced Bruce, bared his wounded heart to his mentor, asked him just this once to stop the Joker forever, because he took me away from you. Watched him stare Jason down, impassive under that damn cowl, refuse, turn and walk away.

It's too soon. Jason had five long years to prepare for that night, and if he lives another five years, he thinks it still won't be enough time to dull the pain of that loss even a fractional amount.

But Ushahin doesn't need to know that. Jason scoffs quietly, voice hardened with resolve as he returns to his words.]

Whatever. Do yourself a favor, old man - stay outta my head.

[ushahin]

[Ushahin's eyes gleam like he's looking right inside Jason's head and seeing all that lies within there. Maybe he is, catching glimpses of the pain this man has gone through. Maybe he isn't, too tired and spent by his actions to travel outside the confines of his own mind today. Certainly, he'll never tell.]

That only I could, Jason. That only I could.

[fulminatory]

[He should really quit this, end this conversation, walk away. He isn't, though.]

Cute trick, but I'm not impressed. If you think picking out my name's gonna rattle me, you better think again. I'm not scared of you.

[He's seen and done entirely too much to find something like this frightening.]

[ushahin]

[Ordinarily, he might have taken that as a challenge from an insolent little whelp. But today he feels tired, so tired in both body and soul.]

You should be, young one. I can see right through to the things that keep you up in the middle of the night. I can make sure they never end. [He pauses and shrugs.] Or I can make sure you never experience them again. The choice is yours.

[fulminatory]

[Sorry, Ushahin, Jason's laughing - a dark, dry, entirely unfunny sound, the sort of thing that skirts the edge of hysterics but manages to just barely pull back.]

Oh, I seriously doubt you've got anything on the things that keep me up at night.

[Mostly it's the memory of being beaten nearly to death with a crowbar, the sound of the Joker's maniacal laughter ringing against the walls of the warehouse, the emptiness and fear of knowing, in the seconds before the explosion that killed him, that he was alone, that no one was coming to save him, that he was already dead and he was powerless to prevent it. It already torments Jason endlessly; the threat of making it continue offers no change, so it's meaningless.]

I mean it. Stay out of my head.

[ushahin]

You clearly have no idea who you are speaking to. [Normally, Ushahin would have a higher tolerance level for such a fool, but it has been a hell of a day.] I shall teach you a lesson in fear and respect, young pup.

[Then Ushahin delves into Jason's head. There's less finesse than he normally has, for he is weary and has not done this in a while. His fears are easy to find, for they lie close to the surface. He brings them out, and for Jason, it will feel like every agonizing moment of his death is replayed over and over again for what feels like an eternity. It is a painful lesson: don't mess with a madman who has psychic abilities.]

[fulminatory]

[Unfortunately, it's not a lesson Jason is receptive to learning at this particular juncture. No one ever accused him of being the smartest Robin, after all, and he's just stubborn enough to refuse to quit. It's painful, yes, but it's not painful enough to shut him up. He's breathing heavily, still stinging from the mental assault.]

Is that ... all you've got, old man? [He laughs.] Gonna have to ... do better than that ... if you wanna earn my fear ... or my respect.

[ushahin]

My, my, aren't we the tough one? [Ushahin is mildly impressed that Jason is still even able to talk, let alone taunt him. Clearly, the boy has some resilience to him.] I wonder how long this will last.

[His eye gleams with malicious intent. Then he delves back into Jason's head, bringing up memories of a painful nature. Batman, the closest thing he ever had to a father, and all that he represented to Jason. He pulls up that last and worst memory, Bruce turning his back on his former protégé, choosing his own moral code over what his son had meant to him. Ushahin's mental voice, old and full of power, rings in his head.] This ends when you want it to end.