BETA ROUND END

[worldkeys]

Who: The Alices of the Beta Round remaining (Sasuke, Harley, Hinata, Ken, Lalli, and Liao)
What: Everyone has a choice to make. Specifically, it begins as Sasuke's choice.
Where: The World's Hub, the room the Rabbit normally stands.
Warnings: Definite violence. Somebody got... something.

A smile reaches the White Rabbit's face as he hands the sharp key to Sasuke.

"... I'm certain you recall the choice you made," he says slowly. "But it's up to you to decide if you really want to uphold that. Who is 'most evil' in this World? You've seen so very many Hearts, after all--I'm sure you could reach a decision. ... The Cat and I, of course... well, we hardly count. We've never been human, after all."

And he'll remain in that same spot he's always been in, of course.

"While you all decide, your rooms will wait for you. Or you could all stay here and fight about it. Either way, sweet dreams, Alices."

Comments

[not_that_sasuke]

[The feeling of a knife at his throat is not a new one. Blades, ropes, hands - his brother favored targeting the throat, whether he had a point to prove, or simply felt like proving once again why he was the better of the brothers.

Sasuke goes still, the way he usually does. There isn't an ounce of concern on his face. No, there isn't much of anything at all.

Why would he be, after everything he's endured up until now?]

...You want me to stay that badly?

[His voice is quiet - the others probably won't hear if they aren't paying attention. He still has little desire to return home, but...

Lalli already made the sacrifice. What reason, then, would they need to keep Sasuke as well?]

[apatheticguide]

[ He's careful; guarded.

They probably haven't noticed by now, but... Liao hasn't returned. Neither has Harley. Secluded in their rooms, broken by what they'd endured, it seems. They'd go home--he doesn't care about them. It's Sasuke he wants. ]

... This wasn't part of my plan. What he's done... he never asked me about it. It isn't against the Rules because they never accounted for someone doing what he did. ... You have nothing worth returning to, anyway. Why bother going back in the first place?

[miseris_socios]

[This is wrong.]

[Everything is wrong. People not coming back, too many people sacrificed to let them go home...]

[It's enough.]

[It's more than enough. Ken's gaze is cold as he looks at the Rabbit, at Sasuke.]

Stop. Haven't you done enough damage? Both you and the Cat?

[Because as sick as it is... there's no way that the Cat could have managed all of this on his own, is there? The Rabbit had to have at least known.]

i can't believe you actually made me NEED to jump for icons for him

[worstofall]

Damage? You were all already "damaged". You hardly needed us for that, Alice.

[ ... Hah hah hah. They don't have any idea what they're saying or thinking. ]

Are you all okay with this outcome, him playing you like a fiddle, when mine was a much more precise, fairer one? The one who should have died dies, the one who was more necessary to he world he belonged in stayed in it.

... It's only my job to make sure you leave, and to guard the doors. And he made his decision already. So he has to stay here.

[hopedout]

[ You know what? No. He's not having any of this at all. ]

You say that as if you didn't do the same to Sasuke! That was your plan, wasn't it? To keep him here for your own benefit?! To make it so that he wouldn't want to leave this World, much less go back to his own, or perhaps find a world that was better than either of those two options?

[worstofall]

... I never did anything like that, Alice. You're making this into some sort of conspiracy larger than what it actually is. No. All I really want is for him to uphold the agreement he made with me originally.

[ ... Sasuke has to stay. And as if to punctuate that, his smile falls, and he'll bring the key closer to the boy's throat. ]

Have you ever seen a human's carotid artery forcefully severed? Very few tend to survive the blow. ... Besides which, why should you care? He has nothing. He is nothing. ... This sort of apathy... I almost feel like I have a personal stake in seeing his promise through. Returning him home would just be sentencing him to more pain.

[hopedout]

Hah.

[ Hinata laughs, almost amused. It's the first time that he's shown a side of him so angry, so scornful. It's as if the man who goes by the name of Hinata Hajime has finally accepted everything that he is. Everything that he was. Kamukura Izuru is a part of him that he despises, more than anything, but it's still... there.

His voice grows dark, almost lifeless. But there's something to it that's still full of hope. ]

To answer your questions, I have. Maybe you already know this, but I killed hundreds, if not thousands of people. Just because they were all boring. [ Hinata's red eyes seem to glow as he narrows them, shrugging his shoulders as if the Rabbit's words had hardly even mattered. ] But you asked it, didn't you? My answer is already obvious.

Because I'm his friend. [ Plain and simple. Straight to the point. ]

And as a friend, I don't believe it's worth seeing him die. As someone who's lived as an apathetic shell of a person before. A empty puppet. Maybe returning him home would be sentencing him to more pain. But you don't consider the rest of us. We've all been through pain. Different from his, sure, but still. My world is destroyed. The Future Foundation plans on killing us. I will be returning to a world where only a few people care about me, and the rest of the world will hate me for what I have done.

That is exactly the kind of world I am returning to. That's just how worlds are. Neither hope nor despair, but something in between.

And weren't you paying attention or are you just ignoring it? He doesn't have to return to his world, if that's possible.

[worstofall]

I wasn't asking you. Be quiet. You're annoying. People like you... annoy me. Always talking and talking and talking as though you know anything about us.

[ He'll level a general look at the others--ESPECIALLY Hinata, who just seems to go on and on and on and on. He's pretty sure neither Ken nor Sasuke had experienced that first-hand, at least... not so closely.

... After a moment, he'll tilt his head and sigh. There's no point to him doing it like this. ]

... You don't have to suffer. Though I would rather not have to do this the dirty way. ... I wanted to make sure you didn't forget... you had a deal. It's them that seem to want to make you. Are you listening to this constant belligerent tripe? Do they actually even understand a single thing about what they say? At all? About you? And then they try to talk like they understand us, too. Ridiculous.

[miseris_socios]

And you talk as if you understand us. I'm not going to bother with a long speech - as much as I'd like to see myself as the hero, I'm not. You made that clear. All of you.

[And yes, he's leveling his gaze at each of them as he speaks. His Heart... that surgery... no. He's not the hero. He might never be.]

Cat. Rabbit. The Cat said there was another way out, now that Lalli's been...

[He gestures vaguely towards the Cat.]

So this doesn't need to happen anymore, does it?

[worstofall]

... I understand all of you perfectly well. I understood that you would return my Keys to me. I understood what was inside your Hearts and your minds the moment you entered the World. I always have. There was never any reason for me to care.

You both have attachment to him that you have placed because you cannot bear to lose another person. Your Heart has suffered loss after consecutive loss enough that you place blame squarely upon your own shoulders. You and the other Alice share that trait. Where you differ... is that you are beginning to numb to even that.

Soon you will be entirely like me.

[ ... There's no reason for this to be this way, he thinks. He'll lower the Key, but he won't let go of Sasuke. The others will find they won't be able to advance towards him, and Sasuke will be incapable of leaving his grasp. ]

... That's all right. He wants to go beyond that, is all. A step past it. I promised to help. I am not sending him back out there. [ A pause. ] ... This is more talking than I like to do. It's getting tiresome.

[not_that_sasuke]

[It's just as well, because Sasuke isn't even attempting to move, no matter how close the knife gets, no matter the grip on his arm. As much as Hinata talks of friendship--

Really, where else could he go? To Hinata's world, where he already admitted he is hated? To Ken's, wherever that may truly be, after the events in the Tower? It wasn't even as though Harley, Liao, or Lalli came from worlds that were any better.

Sasuke's is probably the safest of them already. And he's too much of a coward to return even to there.]

...We don't have to talk anymore. Running to another world isn't going to help. And...

I did agree.

[Otherwise he surely wouldn't have been the one to receive the key. No; this was the plan from the start.

The Cat and the Rabbit are right. He's under no obligation to return even now. It may be the coward's route, but...

Well. He's nothing if not aware of all his failings. This is nothing new.

Hinata may fear erasure, but Sasuke sought it not long ago, and nearly succeeded. He knows exactly what he's doing, and he welcomes it.]

[miseris_socios]

[He can't move. He can't get to Sasuke, summoning Dike is useless here, he doesn't have a weapon that can even hope to hurt either the Rabbit or the Cat. The Rabbit's right - he's starting to numb to it, he's starting to numb to everything, even to the point where he plunged his hands into the guts and hearts of everyone.]

[He'd operated on his own mother and he'd been able to numb his heart to even that.]

[He really is no better, is he? His heart hurts, vaguely, but that's nothing new. It's an ache that's been there a long time, hasn't it? He can't do anything, he has to do something, he's helpless...]

[Words are useless now. Weapons are useless now. But the anger growing in his chest is familiar, even if it's refined to a sharper point now. It's not a sawblade, it's a spear. A spear of righteous anger, and he pushes against the force holding him back, straining his muscles, crying out in his heart...]

[... Nothing. Even all of his anger, which is quickly draining away... he can't do anything. And as his anger ebbs, the more vacant look in his eyes returns. Hollow. Numbness. He'll still do the right thing... but it's hard to feel passionate about... anything.]

... You win, I guess. For now.

[He wants to turn away, but he can't. If he has to accept this... he has a responsibility to at least watch.]

[patchworkcat]

[ The Cat has been watching with great amusement, but he's finally going to speak up. Something Hinata and Ken both need to hear, especially now that at least one of them's tinkering on the abyss. ]

Y'know, as I recall... One of the biggest reasons that kid wants to disappear... Is people forcin' him to do things he doesn't want.

[ He'll snicker into one of his paws now, watching these two. ]

...Ain't that what you're doin' right now, both of ya? Disregardin' what he wants and tryin' to force him to come along?

[miseris_socios]

[He glances over at the Cat, trying to keep his temper in check. He's right, he knows he's right...]

[But he can't help but growl. It's a guttural thing, deeper than one would think he could make. His Persona can't appear, not like this, but there's a definite feeling of something straining at a leash.]

[Persona, even evolved ones, still are tamed Shadows. And all of his feelings have to be going somewhere...]

1/2

[hopedout]

That's--

[ His voice fades out, his anger stilling over like the waves on the beach, although his red eyes shift from the Cat, who he's still mad at, although the anger is subdued then towards Sasuke. Thanks for rubbing salt in the wound. ]

2/2

[hopedout]

Ngh...! Why does it have to be like this?! If only-- if only I--!

[ He's mad, but it's not just simply directed at the Rabbit, the Cat, and their God. Hinata Hajime is frustrated at himself for being so weak. For being unable to do anything. If only his world was a bit kinder, a bit safer. . .

He then looks at Sasuke, pleadingly. ]

Do you really... want to do this...?

[ It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. He doesn't want to see this happen in front of him, the idea of someone disappearing forever. It's enough to bring a tear to his eye. ]

[not_that_sasuke]

[His head tips down in a tiny nod. Just barely noticeable, really. The Rabbit has the key, and he isn't going to put up anything remotely close to a fight.]

...Even before I came here...

This is what I planned to do all along.

[To be erased, completely and utterly. If he'd had his way... No one in his world would even remember him to miss him. He would have simply disappeared along with that snake spirit, leaving no trace-- except, perhaps, a body trapped in eternal slumber at the foot of a forgotten torii gate.

It would be like he'd never existed to begin with. And everything would have been better for it.]

[worstofall]

... You see?

[ This way will be simpler. The rather long, slender Key twirls in the White Rabbit's hand a moment. He hadn't expected CHESHIRE of all people to speak up, but... well. He'll pick a less painful spot instead. The abdomen. ]

... If done this way, your disappearance would be instantaneous. I'm not cruel enough to let someone writhe here forever, you know. Even I know disappearing piece by piece into foam would be more unpleasant than simply becoming a doorway.

[miseris_socios]

[Ken doesn't say anything, but just stares at Sasuke. There's nothing left to do. Nothing left to fight. This is Sasuke's decision, as much as he hates it.]

[As much as it makes him feel hollow inside, he can't do a thing.]

[Just like always.]

[hopedout]

Damn it. . .!

[ Frustration builds up in his voice and he wants to slam his fist on the floor, but he doesn't. If he wasn't crying earlier (only the smallest starts of tears were shown) he sure as hell is now. ]

I-- I won't forget this, alright?! I won't-- [ Fuck, he's nearly choking on his tears. ] I won't forget about you!

[ He's upset. He doesn't think that this is the right answer. There should be another way, but it's not coming to him right now. He wants to curse the god that kickstarted all of this. So why can't he-- why can't he do anything!? He can feel the pain spreading in his chest, enough for him to shatter into pieces. Enoshima would be laughing at him right now, huh... For all his talk about the future, he still couldn't craft the image that he had planned at all in the slightest bit.

This sucks. This really sucks. ]

[apatheticguide]

[ ... He wants to point out... ]

... Some people are happier if they reroll the dice. To be given a second chance at that is more than a lot of people would get. Better to end a life you're not enjoying then to cling to something not worth having.

[ He'll look at Sasuke. ]

Are you ready for them to leave?

[not_that_sasuke]

...No. It would be better if you forgot.

[It occurs to him that even now, he's hurting people again. But hopefully...

Hopefully this will put a stop to that for good.

His eyes flicker briefly to the key as the Rabbit moves it. Gut wounds aren't usually the first to come to mind when one thinks of instantaneous death - hence why it wasn't normally a point he or his brother were taught to aim for - but if the Rabbit says it will be, then hopefully he can take him at his word. And if not? Well.

Too late to regret it now.]

...Yeah.

[miseris_socios]

Maybe. Maybe not. But you made the choice to do this, Sasuke.

We'll make our choice to remember you or not.

[His smile is... pained. It's taking a lot of energy to pull it on, but he has to. If Sasuke's going out...]

[... Better to go out to a smile rather than a blank, worried face. Even if it hurts.]

npcs from here on out, we hope you enjoyed your round!

[apatheticguide]

[ Well, the stomach is important for this. He'll understand in a moment. The World seems to begin shaking as the White Rabbit forcefully inserts the Key into Sasuke's abdomen--like something is changing. Everything begins to grow darker, as if someone has spilled ink upon the pages of a book.

The churning of metal machinery can be heard in the distance. The only things that seem to still be illuminated are the Cheshire Cat and White Rabbit's eyes, as well as the path to the wardrobe leading out through the door.

It's opened now. They can go back. But it'll only lead them to their respective worlds. The moment they step through, they will be overtaken by a sensation of being flung somewhere, as though their body and soul had separated from itself.

It'll feel about like when you fall asleep and then you "fall" back into bed.

Before that, though, through the crack of the cupboard door inside the swirling darkness that's become the hub world, the White Rabbit--and the Cheshire Cat--can be seen tending to Sasuke, pulling the Key out of him, which the Rabbit wipes off and puts back into his back pocket. How it fits is a mystery (one of many left unanswerable, in this odd world), but the more important question is this:

Why Sasuke's body no longer looks like a body, why it's becoming see-through. His consciousness is already fading. It's not like he could fight what they intend. He's just a doorway now, after all. He won't last much longer. ]

... You almost caused me to lose him.

[ The White Rabbit says to the Cheshire Cat, red eyes practically glowing. ]

[patchworkcat]

He wasn't about to leave and you know it. Too little to go back to.

[ Don't blame him, okay. He's not as stupid as he seems, and he resents the fact that he's being made into the villain here. ...Well, worse one than he is. ]