Be brave enough to burn

[notsogreedy]

Who: All the Alices (and Ankh, his name is Ankh)
What: Just a mysterious castle built on top of a restaurant. What could possibly go wrong?
Where: World Two – Wings to the Sky
Warnings: Who even knows? Will update as necessary.



Ankh wakes up at the edge of the water, his arm draped over a rock and his face cushioned by a bed of sand and seaweed as the edges of waves wash over his body. The first thing he notices upon waking is that it's uncomfortable. The second, upon lifting his head and starting to pull himself out of the water is that it's familiar. Awareness dawning, he scrambles to his feet and looks around wide-eyed half expecting Eiji to be there somewhere. Of course he isn't.

But this... this is his last memory. For a moment he wonders if somehow this whole thing came to an end and he wound up back home, but that's wishful thinking. No, this is just his world. His heart, as the guides like to call it. It's only more obvious that this isn't real as he scans the horizon and finds Cous Coussier where it shouldn't be. And then on top of it... that's-

His eyes widen, and then narrow. He's not sure what to expect out of this other than nothing good.

But, after wringing the water out of his clothes as best he can, he makes his way to the restaurant and curiously to the freezer, where he finds the ice pops he expects to be there. Pulling one out, he gives it a skeptical look for a moment—does he dare assume it's really the same or even safe to eat?--but ultimately pops it into his mouth and discovers it tastes exactly like he expects. That much is something he can appreciate. But as for the rest of this...

With popsicle in hand, he continues exploring.

Comments

[frozentear]

"...I wonder if they can. If you're there, they definitely can't."

It seemed like it had only worked because Sebastian thought of it on his own, after all. Who knows whether he could have marked it if Ankh had told him to.

[notsogreedy]

"It should be fine as long as I'm not the one asking, right?" He punctuates that with an expectant look. Not that he can say whether anyone would be able to tell Sebastian what the right answers are, either. Maybe no one can tell anyone. But considering how everything's been going so far, it at least seems more likely that he'll get a right answer out of it that way than if he asked about it himself.

[frozentear]

Sigh.

"Yeah, fine, I'll let the others know."

He's not terribly pleased about the clear expectation, but it makes sense. It's probably faster if he does it than if Ankh tells them what to do and it turns out they can't mark anything at all after that.

"Figured out what to do with them yet?" He glances at the windows, turning his head a bit as he does.

[notsogreedy]

"Yeah." And that's all he's going to say on that subject for the moment unless he's pushed. "But I want to wait until I have all the answers."

He's not stupid. Losing one sense means losing more. He wants to have the answers memorised while he's still very capable of telling which one is right.

[notsogreedy]

[Ankh doesn't hear the words, but when he comes into the room, Qilby has yet to move away from that window. He can sense the desire for someone else's presence, presumably inspired by the image on that window if the way Qilby is leaning against it is any indication.]

I guess that picture means something to you.

[He won't ask if it's right. He's seen enough by now to know he won't get an answer to that.]

After solving the dungeon puzzle and talking to Sebastian

[notsogreedy]

[After he and Sebastian had come up with a plan, and Sebastian had left to go inform everyone else, Ankh found himself with very little to be doing for a while. In fact, he quickly decided that if no one can say anything while he's around that he should avoid all the windows as much as possible until Sebastian comes to find him again.

So for now, he's in the kitchen, eating another popsicle. How many is that at this point? But he doesn't plan on stopping. He was always addicted to these things, and he likely won't see another one until he gets home. If he gets home. If home is even the right word.

This isn't a terrible substitute, he realises. For a moment at least, he considers the possibility that maybe there's no need to leave. No reason to solve the puzzles he dreads the results of or to ever get through that locked gate and into someone else's personal hell. He could stay here. Cous Coussier, with all the food, and even some people around to watch and to toy with. They aren't the ones he's used to, but maybe that's a good thing. He can't go back to them, anyway. They're the ones who wanted him gone, despite all their outward friendliness.

But he can't help thinking about them, or this place, or the last time he was there. Stupidly sentimental, but he had missed it. And then there was Hina, almost concerned, almost wanting him to stay. He'd asked her... and of course she said no. She always had her brother first in mind. How could have even for one second have thought...? (He almost feels the now contextless memory of his core shattering. If she had just said yes...)

He doesn't notice until he hears the snap and looks down that his fist has clenched hard enough to break the empty popsicle stick in his hand. He glares at it for a second, then throws the broken stick to the other side of the room. So now he's stuck here, where he shouldn't even exist, trapped in a memory without the ability to feel anything. And he was thinking about staying like this? What a joke. Stupidly sentimental, even now.

With a scowl, he goes and grabs yet another popsicle out of the freezer and leans against the counter with it. He pulls the Peacock medal from his pocket and stares at it while he licks at the ice pop. Five more of these, and he can be done with this place. What the hell's taking Sebastian so long?]

[dolosa]

Perhaps.

[ She shrugs her shoulders wide. ]

It probably matters because the rabbit I own is the only thing I have left of my parents.

[zinit]

[Qilby lifts his forehead from the window and turns; there's no urgency in his movements. (He's not getting killed here, after all.) Ah, it's mister bad hair - the one whose heart it is. The one with the underwear.]

[He sighs and nods to the window. Every time he thinks to say 'there's no way that's a reality' - because even if he was the cause of her death, indirectly, it wasn't him and it tears him apart - his throat closes. Instead, he just says:]

The dragon it shows here - she's my twin sister. [See the resemblance?? No, because she's a dragon.]

[zinit]

Qilby resists the urge to roll his eyes. It is this young man's heart, after all; if someone's underwear are hung on the walls, it implies some sort of intimacy. Furthermore, the fact that he knows whose they are implies some sort of intimacy.

Some kinky enemy that must be, he thinks, with a hint of amusement.

"A puzzle, perhaps?" Goddess, he's having trouble containing the smirk. "Are we meant to figure out why this... Display is here?"

[frozentear]

[Sebastian's eyes narrow as he walks into the armory and sees Otoha. He'll probably be less violent since this heart doesn't seem to have that effect, but Sebastian is still definitely not pleased to see him.

He approaches Otoha and holds a pen out to him.]

Here. Use this to mark whichever one is true so we can get out of here.

[notsogreedy]

Is there a reason to lie about it?

[He doesn't directly reference the picture with the red and the blue, but it's probably obvious why he's asking.]

[notsogreedy]

It happens when you have an uneasy alliance and end up living in the same space for a year with someone who doesn't think twice about walking around wearing these eyesores. That's probably why they're here to begin with; he couldn't forget these obnoxious things if he was trying.

He can hear the amusement still in Qilby's voice and gives him a glare. Though the point is valid enough. Maybe there's some sort of key hidden in it, or clues. He doubts it, though. The only lock he's found is clearly tied to the stained glass, and he's prettymuch figured out how that works by now. But ripping all the underwear off the walls might be satisfying regardless. On the other hand, he'd also rather not touch any of it with a ten foot pole. "Who knows?"

[notsogreedy]

[He raises an eyebrow at that. The thing in the picture is obviously a dragon, and Qilby is obviously not. Then again, Ankh isn't really a Greeed in here, either.]

You're not human, then. [It's a question, even if it doesn't sound like one.]

[bakegarasu]

[Otoha looks up up at Sebastian, and raises his eyebrows, taking the pen and staring at the windows silently. He doesn't move to mark one yet, but is still for a long few moments. The one with Reiji... there's something bothering him, even more than the fact that it's not true.]

... There's something...

[Something wrong. Something that's vaguely worrying away at him, but he can't tell what. He shakes his head and uncaps the pen, drawing a... well, a frankly awful circle around the last one - the one with him and his yurine on top of a building.]

Shinjuku got wrecked, but not destroyed. And it won't be as long as I can help it. That's what a Karas is for.

[Though with how he's saying it... it sounds a bit more like he's trying to convince himself, more than anyone else. After all, Eko had been Shinjuku's Karas, and he was the one who nearly destroyed it.]

[zinit]

Hah, of course not. [Qilby says it with a little bit of pride, as though it should be obvious. Humans are short-lived and powerless, and his people are neither of those things!]

[There's a little smile coming back to his face as he continues.] My people are called Eliatropes, and we are blessed to have close bonds with dragons. A few of us, the first-born, are born from the same egg as a dragon 'twin.' Shinonome and I were two of those first-born.

[dolosa]

[ Immediate and clipped: ]

No. [ She's annoyed that anyone would think she would. ] It's brown, by the way. The rabbit I own.

[notsogreedy]

[That's an answer to that, then. He gestures toward the one with the outstretched hand.]

Who's this? Hajime?

[dolosa]

[ A shrug. ]

I don't know. I can't answer that.

[notsogreedy]

Heh. If you can't answer, doesn't that mean it's right?

[It was his best guess to begin with, so he's not the slightest bit surprised. He just had to eliminate the red and blue rabbits to be sure. She seems the type who would easily lie about something like that if there was a reason to.]

[mearry]

Ah-- well, when you put it like that...

[ C-ta manages to chuckle, already far more relaxed than the beginning. His chest continues to hurt but...it's not as bad. ] it's a pleasant surprise to know that he hasn't caused more mayhem.

[frozentear]

[So there she is, in her own room. Sebastian approaches and holds out a pen to her.]

Mark the true window while Ankh is out of the room. It'll make getting out of here easier.

[frozentear]

[...so he is a lot calmer now. Well, that's good to know. Sebastian isn't really sure what Otoha is talking about, but that's okay.]

Karas, huh...

[frozentear]

[Sebastian comes into the room some time after Ankh has left, holding out a pen.]

Hey. Take this and mark the window that's true so that we can leave faster.

[zinit]

[Qilby looks to Sebastian - ah, he hadn't thought this one was particularly important; he might have to revise that mentally - and takes the pen.]

A good plan... If I knew exactly which one of these was the truth. More than one of them might be.

[He pushes up his glasses and looks at the window again. It's partially a show; he doesn't particularly want to mark the one he thinks is the truth. --But, then, would it mean anything to them even if he did?]

Final Puzzle

[worldkeys]

[ Within the chapel are six stained glass windows, all depicting Alice Liddell. She is performing various tasks in them, all with varying clock and heart motifs. In the first, she is pulling another woman's hair while laughing cruelly. In the second, she's openly flirting with a man while the same woman looks on. In the third, she's walking over the broken clocks littering the ground of the now-familiar Land of Clover. In the fourth, she's crying over a grave while a man in an obnoxiously plaid jacket turns her head, as if trying to distract her. In a fifth, she's quietly standing by while two people with guns fight, as if she refuses to do anything or doesn't care. In the sixth, she sits alone under a tree, seeming content with this turn of events. Like all the others, the truth cannot be spoken or otherwise communicated in Ankh's presence. ]