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

[dolosa]

It's probably in reference to a game I used to play -- Rabbit Doubt. Or the plush rabbit doll that is the only thing left from my parents. They're my favorite animal.

[ Well, at least she's allowed to give hints, just as long as she doesn't tell him te answer outright. ]

[notsogreedy]

Rabbit Doubt?

[dolosa]

Essentially a game of mafia, if you've heard of that. It's a mobile game in my home world where there is a wolf in rabbit's clothing. They kill one of the rabbits at night, and in the morning, you have to guess who the wolf was. If you're right, the rabbits win. If you're wrong, the wolf wins. The end.

[notsogreedy]

[He hasn't heard of mafia, but he doesn't need to ask. The explanation makes sense enough. But he can't help but notice now how there are rabbits and wolves all over these.]

Is that game that important to you?

[dolosa]

Used to be. Not anymore.

[notsogreedy]

What changed?

[dolosa]

Several things. I died. I met Hajime. I went to his world. I quit being the 'Hazama Rei' that was behind real life Rabbit Doubt.

[notsogreedy]

[Eyebrows raise. That was a lot of new information at once.]

So Hajime is from a different world?

[dolosa]

That's right. He isn't from the world I'm from.

[ It might be a lot of new information, but Rei certainly doesn't mind sharing. ]

[notsogreedy]

[It's useful that she's willing to talk so much. He'll store all the information for future reference, even if it doesn't all help him figure out what he's supposed to do with this puzzle.]

Is traveling between worlds normal where you come from?

[It isn't for him, but he also happens to be something that's not normal where he comes from, so he'd believe it.]

[dolosa]

No -- it was just a favor I got after I died.

[notsogreedy]

Heh. [What an odd sounding sentence. It's probably only because he's here when he shouldn't exist at all that it sounds believable.] Why does dying grant you favors?

[dolosa]

Hajime helped out another person in the world between life and death. Basically, he assisted in helping end a game that decided where people would go. . . and because of that, I asked if I could be revived in his world.

[notsogreedy]

[This earns a skeptical look.]

Is everything games where you're from?

[dolosa]

Not everything is a game. Life doesn't work like that.

[notsogreedy]

They seem to be important to you, though.

[dolosa]

Something I created would be important to me. As is the place I met Hajime.

[notsogreedy]

Is "real life Rabbit Doubt" what you meant before about being used to killing?

[dolosa]

I'm used to death and seeing people die. I've never actually murdered anyone with these two hands myself, I'm just an observer and ex-puppetmaster

[notsogreedy]

[It says something about him, probably, that he doesn't seem especially bothered by any of this. If she wants to admit to leading people to their deaths, then he'll treat it with the same mild curiosity as everything else she's said.]

Why did you start it?

[dolosa]

Revenge.

[ As simple as that. ]

For my parents' death, of course.

[notsogreedy]

That's a surprisingly boring answer, coming from you.

[He takes a few steps, looking at all the images again.]

Why does it matter what color the rabbit is?

[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.

[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.]

[dolosa]

[ Immediate and clipped: ]

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