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

[notsogreedy]

That could be a lot of things, couldn't it? Someone who's dead was alive once.

[So in that sense, it's not so different. Not nearly as different as someone who was never alive in the first place. He doesn't think that flippant comment about a name is entirely irrelevant. It's something people use to identify others, whether or not they're still alive. And the people who would use it are still important, either way. Eiji and Hina remember him being alive whether he's there or not. There are probably a lot of things that could be said in that vein.

But that doesn't explain what the cat thinks they all have in common, or how it's true that he's here when he shouldn't be. Humans might have some beliefs about some kind of soul that still exists after they die, but for him it's just energy stored in some medals, and he burned up the last of that saying goodbye. He's pretty sure he shouldn't exist at all.]

[frozentear]

A name... a skeleton?...

[Wait, the theme of this entire place... and where they were right now. Where they'd already been.]

...A heart?...

[stolenface]

Close, Alice. Yeah, you all have hearts but that's not what you need to be here.

[ He'll shrug, and then toss the key to the other hand. He's bored. ]

But we're not here for that, are we? Tell me, Alice. Are you really that different from the others of your kind?

[notsogreedy]

[Well, that's an interesting question. Not according to the cat, if he meant what he said earlier when he was being intentionally irritating. In some ways, he'd be right. Ankh won't deny it. In others...]

Who knows? [There's a bit of a smirk to go along with that.] You'd have to ask some other people about that.

[He was alive, and he won't say that about any of the other Greeed. But it's some certain humans who decided that, not him.]

[frozentear]

[What? What does that mean? Sebastian is incredibly curious but he's pretty damn sure that Ankh won't answer even if he asks. Since that seems to be how Ankh rolls.]

[stolenface]

...Hey, Alice. If you could go home and be whatever you wanted... Who would you kill? What would you give up? Would you take it, no matter the price?

[notsogreedy]

[That smirk grows a bit wider, a little dangerous.] So far all it's cost me is not killing you. [And he's going to let that sink in for a second.]

Anything else, I'll decide when I get there. [He's not going to speak in hypotheticals, not when he expects it might come back to bite him.] Right now, all I want is to get out of here.

[So yes, now that he's very sure he won't get any useful answers out of the cat in regard to that question, he's finally interested in that key.]

[frozentear]

[He's never really considered anything he wants as being something he'd want to kill for. But if that was what he had to do to leave here alive - if that was what it took... He wasn't going to just let himself be killed, not permanently. He was done with dying unnecessarily. Whatever memories he'd lost... they still hadn't changed that he wanted to get out of Pelican Town. That didn't mean that he was going to just let himself die now that he'd left.

He could decide what to do when he got to that point. And he was starting to think... if he really had to, no matter how much he didn't want to...]

What he said.

[stolenface]

...You know, Alice. You sure you should be helping someone with that attitude? I mean... Given what all's happened. Yeah, this other Alice here's naive enough to trust ya... But what about the others? Or how do you know they won't stab you right between those shoulders?

[notsogreedy]

[His eyes narrow a little at that comment about being stabbed in the back. It's not just a figure of speech. The guides read minds and the cat probably knows exactly what the history of this room they're standing in is. But he shrugs off the comment just as easily. Who said anything about trust?]

Most of them probably would. [He doesn't see Sebastian or Alice as much of a threat, but the rest easily could be, and even Alice was forced by her world. But he's stuck with them all until they find a way out.] What's your point?

[frozentear]

[...It is true that he knows even less about the others. He knows that one does whatever's most fun for her, that Otoha doesn't need much help to go completely over the edge, that the old guy's window showed him as some kind of sorcerer... and he didn't look like the good kind.

Was it naive to think that they'd all cooperate for just as long as it took to get out? Under normal circumstances Sebastian wouldn't get involved. But this was anything but normal. Didn't they all want to get back what was stolen? If the only way out was for everyone to go into hearts together, it didn't make sense to betray others. That'd just be dooming yourself.]

[stolenface]

You don't exactly have the best track record with helping, do ya, Alice?

[ He's got a few more tricks up his sleeve. ]

[notsogreedy]

[He'd ignored the comment about helping before, wondering if maybe that part was meant for Sebastian. This time, he's sure it's intended for him, but he's not sure why. In his experience, cooperating out of necessity isn't the same as as helping, and he's barely even mentioned that.]

Who said anything about helping anyone? I just said I want to leave.

[Speaking of which.]

Are you going to give me that key or not?

[frozentear]

[Ankh's got the right idea with wanting to leave already, and Sebastian is just silently agreeing. The cat raises a question about Ankh, though, and he can't help being curious about what the cat means. Maybe Ankh could answer, but he hasn't answered much of anything else, so Sebastian asks the cat instead.]

What does that mean, Alice?

[worldkeys]

[ There's a sudden, loud ringing in everyone's ears--and then someone giggling can be heard in the distance, all around the room. (It's impossible to make out the laughter's age or gender, however.) The disembodied voice in between incredibly garbled static and the ringing will suddenly speak out. It seems to have appeared in response to Sebastian. A wave of uncomfort will surge through the room, making both of them feel incredibly nauseated, as though their bodies are not right, as though their minds are pushing against something. As though they are... not okay. ]

If everyone is Alice, then no one is anybody. ... Especially you two, who were never anyone to someone at all. Hiding behind others or a screen, unable to build bridges and then happily burning them... heeheehee... oh, won't you listen to the Cheshire Cat? He is a Guide, you know.

[stolenface]

[ The Cat will remain quiet through this, and await for it to be done. And when it is, he will speak. ]

Ask the other Alice about the time he tried to help a blind little girl.

[notsogreedy]

[The sound takes him by surprise, and the voice out of nowhere is even stranger when he hears without hearing. A disturbing half-way-there voice speaking directly into his mind. He feels sick. He feels... wrong.

What the hell was that?

The cat's jab at his past barely registers in his attempt to shake off the feeling of disorientation. He'll worry about it later, if Sebastian decides to actually ask.]

[frozentear]

[What the actual hell was that? He feels sick, wobbling a bit as the voice rings out. There's someone here other than the guides? Was it saying they were all nobody?

Even though he hears Cheshire, the lingering effects of that voice preoccupy him.]

Who...

[worldkeys]

[ The voice doesn't seem too terribly bothered. Instead, it waits very patiently for Cheshire to say his piece, and for Sebastian and Ankh to be confused, and then it says this: ]

Ding, dong, bell,
Pussy's in the well!
Who put him in?
Little Tommy Green.
Who pulled him out?
Big Johnny Stout.

What a naughty boy was that,
To drown poor pussy-cat,
Who never did him any harm,
But killed the mice in his father's barn!

[ And then it starts laughing again. There's something that makes all the hair on the back of your neck stand on end about the laughter. ]

[stolenface]

[ The Cat is... Just going to let them deal with the voice, tossing that Key back and forth. ]

[notsogreedy]

[The more the voice talks, the more disturbing it is, even if some part of him is starting to get used to it. He can't help wondering if what it says is true at all. If so, the cat might really have been a cat at some point. But he'll think about that later. Right now-]

Who is that?

[Someone else that's here. Not one of them, and not a Guide. Who? And what? He looks around, almost as if he might find some source to attach that voice to, even though he doesn't expect to find one. After a moment, his gaze settles back on the cat.]

You know, don't you?

[frozentear]

[The voice doesn't get any less disturbing, not by a long shot. The poem it recites, though... it reminds him of the notes that appeared in the last heart. Is there something true about it? If so, it could be important.]

Is that how you died?

[worldkeys]

[ The voice continues, seeming terribly amused. It, like before, waits until they've asked their questions. ]

Pussy-cat, pussy-cat, where have you been?
"I've been to London to look at the queen."
Pussy-cat, pussy-cat, what did you there?
"I frightened a little mouse under the chair."

[ The laughter follows, and there's a strengthening sense of nausea and pressure around them. Like they're being watched by something incredibly dangerous. ]

[stolenface]

[ He waits for the rhyme and the laughter to finish before shrugging. ]

Maybe, maybe not. Not gonna tell ya either way.

[ Who was he answering? Both of them. ]

[notsogreedy]

[Of course the cat isn't going to be helpful at all. Fine. It's annoying, but fine. He had said he wanted to leave, and that's only truer with this oppressive atmosphere. He glares at the cat and the key he's still holding.]

If you're not going to say anything useful, then how about getting us out of here?