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

[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?

[frozentear]

[As usual, the cat was only being as useful as it wanted to be. Which, also as usual, wasn't very much.

It's hard to move. It's harder to walk. Sebastian starts going towards Cheshire, but stumbles and falls to his knees. He starts to get up but can't rise all the way. It's all he can do to talk without being sick.]

The key.

[..................]

...Please?

[stolenface]

Sure. But that other Alice might want to count his sins and be wary of helping unless he wants everyone to end up like a certain poor girl.

[ And then the Cat will toss the Key... To Ankh. Because this is his World. The voice doesn't say anything, because it's not being spoken to. After a few moments, the World begins to fade... They don't have much time to get in any last shots verbally, but it's there. ]

[notsogreedy]

[Ankh catches the key, satisfied with finally getting to leave this stupid room. He doesn't say anything to the cat for now, other than giving him a strange look. He's still not sure what the cat even means by helping... or why he thinks Ankh cares to begin with.]

[frozentear]

[More than anything he's glad to be leaving this world behind. But there are some things he'll be asking Ankh about when he gets a chance.]

[worldkeys]

[ As they leave the World, Ankh will hear the sound of a familiar, certain sightless girl's voice in the distance, now recognizable to him: ]

I never wanted your help. All you do is ruin people. You're like the rest of them, and now... now what? You're doing it again.

[ And then they will return to the Hub, where the strange feelings will have largely subsided, and Ankh's senses will have returned to normal, though it will take a moment for the lingering nausea and heaviness to dissipate, feeling a bit like a light-headedness, instead. ]