Round 1: Return from Ankh's Heart to the Hub

[worldkeys]

Who: The Alices, and the White Rabbit.
What: Everyone is returned from Ankh's Heart. YOU CHEATERS, YOU.
Where: The World Hub.
Warnings: A lovely bunch of cheating cheaters that Rabbit is, frankly, not sure if he should applaud or be exasperated about.

When they return, the White Rabbit seems like he can't decide if he's annoyed or impressed.

"... Another one, is it? Well... that was at least marginally faster than I'd expected you to go, compared to last time. Maybe I'll get them all back in a decent amount of time. I'll unlock the next Door for you, then."

As always, of course, he fully expects they're going to pester him with random, stupid questions. At the very least, he seems in a better mood than last time.

Comments

[dolosa]

[ REI DIDN'T CHEAT, SO SCREW YOU..... it's okay though, because when she's out she's more or less sighing in disappointment. ]

Personally, I thought that world was rather dull outside of the familiar type of setting.

[apatheticguide]

[ ... Well aren't you a card. ]

Take your complaint to the owner to whom it belonged, then. It was not my heart that was on display, after all.

[dolosa]

Maybe I will. [ She shrugs her shoulders. ] But it would be better if we just cut to the chase and go into the next world, wouldn't it?

[apatheticguide]

... Most likely, although I would appreciate if you didn't go passing out, too.

[ LARGE STARE IN ANKH'S DIRECTION. ]

[dolosa]

Of course I wouldn't collapse like that. It's not like I died.

[apatheticguide]

[ A small smile, here. ]

... No, of course not. Not at all.

[frozentear]

...I suppose that even with your game it wasn't that fun.

[dolosa]

That's because that wasn't a game. I couldn't honestly call it that.

[frozentear]

...I suppose not. Since it could be solved with a marker.

[Still, he's a bit proud of figuring out how to use the pen.]

[dolosa]

If only they had taken it out.

[frozentear]

...The marker?

[frozentear]

[That was easily one of the more exhausting experiences of Sebastian's life, by the end of it. He has several questions... like what the cat was getting at with Ankh, and what that creepy ass voice was. But right now seems like a good time to sit in a corner and close his eyes for a moment. And not talk to anyone. That includes you, Rabbit.]

[apatheticguide]

[ ... He's still going to glance over at you anyway, Sebastian, sorry. ]

... What happened in there? That's a terribly uncomfortable face you're making, Alice.

[frozentear]

...Accidentally awakening some kind of eldritch abomination will do that to you.

[Honestly he didn't really expect that no one would bother him. It sure would have been nice, though.]

[apatheticguide]

... We have titles for a reason.

[ A small tilt of his head, perhaps. ]

I suggest you use them.

[frozentear]

...I can see the rationale behind that now... Rabbit.

[Looking up at the White Rabbit.]

Can you say anything about why you have titles?

[notsogreedy]

A
The first thing Ankh notices when he gets back to the Hub is that his senses seem to be normal. The second is the lack of a certain creepy and nauseating presence that he isn't anywhere close to identifying. Between the two, he probably is visibly relieved. He also seems a bit distracted. But that's not surprising, considering he has a whole set of memories to finish processing, not to mention whatever useful bits can be pulled out of what the cat said, and whatever that thing was. He's just going to be keeping to himself for a bit, though it's possible to approach him.

B
Compared to the silence of having his ability to sense desires being cut off for a while in his world, the Hub is almost unbearably noisy. A lot of desires. A lot of wishes to live. He's noticed before, and wondered, but he didn't have any particular reason to care. Now, though, it reminds him of something the cat said, about many Alices before who never woke up. Is that what all those are, then? If so, "many" seems to be an understatement, and Ankh isn't quite sure what to make of that.

For a while, still, he tunes it all out, lost in his own thoughts. But eventually, it's hard to ignore the fact that a couple of those mysterious presences stick out from the crowd. He's never been curious enough before to try to make them out, but at this point, after what he just experienced with some other presence making itself all too known, maybe that knowledge would be worth something. So he tries.

It takes effort. Too much effort. He doesn't get very far before he passes out.

B

[apatheticguide]

He's going to have the White Rabbit standing over him when he awakens. The guide looks largely unimpressed by Ankh's... attempts to decipher whatever might be here, with the way his good ear is angled against his head and twitching in irritation. He prods him with a gloved hand absently.

"... Having fun, Alice?"

Re: B

[notsogreedy]

The first thing Ankh is aware of is the hand poking at him, and the first thing he does is try to swat it away, still half asleep. It takes a moment longer for the rest of everything to sink in, about why the Rabbit is staring at him, and what made him pass out in the first place. It takes him a second to sit up, and it's only after that that he realises that desire he had been trying to track, which had always been distinct from the rest of the noise in there, doesn't seem to even be present anymore.

"Where did it go?"

[apatheticguide]

Yeah, he's a little confused by what Ankh's saying. So he'll just stare blankly. He's not especially sure what the other was hoping to find, here.

"... Where did what go?"

[notsogreedy]

The Rabbit actually seems genuinely confused. That's... interesting.

"So now you can't understand my thoughts?" He gives him a skeptical look, but whatever. If he's really that confused, then maybe he's not aware of... whatever that was. He stands up the rest of the way, taking a second to organise his thoughts. He hadn't gotten much from that, but...

"Does a river mean anything to you?"

A

[frozentear]

He needs to cool off before going to talk to anyone else, and it seems like Ankh is the same way. It takes some time - time that both of them seem to need - before Sebastian approaches Ankh, less hesitantly than the last time they were in the hub. He has a lot of questions. A lot.

"So... you're some kind of monster. You look pretty human to me."

[notsogreedy]

It's not unexpected when Sebastian comes over to talk to him, though he's not looking forward to the questions that he's sure are coming. He replies to those first words with a look that's some mixture of annoyance and amusement. Of course he looks human. He stole a human's body and he seems to be stuck with that form while he's in here. Not that he's complaining; he rather likes looking like this. But that doesn't mean what he is is so simple.

"You do seem like that type."

[frozentear]

He didn't realize there was a type associated with asking that question. Thanks for informing him, Ankh.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

[notsogreedy]

Well, for one, that also hadn't been a question. As for what Ankh meant-

"You believe what you see. No one said this is my normal body, or that we're all supposed to be human." In fact, he's aware of someone else who also isn't, but he'll keep that information to himself for now.