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

[frozentear]

[Sebastian feels... positively horrible. But now everyone else is experiencing the voice. Including Rabbit. He absolutely sees that reaction.]

So, you know... [coughing] ...you know who that is, don't you?

[apatheticguide]

[ ... If what he thinks is happening is, indeed happening, yes. He still doesn't move, aside from turning his eyes back to Sebastian. ]

... Yes.

[ But he looks like he doesn't want to say anything else. As it is, his ears are pressed against his head. What a noise. ]

[frozentear]

[He coughs again, blood spilling onto his hand as he covers his mouth. He wipes it off with his other sleeve. It hurts. It hurts a lot. But more than that, he needs to know who it is, what's going on.]

Who is it? Rabbit. Tell me.

[worldkeys]

[ He doesn't respond. It's not surprising, the voice seems to want him to keep quiet. It makes a shushing noise, and the White Rabbit says nothing. ]

Who is it, who is it, who is it? I wonder, I wonder, I wonder...

[ There's laughter. Sebastian's vision will begin to blur. His internal organs are all bleeding and failing. ]

This is the house that Jack built.

This is the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built...

... But have we any room in the house for rats?

[frozentear]

[He doesn't have the strength to stand anymore, and falls to his hands and knees. He can't see Rabbit clearly. He can't see anything clearly. But knowing he's not going to survive this means he's only pushed further into disobedience. This time, he addresses the voice.]

Are you Alice?...

[worldkeys]

[ He won't quite die, not yet, if he was ever going to at all. Maybe it's just making him suffer. But the voice will pause a moment, as if considering his question. ]

You're Alice. They're not.

This is the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built...

[frozentear]

[He coughs again, blood spilling onto the floor.]

We're Alice. They're not. And who are you?

[worldkeys]

[ ... Well, his tenacity is kind of charming. Maybe the voice is amused. ]

I'm God. How do you do?

[frozentear]

...Been better, thanks.

[He should probably ask something while God is on the line. It might come in handy later on. Maybe just for everyone else, if he is dying.]

Do you know why all of us are Alice? If anyone should, it'd be you.

[worldkeys]

[ The voice laughs again. ]

Inconsequential lives need an inconsequential title, you know. But just John or Jill or Peter or Jane wouldn't do at all.

[frozentear]

What makes your life of consequence?

[If it seems defiant that's because it is. He coughs again, more blood falling than before.]

[worldkeys]

[ The voice sounds angrier now. Sebastian will feel his entire body freeze. Suddenly, he cannot move, and an ethereal figure with no distinct facial features will approach him. No clothing can be made out on the figure, but its build seems to indicate it is rather lithe. The figure is a silvery, shadowy mass with long flowing hair, height alternating between tall and short. It puts a silver hand on his cheek, and where there was skin, it begins to dissolve as if touched by acid, revealing muscle and sinew underneath.

It's incredibly painful. ]

I'm God. And you... all of you... are just little lost sleepers missing things in your lives. Boring, pointless lives.

[ The figure giggles. ]

... Where is she? Where is the one with the ticking heart? I want to talk to her.

[heartgatherer]

[She's scared-- she's terrified, honestly. That... that... thing was doing all manners of terrible things to Sebastian; most of it without lifting even a figurative finger. Just the voice gave her horrid chills.

But she refused to back down. Instead-- when she was mentioned, she forced her legs to carry her forward-- even shaking as they were-- and stood next to Sebastian.]

...if you want to talk to me, that's fine--

[It's not fine really. She doesn't want to talk to it. But...]

So talk. And let him go.

[Even though it's clear she's frightened; her tone is like steel. It may be a bad decision but regardless, it's the only decision she knows to make and she's going to make it her way. In a strong way.]

[bakegarasu]

[... Well then.]

Are you the will of this world?

[frozentear]

[Sebastian lets out a scream as the touch begins to dissolve his skin. How is it doing that just by touching him? He knows something awful is happening to his face. What is that going to look like? He...

He'll have to become a supervillain.

The absurdity of that thought in this situation makes him start laughing, but it's abruptly cut off by how painful it is to move his face.]

[notsogreedy]

[Ankh had only been passively paying attention to their conversation once he overheard them talking about whatever that creature was. It was interesting that the Rabbit seemed to know something, even if it wasn't too specific. What he didn't expect was Sebastian stupidly bringing it back. He might have punched him again if he wasn't feeling like moving was a terrible idea and if whatever it was wasn't already obviously punishing Sebastian for calling it back out.

But at this point, all his attention is on this conversation, even if he plans on staying out of it. He looks at the Rabbit too when Sebastian asks.]

[apatheticguide]

[ He doesn't say anything. His lack of movement and words should probably say enough for him. He seems to not want to provoke whatever it is. ]

[notsogreedy]

[Good job, Sebastian. Whatever it is, the Rabbit seems to be afraid of it. Ankh keeps silent as well, turning his attention back to
Sebastian and the... thing, as this progresses.

Now that the thing is making itself known while his ability to sense desires is intact, does he feel anything from it?]

[worldkeys]

[ The other senses that generally populate the room seem to have hushed in response to the much larger presence now inside it. Ankh will hear a loud noise like nails on chalkboard, and the whispering of various voices, just repeating the same thing over and over:

... No one came...

He'll be flooded with a will to live so strongly the feeling makes him ill. It fills his very bones and makes his blood boil, makes his hair stand on-end. The walls seem to be whispering, the very air seems to be alive with somethings. Wisps... of something, someones? Somebodies? Nobodies. But no one is there. Who? What? When? How? There's no one. But there's everyone, all at once. For a moment in his mind's eye the entire room distorts and stretches strangely and all he can feel and hear is the sound of indistinct, young screaming over and over.

Someone fighting against something, and the sounds of glass breaking. Then, heavy breathing.

Ownership. This is theirs. The World. This place. It's theirs. This entity--this thing standing before Ankh... is more powerful than any Greeed, any creature, he has ever run across. And the emotions built up inside it are so intense that it will be a miracle he does not throw up just from feeling how split and how many there are at once. Anger. Sadness. Regret. Loneliness. An intense desire to bring in others.

... But, a playful side, too. Something almost... childish. Saccharine. Like it wants to make everyone here dance like little toy soldiers. There is one other phrase that seems to repeat, after the other one, in his mind: I'll bring them to my Wonderland.

He will also feel something weakening in his body the longer he focuses, as if he is... unwell. That focusing on this is making him worse off, health-wise.

And then that name, over and over. Alice. Alice. Alice. It loves Alices. Alice is their favorite... there's something terrifying and sinister inside it. The emotions will continue to build the longer he tries to focus on the figure until he either passes out or stops. ]

[notsogreedy]

[Oh, yes, he feels things, and the usual cacophony of feelings from the ton of unknown sources is nothing compared to how intensely overwhelming this is. He slumps to the ground, but he doesn't pass out. It takes effort to tear himself away from that overpowering mass of desires. He can't cut it off completely, no more than someone can just choose not to hear a loud noise, but he can shift his focus to something else. Anything, as long as it's not this thing that calls itself God.

Is there anything worth noticing from the Rabbit? Or from the usual crowd of mystery presences?]

[apatheticguide]

[ The usual presences have hushed, as if trying to silence themselves in the presence of this other being.

As for the White Rabbit, he is largely silent himself. Nothing will be felt from him at all, though his gaze at the wall away from both the figure and everything happening suggests he wants this over with about ten minutes ago, and would like this experience to end. ]

[notsogreedy]

[He might find it interesting that the Rabbit shows up as so much nothing, except that he can't seem to find anyone else specific, either. It's hard to ignore the overwhelming mass of desires put forth by God when there's nowhere else to put his focus, but he tries, regardless. He's felt enough already to start to understand, and enough to find things to wonder about.

Why does it have such a desperate need for Alices? It's not as simple as wanting playthings on a whim. There are other emotions; deeper, darker things that say there's something more to it. Anger, sadness, regret... Things Ankh understands except it context he doesn't. He hates this thing that's having this effect on him, who seems to think that people like them exist as nothing but toys to play with and break and throw away. But under that are the pieces he can relate to, and there's something almost sympathetic. What happened to cause that tumult of emotions? Who was supposed to come and didn't? What's special about Alice?

He won't ask. He barely feels well enough to talk, he doesn't want to draw its attention, and he isn't sure he even wants to know. But the thoughts are there, and if the thing can read minds the same way the Guides can, it might notice that they're loud even as he tries to deny his own curiosity.

Does it notice? Does it care?]

[worldkeys]

[ Said thing does turn to glance at Ankh, sparing a small tilt of its head, eventually, but otherwise, the misty form doesn't bother him for the moment. He's given it little reason to. It does say one thing, though: ]

Will you fly, birdy? Or will you be crushed, like you crushed her?

[notsogreedy]

[He isn't sure what to think when it turns toward him, but he sits up to look back at it, wary but holding his ground. It doesn't seem that interested in him. Not nearly the way it has been with some of the others, at least. That's a good thing.

He grimaces at the words, though he otherwise doesn't immediately react. Easy as he is to provoke, the combination of what he's seen this thing do to others and the fact that it's currently hard for him to move make it much easier for him to stay put and say nothing. Inwardly, the response is much stronger. Guilt and fear and all the things he'd trained himself not to think about until it was stirred up again, not by the cat's mention, but by a voice... either hers, or just a girl, close enough. He can't claim that he'd recognise her voice now after all that time.

This time, he'll ask.]

When I was leaving that world, there was a voice. [Sebastian didn't hear it. Just him. Maybe the Cat. And maybe God.] What was it that I heard?

[Or who? It couldn't have actually been that girl. He saw her die 800 years ago so how could she be here? He's not sure whether there's a point in asking, whether he'll get any sort of useful answer, but if anyone would know, it's the thing he's talking to right now.]

[worldkeys]

[ The figure tilts its head, but then giggles, as if Ankh's question was so cute. ]

I wonder what it was. There's a lot of things that find their way here, you know. This place is like a little funnel... this little World of mine.