Cloudsea - The Chronicle of Alice Van Vaugen

"We don't have to fight. I could make some tea... and biscuits?"

". What? I mean, I DO want to fight you, but I don't know why I'm doing it now! Fighting is how I make friends! Usually."

"Oh... Is it like there is a presence floating nearby, egging you on?"

"Ssssssort of. I guess that's one way to put it. It's hard to explain and- I'm not sure you would understand."

"Try me. The last few totaled hours of me being conscious have been a real trip. YOU would not believe what I've had to put up with."

". . . Is this a Weird-Off? Because floating presences are kinda weird but-"

"Also I was technically dead until I woke up today."

Qhen blinks. They stand up and brush their hood back, rubbing at the top of their head, fiddling with one of their horns.

". . . A-Ah. Well- Okay. Maybe you WOULD believe me. Or at least understand... But I really can't talk about it! It would be rude to- uh- talk about it... if it... wasn't here.. You know what I mean?"

"Not a clue. I'm just taking a shot in the dark because I've apparently sold my soul to a floating black mist and that book you passed me was some sort of primer on how to utilize an endless void where time doesn't exist. Also I have voices in my head that tell me to do stuff like THIS!"

"What- What ARE you doing, anyway?"

"Oh. This? It's- Well. It's another one of those Flash shells. I've opened it up, and I'm stripping out the elemental tablets that enhance the BANG and HEAT parts of this. Most of my shells are basically fancy fireworks. Isn't that neat? Don't worry- I know it's boring. All my hobbies are boring. That's why I don't have any friends- but I'm not really that bitter about it because books are cool! Books don't expect stuff of me and I don't need to know how to talk to books

"oh my god are you having a breakdown right now i don't think this is the time for that"

and I was really hoping that maybe I just had a really bad dream but I have a real terrible looking scar right in the middle of my chest where I'm pretty sure some horrible half-metal, half-meat monster eviscerated out some of my organs and now It's bad enough that it's hard for me to relate to others but now I have another awkward hangup about how I look and talk and act and- ... Anyway! I have a plan! It's not a good plan but it's the best I have so I hope it works."

Qhen's eyes dart back and forth. They look to the side, then up, as if looking at something. They nod just a little, and their fists open and close a few times.

"R-Right. I know." "So... what's this plan of yours? Is it to- uh, talk me to unconsciousness? Heh...?"

Alice reaches into her pouch. She forgot these, but she remembered now. One of the voices reminded her. Oddly enough, it was the one shouting at her angrily earlier, she thinks? She can't discern between them yet. But she's trying. She spins the dark glassed riot goggles around on a finger before stopping to slip them over her eyes, also casually slipping the modified shell into her pop-gun when Qhen isn't looking that closely.

"Nah. You got big ol eyes. Probably really good for hunting- some sort of genetic hereditary thing, I'm sure. So they're big, and also your skin is even worse at keeping light out than my own, right? So I'm just going off a book I read recently, but I think you've been possessed by some sort of angry or vengeful spirit? I'm not sure why it wants a piece of me, but that's something I can figure out after I've hit you with enough of these modified flash grenades that you pass out."

"what" "What happened to saving me?!"

"Don't worry! Still intend to do that! But you said it yourself, you're not entirely sure why you're fighting me now! That suggests to me that you're not entirely in control of your body, even if you think you are! The best solution is to knock you out then fight whatever is inside you. Either that, or you gotta really buckle down and FIGHT it."

"I... I can't! You don't understand what this thing is! It just wanted me to test you... but now it's hissing in my ear and threatening to hurt you and I kinda wanna hang out and read more of your books-"

POOMF. -FWASH!-

Alice charges in, right through the flash and the resulting cloud of smoke. Qhen has an arm up to try and cover her eyes, but it still stings. Alice makes a note: ("Possibly light sensitive?") She remembers that Qhen is also hard as a freaking rock and immediately realizes that she did not in fact have a plan for AFTER the flash shell. Oh well.

Qhen and Alice roll around in the grass for a few minutes again, Qhen making closed fist punches on Alice instead of open handed claw attacks, while Alice flails away with her gun-butt, quickly trying to think on what to do next... She makes another note: ("try and learn a traditional melee weapon art" "maybe cudgels? a rifle butt would make a pretty good club-aaaaaa")

Alice goes tumbling across the grass as Qhen kicks her away with both feet, and when she lands, she's already scrambling for another shell. She gets back up on her feet and Qhen is waiting a short distance away.

( FINISH HER. THE MEDDLER IS WITHIN OUR GRASP. ) "you said we could be friends when this was done!" ( IF YOU CANNOT FIND THE MEDDLER, THEN SHE MUST DIE. ) "im TRIED! i don't want to do this anymore! i'm so tired please let me sleep." ( YOU CAN SLEEP WHEN SHE IS- )

"SHE is right here and she can hear BOTH OF YOU, you know?!"

"aaa. Librarian- I-..."

"I get it. You're tired. I'm tired too. This has been a lot of garbage to take in. As soon as we're done here, I'm totally going to take- Well, a bath now, I guess. Grass stains and sweat and blood and all that. But then I wanna just- sit down, have some tea, read a book, and nap until I can't nap anymore. The voices in my head are trying to help me save you. Which is why I have a new plan. Okay?"

"What is it...?"

" - "

{Alice has taken 1 Health damage!}
{Qhen has taken some Health damage!}
{Alice has taken 3 Morale damage!}
{Qhen has taken some Morale damage!}

if you really exist, and you're not just another part of some crazy hallucination i'm having... please help me. if we have another serious tussle, i might not be able to get up again. i'll shoot her if i have to- but that would be really sad, i think.

( ) "I'm going to knock you out."
( ) "You're going to knock me out."
( ) "We're going to knock each other out."
( ) "You're going to refuse to fight me."
( ) "You're going to have to trust me." (Custom Plan Suggestion Here)

HP 6/10 - MP 10/15 - AP 16/20>