Cloudsea - The Chronicle of Alice Van Vaugen

"Viss..."

Viss' head turned for a moment, and the cheerful expression turned to one of confusion, and then steady realization as the chair Alice was sitting in went rocketing to the side. Qhen was already in motion, but the previous battle and all the hard work they had been doing was taking it's toll, and Qhen's entire body burned. The burning was like nothing they had ever felt before- like all the energy was being sucked out of them...

Something was wrong. The voice that had called out was also not Qhen's. It was- Alice's? As Qhen began to fall to the floor, their head turned, and as they bounced off the hard stone floor, they looked up.

. . .What was Alice doing up there? Alice- What's wrong? Crap. Qhen got it now. But there was no time to warn Viss. Qhen couldn't even open their mouth, the ice was spreading too fast- they could feel themselves freezing from the inside out. . .

Viss couldn't understand any of this. The voices, the weird cloaks, the magic, the mystery, this space, within the house, yet much, much larger... Viss was just playing along with Qhen and Alice's oddities. Qhen had been unusually aggressive ever since they lost the last Captain, and the few times when they had gotten into a fight, Qhen had destroyed the opposition with barely a thought- it had often taken Viss all her power to keep Qhen from killing random thugs that tried to pick the wrong fight at the wrong time.

But then Qhen met Alice. Alice, Alice, Alice, Alice. Alice knew nothing about them, and she was just as flawed and messed up as they were- but she was just so pure! Even at her worst, she was like an angry kitten. Alice stopped Qhen's rampaging heart. Alice soothed Qhen's broken heart. Qhen loved the Captain. Everybody did- But the Captain was like a father to Qhen- Qhen had been inconsolable ever since. . .

But now. Now. Now. Now. Now. Now. Alice. Alice... Alice... Just a couple days and she was getting closer to Qhen than Viss ever could be. Viss was not even jealous. Viss knew they were nothing special to Qhen. They were friends. Childhood friends. They grew up in an Imperial Pit together. They protected each other. Guarded each other at night. Fought their way up and out- but still Viss was just-

Viss wasn't good enough. She knew that. Especially now. She wasn't strong enough, or smart enough, or kind enough, or empathetic enough... Sure, she could read people- but so could any charlatan worth their salt.

Alice was so much better, but Qhen was keeping her at arms length! Why?! Why can't Qhen let anything good just BE?! Maybe it was a little fast, a little soon... But Qhen had made their intent known, to stay on this island, with Alice. Keep them company. Over time, they could be happy together- Alice could come out of her shell, and Qhen could let themselves BE happy.

WHY were people so COMPLICATED? Why were they born with all these emotions and problems? Why did people suffer? Viss remembers being young. Viss remembers being... . . .

Viss didn't blame Qhen. Qhen was damaged. Their heart was broken into so many pieces, the only way to put it back together was to chain the pieces together so that they never came apart.

Viss didn't blame Alice. Alice was scared. She did not understand Alice's story completely, but apparently Alice never knew their parents, only heard of them as reverent whispers from the mouths of friends and family, who all took care of Alice as part of some obligation. Alice didn't know- Alice couldn't know what friendship or love was really like. People just wanted Alice to say the things that they wanted to hear- and they left Alice to her books.

And now there was some weird monster wearing Alice's face, clad in grey fabric, floating above the floor by a foot or so, supported by an ever expanding cloud of fog. Viss looked back and saw Qhen laid out on the floor, shivering, exhaling clouds of frost onto the ground. Viss slipped a hand down to her side and gripped her dagger tightly, and looked back to 'Alice'.

SpoilerShow

"Viss guesses you must be Empty."

"I am."

"Empty did not attack Viss, because Qhen was the bigger danger."

". . . Yes. Also you apparently cannot feel the effects of these temperatures."

"Empty has made a terrible mistake. . . Before Viss finds out what color your insides are- Why?"

"Alice hates you. That is why."

"Viss finds that hard to believe, but continue."

"Alice did not understand the dangers. She does not understand the difference between a connection and a bond. Alice does not understand that the thing that possessed Qhen previously, and the thing that possesses them now, is the same being."

". . ."

"Alice wanted the power to defend herself. She could not stand the thought of having to constantly rely on the two of you. She thinks that she is supposed to be a hero in her own story, that there is some sort of destiny she is supposed to fulfill. So she asked what the price was."

Viss looked up. Alice hung from the ceiling, suspended by a web of hazy, ghost like arms, clinging to her and keeping her from moving. Alice just watched Viss, quietly. Viss narrowed her eyes, returning her gaze to the Alice in front of her. Releasing the handle on her dagger, Viss touched a pouch, and retrieved a much larger wax 'egg' than the others she had used previously. She calmly swallowed it down.

SpoilerShow

"In exchange for the power, you take Aliss' heart- Her extraneous, excessive and hidden feelings. Feelings hidden from even herself. That is the devil's deal in this situation, yes? Like what Qhen had before Aliss stopped them. You are trying to show her the folly of pursuing power for powers own sake."

". . ."

"She is important to me. If she would be consumed by her own darkness, I will protect her the only way I can."

". . .Hm. You know- Viss suspected you were... a hallucination. Some mechanism of Aliss' mind made manifest. Misplaced emotional baggage... Like Qhen. But Viss now suspects you are very real- and very dangerous."

". . .viss. . ."

"If I am real, then you understand her feelings are also real. Even if she does not realize them herself, she will one day. Despite that, you are not angry. Not at me, nor Alice."

"Viss is angry. Viss is sickened... with herself."

"Mmmm?"

"Viss thought she understood Aliss. Viss did not think Aliss hurt so much. Viss wanted to help bring Aliss and Qhen together, even if Viss was going to feel a little lonely by herself. . . Viss- . . "

Alice watched Viss look right at her. Alice did not know what to think right now. She could not process these feelings. She remembered being very angry at Empty and then. . .People were such... weird creatures.

SpoilerShow

"I just wanted to help someone important to me find happiness. Any happiness. Qhen- Qhen doesn't deserve so much pain... And if you think you're going to fuck that up with this misguided attempt to teach Alice a life lesson at your own expense..."

Viss swallowed hard, and grabbed her throat. She squeezed her eyes shut and choked for a moment as that wax egg exploded in her throat. The pain never got old. She practically had to pry her own mouth open and reached in, grabbing something, and pulling forth- a handle of a sword. She pulled, and pulled, her back straightening, then arching, as she pulled the long, curved blade free of her mouth. She wiped her snout and spit light blue blood on the floor, the blade- seemingly formed of a single piece of amber resin- dripped with the same.

SpoilerShow

"I will not hesitate to punish you, like the child you are, Empty."

". . . Alice was not aware you could do that."

"Alice is not great at reading people. It is her weakness. Allow me to show you the gap between our ability to understand each other."

- Viss has used Amber Bauble, and created the Amber Scimitar. -

Viss has lowered her defenses. You can now give her limited suggestions for this fight.

- Viss is using Trained Eye. -

She does not have enough information to know what Empty is going to do next. If they plan on fighting like Alice would, they will likely utilize battlefield positioning and long range attacks.

For now, Viss intends to Block. What shall you suggest Viss do?

( ) Block
( ) Attack
( ) Feint
( ) Heavy Attack
( ) Special Attack