Cloudsea - The Chronicle of Alice Van Vaugen

"freeze... talk... draw them out... scan... wall yourself... save viss... avert your eyes... book em... flaming sword... summon the hands from the void.... breathe... defend yourself... do not attack... turn the tides..."

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"Neither Alice nor Myself has the ability to 'scan'. That clearly falls in the realm of our opponent however. . .I read hearts. Not minds."

"hh_hHh--It's so hard to concentrate..."

"But concentrate you must. Focus on the sound of the universe. Open your mind. Empty your heart. Find the path, and do not stray, or we cannot guarantee Viss' safety."

". . ."

"Are you scared, Alice of Vaugen?"

". . . No. I do not have time to be scared, remember? Hold onto that feeling for me, Empty... I'll want it back later."

"Yes, Alice of Vaugen."

Empty Alice floated there- she felt, without using her hands. Watched without her eyes. Every sensation she had was being filtered through this cloak. Through Empty. They were components of something much larger than themselves. Not just Empty Alice- Together, the universe slowly revealed itself to Alice. She was aware of exactly how important she wasn't, but how much potential she had. . . . Was this what Empty felt like, all the time?

. . . The Universe vibrated, it shivered, with the voices that spoke to her, quivering individual molecules nearby to produce the sounds she heard- along with another signal. . . More words- But not for Empty Alice-

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- -- -- --- -- - --- "Hey Viss, I assume from your earlier reaction that your starting to hear us."

" WHAT? BE QUIET. "

"Looks like you're possessed by a muse, go figure right? Well, Qhen was too, and now they aren't, they're doing pretty alright because of it."

" DO NOT SPEAK TO VISS WITH YOUR DIRTY WORDS. "

". . .Empty. . ."

"You probably realize the severity of your situation past, present, and future. Killing people who got too close the Qhen, goodness me."

"Yes, Alice of Vaugen. You are correct."

" SHUT UP. . . DON'T ACT LIKE YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HER, ABOUT ME, ABOUT -US- "

"Here's the deal, if you want to get through this relatively unscathed, read: still alive, you're going to need to resist your muse. It worked for Qhen, it'll work for you too, I think. Don't worry, everyone will get some ice cream when this is over."

" I'LL FIND YOU AND REMOVE YOUR TONGUE WITH MY OWN TWO HANDS AND MAKE YOU EAT THOSE WORDS- I'LL SQUEEZE THE AIR OUT OF YOUR LUNGS UNTIL YOU ARE FINALLY >SILENT<- "

". . ."

"Promise."

". . .i'm sorry, qhen."

"Go. Let The Universe hear your will manifest, Alice of Vaugen."

( BE. SILENT! )

The universe strained and buckled as a wave of pure hate buffeted the room, knocking books off of the tall shelves, shaking the ground, and blowing Empty Alice's cloak around. That scream, that pure and unfiltered desire to kill- For a few moments, the universe became still and silent. For a few moments, Empty Alice would act.

Empty Alice grew a number of arms, clutching orbs of pale grey fog. She brought all those limbs back, and threw them forward, launching a powerful attack- The air straining under the weight of the energy being channeled through it. Sadly, her mastery over these abilities was hardly even a novice's level- But as one of her Masters told her-

One does not learn by not doing.

- Empty Alice harnesses the depths of space. The emptiness. The cold, harsh distance that lay between our hearts. . . We will bridge it with Absolute Ice! -

The air around the Muse EXPLODED into ice, a shell growing around them, constantly cracking, breaking and reforming as their burning hate continue to radiate outwards. . .

( DID YOU THINK THAT YOUR EFFORTS TO COOL MY BURNING HATRED WOULD BE ANYTHING BUT FUTILE? )

- MUSE touched the bonds of the ice. The only bond that mattered was the bond between itself and their treasured one- All other bonds will become shattered before our Atomizing Fire! -

MUSE's blade cleaved through the ice with barely a thought- The ice sublimating under the intense heat of the blade- splitting into gasses and- Igniting. The ice shell was consumed in a explosive fire, chunks of burning ice being thrown in all directions- MUSE charged forward, hissing, and barely had a moment to register the large yellow projectile punching through the cloud of steam and smoke.

- Empty Alice fired off a thought: BECOME BLIND. -

( GGNNGARAAAGGGH! YOU- >NOVICE< DO YOU THINK THIS WILL SLOW ME?! I CAN STILL SENSE YOUR HEART BEATING! IT RINGS IN OUR EARS! THAT HEART WHICH DARED GET CLOSE TO OUR PRECIOUS- DARED TO GET CLOSE TO >US<! DEATH IS TOO GOOD FOR YOU! )

Empty Alice flew backwards, avoiding a burst of flames from the MUSE, limbs burning away as they even touched that hate, hands slapping against the floor and propelling them backwards, until finally they came to rest, and Alice opened her eyes.

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"Give me the rifle."

"Alice of Vaugen, this is unwise."

"Prolonging this fight is unwise, Empty. I need to end it. If they touch us- if they touch you-"

"You are becoming emotional, Alice of Vaugen. Our bond will fail."

"Not until I've fired."

" . . . "

A pair of hands grew out of Alice's chest, out of that hole where that claw first pierced her. She wondered if her heart was still there. She wondered if there ever truly was a heart there. The hands came together in front of her, then parted, a rifle forming between them.

Grey, but metallic. Monochromatic. Alice seized the gun. It was perfect. This gun, formed of their combined wills. It would do the job. It would have to.

Pointing the gun straight up, Alice opened the bolt and opened her mind. Closed her eyes, and closed her heart. She would build armor, if she thought she had the time. As it was. . . She began to breathe rhythmically, each breath inwards pulling in some of the fog that hung around her, each breath outwards exhaling that fog upwards, into the chamber of the rifle.

At the other end of this battlefield, lay Viss. Viss was hurting. Viss clearly loved Qhen, but it did not mean anything. Viss did not love herself. This envy, it was going to keep feeding on her happiness until it finally consumed her. . . Alice didn't understand any of it. She felt odd, around Qhen. But she also felt odd around Viss. Did she love Qhen? Did she love Viss? Does one love a stranger? Does one know a stranger? . . . Did she even know herself? All of these thoughts left her, and entered the gun. Finally, she closed the bolt. The gun hummed, thrummed, and became warm in her hands.

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"You filled the weapon with indecision?"

"I know no other sensation. This is what lies in my heart. Doubt. Fear. If I miss, I could kill Viss. If I hit, I could kill Viss. If I hit, I may still die. If I miss, I WILL die. My will is not indecision, but a desire to have an answer to it. This bullet is my question. Viss will answer it with her own heart."

". . .Sometimes. . ."

"Hm? What was that, Empty?"

". . .Nothing. Focus on aiming. You must pierce the negative feelings that have crystallized in her heart."

"Right. . . Hey, Empty?"

". . ."

"A muse. . . is the rationalization of one's darkest feelings."

"Yes."

"A muse is also. . . the realization of one's true nature."

"Yes."

". . .Which one are you?"

". . ."

"How long have you been watching over me?"

". . ."

"It's okay. You don't have to answer. I still trust you. Now help me out here. I suspect this weapon is going to kick a bit."

". . .As you wish, Alice of Vaugen."

"One more thing."

". . ."

"My name is Alice, Empty."

". . .Yes, Alice."

Empty summoned a pair of hands. Then another. Then another. The arms grabbed onto the rifle, and helped to steady it. Alice exhaled her feelings. Empty inhaled them, and they became one again. Empty Alice had only one request.

If the universe could still hear her, even now, even past the sound of suffering, and hate, and jealousy, and doubt. . .

Distract the MUSE. Distract Viss. Guide our bullet. We want to aim...

( ) Up!
( ) Down!
( ) Behind!
( ) Straight Ahead!
( ) [?]