Cloudsea - The Chronicle of Alice Van Vaugen

Alice looked deeply into those eyes. They stared back. Unblinking. Unflinching. Unresponsive. She looked over towards Viss and Free- then let out a slow sigh, and looked back to this person. She shrugged.

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"That's it then? Hm. Do you trust them that much? Or are you just trying to stay cool in the face of death?"

"I just don't care. Look at you. Look at this. It's all- ridiculous."

". . .Excuse me?"

"I don't need to 'believe' or 'trust' in Qhen and Viss to know that they're not going to lose. Not just because they're strong, and smart, and much better at fighting- but you just don't care if you win. Not right now anyway. If this was just about- putting me in the ground or whatever, you would have just done it. There's something you want to know, which is why you're even allowing this exchange of information. You're hoping I'll tell you something that you want to know, or want to hear."

"Huh. That was- you talk a lot."

". . . S-Sorry."

"Why are you apologizing? Damn- That was really good. Okay. So you don't care. So is that why you're not fighting?"

"Nah. I actually was hoping to just get some questions answered. You seem to know more than I do- and I like knowing things! It makes me feel- . . ."

". . .Feel. . .?"

"- Nevermind- I just was thinking to myself. So. You said we could talk, right? I have to know- what was your plan if I decided to fight? Just kill me?"

"What? No! That would be incredibly boring. It had crossed my mind to release the other Volf I have at my disposal- but after seeing your reaction to the first one, I didn't think it would be fair. I was just going to fight you."

". . .Oh. Well then."

She snapped her wrist past her side and fired the flash shell into Suit's chest while flicking her head downward to knock her goggles back down over her eyes.

There was a bang, and a flash, and a roar, which was quickly drowned out by a powerful ringing sensation in her head.

---

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( I can't hear what they're saying past the god-awful sounds of this thing slowly trying to grind my shoulder blade into dust. Is it important? )

( Not important enough to bother you with it. Whatever happens, you need to keep your mind here. You're quickly running out of energy. If your concentration falters, at best you lose an arm. )

( I wonder if Jude would make an arm for me if I did? )

( Please do not plan ahead to lose an a limb. I would prefer you just didn't. )

( What, didn't plan? That doesn't seem like you to say- )

( I meant don't lose a limb, and you know that. You have 15 threads left. You know, if you hadn't spent so much on summoning those claws. . . )

( Then I would just be healing a shoulder AND my shattered hands at the same time. I know what I'm doing. )

( That remains to be seen. )

( C'mon. Trust me. )

( You're starting to sound like a certain insufferable woman. )

( Hey. She is not insufferable. She is- ... )

( . . . )

( Fascinating. . . )

( *snort* Yes yes. Of cour-. . . What is. . .? )

There was a loud bang, and a bright flash behind Free-Qhen. They didn't dare turn their attention- But the roaring- two voices intertwined, caught their attention. Especially as it drew closer. . .

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( . . . We just dead here, Free? )

( Not quite. . . ! Qhen! Switch your left hand grip, pull towards you, kick your right leg out, and pivot on your left while rolling to the side! )

Not even a moment to think, but an eternity to act. Free-Qhen kicked out, and connected, while they spun their wrist around and PULLED- the beast actually stumbling for a moment as the countering forces was turned into a countering offensive. For a brief moment, as Free-Qhen rolled, they could see a flicker of blue flame, and as the sound got closer, it was the sound of roaring, but with a shrill, bloodthirsty scream underneath it.

For a moment, Qhen was a child again, watching his best friend cut down person and beast, one after another. They were not one to relish the loss of life, but it was inevitable. They were after Qhen, and Viss refused to let Qhen fight them. The pattern of blood was pretty though-

Then Free-Qhen realized that was the blood of the beast that was now on top of them, and it screamed in pain and rage, letting go of Qhen's shoulder, and they both shoved against each other as hard as they could, the beast skittering away, running behind a large chunk of blank wall- presumable to lick it's wounds. So they turned to look at-

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". . .Wow."

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(Note: This next section got spoiler-d because this post is MASSIVE and IMPOSING, and this section takes place inside Viss' mind. Sorry I keep fiddling with the formatting. ' <';)

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". . .Hey Viss and Qhen. . . Please Don't Die. . . . Alice is going to do something. . . . Alice needs you both. . . She probably has it all figured out. . . Winning helps you all. . . Just keep doing what you're doing. . . Focus on your battles. . ."

"That would be so much easier... If you would just LEAVE ME ALONE!"

A sharp pain, the sound of tearing fabric and flesh- Viss goes rolling across the arena. The sands of the pit were made of a mineral powder that clumped up when it got wet. That, and ground up salt shards harvested from the CloudSea. It burned like hell when it got in your wounds. It was to keep your brain sharp. Get back up. Parry. Roll- Damnit- more sand in the wounds. Although, the mineral powder also acted like a kind of impromptu scab. Parry- Twist- SLASH- Damnit! The flames twisted and contorted at just the right time- every time.

This was bullshit. She knew that it was a part of it, and in her mind- that meant that it probably knew what she was thinking when she thought it. . . Fighting purely on instinct is what got her here in the first place. Viss saw what would happen if she went down that road again. Never again. She would not give in to the darkness. Never again. She was also not interested in making friends with a hallucination in her own head.

Viss started to circle the mass of flames, getting further and further away as she ran around it, watching it for signs of attack, dodging just at the right moment. . . She could do this- which means that her line of thinking was correct. She could DO THIS.

Getting to the outside wall of the pit, she ran, until she saw what she wanted. She took weapons off of racks, and stashed them underneath her cloak. Her 'kill memento', the cloak of her muse. It took those weapons and greedily ate them, concealing them from sight until she needed them. Yes. Hunger. Flames always consumed as much as they could.

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"I hope you're ready for me, you bastard. I'm going to end this, and then I am going to save the others."

Save the others? You can hardly take care of yourself. Do not tell me such unbelievable jokes.

"The only joke here is you. You think you can corrupt me? Control me? Maybe just kill me? I've fought worse. To me, you're just another body waiting to assume room temperature."

Such vitriolic words. If you think you can force me to submit, then please- show me your strength.

Viss ran straight at the flames. It lashed out with a tail. A sword slipped out of the cloak and she flipped it around her arm, grabbing the handle and the blade and bracing against it hard- the impact of the tail drove the blade into her palm, but it also sheared a large chunk off of the beast. . . The chunk hit the sand and sputtered and hissed until all that was left was a glassy crater- but Viss was already continuing to move.

It struck out with a claw. The blade was already abandoned. This creature burned so ferociously that regular weaponry melted within seconds of making contact with it's body. A pair of axes, she dropped to her knees and brought them over her head, catching it's claws at the soft inner joints, cleaving it open, flames spraying all over the ground. . . It was the same color as her blood. This was not lost on her. But she had other things to think about.

The momentum of the blow, she transferred to one hand, letting go of the other axe- she flipped up onto it's arm, cringing internally as her feet burned, she ran up towards it's back, bloody tears starting to stream down her face. . .

It's wings. They were large, and she could not decide if they were there to mock her, or to just be big and impressive. Either way, they made perfect targets. Knives, attached to chains. She swung them around and hurled them as quickly as she could- the flames burning her legs, as well as the head of the flame beast turning slowly towards her, exhaling a cloud of deadly fire. . .

If this was at all real, this wouldn't work- but her steely resolve- she put it into the blades and chains, striking the beast and the ground around it- she held onto the ends of all the chains with her other hand, and pulled as she turned and ran up the back of it's neck. . .

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Your capacity for violence is almost an art form. . . just think what we could achieve together. . .

"Shut up. I don't need your HELP- I need you to just be MINE!"

Viss leapt for it's head. She grabbed onto it, pulling out her own dagger, and swung for it's eye.

It screamed. It and Viss plummeted to the ground- and when Viss landed, she brought her blade up and-

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"How dare you."

Viss' entire body burned with pain, but it was nothing compared to the blinding rage she was suffering from. The beast had taken Alice's form- albeit a very blue and... burn-y one. It's left eye was shut, where Viss had stabbed it earlier, and it just laid there.

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"You realized you couldn't win, huh? So now you're going to cheat?"

"What are you talking about? I'm right here. Just finish me off, and claim my power. Easy as that, right?"

"I don't have TIME for this! Qhen and Alice are in trouble!"

"Oh please. You don't actually care about Alice. She's just like Qhen- something to fill the void in your heart because you refuse to let me-"

The dagger struck the ground. Viss got up and walked away- a very difficult feat considering her feet were screaming at her in pain.

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"We're done here."

"Aww. Don't be that way. Would it have been easier if I took YOUR face? You're very good at being self destructive after all."

". . .Yeah. It would have been. I may have been able to even contend with seeing Qhen's face- just not hers."

"And what makes this 'Alice' so special to you- hm?"

"It's- She's special."

"That's not evasive at all. You can talk you way around everyone else, but >I AM YOU<, Viss Durrah. I know everything about you."

"Then I don't need to tell you why she's important to me!"

A hand grabbed Viss' shoulder. She turned around and stared into the dragon-like face of her muse. It was- it was like her. Just taller. Bigger. More imposing. On fire. Has-wings. Really, all the great stuff.

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"Yes, I do. You may not acknowledge me as anything but a tool- a figment of your imagination given form. . . But I am a figment with thoughts. A tool with free will. If you take my power for the wrong reasons. . ."

"I get it- I lose my mind, I give in to the darkness, and I do something I regret- because it's not actually YOU doing it, it's me."

"Besides- you've gotten so good at lying to yourself and others, that it's nice to acknowledge that you're actually capable of telling the truth."

". . .I-. . ."

". . ."

". . .It would be so much easier for me to just- go back out there and get killed. I don't actually care what the voices think."

"Ah- but you DO care what ALICE thinks."

". . ."

". . .I understand. You're just not ready yet. I was hoping I could convince you to actually take the other path- but you need more time, don't you?"

"please."

*huff* "Fine. The price of my power will be quite painful, however."

"What has a little pain ever stopped me from doing what I wanted? If a little pain could stop me now, then I don't even deserve this power."

"Hm. Maybe we'll see eye to eye yet."

---

Viss stood 'over' Free-Qhen. Her size had not changed, but her stance certainly had. The tattered, flame-like remains of her muse's cloak was wrapped around her head and neck like a hood and scarf. Also-

She was on fire.

Her head-fins were hidden within the confines of the hood, but two large straight spikes stuck up out of the top of her head, pointed back slightly- made of flame twisted into a horn-shape. . . Her claws were longer, like talons now- on both her hands and feet, which also burned with pale blue flame. The blade she clutched was long and straight, and it's handle curled around her hand- and appeared to go through her arm multiple times. . .

But one could not really ignore the wings. Her back was drenched in her own blood, having seemingly split open at each shoulder to give her a pair of fairly large wings of fire. . .

She looked Free-Qhen in the eyes. She felt the same- she had somehow tapped into her power, without actively summoning her muse. She FELT the same, but she carried herself with. . . Purpose?

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"How much time do you have left?"

". . .Minutes, at best, if I keep getting hit."

"It's wounds are not closing- I can smell it nearby. Try to immobilize it again. I will finish it."

". . .Right. Nice of you to have my back."

"I can be helpful once in a while. It is- excruciating to maintain this form however. Please, do not waste too much time."

"Gotcha."

Free-Qhen leapt in towards the beast, weaving between walls, while Viss launched herself up into the air. . .

---

Alice and Suit watched Qhen and Viss move towards the Volf. Alice looked back to Suit, who was pointing a long tubed artillery piece at her.

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"It seems- beyond coincidental that you use the same weapon that I do."

"Oh- absolutely. My power allows me to read someone and fight them with the same weapon they use, at ALMOST equal footing. I compensate by- well, overcompensating."

"Huh. That's weird. Hate to disappoint you, but I'm out of shells."

"That is- a pity. Did you bring another weapon? If not, I can give you one. Go ahead. Name your weapon of choice."

Alice thought about that for a moment. She did not think calling for Empty would be wise right now- which means she was limited to- well, real weapons. Something about this guy in the ugly suit was starting to tick her off though. It was a strange sensation- to be utterly annoyed.

Provided there wasn't a trick here- and again. . . If they wanted her dead, she gets the feeling she would be already. . . What should she ask for?

( ) Another Gun? She's versed in both Rifles and Siege Weapons of... all types.
( ) Something more personal? She knows all sorts of armed combat, though she's really only good swinging a rifle around. Something about the weight makes it different than just a club.
( ) Insert Weapon Here.
( ) Are we just buying time here, hoping the others get here sometime soon?