Bonds that Kill (Alice, Joker, and Isaac)

[Deleted]

Guilt. Heavy guilt and confusion.

Alice had promised Isaac she wasn't going to do anything dangerous, that she didn't need his help, that everything was fine. All of that was a lie. Last week she had run into some trouble while out on her own. She had run into a nightmare, a Falvadin, one of the worst possible people she could have run into next to the President himself. Well, that should have been the case. Joker was a little special. She was so apathetic that she seemed fully willing to give up governmental secrets and forget incriminating details about Alice if it meant not putting effort into actually thinking about or remembering what she or anyone else said. It was still an incredibly dangerous situation and Alice had acted stupidly, almost exposing herself and by extension the gang she was working so hard to resurrect. She hadn't told Isaac about it and she hadn't told Isaac about what she was doing now.

Alice or 'Lyra' as she called this disguise, walked down down the street of the entertainment sector approaching Ace's Casino. She was wearing a blue sundress, wide-brimmed sunhat and her curly hair tied and partially restrained in a single ponytail. She sat on a familiar bench attached to the side of a hotel and took out a three-ring notepad from her satchel. She flipped through the pages skimming over bits and pieces of text. It was a collection of rumors and newspaper quotes related to the President, the Falvadin and everyday disasters. It was a trick she had learned from her father. Take notes of everything you hear. Rumours can paint a picture of the current culture and you never know when a rumor can turn into a useful weapon for the rebellion.

Recently there had been a lot of talk about some sort of "Great Congregation" being held by the Vice-President. Apparently the news was causing quite a stir and there had been reports of it causing a few incidents in the capitol, including a Falvadin attack on a candy store... somehow. Alice was awfully suspicious as to the purpose of this "party". Surely it was more than that. Apparently the King and Queen of Chanda were invited as well. Alice was nervous and wanted to learn more. She also dug up some information about a certain Falvadin that she wanted to confirm. This wasn't just curiosity. She wanted to know how much her new source on the inner workings of the "Government" was worth. Of course, there was no guarantee they would even show up.

After refreshing her mind on all the questions she wanted to asked, she put the notebook away and thought back to Isaac. He had said she could talk to him about anything. Could she really talk to him about this? She thought she could guess how he would react. He also said he had "strong feelings" for her. What did that mean? Well, it was was pretty obvious he cared about her, but he didn't mean...

"I'm sorry Isaac."

[Joker]

She wasn’t quite sure what drew her back to the casino strip, but that’s where Joker had found herself. Why had she come all the way back out here? Oh right, ice cream. She couldn’t remember how long ago it had been since she’d met her new friend outside the casino, but she’d been thinking about ice cream ever since. She never did get it after she left. She just ended up going straight home and getting some pickles. Come to think of it she probably could have ordered ice cream too. Maybe she hadn’t been thinking about ice cream since, then. Maybe she had just thought of it again now.

Regardless, Joker still wanted to get some ice cream. The last time she’d thought about it she was here, so perhaps there was an ice cream stand around here. Oh, speak of the devil. There was one right over there. Indeed, a dirty man off to the side of the street was clearly selling cones of ice cream. It must have been Joker’s lucky day. Quickly as she could muster she floated over to the man, who after a brief double-take in response to a floating girl approaching him asked her what she wanted. It seemed the man didn’t recognize her like her friend from before did.

Joker pointed at a cone of ice cream and dropped some money into the man’s hand. The man stood shocked for a moment at the strangeness of her apparent inability to speak, but once his gaze switched to the money in his hand his eyes bugged out. Had she given too much? The man certainly looked shifty, almost as if he wasn’t sure whether he should accept it. Eventually he pocketed it and swiftly handed Joker her cone. Hurray. The man quickly began to close his cart and leave the area. He seemed pretty happy. Joker began to float off as she licked her cone. Yummy. This was good. She should get ice cream more often.

Where to now? She didn’t really have anything else to do. Joker glanced across the strip when something caught her eye. Wait a second... wasn’t that her friend? On that bench over there... Yeah, it sure was. What a small world. And so many crazy coincidences. First ice cream, and now her friend. Maybe it was fate. Or maybe the world just ran on silly coincidences. Regardless Joker floated gently over to Alice, slurping her ice cream cone as she did. She seemed to say something to herself, though it wasn’t anything Joker could hear.

“Hey... Larry right?” Joker exclaimed with all the excitement she could muster as she approached Alice. “I haven’t seen you in a while.” Joker almost smiled when Alice noticed her. She certainly hadn’t made any friends around her office, and ‘Larry’ here was the closest thing she had to a friend. She wasn’t quite sure whether they were actually friends. She wasn’t actually entirely sure what would signify friendship. Still, this was probably it. It was nice, she supposed. It wasn’t a lot of work just talking with someone. Joker hated work. And it was certainly a change of pace from sleeping.

Joker seemed much more awake today than during their last encounter. Not awake per se, but certainly more so than before. Her eyes still had gigantic bags underneath them and she came across as if she hasn’t sleep, well, ever. Which was strange considering Joker slept all the time. The girl offered her ice cream cone, already significantly eaten, to ‘Larry’.

“You said you liked ice cream right? Wait... or was it pickles you liked?”
---
(625)

[Deleted]

Alice almost didn’t respond to Joker. She was too caught up in her own thoughts and who the hell is Larry anyway? When she finally looked up the Falvadin was already shoving an ice cream cone in her face. She was a little shocked to see the nightmare despite the fact she had been waiting specifically for them. Alice had expected she would walk to the entertainment district and wait around for a couple hours. She would do this for a week and if the Falvadin didn’t show up, well… it had probably been a stupid plan to begin with. Ever since Alice arrived there she had really been embracing that last statement. This really was a stupid, not to mention dangerous, plan. It was also a great opportunity. There would never be a greater chance to gather intel straight from the source! Although it would have been nice to wait until the gang had matured a bit, Alice felt this was a time-critical operation. Given the fact Joker had apparently forgotten her name in so short a time; this was probably a good assessment.

“Ah. Good morning Joker! I was hoping to see you. My name is Lyra by the way. Isn’t Larry a boy’s name? I’m a girl.” She delivered the last sentence after a brief pause. She felt clarification might be needed. “And no thanks, I already ate.”

Alice could already feel the familiar headache returning. Joker annoyed her more than any other creature on the planet. Sure there were things she hated more that Joker, many things actually. Joker reigned Queen however on getting on Alice’s nerves. At least they seemed perky this morning. Well, perky for Joker, which meant they were running on only slightly a lower speed than the rest of the living.

“I actually had some questions I wanted to ask you, but I don’t think we should talk here.”

Alice cut straight to the chase. She didn’t really want to start another long and pointless conversation like last time. She looked around. Like before the traffic had split to allow the two of them as much space as possible on the busy street. It still wasn’t safe however. Who knew who was listening in? Alice stood up and approached the floating figure.

“I have tea back at my place and you can also ask me questions if you like.”

Not that Alice would tell the truth. Maybe this was a bad idea after all.

[Joker]

Joker smiled slightly, though still weakly. She always seemed lethargic. Maybe she wasn’t eating enough. Although she was eating an ice cream right now. Ice cream wasn’t really food though. Regardless, ‘Larry’ seemed happy to see her. She had gotten mad last time they spoken, although they seemed to have left each other on an alright note. So it seemed that by leaving the problem for a couple weeks that problem had ceased to exist. Not that Joker could remember what the problem had been in the first place. Or if there had even been one, really.

“Ah. Good morning Joker! I was hoping to see you. My name is Lyra by the way. Isn’t Larry a boy’s name? I’m a girl.”

Lyra. That was it. It made sense since her friend was probably right. Larry did sound more like the name for a man than a woman. Lyra made a lot more sense. Joker wondered why she figured her name was Larry, but not for very long. It wasn’t worth worrying about, especially since her friend seemed fine with it.

“And no thanks, I already ate.”

Joker shrugged and returned her ice cream to it’s proper place by her mouth. It sure was tasty. Too bad it was almost gone though. Unfortunately, as she reached her tongue out to take another lick what little ice cream was left fell out of the cone and onto the road. Joker looked down dejectedly at the lost snack for a moment, but quickly put it out of her mind. At least the cone itself was still there she thought as she bit into the tasty waffle-like material. Maybe she should have waffles for breakfast sometime.

“I actually had some questions I wanted to ask you, but I don’t think we should talk here.”

Questions? For Joker? Wait, hadn’t she asked a lot before too? She supposed questions were normal then. Maybe Joker should ask more things sometime. Not that she really had any. She couldn’t think of anything to ask. But maybe she would eventually. She’d try to remember to think of some questions. And also to remember them.

“I have tea back at my place and you can also ask me questions if you like.”

Oh, perfect. ‘Lyra’ was even offering to answer questions. They must really be friends. Assuming that is what friends did. Joker still wasn’t entirely clear on that fact. Maybe that should be her first question. “Alright. Let’s get some tea.” Joker said with a tiny, lazy smile as well as a small nod. What was tea, anyway? Wasn’t it a food? Wait, it was a drink right? There was another question she could ask. Joker floated behind Alice as she stood up, ready to be lead to this new destination.

“So friends ask lots of questions, right? What’s tea? Is it good?”
---
(500)

[Deleted]

“So friends ask lots of questions, right? What’s tea? Is it good?”

"Yes, friends always ask questions. That is how they get to know eachother better. For example, tea is my favorite drink."

Alice started walking even as the creature asked its inane question. She was a bit startled that the Falvadin called her its "friend". When did that happen? She wasn't sure how she felt about that. Sure it might be easier to syphon information from the nightmare if it believed such a lie, but Alice wasn't comfortable with the thought at all. Alice looked around her shiftly. She could see heads turn rapidly away and bodies hastily move to the sides. It was definitely a good idea to get out of here as fast as possible.

"Speaking of which, I heard you are some sort of 'Master of Space and Time'. What do you think that means?"

The title came verbatim from some sort of sort of gossip rag. It didn't say too much, just posted the pictures of the Falvadin council with cute little titles next to their heads. Normally Alice wouldn't put any credence on publications that regularly talked about alien abductions and celebrity lies, but it was such an odd title to give someone. Alice hadn't thought much about Joker's abilities. Why would she? The creature seemed too lazy to use them, but they would be nice to know about if this little experiment went South. Should she be afraid of the nightmare? There had to be a reason they were a part of the Falvadin right? They don't let just anyone join the inner council of the President. Maybe the creature is some sort of secret powerhouse. She looked at the floating ragdoll following behind and just couldn't bring herself to see it.

"You are a member of the Falvadin so you have to be pretty strong."

She might as well just ask. This wasn't such a dangerous question right? The Falvadin were constantly flaunting their power. They should be willing to talk about it. The more dangerous questions about the Government she would save until they reached the safe spot. Alice turned down a back alleyway taking them away from the crowded entertainment distract in the opposite direction of the Strand.

[Joker]

Joker followed as close behind Alice as she could manage through her laziness. She wasn’t very tight behind her, but she wasn’t getting lost. That was what mattered. Besides she was pretty busy right now. This cone was pretty tasty. It was just a shame it probably wouldn’t last very long. She’d definitely have to get another one later. Maybe they’d pass another ice cream vender on the way to ‘Lyra’s’ house. Wouldn’t that be nice.

"Yes, friends always ask questions. That is how they get to know each other better. For example, tea is my favorite drink."

So tea was a drink after all. Alright, it seemed her questions were working. Although Joker wasn’t entirely sure what the point was. I guess now that she knew what tea was she could try it. Maybe it was good. ‘Lyra’ did say it was her favorite drink, after all. It must be good right? Wait, but didn’t ‘Lyra’ say she didn’t like pickles? Joker liked pickles. Well, she guessed not everyone had to like the same things. Joker supposed she could at least try tea.

"Speaking of which, I heard you are some sort of 'Master of Space and Time'. What do you think that means?"

Joker looked up from her cone, although by now it was more like a waffle nub than a cone. She popped the last bit into her mouth. What did that mean? Maybe something to do with her powers? She didn’t use them much though. It was a lot of work. Well, she supposed it wasn’t a lot of work per se, but being in a situation where she had to use them is usually a difficult situation. And thinking about it further she did float around a lot. So she guessed she did use her powers a lot. But just one.

"You are a member of the Falvadin so you have to be pretty strong."

Was she? Joker didn’t feel very strong. But then again she didn’t have much of a baseline. Maybe she should show her new friend one? Then she could tell her if she was strong or not. ‘Lyra’ seemed to know a lot. “Maybe? I haven’t thought about it...” Joker mused in response to Alice’s questioning. “Is this strong?” she asked. Though her words were innocent as always the sudden implication that she was about to do ‘something’ was cause for concern.

Before Alice could turn to see just what Joker was up to a strange thing occurred. Though Joker moved at the same lazy speed as always she began to catch up to Alice. In fact, without speeding up at all she was now in front of Alice! However, though as far as Alice could tell nothing was different, something about... well... everything felt off. She felt sluggish. Like moving through butter or mud. It was such an unusual feeling. As if everything simply took longer to do, despite everything being exactly the same. It was an almost paradoxical situation. Everything took the same amount of time to occur, and yet it seemed to be moving in slow motion at the same time. How could such two opposite concepts be happening at once.

And yet the lazy and apathetic Joker was completely unaffected. She simply floated on at the same speed as always, yet still overtook her friend. What was causing it? It was impossible, right? But wait... Master of Time and Space, right? Why it was almost as if for everyone but Joker, time had simply... slowed down. But surely it couldn’t be that... right?

And then it was over. The strange feeling evaporated as suddenly as it began. Once again Alice’s pace kept her well in front of Joker’s lazy floating gait. What had just happened. That couldn’t have been Joker... could it?

“Was that strong?” Joker asked her friend once again.
---
(470)
[Slow - 3 Cooldown]

[Deleted]

“Was that strong?”

Alice stood still, trying to recover. She shouldn't have turned her back on the creature. It had actually attacked her! Well... not really. She wasn't hurt or anything, just surprised. So... that solves the mystery then. She thought about the Falvadin's question. It seemed like a very interesting Power, but was it strong? Only if you have a more offensive power to back it up she supposed. It was impressive anyway and it kind of scared Alice. That wasn't like any of the other powers she had see. It was like reality bending.

"Yes. I think it is fairly strong or at least useful. I can understand why the President might want to make use of you. Now, please don't use that on me again! It's kind of disturbing."

Alice began to move again, but at a much slower pace so she was only slightly ahead and to the side of the nightmare. She didn't want them to surprise her again. It took a while, especially at the reduced speed, but eventually the two had mad their way to the slums. The slums, unfortunately, were nearly as crowded as the entertainment district. The new decrees and actions of the falvadins had forced many dreams and humans alike into poverty.

"Could you... stop floating? You can walk right?"

Their passage was drawing a lot of attention and unlike the population of the entertainment district, there were many individuals here who didn't know enough not to stare. Alice briefly considered whether the floating thing was Joker's permanent mode of transportation. Were the legs just for show? She heard that your muscles can atrophy if you don't use them in a long time.

Alice stopped outside a familiar warehouse. For the fiftieth time today she wondered if this was a good idea. Despite the slums being known for its thieves and smugglers, there were very few hiding places left in recent years. There were too many people and not enough apartments to house them all. The homeless could be found in every nook and cranny of the place, including the sewers. This warehouse was the only private place left in the slums and only because Alice had done some crowd control.

It was also her home and secret base. it was wear the Ashoka Gang was supposed to be resurrected. She had thought very hard about this. It was unlikely Joker would tell anyone about this place. It just didn't seem in their nature. Even if they did what would they say? For all intents and purposes the Glorious Ashoka Gang Hideout was just a dirty old empty cellar. No one would come to investigate that.

Alice looked around to see if anyone was watching. the nightmare had drawn some attention, but the warehouse was tucked behind two apartment buildings, out of sight from the street. Alice pushed passed a large plank lying over the warehouse opening. She felt once again the strong sense that this was a very bad idea, but she rationalized it away as guilt. Without checking if the nightmare was following, she made her way to the dirt-covered trapdoor located in the floor and dropped into the underground tunnels.

[Joker]

"Yes. I think it is fairly strong or at least useful. I can understand why the President might want to make use of you. Now, please don't use that on me again! It's kind of disturbing."

It’s good to be strong, right? Joker supposed this was a good thing. Although ‘Lyra’ seemed somewhat upset about it. She wasn’t sure why. And she wasn’t sure why it was ‘kinda disturbing’ that was for sure. Whenever she did what she did it always felt pretty good to her. Well, she guessed she was unaffected by it. Perhaps just going slow felt weird. Joker found herself wondering what it was like to slow down like everything else, but found herself grasping at straws. She didn’t really have a point of reference. She’d never been part of the effect.

She found herself wondering if she could use the ability in reverse. Could Joker slow herself and leave everyone else normal? Not that she could see much of a practical reason for it, but it might be fun to try. She’d have to try it later. Come to think of it, she began wondering if she could use her other abilities in different ways. She supposed next time she was bored she may as well give it a shot.

Joker was so lost in thinking about, well, herself that she had failed to notice the gradual change in scenery. Wow, where were they now? It certainly was dirty and run down out here. She’d never been out this far from the Tower. Even before moving there she’d tended to stay in the cleaner areas of the city. It was pretty crowded out here too. Sure was a lot of people here too. A lot more seemed to stare at her than in the other parts of the city as well.

"Could you... stop floating? You can walk right?"

Hmm? Stop floating? She supposed she could, although she wasn’t sure why she’d want to. She hadn’t tried in... well... just about as long as she could remember. Ever so slowly Joker lowered her feet to the ground. May as well give it a shot. Might be fun. Gently she planted her feet onto the ground.

Almost instantly Joker was nearly wobbling over. She flailed her arms out to the side to keep herself from falling over. It was the largest display of energy she’d shown yet. This standing thing was hard. After a moment of wild flailing Joker finally firmly planted her feet on the ground. Alright. Standing. How tiring. Time for walking.

Joker lifted her foot and placed it in front of her. This wasn’t so hard after all. She repeated the task with her other foot. Then the other. And so on and so forth. This was easy! At least she thought it was. It wasn’t long before her feet stopped stepping and started shuffling. Walking was tiring. Floating was so much easier. Joker decided it was time to just go back to that as she fell forward and off her feet, the air catching her and returning her to her previous position in the air.

It was around there they reached a dirty old warehouse. Neat. Was this ‘Lyra’s’ home? For someone who dressed so nice she sure had an ugly house. And dirty too. Oh and it needed new windows. The ones she had looked pretty, well, smashed. Probably could use some paint too. And roofing. And siding. And-

Wait a second, where was ‘Lyra’? Oh, she’d gone inside already. Joker moved at a brisk pace (Brisk for her, at least) to catch up. Oooh, a secret door to the basement. How fancy. Maybe her underground house was nicer than... this place. Although it would probably be nice if you replaced... everything in it completely.

Joker glided down the trapdoor after her friend. Hopefully they’d get tea soon. She was getting somewhat hungry. Wait, tea was a drink. Hopefully there would be some snacks too. Better ask. Friends ask questions, right? “Do you have any crackers or pickles down here I could have? Wait you don’t like pickles...”
---
(710)
[Slow - Cooldown 2]

[Deleted]

Alice fumbled along in the dark trying to find her lamp. Finding the switch, the cellar was revealed for all its glory. Unrefurbished dirt floors with wiring sticking out in random places. Another of Alice's outfits was neatly folded on the only piece of furniture in the place, a wooden chair. Alice had gone out that morning for a few more "supplies". These supplies were a dirty blanket, a pillow, a large pitcher (now full of water), a small electric hot plate and a kettle. This is basically what she was calling home right now. The bag Isaac had left for her full of treats and tea was still leaning against the wooden chair. Alice squashed the feelings of guilt again.

“Do you have any crackers or pickles down here I could have? Wait you don’t like pickles...”

Alice rolled her eyes, but dug through the bag of treats. She pulled out the tea set and a couple teabags as well as two uneaten pastries. She passed one to Joker.

"It's a little hard, but it's all I have."

Alice poured some water from the pitcher next to her makeshift "bed" into the kettle and started warming the hotplate. She didn't really want to share the few commodities she had with the Falvadin, but she did promise and she didn't want to start an argument. Glancing at the nightmare she could tell that she was being looked down on. Maybe Alice was just being self-conscious, but she thought she could see some condescension in the creatures face.

"It's going to take a moment for the water to boil. Now I have a few more questions for you."

Alice decided not to waste any more time. It was getting late and she didn't know whether the Falvadin were expected to return to the Towers at night. Did they have a curfew? What happens if they spend the night away without telling anyone? She supposed she could ask Joker, but there was more important topics to discuss.

"I've heard a lot about a party that the Vice-President is throwing. Apparently all the Falvaden were invited. Did you get an inv-"

Crash!

What? A loud sound came from above them. It sounded a bit like splintering plywood. Alice instinctually called for her weapon, Ragnarok, and the ornate musket dutifully materialized in her hands. She had been keeping it hidden deep in the catacombs, but she had the feeling she needed it now. She hadn't thought about what Joker might think of this. She had other things on her mind. Without saying a word to the nightmare, Alice ascended the worn ladder to the main floor of the warehouse.

It was weirdly dim when she emerged from the trapdoor. How could it possibly be this dark? It wasn't even close to sundown when they went down to the cellar and it hadn't even been ten minutes since then. Alice took one step and stopped. It wasn't just dim. The darkness seemed to be emanating from a dark mass that used to be the doorway. Alice leveled the rifle toward the mass, shaking a little bit. Just then six yellow spots of light flared into existence.

Reacting before she could even think Alice shot into the air. The bullet that emerged from the rifle exploded into a protective dome around the small girl just as two of the yellow embers lunged forward. From the darkness emerged a great black beast. A large, wolfish creature whose shoulders sat level with Alice's and whose great head was almost the size of her torso. It threw itself at Alice's barrier, giant claws trying to gain traction on its ethereal shell.

Mute with terror, Alice fired continuously into the creature's skull, bullets exploding on impact. Despite the barrage drawing a bit of sludgey dark-red blood, the creature continued assaulting the barrier with claw and teeth. Just as Alice got ready to use a stronger tactic, she saw what remained of the darkness split itself into two slinking forms.

Alice panicked.

[Solace Cooldown: 2]
[Melancholy Cooldown: 1]

[Joker]

Joker eyed the dank room slowly. It sure was... underground. And unfurnished. And... was... was that a bug? Yeah, that was a worm sticking half out of the wall. How fancy. It was certainly different from her office. Is this how most people’s houses were like? Was Joker’s office just special? Or maybe it was the other way around. Maybe she should explore more people’s houses. Though she wasn’t quite sure how she’d go about doing that without getting in trouble. She didn’t think people usually liked it when they got their homes invaded.

"It's a little hard, but it's all I have."

Oh, good. Crackers. Or were they called biscuits? Pastries? Well, whatever they were they were being offered to Joker. Joy. She happily took one of the pastries and bit right into it. Wow, ‘Lyra’ wasn’t kidding when she said they were hard. Were they supposed to be this way? Well, it was still sweet. Could be worse. It could be bitter. Bitter was icky. No one liked bitter. Maybe some people did, actually, but Joker didn’t. She liked sweet. Salty was good too. Pickle juice was pretty salty and that was good. Oh, she hated spicy too. Bitter and spicy. Didn’t sit well in her guts. Or on her tongue, for that matter.

"It's going to take a moment for the water to boil. Now I have a few more questions for you."

Oh, so she wasn’t going to be drinking tea yet. That’s ok. She wasn’t too thirsty yet. Maybe she would be when it was done. Joker found herself wonder what flavor tea was. There were more than one kind of tea, right? Maybe not. But maybe so as well. She didn’t really know, come to think of it. Maybe she should ask later, it looked like ‘Lyra’ had something she wanted to ask. Joker figured she should let her go first. It was easier that way.

"I've heard a lot about a party that the Vice-President is throwing. Apparently all the Falvaden were invited. Did you get an inv-"

Woah, what was that noise. Something loud was happening upstairs. And ‘Lyra’ was already jumping and acting nuts over it. Oh neat, a gun just appeared in her hand. How wacky. Joker wondered how she managed that. She should ask about it later. But before Joker could even react Alice had run back down the path leading to the warehouse and was gone from her sight. Joker watched the hallway for quite a while, wondering if she was going to come back. The teapot had started boiling just as she left. Weren’t they going to have tea?

There sure were a lot of noises coming from upstairs. Maybe she should go check? Joker eyed the boiling teapot. Probably should turn this off first. Joker reached out her hand and flipped the off switch off the burner, watching the teapot slowly end it’s annoying whine as steam ceased escaping it’s spout. Was tea supposed to be so loud? For that matter, was the upstairs supposed to be so loud?

Joker finally decided to go looking for her friend. She began heading down the earthen tunnel leading back to the warehouse, listening to the noise coming from above. Was that growling? Was there a dog upstairs? Joker had never hung out with a dog before. She’d seen a couple but that was it. Slowly she poked her head over the lip of the trapdoor back to the warehouse and gazed out at the scene before her.

‘Lyra’ seemed pretty nervous and upset. And those certainly were some big dogs. Maybe they were wolves. Joker wasn’t sure. She hadn’t seen a wolf before. Were they supposed to be that big? They certainly were a lot bigger than the dogs she’d seen. Were these more guests? Maybe these were more of ‘Lyra’s’ friends.

“So are these dogs having tea with us too?” Joker asked, innocently. One of the wolves took it’s eyes off of Alice for a moment and stared at Joker. The great beast shook it’s head, almost as if saying something along the lines of ‘What an idiot...’. The creature didn’t keep it’s gaze on her for long though. It seemed to care a lot more about Alice at the moment.
---
(750)
[Slow - Cooldown 1]

[Deleted]

The first beast had almost completely clawed its way through Alice's shield. She was vaguely aware that Joker had emerged from the trapdoor, but she ignored them. As she felt the thin membrane of the structure give she quickly ran backwards. She wasn't quite fast enough and the creature swiped through the barrier, racking the girl's midsection. Gasping Alice fired into the air. This time a magnificent display erupted forth. About two dozen slightly translucent images of Ragnarok filled the large space. Alice fired into the air again and the illusions seemed to do the same.

Alice backed into a corner as the beasts became distracted by the scene. Unfortunately the attack wasn't meant to be used against more than one opponent and the two beasts that had been standing back until now seemed to brush the barrage away like they were just pebbles. At least the one who had cut through Alice's shield seem to be affected. It seemed like her earlier assault was finally getting to him.

In the brief reprieve Alice took one hand off her weapon and touch the wound on her stomach. Three red marks had slashed through the thin fabric of her dress and were dying it crimson rapidly. Alice fired a wild shot one-handed in Joker's general direction. It didn't come close to hitting the creature.

"Did you do this?! Did you call them here?!"

Alice glared angrily at the nightmare. This couldn't have been its plan all along right? Play dumb, draw Alice closer, allow her to lead it to the base, murder her and everyone inside it? She didn't think so, but... How could she have been so stupid!?

"Don't just stand there! Do something! Do what you did to me before! Do anything!"

Alice cried out at the nightmare. It looked like the beasts were done amusing themselves at the lightshow Alice put on and were slowing advancing towards her again. Alice had strategically backed herself in a corner in order to force the large beasts to approach one-on-one to the front, but that was a wasted effort. She couldn't defeat all three of them. There wasn't anything else she could do. She was going to die. Isaac was going to die. The entire gang was going die! There was nothing else she could do right? There was nothing...

...right?

[Solace Cooldown: 1 post]
[Recollection Cooldown: 3 posts]

[Joker]

‘Lyra’ seemed to have ignored her question about tea. How rude. It was rude right? Maybe it wasn’t. Although Joker supposed she could forgive her if it was, in fact, rude. She seemed pretty busy right now. It seemed those big dogs weren’t here for tea. They seemed pretty angry and ‘Lyra’ for some reason. Maybe they wanted that pastry she’d given to Joker. There was a still another one, maybe if she got it they’d go away. Although there were three of them. And they were pretty big. They probably wouldn’t want to split one pastry.

Did that wolf just hit ‘Lyra’? That wasn’t very nice. Ouch, it looked nasty too. Joker was pretty sure once you ate something it wasn’t supposed to come back out again, and definitely not that way. She wondered if there might be any band-aids in her friends house somewhere. They fix everything. Band-aids were pretty useful in lots of ways. One of the books in Joker’s office had a cover that was falling off. She’d put a band-aid on th loose part and it held it in pretty good. Thinking back though, she probably could have used regular tape. Band-aids were for people.

"Did you do this?! Did you call them here?!"

A bullet bounced itself off the metal warehouse wall behind Joker as she ‘Lyra’ yelled at her. Did her friend just shoot at her? That was definitely rude. But she was waving a gun around. That can’t be very safe. You could have an accidental discharge. She just had an accidental discharge. Her friend should be more careful. She was bleeding pretty bad though. Maybe her judgement was impaired. That would probably explain it. Blood loss makes you light headed, right?

"Don't just stand there! Do something! Do what you did to me before! Do anything!"

Was ‘Lyra’ asking Joker for help. Ugh, didn’t that mean she had to do something. These wolves had been content to ignore her up to now. Shouldn’t she do the same? Although her friend did look like she was in a bad spot. Those wolves clearly meant business. Maybe she should at least do something. A little something. Doing something was a lot of work. Joker hated work. But her friend was going to give her tea later. She could make an exception this once.

As the wolves closed in on Alice, her back the corner, one of the pack suddenly shot forward. The great beast leaped into the air directly towards Alice, jaws, bigger than the her entire head, open wide and heading directly at her face. The monster was clearly ready to give the death blow, chomping the girls head off in one massive bite. This was it.

But suddenly, a shout rang out. “STOP!” the voice of Joker exploded throughout the room, louder than anything she had ever been heard saying before. Off in the corner, near the trapdoor, Joker stood upright, her eyes unusually awake compared to her usual drooping gate. Her foot stamped down on the air, looking so hard and fast that it seemed to shake the rickety old building despite not actually connecting with anything. Her face was twisted in an exaggerated pout. Truthfully, she looked like a child having a tantrum.

The wolf lunging for Alice stopped in it’s tracks, despite being in midair. Almost as if responding to Joker’s command. As the creature had somehow halted mid-jump it fell harshly to the floor, slamming it’s muzzle on the solid concrete surface of the warehouse. The beast whimpered slightly and jumped back suddenly to it’s pack-mates. All three of them looked incredibly confused, though whether it was directed at what had just occurred or the fact Joker had actually done something couldn’t be determined. Regardless, the pack seemed somewhat wary of approaching Alice after that. Or Joker, for that matter.

Joker slouched back down into her normal lazy, floating posture. She instantly looked completely exhausted as she always did. It didn’t seem like she had been drained by what she had done in anyway, it just seemed as if the moment of energy she had gathered had suddenly left her. Her eyes grew noticeably heavy even to observers. So tiring. Joker hated work.

Flipping on to her side in midair and curling into the fetal position like one going to sleep Joker replied to ‘Lyra’s’ previous request for assistance. “Alright... I did something... So tired...”
---
(765)
[Stop - Cooldown 1]

[Deleted]

There was nothing else she could do right? Alice ran through half a dozen different courses of action in her head involving strafing the beasts, running back down into the cellar, jumping out a window… she was having trouble focusing. She numbly hoped it was just adrenaline making her feel so light-headed. She briefly removed one of her hands from the rifle tracking the movements of the slowly advancing beasts. They seemed like they were toying with her. She lightly touched the wound on her abdomen. It didn’t look good at all. Unfortunately the beast in front took that opportunity to lunge. She reacted quickly, grabbing the trigger, but she was too slow. The beast leaped into the air. Alice thought she might have screamed, but her own voice was drowned out by another sound.

“STOP!”

At that command everything was still. For the briefest of moments the beast seemed to actually defy physics, its body frozen in position mid-lunge. It was only for the whisper of a moment however and the beast fell hard to the ground. Alice choked on her own breath. It took her a few moments to figure out what exactly had happened. She turned her head towards Joker. Had they actually helped? Alice had known her pleas for help were just cries of desperation. She didn’t expect for a moment the creature to do anything. First of all, it was lazy and stupid and it hadn’t done anything of substance since Alice first met it. It was also a nightmare. Why would a nightmare help a human fight other nightmares? Thirdly, it was Falvadin, the enemy! Frankly the most likely scenario was that it had sent the beasts itself and this was all a trap. Was it… was she really going to help?

“Alright... I did something... So tired...”

Bastard! Yeah, it wasn’t the most charitable thought after admitting to herself that she hadn’t expected the Falvadin to help at all, but it had got her hopes up so high! She looked back towards the beasts. At least Joker’s stunt had bought her some time. The beasts seemed wary to approach. Alice didn’t blame them. The floating Falvadin’s powers were amazing! Why the hell was this sloth the one to be blessed with them! If Alice could do even half of what that slovenly nightmare could do, this altercation would have been over before it had even started! If Alice could… if she could…

“Hey, Joker!” Alice called out to the dozing nightmare attempting to rouse it from the stupor it seemed to have fallen into. “Do you want to make a contract with me?”

Contract? What does that even mean? Alice brushed away her embarrassment. She had seen a way out of this mess she had created. Dreams had the natural ability to share their powers with chosen humans. Everyone knew that. Nightmares could too. Her father had done it with a nightmare and, although she was just a child at the time, Alice herself had done it with Lotus. No… that was different. What Lotus and she had was different. It was a bond, a pact made in love… something that wasn’t possible for a nightmare. This was just a- a contract. It was survival!

“If- if you let me borrow you powers for while, I will never ask anything else from you ever again!”

Alice held out her right hand. Is this what she was supposed to do? Is this even how pacts contracts worked? It didn’t matter right? She had just made it up on the spot anyway. These sorts of things came naturally to nightmares right? Joker should know what to do. Her hand shook a little as Alice tried to suppress a million different emotions. It was easier than it should have been. She was having trouble focusing. She was just overwhelmed right? One of the beasts began to cautiously creep towards the two, uncertain of what was going on.

“P-Please!”

[Recollection Cooldown: 2 posts]

[Joker]

‘Lyra’ could handle the rest, right? That stunt she pulled had made Joker so tired. All she wanted to do right now was nap. Even with all the growling and yelling and gunfire attempting to keep her awake she found herself ready to doze right off into deep slumber. This certainly was a full day, after all. She’d walked. She’d had some ice cream. She’d almost had tea. She had gone pretty far from home (And actually meant to, this time). Oh and she’d yelled at a wolf. Yeah, what an eventful day. Time for a nap.

“Hey, Joker! Do you want to make a contract with me?”

What was that. Joker’s ear’s perked up. A contract? Like a pact? One of Joker’s eyes lazily opened, only to find ‘Lyra’ had moved next to the sleeping nightmare. What was a pact again? Joker had the strangest sense that she knew what it was, yet she couldn’t exactly place it. And she definitely couldn’t remember ever hearing about such a thing before. Well, she was pretty sure she signed her name on a contract when she joined Falvadin, but that was a different kind of pact. At least she felt like it was.

How did Joker know about such a thing? She still wasn’t entirely sure what she was thinking of, but she definitely knew that she knew about it. She just had to remember. Maybe it was like her name. Joker couldn’t remember ever being given it. She just knew it. Maybe this was kinda like that. Did everyone have things they just knew? Or was Joker special?

“If- if you let me borrow you powers for while, I will never ask anything else from you ever again!”

Oh. OH. Suddenly Joker knew exactly what ‘Lyra’ was talking about. Though she still didn’t know how. It was almost like the knowledge was just part of her. Something that she never had to learn because she always knew. How does that work? It was pretty strange, when you think about it. How do you just... know something? Well, thinking about it, birds didn’t have to be taught to fly, did they? Maybe some do, but Joker was pretty sure they just knew how to do it. Maybe it was like that? Although Joker was pretty sure she wasn’t a bird. If she was a pretty unusual one. Although she did float around. That wasn’t quite the same as flying though.

But was it work? Well, not really. At least Joker didn’t think it was. If what she knew about these pacts were right than it should be too hard to do. And it would definitely be a lot easier than helping herself. If ‘Lyra’ could do the work for her than that would be pretty great, wouldn’t it? She could go back to her nap. Joker liked napping. Still, she could just nap right now. Then she wouldn’t have to do anything. Her friend would probably be alright, wouldn’t she. Joker could hear the wolves growling in the background. Well, maybe she wouldn’t be ok, but still, doing things is hard. Maybe she should just go back to sleep and hope all this blows over without-

“P-Please!”

Hrm. ‘Lyra’ did sound pretty desperate. And Joker did want her tea later. If she got eaten by wolves she probably wouldn’t be able to have tea. Although Joker would be able to have ‘Lyra’s’ pastry. It was an alright pastry. But she’d tried the pastry. She’d never had tea before. Well, Joker figured she could help her out a bit. But only for tea.

Joker flipped herself upright suddenly. Once again Joker seemed more awake than her usual apathetic self, ready to act for once and not sleep. Strangely and suddenly, before Alice had time to react, Joker had gripped her new friend in a tight, almost suffocating embrace. However the tightness of her surprise hug loosened rapidly as she quickly transferred from hug to simply draping herself over Alice’s shoulder. It seemed her energy had just given out. Joker rested her head on her friend’s shoulder, a small bit of sleep drool leaking from the corner of her mouth followed by a dull snore. It seemed Joker had fallen asleep in the middle of... whatever she was doing.

But just as Alice was about too shake her off Joker’s grip tightened once more. She had her second wind, it seemed. Her face showed a deep concentration as Joker focused on... something. No words escaped from her lips. No movement beyond this death grip of an embrace occurred, but both parties knew something was happening. Something... mystical. Alice could feel... something entering into her mind and from there permeating her body. Not physically, of course, but rather a feeling. Not a bad feeling, either. A warmth began to flow throughout Alice, invigorating every aspect of her, removing her strain, and when reaching her stomach, even closing her wound. The deep bleeding gash began to knit itself rapidly as this new power entered into Alice. Was this the power of a pact?

Joker, however, had the strangest feeling. It was just about the reverse of Alice’s. She began to feel cold, and weak. It was as if the warmth of her body was being sucked out, starting at her toes and moving upwards throughout her being. It made her tired. It made her feel weak. But at the same time, in some strange way, it felt... ok. Despite the sudden unusual strain, strain she’d never really experienced in her easy living life, it was alright. Or at least, this feeling was alright. The strain itself annoyed her. Something about giving her warmth to her friend just felt good. Though she didn’t know why.

And then it was over. Joker released her death grip just as suddenly as she’d made it. However despite the loss of contact, the respective feelings and changes caused in both parties remained. However while Alice’s new found warmth did not fade in the slightest, Joker could already feel her own returning to her, although rather slowly. The cold feeling made her tired. Even more tired than before. Maybe this had been a bad idea. It was a lot more work than she’d figured. Still, she felt something. A small influx of... well... energy. Deep, deep inside her. It felt pretty nice. Joker briefly wondered what it was before slowly drifting away from Alice and falling back into a sleeping position. She was far, far too tired to think about it right now.

She also briefly found herself wondering how her new friend Alice felt. If Joker had a good feeling inside, maybe her friend did too. Although she suspected it wasn’t the same good feeling that she had. Joker doubted each side of a pact had the same feeling afterwards. And something told Joker that this small bright spot of energy flowing into her was something unique to her. Once again she caught herself thinking about it before ceasing to care once more.

Wait a second. Alice... not ‘Lyra’? Just as Joker drifted back off to sleep she realized there was something else new. It was almost as if Joker knew things about her friend she never had before. Like some... mental connection. What was that about? Could they talk through this? Like without words? Could they feel what the other was feeling? Could they read each other’s thoughts? Joker found herself probing this new connection slightly, though whether because it was new, she was tired, or maybe because it wasn’t that powerful of a connection to begin with she found herself grasping at straws as far as learning new things though. Something about a gang. And apparently her friend’s name was actually Alice. Joker might have been more curious if she wasn’t well over half asleep by this point.

Joker closed her eyes and rested her head on the air. Yeah, it was time for sleep. No more thinking. No more doing anything. Far too tired. Joker mumbled something to her friend as she finally drifted off into wherever it is nightmares and dreams go when they sleep.

“Have fun... Alice...” Joker mumbled lightly before falling into a deep slumber, a small snore escaping her lips.
---
(1420)
[CONTRACT MADE - ALICE CERES]

[Deleted]

Alice stood frozen for a moment. Her body and mind had been overtaken with so many sensations and thoughts they temporarily drowned out everything including the imminent danger. Her body felt strange. She felt warm all over, like she suddenly developed a fever. Her limbs were a bit shaky, but the deep ache in her muscles, the strain of her own beating heart, even the searing pain from the wounds on her stomach had completely disappeared. She felt energized and the light-headedness had completely gone to be replaced with something else. She knew things. Things that weren't there before. Things she had never even thought of. There was something else there too. Something at the very back of her mind. Something alien. She didn't know what to think. She felt conflicted and strange. Like her brain had been transferred to a new, stronger, but unfamiliar body that just-so-happened to already have a brain in it. She knew all of Joker's... well, her powers and it just served to make the experience even more alien and frightening. It wasn't at all like the abilities Ragnarok had. Ragnarok was just a tool. These powers were her... they were a part of her... a part of her soul.

A low growl interrupted Alice's disturbing thoughts. She turned toward the beast. It was the same one that had continuously attacked her since she emerged from the cellar. She found herself musing about whether the beast was the pact leader or something. It was odd. She didn't feel frightened anymore. She felt a weird combination of apathy and bemusement at the situation. Was that also caused by the contract? The beast lunged. Alice raised her rifle. Quicker than she knew she should have been capable of, she fired six times into the creature's skull. Alice jumped back as the creature hit the ground, dead. The accumulation of attacks finally bringing the beast down.

Unlike the beast, Alice did not land back on the ground, but hovered just a few inches in the air. She hadn't meant for that to happen it just did, like the act of walking itself. She had never realized how much pressure gravity exerted on her body until this moment. She was weightless, free. She actually found herself smiling, in the middle of the battlefield, with two angry wolves bearing down on her. The beasts were definitely not pleased with the death of their leader. They attacked at once. This wasn't playing around anymore. Their prey had come upon abilities they shouldn't have and they needed to be destroyed quickly. The two circled their prey to attack from different sides. Just as Alice saw the beasts about to close in on her however, her vision went dark. It was only for a moment, maybe a little longer than a blink of the eye, but when her vision returned she was standing in the same spot, but the beasts were several feet away. The creatures seemed confused. One moment their prey was in front of them, the next they had disappeared.

Alice wouldn't give them time to recover and try again. She drew up that ability Joker had used on her what seemed like centuries ago, though it must have only been an hour. She now knew what it was by name. Slow. The beasts began to move in slow-motion. It looked almost funny. Alice knew she didn't have much time. Her gun flashed once and a bullet emerged from the barrel, twisting in the air, tracking down the nearest nightmare's presence like they had tracked down her's. It hit one of the two in the side, exploding and leaving a deep crater.

The slow spell had worn off in that time and the last wolf had quickly made its way to Alice's back. It wouldn't have a chance though.

"Stop, please." The beast skid to a halt. It had no choice. Alice shot into the air. This time the spectral armament of illusionary Ragnaroks only had one target. One kill. The beast tried to run, but it was assaulted on all sides. He was the last.

Alice dropped to the ground from her hanging position in the air and shuffled her way towards the sleeping Joker. Despite feeling like she could have battled mountains a moment ago, she now felt like her life had been completely drained. It was just too much for her frail body. She needed to recuperate. She needed time to think. It at least wasn't the aching feeling she had felt before the... contract. She could still feel that odd warming sensation cycling through her blood, easing her muscles. She didn't feel overtaxed. She just felt really, really tired.

"Joker! Joker are you awake? You... you really should leave now."

[Melancholy Cooldown: 1]
[Blink Cooldown: 2]
[Slow Cooldown: 3]
[Vengeance Cooldown: 3]
[Stop Cooldown: 2]
[Recollection Cooldown: 3]