achates | Day 3 Log | "i put myself back together"

Who: Alice
What: Someone new arrives in town.
When: Day 3
Where: The Church, eventually other locales
Warnings: N/A, prompts as toplevels within, the text on the log is just to set the scene

[It happens when Alice is perusing one of the religious tomes scattered around the church. The skeletons, the graveyard, and the sanctuary the building provides all still bother her—nothing about the church makes sense, even within the broader mystery of Beelzeburg. Whatever this place's equivalent of the Bible was seemed like the best place to start.

All of it is schlock and nonsense, of course. Grand, sweeping stories. Angels and faith. Alice hates it. But she can't help but think that Ace would love this kind of thing. He'd always adored studying old Earth cultures-

("Claire de Lune" echoes throughout the church, plain for everyone inside to hear.)

And then Alice r e m e m b e r s. She staggers to her feet, clutching her head. "Alice!" "Alice..." "Alice." "Alice???" "I'm so sorry for Alice-" "Aliiiccceeee..." "C'mon, Alice!" "Alice! "Alice!" "Alice!"

"Ace."

Tears flow freely down Alice's face. How could she have forgotten Ace, of all people? How was he not here at all? How horrible of a sister was she, to abandon him like this? Alice's gem tumbles from her pocket, landing on the floor with a thud that turns into a thunderous crack as the geode that encrusted half of it falls apart, revealing a polished orange jewel that forms a yin-yang pattern with Alice's own rough blue diamond.]

I... missed you... [She smiles, then topples over, unconscious.] Dumbass...

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[Ace is pretty sure he'd remember if he knew someone like Kate, but then again, he just woke up in a ratty bed in a decrepit house with no memory of how he got here, so anything's possible.]

Sorry, I have no clue who you are. [A sheepish laugh. Wait, maybe... Wires cross, and long-established protocols kick in before Ace can bring his train of thought to a conclusion.] You might be mistaking me for someone else. I'm Ace! Me and my sister, Alice, are identical twins, so-

[He stops, then looks down at what exactly he's wearing. Or what Alice was wearing before he came to, he supposes. There goes any plausible deniability they might have had.] ...I guess our usual cover story isn't going to work here, huh? It's nice that Alice has developed her own sense of style, though; I thought she'd end up clinging to our old hoodie forever.

Edited 2024-10-24 01:39 (UTC)

That orange sweater? It's...

[ She saw it torn up and bloody that first night. ]

--not important. You're... not Alice?

[ He said the twin thing was a "cover story." So the truth must be something more complicated than that. ]

I guess you could say we're a two-for-one deal? [He holds up two fingers as demonstration.] We're different people, but we share the same brain and body.

We really are like siblings, in a way... it's just easier to act like we're real twins when people don't know us that well. [Which is most of the time, if not all of the time.]

Although... this is a first. [He rubs the back of his head, consternation plain on his face.] I don't think Alice has ever been alone without me before... at least her... memories... are coming back to me...

[Wait. Wait. Oh no. Ace's eyes widen and he scrambles out of bed, preemptively bowing in apology to Kate.]

I'm so, so sorry if Alice has made any trouble for you! She's a handful and can be really mean, but she doesn't mean it, okay, well, she does, but I swear she's not that bad once you get to know her! Normally I'm around to rein her in, but if... oh no, how long has she been on her own...

[ There's more smoke as she processes that. How can that be? There's confusion, but a little relief, too. Alice's memories aren't gone. Alice isn't gone. Understanding can come later, but that's what's most important.

And then he starts bowing at her, and the smoke is snuffed out as it's Kate's turn to get flustered. ]

Huh!? N, no, she hasn't been any trouble at all! Just the opposite, really... She's helped me a lot. I think she's very kind, really.

[ It feels a little embarrassing to say this about Alice, to her face, not quite knowing if she's hearing it or not. Would she be annoyed at being praised for her kindness? Possibly... ]

Kind...? [That description of Alice shocks Ace into stillness. For a moment. Then he laughs (which might seem a little uncanny coming from Alice's face), sounding good-natured and almost... Relieved?

Ace wipes a few happy tears from his eyes before he regains his composure.] I'm so glad she's finally made some friends. Alice always goes on and on about how she doesn't need any, and it's not like we had much opportunity to settle down and get to know people, so she never got the chance anyways.

Caring about people other than me will do her some good, I think.

[ It really is uncanny... ]

Really?

So... the two of you were always traveling?

[ When she thinks about it, she really doesn't know much about Alice's life... even less than she thought, it turns out, with how much of a surprise Ace was just now. ]

Ever since Alice came into my life, at least.

[There's a distant look in Ace's eyes as he fights through the haze obscuring so much of his memories.]

After Mom... passed... everyone else went nuts. Dad included. I had to get out of there, but... I couldn't handle the stress of being of having to survive on my own, especially with Silvia trying to persuade me to come back.

For some reason, I can't remember when Alice showed up to protect me from her... less friendly attempts to bring me back into the fold? [That's probably why Alice is around, at least.] But it's been the two of us for years. I'm kind of a wimp, so Alice had to be really tough to make up for how weak I am.

[ It was Alice who came into Ace's life? Could that mean... --well, perhaps it's too soon to come to any conclusions. ]

I see. I think I understand how you feel. I have a strong-willed friend who did much the same for me...

[ Kate isn't sure that she'd call herself a "wimp"... but she is weak and often hesitates. Having someone to stand strong by her side meant the world to her... as it surely does to Ace, too. ]

... Who is Silvia?

...one of my other sisters.

[An old ache creeps into Ace's eyes. The pain is still fresh, after all these years(?). He'd back away from it, deflect, laugh it off, lie as easily as breathing like he usually does... but he hasn't had a sympathetic ear for his family troubles in, well, ever. Alice thought of them as unstable creeps at best and active threats at the very worst, so in her opinion, all of Ace's whinging about his old home was a waste of time.]

She was always proactive, even before the accident, but she went off the deep end with almost everyone else afterwards, and.

Um.

There's no nice way to say this, but she became a terrorist???

Th... that sounds intense.

[ Kate's not sure what to say. There's a pause. ]

And she wanted you to join her?

...almost everyone else did, so... I really considered it. I didn't want to hurt anyone, but I missed my family, you know? Those days at the lake, catching bugs and camping out... I wanted them back.

[Ace makes himself laugh to distract from the very real ache deep inside.]

I know, I'm a dummy. I'm really lucky that Alice doesn't feel a single thing for Silvia or the rest, huh? If she hadn't convinced me to keep running, then I... probably would've ended up doing things I'd regret.

Alice also protected me when Silvia started asking... less nicely. I'd be dead without her, I think.

I... I see. I don't think there's anything foolish about that. I think I know how you feel, actually...

[ If Kate had been contacted by Anthony before meeting the other children of the House... what path would she have taken? Perhaps it would have been a path she would come to regret. ]

... It's good that Alice was there for you, I think.

Like I said: I wouldn't be here without her.

[All the memories that Alice gained in her scant few days in Beelzeburg are... difficult to sort through when Ace hasn't lived them himself, but he focuses through the white noise to find the ones that include Kate. His smile widens.]

It says a lot that she might admit to caring about you, you know.

I-- ... oh.

[ She's caught off guard by that, and while she can't express it with her face... there is a sort of warm feeling that comes with that. ]

... I'm glad. I wish there was more I could do to help her, though...

[ Seeing as Alice has looked out for Kate on multiple occasions in just a few days. ]

...so do I, Kate.

[There's a glint of guilt in Ace's eyes as he whispers that.]

I hope she learns to not shoulder everything herself someday soon.

Day 3 Log | "i put myself back together"

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