Chapter Text
"Come on, Alice, keep up!"
"I'm trying!" Alice yelled back, laughing as she chased Victor through the maze of knotted and gnarled blue trees. "As I have stated many times before in races like these, you have an unfair advantage!"
"It's not my fault that I ended up with such long legs!" Victor said, shooting a grin at her over his shoulder. "You can't blame me for what my lineage gave me!"
"I can and I shall!" Alice lunged forward in a swish of dozens of fluttering blue wings, attempting desperately to close the gap. "Especially when you insist on using them to stack the deck in your favor like this!"
"To be fair, Alice, we're in my world," Victor pointed out, jumping over a root before looking back at her again as he ran out into the open. "So everything's kind of in my faVOR!"
With no warning, the earth dropped out beneath him. "Ah! Oh for–" He flapped his arms in a panic for a second, then got his wits about him again and leapt mid-air, spinning to conjure a breeze to hold him aloft. "Okay, maybe not everything," he corrected himself as his fall became a feather-soft float. "But most things."
"Victor!" Alice peered over the edge of the gap. "Bloody hell, are you all right?"
"Fine – I caught myself just in time," he assured her, looking up through the swirl of electric-yellow and blood-red leaves surrounding him. He spun again to refresh his float, then looked down. Bright blue water slithered below him along the bottom of the ravine, twisting around rocks and carving away the dirt on either side. "I didn't realize we were this close to the river!"
"Perhaps because you couldn't hear the waterfall," Alice said, looking upstream. She shrugged and hopped over the edge, skirts flaring out as she caught herself on a cushion of jewel-toned feathers. "So long as we're here, I have no objections to a quick wade if you don't."
"Honestly, it sounds lovely," Victor admitted, spinning one last time to keep his descent smooth. "Especially since it's still so bloody cold in – uh-oh."
"What?"
Victor pointed at the tip of a wooden fin, just barely visible at the surface of the water. "I think we've got company."
"Oh, damn." Alice grumbled, twirling again. "And if I know my Snarks – which I would hope I do after so much time fighting them – they never come in groups of less than three." She shook her head at Victor. "Seems like playtime is over for us for a bit."
"Afraid so." Victor let himself drop the last foot to the ground, pulling out his Grim Scythe as he did. The blade gleamed in the sunlight, looking almost hungry. "I really wish I could just clear them out for good."
"Snarks are tricky things," Alice said, landing beside him with Vorpal Blade already in hand. "They always pop up when you don't want them to. You're just lucky you don't have Boojums as well."
"I don't know about that," Victor replied, frowning. "I mean, I'm definitely not going to say that Boojums aren't awful, but – sometimes I think I'd rather have skull-faced ghosts with a scream that can knock me over from a mile away over Puppet-Hand Spiders."
Alice pulled a face. "You know what, I shan't fault you there. I think most people would take anything over those creepy-crawlies."
"I'm not surprised. Let's hope that there aren't any around here, ready to play." Victor stretched out the Scythe, prodding the river's surface with the tip of its blade. "Here, fishy fishy fishy. . . ."
BLAAARGH!
A spray of guts erupted from the water, forcing him to leap back lest he be covered in intestines and goo. The Cannery Snark itself followed shortly thereafter, racing forward in a dangerous wobble on its two skinny legs. Behind it, two – no, three gaping wooden mouths poked above the surface, before following their compatriot to shore. "All right, two for each of us – get off!" Alice yelled as the first scrambled around her, attempting to nip at her heels.
The fish croaked and backed up, swaying back and forth in an attempt to find a better angle at which to bite. Victor moved in before it could, lopping off its head with the Scythe in one clean cut. The other Snarks hopped and skipped away, wroaking at each other as they spread out to flank the pair. "Yes, that's what you get for bothering us," Alice informed them, pulling out her Pepper Grinder to work on them at range. "Just like in the cannery you technically advertise."
One Snark expressed its opinion on that by horking up another load of guts. Victor and Alice butterflied away from the spray, sharing a disgusted look as they reformed. "Have I mentioned lately how sorry I am that I came up with a creature that does that to attack?" Victor asked as he pulled out the Quill Bow.
"No, but every time I see one, I feel it's implied." Alice set her Grinder on the vomiter, spinning the crank with impressive speed. The peppercorns slammed into its wooden flesh, knocking it over and leaving it twitching under the onslaught. "Though, disgusting as it is, I'll take a load of guts over a face full of poison. Or worse, a fireball."
"Fair enough – I would too," Victor admitted, turning his attention on the third Snark. One twang later, it dropped with a quill in its eye. His lip curled as he looked back at the ropy pile of innards. "Just – guh. The smell."
"I'm well aware," Alice said, waving her hand in front of her nose as she dismissed the Grinder. "Okay, that's three down. . .now where did the fourth–"
Wark!
Victor yelped as a tiny but surprisingly powerful foot nailed him from the side, sending him stumbling into the river. The Snark promptly lunged at Alice, who dropped to the ground (fortunately, to the left of the guts) and rolled out of the way. The Snark pursued her, croaking in a way that sounded annoyingly like a laugh. "Alice!" Victor cried, getting his balance with one hand as the other pulled out his Vorpal Fork –
"Get off her!"
And was promptly knocked over by another figure darting past him, tackling the startled Snark to the earth. "What the–"
"Victor?" Alice rolled over one more time and propped herself up on her elbow, looking between her mysterious savior, stabbing the unfortunate fish into fillet flakes, and Victor, sitting in the river. "Curious. . .how'd he get a hold of your Vorpal Fork?"
"He didn't," Victor said, holding up the weapon still in his hand. "I guess he has his own." He stood up, brushing at his pants for some reason even he wasn't sure of. "I – I think it's dead," he added in the direction of the figure.
"Might as well be sure, right?" the man growled back. He stabbed the Snark one last time, then stood up before kicking it for good measure. "Rotten bloody fish. . .you're all right?" he added, turning toward Alice.
"Fine." Alice looked him up and down. "Better than you, I'd wager."
The man snorted. "I always look like this," he commented, examining a bloody hand. His gaze shifted toward Victor. "Or, at least, I always look like this now. Finally got sick of shoving me down into the back of your damned head, huh?"
"Sort of – more I forgot how to for a while, thanks to a certain doctor." Victor eyed his gore-covered counterpart with a frown. "All right, I understand the suit – I've seen what I look like in Hysteria. But – devil horns and a tail on top of that?"
The other Victor shrugged. "Your bloody brain. You tell me."
"I suspect you're layering on what you think you might look like if you got hit with one of my Rage Boxes," Alice told him, regarding the horns with interest. "Which, fair, I go pretty demonic too when one gets me. . .no prizes for guessing what you represent," she added to the other Victor. "What do we call you exactly? Anger? Rage? Fury?"
"Considering how long I spent cooped up, I'd go with 'Fury,'" the other Victor replied, scowling. He turned and gave the fish another kick. "Wanted to let loose like that for a long time."
"I've no doubt." Alice raised her head to the bright blue sky above, lit by a warm and friendly sun. "Bit odd to find you here, though. I would have thought you more suited to the – old version of this place."
Fury smiled. It wasn't a very nice one. "Oh, I was there too. In spirit, mostly, but – you saw me once. When that bitch who dares call herself my mother tried to burn you alive."
"Right, yes, I remember that," Alice said with a wince. "That was. . .something. But I suppose I should thank you for the assist."
"I should thank you as well," Victor agreed, rubbing his arm. "I was on the verge of collapse when I heard her scream. If it hadn't been for that sudden surge of anger. . ."
"As if I was going to let anyone take the best thing that ever happened to me away from me," Fury snarled, jaw tight.
"Ah – sentiment appreciated, but you are aware that, if I'd died, we'd probably would have just both woken up?" Alice pointed out.
"Yes, and that would have left the rest of us stuck with the bitch, that damned Conglomeration, and Thirteen!" Fury shot back. "I wasn't about waste another night running from them!"
"Do you think Alice would have let me stay up the rest of the night?" Victor asked, eyes narrowed. "And I wanted to get everything sorted too, after all we'd already been through! But then again, I shouldn't be surprised you're not one for patience, should I? Or for controlling yourself – you're the reason I attacked Jack Splatter in the middle of a crowded street, aren't you?"
"You heard what he called us!" Fury roared, eyes glowing hot-coal-red. "Not to mention that bastard kept trying to kill us! And drag Alice into his filthy line of work!" He turned a steaming glare on Alice, fists clenched. "Why did you stop me?! I should haves finished him off right then and there!"
"And then been subject to whatever passes for justice in Whitechapel," Alice reminded him. "I might have let you kill him and be done with it if he'd cornered us and started spewing his bile in an empty alley, but as it stands? If I hadn't gotten you to back off and let Victor have control again, you would have sent him straight to the hangman's noose." She raised a suspicious eyebrow. "Did you want that to happen?"
Fury jerked back, his scowl slipping. "I – no! I don't – I get a little ticked off with him sometimes, sure, but. . .I'm not. . . ." He glanced behind him, at the crumbling body of the Snark. "You want self-loathing? Look at what's actually trying to kill him."
"I'm still spawning enemies to fight because I feel like I deserve it?" Victor rolled a shoulder, sighing. "That – makes a depressing amount of sense."
"It does," Alice agreed, biting her lip. "That sort of guilt is hard to shake. Sorry," she added to Fury. "Just – after some of the troubles we encountered back in that rainy hell, I had to be sure you weren't another enemy we'd have to tangle with."
"Fair enough – but I don't want him dead," Fury confirmed, rocking on his heels. "Just – back then, it was harder to control myself." He raised his hand, flexing fingers dripping with blood. "Mostly because I barely had a self. A body of my own is – new."
"I'm not surprised," Victor said, looking around at the steep rising slopes of the ravine, and the river still gushing away. "Me having an Otherland at all is new."
"You said before that you were shoved into the back of his skull previously, though," Alice reminded him, tapping her foot. "You must have had some sense of self, then."
"It might be retroactive. . .but I remember being tamped down every time Mother said something embarrassing about me, or Father dashed another dream, or Gordon amused himself for a day by chasing me up another tree. . . ." Fury squeezed closed a fist, growling. "I just – I don't know how to describe it, other than feeling nothing but raw, boiling need to – to get back at them."
"I always thought of it like a storm in my head," Victor said, casting his mind back to his younger years. "A sparking, roiling thundercloud I had to keep contained, before it destroyed everything around me." He winced. "Or, worse, got me in trouble with Mother. The few times you did slip your leash back then, it didn't end well, remember?"
Fury made a face. "I do. Just makes me angrier, though."
"Oh yes, I'm sure Nell Van Dort knew exactly how to handle her son being angry at her," Alice said, scowling. "Could you sit down afterwards?"
"Usually – Mother preferred to let me go hungry in my room. Which I suppose is better than being spanked, but it didn't feel like it at the time." Victor looked Fury up and down. "So – I assume you ended up like this shortly after I cured Desire?"
"Yes – accidentally scared him nearly out of his skin when I appeared downstairs," Fury admitted, an awkward blush touching his dead-white cheeks. "I was confused too, trust me."
"So am I – why would you be in Desire's house?" Alice asked, raising an eyebrow.
Now it was Victor's turn to go pink. "I assume it has something to do with me getting angry every time Bumby's memory has ruined some, ah – alone moments?"
"Ooooh – yes, that would make sense, wouldn't it?"
"Wish I could have killed him," Fury hissed, clenching his fists. "That punch felt so good, but it just wasn't enough. . . ."
"If you'd had any sense of self at the time, I would have let you," Alice promised him. "I never wanted to actually commit murder myself, but I'll never feel guilty about what I did there."
"Nor should you," Victor said with feeling, his own ire spiking. "The things that man did to children. . .that would have been one time I would have happily let your storm rage."
"Mmm. . .though it must be nice to be more than just a force of nature these days," Alice added to Fury, clearly trying to turn the conversation. "Especially one that never got to exert much force on nature."
"It is good to have the ability to actually think," Fury agreed, cracking his knuckles as his tail swayed side to side behind him. "And to be able to act on the anger. Though – I don't think I'm as furious at the world as I was before." He stretched. "I think most of it before was actually just from being cooped up."
"If it makes you feel any better – I didn't like having to bite my tongue and be the 'good son' any more than you did," Victor told him. "But I wasn't sure how to let you out without getting in trouble. And after – after him. . .boiling over like I was, screaming at people and trying to strangle pimps in the street wasn't the best way to go about things either." He paused, then added in a quieter voice, "But I can't say I regret finally getting Jack Splatter off my back. Or – or when we put a drawing quill through a certain intruder's eye either. You might have saved my and Alice's lives that night, depending on how far Amos and Pete were willing to go."
"You're welcome," Fury replied, shooting a darkly protective look Alice's way. "No one's touching her ever again. Not on my watch. I don't care who they are or what they say. You're mine, and I'm going to look out for you."
"'I'll be judge, I'll be jury,' said cunning old Fury – 'I'll try the whole cause, and condemn you to death,'" Alice said, apparently recalling a mouse and his long sad tail. "I appreciate the sentiment – and trust me, it runs both ways." She reached out and patted his arm. "Just try not to get Victor into any major trouble. I love him, but I'd prefer to avoid bailing him out of jail if I can avoid it."
"I'll behave," Fury said, before nodding at Victor. "Though it's mostly up to him, you know."
"I'll do my best to keep us both under control," Victor promised him. "As it is, how about I apologize for a good nineteen years of repression by taking you hunting with us? I'm sure these Snarks weren't the only enemy my head had ready to throw at me."
"There's a nest of Puppet-Hand Spiders in a cave up that way," Fury said, a cruel grin lighting his face as he brandished his version of the Vorpal Fork (dripping blood and trailing a length of bandage, Victor noted). "I love slaughtering those things best."
"So do we, trust me," Alice told him, summoning her own Vorpal Blade back. "I'm only too happy to clear out a few more of the bastards." She smirked at Fury. "Why, perhaps I'll even let them get a few shots in. So I can enter Hysteria Mode." She trailed her fingers up over his shoulder. "Just for you."
Fury's face went nearly as red as his horns. "I – ah – um – s-sure. Great. Good."
"First Desire, now him?" Victor asked, a little pink himself. "You know how strange it is for me to watch you flirt with – me?"
"Oh, yes, I do." Alice went over to him, standing on tiptoe to plant a quick kiss on his lips. "But I don't give tuppence. Think of it as me proving that I love you." She shot a fond smile at Fury, who ducked his head. "All of you."
Well, what else could he say to that, except – "I love you too. All of you." Victor got out his Vorpal Fork. "Spiders?"
Alice grinned, twirling the Blade on the tip of her finger. "Let's go."