Deathwish, Part 12: Breakdown

Part 1: Cinderfell
Part 2: Deal With a Vorpal
Part 3: Calmsquare Cantina
Part 4: The Wailing Chamber
Part 5: Grector Smash
Part 6: Rebmauk
Part 7: Chantim
Part 8: Homesick
Part 9: Traitorous Humans
Part 10: Journalistic Integrity
Part 11: Crime and Punishment

Persephone walked the rest of the way with Alicia to her home, startled by how easily Dapper could hide in Alicia’s bag. “So, this whole time… you had a Vorpal in your bag?!”

Alicia smiled smugly. “Only since I came back recently… I went to the Inverse to find Dapper. And, though it was a lot more dangerous than I thought it would be, I succeeded in bringing him back with me.”

“But… that’s impossible! Vorpals are mindless… well, I guess not mindless. But they are still mass murderers!”

“And yet here we are.”

Persephone just couldn’t comprehend what she was hearing, so Dapper chimed in. “Well, to be completely fair… I probably would have folded Alicia when I ran into her if she hadn’t of been wearing a pacifist scarf. And I would have folded you too, Persephone, if Alicia hadn’t of stopped me. I wouldn’t want you two to get the wrong idea…”

Alicia’s blood ran cold suddenly as both her and Persephone stopped in their tracks. “Wait… really, Dapper?”

“Yeah. I mean, probably. I can’t predict how I would act under different circumstances, I’m just telling you what informed my decisions at the time as best as I can remember it. It was quite a while ago at this point…”

Persephone backed away. “Alicia… I need to go. But if you want my advice, get rid of that… thing. He’s… it’s dangerous.”

As her one time bully ran away, Alicia scowled. “Can you believe her? Even after you saved our lives.”

“Perhaps… she has a point.”

Alicia began walking again. “Don’t be ridiculous, Dapper. You would never hurt me, and we both know your memory isn’t the most trustworthy thing.”

“I think you are the one selectively remembering things, Alicia…”

“No, I’m not!”

“Alicia… I’ve been thinking about this. I am always up for fun and adventure, but you seem to think we can be friends for a long time. Vorpals and humans can’t be friends. We are natural enemies; I don’t attack you because I don’t see you as a threat, and you don’t attack me for some nebulous sentimental reasons I don’t even fully understand.”

Alicia felt like she was going to cry. “Dapper, PLEASE! You can’t make me believe you didn’t save me for a reason!”

“...what reason would that be?”

“BECAUSE WE ARE FRIENDS!!!”

Dapper was silent for several moments. “Alicia…”

Alicia rubbed her eyes. “Just shut up, Dapper! SHUT UP! We ARE friends!”

Dapper didn’t respond as Alicia entered her empty home, tossed her bag roughly against the wall, and immediately ran to her room to be alone. She shoved her face into her pillow, and let out a frustrated yell.

Dapper came in, ignoring her obvious hints. “Alicia? Alicia, are you listening?”

Alicia’s muffled voice emanated from her pillow. “SHUT UP!!! You’ve told me this all before!”

“Wait, really? When?”

Alicia looked up from the pillow, tears streaming. “At the gate, before they killed you! You told me humans can’t be friends with Vorpals!”

Dapper nodded. “Yeah, that sounds about right.”

“But WHY?! You remembered me! That proves you wrong!”

“Did I remember you? I think I just guessed your name.”

“NO! You guessed a couple times, but then you said it! Alicia! You remembered!”

Dapper scratched his chin. “Hmm… well, even if I did remember, I didn’t remember much else. Is that really all it takes to be friends with someone? A name?”

Alicia was growing increasingly despondent. “But… why? Why can’t Vorpals remember humans?”

“I don’t really know.”

“...well then, what DO you know?”

Dapper thought long and hard before answering. “Well… I know this state of matters upsets you, though the reason why eludes me. I also know you are far more intelligent than I am, with your many years of high learning. So, I think it reasonable to surmise you will eventually find a solution to your problem.”

“I’M not the one with the problem! You are the one who can’t remember any humans you meet!”

“I’ve made peace with that. You haven’t. So it’s your problem. But if there is anyway I can help you with it… just ask. I’m sorry, I can’t give you any more assistance than that.”

Alicia cried herself to sleep as she ignored any further questions or comments from Dapper.

***

Alicia woke up the next day, starving as she hadn’t eaten anything for dinner the night before. She stumbled to the kitchen, wondering why it felt so quiet. She froze when she reached the dining room.

Both her mother and father were held up by their necks against the wall, choking as Dapper extended two more arms from his back into sharp points, aimed directly at his victim’s foreheads. Faze was also muzzled with another extended arm, trying desperately to shake it off as he bit and clawed at a largely complacent Dapper.

Alicia ran in front of him, terrified. His expression was contorted with horrific malice, smiling as he prepared to murder her parents. “DAPPER! STOP!”

Dapper snapped out of a daze. He looked around, confused, then looked down at Alicia. His skin looked more gray rather than sickly yellow, and Alicia noticed he had also developed some white splotches. “Oh… Alicia? When did… Oh.”

Dapper let Alicia’s parents go, where they scrambled along the floor as they gasped for air. They stood backs to the wall, staring wild eyed at Dapper. Dapper scratched his head as he briefly took off his top hat, looking embarrassed. “I’m… not sure what came over me. Not even too sure how I got here... Alicia, I don’t suppose you could fill in the blanks?”

Alicia, not knowing what to do, grabbed Dapper by the hand and ran out of the house. “Dapper, quick! Make yourself look human!”

She looked back to see Dapper had successfully done as asked, though something was still off. His entire outfit remained the same, but his green eyes were now actually existing at the very least. He was a bit shorter so he wouldn’t be as outlandishly tall, but the problem was his walk. Alicia knew he could walk normally, but for some reason he took unnecessarily long steps and dragged his other foot behind him.

Alicia led him through the town towards the Gateway, drawing some stares from passersby at the odd behavior and outfit. “...Dapper! Please, try to act normal! There is something wrong with you, I think-”

Dapper’s arm fell off as he responded. “What? Something is wrong?”

A woman screamed as Alicia broke into a run, pulling Dapper as he practically flailed around behind her. “I think you have been out of the Inverse too long! Just like what happens to humans when they are in the Inverse too long!”

Dapper spoke with very little energy, as if he was on the verge of falling asleep. He left a leg behind as it simply fell off and began dissolving. “...Really? How does that make any sense?”

“It makes perfect sense! Now, we just need-”

Alicia froze when she saw the Gateway, guards yelling at her to run as they now clearly saw a Vorpal behind her. She realized suddenly she did not have a key. “Dapper… we need a key. Just… don’t kill them!”

Dapper, looking less humanoid by the second, sprung into action as each of his missing limbs was replaced by multiple knew ones, turning him into a monstrous convulsing mass of limbs. Even his voice now sounded more menacing and less human. “NO PROMISES.”

Neither guard died, but after Dapper was done with them they clearly would be spending the next several days in intensive care. But after Alicia rummaged through their pockets, she acquired what she was after. A key.

Alicia opened the Gateway, and Dapper followed as she ran back into the Inverse.

As the door slammed shut behind them, Alicia breathed heavily. Her head was spinning, while Dapper appeared to already almost be back to his old self. “Woo, boy… that was exciting. But what now?”

Alicia’s head felt like it was about to explode, but the pressure suddenly vanished, as she stood shaking in a cold sweat. “I… probably shouldn’t stay here long. I think I’m still not fully recovered. I’ll walk with you to the end of the bridge.”

As Dapper started walking, he continued to question Alicia as if nothing was wrong. “And that then? Will you be heading back?”

Alicia was torn. “I don’t think I have a choice…”

“Bah. We always have a choice, don’t we?”

Alicia saw something at the end of the bridge, squinting as she tried to make out what it was. “It’s not always that… simple… wait. Dapper! Run! There are-”

Multiple metal spikes embedded themselves in Dapper, as he choked on blood. He staggered back for a moment, then fell off the side of the bridge and into the blackness below. Alicia turned and tried to run back to the Gateway, but she knew couldn’t run fast enough to escape. A man grabbed her, putting a sack over her head so she couldn’t see. She was too afraid to even struggle, given she was on a bridge over an endless void, and escaping her captor could very well mean a plummet to a different doom.

The Enlightened had her now.

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