A/N: YAY another chapter done. Things are getting heated in this fic and as a thanks to the support there is a very detailed smut chapter coming as well. Also I'm currently working on a new Cover art and some concept artwork of Shelly, Alice's new appearance and some other Characters.
As the morning sun arose so did its victor as Alice awoke in her bunker room in one of their newest outposts. She lay sprawled out on the make shift bed, it was just a single mattress, no blankets or pillows, and it was in a small little shack. Outside the sounds of her men could be heard, most of them complaining about the heat that started to pick up, but it was the faint sobbing sound in the exact same room as Alice that made her open her eyes and glance over towards the prisoner.
There in the corner sat a woman with long black hair pulled back into a ponytail, she wore these thick looking glasses and had skin as white as Alice's. This woman was going to do great things; it would just take some time to convince her as Alice recalled torturing her yesterday. Alice had used water as a form of torture, it was known as Waterboarding and it worked well seeing as how weak minded this woman was compared to yesterday when she was kicking and fighting about. Heck the prisoner wasn't even chained up, for Alice showed compassion after the torture, it would cause a drift in this one's mind.
"Crying doesn't solve anything" Softly Alice said as she twisted her body and sat up on the mattress.
The prisoner stopped sobbing and looked up over at Alice with a look of confusion, you could see she had not slept during the night, the Pirates had indeed threatened to rape her but Alice made sure that didn't happen. For if this prisoner was to work for them she needed her to feel safe to a point but mental warfare can do a lot of things to you, often without you knowing it. Rubbing her eyes Alice stretched her arms up and yawned hearing her spine crack up her back before she rested her eyes upon the woman.
"I just want to go home" Whimpered the prisoner, tears evident in her eyes again.
Alice let out a sigh and rolled her eyes, they had this conversation over and over again and now Alice understood how Vaas must have felt, the insanity, the craze of doing something over again and again was getting to Alice as she looked up at the ceiling. The tin roof needed replacing but it made for a good night's sleep as Alice then stood up and approached the prisoner. This woman curled up into a ball with her back pressed to the wall in the corner and stiffened up, her eyes slowly rose up to look at Alice who squatted in front of her.
"Let go of all those things, Rook is your home now and you need to understand that!" Alice said in a dark tone pointing her finger at the girl.
From outside gunfire could be heard as Alice stood upright and looked out towards the doorway. Her men were screaming and yelling about something as Alice screwed up her face up and bared her teeth making sure to upholster the m1911 pistol before grabbing the prisoner by the bicep and yanking her upright.
"I'll show you your new home" Alice bitterly said pushing open the door.
As the alarm rang off Alice noted the set of two vehicles lined up, they both had guns mounted and two Rakyats where open firing on them, another three on foot where running around as Alice pushed the prisoner to the ground letting her go before Alice took cover behind a large cement block nearby cursing to herself. Of course the prisoner got on her feet and started to run towards the nearest Rakyat warrior screaming for help. However the prisoner backed up fast when the Rakyat grabbed her by the wrist pulling her towards them with this twisted look on his face.
With a smirk Alice aimed and shot the warrior in the head, the prisoner quickly fell to her knees and covered her head to avoid the cross fire. Of course Alice knew what the Rakyat where like, they would have taken the prisoner and forced her into marriage or raped her at least. Whereas Alice showed control over her men and even though they wanted to rape the prisoner they never did, just made mindless threats.
One of the cars exploded as Alice watched one of her men open fire with an RPG, this sent a shock wave through the air, the prisoner in open fire collapsed to the ground, her body was shacking as Alice scoffed and looked over her shoulder to her men, they knew what to do as Alice got to her feet and darted out grabbing the weak minded woman and forcing her into cover. Another boom and Alice could see the flames burst into the air from the other car. The last remaining warriors had started to retreat but Alice looked to her men.
"Get them! Bring them in alive!" She yelled screwing up her face.
Meanwhile by her side the prisoner sat huddling, sobbing, her body shacking her hair now a complete mess with lose strands sprouting out everywhere from her former ponytail. There was a red mark on her wrist as Alice noticed and got to her feet and extending a hand down to the woman who only looked up at her with confusion.
"Now do you see" Alice said softly in a much more caring tone.
Something in the prisoners eyes glimmered as she raised her shaking hand and took Alice's as Alice hoisted her up to her feet. Now eye to eye level the two women looked at each other, the prisoner overly stunned perhaps by the sudden compassion as Alice smiled at her, if this had of been Vaas he would have beaten her, forced her to kill innocents and broke all her hopes and dreams. Yet Alice was showing her the darker side of this island, that Alice was the better of the evils and it was evident as the woman before her gave a nod gulping down whatever fear she had.
"Who were they?" The woman said in a shaky voice.
This only brought a smile to Alice lips as she gestured for the woman to follow her back inside the shack, the screams and yells in the distance told Alice her men had everything under control, hey had a patrol that was on their way to the area as well so any other Rakyat forces would be dealt with.
"They are the Rakyat warriors; Savages stripping this land of its potential." Alice firmly said.
This woman that now stood by her side with a new found look was blinking mindlessly, she was confused and Alice didn't blame her. When they had captured this outpost this woman was found tending to an injured villager, a Rakyat sympathiser. According to her passport the Pirates said she was a tourist of some sort and seems the Rakyat had been taking advantage of her medical training. Though she was nothing like Alec, Alice knew they needed someone with medical training again, someone to help Alice when the time was right.
"Aren't they villagers? I…I…" Conflicted by her emotions the woman looked to her feet defeated.
It was at this very point Alice turned on her heel and put a hand to the woman's shoulder reassuring her that she was going to be ok. Of Course if some man with facial tattoos grabs you by the wrist during a fire fight and pulls you along about to use you for god knows what, then yeah you too would be conflicted with who they are and what you're doing as Alice let out a sigh.
"I was like you once…I use to help them, the villagers, and the tribe. I even met with their leader, Citra, once. Then I started to notice things changing, they had no respect for people that came to their island, they would kill them, rape them, beat them and use them for ritual sacrifices. Many women are forced into marriages or forced to have their children, used as Sex slaves. When I met Vaas he showed me that there is a better side to Rook Island. Though the Pirates are an odd bunch, ruthless murderers and junkies, they are by far better men then those Natives." Alice says with a sense of pride.
As her words soaked into the fragile mind of the woman before her Alice took a step back and grabbed a nearby laptop, it was the local one set in the outpost, every outpost at least had one, the local radio was seated next to it going off with static chatter from both Islands. During this time Alice could hear the woman behind her shuffle forward, she wasn't sobbing, heck she didn't even try to attack Alice probably because she was far too weak but Alice was using a similar tactic that Pagan did.
"I'm sorry…I didn't know that…Please…" The woman's voice was soft, almost trembling.
Turning around Alice looked her dead in the eye as she leaned up against the desk eyeing the woman up and down. On Rook you never trust anyone and that is often the first mistake people make when they come here, they always learn. Smiling Alice gave a nod forgiving this minor mistake, but this was the least of the woman's problems as Alice extended her hand.
"Alice Montenegro: Leader of the Pirates on the Northern Island." Alice says in a friendly voice.
Taking her hand this woman opposite from her shook her hand and you could see her thin lips form a smile, a weak one but it was there and that was all Alice needed. With the way things were going for her now, things where starting to look up and everything was going to plan.
" Shelly Brookmen." Was all the woman could say.
This was the start of a new friendship or so Shelly would think as the two firmly held each other's hand before letting go. Despite the torture it seemed this Shelly was coming along well but Alice couldn't trust her, not just yet, she needed her to be kept close, not allowed out too far from the local outposts and that's when Alice had an idea.
"Tell you what I have a friend named Abel, I'll have him come here, he can be your body guard so to speak. Show you around the place and heck we might even be able to set up your own shack, maybe even a medical facility?" Alice said in a soft hearted voice with a warm welcome smile.
Why Abel though? Well Alice had seen over the past few days how Abel worked, she knew he was dedicated to Vaas and now he showed he was dedicated to her, maybe having someone of the other sex around him would help, someone that's not just Alice. There was an agreement made as the two women come to terms, they talked and slowly Alice could see Shelly dropping her guard. So Naïve of her but that's what Alice wanted. By the time it was mid-day Alice introduced Shelly to Abel, it was clear they stood awkwardly, Abel was a menacing build of a man and Shelly was frail looking, but Alice left, she had other business to attend to.
Further down the road and into the depths of the Jungle Alice went on foot, she didn't want Abel to follow her, and she couldn't even let any of the others know where she was going because where she was headed was secluded. The darkness of the jungle surrounded Alice as she moved aside the foliage and made her way through until she could see two figures up a head. One had their back to Alice, slender, hips nice and wide and hair braided back, the other was kneeling on the ground with their head looking down to the ground. A flutter filled Alice as she moved forward, her ears twitched at the slightest sound knowing that she was doing the worst thing ever, but she was going to do it.
There stood Citra, she was overlooking the large open space just a few meters out a head, in her hands was a piece of rope and kneeling on the ground was Vaas, he was weak and defeated, dehydrated and neglected, every inch of his body looked beaten as Alice stepped into view clearing her voice unable to look at Vaas. All of this felt like a fairy tale as Citra turned to look at her, that look on her face made her features perky and lustrous to men but to Alice she saw a woman with features forced to be still, forced to hold her head up so she gazes down at Alice.
"You came…" Citra said softly walking in a circle around Vaas.
The former crazed pirate lord didn't say or do anything; his breathing looked shallow as Alice past a glance over him. She knew Vaas was alive, the fact Citra always was inside her temple, the strange feeling Alice always had, things started to match up for her as Alice eyed Citra up and down folding her hands behind her back. If one was to look on they would see two women standing off, fighting for one man's heart and that was exactly how it was, two Goddesses about to face off.
"You asked nicely enough…Now get to the point." Alice said in a bitter tone.
"Did I say you could speak?!" Citra hissed out rolling her tongue with each word she spoke.
This only made Alice screw her face up as she took a step forward, she noticed Citra tense and step in between Alice and Vaas like as if Citra had to block him off from Alice's view. Now in such a position Alice only smiled and nodded her head, but Citra wasn't that clever, not really when you observe her methods, her ways are foolish and what she can't control through sex she can't control at all and Alice was a big threat. Fear was evident in Citra's eyes despite how she forced herself to look by tucking in her tummy, puff out her breasts, and holding her head up towards the sky so she had to look down upon others. Typical but pathetic as Alice only smirked and cocked her head.
"I once trusted you, I believed in you and now look at you…Look what you have done!" Citra said standing aside to point down at Vaas.
Was she trying to say that this is what Alice had done, that she had made Vaas a total mindless mess? No something wasn't right as Alice looked over at Vaas, his eye lids where heavy, the way he sat motionless with his head lowered was just defeated, he was drugged. This would make things difficult for Alice as she bared her teeth and started to circle Citra. How foolish did Citra think Alice was? She had taken out outposts by herself, she had been the one to win Vaas' heart, she had been the one to do everything and what did Citra do? Nothing…SHE WAS NOTHING!
Rage was brewing inside Alice as she glared down Citra and past another glance over Vaas. With each step Alice could see Citra sway in her movements making sure to face Alice with every step, never letting Alice get a chance at her blind spots, perhaps a smart move but even so it was foolish as Alice dug her hands into her pockets and stood still. Little did Citra know that in Alice's pocket was a GPS tracker and at the press of a button Alice had just silently called in her men. Technology was Citra's biggest weakness and Alice already knew Citra had her men hiding in the trees waiting for Citra to give the order. They were too focused on Alice; they would never see her men coming and by the time they do…it was two birds with one stone as Alice turned her smirk to a stoic look in seconds.
"You took everything from me, my unborn child to Vaas to my whole entire life!" Alice said extending her arms out almost sympathetically.
Citra quivered her lip baring the slightest bit of teeth, her green hazel eyes vibrant in the jungle forest but nothing more than a weak appearance to try and intimidate Alice. Citra had gained back all she wanted, everything she needed; from some Dagger to Jason Brody to getting the Island back to even taking Vaas as hers. Everything Alice had Citra had taken and it was time the reaper collects as Alice stood still now. It was all a matter of time for the Pirates to arrive, Alice would need to get between Citra and Vaas as fast as possible because Alice wasn't risking losing him again. This whole ploy was to get Vaas back and also kill Citra.
"You are the Ink Monster under the lotus pond…You are the very thing that has tainted our lands." Citra is rambling on; she is pacing back and forth spitting her words as her grip tightens on the rope in her hand.
Little did Citra know of what was lurking in the darkness. Maybe Alice was the demon under the lotus pond or maybe that was Citra, either way things were about to unfold a terrible fate.