Nona was curled up in the corner, practically fetal. Her arms were wrapped around her knees, which were tucked up under her chin. She was sobbing – not crying, not whimpering, but full-on snotty-nose gross-ass sobbing. It was all she could do. Ren and Jonas at least seemed to have the courage to go and... and look. And Alex was kneeling there by her side, holding her hand like an absolute darling. She spoke to her in a soft voice, but it was clear she was trying not to completely lose it herself. "Hey, come on, Nona. I... I know that was scary. I'm worried about her too. But... these ghosts, they mess with time to get in our heads. The only way we're going to survive is if you can be strong."

Somehow in the midst of her sobbing, Nona actually managed to get out a choked laugh. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly the strongest person around. Hell, I'm pretty sure... I think even Ren has me beat. I don't know if I can watch Clarissa-" She cut herself off with another sob. No doubt it was as heartbreaking for Alex as it was embarrassing for her. "I don't think I can see that and. I don't think I can keep moving after."

Jonas knocked at the jamb where the door used to be, coughing softly to get their attention. "I think things have gotten more complicated. She's not down there."

"What do you mean she's gone?" Nona hadn't meant for that to come out so harsh. It wasn't like she was the only one freaking out. But she was fully aware that everyone else had a much lower opinion of Clarissa than she did. And somewhere inside she had a serious fear that Clarissa's prickly nature would eventually make everyone want to ditch her in favor of hightailing it away from Death Island. "You don't... you can't go leaping three stories like that and then just walk it off! So explain to me what you mean by 'she's not down there' right now!"

The hand holding hers began to squeeze, almost as if to comfort her. Alex was... pretty good at that. "It's good news though, right? It's great news! Because you're right, if she fell, she wouldn't have been able to disappear. Which means she didn't actually fall. They really are screwing with us. Clarissa's still out there, and we're gonna find her and get out of here. I promise~"

Nona had kinda managed to get over her full-on panic, giving another laugh and wiping at her eyes with her sleeve. "Christ, you really don't give up, do you? Okay, fine. Fine." Her limbs still felt like jelly, but she pushed herself to stand up, resisting the urge to lean against Alex for support.

Surprisingly, Ren actually had a decent idea. It was a rather complicated plan involving his sister's old job and a boat that Margaret Adler apparently owned. It sounded solid enough, and everyone seemed to be in agreement about what had to happen next. Ren and Jonas agreed to keep up the search for Clarissa while she and Alex went to get this key-thing. It was sweet, and perhaps something of an olive branch from Ren, to go look for her totally-not-crush since he didn't have much of a chance.

"So... It's my birthday in three days..." Nona had no clue why that was her starter, but she had said it and now she had to keep talking. "And it just has me remembering a year ago." She told Alex the whole story about their friend's car crash and the hospital and the cake and the movies. "So I guess... I guess that's why. That's why all I can think about is finding her. Because even if she is a bitch... Well, she's my bitch. Jesus, that came out completely wrong."

Alex laughed softly, but she got the impression she wasn't exactly laughing at her. "That's so sweet, I never would have suspected. Well, no, that's not true. I guess when she was-" Alex suddenly shut herself up. Nona could assume why.

"No. That's alright. She dated Michael. That was a real thing. That happened. And it's stupid to pretend like it didn't."

There was a slight sigh from the other girl. "She seemed genuinely excited to have like... an unofficial sister. And she's turned her frustrations outward. I get that, even if I don't like it." There was a pause in the conversation as Alex finally decided to broach the unspoken. "So then what are you two? Is she your-"

"Clarissa!" Nona felt a double-dose of relief to see her best friend, and also to be free of that line of questioning. She was less excited to see her on top of a lamp post looking very... possessed. From there, it was all more games and spooky shit. Alex tried to free Clarissa with that radio, but it did precisely jack and shit.

Then there was this entire spooky bonfire in the parking lot thing where she accused Alex of being the reason Mike was dead. As hard as everyone tried to stop this moment from spiraling, it ended right where it began, with Nona and Alex standing outside the office. No one was happy and everything was garbage and it was getting more difficult to maintain hope. What was the point of finding this boat if Clarissa wasn't with them?

A little breaking and entering was all it took to get inside, finding Maggie Adler's leftover stuff. Go figure it would be a freaking radio. But they had it, so... that was something, yeah? Without any certainty about her friend's fate, this stupid boat was pretty much the only thing Nona could cling to for optimism. It also sounded like there was more to be discovered around the island, and to her surprise, Alex actually got rather bouncy and excited at the prospect of a 'scavenger hunt'. In spite of everything, Nona giggled a little at her, at how adorable she was.

On the trip back to Maggie Adler's house, Alex went on quite the trip. This was not particularly encouraging for Nona either, since up until now Alex was the one person capable of resisting possession or whatever. But according to her, she went back in time, which was mega-weirder. Nona was all the more eager to get to the house, which she was sure would be some kind of safe zone. Hell, it even had a boat after all! It was a good turn, for once.

But better than the boat, better than all the cool stuff around the house, Clarissa was there! Even if Alex looked nervous as hell, that didn't matter to Nona anymore, she was just glad to have her best friend back. She joined her sitting on the pier and taking a well-deserved moment to breathe, soothed by the sound of water and distant gulls. It was an insane relief to go over old memories and just... chat again.

Nona could swear she heard the others say something about a boat key. But just as suddenly a wave of static took them all inside the house. She could see poor Ren knocked out, and could hear Alex trying to wake Jonas as well. Then that hollow version of Clarissa's voice called out to Alex. It was the spookiest thing in the world. She hated hearing her sound like that. The voice of the girl she...

The girl she loved. She loved Clarissa, that could no longer go without saying. Letting it go without saying felt like part of the reason they were in the mess they were.

"A game? Another game? I'm sick of games!" Alex sounded distressed, tired, probably from hiding how exhausted she really was. And Nona knew. It was time to do something.

Striding into the living room, Not-Clarissa was shocked to see her. That gave her a certain sense of confidence, that she had somehow managed to avoid yet another brain bomb. She strolled right up to her, looking her in the eye and feeling... something.

"This isn't you! I mean... Well, obviously this isn't you! You've been taken over, and the Clarissa I know would never stand for that!"

Those glowing eyes narrowed and looked back and forth between her and Alex. "You should not be here. You were our puppet once. No strings on me. You can be a puppet again. All. Toys. This one has anger. Strength. We offered her an outlet. Direction. She is not our puppet. She is. Envoy. Vessel."

Nona could feel herself filling with rage, which was new. Nona didn't rage, she wasn't the raging type. She took another step forward until they were almost nose to nose. "No. She's Clarissa. She is angry, and strong, and smart, and... and beautiful, and she's my best friend. And if she can't get rid of you on her own, then I'm going to help her. I owe her that much."

And the next thing Nona knew, her hands were at Clarissa's cheeks, their lips pressed together, kissing furiously.