Summary: Alyssa avoids getting sent to Chopper's domain when fighting him; now she must deal with the consequences of being truly trapped. Alyssa/Chopper CT3
Author's Note: YO why are there no Alyssa/Chopper fics in 20 years? I have been waiting and waiting for 12 years. My brain oozed out an entire plot yesterday night, so now I'm gonna write it.
Also, a note: I found it kind of weird that Burroughs found it necessary to kill Alyssa exactly as she turned 15, and not just trying to gain her trust a bit more quickly. So, this work might not follow explicit canon, in that here, an entity must kill a girl turning 14 to 15 at midnight. After midnight, her heart is no longer valid for the Ritual of Engagement. Otherwise, in the story, he literally could've just continued biding his time to kill her while she lived life as a 15 year old, so long as it was before she turned 16.
.o
She'd been attacking with arrows as she'd done with the past two subordinates. She'd mentally given this Subordinate the name "Chopper" based on those creepy axes he wielded. Chopper didn't seem to put up much of a fight; she had expected him to at least throw an axe. He was bound by multiple magical tethers, giving her the opportunity to fire a killing shot at him.
She took aim.
"This is the last one!" Her fingers loosened, allowing the arrow to slip free and find its target.
To her surprise and horror, the glowing tethers snapped away from his body, disappearing. He'd shrugged them off as though they were nothing!
He grinned eerily, brandishing one of his axes at her. "You are going to suffer the same fate as all the rest!"
Alyssa felt before she saw her body beginning to sink into a dark void that had been spawned at her feet. Instinctually, she hurled her body towards the staircase, hand getting a solid grip to haul her up and onto them.
What the hell was that?!
This Subordinate was able to not only break free of her bindings (was he ever truly binded or was he just toying with her?), but he could also manipulate the environment around her. She stared back briefly at the dark pit that seemed to reflect no light, before doing the one thing she thought was best until she could come up with a better solution—run.
She fled up the stairs as fast as her legs could carry her, slamming open the door she had come through initially. She had half-expected it to lead to a void of nothing as well, but to her surprise, it led back into her home, specifically the guest wing that she had entered before. She tried the door to her own room. It was locked! An axe flying through the air nearly clipped her nose before it seated itself in the walls of the wing. She yelped anyways, turning to the source to see that Chopper had effectively stood between her passages of escape and her. She was out of holy water. He was too close to the door of the lobby, and his body blocked off any chance of the corridor down to Nancy's room.
Her eyes jumped around the room for another alternative. She spotted the fireplace, still unlit. Yes! That was a holy place. She reasoned that if these Subordinates were harmed by her holy water, perhaps they might not be able to access it. It was a long shot, but she crossed the distance with a few long steps and hurled herself onto her knees in front of the fire place. She heard that hair-raising cackle. Not bothering to look at her surroundings, she clenched her teeth and stared back at the hole. Two leather legs appeared before it. She held her breath as they slowly bent. She held in a scream as Chopper's face appeared, grinning.
"Bad move," he said with a singsongy voice. She closed her eyes, cringing away from her fate as he wielded an axe back before throwing it at her. When she didn't immediately feel pain, she dared to look.
It appeared the axe hadn't made it past the barrier. The pale man was wearing a scowl as he attempted to throw his other axe at her. She let out a shriek but didn't look away. The axe flew at her but disintegrated the moment it attempted to cross the barrier between the guest room and this hidden room. She still felt terror, her hand clutching at her shirt as she laid their on the floor to catch her breath.
The curious white eyes stared, seemingly fascinated by this development. But when he saw the look on her face, he frowned again. That look was the same look every person had given him when he was alive. He snarled, respawning one of his axes. He wailed on the painting of one of her ancestors in a cute dress that had been hanging above the fireplace, sending it off its hinges and crashing to the ground. His axe tore at the canvas, permanently mutilating it. He flung it from his axe to the wall parallel to the fireplace.
"Remember this, little girl: the longer you stay in there, the more painful I will make your death!" he promised. She believed him. But, he couldn't touch her while she was in here.
When her heartbeat stopped racing so fast, she got onto her feet and looked around. The place had changed dramatically since she'd first visited. The statue—the patron saint of the Hamilton House—that had initially detached its head, still had a detached head despite her believing this was in the past. She'd seen her mother and herself as a baby; how was this possible?!
The statue had deteriorated further, revealing a seemingly magical source of water bursting forth from the gaping hole where once covered where the statue's heart would be. There must have been a drain beneath the elevated statue, because the water never passed over the dais.
Despite the lack of natural sunlight, there was greenery that penetrated seemingly through every surface, obscuring the room's original patterned architecture. She thought she could hear the sound of insects, too. A cursory inspection of moving the pink curtain behind the statue revealed a plethora of fruits and vegetables that had grown. For all the magic Alyssa had seen in the past several hours, she didn't question it.
Her stomach rumbled, but her thirst was greater. She hadn't taken in any fluids since arriving at the house, and sweating often from fear and running and left her sorely in need of a drink. She wondered if the water from the statue was holy as she cupped her hands to the hole, allowing it to fill in her hands, and she drank.
She felt immediate relief, her mind seeming to sharpen and the aches of her sore muscles dissipating. It was as though she hadn't faced the power of three Subordinates.
And then she waited.
All she had to do was wait until midnight passed. Then she would no longer be a target for this Ritual of Engagement thing.
.o
As the time ticked closer to midnight, she saw Chopper spawn, but also characters she hadn't seen before. Two individuals who were dressed as clowns made threats at her, taunting her, testing her patience. There was also a man who looked like a pirate who almost seemed to beg for her to come out. She remained resolute. All she had to do was wait.
When he turned into the image of her grandfather, a dark, boiling hatred curled in her chest. He was the reason that her father had died. He murdered him! This creature was trying to put a compassionate look on her grandfather's face, but all she could see was the axe splitting into her father's head. When she turned away from his pleas, she could hear his voice turn nasty once more.
The creature became more desperate as it grew close to midnight (at least, she guessed it was getting closer, since she had no real point of reference to how much time was passing). All of them threatened to kill her—she'd heard it all. She wasn't budging.
At one point, she heard the creature howl. It sounded wounded, frustrated. It ranted about how he would have to wait at least fifteen more years before he could have another attempt. Alyssa grimly thought that if it truly was her grandfather, he likely wouldn't get the opportunity again, as he was quite old as is. She inferred that midnight had passed based on this. She was safe.
She expected the Subordinates to disappear after that, for there was no reason to pursue her further, but they didn't. The pirate was furious, destroying everything in the room with his giant sword. The sheer power of his fury brought tears to her eyes, feeling as though she should cower behind the patron saint statue for protection, even though she logically knew that she was already protected by the holiness of this room. She watched as the walls she once knew were marred by gashes, paintings she'd stared at, now unrepairable. She heard him order Chopper to kill her once she came out. The pirate and the two clowns disappeared; Chopper stayed.
He sneered, crouching to get a visual of her. "He doesn't even control me. I'm doing this because I want to murder you."
Alyssa gaped. It seemed illogical for him to seek her now that she had no viable use for any of them. "Why? What have I done to deserve this?!"
His eyes narrowed. "You were born."
Alyssa looks down, not sure how to respond to that.