## Preface

Kiss the Tower and the Fury
Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at https://archiveofourown.org/works/60063148.

Rating:
  Teen And Up Audiences
Archive Warnings:
  Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Category:
  F/M
Fandom:
  Slay the Princess (Visual Novel)
Relationships:
  The Long Quiet/The Princess (Slay the Princess), The Player | The Hero/The Tower (Slay the Princess), The Player | The Hero/The Fury (Slay the Princess), The Long Quiet/The Tower (Slay the Princess), The Long Quiet/The Fury (Slay the Princess), The Player | The Hero/The Princess (Slay the Princess), The Tower/Voice of the Broken (Slay the Princess), voice of the hero & voice of the broken (slay the princess), The Fury/Voice of the Broken (Slay The Princess), The Fury/Voice of the Hero (Slay the Princess)
Characters:
  The Tower (Slay the Princess), The Fury (Slay the Princess), Voice of the Hero (Slay the Princess), Voice of the Broken (Slay the Princess), The Narrator (Slay the Princess), Voice of the Skeptic (Slay the Princess), Voice of the Opportunist (Slay the Princess)
Additional Tags:
  Toxic Relationships, No Pristine Cut spoilers in the first chapter, Domination, Size Difference, Self-Worth Issues, Possessed Narrator, Broken is finally happy worshipping his goddess, But Hero has a plan to save the world, Is it a good plan?, we'll see, Kissing, Content warnings for toxic relationships and forced self-harm, (Just Tower things), Capitalised pronouns for Tower, (but only when her believers are talking), Careful what you wish for when you ask Tower to step on you, No healthy dom/sub dynamics here go read Kiss the Prisoner or Eye of the Needle for those, Toxic BDSM, Tags for Fury's chapter:, Body Horror, Forgiveness, sad kisses, Character Development, Hero and Broken are very angry at each other, Oppy and Skeptic are trying to keep the peace, Cuddles, Heart kisses, Fury is very normal about the powers of two, Self-Loathing, shared loneliness, Angst with a Happy Ending, Gothic Romance, Enemies to Lovers
Language:
  English
Series:
  Part 12 of Kiss the Princess
Stats:
  Published: 2024-10-26 Completed: 2024-11-03 Words: 13,115 Chapters: 2/2

# Kiss the Tower and the Fury

by Vickysaurus

Summary

> When the Slayer pledges himself to the Tower and the Narrator gets possessed by her, it seems all hope is lost for the world. But the Voice of the Hero has a plan. Can he trick the Tower and her utterly devoted Voice of the Broken and give them a third chance to slay her?

> (What if you could kiss the Tower and the Fury?)

## Chapter 1: Kiss the Tower

Chapter Notes

> Content warnings for Tower things: toxic relationships and forced self-harm. This chapter does not contain Pristine Cut spoilers.

> This one starts after you bring the blade down to Tower and pledge yourself to her.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

· "I'm yours to command." [Pledge yourself to the Princess.]

The Princess: “Your will was so easily broken. Am I that magnificent? All you need to do now is break My chains.”

Voice of the Hero: “If this is what you want, then I guess there's not much left for me to say...”

The Narrator: “No, you can't just give in to her! Not when the stakes are so high, not when you're so close. I won't let you do this!”

The Princess: “There's still something in the way. A greasy film inside you, where it doesn't belong. Trying to conceal you from me. Is that a person? …No. It used to be a person. It's something different now. An echo.”

Hero: “Is... is she talking about you?”

The Narrator: “That's impossible. She's not supposed to be able to interact with me, she-”

The Princess: “You're a small one, aren't you? A shriveling little worm stretched beyond its limits, trying to control things it can't understand.”

The Narrator: “No no no, what are you talking about, I'm just-”

The Princess: “I don't care what you are. You're mine.”

The Narrator: (Scream)

Hero: “Holy shit! Did she… kill him? Just like that? That was even easier than the time she killed us.”

Voice of the Broken: “Of course it was easy, don’t you see? There’s nothing She can’t do. He got His punishment, just as we did when we tried to slay Her.”

Hero: “I wonder if He’ll come back like we did- wait, that’s right, we came back! We came back and got another chance when we died the first time, even after we fucked up badly… Dying gave us a second chance.”

Broken: “And the Princess graciously allowed a wretched creature like us to redeem ourselves. Her forgiveness is truly boundless!”

The Princess: “Rise, my little bird.”

The Narrator: “Without hesitation, you're brought to your feet.”

The Princess: “Break My chains.”

Hero: “And how are we supposed to do that? All we have is a blade.”

The Narrator: “All you need to do is believe it's been done.”

Broken: “And we believe with all our heart. Nothing can stop the Princess.”

· [Break her chains.]

The Narrator: “Her chains shatter, and the cuff falls from Her wrist. She is loose, and the end is upon us.”

The Princess: “What a good disciple you are. Come. It's time for us to leave and bring about the birth of the new world in the destruction of the old. Can you see it like I can, My good little bird? An entire world made in My image: orderly, perfect, and beautiful, united in worship of Me. They will build cathedrals to Me, and yet the greatest one shall be the one you will have them build, and it will be where I reside and rule the entire world as its god. All those who resist will crumble underneath My velvet glove, they'll be an example to unite My loyal followers even further, provide them with… entertainment. All shall love Me and despair!”

The Narrator: “Her eyes shine with a fervid joy as She recounts Her vision, kneeling down to allow you to step onto Her hand.”

Hero: “Ah, uhh, yeah, that all sounds really great, but hey, if we’re such a good disciple, don’t you, uh, think we deserve a reward?”

Broken: “We don’t deserve anything, to receive Her mercy and look upon Her radiance is all the reward we could dream of. She’s… even offering Her divine hand to us! I-I don’t know if we should… Can we… wipe our feet first? It feels wrong to get dirt on Her pure skin...”

Hero: “I mean, she told us to get on, right? So we should, since I guess we’re all on board with this plan now. And I just think we should ask her for a little something after all we’ve done for her.”

The Narrator: “You carefully set your feet on the Princess’s silky soft hand, its skin and gentle musculature like silken pillows under your claws. A comfortable warmth emanates from it. Although large enough to stand on, it’s still small enough to feel precarious as She raises it to face height. You crouch down carefully to maintain your balance.”

Broken: “We didn’t need to do that, we’re perfectly safe in Her hands. Feel Her control and elegance, there’s not a wasted motion, no tremble in Her strong hand.”

Hero: “Okay, sure, but it still feels more balanced to crouch down when she’s moving it.”

Broken: “This is the one and only place where we can be truly safe. There’s no limit to Her benevolence.”

Hero: “Alright, so what’s the harm in asking her for a tiny reward then? It’s not like, uh, she’ll slay us again, if she’s that benevolent.”

Broken: “It’s not our place to ask! Any rewards, which we’re unworthy of, are Hers to give us at Her discretion.”

The Narrator: “You are held at the Princess’s mighty vantage point in the temple-like chamber. She smiles fondly at you, and all is well. Her other hand reaches out and strokes your back, its weight gently pressing down on you, its strength easily able to crush yet choosing only to pet. You involuntarily twitch your shoulders and raise your feathers into Her tender touch, crooning a little as a finger scritches your crest. As She pets you contemplatively, Her face, as large as your entire body, curiously tilts as Her eyes bore into you.”

The Princess: “I sense inner turmoil, My good little bird. What could possibly bother you in this, the moment of My total victory?”

Hero: “Feel the affection in those pets? Don’t you think she’d love to give us a reward? Give you something for all you’ve done for her?”

Broken: “You’re not going to drop it, are you? What could we possibly be worthy of asking Her for? What more could we ever want? This feels perfect… Safe in Her hands…”

Hero: “…How about a kiss?”

Broken: “That’s sacrilege! We can’t possibly ask a god for a kiss!”

Hero: “It’s fine, haven’t you seen the way she looks at us with those big bright eyes? I’m telling you, it’d make her as happy as us. Not like she’d, like, be so offended we asked that she’d kill us or anything. Cause like you said, she’s a benevolent and forgiving god. Definitely.”

The Narrator: “The Princess ceases the pets, narrowing Her eyes at you.”

The Princess: “I asked you a question, little bird. Speak.”

Hero: “Look at that, your reluctance is upsetting the Princess. Can’t have that, can we?”

‧ “I… wanted to ask you for a small favour for my service, your Highness.”

The Narrator: “The Princess’s nostrils flare, her eyebrows tightening.”

The Princess: “Know the limits of your privilege, little bird. You are here to serve Me, I don’t owe you anything for said service, though I will be a kind master and treat you well as long as you behave well. Still, you have piqued My curiosity. What favour could you possibly think you’re worthy of asking Me for?”

Broken: “See? She doesn’t like us asking for stuff! She’s the one in control, and anything that upsets her control, even just by implication, is an insult to Her.”

Hero: “I think you mean a threat.”

Broken: “Don’t be so arrogant! We could never be a threat to Her, She’s so much more than us!”

Hero: “We could be if we resisted her. Her control is based entirely on our willingness to go along with it.”

The Princess: “Little bird, I’m not used to having My questions go unanswered. Speak.”

Broken: “We can’t ask Her for a kiss, we just can’t!”

Hero: “Oh, so you’d rather lie to her?”

Broken: “Of- Of course not! It would be impossible to deceive Her anyway. Oh no…”

‧ “There’s just one thing I wanted to ask of you, a single thing that would be worth the entire world and all the stars above. The one and only favour I will ever ask for, because my heart refuses to be still without it. I could die happily after a single kiss from your divine lips.”

The Narrator: “The Princess’s eyes go wide and dart away as She pulls back from you. Her breath, a warm, gentle wind brushing over you, speeds up. So does the heartbeat like a deep distant throb you can feel under your feet.”

The Princess: “I-I-um-“

The Narrator: “She coughs before steeling Herself and frowning down at you. And yet She can’t hide the small blushes coming to Her cheeks, the tiny capillaries visible in Her skin swelling.”

The Princess: “How impertinent. I… I will have to punish that streak out of you, My little bird. I felt it in you already, but I didn’t expect it to come out like this. I’ll... have to do something about that.”

Broken: “Oh no, we’ve incurred Her wrath! I’m so sorry, forgive us! Quick, we must prostrate ourselves and beg Her forgiveness.”

Hero: “Okay, but what if we asserted ourself instead? We don’t need to accept her punishments for just asking a simple question.”

Broken: “She is so much more than us, we have no choice but to accept whatever She does.”

· [Kneel and cry, looking up at her with large, watery eyes.] “I-I’m sorry, Princess… I’m sorry. Please don’t punish me…”

Hero: “Oh, c-come on, there’s no need for that. I think. No, definitely, um, like I said, we need to stand up to her.”

The Narrator: “A smug, confident smile spreads over the Princess’s face. Her pinkie curls around and scratches your back with a sharp, perfect nail.”

The Princess: “That’s better. But you cannot unsay what has been said, My good little bird, nor hide that impertinent and yet confused spark within you from Me.”

Broken: “She’s talking about you. She sees all. Including your doubts.”

Hero: “I-I don’t think I have any doubts…”

Broken: “We both know you do. And I’m not just talking about your doubts about submitting to Her. You’re now doubting even your doubts, wondering if it might not be worth it to obey after all! Let Her free you from your doubts, like She did for me, we can finally be free of all our pain and fear in Her glory. It's so easy to just let go...”

Hero: “We… shouldn’t. She’s made it quite clear the whole world’s at stake here.”

The Princess: “No, little bird, I’ll have to punish that impertinent streak out of you. You simply leave Me with no other choice. But… I also know of your loyalty and love for Me. The way you look upon My magnificence in just the right way. And… something about your defiant spirit too speaks to Me. Yes… I think before we leave here and remake the world, I will show you how loving a god I can be, how great the rewards in store for utter devotion and obedience. Of course, I do this out of My own volition, not in response to your gauche request. Consider yourself lucky.”

Hero: “Does she mean…?”

Broken: “P-Princess? Yes, anything You wish to bestow on us, anything!”

The Narrator: “The Princess brings you in closer, Her mighty size now truly obvious as Her head looms before you, as large as your entire body. The tip of a great, glistening tongue briefly moistens generous lips. Her eyes, luminescent and powerful in Her deep, dark sockets, gaze right through you, baring your entire soul and leaving you to feel naked in Her hand. Her radiant hair forms a distant halo around Her divine head. She comes closer and closer, Her face filling your whole field of view and yet She can still approach more. And then at last, Her luscious lips make contact, incredibly gently yet with a powerful force pushing against you. Your own lips just about vanish in the sea of soft, cushioning black that they are. Softer than anything you could imagine, together they are thick enough to kiss you from chin to crest in a single moment. Her huff of tropically warm breath washes over you as you return Her affection, raising your hands and rubbing, massaging the otherwise lonely corners of Her mouth. You let your fingers dance over the sensitive, ever so slightly ridged surface of Her lips, and a deep giggle that rumbles through you escapes Her. With a little pop of wetness, Her lips part ever so slightly, just enough for you to press your face further into their warm cushiony softness and kiss Her deeper, more intimately.”

Broken: “She is… divine. Oh, Your highness, we're Yours to do with as You please.”

Hero: “Gah, y-yeah… She, she pulls back from us a little bit, a confident smile on those… thick lips. Her eyes are hooded as she looks down at us as if she’s contemplating something. And then she- woah, woah!”

The Narrator: “The Princess dashes forward and kisses you passionately, her ardent force pressing you into Her soft, yet bony hand. You can only lie back against Her strength, Her fire. Her lips parted, you are but a small, overwhelmed creature, pressed between fingers, lips, and tongue, surrounded by Her intense warmth and pressure. Although you want to give as good as you get, it’s quite impossible when She is a mighty god six times your size and you are just a small, pathetic thing. You kiss and you fondle and you stroke but you are but a plaything to Her.”

Hero: “Y-yeah, we are… Um, we should be more, though.”

Broken: “Don’t waste your time with ‘should’ and ‘shouldn’t’, Her will is all that can matter. Just drink in all that She is and realise we could never be anything but a plaything to Her, but we can be a beloved one, a happy one. This is as nice as it gets.”

The Narrator: “Suddenly, the Princess pulls back, leaving you lying all alone in Her hand as She gazes down upon you with hooded eyes and a flustered face. A little whine escapes you as you already feel your wet body going cold without Her.”

The Princess: “There. Never let it be said I am not a loving deity. And yet, even now, I feel that spark of defiance within you, that pathetic little part of you that still schemes against Me, tries to think of ways to destroy Me. You still don’t love Me as you should, as I deserve, with all of your heart. You do understand what I’ll have to do about that, don’t you?”

Broken: “I’m just sorry I’m not strong enough to do it myself…”

Hero: “Hey now, uh, hold on a minute.”

The Princess: “So let us begin teaching you your place. Take that needle and cut off one of your fingers. A pinkie will do.”

Broken: “Yes, Princess, immediately, Your highness, it’s no more than we deserve for our impure thoughts, our blasphemous defiance, our-“

Hero: “No. No, we’re not doing that. We’re not cutting our finger off just cause he’ll do anything she says. You’re not going along with this, are you?”

Broken: “Of course I will, She’s our everything, our-“

Hero: “Sorry mate, I wasn’t talking to you, cause that’s a lost cause. I was talking to our decider. Look, there’s fun and games and playing along, and yeah, that kiss was amazing, but then there’s this. She wants us to permanently mutilate ourselves just for thinking the wrong thing. We haven’t even done anything yet. It’s pretty obvious she doesn’t care for us at all if she’s gonna be like that, if she can’t even accept the tiniest threat to her control. And that’s not even getting into her plans about destroying the world. So snap out of it, mate, we really need to start standing up for ourself right now.”

· [Resist]

The Narrator: “You raise your blade and bring it close to your left hand, only to lower it again. The blade comes back up and you struggle against yourself, yet your will remains resolute. You put the blade away. The Princess’s eyes shine with a cold fury.”

The Princess: “What a pitiful display. A pathetic little bird thinking it can defy a god in the moment of its punishment? Know that it is not up to you to choose, but to Me. I said cut off your finger.”

The Narrator: “Nothing could stop the divine will that seizes control of your arms. Not moving them would feel as foreign and impossible as flying away with them. The only thing you can do, the only thing that makes sense in the face of such overwhelming power, is to bring the blade to your finger and slice it off in a single motion. You kneel on Her hand, clutching your stump tightly to stop your blood from flowing onto Her.”

The Princess: “There’s no point in resistance. I am inevitable. But since there’s clearly more defiance left in you than I expected, I will continue your punishment. Stand up.”

Hero: “Okay, we can do that one.”

Broken: “See? Her commands are easy to follow. It’s just natural.”

· [Stand up]

The Princess: “Now jump down.”

Hero: “What? But that’s like… a seven or eight metre drop!”

Broken: “The punishment will increase until we comply. We need to jump.”

Hero: “We’ll definitely get hurt if we jump… but it isn’t high enough to kill us either. Just the wrong height.”

Broken: “…Why is it the wrong height if it can’t kill us? Why do you want to- Oh. I see. You’re trying to get Her to kill us!”

Hero: “Shhh! I-I admit it’s desperate, but-“

Broken: “It’s madness! You want us to die because you believe it’ll get us another chance to slay Her! You think we’ll start over again and then you can commit the deicide you desire!”

Hero: “Look. I know it’s a long shot. But, yeah, the sycophant did figure out my plan. We’ve lost here, the world is doomed, but all it would take to save it is a third try, I can feel it! It’s not much, but it’s all we’ve got. What if… we dived down, head first? That would probably kill us and let us start over.”

Broken: “No! Now you see the kind of madness defiance will drive us to! Opposing Her is opposing life itself! We’ll jump normally, accept our punishment with the dignity and grace She’s such an exemplar of and beg Her forgiveness.”

The Narrator: “The Princess raises Her hand yet higher. Her voice offers no options.”

The Princess: “I said jump.”

· [Jump]

The Narrator: “Struggling against yourself, you throw yourself off Her hand, now held at face height. Survival instinct, in the end, wins out and you try to land as well as you can. But there is no good landing from a ten metre deep fall. You land nearly flat on your chest. You feel your ribs break upon impact, your shoulder dislocate, and your forehead hits the ground hard, leaving a big gash bleeding into your eyes. Groaning in pain, you just manage to roll your body over and look up at Her magnificence towering over you.”

Hero: “Oww. We could’ve been back in the woods already.”

Broken: “She looks so displeased!”

The Princess: “I see your scheme, you pathetic little thing. You think you can defy a god? Destroy that which is so much more than you if you can only trick Me into slaying you? You do know you’re forcing My hand, don’t you? I really hate to hurt you, but it seems this lesson will take time to learn. But don’t worry, I would never kill My beloved pet. I'll be very careful to keep you alive, and in the end you will obey.”

Broken: “Do it, Your highness! Break us down and build us back up the way You wish us to be! There could never be a better us than the one You’ll make us into.”

The Narrator: “As you look up at the Princess, She gracefully raises a foot and places it down upon your broken body, your head just peeking out between Her toes, the elegant arc of Her foot preventing Her from crushing you completely even as She leans Her great weight upon you, your broken ribs screaming out in pain, driving all air from your lungs. Her bony, yet smooth heel begins to bend your legs backwards, your knees and thighs screaming and creaking at the unnatural curve.”

Hero: “This is how she’s gonna keep treating us. She may call us a beloved pet but who’d do this to a pet? She’s abusing us and we need to do something about it before we’re too broken to resist! We owe it to ourselves.”

Broken: “How do you still not get it? There is no resisting something like Her. She is everything and we’re a mere bug under Her foot! But even now She honours us: haven’t you noticed how She always levitates? She’s so pure she doesn’t even suffer the ground to touch Her, and yet She will step on us! To remind us of our place, yes, but there’s love in it too! This is all for us, so we can be Her perfect believer, Her perfect follower, Her perfect pet. The pain is just disloyalty leaving our body! Let our love, our devotion, into your heart!”

The Princess: “This pain is what comes of your defiance. And I will keep applying the punishments you force Me to give you as long as you remain disobedient in thought and deed. But it doesn’t have to be like this. It doesn’t have to hurt so much. You know how it could all be better. Now, what do you have to say to Me?”

Broken: “Thank You, Your highness, I’m sorry, Your highness, we will be better, Your highness, thank You, Your highness, I’m sorry, Your highness…”

Hero: “Are we… kissing her toes while she crushes us underfoot?”

Broken: “Of course! Her mighty, yet soft, loving toes as they press down on us. We embrace them, we kiss them, their soft fleshy tips, their sharp, perfect nails, their-“

Hero: “Are you listening to this guy? Is that what you wanna be? It’s time to make a choice. You’ve been waffling all along, never committing to anything, and it’s letting her control us and push us around. And… I get it. It feels weirdly good to be in her hands, to be kissed, to have her control us and even to be her pet. But she’s cruel and vicious to us, she doesn’t care about us at all. I know you’ve still got resistance in you. I… hate to sound like what He was like, before she took Him over, but we need to slay her. Not even for the world, but for ourselves. We still have our blade, and with my plan failed, this might be the last chance to use it. Please. We deserve better than this.”

Broken: “She doesn’t want to hurt us. You’re the one making us hurt. She’s just doing what She has to. You’ve already lost, the sooner you give up this defiance and join me in worshipping the Princess, the better it will be for us. Our blade will never stain Her perfect flesh.”

· [Slay the Princess]

Broken: “NO!”

Hero: “Thank you. Then I’m with you all the way. Our hand trembling, we strike at her foot with our blade, planting it deep between the bones before pulling back and shanking her ankle.”

The Narrator: “The Princess screams, Her divine face twisted in a grimace of agony as She collapses, brought down onto Her knee by your blasphemous strike. Her leg just barely fails to turn you into a fleshy pulp as it misses your body. Weight shifts off Her injured foot and you take your chance, leaping up on creaking, bruised legs, climbing onto Her thigh with your one functional arm. A moment of eye contact passes between you as you look up at Her; shock, betrayal, and pain etched on Her face. Perhaps even fear. Then you leap up and plunge the pristine blade deep into Her chest.”

Broken: “No! No! I’m so sorry, I couldn’t stop them! No! How could we?”

The Narrator: “You find your target, again and again, and a shocked, crude laugh breaks through the Princess’s cold demeanour, pain and fear mixing in with disbelief.”

The Princess: “I can’t believe you would actually strike Me! You don’t know the consequences of your arrogance!”

Broken: “It’s not too late to pick up the pieces. It’s not too late to toss the blade aside and beg for forgiveness!”

Hero: “Shut up!”

The Narrator: “Even as life begins to seep out of Her body, absolute fury comes over the Princess. There’s no chance to dodge as she flings a boulder-like fist at you. In an instant, your body is crushed, your every bone pulverised as a meteorite strike leaves you in a crater in the floor. You lie there, broken, beyond pain, unable to even see what she’s done to you. And the Princess collapses, succumbing to Her own wounds. But as what remains of you looks upon Her, you see the abject horror and disgust on Her face are not aimed at Her lethal chest wound. It’s Her own trembling hand, covered in your blood, that horrifies Her.”

The Princess: “You… you made Me use My hands! You got your base blood all over Me. You… defiler! You worm! You heathen! What have you done to Me? I… I can feel Myself twisting into something new. Something dull, something defiled…”

Broken: “We’re a monster, a vile deicide. I can’t bear to watch this.”

Hero: “The Princess has been nothing but cruel to us. We’re free now.”

Broken: “But I don’t feel free. I feel empty.”

The Narrator: “A terrified, sad sound between a chuckle and a sob shocks the Princess's body as She slumps against the wall.”

The Princess: “For a moment I… I thought… you actually felt devotion… I thought you actually loved Me… But no more… what you’ve made Me into is unlovable…”

Hero: “And then… her remaining strength leaves her, blood still pouring from her wounds. She’s dead… I think He is too… And we won’t be far behind. You did… well. We were never going to get a happy ending here, but whatever happens next, I’ll be there for you.”

Chapter End Notes

> Stay tuned for Fury, because believe it or not, she's getting kisses too.

> Don't forget to leave a comment! I couldn't write these without your feedback and support, and am always happy to see even the shortest comment.

## Chapter 2: Kiss the Fury

Chapter Summary

> Having escaped the Tower's clutches, the Slayer faces a Princess scorned. Can he survive the Fury's rage when his inner Voices are at each other's throats?

Chapter Notes

> Content warnings for Fury things: descriptions of gore, body horror, severe self-worth and body image issues, and suicidal ideation.

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Voice of the Broken: (Moaning and sobbing)

The Narrator: “You’re on a path in the woods, and at the end of that path – okay, what the hell is that?”

Broken: (Continued sobbing)

Voice of the Hero: “I think he’s upset.”

Voice of the Opportunist: “C’mon, chin up, buddy! You played your part well. We couldn’t have slain the Princess without you buttering her up first! You’re a vital member of the team.”

Broken: (Louder and more upset sobbing and wailing)

Voice of the Skeptic: “There, there, lad. He didn’t mean it like that. You know she was real bad for us, right?”

Broken: “You heathens destroyed the most beautiful thing that ever was and ever will be! And I… enabled you… Forgive me, Your highness…”

Hero: “Can’t say I have much sympathy for you right now. Your fawning had us dancing to her whims like a puppet.”

Opportunist: “Ah, water under the bridge. If we gotta go another round with her, having him sweet-talking her could be really useful.”

The Narrator: “Okay, so you’ve been here already.”

Skeptic: “Well, not here specifically. It wasn’t this meaty and dangerous out here last time. Are these… ‘trees’ alive? That one’s definitely breathing, and I think the other has eyes.”

Hero: “Yeah, this is upsetting… What happened?”

The Narrator: “What happened is the Princess’s influence is already spreading. If you fail to slay her again, there won’t be any more do-overs.”

Skeptic: “You came around to us having been here before awfully quickly. So you always knew this was a possibility, did you?”

The Narrator: “Well, yes, but-”

Skeptic: “Then why didn’t you tell us sooner? Why all the time wasted pretending you had no idea what was going on? All this would have been immensely valuable information for us!”

The Narrator: “Look, I had my reasons. And now, if you’ll be quiet, there’s a thing I need to do. Ahem. You’re on a path in the woods-”

Hero: “And at the end of that path is a cabin. We know. At least you’re back to normal, never thought I’d be happy to hear you say these things again.”

Broken: “In the basement of that cabin is a god… or what’s left of Her…”

Hero: “She’s no god, and this time when we’re done with her, there won’t be anything left.”

Broken: “Not if I have anything to say about it, deicide! ...Oh, who am I kidding. I’m not strong enough to save Her from you barbarians…”

The Narrator: “Okay, but what you might not know-”

Skeptic: “Yes, yes, we’re supposed to slay her, or it will be the end of the world. That’s what you keep telling us, anyway. But take a look around. I think that bird’s flown its coop.”

The Narrator: “Like I said, this is your last chance, because her influence is spreading.”

Skeptic: “Slaying her last time doesn’t seem to have done the world much good, has it?”

Broken: “Of course it didn’t… We destroyed that which brought light and beauty to the world. Of course it’s lessened without Her… This hellscape is what a world robbed of its beautiful, radiant heart looks like.”

The Narrator: “No, that’s not what’s going on at all. If you’re here it means the world you were in last time has already been damned, and as you can plainly see this one is at terrible risk already.”

Skeptic: “That doesn’t make any sense! We slayed the Princess last time, so if you’re telling the truth, she couldn’t have destroyed that world, and this one should be fine too.”

Opportunist: “Oh, you’re so smart. Tell me more, what do you think is going on?”

Skeptic: “I don’t know yet. But we have two data points from our previous encounters. When we failed to slay her, the world was fine, but when we succeeded, the world turned meaty and dangerous. It’s not much to go on, but I think He’s feeding us a crock of shit.”

Hero: “Okay, but the Princess did tell us she wanted to destroy the world. That’s pretty damning, don’t you think?”

Skeptic: “And where’d she even get the idea that she was supposed to destroy the world? Oh, that’s right, we told her, because He told us! It all just goes back to the lies He’s been feeding us. Besides, wanting to destroy the world isn’t the same as being able to do it, even for someone as powerful as her. What was she gonna do, control the world’s mind and make it jump off things? Step on it?”

Broken: “I knew it. She was much more benevolent than any of you thought. Her light was a kind, nurturing one, and then you- you monsters, you-”

Skeptic: “I wouldn’t go that far, she was still real bad for us, even if I highly doubt she could’ve destroyed the world. We deserved better than to be treated that way.”

Broken: “The things we deserve for what we did to Her are too horrible to speak of… The things I deserve for letting you do them…”

Hero: “There are some things you deserve for betraying our own body. Unfortunately, you’re still part of it.”

Opportunist: “Come now, boys, infighting on the team isn’t helping anyone.”

The Narrator: “Are you going to let those little Voices talk nonsense into your ears and overcomplicate everything? This is extremely simple. Princess bad. Stop her.”

‧ “No matter what, it seems our answers lie in the cabin. We should go there.” [Head to the cabin]

The Narrator: “It isn’t long before you find yourself at the end of the path, staring up at the cabin on the hill. You’ll find the Princess within, as I’m sure you already know. End her.”

Broken: “Even the trees are reaching out to Her in despair and anguish… If there’s still a Princess at the cabin, maybe we can salvage things. Maybe if we just grovel and apologise everything can go back to how it was before.”

Hero: “No, you’re not delivering us into her clutches again.”

Opportunist: “Have you considered the grovelling and apologising could be an excellent way to get back into stabbing range?”

‧ [Enter the cabin]

The Narrator: “The interior of the cabin is a place that already feels forgotten. There was once an elegance to its construction, carved marble columns holding a high-arched roof, vaulted, stained-glass windows letting in the light. But that is how it was. Now, there is a growth that has overtaken it. A viscous fluid seeps from cracks in the stone walls, and it congeals into chaotic streaks of writhing nerves and wet clumps of living meat.”

Hero: “That’s horrible!”

Broken: “You did this.”

Skeptic: “I’m inclined to agree. Though correlation doesn’t prove causation, slaying her did precede the world turning out like this. We should avoid slaying her if we can.”

The Narrator: “Avoid slaying h-”

Hero: “Avoid slaying her?! Just ‘cause you’ve got a hunch she won’t destroy the world doesn’t mean it’s actually safe from her. And we know we’re not safe from her. She was already unbelievably bad news for us, and I doubt she’s gonna be in a forgiving mood this time. So yeah, we’re taking the blade on that pedestal, actually.”

Skeptic: “You’ll get no argument here, we’d be fools to leave it behind and face her armed with only hope.”

Broken: “No… If we’d just left that rotten godslaying blade behind last time, everything could have ended well…”

Hero: “It-”

Skeptic: “Let me handle this one, lad. Listen up, because things wouldn’t have gone well for us at all. We’d have gone into a future tethered to a Princess brutally punishing us for every single misstep, real or imagined. And before you say it: no, we didn’t deserve any of it. Fact is, if she’d just been a little less controlling and abusive, we’d have probably let you do your thing. She’s the one who broke whatever bond we had, not us.”

Broken: “But he was scheming against Her! What She did to us was simply pre-emptive punishment.”

Opportunist: “Hey now, there’s nothing wrong with a good scheme. Frankly I’m proud of how he pulled that one off. Very clever with the last moment change of plans.”

Hero: “Oh, uh, thanks.”

Skeptic: “No such thing as pre-emptive punishment, that’s not how cause and effect work. Besides, you wouldn’t treat her that way, even if you were powerful enough to do it, would you?”

Broken: “It… it wouldn’t be my place, even if I were powerful…”

Opportunist: “’Course it would be, that’s what being powerful means!”

‧ [Take the blade]

The Narrator: “You take the blade off the pedestal. It would be difficult to fulfil your task and slay the Princess without it.”

Hero: “Good. We can’t let things get out of control again.”

The Narrator: “I’m glad at least one of those annoying little Voices has his priorities straight.”

Opportunist: “Actually, I think we should stab her if the opportunity arises too.”

The Narrator: “Hmm, yes, and I’m sure you’re very committed to that course of action.”

‧ [Approach the mirror]

Skeptic: “That mirror again, huh? What could it mean? Is it going to disappear again when we try to touch it?”

Broken: “I hope so… I couldn’t bear to look us in the eyes right now…”

‧ [Wipe the mirror clean]

The Narrator: “You wipe your hand across the grimy door. It slides open and reveals the stairs to the basement. They are at once both narrow and grandiose. A high-vaulted ceiling stretches up into a gloom beyond your sight while walls wet with tumorous growths press in uncomfortably at your sides. You feel both unprotected and trapped, at once exposed and claustrophobic. The air is thick, its odour an oppressive violence – the metallic scent of fresh blood twisting with the nauseating embers of charred remains. If the Princess lives here, slaying her is probably doing her a favour. Her voice – a bellowing rage – roars up the stairs.”

The Princess: “Was severing the tendons of my ascension not enough for you? Was it not enough to rend my divine heart? Come, see the horrors you’ve wrought upon my flesh and feel my hands set upon your throat! See how you’ve soured my once divine melody.”

Broken: “She’s so angry with us… why, why did you desecrate Her? Why couldn’t I stop you?”

Hero: “Get ready for another betrayal.”

Skeptic: “You’ve got to stop thinking about her like that, it isn’t doing anyone any good. She’s no god, she’s neither a threat to the world nor do we owe her anything more than basic decency. Us slaying her was simple self-defence. Starting off with an offer of peace seems like the smartest move.”

Opportunist: “Yeah! Offer her peace, suck up to her a bit.”

‧ “I’m sorry for how things went last time. I’m not here to fight, can we just talk for a while?”

The Princess: “Talk?! After everything you’ve cost me, everything you’ve done to me, you want to talk with what you’ve made me into?! You’ll soon change your mind when you see the hideousness you’ve carved into my once divine flesh. You don’t want to talk to me, and I only want to avenge myself on you!”

Broken: “How could we have made a god so angry with us?”

Hero: “She’s no god, but she is an abomination, and we need to put an end to her once and for all.”

Broken: “Whatever She has become is our fault. If She’s an abomination, then what does that make us?”

The Narrator: “If I might interject, you didn’t make her into an abomination. She’s always been what she is. It’s why you’re here, and it’s why your task is so important.”

‧ [Continue down the stairs.]

The Narrator: “The chamber’s walls are painted in blood, a deep sickening red that drips down in clotted streams onto the charred corpses that make up its floor. This place reeks of torment, of ripped skin and burning bone. The Princess stands in its centre, muscles flayed and bare and weeping, draped in a tattered dress of her own skin. Her heart beats from its place in her open chest.”

Opportunist: “This should be much easier than last time. She’s smaller than before, three metres tall at most, and it looks like she’s done half the job for us already!”

The Princess: “Do you know what I’m going to do to you?”

The Narrator: “There’s not so much as a moment of hesitation before she steps forward. Her chains pull taut, holding fast as she strains against them. The cuff around her wrist digs deeper into her skin. Blood drips from the place where metal meets flesh. And then, with a nauseating sound, the skin tears. It plops to the ground, and she pulls her red, glistening arm free from her bindings. She is loose, and she’s coming for you.”

Broken: “She’s so angry, so sad, in so much pain… Hollow, just like me… Let Her end it. It’s the punishment you deserve for what you did to Her. It’s the punishment I deserve for letting it happen.”

‧ “I only killed you last time because you were hurting me and planning to end the world! We can talk ourselves back from this ledge.”

The Princess: “The world hasn’t wronged me the way you have. The world didn’t taste of my love before making me into this! Maybe I’ll get around to it eventually, though. Once I’ve had my fill of you.”

The Narrator: “She bounds across the room, her fists ready, her heart set upon your destruction. With a horrifying squelch, you are unwound.”

Hero: “No, no, no, that’s our stuff! She can’t just do that.”

The Narrator: “She just did. Unfortunate, I know, but reality is reality.”

Skeptic: “How are we still alive? Our organs are all over the place.”

Broken: “You should all just be grateful She’s decided to keep us alive. Even in Her defilement She is merciful.”

Opportunist: “Owww, maybe it wasn't so easy after all. But I guess it’s all the more reason to submit to her. Not like there’s much else we can do with all our thingies strewn about.”

‧ “Fine, you got me. Now can we just talk?”

The Narrator: “But the words don’t leave your metaphorical mouth. Instead, all that leaves you is a wet and horrible gurgling as tissue vibrates out of place.”

Hero: “Our… ‘metaphorical’ mouth?”

The Princess: “Aww, you don’t have the means to speak any more, do you? You don’t have a mouth to give me false kisses and filthy lies with, how tragic. Hm. It is tragic though, isn’t it? I’m not satisfied divining fear and indignation from your eyes alone. A quivering mound of flesh is no companion.”

The Narrator: “She snaps her fingers, and the basic form of a vocal system assembles before you.”

The Princess: “Now, little bird, what was it you wanted to tell me?”

‧ “What’s your endgame here? Are we supposed to keep torturing each other forever?”

The Princess: “Your defiance robbed me of my ‘endgame’. You desecrated my divine spirit and plunged me into your realm of flesh. The only thing left for me is your torment.”

Broken: “She’s suffering as much as we are. We should submit to Her punishment.”

Skeptic: “We may both be suffering, but that doesn’t mean it’s in equal measure or that we need to submit to it.”

Hero: “Yeah, right! We need to pull ourselves together… Uhh, literally. And then we need to slay her!”

Skeptic: “But how? How can we even move when all our tissues are messed up and disconnected?”

‧ [Seize control of your broken body and lay waste to your foe.]

The Narrator: “Skin flayed and organs flapping, you try to charge towards the Princess. But you simply flop over, doubt about how your body could possibly still work clouding your mind.”

Opportunist: “Aww, c’mon team, we need more of that go-getter attitude so we can go get her.”

The Princess: “Pathetic. Is this all that’s left of the defiance that slayed a perfect god and made her into so much less? Let’s see how deep we need to dig to find the defiant little spark of your soul. This will hurt you.”

The Narrator: “Something infiltrates you. Though you do not see it, you feel it, slithering into your disaster of a body, seeping into the gaps between your molecules. The body of a sapient creature has, on average, thirty trillion cells. And each one of those cells is composed of one-hundred-trillion-some-odd atoms. One of those cells is peeled from the others. One hundred trillion atoms are gone.”

The Princess: “Are you still there? Are you still you?”

Hero: “...Yes? I think?”

Skeptic: “We lose far more cells than that with every single movement we make. This is nothing.”

The Narrator: “Then two are peeled away. Then four.”

Opportunist: “What if we tell her we’re very impressed, maybe she’ll let up long enough for us to figure out how our limbs work?”

‧ “Princess, what’s the point of hurting me? Let’s talk instead.”

The Princess: “Oh, I’ve had quite enough of your talk! You talk, talk, talk, and tell me sweet little lies to fool me, make me care, let you taste my kiss before you defile my divinity! But no more, you pathetic little worm. You can’t talk your way out of this.”

Broken: “And yet She doesn’t take away our new mouth. She needs our company in Her agony. We’ll be here for You, Princess, no matter what happens.”

Hero: “We’re not here for her.”

Broken: “I am.”

The Narrator: “Eight. Sixteen. Thirty-two. Sixty-”

Skeptic: “-Four and then a hundred-and-twenty-eight, yeah yeah. Are you just gonna rattle off the powers of two?”

The Narrator: “I’m just describing what she’s doing to you, little voice. She’s destroying and liquefying your cells by the powers of two. It’s impressively well controlled, actually.”

Skeptic: “Well, this is gonna take a while before it does anything at all, so why don’t you get back to us when we she gets past, I don’t know, a hundred million? That should be about two to the twenty-seventh.”

Opportunist: “Wow, you’re pretty smart. Did you calculate that yourself?”

Skeptic: “Just an estimate, really.”

Opportunist: “Well, you’re a valuable member of the team!”

The Narrator: “And you have absolutely no respect for my craft. But fine, if you want me to be quiet while the Princess works her torments on your flesh, I’ll shut up. My talents are wasted on you ingrates anyway.”

Hero: “Okay, we need to figure out a plan before the numbers get big. Like, really big. I don’t wanna know what happens when they do. Could we pull ourselves together and stab her before it happens?”

Skeptic: “But how? Half our tendons don’t even connect to bones any more, she’s tied them in funny knots or to organs or just left them flapping about… And I don’t even wanna get into what happened to our ligaments.”

Broken: “Even now you plot against Her. Isn’t what we’ve done enough already? She’s suffering and She’s taking that suffering out on us, as we deserve…”

Opportunist: “Hey, there’s an idea. You’re pretty good at buttering her up. You even got us a kiss last time. What if we just repeated after him and talked to her?”

Skeptic: “She did like him a lot last time. And I think he’s got a point about her taking her suffering out on us.”

Broken: “I will not be an accessory to another attempted deicide!”

Opportunist: “Aww, but buddy, don’t do it for us. Do it for her. Don’t you wanna tell her how much you care for her and worship her? Don’t you wanna dry her metaphorical tears? Don’t you wanna let her know you weren’t on board with the stabbing and still love her? You can say whatever you want, the floor’s yours.”

Broken: “Fine… But I’m keeping an eye on all of you.”

Hero: “That’s mutual.”

The Princess: “Are you still there? Are you still you?”

‧ “I’m still here, Princess. Even after the horrible thing I’ve done to You, I’ll always be here for You.”

The Narrator: “The Princess laughs a cold laugh.”

The Princess: “You can’t lie your way out of this, you pathetic worm. I know your devotion is obviously false.”

‧ “Princess, I’m so sorry for what we did to You. I wasn’t strong enough to stop them, and that makes me just as guilty as them. Go ahead. Take Your pain out on me. I can take it, if it helps You.”

The Princess: “I don’t need your permission. I’m gonna keep going, no matter what you say. I’ll keep liquifying those cells, one by two by four by eight, and it’s never going to stop!”

‧ “It’s no more than I deserve. And at least I get to bask in Your divinity the whole time…”

The Princess: “My divinity? You took that away from me! You took it all from me, my divinity, my beauty, my power, my elegance, my glory! You took it all, like I’m taking two-hundred sixty-two thousand, one hundred and forty-four cells from you! And since you don’t love me, I’ll make sure you hate me like I hate you instead.”

‧ “But Princess! You’re still divine, You’re still beautiful and elegant and powerful, and I still love You!”

The Narrator: “A jolt goes through the Princess. Then she bursts out in cold laughter.”

The Princess: “It seems I haven’t taken away enough of you to make you stop being a filthy little liar yet. You didn’t even really love me when I was worthy of it, and now you expect me to believe you love this?!”

‧ “I do! You’re not unloveable at all, You’re just very angry and hurt and I-”

The Narrator: “With an anguished growl, the Princess gestures powerfully and you feel several of your exposed organs burst and then reknit. Some of them reknit to themselves, others to each other, becoming dysfunctional hybrid organs as the Princess rambles in her rage.”

The Princess: “Look at what you’ve made of me, look at the horrors you’ve wrought upon my flesh! Is this what you do to someone you love?”

The Narrator: “The Princess furiously gestures at herself.”

Hero: “That’s enough grovelling, it’s obviously not working. It’s just making her angry.”

Skeptic: “I was about to say. Besides, there’s some truths she needs to hear too.”

Opportunist: “Are we sure there’s such a thing as enough grovelling? Our spokesman here is a natural.”

‧ “I haven’t done that to you! Yes, I slayed you, because you gave me no choice, and maybe that cost you your divinity. I’m sure it really sucked and I wish you hadn’t brought us to the point I needed to do it. But as for the rest of it… I’m not the one who flayed you. I’m not the one who carved open your chest and exposed your heart or who drove nails into your flesh.”

The Narrator: “The Princess stands up and places an incredibly sharp bone heel to what’s left of your throat.”

The Princess: “Tread. Carefully. WORM!”

Opportunist: “Okay, okay, let’s not challenge the very angry Princess with the bone heel on our throat. I think it’s time for a little more sycophancy.”

‧ “I’m not the one who hammered your tiara into your skull, and I’m certainly not the one who pulled your skin off to escape your bindings! Face it, Princess, I may have caused your fall, but you’re the one who unwound yourself about it. And now you’re trying to do the same to me.”

The Princess: “Shut up, shut up, shut up!”

The Narrator: “The sharp tip of her bone heel pierces your throat, and you begin suffocating. She kicks out a few more times in anger, piercing organs and what’s left of bones, and finally, with a wide gesture, she smears you across the room like roadkill. And as you lie there, in pieces, choking, a loose eyeball sees her take a few deep breaths and then gesture to rewind you. Mostly. You return to a similarly disembowelled state as before, your separate respiratory and vocal system merged back into your throat. The Princess kneels at your side.”

The Princess: “That’s enough chatter out of you. Now you’re gonna be quiet while I… I… YOU MADE ME LOSE COUNT! I don’t remember where I was!”

‧ “I think it was a power of two.”

The Narrator: “The Princess fixes you with a furious glare, pacing around the slaugtherhouse of a basement and throwing her hands up.”

The Princess: “Obviously it was a power of two, but I don’t remember which one! ARGH, can’t I even unwind you right?!”

‧ “You mentioned two-hundred-thousand something.”

The Princess: “That was a while ago, I know I was well past two to the power of twenty already! Gah, I can’t believe your stupid chatter got me so distracted I messed it up! Stupid, desecrated idiot! It’s not like you took my brain!”

‧ “Does it matter? I’m sure whatever number of cells you destroy will hurt, whether or not it’s the next power of two. It was starting to hurt, you know.”

The Narrator: “The Princess twitches a bit as she kneels back down by you, frustration dancing over her face.”

The Princess: “No, no, it’s fine. It’s fine. You’re right, it doesn’t matter if it’s the next number in the sequence, it really doesn’t matter whether it’s sixteen million seven-hundred-seventy-seven thousand two-hundred and sixteen or thirty-three million five-hundred fifty-four thousand four-hundred and thirty-two, and I could even go completely off-script and not even care about what number of cells I take, it, it doesn’t matter.”

‧ “You like the powers of two, don’t you?”

The Narrator: “The Princess looks away, her shoulders tightening.”

The Princess: “No. No, I don’t care about powers of two or numbers at all, that’d be such a stupid thing to care about. I don’t care at all. I can just continue this where I left off and who cares if it’s a different number? The point is to make you suffer slowly and really drive up the anticipation and it’s not like you care about the exact numbers, so I don’t either and I can just continue even though if I pick the wrong one the cells I’ve already destroyed won’t perfectly add up to the number I’m destroying now minus one. Which doesn’t matter anyway.”

Broken: “I’m sorry we made You lose count… I’m sorry we took even this little pleasure away from You.”

The Narrator: “The Princess takes a deep breath and stretches her fingers.”

The Princess: “No, it’s all messed up now, isn’t it? You ruined everything again. Good job. Fine. Slow burn ruined. Then I’m just going to make you suffer!”

The Narrator: “With a powerful gesture, you are unwound, further and more deeply than ever before. Your eyes become useless, you feel things burst and liquefy inside you as you are stretched, melted, deformed into different yous. A liquid you. A square you. All of you, compressed into a fleshy ball the size of a fist.”

The Princess: “Are you still there? Are you still you?”

Opportunist: “Nope! This sucks, I’m outta here!”

Skeptic: “Where did he go? Is he… is he dead?”

Broken: “I think he is… She can take us from us…”

Hero: “Why are you surprised? It’s what you wanted her to do to me last time, isn’t it?”

Broken: “It cuts both ways. We’ve taken what She was from Her too. She’s been hollowed out, just like us…”

Skeptic: “Stop fighting, you two! We’re only gonna get through this if we stand together!”

The Princess: “Oh, I’ve found something! Your sneaky treachery, gone for good! Don’t you see? All of you is just base, ugly flesh, just like what’s left of me, and I can take whatever I want out of you! And I will take everything.”

The Narrator: “You are stretched out, long and wobbly and fleshy. A worm. The Princess laughs a humourless laugh.”

The Princess: “Hey look, I revealed your true form.”

Skeptic: “If she can do this to us, we won’t last much longer unless we can think of some way out! Think, think!”

Hero: “She didn’t extinguish me last time when she had phenomenal psychic powers, and she won’t extinguish me now.”

Broken: “Whatever She does to us, we shouldn’t hate Her for it. We’ve hurt Her so badly. I will stay with Her to the end. She needs our company. Leaving Her alone would be the only thing worse than what we’ve already done to Her.”

The Narrator: “The worm you is torn apart. You are reconstructed into a you with too many legs. A you with many mouths which won’t stop screaming.”

Skeptic: “What does ‘you’ even mean any more? Our matter keeps changing into horrible things we can’t control. Make it stop. Please make it stop. Please make it stop.”

Hero: “Get a hold of yourself! We have to hang on! There’s gotta be a way for us to win! Otherwise this would be pointless and all this torture would be for nothing.”

Broken: “You’re right about one thing. It is torture. But it isn’t pointless. It makes Her pain less acute when She inflicts it on us…”

Skeptic: “Think it might be my turn next, lads. Listen to me, before I go. There’s softness underneath all that bravery, lad. Don’t let go of it. Don’t let her take that from you. And you,”

Broken: “Me?”

Skeptic: “Yes, you. Your empathy is admirable, but you can’t let her do these things to us. Stop letting explanations for her behaviour be excuses! You need to grow a spine!”

Broken: “...I don’t know how.”

Skeptic: “Then stop fighting and listen to each other!”

The Princess: “Are you still there? Are you still you?”

Skeptic: “...I’m sorry, lads. No.”

The Princess: “And another piece comes off! You are less than you were, and you’ll never be the same again! How does it feel?”

‧ “I think You know how it feels. We both suffer, Princess. Why do we keep going? Why don’t we just… stop it?”

The Princess: “It’s never going to stop! It can’t stop! You made sure of that!”

Hero: “Is there a point in talking to her? It just keeps going.”

The Narrator: “You are reconstructed back into the shape of a body. The skin peels off in a corkscrew. The eyes are plucked. The organs arranged in the air in a neat row.”

The Princess: “Are you still there? Are you still you?”

Broken: “It’s okay to let go.”

Hero: “...I won’t. I’m not leaving you alone.”

Broken: “It’s okay. I don’t think She’s interested in followers any more. There’s not much I can screw up this time. I’m just sticking around as long as She needs me to.”

Hero: “I know. I’m not staying to keep an eye on you, I’m staying for you. I think… I know what you felt like when you pledged yourself to her now.”

Broken: “Funny. I think I know what made you want to slay Her so badly…”

Hero: “You don’t need to face this alone. We’re stronger together.”

Broken: “Together…”

‧ “I’m still me, Princess. But what about you? Are you still there? Are you still you?”

The Narrator: “Silence. Then you’re stretched into a line of tissue that gets longer and longer and longer, and thinner as it stretches.”

‧ “Does this actually make You feel better? It might be worth it if it helps one of us.”

The Narrator: “However you communicate it, the only response from the Princess is to stretch you yet further and further and further.”

The Princess: “Are you still there? Are you still you?”

‧ “Yes. I’m going to stick around as long as You need me to.”

The Narrator: “You remain stretched into near infinity. If you are getting more stretched, you don’t know how to measure it. And so you wait, and wait, and wait. And then, all at once, there’s a great rewinding. You shrink, you thicken up, and all the torn, unwound pieces of you rewind and fall back into place.”

Hero: “Here comes the next one. We can hold on through it.”

Broken: “I don’t think there is a next one…”

The Narrator: “You’re whole again, and in your body – the body you had before all this happened – and the Princess sits against the wall, her dress of skin more tattered than before, her face sullen and miserable.”

The Princess: “You took what I was from me. And there’s nothing I can do to bring her back.”

Broken: “She’s just like us. A piece of Her is missing.”

Hero: “But at least we had the decency to make it quick. She didn’t grant us that.”

Broken: “Neither time…”

‧ “What were you hoping to accomplish with that?”

The Princess: “I don’t know. I just wanted to make you feel what I felt. I thought it’d make me feel better. That it would make me feel powerful, like I had the things that were missing again. Power, beauty, elegance, loveability. But those are still gone and I made you feel what I felt a thousand and twenty-four times over… I ripped you to pieces. But it means nothing. I am forever a piece unfinished. A song with no refrain.”

Hero: “She’s given up. All that rage has burned itself out and we’ve… won. It doesn’t feel like winning.”

Broken: “We’re still with Her. And She’s not hurting us any more. Maybe that’s as close to winning as we’ll get.”

The Narrator: “The Princess sits still, looking up at you. There’s a question in her eyes, one she dares not ask but knows you will answer anyway. You have your pristine blade. It’s time to put her out of your mutual misery.”

Hero: “We… should. After what she did to us, it’s no more than she can expect, really. No more than what we should want… But I’m not sure I do want it.”

Broken: “I think… maybe that’s what She’s asking of us. Maybe She just wants it to be over.”

Hero: “Right. Yeah. Do we… have to? She looks so deflated… Even after everything, it doesn’t feel right.”

Broken: “She took vengeance on us and it just brought Her more misery… Maybe we don’t need to make the same mistakes She did…”

‧ [Stumble toward the Princess, blade in hand]

The Narrator: “Although your body is back in working order, the sensations you went through, the bizarre forms you took, are not so easily shaken from your mind. You stumble over to her, presumably ready to ignore these little Voices’ deluded protests and slay the Princess as anyone reasonable surely would do to their tormentor. She doesn’t move to stop you, simply glances up at you with a sad, resigned look. You reach her, blade ready, and… trip over your unfamiliar feet, falling against her large, warm body. She instinctively catches you with clawed hands, then startles and pulls back a little, looking away from you. There’s a bloody handprint left in your feathers. You manage to turn around and sit against the wall next to her, your blade ready in your hand, yet infuriatingly passive.”

Broken: “She felt so warm. I can still feel the heat radiate off Her body.”

Hero: “She can’t bring herself to meet our eyes. Is she afraid or sorry? Because either way, she should be.”

‧ “Is all this stuff me?” [Gesture at the carpet of gore littering the room.]

The Princess: “Yeah. I did that to you.”

Hero: “That’s horrible. We do have our stuff back too, though. Weird.”

Broken: “We only have the physical stuff back. The others are still gone...”

The Narrator: “Silence falls over the basement, containing only the beating of the Princess’s heart and the buzzing of flies.”

Hero: “What are we even doing here? I don’t think I wanna kill her, but… shouldn’t we just count our blessings and leave?”

Broken: “I just want to be with Her a little longer. Doesn’t it feel to you like leaving would feel even worse than staying?”

Hero: “Maybe. I don’t know what I want any more.”

‧ “Does it hurt?” [Gesture at the Princess’s heart and flayed legs.]

The Narrator: “The Princess pulls up her shoulders sharply. She hesitates as she answers, her eyes deep wells of sorrow.”

The Princess: “I don’t know… I… I guess… Yeah. Yeah, it hurts a lot, actually.”

Hero: “Did we do that to her? Like, we just stabbed her but… I don’t really understand how this place works. Did we do it? Did she? Did something else?”

Broken: “I think it might have been a bit of both of us.”

The Narrator: “The Princess’s heart pounds and the flies buzz. Finally, she’s the one to break the silence when she suddenly turns to you, blurting out words.”

The Princess: “What are you waiting for? Just kill me already! I’m not gonna apologise, there’d be no point. An apology could never make up for the things I did to you. Just end it now.”

Hero: “Even if we were going to kill her, I don’t think she gets to demand we do it quickly. Not like she gave us that kind of mercy.”

Broken: “But we’re not here to kill Her, are we?”

The Narrator: “No, but you are here to slay her.”

‧ “I’m not going to kill you. And you’re right, an apology would never suffice.”

The Princess: “Why wouldn’t you kill me, after everything I’ve done to you?”

‧ “I don’t know. I guess because we’re both suffering, and I think slaying you will just make it worse.”

The Princess: “Oh.”

The Narrator: “Just remember you can always go back on your foolish decision. You both just sit there, neither of you looking at the other.”

‧ “Why did you rewind me?”

The Princess: “I don’t know. I thought I hated you and I did, but… It just didn't help any more… If anything, it was making me feel worse.”

‧ “You could’ve left me helpless in some horrible quivering fleshy form, though.”

The Princess: “Yeah… Maybe I just didn’t wanna be alone. Even if I’d be with someone who hates me.”

Broken: “I could never hate Her.”

Hero: “I could. But what would be the point? She’s so sad and deflated, and she’s basically defeated herself. All that anger is gone and all that’s left is just… shame and self-loathing. I think I pity her instead of hating her.”

‧ “I don’t hate you.”

The Narrator: “The Princess scoffs without any humour.”

The Princess: “How can you not hate me? How can you not hate what I’ve done to you? How can you not hate what I’ve become? How can you not hate this?!”

The Narrator: “She gestures broadly at her own body.”

‧ “Princess, you’re not a ‘this’. You’re just you.”

The Narrator: “The Princess snarls bitterly.”

The Princess: “Yes, and I’m a hateful abomination! I’m ugly and I’m evil and I’m horrible and I’m utterly unloveable.”

‧ “That’s not true.”

The Narrator: “The Princess angrily gestures as she speaks.”

The Princess: “It is! Why do you lie to me? You don’t need to any more, you can just slay me, I won’t resist. What would be the point?”

Broken: “We should apologise for what we did to Her previous self.”

Hero: “No. It was the right thing to do… But we can still comfort her. It’s like she can’t even conceive of a compliment being true.”

‧ “I’m not gonna slay you again unless you make me, Princess. And you did last time. Still, I wish things hadn’t gone that way. I did mean what I said when I asked for that kiss. It was phenomenal.”

The Princess: “Of course it was. I was brilliant radiance, a beautiful god walking the Earth, how couldn’t you enjoy kissing me? But you put an end to that, didn’t you? And I… provoked you by treating you like you were so much less than me. God who brought herself down, guess I was a real screw-up even back then.”

‧ “You’re still like that, y’know. Um, not just the last thing.”

The Narrator: “The Princess actually laughs, a loud, bold, boisterous sound, and you find yourself laughing with her. You’re not quite sure how it happened, but you’re sitting closer to each other now, her unflayed arm and thigh touching yours. Her skin feels loose, a bit leathery, not entirely pleasant, and there’s a great heat emanating from below it.”

Broken: “Warm like a hot shower. It just barely doesn’t hurt.”

Hero: “She’s quite a bit taller than us, but the difference isn’t as big when sitting down. As the laughter stops, she glances down at us and startles to find us so close.”

‧ “There’s that radiance again. Look at you, you’ve still got that beauty in spades.”

The Narrator: “The Princess smiles sadly.”

The Princess: “Why are you flattering me? I don’t deserve to have my feelings spared with sweet lies.”

‧ “Then it’s a good thing I’m not lying. If you can’t see the beauty in yourself I’ll just have to.”

The Narrator: “You rub the Princess’s warm arm. Its loose skin moves along with you a bit. She raises a hand to hide her heart as its beating speeds up.”

The Princess: “Are you… really okay with talking to me?”

‧ “It’s more fun than sitting here in silence. Don’t you wanna talk?”

The Princess: “I do, but… I don’t know. When I rewound you, I just figured it was my turn to suffer and your turn for vengeance. Do you really… not want that? I took so much from you…”

‧ “You did… you took two of my Voices. I miss them.”

Broken: “We do. But we took so much from Her too. It wouldn’t help to take more. It wouldn’t bring them back.”

Hero: “Yeah… but they’re still gone. It’s so much lonelier in here without them.”

‧ “But there’s nothing I can do about it. Killing you would only leave me even lonelier… Or leaving you… You haven’t seen the world out there. I think it’s just you and me now...”

Hero: “Our voice broke. I think we’re crying.”

Broken: “There’s only one thing here that can give us solace. Her warmth.”

Hero: “Let’s not. She’s still the one who took them.”

‧ [Cry quietly to yourself]

The Narrator: “As you sit there crying softly, a warm, lanky, loose-skinned arm awkwardly reaches around you and rubs your shoulder. Your resolve breaks and you throw your arms around the Princess’s waist, squeezing her tightly to you. You not only hear, but see her breath hitch as you bury your face against her sawn-off ribs, her heart beating rapidly. A tropical, humid warmth hits your face. After a few seconds, you feel both of the Princess’s bony arms fold around you, holding you to her and tenderly petting your shoulders and back.”

The Princess: “I’m sorry. I-I know that’s meaningless when I can’t put you back together properly and can’t give them back… But I am. I know you can never forgive me and I’m not worth forgiving-”

The Narrator: “You sharply inhale a lungful of warm, metallic-smelling chest air as you look up and prop yourself up to face her. You lay your hands on her sharp cheek bones.”

‧ “Princess, I don’t know if I can forgive you, but it’s not because you’re not worth it! Stop telling yourself that kind of thing! You’re worth plenty, you’re beautiful, so elegant and distinguished, and you’re… surprisingly soft and kind, and if anything you’re more loveable than you were before!”

The Princess: “Don’t-”

‧ “I’m not lying. Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not true. Believe me.”

The Narrator: “The Princess squeezes her eyes shut, already swimming in blood-red tears she can’t stop from pouring out.”

The Princess: “I-I can’t understand what you see in me… I-I’m so much less than I was… But thank you…”

Broken: “I wish She could see Herself as I see Her…”

Hero: “Then you’ll just have to tell her.”

Broken: “Don’t you… mind?”

Hero: “Nah. Weird as it is after the horrors, this feels right. I really was very tempted to drop it all when she kissed us, you know.”

‧ “Hey, You’re still a god to me.”

The Narrator: “The Princess chuckles sadly as you wipe away the trails of blood on her cheeks. She touches her forehead to yours, your crest brushing against the pegs and nails driven into her skull in lieu of a tiara. Her dark eyes shine with red drops and her smile quivers. Hot breath washes over you with an acrid, burning smell.”

The Princess: “Not much of a god if you turn your only believer against you.”

‧ “That kiss still felt divine.”

The Narrator: “She chuckles and turns her eyes away from you.”

The Princess: “Flatterer. But thank you, um… What do I call you? I never asked your name.”

‧ “I’m not sure I have one.”

The Princess: “Makes two of us. Either way, thank you, my friend.”

Broken: “Are we worthy of being a god’s friend?”

Hero: “Hey, don’t you go sounding like her again. Both of you need to learn your own worth.”

‧ [Kiss the Princess]

The Narrator: “You’ve truly lost it, haven’t you? You seriously want to kiss the horrible-”

Hero: “We’re not in the mood, mate. Just narrate it.”

The Narrator: “After everything you’ve seen, everything she’s done, you’re really going to-”

Broken: “Yeah.”

The Narrator: “Fine. You caress her hollow cheek, her skin rough and charred, the occasional bloody tear still running over it. The Princess’s eyes, bright lights shining in the darkness, meet yours, but dart away shyly when they realise what you’re about to do. You feel her warm heart thumping so close against your chest, the edges of her ribs poking you. A red, glistening hand, trembling a little, finds your plumicorn and tenderly runs its claws through its soft feathers, probably getting her blood all over them. You slowly come forward, touching your beak to her sharp little nose. You flash each other a nervous smile. Then you dart forward and kiss. Her lips are dry, chapped, and a bit hard.”

Broken: “They’re not nearly as large as before either. But it still feels wonderful. She’s so warm and… tender.”

The Narrator: “The Princess tastes salty like smoked meat as she kisses you gently, sadly, her bloody tears running into your feathers. Her large, yet thin body holds you softly, apologetically, her touches practically begging for forgiveness as you sit in her lap. Your lips part, a soft, shy smile on her face.”

The Princess: “What was that for?”

‧ “Just for its own sake. For you.”

The Narrator: “Touching foreheads again, you let your hand run up toward her horn, but as you do, you encounter her tiara, driven into her skull, her skin slightly bunched up around the entry wound. The Princess draws a sharp breath.”

‧ “I’m sorry, did I hurt you?”

The Princess: “A little? But, uh, you don’t have to stop…”

The Narrator: “Her eyes dance away from yours, her mouth nervously pursed.”

Broken: “Sometimes there can be pleasure in pain.”

The Narrator: “You gently take your fingertips to the bunched up skin around her tiara’s entry wounds and you apply just a little pressure against it, feeling the resistance of the metal shafts inside. The Princess bites her lip, her heart rapidly beating against yours. You let your fingers dance from one to the other, gently stroking and rubbing her hairline and the tense muscles of her warm scalp along the way. After a moment, the Princess kisses you again, warmly, pulling you tightly against her graceful, flayed body, yet more of her unnaturally warm blood soaking your feathers. You let your talons gently scrape her scalp, her entry wounds, her horns. Sharp teeth softly nibble your lower lip. She is gentle and tender as you touch each other, a delicate, warm passion in her flayed body as claws caress your feathers. It’s as if every stroke, every caress between you tries to make up for the pain you’ve inflicted on each other with kind tenderness. When you finally part, you let yourself slide down her body, as warm as a thermal bottle. You lie sideways against her ribcage, her heart beating in your ear, your feathers dyed red, as you look up at her soft face.”

The Princess: “What happens now?”

‧ “We should leave here, I suppose.”

The Narrator: “The Princess looks down at you shyly.”

The Princess: “We? After everything I’ve done to you, you’d really take me with you?”

‧ “Is that still a surprise to you?” [Give her your hand]

The Princess: “No… I guess it isn’t. What’s it like out there?”

‧ “It’s terrible. As bad as in here. It’s the end of the world.”

The Princess: “Just like I said I wanted to bring…”

‧ “Yeah. Did you?”

The Princess: “I don’t know? Surely you slayed me before I could?”

‧ “If you ever could. Maybe slaying you is what made it happen. Maybe it’s something else. Either way, it’ll be good to have a friend out there.”

The Princess: “And we’ll be free. That has to mean something.”

The Narrator: “You stand up and try to pull the Princess to her feet. But despite her narrow frame, she’s large enough to be too heavy. She stands up herself, drawing up to her full imposing height in a single fluid motion. You only reach to her elegantly arched waist. You realise you’re going to end the world, for real, don’t you get it? It doesn’t matter what she says or thinks about it.”

Hero: “Bit late for that.”

The Narrator: “No, you don’t get it, it won’t be a meaty hellscape, it will be gone altogether! I can’t let you-”

Broken: “You can’t stop us. We’ve been through enough. You don’t scare us.”

The Narrator: “I… I… Fine. You and the Princess climb the stairs out of the basement together, you in front. You hear her mumble something.”

The Princess: “Eight steps.”

Hero: “Hey, y’know, climbing up the stairs ahead of her we might actually be as tall as she is. Let’s turn around.”

The Narrator: “You turn around, only to be met with a pounding heart. You look up all the way along her imposing height.”

Hero: “Orrrr not. Wow, she’s still real tall, huh?”

The Princess: “Something wrong, my friend?”

The Narrator: “She pats your head with a red, glistening claw, smirking down at you smugly.”

Broken: “There is something, as our gaze drifts back down. Her warm, weathered heart. There’s… something I want to ask Her…”

Hero: “Then ask her.”

Broken: “Can we just… ask Her things? Yes… Yes, I suppose so. This is a bit weird, though.”

Hero: “Mate, everything about this situation is weird. Just roll with it.”

‧ “May I… um… kiss Your heart?”

The Narrator: “The Princess draws back a bit, scratching her cheek. Then, she giggles.”

The Princess: “Um… Okay. Be very careful with it.”

The Narrator: “Gently wrapping your free hand around the Princess’s elegantly curved waist, you pull yourself closer and closer. Her lungs inflate and deflate rapidly in her ribcage as you reach past its sawed-off ribs. And at the centre is her heart, a fleshy lump beating quickly, first one side and then the other. Very softly, you place your lips upon its pulsating, irregular surface, finding it steamily warm, your sensitive lips feeling the hot blood inside flow. The heat of her body is all around you as the rapid heartbeat throbs against your lips. Her lungs inflate sharply, pushing against you a bit. You pull back, looking back up at her warm, confused smile.”

‧ “How did that feel?”

The Princess: “Strange, but… good. It’s… yours anyway.”

The Narrator: “Then, hand in hand, you cross the cabin, open the door, and step outside into a doomed world.”

Hero: “Maybe. It doesn’t feel quite so bleak out there any more, does it?”

Broken: “Not when we’re together.”

Chapter End Notes

> Kiss the Princess has a TvTropes page now!

> The illustration of Fury comforting Quiet can also be found at https://www.tumblr.com/vickysaurus-art/771034978740060160/hero-our-voice-broke-i-think-were

> Please leave a comment and tell me your thoughts! Your comments are what keeps me going with this series and I always delight in reading them.

## Afterword

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