"Is everyone assembled?"

"All present and accounted for, sir," Victor said, looking around the assembled group with a smile.

"We have all necessary witnesses?" the registrar pressed. "Miss Liddell's aunt and uncle, and--"

"My father and cousin, Mr. Drapewell," Victor provided, feeling a deep, warm glow inside at introducing his friends as such. "Emmett Brown and Martin Brown-McFly."

"Pleasure to meet you, sir," Doc said, extending a hand.

Mr. Drapewell stared for a moment, before slowly accepting it. ". . .You're his father?"

"Yes, is there a problem?"

"I think it's the accent, Unc," Marty said, rolling his eyes. "Vincent's adopted, Mr. Drapewell. Which is probably pretty obvious, but still, if you want proof--"

"No, no, that's fine," Mr. Drapewell assured him, waving a hand with an embarrassed look. "Excuse me, I was just surprised." He coughed softly and resumed his stern look. "Now -- you two have a full understanding of what's expected? Neither of you are doing this through coercion?"

"We're both fully ready and willing," Alice said, glancing at Victor lovingly.

"Well then--" a few papers and a pen were produced and laid in front of them "--it's simply a matter of signing the correct paperwork."

"Er--" Victor rubbed the back of his head. "You wouldn't object if we exchanged vows? Quickly?"

"It is the closest our girl will get to a proper church wedding," Aunt Susan added.

"It's a common enough request," the registrar said with a nod. "Do you have vows prepared?"

"We do," Alice said.

"All right -- first sign here, then you can exchange them before we prepare the marriage license." Mr. Drapewell pushed a few papers toward them, and Victor and Alice added their signature where necessary. Finally, all that remained was the license. "Mr. Brown? If you would?"

Victor turned to face Alice, a few butterflies fluttering in his stomach. It had been years since he'd said these vows (excepting to himself in the mirror last night). What if he got them wrong again? For a moment, all he could think about was the disaster of a rehearsal at the Everglots, and the shame with which he'd been forced to flee --

Then Alice reached forward and took his hand, giving it a squeeze. The silent reassurance there -- that she didn't care if he messed up; they would be married regardless -- quieted his nerves. He squeezed back and smiled. "With this hand, I will lift your sorrows. Your cup will never empty, for I will be your wine. With this candle, I will light your way in darkness." He reached into his pocket and produced the gold band he'd gotten earlier in the week. "With this ring--" which slipped so easily onto her finger you'd think it had been waiting with the same anticipation he had "-- I ask you to be mine."

Alice beamed at him, pure sunshine on a warm spring day. "With this hand, I will lift your sorrows. Your cup will never empty, for I will be your wine. With this candle, I will light your way in darkness. With this ring--" She caressed his cheek, engagement and wedding rings glinting in the lamplight. "--I will always be thine."

Mr. Drapewell did not oblige them with a "you may now kiss the bride." But in that perfect, beautiful moment, Victor did so anyway.

"Are you ready?"

Victor takes a deep breath, looking out Dee's passenger side window. Marty and Alice are standing there by the mailbox, waiting to see them off, expressions nervous but hopeful. Victor does his best to return their smiles, but it's shaky. It's been -- one hell of a month. Who would have guessed that Alice running across someone who knew someone else that could relink him and Doc back to the worlds they'd thought they'd permanently left behind would only be the tip of the iceberg? Finding out that he'd need some help actually getting to the registrar's office with Alice had been a mild shock -- discovering that his old fiancee might be in danger of being murdered because he'd never come home had been a much worse one. And then there had been his trip to the Nexus, with all the various ideas thrown around about how to help her and what he could do to make sure this "Barkis" never hurt anyone ever again; finding that friend and getting the connection back to his world set up; trying to come up with the perfect plan that would ensure Victoria's safety as well as his own freedom; coming up with and throwing away new ideas, waffling over the very idea of going (was it really his business anymore?). . .so many long nights spent staring at the ceiling, trying desperately to figure out what his responsibilities were and how to handle them.

And now -- it's the moment of truth. If all goes well, he and Doc will be returning to his world about the same time he left it -- two years ago? Three? Ugh, he hates that his timeline is so messed up -- and trying their best to clear up all the loose ends. With any luck, they'll be in, out, and back before they know it, and he and Alice can just move on and become husband and wife.

Of course, Victor knows better than to think anything will just go smoothly when it comes to them. But this has to be done, otherwise his conscience will call him a murderer for the rest of his life. He looks at Doc, expression set. "Let's go."
( How to Save A Life )

(OOC: Backdated to shortly after Victor's Nexus visit, itself after a rather awkward meeting with Alice's aunt and uncle.)

Victor feels terribly awkward about doing this, but after his visit to the Nexus, he's even more certain that he needs to talk with Alice. He can't let this state of uneasy, embarrassed silence between them last forever. Especially if Adia. . .she couldn't be right, could she? Alice couldn't be thinking of him like -- like --

He shakes his head. One thing at a time. Adia had suggested writing a letter -- Victor had decided to go with a PINpoint message. After all, it wasn't like they could send conventional mail to each other. . . . He looks at the screen of his pocketwatch PINpoint, then starts composing:

Dear Alice,

I don't know how you feel about me at the present. You've been distant ever since you brought your aunt and uncle here to meet me and my friends. I know something's bothering you, and it hurts a little that you won't come out and say it. I have guessed that it has to do with my -- appearance -- when you and your family so abruptly arrived. I'm terribly sorry -- I thought I had the time to clean up. I only wanted to present myself at my best to them.

Perhaps it's rude of me to ask this, but -- were you affected in any way by seeing me unclad? I would hate to cause you the slightest bit of discomfort. I do hope the sight of my body in that state didn't disgust you. If that is the case, I'll apologize a thousand times. If it isn't, then -- could you please just talk to me? I miss you terribly.

I hope I'm not being too forward. Feel free to reply with your own message -- or come visit me in person. Either way, I anxiously await your reply.

Yours,

Victor

He looks at the "come visit me in person" bit again, wondering if he wants to keep it in there. Does he really want more face-to-face awkwardness? Particularly if he had disgusted her?

But if you haven't, wouldn't you want to celebrate? a slightly saucy thought slips through his head. He dismisses it with a blush (though he was reserving the right to kiss her if things went well), takes a deep breath, and hits Send.

Hopefully she'd get it soon. And this would all turn out for the best.

Follows on from Nightmares, which follows on from A Trip To Wonderland. Also backdated slightly to about a day after he visited the Nexus.

Victor looked at himself in the mirror, mentally steadying himself. Today he'd have to contact Alice and explain about his dreams. He probably should have done so yesterday, but he'd wanted to put April's lessons about mental blocks to use and get a good night's sleep beforehand. This was probably going to be a tough conversation. He took a deep breath. "Alice, I -- I'm afraid I have some b-bad news," he rehearsed. "I don't know why, but shortly after visiting Wonderland, I began to have these n-nightmares--"

Tentacles grabbing him, holding him in place

"Always about this -- this creature with tentacles. . . ."

Black eyes peering out of the darkness, shining with hatred

"And these horrible black eyes -- are there any m-monsters in Wonderland that look like that? I have no idea how one could get into my head, but -- but I--"

"Worthless" "GIVE TO ME WHAT IS RIGHTFULLY MINE!"

Victor squeezed his eyes shut, pulling up the mental blocks against the memories. "Alice, I'm scared," he whispered, though whether that was just another rehearsed line or him wishing she was here, he wasn't sure. "Why now?"

"Why not?"

Startled, Victor's eyes snapped open. His reflection stared back at him -- except --

Except it had pitch black eyes.

And then there was the sensation of something ripping through his defenses, something grabbing, something squeezing, something dragging. . . . He screamed briefly, then went limp against the sink. . . .

There was a knock on the front door. "Victor?" Doc's worried voice called. "Everything okay in there?"

He pulled himself back up, blinking a few times. "Fine," he called back in a slightly strangled voice, then swallowed and tried again. "Fine. Really."

Then he looked at his reflection again. Pitch black eyes stared back at him, and he smiled. "Just slipped a little."

As seen here: Victor and Alice's Trip To Wonderland, In Dialogue Form

He doesn't know why he's doing this. It's just – been on his mind, for some reason. A preoccupation that's somehow morphed into a compulsion. Something he simply had to do. He suspects that video had something to do with it – what, exactly, he can't be sure. But it was only after seeing it that everything started.

He looks down at the flowers he's chosen. White lilies, yellow daisies, red poppies. Purity, innocence, and pleasure, if he remembers his flower language correctly. A pleasant, neutral message. He isn't trying to win her heart, he just – needs to give her some flowers. It was a purely friendly gesture. She'd understand that, right? Purely friendly. Has nothing to do with any intentions on her. Has nothing to do with that awkward yet strangely nice kiss, or the way he's started to enjoy the way her green eyes sparkle when she smiles, or –

Victor groans and shakes his head. "Oh dear." He really hopes he can blame this all on a LOL. The alternative is – too awkward to contemplate right now.

Dear Santa... Dear Santa, This year I've been busy! Last Sunday I helped teeth_cut see the light (8 points). In February I pushed alienlisa in the mud (-17 points). In January I stole dee_lorean81's purse (-30 points). In May I gave change to a homeless guy (19 points). In June I farted in an elevator (-6 points). Overall, I've been naughty (-26 points). For Christmas I deserve a moldy sandwich! Sincerely, deadgirlsliekme

Write your letter to Santa! Enter your LJ username:

. . .I contend this is all the actions of another Victor Van Dort. (Though I haven't seen Ant in a while -- I wonder how he is?)

It occurs to me I might have been remiss in not mentioning this earlier, but I really didn't want to think too much about the whole situation. . . . Roughly a week ago, I -- I encountered what appeared to be a very dead corpse up and walking -- and attacking people. Except for me, apparently the things LIKE me That particular "zombie" has been taken care of, but -- has there been any other sightings? Or attacks? I'd hate to think of anyone getting hurt because I didn't have the fortitude to speak up.

And none of them were in bridal dress, were

Also, has anyone encountered a Miss Cameron? She and I were working together on something, but I haven't seen her in quite some time. She's a rather pretty young woman, long brown hair, brown eyes, a rather -- I hate to say it, but peculiar way of talking? (She speaks as if she's learned everything from an encyclopedia.)

How is everyone in general?

Victor's in his room, sitting at the dining table with his book in front of him. Once again, he's impressed with how nice it is -- there was no way he could get anything like this back home. He's currently got it open to a section explaining how the wings work, basically, with a couple of nice diagrams showing what's what. It should be very useful to this project he and Cameron have planned.

The project. Victor's still not sure how on earth it quite got started. The conversation he'd had with Cameron was -- interesting, to say the least. And it brought up a lot of questions he's not sure he has answers for yet. Like what he's going to do with his life here. And how to deal with the fact he's not linked to a famous (or infamous, if you asked some people) family anymore.

Or what he'd do if the chance to go home suddenly popped up.

He shakes his head and leans back in the seat. He doesn't want to think about that right now. He just wants to focus on building these butterfly wings. He's never done anything like it before, but -- well, it could be fun. And he can't deny he'd like the chance to fly.

He just hopes they do a good enough job that he doesn't end up a bloody smear on the ground when it's all over.

These were originally posted over at docsgirl, but I figured I'd put them here too, to keep them handy for reference purposes.

First, Victor's in-character 14-question survey:
( He Stammers Even In Text )

And second, 20 questions about his life and possible sexual habits. Which was amusingly awkward.
( But Mostly This Shit Is Angsty )