ATTN: [@PaulHaynek], [@AzureKnight] (Shizuka), & [@The Irish Tree] (Liliana)[hr][hider=Interludes: Crossing Swords in Dream][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=On2w9VTPbB4]Drifting.[/url] 

Downwards. Downwards.

Down the rabbit hole and out of Wonderland, over and over again. 

[color=ed145b][b][i]"My oh my,"[/i][/b][/color] an unfamiliar voice would say, a thorn in Carroll’s side as a gentle hand laid upon her chest. [color=ed145b][b][i]"How pathetic. An axe that got thrown asides. Is your head at least not broken yet, little cursed blade?"[/i][/b][/color] two hands, gentle and soft, would caress Carroll’s face, a smile so wicked that it could be felt without being seen on the figure’s face. [color=ed145b][b][i]"Do you want to wake up and smell the real world? Its much prettier than you’d think."[/i][/b][/color]

"[color=808080][b]Says a plank of wood,[/b][/color]" Carroll bit back, voice choked by a venomous remark of pride, wounded in a grand way. "[color=808080][b]Your pity is unneeded, considering it is your mistress that cast the spell after begging you for your aid. What would you know of a beautiful world, when your price for aid is so ugly?[/b][/color]"

[color=ed145b][b]"Pity?"[/b][/color] the voice asked, netting her fingers as she perched on nothing, turning over with her crimson hair dangling down, blinding Carroll. [color=ed145b][b]"She doesn’t pity you at all, you sad little thing."[/b][/color] Turning, she would vanish and appear behind Carroll, delicately stroking the back of her neck. [color=ed145b][b]"She has so many funny ideas…all of them out of the goodness of her heart. But unfortunately, you don’t fight with your heart,"[/b][/color] she said, now poofing and sitting on Carroll’s lap, shrugging. [color=ed145b][b]"She’s going to fight, you know. Over you. How does it feel, having your Master want to break you, and a stranger want to take her place to free you?"[/b][/color]

Carroll snapped open her eyes; face as still as sheet metal, as the painted balls of steel rotated, and followed her visitor until she settled. As she listened, her reply would issue from a mouth that never moved, "[color=808080][b]Like I'm being fought over by a clueless idiot facing against a vengeful prisoner. And, I have no heart. I am a shell of steel and wood, moved by magic and slime. My motivations are not dictated by a heart.[/b][/color]"

Shifted her eyes, Carroll looked up and down the creature perched on her crossed legs; seated in her laps, between her wooden thighs. Inside her own mentality, she was Human - [url=https://i.imgur.com/PlZOQEZ.jpg]she had been seen as Human, once and only once, as a youth; a child; a friend.[/url]

...never again.

Discarded.

Her Alice discarded her.

Her Mother discarded her.

"[color=808080][b]Why are you here? No mock me? To ridicule me? To see me suffer?[/b][/color]" Carroll asks.

Suddenly, the splinter before her laughed heartily, leaning her head back and covering her eyes with one hand. [color=ed145b][b]"Pfffft hahahahahaha! Aaaahahahahahaha! Wah-Ha-Ha-Ha! How hilarious! How pitiful! How adorable!"[/b][/color] she said, suddenly pinning Carroll down by her wrists. [color=ed145b][b]"All an axe has is a head, and you’ve gone in so many circles that you’ve lost that too. Silly fool, moronic splinter of steel, you’re ignoring how the world is for your imaginary fairy tale. Moved by magic and slime? No heart?"[/b][/color] she said and asked, before releasing her.

Sitting up, the splinter would say: [color=ed145b][b]"It would be funnier if you were telling it as a joke. But no. You’re just an ax that’s lost its head, slipped right off and cut the queen’s head,"[/b][/color] she said, before floating in the air, looking at Carroll between her legs. [color=ed145b][b]"But you’ve heart plenty. Heart enough for me to want to gouge it out and see what color it is. And those moans earlier! Magic and slime certainly can’t treat a man like that,"[/b][/color] the spectral twig cackled, before laying atop Carroll as if intimate with her, stroking her chin and lower lip. [color=ed145b][b]"No. You’ve just stopped growing your roots. You’re a sapling that tried to grow too quick, too many branches, too much pruning,"[/b][/color] she said, before wrapping her hands around Carroll’s neck as if to strangle her. [color=ed145b][b]"You’ve watered and watered, but your plants still wither and die. And do you know why?"[/b][/color]

Leaning in close, the creature made of whim itself would whisper: [color=ed145b][b]"Its because you’re desperate for something else. Anything else. To sweep you off your feet, little axe princess. So just sit back. Allow a fairy to play the part of queen slayer. And we will fight again,"[/b][/color] she said, standing up in full, walking away from Carroll as her wounds were now fully healed. [color=ed145b][b]"If that needs to be your reason to live, so be it. Live, just so I can defeat you."[/b][/color]

Now able to be seen in full, the creature that Carroll had fought before was [url=https://i.imgur.com/HTQAyDa.jpg] no taller than Liliana in human height,[/url] a being made solely of plant matter, of petals and leaves, thin, twig-like legs that were shaped like a dancer’s and ended on tiny roots. Petals that were pure white that graduated to a light pink, as if dappled in blood. A blood-stained lily.

As she walked off, there would be a sudden, squishy impact to the back of her head; a small ball of wood with holes run through it, pulsed on the floor ahead of her a little ways from the slime that was wrapped around it, and leaking out in a small puddle.

"[color=808080][b]I told you, I have no heart.[/b][/color]" Carroll says, standing up; her chest rent open by blood-stained claws of her left, as her head rested in the blood-soaked claws of her right head, "[color=808080][b]And, my head was never on straight, you talkative, little shit. A walking pile of compost, shoveling fresh shit from her mouth, to speak on matters she knows nothing of - could never know anything else. A pampered, precious lily; the prettiest blossom in the swamp.[/b][/color]"

Carroll's sneer was tangible, even though her face was an expressionless mask. "[color=808080][b]So, so, so mad, mad, mad with undue, undeserved, unjust confidence. Disgusting. Gross. Sickening. Patiently absurd...[/b][/color]" she says, spinning her head like a ball. "[color=808080][b]I'm annoyed. How quaint. I'm speaking in triplicate. It's so hard to focus, to... what did you say...[/b][/color] [color=ed145b][b]play my part, and let the fairy play Queen Slayer.[/b][/color]"

Flipping her head up, Carroll let it land on her shoulders, backwards, and twisted it forward - wood and steel becoming flesh and bone. "[color=808080][i]How absolutely rude of you, to intrude without introduction,[/i][/color]" Carroll says. "[color=808080][i]But, then, you've provided a stellar example to why nobody trusts a fairy. And, plenty of reason for me to kill your little mistress. I'm in control here. Not that Mad Hatter, nor some uppity failure of a Fairy Knight.[/i][/color]"

[color=ed145b][b]"Hehe…kaka…"[/b][/color] Whimsy laughed, narrowing her eyes as she looked at Carroll, stepping on the “heart” that had just been thrown at the back of her head. [color=ed145b][b]"So its like that, is it? She might be a failure, but unfortunately she’s MY failure,"[/b][/color] she said, picking up the heart before softball pitching it, perfectly nailing it right back in Carroll’s chest before she ran straight at her. 

[color=ed145b][b]"I’m Whimsy, a World Tree Fragment! And I’ll take you on anytime, anywhere, anyway, anyday!"[/b][/color] Whimsy said, before decking Carroll in the face, cackling madly. [color=ed145b][b]"This is the best! You shine so bright when you’re angry, Axe Princess! I can’t wait to beat you, and your Master!"[/b][/color]

Carroll barely budged from the deck, as she turned her eyes. "Carrollynn Wunderland. That's two Rs, two Ls, two Ns, and Wonder with a U," she says, before snapkicking Whimsy in the chin, "Youngest daughter of The Queen of Hearts. Your challenge is accepted. Now, get the fuck out of my head, so I can kill you."

[color=ed145b][b]"Unfortunately for you and your very long, weirdly spelled name,"[/b][/color] Whimsy said, adjusting her jaw, [color=ed145b][b]"We’re busy doing things while you take a nap. So, when we get back…that’ll be the starting bell,"[/b][/color] she said, grinning with a thin line of pale green trickling from her bloodied mouth. [color=ed145b][b]"See you then, Carrollynn Wunderland Two Rs two Ls two Ns and Wonder with a U."[/b][/color]

Carroll smirked, before she wiping her hand on her dress, and spit into her hand; coloured greenish-brown from the blood generated from the punch. "[color=808080][i]Shake on it,[/i][/color]" she says, offering the spat-upon hand.

Huffing, Whimsy would approach and spit into her own hand and shake Carroll’s. [color=ed145b][b]"What an utterly revolting Wonderland custom. I’ll make sure to humiliate you thoroughly,"[/b][/color] she said, before leaning in and whispering: [color=ed145b][b]"I can’t wait to see what you [i]REALLY[/i] look like."[/b][/color] 

In a flash of petals, Whimsy was gone from Carroll’s mind, wounds healed perfectly once she came back to reality. 

To that, a pause would be brought to Carroll, and she'd ask, looking at her hand, "[color=808080][i]What I really look like, huh?[/i][/color]" before she morphed her hand into metal claws, like blades, and cackled madly; digging the blades into red hair that fell like a curtain of blood in a slaughterhouse. "[color=808080][i]I look like whatever you want sweetheart,[/i][/color]" she says, "[color=808080][i]So killing you will be all the more satisfying...[/i][/color]"

Madly, Carroll would lose herself in insane laughter, born of a fit of giggles that begged to be born explosively.

She was physically healed, but...

...she was a long way from mentally healed.[/hider][hider=Mad, Mad, Murky Water, Part II]Carroll awoke with a hiss, as Alice opened her eyes, as well. Standing, the Mad Hatter barely rocked the boat, as she took the damage into account. "[color=6083ff][i]From here, we shall divide and counter. Shizuka, trade with me, once again. For my task, Carroll will not serve me as strongly as she could, but would be invaluable to your task,[/i][/color]" Alice says, "[color=6083ff][i]Sir Ian, lend your sword to Shizuka, if you would. Together, and with Liliana as support, you lot should be able to handle what's on the second ship.[/i][/color]"

"[color=976f29][i]Meanwhile, I'll take the disabled ship prisoner...[/i][/color]"

Meanwhile, Liliana wasn’t deaf to the threats of the Varjans below. …In all likelihood, they would take the girl hostage, and demand that Liliana dispel the fog. She couldn’t let either of those things happen…but, of all the rotten luck to get the ship that didn’t matter! She had to think fast…buy time, at least for now. Cycling support spells until the fairy was invisible, she would clear her throat. 

[color=f49ac2][b]"Wah! Hah! Hah! Foolish marauders, pilferers of these murky waters! I am the Ghoooost of Hama Island, here to lay claim to your very sooooouls~!"[/b][/color] she said, cackling for good measure. [color=f49ac2][b]"Begging is no use, nor is crying for mercy~! Each of you will fall into a deep sleep, and jooooiiiin me in the inky abyss!"[/b][/color] she said, a pale glow coming from the fog as several other copies of Liliana, still invisible, flittered around the Varjan ship. [color=f49ac2][b]"Ooooooooooo~"[/b][/color] they would moan, right into the ears of the jailors.

Meanwhile, the real Liliana was taking advantage of the chaos to race through the ship, trying to find the jailor before they reached the prisoner.

Back in the boat, Ian tossed a gladius in its scabbard to Shizuka as was suggested by Alice, taking the metaphor literally. The leather sheath was still smooth and fresh and the blade itself was pristine and shiny as if carefully-forged. “[color=ghostwhite]Don’t swing that too hard, alright? I forged that myself and I want it still neat and gleaming when it comes back to me.[/color]” The rainbow knight warned.

Shizuka scoffed a bit at Alice, seeming to have taken the role of leader for herself. He raised a brow at her proposal for a trade; she wanted to use his sword? [color=royalblue]”My, it seems you’ve put a lot of thought into this plan.”[/color] He said. He thought about Carroll, who was now awake. He figured she’d be better with him than her anyway. [color=royalblue]”I don’t mind. Just be mindful how you wield it. It’s not like the large and crude weapons you seem to be used to.”[/color] With that, he tossed Alice his shikomizue, sheath and all. He then shot a look at Carroll, it was an expected one that confirmed their partnership on this mission and one that would hopefully aid in ridding her of her restlessness. 

The scene was cut short when Ian decided to toss Shizuka one of his swords. It seemed he took Alice’s figure of speech literally, which caused Shizuka to look at him with a confused expression. [color=royalblue]”I…can’t say I’m used to western swords. I’ll mainly be using Carroll for this operation, but won’t waste your generosity should the situation call for it. Thank you, Sir Ian.”[/color] 
He then gave Carroll another look that said, `What can you do?’, choosing not to press the issue further. 

As they came upon their target boat, he held Carroll with a gentle but firm grasp. [color=royalblue]”Are you ready, Carroll? Let’s go ahead and get this started. Ian, back me up.”[/color]

"[color=976f29]Cute, your assumptions of my repertoire,[/color]" Alice says, catching the bandit blade. "[color=976f29]As for your scoffing, you can save it. This plan is predicated on the fact that one ship is rife with spores that I can breathe, and you can't. Dividing our forces in such a way is the most reasonable option to assure the most success,[/color]" she says, "[color=6083ff][i]You blade will be used with the utmost care, however. After all, unconscious, paralyzed soldiers can't fight back to having their throats slashed and stabbed![/i][/color]"

Beaming, Alice would stand tall, and back-dive into the water to swim the short distance to the presumed disabled ship, and board it.

"[color=808080][i]Let's hurry, before it's too late,[/i][/color]" Carroll says, squeezing Shizuka's hand. Focusing, she would transform into her weapon form - failing to become her normal, long axe self, but a long katana, instead.

"[color=808080][i]Oh...[/i][/color]"

The Varjans on the ship freaked out at Liliana’s ghastly illusions, quivering in their places. They had their weapons out, but they still shook in fear. Only the Varjan Warlock aboard was unfazed, and he angrily tried to keep order. “[color=ed145b]Don’t be intimidated, you fools! There are no monsters in Shizuyama, much less damned ghosts![/color]” He yelled at his underlings. “[color=ed145b]Stay sharp and search for the culprit![/color]”

[url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/d__/images/c/c4/Csm_sorceror_wordbearers.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20120805172053&path-prefix=dow]He had a mage’s robes over his red armor and his sand-colored helmet sported an inhuman, snarling visage[/url]. His armaments consisted of only a metal staff whose top end was a circle that had spikes jutting out. It is clear he relied on spells and sorcery to deal with his foes. “[color=ed145b]Dammit! Where’s the girl?![/color]”

Those were his last words before coming face-to-face with the Carroll-katana-wielding Shizuka. “[color=ed145b]Who the hell are you?! Are you the one doing all this?![/color]” The Warlock questioned, but it seemed he already had his answer when his staff began glowing with purple magic while the Varjan Brigands and Warriors surrounded the azure swordsman and his sentient blade.

They noticed, however, that Ian was not with them. Shizuka could almost faintly hear him from back at the rowboat, “[color=ghostwhite]I told you! I need to guard the boat![/color]”

One of the Warriors made the first move and swung his axe at the swordsman.

Meanwhile, Liliana searched the interior of the vessel in search of the prisoner. The cramped insides of the ship were lit up ominously by blue-colored flame while skeletons and long-decayed corpses of humans were strung up on the walls as if they were decorations. She soon entered a large chamber that contrasted the grisly sights outside. The furniture were luxurious and noble, smooth blue coverings for the two chairs and the bed with a golden frame.

However, the warrior Fairy would also hear noises inside this chamber.

“[color=steelblue]...Damn her! Damn the queen!...[/color]”

“[color=steelblue]...Does she think I didn’t realize…[/color]”

“[color=steelblue]...Tossing us aside in this backwater island…[/color]”

“[color=steelblue]...I’ll show her! I’ll live, and I’ll show her…[/color]”

The noises were faint and seemed to… come from the walls of this chamber. But before Liliana could investigate further, another door into the chamber flew open and in came a teenage girl in tattered ragged clothes and a Varjan Brigand. 

“[color=aba000]You! How dare you enter this chamber![/color]” The Varjan seized the girl who struggled futilely.

“[color=f49ac2]No! Let go of me![/color]”

“[color=aba000]Stubborn… little girl![/color]” The Varjan, fed up, slapped the girl to the floor.

On the other ship, Alice boarded with no problem. And navigated the spore-ridden vessel also with no problem, only encountering slumbering Varjans. It appeared everyone in the ship was knocked unconscious by her ability. Thus, she reached the helm pretty quickly where she could touch and hold the ship’s wheel with no one objecting.

She soon heard the sounds of angry screaming from the other ship. It appeared the fight there has begun.

…Something was…deeply wrong with this place. Liliana wasn’t sure if she was just misunderstanding where the protests were coming from but…

The walls were screaming.

The walls were screaming.

The walls were [i]crying[/i]

The fairy was almost paralyzed by the tangible air of negativity, every instinct telling her to jump ship. …That is at least, until she saw the girl being manhandled by the Varjan, presumably the jailor, before he just slapped that poor girl into the ground! No self-respecting fairy can accept violence against children, so it seemed Liliana had to stop and teach this dumb-dumb some manners!

[color=f49ac2][b]"Hiyyyah~!"[/b][/color] Liliana shouted, before delivering the flat of her sword straight into the Varjan soldier’s groin, then following it up by a flat blow to his head. Releasing her invisibility spell, Liliana would float before the girl and offer a hand. [color=f49ac2][b]"Hey there. I’m here to rescue someone’s daughter, and um…I really, really hope that’s you!"[/b][/color] 

Alice swept across the boat, taking rope and tying arms and legs, as dragged bodies to the brig, and sat them against the wall. Paralyzed, the captured Varjans could never feel the movements, and could awaken under the spores were cleared of their system.

Unfortunately, as she kept breathing them out, the infestation would not die.

Once she'd stuffed all the cells, she stood afore the first man, and stripped him, then the next, and all after him, until the Varjans were as naked as a newborn.

...then, she drew her borrowed blade.

Systematically, she sank the silver of metal into their chest; slowed heartS punctured, and pumping blood out of the body. It was the only wound she needed to make, and she would, methodically, in a pattern - stabbing every other man.

Leaving half of the crew alive, naked bodied, bound and gagged, locked in a cell, sat in the blood of the man to his right and left... forced to realize his life was spared only by the madness of pure chance once he was able to awake from his dream.

Sheathing the bloody blade, Alice would clean up the arms and armor; tossing it all into the armory, before doing a sweep of the ship for anyone she missed. In the distance, she heard the battle going on, but she's her own role to play.

Across the way, Carroll was silent, focused, as she gave Shizuka her all. She didn't need to speak, just to be, and she was - her slime shell covering Shizuka like an armor that made him seem more dragon than human.

There were no monsters in Shizuyama, but there were men...

...and, a man could be the greatest monster of all.

Especially with a good woman in his corner.

Shizuka felt Carroll’s slime fusing with his flesh yet again, her power channeling itself through his veins. He was able to speed onto the boat with little issue, seeing that Liliana’s antics did their part in causing commotion among the enemy’s ranks. An armored foe that gave off the bearing of a leader tried to quell the panic among their troops, eventually seeing eyes on the swordsman and cursed sword pair. 

Shizuka did not respond to the man’s question, and it seemed he was able to answer it himself anyway. Watching carefully as the fighters surrounded him, it seemed the only one worthy of note was the leader themselves. That glowing staff that shone a purple light certainly caught the ronin’s eye. He would have to be cautious in this skirmish, ignoring the fact that he was outnumbered. Not helped by the fact that Ian opted to stay on the boat during the battle, making the excuse that it needed to be guarded. Shizuka ignored the strange man, at least he gave him a sword, so he supposed that counted for something. 

The warriors decided to make the first move, with one of them swinging an axe at the swordsman. He would find this was a poor decision, as the weapon wasn’t even able to break through the slime carapace that Carroll encased Shizuka in. [color=royalblue]”[b]I’ve been conditioned to either parry or outright dodge any and all incoming attacks in my career. However, this is the first time where I just don’t see the need. [/b]”[/color] He said. Within the same breath, the man had already fallen to the floor, his blood spilling out on the deck. Being an iaijutsu master, downing an opponent with his blade without it being seen was just another day for the ronin, but there was something different about it this time. This was the type of speed and ability that was different from what one achieved through training. He wondered if this is what those who become incubi feel like. 

Within an instant, he backhanded another grunt clean off the ship, his hand covered in a bit of blood from the blow. There wasn’t even a wisp of wind to signify his movement. [color=royalblue]”[b]I will only say this once. I believe you westerners refer to this as parley? I request that you release the girl you’re holding captive, and in exchange you will be allowed to walk away with your lives. If not, then the next thing you see will be whatever god you believe in.[/b]”[/color]

While he said these words, there was a small part of him that didn’t wholly mean it. Much like that haughty Shinsengumi samurai he fought in days long past, he wanted to test the abilities of his new blade on the enemies before him. A feeling he didn’t usually feel, it appears that he was slowly changing as he bonded with Carroll more and more. 

Back inside, the Varjan that Liliana struck quite dirtily lied on the floor as the teenage girl stared in shock at her tiny savior. “[color=f49ac2]Someone’s daughter…? Did-Did my father send you? A yokai?[/color]” She wondered as to how exactly that was possible from what she knew, but realized now was not the time. “[color=f49ac2]Never mind that, we should get out of here immediately. Have you taken care of the Varjans in the rest of the ship?[/color]”

The answer would be a ‘no’ as Shizuka still squared off with the crew on the deck. Eliminating two of their number effortlessly made them reconsider their next actions. “[color=aba000]Parley this![/color]” One of the Varjans answered Shizuka’s offer by throwing a javelin at the armored swordsman. The brazen act inspired others to do the same, hurling spears and axes at Shizuka. A couple of archers even started shooting arrows at his position.

All the while, the Warlock kept back and continued to grow power in his staff whose purple glow grew ever brighter.

At the other ship, Alice continued to stay at the spored ship. The spared Varjans were still unconscious, blissfully unaware of the massacre that befell their crewmates as well as all of them being bound and naked.

Her reconnaissance of the vessel’s entirety yielded not much result, save for the occasional mouse who were knocked out by the spores out in the open. The other, hidden mice likely suffered the same fates. Other than that, nothing was out of the ordinary. Alice’s scouting of the ship treated her to the signature Varjan decoration of skulls displayed mounted on walls or hanging from the ceilings as well as blood paints in the shape of a circle with protrusions in the four intermediate directions.

Finally, however, Alice came upon a chest locked behind a small iron-barred room. A note hanging on the cell door’s read thus, ‘SUMMON SCROLLS DO NOT OPEN WITHOUT WARLOCK PERMISSION’.

"[color=976f29][i]Well, how curious a fine...[/i][/color]" Alice says, faced with Schrodinger's Trap. "[color=976f29]Best to leave it to sit for the time being. This is more the domain of that pumpkin-butt Lich,[/color]" she decided, "[color=6083ff][i]Still, it would be good to capture a warlock? Or, the warlock? Could such a person have been on this ship? Maybe, the other?[/i][/color]"

Pouting, Alice would mull her options, and wander the ship; as she did, she would collect the unconscious mice, if only to do so. Curious, she would blow more paralyzing spores into one, and see what happened, as they clung to the fur and created a dusty coating on the fur.

"[color=6083ff][i]Oh?[/i][/color]" Alice tilted her head, before she fastballed it into a wall; creating an explosion of blood and dust, though the bloodsplosion would subsume the spores with its greater velocity than the almost static cloud.

Still... that was quite a curious idea. Kneeling down, Alice would inspect the spore-riddled blood, and ponder on the possibilities of such a delivery system. Sure, one couldn't just throw rats and expect results, but Alice could extrapolate the theory...

Rushing to the kitchen, Alice would find their water source - a ship couldn't sail on saltwater alone, so they had to have stores of freshwater about. Once located, she would drool, salivate, and gargle as much of her saliva as possible into the water, and fill enough mugs to divide the once divided crew into a second half.

Her chosen husbands.

They might not love monsters, but they would lust for their lover, and, like good husbands, go to war for her.

Removing the gags of her chosen half, she would force their mugs of liquid hedonism down their throat; the energy provided starting to neutralize the paralysis, as their libidos swelled - literally and figuratively - with the sole obsession of Alice.

Smartly, as she was, Alice would only awaken a single cell, and lock the door behind her, as well as have readied several rat bombs, in case her spores weren't as effective. If worse came to worse, she could throw a few rats at strike out speeds, and stab everyone dead, and leave the rest asleep.

...for now, the moment of truth...

[I]Madness. Bloodlust. The thrill of slaughter and slicing down lesser Husbands at the knees...[/i]

Carroll remembered it - it prickled at the back of her mind; niggled at the core of her soul. Shizuka was so charming, trying to maintain this front of professionalism, while his old ways crept back to the forefront of his mind to whisper honey-sweet words in his ears. It wasn't his voice, however, but [i]hers[/i] that slipped out of the cracks in his strong, but aging walls.

[i]Yurika.[/i]

It was all she could do to break him free of her parasitic hold. He knew she was just using her voice and her form, but she wasn't.

She couldn't be.

She wouldn't be.

She wasn't to be.

She was a tool and nothing more.

There was no reason to act above her station.

Still, she needed to play her part.

"[color=E8DE2A][i]Resist my power, and use me as your sword. Spare yourself my damnation, and save the fairy, Shizuka...[/i][/color]"

Liliana was pretty sure that Shizuka, good as he was, probably wasn’t SO good that he’d already completely eliminated the Varjans up top. As such, the fairy would cross her arms and say: [color=f49ac2][b]"Nope. But don’t worry, my friends are super strong!"[/b][/color] 

Still, it wasn’t as if Liliana could wait down here forever. If she could just get the girl to Ian, she could return and help Shizuka mop up the remaining Varjans. Reaching out a hand, Liliana would say: [color=f49ac2][b]"I know you must think yokai are a little scary…but we’re not really that scary at all."[/b][/color] Dropping to one knee, Liliana would offer her sword’s pommel, saying: [color=f49ac2][b]"So, wherever a princess is in trouble, a knight will always come to save her. Whether they’re a yokai or human, believe in that! Now, I need you to trust me. I’ll fly us away from here and cast a spell to make those black steel buttheads unable to see us. Ready?"[/b][/color]

Shizuka wasn’t surprised that his offer for a peaceful resolution was shot down instantly, as he’s come to expect from these brutes at this point. Carroll had taken his attention for a moment, sparing him a few choice words. He closed his eyes for a moment, contemplating the feeling he had attempted to hide deep within. Yes, that’s right, he couldn’t lose himself again. He’d be a hypocrite to the rest of the taskforce, and most of all he’d be a failure to himself. He shook his head in agreement, and a solemn expression filled his face. He was Kannazuki Shizuka, nothing more and nothing less. 

Unimpressed with the barrage of flung weapons thrown at him, Shizuka responded by parrying them with his own barrage of countless slashes. However, the technique he actually used was Uryubutosen: Toppu. Thus, all of the attackers would find themselves torn apart by the heavy winds. The staff-wielding Varjan would find several bodies flung his way, due in part to the violent gust. In addition, whether he realized it or not, Shizuka appeared behind the man in an instant with an intent to strike him down. 

Shizuka would be sure to evade with Eseryu, in the event that the man’s spell thwarted an assault from multiple directions. 

The Warlock deftly evaded the bodies hurled his way, still gathering power into his staff as his underlings were flung overboard by the swordsman’s wind attack.

But Shizuka appearing behind the Warlock was exactly where the latter wanted him. Before he could strike, the Varjan spellcaster turned around and unleashed all the gathered magic he had accumulated. Even with Eseryu, the  attack was a powerful shockwave that simply could not be avoided at this range.

Shizuka was blown away, all the way to the spore-filled ship and crashing through the middle mast and rolling across the wooden floor. The large pole fell onto its own vessel, causing some noticeable damage to the ship. The noise of which was quickly heard by Alice, still inside and waiting for her naked victims to awaken. They had begun to stir, but did the Mad Hatter really have time for this?

“[color=ed145b]Ready the fire arrows! Burn the ship![/color]” The Warlock declared. Immediately, Varjan crewmen readied a small fiery pit for the Footmen to dip their arrows to light them aflame.

Fire arrows rained down on the spore ship that had Shizuka, Carroll and Alice aboard. The arrows’ fires were currently not enough to completely set the vessel ablaze but from the other ship, the Warlock began gathering purple magic once more. Determined to keep Shizuka in the spore-filled ship as its fire progressed. However, Shizuka knew he could return a dozen times before the flames grew serious. An ominous feeling washed over him.

Meanwhile back inside the second ship, the daughter took Liliana’s pommel and nodded. “[color=f49ac2]...I’m ready to get out of this wretched place. Even if it’s through a yokai.[/color]”

Alice could smell the sulfur, the familiar scent of fire. It brought back memories of kingdoms razed; those by her hands and those in the palms of her hands. Fire... equalized everyone, from the weakest Human to the strongest Mamono. Even Demon Lords knew to fear the finality of flame.

But, fire was not perfect - it lived, breathed, and hungers, like all things in their own way. If smothered, like anything, it would die.

Still paralyzed, the awakening Varjans would suffer no pain, as Alice plunged her blade into their hearts, before she used the [Shunpo] she'd learned from Shizuka, and swept the other cells like a whisper of death, reaping her prisoners with a grim satisfaction. It had been a century and half since her campaign of the Material Realm; her grand sweeping campaign that took her from a vassal kingdom to the Capital of Summerheld where she held her throne room in the main hall of the University.

Bloodshed soothed her like a cup of tea, the warmth of the sanguine liquid filled the cup of her soul, and nourished her madness-addled heart. However, our deeds catch up with us. Committing crimes will start a tab of consequence and generate a debt of recompense, and eventually...

"[color=976f29]...Death will come to collect on your sins...[/color]" Alice says, as she stepped onto the deck, and threw Shizuka’s blood-soaked sword at his feet. "[color=976f29]Carroll, blood is thicker than water,[/color]" she says, "[color=976f29]Do your duty as a Queen’s Blade, and put an end to this nonsense with that Samurai.[/color]"

"[color=808080][b][i]Very well... Shizuka... use me... as a Samurai ought...[/i][/b][/color]" Carroll says, her voice that dark, rasp he remembered from their first meeting. "[color=808080][b][i]Do you smell it... the blood... like water....[/i][/b][/color]" she says, "[color=808080][b][i]...bend it to your will, and prove your title: Arashi no Hitokiri.[/i][/b][/color]"

"[color=6083ff][i]Storm forth, and rain blood upon our enemies,[/i][/color]" Alice beamed, before poking her lower lip cutely, "[color=6083ff][i]Oh, but, leave whoever threw you over here alive, pleeeeasseee~[/i][/color]"

Shizuka was briefly caught off guard during his attack. The warlock’s attack was an all-encompassing shockwave, making it rather impractical to dodge it at such close range. He was instead sent flying off of the ship, crashing into the adjacent one where Alice was assigned to. Despite the crash, Shizuka hadn’t taken much damage. Carroll’s armor-like slime had provided him with an extra layer of defense, along with the natural barrier his chi manipulation had afforded him. Already on his feet, he had conveniently landed right near Alice, who walked up to him and began speaking in her usual morbid and whimsical tone. He also noticed that the warlock had his archers shoot flame-tipped arrows at the ship. So that was his plan, to burn them along with the ship. 

[color=royalblue]”[b]I see you’ve been busy here.[/b]”[/color] He said, taking his bloodied blade back in hand. He looked at Alice, and then Carroll as they made their statements. [color=royalblue]”[b]That is a moniker that I’ve long since abandoned and no longer care for. But, I of course will see this mission through.[/b]”[/color] Flashing out of the hole he made when he was flung here, he used Carroll’s blade as a clutch to hang on to the side of the ship. Using the blood on the blade, and thanks to the new ability gained from the cursed weapon, with one powerful stroke he extinguished the flames that were threatening to burn the ship. Of course, that wouldn’t stop the archers from firing more arrows. 

He couldn’t use an attack that was too powerful and risked hurting the kidnapped girl and Lili. He also saw that the Warlock was charging another shockwave attack, a bid to keep him on the ship. Thinking for a brief moment, Shizuka made his move. With Shinsoku, he wisped back on the ship, this time away from the Warlock. He then began cutting down the archers, further adding more blood for his and Carroll’s use and stopping them from further burning the ship. With the increase in their attacking force, he would attempt to bind the Warlock in place with the ichor and prevent him from attacking further. 

If his gambit was successful, he would then cut him down with a decisive blow. 

[color=f49ac2][b]"Here we go then!"[/b][/color] the fairy knight declared, gently picking up her ward and channeling power into Whimsy, cycling various buffs until the girl and Liliana were both invisible. [color=f49ac2][b]"Now, nobody can see us until I want them to. Just stay quiet, and hang on,"[/b][/color] the fairy directed, before taking flight with her ward, having to stay fully sized in order to carry her.

Liliana burst from the lower deck in the midst of the rain of arrows, having to maneuver carefully to keep her and the girl from becoming exotic pincushions. Speeding along the side of the ship opposite Shizuka and the warlock, Liliana would skirt along the surface of the water towards Ian’s boat. With graceful steps, she would carry the damsel in distress to him and land, lightly rocking the boat from her and the girl’s weight before dropping the invisibility spell. Proudly, Liliana would say: [color=f49ac2][b]"Mr. Shiny-Shine, keep her safe. I’ve gotta go help my friend!"[/b][/color] before already moving to take off and return to help Shizuka. From what she’d seen, he was in need of some extra help, even if…well…Alice was out of it right now. So…maybe the fairy was extra-needed.

“[color=ghostwhite]You got it, bubba![/color]” Ian gave a thumbs-up at Liliana while the rescued girl was bedazzled by his rainbow armor.

The Fairy attempted to join Shizuka back in the second ship, and watched the swordsman instantly return there from the first ship and start cutting down the fire archers. With the blood on his blade, the slime-armored swordsman attempted to bind the Warlock for the finishing blow.

The Warlock released his shockwave early to protect against the ichor, but he was too slow to stop Shizuka’s slash that pierced his armor and wounded him mortally. Screaming from the pain, he desperately hugged Shizuka and pulled the swordsman and himself overboard. 

Several feet under the salty water, Shizuka saw that the Warlock was glowing and he sensed the quick buildup of spirit energy on his enemy. A suicidal explosion to take Shizuka with him to the hereafter, just like what that priestess attempted back at the temple.

Back up to the ships, Alice and Liliana separately watched the remaining Varjans of the second ship hurl a couple of small black barrels at their vessel. The barrels leaked a black liquid: Oil, a very explosive substance. A lone Footman archer shot at the barrels with fire arrows, but his aim could not be worse. 

He might get a lucky hit soon, though, and a Varjan Brigand emerged from the lower levels carrying a larger, easier-to-hit barrel ready to pass it to the first ship.

Alice was backed into a corner.

Shizuka had terribly - no, horrifically, honestly - misunderstood her intentions. She wasn't returning his blade. She was just showing him the blood.

...the blood that couldn't have come from anywhere else but the crew of this very empty ship she stood on.

Did she sorely underestimate his intelligence, or did he really take such offense to his title of eld? Enough to take not only his sword, but Carroll, and leave her undefended and alone? He didn't even bother to leave her that Rainbow Freak's sword! Now, he had THREE SWORDS, and she just had these stupid scrolls. Adding insult to injury, Liliana seemed to determine that Shizuka needed rescue over her, as the simpleton likely only saw Shizuka in combat, and concluded: Alice, not in combat; Shizuka, definitely in combat.

Was this karma? Were nearly two-hundred-years of war crimes catching up in a twisted climax? Or, was it just the dull thud of the travel-sized barrels of oil? Either way, she wasn't getting off - figuratively or literally. Where the hell would she even go? Unarmed, she stood no chance of boarding the Varjan ship and doing anything but her best pincushion cosplay, and the unforgiving sea was behind her, so there was no retreat to beat.

For the moment, she was rife with energy, so she could delay her death by Environmental Disaster #1 on the high seas by catching the arrows with [Shunpo] and throwing them into the ocean, while running the barrels under the deck. Granted, once they rolled out the big boys, that was a problem.

Just what in the hell was she going to do against that?

There was no way she could risk going forward nor could she afford going backwards.

It would seem... Death had come to collect on her tab.

"[color=6083ff][i]Oh, bother... I really didn't see this happening,[/i][/color]" Alice pressed a finger to her lips, pursed in a deep frown, "[color=976f29]This sucks big, hairy Takuni balls...[/color]"

"[color=976f29]Okay, okay, just breathe and remember the feeling of Magic... dig deep, dummy, and find it...[/color]" Alice grit her teeth, and planted her feet on the deck of the boat, curling her toes into the wood, as she planted roots and extended her arms. "[color=6083ff][i]Proliferate! Root Swarm![/i][/color]"

Bursting forth, vines broke free of Alice and swarmed across the deck of the opposing ship to start binding everyone and everything.

Meanwhile, undah da sea, where Shizuka and the Warlock played [i]Sword, Magic, Nuke[/i], because men were just stupid and never did things simply, Carroll was weighing her options:

Left Hand: Alice asked for Shizuka to bring this sore loser asshole back alive for whatever reason her twisted heart desired.

Right Hand: Alice didn't ask Carroll to do that, but the implication was extended, of course, as she was operating as his sword.

Granted, Alice had given Shizuka back his own blade, and she did tell Carroll to act as a Queen's Blade ought.

So...

...off with his head.

Shizuka had no control, as Carroll assumed direct control, and swung herself; her blade transformed into a wicked, red-hot tachi that looked like it was forged in Hell.

There would be no explosion, as the Warlock's head was separated from his shoulders so cleanly, so neatly, he was still able to take a breath and move blood from his head to his heart, before air bubbles escaped the wound and the current moved the parts away from each other. Such was the horror of a vorpal blade: the slice was microscopic, so the body and brain didn't register death. From his perspective, nothing had happened to the Warlock, before he exhaled and the ocean dragged him in twain.

Neutralizing the threat, Carroll would start the swim back to the surface without Shizuka's consent on the matter. They had other matters to attend, like an entire boat to finish clearing.

Fluttering about on the deck of the non-Alice-slaughtered-ship, Liliana’s attention would soon be split away from the various Varjans with melee weapons as she spied some coming up from below deck with…barrels? Barrels of black goo that some of the archers were trying to shoot at. …Goo that smelled oddly similar to that stuff from back at the docks where Shizuka rescued her…

[color=f49ac2][b]"Oh crud!"[/b][/color] Liliana shouted, quickly turning her sword towards the archers as they became ensnared by Alice’s roots. Cutting them down was simple work with them bound, but the barrel-chucking men would have to go next. Liliana wouldn’t risk using any magic either, given that she remembered this stuff going kaboom. She would break said barrels with powerful swings, before having to turn her attention back to the Varjans that were still sprawling all over the deck. 

Shizuka’s attack had indeed hit his mark, but what followed next caused him to hear his own words to Eula echo. [i]Be wary of what a fool will do in desperation.[/i] The Warlock refused to be downed alone, and opted to tackle the ronin into the waters below. There, he began channeling massive amounts of mana into his body. Shizuka immediately noticed that it was similar to the technique that the miko warrior attempted back at the temple some time ago. The swordsman made a mental groan, more annoyed than anything. 

Before he could react, Carroll decided to act for him and took the form of a fiery tachi. With her vorpal edge, she cut the spellcaster’s head clean off, seemingly putting an end to his mana bomb gambit. Now wanting to let go of her control, she began swimming the two of them back to the surface, where they would soon finish this fight. Shizuka saw a bit of oil seeping on the water, which roused his caution even further. Making a guess for what the Varjans were planning, he knew he needed to make a move quickly. 

Mentally apologizing to Carroll, Shizuka burst out of the waters with a surge of wind and looked over head. A lone archer was attempting to shoot flame-lit arrows to ignite the now oil-soaked boat Alice was on. He saw that she had spread her roots everywhere in an attempt to defend herself, but those roots would only feed the fire. If only Lili and the others were at a safe distance, he’d just destroy the damned vessel with a Kaminari bolt. But that would likely ignite all of the oil and cause a large fire to spread. It seemed the chosen bowman was a terrible one, missing every shot he fired thus far. His friends apparently felt the same, as one brought a larger barrel with the mind that it’d be easier to hit. 

[color=royalblue]”[b]Lili, get away from the ship![/b]”[/color] He exclaimed to the sprite warrior. 

After that, Shizuka would cloak himself in water, which morphed into the shape of a dragon. Another one of the Teikoku Arashi school of techniques, Uryū Suichū ● Senki, a powerful charging attack in which the user attacks with a drilling motion using water. He fully intended to shatter the vessel with his attack, and cause all of the Varjans onboard to fall into the watery depths and ending the imminent danger that Alice was presented with. 

Shizuka, inside the dragon-shaped water, crashed into the second ship while the remnants of the Varjan crew could only watch as they were either bound by Alice’s vines or cut down by Liliana on her way to take down the fire archer. Any fire that was lit at that time was put out by the amount of water that splashed everywhere, and the barrels of oil would sink unignited along with its vessel.

Liliana would be blown away by the shockwave of Shizuka’s crash, sending her flying towards the ocean… Only to be caught by hand by Ian, who somehow rowed his boat far enough not to be drastically affected by the waves created by the sudden destruction of the second ship. “[color=ghostwhite]That’s a close one, lil’ one. Something tells me your kind aren’t exactly great swimmers. Anyway, just sit tight while I row to your friends.[/color]”

As the second ship sank with Varjans screaming and/or swimming away from the carnage, Alice felt her ship suddenly jolt up and return back down, challenging her balance. She then noticed the vessel sinking too into the watery depths. It seemed something had punched or blown a hole somewhere at the bottom of the ship, a hole big enough that water quickly flooded in.

Something that was also noticed by Shizuka and Carroll as soon as they emerged from the water. It appeared that there was no stopping the spell of the beheaded Warlock.

When the first ship’s deck was near the water level, Ian had come with his boat that had Liliana and the rescued daughter. “[color=ghostwhite]Well, that certainly was something, wasn’t it?[/color]” Ian said with the rescued daughter staying quiet amidst all the destruction. “[color=ghostwhite]Let’s row outta here, shall we?[/color]”

“[color=ghostwhite]Unless you wanna get something from the ships. I advise that you do that now, though.[/color]” Ian looked at the two sinking Varjan vessels, the second one all below the water now with only bits of wooden wreckage remaining. “[color=ghostwhite]The second ship looked important, though…[/color]”

The swordsman's attack had done its job, and the vessel had been destroyed by his drilling attack, leaving the attacking Varjans doomed to sink to a watery grave. As the pair of Shizuka and Carroll rose to the surface, they felt a powerful rumbling that came from further down the depths. Accompanying it was a sinister purple glow that came from below the ship that Alice was on. Shizuka looked at Carroll as he immediately guessed what it was: it seemed that decapitation wasn't enough to stop the warlock's explosion.

While it caused it to dip below the surface for a moment, Alice's ship came back up, although it looked like it was now slowly sinking back down below. 

[color=royalblue]”[b]Carroll, we need to save your master[/b]”[/color] Shizuka quickly uttered. Utilizing his god-like speed, Shizuka's body appeared invisible to the naked eye, as small ripples appeared on the water where his feet met with it. He was soon back in front of Alice, entering through the hole from before. He ignored the rushing water covering his feet as he looked upon the plant woman.

[color=royalblue]”[b]Come Alice, we're leaving. [/b]”[/color] That was all she heard as she would instantly feel her body be whisked away. She would feel herself being back outside, rushing on the water's surface. The next thing she would realize is being back on Ian's boat with the others.

[color=royalblue]”[b]Apologies for the mess, everyone,[/b]”[/color] he said, [color=royalblue]”[b]but I felt that battle went on for long enough.[/b]”[/color]

He then turned to Alice. [color=royalblue]”[b]Are you alright Alice?[/b]”[/color] He asked, tossing the rainbow knight back his blade. [color=royalblue]”[b]Worry not, the blade is still in pristine condition.[/b]”[/color] It certainly was, having not even drawn the weapon once.

[color=f49ac2][b]"...Can we do that again!?"[/b][/color] Liliana asked, positively giddy after seeing the ships explode into big chunks. But then she would compose herself, flapping her wings over the side of the boat to get any excess moisture off. [color=f49ac2][b]"Men, Women, and Girl, we have triumphed this day and taught the Varjans a very valuable lesson! Or…we would have if um…any of them had survived. But that lesson is: Never kidnap random children for seemingly no reason!"[/b][/color]

A true lesson to take to heart.

Alice shirked Shizuka off, as he set her on Ian's boat. From a glance, it was very clear that she was aggravated from the outcome at hand, as the ships sank and the corpses were entombed in the once floating coffins. "[color=976f29]Triumphed,[/color]" she scoffed, "[color=976f29]All we've done is squander a grand advantage! Two perfectly good Varjan ships. A means to get into Varjo harbors, beyond their blockades![/color]" she shouted, "[color=6083ff][i]Weapons! Armors! Supplies! Maps! Information! All sinking to the bottom of the goddamned ocean! Because, neither of you could move fast enough! What good is flying and super-speed if you're too slow to use it effectively!?[/i][/color]"

Carroll understood, immediately, the sudden shift into vocal inflection was a problem. Alice's true voice was speaking through the construct.

It was on its last leg, and could shatter any minute.

"[color=808080][i]There's no use in lamenting the loss. The ships were never the goal, anyways,[/i][/color]" Carroll says, attempting to defuse the situation.

"[color=6083ff][i]Oh, shut it! Just because you went and found yourself a little Husband, you think you've a new lease on life?![/i][/color]" Alice asks, whirling on the blade. "[color=6083ff][i]Aren't you forgetting something, little Sword Devil,[/i][/color]" she asks, sneering, before using [Shunpo] to snatch Carroll and shove her katana handle into the hands of the rescued daughter, "[color=6083ff][i]Go away. Embrace your nature. A woman has needs, after all...[/i][/color]"

There was a visible strain on Carroll's behalf, as her blade shook; the rattling metal became the only noise, as the wrappings of her handle peeled away, so she could start the traditional fusion process.

Unlike a Mamono, who she would fashion a shell around...

A Human was not afforded the same mercy.

A Sword Devil would claim her, on instinct, heart and soul, until the woman was lost, and only Mamono remained.

"[color=6083ff][i]Don't be scared, kid,[/i][/color]" Alice purred into her ears, "[color=6083ff][i]Embrace it. The Varjans wanted to kill you, sacrifice you, and use you to summon their hordes. Now, you have a sword to swing on them...[/i][/color]" she tempted, "[color=6083ff][i]All of them. Varjo chose you, little, insignificant you, as tribute to fuel their warmachine. How cruel. But, they don't just stop here. They'll return. If not here, another village, and take another girl; or boy; or man; or woman; daughter; son; father; mother; families ripped apart, like yours almost was.[/i][/color]"

Alice spoke with a definitive madness born of correctness and confidence. In a matter of moments, Carroll had lost control of the situation, and her baser instincts caused her slime to start its ascent towards the girl's neck. Once at the neck, she would be able to tap into the cervical spine and take control; feeding the youth with her own lust for Shizuka and his cause, and turn her into a Mamono in service of Terauchi Temple.

...a fate that Alice was sweet-talking her into with a combination of manipulative half-truths and the hard reality of it all.

There was precious little time to remove Carrol and reclaim the girl before complete corrosion.

In a matter of seconds, everything went wrong. Liliana had precious few seconds to think on what was even happening before moving on instinct alone. Neither Carroll, nor this girl wanted this…and so, Liliana would do her knightly duty and intervene. She couldn’t grab the handle, given that it was connecting the two, but she could do something drastic. 

The fairy would grab the sword’s blade in spite of the pain and bleeding that caused, biting her lip before pulling. It looked incredibly painful but…

[color=f49ac2][b]"This…isn’t…”[/b][/color] Liliana choked through the pain of Carroll’s blade slicing through her fingers, before she fully removed the possessed sword from the girl’s hand. [color=f49ac2][b]"This isn’t what a Queen should be doing! To her sword, or someone else!”[/b][/color] 

The force of pulling Carroll away from the peasant’s daughter made Liliana stumble back. The small boat meant she would have tripped overboard but fortunately, Ian blocked the way. And before the Wonderland-forged Cursed Sword could start to take the warrior Fairy under her grip, Ian snatched her from Liliana’s hands with seemingly little effort and without harming the Fairy’s hands further.

In Ian’s hands, Carroll could feel a will harder than iron. So hard, that her slime had trouble creeping upon his being. She also felt something… familiar in his essence. This rainbow knight had, at the very least, met with two people that Carroll knew very well: Her sister Cursed Swords.

Ian then bonked Alice in the head with the hilt part of Carroll. “[color=ghostwhite]Hey, hey, hey! Handing random kids free weapons is really suspicious, you know? If you had a white-painted carriage… Oh, what would Takeshi think of you?[/color]” The rainbow knight lamented. “[color=ghostwhite]Anyway, ol’ Ian is tired and needs his beauty sleep so I’m afraid this collaboration of ours is at an end. Back to Shizuyama![/color]”

The rainbow knight then started rowing back to the tiny Hama Island, forgetting that Carroll was in his hands and was, thus, using her as an oar. “[color=ghostwhite]Is it me, or is my oar, like, broken or something?[/color]”

Alice took in the scene of Liliana deciding to act out of turn, and undo her, admittedly, not hard work, as she tore Carroll away from the girl. It was with great restraint that she didn't snap Liliana's neck, as she grabbed her by it, and pulled her to her close. "[color=976f29]Defying your Queen, little Bladeflower,[/color]" she asked. "[color=976f29]That's behavior quite incoming a knig -- GURK!?[/color]" Ian’s pommel strike cut her off, as he bonked her, and resulted in her tongue being bitten. "[color=976f29]WAH DA FUAH!? WUH YU IT ME FO, FASSFOLE![/color]" Alice screeched, her green blood spraying on Liliana's face comically. "[color=976f29]DUNT USE MY SORD TO ROE![/color]"

Half-conscious, Carroll registered the strangely familiar feeling, as her nature was rejected by Ian, and she was left to doze off. Dropping Liliana, Alice would rush over to strangle the rainbow knight.

Unaware of their intertwined fates...

Being strangled was definitely a first for the fairy, who was struggling to try and get Alice’s hands off of her before Ian suddenly bonked her, causing green mycelium-fluid to spray in the fairy’s eyes. [color=f49ac2][b]"Ahh! Its in my eyes!"[/b][/color] Liliana flailed, panicking, before accidentally putting a foot out to trip Alice on her way to strangle Ian.

Yelping, Alice would hit the dainty foot, and result in her flailing, as she tripped, and plunged over the edge of the boat to join the Varjans below.

Alice couldn't swim, and was dense as fuck, so, in a bid of sweet irony, she sank like a rock, despite being at home in moist, water-logged caves.

In a final effort, Alice would sling roots up, as her body sank, and snatch the edge of the boat.

She wouldn't sink alone...

Shizuka chose not to say anything in his defense, not feeling he had to. He felt that none of it mattered at this point anyways, they’d have plenty of opportunity to gain more resources in the coming days. The well-being of the people present, Alice’s included, was more important. 

After that, a whole slew of scenes that could run the course of a day happened within a brief moment, from Alice taking Carroll from Shizuka using her newly learned Shunpo to Liliana nearly tearing her hands apart in an attempt to stop the girl from assimilating with the cursed sword. Ian quickly snatched the sword from the girl and knocked Alice on her head for her antics. This caused the plant girl to bite her own tongue and spray her mycelium-rich blood on Lili, which then led to the fairy tripping Alice and causing her to fall overboard. Apparently the poor girl couldn’t swim, so she attempted to grab onto the boat for leverage. 

However, the force she applied added with her weight would soon cause the vessel to capsize. A tired frustration enveloped the swordsman as he heavily sighed. 

Shizuka immediately dived into the water after Alice, reaching her within seconds. He then grabbed her, slicing her vines away from the boat which allowed it to stay afloat. He would then generate a powerful vacuum wave to propel them upward back to the surface, where he landed with her back on the boat. 

[color=royalblue]”No more antics until we get back to the temple.”[/color] He said. Shizuka dosed Lili in a bit of water, washing away the green blood she had been covered in. [color=royalblue]”Ian-san, Carroll-chan is a sword, not an oar. I’ll get us back to shore.”[/color] With another powerful vacuum wave, Shizuka blew the party across the water at a brisk speed. 

Not too long after, they had reached the shore. [color=royalblue]”I’m sorry for all the trouble.”[/color] He said, addressing the native man and his daughter. [color=royalblue]”Are the two of you alright?”[/color][/hider][hider=Black Queen Take White Queen, Check]As they hit the shore, Alice dashed off the boat, and planted her naked feet onto the beach. It was dry; years of erosion; decades of push and pull; centuries of oceanic turmoil. To the sand, she had a kinship of the queerest kind. However, unlike the sand, slave to the whims of the ocean and the breeze, she was no longer slave to the shell and will of her sword.

Ian's reprimand had cracked the last piece of the foundation, and it was all tumbling down. Not with a loud violence like before, but a quiet crackling, as she looked towards that from which she came. "[color=976f29]Keh... Kehehe... Kehehehahaha...[/color]" she giggled under her breath, as she walked away from the group. "[color=976f29]Callooh~! Callay~! O' frabjous day...~![/color]"

[center]"[color=976f29]I'm free.[/color]"[/center][/hider]