Unseen in the fog, Zeka smirked as her only remaining clone scored a hit on the ronin. However, her moment of triumph would be short-lived as she realized the toll this "spar" was taking out of her. Between maintaining the fog, summoning the rat swarm and creating dark clones, she could feel her mana pool running low and without the fog, Kazenosuke would have the freedom to move around. Knowing they can't let that happen, Zeka quickly moved to Vivian and Vară's position.
"Girls, I can't keep this up forever. We need to wrap this up now.", Zeka urged as she sent another wave of shadow rats, as well as two more clones to back up the clone that managed to hit their target. "Between Vară's dragon buddy and me throwing everything but the kitchen sink, I think Kazenosuke is pressured enough for you two to go in and finish it."
The sound of approaching buzzing filling their eyes, the mad hatter and cursed sword turned just in time to see Kerry, the first to return from a mission, touch down in front of them…..and was visibly not happy.
”Fucking Takamori. How dare he ask me that. Out of his goddamn mind, almost everyone on this stupid island is an idiot.”, grumbled the hornet, loud enough for the duo to hear as she marched with a metaphoric thundercloud over her head toward the entrance. Upon almost reaching the threshold, however, she finally noticed Alice and Carroll off to the side.
”Oh, er….hey, Alice. S’up, Carroll. What y’all been up to?”
The Queen of Diamonds noticed how Kerry’s expression softened upon seeing her, but had something on her mind. Whatever mission she was on clearly put her in a mood.
As Kerry approached with the temper of a swarm of her own kith and kin, Alice would duly notice her temperament. In all her haste and hurry to discover her own memories lost, she remembered some memories regained, and the “discussion” she planned to have. As such, once Kerry came to a stop, she threw herself off the gate arch, and landed in a ninja ball, before standing up - whipping the Trumpart trumpet at Kerry.
"How do you know the owner of this!?"
Carroll sighed, "You could, at least, say hello back."
”Huh?”, Kerry replied, taken aback slightly by Alice’s sudden question before looking more closely at what Alice was holding. ”Oh, that? That’s a souvenir from a duel I won against a Trumpart a few years back. Gotta say, it was one of the more interesting duels I’ve had in my life. Not everyone can change their dimensions on the fly like she did, I’ll tell you what.”
"I know," Alice says, her eyes narrowing, "from personal experience..."
The implication was sharper than the cracked edge of the weapon.
Kerry raised an eyebrow at the increased….tension coming off of Alice at the moment. What was this about?
”Personal experience? You mean……Wait, you fought that card woman, too?”
"That’s one way to look at it," Carroll snickered. "If you consider that swordfighting."
The cursed sword’s words just added more confusion on the hornet. What did she mean by that? From that implication, it sounded like Alice and that Trumpart were….
…..
…..Wait a minute....
Kerry’s jaw dropped at the realization.
”Oh my gods, you fucked her too, didn’t you?”
Alice was glaring. Her face spoke volumes. However, it was her extending her hand to summon Carroll into it; the Demon Sword shrugging, before she turned into slime, and forged into a massive axe. "Hrm..." Alice shifted her weight to her left, as she held with her right. "Before I cut you in twain, I’ll ask you this: who was better?"
”WAIT, HUH!?”, the hornet immediately jumped back, instinctively pulling out Dusk. This was NOT what she was expecting this conversation to go down.
”Alice, what the hell are you talking about!? Where is this coming from!?”
"Sleeping with my ex, I can accept that! Keeping her things in the open, though..." Alice hefted Carroll, "As if you’re saying, I have competition!"
”ARE YOU SERIOUS!?”, hollered Kerry, ready to evade at a moment’s notice. ”In what world does keeping a memento of a good fight mean you had sex with them!? Also, how was I supposed to know she was your ex!?”
"Hang on, you just fought... like, just fought," Alice asks.
”Yes! It was just a duel! Handshakes and all!”
Alice settled Carroll on her shoulder, and nodded. "I see," she says, "That’s fine, then. All’s forgiven. All is well. How are you? You looked grumpy."
”Geez, don’t stress me out like that!”, Kerry exhaled a sigh of relief as she stashed her black spear on her back. ”And grumpy is an understatement. I’m pissed as hell at Takamori. You know what that asshole asked me? He asked me, when this war and the Varjans are all said and done, to not interfere when they execute Takeshi! They’re putting the man who is doing everything in his body, mind and soul to save them to death and they don’t want us to step in! Unbelievable, right!?”
"Seems like I have someone to kill after all..." Alice hummed, "Tragic, as I was hoping to avoid needless bloodshed. Seems that it is unavoidable where I go," she says, as Carroll shifted from her axe form to a sleek sword. "Shall we be off, then? Men don’t murder themselves, after all, and I don’t want to kill the wrong man."
”Whoa, whoa, whoa! Easy there, your highness.”, Kerry approached the mad hatter once more, her hands raised in a pacifying manner, as if to sway Alice away from such a decision. ”I know the locals are backwards with their rules and traditions, but getting heads to roll sure as hell won’t make it any better. Besides, it’s not just one man. It’s…..pretty much, Takeshi’s inner circle.”
Then……she didn’t know where this feeling came from, but acted on it as she held Alice’s hand, the one holding Carroll, in both of hers and looked her in the eyes.
”I…..don’t want to do anything rash and hasty, okay? Especially not right now.”
"Curiouser, and curiouser..." Alice says. "In my experience, Hornets are not too level-headed, nor so forward-thinking. If anything, that you did not bit off the head of this traitor is, in and of itself, an affront to your own people..." she says, "Then, again... You made the most amusing noises in bed, and from the underlying muscle beneath that chitinous armor of yours lies experience in matters uncommon to your kin."
Alice sighed, but her muscles relaxed; allowing Carroll to slip out of her hand, and the self-made Queen to take Kerry’s hand in it; the softness of Alice’s mycelium skin meshed well with the smoothness of Kerry’s chitinous plates.
"Very well, at thine bequest, shall I rescind mine march, and stay mine hand," Alice says, smirking. "But, only because last night is one I’d like to repeat."
”Heh……Charmer.”, Kerry said half jokingly, blushing as the memories of moans, sweat and kisses raced through her mind at Alice’s words. She….definitely wanted a repeat as well. ”And believe me, I know the feeling. Wanted to ram my stinger into Takamori’s stomach when he asked me that shit. And he had the nerve to also criticize me on how I fight! Seems terribly ungrateful, seeing as how I’m helping him trying to find his adopted turncoat daugh-”
Then another feeling came to Kerry. One that was sudden, unexplained and a lot less pleasant.
Alice could see the change as it happened. The face of the insectoid mamono paled slightly. Alice was about to comment on something, but the topic faded away, as she saw the sheer distress on Kerry's face, and switched to concern over her rather than foolishness. "You good, there," she asks, a basic assessment, "Look like the aftermath of a Wonderworm party."
”I….I don’t….feel so….good….”, she mumbled as a strong wave nausea rolled into her being. What was happening to her? She was just fine a second ago and now-
Her stomach suddenly gave an all too familiar warning sign:
PREPARE TO EJECT.
With little time to spare, Kerry quickly turned away from Alice, took a few steps toward the temple wall and…
"Hrm... I’m curious about something..." Carroll says, "Did you play it safe, Alice?"
"Safe? What do you mean," Alice asks.
"Did you pull out," Carroll asks more bluntly.
Alice scoffed, "Yeah, okay. I never retreat,"
Carroll rubbed her temples, "That’s the problem, dummy! Discretion is the better part of valor, y’know!"
"And, discretion rhymes with excretion, and that’s shity behavior! I’m the Queen of Diamonds, not the Princess of Coal! Forged on the battlefield, I never retreat!"Alice says.
"This isn’t a battlefield, you Empress of Emptyheadedness!" Carroll groaned, "This is going to be a problem... look, you need to take her to a doctor or whatever they use for that kind thing about here..." she says, "She needs to be tested, and you need a kick in the ass, but I don’t have time. I’ll watch the gate, and let you know when the rest show up."
"She can get to a doctor herself. She’s not lamed," Alice says, before a sharp blade pushed against her larynx, "Right, then... I’ll be listening," Alice took her hat off, and handed it to Carroll, via laying it on her extended sword arm, "You call me immediately."
Carroll was glaring at Alice from under the shadow of her cap; eyes glimmering red like flickering hellfire.
"O-Or... I’ll... You got this..." Alice says, before placing a hand on Kerry’s back to steady her, as she held her hair in her other hand, "Let’s get you to the healer, eh? I won’t let you fall, though, so..." Alice would suddenly scoop Kerry into the bridal carry, "I’ll go slow, so just breath, okay?"
”A-Alice…”, Kerry spoke quietly as she was held in the Queen’s arms. After vomiting her breakfast, the hornet immediately felt weakness drape itself over her body, as well as shivering as if she was standing in the middle of a blizzard. She fell sick…..in the morning….
Morning sickness.
”Oh, L-Liltih’s tits, you don’t think I’m….”
There was no way. Considering the ruler of all mamono is a succubus herself, it’d be very hard to do that….
….But her lover was Alice. So the possibility was very much there.
"...it’s very possible, yeah," Alice says, "I joke, but... this isn’t one... Ahead of time like this, I guess that’s the joke..." she looked ahead, as if she couldn’t look at Kerry, despite slowing her pace, "Shit... I haven’t been here long, and I’ve majorly fucked up, huh?"
”You’re…..not alone in that feeling.”
The ramifications, in both reality and gravity, began to settle on the hornet’s shoulders. And as she thought about it….
Kerry wasn’t upset about being pregnant. It was bound to happen. Rather…..
Lips quivering, Kerry closed her eyes as the tears welled up, clutching onto Alice and pressing her face into the Queen’s shoulder, taking in her floral scent. Its comforting scent was…..definitely going to be needed for the coming future.
”I didn’t want to have her here, Ali.”, she whispered, for the first time in years, in fear. But that fear was not for herself…..not anymore.
Alice held her own somber silence, "Yeah. I guess, that’s why the say, you can’t always get what you want, huh," before she came to a stop, "I’m sorry."
A chitinous hand was laid upon Alice’s cheek.
”Don’t be. That would imply that you regret last night.”
Alice snickered, as the joke caught her off-guard. "I regret nothing," she says, "I won’t regret this, either. This frabjous opportunity."
”That’s good. It’s good that we both see this as a wonderful thing. Because she WILL be a wonderful thing. The only thing I regret is…..this.”, Kerry explained as she gestured to their surroundings, calling to the situation at hand. ”Our child…..Our little girl……She doesn’t deserve this. She doesn’t deserve to be born in a land so hateful and unkind. Doesn’t deserve to open her eyes and see the shadow of war and death looming over her. She…..hic.....She deserves a….warm sun…….A gentle breeze….sob...... caressing her wings….”
It was too much.
Kerry broke down into quiet sobs as she curled into Alice once more, seeking safety and strength…
….For both of them.
"Hey, that just means one thing," Alice says, booping Kerry’s nose, "I gotta hustle for two, now. My sword swings for not just Teruachi, but for the future of you and our little one," she smirked, confidently, "It could be a boy. You don’t know. But, definitely should think of a name - even this early, a good name is a sign of resolve," Alice hummed, "Since it could be a boy or a girl, I’d say a unisex name. Like, Yuki or Hinata... or, maybe, Gwen?"
Alice shifted Kerry, supporting her upper and lower back by way of a second pair of arms - being 90% mushroom had advantages - and looked at her straight on. "Look again, though," she says, motioning out to the restored to its Day 1 temple. "This place, while stuffy and ignorant, isn’t without culture and charm. A few bad apples wouldn’t spoil a batch, if we take them out quick enough. We have supporters. I’ve seen it..."
Beaming, Alice would pick up the pace, and hurry to the shrine of support that Revuel had revealed to her.
"Right here, Kerry. Even if we don’t believe it, even if we don’t see it, we have those here, and all across this island, that believe we can make a difference!" Alice says, staring at the items, provisions and trinkets alike, "They aren’t all with us, but they aren’t all against us. All we have to do is keep moving forward. We’ll make this our home, and once Takeshi can stand tall without us.."
Alice pressed her forehead to Kerry’s, "We’ll run away. Away, away, to a place ours, and ours alone."
How….does she find the strength to make such promises?, Kerry thought to herself, her tear-stained eyes looking up at Alice in speechless awe.
In her line of work, you don’t make promises. Because, more often than not, those promises end up not being kept. Not to mention, it can be bad for you, emotionally and mentally.
Yet, when Alice said those words, with such assurance and confidence in her voice, with eyes so full of love…
Despite wiser judgment….Despite the dark reality just waiting around the corner….
How can Kerry not believe in Alice?
Her hand still on the mad hatter’s cheek, Kerry pulled her in and planted a sweet kiss on her cheek.
”I like Gwendolyn, by the way.”, she said with a smile.
Alice smirked, "To Gwendolyn, then," before she transitioned her smirk into a deep kiss, holding Kerry tight to her. If only to dispel any shred of doubt, any moment of hopelessness, and all potential attempts to hold such negatives in the future.
If she was going to do anything right for Terauchi, it would be this.
”Alright…..Now that we’re in this for the long haul…How are we gonna break this to Shizuka and the others?”
"Not something I’ve considered. Still need to process this is real, so..." Alice chuckled, "Rain check, eh?"
”Rain check…..Right.”, Kerry sighed as she relaxed against Alice. ”Gwen will be loved, but I fear your social faux pas tendencies will be passed on.”
"How rude," Alice says, "Any child of mine will be born a masterclass of existence."
Alice snuck a kiss of Kerry's lips, before standing in front of a building that stank of herbs and medicine. "Here's your stop," she says, "Do you need me to come along? If you do, I'm sure Carroll can operate in my stead. She knows the mission, and if my Royal Guard says so, it is because I say so."
”Nah, I think I’ll be good on my own for now. The gang still needs you out there”, Kerry replied before pulling Alice in close, foreheads touching once more. ”You just make sure you get your ass back to me….”
She took one of Alice’s hands and laid it on her stomach, her own hand on top.
”....To us.”
Alice smirked. "I'll master this Heavenly Strike thing, kick a ton of ass, and return with souvenirs," she says, "You just stay pretty," Alice leaned in and whispered, "Mommy~"
”Oh, put me down, you sweet-talking fungi woman!”, stammered the hornet, blushing and not at all beginning to feel hot and bothered as her feet touched the ground, still feeling weak but able to make the rest of the way there. Before entering, Kerry gave a wink and wiggle of her rear at the mad hatter.
”Stay safe out there, darling.”
Alice wolf-whistled, and flicked her finger - sending a thin vine forward to send Kerry off with a spank. "With motivation like that, the world is in danger," Alice says, before the vine wrapped around Kerry's thigh, traveling to her dominant wrist, and wrapping around like a bangle; sprouting a few, small, gloomily-colored flower-like mushrooms.
By time the distraction ceased, Kerry would be on her own, as Alice was out of sight, but not out of mind, as her scent lingered with the bangle - as well as the newly born motivation in her belly.
And with that, Kerry took a deep breath before entering Revuel’s domain.
Kerry looked at Takamori after he made that request. Actually looked at him, dead in the eye, to see he really meant what he said. Upon seeing that he indeed stood by his statement...
".....Heh...Heheheh.....Wow.......The fucking gall you have of asking me to honor that..."
Kerry began to approach Takamori, smirking but the archer could tell there was nothing jovial behind her expression.
"The man is moving heaven and earth for your countrymen, Takamori."
Her trek continued, her smirk slowly being replaced with an intense scowl, along anger now creeping into her voice.
"Putting his life on the line every day, going against your rules and traditions just so your people can have even a morsel of a fighting chance in this war and doing it all with a smile to inspire hope and courage!"
The anger was now brimming in her tone as she closed in on the human, her hands twitching in a clear display of restraint as she fought the urge to pull out one of her spears.
"Takeshi is doing everything in his power and ability to save this speck of dirt you call home......and you would have him killed for it!?"
Kerry now stood before Takamori, noses almost touching as she stared him down, as if trying to burn a hole in his soul.
"I should sting you in the fucking gut for asking me that!"
Silence followed as the mamono and human stood glaring at each other, the breeze whistling through the air and the birds chirping in the nearby forest. After a tense minute, Kerry turned and began walking away.
"I take it we're done here.", she spoke, curt and to the point. "If you got nothing else you need help with, then I'm heading back. Thanks for showing me a reason why Shizuyama shouldn't be saved."
Without even waiting(and not caring, to be honest) for a reply, Kerry took flight and made her way back toward the temple.
"Thanks for the info. As a reward, a bit of advice...", Kerry began before suddenly tossing the Varjan up in the air, kicking him with a well-aimed wind-infused foot to the rear and launching him toward the trees and beyond. "...Remember to roll!"
With that taken care of, the hornet landed by Takamori's side, the man still peering out over the valley. His expression indicated his mind was somewhere else. The reason being was quite obvious.
"Well, you may be right about one thing, Takamori: I may very well end up fighting Setsuna at this rate.", she spoke with a sigh, chuckling humorlessly. "Gotta give your girl credit: She works hella fast. You sure know how to teach'em. Still...if push comes to shove, I will do what I must."
Kerry turned to the archer, a gravely serious demeanor on her face.
"I don't know a single thing about your powers, but...utilize your range as best you can. Don't let him breathe between our attacks."
"Very much NOTED!", Zeka responded, yelping on the last word as she narrowly ducked a burning ember Kazenosuke kicked in her general direction, which kinda threw the mouse girl for a loop because how the hell did he know where she was in the fog? "And I agree with Vivian, Vară! He wants you to be angry, chill out!"
The fight had just recently began, but from Zeka can already observe, Kazenosuke was skilled. Incredibly so. Fend off a strong mamono in combat was already challenge to humans, but taking on three? And still be confidently standing?
Well, despite that mouth of his, he can back it up. No wonder this Takeshi guy wants him., she thought to herself before focusing back on the fight. Okay, my swarm isn't enough. So maybe....
Once more, new wave of shadow rats scurried from out of the fog, only this time...
"Umbra Art: Shadow Clones."
Four shadowy copies of Zeka herself rushed out of the fog as well, wisps of darkness emitting from their forms as they locked onto the ronin, glowing spectral claws at the ready.
”You…asshole vagabond! All we’ve done is bleed and struggle to ensure your country is saved, and you question if it’s even worth it?! You disgrace Lord Takeshi and your people! BUT! If all you want now is to fight, I’ll give you one more than you bargained for! Camael and I alone will crush you! The others won’t even need to get involved, they can sit back and watch you whimper as my flames cook you! If you fight as badly as you tell jokes, this won’t take long. Prepare yourself, vagabond!”
"....Okay, yeah. He is a bit of an asshole and his integrity is questionable but-WHOA!", Zeka commented before yelping and jumping out of the way as Vară shifted into a more intimidating form and charged at Kazenosuke, battle axe blazing.
"He's deadly serious, little mouse. And it looks like he's riled Vară up enough that we can't talk about it further."
"Y-Yeah.....I can see that.", the mouse girl responded in a deadpanned tone, sighing as Vivian joined the inevitable fray. "And this is why I prefer doing these jobs solo."
Closing her eyes for a moment, she hovered her hand over her Umbral Orb and channeled her mana. The amulet gave a soft violet glow in response before spewing forth a dark fog that circled the surrounding area, aiding Vivian in limiting the ronin's movement while Vară poured on the pressure. Zeka's opened eyes glowed vibrant violet as well before stepping back into the fog, disappearing from sight.
"Umbra Art: Chaos Tide."
Emerging from the fog came a small spectral rat, its entire body glowing dark purple. Then came another rat. And then another....and another....and another...
Soon, a swarming mischief of spectral rats scurried toward Kazenosuke, looking to overwhelm him through sheer numbers. Or, at the very least, distract him from the fire demon's hellish assault.
...Huh......So this is what Alice felt when I yelled at her back then...
Closing her eyes, Kerry took a deep breath to calm herself before gazing back at Takamori, her own anger simmering in her hazel eyes.
"First off, you better cut that tone. Last I checked, you're the one who asked for help on this personal family drama of yours, so drop that shit. Second, the hell you mean 'playing with my food'!? You saw me asking them where your kid was with those 'legendary' eyes of yours, didn't you!? Also, the fuck is wrong with you, shooting them dead like that!? Trying to get info here, dude! Now I gotta go wake up one of the idiots I knocked out!", she snapped back before trotting back over to the Varjan she impaled with Dusk. "Oh, and what makes you think I'm going to fight Setsuna? She's YOUR kid, therefore she's YOUR problem. I'll help you get to her, but when the time comes, it's on YOU whether or not you can convince her to come back to you....or, if not..."
Kerry stopped walking to turn back to Takamori with a sharp look of finality.
....Kill her. Think you got the balls to do that?"
With that said, the hornet strode over to the unconscious Varjan, grabbing him by the leg before flying over the cliff's edge, the man's life literally in her hands as she dangled him over the valley.
"Wakey wakey, dirtbag! I'm not done with you!", shouted Kerry, shaking the man awake. Her eyes turned to Takamori. "What are you, a bump on a log? You want answers too, right? Or was I wrong when I pegged you as the type that didn't 'shoot first, ask questions later'?"
"I know! How about a spar? You three against me. What do you think? Those are pretty even odds, no? You win, and I join you. Lose, and you go tell Takeshi that I wish him luck with whatever he's doing to this island."
"Wait, hold on. You'll answer Takeshi's call....if we beat you in a three on one spar? You're.....serious?", Zeka responded, somewhat in disbelief at Kazenosuke's request as she turned to Vivian and Vara while gesturing a thumb at the ronin. "I think he's serious."
There's cocky. There's arrogant. And there's whatever the hell this guy was feeling.
Yup! Saw this one coming!, Kerry thought to herself as she took action, flying high enough to where the wardogs couldn't reach while being agile enough to dodge incoming arrows from the archers. When the dogs were far enough away from their masters, she immediately dove down between the two groups, hitting the ground with a palm raised toward the hounds.
"Wind Art: Squall Blaster!"
A shotgun blast of air slammed into the wardogs, blowing them away and over the cliff. Half of the problem taken care of, Kerry's antennas twitched in alert as she performed a backflip, arrows zipping past where she was a second ago. Without missing a beat, the hornet twirled Dusk before throwing it hard, impaling an archer as he was sent to the ground. Before his comrade could respond, Kerry was already on him, a wind-infused kick crashing dean center into his chest. Several cracks were heard as the second archer was sent flying into the base of the watchtower, hitting the post before sliding down into unconscious heap. Raising her hand, Dusk flew back into her grasp before pointing the spear at the two remaining Varjan archers.
"Help from a traitor and y'all still can't hit the broad side of a wurm's ass.", spat Kerry, taunting yet still focused on why she was here. "Now unless you want to end up like your two friends over there, where's Setsuna?"
Of all the obstacles he's faced so far, this one was looking to be an actual challenge. On one hand, the thief had finally stopped running, in no small part thanks to the three sand worms. On the other hand.......well, Garrick couldn't let the thief get eaten. He had information the Sand King needed.
With resolve, Garrick ran forward, crossing the river of sand to catch up to his target. The ever-shifting surface slowed his progress, but he remained undaunted as he marched forward. The sand worms were a fearsome sight, but the cryptid could tell that these were merely juveniles, meaning there was a nest nearby. And when there's a nest.....
Member
