soul_logs | [Closed] Die for me

There was one thing to be said about having everyone in the party know his true origins. Alucard didn't have to hide his abilities. He attempted to sniff the air. Not that BREW left him much in the way of that ability, but occasionally he could catch a scent.

"This fog dampens everything and these hedges are too tall even for myself to peer over, unless we are to find a tree."

"The kishin is most likely the cause. Once we defeat it, finding our way back should at least be easier."

Raidou wasn't terribly worried about the possibility of getting lost. Magical mazes and traps had become a fairly regular occurrence for him during the past months dealing with demons. There was always some way out, whether it was through destroying the source or figuring out the trick behind it.

What concerned him more was the description of their target. It probably wasn't who he was thinking of, but the similarities were uncanny...

The description was strange, something he couldn't quite wrap his head around. But it wasn't something he should fret too much over. As it stood, they were surrounded by hedges, almost as if they'd wandered for hours despite not being in for very long. Maps wouldn't do any good, and he'd be stupid to think there wouldn't be any further tricks here.

Kanji reached into his pocket and withdrew his communicator, pulling away the wireless earpiece attachment.

"I'm thinkin' whoever's around might try n' screw us up further. If we separate somehow, we gotta be able to keep talkin', right? I'm gonna give these things a shot." With that, he inserted the attachment and positioned it for comfort against the ear.

"In the meantime... maybe head for the center? That's always where people hide treasure or whatever in stories and stuff." But where the center is from here, he didn't know.

Following his example, Naoto took out her earpiece and slipped it on, adjusting it once and then again. Comfortable enough, she lowered her hand. If they were going to be separated, she would assume the egg would try dividing the Meisters from the Weapons. If not that, at least parting the usual pairs from each other.

"It's a matter of reaching the center though..." Going that far had been her thought as well. Still, being ambushed in the middle was always a possibility. "Let's try to remain close so any abrupt changes will not result in interference."

"Agreed. Even though our field of motion might be narrowed, we have the advantages of numbers. It would be best to keep that."

Alucard tried not to look curiously at Kanji and Naoto, what with the way they naturally slipped on the earpieces. For all the time he'd spent in the future, there were still a lot of things that went over his blond head. He managed to copy the maneuver as though he had any idea what it meant.

The dhampir exchanged a look with Raidou about the oddness of technology.

Raidou accepted his earpiece with a little less confusion, though he had admittedly never used one either. He gave his partner a shrug that seemed to say 'Just go with it.'

"The reports said all victims were approached before they were lost. With any luck, the kishin will come to us sooner or later."

Though whether it would do so to a group rather than a lone, easy victim was another matter... It was probably best for the Weapons not to transform yet, lest they make the kishin wary.

"Yeah? ...Well we can't just wait around for it. How d'you lure a kishin egg outta hiding?" He asked as he proceeded onward, trying to mull things over. To the best of his knowledge, kishin liked to jump on him when he had some form of bleeding injury. They feed on souls, but are attracted to blood. Maybe they somehow lusted for it, but perhaps knowing that whatever has blood has a soul as well was good enough for them.

"I mean, we're kinda lost as shit as it is. Pretty sure it knows we're here, but it's winding up for somethin'."

"The quickest way would be innocent souls. This one is already much more devious, making sure its victims can't escape and help would be unable to reach in time." Naoto paused, thinking for a moment. "... If anything, it must be waiting for us to give up... There's a slim chance for it's attention to be elsewhere."

Looking at the three, she frowned. "Did any of the more recent reports say anything? What is the probability of someone else being lured in here before we arrived?"

Alucard tried to recall the particulars of the mission. "Of that I'm not certain. However, the person luring in people claims to be looking for...a rabbit? It might behoove us to look around until we find signs of anyone nearby and ascertain if they are people lured into the maze or the individual doing the luring."

Not being able to see above the hedges irritated Alucard. That and the gloomy atmosphere put him on edge, making him look each way multiple times at every intersection they came across.

"I wonder... If any victims have been lured in here recently, I doubt the kishin would let us get close enough to interfere."

It wasn't a pleasant thought that there might be someone out there at this very moment about to be killed, but there wasn't much they could do about that. With the maze under its control, the enemy could lead them astray.

"If we can make ourselves look like appealing targets, that might get its attention."

Kanji scratched his head for a moment, but then reached into his pocket to retrieve his communicator again. While looking down both directions when they reach a fork in the maze, he untied the cell phone charm he had attached to his communicator.

He held it up and it jingled, a cute little knit rabbit.

"What if we just give her one? --SH-SHIT--"

What happened next happened not a breath after his 'one'- the greenery of the maze seemed to come alive, and ivy vines erupted from the hedges, snagging both ankles and wrists. A majority of the vines wrapped around the hand clutching the rabbit charm. Kanji seemed to weigh nothing as the vines yanked him toward the hedge, almost as if the hedges themselves wished to devour him.

There would have been a rather coarse remark from Naoto, but his exclamation cut her off. Eyes wide, she dashed and grabbed what part of him she could, desperately trying to pull him back. It was no use, of course, as her feet just dragged through the dirt towards the hedge.

Time was ticking; her eyes searched and noted how his hand was the most bound up. "K-Kanji! Let go of the rabbit!"

Or if that wasn't a solution...! She was tugged a little further. "Alucard-san! Kuzunoha-san! Can you cut these off?"

The hedges reacted so quickly Kanji flashing his rabbit charm that Alucard stood flat footed with surprise. Upon hearing Naoto's cry for assistance, the dhampir took immediate action.

If they needed help being cut out, his sword form would be best. Alucard transformed abruptly, trusting Raidou would catch him and render aid to their companions.

Raidou wasted no time slicing through the vines around Kanji's arm in one fuild motion. The remaining vines seemed to recoil as though in pain, but didn't let go; more emerged from the hedges to replace the ones he cut down.

"Get back--!" He couldn't afford to slow down even for a second, or the hedges would out-pace him. A swing down, and Kanji's legs were free.

"Now!"

"Th-the hell're you doin', Naoto, s-stay back--" Not her, too! He struggled with everything he had as the detective was dragged along with him, and was quickly pondering using a gentler Soul Descent on her, get her away from whatever it was these things wanted to do to him...

Alucard changed in a flash, and a new worry bloomed. The blade could cut the vines, but what if he somehow missed? Aw, shit, was he gonna lose an arm!?

But he foolishly miscalculated Raidou's skill. The moment those constricting vines let up on his arm, he dropped that rabbit. The moment his legs were free, he didn't have to be told twice, scrambling away from the animated greenery with an arm around his partner. The vines on the ground were frantically feeling for the little charm rabbit, slowly closing around it before pulling it into the shrubs.

"Clean cup, clean cup, move down!!"

A shrill, sing-song voice filled the air, and then the shrubs began to 'march', changing the very layout of the labyrinth. Some even threatened to come between the two pairs. One must never be in the same place for too long at a proper tea party, after all!

There was no way she was going to let go, waiting for Alucard and Raidou to take care of the vines. She knew their skills, pulling as hard as she could while being dragged, watching as the hedge came closer.

Naoto gasped, but grabbed hold of Kanji. Now wasn't the time to object to being picked up. Perhaps now was the time to actually transform into her Weapon form especially at that voice...

Her head whipped around, eyes narrowed as the shrubs moved. "Don't get separated!" They needed to move faster.

Raidou, try to stay with the others lest we are separated!

Although they could attempt to carve through the hedges if that became the case, Alucard doubted the area foliage would be appreciative of such a gesture.

Raidou backed away from the hedge closer to the other pair, holding Alucard at ready. The walls of vines shifted, closing off the path they had come through. There would be no retreating until their job was finished.

"We have its attention now. Get ready."

That voice just now... His initial suspicions returned. The childish tone, the desire for the rabbit toy... Could it really be her?

Kanji remained with the other pair. The shrubbery would have to try and pull them apart now if it wanted to accomplish what it wanted.

"Naoto... I think it's our turn now, too," he spoke, looking warily over a shoulder as he sought a hand and took it.

But light, young laugh of bliss filled the air as the shrubs seemed to dance. Appearing seated atop the now-closed hedge arch was a small girl in a dress and blonde hair. She reached her hands out expectantly, and one of the vines dropped the tiny rabbit into them. Content shifted to confusion, and confusion shifted to an alarming coolness.

"...This is not my rabbit," she spoke quietly, and plucked it up by an ear as if it were tainted.

"A lie... I never liked liars." The rabbit was tossed away without care. She jumped down from the arch, but despite the distance, her landing was dainty, not an inch of her jostled out of place. Hands coyly locked behind her, she stepped up to the group, that smile back on her face, eyes glimmering with mischief.

"But deceit can be cut away like a weed just as easily," she said with a cant of her head. The vines slithered over the ground, but were indecisive. These ones were covered in razor-sharp thorns.

"Understood..."

Naoto squeezed his hand before glowing and assuming her gun form. The laugh sent a few chills down her spine, but she maintained her composure in her Weapon space. Her eyes focused on the blonde-haired girl who... wait. Her soul pulsed and she found herself confused. "What...?"

And there goes Kanji's charm. Her eyes narrowed as she scanned again, but nothing. It wasn't... correct anyway. She couldn't check again as the vines came towards them. Instead, she prepared ammo and readied her blade if Kanji decided to use it.

Trying to attack them all with vines covered in thorns? Useless. Alucard swiped through them with his sword form, knowing that Raidou, who had more agility than he did, could effortlessly dodge the clumsy attacks.

Ard in iaaaaad!

Alucard's yellow eyes stared out from the blade to try to find a better angle of attack. Raidou, can you run around her and strike from a different location?

Raidou avoided the attack, but didn't answer Alucard immediately. He was watching the girl, eyes narrowing as the cut vines dropped to the ground.

"I knew it," he said, his usual quietness giving way to the commanding tone reserved for his demons. He barely even realized he was doing it; that face seemed to bring him back to the Capital where he had first seen it.

"You are not making any friends this way, Alice."

Kanji raised Naoto's weapon form, but paused, furrowing a brow as he looked Raidou's way. The tone of voice jarred him, and he was about to ask what that meant before he continued.

...Alice? Did- did they know each other?

"Kuzunoha-san... the hell's goin' on?"

But the little girl looked imploringly toward Raidou. "Don't be silly! I've made lots of friends! But they always become lost here, and none of them can find my poor rabbit..."

Then, she sniffled, pouted. "He's probably lost, and cold, and alone! Everyone tells me they can't find him, it's impossible since the maze keeps moving. They say they're sorry, so very, very sorry... and I wonder if they're really my friends. I ask for so little!"

She tilted her head then, a coy finger to her chin. "So very, very little."

Alice in Wonderland did come to mind... Of course, this was a different Alice before them most likely, but one in the same. Hand on her chin, she tapped, scowling slightly. She was trying to figure out if Alice was a Kishin egg or something else... maybe someone like Blair.

"It would probably be easier if she wasn't attacking people like this." Though, was the girl fully responsible for the changing maze? Was she the egg or was she aiding them for some reason? If only she could properly check.

The way Raidou stood his ground and talked back to...Alice, gave Alucard pause. How could Raidou possibly know who this person was? It would have to be someone from Raidou's version of the Capital. Since this Alice didn't seem to be acting a lot like a human, then that could only mean a demon.

Raidou, is this one of your demon allies that has come to this place? How is that possible?

"I will explain later," he answered both of them curtly, leaving little room for argument. Negotiating with demons was a precarious process -- and even if they didn't interrupt, there was a chance Alice wouldn't listen to him anyway. His Alice hadn't until she had been defeated.

Of course, if this one was a kishin egg, there would be no Victor to bring her back afterwards...

"They can't help you if you don't help them in return, Alice. That is what friends do." He kept his Weapon lowered as he spoke, even if it did leave him open. He had to try.

"You don't want them to leave you behind because you were unkind to them, do you?"

"But I've been so very kind! I let them inside the maze, I describe the rabbit as clear as glass! But they all leave anyway. They go about their way, offering their apologies... or the maze plays with them instead." She frowned.

"Or they lie, as one of you did. You've seen the maze; it answers to me, and when I'm upset, the maze is upset, too." Alice cupped her hands then, and conjured the rabbit charm. She set it on the grass, and it seemed to stand on its own, raising its arms as if it wanted to be held.

"...Go back to the one you belong to," she urged the little knit rabbit who nodded, turned, and hopped through the grass.

When the girl looked up, she smiled and folded her hands behind her back, taking three steps back. The vines rattled in agitation like a horde of snakes, ends moving like heads to follow the movement of the rabbit as it hopped along toward Kanji.

"Back to the liar..." The tiny rabbit stopped at Kanji's ankle, hugged it.

"...So the vines know which one to embrace until there is nothing left!" The vines rose like angry, thorn-covered snakes, and descended.

No time for further analysis; Alice was playing a dangerous game and calling Kanji a liar.

"If she desires to play this way, I'll show her it was an error on her part."

Bullets prepared, Naoto took control until Kanji followed and aimed, firing upon several in quick succession. A girl with an attitude like this needed to be properly lectured on her misbehavior. Also, if she wasn't a Kishin egg, dare Naoto admit that maybe-- N-no! Concentrate! Several more bullets and a coating to her blade made her ready to go through.

It seemed as though Raidou's words had worked on the young woman. Then she chose to try to tangle up Kanji in a fatal embrace. Fortunate that Kanji and Naoto were able to avoid the trap.

Alucard sat poised inside the sword, waiting for Raidou to act. One might suggest that the time for diplomacy is over.

Damn it.

Had it been just the two of them, Raidou might have risked further negotiation. With Kanji and Naoto's lives on the line as well, however... It couldn't be helped.

He pushed forward, slashing through the vines as they tried to seize and distrupt the other Meister. They were quick, but so was he.

"We'll keep them busy. Don't let her get away!"

His arm moved and he clenched his jaw, following through on those several shots. Singed vines curled and recoiled as if in pain, but prevented a gory cocooning that had taken the lives of more than a few.

"Shit! ...Thanks, Naoto." Some days he worried how the hell he could function as a Meister if he didn't have a partner that thought far quicker than he. As she reloaded he was on the move through the growing 'wall' of tendrils around him; an arm grazed by a whipping vine but he ignored that flash of pain.

Raidou broke through and Kanji tried to call to get him the hell out of there, but he spoke first.

"Get--" He turned. Shit, she was skipping down the damn path like this was a game! Part of him didn't gel all too well with firing on a little girl, but...

"Kishin... kishin egg..." He repeated to himself and moved in pursuit, point and fire.

"I'm not sure if---"

But what could she be besides a Kishin egg?

She let Kanji guide her, nearly snapping her head up when the vine grazed him, but returned to focus. One bullet was released on the chamber, focused directly on Alice. I should hit her heart...

... but it just passed through. Naoto's face paled immediately.

Where were all these vines coming from? After freeing Kanji and Naoto, they seemed to multiply, reaching up to snag at Raidou's boots or go for his body.

Alucard let himself be guided by his partner, slashing through each wriggling vine. They retaliated by going straight for Alucard's weapon form, wrapping around the sword before it had enough room to swing around.

A split second of panic gripped Raidou as the vines took a hold of his partner. Then he knew what to do. He let go of the hilt and, as soon as the vines pulled Alucard away, focused on his Meister power to call him back. The Weapon appeared back in his hand, unharmed.

He couldn't turn to look how the others were doing. The gunshots hadn't stopped the onslaught, so Alice must have survived...

"We can't keep this up for much longer!" he called over his shoulder. The words had barely left his mouth when he was suddenly yanked up by ankle, then slammed painfully against the ground.

"Argh...!"

"Shit!" This was getting bad and steadily worse. The shot passed right through and the vines were having a blast with Raidou; he had to think of something and fast, and as he clenched his jaw he had only one.

"Gonna try somethin'!" He remembered the lessons. When he poured on the speed to close the distance between himself and the little girl, he knew this was kind of a long shot, but it was all he had. If he couldn't do this, then he was risking Raidou's further injury in the time it would take him to swing back and cut the vines.

So he had to hope like hell that this worked.

His hand sparked as he was lucky the girl seemed to be skipping quite gleefully. It made it all the easier to test the theory that Soul Menace attacked the soul directly, and if ghosts were similar...!

With a roar he resonated with himself, creating the feedback, and did something he'd never do by swinging at a little girl. It entered the incorporeal body from the back, and...

It appeared as though Soul Menace had worked and thank Death it had. Naoto was rattled by the fact they were facing a real ghost and was majorly unresponsive. Scientifically, this shouldn't be happening, but Alice was right there and she didn't appear very pleased to be hit.

The hedge around them seemed to be shifting actually after the assault. Naoto was receiving feedback with each rapid pulse which wasn't good.

"K-Kanji! You need to move! Hurry!"

Alucard fell to the ground with a soft thump on the grass, although Raidou still held him at the hilt.

His first impulse was to transform back and rip the vines off Raidou by hand. However, that would only work temporarily and neither one of them had a blade personally that would do any good. As hard as it was, Alucard kept his form and poured that trust into his partner. Raidou would fight and never give up so Alucard could only do the same.

Alucard shivered on his end of the resonance. It felt as though something had been unlocked. Raidou, cut yourself free! We can win. I...I feel like we have more power.

((OOC: You can decide if this is for double jumping or MULTIPLE STAB WOUNDS.))

The warmth pouring from the sword to Raidou's arm and chest made the detective's heart beat faster. He didn't know what it was, only that it gave him the strength to react. With the sudden burst of adrenaline, he dug his other heel into the ground and yanked his trapped foot closer, within the reach of his blade. The vine fell and Raidou rolled on his feet, ignoring the throbbing bruises on his side.

The hedges were moving. There was an air of anger in the way the vines slithered, causing the maze to shift again. Raidou's sword arm was ready, expecting more attacks, but their attention seemed to be elsewhere...

"Tatsumi-san!"

The hedges were surrounding Kanji; as Raidou watched, the Meister began to disappear behind the wall of green. The detective broke into a sprint. If they got separated, Kanji and Naoto would be--

No.

Alucard's presence flared within him, and without a thought, he jumped.

In that moment, his cape changed, and a pair of black bat wings pushed him upwards. The change only lasted for a moment, but it was enough; he went over the hedge wall and came down with his Weapon tearing through the vines that were reaching for Kanji. He landed in a crouch, his cape turning back to normal.

Everything was shifting. Kanji was a little proud to know that this girl didn't like what he'd just done, but it was short-lived if the hedges separated the two of them from the other pair, turning the mission further pear-shaped.

But Raidou moved and he turned to tell him the hedges are moving too quick. What Kanji got instead was the most bizarre sight of a cloak, wings, and moving clear over the wall that closed between them.

Briefly, he had to stare and blink, wondering what the hell just happened, but they had time for that after. Instead he nodded and set off for Alice again, all the while the sound of marching building in the distance, closing in.

With a distant "Off with their heads!", the marching steps quickened, accompanied by glimpses of... cards... amid the foliage.

Okay, okay... she needed to breathe again and focus on the fact they still had a kishin egg or two to handle and no just the g-ghost. Perhaps she really was missing a rabbit, but wasn't that part of the story? Her eyes widened momentarily at the yell and she turned.

"Card guards and the Queen?" Maybe that was just an auditory hallucination. There were still figures from the story missing such as the Mad Hatter and the Dormouse. Letting out a slow breath, she prepared her ammo again, hoping it was stable. They had to get ready to fight through the soldiers for their quarry.

Alucard felt surprised in his resonance with Raidou before it changed into unholy glee. He could fly again, even if for a moment.

You're just trying to take all my powers. First, are those walking cards? Could those things possibly be some kind of kishin eggs? Who would conceive such madness?

There was no time to celebrate their new ability. Raidou took off after Kanji, eyes darting from side to side. Seems that way... He only knew the Wonderland story vaguely. If these were kishin eggs, were they originally like this or did Alice have something to do with their appearance?

Or... could it be they played along with her games because she lured in victims for them to devour?

It didn't matter for now. The kishin eggs -- if that was what they were -- would likely try to intercept them any moment now. If they took too long to defeat them, Alice would get away...

"Damn it...!" The steps were coming from all around now, but he clenched his teeth in frustration- the girl was right THERE, the target they'd come for, but they'd let themselves get too damn sidetracked.

"They're tryin' to funnel us away from the little girl! We gotta clear a path and keep it that way!" He roared, giving the gunblade a brace with one hand while the other lifted it. Kanji charged on ahead; couldn't lose the target...!

The Card Guards emerged through the foliage, wielding swords, maces and halberds. The pulse from his soul tightened, a 'pat' of sorts against that breath of uncertainty he felt as he fired. Ghosts were creepy as hell, but if they let themselves be scared to death they'd just die out here like god knows how many others that investigated the mazes.

The pat couldn't have happened at a better time. The bullet released wasn't as strong as usual, but Naoto herself was calming down enough to strengthen the next ones. They would uncover the true mystery of the maze, but first, they had to eliminate all distractions.

She focused, stabilizing her half of the resonance to again flow to his wavelength. Blade and bullets were ready for Kanji to use against the Card Guards while her ability pinpointed weak spots. Immediately, she relayed the information to her Meister, adjusting his aim when necessary as before.

Unlike Kanji and Naoto, Alucard and Raidou had to get up close and personal with the card guards. His sword self sliced along the odd shaped bodies. Alucard heard Kanji's roar for action that they were getting separated from Alice. Now that Alucard had a better idea of how to transfer this new ability over to Raidou, he had an idea.

Raidou, can we try to double jump over the crowd and reach Alice so she does not escape? I don't know how many times we can do this new ability but I will give you as much as I can.

I'll try! The card guards went down easily enough, but with their numbers getting rid of all of them would take too long. As soon as they stopped Alice, they wouldn't have to divide their attention like this.

Raidou reached for their resonance again and leaped mid-run; he could feel his cape transform and propel him over the hordes. His vision swam the moment he hit the ground, barely managing to avoid tripping. Two jumps seemed to be their limit. Trusting the others to hold their ground for the moment, he ran after Alice.

Unlike the other pair, Raidou and Alucard had no ranged attacks -- nothing beyond normal bullets. They did, however, move fast, while Alice was only a little girl. Raidou had to cut through a few more vines that sprouted to hinder them, but they were catching up.

"Alice! That's enough!" He had no idea if talking would work, but he had to try, if only to slow her down. "If you stay here, sooner or later people will stop coming and you'll be all alone! Other kishin eggs will come to devour you and there will be no one to help you! Is that what you want?" He cut through another vine and kept running. "Your soul will be safe if you just move on! Your family will be there!"

[Closed] Die for me

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