A/N: Ahhh, I'm sorry this took so long! Almost three months… I was going to make a part two to the omake, but it's been so long that I think you guys need a real chapter. But here it is, chapter eleven! Just in case you guys forgot, Emil is Iceland. This one's for Puttylol, my best reviewer.
"Alfred, I don't like this," whispered Victoria, adjusting her dress as she walked up the stone path, moving awkwardly in her finery. Emil walked behind her, muttering under his breath. "Why did they make me come?"
"It's okay," said a little voice in her ear. Alfred had taken a sip of Coke and shrunk in order to fit in her elaborate hair do. "This is just for information, we'll be out in no time. They can't hurt you unless you break the rules."
"We're going to break the rules!" she hissed.
"No, Emil and I are," he said patiently. He had argued and argued with Arthur and Mathias for a long time, until they had agreed to let him go, so long as one of the Five accompanied him.
"You remember the plan, right?" asked Alfred.
Before she could reply, the heavy door of the castle opened. "Hello, Alice," he smiled, and Victoria tried to control her breathing. It was the same man who had given her the letter.
"Who's this?" he asked in surprise, his eyes taking on a glint that she immediately disliked.
Despite his earlier nervousness, Emil stood tall. "Emil Steillson, of the N Five, the neutral party of Wonderland. I'm accompanying Alice for her safety."
Suddenly another man appeared at the door. "Feliciano, where have you been? Oh, is Alice here? And who's her friend?" he asked. He looked quite similar to the man he had named Feliciano, though he was slightly taller and infinitely friendlier. "Why are you standing here in the dark? Come in, come in!" he said, ushering them inside. "I'm Lovino," he said with a small bow. "Don't mind my brother here, he doesn't like strangers."
Feliciano rolled his eyes. "I think it's you who likes them too much," he muttered.
From behind her, Emil shivered.
"Hurry hurry hurry…" Victoria chanted under her breathe, glancing behind her as she ran, nearly tripping over the heavy fabric of her skirts. She hefted them up above her thighs and ran, paying no mind to propriety. Alfred, where are you?
"Alice, where are you?" a voice, several corridors behind, trilled, sending new waves of panic down her spine. "Hiding from your friends isn't very nice~"
Hurry up...
Had he waited a second longer, she might have been dead, but luckily, Alfred appeared in a corridor too her right. "Alice, this way!" he whispered urgently.
"We have to find Emil," he said, pulling a map from his pocket and trying to read it as they ran. "Where the hell are we?"
"You left him there?" she nearly shrieked, before she remembered to keep her voice down. "And you're holding it upside down!"
"Oh, right!" he said, righting it. "It's not far from here now. And I left him with Evil Natalya, 'cept I guess she's not so evil since the real one is so scary and all. Quick, through this door." He grabbed her hand and steered her through a door that blended into the stone wall. "It's just up this flight of stairs, then past the statue of the—OW."
They stumbled back in the dark, Alfred clutching his knee in pain. "Damn it, what was that?"
"Shh," cautioned Victoria, feeling around for him in the dark. "Listen."
They waited with baited breathes until they heard an echoing voice.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are! You can't run forever."
The footsteps paused and Victoria almost forgot to breathe.
"Feliciano, are you still at that?" came another voice.
"Evil Lovi," Alfred whispered.
"They ran off," they heard Feliciano say. "They broke the rules, that means I can—"
"Feli, Feli," sighed Lovino. "Why does everything have to be business? Can't you just relax, have a good time for once? We've already slipped the false information. They think we're keeping the King in the basement, so what's the problem? They'll head there and we'll pick them up later. C'mon, Artie made this torte I wanted to try…" Their voices moved farther away.
"I don't want to try anything that sick bastard made, it's probably filled with…."
Their voices faded completely.
Alfred released a long breath.
"They tricked us," said Victoria, trying to rise to her feet, but stopped by the weight she hadn't even noticed on top of her. "Alfred, get off of me," she said impatiently.
"Oh, sorry," he said, rolling off. "It's too dark, I can't see the map…"
"Hold on, I got it," she said, and put her hands together, closing her eyes, concentrating her energy in her palms. When she opened them, there was an orb of light spinning between them. It revealed a dark stone room that didn't seem to have any exits, other than the one they came through.
"Here, move that closer," he said, and they huddled around the map.
"If he's not in the basement, where is he?" she asked, studying the map. It was highly detailed, and right there on the third floor, there was a glowing green dot that showed their location.
"If they were leading us to the basement, then they were trying to get us as far away as possible from where he really is, right?"
"So it only stands to reason that he'd be in the highest place in the castle…."
"The North Tower," said Alfred.
Emil Steillson was feeling exceedingly uncomfortable by the moment.
"As soon as you find your friends you have to get out of here, understand?" said Natalya, her eyes pleading. "You can't attempt anything dangerous!"
"I'm sorry, but's it's my duty as—"
"Please?" There were small tears in her eyes as she clung to his arm.
A blush creeped up his neck. "Listen, I—"
"Natalya!"
"Oh no!" she gasped, flinching away from him. "It's Ivan, I have to go!"
And she was gone, blonde hair disappearing in the crowd.
Emil slumped in his seat in the corner of the hall. These people—strange, disturbing opposites of his own friends and family—filled the large room, talking and laughing. He watched as a darker haired version of Ivan searched for his sister.
He'd never been happier to have everyone ignore him. It wasn't like they were with Alice before... they had been all over her, gazing at her with their creepy eyes….
He stood. He needed to find them, before it was too late…
Well, he wasn't one of the Lowerworld's most powerful magic users for nothing.
He concentrated his energy on the top of his head, and let it slowly flow down through the rest of his body. He stiffened all over for a moment, but when he stepped away, there was a replica of himself in his place…
…and the real him was invisible.
Emil slipped through the door way, ready to find his friends.
"You have to be careful!"
"I know, I know," Victoria said, stepping out from behind the statue she had ducked around just moments earlier.
"Do you know who that was?" asked Alfred sharply, uncharacteristically angry.
"I didn't see…" she said, trailing off. "Should I have?"
"That was the other me." His voice was flat. "I don't want you getting anywhere near him, I don't know what I'd do if—" he broke off abruptly, looking away as his cheeks reddened slightly. "Come on, we don't have all night. It should be just up this stairway here."
Oh great. More stairs. She followed, lifting her mussed skirts as she scampered up the curling steps.
Ludwig woke from his feverish sleep to the sound of metal scraping against metal and the scent of magic in the air.
"Oh good," said Emil, looking up from where he was sawing apart the chains. "You're awake. Can you sit up?"
He struggled to move his injured form, ending up in some semblance of an upright position.
"Good enough," said Emil. "Now, I've almost got—"
Suddenly, he heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs. "Gotta run!" he said quickly, stepping back and vanishing into thin air.
The door opened, and in walked the familiar face of Alfred, his White Rabbit.
"Hey there, big guy," he said, crouching in front of him and assessing the damage. "We've come to get you."
Beside him was a girl he hadn't noticed before. She looked weak, but even in his state Ludwig could feel the power that radiated off her in waves.
And in behind her, Ludwig noticed with dawning horror, trailed a cat.
"Get out of here," he said hoarsely. Because where that pink and white demon appeared…
…so did its master.
"Tut tut," said Arthur, tapping his chin as a smile widened slowly on his face as his electric blue eyes assessed the group. "Naughty children, aren't we?"
A/N: OKAY. DONE. That really shouldn't have taken three months… it's because I wanted to put romance but then decided, screw this, it'll come when it comes, can't be forced! Now I can stop feeling guilty and post other stuff. Updates should be much more frequent, I have the definite plan for the direction of this story finalized.
As always, reviews warm my heart.
