These last few months haven't been great from a writing perspective, but so it goes.
Anyways, the pacing is a little weird, but I hope you all can enjoy it nonetheless.
Shizuka almost had to retire from the game early when the Alice nearly cut her in half at the waist.
No one had expected her to throw that massive silver battleaxe she was swinging around, just like no one had expected her to be hiding another, identical axe behind her back.
Or four of them, but it hadn't stopped being funny yet.
Takashi was still trying to pull himself out of the tree trunk he'd been kicked into, but he kept getting distracted by how elegant and sexy Saeko looked, dodging and weaving the attacks of the gracefully smiling Alice who was trying to decapitate her.
The Alice seemed impressed as well, and promised to have work for the Kunoichi once she was a head shorter.
Then she let go of her axe with one hand so she could slap Saeko across the clearing.
Takashi winced a bit in sympathy, but Saeko's dizzy-sounding laughter told him she was going to have a grand old time untangling herself from the shrubbery.
Right as he pulled himself from the tree, the Alice disappeared from sight- nope, she'd just jumped to avoid the fireball exploding beneath her, but he probably shouldn't mention that everyone could see up her skirt because she might get embarrassed.
Nah wait, she was a Succubus so she probably wouldn't mind.
Oooh, that was close- Takashi felt his grin widen as Saya's excited shriek reached his ears.
The Alice had thrown an axe at the Mage while still airborne, and the tree branch the spinning blade had lopped off had nearly squashed Saya.
With a cheeky grin, Kohta retaliated, firing a bolt from Gjallarhorn that pierced through the Alice's side.
Takashi barely noticed that Rika had fired as well, and that the Alice now had an arrow where her shoulder joint should have been.
His eyes were fixated on the shimmering crimson raining down onto the earth.
… What a pretty color.
It may have been a bloody battle to the death, but if one were to hear only the voices echoing through the trees, they would have thought they were hearing the merriest of games.
Sounds that, even as Wonderland became embroiled in a new and deadly game, were still in no way out of place.
The game came to an end when the Alice and the Berserker went head-to-head in a literal fashion- slamming their foreheads together with bone-cracking force.
Though both punch-drunk and staggering about as they giggled like loons, it was Takashi who went down first as he tripped over a tree root.
The Alice went down when Rei stepped right over top of Takashi, giving him quite the view a she plunged her spear deep into the Alice's breast.
The axe slipped from her fingers and so she grasped onto the shaft of the spear instead- a shadow passed the Alice by, and her legs buckled as a wicked sharp katana sliced through her hamstrings.
She fell, and Rei pinned her to the dirt, driving Shiro deeper into the Alice's body.
The game ended when a red mist sprayed from red lips.
Wonderland sighed in quiet regret as the revellers regained their senses one by one- starting with the host… and the young spearwoman who had killed her.
Even years later, they still remembered how her voice carried not the slightest hint of the pain she must have been feeling, nor the madness that had plagued her.
Rei, wide-eyed and leaning heavily on her spear, had her head just close enough for the Alice to reach up and stroke her hair with a motherly smile.
Out of the corner of her eye, Rei glanced at Shizuka, who had come to kneel beside the dying woman. Shizuka met her eyes and gave a sad little shake of her head.
"Oh dear, it seems my hospitality leaves much to be desired," the Alice lamented, as her hand drifted down to cup Rei's cheek. "Once I've ascertained where my darling husband and daughter have gotten off too, perhaps you might give me another chance?"
"Yeah, that sounds like it would be fun," Rei offered a sad smile in return, gently placing her hand over the other woman's.
"Is that so? You are a dear, aren't you?" The Alice murmured. "That is why you mustn't… blame yourself. And… tell the other half of your heart to cease his foolishness."
Naturally, it was Takashi that Rei immediately looked to.
"Poor thing… despite what he may think, there really is only one of him."
Rei didn't get the chance to ask what the Alice meant, even if she'd been able to look away from Takashi, stiffening like a wooden doll.
Because the Alice's hand slipped from her grasp and thudded weakly into the dirt, and that was that.
She was really good at hide and seek, and so were Zeke and Daddy (even though Daddy was a grownup who wasn't a Cheshire Cat), so they hadn't gotten caught yet.
Though, Alice knew that it hadn't really been that easy.
Every once in a while Daddy would go on ahead to 'check the trail', or Zeke would suddenly wander off to chase a scent.
She knew that's not all they were doing, but Alice also understood that they were keeping secrets for her sake so she pretended not to notice.
Alice may have only been ten years old, but, just like Mommy and Daddy always said, she was 'very grownup for her age'.
So when Daddy went ahead for the longest amount of time yet and came back pretending not to be sad, she pretended not to notice and welcomed him back with a big hug and a big smile.
It made Daddy smile a little, so once they were somewhere safe, Alice promised herself that she would cuddle with Daddy lots and lots so he would feel better.
After all, they hadn't found Mommy yet, so looking after Daddy was her job.
They used earth magic to bury her, and marked her grave with Wonderland flowers.
Even if doing so was more than a little risky in hostile territory, it hadn't seemed right to just leave the Alice lying there in the dirt.
The Wonderland infected had at least sounded more lucid than the Zipangu infected, so there was no guarantee, but…
The last words of the Alice at least gave them hope that she had managed to die as herself.
And, though each of the group kept it to themselves, they all had the same thought.
That the Alice dying had been the trigger that had allowed them to regain themselves.
And they couldn't help but wonder how long that would stay true, when-
"Takashi?... Takashi, where are you!?"
… When the worst affected was nowhere to be found.
He'd never told anyone the truth about that night.
About the first night he'd raged.
Really, truly raged- really set Berserker loose.
He'd felt like… like a storm.
Something that no one and nothing could stop- no choice but to get out of the way or be swept out of the way.
He'd felt so… free.
And the morning after was when he really started to fear his Blessing… when Takashi first started to think of Berserker as 'someone else'.
Because he'd never told anyone… buried it so deeply that often, he himself forgot.
That the first night he'd really let loose had been one of the happiest moments of his life.
Which was exactly why he'd escaped from the others the second he had a chance.
Because the joy of letting loose was back.
And Takashi couldn't for the life of him remember why he'd ever tried to keep it contained.
Alice gave a little frown as Zeke gave a quiet, worried little yip.
… She didn't understand what Zeke meant though.
There wasn't going to be rain, or lightning, or thunder (which was good cuz thunder was scary).
But even though none of those things were on the way, a storm was coming.
And was it just her, or was it kind of warm out all of a sudden?
Lord Arthur Heart was forced to admit that they were in a tight spot.
He and Zeke had done the best they could, but there had been little hope of preparing for the infected denizens of Wonderland to pull off accidental coordination.
They'd been forced out of the forest to evade two hands worth of their very own Trumparts, with bloody wounds and bloody spears leveled their way.
Said Trumparts hadn't actually attacked them yet, but he wasn't naive enough to expect peaceful intentions from armed women who were fervently proclaiming their intention to guard the final resting place of the Heart family with their lives.
The grassy field they found themselves forced into wasn't empty- another half deck of Trumparts were already present, Spades who, it seemed, had just finished hacking apart a small flock of JubJubs.
Arthur was forced to seriously consider if Wonderland itself wanted them dead when he spied a Mad Hatter on a low hilltop, hosting a tea party and filling cups with a suspiciously crimson liquid.
He barely managed to keep Alice from looking when he noticed that there was what looked like most of a Dormouse where the tea cakes would be.
This was… seriously bad. If he was really, really lucky he might be able to give Alice and Zeke a running start.
Then he'd be joining his wife, and the brand new hole in his heart would be filled once more.
The Baron of Hearts was still wracking his brain to think of a solution where he didn't have to leave his little girl an orphan.
As if to mock the idea that things couldn't anymore out of hand…
In total defiance of the clear purple sky….
That was when the storm hit.
Defective-
Where are you-
Broken-
Where are you-
You failure-
Please-
You're never there when he needs you-
Please don't leave me alone!
Saeko felt the despair she thought she'd risen above return in full.
Takashi had vanished.
That he was able to do so so easily was the strange and infuriating nature of Wonderland at work- even the trees weren't telling Shizuka where he might have gone, all she got was 'peeping is a bad habit'.
Wonderland was a place for getting lost in.
It was a world where 'escaping from reality' was the reality. Where the many colors of madness could freely intertwine.
It was a place that welcomed lost souls and never let them go.
It was obvious what had happened.
The madness that was Berserker had resonated with the madness that was Wonderland, and naturally, the Berserker himself was the worst affected. And so he'd slipped away, not trusting himself around the rest of them.
Not trusting himself around her.
But that shouldn't have mattered.
She should have been able to find him, if she were a proper Yokai.
She had thought she had moved past that.
That she didn't need to be a proper Yokai as long as Takashi accepted her.
But now, her defective nature meant that, once again, she couldn't be there for him when Takashi needed her.
He was right there over the horizon. Saeko could practically feel Takashi's joy from…
All the way over… here...
"Umm, listen Saeko, I know you've been basically ignoring me this whole time, but if you go from depressed and teary-eyed to smiling and teary-eyed without saying anything I'm not gonna know how to react."
She could feel Takashi!
She could feel Takashi!
He wasn't there with her but she could still feel him! He was right there, just over the horizon!
He was-!
… Saeko was belatedly reminded that she had been in the presence of other people while she'd been acting like a love-sick Succubus (which she absolutely was, wasn't she?), and that said people were currently smiling kindly at her.
It made her mysteriously wet eyes water even further as the knot in her chest slowly began to unwind.
More out of reflex than an honest attempt to salvage her dignity, Saeko straightened to her full height, coughed quietly into her hand, and pointed with the other.
Failing to realize entirely that her traitorous tail was wriggling about eagerly behind her.
Well, it was of little import, in the end.
She could feel Takashi, even when they were apart.
That tiny, buried part of Saeko that still feared loneliness vanished, never to return again.
And the smile left behind in its wake was something almost indescribably beautiful.
It was one of the hands of Heart Trumparts that moved first- scattering in every direction, even into the air, and falling back to earth in a broken tangle of limbs.
A dark shape had slammed into their ranks and kept on going without slowing down.
Hunched low and beast-like, it eventually skidded to a halt in the center of the meadow, carelessly dropping the once-beautiful corpse that dangled from its fingers.
It, or rather he, was a young man with eyes like molten fire- slowly rising to his full height, the air about him shimmering and distorting as steam rose from his limbs.
On a hunch, Arthur crouched down to cover his daughter's ears, as her dog crouched in the dirt and did the same with its paws.
The Berserker roared, and the sky trembled.
Berserker realized his error almost too late, but managed to settle for strangling the worm-woman instead of pulling her head off.
He had quite the job ahead of him.
There was a child present, even if the father and the not-dog were keeping her from watching, and she was safe behind a mighty barrier, that was no excuse.
Berserker didn't want to scare the child, and blood and death would scare a child.
… Probably?
And so Berserker was forced to conclude that he shouldn't rip the bad things to pieces, even if that was what you were supposed to do to bad things…
So he needed to kill the bad things without making a mess, hence the current dilemma.
The bad things were just so fragile.
How was he supposed to not break them when they fell apart at the touch?
It was a spear that answered his question.
A spear, and the blonde not-lady who had been guiding him along.
Berserker didn't really understand why he'd been following the not-lady, he just had a hunch that he owed her somehow.
Watching as he gripped the spear in his side, the not-lady smiled and pointed up into the sky.
Pulling the weapon out of his body, Berserker flung it high into the air with the wielder still attached.
When it fell back down, it broke and did not rise.
Curious for reasons he couldn't quite make sense of, Berserker shot the not-lady a glance before taking some distance from the broken thing.
From further away, the broken thing was just a lump. You could barely tell that the broken thing was a dead broken thing.
… So that was it.
He just had to throw the bad things, far enough that they would break when they landed!
Immensely pleased with such a simple solution, Berserker began to laugh as he took a bad thing in either hand, and took aim.
Smiling gently, the not-lady vanished on a warm breeze that fondly caressed the trio on the hill as it passed by, never to return.
Saeko had been running without stopping, barely able to force herself to let the rest of the group keep up.
She stumbled as she caught sight of something above the treeline, but the sound that accompanied it etched a delighted grin across her face.
That 'something' had been a humanoid figure clad in red and white, tumbling up through the sky in a high, gentle arc.
The sound that accompanied it was bright, boyish laughter that echoed through the trees, a sound she could listen to all her life and never grow tired of.
Throwing a mischievous grin over her shoulder to the others following behind, Saeko put on a burst of speed and left them all in the dust.
Perhaps she was being more than a little silly.
Even with Wonderland interfering, Takashi had been gone for exactly one hour.
It shouldn't have been any great and meaningful reunion.
But when she saw him there, laughing and flinging his foes around like an unruly child with too many toys, it felt like their first meeting all over again.
Like the first time in his arms.
Like the first time the world had made sense.
Saeko was not a noisy person by nature.
But, if it weren't for the fact her lips found themselves occupied the instant she was in reach of Takashi, Saeko would have been left with no choice but to give voice to the joy she was feeling, as loudly and proudly as she possibly could.
Even as she tried her best to focus on other things, Rei couldn't help that bittersweet feeling that welled up.
She had entered the clearing right as they'd kissed, and it would take a blind woman to miss how right the scene was.
Even as she struck down the nearest Trumpart (who had just stabbed to death another of her kind), Rei couldn't help but wonder if, had things turned out differently, that could have been her in Saeko's place.
It was an awful thing to think, and it proved why she wasn't worthy of Takashi in the first place.
Even still, he'd accepted her, and…
Suddenly her vision was occupied by molten eyes and an easy grin.
If her immediate surroundings hadn't been cleared out, Rei might have died right there, helpless to defend herself.
She'd just had her breath stolen away with a kiss, and she could still feel his warmth on her lips.
Some definitely out of place noises directed her dewy gaze to behind her- Takashi had just plopped down the marksman-and-mage couple that he had bear hugged, and Rika's wine-red eyes were going wide as Takashi did his level best to shove his tongue down her throat.
Without the slightest pause, the Berserker finished rampaging his way through their ranks and flung himself back into the chaotic brawl that the infected were waging on one another.
"... Why me too?" Rika touched her fingers to her lips, a curious hint of crimson on her cheeks.
"Probably cuz he knew you'd appreciate it~" Shizuka sing-songed with a cheeky grin.
"... Yeah, no denying that." Rika easily admitted. She couldn't remember the last time a man had stolen a march on her like that.
… And she kind of liked it.
But, no time for that now.
Some of the infected had run out of immediate victims, and started looking for new ones.
Rika was suddenly really in the mood for a good fight or a good fuck.
She wasn't feeling picky about which one.
It helped that the infected had formed sides and were butchering one another with the same enthusiasm they attacked the party, but, nevertheless the fight would end not long after the party had made it onto the scene.
The Incubus on the hill and who they assumed was his daughter remained inside a dome-shaped barrier with card patterns swirling about, but the barrier was high-level enough to allow entry and exit for certain things.
Whenever too many infected made it up the hill, a great white hound would emerge and knock them right back down.
Saeko couldn't help but smile when she saw the hound in action- whenever she watched the hound seize someone in its jaws and fling them, she couldn't shake the feeling that it was taking cues from Takashi.
Who was of course taking the vast share of whatever attention she could spare from the fight.
Actually, it was likely that she was sparing him more attention than she should be, but Saeko intended to shamelessly foist the blame off on her Yokai heart.
It couldn't be helped.
Takashi was just so… captivating.
And not just from an eye-candy perspective (the steam might have been clinging to his muscles but she was a lot 'wetter' than he was), but from a warrior's (and lover's) perspective as well.
Berserker was running rampant more than she'd ever witnessed, but…
That was no battle-rage.
That was battle-joy, something pure and visceral that left her shivering.
Despite how she wanted to savor the sight, it was perhaps a blessing that the fight was reaching its conclusion.
… It was getting impossible to focus on anything except Takashi.
She wanted him so much it hurt, and Saeko couldn't for the life of her decide if she wanted to fight or fuck him.
… It might have been both.
… It was definitely both.
She was so wet right now.
Clearly the bunch that had just torn the brawl into little pieces weren't from Wonderland, that much was blatant, but Arthur had never quite seen a group of travelers quite that eclectic.
A pair of Heroes, one of whom was the young man who obviously wasn't as infected as he'd assumed, given that he'd hugged and/or kissed his way through his companions.
Neither of those Heroes seemed affected by the mana of the mamono, despite there being a Fairy Queen and the most overpowering example of a catgirl he'd ever seen… he doubted all Ocelomeh (?) were that strong.
The mage paired with the Incubus was probably a Majin of some kind unless she made a habit of concealing her features, and…
Huh, that was interesting.
When he gazed at the Kunoichi's mana, it was undeniably intertwined with that of the young warrior, but he showed no signs of becoming an Incubus.
It was a proper bond though, so Arthur just assumed it was new.
Unfortunately, he couldn't make out one of the most important details… the sick mamano had possessed much less mana than they should, and the group below seemed normal, but…
Even if it was a little ungrateful, he just couldn't take the risk.
Not with his daughter on the line.
So he'd thought, but…
"It's okay, Daddy," Alice beamed up at him, tugging on his shirt. "We can trust the big brothers and big sisters, their magic isn't icky or squicky at all!"
"..."
Was he a softie for not being able to go against his little girl's smile?
Probably.
But Arthur also was fully aware that their daughter could 'see' more than he or his wife ever could.
And that wasn't just him being a doting parent, which he was, or because he would overflow with pride at even the smallest of his daughter's achievements, which he did.
Even the Queen was impressed by Alice's sensitivity to magic, which proved that his daughter was at least as amazing as he thought she was.
"Come on Daddy, let's go say hi!" Alice insisted eagerly. "You and Mommy always told me to say thanks when someone helps me out, right?"
"We sure did, didn't we?"
Zeke gave him a faintly judging look, but Zeke wasn't fooling anyone with that wagging tail.
The group was more than a little surprised when the card-themed barrier dropped, but the older Incubus immediately called out to offer an explanation.
"While I'm aware that it doesn't offer any guarantees from our end, my daughter can tell whether you're ill or not." He calmly explained. "That, and given how things could have gone if you folks hadn't arrived when you did, I think a little good faith is in order."
"Yeah, thanks big brothers, big sisters!" The little Alice chimed in with a cheerful wave.
It did make things simpler, in a morbid kind of way.
From an outside perspective, the bigger threat had squashed the smaller threat, so if the latter had been trouble enough…
"To be fair, we can sort of tell the same thing," Saya returned. "The infected hardly retain any mana, from what we've seen, even the… variation going on in Wonderland seems to hold true to that."
"Variation, huh?" The man seemed to understand the implication, but didn't speak it aloud, and for obvious reasons.
That obvious reason skipped down the hill with hound in tow and gave them a big smile. She was a young mamono, probably not more than 10, with short red hair and ivory horns. Wearing a red dress with puffy sleeves and skirt that looked easy for a child to play around in, she had tiny little black wings and a thin black tail that bounced along with her steps.
"Nice to meet you! Alice is Alice!"
"... Is that your name or your species?" Saya couldn't help but ask.
"Hmm… yep!" Alice cheerfully asserted. "Oh, and this is Zeke!"
Zeke was a dog.
A large white dog that was shoulder-height on the little girl, something like a wolfhound with a fierce and noble….
Zeke crouched as if to pounce, but the second he did, there was a puff of playful white smoke.
What was left behind was a puppy with floppy black ears and big golden eyes… a puppy that had no trouble launching himself into the air, despite now being knee-height on his owner.
The destination of his leap wasn't all that hard to guess.
Shizuka gave a delighted giggle, and hugged the small dog that had just nimbly hopped onto her bosom so he could reach, and lick, her face.
Saya looked like she was trying to scowl, for some reason, but when Kohta looked at her, she just sighed.
"You know what? No. The dog is adorable and this is Wonderland, so let's just ignore how apparently household pets can be Heroes."
"... No wait, hold on a sec-"
"Right Big Sis!?" Alice beamed at her. "Zeke is the bestest dog in the whole wide world!"
"He sure is kid, he sure is." Saya blandly agreed.
"... Oh, that makes sense," Rei nodded a moment later. "I think we broke Saya."
Saya aside, introductions went much more smoothly after that.
The man and his daughter were Arthur and Alice Heart, the Baron of Hearts and his daughter, the future Baroness.
Zeke was Zeke, which apparently was an official title as well as the pup's name, since Alice had nicely asked her 'Royal Big Sis'.
… But naturally, the good cheer didn't last for long.
Alice was looking for her mother.
Her mother, who was tall, and pretty, and had hair just like sunlight.
Her mother who presumably was an Alice like her.
But they didn't even have the luxury of agonizing over what to say.
Because just over the hill came a vast, discordant tapping noise.
It was like listening to an army march on stilts.
… Or high heels.
What marched into the clearing was a small army of Trumparts, the Suit of Clubs floating on the cards behind them, their lucerne hammers dripping with gore.
Delicate features and soft lips twisted by eerie smiles that showed far too many teeth.
For a moment, they hesitated.
It was… too much.
They'd run for their lives from a smaller mob, and now an entire army of infected?
… and with a child in tow.
… They were probably going to die in this clearing, weren't they?
They didn't have time to give up, or resolve themselves, or come up with some kind of plan.
No stubborn resistance, no desperate, futile last stand.
Nothing at all.
Because a dark shadow flew overhead and a little girl cheered, and then Wonderland burst into flames.
It was an odd sort of feeling.
Like they'd fallen off the edge and tumbled straight towards disaster, only to find themselves plucked out of the abyss and instead thrown onto a pile of pillows.
Actually… It was a very Wonderland-sort of feeling.
An entire army of Trumparts had been burned to ash in a roaring torrent of violet flame that had swept across the clearing in a gigantic, zigzagging swathe of devastation, incinerating foliage and bodies with indiscriminate fury.
Flames that, as far as the group could feel, were barely even warm.
"And why are they purple!?" Saya hadn't been the only one to think that, it should be made clear.
No one was in the frame of mind to respond to her, though, especially not the towering, winged bombshell that had just burned an army to cinders.
The woman who descended to earth was well over six feet tall, even without counting her horns- curvaceous and powerful, much of her rich brown skin on display with the wispy, dancer-style outfit she was wearing. Her horns gleamed gold just like the bands and bangles of her outfit, and her glossy black hair was in a stylish, straight bob cut.
At the end of each of her supple and strong limbs, smooth skin gave way to dark purple scales and ferocious crimson talons, and a thick tail coiling about her shapely legs.
Perhaps the most uncanny part of her were the tentacles.
Or perhaps second heads? There were no eyes, but they ended in grinning, serpentine jaws, seeming to originate from behind her back, near where her great wings emerged.
They would have been more unsettling if they hadn't immediately busied themselves with scooping up a giggling Alice, and delivering her straight to the dragon's embrace.
For that was precisely what she was- a dragon.
And not just any dragon, one of the rare and bizarre guardians of Wonderland.
The Jabberwock.
Or, perhaps more importantly…
"Big Sis Sen!"
"I was wondering where you'd gotten off too, little Alice." The dragon not-quite-smiled as she hugged the little girl to her mostly bare bosom. "It seems you've had quite a busy day."
"Uh huh, uh huh! We snuck out of the castle and ran away from mean ladies and then when there were even more mean ladies, a big brother came and yelled a bunch and flinged them up into the sky!"
"... I see."
"Am I sure glad to see you, Senga," Arthur offered a tired smile. "We were headed your way, but to think you found us first."
"Admittedly, while I was searching for you myself, I must confess to a small detour." The Jabberwock replied. "Even all the way from my lair I could hear the roaring of some strange, massive beast, and there was a strange heat on the breeze."
Takashi pointedly averted his eyes from the knowing grins his companions shot him- which coincidentally led to his eyes meeting Alice's.
With bright eyes and a proud grin, Alice gave him a big thumbs up.
The group had agreed to escort the Wonderlanders back to Senga's lair, which was probably the safest place they could get to at this point.
There was no telling how badly the other territories in Wonderland may have been hit.
Senga, with Alice on her hip, had gone ahead, Zeke happily trailing along at her heels.
Leaving Arthur with Takashi and the others.
"Don't take this the wrong way, but once we make it to Senga's home we should part ways." Arthur began with a calm smile. "If this infection is everywhere like you say it is, Wonderland will still be the safest place for us, but not for you. Wonderland has a fondness for playing tricks on guests, and the risk of that having lethal consequences is a lot higher than it's worth gambling on."
"... Makes sense." Saya managed to say.
Arthur nodded lightly and pushed on ahead, intending to catch up with his daughter.
But not before giving a soft sigh, glancing back at them over his shoulder.
"And you don't have to worry." He told them in a near whisper. "It's a father's duty to tell his daughter why her mother won't be coming home. So… it might be a tall order, but try not to let it bother you too much, alright? I'm sure you did the best you could, given the circumstances."
"... You knew?"
Arthur just smiled his sad smile, and kept walking.
He didn't look back again.
They parted ways at the base of the mountain where Senga's lair had been built- one would have to fly or climb to make it up to the lair, as Senga had little need of a pathway, and most of her visitors could fly to begin with.
"Leaving Wonderland will be simple enough," Arthur told them. "Go down that trail to the west there, and when the path splits, turn around and come back the way you came."
"... Oh sure, why didn't I think of that," Saya grumbled.
"Bye bye big brothers, big sisters…" Alice gave a sleepy yawn, having started to doze off in Senga's arms (apparently Jabberwocky's were warm and comfy, as the little girl had quite seriously explained).
"Actually sir, there's something I'd like to talk to you about." Takashi spoke up.
He gave an awkward chuckle and scratched the back of his head when everyone looked his way.
"Privately, if you don't mind."
The Jabberwocky quirked an eyebrow and looked to Arthur, but the Incubus just smiled at her and nodded lightly.
"Sure, son, let's take a walk."
Saeko wasn't the only one to watch them go with a hint of concern, but when the men returned about five minutes later, Arthur was holding a small white and red carrying case that hadn't been in his possession beforehand.
It was the kind of carrying case that alchemists favored for carrying glass vials.
Nostrils flaring slightly, Senga's eyes widened ever so slightly, and her violet eyes zeroed in on Takashi.
"I'll explain later, Sen." The dragoness relented at Arthur's words, though her light glare suggested the explanation had best be a good one.
"You didn't have to do that, but for what it's worth, thank you." Arthur told Takashi. "We'll put it to good use."
"And speaking of gratitude," Senga spoke to them for the first time, her haughty gaze sweeping over the group.
"You have mine for your part in safeguarding these three." The dragoness began. "In light of that, I will overlook whatever part you may have played in other matters."
Even Zeke winced at that.
Without another word, the dragoness flared her great wings and rose into the air, a slumbering Alice in her arms.
Arthur watched her go with a wry smile, and gave them an apologetic glance.
"That means she forgives you too, for the record. And so do I."
Zeke hopped up into his arm as deep red wings emerged from the back of the Incubus, and then they too were gone.
Flashing a tender smile that she would never show around others, Sena pulled the covers a little higher on the slumbering girl and her puppy, giving a nudge here or there to the sizable 'nest' of blankets and pillows the young duo were slumbering in.
Stroking Alice's hair gently with a slim tanned hand (having 'tucked away' all of her draconic features save her horns), Senga left the room with quiet steps and a lingering glance.
Letting her smile fade as she left the chamber with a purposeful stride, Senga made her way to the entrance of her lair.
Just as expected, there he was, sitting on the edge with one leg dangling over, gazing up at the moon without seeing it at all.
Wordlessly, Senga sat down at his side, tucking her long legs beneath herself.
Several moments passed in silence before a word was said.
"It's a bit of a frustrating feeling, if I'm being honest." Arthur admitted with a bitter little smile. "It feels like… she gets a step further out of reach with every passing moment, and no matter how fast I chase after her, the distance will only grow."
"Your time to chase after her will come, but… not yet. Your daughter needs her father."
"And her Big Sister Sen." The ghost of a smirk tugged at his lips.
The elder Alice had treated Senga like a sister, so perhaps 'Auntie Sen' would have been more appropriate for the younger.
There had been a lot of roaring and violet flames involved when his wife had teasingly suggested that.
"I-Indeed. The three of you will be safe here, and…" Senga turned to face him fully, and Arthur met her gaze at last. "And I am… sorry for not finding you sooner. Perhaps if I did, then…"
Arthur shook his head immediately.
"There will be no end to it if we start calling out 'maybe's'."
"... As you say."
"... Senga?" Silently, the Jabberwocky had risen to a kneel and embraced him, gently but firmly pulling his head to rest on her shoulder and keeping it there with a hand against the back of his head.
"Your daughter is sleeping soundly. Come now, you don't wish to face her in the morning with an expression like that, do you? I am aware that… comforting the emotions of others is not my forte, but… nevertheless, I am… I am here."
She simply did not know what else to do- normally her first thought for 'comforting' others was sex, but as if she was the wretched kind of woman that could offer that to her best friend's widower.
… Yes, widower.
Her best friend was gone.
Oh dear, it seemed she'd gotten something in her eyes.
Quietly clinging to one another, two adults wept for the Alice-shaped hole in their hearts with only one another and the moon as their witness.
They'd exited Wonderland and found themselves in Albion, rather than Zipangu.
Shizuka had made note of it first, as the trees in this neck of the woods were 'a lot more serious', as opposed to the calmer flora of Zipangu.
Not that anyone else knew what she meant, but the others (save Saeko, who had never been to the mainland) were familiar enough with the woodlands of Albion to notice the signs in their own way.
The worn dirt road was the only sign of civilization anywhere nearby, and Shizuka had cloaked herself in magic that would make her 'stand out less', and flown high into the air to see what she could see.
The forest went on for countless miles in every direction, but, far to the north things opened up into a vast plain, and she had just been able to make out a lumpy shape that didn't seem natural.
A good chance it was a settlement, and a large one at that- possibly a fortified city of some kind.
The group decided that they would make their way towards it- they didn't have any other destinations in mind, and, though they dreaded the answer, seeing how larger settlements were affected by the infection might give them a better sense of how Albion was faring.
There was a more immediate issue that needed to be addressed, before that happened, though.
"Well, let's get this out of the way," Saya began. "Takashi," the man in question sat up straighter at her words, "yes, like you were worried about, I think Berserker affected us too, back when we fought… you know. But, I don't think it's anything we have to worry about anytime soon, if at all. I'm fairly confident that it was just the natural fuckery of Wonderland at work, making different kinds of weird get all tangled up together."
She ended her explanation with a challenging, almost pugnacious stare, as if daring anyone to refute her.
"... Did you just say 'fuckery'?" Was Rei's more pressing question.
"Damn right I did, got a problem with that?" A definitely not embarrassed Saya fired back.
A definitely not smirking Rei, in return, held up her hands in surrender and carefully averted her gaze.
"Oh, w-well that's good, yeah, that definitely kinda bothered me, yeah." Takashi stammered back.
"... Takashi, are you alright?" Saeko asked from his side.
Takashi whipped his head to face her so quickly that a dull pop was heard.
"Y-yeah!? I'm fine, just a little you know, just a little… antsy?"
"... Just a little, huh?" Saeko replied in a dry voice.
"Eer… Takashi?"
"Yeah, Kohta?"
"You do realize you have soup in your lap, right?"
Takashi looked down at said lap, and found that yes, it was covered in soup.
Probably because when Saeko's soft, unobtrusive voice had startled him, he'd completely crushed the bowl in his hands.
Takashi looked at his lap and nodded once.
"I am not fine."
"Well that's good," Saeko sighed in relief, much to everyone's surprise. "Because I'm definitely not fine either. You went on a rampage and left me behind."
"... Sorry, I…" Takashi's expression fell, only to be replaced by a puzzled one as he noticed what Saeko was doing.
Which was panting lightly, rubbing her supple thighs together and tugging at the already plunging hem of the sleeveless, kimono-style top she was wearing.
It took more work than Takashi cared to admit to tear his eyes from the beads of sweat disappearing into her cleavage.
"Er… Saeko?"
Saeko seized him by both cheeks and kissed him like she was trying to shove both their tongues down his throat.
"Hush you," She gasped when she broke for air, barely withdrawing her face at all. "It was hard enough behaving around a father and child, and now there's only adults present. You need this just as much as I need you, so behave and go wild like you want to."
"Wait a second, you just said something strange there."
"Is that a complaint?"
"No ma'am."
Saeko rose to her feet, and even that simple motion was incredibly sexy when a horny Succubus was doing it.
Pursing her glossy lips, Saeko thought for a moment, and then stepped past Takashi.
"On second thought, back-up might be in order."
She pulled Shizuka and Rei to their feet with one hand each, and her long tail extended and arched out, looping around Rika's toned midriff and pulling her upright as well.
"Me too, huh?"
"Do you not want a part of the orgy that's about to happen?" Saeko asked pointedly.
"Now you're just being silly."
Herded along by a Kunoichi with gleaming eyes, soon, there was only Saya and Kohta left by the fire.
"Well that was fast," Kohta blithely noted. "So, I guess it's just you and me… huh?"
Saya, who had been busy unlacing her bodice to give her massive breasts room to breathe, arched a thin brow and stared at him.
"Am I really going to have to get naked on my own?"
"Now you're just being silly."
I feel like it would be strange tone-wise to go straight into the orgy, but I'm not a monster so of course it's not going to be skipped.
In other words, next chapter is gonna be hella kinky.
Like I said, pacing was a little awkward, but I've decided to cut my losses and move on, this chapter went through enough iterations as it was.
Now, there are a few important things to address next chapter (eventually), like how Berserker has shifted and Saeko finally made that proper connection, but the main reason that they're being shoved aside for later is also Saeko, because all of that was a massive turn-on for our resident ninja succubus (which will never stop being a great combination, for the record).
'Big Sis Sen' is Senga Sally from a VN called Love x Holic, but Sally is a dumb name for a dragon woman so I used Senga as her given name.