Tales of Evil Chapter 5: Ein normaler Tag, a tales of symphonia fanfic

Ein normaler Tag

(…)

Author notes: OK. I want to write a DecusxAlice long fic. But before get into that work, I want to know how many support I have. Since I want to write that fic, I would like you to show me your support by reviewing this chapter. As a DecusxAlice fan I do the fics for myself, but as a writer I do the fics to be read. So I need to see that people care to do it.

(…)

"Here we are." Richter said aloud. "The earth temple."

"Really? That's it?" Alice asked casually. "I expected something more. It seems more like a normal canyon to me."

"We are not here to enjoy the landscape." Richter annotated. "Let's take what we have come to take and--" but he was soon cut by a loud scream.

"ALIIIIIIIIIICE!"

She knew that voice.

"Impossible." Alice and Richter said in unison.

Decus was coming running toward them with his Iron Maiden in one hand and waving the other.

He stopped, lifting a sand cloud behind him.

"Hey Alice!" He said and stopped to take a breath. "I… I… Wait…" He bent over, trying to catch his breath. He took a deep breath, and then started talking again. "I hope you didn't miss me." He said smiling with self confidence, with a hand under his chin. Then he bowed again put a hand against a wall began to breathe fast again.

"Alice!" Richter said. "Did you tell him anything?"

"What!" Alice asked looking almost wounded. "Why would I say anything to that!" She said pointing at Decus with a disgusted look.

"You don't need to put on an act in front of him, my little cookie." The purple-haired guy said smiling. "He already knows about our 'thing."

"Our thing?" Alice asked. "There is nothing between you and me!"

"Before you continue with this," Richter interrupted, "would you mind explaining how you found us?"

Decus smiled and closed his eyes. "I just followed my heart. Nothing can separate me from my beloved."

Alice looked at him with her eyes half opened. "You came running following Aramis, didn't you?"

Decus smile faded. "Yeah…"

"STOP!" A strange voice said.

"Who said that!" Decus asked confused looking around.

"I DID!"

"Who?"

"DOWN HERE YOU IDIOT!" The voice yelled, clearly annoyed.

When Decus looked down he saw a little human being with green hair. "What's that thing?" He asked pointing to the little being.

"I think that's a gnome." Richter said.

"No. Imma gnomelette. And none of ya can pass through here."

"Hahahaha!" Decus laughed. "And who is going to impede us passing through here. You?" Decus asked amused pushing the little being chest with a finger. The gnomelette looked annoyed at him and took his finger "Uh…?" And lifting Decus up in the air threw him against the floor.

"That's what happens when cha annoy a gnomelette." The little being proclaimed smiling.

"Pathetic." Alice said with a disappointed look.

"Gnomelettes have seven times the strength of a human being." Richter explained to the defeated Decus.

Decus lifted and took out his jacket. "I can't let my honor be trampled. You won't make me look bad before my beloved. You took me off guard. I'll make you pay for that."

Then the epic fight between the little gnomelette and Decus began.

Decus tried to crush the gnomelette with his shoe, who reacting fast jumped backwards avoiding the stomp. Decus then began to trampling the ground as fast as he could but the gnome kept dodging his attacks.

"That's all ya have!" The little green haired being asked, taunting Decus.

"Die already!"

Richter and Alice just watched with an incredulous look.

Decus kept his mad attacks until the clould of dust that he raised didn't let him see.

"Where? Where did it go?" He asked looking around.

"It!" Said the gnomelette in an irritated voice. "Ya should watch yer vocabulary."

"AAAAAAH! My back! It's on my back!" He said trying to catch the gnomelette moving around in circles.

Richter watched with his mouth half open, as Alice covered her face, too ashamed to.

After a few seconds Decus finally took the little being and threw him against his Iron-Maiden smashing his head against it and making it lose its balance.

"Ow!" The gnome complained scratching his head. "I'm going to…" But before he ended the sentence the heavy torture-charm fell over the gnomelette crushing him under five hundred pounds of iron.

"Poor little thing…" Decus muttered.

"Poor thing? You were trying to kill him five seconds ago!" Alice exclaimed.

"Yeah but… It makes me kind of sad. I'm sure that he was hungry, and that he felt alone." Decus looked at the blue sky and closed his eyes. "Farewell nameless gnome."

Then the Iron-Maiden began to move.

"What! You can't be serious!" Decus exclaimed. He quickly jumped on it and tried to use his own weight to smash the gnomelette. "In the name of Martel I command you to die! Die! DIE!"

The gnome finally lifted the Iron Maiden and Decus along with it. "My name is Gathanchkareejai' Thanzchanetk of Kassaikanet!" and threw both through the air.

Decus soon got up and took a defensive position. "I'm not done yet." Then he began to make ninja-movie like movements. "I warn you. I'm a master of the ancient art of origami."

"Of making paper figures?" Richter asked with a bored voice.

"Great! Now he knows what it means." Decus groaned. "Anyway… Where did it go?" Decus began to search again. "It was just here. Where is it?"

He then noticed something beginning to climb under his pants. "Don't go there!" He said as he noticed that the gnome was climbing directly to his crotch. "Wait! Wait! We still can talk! Don't! Don't!"

Then a loud stroke was heard through all the canyon. After that, nothing. Just silence.

Richter instinctively looked pained.

Decus face turned completely red and some tears began to go down his check as he made some weird, breathless sounds.

Decus knelt looking to Alice's careless look. "A-A-Alice…"

"Pathetic." Was all she said.

His pant zipper opened and the gnome jumped out before Decus fell over, finally defeated. The fight was over.

"Yay!" The gnome said jumping on Decus celebrating his victory. "I'm da strongest!"

"I'm sure that this was fun but we need to pass." Richter informed to the exalted gnome. "I'm sure that we could reach some agreement."

"OK." The gnome said interested in the offer. "If ya give me something pretty and soft I will let you pass."

"We don't have anything that fits that description. Don't you want anything else?"

The gnome blushed and smiled. "Her puffy shorts." He said pointing to Alice. "Those pink bloomers seem soft."

Alice's teeth began to whir.

"And they're so pretty." The gnome kept saying while drooling and smiling with a self confident look.

Alice closed her fist and smiled in a terrifying way.

"So what cha say?" Asked the gnome looking to Alice who was approaching to him. "Do we have a deal babe?"

Alice kicked the gnome with all her might sending him through the sky and making him fall though the pit, meeting his death.

(…)

"It seems that the path is divided." Richter said to Decus and Alice, who were discussing about why Alice didn't want to use her healing powers in certain part of the blue haired man's body.

"Wait a moment Richter, we are having a pair discussion." Decus said not even looking at the red haired half-elf.

"You are a pervert for asking me something like that!" Alice said exalted. "And this is not a pair discussion!"

"Well… You are two, and you are discussing." A feminine voice said laughing. "That makes you have a pair discussion."

"Who said that!" Alice shouted, she didn't like being related with Decus in front of anyone. "Show yourself coward!"

"Are you sure?" The mysterious voice asked. "OK, as you wish."

And abruptly a giant three headed hydra come out of nowhere screaming aloud looking at Alice, who scared by the unexpected monster appear graved Decus' arm instinctively. Decus reacted fast and quickly embraced Alice protectively and put himself between the monster fangs and Alice.

Alice couldn't believe it "Decus don't…" But it was already too late.

But before the creature closed on Decus, the monster become a huge pile of water and soaked them both.

"What…" Alice was out of words.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The mysterious voice laughed.

Alice put aside Decus. A blue girl like being was floating and laughing embracing her tummy.

Alice, all soaked, become as red as a tomato. The feeling, those that she tried so hard to hide and deny all the time, had just sprung for a brief moment, even if it had been for a second, it was enough to remind her what she felt. And that annoyed her to no end.

"You..." She said aiming at the blue creature with her toy rapier. "I will kill you! A SEASON IN--"

"Alice, wait!" Decus shouted taking the toy rapier with one hand.

"What are you doing idiot!"

"You are all soaked." Decus tried to explain. "If you finish the spell you will end up electrocuting yourself."

Alice though about it twice and after a few seconds she pulled the whip out of his hand. "Fine!"

"Oh my goddess!" The being said drying some tears. "Did you see her expression Richter? It was all: 'Oh, protect me, my prince!' Hahahaha!"

"No it wasn't!" Alice denied, trying to find some justification for what she did. "I… I was just using him as a shield!"

That broke Decus' heart a little more.

"I just wanted you to eat him so I could win some time!" Alice finished.

"Yeah… Yeah… Suuuuuuure. What about a third opinion? What do you think Richter?"

Alice looked at Richter with a disbelieving look "Do you know that thing?" She asked pointing to the blue girl like being.

"I'm not a thing, you bratty girl! I'm a lady!" She said annoyed. "I'm Aqua! The great Centurion of water!"

"Yeah sure… When was the last time you looked at yourself? You look nothing like a lady. You look more like a flying ugly fish."

"Me! Ugly!" Aqua shouted. "I'm much cuter than you."

"Yeah sure… Do you want a third opinion?" She asked with a taunting smile. "Who think that I'm the cutest girl of the world?" Alice lifted her hand and she soon was followed by Decus. "Who thinks that the old fish is cute?" She asked with a bored voice. Only Aqua lifted her hand. "Alice wins!" The golden haired girl said spinning around.

"That's not fair!" Aqua complained. "Richter do you really think that she is cuter than me?" She asked with a sad seductive voice.

When the centurion looked where her mate should be, he was no longer there. He had already taken a path and began to walk without warning her.

"Richter wait!" Aqua said.

"Richter wait!" Alice imitated.

"Don't repeat what I say!"

"You are acting like a bratty girl!"

"You are a lost cause!"

"Gaaaah!"

Both screamed at the same time.

"I'm leaving!" Aqua said taking the same path that Richter took.

Alice lowered her lower eyelid and drew out her tongue mocking at Aqua who closed her eyes drew out her tongue.

After their fight, both girls took their own paths; one, following her beloved, and the other, followed by hers.

(…)

"Alice! Alice!" Decus shouted as he ran into the cavern. "Damn… I lost her."

Decus kept walking and shouting her name until he trampled something pappy.

"Ewww…" He said noticing the bad smell. "Disgusting… and on the day I decide to wear my new shoes..." He finished as he scraped his shoe against a rock when he noticed something falling over the black plumage of his jacket. "Ohhh… C'mon, what now?"

He touched the viscous fluid. "This must be the most disgusting cavern I have ever been in." Other drop of the fluid fell over his shoulder. "Oh. C'mon what the hell is going--" He turned around and he saw it.

A giant black lizard was looming over him.

"Wow!" He didn't lose even a second. He opened his Iron-Maiden and took out his sword.

The lizard launched an attack but Decus parried it with the sword.

"Damn you! I'm not going to be your food! You can forget about it!" Decus shouted as the lizard kept attacking him.

Then it did something that lizards don't usually do. It let out a green fire ball. Decus fell on the ground, losing his weapon in the process. The lizard saw an opening and, jumping on top of Decus, tried repeatedly to bite his head. Unable to do it, the lizard took a deep breath. Decus knew what was coming next. He managed to free his hands, and closed the lizard's mouth. Some green smoke poured out of its nose as the lizard moved aside of Decus shaking its head and coughing. Decus didn't waste a second, he took his sword and cut the lizard's head before it was able to attack him again.

"Hahaha! Did you think that you could defeat me, beast of the hell!" He shouted proudly. "No one and nothing can't defeat Decus The Great!"

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH*

Decus turned at the loud scream, and another black lizard, this time ten times bigger than the last one was before him.

With his mouth half open, Decus did something he learned to do when he was at the orphanage: He ran. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" And screamed.

Alice noticed the familiar scream coming from behind.

"Damn… He is already making one of his shows…" She said with an annoyed look.

"ALICEEEEEE!" Decus screamed. "RUN! RUN! RUN!"

"What are you yelling? I'm not going to--" but before she was able to finish the sentence Decus took her, and lifting her up, he put her over his shoulder. "What the--!" Alice was beet red, and instead of ask for an explanation she began to kick in the air and hit his back as an annoyed child would do. "Put me down, you stupid buffoon! Put me dooown!"

"Alice, I can't there is a--"

"I don't care about your explanations. I said put me down!" The she began to kick and hit him faster. "NOOOOOWWWWWWWW!"

Decus had no other option but obey her.

"What the hell where you thinking!" Alice was really red, though Decus couldn't say if it was because of how annoyed she was, or because of the close contact. "What do you think you were doing! When did I told you that you could touch me you damn perv! I had to have seen it coming! It was just a matter of time that a pedophile like you showed his true intentions! I knew that I should have never tr--"

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH*

"What is that?" Alice asked interrupting her rant and looking behind Decus. Then she saw the answer of her question: A giant black dragon. As soon as she saw it she climbed over Decus shoulder with a jump and began to whip madly his ass with her toy rapier. "What are you waiting for! Run! Run! Run!"

"That's what I was trying to explain to you. A giant black lizard is following us!" Decus explained while running again.

"That's a Black Dragon, you idiot!" She answered without stopping her whipping. "I'll stop it with one off my spells!" And she began to chant an incantation. "May the merciless embrace of frost take thee! Absolute!"

An enormous and shattering icicle appeared before the dragon just to be melted in a few seconds later by its burning breath.

Alice couldn't believe it. "RUN FASTER!" She screamed whipping faster his butt checks. "FASTER! FASTER! FASTER!"

"Aliiiiiiice!" The purple-haired exclaimed as he cried. "The whipping in the ass is counterproductive!"

"Less complaining and more running! Now run! Run! RUN!" She shouted without stopping her whipping as she saw how the dragon became closer to them. "RUUUUUUUUUUN!"

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH*

"What's that loud roar?" Richter said out loud.

"Hmm… It sounds like the roar of a Black Dragon." Aqua answered.

Richter was about to reply when he heard two voices. One was a male voice who was complaining and crying, while the other was a female voice that was complaining and demanding.

"I knew it was a bad idea to stick them together."

"Do you think?" Aqua asked smiling. "I think she was quite happy to go with him."

"Do I look like I care about their happiness? Look at them!" He said pointing Decus who was approaching to them really fast while he carried Alice on his shoulder. "Does it seem to you like they are doing their job?"

"Take it easy Richter." Aqua said massaging Richter shoulders. "They are having some fun. Maybe you should learn something from them. Relax."

"Please Aqua, stop what you are doing." Aqua's cheeks turned purple as she stopped her massage.

"Richter, run!" Decus said as he passed Richter.

"Don't waste your energy talking to him!" Alice shouted as she began to whip his butt faster. "Run! Run! Run!"

"Cowards." Richter said with a sneer.

"Richter!" Aqua shouted pointing to the enormous beast.

"This won't take much."

Richter took out his sword a grabbed it with both hands. He closed his eyes and began to recite an incantation as soon as he ended the spell the blade of the sword was covered with infernal flames.

"I'll end this just with one blow!" The red haired half-elf waved his sword in the air leaving a big wave of flames that hit directly in the dragon leaving a big could of smoke.

"It's over." Richter said calmly sheathing his sword.

"You're the best Richter!" Aqua shouted happily.

"There is nothing to be proud about." Richter said readjusting his hair. "It was just a big lizard."

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH*

Richter and Aqua turned their heads to the smoke and watched in disbelief as the screaming dragon emerged out of it.

"Impossible." Richter muttered.

"Richter! Run!" Aqua said trying to pull him with her.

Richter looked at Aqua's worried expression and, after thinking about his options, he decided to run.

It didn't take them too much time to reach Decus and Alice.

"Hmmm…" Alice muttered, smiling evilly as she was being carried. "Look who's running now." She said, stopping the whipping for a moment.

"I'm not running away!" Richter said with an almost imperceptible blush. "This is a strategic retreat."

"Suuuuuuure! And I whip Decus only because I want him to run faster."

"What… What does that mean?" Decus asked while trying to catch his breath.

"It means RUN FASTER!"

Richter and Aqua watched in disbelief how Alice began to whip Decus and how he began to run faster with each whip. It didn't seem a counterproductive method, at least for one of them.

Alice started getting annoyed. "My arm is tired from whipping you so much."

"A part of my body that I prefer not to mention is burning…" Decus complained in tears.

"If you had run faster I wouldn't have need to whip you so much, and my arm wouldn't be tired. This is all you fault!"

"I guess you are right." Decus answered ashamed. "You precious arm hurts and I was thinking of myself. Will you ever be able to forgive my selfishness?"

"Hmmmm… Maybe. But it won't be easy!"

Richter couldn't help but look ashamed. He couldn't believe how easy it was for Alice to control the purple-haired guy.

"I think that we have finally lost it." Aqua finally said.

"Yeah… That's what it seems." Alice said in a thinking voice. "But just in case…"

Richter looked annoyed, Aqua put a sorry face, Decus closed his eyes, and Alice smiled.

Slash!* Slash!* Slash!* Slash!* Slash!* Slash!* Slash!* Slash!* Slash!* Slash!* Slash!* Slash!* Slash!* Slash!* Slash!* Slash!* Slash!*

(…)

"I detect Solum's Core!" Aqua said to Richter. "I can feel its mana."

"Could you guide us?" Richter asked politely.

"Of course Master Richter."

Aqua guided the group where Solum's Core should be when they suddenly found a welcoming committee formed by a big group of gnomelettes.

"Ya'll stop now." One of them demanded lifting the palm of his hand. "Yar not allowed to go further."

"Yeah! Yeah!" All of them said in unison. "Not allowed."

"You are giving orders to me?" Alice asked annoyed.

"Alice stop!" Richter said. "We can't do anything unnecessary. Let's see what they have in mind."

"Unless…" The leader of the gnomelettes said. "You cook some curry for all of us."

"Yeah! Curry! Curry!" All the gnomelettes repeated.

"We don't have the ingredients to do it." Decus informed.

"We have everything ta do it!"

"OK. I'll do it." Decus said.

"NO!" All the gnomelettes said. "We want him to do it!" All of them said pointing to Richter.

Decus chuckled. "Him? He doesn't even know how to make a salad."

"I only burned it a little!" Richter said indignantly.

"As you wish." Decus said. "But I won't let the beautiful tongue of my beloved be raped by one of your culinary aborts."

Richter didn't even bother to reply. He took the cooking utensils and began to cook.

"Master Richter is better than you in anything else. Cooking won't be an exception."

"I don't need you to defend me Aqua." Richter answered in a monotone voice. "My cooking will talk for me."

"A cooking contest then!" Decus said taking a black apron and a black cook hat. "You will see the skills of the favorite apprentice of the Dark Chef! Prepare to be defeated by my funky cooking style!"

(Some minutes later.)

"How it is Alice? Do you like it?" Decus asked in a pleading voice.

Alice had to admit to herself that it was the most delicious curry she had ever eaten. And she didn't even like curry.

"I'm eating it! Isn't it enough?"

He had failed again.

"OK! The lunch is ready!" Richter shouted to the gnomelettes. "I guess this should be enough to let us pass."

"Yeah! Curry! Curry!"

All the gnomelettes jumped in the food and began to eat it like wild animals.

"Those things not only don't know who to talk." Aqua said looking disgusted the scene. "They don't even have manners. I've seen pigs eating in more civilized ways."

"Yeah… I've lost all of my appetite." Alice said, throwing carelessly the food aside.

"What matters here," Aqua said "is that Alice didn't like your curry Decus, and the gnomelettes loved Richter's. Which means…"

Decus looked down sadly.

"That Richter is the winner!" She shouted happily.

"Don't forget about the fact that it makes Decus the loser." Alice pointed.

Decus took his head with both hands and sat down. "Defeated by someone who burned a salad." He couldn't fall lower. He wasn't as good cook as him, he wasn't as good fighter as him, he wasn't as cool as him, he couldn't use magic like him, and he probably was hotter than him. Alice was right, he was a loser. And she deserved someone that wasn't a failure like him, someone better, someone like Richter.

But suddenly, a gnomelette began to moan, then another, and then another, and in a few seconds they were all moaning and rolling over the ground.

One of the little beings was able to stand up. "What have you--" But before it was able to end the sentence, it fell.

And suddenly, all the gnomelettes stopped moaning.

"How weird." Richter said to himself. "What could have gone wrong?"

Decus stop up and put a finger over the tiny chest of a gnomelette. "It's dead." He said looking down. "They are all dead." His voice seemed almost sad. "They didn't have a chance."

"They're all dead!" Aqua asked alarmed.

"Yeah." Decus said. "Do you know what that means…"

Aqua looked down sadly. "Yeah… It means that the world will never see the gnomelettes again. One of the oldest races in the world has been lost forever."

"It means that I'm the winner!" Decus shouted happily. "Yeah! I'm still the best cook in the world!"

Then he began to celebrate it with a weird victory dance moving his arms in circles as he walked backwards.

Alice looked half amused his weird celebration dance.

"Congratulations!" Alice said.

"Thank you my dear. I knew you would appreciate my--"

"Who are you talking to?" Alice said annoyed. "I was talking to Richter."

"Me?" The red-haired half-elf asked.

"Yeah!" She said, smiling and clapping. "You have just killed an entire species!"

"This isn't something to be proud about!" Richter shouted. "I have killed them!"

"You have made the gnomelettes disappear from this world. Of course is something to be proud about!" She said cheering. "Those things were really annoying."

Richter looked to both of them. Decus was still dancing and celebrating his so called victory, and Alice was smiling and kicking the corpses of the gnomelettes. Trying to talk with them would be a waste of time. They were a lost cause.

"Let's take Solum's Core and pretend that this never happen." He said.

"What? Your defeat?" Decus asked.

"Or your gnomeletticide?" Alice finished.

Richter murmured something inaudible and kept walking while Aqua followed him, giving the pair a look that could kill. Alice and Decus were both smiling.

(…)

"Here we are." Aqua said. "Solum's altar."

Then the four entered.

In the deepest part of the hall; a pedestal stood holding a golden, shining bud that was spreading ethereal balls which making a whisper like sounds, traveled all over the room leaving behind them a golden trail of sparks that were all over the cave.

As a half-elf, it was easy for Alice to sense the magi, and those little balls where full of it. Amazed by its beauty and power she tried to catch one of them, which was rolling around her, but it was in vain since as soon as she closed her hand it explode in a cloud of yellow mana and shinning sparks.

That wasn't overlooked by Decus, who soon tried to take one of those little spheres for her with the same disappointing results. But he wasn't going to give up so easily a chance to impress his beloved. Without thinking it twice he ran towards the Core to take it for her.

"Decus, don't!" Aqua shouted, but it was already too late. He had already taken it.

Soon all the ethereal spheres began to spinning around Decus.

"Hehe… Those little things seem to love me." He said to group.

"Decus!" Aqua shouted alarmed. "Throw it! Throw it now!"

All the spheres began to glow as they began to spin around Decus faster and faster imbuing him in a whirlwind of lights.

"What's going on?" Alice shouted to Aqua.

"Solum is defending himself!"

Decus seemed to be in a hypnotized state while he looked at Solum's Core.

"Damn! Decus, idiot! Throw it!" Alice said while running towards him. But before she was able to reach him, the spheres began to glow with such intensity that Alice was forced to close her eyes. "Decus! Throw it!"

Then an explosion sent Alice backwards, and smoke cloud completely covered the room.

"That idiot!" Richter said annoyed, coughing and waving his and. "Who told him to take it!"

"Decus! Decus!" Alice repeated with one hand covering her mouth and using the other to try to dissipate the cloud of white smoke. "Where are you!"

"Alice!" The blue-haired male voice shouted. "Here!"

Alice walked towards the voice.

"You idiot!" She said annoyed when she finally found him. "I'll kill you for this."

"I'm sorry Alice." He tried to explain. "I just wanted to take it for you."

"Hey." another voice that sounded like Decus shouted. "Stay away from her!"

And abruptly, when anyone expected it, a second Decus come out nowhere and jumped over the first one sending them both to the ground.

"What the…" Alice couldn't believe it. For a moment she had thought that she had seen two Decus. But due the smoke she couldn't verify if what she have just seen was right or her mind was toying with her.

"I can't see anything!" Richter said. "What's going on!"

Soon the red-haired man, casted a wind spell to remove completely the cloud revealing two Decus rolling and fighting over the ground.

"What were you planning to do to her." One of them shouted.

"Nothing! You bastard! Do you think you can trick my dear Alice!" The other replied.

"I would never try to trick her, you damn impostor! I don't know who you are but I'll kill you for that!"

"You can try to imitate me as much as you want but you'll never be able to match my charm!"

"Alice don't listen to him!" one of the Decus said to Alice, whose mouth was hanging wide open. "He is just trying to trick you!"

"Don't listen to this cheap copy. I'm the true one. Your Decus! Your beloved!"

"What the hell is going on!" Alice shouted annoyed at Aqua who was looking at them with the palm of the hand at her face.

"Solum has copied Decus. He has made a perfect copy of him. Skills, knowledge, memories, everything that Decus knew is also now in Solum's mind."

"Everything!" Alice asked scared. "Do you mean that everything that has happen in our life-- I mean in Decus' life, is now also in it's mind!"

"Yeah, everything." Aqua confirmed. "And to make it worst Solum has a weird sense of humor. He will pretend to be Decus until he kills him and will supplant him. Once supplanted, he will copy other of us and do the same over and over again. Until we kill him and make him be a core again, or until he kills us all."

"What kind of sense of humor is that?" Richter asked rhetorically. "Anyway… Can't you detect the element of its mana Aqua?" Richter asked. "He is an earth type. As a centurion you should be able to do it."

"I'm afraid I can't. He has also hidden its mana." Aqua answered ashamed. "He is really good at it."

"Don't worry Alice. I'll defeat him!" One of the Decus said.

"You? Defeat me! I won't be defeated in front of Alice twice in the same day!"

"You two!" Alice said annoyed. "STOP IT ALREADY!"

Both Decus stop fighting and bowed before Alice apologizing if their fight had annoyed her somehow.

"Then it is solved." Richter said coldly. "They will fight until death. If Decus wins we will take the Core. And if he dies," Richter took out his sword. "I'll defeat Solum before it copies anyone else."

Alice didn't like the idea. If it had copied Decus' skills, any of the two could win. And she didn't want to lose the only person she could trust, even if it was only a little. Ok, more than a little, but that wasn't what mattered at that moment.

"Not that I care…" Alice said randomly. "But there is nothing that we can do? I don't want to spend more time here. The fight could last a lot and I have a life too."

"We only can wait and have hope in Decus. Unless…" Aqua said in a thinking voice looking at Alice's eyes.

"Unless?" Alice asked making a "hurry-up" movement with her hands.

"Unless you are able to differentiate the real Decus."

"Me!" Alice asked a bit blushed. "Why me!"

"Well…" Richter interfered. "You have been together a long time. So you should know him better than any of us."

"Just because I've spend almost all my life with him doesn't mean that I know him!" She answered in an offended voice. "I never cared about him! I don't know anything about him!"

"Then, all we can do is wait and look." Richter said looking at both Decus. But when he did he couldn't believe what he saw. They were kneeling, with their hands over the ground, looking down and complaining.

"Why? After all I have done for her… How can she be so cold."

"I could defeat you, you know? But my heart isn't in it… I don't feel like fighting right now."

"Oh my!" Richter exclaimed. "This will take forever! Alice do something!"

"OK, OK…" Alice said closing her eyes and waving her hand. "I think I have a way to discover who is the impostor."

"Really?" Both Decus asked in unison. "I knew you wouldn't fail me. Our bond… Is unbreakable!"

"You know Solum…" Alice said smiling to both Decus. "You made a bad choice choosing him if you thought that I would care." Then she aimed at them with her whip. "This will hurt you more than it will hurt me Decus."

"Alice what are you going to…"

"A season in hell!"

As soon as she shouted the spell, two rays hit both Decus electrocuting them.

"Alice stop it!" One of them shouted screaming in pain. "It hurts!"

"I beg you Alice, stop it!" The other one screamed.

Alice closed her eyes as she felt her eyes begin to wet. She hated to see him in pain. And the fact that it was she the one who was making him suffer, only made it worst. But she increased the intensity of the spell anyway. Making them scream more and more. She had to do it.

"Aliceee!" If he was going to die, even if it was going to be by the one he loved, he wanted her to know it. "I love you!"

Alice opened her eyes. She couldn't believe it.

"Damn fucking bitch!" The other Decus said. "YOU ARE CRAZY!"

Alice stopped the attack over the first one and concentrated all her rage over the second Decus, who clearly was Solum.

"DIEEEEEEE!"

As Alice shouted those words the death sentence was already on. A bright ray connected with over Solum blinding anyone who was careless enough to look at it directly.

"Impossible!" Richter shouted covering her eyes with his arm. "How can she release so much power! She is too young for that!"

When the blinding light faded, Richter look over where Solum should be. The only thing that was left was a pile of ashes and it is core. Alice had done it.

"I knew she would recognize me." Decus said moaning and chuckling over the ground in an almost breathless voice.

"Denying the truth until the end." Richter thought.

"Decus!" Alice ran over Decus. "Idiot! Why did you do that?" She said kneeling towards him and beginning to heal his wounds.

That took Richter completely off ward. He didn't spec Alice to do that. And could detect something weird in Alice's voice, in every word, in every insult; was it… care?

Richter took the core and kept walking out of the hall as Aqua followed him. It was clear that he didn't know Alice as good as he thought.

"Shouldn't we wait for them?" Aqua asked.

"I don't think they need us." Richter said as he heard Decus laughs followed by the sound of a slap.

"What a pair of weirdos." Aqua said looking at them. "What kind of relationship is that?"

"I don't know, and I'm afraid that I don't want to understand it." Richter said examining Solum's Core as he left.

(…)

Translator:

- Ein normaler Tag: A normal day.

And remember. Review this chapter to show me your support. If you do, you will get a long DecusxAlice new fic in exchange. Is not a bad deal if you like this pair, isn't it? So give me your support to give me reasons to keep writing about these awesome characters and their twisted relationship.