Let us end this battle once and for all, my friends!
Disclaimer: I own nothing of AiW. If ya really need somethin,' go ask Lewis Carroll, Disney, or Tim Burton. . .
Inspirational Song: "In The End" - Black Veil Brides
. . . . .
Alice found herself in the midst of a full-on sprint to the end of the courtyard. She could see the pink trees, still aflame. Never was there so angry a newly-wed before her, she imagined. Her cheeks were red as a rose, her chest heaving as though under immense pressure, and her eyes set dead ahead on the raging battle before her. She was heading for it all. Running towards the end. Willing and waiting to finish it with only the aid of the Vorpal Blade.
Alice felt the need to tie her hair back. The rain was unceasing and causing stray hairs of hers to stick to her face. She felt one scrape against her cheek and brushed it away impatiently. Again, it slapped the side of her face. Annoyed, she glanced over to see the flicker of something blue dart away in flash. "Absolem?" she asked, turning to her left.
What came sprinting at her with his dark sword raised in the air was most certainly not Absolem.
With a grunt, Alice was just able to dart and roll out of the way of Stayne's blade, which made contact with the wet, stone ground with a ear-rattling screech. Filthy water splashed onto Alice's face. Stayne cursed and recovered quickly, already slashing at her again. Alice rolled to the right and pounced back up onto her feet, sword raised for protection. The Knave yelled a battle cry and sent his sword sailing towards her side. Alice parried him and kicked him in the chin. Stayne, caught by surprise, stumbled back.
"You're through, Stayne!" Alice cried. She moved to pierce the Vorpal Blade in between his ribs, but was knocked aside too soon.
"Oh, no, this land's not yet mine, Alice," he hissed.
Stayne sliced at her calf, Alice a moment too late to block it. She squeals and instinctively leans down to hold pressure to the wound. Stayne took the opportunity to stand tall and kick Alice in the chest.
Alice gasped as all air escaped her. She landed somewhere near a pillar, the Vorpal Sword lying feet away. She felt her anger flare up again. This isn't right. I am the Champion, and you are pure evil. You killed Sir Lawrence. You underestimate Her Majesty. You. . .
From what felt like far away, Alice watched Stayne slowly stride up to her, his sword trailing loudly on the wet stone beneath him. "Oh, Alice," he sighed. "Alice, Alice, Alice. . ." He shook his head, frowning at her. "I will admit - I had hoped for more fight from you. Then again, I suppose I don't have time for more. I have a Queen to kill." Alice felt the world burn cold as he grinned at her. When he was finally by her side, he stomped down onto her hand. Hard.
Tears clouded her vision, but she refused to cry out. Still, she struggled to climb into a sitting position as Stayne leisurely raised his sword up high above his head, cutting through streams of rain.
The blade began to fall.
Alice closed her eyes.
And when she truly believed it was the end, she merely held on tight to the beautiful ring on her finger.
. . .
When the end did not come, she opened up one eye and smiled with joy. "Chessur!"
"Get off me, you foul thing!" The Cheshire Cat must have collided with him mid-arc and saved Alice's life once more. He was hissing and scratching at the Knave's face like a mad feline - which he was. This gave Alice the time to stand up, steady herself, and run for her blade. Stayne's cries of annoyance were unceasing.
Alice stood a few yards away from the man and cat's skirmish. She cleared her throat. Immediately, Chessur's attacks came to a halt. His head turned to Alice with a satisfied grin. Alice returned the smile and nodded. The head vanished to nothing, off to aid somewhere else in battle.
"That piece of fuzz won't be saving you again, Alice," Stayne threatened.
Alice smiled. "He won't need to."
Immediately, they fell back into their groove. One would strike, the other would block. Every once in a good hit, one would harm the other. Alice's cut on her calf ended up being a shallow one; it was not bleeding much anymore.
When Stayne tried to replicate the attack, Alice skipped over the blade and grinned. The Knave did not particularly enjoy the taunt. With the butt of his blade, he knocked her to the side.
Alice rose to her knees and raised her own sword, blocking Stayne's blow. Alice winced. Her body still hadn't gotten the chance to recover from all those blows that blasted troll had delivered her.
Alice met Stayne's cold eye with angry ones. He grinned at her, the snake. "That Knight trained you well, Alice," he said. "Hopefully, he taught you all he knew. I believe you've had your last lesson together, am I correct?"
She spat at him, making him grimace. Their arms were beginning to tremble from the force of each other's swords. "You're nothing compared to the man he was! You are a mere pebble - and he a boulder!"
"Is that why I still stand here on the battlefield?" he yelled. "And he lies in a heap?"
"You won't be for long!" Alice heaved with all her might, breaking away from his sword's reach. She quickly caught her breath, waiting for his attack, but he stood still, cynical eye trained on her form.
"Dear, Alice, I believe-"
"Enough chatter!" Alice lunged forward, aiming for his heart. She was through talking the moment Stayne strode into Marmoreal. She'd planned to take him by surprise, but he'd been trained, as well. He managed to parry the Vorpal Blade, but still a moment too late. Alice sunk the sword deep into his inner thigh. Stayne's scream of pure agony reverberated in her skull. She pulled the sword out of his leg and stepped aside, but not before the back of Stayne's hand made contact with her jaw.
Alice spun around and watched the wall turn before catching herself on the ground. She stared at her four hands before they merged together for two. She spat blood on the stone between them.
"Up," his oily voice spat. She felt a strong hand grasp the lip of her armor and yank her up onto her feet. She steadied herself and spun around - as confidently as she could, mind you - with her sword raised. With a strong sense of satisfaction, Alice saw that Stayne had blood pouring steadily out of the wound in his leg. It ran down and formed in a small puddle beneath his feet, mixing with the water.
"Not feeling so strong now, are we, Ilosovic?" She smirked.
He glared daggers at her from between his wet, black strangles of hair. "You," he hissed. "You had opportunity upon opportunity to rise up. To reclaim lost potential. To join me." He made a rather pathetic attempt to blow the hair out from in front of his face. "You could have transformed Underland!"
"It didn't need change, Stayne!" she yelled. "Look around you!" She gestured to the acts of war around her. Sections of towers were falling, frantic soldiers were calling, and Hell had seemingly broken free. "Wonderland is fighting back. I have had every opportunity to go back to the Otherworld, and still do have those opportunities. If I am not giving up now, I am not giving up ever."
She snarled at him. "How dare you try to take my home away from me? Your world was already perfect. You simply-" Alice's brow furrowed. She truly did not want to finish that sentence. She could not believe she was about to utter those words. It was true, yes, but sad.
Stayne's sly smile grew as she finished her thought for her. "Didn't fit in?" he asked slowly. He raised a single brow.
Alice sighed shakily as she felt her bloodlust fade. She liked to believe that everyone served a purpose in this world. Even her, when she was living in London with her mother and sister. She'd served a purpose there, surely? Proof of the excellence of her sister? A common topic of conversation for her peers? She did help expand England's trade by connecting their routes to China.
If she hadn't served her own purpose, then she had at least finished serving her late father's one. She felt that much was the truth.
Alice first strode onto this battlefield willing - even eager, if she can admit it - to mutilate this monster. And Stayne was a monster. But was she? How willing was she to completely change her being? To completely erase the girl who had first fallen down the Rabbit Hole? She would be worse than all those who had mocked her for being strange up in London. At least no one had threatened her life up there. Just her pride, sense, and dignity.
"It seems your fight has made you irrational, Alice," she heard Stayne say. She looked up to see him stumble around in his gathering pool of pinkish water, skin shining sickly green. "You have picked up the habit of raising your fist first, and asking questions later." He chuckled. "Oh, the fun I would have had with you. . ." he trailed off.
Even in many years to come, Alice would never know what her choice that night would have been if not for the fact that Alice had already delivered the fatal blow. If she had killed Stayne, she would have been forever changed. Could she have remained a sufficient Champion to her Queen, or been too marred by her newfound being and risk the protection of her new home? But if she let him live, there would be a constant potential threat residing somewhere within Underland to risk them all, anyway.
In the end, that need to make a choice proved itself unnecessary.
Stayne's fingers relaxed his grip on his dark sword. The loyal blade clattered to the ground, spraying red water onto Stayne's chin. Alice stepped into the red, eyes trained on Stayne. Like Sir Lawrence, Alice had never pictured him so weak, nor so vulnerable. Yet they both collapsed before her on the very same night. How was it Alice always remained standing?
Without thinking, she cleared her throat. "You are a vile, despicable, foul piece of shukm," she heard herself say with strength. "You had committed crime upon crime against Underland and myself. For that, I came prepared to kill you." She lowered her voice. "It is-with newfound recollection, that I find myself questioning my cause." She glanced down at his wound again from beneath her lashes. "Even with that being the case, it seems Time has chosen today to be your last."
"No, Alice," he mumbled to the ground. "Do not blame Time. It is important to take responsibility for your actions. . ."
Alice swallowed uncomfortably. There was a moment when the two simply remained there, in the rain. Stayne, swaying on his two knees before Alice, head hung low and sword laying uselessly on the ground. Alice standing tall before him, Vorpal Blade waiting in her hand. A small part of mind vaguely registered the cries of the battle still thundering just past them, the two of them hidden by the thick, marble columns. All of them, her troops and his, were too absorbed by their own fights to notice them.
Stayne finally raised his head to look up at her with an unsteady eye. "Do it," he said. "Finish this quickly." His words were difficult to make out.
Alice's fingers danced along the hilt of her sword. "If you wish."
She bent down to pick up his sword and gasped when Stayne's hand reached out to grab her wrist. She hadn't believed he was still able to react that quickly. She narrowed her eyes at him.
He grinned at her, though it was shaky. "I would like to say my last words."
Alice fought her hand free from his grasp and stood up, Vorpal blade in one hand and his own sword in the other. She slowly walked behind him and placed both swords' edges against Stayne's throat in criss-cross fashion, silver upon black. She could feel him tense up and gulp. Stayne's last sight would be of his meager army fighting for their lives against her soldiers shining in White. The scene was illuminated by the many reflections of the flaming trees upon the watery ground. The air smelled of filth and smelled of smoke. This was the Knave's goodbye.
Alice cleared her throat, eerily calm. "Your last words, Ilosovic Stayne."
He spat out blood. "A question, if you will answer it." Alice chose not to respond. He continued on in his oily voice. "Does the fact that each and every day you lose a bit of yourself and become more cold bother you as little as it did me?"
Alice closed her eyes and thought. She did not know why, but she chose to take this last question of the Knave's seriously. She was well aware of her changes; everyone was. However, that did not necessarily mean it bothered her. . .
After a beat of silence, she opened her eyes. "Yes," she said. "Because for each piece of the Old Alice that I lose, I gain a new part of my true self here."
After some Time passed, she felt Stayne nod slightly and knew it was time. With one slow breath and two quick slices, she ended the Knave's life.
. . . . .
After taking advantage of the multi-fabric rope Hatter left hanging from the center balcony and obtaining a Hollering Horn (the Underlanian version of the Otherworld's horn - but much, much louder) from Lt. Blaze, Alice felt she was ready. She steadied herself in the front of the center balcony - one of the few still fully intact - and blew the Horn.
The sound echoed well throughout Marmoreal, out into the courtyard, and possibly even to those still fighting on the Checkerboard Field. Although, she had spotted the Tweedles earlier, making her think that the Whites had conquered there and returned to help back at the castle.
Slowly, a wave of silence and stillness spread out across the sea of tiring bodies. Even those who fought for Stayne stood still, confused as to why battle had ceased and why their leader was not in action. The Champion would provide them their answer.
Alice placed the Hollering Horn against her lips, chills running down her spine from the sudden silence. She easily spotted Mirana and the Hatter cautiously walk out of the castle, curious to the absence of clattering weapons. When they found her up on the balcony, Mirana stared in alarm, jaw dropped and all. Hatter's look, however, was full of pride and admiration.
"Attention to all soldiers and foes!" she called out. All eyes of different size, color, and number per being were on her. "I, Alice Kingsley, Champion to the Queen of Underland, declare this battle to be over and won!"
Unsurprisingly, this news was taken with alarm, most assuredly by the monsters Stayne had dragged onto their territory. Alice raised her hand. "I understand your protests. However, those of you from the Outlands no longer have a leader and therefore no form of Resistance." Here, Alice glared into the crowd, one hand on the railing. "You have two options. Option one. Retreat now, and return to the Outlands without any further consequences."
The beasts all stared back and forth between Alice and their fellow troops, as if asking for assurance that they had, indeed, failed in their task. Some were actually attempting to continue on fighting. They came to a halt when they heard Alice's anger and volume flare up once more.
"Option two!" she yelled. "You continue to sit where you are like such cowards until we find you! And then, you will end up like him!"
With her free hand, Alice grabbed hold of the oily, black tendrils of hair from the sack she'd brought up here with her and held the head of Ilosovic Stayne over the balcony for all to see. An integrated gasp from all who stared at the gape-mouthed head was shared among the crowd. Immediately, the beasts clamored away from the castle at the speed of the Bandersnatch. Alice did well to hide her grin.
As the monsters galloped away, the White soldiers threw up their helmets and screamed of victory. From her vantage point, Alice could event spot a few dancers. Others merely fell down right on the spot. Alice gestured down to Mirana for the medical team to leave the castle immediately and head into the crowd. Mirana seemed to understand, curtsied to Alice, and swept back into the makeshift infirmary. Hatter jumped up and down and began to clap for Alice, making her laugh. Even at times like these, he was able to make her laugh.
"Alice?"
Startled, Alice looked down at the railing. Mallymkun stood there with a thimble placed atop her head. "Mally!" Alice said. "It's nice to see you!" Alive and breathing, especially, Alice neglected to add.
"You, too, Alice," she replied. Alice noticed that the Dormouse kept wringing her paws together and glancing at Alice's hand. Holding the head of the Knave.
"Oh!" Alice squealed. "Apologies. Forgot about. . . That. . . " She quickly stuffed the Knave's head back into the sack.
"So. . ." Mally started. "You really killed 'im, eh?" she asked, looking up at Alice with those large eyes.
Alice sighed. "Yes. I did."
Mally's mouth fell into the shape of an 'O'. "Wow. You really 'ave changed, Champion."
Alice bit her lip before looking at her. She began slowly. "Am I the Champion, Mally? Am I truly the same girl who first fell down that Rabbit Hole? I think not, Mally. No, I am no Champion."
Mally ponders this. "No, you're not," she says slowly. "But you 'ave accustomed to Underland, ya 'ave. You're forgetting tha' you weren't the Champion when you first fell down, either. You did what you 'ad to do for the Majesty. An' that's the job of the Champion." She nodded with finality.
Alice looks back down at the Hatter, who is helping one of the nurses carrying a tray of various liquids down to the injured soldiers. Alice can tell that the nurse would much rather try to carry the two trays herself, for Hatter has already almost spilled the medicines on himself twice - no, thrice now.
"Yes. . . " Alice says. She turns back and smiles at the Dormouse, who stands small and proud in front of the brightening night sky, lacking of rain, lightening, or thunder. "Yes, Mallymkun. Thank you. I will make sure to remember that."