A/N: Chrona's 'creator' will be more in-depth in Alec's side. Oh, and there's an omake. HAPPY EARLY VALENTINES!
Brandon looked hard at the seemingly lifeless body, genuinely worried about his ex-partner. "...She was growling at us a few moments ago." Alec said.
"Well, it must've tired her out." Brandon said, watching her chest move up and down.
"She might be tricking you." Jackie replied.
"Only one way to find out." Brandon said, slowly moving his hand towards the body. Alec watched in anticipation. Brandon gently laid his hand on Alice's side, half expecting her to snap up and attack him.
She opened one eye. "If you don't have my medicine," she said in a raspy, angry voice. "I highly suggest not touching me."
Brandon cringed slightly, but then relaxed when she didn't attack. "About that..." He started, sitting down next to her.
"I'm listening." she snarled.
"You don't need your medicine to live. Kidd just gives it to you to help control you, and since you've had it for so long, you've developed an addiction to it. So the reason why you feel like crap right now is because you're experiencing withdrawal." Brandon explained, wondering how she'd react
"Liar." she growled.
"Considering the recent past, I know that you wouldn't trust me. But would you trust Alec?" Brandon asked, gesturing towards the male ex-wendigo.
Alec tilted his head to the side. "I'm staying out of this."
Brandon sighed, realizing that his choices dropped him into an inescapable pit. "Just fucking wonderful." He muttered to himself, leaning his head back onto the wall, admitting defeat.
Alice sent a hiss at him before curling up again. "Stein better get here soon." she hissed.
"Maybe he can talk some sense into you." Brandon said, slipping into a depressed state since he knew he was powerless.
"He better bring me my medicine." Alice sat up, digging her claws into the pavement, making a loud, screeching noise. Alec and Jackie covered their ears.
Brandon cringed. He then relaxed, beginning to day dream of the past, when things were much simpler. "I miss my car." He said aloud, wishing for the low growl of his Mustang.
"Do you have a license, sir?" Alec asked. Though he was joking when he said 'sir'.
"Hell, it was a zombie outbreak when I got her, so there was no need." Brandon said, referring to his car as 'her'.
"Her?" Alec asked.
"My GT500." Brandon clarified, realizing that Alec probably didn't know what that was.
"GT500? What's that?"
"I knew you were going to say that." Brandon said, shaking his head more at himself then the ex-wendigo. "It's the Ford 2012 Mustang GT500. It's a badass muscle car with over 500 horsepower and a top speed of 150+ miles per hour." Brandon explained, trying to remember all of its specs properly.
"Car? Boy, you humans have funny names for mechanical stuff," Alec said. "I remember a time when someone said 'mustang' they meant a horse!"
"Times are a'changing. Last I heard, there's bullets that can curve around corners." Brandon chuckled, trying to remember the outside world.
"Woah, really?" Alec asked, becoming slightly uncomfortable about the topic.
"I'm pretty sure. Or I could just be talking out of my ass." Brandon said, returning to his usual slang.
"I hope it's not true." Alec said, slightly cringing at the thought of being shot with a bullet like that.
"God, I miss the outside world." Brandon said, looking out the small barred window at the back of the cell.
"I don't." Alec replied. "That place is terrifying, it's much safer in here."
"It's not so scary now that you're human. People should leave you alone." Brandon said, thinking about his home away from home.
"Try telling that to the abomination known as Stein." Alec replied.
"There's always those couple who won't." Brandon sighed, closing his eyes.
"I'm not taking any chances." Alec replied.
"You shouldn't," Alice hissed.
"Alice, I'm not exactly sure if you're the best example. Your universe doesn't seem like the kind to have outstanding citizens." Brandon commented, noting the hate in her voice.
"Haha." Alice said dully. "You're probably right considering how twisted my world is. I'm talking 'bout deserts that rain blood kind of twisted, too."
Alec was the next to speak. "From the information I have gathered, I believe that our dimensions are balanced on sort of a delicate fulcrum. Brandon's dimension was formed by the opposites of the bad deeds preformed in this one, which must be the original. Alice's was formed from the opposite of the good deeds preformed from the people in this one. Because the good deeds outrank the bad deeds, Brandon's world isn't very different while Alice's world is unrecognizable."
"That sounds logical." Brandon said, processing the data. "So anything we do will have an effect on either universe, so fucking up would really fuck us up." Brandon said, searching for words.
"Yup." Alec replied. "But that's only if my hypothesis is correct."
"Again, true. It would definitely suck if we somehow screwed up our home worlds by some stupid mistake we made here." Brandon said, wondering if he messed up his universe some how.
"I don't think my world could get any more wrecked than it already was." Alice replied.
"Maybe we rectified it." Brandon mused, yawning in fatigue.
"I doubt it. We've done more good than bad in this dimension." Alice replied.
"Guess its time for a killing spree." Brandon said, an insane grin growing on his lips.
"Then that would ruin your dimension, right?" Alice asked.
"No, it'd make it more..." Alec trailed off, mentally groping for a word. "Uh, moral. Righteous. Improved. ...I think."
"Hmm, I'm not sure I could live in an uptight, self-righteous dimension." Brandon said, thinking over the consequences.
"Neither could I." the three others in the dungeon replied in unison.
"Uptight dickweeds are no fun." Brandon said, a small grin sliding onto his face.
"Perhaps, instead of changing the people, it could possibly advance your dimension technologically a little." Alec said.
"Speaking of advanced stuff, I need my Mana glove." Alice pouted.
"..Your what?"
"Isn't mana usually a gauge of magic power?" Brandon asked, resorting to his RPG knowledge.
"Yes. A Mana glove concentrates the amount of Mana, or Magical Potential, in a person's soul, allowing them to use magic."
"Huh, so anyone could use magic?" Brandon asked, his curiosity being perked.
"No, just me, Kidd, army soldiers, first class meisters and first class weapons."
"Hmm, I wonder if I could use it...!" Brandon began to ponder, debating if he was eligible or not.
"Well, anyone can use them, really." Alice replied. "Kidd just doesn't want to release them to the public. They're too powerful." she paused. "Do you want to know what kind of magic you can use with it? It's usually a combination of your Soul type and Mana type."
"Jesus, what would mine be?" Brandon asked, a devilish grin upon his lips
"Well, your Soul type is Fire and your Mana type is Darkness... so your Magic type would be either Shadows or Madness." Alice replied.
"Madness would most likely be it." Brandon said, using his small amount of common sense. "Wait, how'd you know what my mana type is?"
"A soul is a little ball." Alice said. "The color it appears to everyone else is Soul Type and the kind of energy it emits is Mana type."
"Huh. That does make sense." Brandon said, nodding in approval.
"Kidd discovered it." Alice said. "The magic I can use is explosives ~!"
"Oh, that can't end well." Brandon said, cringing when he tried to visualize it.
"It would be helpful if I had my Mana Glove!" Alice countered.
"So you could blast out of this cell?" Brandon inquired, contemplating why Alice would want her Mana glove.
"Yes." Alice said. "That or make Stein explode."
"That might make quite the mess." Brandon said, flashing a satanic grin.
"Uh... are you OK?" Alice asked. \
"It looks like he's been possessed by a demon." Alec remarked.
"Demons don't exist."
"You obviously don't know much."
"Hey!"
"Cut it out." Brandon objected, the grin quickly disappearing. "I don't know if demons do or don't exist, but if they did, I'd probably be among there ranks." This made Alec hiss and slowly inch away from him. "If you're trying to be threatening, you're failing miserably at it." Brandon replied monotonously, giving the male ex-kishin a cold stare.
"I don't think he's trying to be threatening." Alice said, laughing loudly at Alec's response.
"What ever it is, it's pathetic." Brandon said coldly, not breaking his gaze. Alec glared at him, still hissing and looking more scared than angry. Alice was still laughing. "What the fuck are you doing." Brandon said, retaining his coldness. The hissing was truly beginning to get on his nerves.
Alec turned top the guard. "JACKIE, GO GET SOME HOLY WATER!"
"I didn't take you to be the religious type." Brandon said monotonously, staring deep into the ex-kishin's pupil.
"You have no idea." Jackie said exasperatedly.
"Hmm, how ironic."
"How is that ironic?" Alec asked, reaching in his pocket.
"Because of the many sins you've committed during your existence as a wendigo." Brandon said.
"Most Wendigos are VERY religious, Brandon." Alec said with a serious expression. "And besides, I haven't really done anything wrong."
Jackie spoke next. "You put a curse on your father."
"Which allowed my siblings to actually LIVE rather than being stuck with an abusive bastard their whole lives."
"Still, I'd say that's a pretty bad thing."
"How is letting my siblings be happy bad?"
"Because Anubis said he was going to track you down and kill you."
"Ok. Now there's an Anubis. It seems that most of the wendigo's and/or wendigo gods are based off of mythological creatures or ancient gods." Brandon explained, coming to a realization.
Alec shook his head. "No, Anubis is my dad. There is only one God."
"Well, I stand corrected then. Powerful kishin's or wendigo's are then those who are portrayed as gods by ancient cultures." Brandon said, taking note of that quietly.
"Exactly." Alec replied.
"So I now understand why you view humans as being so pathetic." Brandon said, chuckling evily. Alec shrunk back when he heard the laugh, once again thinking that he was a demon. Brandon saw Alec's reaction and chuckled more. "Before, when you were a wendigo and I could kick your ass whenever I wanted, you didn't fear me at all. Now that you're human, simply seeing me laugh is enough to scare you shitless." Brandon said, chuckling while shaking his head in disgust.
"...Not exactly true." Alec replied.
Brandon looked back up at the ex-wendigo. "Oh really?" Brandon asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, I've been scared of you for a long time." Alec said.
"You don't say." Brandon said, stretching his arms with a yawn. "You do a very good job at hiding it."
"One learns how to deal with that kind of thing." Alec yawned.
"Considering one with your life style." Brandon said before pulling out his phone. "Jesus, it's 1:00am." Brandon said, checking the time.
Alec raised an eyebrow. "Wait, what do you mean by 'one with your lifestyle'?" He honestly didn't get it.
Alice scowled. "It's that late? Grrr..."
"We should probably get some sleep." Brandon suggested, stretching on the floor. "You can have the bed tonight, Alice." Alec gave him a stern and angry look before yawning and sitting against the wall he was chained to. Alice laid on the bed and quickly fell asleep. Brandon was conscious long enough to see the others fall asleep, then slipped into a dreamless sleep.
He was awoken by screaming the next morning.
"What the hell?!" He asked groggily, getting up too quickly. The blood drained from his head and then began pumping back into it, and he quickly came to his senses. "What the hell is happening?!" The scream came from the guard, Stephane. Alex had gone to get Stein. Alice was covered with blood. Alec was dead.
Alice had killed him. He was propped up against the wall in a sitting position, the back of hands laying against the ground, his palms up. H e was holding a bible. Blood surrounded his eyes, whether he still had them or not was a mystery considering Alice had sewn his eyes shut with pieces of hair shed puled out of his head. His mouth was sewn in a smile, once again with his own hair. His throat was cut open, and there was a diagonal cut across his face which had also been sewn together.
He looked like a home-made doll with a lot more blood.
Alice was giggling, obviously quite proud of what she'd done. "What the fuck?" Brandon asked, confused more than anything by the bloodied, lifeless abomination that sat across from him. He then looked down at his shirt and realized that some of the blood must've splattered onto him. "Damn it, that's gonna take a while to get out." Alice just continued to smile and laugh. "Alice? Are you in reality?" Brandon asked, waving his hand in front of her face.
"He was ruining everything." she hissed. "It was so much simpler when it was just you and me," Alice said with a grin. "But soon it will only be me, because you'll be dead and sewn up like poor Alec."
"Hmm. I beg to disagree." Brandon said, looking at the abomination with contempt, knowing that he couldn't meet a fate similar to that. Alice grinned at him before jumping on him, knocking him down, and locking her hands around his neck. "Get! Off! Me!" Brandon gagged out, his windpipe being constricted by a tremendous force. Fueled by adrenaline, he shoved both of his hands into Alice's sternum, pushing with all of his strength, nearly crushing the ex-wendigo's rib cage in an attempt to free himself.
Neither of them noticed when Stein walked in with a glass bottle.
However, they both noticed when he hit Alice over the head with it, knocking her out. Spirit soon came in after them, while Stein 'tsk'd at what use to be Alec. "Holy shit." Brandon panted, staring at the unconscious form of Alice. He then felt something on his neck and touched his hand to it. He withdrew his hand and saw that it was blood. "She tried to fucking kill me." He said aloud, still struggling to catch his breath.
"Well, people do crazy things over drugs." Stein replied.
"Yeah," Spirit agreed.
"That shit's fucking mental." Brandon said while shaking his head, still in a state of shock.
"I wouldn't blame her," Spirit replied. "I'd blame who ever gave that stuff in the first place." He then proceeded to pick her up and place her in another cell, chaining her to the wall like they did Alec.
Brandon followed them out and watched, still a little shocked. "I don't think that's going to be enough." Brandon noted, looking at the chains.
"Don't worry, they'll be enough to hold her until tomorrow." Stein replied.
"What's tomorrow?" Brandon asked, following Stein back to his cell.
"We got in touch with her dimension, or they got in touch with us." Spirit said, locking Alice's chains and leaving the cell.
"What? Using the metal we had?" Brandon questioned, remembering the strange material.
"We don't actually know how her dimension came into contact with ours," Stein replied. "But the Lord Death in hers wanted us to give him a day to prepare for both of your arrival."
"Ok. Knowing my luck, he's gonna drag me into it too." Brandon said, a lurking suspicion in his stomach.
"He said he would."
"Great. Just great." Brandon said sarcastically, shaking his head.
Stein raised an eyebrow in confusion, but didn't question him. "You'll be staying in the dorms with Samara and Chrona until then."
"Understood." Brandon said, and followed Stein to the two's dorm.
As they walked through the winding corridors, Stein decided to speak. "So, why did you go hunting after the Magitechnology?" he asked. "You do know it's illegal, right?"
"No, I didn't. Alice told me about it, and it seemed freely practiced in her dimension, so I assumed that either it's legal or didn't even exist." Brandon explained, following the doctor.
"Well, that's her dimension," Stein replied. "Any dimension that has HELL HOUNDS running around as PETS is messed up."
"Huh," Brandon started, processing that price of info. "Alice left out that detail."
"According to her Lord Death, they were genetically engineered."
"Well, from what I understand, her Lord Death is a bit of a freak." Brandon said, recalling all the things Alice said about him.
"Like how?" Stein asked. "He seemed like a perfectly normal teenage boy to me."
"Well, he shoots Alice up with drugs to control her, he drinks, is a womanizer, genetically alters domestic animals, uses magic, kills for fun, led a kishin revolution, should I go on?" Brandon listed, recalling as much as he could.
Stein raised an eyebrow. "Really? He can use magic?"
"Yes, and on top of that, he created a mana glove." Brandon stated.
"Yes, he showed us that." Stein replied. "I think you can add 'show off' to that list of flaws you just said."
"Will do." Brandon said. "Where are their dorms?" He then asked, not recognizing the part of the academy that they were in.
"Just a little further... I think." Stein replied. "It seems Marie has rubbed off on me."
"That would suck." Brandon said. "Trust me, I know."
"I'm positive this is the right way."
"I hope that you're right." Brandon said, doubts beginning to emerge. After a few more minutes of walking, they arrived at Samara's dormitory room. Chrona's was the next one over. "Which one's mine?" Brandon asked, looking between the two doors.
"Choose one."
Brandon thought for a little bit before choosing. "I should be fine with Chrona." He said, knowing that he could deal with Ragnarok if need be.
"OK," Stein side, pointing towards the left door. "That's her dormitory room."
"Ok." Brandon said, knocking on the left door.
Chrona shyly opened the door. "H-Hello?"
"Hello, Chrona. Do you mind if I dorm with you tonight?" Brandon asked politely, not knowing how she'd react.
"Um, sure." Chrona said. "Stein said I might be dorming with someone else tonight. What's your name?"
"Brandon." The meister said offering his hand to shake.
"It's nice to meet you." Chrona said.
"No it's not." Ragnarok replied.
"As to you, Chrona." Brandon said, completely ignoring Ragnarok.
"HEY DON'T IGNORE ME!" The little... blob replied, springing out of Chrona's back.
"And if I do?" Brandon questioned, not bothering to make eye-contact with the creature.
"You'll get a knuckle sandwich!" it replied.
"I eat knuckle sandwiches for an appetizer." Brandon replied, cracking his neck.
"Ragnorak, why do you have to argue with everyone we meet?"
"Because it's fun!"
"But it's mean!"
"So was our creator, but that didn't stop him from making us!"
"No, no it didn't." Brandon said with a chuckle, shaking his head. "Do you mind if I come in?"
"Sure," Chrona said, tearing up a bit at the mention of their 'creator'.
Brandon noticed the tears and tried to change the subject. "So, what do you do for fun around here?"
"I write poetry." Chrona replied.
"Don't read it, you'll wish you were never born." Ragnarok replied.
"I doubt it." Brandon said, grinning. "Can I read a poem?"
Chrona went over to desk and opened a drawer full of paper. Poems, actually. She dug through them, pulling out a sheet and handing it to Brandon.
It was a Haiku labeled 'Father'.
Brandon scanned through the haiku quickly, and then handed the paper back. "That was very good. You're an excellent writer."
Ragnorak snatched the paper out of Chrona's hand. "Well it's good for something CHRONA wrote."
"Hey, give that back!" Chrona said to her weapon.
"Ragnarok, give it back to Chrona." Brandon ordered, an edge of hostility in his voice.
"Why should I? She's MY family, not yours!"
"Because the enforcer of this family is corrupt, so a new one has to step in." Brandon said, sizing up Ragnarok.
"We can take care of ourselves! Right, Chrona?"
"I think I need to go visit Mr. Corner..."
"Prime example. Now give it back." Brandon ordered, his rage flaring a little.
"OK, fine, you bossy-ass bitch." Ragnarok replied, dropping the poem into Chrona's lap.
"Thank you." Brandon replied, letting the crude remark slide.
Chrona hugged the poem to her chest. "D-D you wanna' go outside?"
"I dunno. It's been awhile. I'm afraid i might melt in the sun." Brandon joked, chuckling to himself.
Chrona thought he was serious. "Ah, I'm sorry!"
Brandon looked at her, confused for a second, them realized what she was apologizing for. "No, no. I wouldn't really melt. I was just kidding." Brandon said, hoping that would convince her.
"Oh, I'm sorry!"
"It's ok, you didn't know." Brandon said, trying to calm Chrona down.
"Do you still want to go outside?" Chrona asked meekly.
"Yeah, sure." Brandon said, since he had forgotten what fresh air was.
"OK, sir." Chrona said standing up. "F-Follow me."
"Ok. And please, call me Brandon." The meister said, following Chrona out of her room.
"O-OK, Brandon," she said, walking out the door with Brandon close behind. The two walked through the maze-like underground until they reached a stairwell, which they took up. They then walked through the academy's halls until they reached the garden. Upon stepping outside, the smell of fresh air and the sun rays on his voice evoked a small amount of happiness in Brandon.
"Good old Mother Nature. How I missed you so." He said, a genuine smile upon his lips.
"Who is that? She looks scary." Chrona said, pointing out another person. It was Alice, only she was in chains, Stein holding said chains.
"Alice?" Brandon questioned, quickly running towards her.
"Take a good, long look at the light, Brandon. It's beautiful." Alice said. "You aren't going to see much of it when we reach my dimension. I'll never see it again."
Brandon turned to gaze out, soaking in the rays. "Gotta say, I'm gonna miss that big star in the sky." Brandon said, looking at the laughing spheroid.
"What are stars?" Alice asked.
"Extremely hot and dense balls of gas that keep burning their fuel until it runs out." Brandon explained.
"That doesn't seem at all like how Kidd described them." Alice said.
"How does he describe them?" Brandon asked, curious as to how twisted Kidd could make the definition.
"He said they were beautiful and that he missed them coming out at night because they're all on earth now." Alice replied.
"Huh. Wonder what he means by that." Brandon replied, a small gust of air blowing on his face.
"He told me that the stars were spirits of those who've died and gone to heaven, but when he became Lord Death something happened and they all came to earth." Alice said. "The sun is dying."
"Might be running out of fuel." Brandon suggested, pondering what that meant.
"My world is completely dark, even in the day." she continued. "That's why Kidd made the Mana gloves. He was looking for another source of energy."
"I'd assume in a universe as technologically advanced as yours, polymer electrolyte membranes would be the primary source of energy." Brandon remarked with a chuckle.
"The animals are dying out as well," she said. "That's why we had to make more."
"Sounds like an environmental collapse to me." Brandon said.
"It is," Alice said. "Maybe that's why he's trying to get in touch with other dimensions, to trade for resources and normal, non-radioactive animals. They're hard to come by in our world."
"That's one of the first acts of benevolence I've heard about your Lord Death doing." Brandon noted, not remembering any other time.
"Really?"
"From what I can recall." Brandon added, compensating for his horrible memory.
"Oh." Alice replied dumbly. "I've never said anything good about My Lord, have I?"
"Yeah, and I doubt any of it is legitimately benevolent, either." Brandon added with a chuckle.
Alice raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Why do you say that?"
"Cause he's a selfish, cold-hearted bastard." Brandon said plainly.
Alice frowned. "No he's not."
"Alice, for most of the time you've worked for him, he's had you drugged out. You don't need your medication. Apparently, it's all just a ruse to keep you tranquil so he can control you." Brandon explained, letting out a deep sigh.
"He's done some good things, too!" Alice said. "Not for many people, just me, but still!" she argued. "Before I met him I was completely illiterate! I wouldn't know half the stuff I know if it weren't for him!"
"He assisted you in becoming literate because he wanted to use you as his damned secretary! Why can't you see he's not the God you think he is?!" Brandon demanded, beginning to get aggravated.
"Hey, it was either that, or execution!" Alice snarled.
Brandon was then shocked, not knowing that those were the circumstances. He then let out a loud sigh, calming his accumulated anger. "Ok, please tell me your side of the story." he said, attempting to rid himself of bias.
"Well, Kidd's not old enough to make the decisions concerning me and the academy. He has to be 21 for that to happen and he's 17 right now. Until then, Stein does everything for him." Alice began. "And because I'm a Kishin I was going to be hanged for aiding Kidd in the revolution. Kidd then ask Stein to trade the execution for fifteen years of labor, and he agreed." She paused. "I also had to agree to the experiments, or the deal was off." Brandon's face was void of emotion, his mind kicking into overdrive in an attempt to find a different way, one that would be better for his ex-weapon. "The people in my dimension are cruel," Alice said, looking into his eyes. "There's no other way."
"Damn it." Brandon said, giving up his quest.
Alice looked down in shame. "You can't break a deal with the Devil."
"Hmm." Brandon grunted, angered in general at the situation.
"I'm sorry," Alice said quietly.
"Don't be. It wasn't your fault." Brandon said quietly, clenching his fists tightly.
"Yes it was." Alice said.
"Did you have a choice?" Brandon asked, calming his breathing.
"No." She said. "But it's my fault because I didn't run when I first met him. I invited him to stay with me, so it's my fault."
"Did you know that what would happen?" Brandon asked, his voice softening.
"I could feel it." Alice said.
He then sighed and shook his head. "Well, I don't know what to tell you then."
"I'm sorry." Alice said softly.
"You aren't apologizing to me, are you?" Brandon asked, his voice still soft.
"This wouldn't be happening if I stayed away from him." Alice replied.
"Well, we wouldn't have had this much fun, either." Brandon said, smiling at Alice. Alice gave him a small smile in return, before she perked up, hearing a brawl on the training field. "The hell?" Brandon asked, jogging off to see what it was. Alice followed, having Stein loosen her handcuffs beforehand, and saw a practice battle between Alex and his weapon and Samara and her weapons. As they neared, the two meisters froze, fearful. Samara, who had seen the aftermath of what Alice did to Alec, just stared at her. Alex, who had seen her torture and kill him, backed away slowly.
"Guys?" Brandon asked, approaching them, curious of their petrified stares. Samara just glanced at Alice, before lowering her gaze. "Oh." Brandon said, realizing their implications. "Listen, it was nothing. She's ok now." Brandon said softly, searching for words to help ease his former students. Samara still avoided their eyes, but Alice's sights were trained on Alex.
Brandon glanced back at the ex-wendigo, and noticed her intense stare. "Alice." Brandon instructed, preparing his muscles to strike if Alice tried anything.
"He thinks he's so much better than me now, I know it." she snarled. "But what he did was just as bad. He just watched when I killed him, he didn't even get Stein until after Alec was dead."
"Alex?" Brandon questioned, knowing that it was most likely true, but just needing confirmation.
"Tell him what you did to help, you little shit." Alice growled at him. "TELL HIM!" she yelled in a raspy voice fed up with his silence. Alex just stood there, his emotions freezing him in place. Cold sweat was apparent on his face and hands, and goosebumps covered his arms. Alice glared daggers into the boy, looking like she would kill him,too if he didn't answer.
"I...I..." He began, tears welling up in his eyes. He then burst in to sobs. "I couldn't do anything! I just couldn't!" He yelling through his sobs, his entire body wrenching with each breath.
"Yes, you could have." Alice hissed.
"I couldn't! You would've killed me! I still can't sleep!" He wretched, Stephane attempting to comfort him.
Alice then grew annoyed. "It's only been a day, of course you can't sleep."
"Alice, go easy on him." Brandon said, placing his arm in front of her in an attempt to stop her. "He's an emotional wreck. That'll be enough punishment to last him a life time." Brandon explained, looking at the sobbing boy, Stephane cradling him like a child.
"He's just as responsible for Alec's death as I am," Alice snarled. "He deserves it."
"C'mon Alice, let's go." Brandon said, attempting to guide the ex-wendigo back to the garden. Brandon had to drag her back, but she complied. Brandon finally reached the garden, where he and Alice both sat down on a bench. "That was a bit harsh, Alice." Brandon commented, attempting to wash Alec's blood out of his overshirt.
"Didn't you hear them arguing the other day?" Alice replied. "He probably WANTED him to die!"
"People sometimes don't realize something until its happened. And then, they're too remorseful to function properly. It's an Achilles heel of humanity." Brandon said, remembering back on most media.
"Oh yeah." Alice said sourly, but then something came to mind. "Hey, Brandon. You know Sid, right? The Zombie teacher? You know how Stein brought him back to life, right? What if he did that with Alec?"
Brandon chuckled to himself. "I don't think Alec would want to live after what you did to him." Brandon joked, taking off his shirt to wring out some of the blood.
Alice frowned. "You're right, he probably wouldn't be able see anymore..."
"Yeah. And I don't think he could live with a permanent smile." Brandon chuckled, putting his shirt back on.
"Actually, I just pinned his mouth like that. It should be fine if Stein removes it."
"What makes you think he will?" Brandon asked, relaxing in the bench.
"Uh... right." Alice replied.
"Hey, when was your Kidd supposed to come?" Brandon asked, his crap memory kicking in.
"Tomorr-" Alice was cut off by Stein, who randomly appeared in the garden with them.
"Change of plans, you're going right now." he said harshly.
"Great. I didn't even get to pack my bags." Brandon said with a grin, standing up.
"You don't have any bags to pack, we left them in Romania." Stein replied.
"It was a joke." Brandon said, glimpsing at something out of the corner of his eye. He turned and looked, and saw a purple and yellow portal beginning to open in the garden.
"Oh, that must be him." Alice said.
"It would seem so." Brandon said, watching the portal grow and grow.
Suddenly, a small object with a note tied to it flew through the portal and into Alice's hand. She undid the note and read it aloud. "Come through. Both of you. This message will self-destruct in three... two..." The message and object made a tiny explosion in her hand, and it didn't hurt. "Well then..."
"Hmm. Well, ladies first." Brandon said, gesturing towards the portal. Alice then ran towards it, being enveloped by the portal in a matter of seconds. "In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world how she was to get out again." Brandon said, quoting Alice in Wonderland before jumping into the portal after her.
~New~Divide~Omake~
Alice rose,feeling tired and sleepy. She was older now, 25. She didn't know how she got to the strange, white room she was in. She did know, however, there were two other people in there. There was an older version of Brandon standing in front of her and a small, black-haired child cowering in one corner. "Brandon?" she asked, wide-eyed
"Hey, you're finally awake!" He exclaimed, stretching to his full 6'4". He offered his hand to lift her up, still curious as to what happened to him.
"Where are we?" Alice asked in her more mature, less harsh voice, taking his hand.
"Fuck if I know. I woke up about an hour earlier. I thought I just had a wild night at the bar!" He joked, his voice deeper then she remembered. His eyes then wandered to her bosoms, and a small trickle of blood began flowing. "Well, you definitely changed."
She then kicked him in the face. "FUCK OFF, I'M MARRIED!"
He then went flying into a wall, embedding deep into it. "Sorry, didnt see the ring." He said, removing himself from the crater. He then straightened out his coat. He was now wearing a long black trench coat, a dark red undershirt, black jeans, and black laced boots.
Alice's eyes then wandered to the boy. "Oh, who is that?"
The little five-year looked at her with a sad, fearful expression. "You forgot me." he said in his adorable, little-boy voice. His eyes were large, red and sad.
Alice's jaw dropped. "ALEC?!" The boy nodded. "You can't be Alec! You're too adorable to be Alec!"
"B-But I am..."
"Holy shit. He's still alive. I could've sworn you stitched him up like a voodoo doll." Brandon said with a chuckle, dusting off his coat.
"AH! I'M SO SORRY!" Alice said, suddenly hugging the five-year old to her chest.
"Why are you hugging me?" he asked, looking at Brandon for help.
"Don't look at me." Brandon said, reaching into his coat. He then opened his breast pocket and pulled out a flask with an odd green and blue inlay. He opened it up and took three long gulps before closing it and replacing it. "Aah, much better." He said, feeling the whiskey slide down his throat, leaving behind a savory burn.
"I'm sorry," Alice said, straightening her pale yellow night gown. She looked around. "It seems we were all taken in our sleep."
"Eh, wouldn't be my first time." Brandon said. His hands then instantly shot to his pockets, where he patted around. "Better, actually. I still have my wallet." He said with a grin.
Alice tugged on the choker she was wearing. It was black silk with a three-toothed skull pendant on it. "Kidd has all of my money." she sighed. "I need to get back to him, he'll be worried."
"Well, good luck with that! Oh, when you find an exit, could you let me know? Thanks." He said, taking out his flask. He then took three more gulps, and stopped before putting it away. "Drink?" He asked, offering Alec the flask.
Alec looked up at him like he was stupid. "I'm too young to drink." he said.
"Ah, of course you are." He said, shaking his head. "Alice?" He asked, offering the flask to her.
"Can't drink, I'm pregnant." Alice said. "...Are you drunk?"
"Nah, just a little...'happy'." He said, gauging his level of intoxication before putting the flask away.
Alec wanted to quickly wanted to change the subject. "Um, so, Alice... Who are you married to?" he asked politely.
"Kidd," Alice replied.
"No shit? Good for you." Brandon said, smiling towards the ex-wendigo.
"So Brandon," Alice began. "Do you have a wife?"
"Nah. I'm a bit too...unstable to hunker down." He said, searching for a good word. "I was going to, but...something happened." He said, his emotion quickly turning to sorrow.
"Oh..." Alice replied. "I'm sorry."
"Not your fault. Shit happens, people change." He said, taking out his flask. He took two more gulps before he heard a sound behind him. In a flash his flask was back in his pocket and his hands behind behind his back. Instantly, a .45 ACP Revolver and a Colt M1911 were pointed at the source of the noise, Brandon's eyes scanning for a possible threat. After that they heard the sound of an intercom.
Alice looked up at the previously blank ceiling and saw a large speaker. "Where'd that come from?"
"Me!" A voice came from the intercom.
Alice rolled her eyes with an exasperated sigh. "Pheonix, are you alone?"
"No, Brandon's creator is here too!"
"Who?" Brandon asked, lowering his pistols.
"Our creators have us trapped here." Alice said.
"Yes, and I can change the environment and put more of my characters in there, same with Dronedude." The female voice said. "Watch me change it!"
Suddenly the white room was a dimly lit study. It was crowded with books and tables and there was even an abacus. Books were strewn and stacked up all over the floor and beside the crowded bookshelves. Alec had changed as well, he was no longer a toddler but now a sixteen year old boy. The diagonal stitches on his face and neck hadn't been removed, but the rest had. He was sickly thin and his skin was so pale it was practically white. His eyes were blank as well, his hair was messy, unkept and hung limply in front of his face. Dark circle were under his eyes. There was a scowl on his face.
"What the hell?" Brandon responded, looking around his changed enviorment and then at Alec.
"Oh, we haven't even begin the experiment yet." The male voice said, his tone both devoid of emotion and extremely satanic. One of the books on the ground then flew up and struck Brandon in the back of his head.
"Ow! What the fuck, man?!" He demanded, raising his pistols towards the speaker.
Alice gaped. "Alec! What the heck happened to you?!"
"Hmm, he's one of my finest creations~!" The female voice said, making Alec glare up at the intercom.
"Fuck you." he snarled.
"Definitely one of my most creative characters~!"
"Ah ah ah, control your temper, Alec." The male voice said, 25 books flying up and posing to strike Alec.
Alec simply glared at the ceiling. "Good boy!" the female voice, let's just call it Pheonix, said as the books lowered slightly.
Alice looked around, amazed. "Hey, I remember this room! Don't you, Brandon? It was Kidd's study, where he practiced his Alchemy, remember?"
"Yeah, i do." Brandon said with a small grin. "What, couldn't come up with new scenery?"
"Eh, I'm lazy." The male voice, as Pheonix called him Dronedude, said.
"Wow, I've missed this place." Alice said quietly. "He sealed it off after I became pregnant. Didn't want the babies hurting themselves."
"That's awful nice of him." Brandon said, shocked at Kidd's kindness. "By the way, Donedude, why are you doing this to us?"
"Comedic relief." Dronedude replied, flinging another book at Brandon, which Brandon quickly shot to ribbons.
"We could reveal what it was, but that would ruin the fun." Dronedude said with a chuckle. "By the way, if you attempt to damage this speaker, which you can't, we'll make sure to make your future as miserable as humanly possible!"
"Yeah," Pheonix added. "Alec tried to that, so I made him a vampire!"
"...What?" Alice asked.
"A Wendigo addicted to human blood. Remember, blood equals drugs to Wendigos~!"
"Good one, Pheonix. We can also control every aspect about you! Watch." Dronedude said, before a bright light replace where Brandon was standing. In a moment, he reappeared, but different. She now had breasts, and large ones at that. Brandon then looked down in shock.
"Dude! C'mon! Give me my nuts back!" She demanded, becoming very angry.
Pheonix laughed. "Niiiiiiiiiiice!" Alice giggled. Alec just stared at them like he was going to eat them.
Or drink their blood.
"Thank you." Dronedude said, chuckling to himself. Brandon simply stared at the speaker impatiently, tapping her foot on the ground. "Fine, fine. I'll change you back." Dronedude said, a white light reappearing where Brandon once was. Again, it was gone an instant later, and regular Brandon reappeared.
"Not cool, man. Not cool." Brandon said, holstering his revolver.
"Oh, you're lucky, Brandon. Alice, not so much." Pheonix said.
"What?" Alice asked.
"Yeah... Alec only goes after girls. Hehe."
"In that case, here." Brandon said, tossing his revolver to Alice.
"Lucky I changed you back when I did, huh?" Dronedude asked, still laughing a small amount to himself.
"It's a good thing he can't see you." Pheonix said, making Alec hiss. "But you should know he never misses a dose of his precious blood~!"
"I'm assuming he's blind then?" Brandon inquired.
"Alice scratched his eyes out, have you noticed how they're completely blank? They're fake." Pheonix replied.
Brandon quickly looked at Alec, and saw that his eyes were blank. "Huh. Must've overlooked that feature." Brandon said, taking a swig from his flask.
"Oh yeah, you know that refilling flask? That was my brainchild, not yours." Dronedude said, aware that Alice and Alec didn't know that it was infinite.
"Hmmmm, you know, Dronedude, I think I should give Alec one of those now, to keep him from, uh, drinking Alice." Pheonix said, as a bottle full of blood appeared in Alec's hand. "The characters aren't supposed to hurt each other in this. Only we can."
"Aw, it would've been fun to watch these three fight to the death!" Dronedude groaned, sounding saddened.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Brandon asked, looking with a mix of shock and disgust at the speaker.
"The same that's wrong with you." Dronedude replied.
"Y'know, that would've been pretty funny, but I don't think Kidd would want his study to be messed up." Pheonix replied.
"Touché, touché." Dronedude replied, audibly mulling it over.
"Cruel bastards." Alec spat.
"Alec, we can take that blood away just as easily as we gave it to you." Dronedude warned, the blood floating out of his hand slightly.
"Mine!" Alec snarled, grabbing the bottle and hiding behind a stack of books to drink it greedily, a little bit of color returning to his skin.
"Greedy bastard." Dronedude said with a chuckle while Brandon looked at the boy with a small bit of sympathy.
"Hehe, poor guy." Pheonix chuckled, making Alec glare at the ceiling, a crazed expression on his face. Blood rimmed his mouth.
"Well, this was your doing." Dronedude said, watching the blood-crazed Alec.
He snarled in response. "I find it funny how you don't like being controlled, but you'll do anything for anyone when it comes to your blood." Pheonix taunted.
"It's like money for greed-obsessed bastards." Dronedude added.
Alice rushed over to Alec and tried to shield him from their view, though she couldn't see any cameras "Leave him alone!" she snarled.
"Why are you defending him? If we didn't give him blood, he'd be sucking it out of you veins right now." Dronedude inquired, knowing that what he said was true.
"Because it's hurting him!" Alice snapped, seeing Alec as nothing but a defenseless child.
"Look who's talking." Dronedude said, knowing what she's done.
"Dude, not cool." Brandon said, looking up at the speaker.
"Well, it is technically her fault he's addicted to blood." Pheonix replied, earning a snarl from both wendigos.
"Um, let's not turn them against us too much." Dronedude suggested, noting their angry attitudes.
Alice hissed at them, while Alec had an uncomfortable expression on his face, fidgeting around a little.
He didn't like being this close to people!
"Pheonix, what do you think we should do with them?" Dronedude asked, turning to his companion next to the control panel.
"Hmmmmmm, let's change the scenery first." It was back to a white room, but there were doors there that led to other rooms. "Maybe we should add a couple more characters?"
"Should be fun." Dronedude replied, smirking a bit. "Whose behind door number one?" He asked as he watched Brandon open the first door. The door opened into a plain white bedroom-even the bed was white. Samara was in it. She smiled, not saying anything, before leaving, grabbing Alec, hurrying the confused teen in the room, and locking the door.
"The implications..." Alice said, freaked out. Especially since there was a bed in there. Brandon simply started snickering knowing the chances of that happening. "What's in the other door?" Alice asked.
"Hell if i know." Brandon said with a shrug, opening it. The door creaked open, and a familiar world, consumed with fire, was what his eyes met. "Ah, insanity dreams. Wonderful." He said, closing the door.
Alice became slightly flushed when she heard some moans coming from the first door. "Uh... lets ch-check door th-three..."
Brandon simply shrugged and opened the next door. "Lucky bastard's getting laid..." Brandon grumbled to himself, looking to what secrets the door held. This time, Brianna came out of it. "Oh, hey Brianna. Long time no see." Brandon said, surprised to see her.
"Hi, Brianna!" Alice said, walking up to her. "It's been such a long time! How have you been?"
"I've been good. I gotta go now, hubby's waiting." She said with a grin, and slipped back into the door.
"Wait, who?" Alice asked, confused.
"She's married? Damn, everyone's getting tied down." Brandon said, becoming a bit depressed.
"Well, Brandon," Pheonix said. "You've got it better than Alec. He's been killed twice!"
"What?" Brandon asked, looking up at the speaker.
"Go check for yourself." Dronedude said, a chuckle in his voice at watching Alec get murdered.
"He gets shot and decapitated in his side-story." Pheonix said. "And in the alternate ending, he gets sent to an asylum. There are several other alternate endings, but I'm not going to spoil them."
"That sucks." Brandon said, mulling over the new info. "What's happening to him now?"
"Isn't it obvious? He's getting killed. Again." Pheonix replied. "Really, his life just gets worse after you and Alice leave."
"Oh. Well, it sure sucks to be him." Brandon said with a shrug, not really caring for the boy's suffering.
"No, really." Pheonix said. "Could you imagine living with a computer chip in your brain that makes you do anything for the person you hate the most?"
"Yeah. It's called having a wife." Brandon mused, forgetting that there were two women in the room. Alice then hit him upside the head with a frying pan, and a huge dictionary flew towards Brandon's... 'lower regions'. "Oh dear mother of god..." Brandon breathed, pain radiated from both of his heads. He then collapsed on the floor, stifling back tears.
"Be aware of your surroundings, Brandon." Dronedude whistled.
"And be aware of who's listening, asshole." Pheonix shouted down at him.
"I think he got the message, Pheonix." Dronedue said, watching his creation curl up into the fettle position.
"Oh well." Pheonix said. "Oh, by the way, Alec didn't really die again in this. We just showed you a clip, he's still having sex with his little girlfriend. Who he almost ends up killing."
"TMI," Alice said.
"I knew it!" Brandon called, sticking his hand up in victory, though still too pained to move his face.
"Knew what?" Pheonix asked.
"They were banging!" Brandon said, mustering the strength to lift his head.
"Yes, and by now he's probably draining Samara." Pheonix replied. "She's used to it, so don't go in there."
"Ok, I wasn't going to anyways. I don't wanna see that shit." Brandon said, shivering at the mental image.
"Yeah, you don't." Pheonix replied.
"So, what's behind door number four?" Brandon asked, mustering enough strength to stand and open the door.
"Hmmm... What DID we put in there?" Pheonix asked.
"Why are you looking at me? My memory's just as shitty as his is!" Dronedude responded, gesturing towards Brandon on the monitor. Brandon then opened the door, and it led to a boat. Suddenly, Lonely Island appeared, and they started performing I'm On A Boat.
"Dude, wtf?" Pheonix chuckled, while Alice just stared at it, backing away slowly.
"Can we leave now?"
"Sure." Brandon said, leaving the door and closing it.
"Aw, I liked that song." Dronedude said, sounding a bit saddened.
"I'll have Kidd come and get Alice," Pheonix said. "WE need to start writing the actual story again."
"Aw, I was having fun just fuckin' around." Dronedude said, saddened once more. "Besides, I don't think Alec would be too happy about that." He said, tapping the monitor displaying the first room.
"Eh, we'll leave him here. I'm pretty sure he's smart enough to get out of here with out killing someone."
"That makes one of us." Dronedude said, beginning to shut down the excess controls.
"Don't worry, we're in Kidd's house. That was just his illusion room." Pheonix said, shutting down the rest of the control's, thus cancelling the illusion.
"Well, that was fun and useless." Dronedude said, standing up to stretch.
"Yep," Pheonix replied, yawning. "Lets get back to writing."