*/*/*
"I do hope my reminder that today is the Elimination Battle is unnecessary" Kotomine's poisonous smile was a familiar sight by now. "As always, you do something trifling such as visiting the Commissary or the Chapel." With that, the false priest left Hakuno sitting in the Library where she'd been gathering her thoughts.
Lancer's eyes tracked the priest until he was sure Kotomine was long gone. NPCs that enjoy misery must be another cruel joke of the Moon Cell.
"He was certainly happy rubbing it in that we're out of time" Hakuno put away her books.
You did say you had an idea before Master. As much as you might hate it, now's the time.
"What's the first type of story many parents will share with their children?" Hakuno looked over at Lancer.
The first story I remember from childhood was a little rhyme about recognizing Fae.
"In today's terms, that's called a Nursery Rhyme. I believe that's what Alice's Servant is. An amalgamation of children's tales." MATRIX LEVEL E UNLOCKED beeped the terminal, though Hakuno felt anything but celebratory at the victory.
A tricky Caster to be certain. If she pulls out the Jabberywocky again, we don't have a Vorpal Sword to kill it this time.
Hakuno nodded, acknowledging and sharing Lancer's concern. "I suspect that she'll be trying to tell 'new' stories. Just like how the 'game' Alice wanted to play kept changing."
So our strategy is to expect the unexpected and try to be quick about it?
"... if you can make it painless, I'd appreciate it, Lancer."
I'll do my best, lass.
*/*/*
The elevator into the Colosseum was as ominous as ever. The doors opened after presenting the Triggers and once more Hakuno found herself in a situation that was becoming far too familiar. Lancer manifested at her side while a clear barrier divided them from the two Alices. For their part the Alices looked excited. "Yay! It's playtime again!" Blue Alice clung her Servant's hands
"What do you want to play today?" Dark Alice asked as they two looked at Hakuno and Lancer with wide sparkling eyes. "Tag? Hide and Seek? House?"
Well, here was the chance to test the theory. "How about tag?" Hakuno remembered there had been a game of tag played before. At least Alice's warped version of the game anyways.
"Alice wants to play house!" The twin Master and Servant were marching in circles around their half of the elevator. "Alice will be the Mommy, Alice will be the Daddy! Big sis will be the weed in the Garden!"
"Uh oh! Gardens can't have weeds!"
"What will we do then Alice?"
"We'll have to get rid of the weed of course! Which means off with big sis's head!"
"Won't that be scary?"
"Sometimes even little girls need to be scary!"
"Then let's be really scary! So scary big sis cries a whole lake!"
While it was difficult to keep track of which Alice was speaking, Hakuno did not like the way their conversation was going. "How about a different game?"
"Don't get in the way, I'm not talking to you right now big sis" Blue Alice was holding Dark Alice's hands again.
"Uh huh, Alice is talking to Alice right now" Dark Alice concurred.
"Alice only talks to Alice. I thought you were the same as us! I thought Alice wasn't going to be lonely anymore! If you don't like me, then I don't need you big sis!" Blue Alice's words managed to jar Hakuno. The same as Alice? A cyberghost? But that couldn't be possible. No, Hakuno knew she had circuits and a brain to burn with too much magic. Hakuno was no cyberghost. "I don't need you anymore big sis" Blue Alice repeated as the Master and Servant turned to glare at Hakuno and Lancer.
"You're in the way now big sis" Dark Alice's smile was that inhuman one with too many too sharp teeth. "Too bad! That means off with your head!"
"Yeah, you brats said that already," Lancer drawled his glare unblinking. "Getting real tired of it if I'm being honest."
"Mister Blue is scary! He has to be the big bad wolf in our game!" Blue Alice only seemed pleased. "Alice will play with both of you one last time!"
"Lucky us." Lancer's words were dry enough to rival a desert.
*/*/*
At last, the elevator reached the bottom and the two pairs of Master and Servant faced each other in the icy castle. "Thank you again for playing with Alice lots this week!" Blue Alice smiled, ignoring Lancer's spear manifesting in his hand.
"But that's over now!" Dark Alice reaffirmed. "We'll only play with you one more time."
"How does it go again?" Blue Alice looked contrite.
"You forgot already? It goes like this!" Master and Servant began to mirror each other's movements. 'Now good Tom Thumb your work is done. The tale is at its end. May dreams of dark embrace your heart, Night's curtain does descend. With great mirth I'll cut off your head; Life from your body rend'."
"I already warned you I was getting sick of that shit." Lancer's feet slid into a ready position. "But I guess I should thank you for removing any lingering regrets I had about what's to come next." Unlike Lancer, Hakuno's guilty conscious ate at her still, though the guilt admittedly had a harder time holding onto her now with the repeated beheading threats.
The System sounded its notification. Sword Or Death. And Lancer launched into his first attack.
Lancer flew through Caster, the enemy servant rippling like water as eager giggling filled the air all around them. "Son of a-!" Lancer spat out dirt from where he'd rolled, his angry cursing cut off by the child like servant chiding him.
"Language!" both the enemy Master and Servant wagged their fingers, their locations changing every time Hakuno blinked. Lancer just grit his teeth, lashing out with his crimson spear at the floating servant, the Fae creature's head floating up and flipping upside down as the spear passed through where she'd been.
"So, she can do other fairy tale tricks." Hakuno frowned, trying to figure out what to do. From what she'd seen this enemy only had tricks and minions. The most dangerous thing she'd used were that Reality Marble and the Jabberwocky but they hadn't tried either since then. Maybe it meant that those tricks couldn't be used on the same enemy twice, some limitation based on children's story writing, or maybe they just took too much energy or had too long a cool down. Regardless, she was positive they would go down easily if Lancer could just hit them.
But that was easier said than done given that the Servant Alice was seemingly twisting reality like her own personal toy. She wasn't just a Fairy tale she was every fairy tale, and that meant any fight with her had to follow those rules… but what if that could let them win?
Lancer, try using fairy tale tropes against her! Hakuno urged through their connection, She might have fairy tale weaknesses or be forced to follow the stories! Even if Servant Alice did not, it would help further identify what would be useful.
"This target is too empty!" Lancer stabbed into a spot with nothing in it, not even any illusions, "This target is too full!" he leapt into a mess of clones and copies "This one is just right!" Lancer spun and thrust his spear, Alice crying out as he actually struck her, a gash appearing on her arm. Well look at that Master, you were right! But, proving Hakuno's theory right, when Lancer tried the same trick by utilizing Goldilocks and the Three Bears it didn't work again. Once a trick was used by or against Alice it couldn't be used again with the same enemy. Hakuno quickly relayed this to her Servant, who responded with a short nod.
"You're being a meany!" Alice puffed out her cheeks angrily "You need to learn a lesson!" A long white wand appeared in Alice's hands as she waved it "Bippity! Boppity! BOO!" With the last shout, various rubble and rocks around the arena space grew, twisting in shape and nature as they became phantasmal constructs that swarmed at Lancer. Her Servant's gleaming weapon cutting through them, showing the raw technique that they'd been reclaiming from the Grail System, the skill that made him worthy of being called a Servant in the first place. To Hakuno's shock, Lancer started slowing down, lazily swatting aside the phantasmals and not really putting in any real effort in chasing after Alice. Had the little Servant caught Lancer in an illusion?!
"Hehehehe!" said Caster Servant giggled gleefully "You'll never catch me that way!"
"Hey, you know what they say;" Lancer grinned, "Slow and steady wins the race." At the invocation of The Tortoise and the Hare, Alice suddenly swayed and staggered, seemingly tired as Lancer got another hit, this one cutting her leg and part of her dress. The exhaustion was, unfortunately, short lived but it was still a solid blow. Lancer had a few bruises from the phantasmal swarm but Alice was the only one so far to bleed.
"Grrrrr, stop cheating!" Alice shouted, showing the childlike mentality of 'if I'm losing then it's because you must have cheated', "I'll show you!" Alice flicked the wand in her hand as it changed, growing thicker and duller, holes appearing as she, and all her various clones and copies, put it to their lips and started to play. Music filled the Arena as Hakuno found herself swaying, entranced by the sound. Her body began to move of its own accord, shambling toward a river that had appeared, the water rushing white with jagged rocks jutting out. At her side, Hakuno swore she could see the echoes of children, all swaying just as she was. Even as her body continued to move, unphased by the horror, her mind wanted to scream as she recognize the fairy tale that Alice had invoked. The Pied Piper of Hamelin, and Alice felt cheated enough to fill the role of the Piper who'd been betrayed by the town from their deal. Alice was going to make Hakuno drown herself. If death wasn't looming over her, Hakuno would curse herself for forgetting that Alice could dip into folklore too. The Piper might be the base, but the Servant had included the Nordic näcken as well. Otherwise a song for children wouldn't have caught her. Not that these thoughts would save her from the steps towards her watery doom.
"NO!" Lancer snarled, and Hakuno swore he got bigger as he growled, red eyes gleaming with blood-lust. "I'm going to huff, and puff, and blow all your tricks away!" Lancer took in a deep breath and then he roared, a gale like pressure shooting from his mouth, slamming into Alice. It knocked the pipe from her mouth as the hypnotic murder song shattered, Hakuno dropping to the ground with a gasp. She looked up just in time to see her Servant utilize the advantage as Lancer traced a rune on a stone then tossed it at the Caster's feet. It glowed under Alice for a brief moment before it became a roaring pillar of flame.
*/*/*
The firewall slammed between the combatants as the fight came to a close. The two Alices clung to each other. Blue Alice, despite being the Master, was the first to start vanishing. "Oh. We're disappearing? I'm sad… it's over already…". The two clung even tighter to each other, and even despite Dark Alice's Fae nature the Servant seemed distraught as Blue Alice continue to speak. "Alice was all alone. No one noticed me, and I was sad for a long long time."
"Then Alice found Alice to belong to. We were so happy and even had a home" the Fae gave a tear soaked smile. "That was all we needed. Forever and ever, just like this. Why must it end? Why would they take our happiness away?
"Shh" Blue Alice quieted her Servant with her own smile. "Alice already knew everything would go away. I don't 'member very well, but I am already dead. My body isn't in that hospital anymore. Alice is like an empty present box, and there wasn't anything from the beginning. Even back in that hospital, there was no Alice inside Alice. But no one noticed. I was all alone and it hurt. No one treated Alice like a person. It was still the same even when Alice came to Wonderland. That's how I knew it would all go away soon. But… big sis… you cared about Alice didn't you?"
Hakuno didn't think the Alices would have turned the conversation to her as they clung to each other. How could she possibly answer that question? The Alices were children. Or at least Blue Alice was, while Caster wore the face of a child. The two had played some disturbing 'games'… yet… Hakuno could not bring herself to answer anything but "Yes". Who would not extend care to a dying child?
"You always paid attention to Alice" Blue Alice accepted the answer easily. "You're like Alice, except you have a place to go back to somewhere. Thank you big sis. For seeing Alice, for playing with me." The Master turned back to the crying Servant. "Thank you Alice, for being my friend and for always being with me." By this time, Master Alice was all but completely swallowed by the black noise. She gave one final smile. "Bye-bye". And then she vanished with a sound like spilling sugar.
The Fae, alone now, looked at them through the firewall. "I am a Reflection. This time I was Alice in the looking glass." The voice coming from the child's body was both childish and yet something old beyond measure. "Even if I am summoned again, I will not be Alice. I am always someone's fanciful creation. The real me is a mystery. But being Alice's Servant made me happy." A tear shed from the Fae's eye. "Tears… even if I cry I know I'll never be the real thing." Then the Servant vanished without a sound, the licorice girl chasing after her Master.
"Master?" Lancer could sense the turmoil from Hakuno even as she turned to go back to the elevator. Her head hanging down blocked her expression, but she hadn't learned how to fool his nose.
"If this is what's natural here Lancer, then this system is twisted at its core." The words were soft and final. There would be no further conversation that night.