[hr]ATTN: [@PaulHaynek] (Takeshi), [@The Irish Tree] (Eula/Liliana), [@Restalaan] (Skarsneek), [@Rezod92] (Kerry), & [@AzureKnight] (Shizuka)[hr][hider=Gone in 60 Seconds]Liliana wanted to rush after Dinah after her outburst, but figured that those who weren’t in the know deserved to be after all that. [color=f49ac2][b]"Okay! So! Dinah is Alice and Carroll when they do a…a thing…and…become one person, somehow. And she’s really cool and fast, and we fought, and she was like ‘wunanunanuna’ and I was like “kapow, blam, zoom,’ but she’s still waaaaaay faster than me, so, so, and then, she’s scared of fire, so she freaked out from the lightning during the battle, and was scared, and got scared that we were gonna die and was running to get us out of there, but I told her we were gonna fight, and she got her feelings hurt, but she came back and used her party to heal everyone during the fight, but I think people calling her Alice upset her because she’s her own person, so I gotta go!”"[/b][/color] the fairy said in one very long breathless sentence, inhaling deeply to refuel her singular braincell before darting off.

Flying as fast as her wings could carry her, Liliana tried to rush after the distraught mycelium queen.

Dinah would move with purpose; her trudge evolving into a brisk walk, into a speedwalk, and nearly into a jog, as her mind screamed at her - the voices, the madness, clawing at the walls, scraping the sides of her skull. She wanted nothing more than to disappear, shrink away, and die.

Her party ruined. Her purpose denied. Her time was running out...

As she moved, she would pass by an Automaton, suffering her own crisis, and connect for, but a moment, and nothing more.

...just long enough for Eula to feel Carroll splitting at the seams to keep Dinah together.

Stumbling to her feet, Eula would look at Dinah’s back before racing after her, a pale streak of pink racing past her vision.

If Liliana was chasing Alice, would she chase Carroll? And, together, would they chase Dinah?

And, if so... could they catch her before she frayed and became lost again?

Another Alice?

Another Carroll?

Both would chase Dinah, concern beyond that of just one part of the gestalt. Dinah was their friend too.

[i]Faster. Faster. Faster, still...[/i] until nature defied. Be it the Heavenly Strike or the Wallflower Waltz, a technique of speed that required a runway did not benefit from obstacles. Liliana and Eula would gain ground from the simplest of reasons: Dinah tripped.

[color=fff79a]”Everything I want to say is ditto to what Lili just said, now if you all will excuse me!”[/color], Kerry quickly followed up before taking off, following the fairy in finding Dinah, who was literally falling apart from the mental and emotional stress from quest has brought. Soon enough, the duo, along with Eula who had wandered off earlier, had caught up to the fused being, not because Dinah slowed down, but because she tripped.

[b]Dinah. Tripped.[/b]

[color=fff79a][i]Oh, she is so fucked up over this quest.[/i][/color]

With a burst of air, Kerry closed the distance and caught Dinah before she hit the ground.

[color=fff79a]”Dinah, please. Talk to us. You’re literally crumbling apart on us.”[/color]

"[color=5d7947][i][b]Everything hurts...[/b][/i][/color]" Dinah groaned. "[color=5d7947][i][b]Need to... make it home...[/b][/i][/color]"

With Dinah now slowed to the speed of “being held by your tough warrior GF”, Liliana would easily catch up to pour as much healing as Whimsy could dish out into her.

Eula was a bit behind, but would rocket to Dinah’s side, holding her right hand. [color=C48BD3][b]"She’s…all dry…"[/b][/color]

Dinah gasped, taking deeper breathes than was healthy, as she cracked like porcelain - impacts of magic, like the blows of a hammer, trying to escape from under the surface, trying to vent the Chaos Magic of Wonderland that had no place in the Mamono Realm, and fracture the two haves of the Possessed whole. 

Having no clue what to do and assuming that, like the Mad Hatter Alice was, Dinah could absorb water through mycelium, Eula would attempt to pour water from her canteen onto the nape of her neck to let her…not dessicate.

[color=fff79a]”Dammit, she needs to go [i]home[/i], but she can’t right now so what’s the next best thing we can do for her!?”[/color], Kerry said, more to herself, thinking a mile a minute as she threw Dinah’s left arm over her shoulders to keep the fused woman standing.

[color=fff79a]”Lili! Your magic comes closest to Dinah’s! Maybe that could help her!”[/color]

[color=f49ac2][b]"U-Uh, okay,"[/b][/color] Liliana said before raising her sword aloft. [color=f49ac2][b]"Here goes everything! Whimsy, pretty please with sugar on top, cherries, and whipped cream,"[/b][/color]the fairy exclaimed before green light jumped from her blade to Dinah, flashing through a variety of Liliana’s buffing spells, while also deciding to drop a cow on Liliana for fun.

One bovine dodge later, and she had cast roughly 36 spells on Dinah, and was panting atop the grazing steed she’d conjured. [color=f49ac2][b]"Bweh…beh…better…?"[/b][/color] she asked, thoroughly drained.

In the realms of Magic, Chaos and Fairy were kin; unpredictable, unstable, unwieldy - fun. Wonderland thrived on the concept of “fun”. Fairyland lived off the fundamentals of “fun”. Kerry was off, but only by a step; Liliana’s Magic was closer to being a “sister” of Alice’s, and by extension, Dinah. However, the charge would only serve to slow the decomposition process.

Dinah was still pulling apart from simple overuse.

She needed to be split in half - figuratively and literally.

[color=fff79a]”Shit, it only slowed it down!”[/color], the hornet cursed. [color=fff79a]”Alright, next idea! Eula, we need to separate her again!”[/color]

[color=C48BD3][b]"Understood,"[/b][/color] Eula said before starting to, quite literally, bisect Dinah with her monstrous strength to draw her two halves free. [color=C48BD3][b]"...Forgive me if I am not gentle, Dinah."[/b][/color]

[color=fff79a]”Same here but we are not losing you like this!”[/color], concurred Kerry, her wings buzzing as she gained a good grip on Dinah before pulling in the opposite direction.

"[color=5d7947][i][b]I won’t... I will not...[/b][/i][/color]"

"[color=FFCCDC][i][b]I WON’T STOP HERE.[/b][/i][/color]"

Dinah growled, as her hair streaked pink and blonde; her Lilim-influence leaking out. To prove her existence, she was giving in to Alice - the True Alice.

The Queen of Hearts.

It was now or never.

Alice and Carroll needed to be separated.

Eula would get serious about ripping them apart by force, overclocking her motors to keep pace with the sudden burst of strength the Lilim-touched gained.

Kerry snarled as she redoubled her efforts, adding her wind magic to pull harder. For herself, Gwen, Alice, Dinah and Cecilia, their story will not end here!

Liliana, as the only one with a cutting instrument, would sort of just swoosh right in and end the fusion, landing the third and only “Decisive” strike Dinah had ever received aside from Kardia…

Although admittedly its a bit of a cheap shot.

Dinah’s eyes widened, as the blade sliced through her flesh and mushroom; her body peeling away at the seams, as Eula pulled and Kerry pulled, and fell... Alice and Carroll collapsing onto the ground, as the husk of Dinah dissolved into powder.

Liliana would groan as she fell to her cow, saying: [color=f49ac2][b]"Tired…"[/b][/color]

[color=fff79a]”Yeah….same.”[/color], Kerry sighed as she pulled Alice in close and held her lover in her arms, breathing in deeply the scent of the mad hatter’s hair. [color=fff79a]”I’m so done with today…”[/color]

Eula would collapse by a nearby tree with Carroll in her arms, steam escaping the corner of her mouth from pushing her motors in such a short burst.

Alice was soft - not in the way that Kerry was used to, but... like she was broken down. Breaking down. Her form was solid, but unnervingly soft.

To Eula, it was the same for Carroll. Her rigid, vorpal steel self was malleable, as if she was melted. Melting. It was closer to being forged, shaped, yet not.

As Kerry calmed herself with her lover’s scent, she noticed something else that alarmed her as she held the mad hatter:

Alice was soft. [b]Too soft.[/b]

[color=fff79a]”Eula, does…Carroll feel off to you, too?”[/color], the hornet spoke, a worrying tone creeping back into her voice.

[color=C48BD3][b]"Carr-Carr-Carrollllllllllllllllllllll is melt-ing-in-ing-ING,"[/b][/color] Eula said, still overheated. [color=C48BD3][b]"Malfunction…"[/b][/color]

"[color=808080][i]Too loud... Too loud...[/i][/color]" Carroll rasped. "[color=808080][i]Regenerating.. time lost... decades... in minutes...[/i][/color]" she explains, simply, "[color=808080][i]Comatose...[/i][/color]"

Upon hearing Carroll’s explanation, Kerry looked and parted some of Alice’s hair to look upon her face. Sure enough, the mad hatter was fast asleep, no doubt healing the same way Carroll was. Exhaling a sigh of relief, the mercenary slumped back against a tree and closed her eyes, opting to just use reprieve to the fullest as she continued to hold her lover.

"[color=808080][i]Going to sleep... Shake me... later...[/i][/color]" Carroll closed her eyes, drifting off.

[color=C48BD3][b]"Alarm set,"[/b][/color] Eula said before her head lazily tilted to the side.

[color=fff79a]”I think we all earned some damn good shut-eye, all things considered.”[/color], commented Kerry, opening one eye as she grasped Alice’s hand and laid it on top of the hornet’s stomach, her own hand keeping it there. [color=fff79a]”Lili, you think your cow friend can keep an ear out for us?”[/color]

[color=f49ac2][b]"Beh…"[/b][/color] Liliana said, passing out atop her cow before answering. But it did give a rather reassuring “MOO”!

[color=fff79a]”Guess I’ll just take your word on it, then.”[/color]

And with that reply, Kerry closed her eye and snuggled in close to Alice, sleep soon claiming her as well.

Having quickly followed the group to where they ending up, Shizuka bore witness to Kerry, Eula, and Liliana pull and slice apart the two personas that resided in the wayward royal mamono. He looked down at Dinah's remains, just a pile of dust to be blown away by the wind. 

However, he still felt Dinah's chi in the vicinity, and it didn't take him long to spot her spirit overlooking the sleeping girls.

[color=royalblue]”I see your spirit still yet lingers Dinah-san.”[/color] He said.

<
[color=5d7947][i]Bandit... you can see me, even in this shameful state?[/i][/color]> Dinah asks.

[color=royalblue]”Indeed I can, Queen.”[/color] He candidly replied. [color=royalblue]”You seem to take for granted the bond that we share.”[/color]

While he tried to force a smile, a part of Shizuka was pained on the inside. 

[color=royalblue]”I…never got the chance to properly thank you for aiding everyone, for aiding me. Do…things truly have to end this way?”[/color]

<[color=5d7947][i]In terms of?[/i][/color]> Dinah asks. <[color=5d7947][i]I can’t quite read your mind, yet.[/i][/color]>

[color=royalblue]”You don't always have to read a person's mind, you know.”[/color] Shizuka responded. [color=royalblue]”Although I should consider the fact that you and I haven't had much time together. What I mean is, do you really have to leave? Just like that?”[/color]

<[color=5d7947][i]I never really existed, to be honest. I’m just the summation of Alice and Carroll.[/i][/color]> Dinah says. <[color=5d7947][i]In this realm, I’m known as a Cursed Sword. In Wonderland, I’m known as a Possessed.[/i][/color]> she explains, <[color=5d7947][i]I’m great as a powerup, but as time wears on and stress mounts... it wouldn’t be pretty if I stayed.[/i][/color]>

[color=royalblue]”Is that right?”[/color] Shizuka said, looking off to the side briefly. 

[color=royalblue]”While I ultimately want what's best for Alice and Carroll, it seems I'll always be fated to chase after phantoms and shadows…”[/color]

<[color=5d7947][i]And, if those shadows and phantoms chase, back, then what? You ran away from Carroll, when she looked like a phantom. You distanced yourself from Alice, when she resembled a shadow.[/i][/color]> Dinah says.

[color=royalblue]”At first, I ran from them because I was running from myself. Because I try not to be reminded of my past. But, since I've arrived here, that's all that's happened. Despite my initial reservations, in the end I chose to embrace both of them.”[/color] He stared back at her, his eyes fighting back negative emotions.

[color=royalblue]”But with you, it seems I won't even get that chance…”[/color]

<[color=5d7947][i]Am I not sitting here,[/i][/color]> Dinah asks. <[color=5d7947][i]I’m not so dead that I can’t listen.[/i][/color]> she says, before she hummed, <[color=5d7947][i]Well, I'm not even really dead, thinking about it.[/i][/color]>

Shizuka widened slightly at the statement.

[color=royalblue]”What do you mean?”[/color]

<[color=5d7947][i]Depends on what you are asking.[/i][/color]> Dinah says.

[color=royalblue]”What you just said. Aren't you…dissipating?”[/color] Replied the swordsman. [color=royalblue]”Your existence is quite a rare case.”[/color]

<[color=5d7947][i]What I am, exists, but doesn’t. Alice is a unique case. A Devil Sword - or, Cursed Sword, as you call them - shouldn’t have able to possess a Mad Hatter, being that she of the Matango Race, and therefore, a fellow Mamono, however, Cecilia is the dominant mentality underneath Alice, a being wholly created to serve the whims of Carroll...[/i][/color]> Dinah says. <[color=5d7947][i]As such, Cecilia doesn’t believe herself a Mamono, but a Human Woman entombed within one. And, in Wonderland, where your Will is stronger than your Reality, her belief created ME, another “shell” like Alice. And, like Alice, I come and go at her whim.[/i][/color]> she says. <[color=5d7947][i]Unlike Alice, because I am supposed to be, the act of being me, and the act of ceasing to be me, is exhausting to her Chaos Magic supplies, and converting Mamono Magic into Chaos Magic is quite the chore.[/i][/color]>

<[color=5d7947][i]Are you following, bandit?[/i][/color]>

[color=royalblue]”Hmph, I believe so.”[/color] Shizuka replied. [color=royalblue]”I’ve known that your vessel has created multiple personas due to her unique experiences. Yours is just an existence similar to Alice’s, but dawning your persona requires too much effort for prolonged manifestation.”[/color]

Shizuka began to walk closer to Dinah, who was beginning to slip away as Cecilia’s stamina continued to wane.

[color=royalblue]”Let me ask you this: Would I be able to channel a bit of my chi into Cecilia and prolong your shell’s manifestation. Even if just for a little bit?”[/color]

<[color=5d7947][i]Such is a choice for you to make. I am exhausted, irregardless.[/i][/color]> Dinah says, <[color=5d7947][i]However, careful now,[/i][/color]> she smirked, <[color=5d7947][i]I might latch on to the taste. I'm who Carroll should be, after all.[/i][/color]>

Teasingly, Dinah would flick her tongue out, a hybrid between humanoid and serpentine, as the end was forked a ways, while the muscle overall was long and flat.

[color=royalblue]”If that’d be the case, you should’ve already been hooked by now. Carroll had experienced me in full force some time ago.”[/color] Replied the swordsman. [color=royalblue]”I wasn’t referring to my choice, but if it would actually work or not. But, I suppose this would be the best way to see for sure.”[/color]

Shizuka was now face-to-face with Dinah, the latter appealing to the former’s sensitivities with her provocative tongue-flick. Forming a hand seal with his right hand, he placed it in front of his chest and began channeling his chi into Dinah. Perhaps, if possible, this would help with her exhaustion. 

Without any negative repercussions occurring onto Cecilia…

<[color=5d7947][i]I'm not so easy to hook, dear bandit,[/i][/color]> Dinah says, <[color=5d7947][i]But, that does feel better.[/i][/color]>

[color=royalblue]”That’s refreshing to know.”[/color] Shizuka replied, still channeling a bit more into her. Sweat beads began to form on his face, slowly dripping down to the ground as he eyes began to narrow and twitch. 

[color=royalblue]”The previous battle was a rather tiring one. One for us all. Do you think you can manage a bit longer with this?”[/color]

<[color=5d7947][i]I believe so,[/i][/color]> Dinah says, before walking between Eula and Kerry, to place her hands on Alice's and Carroll's head, before pulling them back together, and refusing. "[color=5d7947][i][b]This will get me back to the Temple, but no farther...[/b][/i][/color]" she says, lifting the sleeping Automaton and Hornet, settling Eula in her arms, while holding Kerry upon her back, minding her wings, with a strong loop of her hair.

And, for Liliana, she would lasso the Fairy with her ahoge, and make a bird's nest in her hair to let the Fairy sleep on her crown.

"[color=5d7947][i][b]Shall we, dear bandit,[/b][/i][/color]" Dinah asks.

[color=royalblue]”After you, Queen of Rebellion.”[/color] Shizuka replied. Walking up to her, he eyed his other mamono comrades. He confirmed they were all faring well enough after their skirmish. 

[color=royalblue]”Rest well everyone, you’ve earned it.”[/color] He said with a smile. 

Facing towards the destination of Terauchi Temple in the far off distance, Dinah wouldn't waste the energy gifted to her, and set to hard marching with no intention of stopping until she set foot on stone and tile.

The scent of incense and dry straw would mark her return.[/hider]