White Rabbit Bowl: Orchestra

Sporting Event / Competition

Escaping from those who had surrounded her, Dragon Queen Alice gained another ten feet in altitude and unleashed a Burbleflare so quickly that the fox’s allies were unable to even turn around. Aotsuki and Ooawagaeri were largely unharmed as before, but Mikazuki Munechika was brought to unconsciousness and Alice of Hearts almost killed from a direct hit to her back. Only the spray of pillows, lace, and stuffed animals intercepting the blast kept her from being incinerated instantly.

Seeking to finish off her prey, the Dragon Queen conjured a sphere of darkness and sent it seeking Heart’s life. Now aware of what was happening, Aotsuki put himself in between the orb and its target. The darkness exploded against his shield harmlessly, but the crested shield’s master had spent himself in the attempt, and slumped over in the fox’s metaphorical saddle, unconscious.   Sure of her near victory, Dragon Queen Alice implored Alice of Hearts to surrender. Though the Queen was a frightening symbol, with her striking golden hair and pitch-black wings, Hearts pushed through her injuries and refused. It isn’t what Aotsuki would want, as she claimed.   Meanwhile, in the northeastern corner of the maze, Sanosuke was chatting with the King of Hearts. Having confirmed that the tiny monarch had no recollection of the switch he’d found on the statue, the Silver General was instead able to confirm a few things about the Dreamlands. The role of “Lady Hargreaves” in building much of the maze out of dreamstuff, for one, and that the other statues similarly represented prestigious Dreamers. What’s more, there were more courts than just Hearts involved. The Court of Spades, Court of Clubs, and Court of Diamonds all had a hand in this garden, although not Fools. The King was quite adamant that no such Court of Fools existed.   Turning the key, Sanosuke found that it functioned much like a music box. The statue began emitting a faint, gentle melody that washed over him and his Alice, pulling them into a dreary, drained state. The King was much more strongly affected, and fell right off Sanosuke’s shoulder into the fountain. After fishing him out, Sanosuke drew on his experience with martial matters and recognized the telltale symptoms of being dangerously low on ki. It seemed that this statue drained ki from anyone in its radius.   Walking up the nearby hedge and into the battlements beyond, Sanosuke and Alice of Fools ducked behind the battlements and stealthily worked their way south, out of hearing range of the music. Sure enough, the King woke up, groggy but still genial. Taking the opportunity to use Shigeaki Fujino’s mental network, Sanosuke reported his findings to Dragon Queen Alice.   That very same Dragon Queen was filled with rage when, upon seizing the initiative, the Sable Fox used one of her most familiar techniques against her. Compressing time around himself, Ooawagaeri drew a large amount of magical energy out of Jigenmaru and used it to bring Aotsuki, Alice of Hearts, and Mikazuki Munechika back up to fighting strength. Healed and refreshed, though nearly spent of magical energy, the group shot up to the Dragon Queen alongside The Carpentress. With their combined efforts, the latter was able to strike a telling wound with the Vorpal Sword. It seemed as though the next strike would perhaps fell the Dragon Queen, but it was not to be. Finally, Munechika managed once again to partially entrap her in bonds of darkness.   Down below, Maxim had made some distance after storming away from the Queen of Hearts. He stopped, however, when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. A tiny turnip, the mirror of that larger specimen which had shrunk Dragon Queen Alice, lay tantalizingly on the floor nearby. Taking it in his gauntleted hand, he hesitated for a moment, then ate it in a single mouthful.   The ground rumbled and all were witness as Maxim grew to twice his normal height, now standing almost fifteen feet tall in his armor and gazing over the walls which now reached only to his chest. Those above did not cease their battle, however, and Sanosuke and Fools instead took the opportunity to have their mental slave, Alice of Clubs, speak up after having followed him into the alcove.   Clubs, unknown to her master, offered her own assistance in the remainder of the competition. She even insinuated that the two could form a new pact, since her master “wasn’t really present,” a blatant falsehood on two counts. Maxim, however, was in no mood for her temptations. He answered that she would have to give up her life in order for him to accept. This only served to frustrate Clubs, and Fools through her, and she declared that she would be helping Maxim whether he wanted it or not. Because of the events to come, however, this unlikely alliance never reached fruition.   Dragon Queen Alice teleported out of her bonds and sought refuge in the twists of the maze. Her energy was almost spent, so she followed up on the information which Sanosuke had given her, and made for each of the statues in turn. Of course, the Dragon Queen’s supersonic speed and supernatural stealth were such that she could reach each corner of the maze near-instantly and completely undetected.   Starting at the southwestern statue, she turned its key and provoked a melody that seemed louder even than the first. At the same time, the northeastern statue’s song seemed to grow louder. Beyond that, there seemed to be no change. Moving to the norwest, she activated that mechanism in turn, but this one’s effects were instantaneous. With a sharp, jarring disorientation, Hashinara Yoshitakatomo found that all of her* spells were eliminated. This included the magic that had fused her essence with that of Alice of Clubs and The Jabberwock, both of whom now occupied the courtyard in full view of everyone. The dread dragon was dead, and each present was still inexplicably reduced to half of their normal size. Likewise, the created Alice of Clubs that was even then attempting to seduce Maxim winked out of existence.   Sensing a severed connection to her* magic, engulfed by the inevitability of her* coming fate, Yoshitakatomo began to dance to the music in traditional Hashinara style.   Back in the southeast, Sanosuke had climbed down from the ramparts and activated the last remaining statue. This had the effect of maxing out the volume for all four, and further left him feeling sluggish and fatigued. Alice of Fools was worse off still, and looked about to fall asleep. As before, the King of Hearts was worst off, and once again took a royal tumble, entirely unconscious.   Hoping to learn more about the maze and its history, Sanosuke called upon an unlikely ally: Tsukijō Hanahane, also known as the Dreamer Jericho Petalwing. Hanahane answered in his usual overly cheerful manner, confirmed Lady Hargreaves to be a fellow Dreamer named Alice Hargreaves, and expressed a desire to meet with Sanosuke as Petalwing to lend his aid. Originally apprehensive, Sanosuke reasoned that it couldn’t hurt to have Jericho there personally to view the statues and give his opinion. Using the information he’d collected from the King of Hearts, Sanosuke gave his directions to The Enchanted Wood and Hanahane enthused that he’d be there very shortly with the aid of his friend Lovecraft.   Meanwhile, in the sky, Ooawagaeri and Aotsuki considered their next move. Yoshitakatomo seemed helpless, and her Alice was now in full view, but they did not understand the circumstances that had caused this situation to arise. What’s more, the Carpentress asserted that she would no longer be of any help to them. While grateful for their aid with her Walrus, she considered her antagonist, Dragon Queen Alice, to no longer exist, and so would be leaving the maze shortly.   Finally, down below, Maxim’s conversational partner had vanished. Seeing no reason to linger, he burst violently through the hedge-covered stone wall and let his momentum carry him back into the courtyard. With a singular drive, he overcame the Queen of Hearts’ attempts to sever his neck, and instead drew his blade Hokkuken to her throat. Though it was not as clean a severance as Maxim’s own decapitation, the Queen’s neck was broken with a brutal blow, and her body fell to the ground, instantly slain. Having spent himself on the attack, Maxim gathered what loot remained (a royal robe, royal sceptre, and scroll of royal vellum), and slumped against the wall. His eyes closed under Hostimentum’s helmet and he drifted away, vengeance complete and content to let the rest of the competition play out as it would.   As these events drew to a close, Alice of Fools once again drew a matrix around the entire arena in an attempt to captures some participants' minds. Oddly, the psychic matrix did not reach into the southwestern corner of the maze, but rather shattered when exposed to that statue's music. As such, Ooawagaeri and team were spared from the ensuing effect, but Alice did catch an unexpected fish. Yoshitakatomo herself was brought under Fools' sway.   < Previous: White Rabbit Bowl: Chaos