CR AU - CR In Wonderland Chapter XXIV

Chapter XXIV : Howling Tempest

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Part I : Frozen Clutch

The female Jabberwock stopped for a moment.
Before gazing to the side.
Gazing blankly.
Before whispering, mostly to herself, "Ascu…?"

However, she eventually shook her head.
And shifted her attention towards the Queen of Hearts.
As she made her way towards the Red King.
Who's laying upon the ground.

"Red-nii! Red-nii!" called the Queen of Hearts.

The female Jabberwock simply remained silent.
Before closing her eyes.
And eventually giving a sigh.
As she spoke, "It's no use."

Crossing her arms over her chest, she then continued, "No matter what you're going to do, it's no use. There was a poison placed upon the ice knife that I threw to him. It's not lethal enough so it'd kill him, but it'd even be a miracle if he could move right now."

The Queen of Hearts gazed at the female Jabberwock in disbelief.
Before shaking her eyes.
And shifting her sight back towards the Red King.
Once again getting upon her knees.
And shaking him, "Wake up! Wake up, Red-nii!"

"I'm pretty sure that by this time around, Ascu has taken care of the other intruders," said the female Jabberwock, ignoring the Queen of Hearts' attempt to wake the Red King up, "And by the time he get back, everything would be over. It would be the end for the Humpty Dumpty and the Red King."

There was a small sound of something creaking all of the sudden.
But the female Jabberwock decided to ignore it.
As she once again gazed at the Queen of Hearts.
And continued, "That's why I told you that it's the end of the road."

"No… it's not going to end like this… I don't want it to end like this…" replied the Queen of Hearts, lines of tears trickling down her cheeks at the same time as she spoke, "I don't want to see Red-nii like this…"

The sound of something creaking caught the female Jabberwock's sense again.
But once again, she decided to ignore it.

"No matter how hard you're going to try, it's all futile in front of us and the Dollmaker," said the female Jabberwock, "The Humpty Dumpty and the Red King already meet their end. It's just a matter of time until-"

"No! It's not going to be like that!" shouted the Queen of Hearts in return, causing the female Jabberwock to widen her eyes a bit in a surprise, "None of us are going to end just like that! None of us are going to give up!"

Part II : The Ice Cold Discord

The female Jabberwock simply remained silent.
While the Queen of Hearts remained upon the Red King's side.
It took a moment, but the female Jabberwock eventually gave a sigh.
Before another creaking sound caught her attention again.

"Just what could that be…?" she thought – before eventually realizing that the sound came from the ice coffin that she used to defeat the Humpty Dumpty earlier, "… don't tell me…"

There was a twitch.
And the ice cracked.
Enough until it's visible that the Humpty Dumpty is still alive and moving.

"B-But that's not supposed to be possible…" the female Jabberwock whispered mostly to herself, as she gazed at the ice coffin mostly in disbelief, "I managed to regain control over his ice, it's not supposed to be possible for him to-"

"Ahh… it's been a while…"

The female Jabberwock didn't continue her sentence.
As the ice coffin already cracked further.
Enough until it reveal the head of the Humpty Dumpty.
Who's smirking in delight.

"It's been a while since the last time I'm feeling enraged like this!"

The female Jabberwock gritted her teeth.
As she was about to move forward.
Attempting to freeze the Humpty Dumpty.
Once again imprisoning him inside the ice coffin.

Only to stop in her attempt.
As the present ice coffin cracked.
Sending icy projectiles towards the entire room.
And causing the female Jabberwock to defend herself.

There was a moment of silence.
And the female Jabberwock narrowed her eyes.
Before eventually asking, "How did you manage to-"

"How did I manage what? Getting out of that ice coffin?" cut the Humpty Dumpty, giving a chuckle before once again smirking in delight, "Have you forgotten? No matter what you're going to do, I'm still reigning over ice. And right now, I'm angry… I'm really angry…"

The female Jabberwock widened her eyes.
As a sudden murderous intent start leaking out from the Humpty Dumpty.

There was a pant.
But then the Humpty Dumpty burst out laughing.

"Just who the hell do you think I am…?"

The female Jabberwock widened her eyes a little bit further.
As she took several steps back in fear.
Before sending a flow of water towards the Humpty Dumpty.
And once again freezing him.

There was no sign of resistance.
But it doesn't take even a second for the new ice coffin to crack.

The female Jabberwock gritted her teeth.
As if trying to control the ice to prevent it from cracking further.
But despite that, the ice coffin shatters.
Cracking into pieces.
Setting the Humpty Dumpty free.

There was a moment of silence.
And the Humpty Dumpty stepped out of the ice coffin.
Panting and enraged.

His eyes widened.
And he's gritting his teeth at the same time.

"I'm Shadill Halcrow… I'm the Humpty Dumpty, you wench!"

Part III : Drowsy, Bloody, Crazy

The female Jabberwock remained silent.
Gazing at the Humpty Dumpty in disbelief.

"This isn't going like what has been planned…" the female Jabberwock thought, "It seemed that the situation has turned into something more unpredictable…"

The female Jabberwock then shifted her gaze towards the Queen of Hearts.
Before suddenly making her way towards her.

"It's a pity that I have to do this, Queen of Hearts," said the female Jabberwock, "But since the tables seem to have been turned, I have no choice but abducting you once again and using you as a hostage-"

The female Jabberwock didn't manage to finish his sentence.
As a hand covered in blood preventing her from reaching the Queen of Hearts.
The Queen of Hearts herself widened her eyes in surprise.
Before eventually calling, "Red-nii!"

The Red King took a moment before straightening his body.
And standing right between the female Jabberwock and the Queen of Hearts.
Seemed to be panting in exhaustion.
As he spoke, "You're not going to take Airia anywhere…"

"But you're supposed to be poisoned as well…" the female Jabberwock narrowed her eyes in disbelief before pulling back to gain a safe distance, "How did you-"

The female Jabberwock gritted her teeth all of the sudden.
As she noticed the puddle of blood just below the Red King.

"You said that the ice knife has been poisoned but the poison was not lethal enough so it wouldn't kill me…" said the Red King, "To prevent the poison from completely circulating inside of my body, I took out all of the blood that has been poisoned and threw it aside."

The Red King panted.
Before eventually grinning.

"Of course, there's still some left upon the wound," the Red King continued, "But such an amount wouldn't be enough to bring me down to my knees."

The female Jabberwock didn't reply.
As she noticed that right now she has been surrounded.
By the Humpty Dumpty and the Red King.

There was an attempt for a quick escape.
But she widened her eyes.
As her feet has been frozen solid.

"Where do you think you're going, wench?" the Humpty Dumpty chuckled, giving a smirk of delight as he made his way towards the female Jabberwock ever so slowly, "I'm not done playing with you yet."

The female Jabberwock gritted her teeth in fear.
Before quickly changing the ice that was imprisoning her feet into water.
Quickly moving forward passing the Red King and the Queen of Hearts to escape.

Only to widen her eyes as a wave of blood smacked her middle body.
And sending her back with little to no effort.

"It's truly interesting to know that you're capable of controlling liquid," the Red King replied with a chuckle, taking a moment before once again wincing as he placed a hand to the wound upon his chest, "But this blood is mine and mine alone. I'm the only one capable of controlling it."

"No further resistance, huh?" said the Humpty Dumpty, "How boring. You were saying this and that before but right now you're not even fighting back. How are you even going to entertain me?"

The female Jabberwock remained silent.
Before eventually giving a sigh.
As she closed her eyes.
And eventually spoke, "Fine then, it's my lost."

"Do you really think I care about that? I'm just someone looking for an entertainment!" said the Humpty Dumpty, chuckling once before eventually unsheathing his blade at the same time, "I don't really care about winning and losing as long as-"

The Humpty Dumpty stopped upon his words.
As he noticed that the Queen of Hearts already standing in front of him.
Standing between him and the female Jabberwock.
With both of her hands extended to her sides.

"It's enough," said the Queen of Hearts, "There's no need to fight anymore."

The Red King himself remained silent.
Before eventually giving a sigh.
As he spoke, "Are you really fine with that, Airia?"

"She said that she lost, that's more than enough," the Queen of Hearts replied, "There's no need for us to fight anymore."

The Humpty Dumpty narrowed his eyes as he gazed at the Queen of Hearts.
Before eventually gritting his teeth.
And giving a sigh as he sheathed back his blade.

"Damn it," said the Humpty Dumpty, "You really know how to ruin my fun, huh."