"You see, I was the one who captured her," Alice whispers, "I can take you to the auction if you want."
"But before that, I have to confirm you're not a spy from the Allies," she continues, "your hand, please."
I extend my hand cautiously. Alice touches the palm of my hand.
"Sorry," she whispers, "Lightning Zap!"
A huge voltage of lightning enters my palm immediately. Reflectively, I bellow, "Blood Shockwave!"
"Violleta Vonville!" she shrieks.
"Damn it!" I curse, "Blood Orb Bullet!"
A copious quantity of small blood orbs are fired towards Alice. "Iron Shield!"
The mighty iron wall blocks the bullets. "Please, just stop and come with me!" she screeches.
"Kindly shut up!" I hiss, "Blood Prison!" The massive quantity of blood envelops Alice.
Soon, the prison is blasted apart by ferocious lightning. "You're the most difficult opponent I've ever fought aside from Madam Fron, I'll give you that," I say as my escape route is blocked by a thick iron wall.
"It seems like our position is similar," she replies as she summons her rapier, "I'm sorry, but this is something I have to do."
From a distance I can hear sounds of duels; John and Aelita must have been attacked, too.
I gather what power I can. "You want to end this now?" Alice, stunned, asks.
"I have to help my friends," I reply curtly.
"So do I," she says back.
"Electric Iron Fist!" Alice finishes her ultimate spell faster, a gigantic iron fist, coated with electricity charges straight at me.
"Come forth, my minion, Black Chupacabra!" My necromancy has brought forth a giant black undead dog to life.
The clash is epic, obliterating the entire bar (and the few people who hasn't fled yet for some reason).
I'm barely standing on my feet. Both spells have matched each other equally, but the resulting explosion has caused me severe damage.
Alice doesn't stand stably, either. Her legs are trembling and her breath is short.
"You're still standing?" I ask.
"Hmph. Finally, one of my men is competent!" an eerie voice is heard from behind.
"L-Lady Caitlyn!?" Alice mutters.
"Logan and Lucas have stopped neither John nor Aelita. Lucky you're still here," Lady Caitlyn hisses even more eeriely.
Damn it! A demon Lord!?
"Blood-" I cannot finish my incantation. Lady Caitlyn's scythe hits me on the head. I pass out.
"Where am I?" I murmur as my eyes face an alien ceiling.
"In Lady Caitlyn's personal HQ," Alice mutters with a shiver. She is heavily bandaged.
"Damn it," I curse to myself.
Alice hands me her glass of water. "Drink. This might be your last chance to drink properly," she says sorrowfully, "I'm sorry."
I hesitate, but eventually drink the refreshing water.
"I think you must have known what is going to happen," Alice continues.
"What?" I ask.
"Assuming Lady Caitlyn has her way, you'll be transformed into a mindless, drug addicted Doll by a Dollmaker–probably Lucas or Logan, my lovely cousins," she answers.
"Unless," she says, "you have an escape plan."
I flinch uncomfortably. I can feel that my silver earring is still there. As long as it stays intact ....
"I know you do," Alice says, "you're a Guard trained by the Empire's most powerful foes, after all. Let me tell you: if it doesn't involve outside forces, it'll fail miserably."
"Why are you telling me this?" I ask with suspicion.
Alice mutters, "Us demons have morals, too, if you don't know about it. Lady Caitlyn's in charge of the slave business," she glances briefly at Agatha, "it's a very lucrative business, so the higher ups just turn a blind eye and allow Lady Caitlyn to rampage."
Alice ....
"My earrings," I whisper.
"What?" Alice asks.
"My earrings, you idiot! They have trackers in it," I whisper a little more loudly.
She grins hugely, hurriedly takes my earrings, and keeps them on her pocket as footsteps echo in my ears.
"Lady Jessica, Lord Luke, Lady Caitlyn," Alice greets her superiors, who have arrived at the cell where I'm being held. The Princess of Terror follows behind, her lips curling downside, and her eyes emitting murderous fury.
Lady Jessica's face is covered with bandages and she is sitting on a wheelchair. Her left arm dangles sadly on her lap. She still wears a ridiculous bright purple shirt and a long orange skirt.
"Interesting ... Captain of the Twelfth," Lady Jessica says, "it seems like your power isn't a figment, seeing how you matched one of our best prodigies."
"As expected from Fronica and Anwar's student," Lord Luke adds.
"Cut the crap. You're going to turn me to a Doll anyway," I curse.
"A Doll? Oh, girl, don't make me laugh," Lady Jessica smiles, "you're way, way too precious to be turned to a Doll."
"We are very intrigued, indeed, by your blood magic. Perhaps your teachers don't talk about it, but it's a very rare type of magic; furthermore, only demons of royal lineage have them," Lady Jessica continues with her smile.
"But you're supposedly a human. Oh, we have real hot debates about what you are," Lady Jessica turns to Lord Luke, "if she's really a demon, you'd owe me a pint of beer, Luke!"
"Let's keep this professional," Lord Luke replies. He moves forward, and from my wrist two pints of blood are taken.
Lady Jessica and Lord Luke sip my blood. "Hmm ... she's definitely not human. Her blood is not as metallic as a human's," Lord Luke comments.
Hey, I'm human, damn it!
"But it isn't demonic sweet blood either. More like a combination of both ... both metallic and sweet," Lady Jessica says.
"A hybrid, perhaps?" Lady Caitlyn suggests.
"Humans and demons are too incompatible to breed," Lady Jessica swiftly replies. The Princess of Terror frowns impatiently.
"Perhaps, Lady Jessica," the Princess of Terror intervenes, "you might want to tell my business here. Frankly, this is a place I loathe."
"Why? Because it reminds you of your past?" Lady Caitlyn sneers.
"You little brat!" the Princess of Terror's rage explodes, her longsword at Lady Caitlyn's neck, "Shadow-"
Lord Luke grabs the Princess of Terror's arm. "Please release her, Princess of Terror. We mean you no disrespect," he says convincingly.
"Ha, no disrespect! You may want to train this underling of yours some manner, Lord Luke!" the Princess of Terror shouts in rage before leaving, kicking open the metal door.
"Oh, jeez," Lady Caitlyn says, "what a short-tempered vampire."
"I must remind you, Lady Caitlyn," Lady Jessica grits her teeth, "your powers pale in comparison to her. Mind your attitude."
Lady Caitlyn's face reddens, but she maintains her calm, "I understand, Lady Jessica."
"Back to business, Lady Caitlyn," Lord Luke frowns, "we might have found a very interesting species."
Lady Jessica turns her wheelchair, grunting, "Lord Luke and I will return in three days with the Princess of Terror–and I assume you are not to say such foolish things again–and the Puppeteer. Until then, I leave her in your care."
"Shall I begin the Doll treatment?" Lady Caitlyn respectfully bows.
"No," Lord Luke sharply replies, "She is too valuable. Her brain must be intact enough to be interrogated."
"As you wish, Lord Luke," Lady Caitlyn replies.
Lady Jessica and Lord Luke take leave.
Lady Caitlyn's face is turned towards me with her terrible smile, her long green hair covering her lustful eyes. "You're lucky, cutie," she says as her hand chokes my neck, "I really want to turn you into a Doll."