White Rabbit Bowl: Chaos

Sporting Event / Competition

Still flying high above in the outer courtyard, Dragon Queen Alice responded to the fox’s flight with a targeted Burbleflare. The attack struck at the center of Ooawagaeri’s group and exploded outward. All were caught in the blast, but other than serious injuries on Mikazuki Munechika’s part and the Sable Fox coming out a little more singed, everyone else was largely unharmed. Less fortunate was The Walrus, who caught the full brunt of the blast. Unable to defend himself and with negligible combat potential, the creature’s flab was charred and burnt, reducing it to a charcoal husk.

Aotsuki called out in a yell of sympathy for the poor aquatic mammal, while Dragon Queen Alice dove back into the maze. Finding herself next to a suspiciously large turnip lying on the ground, she took the opportunity to enjoy a bite. As might have been expected, this was no ordinary turnip, and the Dragon Queen soon found herself shrunken to about half her original height. Now standing less than 4 feet tall, she was quicker, but the natural weapons she inherited from the Jabberwock would be significantly less useful.   At this point, unseen by most, a new actor appeared on the stage. In the far north, The Carpentress entered at the head of the courtyard. Perhaps she was drawn by the Walrus’ last bellow of pain.   Back over at said walrus, Ooawagaeri tapped into a surprising affinity with Amaterasu to resurrect the beast. Paired with a spell of recreation, both the Walrus and Munechika were restored to full, painless health. The rest of the group proved pleased as well, particularly Aotsuki, who had been struggling with how to bring the creature back without subjecting it to extraordinary pain.   Being under the control of Alice of Fools, and by extension Ryūzaki Sanosuke, Alice of Diamonds took this opportunity to feed Dragon Queen Alice’s location to the group. It was the Silver General’s plan to lead the other actors to the Queen and instigate a conflict between them. Never one to act predictably, Ooawagaeri instead jumped a few walls to the west and ended up in the Queen of Hearts’ courtyard.   Here, the Queen was understandably upset to find yet more intruders in her garden. Aotsuki, always the charmer, was able to make some headway with earning her favor. This was all ruined, however, when Sanosuke boosted the King of Hearts and two guards into the clearing from the other side of the western wall. The King, also under Fools’ control, disputed Aotsuki’s claims that the “wizard” the Queen was searching for was Dragon Queen Alice. Instead, he claimed that the fox itself was the thief. This was true, but as Ooawagaeri had possessed the foresight to disguise the Vorpal Sword before entering, there was little hard proof.   Still, the King was known for his absolute honesty, if nothing else. With the words of the dominated guards backing him up, it was enough for the Queen to order a decapitation of the Sable Fox. Of course, with Aotsuki nearby, such a technique failed to kill its target.   Somehow managing to salvage the situation, Aotsuki brought up the other “Queen” present in the garden. Immediately misunderstanding, the Queen of Hearts assumed he must be speaking of the Queen of Spades, who often plotted against her. Deciding that all of this made sense if it was a plot by Spades, the Queen of Hearts demanded that her rival’s head be brought to her. Otherwise, she would take the necks of everyone in the group. Without waiting for the situation to escalate further, Ooawagaeri jumped over the northern hedge and immediately into the company of Dragon Queen Alice.   At the same time, Sanosuke fed instructions through the controlled Alice of Spades, who recommended that she and Maxim get the jump on the newly shrunken Dragon Queen Alice. Following her compromised advice, Maxim arrived at the Dragon Queen’s nook at about the same time as Ooawagaeri’s gang.   Discussions quickly degraded between the three groups, and Dragon Queen Alice found herself bound and surrounded once again. Despite the concentrated assaults from all sides, she remained standing after the onslaught. This may be in part because of Sanosuke’s secondhand mental orders for Diamonds, who wielded the Vorpal Sword, and Spades not to make any killing blows towards the Dragon Queen.   When the assault was nearly over, the Dragon Queen’s false Alice of Clubs emerged from hiding to strike at Alice of Hearts’ back. This time, Aotsuki was too surprised to react and defend his ally. Fortunately, she was able to passively activate a technique just in time, and Clubs’ strike was absorbed in a burst of pillows and frills.   Taking the opportunity, Dragon Queen Alice mastered control over the bonds entangling her, and forced them to lock around Alice of Diamonds instead. She conjured a second set and similarly entrapped Maxim before flying backwards at such speed that a sonic boom rocked the area. A few people were knocked off their feet by the blast, including the King of Hearts who, at Sanosuke’s orders, had walked up the hedge to give Maxim encouragement.   Several hundred feet away in the blink of an eye, Dragon Queen Alice let loose another Burbleflare at the disarrayed party. Unable to defend herself, Alice of Diamonds was instantly vaporized, marking the first loss of the tournament. Ooawagaeri was thus locked into fifth place, but The Concierge made no mention that he was to stop fighting. So, with a quiet rage flaring inside him, he began to carry Aotsuki and his allies up to where Dragon Queen Alice was hovering.   Before they could arrive, another presence made itself known. The Carpentress, wielding four metal spikes, leapt with impossible speed from the hedges and hovered at the same height as Dragon Queen Alice. Ignoring all questions from her opponent, she struck four times and, while she was unable to actually damage the Dragon Queen, succeeded in putting her on the defensive.   When Ooawagaeri and friends arrived, she quickly moved around to flank, and by some unknown “woodworking accident” exacerbated all of Dragon Queen Alice’s mistakes. While still unharmed, the flying Queen was beginning to run low on her reserves of magic.   Back down in the Maze, Sanosuke had picked up the two guards under his control and, walking up and on top of the hedges, dropped them down next to Alice of Spades. Still recovering from the events that had just occurred, Spades was preparing to break the shackles which held Maxim tight. Before she could, Card Soldiers Geffrei and Wymark arrived. Spotting the action through the hole left by Dragon Queen Alice’s explosive retreat, the Queen of Hearts demanded that the two guards come to her aid, but was ignored. At this point, Sanosuke attempted to color her against the others, but she was in such disarray and anger that she would not heed his words.   With a single thrust, Card Soldier Geffrei struck Alice of Spades through the ribs with his halberd. For the second attack, Alice of Fools exerted her control to hold Spades still and allow for a deadly blow. Unable to move, she could only turn her eyes in fear toward Maxim as she was run through and killed. This marked the second loss, and placed Maxim in fourth place. At least he would be able to meet up with his Alice again after the event, although the two of them had never quite been on the best of terms regardless.   Horrified by this unordered display of cruelty, the Queen of Hearts ordered Geffrei’s execution in turn. With a sound like a tomato being sliced in half, the card soldier’s head went rolling away and his body slumped down, dead.   With a roar of rage, Maxim burst the chains of darkness tying him down in an incredible display of brute strength. Fully kitted in Hostimentum since he participated in the attack on Dragon Queen Alice, he now approached the Queen of Hearts. Kneeling respectfully before her, he asked if it was her soldier who had killed Spades. When she answered that it was, but she had not ordered it, he responded that the death was her responsibility regardless. Bringing Hokkuken up in an arc, he rose from a kneel and attempted to end the Queen’s life. A powerful individual in her own right, the Queen of Hearts was able to block his attack with her scepter, but made no attempt to return with a counter.   Frustrated and despondent, Maxim managed to overcome the rage of his armor and left the clearing, the Queen, and the scheming Sanosuke behind, storming through the wall and across its rubble back into the maze. Now more imperious than ever, the Queen promised retribution upon him, but first called for her remaining soldier Wymark to come to her side. Ignoring her, thanks to Alice of Fools’ control, the soldier began attacking Alice of Clubs, who still lingered in the vicinity. The Alice dodged every attack.   Now wishing to extend her influence again, Alice of Fools cast another mental net across the battlefield. While the majority of her targets once again resisted her influence, she retained control over the King and the guards. In addition, she reaffirmed control over the Walrus, and managed to bring the false Alice of Clubs under her sway.   Not wishing to get involved with the aerial battle with Dragon Queen Alice, Sanosuke grabbed Alice of Fools from nearby and placed the King of Hearts on his shoulder before vanishing back into the maze. He made his way up to the northeastern corner and the statue there, before speaking with the genial King about the artwork’s history. Apparently based on a Dreamer named “Lady Hargreaves,” it was built in honor of her contributions to The Enchanted Wood. While they engaged in discussion, Alice of Fools noticed something odd about the statue. On the heel of its right foot, barely visible, a small turnkey was set into the stone. When questioned, the King seemed not to know anything about this strange addition.   < Previous: White Rabbit Bowl: Dragon Queen