Private - Narcotics Are Not for Kids

Alphabet Chocolate

@Eldhi im here alrdy! where r u?!?!?!

Alpha was tapping her feet at a breakneck pace as she sat on the outer ring of the stone well, humming an impatient, quick tune. After another minute, she tore the lollipop out of her mouth and her face twisted into a disgruntled pout. "When's she gonna get here?!" she whined, flipping her head back and, with the sudden movement, accidentally hit the pit of water. Alpha was soaking wet with a splash within mere moments, her clothes soggy and her hair silhouetting her downcast expression. She kicked her foot into the air with a particularly vicious grunt and, as the back of her foot collided with the well, she knocked a stone or two out of place.

Keystone Village wasn't gonna drug itself into a perpetual state of insomnia and she couldn't wait to see the aftereffects of what her elixir would have on the villagers. She couldn't wait another second! Maybe she should make her way to the outskirts of the town and see if Eldhi would show up sooner or later. She'd been waiting for the girl's presence before she started but she supposed Eldhi wouldn't miss a few seconds of her brilliant prank.

Unfortunately, Alpha still seemed to crave the company that the girl would give her and, with a sigh, sat resolutely in place. Curse loyalty and friendship and all that.

 

Eldhi

@Alphabet Chocolate Be patience, Alpha, I will arrive at Dunnstands within a few minutes.

The white-haired Justicar sighed as she sent the reply to the ninja girl's obnoxious message. She just couldn't understand Alpha, all this overwhelming enthusiasm for a seemingly meaningless mission. The brunette wanted to lace a Dunnstads village's well with her newly-acquired booze she purchased at an auction, not after bidding for an exorbitant price, however. All for what? Just to watch the villagers turning into bumbling drunkards. A heavy sigh escaped the knight's lips, perhaps Alphabet did regret buying a single bottle of 'spooky' alcohol for hundreds of gold and this was her way of making up for herself. If she foolishly spent her money on a useless trinket, might as well have as much with it as possible.

Still, Eldhi had a direct order from the Overwatcher herself, she was to watch the younger girl in case she repeated her antics in the Dormont Throne Room. The Vermillion XIII's secrets were almost jeopardized there and the Overwatcher didn't want to take any chances. As a result, Eldhi must play babysitter to the plucky nonsensical Kunoichi. Not the best use of her abilities but orders were orders.

Arriving through the portal opened up by the Demon Rose on her shoulder, the Justicar stepped just outside the Keystone Village. Observing her surroundings for a moment, she noted this was nothing more than an ordinary hamlet, nothing stood out. Good, she didn't want Alpha to drug Dormont's well, if she had to poison a water supply, let it be some backwater town no one would notice.

Soon enough, Eldhi emerged into the clearing where the well sat, immediately spotting the distinctive cosmetic wolf ears and Demon Rose on the left side of her head. Brown locks framing a mischievous childish face and bored blue eyes. "..." Not offering a greeting for surely the cuddlebug would just glomp her, Eldhi rubbed her forehead, "Am I too late to convince you to not go on this foolish endeavor Alpha?"

 

"Foolish? You mean AWESOME, right?!" Alpha exclaimed, jumping to her feet at the unexpectedly sudden appearance of her guest. It seemed that Eldhi's presence had renewed the vigorous energy lying dormant inside the younger girl as she burst up with a jump and flapped her arms wildly. She ran circles around Eldhi, seemingly imitating some sort of strange bird by the way her chirps rang a mile a second. "I'm so excited! This is gonna be so fun! We're gonna have a blast! And then we can have a slumber party and everything!"

Alpha went over to pick up Eldhi's hand with a flourish, after a signature twirl, and pointed in toward the village with a wide grin. "That's where we're gonna stay! Let's just put some of the stuff in the water first!"

Alpha quickly detached herself from her friend and practically flew to the well, plucking a vial of the potent alcohol from her satchel. Another second later and half of its contents dripped into the pool of water, staining in a clear, light purple. A small mist of fog and smoke puffed out from the water-alcohol concoction for a minute before it died down and all hints of the tonic's presence had vanished from the liquid.

Seemingly content with what she had done, Alpha turned to Eldhi and shook the half-full vial with one hand. "Your turn, Eldhi!" Alpha laughed before tossing the vial for her friend to pour into the village's sole water source. "Isn't this so EXCITING?! I can't wait!"

@Eldhi

 

Just as Eldhi expected, the Kunoichi was totally excited to see her white-haired friend. The brunette's bored gloom vanishing in but an instant. She went from a crouching grump back to hyperactive ninja in less than a nanosecond. Fortunately, Eldhi was used to this, the correct thing to do was to not try calming her down, yet not be taken by her flow. Keep herself calm and let Alpha do her thing, within the reasons specified by the Overwatcher.

"I see..." However, the Justicar was having an incredibly hard time to see why lacing a random village's water supply was even the slightest bit of fun. If there was any deeper meaning to this, please, tell her, because Eldhi felt this whole endeavor was one big joke, not even a funny one. "I suggest we just skip to the slumber party." The knight kept her voice low, knowing the ninja girl wasn't even listening, once Alpha got excited, there was no stopping her.

"Uh... yeah." So they'd be staying in the very same village they would poison? An incredibly unwise move then again, what should she expect from Alpha? If worse came to worst, Eldhi could just heal the brunette should she 'accidentally' drink some of the spiked water.

Watching with indifference as Alpha poured down the purplish liquid, flowing down into the well accompanied by ominous smog. Definitely not the proper signs for a safe drinking water. Eldhi raised an eyebrow as the shorter girl went back to her, the knight absentmindedly caught the vial with her right hand, examining the contents. "My turn...?" Right, her friend shouldn't miss out of all the 'FUN', right?

"Urgh..." Not faking any enthusiasm, Eldhi uncorked the vial then dumped everything, not bothering to take it slow or enjoy the process as Alpha did. That done, she simply gave the empty vial back to the brunette. "What now?"

@Alphabet Chocolate

 

Alpha nimbly dodged out of the way, watching as the vial broke upon contact with the earthen floor with a whistle. It shattered into little tiny pieces and Alpha couldn't help but kneel down and collect a few of the glass shards for safekeeping. Maybe, in a few hundred years, a nuclear apocalypse would come about and, due to inflation, glass shards will be the new currency. She didn't doubt her logic. If, in the Fallout series, bottlecaps can become a source of riches then she was certain that pretty, shiny shards of glass could evolve the same way.

After she finished her latest course of action, Alpha stood on her very tiptoes and began to stretch from side-to-side, suppressing a yawn as she did so. Right afterward, she looked back at Eldhi with yet another one of her wide grins. "So, I heard this thing causes paranoia and stuff, right? And, well, there's not much to be paranoid about in this super small village. Soooo," Alpha drawled on, clacking her tongue against the roof of her mouth in mischievous glee.

She slowly pulled out her dagger and gave Eldhi a wink, cocking her head in the direction of the village. "Why don't we give them a bit of a start? I heard there's a group of bandits nearby. We can hang their heads on flagpoles and watch the chaos happen! It'll be an awesome show, Eldhi!" Alpha giggled and twirled. Suddenly, however, the glee slid off her face and a painfully solemn expression filtered through. She stared at Eldhi blank in the eye. "I think I really need to use the restroom right now," Alpha mustered out before she tried to take Eldhi's hand and drag her off to the nearest facility. It was an emergency, okay?! "We'll talk plans later, kay? First off, bathroom. Then? World domination, Eldhi!"

@Eldhi

 

Huffing, Eldhi watched in apathy as Alpha began recovering the glass shards. If she wanted them, why didn't she just catch it back? The Justicar knew the Kunoichi was more than capable to grab the vial before it fell. There must be a reason but not necessarily a logical one considering who she was.

While the brunette did her own thing, the knight's watchful red eyes never ceased to keep an overwatch of their surroundings. Being caught right now would carry avoidable consequences. No, she wasn't worried about them being found out, instead, she didn't want to deal with any corpses should Alpha decided to 'silence' the witnesses. "I have no idea." The white-haired girl shrugged, "You were the one who bought it." For an exorbitant amount of gold she might add.

"..." Right, did she just jinx herself? By imagining the Ninja Girl killing villagers to silence them, somehow the mischievous brunette read her mind and got the idea of stirring up trouble in the hamlet. "I'm not murdering innocents." Eldhi snapped even before Alpha could begin talking, her eyes dead serious. Whether Alpha changed her mind or it was her intentions all along, the Justicar appreciated that they'd be going after lawless scum instead. "Then they must die for their crimes." She didn't care about spreading paranoia to the village, if there were actual bandits out there, they must die in the name of Order. Whatever Alpha would do with their corpses next, behead them, display them on flagpoles, it was none of her concern.

"Well then, lead the wa-..." Her expression suddenly changed, oh what was it now? "Seriously?" Unbelieveable...

Damn, in all of her time spent in Terrasphere so far, Eldhi never even thought she'd have to literally wait outside a bathroom for a 'friend'. Come on, really? All of the skills she had built up until this point, used for nothing more than babysitting a hyperactive child. Granted, that 'child' could outperform and outmaneuver the Justicar with impunity but being better didn't excuse her behavior. She should be pursuing the Vermillion XIII's goals, not playing meaningless pranks. No, she refused to believe there was a deeper meaning to this activity, except for giving those bandits what they deserved.

"Are you done yet?" Right, even her patience had its limits.

@Alphabet Chocolate

 

Alpha stretched as a sliver of light shined through the gap between the walls of the public restroom. A slack, contented grin found itself on her relaxed face. A deep sigh and the closing of a door later, Alpha went over to greet Eldhi. She was in the middle of doing a shoulder stretch when Eldhi had finally addressed her. "Yuppers!" Alpha replied, looking as if all was good in the world and chocolate bars grew on deciduous trees. "Ah! There's no better feeling than eating, sleeping, and taking a bathroom break on an awesome road trip!"

She looked around, raising an arm over her eyes to shield her more light-sensitive ocular regions from the blistering sun. She clicked her tongue a few times, looking for something that wasn't there before she finally sighed, shoulders hunched. "I don't think there are any road maps here, anyways. Gah! How're we gonna find the bandit camp?!" Alpha whined, pouting her lips and kicking dust into the air.

And then a bright idea formed in her mind. She raised her hand over to point at the bickering smoke which wafted into the morning air with abandon. It was tinged a slight red and a shrill scream was heard for a second before it simmered down. Alpha tapped her feet, waiting impatiently, until that short bout of an interruption ceased. Sheesh. When will people learn not to scream over these sorts of things?

With that, Alpha snapped her fingers and winked at Eldhi, deliberately giving a few moments of dramatic tension before introducing her plan of action. A sly smirk replaced her more mellow one and there was a glint in her eye. She obviously thought her plan was an ingenious piece of work. The best, in fact.

"Why don't we investigate the smoke? I mean, it's probably a bandit camp or something...we could ask them for a map for directions!" Alpha concluded, shaking her hands (like one would in a jazz performance) as she delivered a lackluster solution. "Isn't that...uh, what's a big word for smart? Oh! Brilliant!"

@Eldhi

 

The kid was finally done with her business, great. What was the whole point of this? This was a virtual reality, she didn't actually have t-... gah, whatever! As long as she was done. "If only this is a 'road trip', huh Alpha?" Eldhi muttered, gritting her teeth. Now could they vanquish some bandits, please? "Urgh..." A facepalm then followed by a slow rub on her face as the Ninja, someone who was supposed to be a master at scouting and reconnaissance, complained about not having a map. By the Crimson Mistress! She was going to lose it!

"Alpha..." Eldhi took a deep breath, barely keeping herself from exploding, oh yes, one shouldn't mistake the Justicar's stoicism as limitless patience. Eldhi could be angry and when she did, heads and limbs were usually hacked off. "Listen, you're a Ninja, aren't you? Do what Ninja does best, scout out the bandits." Hell, Eldhi believed the younger girl could actually do it, if only she stopped her childish tantrums and think for once.

Okay, she appeared to be thinking now, then directed Eldhi's attention to a particular billowing smoke at some distance away. Was that the camp? The wail erupting from there was a good sign, they had kidnapped one of the peasant girls, a despicable act, all the more reason to slay them. "That's it then." Eldhi focused her gaze, she didn't care about some villager's fate, all she wanted was to send the bandits into hell, where their wicked souls shall be tortured for eternity. "Let's go." The Justicar headed towards the smoke, ignoring Alpha's rant and self-praise. Heh, would it be odd if her ego could match Trizzaldi the Tyrant Witch?

@Alphabet Chocolate

 

Alpha looked down from her perch on the tree to see a pair of bickering men waft smoke from their bonfire. A few rows of tents and the sounds of grumbling men and women laid hazardously around the general premises. It seemed to be a stereotypical set-up for typical, run-off-the-mill bandits. Or maybe a nomadic tribe. Same difference.

"So, what now Eldhi?" Alpha asked, dropping down from the branch to face her friend. Although the entire adventure had been her idea, the ordeal seemed to be a bit too much work. More than she was typically willing to put in. With Eldhi here, however, Alpha couldn't remain in that same whimsical mindset she'd always been in. She had to impress her friend and, as of thus, couldn't end her entire agenda prematurely. Curse her ADHD and terrible lack of an ability to follow through on things she'd planned.

She tossed a glance back over to the settlement of crooks and cutthroats. "I saw they had a pretty neat armory, you know? I really liked all the stuff there. Wanna go play around with some of it later?" Alpha suggested. Indeed, the quality and quantity of their weaponry caught Alpha's interest right away and Alpha couldn't help but give an appreciative whistle which had almost blown her cover. "So...justice, right? That's your big thing? I know! How bout we go make a giant courtroom later! Like, we can keep some of them alive and then we'd have this awesome courtroom battle and then we'd have public executions and fireworks and everything! Wouldn't that be so fun?!"

Alpha was certainly enthusiastic with her newfound idea, twirling and smiling without a care in the world as she thought of the possibilities. Unfortunately, she soon remembered the task at hand and gave a little pout. "Okay, maybe after the entire 'poison-the-entire-town' shindig! Oooh, or maybe we can do both at the same time!"

Just as she had said that, however, a throwing knife was flung in her general direction, landing a mere foot to the right of her. Obviously, the assailant was not very accurate. Alpha looked up to see a thin, scraggy looking man stare back at them in distaste. A few moans and questions of inquisitive natures resounded around the camp as footsteps were heard. "What is it now, Scrumps?"

The man, now name Scrumps, gave the two a vicious glare. "Lookie here, I found some bugs listenin' in. I bet they were just ready to scram...well, guess they'd have to try without any legs n' feet when we're done with 'em!"

 

With Alphabet's little 'business' done, they could head to the bandit camp proper. Eldhi could feel tingles traveling down her spine at the prospect of cleansing the world of yet another bandit scum. She would restore Order in Terrasphere though righteous vengeance, one criminal at a time. No matter if they were typical bandits, pirates, or even Aesirs, all felons were the same in her eyes. They broke the law, they oppressed the innocent, therefore, they deserved nothing more than a swift death.

"Now, we exterminate them." Saber answered curtly as the brunette landed in front of her, the Justicar simply swiveled a bit to walk past her, not stopping her tracks in the slightest. "You may procure their ill-gained possessions, Alpha, what I want most is their lives. However, if you find any Prism Gems, please give them to me so I may take it to Mistress." Her hand went to the crystalline azure longsword strapped to her back, testing its grip.

"Hmph." The white-haired knight chuckled slightly, admitting she was amused at this particular idea of Alpha's, while usually nonsensical and random, Alpha could have rare moments of wisdom. Whether she realized it or not was another story altogether. "I am the Judge, Jury, and Executioner, Alpha. Bandits don't deserve a hearing, they shall be judged right where they stand with the only punishment they deserve, death." She paused for a moment, "Still, I suppose we can do that once we have the time." Yep, didn't she have a village to poison? "Heh, thought as much."

"...!!" Saber pursed her lips, red eyes wide opened in high alert as a glint entered her vision. A throwing blade, so the bandits had seen them. Good, she would want them to look at her in the eyes just before she send them to hell! Right hand went to her sword, brandishing The Judicator as the azure edge shone golden with her holy light. The light that'd sear the lawbreaker's flesh and turn their bones to dust!

Divine Edge

"Hyah!!" Not even letting the scrawny man finish, Eldhi immediately made a wide swing at Scrump's neck, her enchanted sword cleanly cutting through skin, flesh, jugular, and spine as she beheaded him. His head flew off the shoulders as his lanky body thudded against the ground. "..." Taking a deep breath, Eldhi turned her zealous gaze at his cohorts, who were now shouting and brandishing their weapons. Without another word, the Justicar charged forward, fearlessly towards the bandits.

If Alphabet wished to assist her, good, if she wished to do something else, that was fine. Regardless, justice would be done that day.

@Alphabet Chocolate

 

Alpha whistled as the bandits screamed and ran for mercy, their shouts echoing throughout the forest until there was a complete stillness. The sound of splitting flesh and spilling blood had been typical as of late and Alpha hadn't really noticed until all of it was over. Oh! A leather-clothed woman who was currently lying in the pool of her own blood had just twitched a bit. Odd. Maybe she was still alive? Maybe she's a zombie? Who knows? Alpha wanted to give her a poke and fiddle with her a bit more but, as the woman reached for her blade with a shivering arm, she knew she couldn't let a possible danger to Eldhi remain. The fact that Eldhi was very much capable of wiping out a paltry group of low-life bandits remained ignored as she picked up her dagger and burrowed it into the back of the woman's neck. Her victim barely felt it as is and her face dropped back to the floor, smothered by red liquid and soggy mud.

"Wowee!" Alpha whistled, playing a small game of Hopscotch as she leaped from corpse to corpse, bouncing atop their bodies like they were simple floor tiles. She examined a few of them thoroughly before she leaned down and grabbed a mop of blonde hair. There was a gurgled groan and it was obvious the man wouldn't live long with his fatal injuries. Regardless, Alpha inspected the man's face from side-to-side, fingering his cheekbones and chin with a critical eye. "I really don't wanna get on your bad side, Eldhi! This guy, though...He's kinda cute! He'd be the best head-on-a-stick ever seen!" she enthused with an innocent grin, looking down into the terrified, wild eyes and muffled screams of the handsome bandit. SNIKT!

Her blade cut a gruesome mark around the man's neck and, standing up from her crouched position, she raised the decapitated head eagerly for Eldhi to see. Blood dripped from the bottom as she waved it around with a grin, splashing the liquid all over the scene. "Looks like we're done here!"

An Unnamed Village in Dunnstads
24 hours later...

"Look at that guy go, Eldhi!" Alpha laughed from her perch atop a roof of a house as a man weaved through the buildings with a mob on his trail. She looked around with fascination and tapped Eldhi's shoulder a few more times before pointing to the town center. Already, in such a short amount of time, a gallows was constructed out of shoddy material alongside the head of the bandit. A flimsy rope hung and, along the lines of trees that made up the village's flora, were a dozen hanging bodies. Alpha giggled appreciatively, slapping Eldhi's back in good humor. "Those guys're just...hanging around!" she hollered, laughing at her own inane pun. "It's just amazing what people can do in, like, a day!"

She took a bite from the cob of corn she had stockpiled. What a sight to be seen. Well, for the next several hours anyways. Alpha was a creature that thrived on surprises and novelty, after all.

@Eldhi

 

After around more than half of their numbers fell to the Justicar's searing azure blade, the bandits began to realize the deceptively powerful might of the slender girl before them. Her slim arms wielded the crystalline claymore, an oversized thing for someone of her stature, with apparent ease. She plowed her way through the bandit's ranks, cold, calculating gaze in her red eyes as if she was performing a menial task with ruthless efficiency.

Bravery turned to terror, anger turned to fear as the robbers fell apart, their morale utterly shattered. What remained of the ragtag group scrammed for their pathetic lives. "Hmph..." The white-haired knight launched a few crescent waves of light to finish off those she could reach. Only a handful managed to escape. They would trouble the village no longer. Should they foolishly return to their wrongful ways, rest assured, she would find them and she would slay them like the vermin they were.

While parts of her armor were caked in blood, Eldhi's azure sword remained clean due to all clinging flesh and liquid being purified by the light. She dimmed the glow then sheathed the weapon before turning back to check on Alpha. The plucky brunette was literally hopping from corpse to copse as if she was a skipping stone on a sea of blood. "Heh..." The taller girl chuckled in slight amusement as the Kunoichi inspected a dying bandit, just like Alpha, always toying with everyone. "Kill him already." The Justicar shrugged, there was no need to prolong their suffering really, the only good bandit was a dead bandit.

The ever-mischievous Alphabet Chocolate decided to... literally cut his head off his shoulders, using the detached cranium as a toy sack. "..." Eldhi heaved another sigh at Alpha's antics. Well, let her have fun, in the meantime... she should search their stash.

Moments later...
Disappointingly, the bandits had nothing of value, mere random assortments of various arms, leather armor, and other objects. No Prism Gems or Shards, well she shouldn't expect much from these fodder anyway. If she could take them on her lonesome, that was already a testament to their frailty. Nevertheless, Justice had been served, they were done here.

---

One day later.

"Nnngh..." Eldhi was visibly not as elated as Alpha, staring with a rather deadpan look from her rooftop perching position, sat beside her 'BFF'. The shady concoction had turned the villagers into a paranoid bunch. The angry mob was chasing after one of the surviving bandits after he was ratted out, hungry to capture then hang him at the town center.

The square had been turned into an execution ground as bandit heads were served on pikes, bodies hanging. Most of them were the very same robbers Eldhi had slain the previous day, so they were giving capital punishment to corpses, another sign they were losing their minds. Well, as long as their victims were criminals, Eldhi had little qualms with it. "Alpha..." The Justicar could barely hold back a chuckle at the young girl's incredibly lame pun. "Well, I wonder who's responsible for that, hmm?" Eldhi smirked a little, red pupils staring accusingly to her friend's blue eyes.

Anyways, she was done here and Alpha had her fun, "We should go back." The Justicar decided, standing up as she used the Rose embedded on her right shoulder to open up a Manor portal. "There's nothing left for us here." The white-haired girl shrugged as she stepped into it, not overly concerned whether Alpha followed her or not.

@Alphabet Chocolate[/B]