Jumping out of my seat, I try to run after Raven, but I get caught by Will. "Calm down, Samurai. Do you even have a plan? Or do you know what could happen when they find out someone has followed him? Ravne clearly knew who sent this message, so we should be careful."
Pushing me back in the seat, he scratches his side again. "So, who gave you this file?"
"Lilith, you know her?" Sighing deeply, he heads upstairs to the second floor. "So the Witch is doing something again." Going after him, Ella and I see him pull a briefcase from beneath the bed.
Opening it, he reveals a dark blue military uniform, with two clearly tied-up barbed wires.
"Dad! You said you wouldn't fight again! Last time you were bedridden for a week!" Laughing, he takes off his shirt revealing a huge scar on his side.
[My master got hit in the side with a powerful ice blow.] Remembering what Tess said, I look at Ella's dad, "Will, you're the Wired William! The Wired Commander!" Chuckling a bit, he puts on his dark shirt. "Yeah, but now I'm just an old fossil of the past, hell! I'm almost in my 50s."
Tieing his tie, he turns to me. One wouldn't even recognize him as an owner of a waffle shop. His medals shine brightly in the light, while his rough bearded face now looks full of determination.
"Ken, let's get Raven."
"STOP! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING?! Why are you listening to what a piece of paper says? Hell! What makes you think Raven even needs to be rescued?"
Turning to me, I see Will smile. "Ella, us men are so simple that if a rock told us to jump off a cliff we would do it." Wrapping his hand around me, he starts to push me out of the room.
"Anyway, my great daughter! Your old man is bored! So he's gonna take your boyfriend out for a run!" Turning red, Ella gets too lost in her thoughts giving us enough time to escape from her.
Running out of the main door, I raise my hand for a high-five. "That was genius! Calling me her boyfriend absolutely shocked her!" Turning to me confused he asks. "Wait! You're not her boyfriend?!"
Coming to a stop, I look at Will. "No? What even gave that idea?"
Raising his hand in confusion, he shakes them in the air. "I don't know?! The fact that my daughter is hugging you and whispering in your ear?!" Telling him she's just a friend, we argue for a bit before Will finally waves his hand.
"Fuck it!" Just make sure to be nice to her." Hearing him whisper about grandkids, I let it go as we had to catch up with Raven.
.....
Arriving at the address, Raven stretches his body. Standing in front of an old apartment complex. He takes a step on its surrounding soil only to feel the dread. Having the air sucked out of his lungs, Raven's vision begins to dilate. As if the ground itself was split apart, vines covered in thorns explode from beneath.
Wrapping themselves around Raven, they anchor him to the ground.
"Ra~ven~" Hearing his name called from the inside, he tries to move but the vines don't budge. "And here I hoped we could talk normally." Exhaling loudly, his breath looks like fog on a cold winter night.
Covering his entire body and the vines that hold him down, a loud shattering sound could be heard. Fixing his scarf, Raven walks out of the fog. Dusting his clothes off any remaining frozen vines stuck to him, he asks.
"So? Who called?" Some thorns try to stop him from coming any closer, but the seconds they come close their bodies turn into ice and shatter. Entering the apartment complex he finds the inside walls missing. Only the pillars supporting the floors above are intact.
"We really need to stop building things out of paper." Walking over some shard of glass, he sees a large hole in the middle of the ceiling. Looking up, he sees it leading all the way to the roof.
Seeing something fall, Raven jumps back ready to fight anything that could appear. It's the body of a dark-haired woman, with skin pale as the snow. Walking closer, it's as if Raven's magic has turned on him.
His body freezes not allowing him to move, even though vines start to wrap around his legs.
"A-Alice?" Looking at a woman who looks like a copy of his love, he sees the body, shake and inflate. Exploding in a grotesque way, Raven would have been thrown back if not for the vines binding him down.
Looking at his hands, he sees bits of flesh stuck to his skin. Turning to the body, he sees the head being suspended in the air by the vines.
"Fascinating right? To think a bit of flesh from your love would allow the black rose to recreate a carbon copy!" Turning to the woman with golden hair, Ravne's eyes shake at the sight.
"L-Lilith?" Spreading her arms, she walks forward. "Of course! It's me! Who else would take the time to torment you in such a way?"
Peeling off a bit of the skin stuck to her shoe, she smiles widely.
"Let me introduce you to
Artificial Living Intelligent Carbon Existence! A.L.I.C.E for short! Isn't she beautiful!?" Taking deep breaths, Raven slowly closes his eyes.
"Don't ignore me, this black rose was merged with the flesh of the original Alice, Black Rose. The flower which granted us the power of Sephs! And the only living organism that can accept anything!"
Moving her hand across the severed hand held up only by the vines, she chuckles.
"Think of it like this Raven. I'm trying to bring your love back to life. This flower managed to fuze the infected humans with the meat they ate. Creating the Depraved Monsters!"
Losing her cold, she coughs into her hand.
"Anyway, why should this be any different? Help me, Raven, with my and your intellect we will unravel the science behind the Sephs! The power to change reality itself! This flower is the key! Help me! And-"
Finally, close enough to Raven, he slams his head against her nose. "Fuck you! And fuck everything you stand for! I'm gonna mutilate you until even your mother won't recognize you!"
Tensing his muscles, the thorns of the vines dig into his flesh. Ripping his sleeves part, blood starts to drip from his hold body until....
*Snap!*
And like that, Raven was loose.