Alice extended her hand and called Raffi's name. Yet no voice was produced. Nor did she close the distance between them.
Raffi, what's wrong?
Why do you look so melancholic?
It's me, Alice.
I'm right here.
With that thought, Alice was struck with a start.
–Alice.
Alice, who is Alice?
Could it be?
… It is not something I should be thinking about.
It's something I shouldn't be aware of…
That is, I ought not to realize it.
Alice.
Perhaps it was the name of "another" person who was not me…
–Iberis with the "same face" stuck in her brain.
The name Alice was the name of another person.
Could it be… "it's not me"…?
Then…
Then what am I?
"Who" the hell am I?
Her hair stirred with a rustle. Her agitation intensified, causing her to struggle for breath.
–I'm not… I'm not "Alice"…?
She realized it. And then she became aware of it.
Looking at "Raffi" in front of her, she read between the lines.
Yes, I am not "Alice".
This person before me is not calling my name.
He is calling another Alice.
"This is all I can do for now…"
He tapped a button on the machine and dropped to his knees.
Then he continued in a pained voice. "The hospital also sent a rescue request for you. But the communication was cut off some time ago. People in this world can't even log out freely anymore. But…"
There was the sound of gnashing of teeth.
"I was able to interfere with the system and tamper with it a bit to save you somewhere out there. I can't control it, but… maybe I can figure it out before the demise of Apocrypha."
That was when Raffi said that much, he turned around as if he had been shot. Then he stepped back.
Sliding her gaze to where his face was facing, Alice gasped. There stood a huge man, over two meters tall, his body stretched out.
His head was not that of a human. He had the face of a fierce beast… a lion. His mane flowed beautifully down his back; his eyes were red, bloodshot. His muscular body was clad in a black suit. With a click of his boot heels, the large lion-headed man began to approach the mosaic-headed youth.
"Jabberwock… Why are you here…?"
Soon after, the man addressed as Jabberwock stood in front of the young man and seized his head. Then, with a strange sound, he lifted his body, using the head as a fulcrum.
He gave a muffled voice back to him as he flailed. "There you are… navigator…"
After tossing the young man aside like a piece of trash and slamming him to the ground, the Jabberwock turned his body towards the machine.
"S… Stop…"
The youth… "Raffi" struggled to squeeze out his voice.
"Don't…! If you destroy it, there's no going back! Hell will break loose!"
"Hell…?" The Jabberwock laughed and then raised his fist. "Bring it on."
◇
Blasting the gas pedal of the air bike, which was floating slightly off the ground, Iberis maneuvered it with a seasoned touch. One person and one animal were riding a rugged motorcycle through the forest at a terrific speed. There was a gush of compressed air coming from the back of the bike.
"Are you sure it's this way!"
Raffi yelled in her ear, and Iberis raised her voice as she maneuvered the handlebar.
"I can sense her Bandersnatch wavelength. We're almost there!"
Raffi swallowed his words through gritted teeth as he remained stuck to Iberis' shoulder.
Stay safe… Alice…!
A little further on from there, however, Iberis brought the bike to a sudden stop. He was almost swept off his feet, and Raffi hastily clung back to her shoulder.
"What's going on!"
"… Shh," Iberis said softly, silencing Raffi, then stopped the bike and landed on the ground on shimmering legs. Then, keeping her breath down as if to eliminate any sign of her presence, she began to move forward, concealing herself behind a tree. After a few steps, she stopped, crouched down on the ground, and peered through a gap in the bushes to the other side. When Raffi caught sight of it, he gasped.
From a distance, he could discern that Alice was lying on her back, her nose and blood spattered on the ground. Her eyes seemed to be open, but her reactions were hollow. It was as if her consciousness was absent.
Tweedledee, one of the Twins, was stomping on Alice's head. The other one, Tweedledum, was stroking Alice's body with a sickening smile on his face.
"What the…?" Raffi said in a small voice.
"What have they done to her…? She seems to be unconscious…"
"Do you know those Twins, Seventh?"
Iberis asked in a whisper, and Raffi shook his head.
"The only ones I know are certain Nightmares. I barely know anything about Tweedledee and Tweedledum."
"I see…"
She pondered in response.
"What are you doing? You've got to help Alice quickly!"
"I can list a million reasons why I can't get close to them, but it's mainly because of the twins' abilities. Look." Iberis reached out a hand and gestured at Alice. "There are signs of nosebleeds and coughing up blood, but no other external injuries. Yet I don't see any sign of the Bandersnatch. That would mean she's unconscious."
"So the Bandersnatch's survival instincts aren't kicking in either?"
"Apparently so. That means she suffered a fatal wound with almost no external injuries." Iberis took a breath. "This is tricky… I was slightly concerned when you said she was summoned all the way out here. It seems that the Twins' Seventh and that girl's powers are highly incompatible. If we get too close to them, they'll likely get us too."
"What do we do…?"
"It's fine… Maybe I'm the right match for this."
Iberis said and put her hand in her pocket.