Location: 244 Peach Street

Time: Tokino-48 year (2108), Jan. 4 (Wed) 14:24

“Do we really have to do this? I’m really not in the mood for this.”

The person talking was a woman, a little taller than me. She had bags under her eyes matching her terrible posture.

“Of course we have to. It’ll be kilciting. Completely fascintaining. Just give it a try, Mock.”

The young man to her left was energetically tugging on her sleeve.

“No. It will be terrible. Everything in my life is terrible. Why does everyone else get to be so happy?”

“Listen lady, things haven’t been smooth sailing for me either.”

The third member of their group was an older man. The jacket he wore was familiar to me. I think it was from the BAA.

“Oh, it’s Agent something or other from the BAA. I’d say I’m sorry for forgetting your name, but I don’t have the energy to lie right now. I figured you were working with them from the beginning. Are you going to run away again? We already know I won’t chase you.” It sounded like Oliver was familiar with the older man.

“Unfortunately not. Thanks to you and that Number things become complicated. I feel like I’m going to spend the rest of my career backing these people up.”

“No, I wouldn't worry about it. You do understand that I’m going to kill the three of you right here, right?”

“Of course we know. Well, I know. I shouldn’t speak for the others. You’re Oliver Oldridge. You’ve come to save your sister, but we’re in the way. You’ll have to kill us to get to her.” The depressed woman answered Oliver.

“Can you stop thinking of me as the depressed woman? I might be a little down, but calling me depressed isn’t helping.”

I didn’t say that out loud, did I? How did she know what I was thinking? Besides, I didn’t have anything else to call her.

“You could try using my name.” She did it again, and I didn’t have a name to use.

“I guess you’re right. I forgot to tell you, but you’re equally at fault for never asking. I’m the Mock Turtle, but it seems like most people just use Mock. The guy pulling on my sleeve is Jabberwock, and the BAA employee is the Cheshire Cat. Obviously those are code names. For some reason our leader really loves to give out themed code names.”

Even if they were code names, was it really smart to be giving them out so easily?

“It’s fine to give you our names. It’s not like we’re hiding our faces or anything. I’ve been listening to Oliver. Either we end up dead, or you do. There’s no reason to hide anything at this point.”

I didn’t like it. That woman, Mock, kept responding to my thoughts. She looked away from me and back toward Oliver.

“No, we don’t have any plans like that. I realized the girl was valueless as soon as the duchess brought her back. I just wanted to see if anyone would come for her. She’s tied up in one of the guest rooms, but you already knew that.”

“Oliver, that woman can read our minds. Don’t think anything unnecessary.”

“Too late. Oliver Oldridge. He’s got a sound based augmentation. He can amplify sounds upwards of 200 decibels, which creates a shock wave that is lethal to humans. He also likes to create shock waves to propel his body. He’s not immune to the sounds he makes, actually, he’s more vulnerable than a normal person. As long as you stick close to him he shouldn’t be able to hurt you.”

“And you, Kamiya Kanon. She can summon traditional Japanese monsters and spirits to fight for her. She’s also capable of having them possess her body, giving her their abilities and features. However, she is unable to summon more than one type at a time.”

She already knew everything. I’d never heard of someone who could read minds to such an extent.

“That’s what I’d expect from Mock. Now we know all the infortails about them. Although it takes away some of the fustery if you tell us their weaknesses.” I was by no means an expert on the language, but Jabberwock seemed to be making up words.

“Their current plan seems to involve getting us to go outside. Kanon made it rain. Oliver thinks he will have the advantage if we go outside. He’s probably right. Make sure you stay in the house.” Mock had our plan completely figured out.

Oliver started laughing.

“No, no, I’m sorry. It’s just, now that I know Olivia is safe I can’t help but feel relieved. And as for the mind reading, it doesn’t really matter. Hey, Mock, if you’ve been reading my mind there must have been one thought you’ve had to read a bunch.”

“You’re going to kill us.”

“Bingo.”

Oliver snapped his fingers at his side, and once again, I didn’t hear anything.

Cracks started to form in the wall that was behind the three of them, but their bodies were nowhere to be seen.

“Kanon, move, they’re behind us.”

Oliver yelled out to me and I instinctively jumped forward. I could feel a rush of air coming from behind me. I must have just barely avoided being hit. I turned around to see Jabberwock rushing toward me. His arm was glowing bright green, covered by a similarly colored liquid.

“Ashi-magari.”

I didn’t have time to think before summoning the spirit. Jabberwock stopped running and almost fell over. I looked to his feet, they’d been completely covered and stuck to the floor by what looked like a big ball of cotton. While I was looking down I noticed a drop of the liquid around his arm fall to the ground. It splashed against the floor, but that’s it.

“That’s an annosome technique you have. If I were anyone else this could be a problem, but thankfully, I’m me.”

Jabberwock’s legs started glowing the same way his arms were. The ashi-magari around his feet started to sizzle and burn away.

“My acid burns away everything I don't like. Isn’t that great? Oh, that one stayed the same. I was trying to combine great and neat, but it just stayed great.”

The liquid was an acid, and it only dissolved what he wanted it too. It also seemed like he could produce it from anywhere on his body. I’d only seen it from the arms and legs, but I was prepared for it to come from anywhere.

Although it didn’t look like he could project it away from his body. He didn’t try to use a ranged attack on me when I had his feet bound, and he only attempted physical attacks. His acid was dangerous, but if I could keep my distance I should be fine.

Jabberwock started running at me again. It shouldn’t have been hard to avoid him. I got ready to move away, but he disappeared. Where did he-

I could hear his acid dissolving something. I ducked down and rolled to my right.

“Ahh.”

I felt an intense pain coming from my left shoulder. It took all I had to not scream louder. I looked back to where I was. Jabberwock was standing there.

“How impresful. I thought I was going to melt right through you, but I only ended up burning your shoulder a little bit.”

A little bit? A swath of my jacket and shirt had been burned away, and the skin underneath was black. There was a slight depression in my shoulder where he actually made contact.

He didn’t move behind me. It was some kind of teleportation. Teleportation was too different from his acid, it couldn’t have been his own ability. Mock can read minds, so it had to be the other one, the BAA employee, Cheshire.

So mock read their opponents’ minds, Cheshire teleported everyone around, and Jabberwock burned them away. It’s also possible Mock could communicate with them mentally. That would explain how Cheshire knew where and when to teleport Jabberwock even though he wasn’t watching him.

I needed to stop thinking. The more I analyzed the situation the more of a handle Mock got on what I was going to do.

It seemed like Oliver was off fighting Mock and Cheshire somewhere else in the house. I’d have to leave them to him.

I charged toward Jabberwock. I didn’t have a plan, but having one wouldn’t help me. He disappeared again. Without thinking, I turned around and punched behind me. Jabberwock appeared there as my fist drove into his stomach. He obviously wasn’t expecting the hit and fell backwards.

I don’t need to think. The martial arts lessons Father forced me into were finally paying off. The motions had been ingrained into my body.

“I wasn’t expecting you to catch on so quickly. Hatta was right, you people are better than I thought.”

His entire body started to glow

“But that’s the only time I’m going to let you touch me.”

A thin layer of acid covered his entire body, but I was already expecting something like that. As long as I was careful it wouldn’t make a difference. I couldn’t let him touch me, and I couldn’t think about what I was going to do in advance.

“Complete possession: kitsune.”

Unlike with the ame-onna, I was experienced with the kitusne. Well, maybe not quite experienced, but at least I knew how to properly use it. Fox ears grew from the top of my head and two tails sprouted from my back. I was glad no one else was around to see it.

“So that’s the possession Mock was talaining about. A kitsune? A fox spirit that can transform into a young woman. Proficient in physical combat and can control flames. The number of tails represent the kitsune’s overall strength.”

He knew that much? Mock must have been filling Jabberwock in on the details.

“Only two tails though? A bit disappointing.”

“Shut up already!”

Jabberwock disappeared, and I took a step back. He appeared right above where I was standing and fell to the ground. He tried to grab at my legs, but I covered my lower half with flames and kicked him away.

My instinct was correct. His acid was dangerous, but it was still a liquid. My fire could evaporate it.

“I’ll just make more acid. Your fire will never reach my skin.”

“Maybe, but I’ve got no choice but to try.”

I started launching a barrage of fire at Jabberwock. It was barbaric, but I was trying not to think.

“You know, I learned something today.”

I was talking to make sure I didn’t accidentally think about anything important.

“You should never rely on a single weapon. They’re meant to support your strength, not become your strength.”

Jabberwock was trying to close the distance, but even with the teleportation he was unable to touch me. Just like me, he was inexperienced. He didn’t know how to take advantage of the tools he’d been given.

“What are you trying to say?” His voice was starting to show clear signs of agitation.

“I’m not sure. But I think he was telling me to look at the situation as a whole, not to focus on myself. I should never assume I know what’s coming next. I shouldn’t put all my faith behind my spirits, just like you shouldn’t put your faith behind that acid. Every situation is different, you have to adapt.”

The room was getting humid from all the evaporated acid. I hadn't considered it, but it seemed safe to inhale. He could only control the acid he was touching.

I needed to keep creating moisture.

I needed to do something they couldn’t predict, and that meant doing something that I couldn't predict myself.

“Duel possession: yuki-onna.”

The air around me cooled and my body was covered in an ethereal kimono, made of tiny ice crystals.

“A yuki-onna. A Japanese monster typically represented by a beautiful woman. It can control ice. Well known for never forgetting and never letting go.” Mock was still feeding him information.

“But wait, no, that’s not right. You’re still the kitsune. Mock said it earlier, you can only be possessed by one. I don’t understand. Mock doesn’t understand.” It seemed like he was concentrating on the fight too much to keep up with his made up words.

I continued to evaporate his acid, while simultaneously freezing all the vapor in the air into ice.

“I’ve never fought before, so this is all new to me. But I’ve already received the most important lesson, well worth the cost of being humiliated. I need to be constantly learning, evolving beyond the person I was before. I can’t stay content with what I have. I should always assume there’s something better. Your outdated information won’t do you any good. And trying to gather new information is pointless, because even I don’t know how much I can improve. That’s what it means to grow.”

I launched all the ice I’d created toward Jabberwock. His acid started dissolving the outer layers, but the frozen mass of his own evaporated acid was too thick. Three of the larger chucks smashed into him before he could melt them.

His body was sent careening into the wall. It must have been weakened by Oliver’s initial attack, because he was thrown through it and into the next room. Jabberwock landed beside a bathtub, with his arm inside. It was filled with water.

His acid wasn’t reacting to the water. He wasn’t trying to dissolve it.

Without thinking, I froze all of the water in the bathtub. His arm and the acid around it were frozen with the water before either of us had a chance to realize what was happening.

He tried to melt it off, but I kept refreezing it.

“Hey, why won't it melt? I keep melting it but it comes bagain.”

“Because I’m being diligent. I won’t let this ice melt.”

First Alec and then Deputy Chief Kaldsen. I felt a little guilty for shamelessly stealing their lines.

“I’m not letting you move again. You’re still young, give yourself up.”

Jabberwock continued to try and melt the ice. His augmentation couldn’t help him. All it could do was melt the ice, not destroy the particles themselves. As long as I continued to refreeze it the total amount of ice stayed the same.

“Stop trying. You’re just wasting energy at this point. You’re trapped.”

“No. Imposver. Even if I can’t melt it, Cheshire can teleport me away.”

“You shouldn’t try that. Your arm has been frozen in the ice for too long. You said it yourself, a yuki-onna never lets go. If Mock is still reading my mind you should know I’m not lying when I say this: I have no idea what will happen if you teleport out of it.”

“Then let’s find out.” Most of Jabberwock disappeared, but I could still see his arm in the ice.

A high-pitched scream came from behind me. I turned around to see Jabberwock on his knees, clutching at where his arm used to be. Blood was gushing from the wound and tears were pouring down his face.

I never felt worse about being right. He shouldn’t have tried teleporting.

Jabberwock was no longer protecting himself with his acid. He’d descended into a hysteric fit. I was lucky the Deputy Chief chose someone like Alec to be my first opponent. If things played out even slightly differently I’d have been the one screaming, unable to understand how I lost.

It certainly looked painful, but at least it was a treatable injury. If I stopped the bleeding he would survive long enough to get treatment.

As I was debating whether it would have been better to cauterize or freeze his wound I felt the yuki-onna’s influence rush through me.

He tried to run.

He couldn’t be trusted.

He had his chance.

He was supposed to stay mine.

I’d have to deal with him for good.

It was time to end his suffering. I froze some of the blood spraying out of him into a spike, then sent it back through his body. It pierced his heart and came back out his right shoulder.

His screaming stopped, but for some reason I could still heat it.