V.I.R.A.L

Chapter 173: Live Life

"I find it so amusing. You Anti-Humans never cease to surprise me. Truly each and every time." Alice woke to that voice one from which she recognised so dearly yet couldn't make out in the slightest. A tall, slender man in an old magician's outfit sat idly next to her. Flicking his long silver hair, he chuckled. "It's almost like looking into a mirror. You look almost identical to her it's unreal. My dearly departed sister Eve."

"You're… Adam Berry."

"Why yes, I most certainly am. I don't go by that name much anymore. Address me as Bargaining if you may."

"Where am I?" Alice questioned, looking around an old worn-down park with each of the swings and slides rusted, falling apart. "An old memory. One growing up in the Garden the day before we broke through the seal and escaped. That's when everything changed. Do you remember?"

Alice held her head uncomfortable. "The memory sounds familiar, although I cannot see any clear picture."

Bargaining nodded swaying back and forth on the swing. "That's to be expected. Sharing the same body with my sister can cause difficulty in remembering everything."

Alice stood up, patting herself down. "I have no interest in speaking to her brother. I wish to return to my own life."

Bargaining stopped looking puzzled. "Well, that might be a tiny winy bit difficult. Impossible, in fact."

"And why's that?"

"Well, for starters you're dead Alice."

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Alice heard those words ring through her ears as everything went blurry. She began stumbling backwards, falling onto the bottom of the slide. "No, that's, that's ridiculous. I cannot be dead."

"Oh, but I'm afraid you are little Alice. Killed by your own sister in fact. A pity and now the Garden will return, and all of this will be for fucking nothing." Bargaining hissed. "Tch. What can be done? 400 years of planning wasted."

Alice shook her head, not believing a word. "I do not believe anything that comes from your mouth. I took your sister back. Freed mine of salvation the Garden should stop."

"You're not wrong there. I sorta lied, you're not totally dead. It's like somewhere in the middle. Your soul has died and is lingering in limbo while Eve is still in control. Until you two swap places the Garden is still a go."

"How do I swap back? There has to be away!"

"Nay sister. There is no other way."

Alice gave it a thought for a while coming up with anything that comes to mind. "Let's make a deal then. Swap places and I'll do what you say. That's got to work."

Bargaining chuckled at the thought, shaking his head. "While I admire your determination, little Alice, we cannot make deals."

"You made a deal with Alton no? I heard about that, it's not a problem even if I'm a Child of the Garden."

"Alton Brantley is a strange case I must admit. A seal doesn't work on our true kind. But it's a little more complicated. If one of our kind like myself becomes a seal, they too can use it on others. I can use my seal on Children of the Garden, yes. But you see you are more than that. You are a seal yourself. The last semblance of Salvation, all be it much, much weaker. Given a little while longer, the seal would have faded from you. As long as you hold Salvation under your belt, any seal is cancelled out by your own. One inconvenience after another. Might have been amusing making a pact with my sister's vessel as well… A real bloody shame."

"So that's it? We just give up?"

"I mean you are more than welcome to. I'll be returning to your world soon and ridding the world of Anti-Human filth. Then it's off to Fairy-Tale." Bargaining grumbles kicking the floor. "Guess I'll have to salvage what little I have left from you."

"I refuse to give up ever!"

Bargaining rolled his eyes, walking over to Alice sighing. "Did you not just hear what I said? Do I have to spell it out for you? You've lost it! L. O. S. T. Lost. In a matter of hours, Victoria will fall, and your friends in team Rhapsody will all die. And soon your lost soul will fade into nothing. The fucking end."

"Even if that's the case. If even there is no chance in winning, I refuse to let the people who showed me so much kindness, care and love, die."

Bargaining covered his eyes as a bright light emitted from Alice's hand. Bargaining walked over, snatching her grip looking at her palm. His was left dumbfounded. Indented in the palm of Alice's hand was a small symbol. An open book and a four-pointed star in the middle. "What sort of madness is this… This cannot be true. The sign of fairy-tale."

Alice glanced at her hand, feeling a warm sensation. "It the same feeling again… The one I felt when Alton and I came together."

Bargaining looked deeply shocked as he stepped back chuckling. "The rumours? They actually hold a piece of merit? This can't possibly be. Could we actually be the fallen angels or Fairy-Tale? My, my, what fun. What absolute fun."

Alice felt something tug at her as she was pulled into the air before falling back down. "What the?"

Bargaining smirked smugly swinging again. "It appears that not all is a loss. Luck might just be on my side after all… I must apologise little Alice it appears the land of the living isn't quite done with you yet."

Alice was lifted in the air once more floating more and more. "What are you talking about?"

"Why a miracle, of course. Yours and Alton's connection to Fairy-Tale are bringing you back. I knew the rumours of that race to be highly regarded, but I never thought it to be true."

"What rumours?!"

"Why the biggest discovery in history. Eternal life. You've earned yourself a victory today Alice but just know this. Sooner or later, the Garden will return whether you like it or not. And when that time comes, I will come for my sister and pry her from your cold dead hands. And with that, I bid you ado. Give Alton my regards."

****

"What witchcraft is this?!" Gale blustered watching Alice floating in the air alongside Alton who looked just as confused.

Zinnia stopped Gale's blabbering looking unsure. "Could it possibly be?"

Alton felt a tear in his soul as his body jerked up, and the fairy-tale symbol appeared on his chest. The light glowed following the same symbol appearing with Alice. The entire area was distorted in a light completely countering the Garden's darkness. The cracks began to seal, and the dreadful sky-piercing anew. As the light faded, both Alton and Alice lay on the floor. Coughing Alton lifted his head up groaning. "Never doing that again."

"What did you do?" Iris muttered dazed.

"I… I have no idea? It was almost like I somehow knew to do that. A feeling came over me and then I saw Alice, so I reached out…"

Alice gasped out, jolting up in a frenzied look scaring the life out of Iris and Alton. The two sisters stared at each other in disbelief as Iris crawled over holding her hand out conflicted. "Alice, is that you?"

"The Alice… I mean, I am here."

Iris didn't need anything else to convince her as she jumped on Alice, holding tightly, refusing to ever let go as the waterworks began. "I thought I lost you for good there! Don't ever do that to me again."

Alice smiled, digging her head into Iris. "I'm sorry for everything. I know how you felt, the jealousy. The feeling of being left behind. I promise you I'll never allow that to happen again."

"Shut up you dummy."

Alton sat on the ground, slouched over smirking as the others came over. "Did we do it?"

"I think we just did." Alton glanced at his hand as the fairy-tale sign faded, causing him to hum. "Fairy-Tale, huh? What are the chances?"

"To think the bond of the Children of the Garden saved Victoria," Scarlett muttered. "V.I.R.A.L is going to have a field day with this."

"It wasn't that. Not entirely. It was more than just our bond. The bond of family is something too… I guess it cannot be faltered in both life and death… Probably."

"Maybe…" Scarlett whispered, looking conflicted.

Alton laid back taking a deep breath. "I'm away for like three days, and the world is almost consumed by the Garden. You lot have a lot of explaining to do."

"It's a long story." Zinnia admitted. "I wasn't quite sure we would make it out of that."

"You doubt the great and mighty power of Team Rhapsody?! We overcome any odds, no matter what."

Alton glared on shaking his head, whispering to himself. "Not every time…"

"What do we do now?"

"Let V.I.R.A.L clean up the mess. They can handle the rest. With Hans taken care of, Frizzle Tooth will most likely disband as well. The dark replicas, the Garden all of it is over. For now." Blossom insists standing on proudly. "Even if it was just a little bit… I'm glad I could help stop the Garden."

"You're alright Blossom, don't let the others get you down." Zinnia insisted.

"From you, that means the world."

Alton stood up stretching. "If the handy work is done, I still have work to do. I came out my way to battle the Garden during my time off what's the chances?"