The weary journey home was a silent testament to the battle they'd just endured. John limped slightly, a dull ache throbbing through his leg well phantom echoes of blows absorbed by his trusty cloak coat began to make themselves known. He was immensely grateful for its protection though; it may not have prevented the pain but it had diffused the impacts from the various blows he took and managing to save him from far worse injuries. No broken bones was a small miracle he clung to.
Alice, usually a whirlwind of energy from what he had come to know about her now moved with a subdued grace. Her attempts at cheerfulness couldn't quite mask the deep fatigue etched into her features or how her muscles seemed to have been pushed to their absolute limits. Yet a fierce determination, a spark of the madness he'd come to know still propelled her forward. He noticed with a fleeting sense of detached curiosity, that her dress remained pristine, completely untouched by the grime and gore of the fight and even the stains of soot, blood and ash had even disappeared entirely. It confirmed a subtle observation he'd made earlier: their transformed attire possessed an innate ability to clean and self-repair and hers seemed to even refresh and clean her along with it. A trivial detail perhaps, but in this new, chaotic world even such small certainties offered a strange comfort.
"Go take a shower," John instructed, his voice rough with exhaustion. "The warm water should help your muscles. I'll make us some supper, it won't be anything fancy but we need to eat before we rest, especially after a day like today." He dragged the spider-creature's grotesque corpse towards the garage, a task he saved for later analysis since he saw Alice hadn't managed to remove much of its platin before he returned to the kitchen. A faint, tired affirmation drifted back from Alice as she helped him before heading to take that shower well he used the garden hose to give himself a basic clean before making food to avoid contaminating anything.
Half an hour later, a freshly scrubbed but still visibly weary Alice padded into the kitchen, slowly towel-drying her hair. John was already dishing up some crumbed chicken fillets and fried potatoes, a small arsenal of sauces and seasonings spread across the table, each plate accompanied by a large glass of coke.
"Even after a fight like that, you still make sure we eat well, huh?" Alice teased, a hint of her usual playfulness returning as she bounced over, lightly poked his stomach. "Your tum-tum telling you to fill up?"
John offered a tired glance in reply. "Clearly, the shower did you good. You're almost back to your old self. And no, it's not just about my stomach, though it does help. The last time we ate was breakfast and I have no idea how that time skip thing affected us. Also, I'm used to eating once a day but we just had a significant fight which no doubt burnt a lot of energy and the like. Our bodies need fuel to recover whether we feel it or not. Speaking of which, come here." He gestured to the chair opposite him, a medical bag already at his side. "I remember you took a nasty hit to the arm from a claw you were a second too slow to dodge."
"It's fine. I already bandaged it and everything, the dress sleeves also help with small things like that." she insisted, but John's steady, unwavering gaze quickly dissolved her defiance. She slumped into the chair, looking like a chastised puppy before slowly rolling up her sleeve where she revealed a hastily wrapped bandage, a raw gash peeking out from beneath its edge. He shook his head before carefully unwinding the bandage, examining the wound with a serious frown before reaching for a small tube of super glue much to Alice's confusion, the look was cut short as he squeezed a dollop of the adhesive as close to the outer edge of the laceration as possible making her wince and biting back a moan as he pressed the wound closed. After a few seconds, he applied a generous amount of antiseptic and then expertly bandaged it, tying the final knot into a small bow he knew she'd appreciate. Then, he moved to the sink to wash his hands.
"Now you can eat," he announced, returning to his own meal. "The super glue is an old war trick I remember reading about, it was supposed to be a quick way to close wounds, it sucks I know but I sure as hell not going to be testing my stitching skills on you, for now this should hold. Keep it clean and try not to strain it too much. Now enjoy your meal." Alice did her best to lighten the mood with a barrage of bad jokes, but John was more interested in the quiet comfort of the meal, time slowly slipping by as he made his own comments from time to time or berating her for overly detailed or inappropriate comments.
After John had his own shower, a process that required locking the bathroom door, as Alice seemed to have a very loose interpretation of privacy, they finally managed to have her take a short rest. He'd also had to repeatedly explain that he wouldn't be sleeping with her in either way, nor would he serve as her "snuggle teddy." Eventually, he conceded to a compromise: she could sit and cuddle up to him when it was her turn for watch.
Checking his phone his brow furrowed. There was still no word from Fae or any changes to his phone. Even a single day without contact felt like an eternity. He left her a message, a brief plea for her to let him know she was okay and to be updated on what was happening on her side, contemplating if he should mention his own adventures before deciding against it. Pocketing the phone, his thoughts drifted back to the whirlwind of the past two days. The reunion, the dragons, his near-death encounter with the scythe wielder and the crushing grief for his family, that was a topic he deliberately pushed away though, burying it into the back of his mind for now as he already knew Alice would go to extreme lengths to pull him out of it if he lingered too long on that subject. There was no luxury for grieving with her around, not yet at least.
His mind then turned to the day's earlier events, from the enigmatic old man to the gruelling fight. He replayed the battle in his head as he questioned his choices. Could they have set a trap? Used surprise to push the spider beast into the fire before it spotted them? So many options, so many things they could have, should have, done differently now playing through his mind before promising himself to do better next time. Perhaps he needed to establish some kind of smithy, however rudimentary, to create armour or better defences as his next step? Putting exploration on hold for now. It would turn into a long-term project of course. He was realistic enough to know that crafting super-strong armour or weapons wouldn't happen overnight, unlike in the fantastical tales he'd read. Maybe his class would eventually grant him some smithing aptitude to allow that level of crafting but it was still far to early for that but eventually it would prove invaluable in this new world. High-quality weapons would undoubtedly become a valuable commodity.
As he pondered, John remained vigilant, his ears and eyes constantly scanning their surroundings. A faint noise, almost imperceptible drew his attention and seemed to come from the kitchen. Gripping his dagger, he decided to investigate alone, confident he could wake Alice with a shout if needed. He moved slowly yet deliberately, flipping on the light switch and holding the dagger ready. The sight that met him was entirely unexpected.
There, crumpled on the floor, was what looked like a small girl, her brown hair splayed around her as if she'd fallen back in fright. Wide, frightened brown eyes stared up at him as she slowly tried to scramble backwards away from him. Her clothes where tattered and ripped but thankfully where still whole enough to preserve her dignity.
"Who are you?" John demanded, his voice low, his eyes hard and sweeping the kitchen for any other threats. This precaution managing to save him as he swung his dagger to the side, checking his momentum well being careful not to betray the lingering soreness and stiffness from his last fight. The tip of his blade stopped inches from the throat of a small, winged fairy, no bigger than a cat. Its hair was a deep red and its eyes blazed with an angry glare as it clutched a nasty-looking needle in one hand, its body covered only by a green poncho. Observing the two, John remained acutely cautious, not wanting to risk a hidden third attacker. Yet even through all this he didn't feel the immediate need to wake Alice, not yet at least.
"I'm only going to ask one more time before I call my companion," John stated, his voice firm. "Answer me honestly. Who are you two and what are you doing in my house? I'll tell you now that unlike so many others I do, in fact still have my sanity and morals but even so I can promise you that my companion will have no issue cutting you down with a smile, shes far less restrained, just a warning so make sure you don't lie to me." His gaze flickered around the room, maintaining awareness of his surroundings.
"My names Jess just don't hurt us, please! We didn't know anyone was here!" the girl, now known as Jess, pleaded, her voice trembling. "Greeny is just my protector and has been helping me through everything. Please, please don't hurt us! We only just escaped from some bad adults and tried to hide here; it's why she was about to attack you I'm sorry! And and I was just really really hungry. Please don't tell me you're also so cold-hearted as to not even let a defenceless twelve year old little girl have some food." As Jess spoke, the red-haired fairy, Greeny, had subtly slipped away from the dagger's point and now hovered protectively beside her.
"Alice, please wake up and come here," John called out, pausing to choose his words carefully. "We have some guests and I figured you'd want to be here too in order to… Greet them warmly." A moment later, a sleepy Alice shuffled into the kitchen, using her scythe as a walking stick in one hand, rubbing her eyes with the other, if he were being honest, it was rather cute if he disregarded what he knew she was capable of.
"Wait, please! We told you what you wanted us to tell you!" Jess began, her voice quivering with panic, as Greeny raised his needle, pointing it defiantly at him.
"I cautioned you to be truthful and not deceive me. Yet, you're trying to convince me that a twelve-year-old little girl is in my kitchen right now, accompanied by a tiny fairy guardian? Honestly, I already know there would have been a lot of people who would have fallen for your act, but I know what happens to those under a certain age because it happened to my friend's daughter and I really doubt they were sloppy. Therefore, it's impossible for you to truly be twelve years old or be here leaving two possibilities. Possibility one: your part of an illusion and the caster is waiting for an opportunity to strike effectively but hasn't managed to get such an opening and didn't take Alice's presence into account. Now I'm doubtful of that one since I doubt anyone is powerful enough to conceal themselves so perfectly this early on, so it would be a large object in the kitchen that doesn't belong since in all the media it's easier to disguise than to waste energy and strain themselves on multiple illusions." He began well casting a gaze around the room, Alice a bit more awake began looking around wildly before he spoke again.
Which leaves possibility two, which seems more plausible and what I feel fits better, your are a 'lolicon,' having chosen something like that as your class and gained the ability to transform into little girls, probably thinking it would create a paradise for you but instead, it turned you into what you desired. I want to clarify that legal lolis, those over 18 but don't look it, the ones you see in some anime, are acceptable in my book. However, it appears you're the other kind who prefers children, more a paedophile than a lolicon if I'm reading your flinches correctly. But I'm a decent person so I'm giving you one last chance, tell me honestly who you are or I will eliminate you. I know you would try to use the innocent child act to lure people to you eventually, like you've either done with this little fairy or its part of your class, no doubt you've been secretly plotting on stabbing people in the back or turning them against each other with your supposed sweet and innocent nature that you try to portray." He finished, faintly hearing Alice question confusedly about what PDF files and files in general had to do with any of this well looking confused at Jess.
"You're wrong! I just woke up and things were different with these mean adults trying to hurt me! Can't you even let a little girl like me go? All I did was try to eat some of your food and find a safe place to rest for the night. Please let us stay just for the rest of the night and you will never see us again! I promise." She seemed to beg and plead well inching closer to Alice, her gaze on her now instead with watery eyes seemingly trying to play Alice and try to get sympathy or care from her. Ironically in normal circumstances John would have likely caved long ago, even going so far as to help in any way possible. However, he knew he couldn't do so this time, not in this twisted world. After scanning the area and finding nothing out of place, he knew this wasn't a little girl but something else, a monster disguised as a human especially with the glint and flicker he saw in her eyes when she turned her begging look from Alice to him. Swinging as hard as he could, he managed to stab his dagger into her head, ending her swiftly and painlessly with a surprised look freezing onto her face. Alice had already twisted the little girl to ensure his strike would hit like he wanted before disarming and restrained Greeny before it could react to there actions.
"How could you do that to a child! You're a monster! A true monster in human skin! All she wanted was something to eat and a safe place to spend the night and and instead you killed her!" A surprisingly soft and feminine voice came from the fairy. Shaking his head, John pulled the dagger out and closed the girls eyes, feeling absolutely sick at what he had done but managing, if barely to swallow the bile rising in his throat as he signalled Alice to let the fairy go.
"Call me what you want, but it seems you're really naïve and had no idea what's going on with MY world. This isn't the world you came from little fairy. I don't know if yours was one of sunshine and sparkles where unicorns farted rainbows but here? Here humans can be far worse than any monster you could ever have a nightmare about and some only show their true colours when they die. This one here was trying to use you and would have led you to your death it could further their own gain. I gave them more than one chance to come clean, at any point they could have tried to be honest or explain things or anything really but they didn't take any of those opportunities." He told the fairly with an icy calmness that even caused a shiver to run down Alice's spine before leaving the room, not allowing them to see his shaking hands or the steady growing paleness of his face. Before either could go after him their focus was pulled to the body on the floor as a loud gurgling sound echoed, the body began to melt and quickly reform before their eyes. In its place, a much larger, fatter body full of marks and scratches began to appear. Before anyone could notice or identify any features, the body seemed to swell and bloat before bursting, releasing a black screeching smoke that seemed to clump together.
"Nooooo, my body! You destroyed my carefully created body! You god damn psychopaths! I will remember this and be back and you will pay for destroying my favourite shell! He was so perfect and the form chose would have been amazing to cause so much chaos! And you, little fairy, I will come back for you as well hehehe. This new world can't protect you from me and as for you little fairy, you will also be part of my oh so special personal collection hahahahaha." And with that, the black smoke dissipated, leaving a wide-eyed and shaken Alice staring at the black puddle on the floor. The fairy seemed to be crying and had fallen to their knees, seemingly knowing who or what that was but trying to process a rollercoaster of emotions. John though, room earlier, had no idea what his actions had set in motion or what consequences they would bring. Instead, he was vomiting in the bathroom, overwhelmed by the weight of what he had just done as tears ran down his face, his hands shaking worse than a tree's leaves in a storm.