Dance For Me ~ Die With Me -Invite-

[Alice]

====================
Three's Company
====================

_This place... looks like the one_

Her hand pushes up against the rusty door, stained with the scent of filth and human fluids. It grazes open, the inside looks of a disturbed and vile decent. She walks in slowly, her eyes wandering all around. The old bar was out of the way, out of place. It should be out of _sight_ had there not been a purpose for her being here. Her jeans black, reaching nearly the bottom of the ground. Sturdy boots under their long sides. She cracks her fingers, one by one, slowly. The tape covering them bends with ease. Her chest heaves, breathing softly under the confining like tightened material across it.

_Lessien Melwasul. Where is she?_

Her question voiced loudly, interrupting the horrible music of old. The laughter and shanty sea tales end quickly. The bar goes silent. She breathes in slowly, a larger man. Middle aged, a stereotype of the road rage if there had ever been one, approaches her.

"What was that there li' lady? I got to thinking you're in the... wrong part of town. But then again..."

The man's eyes size up and down her physique, the sickening feeling of stench and dirt crawls across her very being. Her core. Her fists tighten quickly.

"If you uh... want a good time sweet cheeks... I'll be, more then happy to lend you a hand.. or, any other kind of hehehe... part you be needin' darlin..."

The man steps forth, his hand guiding to a place it should not venture to explore. She grabs his wrist firmly. Her fingers pressing down against the bulging veins. She twists his arm, guiding his shoulder around in a circle before _SLAMMING_ it into the wall. A loud gasp and thud escape the brute. Men stand up, chairs are knocked over. She twists his wrist further up the backside of his pig like body.

_Where. Is Lessien, Melwasul? I do not seek.. a 'good time', with the likes of you. Filth... does not interest, me. I am looking, for the one known, as Lessien... Melwasul. Should I.. make that, clearer?_

Her forearm pins tightly against the back of the sickening man's neck. His friends, wanting to be heroes, or buried all the same. Step forth in a threatening way. She tilts her head... her forearm pressing down firmer, and firmer.

".. Ug... I.. can'..."

_You think.. I am opposed, to snapping his neck? Do you believe, law instills fear in me? How much faith, are you willing to put... in those beliefs?_

Her elbow edges up, pressing firmly against the side of his neck. The men clamor among one another quickly, firmly. She tilts her head again, a confusing group of individuals. The men slowly speak out.

".. We don't know where she is alright man? She comes and goes as she feels like it... she's a fucking cat alright?"

_Than... perhaps.... I should leave out, treats?_

She releases the man, her fingers slipping from his skin. He gasps, trying to catch his air. The men step forth once more, only to jump back just as fast. She produces a knife, the blade shines from the crude lighting reflecting off of it. The feint sound of gurgling, dripping fluid. The bar silent.

============
Fifteen Minutes Later
============

The man, a heap outside. His blood loss not fatal. Propped up against the side of the entrance. His shirt and jacket ripped from his hairy, crude and disgusting body. His flesh unharmed, his skin... a canvas;

CALLISTO

The large letters carved delicately, with care into his hide. His chest used as a beacon, a homing device. She sits in the bar, the table centered in the middle of the room. The men all sprawled in various directions away from her, making sure they don't make eye contact. The knife firmly standing in the old splintered and stained wood. Her fingertip, swirling in a drink like a spinning ballerina.

_Here kitty kitty kitty..._[/font]

[Lessien Melwasul]

~Seconds ... minutes ... hours, until it was well past the witching hour. The form that was Lessien walked the streets of the wrong side of town more like it was her hometown. The boxing gym, a Korean corner mart named Paul's, a flat she rented out at $225 a month, and a bar whose name had been obliterated with its neon sign. Nobody cared and no one would ever remember it again. It was simply 'the bar' and no one new had shown up there since two years ago... that's when Lessien Melwasul had arrived... vanished... and arrived again in a never ending cycle.

Until.~

~A low glow of an open flame mixed with the night time, winter breeze that made the letters dance with the flesh and now dried blood that sat heaped against a wall. She squatted in front of him, turning her head left and then slowly right ... as if she were studying a hanging piece of art in some pompous museum of dead intellect. A million miles from here. The open flame jumped to the toasted tobacco leaves, until the warm Earth chemical blanket caught the wind. She snapped the lighter shut, a long scratch in the metal casing from a graveyard fight. A long scratch Alice could feel with finger tips as Betty stood upright and letting the dark lenses fall over her eyes. Before she turned, she nudged the man over with a toe of her boot which seemed to be just what he needed to start crawling for someone who cared.~

"Say my name."

~Alice slid between their lips. Callisto meaning absolutely nothing to them at first though, or second ... or third. Betty leaned against the old Chicago stone wall, while Alice let her head roll against it until her eyes caught the entrance to 'the bar'. There was no cat like grin as memories jumbled together with a hundred fucking names and hundred fucking places.~

Callisto

"You say knife."

~Alice wandered on in words.~

"I say ... Crymson."

"Blood ..."

"I say Lilith."

~There was no hesitation in reply. Alice licked her lips with the memory taste. The game continued on with different names triggered by hints and signs from Alice. Willow. Pryor. That girl who quit after one week. They were all the same in one way...~

"Nevermore"

~She was the last of her kind. Betty flicked the now dwindling tobacco to the street without a name on her tongue.~

"Fine. Let's play a new one."

~She pushed herself off the ice cold stones. Finger tips working the buttons of her coat to open and free. The straps of her shoulder holster still quite warm against the patches of flesh it touched. Her right hand moved with practice over the curve of her own breast until fingers wrapped around inviting Glock grip, which she kept close to her body until it rested against her right hip. Finger on the trigger. Safety was for children. She stepped into the bar where the stage was set. But she stopped just inside the door when the name showed itself. Danger Stick, the fucked child fan who called herself ... Alice sat at a table looking bad ass and dangerous and waiting on a sharp fucking edge that all could feel.~

"You ... "

"Me ..."

~Betty scanned the room, while Alice ironed her grip skin tight. A flash of and a flash of Glock 30 as she closed the space. A condescending smirk as she looked down on the girl. Betty raised the gun and the silence was broken by scattering chairs until she turned it sideways and placed it on the table ... and sat down, crossing one leg over the other.~

~Alice's eyes narrowed behind the think lenses as Betty brought a pack of Lucky Strikes out and began to tap one free.~

"Well, look at you."

~Alice never stopped doing just that.~

"All grown up."

[Alice]

_She isn't like the other... she doesn't lust after your 'Wonderland Or Bust' mentality. She isn't like, the other... -I- am not like, the other_

Her eyes continue their stare. Her finger swirling in the liquid, slowly she grips her knife. The plunking sound soft as she removes it from the old splintered and stained wood. The blade cries as it returns to it's little home within the handle. Her fingers place it down softly, in front of the new... weapon.

_You aren't like them... why? What is it, that makes you different.... from them?_

Her eyes cast to the men cowering, the fear instilled human embodiment of filth, garbage. You'd only be so lucky to find such rarity in her words.

_.. You don't know what -fear- is. Your life has no meaning... or is that your meaning.. nothing. Void. Endless possibility..._

Her hands spread out on the table, the soft trickle of liquid as she pulls her finger free from it's surface. She runs her fingers across the spread, like a board of information under her nails. She breathes in slowly, softly, with purpose.

_I do not care, about the other. I only care... about Alice. The -other-, seems to think.. your -birth marking- of Alice, is some.... superficial mating call...

She seems to think.... you consider her.. the other, as your.... -property-. She seems to think, you consider... Alice, as your... property..._

She slowly leans ahead, breaking partly from her chair. She stares, the blackness of the protection over Lessien's eyes. Her jaw firmly clenched as she stares the 'Queen' ahead on. A dark sharp breath, a hidden snarl. A thousand underlying concepts if you cared to look.

_.. I, do not.... consider Alice.. -your-, property. I don't even consider... that catty little smirk you can wear so proudly.... -your- property. I do not CARE.._

A loud cry, hushed behind whispers. Her eyes break rank momentarily, glaring at the onlookers. She snarls behind her pursed lips. Her attention driving back to the 'Queen'

_.. What you do.... or.. -have-.. with the other. Know only.... this, Alice... will always be.... -MY-, property. I do not, like... when others.. play, with -MY-... belongings...

... Do I make that.. clear?_

She leans in further. The feel of the 'Queen' and her body heat were evident across the old table. The prick of breath and confidence, it was a sickening air. A disturbing fe- -....

_... Ugh.._
.. What, the FUCK... ARE YOU TRYING TO DO WITH QUEENIE?!
_...... Impossible.._
Get... away.. FROM MELWASUL!!

_........_

She slowly lowers her head for a second, gripping at the side. Her fingers spread out in a claw over her skin. She attempts to shake the sensation off, the slight pain coursing through her head.

_.... Lessien Melwasul.. you are a greater annoyance, than you could possibly.... imagine right now_

[Lessien Melwasul]

"Before the beginning of great brilliance, there must be chaos."

~Alice started.~

"And the brilliant thing about your annoyance, Stick?"

~Betty took a

long

hard

drag before letting the words drop heavy.~

"I haven't

even

fucking started, yet."

~The last of the smoke escaped as she leaned slightly back. Eyes alive behind their blackened windows. Watching muscles move in young Danger Girl's skin. If only she wasn't blond. If only she didn't have a tongue.~

"But really, there's nothing we can really do about that. Now is there?"

"Will there ever be?"

"No. We should try to stick to the matter at hand."
~Alice saw the smallest lines of pains etched in the very corner of the young girls face. Information shared instantly.~

"Oh my. Do try to hold your synthetic, snack pack ass together for just a moment longer, won't you? I would hate for you to miss the reason why your life will be a misery for a very

very

very long time."

"Listen to me."

~Alice hissed through bared teeth.~

"It's really quite clear. You're mad at me, when you leave your toys ... no your fucking treasures lying about in my Queendom for anyone to find."

"But really, what ever child. This Alice. That Alice. The Alice

deep

down

between your thighs."

"Not one of them interests me in the slightest. A rounded bottle cap could probably satisfy me with more expertise and the eternal bonus being ... I wouldn't have to listen to it babble as it tried to relate me from fucking, teenage bottle world."

~~

"In other words, Stick. Take your pathetic, self abandoned pieces and stay the fuck away from me. Or the only Alice that matters to me is going to say the magic words."

~Betty's expression went cold with emotion as the only true Alice in Wonderland finally got to say her favorite line.~

"Off with her head."

~Only then did the grin ever so slowly return, and spread.~

"Oh

my."

~The Lucky Strike fell spent to the floor, with the dance of a hundred miniature sparks snuffed out by one black, combat boot sole. That Cheshire grin. The sickening laughter you couldn't hear, but could see deep down inside the well.~

[Alice]

A snarl erupting from the bottom of her toes, she grabs the edge of the table. It glides to the side as she turns it over, inside out. The knife, the gun, scatter to the floor.

_ENOUGH!! You.. you think I -CARE- about what interests -YOU-?! WHAT COULD I POSSIBLY GAIN FROM SOME-THING- LIKE YOU?!...

You... are just another fucked up... past her prime.. useless little poet who thinks that the world of disturbia and misunderstanding is -fun- and -hip-..._

Her blood enraged, the boiling pressure in her mind...

HEY! LEAVE MELWASUL ALONE!
_SILENCE SCUM!!!_

_... If anything, I feel -sorry- for the other.... to have desire, wanton... for someone like you. It's... pitiful. You and your GOD DAMNED MIND GAMES! Your little... world of seclusion, and underlying meaning.... your fan fucking tastic realm of -Wonderland-....

... I exist, to protect... Alice. My only concern, is of her... I cannot.... control, what she does.. every day. I cannot, control.... what the other does, every day.. but -YOU-! You, and your sadistic, masochistical allure... I place -ALL THINGS- regarding -BLAME-, -GUILT-, AND -SIN-...

Upon -YOUR- shoulders... Lessien Melwasul.... if anything happens, to Alice... if any harm, comes to her... it will be -YOUR- head that shall fall...

Always..._

She stands, her fists balled. Her jaw clenched down so tightly her teeth were beginning to cry out from within. Her pulse had reached a fever pitch. Her anger... the rage, a flood of emotions were bombarding her. It was, painful. She twitches from side to side. The group of few left rat like men in the bar were thinning, quickly. She felt... odd.

_... What are you doin?_
You.. will not hurt.. Melwasul. I don't know who you are, I don't know HOW YOU GOT IN HERE... BUT YOU AREN'T GOING TO HURT, MELWASUL!!!!!

Her body, drops. The weight, it almost... seemed to multiply. Gravity was.. an illusionary tactic... but it was a potent one. She drops down to her knees, her upper body heavy... her palms force down against the stained and splintered, the cracked and decayed pine below. Her head, she refused...

_... You're... trying to make me -BOW- TO HER?!_
You.. aren't the only one, who wants to protect Alice...
_... What?_
.. I've been here, a lot longer... I've seen things with her.. been through things with her... you.. you have no right to try and control her now...
_.. I would rather have her hate me.... than love, someone who brings her harm. Like you_
.........

_.... Lessien Melwasul.. I... despise, your kind... you are a.... virus, to me. A plague... something that should be eradicated by science, kept in truth only by experimentation... I will always.... despise you...

Always..._

Her words slip from her mouth. Her head finally falls. Her hands and knees, pressed firmly against the floorboards beneath. Her hair dangling down over her shoulders. Her teeth bare down unto her lip with force, pain. Anything she could think of to break the others control.... but alas, it wasn't to be..

_... You will pay for this..._
.. Yeah.... I probably will... but until then.... you, will suffer with it..

"..... Queenie.. hah....."

She slowly opens her eyes, grinding her teeth slowly. Her body felt weak, like a burden had been placed, lifted, and tossed back on ten fold. She reaches forward, her fingertips dragging down the errand leg of the Red Queen. Her back arches up slightly, her gaze empty... staring at the floor. Soft whispers barely breach her lips..

"... Is she.... so much better than I am.. ?... Does she.. have something that I don't... why..

... Why Willow....

.. Why Willow and not me....."

[Lessien Melwasul]

~Betty snorted, looking down at the pathetic display of young girl looses her mind on a dirty, bar floor. She wasn't the first or the last. Alice brushed the last touch away as well.~

"The looking glass never lies."

"Oh Lover..."

~Betty chimed back in with mock caring.~

"I wish we did have a mirror so you could see what you look like when you ask me that..."

"The hands of the clock..."

~~

~~

~There was a moment of rare silence as the twisted gears of the mind put things together in a new order.~

"Be afraid."

~Betty leaned forward from dismissive to keen interest.~

"Oh, don't tell me you're a certified, bonafied Debutante."

~Laughter filled the edges of her voice.~

"Could all my dreams come true? Are you Willow's latest conquest or the latest basket case from her School For Fucked-Up Girls?!"

~Alice waited for the child's face to rise.~

"Tell me no lies."

"Oh yes, we are all ears child. Please answer the question."

~If that was a smile of kindness and patience... then one would hate to see the opposite as Betty waited for Stick to break the silence.~

[Alice]

"... It's not fair....."

Her voice was quiet, soft and lost. Her fingers had been batted away, like a annoying fly in a white room. She clenches her fists against the floorboards beneath, the self pride destroying sickening display of a false sense of obedience and -love-

".. It's not fair.... you gave someone like her a chance.... you even went so far as to.. admire people before her.. I know the list.... I KNOW THE NAMES!!

HOW COME THEM BUT NOT ME?! WHAT MADE THEM SO DAMN SPECIAL?!?"

She shouts, her hands slamming down against the ground. The group of men confused and bewildered, finding better time to keep their noses out of this confusing display of -emotion- She hangs her head down low, biting her lip... a hushed whisper.

"..... It's some sick little game.. someone who doesn't want you or can't stand you.. you go after them. It's the thrill of the hunt isn't it.... but someone who's willing to throw herself at you... someone..

WHO'S ALREADY AT YOUR GOD DAMNED FEET!!!

.....

... No, that's to easy huh... is that it.. Queenie.... is it because I don't fight it.. is it because I'm not resisting..."

.. Unn... what happened....
..... Go back to sleep Alice.
Wher... !! Th- that's!!... Why are we on the ground... H- hey, what's going-
SHUT UP ALICE! THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU ALRIGHT?!
.... Loveless... what's.. gotten into you.....

".. I'm just not worth the easy catch.... shooting fish in a barrel isn't fun, huh Queenie...."

She slowly turns her palms down, pushing off of the floor slowly. She raises her body up, a timed haze of emotion, rage and jealousy within her building. She gets to her feet slowly but surely. Silence fills the bar aside from the sound of Queenie and her amusement. It was deafening in the silence, absolutely deafening.

".... I'm just no fun to you.. is that it....?

... I'm just not a big enough challenge.... hm.. ? So.. I get, tossed aside.. and disregarded... cause I'm not up to spec for being a toy..

Is that it?! IS THAT IT MELWASUL HUH?! ANSWER ME!!!"

L- Loveless... you need to stop this-
SHUT THE FUCK UP ALICE!!!... This.. this is MY business... NOT YOURS!
... I was... just trying to help...

[Lessien Melwasul]

"That's exactly it, Stick."

~More contempt as she holstered her gun. Actions always speaking louder than words in the land that Lessien lived in.~

"You say you know the fucking names?"

"The lady lies."

~Betty laughed out right.~

"Oh Lover, that's not even the half of it. Why don't you run it down for me, Stick."

~Betty crossed her arms over her chest.~

"Run down your list of you child like accomplishments. Run down the two hours of life you've had since you let go of your Mother's loving hand."

~Alice's eyes burned, hidden.~

"Don't bother with the tail."

"Oh please don't waste your Willow like breath on correcting me... telling me that your mother is actually lost at sea. Dead. Or a wasted whore for methamphetamine spent. Because I really don't care at all."

~Queen of the North. It's always cold up there.~

"Those names you fucking know? They were living the hard life, Lover and coming back for more. You haven't even found the fucking door out. "

"Never fear."

~Alice reassured.~

"Don't cry child... for tonight is you lucky, fucking night."

~Alice smiled and tilted her head.~

"I will be your guide."

~Betty stood up, her long worn coat nipping at her ankles as she stood to her full height of 5' 6". But she always seemed taller somehow.~

"And won't Willow be surprised when she hears your very first match. Your very first breath of reality?

...

Will be with me at Exodus

...

or should I say against me. Because that is exactly the way it is going to be. Oh and after Willow or who ever else actually cares for you tells you what a fucked up mistake that was?"

~Betty turned to walk away.~

"Be sure to give her my best regards."

~With that, Lessien Melwasul walked through the same door she entered... not bothering to look behind her as that was respect the child just hadn't earned ... yet. But she would get her chance at Exodus. Whenever it finally sank it to what had just occurred.~

[Alice]

Wait... what?! What.. n- no no!~ Loveless.. we can't do that! WE AREN'T EVEN SIGNED YET Dx
Then we will GET, SIGNED...
.. Loveless... I.. I don't think.... she wants-
.... Alice. I'm going to say this once.. and only once... I care about you, and your life. I care about you, and your business... but THIS, IS MY BUSINESS. -I- will deal with it, do you understand me?
.... Y- yes..

She slowly watches as the Red Queen takes her leave. The bar all but silent, if a pin dropped you could hear it across the mile. She breathes in deeply, trying to remain in control of her emotions-

H- hey... where'd that other one go.. the new voice....
.. I don't know. After I woke up again she seemed to just... leave. Then you woke up.
Weird...

She rolls her shoulders, cracking her neck. Her fingers wrap around the blade discarded under the upturned table. She lifts it back up and stares at it with some confusion. Loveless didn't remember bringing that here... She huffs before sliding her gaze across the room. Staring a whole in whomever dared to look on after the... situation had transpired. She shakes her head, her mind filled with too many things to count. She slowly walks out of the bar... the night sky glistening with stars.

"... Exodus...."

... I.. I know this is your business and everything but... but.. we... we're gonna get destroyed in that ring Loveless... you must know that..
Leave that to me Alice. I have a point to prove... so I'll deal with Melwasul myself...
.. I see....

She takes in a deep breath, her eyes closing softly. She begins to walk on, she needed to get back to the hotel. To think.... to plan.. most of all, finding a way to get within GCW Towers. So Alice could get her precious, little, contract.

.. Did I mention this was a bad idea... ?
Yes, yes you did.
.... Just checking.....