something wicked this way comes.

[stealsumbrellas]

Characters: Rhode Kamelot's Evil Twin & YOU.
When: The week of March 12th.
Where: Inside your little minds. ♥
Rating: R. Rhode does not play nice normally. She is definitely not playing nice now.
Summary: Rhode's evil doppleganger is causing havoc within the minds of the people of Nesreca. No one is safe -- not her family, not her friends, and

Comments

/PLACEHOLDER...ISH.

[tothelastbreath]

Allen doesn't know when he fell asleep, but in between dealing with everyone ever and their doppelgängers, he must've returned to his room at some point for a quick regroup, only to end up nodding off from sheer exhaustion. Have fun messing with him.

WOO. Did you want Rhode to get him out of this or do you want Allen to get out of it on his own?

[stealsdreams]

And, just like that, Allen Walker's mind is hers.

Allen wakes up to find himself within the Jordan compound, where Allen and Rhode spent their time trapped within Kanda Yuu's mind. However, the building is completely and utterly empty...

Save for a dismembered Kanda Yuu and Alma Karma the akuma lying on the ground, bloodied, broken, and bleeding.

/finally gets to this :X

[tothelastbreath]

For a moment, Allen's dream self simply stares at his surroundings, disoriented. He doesn't recognise the compound, he's never been there (yet), so his first thought is that he'd somehow gotten himself spectacularly lost.

And then he smells the blood.

It's almost worse than actually seeing the carnage, that frightening uncertainty of not knowing who he'll see this time, but then he does turn, slowly, fighting the pull. Sees Kanda's lifeless features, makes out those akuma markings on Alma's body, and quite suddenly, he feels like he could've done with never knowing.

"...Kanda? Alma!"

He drops to a knee beside them, not caring that blood is seeping into his trousers.

[[OOC: Preferably the latter, but if it gets to a point where you think real!Rhode wouldn't stand by and watch, go ahead and toss her in! |D]]

<333~

[stealsdreams]

Blood is everywhere -- the entire compound reeks of it -- whatever battle had happened there obviously took its toll on their surrounding population.

They don't move, at the call -- but the moment Allen drops down next to them, a brittle hand rockets forward, grabbing onto Allen's leg, as tightly as can be.

Alma draws in a rattling breath.

"Save me."

ooc: No worries! Rhode is completely focused on keeping Tyki's head clear, so it's totally understandable that she'd... uh, forget other people live here too, sob. FIGHT ALLEN WIN WIN WIN.

:3 ♥

[tothelastbreath]

Allen starts, less at the unexpected response, more at the state of that hand. Alma has always been a healthy little boy in all the time Allen's known him, while Kanda never lets anything keep him down, so it hurts to see them both like this, even though he's starting to realise this is a nightmare. He's had similar dreams before, but they're vague, twisted things conjured by half-told facts and his own imagination. Nothing this detailed. Nothing this real, as though he's actually seen it all happen before.

There's only one explanation for this, and yet, despite the alarm bells clanging in his head, he can't stop himself from reaching out to Alma. Allen always reaches out.

A gloved hand settles over Alma's, gentle despite the strength with which the other is grabbing onto him.

"I'm sorry it wasn't enough."

[stealsdreams]

"You could have saved me!"

It's with a sudden snarl and a burst of strength that Alma lunges, despite the weakness, the brittle cracks in his skin, towards Allen's throat, but there is a flash of steel.

Mugen appears, through Alma's throat, and the akuma croaks. Blood -- black as night -- dribbles out of Alma's mouth. The Innocence almost seems to glisten as the sword remains there and the labored breathing of Kanda Yuu begins as he struggles to get up, to keep fighting.

He only has one arm to fight with.

[tothelastbreath]

"I--"

What happens next makes the words die in his throat. There's a second in which Allen just stares, uncomprehending, the few flecks of splattered blood on his face bringing a sense of deja vu he can't quite place at the moment, just a vague memory of moonlight and the earthy smell of a forest.

Then he stutters into motion, left hand grabbing Mugen's blade to keep it from going further even though it's already too late, always too late.

"Kanda--" His voice cracks slightly on the second syllable when he takes in the other Exorcist's state. "What are you doing!?"

[stealsdreams]

"What I need to."

Mugen slashes, as hard as Kanda can, to the left, to behead Alma completely, without much care for Allen's own hand. Kanda is breathing heavily as he pushes himself up, as much as he can, to attack Alma once more, even though the battle is clearly over.

"He's an akuma."

[tothelastbreath]

Good thing Allen's left hand is resilient, not that he's in any state of mind to be appreciative right now.

"He's Alma!"

The alarm bells are still shrilling, but he just can't stand by and watch this unfold. Claw raised at the ready ― when did he invocate? ― he plants himself between Kanda and Alma's body.

"You can stop now, you can both stop now. Please."

/stabs real life in the face

[stealsdreams]

It only takes a few moments of hesitation. As if the dream seems to pause, building an impossible amount of tension, before Kanda Yuu hisses.

A quick flash of steel --

Before Mugen finds itself directly in Allen's ribcage, desperate to reach Alma Karma's body.

/HELPS (jk bb don't worry about it<3)

[tothelastbreath]

Somehow, the metallic tang of blood in his mouth feels more believable than the chilling pain in his torso. That, at least, is familiar, unlike the shock of seeing himself impaled on a comrade's blade.

"You―"

He's choked off by a mouthful of blood that he spits off to the side, wet and messy, and when he turns back, there's a hardness in his eyes that was missing up until this moment. He's dreaming, he knows that for certain now. Even though he knows Kanda stabbed him back home, he has never once believed that the other Exorcist did it willingly.

Closing his claw around Mugen, he yanks it out of himself before shoving Kanda away, hissing in pain through gritted teeth.

"Rhode!?"

<333

[stealsdreams]

"Allen."

Rhode's arms suddenly appear, wrapped around Allen's shoulders as she whispers in his ear. Her grip is impossibly strong, but there's something missing.

Rhode never hurts Allen -- not unless he asks for it, anyway. And while her hugs are intrusive and not strictly necessary, she never hurts intentionally.

This grip is like a vice, her fingers digging into his arms almost painfully, her words like ice.

"You might want to duck."

And Mugen comes at him again.

[tothelastbreath]

The difference makes him hesitate a split-second too long, and then he's moving, but not to duck. There's no time for that now, plus there's still the issue of having Alma behind him. Instead, he stands his ground and deflects Mugen with his claw, a move that makes the wound he's still coughing his way around pull painfully.

"What are you doing? And where's the real Rhode!?"

[stealsdreams]

"Dead, maybe. Wouldn't she come and save♥ you?"

Kanda is still attacking, as viciously as he can, given the state he's in, to try and get to the Akuma behind Allen. Various curses and hisses of pain are heard, but above all else, a single-minded determination.

He will not stop until the Akuma behind him is dead.

Rhode sighs in exasperation, letting go to move closer to Alma, touching a hand to the dying Akuma's cheek.

"I'm doing what she should have done," Rhode says abruptly, curling her fingers into tiny fists, but the smile still in place. "Kill the Exorcists and do what she was meant to do. It was a mistake, letting you survive. And it was a mistake of you not to kill her. Do you remember, when you first met her? All those months ago... you weren't as hardened then... but maybe I can fix that."

She stands on her tip toes, to whisper in Alma's ear, but the tone carries loud and clear throughout the damaged hall.

"Self-destruct."

[tothelastbreath]

"Maybe. Or maybe she knows I can handle you myself."

And then there is no time to talk, only to react and do his best not to hurt Kanda too much. With the other Exorcist injured as he is, a combination of experience and reflex is enough to fend off the onslaught, leaving Allen enough attention to spare on looking around for some kind of clue, a way out, look anywhere except at Kanda's face.

Her words reach him, but he doesn't answer. Of course he remembers, still broods over it sometimes, even if his reasons have been changing slowly as the months go by. Now is not the time. None of this is real. He mustn't let her get to him, has to focus, has to--

"Self-destruct."

Has to remember this is all a dream.

It's still not enough to keep him from making a lunge for Alma with a wordless cry.

Allen will never forget that day in the Rewinding Town. Rhode giving the same order, Lero's uneasy countdown, the way that distingerating soul had reached out to him and begged, Save me.

Save me, Alma had said less than a minute ago, You could