[fic] Alice's World update ?

[elydesia]

Alice's World is the first book in my lightnovel series, Alice.
Following it are Alice's Tour, and Alice's Love, which have
both been vaguely plotted, but have yet to have a real shape.
---

✖ About

The first lightnovel, "Alice's World," is an introductory piece and is, in essence, purely that. It shows the reader the ropes, and has more emphasis on how things work, what things look like, and the relationships between the characters (especially the three mains). But don't be frightened off by my fowl mouth or seemingly lack of plot, because I've got few, and I'm just getting started.

Each lightnovel holds one main arc, and a couple minis, which result in it being rather short (roughly 150pgs?), but with the first piece, it'll probably be on the high end, considering it's an introductory piece and will be more detailed. Now, I'm not saying the other books won't be detailed, I'm just telling you the first one will be more so, because of it being the very, very first time seeing my world (this world).

Ｅｐｉｓｏｄｅ　０１：　アレスの世界へよこそ
Ｗｅｌｃｏｍｅ　ｔｏ　ｔｈｅ　Ｗｏｒｌｄ　ｏｆ　Ａｌｉｃｅ
He grabbed her and pulled her aside. “Hey, what's the deal with you, Agatha?” he asked, face close to hers. She looked up at him with fierce eyes, wondering how he could be doing this. He was a teacher, after all.

“Mr. Ghuzei, please let me go. I have no idea what you're talking about,” she replied, and slowly let her eyes fall to the floor. She was wearing a maid costume, for her class' exhibit at the school culture festival, and perhaps it was starting to get to Mr. Ghuzei. “Let me go.” He closed his eyes and shook his head.

Opening his eyes, he said, “I can't do that. Not until you tell me what's going on.”

“It really is like I said. There's nothing strange, nothing wrong. Or perhaps you're thinking of something else, Mr. Ghuzei? Something along the lines of... S and M?” Maybe this was starting to reach a dangerous level of conversation. Agatha's eyes slowly rose to meet Mr. Ghuzei's, and she smiled a small, shy smile.

“This is unlike you,” he spat and let her go, taking a few steps back. “So you going to answer my question from yesterday?”

She raises an eyebrow and stares at him quizzically. “I'm sorry? What question? I can't remember.”

Mr. Ghuzei ran a hand through his dark hair and sighed. Her form was perfectly enhanced due to the costume she wore, and maybe, just maybe, it really was getting to him. Her form, her expressions... they all made him want to hold her tight.

“The one where I asked what you've seen in the sky recently.”

“Oh, that question. Well, you see, Mr. Ghuzei, I actually have seen something in the sky. But that was weeks ago!” He roughly grabbed onto her shoulders and held tight, squeezing her.

“What did you see! Tell me, what was it!” Her eyes stared into his and her eyebrows pressed tightly together.

“Why should I tell you? Everyone else I've told says I'm crazy. I don't want another person thinking I'm a lunatic.” As she stared at him, his eyes became softer, and more inviting to her. Now it was her turn to be attracted. Mr. Ghuzei's rough yet gentle touches, his manly frame, his mixed words. It made her want to be held, and to hold. All she could do was relax her eyes and give a small, pathetic, defeated smile. Maybe it was his butler costume?

“If I wasn't prepared for what you're going to say, why do you think I'm demanding it from you?” he said and smiled down at her. A small blush formed on her cheeks and she looked from his eyes to the windows behind. “You believe me?”

“Yeah, I do.” Agatha looked back at him, and as if receiving clear spoken words, he backed off a few steps, again. “Look, this is what happened: about two weeks ago, while Julie and I were walking home, it started snowing petals. Um, I think they were forget-me-not's. Anyway, we got to talking, and I looked up to see where they were coming from. All that I saw was something that looked like a spec, but when I went back the next day, it had gotten bigger.”

“What is it today?”

“A station. Like a bus stop, but there are tram wires, too. So... it's a tram-bus stop?” she said with a smile, a bright one.

They stayed quiet for a few minutes, and Agatha's smile slowly faded. Mr. Ghuzei looked frozen, like a poorly frozen chunk of ham. Agatha frowned. “You going to call me crazy?” There was a long pause before he replied:

“No...” She looked at him hopefully, but he didn't continue for another little while. As time passed she gradually got more frustrated with him, until finally, he said, “No, that's not it. I don't think you're crazy. In fact, I'm glad you finally told me. I think you have a cold. It's called 'Code Suppression,' and I know exactly how to make you better.”

Agatha raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really? How're you going to do that?”

“After school today, come with me to the bus stop...” Mr. Ghuzei began, but her face paled and he laughed. “Yes, the one in the sky, Agatha, the one in the sky.”

“But... how do I get there? To meet you?” she asked, disappointed.

“Easy; you come with me.”

“Come with you? Well, that sounds a lot easier than... say, flying.” They both shared a laugh. “But, how do we get there?”

Mr. Ghuzei winked at her and the blush returns to her face. “That's a secret,” he said and turned to leave. “See you after class, Miss Evans.”

---

Agatha walked back to the booth in front of her classroom. This year, her class was doing a maid café, and she and her best friend, Julie, were some of the hostesses. “Welcome back, Aggie. What did Teach have to say?” Julie asked as she stepped down from the podium, and casually wrapping an arm around Agatha's waist. The two of them were very close; childhood friends, in fact.

“You shouldn't leave the booth like that, Julie,” Agatha pointed out with a straight face. Julie laughed and guided her into the classroom—er, temporary café.

“Don't worry, Aggie! Someone else can cover for now; someone always does!” she said with an uneasy laugh. Agatha wasn't humored, and Julie coughed nervously. “Anyway, what did Mr. Ghuzei have to say? He stole you away before my eyes! One second I'm filing name cards, the next you're poof, and I see you two scampering away.”

“Well, it wasn't really anything big. I guess you can say he was checking up on me.” The two girls walked behind a curtain and into the break room.

The curtained room was the only thing in the entire classroom that wasn't decorated. Everything else looked like that of a normal high class café. It had flowers, and beautifully painted artwork hung high, and lovingly spun silk curtains.... but this was the break room, curtained off for the students to take a break from that pain-staking smiling.

Julie pulled Agatha to a corner of the makeshift break room, almost shoving her down into one of the two chairs she had dragged along with them. “Checking up on you?” There was a pause where Julie and Agatha stared at each other, and then suddenly Julie jumped in her seat, realizing what had happened. “Oh! That's right! Your recent condition...” She coughed nervously and made herself comfortable. “How did Mr. Ghuzei handle it? What did he say?”

Agatha knew mentioning their after school meeting would be a bad thing. Julie had an unparalleled sense of honor and justice, would she tell the principal? Or go further, and tell the school board? Mr. Ghuzei knew something about her condition, and about the floating bus stop. She couldn't possibly let Julie steal the only chance she had to find out for herself. “He didn't really say anything important. Just asked if I was okay, asked if I wanted to go home, take a break... You know, those kinds of things.” Julie crossed her arms and puffed her cheeks.

“If that's all that happened... I'm going to believe you, Aggie, but don't think it's anything special. I'm going to put my trust in you, and in Mr. Ghuzei. I'm going to tell you, and I want you to tell him, I trust you two.” She looked Agatha straight in the eyes, and she couldn't help but feel bad.

---

The steps were in sync, and Agatha blamed it on Mr. Damien Ghuzei. Why? She had no idea, but all her misfortunes lately rooted with him. "What's with the kid? Is he yours?"

"Don't you dare relate me to that cold-hearted man! Hey, Damien, where we headed?" The teacher didn't reply to either of them, both of which he still considered kids, and then ignored them until the bickering stopped.

The boy's name was Van Winchester, and he goes to Bernadine Middle School, only about a block away from Bernadine High. The unlucky kid was caught with the same symptoms as Agatha, and then pulled into this strange little adventure.

Damien led the two kids--one in second year high school, the other in third year middle school--to the area where the floating bus stop was. "How are we going to get up there?" she asked, and Van looked at her.

"You know about this stop, too?" he said, almost disbelievingly. Agatha nodded, and followed Damien through scary iron doors and up creepy-sounding stairs.

"What's with this?" Agatha cried and grabbed onto Van's arm.

He flicked her off. "Get off me, you baby! You're the one in high school!" Van shouted.

"Quiet, you two."

Agatha scowled and wanted to kick the little bastard. "You need to shut up, little brat," she replied in a whisper. Van rolled his eyes.

"Okay, you know what? I'm the youngest here. Baby me."

"You want me to baby you! Okay, then! I'll make sure you aren't allowed out of the house!"

Damien turned around and looked down at the two people behind him, anger having made a home on his face. "I told you two to be quiet. If you both don't shut up right this moment, I swear I'll let you suffer from Code Suppression," he spat before turning back around and continuing his walk up the stairs.

The two kids looked at each other nervously for a few seconds before quietly walking after Damien. They weren't expecting anything in particular, except probably something fantastical, something only a visionary could think up. This wasn't exactly what they thought, but it wasn't far behind their rapid thinking process.

At the top of the stairs, which tended to wind a bit every now and then, and actually became suspiciously and annoyingly long, was a door. It was an old looking door made of applewood and had strange shapes painted on it, giving it an almost mythical appearance. "This door looks kind of creepy, doesn't it?" Agatha whispered to Van.

He glared at her and said, "You trying to get us in trouble again?"

She swayed her head back and forth. "Well, no... but the markings give it a sort of... mythical appearance, don't they?" Van shook his head.

"You're crazy."

"Be careful. The wind's strong up here," Damien said and gave them a glance before he unlocked and opened the door. The two kids had looked at him strangely, but immediately after the door was opened a huge gust of wind blew at them, almost knocking Van off balance. If it weren't for Agatha, who grabbed onto him instinctively as soon as the wind blew, he'd have tumbled down a painful backtrack that may have just ended his life.

Van looked at her, surprised. She winked at him. "He said be careful, didn't he?" she said, and pulled him through the door and into the light of the afternoon sun. The three of them were on a floating piece of land, and next to the door was a plain, blue painted bench, the kind you find at bus stops. "Are we..." she started but drifted off as her looking around answered her question.

They were at cloud level, the cumulus kind, and bordering entering stratus territory. Both kids were thinking thoughts along "How'd we get here?" "Where are we going?" and "What if we fall?" But the latter of them could easily be answered by a first grader: "You go splat!"

Agatha was about to take a seat on the bench but Damien perked up and looked down at her. "Don't bother taking a seat. The next tram should be coming any minute now." And, with some obvious embarrassment, she stood up again to silently stand next to Van.

Just like Damien had predicted, the next tram was on it's way within minutes. The tram itself looked very old, probably from the early 1920's, with warm mahogany wood panels and brass lining. It had dark green leather seats that made the nostalgic squeaky sound when you sat down on them.

This was the sight that beheld anyone and everyone who ever went to Alice's World, and now, Damien was about to bless Van and Agatha with the same permission as he: to pass through as they please. He glided behind the two newbies and nudged them toward the beautiful tram parked right next to the floating piece of land.

The most amazing thing to Van and Agatha would most likely have been the feeling of possibility and adventure that had suddenly erupted within them as the tram had come effortlessly down its tracks, and the fact all this was taking place high above ground. There was fear and excitement, exactly what they had been craving their whole lives. Cravings for adventure, which had most often gotten Agatha into trouble for getting her dress dirty, and had Van scolded so many times for making holes in the knees of his jeans. As children, there was always a sense of waiting, and wanting adventure in their lives. Unfortunately, with their so-drab and so-dull lives up till now, all hope they had had been lost. That is, until Mr. Damien Ghuzei swished by and pulled the two from their lonely mounds of boredom.

---

A most beautiful orange-yellow sun faded away into the purple darkness as the ride to Alice's World drew drearily long and tiring. Neither Van or Agatha could sit still, finding themselves squirming in their seats and often changing to somewhere else. Damien stayed in his seat, him being so familiar with the three-hour-long ride providing the mature calmness adults so often had.

"Hey, Mr. Ghuzei?" Van called from the back of the tram. Damien, who sat at the front, near the driver (who always stayed quiet, and minded his own business), turned around and smiled politely.

"Call me Damien when we're out of school," he barked, quite contradictorily to his smile. Van and Agatha were surprised at such contrast.

With a selfish frown, Van repeated, "Hey, Damien?"

"What is it?"

"This is taking so long. What about my mom and dad?" Van was worried, thinking about the trouble he'd be in when he went back home.

And with that still present smile, Damien answered, "Don't worry, kid. Your parents won't care at all."

Van stood up and his face grew red with anger. "What was that? Why d'you think that about my parents? How dare you?" But Damien laughed, the kind of laugh that'd rock a car. So it was surprising to not have the tram, which was flying in the sky, to not rock, or move at all out of place.

"You're misunderstanding me," he said. Agatha looked from Van to Damien and back to Van.

"Well? You going to explain?"

"Alice's World officials will step in, an excuse will be made up, and you'll get off scott-free. Got it?" Damien winked with a crooked grin and turned back around. Van slumped back in his seat, his arms crossed and eyes diverted out the window.

Agatha wiggled in her seat for a few minutes before she spoke up about the same matter, "What about my parents?"

"What about 'em?" Damien called back. He raised his feet to rest on the backrest of the seats in front of him.

"They're overseas. What'll happen to them?"

The following laugh was by-far the biggest Agatha and Van had ever seen. The tram driver, however, did let out a small chuckle and shake of his head, as if saying, "Those kids don't know a thing."

After Damien's abrupt laughing outburst, he got up and plopped in the pair of seats in front of Agatha, sitting cross-legged and staring at her. She frowned and crossed her arms. "What was that about?" she ordered.

"Are you stupid or what?" Damien said, and took out a cigarette and lit it.

Van laughed, and Agatha, angered by Damien's insult and Van's back-of-the-bus laughs, said, "You! Damien, I don't think I've ever been so frustrated by your actions ever before! Take it back!" But this only made it worse.

"Take it back? Take what back, Princess?" Damien had on a sly crooked grin, the kind crooks in slum downtown had, the ones that'd slit your throat for the little coin jingle in your pocket, the pennies that never mattered, and swore you'd throw away. Those crooks, the ones that mattered because you were afraid of them. Any hour, any day, any month. It never mattered, you were always afraid of the gleam in their eyes, and wildness in their appearance, and the evil in their smiles. Always.

"Wha-... what?" she breathed as disastrous thoughts flashed before her eyes, overlapping Damien's appearance and the rest in her current vision.

"Ha!" he laughed and took the cigarette out from his lips. "Nothing will be done about your parents; they're overseas. You think The Guard didn't think about that? You think they haven't foresaw any of this? That kind of thinkin' 's stupid, you see? The Guard've foreseen everything, and I guess that's what got them so afraid and secured up. Their own fate, from birth, to life, to death; the seers they'd employed've seen it all.

"Can you believe it? I bet'cha they know we'll be comin' tonight, and know we'll be their downfall, y'hear me, Aggie?" Agatha nodded her head steadily and Damien shot Van a straight-faced look. "That applies to you, too, Van." He, too, nodded, and then there was silence. Damien got up and went back to his original seat, and within the next half hour they arrived at the tram stop in Alice's World.


Practically minimal editing.



Ｅｐｉｓｏｄｅ　０２：　旅の空
Ａｗａｙ　Ｆｒｏｍ　Ｈｏｍｅ

Damien quickly got off the tram, and it almost skittered away with Van and Agatha still on it. "In this place, you have to be careful. Alice's World is like a holy place, but it's also like the net; there can be dangerous people around here; prowlers who prey on little kiddies - newbies, really! - like you two." He pointed off into the distance of endless sky, and then below the cliff edge at the mountains and townsfolk below, and then up at the beautiful, star filled night sky. "You get a different perspective in this place. Here, you float, just like the dirt, meaning you mean nothing to everyone, but something special to someone."

Agatha was impressed. "What a way of putting it, Damien. Are you a teacher here, too?" Damien shook his head.

"Nah. Not really. I'm more of an... instructor, protector, mercenary, and mechanic. Amazing, aren't I?" he said, laughed, and started to walk from their arrival site. The two newbs tagged along, pathetically being surprised by every sudden sound or action and hopelessly defenseless to pretty much everything.

"You two're too much of babies in this world," Damien muttered just as a giant white building came into view. It had Roman pedestals on its front deck, and dozens of wide stairs to the top. Its overall appearance was alike to the United States' White House, but with much wider stairs and in a more Roman style.

The two kids stared at it with childlike awe. "What is that?" Van asked, in a stupor. Damien chuckled.

"Ha ha! That is The Guard House, home to a society called The Guard. They are our government, police, and military. Definitely not something to mess with," he explained. There were people going in and out, and most of them were extraordinary-looking people wearing different types of armor, and those who exited would mount animals that ranged from giant felines to dog-alligator mixed breeds. The animals themselves seemed just as wild and cruel as if they were indeed wild and untamed, but nonetheless, their behavior when it came to following their mounter's commands was flawless.

Neither Van or Agatha wanted to bother try talking about the mounts. As monstrous as the mounts were, they were also beyond question. They simply were, and Van and Agatha understood that to a T.

"Stick closely to me when we enter. I'm going to register the both of you with The Guard as students of mine in both Alice's World and Man's Land."

"We understand," the kids said.

"Do you? This means I'll have complete and strict responsibility over you both, so you kids better not put shame to me," threatened Damien and the kids gulped.

He guided them through many doors until finally they reached a waiting room. "Stay here and don't touch anything," he had ordered, and then left them to do his own business.

Agatha laid down on one of the warm couches, tired, while Van walked around the room, admiring the wall decorations. "Hey, what do you think they do here?" he asked, inspecting one morbid painting in particular.

"Here specifically or here as in The Guard House?" Agatha asked, eyes closed and arms resting idle above her head.

"The Guard House."

"I don't know. Maybe it's like the government building? You know, where all the officials stay and debate important things like laws and... other, things..." She opened her eyes and looked at Van as he gave her an dubious glare. "Well, I don't know! You asked me!" He swayed his head in a sideways nod.

Suddenly there were a lot of people shouting outside the room and a bunch of people started filling in. Some were wearing suits, others were wearing thick, heavy mounts of armor with intricate designs and cotton capes. The ones in suits and biggest of the armor-wearers looked at Van and Agatha like outsiders.

Agatha jumped up and ran over to Van, the two together by the morbid painting Van was looking at earlier.

"Who let you in here? Who are you?" asked a suited man with a pointy gray beard and black top hat. Now everyone was paying attention to the two kids, and they were in the spotlight.

"We're from below!" Van blurted out. He had a terror-stricken face, wide eyes with cold sweat. Agatha was calm and composed, actually surprised with Van's reaction. "Mr. Damien Ghu-" Agatha whipped her hand up and covered Van's mouth, cutting him off.

"I'm Agatha Evans and this little blond here is Van... uh..." She looked down at Van. They shared eye contact and she let go of his mouth.

"Winchester-" She covered his mouth again.

"Winchester. Van Winchester. I'm Agatha Evans and this is Van Winchester," she said calmly, putting off superior airs.

Despite Agatha's strength, the new intruders made a hubbub about it and told them to shoo, grabbing them and throwing them out, saying they were having an important meeting.

"Now what! We can't just sit here, Agatha!" Van shouted, grabbing onto her by the arms and looking up at her. They were only two years apart but he was remarkably a foot and two inches shorter than her.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. Let's go try to find Damien," she said and immediately set off in one direction.

Van ran after her. "Wait! We can't just wander around, Agatha! What if we get caught?"

She stopped and spun around to face him. "What about 'what if we get caught'? We've already been caught and look what happened! It doesn't look like people care about us being here, does it?" she said and kept walking.

"Fine! Be that way! I'm heading in a different direction!" he shouted after her.

"Okay! Be my guest!" she replied and kept walking. Van stared after her for a few minutes before returning to her side.

---

Somehow, through some miraculous guessing, Van and Agatha managed to get back to the main hall after long hours of hits-and-misses. The ceiling was high and everything was made of white marble, Roman styled pillars lined the walls, applewood doors between and behind them, isles of desks at the farthest wall from the main entrance. There were dozens of people everywhere, especially at the desks, where secretaries sat and dealt with people, and near the doors, where people loitered around talking about wilds and their recently assigned or finished assignments.

"What do you suppose we do from here?" Van asked, looking around.

"Can you shut up? It's been non-stop chatting coming from you since Damien left. Just shut your trap already," Agatha cried and socked him one on the top of his head. "Just like an annoying little brother, you are." Her lips grew to a smile and he looked up at her sadly. "Let's ask around for Damien."

"Got it," Van said and headed off to ask some non-intimidating people for Damien's whereabouts. Agatha took a seat on an applewood bench an relaxed. It was late alread and she was exhausted. From what, she couldn't fathom, and she was actually pretty amazed by Van's enthusiasm and energy.

"Excuse me, do you know this child?" Agatha opened her eyes and sat up. A man in rather thin armor held Van tightly by the arm.

"Erm, yes, I do. What's the problem?" she asked.

The man threw Van at Agatha. "Stand up. I'd like you two to come with me. Miss Aja would like to speak to you two," he said and began leading the two kids.

Aja Moore was a Coder prodigy, learning the Epsilon code - mass healing - at the age of three. Almost immediately she was taken from her home and put into Alice's School for the Gifted. She was ten now, and had both mature and child-like airs about her, especially with the childish morbidity.

Van and Agatha were received in a room much alike to the one they were first put into. Aja sat in a giant comfy chair that was so big compared to her, it looked like it was going to eat her. Her Guardian Coder, Robins Lobos, stood beside her, face as stoic as ever.

"Welcome!" Aja greeted. Van and Agatha said their small reply greetings and Aja continued, "It's so great to see other child coders! Are you two prodigies? ... No, never mind. If that were it, you'd be famous like me! ... Bring me that frog I asked for!"

"Erm..." Agatha mumbled as Aja took a frog from a box a servant handed to her and started squishing it up and then healing it again.

"Amazing, isn't it?" she said. "What are your codes?" Aja looked very enthusiastic and eager to know Van and Agatha's codes, but the truth was they didn't even know what codes were, let alone which ones they had. The both of them shook their heads.

"We're sorry... We don't know what those are," Agatha said and looked down at Van before back up at Aja sunk in her chair.

Aja let out a giant laugh. "Are you kidding me? You have to be pulling my leg!" she shouted and threw the frog across the room, almost hitting Agatha. "You don't know what Codes are! Amazing! Why are you two here, then? Geesh, are you two idiots or what?" she said and rolled her eyes. "Robins, fetch me a rose; I'm hungry. ... Oh, and bring back some handcuffs - I want to arrest these two impostors!"

"What?" Agatha shouted, eyes wide. Van, who stood next to her, took a few steps but was held back by Agatha. "No, Van, no. Remember what Damien said?" she whispered in his ear, and he reluctantly stopped resisting. But as soon as Agatha had let go, Van ran toward Aja, anger in his face and fists balled.

Robins, who always stood next to Aja, seemingly came to life, swooped in front of Van's destructive path and picked him up, swinging him on his shoulder. "Put me down!" Van whined. Agatha sighed and rested a hand on her head.

"Ooh, now what are we going to do? We're in trouble..." she mumbled to herself.

Just then the doors burst open and Damien walked through, followed by two men in light armor that were more like plain steel plates. "Don't lay a hand on them, Aja!" he shouted. His voice was very loud and rough, and his face was red with a whole mix of emotions, the most prominent being anger.

On Aja's nod of the head - and with her frown turning onto a gleeful grin at the sight of Damien - Robins put Van down and he sullenly, and quite rudely, returned to Agatha's side.

"I told you so," she said, and the two wandered slowly towards the open doors.

The two guards who came in with Damien both looked frightened, and perhaps even wanting to take a fearful piss right then and there. Agatha watched in amazement, wondering why such men would fear a young girl like that?

"We're sorry, Miss Aja!" they shouted. "He saw Mister Robins escort those two children to your private meeting room and at once wanted to disrupt your meeting! It took a lot just to keep him back as far as we did, Ma'am!" Damien spat at the guard:

"Bullshit!" He turned from the guard to Aja, who still had that weird smile. "Aja, what do you plan on doing to these kids? They're not much older than you, you know?"

"Oh, I know. They're the urchins you recently picked up, aren't they?" she said, words like silken swords. Damien's face scrunched up in scrutiny.

"Urchins? I don't think they'd be called-"

"Yes, they're urchins! Street urchins you nabbed from their parents at such a tender age; and for what, Damien? Their Codes? ... In case you haven't noticed, Codes can be unlocked anytime, and only when ready. Now, do you honestly think mere children like these rude brats would ever come close to unlocking Coding in their entire lifetimes?" she said, rambling, really.

Now, Aja herself was merely ten, but since a very young age she had attended a school called "Alice's School for the Gifted." She was taken away from her parents and put up in a dorm belonging to the school, and then forced to practice and perfect her Code. It all made her... mature, to a degree.

Damien grit his teeth. "Aja, both of them are suffering from Code Suppression, contracted not from their exposure to Alice, but on their own down below. Do you understand it now?"

"I do, but to me, all it means is their Codes awoke early on down below. It means nothing to me anymore. ... Fine, Damien, take them away. I've lost interest." Aja shooed them away and Damien grabbed Van and Agatha by their upper arms, dragging them off roughly.

"You two are in big trouble," he said after they had exited The Guard House. A thought then struck Agatha:

"Is that Aja always changing her mind like that?" she asked.

Sadly, Damien nodded. "Seems so, doesn't it? Aja just doesn't know what she wants, that's all. No matter how mature she thinks she is, it'll never deter her away from the fact she's ten years old. I mean, it's mostly because of her princess attitude I don't like mingling with her, but because we're in the same kind of business I have no choice." Damien led them away from The Guard House, which was practically the center of town, and more towards where the tram stop was.

Van noticed and asked, "Are we going back home?"

"Van, didn't I tell you guys you were staying at my place tonight?" Van and Agatha nodded. "Well? Does that answer your question, kid?" Again, Van nodded. "Good."

---

His apartment wasn't very large, and smelled a bit like dirt and think air. There was a definite "lived in" feel arrangement of the furniture and the way garbage was splayed out so openly. Some might call it a hellhole mess, others would call it a complicated home, such as Damien.

"It's so messy!" Agatha pointed out, and Damien glared at her. She frowned at him before following him deeper into the mass of mess. "I don't want to live here if it's going to be like this," she said to Van. "What do you say to cleaning up tomorrow?"

He shrugged and pushed a pile of clothes and coffee stained papers onto the floor before sitting on the cold fabric sofa. "We might be busy tomorrow." Damien had gone off into a room by himself, probably to clean it out for the kids to sleep in.

Agatha nodded her head and examined the room. "But, think about it, Van. Do you actually want to live here like this? It's filthy!"

"I can hear you!" Damien shouted, and then appeared out of the spare bedroom. "By the way, you two will have to share a bed tonight. Sorry 'bout that. All I have is a bed, so I'll sleep on the couch tonight."

"Huh? What about that room?" she asked, pointing to a closed door near the front entrance.

"What about it?" Damien said and let out a chuckle.

"Isn't that your room?" Damien shook his head.

"That's my office, silly," he said and went back into the room. To finish tidying up, Agatha thought. She took short steps to the couch and fell back on it next to Van, then perked up.

"Damien?" she called.

"What?" He sounded grumpy.

"What are Van and I doing tomorrow?" There was a pause wherein a loud thump! was heard. Agatha and Van jumped up and ran to the room to snoop, only to burst out in laughter. Damien was half on the bed, half not, head on the applewood floor and legs tangled in the blanket covers.

"How did this happen?" Agatha shouted between laughs. Van cut his laughter short and helped Damien up, his face red with embarrassment.

"Shut up, brat! It was an accident; it wasn't anything," he insisted. Agatha nodded her head and then wandered out into he living room again. Van and Damien followed her.

There was awkward silence as Van and Agatha sat on the couch and Damien stood in the middle of the room, looking down at them. Both kids' eyes were looking elsewhere, mentally exploring the dirty apartment. Damien looked up a the clock and saw it was really late.

"Look, it's nearly one. I'll do more explaining tomorrow morning, okay?" he said. "You two go get some sleep. ... And sleep in as late as you'd like." Damien pulled them up and began ushering them into the bedroom. "I'll be out early in the morning, so don't be afraid if I'm not here when you wake up."

Agatha turned around to face him. "Out? You mean you're not going to have much sleep?"

"Well, that's right." He shrugged. "It doesn't matter. You two are my new apprentices, according to The Guard. Call me pops. Now go to bed!" He shoved them in and slammed the door. There was talking coming from the other side of the door and Damien eerily wanted to listen.

Damien tore himself away from the door and crashed on the sofa just as rain started coming down outside.



Minimally edited.



Ｅｐｉｓｏｄｅ　０３：　稽古と水族館
Ｔｒａｉｎｉｎｇ　ａｎｄ　ｔｈｅ　Ａｑｕａｒｉｕｍ

There wasn't very much activity in the morning, unless you were at The Guard House, which, Damien had told them, was busy at all hours of day. And just like Damien had said, he wasn't in the apartment when Agatha had woken up.

She sighed as she walked through the cold morning air, applewood floorboards creaking as she drew closer to the couch, and finally fell forward onto the dirty sofa. She still wore her school uniform, and wondered if she was going to school today. As she thought about the culture festival that would go on without her, and Julie, who would get mad at her for not showing up, she took a deep sigh. The scent of dirty and stale air filled her nostrils and her face contorted in disgust. She tiredly pushed herself up, grabbed onto the back of the sofa and turned herself around. When she let go of the couch a piece of Damien's clothing fell. She picked it up and tossed it onto the floor with the rest of the garbage and clothes.

The scent of Damien's shirt, which she picked up again and brought it close to her face, smelled like chocolate and Turkish Delight. In fact, when Agatha had shook the shirt to unwrinkle it, she found a spot of the typical powdered sugar used for Turkish Delight. It brought a large smile to her face, and then she dropped it back on the floor.

Creaking floorboards echoed through the lonely apartment and soon Van came through the bedroom door, hair a mess, and his eyes half closed and droopy. She could expect no less from her appearance, and laughed a little at herself.

"Good morning, Agatha." Van wound his way around the piles of garbage and clothes to sit next to the girl. She looked down at him with a warm smile.

"You can call me Aggie, for short." He looked up at her with half open eyes, she laughed, and then he laid his head back, looking up at the ceiling.

"Aggie, was Damien gone when you woke up? What time did you wake up at?" She raised her legs and rested them on Van's lap, extending her body across the whole couch.

"Ooh." She sighed, and looked around the room for the clock. "It's around ten, now... I've been up for only about twenty minutes, Van. I think Damien's been out for a lot longer than that." And just at that moment, there was a satisfying jingle of keys before the door opened and Damien entered, looking exhausted.

Agatha and Van reluctantly move aside for Damien. He takes long strides to the couch and falls back on it. From up close, Agatha could see the dark purple bags under his eyes. "What's up? Why so tired?"

He turned to Van and said, "Hey, kid, you're signed up with Alice's School for the Gifted." Van jumped up, suddenly wide awake.

"What! Isn't that the same place that Aja girl goes?" Damien nodded. Agatha pouted.

"Why didn't I get enrolled?"

"You're too old." His bluntness hurts her, but then he smiles down at her. "You'll be my new apprentice, and will come with me on missions for a little while." He rested his head back. "Van, after you graduate, you'll be comin' along, too."

---

Bright light poured through Agatha's bedroom window. Today was the day of the bi-monthly school trip. It was still only September, still, so the field trip wasn't far--come on, the aquarium?

She moaned as she got up, already thirty minutes late. The past few days seemed like only a dream, and she wished she could forget it all. For the rest of the school festival, Agatha went on minor training with Damien, her homeroom and History teacher, and her muscles ached terribly.

On her way to school she passed by the floating tram station that led to Alice, almost painfully reminding her everything was real.

Groups of students crowded around their homeroom teachers, loudly chatting away as the adults took attendance. Everyone was soon boarding the buses, two classes per school bus, and everybody buddied up despite their ages.

"You're late!" Damien cried when he saw Agatha casually walking down the sidewalk towards the school.

"So?" The two stared at each other, their meeting outside of Alice's World making her feel tingly and a bit awkward. "What's the big deal?"

Damien looked at the school buses as they already started to pull away. He shook his head and walked to Agatha. "Come with me," he said and then pulled her to the last bus, which was filled with Mr. Ing's kindergarten class.

The bus ride wasn't very long, and the aquarium they were visiting was a very unique, and ostentatious one. Mr. Mills, the school principal, thought it was absolutely perfect.

Outside the front doors, students crowded again, much like how they gathered in front of the school. Mr. Mills used a speakerphone to talk above everyone. "Students, please be polite and careful around the exhibits and outside during the shows. Do not touch anything, unless you asked an aquarium staff member if it's okay. Do not seperate from your buddy, and stay alert." Everyone chatted under Mr. Mills' reminder, but it looked like he didn't care.

Damien turned to Agatha, who was avoiding him, and pretending she didn't know him at all. He smiled and said, "Let's go."

"Why can't I join Julie and her buddy?" she whined.

"Because if I did that, it'd be unfair to the people who wanted to be in groups of three. Now, let's go." She watched as Julie and another girl, Fae, flashed their day passes and passed through the entrance.

She turned to Damien and had on a sly smile, the kind that clearly told she was plotting something. "What if I say I don't want to go? Or if I purposely separate from you?" He only laughed and grabbed onto her shoulder casually.

"Hahaha! Thanks for the heads up. I'll be keepin' an eye out." Damien dragged Agatha to the front booth, flashed two passes, and then pushed the girl in front of him toward the main display.

In the main welcome area, there was a giant tank full of colorful life, which was full of fishes and invertebrates from the Georgia Straight. From the main floor you could lean against a railing and look down into it. You could also go down a flight of stairs and walk around the tank yourself.

Past the main display tank there were several hallways that led to different exhibits. At once, Agatha honed in on the hallway with the sign that said "Tropic Zone" above it. Damien laughed and casually led her there.

"Sharks!" Agatha sang, and winded her way around the exhibit, looking for the sharks.

"You like sharks?" Damien asked after they had found them. The light was tinted blue. Agatha climbed onto the carpeted ledge next to the tank and sat cross-legged, gazing up at the big blue tank.

She nodded her head. "I do. There's just something really special about them, how graceful they are... It's like perfection... Yeah! That's it! Sharks are simply perfection! They can smell a drop of blood from miles away, and, man, can they feast! They're so slender, and fast... Smoothly carrying out their lazy tasks." There was such a heightened energy coming off of Agatha, Damien couldn't focus on the tank. Instead, he watched her be giddy, and revel in the presence of the sharks.

He cracked a smile. "Beautiful..." came from his lips, and he barely noticed it himself. So imagine his surprise when Agatha replied:

"Aren't they?" Damien's face fell and he was glad she didn't know he was looking at her, but there was also a pang of regret for it. The feelings only made him frown even more, and by the time Agatha deemed it ready to move on, he was in a foul mood.

"What's up with you?" she asked. The two slowly passed by all the small tanks of extraordinary fish in warm tanks, heading deeper into the exhibit. They passed through glass doors and heat washed over them and immediately they began to sweat. Agatha used her map as a fan while Damien paid no mind.

"Nothin'. The sharks are just beautiful?" His words were mumbled, and she gave him a backwards glance before she pushed herself up to a giant tank with huge black and brown fish with gulping mouths.

"If you say so, Mr. Ghuzei. I'm not going to bother." There was a pause, and she looked back at him again. He looked distracted. She frowned. "Hey, do you know how Van's doing?"

He looked down at her with a straight face, and then he smiled. "He's doin' fantastically well! Apparently he's a genius, and passed through the first primary years with ease, and is already only a few levels behind Aja." Agatha frowned as she grew jealous.

Damien was paying for Van's classes, of course, which Agatha thought were quite pricey, but were like mere pennies compared to Damien's yearly wage. Then again, his apartment was one hell of a mess, in a lot more ways than just clothes and garbage everywhere.

But still, Agatha was jealous of how Van was so successful, while she had to learn from scratch the hard way. Damien had told her learning through experience was the best way to learn, but in a controlled environment... you got to get a firm hold on the basics in an easy manner.

"What code does he have?" The two began to walk towards the crocodiles and anacondas.

"Theta." His reply was curt, and left the girl confused. When Damien noticed it, he laughed lightly. "That would be 'Search and Destroy,' Aggie. You know, it's something quite productive when used properly." Agatha rolled her eyes; she was tired of Van.

"Yes, I'm sure it is."

---

"Just so you know, I don't willingly go with you, or do anything with you, right?" Agatha's arms were folded and, as usual, she was scowling.

"Haha! Of course!" Damien replied, laughing. The two were on the tram to Alice's World. The sun had already set, and Agatha was about to go on her first mission as an apprentice. There was a part of her - very small, mind you - that was actually giddy about the mission, assignment, chore... Whatever Damien felt like calling it.

With every step a clacking sound accompanied it. The fact everyone in The Guard House looked snappy and were very well dressed made Agatha uncomfortable. She still wore her school uniform. Damien, on the other hand, wore a button-up shirt and sports jacket with black slacks. The outfit stood out a bit in Alice's World, and its regularity in Man's Land only made it even stranger to her.

"Next?" the secretary called and Damien went up to the desk. "How may I help you?" Damien handed two once-folded pieces of paper. Agatha caught the words "document\" and "assignment" before the secretary snatched it up and read it. "Alright." She hit the keyboard and left to collect some more pieces of paper. "Here you go. Next?"

"That was fast," Agatha observed. Damien wasn't paying attention; he was too busy reading the papers. She frowned and crossed her arms.

It was raining now, and neither had an umbrella. But without words, Damien stuffed the papers into his coat and started running. Agatha let out a cry of frustration before running after him.

Minimally edited.

And that's all I have for now!
I've been working on ep.04 for soo long, now, I might be finished soon!
We'll see how the characters do in the situation I put them in ;D