Alfred sat up and looked around. The world he was in was a blurry delusion. His eyes fell on a small boy-or was it a girl?-who was sitting in a tree, watching him and swinging its legs. He had brown hair and an eye color untold by the closed eyes. The child smiled at him. "Welcome! Welcome to the Warlock's world! A world where time stands on its tip toes!" He thought for a moment, then giggled. "No wait! I meant it stands still! Teehee, silly me!"
The blonde starred at the overly cheery brunette. "So…I'm in a mixture of OZ, Alice in wonder land, and Narnia?" Again, the child giggled. "A very clever allusion, my friend! Clever indeed! But no matter, this is none of those things because they all have happy endings~!"
Alfred blinked. "Pardon?"
"Teehee, oh nothing!" Suddenly he jumped down from the tree and landed on his feet. "Just talking to myself!" His brown eyes grew wide as they looked over Alfred. "So, stranger, why are you here in the land where time is just a word?"
The blonde's head hurt. Everything felt strange to him. And this boy-teen-adult type person seemed too familiar. Where is this guy from? He asked himself. When an answer never came, his mind wandered to another issue. "Where did you say I was again?"
"Hmmm," His head titled upwards to think. "Well…oh shoot, I forgot it again! The name that forever escapes me! It seems it has left me for dumb once again! I'm sorry, I am none the wiser!" He smiled.
A groan surpassed Alfred's lips. "Okay, I have no CLUE what's going on. So can you just tell me about this place?" He looked around one more time, his vision returning to normal, and soaked in the beauty of the strange world. The crescent moon was large in the sky and was partly covered by the horizon. The lavender sky cradled other strange planets and stars. You would think of it as night, but as Alfred looked to landscape, it was as if the sun was shining, without a cloud in the sky.
"To tell or to describe? A wonder land? A place where your laws do not apply. Riddle me this, is this a heaven to you or a hell?" Alfred gave his a questioning look. "Dude I don't get a word you've been saying-"
"Heaven or Hell?" He repeated. Alfred sighed for a moment and thought. "It seems like an endless purgatory. The air is just stale enough to be tense but light enough to be intoxicating."
An innocent smirk –if there was such a thing- played on the brunette's lip. Then he slapped his hands together. "Intriguing notion! Now, I leave you be. I have interfered enough." His thin legs began to skip away but Alfred caught his arm. "Please! How do I get out? Can't you help me?"
"Ah, yet another word that is just. But I can help you move forward!" He dug into his pockets and pulled out a silver pocket watch, slipping it into Alfred's hand. "Here is a clock that cannot tell time. It will move forward though! Oh and if you find small colored stones, pick them up and add to the puzzle!" He patted his hands and began to skip again.
Alfred stared at it for a moment before yelling after him. "Wait! I don't get it!" He continued skipping. "At least tell me who you are!" He stopped and gave far away smile. "I can't tell you who I am, but I can add to the puzzle and tell you who I was. I was a wandering soul, as you are now." He turned and walked the rest of the way to the horizon where he disappeared.
The confused spirit looked down at the watch, then back to the skyline. What the hell?
Alfred's mind was still spinning. One thing he knew was that he needed to do was press on. He followed a purple path for a while, until he came upon another smiling face. This time, it was a small girl in a kimono. She smiled and glowed with a thin white line around her.
"The wise man! The wise man!" She cheered happily. "You have to see the wise man!" She smiled again. "He knows more about this place than the other boy~!" This peaked Alfred's interest. He knelt down to be eye level with her. "And where might I find this wise man, sweetie?"
The little girl turned and pointed to a small house with paper doors. Alfred thanked her and started to the house. He slid the door open and was greeted by a meditating man. His eyes closed and raven hair neatly in place.
"Kon'nichiwa, I am Kiku. Who, may I ask, are you?" Kiku opened his eyes to look at Alfred. Studying the man for a moment, he answered. "I'm Alfred Jones. Mind telling me what the fuck is going on?" Kiku shook his head. "Tsk, you don't beat around the bush, do you?" Without an answer, he continued.
"This is the 'warlock's' mind. This is all a blissful playground for his different personalities to roam." Alfred beckoned him to go on. "You see, this man suffers from dissociative identity disorder. His personality split into different beings. And here, they take their own bodies. There are so many I have lost count. But I do know that in order to get out, you have to take down the one soul more powerful than the human one. The pirate."
Alfred stares blankly. "What?"
Kiku rolled his brown eyes. "You have to set the human soul free and defeat the out of control soul." The blonde raised a brow. "If you know what to do, why the hell didn't you do it?"
The Asian sighed deeply. "I was going to…but the pirate–the crazy soul-he murdered me." Alfred's jaw dropped. Murdered? But he's still here! "He sliced my head off. When he did it here, nothing happened or hurt. But the head of my body was chopped off. No one knew what happened and I was stuck here forever. That happened when the human soul was 6. He is now 19."
"Dude you've been here for 13 years?"
Kiku nodded. "Yes, that is correct. I was able to figure out what I did wrong but since I am no longer living, I could not save the soul. Then when Feliciano came, the boy you met, he didn't want to listen to me. He thought this a playground. He didn't understand until he wandered into the dark side of the mind. Then it was too late. He stumbled on the farthest corner of this dark world. The pirate, who was watching him, took his chance. The evil soul stabbed Feliciano in the stomach. He watched himself bleed out. He was trapped too."
Alfred was horror-struck. Here he thought this was a peaceful realm of pure madness. "All of it is a dangerous delusion. Now it's your turn. I know where I went wrong. I know how to defeat him now."
The American nodded. "Tell me."
"That watch, the one Feliciano gave you, it still ticks while all others freeze. With special gems placed in their places on the cover, time will resume and you will be able to take down the pirate."
"Do you know where I can find these gems? They can't just be lying around."
Kiku smiled softly. "The gems are held by the different personalities. You'll have to get them."
Alfred only groaned. He had to get these people to trust him and get the gems. "Know where any of them hide?" Kiku nodded. "There just so happens to be a little bunny hole outside of my door. I suggest you start there."
A nod came from the American. "Anything else before I go?" The Japanese man shook his head. "Only that this is a dangerous world. Don't let your guard down and don't forget."
Another nod and bowed. Alfred thought it was the most respectful action. For what do you say to a man who will help you escape hell? How can you show gratitude to the shoes you're filling? A bow. Short, simple, perfect.
Without a word, Alfred left, ready to face his journey to escape. To save the souls who were trapped. To save his own soul.