Jackie wiped her brow clear of sweat as she looked over the open control panel, trying to figure out what exactly is jamming the transmission of pressing the button to the ferris wheel from inside the booth. She let out a heavy sigh and sat down, poking around with the wiring and shelling some of the chewed wires and entwining the copper wire from within to form a connection. She hoped that this alone was the problem so that she wouldn't have to go out and spend some cash. Poor Gowland is already drowning in debt but it's his own fault for spending it all on useless crap rather than to the loan sharks or the Hatters. Ugh … idiot boss.
From the shadows, a perfectly concealed figure watched the park's engineer, waiting for the right moment to approach.
Jackie rubbed her tired eyes and finished with the wires, flicking the switch back on to the power grid before pushing the button. And again. And again.
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH IT?!" She shouted, smacking the controls before getting control of her short, violent outburst. It's fine, it's fine I just need to figure out what the hell is wrong with it … wait … She looked out the window to the ferris wheel, trying to see if the cord at the center was properly connected. She grabbed some binoculars off the shelf and hopped outside, putting the binoculars to her eyes and searching for the connection point.
Oh I'm so stupid sometimes I should just lay down in a ditch and never crawl back out.
She set the pair of binoculars on the ground and trotted over to the ladder, swinging around and began her ascent to the platform where the main motor that turned the wheel around was. She bet that the problem lied in there and not the booth.
Unaware of the figure following her closely, Jackie went on…
She reached the top of the platform and clutched the railing tight as she walked over to the chest and flipped it open, setting the harness on herself and connected the cord to the rails. She thought she saw something small jamming the outside edge where the car is but that wouldn't affect the main motor. She'd have to look at the motor after she's cleared the car's hinge from whatever is making it tilt abnormally. After making sure the wind stopped she grabbed onto the large iron beam and began to more or less crawl to the car.
The figure skillfully went after her, careful to avoid being noticed in any way, climbing up to be in a better upper position without Jackie realizing there was someone else so close to her. Apparently he or she was an expert on such things.
Jackie slid onto the top of the car and got a better look at the metallic object. A … clock? How the hell did that end up here? She groaned. It must have been a stupid teenager and something led to something else and … I don't even want to think about it. She fixed her foot on the beam and on the cart, pushing with all her might to loosen the clock before quickly grabbing it and retreating back to the beam. And there we go, another clock for Julius.
She slipped the clock into her tool belt that hung like an X formation on her hips, slowly working her way back before a strong gust of wind whipped through the beams. She sucked in a startled breath and latched onto an upstanding beam, waiting for the gust to end before moving on. She needed to be more careful if she didn't want to fall. Chances were that she was going to knock her head against a beam if she made a clumsy mistake.
The figure loomed now over the engineer, careful to hide it's shadow with the wheel's carts.
Jackie paused, hearing the irritating squeaking of the hitch again. And again. And … ugh. She glared back at the car, slipping out an oiler and carefully slinking back to the car to oil up the squeaking hinges. The wind picks up again as she crawls on all fours to the edge and pumps oils into the gear, being cautious not to fall.
A sudden groaning of twisting metal catches her attention as the ferris wheel jerks to life, shaking the car she was on. The music began to play it's cheerful toon as the car tilts, nearly sliding Jackie right off the edge. Who turned it on-?! Her ankle twisted as she tumbled off the edge with a startled gasp.
She was going to fall, or she should have, but something caught the harnesses safe line, preventing her from falling to her doom. When Jackie looked up, she saw that the line hasn't been caught in something, rather it was being held by someone. The figure was cloaked completely. Jackie could only see that the person was wearing a bulky coat over a tactical vest, cargo pants full of gear and combat boots, but more strikingly, it was the gas face-mask that covered his or her face.
She had never seen anyone with gear like that in Wonderland, but it was not a good moment to consider that, because that person was holding her life in one hand.
"If I wanted to kill you I would let go. But I don't want you dead, I just want to talk." - The voice was digitally distorted, making it impossible to know the gender of the person. - "Will you talk to me once we get down from here? Preferably away from whoever turn this on just now?"
She stared at the person's mask, shocked and cautious at his or her appearance. "You … aren't from Wonderland." Jackie accused. There's no way someone from Wonderland would have a voice like that or clothes like that. "At least not from Heart Country." She said, waiting for the person to pull her back onto the ride but the stranger continued to hold her there.
"I'll show you. Trust me, you DO want to speak with me. But we must get out of here first, preferably with you in one piece." - The person then moved the line to make Jackie swing a bit, "so what will it be, a nice little chat or a panoramic view while falling?" The person sighed, "look, I don't really just want to talk. I could have killed you like 50 times today already if I wanted to. You left too many openings… can we at least get out of here before someone comes?"
" … uh … who are you?" She asked, a little more disturbed than trusting of this stranger. 50 times? Has this person been stalking me? Jackie considered her options, looking off to the side and noticing a figure dashing away. Was he the one who turned on the ride? But it looks like the power was cut off suddenly.
"You caught on quickly. I'm not from hearts… don't worry about that person. I saw him planning something and I cut off the power cord to prevent more damage. I promise Ill tell you more, but let's get back to the safety of land first…," the person looked at where the man had run off and something shone below the mask's visor, "let's do something… once we're down I'll let you see my face and you decide if you want to speak to me… yes, I said face."
" … alright, yeah. You a Role Holder?" She asked, trying to lean forward to steady herself. Relying on this person's strong arm was a bit of a long shot for her, particularly since the stranger could drop her at any time.
"You'll see when we get down, I'd show you my face right now but I'd have to let go of you for that!" It was clear that the stranger was getting exasperated, "I'm getting tired here. Just say yes or no."
"I just did." Jackie says, gripping the stranger's wrist. "Now pull me up. Please." She tacked on, thinking it was best not to piss off a Role Holder. Not all of them are initially friendly.
"As a mercenary, I'll account that as a formal deal," then the figure pulled Jackie up back into safety and step aside to let Jackie pass first, "after you. Please notice that I'm trusting you not to run away… although I could grab the safe line before you did."
Both climbed down, Jackie by the latter and the mysterious person somehow by the metal construction, keeping at a close distance from Jackie.
Jackie uneasily hopped onto the ground and unhooked her harness, tossing it into a crate near the ladder as she waited for the stranger to get down. She wasn't exactly sure what to say to him. "Who are you?" She asked, trying to get some distance between the two of them until she could at least see the stranger's face.
Without taking off the hood of the cloak, the person put it's hand over the mask and moved it to the back of the head. The arms position impeded Jackie from seeing the persons face until they were lowered down, showing something Jackie had not expected.
Jackie's surprised gaze was met by that of sharp olive green eyes over the pale skin of a young woman.
"I'm known here as Aria Hadron Scherzi and I'm the second foreigner." The voice was still digitally distorted, "now… will you speak with me?"
"Uh … yeah, you got my attention." Jackie said, shifting uncomfortably under her gaze. "Let's … just go to my apartment since you probably already know where it is." She started cautiously before grunting the last line, realizing if she was following Jackie for so long chances were that she knew where she lived.
"You mean my old room?" The person put the mask back on, "it's the place I stayed at the times I was here."
"You lived at the Amusement Park?" She asked, starting her way to the apartment and expecting the young woman to follow.
"No. I worked everywhere and stayed sometimes in the rooms they provided. Mostly I did my best to constantly move and not be such an easy target." They arrived at the apartment and Aria looked around- "It's practically the same. I bet you never found out the jornal I hid in the 3rd cabinet on the right with the general design of the central system for the electric distribution, and stuff like that"
" … Yeah I did, actually. I gutted the apartment and built it up." Jackie said, unlocking the door and let her inside the apartment.
"Well… sorry to tell you this but you did a plucky job. Everything looks the same… did you discovered the rest of the stuff?"
"That depends on how many there were." Jackie said, walking over to her drawer. She reached in and pulled out a few notebooks, setting them on the counter. "I figured whoever owned it last left these here and since I happened to have some extra room I just put them all together."
"And what do you think? weren't you ever curious as to who could have written those things? … specially because they are in spanish?" Aria said as she went to the windows to close them and be sure that no one had followed them, "I'd like to establish a perimeter, but sadly I can't right now. So lets talk, I have a few questions for you."
"Alright," Jackie agreed, also curious about this stranger. She, in truth, never bothered to look at the books since they weren't hers and her beginnings in Wonderland were rocky. After her engineering job took off she just forgot about them.
"Firsts questions: Where do you come from? What was the last date you remember? the year specifically, How did you arrived here?, How long have you been in Wonderland? What have the Role Holders told you about this place? have you met them all?" Aria looked slightly disturbed, as if the answers to those questions was of utter importance.
"America. The last date was … around 2012 I think," she said, unsure now. "Huh. I'm probably 18 or something by now. I haven't bothered to keep track of the date." She said, giving the math some thought before rolling over and giving up on it. It's not worth it. What's the point if I can't return?
"2012?... still under the gregorian calendar... " Aria's eyes tightened under the mask and her posture went tense "Which country, America? And the other questions please."
Jackie got the sense that there was something more to this questions…
"America is America. It's a little hard to explain it other than that." She bluntly said, "are you from the future?" She asked. Jackie has spoken to Alice before about home and the way she explained it, before getting a migraine, was strangely very old fashioned. She figured out at one point that Alice must have been from an earlier time though she wasn't sure when.
"America is a continent with more than 30 countries. I'm trying to pinpoint the position in relation that that of the country I was went I jumped into the hole. And no, I'm not from the future... you are from the past," Aria hesitated as if considering things. Her tone became dry - "I know it sounds strange, but trust me, there is a difference and a reason… you just confirmed it. Please answer the other questions."
" … ok? Well, anyway, I don't know how long I've been here for. I fell down a hole like Alice did … I think?" She trailed off, giving it some thought before an irritable headache throbbed in her head. Ouch. "I've met all the Role Holders and have fairly good relations with them all. Except Peter." She huffs.
"You speak english… So you are either from Canada or gringolan… USA"- She managed to correct herself but Jackie noticed it. "What have they told you about this place and about the game?"
"I'm from New York if that helps." She corrects. What in the hell is Gringolan? Just how far in the future is this girl? "Game? Well, that I'm next in line to start and when I fill this thing up," she says, pulling out her vial for Aria to see but keeps it out of her reach before safely putting it away, "I can go home." She says with longing and lingering sadness.
"Figures…," Aria seemed to sigh as she crossed her arms, "I should ask you what's the reason for you to want to go back and what you expect of the future back in our world before I tell you that everyone has lied to you about many things… like that you can actually go back any moment you want."
Jackie stayed in shocked silence, turning her gaze glimmering with hope in her eyes. "I can?" She whispers, taking a step towards her before her knees suddenly buckle along with a powerful migraine that stabbed into her head. "AHH!" She let out a sharp, short scream as she dropped to the ground, clutching her head as she rasped in her horror. It hurts-! And then, without warning, she collapsed onto the ground, completely out.
"Nightmare… "Aria growled and went to Jackie's side, pulling her up and dragging her to the bed. She then wrote a couple notes. She left one for Jackie to find and lead her to the other one that she put inside the books on the counter. Then she left the place before anyone arrived. Jackie had screamed loudly and Nightmare now knew about her, which meant that very soon, at least Grey would be on her trail. It wouldn't be the first time she dodged the Role Holders, but this time she wasn't even sure she wanted too.
Maybe it was truly for the best that they had forgotten about her. But still it felt…. and that was the problem. She felt. And she should be incapable of such. She needed more information. But she also needed to speak with Jackie again on another occasion and make sure that they were not interrupted. And one of the best ways to achieve that was give Jackie the potion candies that had blocked that kind of influence from Nightmare.
When Joker showed her what he'd done to Alice to traumatize her so, Aria had seen that those candies prevented Nightmare to act on her outside of dreams. However acquiring them would be tricky. And she just wasn't going to go and present herself to her best pal Joker just like that. She wasn't sure she could face him… or anyone. Not yet in any case. Not until she was more sure of herself.
She scurried away undetected, thinking that as a thank you, she could give Jackie information in return if she considered that to be a good idea once Nightmare wasn't meddling in this foreigner affair… Or maybe she could give misinformation. That was a good option too.