Interrobangs: Hey guys! I didn't die!
Shun: *mutters* Unfortunately.
IB: You shaddup, ninja fraud! Sorry it's been SO SO SO SO SO SO long, I went on a CRUISE! I'm writing this on the cruise right now, but there's no internet to submit it on. (8 days and no wifi plus laziness equals A LONG TIME) Anyhow, thank you all for your reviews! Forgot to mention, but this is a crossover between Cause of Death and Bakugan. You don't need to know what Cause of Death is to read this, though! In fact, it's better that you don't because it's basically the Bakugan people with parts of the Cause of Death plot. And before you ask, I can't find the Cause of Death section. I will upload it there if I ever find it! Also, I decided that 3rd person is better, so I redid this chapter! It goes into Alice's POV occasionally, but she's the main character so it's okay. Back to reviews! Funny ^-^ I agree, Alice with a gun…*shudder-laughs*
Alice: *does cute confused face* What about me?
IB: Oh, just reflecting on last chapter's events. Will you do the disclaimer for me, please?
A: Of course! Interrobangs-san doesn't own the characters from Bakugan or Cause of Death, she's just using them. Bye everyone, and enjoy~ *leaves*
IB: Alice with a gun… xD
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C H A P T E R O N E (REDONE [OMG THAT RHYMES…])
-Alice's POV-
"Now, just fill out a few papers here and there for me…" Shun waves his hand towards a tall stack. He looks different than I remember him back in the old days of brawling and saving the world. He still has his signature ahoge, but with shorter hair and glasses that make him look too professional. But I know on the inside he's the same. I pick up a pen and begin to fill out the forms, eager to get the job done, and hand him the first packet within minutes. He reads over it, then does the sexy pull-glasses-to-bridge-of-nose-and-tip-head-down-to-view-you- critically. It's a good look for him. "…it seems that you will be working here with me in the lab."
I can't tell if he's pleased or not, but whatever his face means, it makes me feel happy inside. He's just what I've always dreamed for…and more. "Remind me again…why did I go through that training? If I am going to be analyzing data, why do I need to learn how to use a gun?"
"It is in case of emergencies, Alice-san," Why is he acting so formal to me? I'm not sure, but I feel a wave of unease come over me. He waves over towards a room. "In that room, we keep all of our gear, including guns. Remember that, in case we need to spring into action."
By now, I've begun to take brief notes on my hand, which makes me feel extremely uncomfortable. The two of us sweep through the rest of the papers in uncomfortable silence, and it doesn't help that I suck in a breath each time you come across a question about my past, whether it be my mother, father, criminal record, or grandfather. This is quite frequently, and Shun gives me an odd glare. I facepalm, realizing that I probably sound like a hyperventilated moron. Cheeks burning, I hand the stack of paperwork to Shun. I'm glad when Dan bursts in, breaking the awkward quiet that has lingered over my head for the last hour or so.
"Hey, Alice! Glad you joined the team! There's lots of people, most of which you'll know! I have the grand title Detective Dan Kuso—" he points to himself proudly, "As do Runo and Ace. Marucho's the big boss, our Captiain, Fabia and Chan are our lovely Special Agents, Baron and Mira are our trusty officers, and Shun's the forensic specialist! There are way more, but you'll meet them eventually. Of course, you're going to be our Data Analyst," Dan rattles on, and I can't help but laugh. I'm so glad he's back. We finally stop at the lab. "And Shun will be your mentor!"
"Arigatou, Shun-sama!" Two can play at this 'proper' game.
"My pleasure, Alice-kun." So…now I'm his student, apparently… I smile weakly.
"That's Data Analyst, to you," my smile turns a bit of a shy-cocky (A/N: Which is an ADORABLY RARE look!), and for once, I look forward to a big stack of data to sift through.
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-No one's POV-
"You're joking, right?" Fabia yelled into the phone, though the feeling had already dawned on her, and it wasn't in a good way: Marucho wasn't lying. "There's no way…okay, yes, I'll make sure they all know. YES, I'm sorry for yelling. Arigatou."
Dan peered over the half-wall separating the rooms at the precinct . "What's going on in there?"
Fabia ran a hand through her dark hair, wondering how she could phrase this without sounding so…blunt. "Dan? Well...you know those old pop star sisters, right?"
"Jenny and Jewels?" Dan questioned, and Fabia replied with a nod. "Yup, I know them. Me and Marucho were big fans when we were younger."
Dan and Marucho were big fans? Fabia slowly sunk back into her chair. That really doesn't help the situation…What should I say next? They should really train us with clever ways to deal with situations other than when a guy's pointing a gun at your head… Dan's abruptness soon broke Fabia from her thoughts and snapped her back into reality. "What about them?" Dan has turned away from his cubicle and is suddenly in yours.
"Well, you see…" Might as well just get to the point. "They're dead."
"Well, people die," Dan shrugged, rolling back and forth in the chair.
"Dan!" Fabia groaned, exasperated at the outburst. She turned back towards her desk and continued reviewing evidence, ignoring Dan as he arched an eyebrow. He knows there is more than what I'm telling him. "What's coming out from this, Fabia?"
Fabia sighed, pretending to be absorbed in her work. Staring at a few pictures of crime scenes Mira and Baron sent her, she felt uncomfortable. There were dead, familiar bodies, staring eerily at the camera. Their eyes seemed to be staring at her no matter where she moved the picture. She slammed them down, and make a sudden turn towards Dan. "There's a murderer on the loose, Dan. A good one."
"Well, there's nothing we can't handle," Dan grinned, rolling over and patting her shoulder. "This is a perfect opportunity for Alice!"
"You're right, Dan," Fabia felt a wave of guilt crash over her at the lie, but she smiled weakly and turned back to her work. The blank, dead stares of the celebrity girls would not leave her head.
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Alice was late. Not a surprise.
You know, it wouldn't surprise me if Alice just stopped to admire something, Runo groaned, flipping a pigtail over her shoulder. Like, I don't know, a swirl of creamer in a cup of coffee or a piece of trash blowing in the wind.
She rounded a corner sharply and slowed to a stop. Well, here it is, she looked down at the paper in front of her. She stared down at the sidewalk, trying to ignore the eerie and dissonant sounds echoing throughout the air…
That's it, Runo snapped her fingers internally. Alice is admiring the cracks in the sidewalk. Oh look, that one looks different than the rest! That one goes all the way into the NEXT square of sidewalk! It's a freakin' miracle!
The thought is rude, Runo knew, and she would never actually say it to Alice. It kept the jarring sounds off her mind for awhile, but they were soon back. Bare tree branches, bent by the wind, crawled along the shingles like a skeleton hand, scratching the windows. The sound was horrible, possibly worse than fingernails on a chalkboard. The distant sound of wind chimes tinkling discordantly combined with the scraping of branches against glass was almost enough to make her leave in itself, but she couldn't. Yet.
To top off the haunted mansion look, the brick on the house was black and the shingles on the roof and windows a deep purple. The sight was unsettling, and going inside was even more so. But Runo sensed that there's a lot of time left on her hands, and a lot worse things that could be happening.
Practically on-cue, a scream pierced the air. It sliced through the heavy wind, and the skeleton hand trees and chimes began to shrink in comparison.
Still no sign of Alice.
Runo slowly slipped in through the huge doors….to be greeted by the chill of a hand on the back of her neck.
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IB: Yay, that took way too long to edit! Sorry if it is really awkward in places, it seemed like that to me ^-^"
A: Now I think it's time for high fives~
IB: Yah, let's virtually give chquine-harvinellisse a high five! Thank you so much for not only reviewing and favorite story-ing, but also because your fics rock!*high fives the air awkwardly*
IB: And a high five to all my other reviewers and story favorite-ers! You guys are awesomely awesome! I made a resolution to try and keep up with my stories better, and I've been kinda failing so far xD *high fives the air* okay. This isn't working.
A: *quickly* And that concludes the time taken for high fives!~ Goodbye everyone, and please take a few seconds to review so Interrobangs-san can virtually high five you. It makes me happy when she does that!~
(A/N: Yup, all the italicized words (well, not all of them, just the…odd ones) are—you guessed it—Japanese! –san, -sama, -kun, it's sorta like their equivalent of our Mr, Mrs, miss, sir, professor, etc. If you didn't know, an ahoge is a single strand of hair the sprouts out from the top of the head in an anime character xD Shun was one of the examples, so I decided to use that. Arigatou is thank you.)