Before we move on, I'd like to share some fun facts about the previous chapter. Originally, I was supposed to make Toni see the girl first but… it didn't seem right. I had to make Jason see her instead. XD

Jason: Sure, torture me like that. Why did you change it?

All for the plot, my dear Jason. Also, remember that I don't own anybody except my characters. Now enjoy!

It seemed like forever. The girl's dull eyes were freaking me out. Not wanting to look at her much longer, I quickly looked away. Even if I did, I could still feel her cold glare on me.

"Jason, what's wrong?"

I jolted a bit, completely forgetting that Toni was there. She gave me a look of concern while my mind was still on the girl who was in the building.

"Hello, are you ok? Snap out of it," she said as she waved her hand in front of my face. I pushed it away, looking at her seriously in the eye.

"There's a girl," I said in a hurried whisper, "She's over there in the building."

"A girl?" Toni asked curiously as she turned towards the direction I was gesturing at. She stared at the building for a few good seconds. After she did, she turned back to me with her eyebrows creased with worry.

"Jason, there's nobody there…"

"WHAT?"

I spun around. Sure enough, she was right. The girl had disappeared.

Toni placed a comforting hand on my shoulder as I looked at her with my eyes wide. "Ok, maybe those Danny Phantom stories your dad told is getting into your head right now," she said, "C'mon, I can take you home. The park can…"

"NO!"

I immediately pushed her hand away while she looked at me with a horrified expression. I knew that there was a girl inside. I just knew it. When I looked in Toni's face, I felt anger bubbling at the pit of my stomach. She didn't believe me.

"Toni, I swear. I saw her. I just don't make things up."

"But that building has been abandoned for years now," Toni explained, "No one can just enter this place. Not even a little girl."

"So what do I care? I saw one and I'm going in to prove it."

"Jason, wait, don't…"

I didn't give heed to her words and blindly walked towards the building. I didn't even bother to check if Toni was following or not. I'm not hallucinating and I wanted to be clear on that.

As I pushed the door wide open, I looked around the place and noticed that it was pretty empty. The only things that this place contained was dust coated shelves and the stench of molding paint. There was no little girl in sight but there was a door leading to the back side of the building. She could have hidden there. I was about to walk towards that door before a small voice calling after me.

"Jason…"

When I turned around, I saw Toni standing by the entrance. She looked extremely scared now. It looked like she wanted to follow after me but she seemed too nervous to even walk inside. After a moment, she begged shakily, "You have to get out of here now. I don't like the look of this place. Let's put this whole little girl thing behind and…"

"I'm not leaving," I said firmly as looked at her straight into the eyes. "It's alright if you don't want to go further inside but keep an eye out for her. I'll explore the back."

Toni stared at me with her eyes wide. After what seemed to be a moment of hesitation, she nodded.

"Promise that you won't do anything stupid in there," she said, "I wouldn't know what to say to your parents if you hurt yourself badly."

The side of my lips twitched. She seemed to try so hard to keep her sense of humor up. As I nodded in reply, she said, "I'll just wait here, ok?"

"You do that," I muttered inaudibly. Once it was over with, I faced the door once again. After taking in one deep breath, I tried to go towards the room as silently as I could. I didn't want to scare this girl away. Well, she may have had the guts to go in a deserted place like this but still. When I made it to the entrance, I placed my hand on the wall to look for a light switch. I silently hoped for this place to at least have a bit of electricity left. I found one switch but when I flicked it on, a light bulb flickered a bit before it died completely. I sighed to myself and brought out my cellphone instead. It may not be much but it gave off enough light to see a few things.

"Hello," I called out. "Are you in here?"

I was only answered by my own echo. I shuddered a bit and continued to walk forward. Toni was right. There was something about this place that felt off. Still, I was stubborn enough to shut off those feelings. I then went forward and began to further investigate the room. I shed my cellphone's light on the ground as I went deeper into the room but I couldn't see any possible footprints left in the dust. I temporarily looked back to see how far the door was because it felt impossibly farther away from me. It might've been a trick of the mind or something but, mind you, it was a hard feeling to shake off.

I ventured further. A few minutes of looking around made me realize that the room was bigger than it had seemed. It looked like some mini-warehouse compared to the simple store I thought it was. That's when it hit me. If this was a store, what the heck did it sell?

I walked towards to the closest shelf and checked for any sign of what used to be there. To my surprise, the shelf was full. Surprised with this, I investigated the following row of shelves. One after the other, I saw that there were toys all over the place. All of them neatly aligned like there was someone who watched after them all this time. Like there was someone here.

"Weird. Toni said that this was abandoned. If it is, then why…"

Before I finished my sentence, the door slammed shut. My heart began to pound against my chest and my hands began to tremble uncontrollably as I saw myself surrounded by nothing but darkness. I'm not usually the type to be afraid of the dark but I was in an abandoned building for crying out loud. It was the worst place you'd want to be in. Panicking, I tried retracing my steps. In fifteen minutes, I discovered that I was making myself more lost in the maze of shelves and toys. Even my cellphone grew useless since it shut down when it lost its power.

"Shit," I muttered as I shook my phone even if I knew it was of no use, "This is totally not my day…"

As I tried fixing my cellphone, I heard a soft giggle. I looked around, narrowing my eyes a bit. Ok, I was pretty sure that someone was following me. Forgetting my cellphone, I called out, "Hey, show yourself."

More giggles filled the air. I felt steam pouring out of my ears now. This has to be the girl I was looking for and, damn, was she annoying.

"Show yourself, darn it!"

"Show yourself, darn it. Hihi…"

I jumped out of fright and quickly spun around towards the direction of the voice. It definitely sounded like the little girl I was looking for. Well, what I think she would sound like. She sounded innocent, almost angelic, but something about her voice made my skin crawl.

After a few more heart-stopping seconds, she spoke again.

"What are you doin' here, mister?"

My mouth went dry of words. I know I should not be afraid and at least try to look for her but I felt something inside me claw my guts, screaming not to trust a single word coming from her and to… attack?

"Wow, mister. You make funny faces. C'mon, you're not afraid of me, are you?"

"…No," I lied, finally finding the voice to speak. "W-why would I be afraid? Can we get this little joke over with and let me out?"

After a moment's pause, she spoke again.

"I like you," she giggled delightfully, "Do you want to be my new playmate?"

I gulped. I could see a faint light slowly appearing in front of me. Seconds passed and the faint light formed to a brighter and more distinct figure. When the transformation was complete, I was able to see her full appearance. She had curly blonde hair with a huge white bow that adorned the back of her head. Her puffy dress was so white but the hem of her dress was tattered and burnt. Her shoes were black and in her arms was a crudely stitched teddy bear. I might have mistaken her for a normal six year old girl but her eyes were glowing bright red and her skin was pale gray.

When the girl looked at me, she wore a small smile. I took a step back. I really wanted to run and scream at the top of my lungs but I was frozen in place. I just couldn't believe what stood in front of my very eyes at that very moment.

"What's wrong? Don't you want to play with me?"

The girl took one step closer to me. I still couldn't move so the girl took it as a sign that I was ok with her and began to float towards me. When she was close enough to touch me, she smiled and took my hand gently. That did it. The moment she touched my hands, a great chill ran down my spine and jolted all my senses to awaken. I was about to run away but the girl's grip suddenly tightened. I was surprised with her hidden strength.

"Please, let me go," I begged for mercy as I attempted to free myself. "I'm not here to play with you."

The girl's eyes began to glow dangerously bright as her grip began making my fingers numb. "Didn't you want to play? You came here with no stopping. I saw you!"

"Yeah but I didn't know that you're a…" I trailed off. The word that was supposed to come out didn't fit right. They're not supposed to exist. They're not supposed to be within my reach. It was all impossible. Still, the impossible was glaring at me.

"I. Hate. YOU!"

Before I knew it, I was hurled across the room like a simple rag doll and crashed into a shelf with a loud CRACK. When I landed on the ground, I groaned painfully as I held onto my head. I tried to escape but I couldn't see where I was with all the stars in my eyes. As I attempted to stand, I received a heavy blow at the stomach and doubled over, coughing violently. I must've looked pretty pathetic back then. I was so close to going black before the girl grabbed my throat and pinned me to the ground.

"Play with me now?" the girl asked once more, insanity filling up her eyes.

Choking for air, I tried to free myself from her iron grasp. She saw my attempt and her eyes grew wide with anger. "Why won't you play?"

With each passing second, I could feel my lungs beginning to fail me, my hands growing weak to fight against her grip and my senses going cold. When all seemed lost, a weird sensation overcame me. Before I realized what happened, I was able to breathe again and the girl's cold hands seemed to loosen around on my throat.

I immediately gasped for air; the girl backed away in surprise. She stared at me as if I was something new to her. I still lay on the ground, too exhausted to even move. After a moment, her eyes grew darker and she asked, "Are you human?"

As my chest began to rise and fall with every breath I took, I stared at her in silence. Not because I was tired this time but it was the fact that she asked me such a question. Of course I'm human. I'm still living, breathing, and feeling. I could feel a bit of my strength returning and I forced myself up to a sitting position. After I used the sleeve of my jacket to wipe off the blood that was dripping from the edge of my lip, I simply looked at her and said, "Sorry, I am one."

She still kept on staring at me with fascination. After a while, she said, "You look like one. You act like one but you are not one. I feel that you and I are no different…"

Right then and there, the door suddenly burst open. The daylight blinded me and I quickly shielded my eyes. In my peripheral view, I saw the girl vanishing again. I couldn't make out the situation at first but I heard someone cry out my name.

"Toni," I suddenly realized. She was getting herself in a heap of trouble for this. I tried to stand as fast as I could but the blows I received prevented me from moving at all. The effort I was exerting now weakened me and almost made me collapse but someone held onto my arms.

"Jason, what have you done? I told you not to do anything stupid but look at you! It was a good thing I was able to gather all my guts to get here."

I looked up and saw the horrified expression Toni wore. I know that she was worried for me but she didn't know how much danger we were both in if we didn't get out of there quick enough.

"Toni, we have to go, like, now," I moaned as I tried to stand up properly. I almost faltered from my weakened state but Toni quickly supported me.

"Hell yeah we do," she scolded, "You think I'm going to forgive you for scaring me like that? You are in so much trouble!"

"Toni, watch out!"

When I pointed towards the door, it was too late. Swallowed by darkness once again, I could feel Toni's entire body going ridged. I held onto to her tightly. We'll both die if we don't stick together.

"J-Jason, what's going on?" Toni asked me shakily. I only glared into the darkness.

"Just hold onto me," I assured her, "Everything will be fine if we…"

Suddenly, Toni disappeared by my side. Without anything to support me, I fell on the floor.

"JASON!"

As her shrill cry pierced my eardrums, I felt my heart drop. This wasn't supposed to happen. I slowly looked up, only to see the little girl smiling at me while trapping Toni in her arms.

"You're such a pathetic little plaything," the girl mocked me. "I thought you would be fun but I was wrong. I wonder if this girl would be any better?"

Toni screamed louder as the girl began to suffocate her. Time froze for me. It was all happening too fast. This was supposed to be a regular walk around town but how did it end up in this terrible mess? In my mind, I silently prayed to whatever God up there to help me. I didn't want to be a useless piece of crap, watching my friend slowly die. Shit, shit, shit, I thought, what the heck am I supposed to do? I closed my eyes tightly, knowing that both of us will die here…

"SOMEBODY HELP ME!"

… but my eyes flew open. Toni was looking at me, desperately trying to escape as the girl was close to finishing her off. I glared at the girl. Something within me finally snapped and gave me some sort of weird energy I couldn't even describe. Slowly, I tried to stand up. First on my knees and hands, then I found my footing. I looked up and saw the girl look at me in surprise. In her state of shock, her grip loosened around Toni while Toni collapsed onto the ground, trying to catch her breath.

"Your eyes," the girl cried as she looked at me, "They changed color. You can't be…"

I stood up, wobbling a little, as I kept on glaring at her. The girl slightly took a step back. She and I were in a temporary trance, staring into each other's eyes. Finally, I broke the silence.

"Let us go, kid. I don't even know what you want with us but you have to let us go."

The girl smirked in my direction. She probably knew where I was going with this conversation. "I am not just a kid. I am Alice," she replied, "Only Alice. If you want to be set free, all you have to do is play one game with me."

My eyes narrowed. So that's it. I just have to play this game with her. I don't know if I could be able to win against her. She had some insane strength and I don't know what else she could do. Still, I had to try to win.

"So, what are the rules then?"

"Well, I like to keep my game interesting," she chuckled. "We play, keep each other at our toes and you try to survive. The ultimate objective is to reach the door within thirty minutes. When you fail, well, you become my playmate for the rest of your lifetime."

I gulped. This is a huge risk I was taking here.

"Are there any exceptions to the game?" I asked, hoping for a fair fight.

"Well, for humans, I don't use my powers at all. I'm just like a weak little girl to them so that's why most manage to escape..."

I smirked. So she'll hold back her powers, I thought to myself, I could save Toni.

"Then let's play it then," I said, accepting her challenge.

"…but," Alice said, smiling at me, "I won't hold my powers back on you."

"WHAT?" I yelled at her, "You said you'll give humans a fighting chance!"

Alice was playing me into a trap. I was foolish not to see it before. Smiling at me playfully, she said, "Ah, but it would be unfair on my part. You may be human now but your eyes tell me otherwise. So, are we going to play this game…"

I fearfully looked at her. She can't be serious about this. How can I match up with her? She almost choked me to death for gosh sake.

"…as equals?"

Equals? The word echoed in the room. She and I were equals? Shit, she's just playing with my mind, I thought to myself. NO, it's the truth, came a dangerous voice from the back of my head, She's telling the truth. You know it, Jason. You could feel it.

I looked down at my hands. They were trembling now.

Didn't you feel the energy that coursed through you earlier, it said again, You can do it, Jason.

I closed my eyes. I didn't want to believe what I was thinking. This voice knew the truth. I knew it was the truth. I just knew it.

So what will I do now?

I took in a deep breath. This voice. All this time. This voice was the truth

Change.

A bright light consumed me. Before I know what was going on, I screamed.

Aw, man. I hope you guys enjoyed that! Seriously, this is a hard chapter to write. It's hard to keep the story flowing at this point.

Jason: Yeah, whatever Specs. You were too lazy to get this thing moving along because of Homestuck, Adventure Time, Pewdiepie, Tobuscus, Avengers, Spiderman…

Let's not get carried away, you imbecilic little cutie. Speaking of which, I found Jason's voice: www . youtube watch?v=DjNisadPbow

I also want you guys to try and read this other awesome next generation fic. - s/5783915/1/

Seriously, read it. You won't regret it one bit. :3

And with that, I ask thee to leave a review. I know you want to because of my alluring voice~

Jason: They don't know what you sound like. It's like a…

SHHHHH. They don't have to know.