A/R: Hello again dear readers! Welcome to chapter seven! It's kinda short (what is with me and short chapters lately? xD), but whatever.

Also, chapter 8 will be posted immediately afterwards, so be sure to check it out. ;)

Disclaimer: I don't own Monochrome Factor, the characters, blah, blah, blah. I only own the story line, and Authors Rants (what I am now calling these little rant-fests of mine), blah, blah, bloody blah...

Warning: this chapter contains NOTHING that I would need to warn you about and is totally safe (I think) for young children! Enjoy!

The Vale of Light

Water. There was water everywhere. The only areas left untouched by the crystal liquid were the mossy banks of the vast stream, a building which suspiciously resembled Master's bar on the other side of the stream, and the stepping stones that lead to it. Not only was there water, but cherry blossom petals were scattered everywhere as well. Light pink petals drifted along in the gentle breeze, blanketed the banks, and even littered the surface of the trickling currents.

Akira stared at the breathtaking scenery in awe. The brunet was very rarely impressed by anything, but this place just about did it. "So this is the Vale of Light," that wasn't really a question, but it's not like anyone was there to answer it.

Stepping out from under the dense forest canopy, Akira shielded his teal-grey eyes from the blinding light that struck his retinas. This was definitely the right place.

xXxXx

Akira stepped into the familiar building. Everything looked exactly like Bar Still. Every table, bar stool, and shot glass sat neatly where they had always been. Even the man behind the counter was standing where he normally stood.

"I don't believe I've heard these footsteps before," said Master, or whatever he went by in this mess up place. As always, the blind bartender was cleaning a blue-tinted shot glass. He was wearing his usual bartender clothes, but instead of being black and white, they were turquoise and magenta. "I am the Caterpillar, though most people call me Master. You must be Alice."

Akira sighed, was everyone going to keep calling him that? "…Yeah," he finally answered dejectedly. There was no point in trying to tell the Caterpillar his real name. No one ever let him finish most of what he was trying to say, not that Master would do that, but still. All his efforts had been in vain up until now, so why bother?

"You seem to be a bit confused," said Master. He gently placed the shot glass on the shelf and took up another one to clean. The strange thing was the new glass was already clean. Had Master always done that? Akira didn't know. He'd never really paid much attention to the shot glasses Master always seemed to be cleaning for no apparent reason. "Did the Mad Hatter send you here without an explanation?"

Akira nodded, "All she did was tell the Cheshire Wolf to direct me here."

"That sounds like something she'd do," the man smiled. "Are you looking for the White Rabbit?"

Akira's whole body stiffened unwillingly at the very mention of that name. He couldn't quite explain it, but he honestly had no idea why he was even wasting his energy looking for Shirogane. It was quite obvious that he wasn't even here, so why…

"I have something that might help you," said Master as he placed three small vials of liquid on the counter. One was purple, one was green, the other was red, and they all had tags that read "Drink Me" tied around them. The man pointed to the purple liquid, "This will make you smaller, this one will make you much larger, and the last one is for the White Rabbit," he said, moving down the line of vials, ending with the red one.

"For the White Rabbit?" asked Akira, taking the vials and slipping them into one of his apron pockets. God, he hated this ridiculous outfit!

Master nodded, "If it's not too much trouble, could you give it to him?"

Great, another reason to look for the pervert…

Akira sighed. "Sure. I haven't seen him at all since I got here, but I will when I find him." Or when he finds me, he mentally added as an afterthought.

"Thank you," Master picked up another shot glass from the shelf.

A/R: Yeah...crappy way to end the chapter, but I couldn't think of anything else. I am deeply sorry for the lack of comedy. Sadly, there won't be much of that in the next chapter either. Ehehe... *hides behind a tree* Please don't hurt m-! *bricked from behind* OW!

Reviews, critiques, and suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time (chapter 8 is already up).

See you next chapter!