Shinkus: Here is Chapter ten! I hope you enjoy it!

CHAPTER 10

Shinku blinked slightly as she saw the figure jump down and a tall young man jumped down gracefully. She could not believe what she was seeing. Her father. In front of her. Her dream had come true. Or not.

His features were refined and elegant, and his long, blonde shaggy hair was tied behind him in a neat ponytail with a small piece of rope, or linen. He was wearing a white button down with the front two buttons mismatched. His dark black pants were ironed, and straight as the creases showed obviously even though it was raining. His shoes were gleaming as though they were made of onyx, but the material was tender, and soft as though it was deerskin.

Although he showed no sign that he was in a rich family in his clothing or anything else, his shining blue eyes and the air and aura around him hinted that he was an elegant, graceful being, and was nothing less of one of a royal.

Shinku's face was expressionless and blank, and she was unable to tell what the man was saying; a stupid lie, or, the truth.

"You might find it…quite surprising that I might show myself at such a time. Alice has not been decided at this point, and none of you have won the Alice game. But, I-

"You liar." Shinku said her voice was piercing through his, interrupting his sentence.

"Why do you say so otherwise? I can say that-"

"Father would never show himself at such a time. He will only meet Alice. He only has eyes for Alice. And that is the reason for the Alice game. He created this game but not follow the rules? No. It is not fair to the others. If you were father, then I'd be greatly disappointed." Shinku said as her eyes started narrowing slightly.

Rozen, or not Rozen looked mildly surprised, but he recovered instantly. He sighed and untied the linen or rope that secured his shaggy hair. He bent down and pulled something off his head, and he straightened up as he revealed a sheet of straight blonde hair that rolled down to his shoulders. In his hand was a lump of blond stringy hair. A wig. Retying the linen neatly in his hair, he looked less like a man who did not shave regularly.

He grinned impishly and his tone changed greatly as he said , "I expected nothing less of a Rozen Maiden. You are, sort of part of me anyway, and I am a person who is far greater and more brilliant than normal people after all." He smirked slightly and continued, "After this damn bunny showed up, he started making these strange wooden dolls and things. Muttering Alice, Alice, Alice, I will revive Alice. Bah. You should be disappointed, I am not your father who you greatly adore. But I know him quite well."

"What do you mean? You pretend you are father, and then say you are not? And admitting that fast? Your acting skills are worse than a cat! Or either you are a hopeless person who has no functioning brain cells! Or none at all! That also proves that your intelligence should not be greater than a stupid cat who has none!"

A/N: Sorry for the offense and the interruption here. I like cats. They're cool. And I like dogs too. They're awesome. Shinku just hates cats. The way their eyes glow in the dark. Her previous median had a cat. So for this reason she does not like cats.

"…Are you insulting me?" The man blinked and his eyes flashed.

"Yes, I am." Shinku said coolly as her eyes were as thin as a sheet of paper glaring at the man, "Who are you. Speak the truth, or either write it, listening to your words from your foul lips makes me more sick than meeting Suigintou. I detest liars. Especially those who call themselves 'father'."

"Yet, you speak such dirty words. As his older brother, I can't believe he would create a doll who's personality so wretched." The man's mood suddenly lightened up all though lightning was flashing everywhere around him.

"B-brother?" Shinku was caught off guard by the statement.

"Yes. He who you call your father was my brother." The man said grimly, "My name is Marcel Rozen."

After a few minutes of silence Shinku sighed and decided that she should leave. Even if he was father's brother, he would not be of any help to let her escape the N-field, bring her to father, or help her find Jun's birthday gift which was the last priority now, as if she couldn't get back, she couldn't give him her gift.

Frustrated she opened her soft lips and said, "I cannot speak to you. You are no help to me, and I don't wish you to do so. I bid you good day." Shinku opened the door into the mansion and Marcel Rozen stood in his spot looking at the spot where the miniature doll was standing. Emotionless.

"Wait."

"What is it?" Shinku turned her head in an annoyed fashion. She still needed to figure out how to leave this place. .

"I can help you."

"Specify what you mean, Marcel the idiot."

"On first name terms already?" Marcel raised a lofty eyebrow ignoring the insult.

"I do not wish to call you by father's surname. It is an insult to his memory of him."

"Anyway, you need to get out of here do you?"

"……And how do you know that?" Shinku said in a bored tone.

"You are aren't you?"

"Yes. And you know how?"

"Under one condition." Marcel smiled innocently as Shinku's bright blue eyes dawned on his, flashing.

"What…condition do you expect me to meet?"

"I'd like you to let me stay wherever you live in your world."

Shinku thought about Nori and how she would take this. Nicely. Jun? That servant needs no consideration. The dolls? I doubt they'd utter anything. Deal.

"Why would you like to enter the human world? I suppose so. But we have no room in the house, unless you'd like to sleep on a couch? Or the floor."

"Fine with me." Marcel answered ignoring the first question.

"What is the process, may I ask?" Shinku said curiously with a bored tone in her words.

"No…you may not ask. It is different on how you dolls travel. Have you a quill and parchment?"

Shinku sighed, "Why?"

"Just hand it over."

Shinku walked into the house and returned shortly with a small pot of black ink and a eagle feathered quill with a small stack of ragged parchment.

"This quill is very grand….all right then. I will show you parts of what we are doing." Marcel examined the quill while commenting it and looked at the parchment.

"And how are you going to explain?"

"Drawing of course."

He opened the small pot of ink and dabbed the point of the quill and drew a small mirror in the center. He drew three lines pointing in array of different direction above the mirror. Not too far. Not too close. He wrote 'Normal Doll' on the middle line. 'Special Dolls' on the right and on the left, Human and Doll on the left and remaining line.

"All right then. First of all. The way you travel, whether with a median or not is called, the "Normal Doll" way." Marcel pointed on the middle line, "Most commonly used I suppose."

Shinku nodded. She knew all of this. But to get back, acting nice would probably be the best choice.

"Second of all, Special Dolls are like, er…the first doll. Your sister. I suppose. I only know your name, and the other three who live with you. All right. She was the first doll made by my little brother, and she was incomplete. She, has the power to enhance portals anywhere. A special doll." Marcel said and Shinku blinked. How amusing.

"The way I'm traveling, or we're traveling," Marcel added hastily as Shinku pulled out her cane, "is the Human and Doll way. It's a rough path to cross, and it's hard to get through, but with me, you'll manage it. I'm smart after all. It'll take a day or two to get through but-

"Can't it be any shorter?" Shinku demanded her eyes bright. "I want to get back within the day."

"Then it'll be a problem. You also want to save your abducted sister don't you? But you should have your median with you to do so…"

"I know that." Shinku snapped angrily as she stashed her cane away looking irritated. She did not like him at all. Brother or not, he was still a complete liar who is idiotic and had a particularly large ego.

"Well, it might be possible to get back faster if you have enough willpower, but it'll be around morning by then. It's not exactly safe, you might lose, an arm, a leg, I suppose," he shrugged, "if your very unlucky then I suppose you might die…"

"Explain what it is then, if we wish to get back, we have no time to waste."

"Ah, the saying, time is money, all right. Do you really want to know?"

"Yes? Isn't that why I'm asking you?"

"Well, it's scary."

"To you. Not particularly me."

"Well…fine it's a portal."

"That's it?"

"The portal isn't really a cruise trip or anything. We find the portal somewhere in this abnormally large N-field to get back. Then you go through these star dimensions, and crap like that. Maybe you have to go through hell to return to the living world. I'm not sure. I've only heard a couple of versus from people who have survived this trip. We first go through the La-"

Shinku winced slightly, "Right. Right. Then we should start our search of finding that small portal in my enormously large N-field."

"Correct."

"Okay, fine, you start over there, and I start here." Shinku barked orders to him and flew up into the sky.

"I am not your slave, don't bark orders at me."

"If you are in the presence of me, and if I wish you to become a servant, then you are considerably known as my, servant."

"No, I'm not." Marcel muttered miserably as Shinku flew away. The very comment had stabbed his pride.

Searching for a couple of hours, the time was midnight in the human world by the time they found the silvery white portal shining brightly in a patch of daisies.

"So…we jump in."

"Amusing, but it seems…dirty.." Shinku hesitated and then said clearly," Carry me, servant."

"I, am not your servant! I am Marcel Rozen, brother of your father! I should be called, "big brother" or "oh, dear my precious older uncle"…or something by that."

"Disgusting. Carry me." Shinku stepped on his shiny shackled boots, damaging part of his shoe as he yelped and jumped around the patches of flowers, killing some of them in the process.

"Do not murder innocent flowers just because you are complaining and is currently having an unreasonable tantrum. Pick me up, carry me, and bring me into the portal before I slap you." Shinku said as she brushed a lock of her swift blonde hair from her face.

Marcel grumbled and picked her up. His reactions to some things were quite similar to someone Shinku knew. Quite similar. Apparently that person had a big ego too. Or somewhat like that. The thought of it made her miserable, but she continued to put a perfect poker face.

He stepped in the white circle slowly with his left foot, as though it was a puddle, and he was trying not to make it splash. He dipped his right foot in, and he and Shinku fell in the white swirly portal.

"Hardly anyone has left this place. They die eventually, either they starve, or become overwhelmed that they suicide. They cannot leave because they don't want to leave. Beyond here, there will be a place, a place, filled of desires. You see your innermost feelings, what you want, whom you hate dying, and etceteras, etceteras." Marcel said grimly.

"It projects each things differently to everyone, and others cannot see what you are seeing, but this is why it is dangerous. Without willpower, one is unable to leave if they do not think straight, and let others control or possess your mind." Marcel continued his voice sounded dead as he walked on more into a clear white space.

It seemed like he lost someone in this very place. Probably was the reason why he objected to this in the first place.

"Indeed. Temptation is a very scary thing." Shinku said closing her eyes slowly. She was tired. She had not slept for a day or two. Shinku yawned silently as they approached fields and fields of flowers, daisies and roses.

"What is this place?" Shinku's eyes snapped open. She smelled a fragrance, something she might have scented in Nori's house somewhere. A choked, but sweet scent that overwhelmed her, filled with a bittersweet smell. It was not food, definitely, it was something familiar…

"It…smells different to what attracts us the most. I will not ask who or what you have smelled, as I don't wish to tell you mine's." His voice was estranged, as though he was trying to reach out to something that didn't exist.

"What is this place called?" Shinku asked inhaling the sweet smell.

"The labyrinth…the Labyrinth of Suffering." Marcel replied.

"How…is this a maze of suffering?"

A/N: Right…so I thought labyrinth would be a good word to use, but I don't exactly know if it's proper. All I know of the labyrinth is that it was a maze that confined the Minotaur in Greek Mythology. So if it doesn't seem right to you, then you can tell me, and I will probably change it to something more suitable.

"I might haven't enough willpower to tell you it clearly, but temptation, can kill people easily. Either being too immersed in the picture and voices swirling in your heads, 'If you die, you can be in that life' is usually what happens. They might see people that have died in the place, and the suffering might be painful that they would just die. Things that they wanted but never had, and they finally got it.."

"Ah."

"Right, we're about to enter this 'Labyrinth of Suffering', so I want you to turn on your willpower for about fifty minutes and step down onto the ground. I might grip you very tight that I might crunch you to death. As you said, temptation can be an enemy." Marcel dropped Shinku onto the floor.

"I only said a scary thing."

"Right. So close your eyes as I opened this door. It's the fastest way to pass this place. As long as you survive, your outta here." Marcel grinned.

A wooden plate was printed neatly on the door.

"Enter as you please, and wipe your shoes on the 'Welcome' mat before you. Enjoy your stay here, and it's not necessary to come again." The plate said in shining black letters.

Shinku sighed as Marcel twitched and wiped his shoes. He opened the doorknob and a flash of light appeared, blinding her eyes…

To be continued in Chapter 11.

Well…Chapter ten is pretty long. I did some modifications, or it might've been longer. Lol. A tad bit longer. Anyway, it might be long but I hope you enjoyed it!

In the next chapter, I will probably, I'm not sure whether or not, but I will probably explain who Alice was and why Marcel did all those idiotic things, and why he is such an idiot.