Although Sablier hadn't really changed, something felt very different. As Owl entered the dark city's airspace, the group could feel a heaviness in the air that seemed somewhat familiar.
As Owl landed, Alexis felt her mind cloud over for the briefest second. Before she could process what had just happened, Oz jumped off of the Rainsworth chain and dashed off. "Oz, don't leave us behind!" Gilbert and Alice cried out as they followed after him.
Not trusting the three of them being alone for even a minute, Alexis went after her friends. She caught up with them as a mother and son were running away from Oz.
"Oz!" Gilbert and Alice repeated. Oz looked back at them before his attention quickly diverted to what started to come through the fog. "What is that?!" The outline of a pitch black city was slowly becoming clearer the more Oz looked.
Alice stopped behind him and took in the city herself. "I don't like the feeling of that thing over there," she stated. "Everything is swirling and blending together. Glen is definitely in there!" Oz spun around to face her, "But we can't leave these people defenseless!" The sound of cracking echoed above them.
"Go, Oz-kun!" ordered Sheryl. "Unfortunately I cannot take you into Sablier myself. I will go to the Sablier division of Pandora and take command of the troops. I can take care of the situation here, so please, go and do what only you can do!"
Oz nodded, "Yes, madam!"
Alexis was staring out into the black city. Something familiar was out there, but she was afraid of who it was familiar to; Iris or the Blue Monarch?
"You shouldn't be scared, Alexis." The young woman pulled her gaze away from the city and trained them on Alice. "You shouldn't be scared," she repeated. "A Chain only has as much power as you let them have." Alexis slowly nodded, but wasn't exactly sure what she was talking about. As far as she knew, the Blue Monarch took what she wanted.
"We should get going," announced Oz as he joined the two girls. Gilbert followed behind with Sharon. Break wasn't too far behind when Reim called after him. "Xerx! Don't throw your life away!" Break stared at him blankly before a light grin danced across his face. "Sure!"
The trek into the hole wasn't an easy one. Right away the group was attacked by a chain; it was a low-level chain, but it immediately set the mood. They were on full alert as they went deeper and deeper in.
It was agreed to head towards the large, prominent clock tower at the center, the best landmark they had. "There's such a thick fog," stated Gilbert, who was in the lead. "Stay close."
DONG, DONG
The tower suddenly chimed, echoing through the quiet streets of the resurrected Sablier. The group, having had paused from the surprise, waited for it to stop. It continued for what seemed like ages. As soon as it stopped, they were smothered in silence.
"You know," Oz suddenly started, startling everyone as much as when the clock tower chimed. "This is probably not the moment to be thinking about this, but once we're back I would like to hold another tea party."
Everyone stared at him. "Tea party?" they echoed. Oz smiled, "Yeah, just like the one Uncle Oscar held. We should pick a sunny day and invite lots of people."
Sharon was the first to react. "That's a wonderful idea!" she beamed. "But we should better wait until the weather gets a little warmer!" Everyone else followed suit.
"That's right, the gardens will be bursting with color by then!" Alexis chimed in.
"Sounds good, that way I will have time to learn to cook Oz's favorite cake one-handed!" agreed Gilbert, also reluctantly adding an agreement to make Alice's favorite meat. The group continued with the optimistic plans for another tea party as they continued towards the clock tower.
The fog seemed to get thicker all of a sudden. Alexis strained her eyes trying to see ahead of her. "Nobody stray from—" She cut her sentence at seeing none of her friends anywhere near her. "Alice, Oz, Sharon? Anyone?"
'This place can do that.'
Alexis froze. "I thought you were asleep, Blue Monarch?"
'I was, but the second I felt an overwhelming wash of power from the Abyss I became conscious again.'
What happened to her when they arrived in Sablier quickly came to mind, however Alexis was distracted by something else. The Blue Monarch seemed very different this time around; she sounded serene, calm. The confidence and power that had dripped from her voice was gone. A ball of light appeared in front of Alexis and began to expand and take shape. She soon saw the Blue Monarch as she had in her mind, a mirror image of her.
'I never thought it would be this dark.'
"What are you talking about?"
'The Abyss. It should not be drowned in this endless darkness.'
Alexis frowned. "What are you talking about? The Abyss has been like that for over a century, ever since the Intention of the Abyss came into existence."
'It should not be like this…' There was no way a Chain couldn't know the state of the Abyss. Unless… "You haven't been to the Abyss in a very long time, haven't you? Raven told me that you can jump from body to body if need be, so there's no need to return to the Abyss."
'I wanted to return because something felt wrong. It was overwhelming and would drive me to insanity at times, so I took whatever chance I could to get back.'
"If you wanted to return why did you assist Jack? He was going to destroy my world and yours with his plan!" The Monarch took a menacing step towards her. 'His feelings overwhelmed me. I somehow linked with him and could not break away; it was so easy to connect with him.'
The Chain's words enraged Alexis. "You nearly killed Vincent! You—a strong Chain the Black-Winged Chains acknowledge—did all that because you couldn't break away?!"
The Monarch suddenly appeared right in front of her with a harsh scowl. 'I am a Chain who should be impartial to everything. When I met Jack he was an empty vessel—I could not even label him as human—and was drawn to him. To meet a being like him, somehow similar to myself, was so strange. I suppose him being so…transparent is what made it so easy to link with him.'
Alexis clenched her fists. "Why are you telling me this now? Why-…why are you like this?"
'Being so close to the Abyss helped clear any feelings of Jack's that still lingered. Following him has furthered me from my goal from returning to the Abyss, and now I must follow a new path.' Alexis stepped back. 'She told you not to trust me. I suppose I should understand as to why.'
"I was warned," Alexis corrected. "Iris gave me some advice, and I considered it. However now I see you are reconsidering your actions. Perhaps we can assist each other to reach our goals."
The Blue Monarch raised an eyebrow in interest. 'My, my, what an interesting proposal. I assist you in stopping Glen from disrupting the past, and I get the opportunity to return to the Abyss. I accept.'
Alexis smiled. "Than once again the Blue Monarch works with its contractor rather than acting on its own?" The Chain let out a light chuckle. 'I suppose so,' she commented as she reverted into a ball of light and disappeared. One thing was certain in Alexis' mind, the Blue Monarch she had first met was not the true one. The distortion of the Abyss and Jack's feelings had warped the Chain. Being separated from Jack and reminded of the Abyss' state reverted her back to her original mindset.
She took off the necklace Glen had given her to restrain the Blue Monarch's powers. 'Thank you, that was quite annoying.' The Monarch's voice echoed in her head. '…Raven is nearby, and fast approaching.'
Not so long after that, Alexis heard Gilbert calling her name with Alice following close behind. "Alexis, are you alright?!" She smiled, "Just fine." Alexis could see the moment of relief on Gilbert's face at seeing her smile. "And what about you two?" She glanced down at Alice and saw that she was looking at her hand that held the necklace.
"We're alright, I found the stupid rabbit almost immediately after we got split up," answered Gilbert.
Alice grabbed Alexis' hand, "Why aren't you wearing the necklace Glen gave you?" Alexis gently pulled her hand away. "I don't need it anymore. The Blue Monarch will be assisting us from now on."
Gilbert instantly expressed his uncertainty. "What? How are you so sure?" Alexis looked down at the necklace in her hand for a brief second before tossing it away. Gilbert's eyes widened. "Why did you—?!"
"I believe the Blue Monarch," she interrupted him. "She understands the situation and has agreed to help us. Besides, do you really believe that little trinket would be enough to hold her off for long?" It looked as if Gilbert was absorbing her words.
Alice suddenly burst out laughing. "Looks like Alexis regrew her backbone!" Alexis gave her a bemused smile, "Thank you… I think?"
"Anyway," Alexis continued, "we should look for Oz, Sharon, and Break. Being separated for too long can't be good." At hearing the name 'Oz', Gilbert snapped to attention. "You're right, we need to find them. Let's go."
They had found Oz and Ada not long after starting their search. The group had finally reached the clock tower and were looking around for Sharon and Break.
"Break and Sharon still aren't here?" questioned Oz. They were standing near the base of the tower. Gilbert shook his head, "No, it doesn't appear like they are."
"I hope they're at least together," added Alexis.
Oz suddenly stopped and stared at a particular spot in front of the tower. Alice turned to him. "Oz?" she called.
"There's something here…" he explained as he reached out. "Just a step…beyond here."
A hand suddenly broke through the nothingness and grabbed a hold of Oz's extended hand. Everyone reacted and lunged forward to grab onto Oz who was getting pulled forward. They were all pulled through a broken doorway into a crumbling dimension. Oz's eyes went wide at seeing who was on the other side.
"Break!"
