Rachel had fallen asleep on their mode of transportation as they made their long journey to Alma from the town of Elsens. She had hoped that the man they were going to see, also known as Dedan, would be able to answer the tons of questions she had about this place. It wasn't a place she was used to, and overall she was still a child. She was curious. She wanted to see everything and know how everything worked. She wanted to know what the people in that place did for a living. Who knew, she might help them too!
As the train came to a screeching hault in what she thought to be Alma, the Elsen woke her. "Hhh... wake up..." it said softly as it nudged her shoulder.
Rachel woke up and rubbed her eyes. She looked out the window and stared at the red water, eye-bleeding against the neon green buildings. So this must have been where Dedan was. She nodded and slowly got to her feet, sniffing a bit. The smell of smoke wasn't as bad now. They were farther away from all of it, she guessed. The air was cleaner. The elsen got up to his feet and opened the door for the small girl. She bowed a bit too hard, making it look like she would do a roll of some sort. She laughed at herself a little bit. Walking out onto the ground, her legs had a somewhat static feeling. They had fallen asleep.
It was hard to make this world feel like it wasn't a dream. She had to pinch herself a couple times to know she wasn't sleeping still, to see if the pain was there. The elsen looked down at Rachel. "Hhh... what are you doing...? It looks... painful..." he said quietly and shyly as he coughed a bit.
She looked up at the taller pale-faced dollman. "Oh... It's just..." she cut herself off. She had done what so many little kids do. She forgot what she was going to say, and when she got her thought back, all she could do was try to answer. "It's... it's..."
The elsen shook his head. "N...nevermind..." he wheezed and coughed again before walking in front of her, turning around and giving one last glance to her before looking in front of him at a big green building in the middle of all of the city. "You're in... Alma..." he said as he adjusted his tie.
Alma? This place... Rachel had felt like she had heard the name before. However unclear and uncertain she was about this, she listened to the elsen. He gave background information on the city, and told her about Dedan and how he ran the Zone as its guardian and protector. He told her about the building straight in front of them, and how it was Dedan's office.
She tried to get all the information out of the speech that she could, but she got lost at some parts. After all, she was a small child. She nodded to the elsen and acted like she understood all of what he had just said. The elsen adjusted his tie one last time. She had guessed he didn't want to look too messy for his employer. "Follow me..." he said as he walked toward the building, Rachel walking behind him.
Inside the building, it was a nicer colored purple. It didn't hurt her eyes as much as before outside with the green paint. It was a good idea to bring the elsen along, considering the fact that the building she had stepped foot in was like a maze. She would have easily gotten lost. As the elsen reached the last door, she could see the metalic buildings again, coming to a clearing. The elsen looked down at her, a bit worried. "Hhh... Master Dedan is quite a tough man," he began, "He can be very aggressive and scary, b-but try not to talk back or be scared." he walked through the door, Rachel following behind.
They walked along the narrow walkway, Rachel looking up at the sky and back down at her feet every occassion. She stopped looking up after a few seconds because she began to get dizzy and feared she would fall in the water. The elsen motioned for the little girl to hurry up, so she did.
She held the Black Box tightly in her hands, not planning on letting go for any reason. She was ready to find out what this thing was. It had been in her possession for quite a while.
The elsen walked through the door and into the office, Rachel following behind.
Well, here goes nothing.
Hi guys! I'm so sorry it took me this long to make the next chapter, and the fact it's so short! I've had a writer's block for a while after I made this story. I had to get engaged in a couple Hetalia roleplays to clear my mind and try to help get rid of it.
So, now that it's gone, I hope you enjoyed this short chapter! Dedan will be in the next chapter, coming very soon! ❤
