Chapter 26: (Hey bros! Guess who's back? Guess who stayed up absurdly late writing again? I DID. CUZ I LOVE YOU GUYS. So if I fail my French test it's your fault. XD just kidding.

Anyways, you guys seemed to really enjoy the last chapter, but I have one VERY IMPORTANT CLARIFICATION TO MAKE. The Hatter isn't ACTUALLY older Ace! He just looks like him. If you think about it, it wouldn't make any sense for Hatter to be older Ace. This is still a memory from 10 years ago and older Ace didn't exist then, ergo it couldn't be him. Also older Ace wouldn't be trying to usurp his younger self's mind. (By this I mean Hatter's part of the Caucus Race. But you knew that already.) Anyways, just thought I'd clear that up to avoid MAJORLY confusing you guys later.

Guest (no signature): No. They're all just things his imagination created. You could say they're kind of pieces of his psyche. 'Cept Mr. Savage of course, because he's the embodiment of Hare's affect on Ace's psyche, so I 'spose you could say he's based on Hare.

Panda Bear: He's a boss. XD But seriously. He has an…impressive imagination for a 10-year-old.

The Unknown: It's okay XD Glad you liked it. Yup. Wonderland's pretty epic, huh? Well, after what Cheshire said, he knows the Caucus Race isn't really good for him, seeing as the inhabitants of Wonderland are willing to kill each other and him for the key. No, not really. Go read my response to Guest, I don't feel like typing this again. XD Oh, well that would have been a viable thought. Incorrect, though. :( Well, basically Hatter looks almost EXACTLY like older Ace, but I had to put in some differences so you guys didn't think it actually was him. Glad you liked it! Hope this is out soon enough for you!

Little (chapter 4): Hahahaha I'm sorry…get a good night's rest, then! Yup. Ace is very good at acting. Or hiding his emotions. Whatever. Same difference. *shrugs* sorry. OOCness happens sometimes. :/ Yes, Hare is finally fully exposed as an antagonist and Ace is most assuredly angsting. Poor Ace. He needs a hug.

Little (chapter 5): Hahahaha it'll be magically teleported to you soon. XD Thank you! Yes, Jericho's a jerkdwad. Good thing Ace kicked his ass so you don't have to XD yes, Ace is adorable and smart and awesome. Still needs a hug, though. His past is…semi revealed. He lied and covered up quite a bit though. Well…there were more important things. Like comforting Ace. Marco did that effectively, and then Thatch cheered him up. Yeah. Most of the characters in One Piece don't really have very happy back stories, so maybe it's a little less abnormal? I dunno. Like I said, OOCness happens sometimes.

Little (chap 6): So SO much foreshadowing. It's almost ridiculous. Yes! Ace finally gets a decent amount of sleep! Poor kid needs it. Yeah, the continuity of this chapter is a little lacking, but it was still okay, right? The God discussion was kind of foreshadowing, if you think about it. In chapter 23 Ace prayed out of desperation, but no one came to save him. Makes sense he wouldn't believe in God anymore. Yeah Thatch was a little fast to jump to conclusions. But it made for some angst in the next chapter, which is always fun! I apologize if he seemed OOC, but that's the way it goes sometimes. :/ sorry.

Little (chapter 7): Yeah…in his defense, he was having a really bad day and felt bad about it later. Poor Ace…he felt so rejected and betrayed…:( Yup, then comes a bit of a respite from the terribleness and Ace gets to be happy for a while! Yay! Mini Ace for the win. He's so angsty and amazing. XD Thank you! I don't always provide poeticish descriptions, but I have to admit they can be very fun to write. Well, yes, but it was the point. And they were semi-warranted thoughts on Ace's part.

Little (chapter 8): Yeah pretty much. XD perfect summary. Hahahahahaha well he's not used to taking care of a jumpy and untrusting child. It's not entirely his fault. XD Little Ace did kinda run all over him XD Yeah…he does hide a lot from his family…But at the time he didn't really know them. Well…his memories are currently suppressed. Yeah…it's more intrinsic than plot related. You needed to know about Ace's state of mind so it was a good chapter for that. Hahahahahaha yup a little humor is helpful and good sometimes. Thank you!

E: That's a guess. But Ace didn't know Serpent back then, so how does that fit? ;)

Little (chapter 9): Poor Ace…he really, REALLY needs a hug… yes, Ace shows a bit more of his 10-year-oldness, which is kind of a precedent. And yes, he's very adorable. XD :( Ace needs a hug. Still. And probably will for the rest of the story. Yes, Jericho is a jerk. He needs to be slapped. Multiple times. In the face.

Little (chapter 10): Yes, family is very nice. :) Of course it does. There'd be no plot if it didn't. Yeah he really does, but sadly he's not really going to get it for quite a while. :( Hahahahahahahaha well people can't always be brilliant, and Ace was trying his hardest to hide it from them. Well maybe. But what's done is done and there's no changing the past. Well…technically since this is my fic I could edit it and change it, but that'd probably mess up the entire plot…so yeah. Maybe I'll go back and change some stuff once the story's finished, but for now it's going to stay. Well, Hare's been their ally for quite some time. They probably thought that if he was going to betray them he would have done it already. And Hare never gave them any reason to doubt him. Oh but I can't make promises like that! That'd be a spoiler! Yes he is. Still in dire need of a hug. …I'm going to smile and nod and pretend I understood half of what that sentence says. XD Yup. Each separately is bad enough, but throw them all together and you get one big mess of angsty painridden messiness. Hahahahahahaha it's okay. I like your spamming. I think you should get an account, though, so that two pages on word aren't filled with review replies on each chapter. XD Thank you! I really appreciate the compliment. :) Hahahahaha if you like horror I'm sure you're going to LOVE later chapters. Just wait and see. Heehee…

Little (chapter 11 (seriously bro, get an account!)): Hahahahahaha always a great way to start a review. XD Yup. Off to Wonderland! Yeah the crew's kind of freaking the frack out right now. And with good reason. Jozu thought he had freakin killed the kid for a second there. XD (- sorry. Not funny.) Rouge is epic. I always thought of her as a very strong female character, even if she got basically zero screen time. And I do maintain that she and Roger had more of a relationship than just a one-night-stand or something like that. Otherwise she wouldn't have been sad that he died. But I digress. Hahahahaha yes. Whitebeard has experienced many things in his life, but never has he faced the true fury of a pissed off mama bear. XD …good question. XD never really thought about it. *whistling* I'm totally not just going to let that lie and not edit it at all, what are you talking about~? Anyways, as with many things, if it really bugs you that much I can go fix it somehow…but I really don't feel like it…and I think you want the new chapter more than you want minor detail edits…so yeah. It's just going to sit there for a while. Too busy trying to figure out why in hell the kid looked dead, probably. Also probably freaking out that he was going to die from whatever it was making him look dead. Or freaking out thinking he had gone blind. Essentially, more forthcoming problems with his mind than with his body, so prioritizing happened. Yeah. Oh, I beg to differ. *smiles evilly* Everyone's happy these days.

Guest (no signature): Thank you! Glad you're enjoying the story! To answer your question, I'm a girl.

Little (chapter 12): Yeah pretty much. Not really his fault, though, having been exposed to that much violence and other traumatic stuff at such a young age. Yeah…but like you said, Ace has a seriously fucked up mind. Never seen/read Naruto, so sorry, can't really analyze the similarities. ^u^; Yeah the story IS technically mild AU, so Haki does a whole crapload more than it does in the real series. Moving on indeed! Meh. First time I've ever made any attempt at writing a fight scene, so I just did my best. Well, here's the thing. If you REALLY want to look deeper, Ace's mind is affecting the minds of the crewmembers, specifically the ones seeing whatever it is his imagination chose for that moment and location. During that same time, Ace is being chased through Wonderland by Mr. Savage, so he's scared shitless. His mind is affecting their minds, so some of his emotions might filter over too. Make sense? Oh, and you have to remember that to them, the Black Widow is a complete mystery at the time. They don't know where it came from, why it came, or even what the hell it is. Oh, and not to mention the fact it bit through Jozu's arm. Jozu's DIAMOND ARM. *shrugs* so they were cautious. Oh, and the bitch is really fast. Like, REALLY fast. And they don't know what it's capable of. Or how to kill it. Or if it CAN be killed. Or if it can use Haki. Or if it's poisonous. There were too many unknowns for them to just charge confidently in, so they were cautious. I don't think I remember describing them as scared. Except maybe Jozu when he was being hypnotized by the thing. But, honestly, who wouldn't be at least a LITTLE freaked out in that situation? Hahahahahaha so I managed to get you? :D Yay! I'm glad it was a least semi-realistic. Hahahahaha yes he lived. I didn't have the heart to kill him off. Not to mention the massive guilt factor Ace would have. And it would completely derail the plot for at least a while. The Black Widow is pretty damn epic and creepy, if I do say so myself. Ever read the nightangel trilogy? It's kinda like the ferali from that. It's actually a quote from a movie that I absolutely LOVE and I just couldn't resist using it, it was too perfect. The changing form bit was supposed to be generally creepy and disgusting. It was surprisingly hard to describe without endlessly repeating a bunch of the same words over and over again. But oh well. Hahahahhahaha Well you have to remember he was only on the ship for 2 days as a 10-year-old kid before this whole thing went to hell, so they didn't really get a very long time to watch his behaviors or earn enough of his trust to ask about anything. Hahahahaha well they were freaked out. And in the heat of the moment, nobody really considered his reaction. There was probably too much adrenaline and not enough brains involved in the pursuit. Oh, and Jozu was probably acting based on how he knew OLDER Ace would react, but he didn't know shit about younger Ace, so he had no way of knowing what his reaction would be. And again we run into the ever-present matter of progressing the plot. This was essentially the best/only way to do it. So yeah.

Little (chapter 13): yes he is mentioned. There's enough of a hint to figure out who he is, if you know what you're looking for. Oh wasn't it just lovely. Hahahahahaha well…that depends on how you define waste. They fulfilled their purpose, didn't they? Yeah it is a little freakish. Cuz nothing in this world moves in perfect synch except the nonliving. The butler's pretty damn creepy. It was fun writing his whole struggle against himself to not commit suicide. Well well well. There's a thought. I leave foreshadowing everywhere, so you might consider rereading that passage and seeing if you can pick up on anything. Yup that was pretty much the point. :) Glad I got the horror across. Yeah…well it's a bit different for him. He created the damn things after all. You could say he has a biased view. That and he's not exactly completely sane right now. I mean, you heard Cheshire. Yes, he hadn't completely lost his sanity, but he's only as sane as anyone who hallucinates entire worlds can be. Yeah I basically just wanted to chuck feels right into your guys' faces and watch you squirm, and I realized I had only written from Whitebeard's perspective, like, once and that was just a complete disgrace. So I rectified the situation. Thank you! Wow, that really means a lot!

Little (chapter 14): Hahahaha that's an interesting way to start a review. XD Yeah, well, like you said, the whole situation would be very rushed because everyone wants to help Ace as soon as possible. Well yeah, but that doesn't mean he necessarily trusted them. If you'll remember, back when Ace was first turned younger, he really didn't trust Thatch. It took him a little while to get used to him, and then another little while to get used to Marco. Out of the two, Marco probably gained marginally more of Ace's trust because of that whole situation on deck at night when Ace was essentially having a panic attack because he couldn't escape the memories of his past and then Marco was the one to comfort him so yeah. Wow. Run-on sentence much? XD Well they do want to help him. They were just worried that they weren't going to be let in after what happened with Jozu, and what happened at the end of chapter 9. Or was it 10? Whenever it was that young Ace saw Hare. If you'll remember he looked up at Marco with betrayal pretty much blatantly obvious in his expression, then looked at Thatch the same way. It really is a wonder they were let in. I didn't really get that across very well, I don't think, but oh well. Things to fix at another time. Moving on. YES. LKSFJLDSKJFLDSJLKDSJFLSKDJFL KDSJFLKSDJFLSDJFLKJSDHFLJSHF GKJFSHKLDJHFLDSJFHLSJHFLJFSK GKJSHFLKDSJFLDSKJFLKDSJFLKDS JFLJFSHGLDKSJFHLSDKHFJOEHRIA JSDHLKDAHFSDHFKJSHFASHFIOEHF KJSFHLSDJFOIAWEHRKJHFDLDHOID HFKJHCKCJBSANDOEHFROEHF Hugs. I just want to hugs baby Luffy and Ace. They're just too fucking cute. Yeah Garp is pretty much wildly OOC. Oops. Well…I have to say…plot progression over character accuracy in this case. Garp makes, like, 2 appearances in the entire freaking story. He's not that major. He can afford to be OOC. Sorry if you're a Garp fan…shit happens. You can deduct…points…? For his OOCness. Well…another thing to go back and fix later. Yeah. New chapters first, as I want to finish the story, but when it's done I'll go back and add/fix stuff.

TFR: Hi! Good to have you back! Yup! Finally off into Wonderland! Well, what do you think? ;) You do have to remember, though, that Ace hasn't met Serpent at this point in time, nor is any inhabitant of Wonderland based on anyone Ace has met in real life. 'Cept Mr. Savage, cuz he's the mental embodiment of Hare, but whatevs! You get what I mean! Well, you'll just have to wait and see. Sorry, but even for something like this I'm not giving spoilers. :/ Sorry. Thank you! I always try to have them out as soon as I can, but more often than not homework, school, *cough*youtube*cough**cough* and other stuff get in the way of super fast updates. I do appreciate your continued support!

Little (chapter 15): Hooray for fluff! This is just about the last chunk of it for the rest of the story, so enjoy! And then, as you so elegantly put it, shit happens. XD

Whew. Okay, Little, you seriously have to get an account so I can spam your PM inbox instead of this madness. This Author's Notes came out to be 5 PAGES on word, and that's just ridiculous. If I didn't reply to someone's review, I am deeply apologetic. Shit happens. I assume the chapter is more important to you. Holy hell, the author's notes are going to end up taking longer to write than the chapter. That's…strangely embarrassing. Whatever. Moving on. Quick update on life, next chapter is probably not going to be coming out for quite a while. This chapter is being posted on the 29th, and for those fellow fans out there, we all know what's coming out tomorrow. Basically, all of my free time for the next several weeks is most likely going to be consumed playing that epitome of all badassness ever, Assassins Creed III. I'm going to kick some redcoat ass. And I'm going to be George Washington's BFF. And I'm going to climb trees LIKEABOSS. And I'm going to blow shit up. And I'm going to DUAL WEILD, BITCHES! Sorry. The profanity cap exploded a while ago. Can you tell I'm excited? I preordered the game in, like, June. It was kind of ridiculous. XD but hey, you get all kinds of bonus DLC when you preorder that early! *cough*andIjustcouldn'tmakemyselfwaitanylonger*cough**cough* ANYWAYS.

This chapter has been rated T because of the overuse of PROFANITY and some EXPLICIT DRUG USE and REFERENCE. Yes, people, the Caterpillar uses DRUGS.

…Don't do drugs, kids!

Oh, and I've never used drugs, so if my description of their effects is wrong, sorry but I'm glad I don't know that.

I apologize if any information in this story is inaccurate. Google told me the average ten-year-old is just short of five feet tall, so that's how tall Ace is. Google lies sometimes, though, so if that's wrong I'm sorry.

And now, (FINALLY) ON WITH THE CHAPTER!)

Shanks stared out at the horizon. A thin, coin-silver strip marked where the sun would rise in an hour or so. All around him was the lull of waves, usually enough to put his mind at ease no matter what the situation. Not this morning, though. In truth, he hadn't slept well at all over the past 4 weeks. Sleep called to him constantly. It wasn't a struggle to stay awake, though, and when he tried to rest, his sleep was fitful, often interrupted by long bouts of wakefulness. He just…couldn't relax. No matter what he did, he couldn't relax. He was too damn pissed to relax. And too damn worried. Shanks took a deep breath, running a hand through his even-more-unkempt-than-usual hair. Four weeks. 27-no, Shanks glanced at the horizon, at the soon-to-rise sun- 28 endless days spent wondering, hoping, praying that Ace was still alive and unharmed. Because that was all he could do. The East Wind had been following the marine ship for weeks, working against unfriendly currents and through unwelcoming winds and, for the last 2,246,400 seconds- and Shanks had counted. Oh, Shanks had counted every last fucking moment- they had been consistently avoided and outmaneuvered by their quarry. Shanks gave a feral grin, bordering on a snarl. Ah, but this, this was the end of his seemingly infinite waiting. And by God if they had harmed so much as one hair on Ace's head, Shanks was fully prepared to seek and fulfill his vengeance. Tenfold. But guilt trailed after his fury, cooling it. Shanks had a terrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. It wasn't one he got often, only once or twice before in his entire life, but he knew it well and dreaded it's possible implications.

Shanks felt like he had broken a promise.

He looked back out at the horizon. The grey was now becoming a washed out gold and he knew the oranges and reds would follow soon after. Shanks studied the horizon, dreaming of and dreading its approach.

Because they were catching up.

Today.

"And how, pray tell, am I supposed to fit through there?" Cheshire rolled his eyes at Ace, and Ace realized his mistake. "Oh, right. No questions."

"Precisely." Ace sighed.

"It just doesn't seem possible." Cheshire shrugged and Ace sighed again, looking out at his current predicament. The Caterpillar's domain. A truly beautiful structure, but designed for someone much, much smaller than Ace.

It was a building, or grouping of buildings. Well…more than that. It was a city. The amazing thing, though, was that it was all carved on the inside of a large field of quartz crystals. The tower-like structures rose 10, maybe 12 inches at their very tallest, with squatter buildings ranging from 3-7 inches. The sun- or Wonderland's approximation of a sun, at any rate- had sunk below the horizon about 20 minutes ago. Vague traces of the sunset's glory still caressed the horizon, but no more were the golds, ambers, and agates of sunset. The moon had risen, and the brightest stars were already shining vibrantly. Each of the crystals in the field seemed not to absorb the falling light of the moon and stars, but rather to produce their own light from within. The whole field was veritably glowing, pale light reflecting on Ace's face and skin.

It was beautiful.

Within the crystalline structures, Ace could see carefully formed rooms, delicately and ornately carved decorations and windows. The architecture was nearly gothic, with high, pointed arches and ornate, beautifully, dreamily ornate decorations etched into the crystalline structures. Every detail was precise and delicate and simply awe inspiring in its complexity and perfection. The central tower, the tallest of all the buildings, rose to be maybe 15 inches at its point, and the crystal was carved so finely, so delicately, that Ace daren't even breathe on it for fear of shattering it.

Tiny streets could be seen between the buildings, cobbled with the same quartz, but it had been frosted, probably hardened in some way. It too seemed effervescent with its own personal light, each stone shining individually. All throughout the city Ace could see tiny figures moving about. With the light emanating from the stones though he couldn't make out their distinct shape and couldn't define or describe them. They were seemingly the inhabitants of the tiny city, moving about in the carved terraces and towers with the familiarity born of habitual action.

The fairytale image wasn't the problem, though.

The problem was that Ace was nearly five feet tall. The city, at its tallest, was maybe 16 inches. And Caterpillar was, presumably, sized to fit comfortably in his own city.

Ace was too big. Much too big.

So he was stuck. He had to get inside, but he had no means of doing so without completely destroying the city and angering or killing Caterpillar in the process. So he was stuck. Ace sighed in frustration. Cheshire chuckled at him.

"Now now. No need to fuss."

"There must be a way in." Cheshire continued to grin maniacally.

"Oh of course there is."

"Tell me what it is."

"Here's a tiny riddle for a tiny- well, for you." Cheshire's grin seemed to widen. "How do you get a camel to fit through the eye of a needle?"

"How is this possibly helpful- oh wait, it isn't. Tell me something useful, Cheshire!" Cheshire only continued to grin silently at him, head slightly tilted to the side. They sat in silence for a few moments, Ace glaring at Cheshire and Cheshire smiling back. Finally Ace broke, running a hand through his hair with an annoyed sigh. "I don't know. Tell me the answer." Cheshire cackled his triumph, ignoring Ace's glare.

"There are a multitude of answers, you couldn't even come up with one?" Ace continued to glare and Cheshire laughed again. "Well, you could have killed and chopped up the camel into little, needle-shaped pieces. That would have worked, though getting all the pieces through the needle would be frustrating after a while. You could say the needle's eye is as big as a camel, and thus the camel just passes through. This isn't really that fitting in the situation though, is it? Oh dear. It would seem I've gotten off topic."

"Cheshire. If you're going to babble, at least babble about something pertinent to the current problem!" Cheshire only laughed again. Ace was getting annoyed at his mocking, already frustrated by his inability to progress into the city and damn pissed off after how long it had taken him to get out of Hatter's mansion.

"Very well. Here's an answer pertinent to the situation." Cheshire began to disappear, fading quickly away. His grin became harder, more menacing. "You put a pack of hyenas behind the camel and leave the needle as the only possible escape. Advance or die, Ace. Mr. Savage grows impatient." He faded out entirely.

Ace swallowed and looked about the clearing warily. Nighttime sounds filled the air, the crickets' gentle wails, the breeze sighing through the grass and trees, the rustling of underbrush as the nocturnal inhabitants made their rounds. The sounds both eased him and put him on edge. Because the animals were making noise, he could assume there was nothing in the area that was out of the ordinary or else they all would have shut up. On the contrary, the noises could possibly be masking other sounds, subtler sounds, like the footsteps of someone who's trying hard to be quiet, or the whoosh of a projectile. The visibility, too, was low. Fog seemed to wind around everything, concealing much and making Ace imagine things in its folding depths that just weren't there. It smelled different, too. Not like ordinary fog which smells like water and cold, but something much more…indefinite. Ethereal. It smelled like dreams and a star's lullaby, and Ace found he enjoyed the scent. It was smooth like quiet, back-street jazz heard from a block away, caressing him, drawing him in, whispering dares to dream and to drink in and to breathe.

Hello.

Ace jumped about a foot in the air, staring around the area. What the hell was that?

Me. Ace blinked in surprise, eyebrows furrowing. He looked around tentatively, but saw nothing different.

…Can you hear me?

But of course. The words glowed in his mind, a soothing white light similar to that of the crystal city before him but different. Slightly…silver. Like moonlit white smoke. The voice was calm. Well…it wasn't really a voice. The words just formed themselves in his head like his own thoughts.

Who are you? How is this possible? Why are you speaking to me?

Because I think it's rude to leave a guest standing at my front door without going to greet him.

…Are you Caterpillar?

Ace sensed mirth, and let out an involuntary chuckle as emotion swept into his mind in the same silver glow as the words. Very good.

If I'm your guest, how do I get inside?

…Close your eyes, Ace. Ace found his eyes shutting gently with no order sent from his brain telling them to do so. The Caterpillar seemed to draw in a deep breath, and Ace found himself doing the same automatically. It exhaled slowly, Ace again involuntarily mirroring the action. Now relax. Breathe. Taste the starlight, smell the whisper-sung secrets of smoke and dark. Breathe. Ace felt all tension draining out of him, breathing deeply in time with the Caterpillar's request. Touch the moonlight, hear the crystal structure of my home. Breathe. Ace felt more relaxed than he could ever remember being in his life. His mind felt suspended, floating gently through his senses, tasting quiet jazz and hearing the dark, the smoke, the blackness between stars. His mind was wandering somewhere among those stars. He was so beyond calm. He just…existed and there was nothing else besides that. He couldn't form thoughts, didn't even try. Emotions fell away too, and Ace felt as if his very core were open to the night air. All his walls had fallen. He was just Ace. No more, no less. He may as well have been inside his mother's womb again for all the complexity of his current state of mind. That's right, Ace. Breathe. Relax. Ace's head tilted slowly back and he exhaled through his mouth, a quiet whoosh of airdarksmoke leaving his lungs.

He opened his eyes.

The crystalline city loomed large overhead, seemingly carved of starlight. Up close it was even more ornate and delicate than it had looked from afar, yet it was not surprising to Ace. Beautiful, yes, but it just was just as he just was. The airdarksmoke pervaded down here as well, but the wispy curls only enhanced the city's beauty, giving it just a touch of mystery, of the unknown. The light of the city mingled with the smoke, coloring it the same shade as Caterpillar's voice had been. Ace cocked his head slowly to the side. The movement was lethargic and smooth, almost drowsy.

Well, come in. Ace took another deep breath of the airdarksmoke and took a step onto the illuminated cobblestones. His movements, his thinking, everything was slowed by the airdarksmoke. And why hurry? The world just was, it would continue to simply exist forever. Or for a very long time, at least.

Ace continued to meander down random streets in the shining city and why not? Caterpillar was patient. There was no rush. No need to rush. The cystallight around him shone, illuminating his way even though he was currently in more of a back alley.

I wonder where the people that live here are? The thought formed sluggishly in his mind, pulling itself up from the depths of the airdarksmoke and presenting itself vaguely.

Ace continued walking, movements as slow and smooth as the wafting airy smoke around him. The alleyway in front of him curved gently, the bend as smooth and languid as his own movements. As he finished coming around the bend, he could see that the alley he was in came to an end, opening up onto one of the larger streets. Ace walked out onto the main street and turned slowly left, dimly thinking he should head towards the center of the city. He stopped and blinked somnolently.

There was a figure standing in front of Ace, maybe 10 feet away.

It was tall, almost twice as tall as Ace. White, almost translucent skin covered a slim, elegant body. It was almost humanoid in shape, upright with a mostly human frame. But it was much, much slimmer. More elegant. It had a very long neck, light grayish in color, and its head was rounder and smaller than a human's of the same size would be. The torso was essentially human but again thinner. It didn't seem unhealthy for its thinness, but rather that it was supposed to be that way. The torso was somewhat elongated, but it didn't look distorted at all. Its legs were very nonhuman, though, seeming almost boneless. They trailed down from the torso into gentle points, and there was no foot attached. The point of each leg seemed to be what the creature was standing on, but as Ace looked closer he observed that the creature was not actually standing on the stones of the road, but rather floating above it by a marginal amount. The creature's arms were thin and elegant, much, much longer than a human's arms. They seemed to be built on the same principles as human arms, though, the shoulder, elbow, and wrist all looking like that of a human but slimmed down. The arms were so long that the creature's hands hung at rest a little below the creature's knees. The hands themselves were based on the same elegant design, slim and delicate. Each hand had only two fingers and an opposed thumb. The fingers and thumb were also elongated and delicate, but had the same joint structure as that of a human.

The creature's head was more rounded than a human's, and it was entirely hairless, having no eyebrows, eyelashes, or any hair at all on its bare scalp. The creature had no nose, and no apparent mouth that Ace could see.

Its eyes fascinated Ace the most, though.

The eyes were large, very large, occupying most of the front of the creature's head. They were dark, nearly black, and fascinatingly contrasted the white skin. There was no pupil or iris, the entire eye rather just being that one deep, unending black. They did have some light to them, though, like a tiny, invisibly distant star.

Ace had approached the creature and now stood directly in front of it, staring up at it wonderingly. The creature too was studying him closely, seemingly fascinated by him, and the two regarded each other silently. Ace stared into its eyes and it stared back, both unhurriedly curious of the other.

After another moment of silent wonder, the creature slowly, elegantly lifted its slim hand. Ace continued to stare into its eyes, unthreatened. Dimly he realized he could actually feel the creature's mind interacting with his own. Its mind worked differently than his, not forming thoughts in a way that humans think of thoughts. He knew it was sentient, but no words were present in its brain. He couldn't tell exactly what it was thinking but he knew it wouldn't harm him. He could sense its lethargic interest in him, very similar to his own curiosity about it, and he could tell it wouldn't hurt him.

The creature's hand came up and gently, almost hesitantly, touched Ace's face. Its slim fingers were cool, the white skin smooth and hairless. The creature gently cocked its head, and its hand continued to explore Ace's face.

The cool, elegant fingers smoothed gently over his cheek, then his nose, and caressed over his lips before coming to rest below his right eye. Ace could feel a deep, quiet thoughtfulness in the creature, and after a moment it lifted its hand up to its own face, seemingly exploring its own features like it had explored Ace's. Its hand came to rest over the place where its mouth should have been, and Ace could feel it thinking gently. It blinked slowly, eyes closing for a little over 2 seconds, and then pulled its hand away.

Thin lips, light grey in color, now parted the creature's face elegantly.

The creature looked down at Ace, and Ace could feel a somnolent mix of happiness and mild gratitude. The creature's mind…well, sung would be the wrong word, but it produced a gentle tone, almost like a bell, but quieter, without the harsh clanging of real noise. The sound was purer than any noise reality could ever produce, and it had a deeper musical quality to it than one note should ever possibly have.

The creature turned and began to walk slowly away.

Ace stared after it wonderingly. As the creature walked, its feet remained just a little above the ground, yet it seemed to walk like a human. Every time one of its feet came to rest in a step, the stone below the creature's foot would glow brighter. The airdarksmoke that filled the city seemed to wrap around the creature, caressing it and welcoming it. When it was about 30 feet away, it turned, looking back to Ace. Its mind made the pure noise again, and it stood there, staring at him. Waiting.

Ace blinked indolently.

It was waiting for him. He was supposed to follow it. He tried to form a thought, but realized this wasn't a place of thought. Thought wasn't necessary here. Relaxation and airdarksmoke. That was this place. Ace exhaled, closing his eyes for a moment. A quiet bong thrummed dimly through their shared mind space, complimenting the creature's first note.

The creature replied with a warm third note, completing the chord. It turned and began slowly floatwalking away, down the main road. Ace inhaled deeply, airdarksmoke filling his lungs, soothing his mind, relaxing his thoughts.

He followed.

(A/N: So…Ace got high in his own mind. XD …cuz that's totally possible. Anyways. Yeah. Shit happens. I warned you there was drug use, kiddos! But don't do drugs. Seriously.

Sorry the chapter's kinda shortish. I wrote the majority of it in history class. We had a sub so nobody was paying attention anyway. As I said (but you might not have read), I'm probably going to be occupied for the next while playing ACIII for the next several weeks, so it may be a while before the next chapter. Sorry the last chapter before a little break is kinda shortish…sorry. Yeah…Oh, Little, sorry I didn't respond to your two most recent reviews, if the author's comments on the top of the chapter got any longer I think I'd be killed. XD Anyways, I'll see you all next chapter! Have a great while bros! ~Mountain97)