Chapter 27 (Hey guys! Hopefully you guys weren't too horrifically disappointed in me for abandoning you for a while. ^u^; sorry…but you'll be happy to know AC III is probably the most badass game ever made in the history of mankind. XD

Panda Bear: Yeah Ace has pretty much the coolest most elaborate imagination ever. :D Thank you!

This chapter has been rated T for DRUG USE/REFERENCE

And now, ON WITH THE CHAPTER!)

The creature in front of Ace was walking at a comfortable, dreamy pace, and Ace had no problems keeping even with it. As they passed through the city he was dimly aware of other creatures like the one he was following watching his progress through the crystal windows of the city.

As they walked, the creature would occasionally make the pleasant, pure mind-notes it had made before, and Ace would respond in kind. They never made anything as complex as a melody, but from the pitch of the tone and the emotions that accompanied them, Ace could understand essentially what the creature was trying to express to him. It seemed to be making small-talk with him, the notes being gentle with no overpowering emotions accompanying them, blipping from the creature's mind fairly quickly, with Ace responding whenever it trailed off in their semi-language's form of a question.

Ace's mind began to grow used to this form of communication, and with the airdarksmoke lulling his brain into its completely relaxed, open state he began to forget what formal thought looked like.

As the creatures watched him from their places at the crystal city's windows, Ace could occasionally feel rings similar to the ones from the creature in front of him emanating from their minds. The whole city was alive with the bell-like tones, and each one bore the same pure sound and somehow completely and perfectly fit with the city, with the stars, with the curling haze. Ace's mind reveled in the combination of senses, the gentle aromas, the crystalline, fragile sights and textures, and the pure, instinctively perfect tones. If his mind were currently capable of the thought, he would have considered this place to be heaven. Such thoughts, though, the airdarksmoke whispered, were too much, too overbearing. Why bother with things like the future or the past? Just relax, just breathe, just experience.

They drew up to the central tower, the tallest structure of the city, and the creature stopped next to an opening, a pointed archway, at the building's base. It created a thrumming chord of several successive tones, and Ace replied by absently completing the harmony. The creature continued to stand there, staring at him. Watching him. That vague, sleepy curiosity was back, Ace could feel it in the creature's mind.

Ace realized dimly, unconcernedly, that with his currently open mind, the creature could see into him. It was studying his memories, peering through his life. It paused on a specific moment.

Ace was only 3 years old. He was playing in the house's backyard, and on the porch sat a woman. She was fairly tall, with dark brown hair and only marginally lighter eyes. She had a wide, open face with plenty of room for the frequent smiles that graced her features. Her eyes held constant warmth and a delicate nose hung just above her smiling mouth.

She was fairly thin, but not scrawny. She was wearing an orange and red sundress and a wide brimmed straw garden hat. She was watching Ace with true joy in her eyes, honestly finding happiness in his youth and vitality. After a moment of Ace rummaging around in the grass, he came running back up to the porch, hands carefully closed around something.

As he drew nearer, Monkey D. Sophie leaned forward in her chair, smiling at him.

"What do you have there, Ace?" Ace grinned up at her, and opened his hands.

"Look at what I found!" Crawling across his left palm was a fuzzy, fat blue caterpillar. Sophie's smile widened and she looked between Ace's grinning face and the caterpillar, faking complete astonishment.

"Wow, Ace! That's really amazing!" Ace beamed at her, openly proud of himself in the unguarded way of youth. "Can I hold it?" Ace's grin looked like it was about to split his face in half.

"Sure!" Sophie lowered the first digit of her right hand to his palm and the caterpillar heaved its chubby length onto her finger. Slowly she raised the finger close to her face, studying the fuzzy blue insect closely. After a moment she looked back to Ace, wide smile on her face.

"Do you know where butterflies come from, Ace?" Ace looked at her with wide eyes for a moment, then seemed to consider the question deeply. His little eyebrows furrowed as he tried to puzzle it out, but after a moment he turned to Sophie and shook his head. Sophie lowered the caterpillar so it was between the two of them, at Ace's eye level.

"Butterflies come from caterpillars just like this one." Ace looked up at her, complete bewilderment on his face. That chubby blue insect wasn't a butterfly. Butterflies had wings and black bodies, and they most assuredly weren't that fat.

"What? That can't be right. That isn't a butterfly!" Sophie chuckled and rotated her hand so the caterpillar crawled onto her palm.

"No, it is right. In the springtime, all the caterpillars come out of eggs that were laid last year. At first they're very, very tiny, no bigger than the nail on your pinky." Ace was staring at her, focusing on every word she said. It was an amusing habit he had. Whenever he was being taught something, anything, he would focus completely and utterly on the person teaching it to him, completely intent on perfectly absorbing whatever it was he was being taught. "Now as soon as the caterpillars hatch, they're very, very hungry. They start eating almost as soon as they're born, eating the leaves off of plants." Ace blinked.

"That isn't very nice! Doesn't that hurt the plants?" Sophie smiled gently.

"Yes, but the caterpillars need to eat. The plants can grow back their leaves, and I'm sure they're more than willing to share a few extra with the caterpillars." Ace's brows were furrowed.

"It still doesn't seem very fair to me…" Sophie giggled quietly.

"The caterpillars return the favor later, though." Ace blinked at her, shocked again.

"Really? How?"

"Well, once the caterpillar has eaten a bunch of leaves, it gets very, very fat like this one. When that happens, the caterpillar finds a nice place to build its house. You've seen caterpillar houses before. They build them hanging off the underside of sticks and low branches. The caterpillar builds its house all around itself, then spends about 2 weeks all wrapped up inside its house." Ace had resumed his intent concentration, but kept glancing between the caterpillar and Sophie as if unsure which to focus on. "During this time, the caterpillar is changing how it looks. Its body becomes slimmer and its legs grow and, most importantly, it grows wings." Ace was looking between the caterpillar and Sophie in complete awe. "Eventually, though, the caterpillar's old house is too small for its new form, so it leaves. When it comes out, though, it isn't a caterpillar anymore. Its new shape is a butterfly." Sophie was fairly sure Ace's jaw was going to drop open at any second now. "And now that it's a butterfly, it goes around and repays all the flowers that fed it by helping them make their seeds."

"Oh so that's how it pays back the favor!" Sophie smiled and nodded. She grinned inwardly. She knew just what last fact to finish this off with. If there was one thing that was sure to interest Ace…

"And there's a big, fancy word for the whole process of the caterpillar turning into a butterfly while it's inside its house." Ace looked up at her with wide, excited eyes.

"Really? What is it?" His eyes were practically shining with delight, and Sophie looked into his eyes, faking a serious face.

"It's called holometabolism." She said the word slowly, and Ace's eyes were locked on hers, focusing deeply on the word so he could repeat it correctly. He mouthed the words a few times to himself, then spoke experimentally.

"Halamobatilism." Sophie blinked. She smiled at him kindly.

"Not…quite." Ace scrunched his eyebrows in deep concentration.

"Holomabettelism."

"You're really, really close." She said encouragingly. Again Ace paused and thought deeply.

He swallowed, planning out each syllable.

"Holomebatolism." Sophie smiled at him kindly, laughing internally.

"…Close enough."

The creature in Ace's mind froze on that particular image. It seemed surprised, studying the image. Ace didn't know exactly what it was looking at until he looked into its mind, at what it was currently experiencing.

The creature's attention was focused solely on the image of the blue caterpillar, the image seeming enlarged from the creature's attention to it. It studied the image for a moment longer, then turned back, directing its attention at Ace.

It presented the image of the blue caterpillar along with a series of tones and thoughtful, somewhat positive emotions. Slowly it raised one of its long, elegant arms and pointed up at the top of the tower, again presenting the image of the blue caterpillar. Ace blinked, then looked up at the top of the tower. The structure rose high above his head, shining in the light of the surrounding buildings as well as its own light. The top of the tower was something of a terrace, an open floor with no walls and a roof supported by pillars. It was from here that the airdarksmoke that filled the city and surrounding area was billowing. It flowed out in quiet, unassuming curls and folds and spread out, dispersing all over the surrounding area.

Ace turned his gaze from the top of the tower back to the entranceway that he was currently standing at. He looked thoughtfully at the entranceway of the building, then took his first steps inside.

The interior of the building was as ornate and delicate as the outside, carved decorations littering the walls. For all its complex decorations, the building was relatively simple, the only apparent room being the one he was currently in. The floor was smooth, made of a single shining crystal. A fountain murmured quietly from the center of the room, clear, clean water bubbling out of the gracefully formed piece.

Ace could fathom no way of climbing the tower.

Congratulations on making it here, Ace. Ace looked around, not really expecting to find the source of the voice but looking around anyways. He wanted to respond, but could not remember how to form worded thoughts. Language had faded from his brain, suspended in its cloud of airdarksmoke. Ace could feel Caterpillar's mild, lethargic amusement at his predicament.

Are you here to see me? Ace, again unable to remember how to form complex thought, simply nodded his head. Caterpillar thought-laughed. Ace realized for the first time in a while that he was displeased. That emotion didn't sit well with the airdarksmoke, and it tried to swallow the feeling out of his mind, but couldn't quite manage it.

Ace didn't like Caterpillar laughing at him.

The dislike pushed back the airdarksmoke a ways, and Ace felt marginally more aware than he had been for the past…however long he had been in the city. Ace realized he didn't remember, couldn't remember, how long he had been here. Time didn't apply to airdarksmoke, and this crystalline fairytale was ruled by it.

Caterpillar I want to see you. How do I get up to where you are? Ace could feel Caterpillar's surprise and realized Caterpillar hadn't expected this, hadn't expected Ace to be thinking. A moment later, the emotion was pulled from their shared mindspace, replaced by the same lethargic warmth.

The same way you came into my city.

Ace considered this. He didn't want to lose his thoughts to the airdarksmoke again, but he needed to see Caterpillar. Ace sighed. Necessity trumped desire and he needed to see Caterpillar.

Ace slowly closed his eyes and willed himself to relax, taking several deep breaths. Instantly the airdarksmoke was back, swallowing thought, any negative emotion, and once more completely opening his mind to everything and anything this place had to offer. Ace felt his previous distaste for Caterpillar's laughing get completely drowned out by the inescapable relaxation. Ace found himself taking several more deep breaths, and the airdarksmoke pushed still further through his mind, clouding over his memories and…something else. It was covering something else, too. Distantly, barely detectable through the haze of airdarksmoke, Ace felt something. It was like…like…like there was something prodding his mind, perusing through it, embedding itself in it. As soon as Ace realized this, though, he forgot it. That thought's not allowed. The airdarksmoke seemed to hum through his brain. The sensation was now completely blocked from his mind, veiled from him by the curtain of airdarksmoke.

All of his previous defiance and distaste had been completely washed from him, and he was once more mindless, thoughtless, and, in conversations with Caterpillar, mute. He was not deaf or blind though. The airdarksmoke couldn't swallow those.

Open your eyes, Ace. Come in. Slowly Ace's eyelids rose as per Caterpillar's request. The room was different. Now before him was a very long hallway. Ace glanced behind him and saw he was standing on a ledge, a balcony of sorts, and far, far below him was the crystal fountain and plaza of the ground floor of the tower. Ace looked back to the hallway. Looking at it brought dim, nearly undetectable confusion to his mind, but he couldn't think. The hallway…something was wrong about it. It shouldn't be here, or at least shouldn't be this long. The tower's top would have had some kind of protrusion if there had been a hallway like this, yet as Ace scanned through his memories he could not remember ever seeing one. Hush little baby, don't say a word, Mama's gonna buy you a mocking bird. The airdarksmoke seemed to sing through his mind, gently taking the memory from under his scrutiny as one might take an object from a small child. The airdarksmoke once again swallowed into his mind, and his confusion at the hallway faded. Ace looked up and studied the hallway again. He cocked his head gently to the side. He was supposed to do…something. Someone had asked him to do something.

Come in, Ace. Ace heard Caterpillar's voice and instantly began walking forward. He was completely unafraid, unconcerned, uncaring of what lay down this hallway. He had to follow Caterpillar's request, though. Caterpillar had asked him to do something and that was all that mattered, he could not disobey.

The hallway was different from everything else in the city in that it did not glow. The structure of the crystals that formed it was as delicate as it was fascinating. Threads of woven crystalglass formed the entire hallway, walls, floor, and ceiling. The hallway was perfectly round, and there was never a break in the pattern, no doors or other interruptions on the walls. As Ace walked the hallway continued to get darker and darker, the light of the tower behind them being swallowed by the length of the hallway.

Again Ace's mind faintly rebelled. He shouldn't just be going down this hallway alone with no idea what lay on the other side. He didn't even know if Caterpillar was friendly or not. For all he knew, Caterpillar could be Mr. Savage. If that mocking bird don't sing, Mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring. Once more his current train of thought was pulled from his unresisting grasp and he faded into the quite complacent state of the airdarksmoke.

The hallway seemed to stretch on forever, only getting darker and darker as Ace walked. The light of the tower no long glittered off the delicate walls and floors, not enough of it got this far into the tunnel. Ace glanced briefly over his shoulder and saw the entrance to the hallway shining like a star. Indeed, Ace felt like it was a star. He felt like he was walking through the vast, magnificently unending darkness of space, wandering forever among the cosmos. He would pass Sirius soon, the bright dog-star, and after that Orion. Time for him would pass as it did in the stars, near immeasurable, the only unit of time being the birth, life, and death of new stars, new galaxies, new worlds. Either that, or…

Or he was sinking in the ocean, also vastly immeasurable, watching the sunlight fade forever behind him. The pressure of the water would crush down on him soon, pulverizing him. He'd run out of air soon, too, swallowing great gulps of salty death wishing only to see the light of that distant sun once more, wishing to taste the scent of flowers again. He'd freeze as well, the cold, dark, unyielding water purveying throughout his body, swallowing the tiny warmth he could offer it. If that diamond ring turns brass, Mama's gonna buy you a looking glass. Once again the airdarksmoke pulled away his train of thought, shushing him gently. Of course he wasn't going to die. Of course not. Mama'sgonna make it all better.

Ace continued down the hallway, thoughts and words and worries and memories all pulled away from him. The darkness began to grow darker still, yet Ace couldn't worry anymore, survival instinct wasn't included in airdarksmoke.

After an undecided, uncountable time, Ace was certain he would either find the end of the hallway or be lost forever in this immaculate darkness. Behind him, the entrance to the tunnel was no more than a pinpoint of light, distant and nearly invisible. It was now so dark that if Ace raised his hand he couldn't see it, even if it was mere inches from his face. If that looking glass gets broke, Mama's gonna buy you a billy goat.

The light in the hallway began growing so slowly that Ace didn't even realize what was going on until he could see again. He had sunk into a kind of daze, unaware of even his own body in that unending dark, but jolted once he realized the dark had left.

He looked up, studying his surroundings blearily.

The airdarksmoke was still present, curling and folding wisps of it completely surrounding him. The hallway was no more. He was on a perfectly flat, seemingly endless plane. The ground or floor seemed to be made of one piece of crystal, perfectly cut and completely opaque. Around him he could see no sign of walls or any kind of end to the massive space, and above him he could find no ceiling. The airdarksmoke obscured his vision, and he got the sense he couldn't see that far, but had no means of verifying exactly how far he could see. And if that billy goat won't pull, Mama's gonna buy you a cart and a bull.

"Hello, Ace." Ace looked around again, searching for the source of the voice. It was inherently familiar to him, yet the airdarksmoke in his mind prevented him from pulling out the memory. He remembered…singing, though. And a smell like vanilla and sunlight. He could see no one and the voice sounded like it was coming from all around him, not from any specific direction. Ace heard footsteps approaching and remained where he was, waiting. He felt concern nip at him momentarily before it was tugged away and swallowed by the curling folds of airdarksmoke. If that cart and bull turn over, Mama's gonna buy you a dog named Rover.

A figure stepped gracefully out of the mist.

She was fairly tall, and wearing a dress that looked as if it had been cut from a summer horizon. Light brown hair fell to her waist, and large eyes, and a delicate nose. Freckles painted her cheeks, and her mouth was pulled into a gentle, quiet smile. She came to stand directly in front of Ace and reached out, gently brushing some stray hair off his forehead. Ace blinked at her slowly.

"Hello niño. Are you happy to see me?" Ace blinked slowly. Something was wrong with the words. Something unfamiliar in a familiar voice. And if that dog named Rover won't bark, Mama's gonna buy you a horse and a cart.

"I'm so glad you made it here! Sorry about the long walk. I had one of my estrella guide you to this place." Again Ace blinked at her. Confusion, mild and nearly drowned out by the airdarksmoke washed his mind. A moment later, though, the airdarksmoke was back, relaxing him, relieving him of worry and concern and hesitation. And if that horse and cart fall down, you'll still be the sweetest little baby in town. His mother was here. Why wasn't he smiling? Hadn't he always dreamed of meeting the woman who gave her life for him? The confusion was completely drowned now, and he smiled up at her happily. Complacently. She crouched down so she was at his level and took him into her arms, embracing him for a moment before pulling back and studying his face.

"You've worked so hard, haven't you? Did they scare you? Does the Caucus Race scare you?" Ace found himself nodding. Every word out of her mouth was the truth, must be the truth. She was always right, she never lied, every word she said was complete and utter fact, immutable and irrefutable. She smiled kindly at him.

"Do you want me to make that all go away, Ace? I can protect you from everything out there. I can keep you safe. I'll love you, I'll watch over you, I'll guard you and guide you. Do you want that?" She was perfect. Everything she did, everything she said was perfect. She had no faults, no cracks, and every word she said was truth. Of course he wanted that, she said he wanted that and she knew everything.

Ace nodded again.

She continued to smile at him, remaining crouched down so they were eye to eye. After he nodded, she lowered herself so she was kneeling on the ground, looking right at him.

"There's one little thing I need from you first, Ace." His eyes were locked on hers, and he continued to smile. She kept looking into his eyes and he couldn't look away.

"Just one little thing, Ace. Then you can be here, with me, always. Always. I'll love you and I'll be with you forever. Just that one little thing." Yes. Yes. He wanted this, he wanted to be here. All she asked was a trivial favor in return. The price was nothing compared to the perfection of the promised future. Just that one little thing and he would be here with her forever and everlastingly and perpetually here with her. And she was smiling at him warmly, her eyes locked on his, her hands resting gently on his shoulders. Where was the harm in doing what she asked? There was no harm, only gain.

Ace reached into his left pocket.

...You forgot, didn't you, Ace? There's only one thing in the world that can last forever. Caterpillar's 'love', the Caucus Race, Wonderland itself, even you creator dear. None of this, none of us, will persist eternally. He began humming to himself. Pondering the facts. Life, death, his inevitable victory, all crossed his mind, but he discarded them as boring. Life was boring. Death was unavoidable. His victory, imminent. So what to do? What to entertain himself with? He stood and walked slowly forward, pausing for a moment and chuckling quietly to himself.

…Hush little baby, don't you cry, 'cause then the monsters come out, and then you'll die.

(A/N: so? How d'ya like the ending? It had been too long since I'd left you a nice cliffhanger, so there you go. As cliffhangers go, I don't think its one of my best, but whatever. I tried. OH IMPORTANT NOTE! There is a difference between bold italicand just plain bold. That is important to know. Bold italicis the airdarksmoke 'speaking.' Just plain bold is...someone else. ;)

You all should be honored that I took the time off Assassins Creed III to come and write this for you guys XD jk. But seriously, I impressed myself by writing this while I know my Xbox is downstairs waiting for me to come and kick some redcoat ass. It's a super boss game, by the way. I highly recommend it to anyone out there who's at all interested in buying it. Anyways, next chapter will be out…sometime. No promises when. I really have no idea myself. Sorry the chapter's kinda semi-shortish. But either next chapter or the chapter after that is probably going to be pretty damn long, so yeah. Well…I have nothing more to say, save to beg for reviews. XD

OH, IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE I'VE HAD ONE OF THESE! BONUS QUESTION: After she speaks to him for the first time, Ace semi-thinks "Something was wrong with the words. Something unfamiliar in a familiar voice." Can anyone out there tell me what he's talking about and why it's important?

…Yeah… I'm officially out of things to say. Sooooooo….guess I'll see you all next chapter? Bye for now! ~Mountain 97)