WELL, THAT TOOK FOREVER! I'M SORRY, THIS CHAPTER ISN'T EVEN THAT LONG…I KEPT GETTING HELD UP ON THE WEEKENDS. -_-' BUT I'M BACK! AND HOPEFULLY I WONT TAKE SO LONG WITH THE NEXT CHAPPY!

Ch.43: Reality Check Please!

P.O.V: Black

Instead of the dream realms shifting colors, White and I stepped directly into C.J's mind…or, the dream…or…whatever the hell this place was! And from the first step I took, I was tempted to believe it was the 10th circle of Hell!

The instant we arrived, the temperature rose to horrific levels, the evil sun glaring on us two red heads. I picked a hell of an awesome day to wear black. Sweat immediately started to well up as I blinked against the harsh sun light. I yanked off my hat and wiped my forehead, White doing the exact same. I looked over at him, "What the f***?! What's with this heat!?" White sighed, "I don't know, but this worse than anything the Amusement parks ever had."

Way, way worse. Not only was it HOT, it was also…wet. What was the word…humid! This heat clung like a blanket soaked in boiling water. Which made it that much more miserable.

I thought for a moment, and then grinned widely. White glared at me, "What?" "Nothing, just that you owe me 10 quinn." He frowned, "What for?" I gestured around us, "I bet you that C.J was actually a demon. And look where we are! C.J's home sweet home, her own cozy corner in Hell!" He dead panned, "Not funny in the slightest Black."

I sighed, blinking hard as sweat trickled in my eyes, "Hey, how else do you explain the heat? And if C.J really does live here, she must be some kind of demon!"

White finally observed our surroundings, having adjusted to the bright sun. He pointed behind me. "Does Hell have one of those?" I turned around to see a massive building behind me, (Polk High School Badgers, we learned from the big painted fight banner on the nearby doors). I smirked, "Are you kidding? I think high school IS Hell."

White started towards it, "Regardless, let's get inside before we have a heat stroke." I nodded, grimacing, and quickly followed.

We went up to the doors of the high school, hesitating. I looked at White, "These are C.J memories…so can we even…?" "You should be able to move freely."

We both jumped at the sound of Yuri's voice, robotic from the filters in the mask's communication. I looked down, "Glad you could join us. What the f*** is up with this place?" "These are C.J's memories. So long as C.J saw it, even once, you should be able to see what took place there." "And this heat?" "Apparently, wherever you are now, it was very hot."

"Anyways, you should be able to just walk through the door." My eyebrow raised and I put out my hand to the solid looking door, only to find my hand disappearing to the other side. "Haha, cool."

White grabbed the visible part of my wrist and yanked me the rest of the way in, "Come on!"

We now stood in a broad hallway, administrative offices on one side close by, splitting off into two separate halls further down with a massive cafeteria past those. I looked around, "From the size, C.J went to huge f****** high school." White swiped sweat off his forehead, "Just thank the Dealer this place has air conditioning."

I looked back to the mask, "So now what Yuri?" "Now you find C.J. we need to know what this memory is of before we can guess how deep into her mind you are." White brightened up a bit, "Find C.J?"

"…Well…yes and no. We must find the memory of her. Trust me; you will be able to tell the difference between the real C.J's halves and the memories of her. They'll seem…realer."

"…Realer?" "Yes, realer. You'll see what I mean. Also, I must warn you; what you will be seeing is merely her memories, events of the past. You cannot interact or change her memories in any way."

I sighed and looked over to the hall way, suddenly hearing a roar of footsteps and a familiar shout down the hall to the right. I pointed, "I think we don't have to look for her."

We came up to the hall so we could look down, only to see some random dude barreling at top speed down the hallway like the devil was chasing him. As I saw a blond head streaking behind him, I saw it really WAS the devil herself.

He was about 20 yards down the long hall from us and C.J was closing.

15 yards. Still closing.

10 yards. She's hot on his heels!

Approximately 5 yards from us, C.J let out a cry of pure rage, and gave him an actual flying kick. Right in the mid back. Ouch.

He skidded to a stop right in front of us, looking up from the floor in a daze of pain. The next instant, C.J pounced, planting her boot on his stomach, grabbing him roughly by the collar, and shaking him violently.

"WHAT THE F*** IS THE F****** MATTER WITH YOU?! WHAT KIND OF F****** LOW LIFE SCUZ BALL WOULD LOWER HIMSELF TO SUCH DISGUETING LEVELS?! YOU VERMIN, PIG,YOU USELESS S***!"

With this fit of rage, C.J too her left hand from his collar, reached up to his neck, and pinched the vital nerve. Hard.

The apparent offender slumped, useless. C.J took a deep breath, and got off the guy.

For the first time, we got a good look at her. She was slightly shorter than she was now, her hair cut in an odd way so that the bangs were shoulder length and shortened as it went up to the back of her head. (*Hinata's hair. But less clean.) No hat covering her head, so we could see her two random fly-aways poking up. She was wearing a light gray loose T with loose, bright red shorts. Both articles had her last name scrawled on white circles. She must have been a year or two younger than she is now. (*She's actually 15 at the time.)

She huffed and flicked a longer hair out her eyes, and then leaned down and yanked something the guy had been griping tightly out of his hand. "I'll be taking these back!"

More footsteps were heard as she righted herself. All three of us turned back down the hall C.J had come from to see at least 20 more girls, all faced and dressed the same way C.J was, herding down the broad hall.

Finally they caught up, huffing even though they hadn't been running very fast. A brunette girl with a pretty face ran up and hugged C.J, "You got them back for us! And you kicked his a**! Our hero!" All the girls gathered tight around C.J, hugging and cheering, applauding her capture of the random guy.

C.J hushed the crowd and pushed them back. She handed the bundle she had taken from the now grounded guy to the brunet, keeping a part of for herself. She raised her free hand, "No need to thank me. Besides…," she turned her head down and looked at the unconscious man with the eyes of the Devil, "…this one was personal." She gripped the gray fabric tightly, glaring death at the man on the floor. The girls all sweat dropped and backed away slowly.

Then I saw what she was holding. Gray boyshorts.

The brunette girl was holding a bundle of various patterns, ranging from panda print to rainbows.

I fell to my knees, laughing so hard no sound was coming out…so I kind of looked like I was choking. I pounded the ground, unable to control the spasms of laughter. …It's a d*** good thing C.J isn't here to hear me right now…I'd have a fist sized hole in my head.

White looked down at me, startled, "What?! What so funny?!" My laughter paused for a moment, and then I burst out in hysterics. "What, did you not notice, or are you in denial?! That guy was a f****** pantie thief! C.J stopped him! With a vengeance! Is this clicking in that f****** stupid head of yours?!"

He blanked for a moment, and then quickly covered his reddening face. I laughed harder. I stood up, "What, you embarrassed, or sad that's probably the first and last time you'll ever see C.J's-" He cut me off, "You don't realize the seriousness of the situation. We saw something we were NOT supposed to. If C.J ever, I mean EVER, found out…" I blinked, catching on, "…Off with our heads?" "Among other things."

I shivered, imagining all the sick and twisted methods of death she would conjure just for us. Yes, we have technically died many, many times. But this time, we'd die for real. Plus, dying is always a b****.

I looked at my look alike, "…We shall take this to our graves." He nodded, "Agreed."

"…If you two are done, shall we move on?" I jumped again at the sound of Yuri's voice. It'll take a while to get used to that….

White nodded quickly, "Certainty. Where to?" "This was a more recent memory. We need to go deeper."

P.O.V: Peirce

I looked around the ruin and rubble of a building with Boris and Ace, looking for the focal. I drew back an old and rotting curtain that was handing in tatters by a crumbling door frame.

After a bit of debate, it was decided that the three of us should search while Yuri stayed with C.J, so he could guard her and help the Jokers at the same time.

I sighed as the curtain disintegrated in my hand, revealing nothing more than piles of rock. I thought for a moment, "…Hey, guys?" Ace looked up from a ditch he'd been looking into. "What?" Boris turned from his search to look at me to.

I gulped, "Yuri said those…things probably have the focal, right?" This drew nods. "So shouldn't we look in the places those things are most likely to be?"

P.O.V: Alice

Julius sat in front of me, having been awake for some time now. He stared at me, an unreadable expression on his face. "…Are you going to leave?"

I bit my thumb knuckle, not knowing what to say. "Yes…no…maybe? I don't know anymore. I've come to know and love everyone here, but…I belong in my own world. Home…right?"

Julius stared at me longer, his eyes starting to make me nervous. I sighed and looked down at his desk, the full vile on top of it. "…Why did you tell me?"

I glanced up, "Cause you're the smartest person in Wonderland. I trust your advice."

He finally looked down and closed his eyes for some time, "…If you're wanting me to tell you whether you should stay of go, you're out of luck. This is a decision you need to make." He looked up, "what I say and my own opinions are of no consolation. The point of this decision is so the foreigners will chose what will make them happy. What would make you happy Alice?"

I gripped my head, "I don't know! That's why I came here to ask you! If you were me, would chose to stay in a crazy world you don't understand, full of people you care about but are as good as strangers to you, or go home, to the place you know!?"

He was silent for a time, "…Have you heard the term 'Home is where the heart is?'" I paused and then nodded. "Where is your heart Alice?"

WELL, IT'S DONE! I KNOW, VERY SHORT FOR SUCH A LONG WAIT…BUT I HOPE YOU ENJOYED ANYWAYS.

IF ANY OF YOU HAVE A PARTICULAR TYPE OF MEMORY YOU'D LIKE THE JOKERS TO SEE, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO LEAVE A SUGGUESTION IN A REVIEW, OR PM ME!

ANYWAYS, HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYBODY! OwO