AANNNNNDDDDDDD WE'RE BACK! SINCE EVERYBODY SEEMED RELUCTANT, WENT AHEAD AND DID THIS CHAPTER. FROM THIS POINT ON, I COULD STILL GO EITHER WAY. MOST OF YOU WERE RELUCTANT BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T LIKE THE THOUGHT OF C.J NO LONGER BEING THE MAIN CHARACTER. I UNDERSTAND THIS, SO IN THIS CHAPTER, YOU GET TO MEET THE POTENTIAL NEW HEROINE! EVERYONE MEET NERD!

Ch.64:Unusual Means to an Unusual End

I sat down in the plush chair of my favorite coffee shop, exhausted. I'd been hitting up the internet and the library all day, but I couldn't find a single solitary thing that might be useful.

"My my, you actually look downright gloomy C.J." My gaze shot up to see Dren Reet, a girl I knew rather well from school. Nerd-as her very few friends called her- was as strange as they get. Well…strange isn't the right word…how should I put it? Oh yeah; space cadet. She was one of the 'open minded weirdo kids'. She was actually really nice, she just like to keep ALL possibilities open. I knew for a fact that she liked to dabble in witchcraft, wika, voodoo, the occult, and all other such weird stuff. Not to mention she was an avid anime fan and dressed like she just came from a cosplay contest all the time. She worked here at the shop as a part time job in the summer.

I smiled as best I could, "I guess I am…." She frowned and tugged on some of her long black hair, "You, sad?" She plopped down next to me, raised eyebrow and all, "What's up Thourn?" I opened my mouth to relay the story I'd told Train and Glenn, and the paused. Dren believed all kinds of stuff, right? Would she actually even consider the possibility of my story being true?

She cocked her head and I turned away. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." "Try me. What have you got to lose?" I paused, "…Don't you have work to do?" She held up her wrist and did a three second count down, "…Two, one, aaaaannnnnddddd now I'm off duty! So what's eatin you?"

I knew she wouldn't go away until I told her, and I figured I might as well get it off my chest. So, I opened my mouth and told her everything. Starting from when I woke up and went to the park.

Of course, at first she thought I was joking. But as the story wore on, her expectant smile faded and her eyes widened as I went along. Everything from my encounter with the Jokers, to meeting Alice, to the game, to the territories and faceless. It all spilled out of me, like I couldn't stop once I'd started. By the time I'd finished telling Dren about the time I punched Blood, which now seemed years ago, the shop was starting to close up.

Dren's coworker walked over, motioning with her empty tray, "You two should get out of here. We're closing up for the night."

I looked at Dren to see her face. She looked back at me, "…You want to come over to my place? You can finish telling me there." I smiled as well as I could and followed Dren out, hoping on my bike and following her as she biked to her house.

….

As Dren let me in her small house, the smell of cigarette smoke sunk in. I wrinkled my nose. She looked over and smiled, "Sorry. Come on, it's not so bad in my room. And try to be quiet; my step-father's probably taking a nap right now."

Dren's room was…weird. But I kinda liked it. The walls were a bright, stark white with light blue base boards. The carpet was crusty and old; its dark blue looking like it'd skin my palms. Her bedspread was dark purple and she didn't have a closet; all her clothes hung on a bar that stretched from one wall to another. The walls were covered in anime posters, paintings of all moods, and a few memorabilia like pendants and a Chinese straw hat.

Dren hopped up on the raised bed and patted the spot next to her. I hopped up and waited for her to speak first. When she didn't, I sucked it up. "So…nice room. …You like D-Gray Man to?" She perked up, "Totally! You're really into anime to?" I shrugged, "The ones I've seen I've liked. And this room is pretty sweet." She grinned, "Well, gotta make the most of what ya got."

She looked at me, "You know Thourn…why haven't we ever really talked before? You've always seemed really cool and distant, but you're actually pretty…fun. You know, approachable. And it's like we like the same kind of stuff." I shrugged and turned my head, "I guess I've never really trusted enough to talk that much to anyone."

She stared at me, dark eyes piercing, "…And now that's changed?" I nodded.

She rested her head in her hands, "Speaking of talking, you want to finish telling me about Wonderland?" I raised my eyebrows, "Do you…believe me? Really?" She tapped her chin, "…I believe that YOU certainly believe. And who am I to say otherwise? At the very least, it's a nice story."

I nodded. To be honest, a none judging ear was the most I could have asked for.

So I kept telling. She listened carefully as I told her about how I met Patch, and about my first run-in with the Jabberwocky. I talked about meeting Alister, and, when the time came, about what happened to me when I was young. I told her about how everyone found out about it, about how mad I was, and how I ran. How I met Elda, about Alister's meltdown, about meeting Yuri, about the legend and all its truth, and about how I found out my role in the game.

I told her of how I'd gotten a crew and stormed the Badlands, about the truth of Alister, Yuri, and Alistair. About the ends of two of them. By the time I got to my sudden and unexpected departure, I was pacing in the small space her room would allow.

"So, now I'm here. Everything about the time I was there is crystal clear, not at all like a dream. But all the items I'd gotten there are gone, including my clothes, and according to the clock, I'd only been gone for about two hours! But that's all…impossible! Completely impossible!" I groaned and leaned against the wall. "Maybe I really should just check in and take a permanent residence at the Nut House. And if I think that, what do you think?!"

I looked at the dark-haired girl on the bed. She was staring thoughtfully at me. At first, I thought she was going to throw me out in a cruel prank. Then, she smiled. "Don't worry C.J. It all happened. I'm sure that it's all true." I raised my eyebrows at her, "Excuse me?"

She slid off the bed, "Look Thourn, you've got a hefty rep of being the most reliable person in the world. You talk about Wonderland and the people in it with a way that someone who made it all up wouldn't have. And," she grinned, "only a sane persone would question their own sanity."

I grinned back at her, relief flooding my system. She tapped her chin, "I really wish there was some way could help you though…." I smiled weakly, "Yeah…I would really like to go back…or at least, to just know why I left. I was told that I could choose to stay OR leave if I won, but I pretty much got booted out."

Dren sighed, rubbing her temples and then snapped her fingers. "I've got an idea!" She ran over to her book shelf and tapped her fingers along the spines, her black and flouncy Lolita skirt swirling. She pulled down a think and somewhat in a poor condition text. "Here we go!"

She returned to the bed and set the book down, leafing through it and then calling me over. She pointed to the image. "I haven't got a clue if it really works, but if you're going to try and contact someone for unorthodox reasons, we should use unorthodox means."

I studied the picture carefully, reading the ingredients list with equal caution. "…Dren, a few days ago, I would have laughed. Let's give it a shot!" I grinned at her and she closed the book, "…You know what Thourn? Just call me Nerd." I smiled back, "And you can call me C.J."

…..

So here I am the next day, standing on the door mat of a girl I practically just met, carrying a large mirror and a brown paper bag with a box of salt and a bottle of cheap wine in it. (Don't ask how I got it.)

I knocked again, getting nervous. Was I too early? Did she have to go somewhere? Then, the door opened. A not so pleasant looking, beefy man in a dingy white T-shirt and jeans opened the door. I smiled my sweetest. "Hi there! Is Dren home?" He made an unidentifiable noise and turned his head, "DREENN! THE BLONDE'S HERE!"

There was shuffling from inside, "You don't have to shout!" Dren appeared in the doorway, careful not to touch what I guessed was her step-father. "Thanks Greg. Come on in C.J." I stepped in and followed Nerd back to her room. "He seems lovely."

She rolled her eyes, "Yeah, it's like living with Prince Charming. He says he loves you and then completely forgets what you look like, but he always remembers to put the toilet seat down." I laughed as she closed the door to her room.

I set the stuff out on the bed, "Ok Nerd, I've got the stuff you said to bring." She nodded and brought out the book again, looking anxious. She set it down, "I memorized the procedure last night, so I won't make a mistake. All I need is you to do is help out every now and then."

I nodded as she set out the supplies. Her eyebrows when up as she held the wine, "Holy shiz, you actually got it." I grinned, "Like I said, I have my sources." She set the rest of the items near it. A kitchen knife, the salt, the mirror, some rolls of pennies, a file, a needle, and the instruction book. I leaned over read the print again, "…A scrying mirror, huh? How's it supposed to work?"

Nerd polished the mirror, "From what I read, all we have to do is put out hand in the symbol and think about who we want to talk to. It should make us see out of the nearest reflective object…after we set it up, of course."

I nodded. "…Alright, we're ready."

…..

WHITE:

I practically slammed the next stack of books onto the table and fell back into the chair. I sighed as pulled the next one the pile off the top and drug it in front of me. I've been in the library-Wonderlands best library with the history of EVERY SINGLE game and noteworthy event recorded- for the past two time periods. And book after book, I haven't found a single d***** clue as to how to get C.J back! Looked down and saw that the print of the book was swimming a bit. I shook my head, refusing to sleep. Even if I tried, I wouldn't be able to sleep. Not without C.J here.

"…White, you're going to kill yourself." I jumped a bit and looked down at the mask that Black's voice was coming from. I growled at it, "What?" "White, you haven't slept or rested since C.J left. You know she wouldn't want to kill yourself like this." I stared at the swimming pages, not seeing them. "…I know…I know d*** it."

"So why?" I put my face in my hands, closing my eyes for a bit, "…I don't know what you're talking about." "Yes you do. I'm asking why you care so much White."

"…." "White, you wouldn't be like this if Alice left." "Your point being?"

"C.J and Alice are both foreigners. Why are you treating them so differently, hmm?" I glared at him, "…That's not fair." "What's not? Putting you on the spot? I want to hear you say it White. I want to hear it, so I make sure I'm not imagining things. Why is C.J so special?"

I stared at the wall, that strange ache in my clock getting stronger. "She's special because she's C.J."

…

C.J:

I gulped as Nerd picked up the knife and carefully dragged along the glyphs she'd made out of salt. The salt parted as the knife screeched across the mirrors surface.After coping the design carefully, she picked up the wine and poured it over the mirror, just barley coating the surface in a thin red haze.

She held out her hand and gestured for the pennies and file. I nodded and handed them over. She carefully started scraping the copper off the pennies and into the wine."If I only I could have found some copper wire…I just hope this alloy they use in these pennies is pure enough."

She went through about a whole roll of the coins before the mirror had a very fine coat of dust on it. She sighed. "Alright, now we need a drop of blood from you C.J." I nodded and picked up the needle, pricking my pinkie and squeezing out some blood onto the mirror's surface. The coat of wine didn't even quiver, but the blood seemed to soak in.

She breathed out and slid her fingers under the mirror. "Now then, if it worked, the wine won't spill and the mirror will now be red. She sucked in her breath and flipped the mirror over. I closed my eyes, prepared for her bedspread to get stained, but it didn't.

I opened my eyes to see that the salt had fallen, but the wine no longer seemed to be there. Nerd flipped the mirror back over and started at it in wonder, "My God, it actually worked." The mirror was now a beautiful wine red color, reflecting us and the room in its own unique tint. I felt a pang as the color called a certain person to my thoughts. I shoved him away, hard as it was, and looked at the dazzling red cracks that formed the complex patterns around the rim and in the bottom corner. A wreath of lines filled a small, irregular box in the bottom left corner.

Nerd looked at me and handed me the mirror gently. "…So, I guess we use it now. …Who you gonna call?" I gulped, White coming back to my mind. …No. I should find out what's going on first.

"I'll call Nightmare. He always seems to know things no one else does." Nerd nodded, "Then just…put your thumb in the corner and think about him. It should take concentration, so just focus on connecting with him right now."

I nodded, took a deep breath, and did as instructed. I pictured Nightmare and all his weird quirks, his deceptively deep voice, and his pirate's eye patch. I stared into the clear depths of the silver glass. At some point, I saw Nightmare in the glass. Nerd gasped over my shoulder, and the image moved. Ok, I'm NOT imagining it!

"…Nightmare?!" He jumped and turned about, looking everywhere. "Nightmare! Turn around!" He turned to face what I assume was a mirror. "…C.J?!" Nerd covered her mouth, wide eyed.

"Nightmare, long story short, ok? I'm using something called a scying mirror to call you." I gestured to Nerd, "Dren, this is Nightmare. Nightmare, Dren. Nightmare, tell me what the f*** happened!"

He seemed to regain his balance and chuckled, "I had a feeling you'd find some way to reconnect…C.J, you were sent back to your world because you won the game. Except, your game wasn't THE game, but an entirely different game. And it seems you weren't given a choice this time." I stared at him, "Are you f****** kidding me?! How do I get back then?!" He sighed, "I don't know. I'm…working on it. I've just sent Joker to talk to the Dealer. He might be able to convince the Dealer to allow you to come back, one way or another."

I frowned, "Joker? You mean White? Can I talk to him?" Nightmare shook his head, "He already left. He-"

"HEY!" I jumped and nearly dropped the mirror, Nightmare's image faltering and disappearing as 'Greg' stepped in. "Is that a man's voice in here?!" Nerd smiled as soothingly as she could, "No Greg, just us girls." He glared, "I swear I head a…whatever. You! Time to go home girlie."

I was shaking and just nodded, walking past him and out the door with a short good-bye to Nerd.

I hopped on my bike and peddled home, my mind whirling. White's going to talk to the Dealer?! What's he going to have to do to get me back?! I looked up at the blue sky, the heat blistering down on my forehead. What do I do now?!

SO THERE YOU ALL HAVE IT. LIKE I SAID, I COULD GO EITHER WAY FROM HERE. BUT NOW THAT YOU ALL HAVE A BETTER IDEA OF WHAT THE NEW MAIN CHARACTER WOULD BE LIKE, PLEASE VOICE YOUR OPINIONS.

GOOD DAY MY FRIENDS!