I truly am sorry for making you wait for this chapter to come. There's been a lot of hard brainstorming for this story and it's not easy when I'm doing it alone. My brain sometimes can't keep up with me. I've properly thought long and hard for what will come next and I'd rather put an effort in each chapter than doing it sloppily. No one wants a poorly written chapter now do we? So, without further ado, let the story begin. ~
Pilgrims to the Unknown
Water cascaded down a series of rocky outcrops, giving the effect of many waterfalls rather than just one. Then it flowed on its way, nonchalant as if nothing had occurred. The water here is crystal clear on these parts of the forest, but further down a small pathway was the dull part of the forest. This was the place where Alice and Stein had encountered these creatures from the previous day.
Lynx, Stein, and Alice were standing beside the rocky outcrops. They were currently discussing a plan on where to start their search into the somber area.
Lynx folds his arms in front of his chest and hums in thought. "Who knows how many sly creatures could be in there, but we all must take extreme precautions." he unfolds his arms and gestures his index finger to them. "One false move and you'd be dead faster than you could say Death."
Alice swallows hard, clutching the hem of her shirt nervously. 'Great.'
The ebony haired male/feline shrugs. "Attacking them IS an option, but I would highly recommend not engaging them. Not without a proper weapon in your inventory—which clearly, you two are lacking at the moment." He suddenly disappears and then reappears beside Alice.
This startled her from her train of thought. She then stumbles to the side, bumping into Stein.
A sly grin forms on his lips while he got a glare from Stein. "Would you stop doing that? Obviously, you don't understand personal space."
Lynx simply shrugs and his grin grows wider. "I could do that… but I won't."
Stein narrows his eyes, almost growling at the guy. "I hate him," he grumbled.
Alice looks over her shoulder at Stein, he looked really irritated. She couldn't blame him for feeling this way. She's surprised he didn't try to dissect him—that she knows of—when they first met him. I guess Stein has more self-control than she originally thought or he just doesn't like the guy in general.
"Let's not stick around for long," Stein said, walking past Alice and then stops right next to Lynx.
She didn't know what went on between the two. Stein had mumbled something for Lynx to hear, whatever it was she could only guess it was some kind of threat. She doesn't know for sure what was said, she can only speculate, nothing more.
Stein moves away from Lynx and walks over to the entrance. He stops and turns to the side, his eyes landing onto Alice.
Alice instantly perked up then proceeded to join Professor Stein's side. Without warning, she was stopped by Lynx—by blocking her path. All she could do was look up at him quizzically.
He didn't muster a word before he reaches out and grabs her hand, opening her palm. Then with the other hand, he placed an 8.5 ounce (oz) round glass bottle with a cork stopper. She looks at the bottle intently and notices there was a strange lavender colored liquid inside. The liquid was thick in density and whatever mixture it has, it looked like something was causing it to emit a soft glow—mimicking the emission of light by living organisms, like bioluminescence.
She stared at the bottle fixedly before raising her gaze at Lynx. She was awfully stunned to realize that he was staring right back at her—without his signature everlasting grin.
"Listen carefully, Alice." he motions his index finger at the bottle. "This potion contains a special substance that will aid you… and Stein," the way he said Stein's name was enough to confirm her suspicion—he dislikes Steins. There's no doubt about it.
She simply nods. Already speculating the purpose of the potion, but he wasn't quite finished with his explanation. He leans over, his mouth hovering above her ear. The heat radiating from his breath caused her hairs to stand on end.
"But you must ONLY use it when it's absolutely necessary. If the need does arise, drink half of it and give the rest to him." was all he uttered before moving away.
His words kept repeating themselves inside her head. Special substance - - drink half of it - - what in the world did he gave her? What does it really do when she uses it? Maybe she shouldn't have gone ahead of herself. This really made her reevaluate her previous speculation about the use of this potion.
"Alice."
She blinks at the sound of Stein's voice calling her from afar. She poked her head out from Lynx's arm to see Stein, waiting patiently for her.
Shoot! She shouldn't be wasting any more precious time.
Alice puts away the potion inside her backpack, bids him farewell—using sign language and thanking him for the potion. Then she makes her way towards Stein as they now head inside the forest.
They arrived at the site which is the very same one they'd encountered these creatures. However, the remains were nowhere to found—no spoils were left, not even the bones! The only thing that remained was the dried up blood which was stained on the ground.
Stein observed the dried up blood stains, searching for any signs of footprints. Only to realize that there were none whatsoever.
His stomach would twist uncomfortably; it's a sensation that didn't sit well with him. He didn't like that feeling one bit. He stood upright after kneeling down to inspect the dried blood and then looks around the place.
Stein saw two pathways they could take, one to his left and the other lead straight ahead. Since they're here to investigate the area it's natural they choose where to go. An idea came into mind and he turns to face Alice—standing right behind him.
Her curious gaze meets his. He was entranced by the unique pigmentation in her iris that he almost forgot why they were here in the first place.
Stein blinked a hint of pink appearing on his cheeks but the glare of his glasses made it less obvious. "There are two paths that might lead us somewhere entirely new to this place. I'm not sure where but that's why we're here now, isn't it?"
He straightens himself, shoving his hands into the pockets of his lab coat. "I suggest we split up. That way it gives us more time to explore the grounds throughout this place, plus it makes this process go a whole lot faster."
Alice felt her heart plummet into the bottom of her stomach. Split up in a place known to have danger literally written all over it? It's a terrible idea, to begin with! Not to mention Lynx specifically told her that they shouldn't split up under any circumstances.
Her panicked expression should have been enough to knock some sense into him—being mute—it made things difficult for her. All she could do is hope that by merely seeing her reaction to this it would make him rethink about his decision.
It didn't work. His back was now facing her; he didn't even glance at her!
It frustrated her, she could feel herself pouting. Knowing that either of them could end up getting hurt—possibly killed—was already enough to frighten her. She could already picture it in her mind; she could see herself walking through the darkest parts of the forest and suddenly she stumbles upon Professor Stein's corpse.
NO! She shook the image out of her mind immediately. Alice lunged herself towards Stein, snatching the fabric of his lab coat with her hand and tugging his arm desperately.
Stein was now looking down at her—confusion was written on his face. The longer he stared at her the more he notices a conflicting look from her. A nagging feeling kept tugging from the pit of his stomach, it was a feeling he isn't too familiar with.
He blinks before his eyes soften up. A chuckle escapes from his lips. "Getting a little clingy now aren't you?"
Her features didn't change, except for a slight blush creeping on her cheeks. She releases her grip on the fabric of his lab coat, allowing Stein to turn and face her once again.
Stein extended his hand, placing it on top of her head causing her cowlick to twitch. "You shouldn't worry yourself too much. You're an exceptional Meister, and if you're in any sort of trouble just call out to me," he reassured her with a smile.
He removes his hand from the top of her head and pivots around then proceeded to walk away. She watched in silence as he headed towards the path on the left, his silhouette slowly disappearing before he was nowhere to be seen.
Alice just stood there; staring off into the direction she will be headed. She swallows nervously then glances around the already frightening place.
Being here once again—this time by herself—she could now feel the vibe that this place threw off, it was unpleasant and off-putting. From the things she's experienced so far they weren't all too great, to begin with. Who knows how many more places like this exist in this world that could be far worse than this one. What a lovely thought to worry about.
She lets out a deep sigh, which calmed her nerves even if it was for a little bit. 'Everything will be ok. It'll be ok…I hope.'
-x-
Inside the classroom was silent, a little too silent for their comfort. Luckily, the silence was substituted by the downpour coming from the outside. Now the students were murmuring loudly which were muffled by the crashing of the rain.
Everyone in the room looked like they were having a chipper day, all except one. The middle row up on the third row was Death the kid, and beside him were his partners Liz and Patty talking to each other.
The voices of his partners were slowly dying out and his mind was overflowing with worrying thoughts. There were rumors regarding the incident in Sacramento, it was all he could think about—everyone, even the teachers knew about it!
What about Alice? He hasn't heard from her since his last conversation with her.
Could it be she's…no. He refused to believe that his closest friend is dead…but what if…and there goes the negative side of the brain again. He cursed himself for having such doubtful thoughts.
One important question crossed his mind; the rumors about Sacramento…were they really true? He had to—he must know the truth! The only one who can confirm this was his father.
The atmosphere inside the death room felt somber, depriving it of any sort reassurance, as well as its lively energy. This room has felt worse days but this was nothing compared to their previous battle against Asura. It felt much more…emotional.
He could feel a presence behind him. Yellow eyes burning through the back of his head like daggers. This was an inevitable outcome and he knew far too well why he'd come here so suddenly.
His gaze was on the mirror before him, and his reflection was staring right back. His cartoony mask looked the same as always but something seemed different, he looked distressed. However, only a handful of his coworkers would catch on to what he truly felt, since he was the type of person to cover up what he was feeling. He just didn't want them to worry for an ancient being like him.
"Hey, Kiddo. What brings you here on this fine day?" His voice sounded drained instead of his usual chipper self.
With all the work being piled onto his shoulders lately, it left him worn out. Yet, he was able to be on his feet for having such a rough time with recent events.
Kid felt the palms of his hand sweating accompanied by his heart throbbing. He was afraid to be told the truth of Alice's fate. It can't be true, right?
He exhales through his teeth, his breath coming out shaky when he spoke. "Are the rumors true?"
Kid waited for an answer, but there was none. The silence was eating away his patience and his anxiety was slowly surging itself uncomfortably in the pit of his stomach. Why…why wasn't he giving him an answer?!
"Please, father, I need to know what happened!" he begged, the tone of his voice sounding desperate. "Alice…is she…?" He trailed off and the look on his face shifted into a frown, then his gaze moved towards the ground.
Lord Death moves himself to the sides to see his son's reflection through the mirror. The look on his face was enough to break anyone's hearts. Death's eyes frowned, the aching in his chest progressing the longer he stared. He can relate the way his son was feeling. Since he had to witness the events through his mirror at that time, watching helplessly as both Meister's disappeared through the portal below, never to be seen again.
He pivots around; making his way over to his son before kneeling down and hugging him. "Don't think like that kiddo. I'm certain she's alive and well somewhere."
"H-how can you be certain?" Kid's voice trembled, looking at his father from the corner of his eye.
"Alice is one of the most exceptional Meister's to ever exist. She's a strong one too." He pulls away keeping his hands firmly on Kid's shoulders. "Besides, she's not alone."