On planet Earth...
My name is Alice. Alice Lorange. I'm 16 years old. I'm lying in bed. My red, medium-length hair is a mess. I try to fall asleep, but voices haunt me. The Others’ voices. Students from the high school I attend.
Boy Voice 1: " You're weird, Alice."
Girl Voice 1: "She's not like us."
Alice: (…)
Girl Voice 2: "I hate that little bitch!"
Boy Voice 2: "Hey, I've got an idea. Why don't we steal her lunch?"
Alice: (Enough...)
Girl Voice 2: "Cool!"
Boy Voice 1: "No, no, no! We're not kindergarten kids!"
Girl Voice 1 : "I've got a much better idea. We could..."
Alice: (THAT'S ENOUGH!)
I'm holding back my tears.
Alice: (Why? Why are they so cruel?)
Suddenly, Heather's voice echoed in my mind. Heather is a Trace, a supernatural creature. I've been sharing my body with her since an adventure in a strange house, Adelan Alarie’s house.
An adventure I had with three other Alice. Alice D from Russia. Alice Brown from the United States. Alice Kurosawa from Japan. They're autistic like me.
Heather: (How can you let them affect you so much?)
Alice: (I am SO sorry!!!)
Heather sighs in discouragement.
Heather: (You have to be strong, Alice! Your autistic life may be difficult, but...)
Heather suddenly stopped talking and started screaming. My head is going to explode in pain.
Alice: (HEATHER! What's wrong with you?)
Heather: (No, no, no! I can feel it... an unexplained phenomenon is going to collide worlds and rewrite reality!)
Alice: (Wha…?)
Heather: (A new reality, a new timeline... THIS IS OUR END ALICE!)
Alice: (D! Brown! Kurosawa! NOOOOOOOOOOO!)
Then, in an instant, everything goes white. Everything fades away. It's the end of this reality. A new timeline now begins for me.
♫ The end of everything, I couldn’t do anything ♫
♫ The worlds are colliding, the reality is changing ♫
♫ But I’ll start over because I’m not a pushover! ♫
♫ I won’t be undone, I won’t be outdone ♫
♫ I’m alive, I will survive ♫
♫ In this new reality, this new chronology ♫
♫ Where will my new Path lead me? ♫
On planet Earth...
My name is Alice. Alice Lorange. I'm 16 years old. My hair is red, long and wavy. My eyes are green. I am a French Quebecker, but I do well in English. I am also autistic. Right now, I'm in my room. My Safety Zone. Far away from the Others and the Unknown.
I had a terrible day at school. In addition to my crappy math grade, I was again bullied by this girl. She said something naughty to me. I forgot her name. Mel-Something. Melanie, Melody, Melissa? Well. Whatever.
I was going to start my homework reluctantly, because I am having more and more difficulty at school and the homework seems insurmountable, when a strange glow appeared. The glow grows and transforms into a colorful portal.
Alice: (What the...?)
I get up from my chair.
Alice: (I'm not dreaming... am I?)
I'm lowering my head. I look at my sneakers, my jeans, my green t-shirt and then I lift my head up to look at the portal.
Alice: (No. It's not a dream.)
The portal hums softly.
Alice: (Oh my God, what am I supposed to do? Call Mom and Dad? No. Bad idea.)
I don't want them to panic. They may be my parents and love me, but they’re Others, and it's not good when the Others panic.
Alice: (But... wait a sec! This portal... is it that what the Voice of the Paths talked to me about?)
For several nights now, I've been having a strange dream. In this dream, I am in the Unknown, but rather than being painful it is pleasant. I stand on an enchanted road, a road made of light and dust. Everything around is blue. The sky and the ground. I walk along this road when it is divided into several paths. As I decide to take one randomly glass pieces fall from the sky.
In them, I see others Alice Lorange. An Alice trapped in a strange house with three girls. Others Alice, all autistic. An Alice with yellow eyes. She shares her body with Heather, a supernatural creature. An Alice in a forest, near a campfire. She's crying. Her friends are dead. An Alice, whose first name is spelled Alyce, who sacrifices herself by singing a song. An Alice who travels between worlds to find a mystical relic. An Alice who...
Suddenly, I hear an astral and mysterious voice, the Voice of the Paths. It explains to me that the glass pieces show different "Paths", different realities. As a new reality and timeline has begun, I will soon have to choose my new Path. I always wake up afterwards, without having time to ask questions to the Voice of the Paths.
Alice: ("Choose my new Path"... this portal... I have the feeling that they are linked. My choice will have consequences, that's for sure!)
I wait and the portal closes. It will never reappear again. My new Path is decided.
Alice: (My life. My simple and, dare I say, painful life.)
I'm completing my homework. I don't want to, but I don't have a choice.
Days pass, I'm still bullied at school. The Others are getting on my nerves. My grades are going down. My parents are worried. They don't want me to drop out of high school. I understand them, but I have my limits.
To help me, they want me to see a psychologist. That or taking some meds. Like that would help. The Others will always be Others. Unpredictable, dangerous. I can't change who I am, how my mind works. But still, I don’t have a choice. Parents are parents, and I’m still a minor.
I don't want to see a psychologist. After all, he or she will be an Other. They won't be able to help me. So I start taking meds. Antidepressants, although I'm not depressed. Could I be depressed? I don't know. I don't understand. I don't understand anything anymore. These meds seem to make everything worse.
My head hurts more and more, which happens when the Unknown torments me. I cry more and more often, a common occurrence when Others hurt me.
I get bullied even more at school and my grades are at their lowest. My high school year is ruined.
Alice: (That's enough! I'm stopping everything. Enough suffering!)
I drop out of high school, despite my parents' anger. I stop taking the meds and stay at home all the time, in my Safety Zone.
Alice: (No one can hurt me here. As long as it exists, I...)
But it didn't last long. My parents always go to my room. To talk to me. To scold me. To argue with me. They think I'm a coward, that I'm throwing my future into the fire. According to them, I can't stay home with them for the rest of my life.
Alice: (Why... Why don't they understand?)
I know they love me, they really love me, but they are Others. They are no different. They are also... dangerous.
Alice: (I'm no longer safe here. I have to flee... but to go where? I know!)
Near the city where I live, there is a forest and, in this forest, there is a tourist attraction. Cabins in trees and it’s possible to spend the night in one of them.
Alice: (I just have to stay there for a few days. Then we'll see.)
So, I wait until dark and run away to the forest. I took everything in my backpack. Flashlight, provisions, clothes, water, pillow…
In the woods, I find a cabin in a tree and I go to sleep inside. It's autumn so it's cold but I can endure it.
Alice: (I want to be safe. I want to be happy. So I...)
I stay in the cabin for 3 days and 3 nights. Some tourists, who were walking in the woods, asked me what I was doing there. I told them that I was "fighting for my survival and to be happy." That's true.
After the last night, I leave the forest.
Alice: (Where to go now? I don't have any money.)
Suddenly, I run into a girl from high school. She has short black hair and blue eyes. A friend of Mel-Thing. An Other. I have to be *very* careful.
???: "Hi Alice!"
Alice: "Hi."
???: "You dropped out of school, didn't you? We don't see you in class anymore. That's sad."
Alice: "?"
???: "I can understand if the classes are difficult, but... what are you going to do now, without a high school diploma? Find a job?"
Alice: "I don't know. I have to survive first."
???: "Survive?"
Alice: (Why did I tell her that? She's an Other. She can't understand.)
Alice: "Survives the whole world. I... I'm not safe anymore."
???: "What?"
Alice: "With my parents, at home."
Alice: (But if...)
???: "Oh my God, are they abusing you? You must talk to the police!"
Alice: "No, no, they're not violent! But..."
???: "But what?"
Alice: "They're hurting me. In my mind and soul."
???: "???"
Alice: (But what if she can understand me?)
Alice: "My Safety Zone... is no more. They’re Others. Others are dangerous."
???: "Alice. I'm sorry, but I'm not following."
Alice: (I just have to explain everything to her!)
Alice: "Your name is... uh...?"
Ethel: "Ethel."
Alice: "Okay. Ethel. I think you can understand. After all, you're brilliant. You have excellent grades in class."
Alice: (I never explained anything to my parents. I tried to do it once, but they didn't understand and they get angry.)
Alice: "The Others, I fear them. They're not like me. They are dangerous. They hurt me, sometimes unintentionally, but it still hurts. The Unknown torments me. All that are outside of my routine is the Unknown. I must survive, every single day. This world... This world isn’t for me, an autistic teenager. Before, my Safety Zone protected me from everything, but now... My... My parents have soiled it... I... I’m..."
I start crying. Talking about all this hurts WAY too much.
Alice: "I can't take it anymore! I want to live, to be safe and happy. Is it THAT difficult to ask?!"
Ethel: "Alice! You need help."
Alice: "Yeah, *sure*. Medication, you mean? That makes things even worse!"
Ethel: "I wasn't talking about that, I was talking about a psychologist. He or she can help you."
Alice: "To what? To ‘Normalize’ myself, transform into someone else just to please the Human Society?"
Ethel: "NO! But to manage your emot..."
Alice: "My emotions don't have to be controlled! Stupid Others, it's all their fault!"
Ethel: "I'm sorry. I mean to understand, to understand yourself."
Alice: "Well, I understand myself *fine*. It's the Others, like you and my parents, who don't understand anything!"
Ethel: "You're right. I don't understand anything. How could I understand how your mind works?"
Alice: "!!!"
Ethel: "Your parents can't understand either. They knew you were autistic, but then what? They must be in denial."
Alice: "..."
I don't know how I did it, but I stop crying.
Ethel : "Alice, please! Go home and see a psychologist."
Alice: "I never thought I'd listen to an Other, but you're right. I'm going back home."
I say goodbye to her and go back to my parents' house. They're even more angry with me. I sigh.
The worst? I had been gone for 3 days and 3 nights and they didn't even call the police! I could have been in danger and... nothing. Like Mom and Dad don't care about me at all!
Mom did *try* to explain that she didn't call the police because she thought I was staying at a friend's house but, come on, she's my Mom! She should know I don't have any friends.
When I tell them I'm going to see a psychologist, they're happy, but I know it won't last. As long as they remain in denial, they will still cause me distress. Yet they were so sweet and caring when I was still in high school, like a "normal" girl.
My first meeting with Mrs. Alita went well. She's a nice person. I was wrong. A psychologist can help me. The more I see her, the more I feel free of a burden. Alita really understands me.
Alita: "Alice, it's not that complicated. Your parents denigrate you and it makes you very unhappy and in distress. They must understand that you can't change. Yes, you can work on some things, but you will never be a "normal" girl. As far as your studies are concerned, you can try them again, even from home, but if you are unable to learn more due to a learning disability it is useless to "force" yourself. If studying is fully impossible, you can look for a job, but with all your "barriers" it will be very difficult."
My "barriers", all the things that "block" me due to my autism. Mrs. Alita didn't mean "impossible" for a job, but I'm not fooled. I know that the chances of being able to work are slim, but I have to deal with the most urgent problem aka my parents.
So, I arrange for them to meet Mrs. Alita with me. Sparks flew during the meeting. Especially my father. He is very angry. I've plugged both my ears and I'm crying in silence.
Alita: "Do you see your daughter? You put her in this state. You have to accept what she is. Otherwise, you'll lose her for good. She's already run away... do you want her to do it again and put herself in danger?"
My mother is starting to open her eyes, to understand. My father is still angry.
Alita: "Yes, she may stay at home unemployed all her life, but it's not under your control. This is Alice's life, not yours."
My father doesn't budge. His anger doesn't go away. What can be done to make him understand?
Alita: "Alice? I want you to look at your father and tell me what you see."
I was still crying.
Alita: "Don't worry, I'm your Safety Shield. He won't be able to say anything nasty."
Alice: "O...Ok..."
I look at my father.
Alice: "I see... a danger. A great danger. The most terrible of the Others. A monster that looks like my Dad."
My words seem to be reaching him.
Alice: "A monster who wants to kill me, destroy me slowly... WHY? WHY? WHY?"
Dad finally opens his eyes. He's starting to understand.
Alice: "FUCK DAD! You too, Mom!"
The very first swear word they ever heard from me since I hate talking dirty.
Alice: "I *am* your daughter! Why do you both want to destroy me?!"
Dad, I can't believe it, start crying! So is Mom. Mrs. Alita ends the meeting, after telling my parents to have an important discussion with me.
Back home, we sat in the dining room and talked. It wasn't easy, but my parents finally understood me. They're not going to force me to do anything, because "it has to come from me." I have to want it.
I return to my Safety Zone, happy. Over time, its "defilement" will disappear.
Two years later...
I tried to go back to studies from home. This ended in failure. I tried to find a job and I was accumulating dismissals. I was not "good enough, fast enough, polite enough (?) and functional enough."
So, I am 18 years old and I am at home, still at my parents' house. I help them with household chores. They became nice and caring again, the same as before I dropped out of high school.
I don't know what the future holds for me, but I don't think about it too much. It gives me pain for nothing. I'll see what happens when I get there.
I take the portal and my new Path is decided. I find myself in a strange forest. Strange because the trees are purple.
Alice: (I am no longer on Earth, that's for sure!)
The colorful portal closes, preventing me from returning home.
Alice: (NOOOOOOOOOOOO! I'm trapped in the Unknown!)
But at the same time, what did I expect by taking this mysterious portal? To find myself in a known and familiar place?
Alice: (Come on, Alice, stay calm. Don't panic. It's... It's an adventure. Yes, like in a good RPG!)
Except, unlike Fantasy RPG's heroines, I don't have magical powers or combat skills. I've never fought in my life, although sometimes I wanted to break the nose of the Others who mock me.
Alice: (Come on. It's all right. Walk, Alice, walk!)
I'm starting to move forward. One step at a time. I move slowly and that's how my adventure begins.
I keep moving through the forest. Since everything is the same, both the purple trees and the grasses growing on the ground, I feel like I'm going around in circles.
Alice: (I'm not lost. Not lost. N.o.t. l.o.s.t!)
That doesn't make me feel any better.
Suddenly, a slimy creature emerges from behind a tree. I scream.
Alice: (It's a slime monster!)
The monster approaches me. I run away but it keeps following me.
Alice: (NOOOOO! I can't fight it!)
I was about to scream in despair when my left hand started to sting and then burn. I'm not talking about the feeling of "burning" caused by my sensitive skin, but a real burning, as if something had been carved into my flesh.
I'm looking at my palm. I see a scar made up of small lines.
Alice: (It doesn't hurt me anymore, but what...?)
Suddenly, something unlocked in my mind. I can't understand why, but I know what this scar means.
It's a Brand and it gives me the power. The power to transform into a magical girl. The power to fight monsters. All I have to do is say the words and...
The slime creature arrives behind me. I turn to face it.
Alice: "I'm gonna kick your a... UH! I mean kill you!"
I hate talking dirty and "kicking a monster's ass" is a vulgar thing to say.
Alice: "SPARKLING WATER!!!"
My Brand is brightening up.
♫ Sparkling water ♫
My body is surrounded by a light and my sneakers, jeans, green t-shirt and underwear disappear.
♫ Rise upon me ♫
I'm completely naked, but it doesn't last long. The light disappears as it explodes and my body is covered in a skintight blue suit.
♫ No holding back ♫
Two hair clips, resembling small round mirrors, appear on each side of my head.
♫ For victory! ♫
A magic rod / wand with a blue stone appeared. I take it and my transformation is complete. My Brand no longer brightens.
The slime monster rushes at me but I push it back with my rod.
Alice: "All right! Let the battle begin!"
After the fight, in which I attack the slime monster with water magic, it dies.
Alice: (I... I defeated it? THAT’S SO AWESOME!!)
I detransform and I continue to walk in the forest.
I don't know how long I've been walking, but something's wrong. I don't feel tired. I'm not thirsty either.
Alice: (Oh my God! Has the Brand removed my need to eat and drink in exchange for power? As in this Animé with a group of girls who become magical girls and they obtain eternal youth, but they can no longer sleep, drink and eat.)
I don't have time to think about it any further when another creature arrives. This time it’s a red flower with a mouth full of teeth in its center.
Alice: "Really? Seriously? Oh well. SPARKLING WATER!!!"
My Brand is brightening up and I transform again.
Alice: "Come on, little flower, bring it on!"
After the battle, the red flower dies.
Alice: (Victory, YAY!)
I detransform. I continue to walk in the purple-tree forest when I see a small house in the distance. Although I find this a bit strange, its inhabitants will be able to tell me where I am.
I run to the house, while still not tired, and knock on the door. No one answers. I knock on the door again. Still nothing. It frustrates me. I was going to break it, after transforming, when I heard a girl's voice screaming, "I'm coming!"
The door opens on a 14-year-old girl with honey blond hair combed in a long braid and little blue eyes. She has a fair complexion and wears a blue top with a fluorescent pink skirt.
Alice: (A strange color mix.)
I feel like I've already met her, but this is the first time I've seen her.
???: "Hello... AH! Are you from Earth?"
Alice: "Uh. Yes."
???: "GREAT! We thought we were the only earthlings in this mysterious world."
Alice: (Wait… Of course! She's one of the Alice I knew in my previous Paths!)
Alice: "Are... Are you an Alice?"
???: "Yes. How do you...? One sec. My Paths... from before... you are Lorange!"
Lorange: "Right, and you would be... D?"
D: "Yeah. Alice Brown and Alice Kurosawa are here too."
Lorange: "So you all took a colorful portal?"
D: "Yes and we all ended up in this forest. We have all seen our Paths in a dream, heard the Voice of the Paths and received our Brand later. Then we found ourselves in this house."
Lorange: "So... do you know where we are exactly?"
D: "No. Brown did find a map, but there is no precise indication. There would supposedly be a village in the north but we don’t know yet if it’s better to try to find it."
Lorange: "It's crazy. This is the first time we've met, and yet..."
D: "It's like we've been friends for a long time. I know. It's a strange feeling. Besides, it is preferable to use our last names."
Lorange: "To avoid confusion. Understood."
D: "Come in. I'll see where Brown and Kurosawa are."
She invites me into the house and I follow her. As she goes up the stairs for the first floor, I'll check the kitchen. A 10-year-old girl with short chocolate-brown hair, black skin and hazel eyes is eating something. I don't know what it is.
Lorange: "Alice Brown?"
Brown: "Oh, ony sewciond."
Brown's in between two bites. She wears a white summer dress.
Brown: "I'm sorry. The food... it doesn't taste anything anymore."
Lorange: "???"
Brown: "Since I received my Brand, I no longer feel the need to eat, drink and sleep. I don't feel tired either. My God, have we become... UNDEAD MAGICAL GIRLS?"
Lorange: "WHAT?!"
Brown: "That makes sense, doesn't it? It means I'm gonna stay a kid for the rest of my life."
She sighs.
Brown: "But one sec, are you Lorange? The red-haired teenager I saw in my Paths?"
Lorange: "Yes."
Brown: "Cool, the four Alice are back together again! Although, technically, this is the first time we've met."
Lorange: "That's right."
I hear footsteps coming down the stairs.
Brown: "Here we go again for a new adventure!"
At the same time, Alice D and a young woman with jet-black hair, tied in a bun, arrived. The 25-year-old lady, Alice Kurosawa, has coppery-white skin and is dressed in a red kimono.
D: "Lorange? Meet Kurosawa."
Lorange: "I know. Miss Kurosawa?"
Kurosawa: "I'd tell you "it's an honor to meet you," but I feel like I've already done it long ago."
Lorange: "So... uh, what do we do now?"
D: "We must return to Earth."
Brown: "Yeah, but how?"
Kurosawa: "There is still this village in the north. Let's try to find it."
D: "But..."
Kurosawa: "We have no other choice."
Brown: "It may take us months! There isn’t enough food to..."
"She suddenly stopped talking."
Kurosawa: "We don't have to worry about that."
Lorange: "So... you too don't need to eat, drink and sleep anymore?"
Kurosawa: "Yes."
D: "Yes and I'm never tired."
Lorange: "So... we really are undead magical girls... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
D: "HEY! "Undead"? You're exaggerating."
Brown: "We can still feel the pain and I'm sure we can die losing out to those monsters."
Lorange: "Did you fight some as well?"
Kurosawa: "Yes. D had a bunch of slime-rabbits, Brown a possessed tree and squirrel, I had a..."
Kurosawa stopped talking when a creature appeared. A kind of purple smoke cloud with bright yellow eyes. A female creature. I know her.
Lorange: "She's a Trace!"
D: "I'll take care of her, RAGING FIRE!"
Brown: "NO! I will take care of her! NOURISHING EARTH!"
Their Brands are brightening up at the same time. They are also located in the palms of their hands.
♫ Raging Fire ♫ / ♫ Nourishing Earth ♫
D and Brown's bodies are surrounded by a light.
♫ Burn for me ♫ / ♫ Rise up in my name ♫
The light disappears as it explodes and D and Brown's bodies are covered in a skintight suit. Red for D. Yellow for Brown.
♫ Bring it on ♫ / ♫ Let’s rumble ♫
Two hair clips, resembling small round mirrors, appear on each side of their heads.
♫ For victory! ♫
The two Alice takes their magic weapons and their transformations are completed. Their Brands no longer brighten. Brown has a knife and D... a frying pan?
Lorange: (Really? What kind of joke weapon is that?)
Brown: "D!!! I said I'll..."
D: "No time to talk. FIRE ORB!"
A fire orb appears in her frying pan. D throws it at the Trace. The attack hits and the creature disappears.
Lorange: "Huh? Is she dead?"
Brown: "Nah. She’s just escaped. The coward."
Kurosawa: "Let's go before she comes back."
Kurosawa leaves the kitchen and she exits the house.
Brown: "But with the four of us, we can defeat her!"
D: "Come on, Brown, let's go."
D detransform, Brown does the same thing, and they leave the house. I was planning to follow them when the Trace comes back. I sigh.
Lorange: "SPARKLING WATER!!!"
My Brand is brightening up and I transform. As D has already attacked her, the Trace is wounded.
Later, the Trace seems to melt and disappears in black smoke. I've defeated her. I detransform and leave the house to find the other Alice.
Then we started walking north. Since we were never tired, we don't need to stop when it gets dark.
Despite this, we still stop and build a campfire from time to time as a reflex. Around them, we talk, when we aren't busy fighting monsters.
Lorange: "So... is it just me or we don't speak the same languages and they are automatically translated?"
Brown: "Yes, as in our previous Paths."
Lorange: "I can speak in English rather than French but..."
Kurosawa: "No, no! This is not necessary."
Despite "the text", I have been speaking in French from the beginning since it's my mother tongue.
D: "Huh? Shh. I hear something approaching."
Kurosawa: "A monster?"
Brown: "I'll handle it! NOURISHING EARTH!"
Her Brand is brightening up and Brown's transform.
Kurosawa: "Wait, I'll go with you. ECHOING WIND!"
♫ Echoing Wind
Perform in my name ♫
Kurosawa's body is surrounded by a light. The light disappears as it explodes and her body is now covered in a skintight green suit.
♫ Time to battle
For victory ♫
Two hair clips, resembling small round mirrors, appear on each side of her head. Kurosawa’s takes her magical weapon and her transformation is complete.
Her Brand no longer brightens... and her weapon is a broom.
Lorange: (Ok. I found the frying pan stupid as a weapon but a broom, really?!)
Alice Kurosawa and Brown rush at the shadows, ready to fight any monster that might hide within. D and I remain near the campfire.
Lorange: "Are they going to be alright?"
Brown: "EARTH SHATTER, BREAK THEM DOWN!"
Kurosawa: "WIND ORB, GO GO GO!"
The sound of dying monsters can be heard in the distance.
D: "They're fine. See? I bet they killed them all."
Brown: "MORE INCOMING!"
Kurosawa: "I KNOW! ECHOING WIND ULTIMATE!!!"
More monsters' death sounds.
Lorange: "Maybe we should help them?"
D: "Nah. They're doing great!"
Brown and Kurosawa continue to fight for a while, before joining us again.
Brown: "We got them all!"
Kurosawa: "There were so many of them... Now, do we wait until daybreak or do we start walking again to find the north village?"
D: "I say we keep moving."
Lorange: "Right."
We put out the campfire and continue walking.
I don't know how many days we've been walking. I didn't follow the passing of time when, suddenly, we see it. A village. To the north.
Brown: "My God, here it is!"
Lorange: "We have finally found it."
Kurosawa: "Let us hope that its inhabitants will be able to help us."
D: "Yeah, but I think it's best to avoid telling them about our powers and the Brand. They might think we're ‘monsters’ children’ or something like that."
Lorange: "Ok."
We go to the village and learn that it is called Abella. This world, very different from Earth, is called Kidor.
The inhabitants of Abella, who fortunately for us have a human appearance, are willing to help us but they are powerless against monsters.
Villagers Man: "We are pretty much isolated from the rest of the world. Sometimes a warrior comes here and kills monsters on the way, but the last one to come was from many years ago."
Villagers Woman: "A good ten years, if my memory serves me right."
Villagers Man: "I know Adelan Alarie could have helped you, but he and his wife are dead."
Villagers Woman: "Alarie. A strange guy. He was interested in black magic, monsters, and the legend of the Heart of the Travelers. A magic crystal that would allow its user to travel between different worlds by making a wish. According to the legend, this crystal is hidden where the ‘shady purple smoke cloud monsters’ live."
Lorange: (Shady purple smoke cloud monsters… OH!)
Lorange: "It's the Traces! D, Brown, Kurosawa! Let's go back to the house in the forest!"
I thank the villagers and we get back on the road.
After, what?, a week's walk, we're back outside the house.
D: "Okay. We need a plan."
Brown: "No need! We go in, we use our powers to break down the walls, we massacre the Traces that try to stop us, we find the crystal and we return to Earth!"
Lorange: "Uh."
Kurosawa: "Why not? At this point, what do we have to lose?"
Lorange: "WHAT?! But..."
Brown: "Come on, let's go!"
Brown is transforming and so are we. The brunette Alice destroyed the front door with an earth attack and entered the house. We follow her and the walls get smashed down.
Lorange: "Say, isn't the house in danger of collapsing if we keep up like this?"
D: "No. We avoid hitting the support beams."
Lorange: "But still... what if the crystal wasn't hidden behind a wall?"
Brown, who went down to the basement because the house has one, shouts at us that she found the crystal behind a wall, but it’s being held by a Traces’ group.
D: "SO WHAT? CAN’T YOU KILL THEM?"
Brown: "YEAH BUT THEY KEEP COMING!"
Kurosawa: "HOLD ON! I'm coming to help."
Kurosawa goes to the basement to help Brown and I force D to follow her. When I, too, arrive in the basement, I see that the number of Traces isn’t decreasing.
Brown: "A real army. We kill one, another one takes her place!"
Kurosawa: "They must have a leader of some kind. If we kill her, the others Traces might die as well."
I look among the Traces, trying to locate the leader, but they all look the same. Then I remember this "Heather" in my previous Paths.
Lorange: (Maybe she's the leader? In that case...)
Lorange: "HEY! HEATHER! Come and kick my a... if you can!"
A Trace separates from the group.
Lorange: "There you are!"
I'm sure we were friends before, in another Path, but now we must fight to the death. It's sad.
I use my ultimate water attack, Electrifying Water Wave, but Heather dodges it.
Lorange: (Oh oh!)
Heather is rushing at me.
Lorange: (Oh my! Her Vitality is overwhelming! I could never defeat her alone.)
D: "Lorange!"
Brown: "We'll help you."
The other Alice are launching different attacks on Heather. Her Vitality decreases.
Lorange: (I can defeat her now!)
After Heather is defeated, the other Traces flee.
Kurosawa: "Miss Lorange. Are you alright?"
Lorange: "Yes, but I feel a bit sad."
Alice D, Alice Brown and Alice Kurosawa are detransforming and they are approaching the crystal, the Heart of the Travelers.
D: "Lorange? Come. Let's return home."
I detransform and approach the crystal. The three Alice touches it while wishing to return to Earth. They disappear and return home.
Although I have the crazy desire to return home, can I go back to my old life? With the Others, the bullying, the pain, the difficult studies, the uncertain future?
Lorange: (Come on, Alice, don’t change your mind now! You got to return home, think about your parents! How are they going to feel if their daughter ended up missing?)
Even so, I have a choice. My choice. My Path. I’m sure Paths can change with time.
So... can I go back to my old life? No. I cannot. I'm not the same Alice anymore. I don't want to live the way I did.
I touch the crystal and wish to go to another world. I disappear and appear in a futuristic city.
Lorange: (WOW! More Unknown... but a new adventure is about to begin... and many more!)
I start walking and this is how my new, changing Path begins.