One autumn night, I'm in my bedroom. I'm a 16-year-old teenager with red hair and green eyes. I'm also a French Quebecer, but I can manage in English.
Right now, I'm trying to sleep, but the voices are haunting me. The Others’ voices. Students from the school I attend. They laugh, talk behind my back.
Voice #1: She's weird, that Alice.
Voice #2: No, she's just a whore!
Alice: (Enough...)
Voice #3: Hey, watch your language! Teachers give us detention if we...
Voice #4: Come on, we're not kindergarten kids! Fuck the teachers!
Voice #5: "Lorange"... what kind of last name is that? It's French, isn't it?
Voice #4: Well duh, we're in Quebec (Canada)!
Alice: (Enough!)
Voice #1: Lorange = low range, ha ha ha!
Voice #2: Ha ha ha ha!
Voice #3: That's so funny!
Voice #4: She's not like us.
Voice #5: That's normal. She's a weirdo.
Alice: (Enough!!!)
Voice #1: Hey, I bet she's adopted!
Voice #2: You think so?
Voice #3: Yes, just look at her pus...
Alice: (ENOUGH!!!)
I feel my head getting heavy. I can't take it anymore. I cry silently.
Alice: (That's so unfair. Why do Others hurt me? I haven't done anything to Them!)
I thought having a flashlight on next to me would help chase them away, but nada. Still, I'm in my room. In my Safety Zone. The Others shouldn't be able to hurt me, and yet...
Alice: (This is fucking bullshit.)
I hate talking (and thinking) dirty / vulgar, but sometimes I don't care about my own rules.
Alice: (What do I have to do now to feel better? First, I have to stop crying.)
It took a while, but I managed to stop crying.
Alice: (And then? Oh, I know!)
The forest. I always go there when I need a little time alone. Day or night, it doesn't matter. I dress quickly, grab a flashlight and head for the woods. My parents didn't hear me leave the house, and that's good. They'd be worried for nothing. Besides... They too are Others.
I walk slowly through the forest. The stillness of the trees and the owl's hoot reassure me. The Others’ voices grow quieter and quieter. They fade from my thoughts.
Alice: (Well, it's time for the campfire!)
If there's one thing I often do in the woods, it's a good campfire. The flames seem to have a soothing effect on me. So, I start gathering twigs and branches from the ground and I light the fire. When the flames rise, I feel good. Appeased, at peace. No pain, not the Unknown either and no Others! Then *she* shows up.
A teenager with short black hair and blue eyes. I've never seen her before.
Alice: (Why is she wearing a school uniform?)
My school doesn't have a uniform.
???: Hi.
No matter. She's an Other. Other = The Unknown / danger = pain. Still, it's better to answer her. I can do it.
Alice: Greetings. Do you come here often?
My face is always neutral. I never smile when I'm talking to Them. I'm also always very polite, even if it seems strange.
???: Uh, no. Not really.
She's troubled by my behavior. I know it.
???: Nice fire you got there.
Alice: Uh, thanks?
Alice: (Strange. She seems... nice.)
Ethel: My name is Ethel and I'm only in this forest in the middle of the night because of a friend and a stupid bet.
Alice: A bet?
Ethel: Yeah. "Spend the night in the forest. If you make it, I'll do your homework!" Holy Melane.
Melane. That name hurts me.
Alice: Melane... Melane Fauchon?
Ethel: Yes. Do you know her? We're childhood friends, but we don't go to the same school.
Melane is one of the Others who torment me at school. The only one whose name is engraved in my memory.
Alice: Uh, yes.
Ethel: Oh. She never told me about you. What's your name?
What a strange situation. Ethel seems nice, but she's Melane's friend. Melane is evil.
Alice: (So... what to do?)
Ethel: Are you alright? You seem to be in the clouds.
Alice: (Even if her future words may hurt me, I must...)
Alice: My name is Alice Lorange. You know, like an orange. You may laugh now. I won't stop you.
Ethel: Wha...? Why would I laugh at you?
In such a situation, silence is a good defense. After all, if I speak, I risk offending. If I offend an Other, I get hurt in return. It's always been that way.
Ethel: Alice. I'm not the type to intimidate. You can trust me. Did I say something to upset you?
Even if it's a good defense, I can't stay silent forever.
Alice: (I must talk. Okay, here I go.)
Alice: No. Ethel. It’s not you. It's… her.
Ethel: "Her"? Melane?
Alice: ...Yeah.
Ethel: Ok... What did she do?
I wanted to tell her everything when this strange light appeared and enveloped my body. I fell unconscious.
When I come to, I find I'm in a bedroom. No trace of the forest, my campfire, or Ethel. My flashlight is gone. It's an old room with orange walls.
Alice: (How ugly!)
Then Reality struck.
Alice: (This is not my room... This. Is. Not. My. Room! No, no, no!)
I'm in the heart of the Unknown. The Unknown, the great and powerful Unknown. As dangerous as the Others, it knows how to make me suffer. We'll always be at war.
Alice: (NO!)
The pain quickly goes to my head. I want to cry, I want to scream.
Alice: (Pain, despair... !)
I resist with all my might, then I hear a voice. A girl's voice. It comes from outside the room.
???: Все в порядке? [Is everything okay?]
Alice: (???)
???: Is everything okay? Can I come in?
Now I understand what she's saying, but I don't know what to tell her. For an Other - she certainly is one - her question is odd. Usually, when they want to go somewhere, they go, period. And now she's asking me if she can come in!
Alice: Uh.
???: Uh. I'm coming in, okay?
Before I can reply, she enters the room.
In front of me stands a blond, blue-eyed teenager. She's dressed in neon pink.
Alice: (Yikes! That pink doesn't suit her at all.)
???: So, uh, you have to wonder what's going on, where you are, and so on. I can explain some things to you.
Alice: For starters, who are you?
Face always neutral. Always polite. For my survival.
Alice: I'm Alice.
Alice Lorange: So am I.
Alice: Ah~... so there are four of us now.
Alice Lorange: "Four"?
Alice: Four Alice. Моё полное имя Элис Д.
Alice Lorange: What?
Alice D: I'm sorry. The auto translation seems to be a bit out of whack. Sometimes it goes off. I said my full name is Alice D.
Alice Lorange: I'm Alice Lorange, but... auto translation? And is the "D" for Denton?
Alice D: No, no, no. I'm Russian. Having Denton as a last name would be weird. The "D" is for Demidova but Brown and Kurosawa can't pronounce it right, even with the auto translation, so I use D. I'm 15 years old. Alice Brown is American. Alice Kurosawa is Japanese. Are you French?
Alice Lorange: Queb... French Canadian.
Alice D: I see. Like you, we woke up in this strange house. We soon discovered two mysterious phenomena. 1. Time seems to stand still. It's always daylight. 2. Languages are automatically translated. Believe it or not, I've been speaking to you in Russian all this time.
Alice Lorange: (!!!)
Alice D: I have nothing else to teach you. The best thing for you to do is to meet the other Alice. Brown might be in her "room." The last time I saw Kurosawa, she was in the living room.
Alice Lorange: Uh, thank you?
Alice D: You're welcome. We also use our last names to avoid confusion.
Lorange: Then I am Lorange and you are D.
D: That's right. See you later!
She leaves. With nothing else to do, I leave the room.
I'm now in a long corridor.
Lorange: (How strange. On four doors is the name "Alice." The one in the room with the orange walls also has an orange circle.)
There's a door with a black circle, one with a yellow circle and the last one with a brown circle. I also see a door with the word "bathroom" on it. Curious, I open the door with the black circle. It opens onto a room with black walls. It's a simple room, with a bed and a wardrobe. There's no one here. I leave the room and open the door with the yellow circle. This door leads to a room with yellow walls. It's a strange room. Its ceiling resembles a roof.
Lorange: (This room looks like it's on the roof of the house. But I'm on the upper floor, aren't I?)
D: Hi!
I hadn't noticed D was here.
Lorange: Hi. Uh... this room...
D: I know, it's strange. We're not in the attic and yet... have you met Brown?
Lorange: Not yet.
D: Her "room" is the door with the brown circle. You may have noticed that our "rooms" correspond to our hair color.
Lorange: No.
There's a lot I don't notice.
D: Yet you're a redhead and you woke up in a room with *orange* walls.
I start to feel ashamed, but my face hides my emotions.
Lorange: (Of course... D is blonde. Her room has a yellow circle.)
D: Anyway, good luck with Brown. She's... how can I put this?... special.
Lorange: Okay...?
I don't know what D means by "special," but I leave the yellow-walled room and go back into the corridor.
I'm at the door with the brown circle. I knock on the door.
No answer.
Lorange: (Maybe Brown isn't here?)
I open the door and enter the room.
In the brown-walled bedroom, I see a little girl with dark skin and brown hair on the bed. She's reading a book. She doesn't seem to have noticed me.
Lorange: Uh, hello?
???: ...
Lorange: Are you Alice Brown?
Suddenly, realizing I was there, the child suddenly closes her book, gets out of bed and yells at me.
???: GET OUT OF MY ROOM!
Lorange: I...
???: GET. OUT. OF. MY. ROOM!
Lorange: (She's angry. This isn't good! I've got to calm her down, and fast!)
Lorange: Please forgive me. I entered your Zone without your consent.
Lorange: (For her, I'm sure it's a Safety Zone!)
???: I SAID... "Zone"? What are you talking about?
Lorange: Your Zone, your sanctuary, your shelter, your protection, your save point...
???: Save point? What...?
Lorange: English? How?
???: Oh dear. It seems the auto translation is acting wonky again. I heard French from you. Hold on. If we wait a bit... And now?
Lorange: It's okay now. Are you Alice Brown?
Brown: Yeah, that's me. I'm eight years old. Are you a new Alice?
Lorange: Yes, I guess. My name's Lorange. Alice Lorange.
Brown: Nice to meet you. Are you French?
Lorange: No, I'm Queb... French Canadian.
Lorange: (Why do they all think I'm French? I don't have a Parisian accent!)
As much as I think that, I've never been to Paris. I don't even know if there's such a thing as a Parisian accent.
Brown: Okay.
Lorange: Uh, do you still want me to get out...?
Brown: No, I'm not angry anymore.
Lorange: O...k... uh, do you know where Kurosawa is? D told me about the living room.
Brown: She might be there or in the kitchen. It's on the ground floor. Just go down the stairs at the end of the corridor.
Lorange: I thank you. Are there any other rooms on this floor?
Brown: Besides the bedrooms and bathroom? No. There's the trapdoor to the attic, but I never go up there. On the ground floor, there's the kitchen, the living room, the entrance hall, another bathroom and the stairs to the basement.
Lorange: Good.
I say goodbye to Brown and head back down the corridor, still not knowing what D meant by "special."
Lorange: (She doesn't mean... like me? No, that's impossible!)
Then I go down to the ground floor and have the strange feeling of being watched by something.
Downstairs, I check the kitchen. No sign of Alice Kurosawa. Before going to the living room, I open the refrigerator. It's empty.
Lorange: (Huh? Isn't there anything to eat?)
I close it and open it again. This time, there's food. I notice a large turkey. I close the fridge a second time. Another opening and the turkey is gone. In its place is a chicken.
Lorange: (Okay this is creepy. D didn't tell me about this phenomenon.)
Not being hungry, I close the fridge and go to the living room. In the salon, I see a beautiful Japanese woman. She must be 20, and her black hair is tied up in a bun.
Lorange: (Kurosawa.)
She's sitting in the armchair.
Kurosawa: Welcome to you, Fourth Alice.
Lorange: "Fourth Alice"?
Kurosawa: Yes because you're the fourth Alice to come to this place. Since there are only four "Alice" rooms, I don't think any other girls will come.
Strangely enough, Kurosawa's eyes are always on the ground while she's talking to me.
Lorange: If I'm the Fourth Alice, you are...?
Kurosawa: 私は最初のアリス。
Lorange: ????
Kurosawa: ごめんなさい、自動翻訳 [I am sorry, the automatic translation] is breaking down. I was saying I'm the First Alice. D is the Second. Brown is the Third.
Lorange: I see. I am Alice Lorange. How long have you been here?
Kurosawa: It's hard to say. Time seems to have stopped. Night never comes. I know I've had several meals and slept at least twice.
Lorange: Two days then. Uh, can we get out of the house?
Kurosawa: Of course. We're not trapped inside, but it's dangerous outside.
Alice D arrives at the same moment.
D: Yes. This house is in a ghost town. It's always covered in fog and...
Lorange: And what?
Alice Brown is arriving too.
Brown: And there are these ghostly creatures. They're dangerous.
Kurosawa: Right now, they're not entering the house, but sooner or later, they will...
Lorange: Then we have to find a way to fight them and get back home to Earth! Isn't there some information somewhere? In the attic or basement?
I can't believe it. How could I have spoken with such expression, such courage, in front of the Others?
Lorange: (It's dangerous and yet...)
Kurosawa: Well, the basement has a room with books. The attic... is a mess.
Lorange: So what?
Brown: I REFUSE to go to the attic! The dust, the mess, no way!
D: The basement is creepy, too. The bathroom has blood all over it! And... well... Мне это не нравится.
Lorange: What? The automatic translation failed.
D: I don't like it.
Lorange: ???
D: The... The paper.
Brown: Really? I don't mind that.
Lorange: The paper?
Kurosawa: もしかして... [Maybe...]
Suddenly, unexpectedly, D screams in rage.
D: I DON'T LIKE THAT, OK!!! I'D LIKE TO HELP US GET HOME, BUT I CAN'T. IT'S TOO PAINFUL!
Suddenly, my brain seems to short-circuit. Pure logic kicks in.
Lorange: (That's impossible. Kurosawa who always looks at the ground... Brown who doesn't like dust and mess... Her reaction when I entered her room... D and the paper... No, they can't be...!)
The shock is so strong that my body falls to the floor. Kurosawa quickly gets up from the armchair.
Kurosawa:ミス・ロレンジ! [Miss Lorange!] Are you okay?
Lorange: No... it's... not... possible... n'êtes-vous pas des Autres?
D: What?
Brown: Sorry, I don't understand French.
Lorange: I said, "aren't you Others?"
Kurosawa: Forgive me, I don't understand.
Lorange: Are you like me? I'm... I'm autistic. The others aren't.
I stand up slowly. The three Alice remain silent.
Lorange: (Will they deny it? Lie?)
I hate lies. Even more than the Unknown. The Unknown = anything new, unusual. Finally, Brown nods, D says "yes" and Kurosawa is in denial. She keeps saying she's "normal". This makes me angry and, since the Alice are not Others, I don't have to hold back.
Lorange: How can you lie like this? That's so stupid!
Kurosawa: I...
Lorange: NO AND NO! No lies, no denial between us!
Kurosawa: I... I... I...
I feel like she's going to burst into tears.
Kurosawa: I... am... like... you.
Kurosawa begins to cry.
Kurosawa: I am... I am SO sorry, I... My family. They... they...!
Brown: Kurosawa.
Kurosawa: I... I must... stop...
With great effort, Kurosawa stops crying.
Kurosawa: There. Success.
Lorange: Kurosawa, I...
Kurosawa: No. Don't apologize. You're right. Lying *is* stupid. Now, let's start searching. Let's find a way to fight these ghostly creatures and return to Earth.
Lorange: Good. Where should we start? The attic or the basement?
Brown: Neither!
Lorange: BROWN!
A glint of anger shines in my green eyes. The little girl is frightened.
Lorange: YOU'RE GOING TO HELP US NO MATTER WHAT!
Brown: Ok, ok!!!
D: Since I have no choice, the attic. It's less scary than the basement.
Kurosawa: That's fine with me.
Lorange: Let's go to the attic!
On the upper floor, as we headed for the attic, four ghostly creatures appeared.
D: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Brown: We've got to hide, quick!
She hides in the yellow-walled room, but a creature follows, and then Brown is heard screaming.
Kurosawa: !!!!!!
Lorange: BROWN!!!
The other creatures pounce on us and I lose control of myself. I'm transforming. My skin is getting paler. My hair and eyes change color to purple and gold. The other Alice are transforming too.
Lorange: (What is...? Am I possessed?)
??? [L]: ʓʘʞʤʩʫ [Transformation complete.] The host body is not dead. Success!
Lorange: (Oh yeah.)
Without knowing why, I knew at that moment that they were all female.
??? [D]: It was a close call. We could have screwed up like last time.
??? [K]: Come now, there's no need to dwell on the past. Now we can...
Brown, also possessed, emerges from the yellow-walled room.
??? [B]: ʘʓʞʤʫʩ [I almost killed her!] Small bodies are *so* fragile.
Lorange: (Uh. Excuse me?)
??? [L]: But she's not dead. Now let's go and destroy the Heart of the Domain!
Lorange: (The what now?)
??? [B]: D Already? Possessing these host bodies has taken a lot of energy. We need to rest first.
??? [L]: And give our sisters a chance to eliminate us? ʧʮʓʘΣθς [No way!]
??? [B]: But...
??? [D]: Our host bodies have a conscience, just like we do. They need to know what we intend to do.
Lorange: (Yes, I want explanations!)
??? [L]: ʞḁЎϠϞ [We don't have time!]
??? [D]: Yes, we do!
??? [B]: They went to the attic... probably to find out about us... and about Adelan Alarie.
Lorange: (Adelan who?)
??? [L]: What do you suggest?
??? [B]: To do the search for them, take turns resting - the others can stand guard - then go and destroy the Heart of the Domain.
??? [K]: It's a good plan. I approve it.
??? [D]: So do I.
The creature possessing Alice D runs towards the attic and the creature in me sighs.
??? [L]: You're all impossible.
The other three join their comrade in the attic. They start searching. No matter how hard I try to talk to the one controlling my body, she won't answer me.
??? [D]: AHHHHHHH! Why? Every time I touch paper or cardboard, it hurts.
??? [K]: I also feel uneasy. I don't understand why.
??? [L]: Same here.
??? [B]: I don't have a problem with that. Oh! Got it!
She takes a small, dusty notebook out of a box.
??? [B]: Adelan Alarie's diary.
??? [L]: Great. Sum it up for us.
Thanks to the diary summary, I - and no doubt the other Alice - learned that Adelan Alarie was the house's owner. He had a wife, Alya Vouriot, and two children, Amandine and Anicet. When they perished in a plane crash, Adelan turned to the occult and black magic to try to bring them back to life. Having heard about the Traces - the female creatures who possess us - and their powers, he summoned them to his world, but the Traces can't raise the dead. They are also soul-eating creatures. Sometimes, before killing their victims, the Traces have sex with them, as sexual pleasure fascinates them. With no human conscience, no notion of right and wrong, they don't care whether their victims want to offer their bodies or not, but the Traces have always had "pleasure adventures" with adults only.
Adelan, seeing what he had done, used a magic crystal and his own life to create a "Domain," a prison for the Traces, sealing them in the town where he lives. Only thing is, the Traces, having killed all the inhabitants, are still hungry and want to feed. They can't free themselves from the Domain, but they can summon other humans. Always in groups of four and with a shared first name. Like us. The Domain always adapts to its inhabitants. That's why the "Alice" rooms exist. It's also why the languages are automatically translated.
??? [B]: There is no other information here.
??? [L]: Then let's go to the basement!
The four Traces go to the basement.
Lorange: (D was right. It's creepy.)
First they go to the bathroom. There's blood everywhere. On the walls, in the toilet, in the bath...
??? [B]: YUCK! So much blood... Our sisters really know how to make a bloodbath!
??? [K]: We used to be the same.
??? [B]: ...
??? [L]: There's nothing to see here.
??? [D]: Let's go to the room with the books!
In the room with the books, the search resumes. I can't help feeling tense. What if more Traces arrive? In the end, no creature appeared.
??? [K]: I found something. Adelan's notes. They speak of the magic crystal he used to create the Domain, the Heart of the Domain, its location, and that only Traces possessing a human body can destroy it. To do this, a Trace must be conscious. Adelan thought this was impossible.
??? [B]: Yet here we are.
??? [D]: Yes, but we had to kill and rape so many people before we became conscious. Ah, the word "rape" makes this body sick. I feel like throwing up.
??? [L]: Hmm. Had she been raped in the past?
??? [D]: It is possible. AHHHHHHHHH!
She's going to vomit further away.
??? [L]: Is there anything else?
??? [K]: Yes, the notes indicate that if the Heart of the Domain is destroyed, the Traces will either be freed or destroyed. We already know the answer. They will be free, but the beings they have summoned will return home.
??? [B]: This is our mission. Free these bodies, these "Alices," and stop the invocations of our sisters.
??? [D]: They'll still kill but in another world.
She's back!
??? [L]: Yes, but we can stop them. I know we can!
Lorange: (Really? How?)
??? [K]: Now that the search is over, let's get some rest.
??? [L]: I don't like it, but you're not going to give me a choice, are you?
The three creatures in the Alice look at me intensely. The Trace that possesses me sighs.
??? [L]: All right, then. Let's go to their rooms, the "Alice" rooms.
Back in the corridor, in front of the "Alice" rooms, the Trace in D's body asks who's going to sleep first.
??? [L]: Me! Let's get it over with.
She goes into the room with the orange walls. The Trace gets into bed and closes my eyes. Then I have quite the dream.
I open my eyes and see a meadow in bloom. I also see that I've changed. I'm wearing a blue-and-white Maid uniform and I have blue ribbons in my hair.
Alice: (What...?)
Suddenly, my head starts to feel heavy. The Unknown, the great and powerful Unknown.
Alice: (It never wants to leave me alone! I have to...)
??? [L]: <Hey! Can you hear me? If you die in this dream, it's Game Over, got it?>
How could she speak to me telepathically? And what is she talking about? Game Over? I'm not in a video game! Whatever the case, her voice falls silent and Brown arrives. She's changed. Her clothes are different. Old-fashioned. Her eyes are a different color. She wears bunny ears.
Rabbit: Alice, I am so glad you're here! You must help me or the Queen will cut my head off!
I'm surprised to hear her talking like this.
Alice: (She addresses me using my first name in a very polite, masculine way. It's strange.)
Rabbit: It's the Cat. He's gone madder than the Hatter. He's already devoured so many people and now he wants to attack the Queen!
Alice: (A cat, a rabbit, a hatter... Am I in Wonderland?)
Alice: Excuse me, am I in Wonderland?
Rabbit: Wonderland? No, no, no, you're in Abnormaland.
Alice: Abnormaland?
I don't like this name. It doesn't inspire trust.
Rabbit: Yes. Now, Alice, you must help me. The Cat must die!
Alice: W-What?!
Rabbit: You've got to kill him before he eats the Queen!
Alice: But I...
Rabbit: ALICE!!! Please, I beg you, you have to help me!!!
Strangely, I feel I have no choice, unless I want to be killed by the Rabbit.
Alice: Fine, I'll kill the Cat.
Rabbit: Ohhhhhhhhh, thank you! Go straight, straight, straight, straight, straight, straight, straight, straight, straight, straight, straight, straight, straight, straight and you'll find him.
Alice: Huh. Okay?
Brown suddenly screams that she's late and runs off.
Alice: (What a weird dream.)
I walk straight ahead for what seems like an eternity and then I see the Cat. The Cat is Alice D in her underwear with cat ears and a tail. Her eyes have a bit of purple in them and blood seems to be running down her legs.
Alice: (What the...?)
Alice: D? What happened to you?
Cat: ...
Alice: D? Alice D?
Suddenly, she speaks to me, but her voice is distorted and demonic.
Cat: PrEtTy fLeSh. CuTe fAcE. StUpiD GiRl!
Alice: What? I don't understand.
Cat: yOu ArE nOt NorMal. yOu sHouLd nOt liVe, aNd yEt yOu eXist.
Alice: Huh?
Cat: dO yOu kNoW wHy tHis MaN hAd ChOsen yOu? bEcAuSe yOu sHoulD nOt LiVe!
Alice: (I don't get it! Does the Cat's personality speak to D?)
Cat: I MUST EAT! EAT ALL THE ABNORMALS! wiThoUt tHem, tHe OthErs wiLl bE hAppy.
Alice: The Others?!?
I didn't expect her to talk about Them.
Alice: (So the Abnormals are the autistics!)
Cat: tHiS wOrld... dOesn'T wAnt uS... sO... I HAVE TO EAT EVERYTHING!
Alice: NO! That's not true! The Others can be cruel, sure, but eliminating us won't make them any happier!
Cat: BuT…
Alice: No! We just have to learn to live with Them, that's all!
Cat: No No No No No No No No No No No No!
Alice: D! Give up this madness! You can't devour all the autistics!
The Cat emits an inhuman sound and her body disappears.
Alice: (AH!!! Did I kill her… him?)
Suddenly, everything around me changes. I find myself in a luxurious room. Suddenly, the Queen arrives. It's Kurosawa but she's changed too. She's wearing a dress and a crown.
Queen: Congratulations Alice! The Cat is finished. He won't be able to hurt anyone anymore.
Alice: Uh, thanks?
Queen: Now the GON can begin in Abnormaland.
Alice: The "GON"? What's the GON?
Queen: The Great Operation Normality ♪!
Alice: (What? No...)
Queen: Our land is doomed to destruction. The Others want to eliminate us.
Alice: What do you mean?
Alice: (She's talking rubbish!)
Queen: They don't want anyone different. Everything must be like Them. To survive, we must Normalize, become Others. The GON ♪!
Alice: (NO!)
Queen: The Cat wanted to thwart my plans, so I sent him to the Others to be raped and killed.
Alice: (What horror! So D *was* a rape victim in real life. I wonder if Brown and Kurosawa have a dark secret too? Kurosawa talked about her family... Does she have problems with her parents, her friends? What about Brown? Bullying problems at school, perhaps?)
Queen: But he survived and came up with the idea of devouring us all! I asked the Rabbit to kill him, but you did. I'm very grateful.
The Queen snaps her fingers. A strange machine appears. It looks like a torture chair with long spikes.
Queen: Now, dear Alice, I offer you the honor of being the first to receive The Great Operation Normality. Are you ready?
Alice: NO! I won't let you!
Queen: Oh oh oh ♫ ! And how are you going to stop me? I'm the Queen of this land!
I'm thinking of a way to stop her when everything gets whiter and whiter.
Alice: (What... What's going on? Am I waking up?)
Then the Trace that controls my body wakes up.
??? [L]: Wow. For a first dream, that was something.
Lorange: (I agree. What was that dream?)
No reply from her.
The Trace returns to the corridor and her friends go to bed. First the one in Brown's body, then the one in D. The Trace controlling my body stands guard during this time. While the Trace possessing Kurosawa sleeps, one of her unconscious sisters arrives in the corridor.
??? [L]: There you are. I was wondering when you'd finally decide to show up.
The Trace speaks to her in her own language.
??? [L]: "Eat," huh? That's all you think about. Eating and "making love."
Trace: ϜϕϷϴ ʤᶵʮϦϩ [Beautiful soul, EAT!]
??? [L]: ϠŊҧӁΣʤ‽ [ENOUGH BULLSHIT!]
Lorange: (Oh oh, I can feel the heat rising! It's going to be a wild ride!)
Indeed, the Trace possessing me slaughtered her unconscious sister with magical powers over darkness. It was impressive. It was as if I'd become a Dark Magical Girl. Suddenly D, still possessed, arrived.
??? [D]: I heard a noise. Is everything all right?
??? [L]: Yes, I've just eliminated one of our sisters.
The Trace that controls Brown's body arrives in turn.
??? [B]: I also eliminated one.
??? [D]: Where?
??? [B]: In the kitchen.
??? [L]: Well, all we need is for our companion to wake up and we can finally destroy the Heart of the Domain.
They waited a few minutes and the Trace in Kurosawa's body woke up.
??? [K]: Here I am. Sorry to keep you waiting!
??? [L]: Let's get this over with. To the basement!
They go to the basement.
Lorange: (Uh. I know you never answer me, but I want to thank you. You're going to get us back to Earth after all.)
??? [L]: ...
Lorange: (Do you have a name?)
??? [L]: No. We're Traces.
??? [D]: Are you talking to your host body?
??? [L]: No. Why?
Lorange: (Liar!)
??? [D]: Because I'm talking to mine, at this "Alice D."
??? [L]: I don't think that's a good idea.
??? [B]: Why?
??? [L]: After the Heart of the Domain destruction, we will leave with our sisters for another world. We mustn’t become attached.
??? [K]: This is ridiculous! I'd like to stay with "Kurosawa."
??? [L]: What is this bullshit? Are you nuts? We're raping, soul-eating creatures, we can't stay inside them!
??? [B]: But I want to stay with Br...
??? [L]: NO! Come on, all of you.
They go to the end of the small corridor, where there's a door with strange chains. The Trace controlling me breaks them with her powers. The door opens onto a crystal, the Heart of the Domain. The Trace in me is about to destroy it when four Traces arrive.
??? [L]: Ϟʮҧ₷₻₿ﻲﻤ DŽʦʭ [Come on, let's kill them all!]
Thanks to their powers over darkness, they eliminate the enemy's Traces. The Trace in me will now destroy the Heart of the Domain. Shall I say something to her before the end? Yes.
Lorange: (Please, stay with us!)
The Trace doesn't answer me. She shatters the crystal, destroying the Heart of the Domain, and I find myself back in front of the campfire, in the forest. My flashlight is back.
Ethel: Alice! I was so worried! You disappeared, just like that, and...
Alice Lorange: I am fine.
My face is neutral again. Ethel is an Other, after all.
??? [L]: <And shit.>
Alice Lorange: (AH!!!)
??? [L]: <I'm still inside you. You really wanted me to stay, didn't you?>
Alice Lorange: (Ohhhhhhh, thank you, THANK YOU!)
??? [L]: <It's okay, don't make a big deal of it!>
Alice Lorange: (Sorry.)
??? [L]: <My companions will be happy. They wanted to stay with the Alice.>
Ethel: OH!
Alice Lorange: What's wrong?
Ethel: Who are these girls?
Suddenly, I see Alice D, Alice Brown and Alice Kurosawa. They speak to me, but I can't understand them. Yet I know English.
??? [L]: <I'm sorry. I don't have auto-translation's powers.>
It's sad, but I can't give up now.
Alice Lorange: (After all, the Alice are my friends for life! And then there are the Conscious Traces! By the way, we REALLY need to give you names.)
??? [L]: <You know... I still have to feed on human souls. So I *could* eat this Melane that torments you so much.>
Alice Lorange: (WHAT?!)
How did she know about Melane? And I still have to explain things to Ethel!