Alice x Pinocchio: Book 2 Chapter 4

Verse 1
The Library's size is ever deceptive.

According to Parrah and Noya,

time and space are warped here.

A truly inescapable labyrinth...

But even here,

meetings of chance can occur.

Pinocchio the Dependent.

Alice the Bound.

The two met in a forest haunted by nightmares.

Was it fate that brought them together?

Regardless, the battle that awaited them

would surely have a great impact on both of their futures...

Alice:

Who's there?

Pinocchio:

Oh... Um...

Th-They call me Pinocchio...

I'm kinda weak. Do you mind if I...tag along?

Alice:

Forget it. I work alone.

Pinocchio:

I-I see. I-I'll be on my way, then.

Verse 2
Gimme ya body and soul! I'll take over!

No, I refuse!

Gah! Damned goody-two-shoes doll!

I... I...!

Verse 3
What should I do?

I've never fought a frightened enemy.

But... I must. Yes, I must.

Verse 4
Get on with it! Swing at 'em!

No... If I do, then I'll---

Just do it! Nightmares are pitiless!

But I'll hurt them... They'll be in pain.

Verse 5
Don't lose your way. Stay the course.

Don't lose your way. Stay the course.

Listen to yourself, don't stop now.

Verse 6
No... I want to go home.

Home? Where is home? You have no home!

Verse 7
I started to think of him.

He was so weak, so beautiful.

Like a candle's flame in the dark.

Verse 8
I can't just stand here and cry.

I...need to stand up like a man.

I... *Sniff* need somebody...

Verse 9
If I must defeat every enemy,

will this boy's life be forfeit, too?

Will I be able to slit his pale throat?

Verse 10
Pinocchio jumped at a stirring echo.

"Eek!"

Alice ignored the whimpering Pinocchio, turned around, and brought down her blade. Nothing.

Soon, from within the darkness,

crawled a nightmare in the shape of a plant.

The moment Alice moved to attack,

another shadow appeared form behind the nightmare,

sending Alice's sword flying.

Large fangs. Sharp teeth.

This nightmare had the shape of a wolf.

Parrah:

Keh heh heh! Two at once, huh?

Noya:

Can you survive?

Pinocchio:

Haha. This looks like fun.

Alice:

Hey. What's going on here?

Parrah:

Keh heh heh. Looks just like him.

Noya:

Pinocchio's scary inner self.

Pinocchio trembled, his back turned to the nightmares that dissipated into a blur.

"No... No more...

Someone... please save me..."

Spittle ran down the teary boy's face.

When Alice saw this, she knew.

Pinocchio had not wished to come to this world.

He was yet another sacrifice

in this cruel and endless cycle,

It wasn't Pinocchio who was wrong.

It was this world.

Discordant Poem
A girl bound to her fate.

A boy stifled by dependence.

Which is a more disgusting sight to behold?

Two shadows. Two nightmares.

A plant with oak-like roots,

and a wolf that stalks the earth.

Two friends in another place and time?

True pain comes not from a wound.

True distress comes not from battle.

Solitude is the sickness that draws men into solitude.