At last, it was revealed what makes this city so disturbing… On the upper level live the nobles… and on the lower level live the poor. But what will happen next?
Sophie: "How long have you been here, Siegfried?"
Siegfried: "Hmm… since the black hole last appeared…"
Sophie: "Hmm."
Fiona: "That means eight months, twenty days, and 23 hours."
Sophie: "And 40 minutes and thirty-three seconds."
Fiona: "Oh… look at that."
Sophie: "Hehe."
They shook hands.
Sophie: "I'm better at this than you."
Fiona: "You're Ms. Clock… of course you are."
Aschenputtel: "I hate to interrupt, but we're in trouble—how are we supposed to get out of here?!"
Sophie: "We wait."
Aschenputtel: "But I don't want to wait."
Fiona: "Hey princess, we don't want to either… but I think it's better than facing that thing up there."
Aschenputtel: "Oh, if you hadn't taken my powers… that thing would be dead."
Siegfried: "You can't kill it… it has already died once. You're forgetting something… those are four children brought back as monsters by Mele, the wife of Oz. They're undead… revived through dark powers."
Lina: "Hhh."
Sophie: "Hhhh… Siegfried…"
Siegfried: "Yes?"
Sophie: "Why were you up there if you knew that monster was there?"
Fiona: "Interesting, I wanted to ask him that too before the monster appeared."
Siegfried: "Hhhh… I… I'm looking for someone."
Sophie: "Hmm?"
Siegfried: "I'm looking for my little sister… I went up again to search for her."
Sophie: "Huh… she survived the black hole?"
Fiona: "Impossible. Even children don't survive it… unless she's an Arcane and over eight years old."
Siegfried: "She is… she's fourteen."
Sophie: "Oh… wait, how old are you?"
Siegfried: "Hahh… 24… why are women allowed to ask our age but we can't ask yours?"
Sophie: "Uh…"
Fiona: "Hahh… I don't care, ask away… I don't get why many women say that… unless they're hiding something."
Sophie: "Hmm…"
Fiona: "I'm 21 years old."
Sophie: "Me too…"
Lina: "I… am also 21 years old."
Siegfried: "I see… that means I'm the oldest… and you, Aschenputtel?"
Aschenputtel: "That means—hey, idiot, you're talking to Aschenputtel…"
Siegfried: "Hahh… how old are you, dear lady Aschenputtel?"
Aschenputtel: "I am 800 years old, so… (cough)… well, almost… 799 years old."
Siegfried: "Hmph… I could just call you grandma."
Aschenputtel: "Hmph… do that, and you're dead."
Fiona: "(cough)"
Sophie: "(cough)… what did we say? Only criminals."
Aschenputtel: "Ahh… okay."
Siegfried: "Hmmm…"
Sophie: "Where is your sister?"
Siegfried: "I don't know… when we woke up… she said she wanted to go somewhere… but she never came back."
Sophie: "Hmm… I don't want to be mean, but what if that thing up there got her?"
Siegfried: "No… she didn't go out late…"
Fiona: "What was she trying to find?"
Siegfried: "Hahh… she wanted to gather more information. After all, we've been sent back in time… almost 100 years… because of the black hole. My sister and I worked as a kind of contractors… for supernatural cases. Our Arcane powers allow us to see spirits… and we also have contract spirits. My contract spirit is a talking fox…"
Sophie: "Huh?…"
Fiona: "Oh… I have a rabbit…"
Siegfried: "I see… at the moment I can't call him for you… although… I'm not sure… wait a moment…"
He took out his watch.
Siegfried: "Uh… Hendrik? Hello… Hendrik?"
Hendrik: "(yawns)… yes, hello… what is it?"
Siegfried: "Sorry for the interruption, could you come out?"
Hendrik: "Are you stupid? I'm your contract spirit… of course I'll come if you call me!"
Siegfried: "Oh… right… come out please."
He appeared.
Hendrik: "Hello there… I am Hendrik Reineke…"
(Silence)
Sophie: "(sweating)… uh…"
Fiona: "This keeps getting more interesting…"
Aschenputtel: "Mhm."
Hendrik: "Hehe."
It was a fox with large gloves, wearing a gentleman's suit.
Hendrik: "They also call me the Glove Fox… hehehe…"
Sophie: "Yeah… okay… question… do you even know what 'no one asked' means?"
Hendrik: "(sweating)…"
Siegfried: "Hendrik knows a lot about magic. He comes from the Wonderland Kingdom… the kingdom of talking animals, fairy tales, and guardian spirits."
Lina: "Huh…"
Siegfried: "So Hendrik, tell them what you know about my sister's location."
Hendrik: "Well, I told Siegfried that his sister is not dead… yet. By 'yet' I mean that if things continue like this, she will die."
Siegfried: "That means we must find a way to save her… the problem is we don't know where she is…"
Sophie: "Hahh…"
Fiona: "Hmm… wait a moment… what if she's being held captive for the blood?"
Siegfried: "I can read expressions… but what do you mean?"
Sophie: "Ah… you saw the robots outside, right?"
Siegfried: "The Treyts? Yes… of course… wait… they're powered by blood!"
Lina: "Yes… people are kidnapped… their blood is used together with Aschenputtel's to create energy."
Sophie: "But his sister is 14… that's not possible. I thought they only kidnapped adults over 40."
Siegfried: "Maybe she discovered something… something that got her captured, like the blood system you mentioned."
Sophie: "Hmm… what do you think, Fiona?"
Fiona: "It's possible… they could also kidnap orphans. No one asks about them… that's possible. Poor children like that are often used… as test subjects… for poison or new weapons. That was a method used by the government of Dehl before the war."
Fiona: "Yes… homeless people or orphans… easy targets. No one asks about them… either because they have no family or because people think they're worthless… which isn't true."
Sophie: "Hahh… okay… how do we find her?"
Aschenputtel: "Hmm… I can feel where my blood is strongest… I think that's where they store it."
Sophie: "But you don't know where that is?"
Aschenputtel: "No… but since I feel it stronger, it means we're nearby."
Lina: "Oh."
Fiona: "Good… can you pinpoint it more precisely?"
Aschenputtel: "Hahh… not exactly… my powers are still weakened… I'm missing half of them. I have an idea… let's wait until that thing is no longer above…"
(A few hours later)
(Dong!)
Sophie: "Ugh."
Fiona: "Hmm."
Siegfried: "Now… quickly…"
They rushed to the elevator.
Siegfried: "Wait—"
(Crash!)
Handelspeter: "(howling)"
Left face: "Ahhh… what a shame… that person didn't taste very good… you only gave me the damn head… that's unfair."
Right face: "Stop complaining… I only got the lungs… he was a smoker, that's why it tasted bitter!"
Back face: "I only got the tongue…"
Middle face: "The stomach wasn't tasty either."
They moved on.
Siegfried entered the elevator, followed by Sophie, Fiona, Lina, Aschenputtel, and the fox. The elevator closed.
Sophie: "(bleargh)… hahhhh…"
Siegfried: "Are you alright?"
Sophie: "No…"
Fiona: "Bbb… (holding back vomiting)… "
Lina: "(bleargh!)… hahhh… they talk about human parts like dessert…"
Aschenputtel: "Hahh… I must admit, even I almost threw up."
Fiona: "(cough)… Bbb…"
Even Fiona and Sophie couldn't hold it back.
Sophie: "Hahhh…"
Fiona: "(cough)… (cough)… let's… get out of here… (bleargh)… hahh…"
Sophie: "How can you stay so calm… Siegfried…"
Siegfried: "Oh… it's not the first time I've heard them… be glad you didn't see how they eat."
Fiona: "(cough)… okay… can we please talk about something else… or are you enjoying watching me puke?"
Sophie: "I must say… Fiona… I thought you'd react colder… after all your training…"
Fiona: "Not for cannibalism and organ taste… (cough)… I'm still a normal woman…"
Sophie: "Oh… well… I've lost my appetite…"
Fiona: "Ughh… me too."
Aschenputtel: "I could still eat something… hehehe…"
Siegfried: "Hahh… either way, no time to eat… especially not here. Let's get out."
Sophie: "No desire to eat… bbbb… it's coming back up…"
Fiona: "Yeah… let's process this first…"
Aschenputtel: "Fine… hey fox…"
Hendrik: "Me?"
Aschenputtel: "I don't see another fox, do I?"
Hendrik: "Fair point… what is it, my lady?"
Aschenputtel: "You're from Wonderland, right?"
Hendrik: "Indeed… have you been there?"
Aschenputtel: "Yes… Alice was a good friend of mine… hehe… is she still as beautiful?"
Hendrik: "Yes… she doesn't age… you know that… she's almost as old as Death itself."
Aschenputtel: "True…"
The elevator reached the top.
Sophie: "Ugh."
Fiona: "…ugh… hhh… I think that's the person the monster was talking about."
It was a mutilated body.
Sophie and Fiona approached.
Aschenputtel: "No pulse."
Sophie: "No shit, Sherlock."
Fiona: "Oh really… I thought you could live without half your body."
Siegfried: "Hh… hahh… I see… it didn't eat the lower half… I wonder why."
Aschenputtel: "You know why…"
Siegfried: "Hmm… oh… yes… makes sense…"
Sophie: "Damn… that poor person…"
Fiona: "Looks like a homeless man… also a drug addict… look at his fingernails…"
Aschenputtel: "Then that's no reason to feel sorry."
Sophie: "Hey."
Fiona: "Even if someone chooses the wrong path… it doesn't mean they deserve this… we don't know what he went through."
Sophie: "Yes… show some respect… the poor man…"
Sophie closed his eyes, and Fiona followed.
Sophie: "I wonder if he has family…"
Fiona: "Ahh… I don't know… it would be horrible for relatives to see him like this… but since he was poor… maybe he had no one…"
Aschenputtel: "Let's go."
Sophie: "No… we bury him."
Aschenputtel: "What? No… screw that person."
Fiona: "Hey… it's not too much to ask… at least let his spirit rest."
Lina: "I… want that too… every human deserves a burial."
Aschenputtel: "You pity a drug addict more than others?"
Sophie: "I pity every innocent person."
Aschenputtel: "He was a drug addict—nothing innocent about that."
Fiona: "He just chose the wrong path… that doesn't make him evil… wrong doesn't mean bad… we are human… even you are half human… we're not leaving without burying him."
Aschenputtel: "Ugh… do whatever you want…"
They buried the body.
Sophie: "Sorry… we don't know your name…"
Fiona: "Hahh…"
Lina: "…do we have flowers?"
Fiona: "No… I… could ask Mr. Herold…"
Sophie: "Okay."
She summoned flowers and placed them on the grave.
Aschenputtel: "Why is this taking so long?"
Sophie: "Hey… show some respect!"
Fiona: "Hahh… Aschenputtel… you know your own brother could curse you for this…"
They stood up and continued.
Sophie: "I can't believe how cold she is…"
Fiona: "Sophie…"
Sophie: "I don't know… should we really help someone like her?"
Fiona: "We have no choice… if Zantanel gets her power… there will be many more graves… and we wouldn't even have time to bury them… I know how you feel… but Aschenputtel has suffered a lot because of humans too… don't forget that… where is she?"
Aschenputtel: "I'm here."
Sophie: "Where were you?"
Aschenputtel: "Uh…"
They turned.
There were new flowers on the grave.
Sophie: "Uh…"
Fiona: "Tell me… was that you?"
Aschenputtel: "What? Your flowers were boring… I thought we might get cursed… hmph… (cough)… anyway, let's go…"
She walked ahead.
Sophie: "…maybe she's not so cold after all."
Fiona: "Hmm…"
Siegfried: "Or maybe she was afraid of being cursed."
They moved on.
Sophie: "Huh?… what the heck?"
Fiona: "What now, acting like a bird?"
Siegfried: "What is it?"
Aschenputtel: "The people… they're back like nothing happened… the complete opposite of the evening…"
Siegfried: "Yes… during the morning-evening, they're always like this."
As seen before, there is no sun in Grimmhoth… only the moon, which sometimes shines so brightly it feels like morning.
Sophie: "Hmm… even the robots are peaceful…"
Siegfried: "Tell me… does it feel like you're being watched?"
Sophie: "Yes…"
Fiona: "Good observation… seems like the people here noticed us…"
Aschenputtel: "Great… so much for staying unnoticed."
Sophie: "Nothing we can do…"
Siegfried: "Mhm…"
They kept walking.
(Dong)
Speaker: "Attention, dear citizens… we have intruders who show no respect to our Mother Aschenputtel… they are now wanted…"
Sophie: "Oh… wanted posters."
Fiona: "Great… now we're in trouble."
Siegfried: "Wait… over there… that's my sister!!"
(Beep beep beep)
Speaker: "A 14-year-old girl who destroyed the beautiful paintings of our Mother Aschenputtel… is wanted… dead or alive… find her… she has dark hair and green eyes… and looks like a prostitute."
Siegfried: "I'll turn his mother into one."
Sophie: "Whoa… don't say that so loud."
Fiona: "Sibling complex… oh dear…"
Aschenputtel: "Oh no… that reminds me of my brother Loki… he was the same with his sisters…"
(Beep)
Speaker: "These individuals… the girl… and these four people… Sophie Valeria, Fiona Philomela Househould, and Lina Adelheid… work for Dark Umbrella… the other person who looks like Mother Aschenputtel is just a normal woman pretending to be her… while our Mother is far more beautiful…"
Aschenputtel: "I am Aschenputtel, you idiot."
Siegfried: "Hmm."
Fiona: "Yeah, please stop…"
Lina: "Hmm… what do we do now?"
Sophie: "We're in deep trouble… very deep…"