A Girl Named 'Alice'

Lady Moon-Chan

AN: Here is the next chapter. As always, I don't own a thing. And, as a warning: Shinku is more than a little bit crazy this chapter, because of the psychological fallout from the last chapter. Uh, that's all the notes this time around. Go on and read.

Chapter 8: Eitelkeit Spiegel

Shinku sat in the corner, staring down at the hands folded in her lap. She hadn't moved or spoken since the encounter in Suigintou's N-Field.

Jun kneeled down, waving a hand in front of her face. "Hey, Shinku? Nori made tea and flowery hamburgers..." He couldn't help a sigh when even mention of her favorite food and drink failed to bring a reaction from the doll, then stood and and left the room, heading downstairs.

Once he was gone, Shinku stood mechanically and made her way down to the storage room, to the mirror, where she entered her N-Field.

It had changed, for the worse. The color scheme was darker, and the walls full of mirrors, reflecting the monumental blow to her psyche and ego the attack by Suigintou and Kirakishou had dealt. She sat in the chair for a while, then walked over to one of the mirrors, observing the scratches on her face and hands, which rested lightly over the bodice of her dress, and her hollowed out stomach.

After observing her physical flaws with cold eyes for a time, she brought her fist up and smashed it against the mirror, shattering the glass. She turned her back on the broken mirror, bringing her hands to her face as her eyes met yet another mirror. Her lips curled into a snal, and with a cry, she launched herself at the other mirrors, destroying them in a frenzy, ignoring the flying glass in her rage and despair.

"Shinku?" Jun's voice called hesitantly, causing her to freeze. She turned slowly towards her medium, and even with the distance between them, she could see her reflection in his eyes. Scratched up cheeks and forehead, her bonnet ribbon had been cut by the flying glass, so the bonnet had fallen off. One of her hair ribbons had been cut by a shard of flying glass as well, and her pigtail had fallen loose. The fabric of her dress had been torn by that same glass. In short, she looked a wreck.

She felt herself trembling, and pitched forward onto her hands and knees. If she could have been physically ill, she would have.

Jun, for his part, was shocked to see the normally unflappable Shinku in such a state. She was a total mess physically, and the shards of glass littering her N-Field made him pretty sure the same was true mentally. She must have been deeply affected by Suiseiseki's death, and whatever Suigintou and Kirakishou had done to her personally.

"Let's go back." Jun offered gently, holding out his hand. "I'll sew your dress up for you." He took a few steps toward Shinku. At his words, the doll jerked up and back, backing away from him.

"No!" She shouted, turning away and curling up in a ball.

"Shinku, what's wrong? What did they do to you?" Jun kneeled, wrapping his arms around her from behind to pick her up and take her back to the real world by force, manners be damned. But somethings wasn't quite right...Jun leaned back, tightening his grip on Shinku's middle- only he wasn't gripping anything but fabric. All of a sudden, things clicked.

"Oh, Shinku..." He whispered.

She looked over her shoulder at him with teary eyes. Hopeless eyes. "I wish they had killed me, like they did to Suiseiseki..."

"Don't say that!" Jun cried. "Shinku-"

She laughed bitterly. "But it's true. Alice is the perfect girl. Only a doll of sublime perfection can hope to become her. Not a piece of junk like me..."

"You're not a piece of junk!" Jun protested. "Not to me! I don't care if your body is damaged, it doesn't change my...it doesn't change anything between us."

Shinku did not respond, and Jun sighed, reaching to pick her up. The doll snarled and batted his hands away. "Don't touch me."

"Shinku..." Jun couldn't help but be hurt by the doll's behavior.

Shinku did not spare her medium a backward glance as she exited her N-Field, intending to hunt down Suigintou and Kirakishou. And when she found them...they would pay for turning her into junk.

Kanaria straightened as she heard movement behind her. "Who...who's there?" She turned, and her eyes widened in horror as she saw Kirakishou standing behind her with Suigintou's sword. She tried to back away, but was captured by rose vines before she could.

"There's a small matter I forgot when we were all together in Nee-sama's N-Field the other day." She purred. "Can you guess what?" She positioned the sword over Kanaria's heart, leaving no doubt in the second Rozen Maiden's mind what the "business" was.

"My Rosa Mystica..." She whispered.

Kirakishou giggled. "You really are very smart, aren't you? Yes, that's it exactly." Kirakishou smiled sweetly and plunged the sword into her sister's heart, absorbing her Rosa Mystica.

Alice, Suigintou, and Odille all turned as Kirakishou entered her N-Field.

"Kirakishou." Suigintou murmured, nodding her head in greeting.

"Kira, you're home!" Alice cried, running over and hugging her doll.

"Welcome back, Kirakishou-sama." Murmured Odille, bowing politely.

Kirakishou sighed, dislodging herself from Alice's arms and walking dreamily over to the bed where she laid down and put her arms over face, laughing softly, breathlessly.

"Kira?" Alice asked softly.

"What is wrong with you?" Suigintou asked coldly.

"I never imagined..." Kirakishou breathed, "...that it could feel like this." She sighed, bringing her hands down. "That it could make you feel so powerful."

"What could?" Alice and Suigintou asked in unison.

"Taking a Rosa Mystica..." Kirakishou murmured "I never imagined the feeling was so...delicious." Her hands clenched into fists in her dress, and she seemed to suppress a shudder of delight.

"Kira?" Alice asked in concern, climbing up onto the bed beside Kirakishou. "Are you alright?" She peered down into the doll's face with frank worry.

"Better than." Kirakishou smiled up at her medium blissfully, reching up to stroke her hair. "I feel like I could do anything..."

"Kirakishou." Suigintou suddenly hissed, walking over to the bed with one fist extended in front of her. She uncurled the fist carefully, and Holie began to flutter around Kirakishou's N-Field.

Kirakishou's eye narrowed. "Odille, take Alice and go to the Rose Garden."

Odille bowed. "Yes of course, Kirakishou-sama." She took Alice by the hand andthey disappeared through the mirror. Just a few moments later, Shinku stepped through.

Her eyes narrowed as she looked at the two dolls who had turned her into junk. She brandished her cane at them like a sword.

"What's this? Back for more, Shinku?" Suigintou asked, summoning her sword.

"No." Shnku's voice was completely devoid of emotion as she answered. "I came to get even. You turned me into junk."

"You were the one who started it all by declaring me junk because I was incomplete." Suigintou hissed, flying at Shinku in a barrage of feathery darts.

"And I'll be the one to finish it as well!" Shinku replied.

"Nee-sama..." Kirakishou murmured worriedly.

"Stay out of this!" Suigintou called over her shoulder. "It isn't your fight!" She turned her wings into dragons and sent them at Shinku, who dodged.

Kirakishou nodded reluctantly, hovering off to the side. She tensed, in the event that Suigintou got too injured and the fight fell to her.

AN: ...I'm not sure what to put here, really. See you next chapter, and please review is all I guess.