7 You don’t stand a chance. Prepare to run.

After some time, Jack confirmed that Alice had calmed down, and led her by the hand out of the room. Alice, who was now dressed like a common town girl and had been given brand new shoes, looked around outside the room and was struck blank. The place appeared to be a spotless facility enclosed by pure white walls. It was lined with numerous rooms.

Noticing a lot of people walking behind the glass doors, Alice suppressed her chest. She finally began to feel a sense of relief.

"Hold on a second. I'll lower the internal pressure now."

With that being said, Alice let go of Jack's hand. As Jack approached the exit, he directed a few words into the intercom. Immediately, there was a sound of a push… from the glass door, and a rush of air flooded inside.

After coughing slightly, Alice restrained her head to the mild ringing in her ears. The air flowed in for a few seconds, eventually subsiding, and the door slowly opened.

"Contamination level, 35% Death."

A woman's voice, mechanical and indifferent, came from the speakers on the ceiling.

"Come on, let's go," Jack said and grabbed Alice's hand gently. She nodded, following behind. Raffi also lined up beside Alice. Then several men came rushing up to them.

"Jack, is everything okay now?"

Alice was bewildered and followed Jack and the men as they strolled away. Taking a glance down at Raffi next to her, the black cat simply paced silently with a look of disinterest on his face.

They made their way through a residential area packed with people. All the people were beaming, seemingly happy to see Alice. Some children were even waving at her.

They went on for a while, descending a couple of white stairs. At last, Alice and they halted in front of a door with a dazzling electric light.

"Elder, the Angel has arrived."

When Jack mentioned this to the intercom, the door automatically slid open without any particular reply. The men entered the room first, and Jack guided Alice inside as well by his hand.

It was a white, circular room. There was nothing in it. In the center of the room, something that resembled a green pillar stood and was attached to the ceiling.

No…

Wrong.

The middle of the pillar was made of a transparent material that enabled her to view the inside. Staring at it, Alice gasped and clutched at Jack.

A human brain was floating in it.

There were numerous cables, all connected to the brain spinal cord. The inside seemed to be occupied by some kind of liquid, and occasionally white bubbles floated in and out.

"Eh…?" She stared up at Jack in amazement. Turning, he smiled at Alice and bowed his head to the 'brain'.

"This is Alice, the Angel."

Silence enveloped the room for a short time. Eventually, a hushed male voice resonated from the speaker attached to the side of the pillar.

"Alice…? Are you Alice…?"

Uncertain of the situation, Alice backed away, her eyes darting from side to side in astonishment. Perhaps watching her in some way, the man spoke softly to her from the pillar.

"I am the central system of this dome. I've been waiting for you, Alice. Thank you for coming to help us."

"Help…? What…? I, uh…"

After a pause, the man's voice continued on skeptically to Alice, who was stammering and turning pale.

"What's wrong? You're not an Angel?"

"Elder, it seems that this child has partially lost her memory. It may be due to the considerable degree of terror she has been inflicted with…" Jack stepped forth and offered a helping hand.

Alice let out a shuddering voice there, finally realizing that the voice was emanating from her brain in front of her. "What are… you…?"

"'What' is a strange thing to ask. But if you've lost your memory, you may not understand anything…" With a small sigh, the elder said. "If you're Alice, you're the long-awaited help we've been looking for. We need you to save this dome from the Nightmare."

"But… but I have no idea what's going on at all… I don't know where I am, or what I am!" Alice called out in an urgent voice with all her force. The men looked at Jack with bemusement.

Jack lifted his hand to stop their rustling and spoke up to the elder. "But the GMD index identifies her as an Angel. Apparently, she made it here by walking through the contaminated forest on her own."

"I see…" The elder was silent as if contemplating for a moment and then said. "Since the collapse of this utopia and the Nightmare has transformed into a devil, we can't even step out of the dome… The plants and trees are contaminated, the water is dried up, and now if humans were to step out of this life support system, they would lose their existence for eternity."

"…"

The elder continued to explain to Alice, who had fallen silent.

"Only you Angels, who can operate in the outside world, could have the key to eliminate Nightmare and lead us out. Alice, if you are 'Alice', that is even more so."

"I… I don't understand that…" Alice wrung out in a trembling voice. Then she jerked her head to the side. "I don't know anything! I have nothing to offer! Even I'm hoping for help…!"

"…"

The elder was about to utter some words when… In the following moment, the lights in the room abruptly darkened to red.

"Hii…"

Pulling Alice, who had stiffened in shock at the sound of the sirens, towards him, Jack let out a yell.

"It's the Nightmare reaction! Lower the barrier wall! Hurry!"

"They're close…! What were those beacons doing out there!"

The men left the room in disarray, their voices rising in a screech. At Alice's feet, Raffi said with a toothy grin.

"That was unexpectedly swift… I thought I could get some more rest…" Raising his eyes at Alice, who looked down at him in a daze, Raffi said nonchalantly. "It's the Hatter. Without the Seventh at your disposal, you don't stand a chance. Prepare to run."