"Where am I?... Graaay where are you!!!" Perona stood all alone looking around in the darkness while trying to find Gray.
"What is this place...!" Perona saw nothing in the darkness around her and started to get nervous.
"Perona! How dare you betray me!" But suddenly not far away from in the darkness, another person appeared.
This is an abnormally large humanoid creature with very distinct, devil-like features, two small horns from the sides of his forehead. Red hair and blue skin...
"Moria!!!!" Seeing the man who appeared Perona screamed with surprise but and also took one step back in fear.
"Perona!! How dare you...." But Moria didn't care about her surprised look and stepped forward and said with an angry face.
"No no, I didn't betr*Shut up! you even joined the enemy, Perona! You have to die*" Perona wanted to say something but Moria interrupted her and screamed.
Hearing Moria's words, Perona's heart produced some guilt. Yes... She really did so...
"Die, Perona!" Moria screamed and summoned countless zombies from all over the place, and let them attack Perona.
"No No go away, don't get closer!! Gray!!!" Perona was so scared by the sudden zombie attack and tried to run away.
But no matter how much she runs, Moria and the zombies are always behind her.
Until she was trapped by zombies and found no place to run for.
"Gray! Anyone... Please save me!!!" Perona looked at the zombies around her and started screaming in fear, even her eyes started crying like rain.
But the zombies were already so close to her, so she closed her eyes, scared of what would happen next.
....
....
"Where am I?" Gray stood alone in a dark space, with nothing around.
"My voice?" But suddenly Gray notice his sound changed somehow. Or it didn't change, but...
Gray looked at himself and found a very surprising thing.
He actually returned to normal! Returned to his normal body from before! Not the small child body.
"Where is this? Inside the book?" Gray checked his body, but then focused around himself.
He's not sure what is happening here, but from what he can remember the dark smoke suddenly sucked him and Perona, before he could...
"Perona! Perona! Where are you!" Gray yelled trying to see if Perona is around, but he found nothing. Which made him anxious.
He started spreading his observation Haki.
But weirdly he found nothing... Or more like... His observation is not real?
"Someone?" Suddenly Gray notice someone appeared behind him, so he turned back to see a white-haired woman dressing in black, standing there, looking somewhere.
The woman has a very long pure snow-white hair, a tall slender body, her face, can't be seen from Gray direction, but simply looking at her from behind, he can imagine how beautiful this woman face could be.
Seeing her, Gray felt extremely familiar, this familiarity made his heart pound and his mind pause.
"It's her!" This is the only idea inside his mind right now.
So he walked slowly toward her. He knows... He knows that everything is happening here isn't real, and might be just an illusion the book show him.
But there is a desire inside his heart, driving him to run to the woman's side and see her.
Gray couldn't understand himself at this moment. He only wanted to reach the woman.
1 step... 10 steps.... 1000 steps...
Gray didn't walk anymore but ran directly with his fastest speed, trying his best to get closet to that woman.
But no matter how much Gray attempted to reach the woman's side, he couldn't get closer... Not even one step!
Suddenly the woman started walking away, step by step... And Gray's mind also started to get confused.
Seeing her going away, Gray's heart became more anxious. He couldn't understand why he can't reach her!
Why! Why! Is his speed not enough? Is he too weak to reach her side?
Many unclear thoughts appeared inside Gray's mind at this moment.
At the same time, the crown on Gray's head started spreading a black thick smoke spreading around the entire world of darkness. Or more like... It's blending with the world of darkness itself.
This smoke appeared only once before...
"Gray!!" While he's trying his best, suddenly Gray heard a cry mixed with fear.
But Gray's mind was so confused and didn't react directly till he heard the voice again.
"Gray! Anyone... please save me!!!" This time the voice was clearer then the one before. Which directly reached Gray's confused mind.
Gray's eyes started to recover its light and woke up from the obsession he was in.
The moment he came back to his mind, the woman disappeared from his sight, and Gray also found himself back to the normal small body.
But Gray didn't care about that at this moment.
As soon as his mind cleared. Gray realized who's the owner of the cry he heard just now...
"Perona! Where are you!" Gray who already returned to normal, yelled trying to find where she is, but he can't see anything around. Which made him feel angry for a moment.
"Wait... What is this feeling?" Gray suddenly felt an extra thing from the world around him and couldn't help but look in front of him.
Gray's eye twitched as if trying to see something and soon he really saw something...
...
...
Perona closed her eyes and was ready to meet the pain she will receive soon from the zombies that are about to attack her.
But her heart at this moment was very weird. She really feels some guilt about Moria, but she doesn't feel guilty about joining Gray, Mary, and the others.
If she had another chance to choose between continuing her life as a ghost princess in Thriller Bark as Moria crew, or maid for Gray and the others. Funny thing, she actually realized that she prefers to stay with Gray and the others! After all... They are like.... the family she never had...
"Perona..." Suddenly Perona heard a calm and gentle voice. Not the zombie voice, nor Moria's voice. But a worried and gentle voice.
"Perona... Open your eyes, there is nothing here, it's me, Gray!" The voice appeared again, and she felt a little hand, shaking her.
"Gray?!!!" As soon as she heard this, Perona opened her eyes and saw Gray who's looking at her worriedly.
"The zombies? Moria?" Perona looked around and saw there is no one beside her and Gray in this completely dark space.
...
After calming Perona, and seeing that she's safe. Gray sighed with relief. Then he looked around..... Still the same dark space, with no light.....
Gray looked at Perona and asked her about what she just said...
And after hearing about what she just saw, Gray also realized how twisted this place is...
"Gray... I hate this place..." Perona held Gray's hand and didn't dare to let go, she's really scared at this moment.
"Don't worry... I'll find a way to leave" Gray stood there and thought about what he should do.
First, they were separated, then both of them saw a different illusion... Come to think about it... How did he fell to such an illusion with the crown on his head?
And that woman... Why he had such desire? Gray couldn't understand many things, the mood he entered when he saw that woman was very weird.
That woman he saw her once, its the woman who made the crown... But still, he can't remember her face...
Well... It's not time to think about this, now he had to find a way to leave this book world...
But he doesn't have any useful ability in such a situation...
There is also a weird feeling from the world around him. This feeling is growing very fast, which made him wonder what is it.
While he's thinking, Perona tapped Gray's shoulder and wanted to say something.
"What's wrong?" Gray asked.
"Something is wrong with your crown... I'm not sure, but I think.... black smoke is rising from it?" Perona said this and pointed at the crown on Gray's head.
Due to the strange nature of this place, both Gray and Perona saw nothing, other than their bodies and the illusions before. Even the ground they are standing on is is more like standing in the void.
"What...?" Hearing her word, Gray was surprised, he didn't notice such a thing.
But it was already too late to think about this, the crown on his head suddenly bounded and the world around also started changing.
It not really changing, but more like shrinking, turning into energy entering Gray's body.
Weird and deep energy from all over the place moved and entered Gray's body, not only Gray, even Perona who's in touch with him was also invaded by this energy.
This energy didn't hurt them but more like leaving a mark on them.
With energy entering their bodies the dark world also started twisting upside down. To be more right, the void itself is being turned around.
It was so fast, that Gray and Perona didn't react directly till they found themselves standing in an unfamiliar room.
"Where...?" Gray and Perona looked around wondering where they are.
"Here is... The Headmaster's office! Kids, do you know what kind of danger you both were in just now! If the headmaster Dumbledore, didn't found both of you, you both would have died a very painful death inside the cursed book!!! And... How did you get out?!" Before Gray and Perona could think too much, Professor McGonagall's screams could be heard behind them.
Both Gray and Perona looked back to see Professor McGonagall's old face looking at them with a worried and angry face.
...
...
(Author: ..... 1,500 words for a chapter that took almost forever.... *sigh*... I really hate this troublesome chapter) yay