ALice, with a capital L

Her eyes open. The face is smoother, pale, it has rubber-like skin. A body of smoother surface in matte black, just like the robots, is what she owns now. It is not the same as the faceless, however, in realistic proportions and sizes for all limbs and parts. She's lying down in a hard collapsible counter, like the small bench that leaves a gap big enough to fit a human body inside. Feels more like an elaborate hiding spot or a strange coffin than a place to sleep on. She sits on it and looks at the room. She's tired, in an unfamiliar place, yet comfortable. There is no fear in her eyes, just like a child. A smooth faced robot of the same white cape from before asks her in the same tone."Lower soul, can you understand me?""Uhm... yes. I hear you just fine.""Do you remember anything?""Remember what?" She is confused."Do you remember your previous life?""I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about..."

A blurred image of the same blond girl appears in her mind.It can't be understood nor seen clearly. There is nothing to observe in there. It is simply a mere blur.

The woman touches the top of her head and shrinks her face in fear. Although the colors can seem uncanny, the new face is clearly more expressive.
"Do you mean the dreams ?"
The robot thinks for a second.
"Yes. The dreams. Do you remember any dreams?"
"No really... they're... "

The same sight gets a little clearer.

"I'm sorry, I guess I don't remember anything."

...

In an afternoon of bright skies, several humanoid machines stand in 2 rows facing each other. They have no faces, diverse tones of black, white and gray, wearing cloaks and dresses of thick cloth in loose designs. They stand tall looking at the woman walking forward to a round elevated surface. Her cloak is light brown, and has no holes for the arms, but is open in the front through a clear cut, connected by 2 buttons on the top. 
She walks between them, interrupted from her child-like wonder of observing this novel world by the push of the same black robot behind. She keeps walking until meeting the taller robot in front, of slimmer head, golden details and fully white thin body. 
"The ruling gods saves all of us. The reincarnated from regrets. The soulless from faces.
But to all, even the fallen gods, freedom from eternal darkness, through the gift of immortality, shared in our bodies of metal."
The robot extends its hands holding a shine cube in each, in a gesture of coronation towards the woman.
"Accept your gifts to evolve and be free. Deny to show revolt with our gods."

All statues kneel, giving a sound of the cloth and bodies hitting the ground, loudened by the perfect sync. The rubber faced looks back, scared, with no intentions of doing the same."You cannot deny the gift you have already received. Now kneel for servitude and get your mark."She's scared."What does the mark do?""It shows your servitude with the gods.""Is it painful?""Do you deny the mark?"The robot faces her directly and lowers its hands. It seems irritated."I, I-" She's nervous."I just don't want to get something I'm not sure I can undo later.""You deserve no mark. What is your name?" hands fully down now. The cubes won't go anywhere, which alleviates the rubber looking one."My name?" "Yes, your name. Only the ones with a mark receive name.""I'm sorry, I don't-"

A blurred scene of brown, orange steals her sight for a moment.

"You hold no memories of any names, do you? And yet you need one."

A same scene becomes clear and vivid, with a baby with white clothes of blond hair, sitting on the ground of a cozy chalet.

"Accept your mark, and the gods will allow you receive a name."

In that memory, the blond baby opens her mouth, ready to speak.
"ALice"

"What did you say?""ALice. My name is ALice."

From beyond the stone plaza she is, stand hundreds of beings just like her, with white or brown rubber faces full of patches from silver melted steel.Some smile, some cover their mouths in a gasp, but none is undisturbed. "You remember your name?""I do.""We do not accept your lie. Without name or mark, your service will be chosen for you."The robot walks away, as if in disgust, and the others form perfect lines to regain their purpose.Between the crowd, as the many react strongly through whispers and shouts of anger and celebrations, a smaller face repeats with a smile "ALice, the pure".

...

In a wide dirt field, ALice speaks with another robot of silver appearance, shining brightly with a cloak of animal skin, showing fur and leather.Behind it, another pale faced woman, with a long black hair, tied in a high ponytail and bangs.Wearing the same cloak as ALice, but with red patterns painted on top. She holds a staff bigger than her on the right hand, and a huge black sturdy black box of minimalist style, held by its top handle. Her stoic face calls for ALice's attention, and perhaps worry."For ingratitude with the gods, your purpose has been chosen outside your will. You shall transfer data manually, build antennas and repair them from city to city."It offers her a staff and a small leather bag packed inside to the fullest."For ingratitude, you have no name and no right. Under the mercy of another lower soul shall you live."The faceless lets out one last message as ALice accepts her new belongings."May your soul be devoured and forgotten, Nameless Liar."

ALice inspects the inside of that bag, with a varied amount of packages in metal. They each contain different items, and she holds no idea of what their functions are.The other woman approaches, dragging the black box, but leaving the stick thrusted into the ground.

For only a split second, ALice sees the pale soldier that brought her to death once, thrusting his huge sword down in the very same way.ALice's scared. "On the edge".

The girl with bangs begins the conversation."Hi. I'll be your chief for now. That means you are my subordinate.""Hi."She has a confident tone, yet she still sounds like a young woman."My name is Mei, by the way. pleasure to meet you.""ALice."Mei opens a worried face for a second, then turns into a small smile as she jokes:"With a capital L I'm guessing."

Another scene, of a small white sticker with the same name spelled in blue crayons on a small notebook of that same color.

"How did you know that?"
What started as a somewhat friendly interaction now turns into a headache for the black haired girl.
"You're not the new prophecy girl, are you?"
She searches closely all over ALice's face, then picks her by the wrists to take a look.
"Where is your mark?"
The short one is annoyed.
"I didn't get one..."
Mei is pissed.
"Are you serious?! "
ALice looks like a child awaiting a scouting, unsure of what she's done wrong.
"Will you stop already? Just go and tell me your given name."
"I wasn't given a name."
"Then how do you have one?"
"I remembered it."
"ALice? With a capital L?"
"Yes!"
Those few words spoken in sincerity and innocence through a smile were enough to break the calm front of the experienced worker.
"Listen: you're not the first trying to fake her way into superstition. And as things stand, far from being the last. But I don't want to be the one to deal with petty lies from a coward liar afraid of facing this world. If you don't want to give me your name, fine!"
She speaks more, walking closer while pointing to her .
"I am not here to babysit you, no matter how important you pretend to be. It's each for their own here. Just because I'm your partner, don't think I'll hold your hand and protect you at all. I'm not doing anything at all if a fallen one gets you. In fact, I don't even care. You're just a slave, you hear me? A slave!"
That up close motion helps ALice notice more about her appearance. She has sharp eyes like a hunter, very prominent cheekbones and is fairly shorter in height too.
There is a mark in the accuser's head, a small patch of silver covered by her haircut.
"You're marked?" She finally speaks, in a bit of awe and confusion.
"Of course I am. Everybody is. Only you fools refuse it, acting like you're all special.
And because of YOU, my job gets twice as difficult for half the prize."
The ponytail girl lets the box fall to the side by letting go of the handle and walks back to the stick.
"Pick it up. If you want to "play legend", then work like one. "
ALice follows while carrying the bag, which seems surprisingly light for how much dust it lifted once thrown.
She catches up, and the shorter one speaks while picking up her silver staff:
Against the fear of pissing her off even more, the silver haired woman asks:
"Why are you taking care of me?"
"I'm not taking care of you! I'm stuck with you."
"Why?"
For a short while, there are no sounds but that of their footsteps.
"Because that's my job."
Spoken in such a serious but low tone, showing slight sadness in that statement, ALice decides not to ask her anymore, despite having a lot more questions.

...

From the top of a green hill of breathtaking view, giant slow moving monsters can be seen haunting the horizon. Most of inhabited land is full of metallic bridges, factories and nuclear reactors. Those man made structures show no beauty, only the monotonous dark grey of an ugly machine-like design.Yet near the very same monsters, there are destroyed buildings of stone, disassembled in such a way that leaves huge room for the creative to imagine what it once tried to be, scattered across the yellow and green of crops and vegetation living away from the smoky ugly cities."Give me the goodies back."She takes it in a single motion and wears it on her back, with hidden belts in the side, that pop off and loosen through a sliding mechanism."Could've told me earlier" ALice thinks to herself.Mei turns to her partner and begins explaining, still frowning."This" she points at the staff "Is a floating umbrella. You Place your heel in here" she opens a small pedal, turning the stick into an "L" of very short leg "and your hand in here" she takes off a hard handle near the top. "You secure your... " she seems hesitant to finish that thought."Secure what?"The short one gets annoyed and completes:"You secure yourself by wearing the belt here" showing quite fast how to attach a belt from that same tool to one's body "here" with another smaller handle of the same nature to one's hand "and here" she places her foot on top of the pedal, and closes her ankle with yet another one.ALice tries her best to follow, but the instructor is quite fast."You will glide through the wind and control its position by leaning with your body. Try not to panic... or hold me back. Just do what I do and follow me the best you can."Then Mei pulls and slides a big lever from that instrument, opening it into a huge umbrella of 2 meters wide and a wide gap in the center. There is a smaller circle above it, giving space for the air to come through the middle of this strange "double umbrella".ALice flinches from that reveal, and starts inspecting her own umbrella too, trying to open it. Mei jumps, from the hill and starts gliding through the air, losing height so slowly that it is imperceptible, spinning her body and using the weight of her free leg and arm to redirect herself, at times holding the thing with both hands and forcing a big turn, only to find the perfect balance and relax, letting the wind do all the rest. Distance grows and ALice still hasn't opened the tool, now hurrying to catch up.She opens the umbrella, revealing the same colors as her master's, with a sky-like blue from below, and orange on the top.She awkwardly tries walking in the hill with half her limbs stuck to that vehicle and then tries to hold it tightly as the wind blows her strongly.ALice's hair covers her sight and she starts flying away, against her efforts to stay put.Mei stops herself from looking back, and faces forward with the same strong frowning expression of before.ALice starts rotating in place, seeing every new spin a bit of Mei's posing and trying hard to replicate it. Bit by bit, she manages to straight herself and follows her closely, with much more effort in micro adjustments to keep a straight line.She looks down, feeling a mix of fear and exhilaration from the distance. The circular shadows travel through the land as the metallic dolls fly in bright skies. A dream that few could ever gloat about, ALice is flying like a bird in the heights of a small mountain."This is amazing!"Mei hears attentively, showing a bit of relief."Yeah. You've got the hang of it quite fast.""I did?""Yes, but don't get cocky. The winds can fool you just as easily. Just follow after me!""All right!" One could her the smile and excitement behind every word that came out of her lips. That alone, made Mei break a smile as they flied away.

...