Disclaimer: I do not own the Joker/Clover/Heart no Kuni no Alice series. Joker/Clover/Heart no Kuni no Alice is the property of QuinRose, and is not my intellectual property. There is no financial gain made from this nor will any by sough. This is for entertainment purposes only.
Hour 01 = God Made a Bet With Me
When I wake up, I'm lying on my back, against a hard floor in a darkened room. I blink once, twice, before pushing myself to sit up. However, I notice a peculiar weight encircling my shoulders and I reach a hand to touch it. I instantly freeze when my fingertips feel rough, tightly-bound material.
Rope.
"The Queen had your parents beheaded to ease her rage. If you can't pay for this apartment, then you will be transferred to a new living space come morning."
Of course, I understand. Why is this happening? Such occurrences are normal in Wonderland. No, this is wrong. My parents' clocks will be repaired soon. That doesn't change the fact that they're not coming back. The best I can do is continue on. That's the worst thing to do. The Game must go on! THE GAME IS WRONG!
I scream out in agony, painfully clutching my head as I collapse back down and helplessly flop around. Memories are clashing in my mind. Everything is a raging inferno.
I can hear many clocks around me. And like that, I am born. The world is bright and warm. I want to interact with everything I see. Mother is abruptly made into a maid at Castle Heart, and father follows soon after. It's a subtle reminder of the nature of this world. My family moves from place to place because of dad's job. It's fun because mom taught me to treat it like an adventure.
I finally got a job as a café chef in town. Mother and father are so happy that I'm not working in one of the territories. Mom took many pictures of my graduation and proudly display them on the walls of our home. Inside, I feel empty. Everyday is fun an unpredictable at my job. Except for when a shootout happens because of a Role Holder. The monotony of computer work does nothing for me anymore. Everyday leaves me hollow.
I saw the Foreigner today, at a glance. The country has been changed a couple of times and she's still here. There's a new girl at work. Younger, prettier, kinder, and better than everyone else at the job. It makes me feel worse about myself. It's amazing how all the Role Holders jump at the chance to protect her. And how the Foreigner herself jumps at the chance to protect us Faceless. But lately, she's been jumping less. I take my saved-up vacation days to sort myself out. It's the best thing for me right now.
Mother and father are dead by the Queen's hand. Granddad desperately begs for me to hang on.
With as much of my feeble strength as possible, I heave myself off the floor and slowly stagger to the vanity on the opposite side of the room. Grasping the smooth wood for balance, I look up to see what sort of body I've been shoved into in this second life.
Everything is completely different. Straight long hair as deep as blood and eyes as bright as ice. A petite body with wiry limbs and smooth skin. A small face with doe-like eyes and little nose point. I basically look like the anime female aesthetic.
But as cute as I look, there's a significantly pressing matter that takes my attention away from that. I lift a trembling hand and softly press my eyeball, using my lid as a barrier of course. But feeling the squishy organ move under my fingers absolutely confirms my fear.
This girl – now me – is no longer a Faceless. Am I a Foreigner now, or a Role Holder?
"You're a bit of a special case." I tense at another person's voice and warily look around the room. There's no one else. "Turn around. It'll be easier to talk that way." I do as the voice suggests and look back at my reflection. However, instead of seeing the scared person I am right now, the person in the mirror is smiling away without a care in the world.
"Hello." I shriek in surprise, leaping away from the vanity and roughly landing on my butt. "Don't be afraid, I'm not here to hurt you." I frantically look around at the new voice, which is far deeper this time. When my eyes land on a gathering of porcelain dolls, all their mouths move together.
"I said I won't hurt you. What is there to fear?" Yet there's only one voice.
"Who are you?" I demand as I climb back onto my feet, my ire beginning to grow because of all the insanity of recent events.
"I am known by many names, but you know me as the 'Game.'" My eyes widen at that. The "Game" of this world that I cursed in the beginning seconds of this new existence is an actual being? Would that mean that I'm talking to the God of Wonderland? Somehow, that just pisses me off even more.
"Then, oh great Game, why has my soul come to this world? One that I already recognize is in a 'game.'" That's right, everything from the girl's memories reflects the Wonderland from the otome game, Alice in the Country of Hearts (plus others). I used to be obsessed with it in my youth cause the world in the game was such a cool concept. And then the company who made the game went bankrupt, took the English version off the app store, and I gradually lost interest.
"Because I requested a soul of your caliber, someone who knows and with nothing left to lose. And you just happened to die at the right time," the dolls happily explain in a singular voice. So if I could have just died a second later, I would've been in the clear?
"If you put in a request, then that means you need something," I point out.
"I wouldn't say I need something. More like...I want something. What I want is for you to take my place." My eyes widen at that. Take the Game's place? Isn't that essentially saying that I'll be the God of Wonderland?
"I refuse." I don't want that. A job that great of a responsibility shouldn't be handed off to someone like me.
"What is there to refuse? It's not like you have to keep this world up and running. You'd be the absolute boss and no one can judge you for your decisions. Wonderland would become your playground to do whatever you wish!"
"If I wanted a playground with no rules, I could've just opened a sandbox game like Gmod." Plus, the idea of controlling actual, living beings is frightening for my small self.
"Can't now, you died." God had a point. "And I get that it can be overwhelming at first, being lifted to such a position abruptly, so I propose a bet between us."
"The Game wants to play a game. How apt." I cross my arms and glare at the dolls. I don't want to go through with something like this - I never like bets in the first place - but what choice do I have? "Give me the details."
"How about this-" The dolls are no longer moving. I turn to see my reflection, haughtily smirking at me. "-I will give you two of my abilities to do with as you please. One I will give you is the ability to completely turn any person to your will." Oh no. I don't like where this is going.
"So my bet is if you can continue living without utilizing that ability until the end of April Season, then you're free to live as you wish. However, if you were to control someone completely, even for just a second, then it shows me that you're ready to be the next Game and will therefore take my place."
My lips tighten in thought. While the bet sounds fair, I can already tell that the deck is going to be stacked against me.
"As an added bonus if you win, I'll even let you keep the abilities. I think someone like you will greatly enjoy the second one." That's like saying we'll be gods side by side, only that I'm staying on the ground while the Game is elsewhere. "Well, what do you say?"
"...What's the second ability?" My reflection snickers and places a hand on her face in a way that her pointer and middle finger frame an eye. For a second, I swear that already-bright eye flashes even brighter.
"Where's the fun in just telling you? Why don't you give it a whirl first?" The Game fades away and I see myself again in the mirror. I'm left alone in the gloom again.
The Game didn't even give me a chance to accept the bet, but does that matter? I'm stuck in Wonderland with no way of getting back like Alice, so I'm completely at the mercy of this world. And considering how truly dark it is, these new abilities might be my way to not only survive, but to live.
So, taking the hint, I lift my own hand and put it on my face in a way that my eye is between my pointer and middle finger. There's no change in the room, but I notice a soft golden glow coming from outside the window. I make my way over and open the curtains. My mouth hangs open in shock.
There, in the sky, were various geometric drawings in gold, stretched out against the deep blue of the night. Some circles and lines were moving along at a steady beat, almost like cog work. I open the window and look down at the streets below to see even more geometric figures, this time much smaller. And most of them are on the faces of pedestrians, where their eyes should be.
"This is your second ability. I like to call it the Clock Master ability." I scan the crowd and notice a Faceless girl staring up at me with a large grin on her face. Even though she's far below me, she's not yelling at all and I hear her as if she's right next to me.
"Wonderland is full of these runes. It's what makes Wonderland the way it is. The Clock Master ability not only allows you to see what's going on behind the scenes, but to also change them as you please. Or even create new ones to better suit your mood. Why don't you try it out?"
And suddenly, I know why the Game said I would enjoy this ability. It must have known what my previous occupation was. And, while runes aren't exactly the same as binary or code, the core concept still applies. Wonderland is the hardware and the runes are the software. And as long as the hardware is capable, I can make it do anything with the software.
Considering that said hardware is an entire world, however...Only my imagination is my true limiter...With these cheat abilities, what other difference lie between me and a supreme being?
Following the Game's suggestion, I look back up and outstretch my other hand towards the sky. I can feel the tips of my fingers tingle and I know that I'm touching the sky. What should I do to prove this newfound power of mine?
"If you can't pay for this apartment, then you will be transferred to a new living space come morning."
If morning never comes, then I can stay here indefinitely, right? The time in Wonderland is random, unless one of the Role Holders decide to change it on their will. Something like this shouldn't be that big of a deal. I take a minute to study the runes. One wrong move and I might accidentally erase the sky entirely.
But given my background in logical thinking, it's not hard to figure out what does what after some observation. So I stretch over to a ticking line against the pale moon and tap it. It stops immediately. I glance back to the streets to see the Game giving me a thumbs up of approval.
"Welp, I hope you enjoy your new life here in Wonderland! Tata now!" The girl casually goes back about her business like nothing ever happened. I close the window and pull my hand away from my face. The golden runes fissure out of sight and Wonderland is dark again.
Now then...What should I do with my new life?
A/N: I just found out that Anniversary no Kuni no Alice (which is basically a Heart remake with extra material) has been translated into English by dedicated fans at Marchen Translations and I've been playing it. And I gotta say, it's a really good translation! So if you haven't already, go check them out, give them some love, and try the game out for yourself!
P.S - I imagine the runes looking like Circular Gallifreyan from Doctor Who.