So I wrote a thing. Cardverse... yessss. (Dawn loves herself some Cardverse)

SO basically this is a Cardverse AU with Alice in Wonderland themes/references. It's not quite a crossover, because it's definitely more Cardverse than AIW, but still.

London was dark and bleak as usual. The skies poured forth, leaving the unfortunate people below in the cold rain. Many people rushed around with parasols- women hurried home and men offered their umbrellas to the dispossessed ladies that had no protection from the rain. Even the poor women found themselves offered shelter under the kindness of strangers.

Arthur found this all very distasteful, and not just because he was huddling under the roof of a small stall on the street waiting for his brothers to return. He, like the poor ladies, had no umbrella. Unlike the women, no one bothered the man a second glance. Not that he really disagreed. He was a gentleman after all, and if he had had an umbrella he would have probably offered it to a poor lady without a second thought. He was just being spiteful, as another drop leaked through the roof and smacked him in the face.

"For goodness sake!" Arthur snapped, stomping his foot. This only caused the water below him to splash up and soak through his already wet boots.

Arthur wrinkled his nose and crossed his arms. He risked peering out from under his shelter for a minute to look for his brothers, to no avail. Dark thoughts starting waltzing through his head. If they had left him in the rain alone he would skin them. He started staring off into space with a pleasant expression as he imagined just all the ways he could punish his brothers.

Another few minutes passed and Arthur began to have a sinking feeling that his siblings were not returning. He kicked at a nearby pile of dirty rags. How dare they! When he found them they would be in an amazing amount of trouble. No matter how much they disliked each other, they had no right to leave Arthur alone in the crowded city- especially in the rain. And after they had dragged him out there too! The very air around him seemed to become colder as he began to rage. If people had been ignoring the poor man earlier, they were outright avoiding him now.

He started to mutter curses under his breath as he braced himself and walked out into the pouring rain. He gasped as the cold rain pelted him, and he took of racing down the street. He only grew angrier at the looks the well-dressed women and men gave him, ranging from pity to disgust. He was only a poor merchant's son from outside the city after all, and not even the first or second born either. No, he was the fifth son, and deemed worthless as dirt. Alistair would inherit the business, William would study abroad, even the twins had a decent chance of making themselves into something, being talented craftsmen. Arthur however, was dismissed and left alone in the rain.

He was so angry he debated if he should even return home, but one thing kept him trudging forward. Anna, his little sister, always had a smile on her face to see him. She would pout or stick her tongue out at the older brothers, but she always ran into Arthur's embraces. The thought of her brought a slight smile to Arthur's face, even as the rain plastered his messy hair to his face. He held his arms around himself, starting to shiver.

Finally, Arthur reached the edge of the city. He sighed as he slumped against the wall of a small store and hid under the small outcropping to rest for a moment. He brushed his bangs out of his face almost violently and rung out the bottom of his shirt and coat.

Out near the edge of the bustling city, not many noble people could be seen. Almost everyone wandering the city out here were of a lower standing. Some even raced around without a parasol like Arthur had moments ago. It made Arthur feel somewhat better, even if it was a bit bitter, to know that others had it as bad as him- if not worse. It wasn't really his concern though.

He straightened as he heard a slight hiccup from his right. He turned to look in that direction, but saw no one. He shrugged, energizing himself for another rush into the rain before the sound caught his attention again. He frowned, he had just written other people off as 'not his business', but the sound seemed almost child-like. He started padding cautiously around the corner of the shop.

He paused as he heard it again. It was almost decidedly a child crying. Arthur felt is brow furrow in worry. Sure, there were plenty of urchins living out on the streets, but Arthur usually did his best to ignore that fact. He always felt terrible, but there was nothing he could do. When he heard this though, it broke his heart.

He peered around the corner and saw a small boy sitting in the alleyway. The small blonde was dressed up in exotic looking cloths in shades of red and black, small hat adorning his head. He gave a quizzical look to the hat the boy was wearing, which had small horns sewn on, but gave it no mention. Arthur was surprised, as everything about the boy looked expensive. Why would a noble boy be out in the slums of the town? He reached forward towards the boy cautiously.

"Hello? Are you okay?" He asked, nervous that the rain drowned him out completely. The boy looked up, apparently hearing his words. Arthur wasn't quite sure if it was rain or tears that streaked his face.

The boy jumped up suddenly and ran up to Arthur, causing the man to back up slightly in surprise. The golden-haired boy stopped short in front of Arthur by only a few centimeters. He peered up at the man's face, crying apparently forgotten. Arthur shifted uncomfortably, not liking the severe look he was receiving from the boy.

"I said-" He began again but the boy nodded sharply.

"Yeah, I was just crying." He said bluntly. Arthur furrowed his brow.

"Well why? Are you okay?" He asked, leaning forward and reaching out to the boy. The boy jumped back, frightened by the sudden movement. He blinked for a second then finally answered Arthur's question.

"I broke my watch, now I can't tell if I'll be late or not." He said, pulling out an elaborate and expensive looking watch. Arthur glared at it and stiffened slightly. Why was this noble out here crying? He was practically mockingpeople like Arthur with this situation.

"Well that's too bad. Just run home and get your daddy to buy you a new one." He said somewhat coldly. After all, the boy obviously wasn't actually in any distress, he had already stopped his crying.

"I can't!" The boy said, stomping his foot. "Gilbert said I couldn't break another clock! Besides, I can't go home yet. But I'll be LATE NOW." The boy turned in a circle and waved at the air. "How will I ever be recognized if I can't even be on time! I'm always late and it's no FAIR!"

Arthur rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, this little brat was quickly getting on his nerves. If the boy was so concerned about being late, he should just rush home now. From what Arthur could tell, because of this 'recognized' business the boy was going on about, maybe he was a younger son of some rich noble. "That's your own fault. It's not my problem if you're late."

The boy spun and glared at him then. "Oh but it is you English jerk!" He snapped. "What a jerk!" He yelled again as if to reinstate it, crossing his arms. "Yup, that's what I'll call you from now on. You English jerk."

Arthur squinted at him. "But you're English too. Besides I doubt you'll be seeing more of me." Arthur turned and began walking out into the rain. This boy could take care of himself or get lost in the city forever for all Arthur cared. He was obviously a entitled little snob.

"I am not. Why would I ever want to be English!" The boy cried after him, acting like it was an insult. Arthur just scoffed, as this statement had been yelled at him in a posh, very English, accent.

Arthur shivered as the cold from the rain seeped into his very bones.

It was going to be a long walk home.

Arthur glared at his older brother.

"No." He said.

Alistair simply snorted at him. "You don't have a choice buddy, William needs another pair of arms and the twins and I are far too busy. You however don't have anything better to do." William shifted uncomfortably by the door upon hearing his name. William was maybe the nicest of Arthur's brothers, but that didn't change the fact that he never stepped in when Arthur was antagonized by his other siblings.

Arthur pinched at the bridge of his nose. It had only been two days since his trek back home in the rain and he still felt sick. He looked over to where William and Anna stood by the door. Sighing and shooting one last leer at his oldest brother he walked resignedly over to his two siblings. Anna gave him a sympathetic smile as William pushed open the door of the small shop they all stood in. Arthur gave a slight smile back at his younger sister before setting his face back in his usual glare.

At least with Anna with him, and with William being the slightly more acceptable brother, he wouldn't be left alone in the city again.

When they finally reached the intercity, Anna hopped excitedly and rushed over to a dress shop. William followed her enthusiastically and Arthur trailed slightly behind. Arthur didn't exactly like the idea that they were here to buy Anna a dress for a fancy party. He wasn't pleased that their father was already making plans to marry off his younger sister at all. Sure, Anna was sixteen now, but in Arthur's mind she was still a little girl.

He internally kicked himself, at least she could marry into a better life. As long as his father didn't try to pair her off with some nasty old nobleman and Anna was happy, he'd be happy for her too. In all honesty, he was mostly selfishly upset that his only loving sibling was leaving him to the wolves.

He watched as Anna and William went through dresses in numerous shades of red and green. He scoffed slightly at the gaudy dresses and sighed as Anna and William got upset and didn't know why they couldn't find a decent dress. Arthur strolled over to the piles of dresses and dug through them for a bit. When he walked over to Anna again, she was wearing a bright yellow dress with diamond patterns embroidered on the hems. It wasn't all that terrible, but it clashed with her vibrant green eyes.

"Here." He said, tossing a dress at her. She fumbled slightly, catching it. She held the dress up by the shoulders and gawked at it. It was a floor length ballgown, layers of skirts billowing out from the waist. The dress shined in various shades of blue, giving the illusion of water. It had full-length sleeves made from a dark blue lace- which then trailed down the back of the dress. Anna squealed in excitement before rushing off to the changing room.

Arthur smiled fondly as Anna emerged in the deep blue dress. She clapped her hands excitedly and spun, flaring the dress out. "Thank you Arthur!" She said, running over and pulling the man into a tight hug. Arthur chuckled at his younger sister.

"Well as long as you're happy I'm happy." He replied truthfully. His younger sister pulled back slightly and smiled mischievously at him.

"That's why you're my favorite brother." She stated, just loud enough for William to hear. The older brother just smiled at Anna. William accepted the teasing graciously, proving that he really was the least terrible brother, Alistair or the twins would have thrown a fit.

"Well Mr. Not a Favorite Brother over here's paying, so let's go buy it." William said, walking off to work out a deal with the shop owner while Anna went off to get undressed. Arthur just stood by the doorway, glad his pick had been the final choice.

"So you like blue best huh?" A small voice said beside him, causing him to jump. He spun to face the small golden-haired boy from earlier, the one with the broken pocket watch. "Really? I would have pegged you for a red or yellow person myself. The Blues are kind of too much for me- though Yellow's pretty bad too."

"What in the world are you talking about?" He snapped at the boy, more confused than anything. The boy was wearing the same clothes as he had been the day Arthur had met him, but they were surprisingly clean. Maybe he had more than one pair. Arthur squinted, now that he took a closer look the boy's clothes were downright odd. He wore some strange exotic get-up. What had Arthur the most confused was the hat pulled down over the boy's head.

"Colors of course." The boy said, looking up at Arthur. "I like black personally, but that's just because Gilbert said that black was the best color- and Gilbert's always right."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Is that why you're wearing that ridiculous outfit? Because 'Gilbert' told you to?"

The little boy flinched back at this. "What are you talking about! You're the one wearing the ridiculous outfit you English jerk!" He pulled down on his hat, which believe it or not had a little demon-like face decorating the side, along with the sewn on horns.

"Sure. I'm sure my outfit is the weird one here in London." He replied. "Now seriously, where are your parents? Guardians? Siblings?" Arthur shot a look around the small shop but found nobody. "Are you lost?"

The boy snorted. "I'm not lost. I'm just late." Arthur rolled his eyes at this. "Besides, my guardian isn't here. Gilbert told me to not come back until I finished, but I haven't yet."

"Finished what?" Arthur asked exasperatedly. He rubbed his temples, this boy he didn't even know was really starting to get on his nerves.

"My job." The boy said haughtily. "Peter never quits until he finishes a job- and not just because Gilbert told him not to." Arthur perked at this. Peter, at least they were getting somewhere. He knew the boy's name now.

"Well Peter, Gilbert was probably joking. If he's your guardian than surely he didn't want you to run off and get lost. You could get hurt out here." Arthur meant it too. No matter how annoying this boy was, he felt somewhat responsible for him, and didn't want to see him get hurt or worse in this city.

"Hey Arthur! Quit talking to yourself." Anna called jokingly from the counter where she and William were checking out. She giggled as William rolled his eyes.

"I'm not-" He started but trailed off when he looked over where Peter should have been. Instead, he found himself staring at air. "But-" He gasped. He looked around quickly, but saw no hint of the small blonde-haired boy. When had he disappeared? Arthur blinked slowly. Maybe he was going crazy, how else could he explain away the oddly dressed boy who apparently now had vanishing skills.

Anna giggled some more at Arthur's confused look. "Not already going crazy are you old man?" She asked, repeating Arthur's thoughts. Arthur shook his head and smiled at his sister.

"Of course not." He replied. "Besides, if I'm an old man you're an old maid." He teased, receiving the expected pout from his sister.

"Am not. I'm going to be the most beautiful maiden at the ball." She mocked in a high-pitched voice. "Especially with the dress you picked out."

Arthur smiled. He turned as he heard William chuckle. "You better be, that was a pretty penny. The yellow dress was much less expensive."

"But I didn't want that one." Anna said as the three of them left the shop, door closing behind them with distinct cling of a bell. "This one is much better."

William rolled his eyes. Arthur was about to brag more about how he had picked the dress when movement caught the corner of his eye. It was Peter, the small boy was trapped in an alleyway. Arthur's eyes widened as he saw that the boy was being backed into a corner by a few, much larger men. The small boy trembled slightly and prattled on about 'was it too late?'.

"Excuse me." Arthur said to his sister abruptly. She started slightly as her brother left her side and ran off. "I'll meet up with you."

"Ah- Arthur!" She called, but she quickly lost him in the crowded streets.

William crinkled his brow, but tugged at his sister. He couldn't let her run off in the streets, after all she was only sixteen. "He said he'll catch up. Come on, let's get home before it starts raining."

Anna frowned in the direction her brother had run off, but slowly allowed herself to be pulled away. Arthur would catch up, he was always rational. He would know to not get into trouble, she rationalized, before she turned away and leaving Arthur.

"I didn't mean to be so late!" Peter yelled. "My watch broke! This place makes me so disoriented! The longer I stay here the more the colors blur. I'm so confused." He shook, these men weren't listening.

"Look little boy, just give us your stuff and we'll let you go." He said, shoving Peter. The second man, more like a teenager, pulled at the chain at Peter's side.

"No! You can't have it!" He cried, pulling back on his pocket watch. "It's broken! Gilbert has to fix it! Why can't I stop you!"

"This could have been easy..." Growled the first man again. "Stupid rich little prat." He pulled back an arm and aimed at Peter. The small boy flinched and covered his face.

"Stop it!" Arthur called from behind the three men. He grabbed onto the man's hand, preventing him from striking the small boy. "Seriously! This is uncalled for."

Peter looked up at Arthur, trembling lips quickly breaking into a small smile.

"Uncalled for?" The man snarled, turning on Arthur. "The puny boy won't hand over the watch. He doesn't need it, from the looks of him he gets whatever he wants. If he's going to be stubborn then he deserves a slap."

Arthur didn't know when he had started thinking differently, but he realized that he had thought very similar to this man when he had first run into Peter. When Arthur had seen the boy in his expensive clothes and with his silver watch he had felt the same anger. Why should some small boy have what he couldn't even dream of. Looking at him now though, Arthur only saw the injustice in this situation. Even if the boy was rich, he didn't deserve to be prejudiced against for it any more than Arthur deserved the glares he received for his shoddy clothes.

Besides, Arthur had a strong urge to protect this boy- he reminded him a lot of how he might have been as a child in a different lifetime.

"Let him go." Arthur replied coldly. "Obviously the boy cares for the watch. Besides you have no right to it. That's stealing, and punishable by the law." He said, giving the three men a glare.

Really, they should have just jumped him and mugged him along with Peter, it wouldn't have been that hard, but something about the fire this man was emanating frightened the men. They exchanged a nervous glance before the third one finally spoke up.

"Well at least give us something to go. We need to eat too." Arthur flinched at this as he turned to face the man. He suddenly realized they were a lot younger than they had appeared at first. The first man was maybe twenty, while the other two seemed a lot more like they were in their teens. It didn't give them the right to beat up on someone smaller than them, but maybe they weren't all that despicable, just desperate.

Arthur sighed sadly and pulled out what little money he had in his pocket. It wasn't a lot, maybe enough to buy a loaf of bread, but the three men perked up none the less. Arthur was reminded that maybe he didn't have it so bad, at least he had thin stew waiting for him at home.

He handed the money to the men and watched as they thanked him and ran away quickly, not wanting to risk Arthur changing his mind. Arthur gazed longingly as the money he had been saving ran away with them. He turned to Peter, hoping the boy hadn't disappeared again. At least those three men had seen him, so Arthur wasn't crazy after all.

Peter was standing, staring at Arthur with gleaming eyes. "That was amazing!" He yelled, practically dancing. Arthur gave a small smile at the young man. "I was a little worried! Especially after you acted like such an English jerk. But I was wrong about you! You'll beamazing."

Arthur's grin faded and he raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? Are you rambling again? You really must let me help you find your guardian this time, I told you you were in danger."

The boy just ignored him. "You were so brave! I couldn't do anything because this place is stupid, but you came and rescued me. And even then! You weren't just brave, you were understanding and forgiving and generous." He grinned widely. "Yup, I was wrong. Even after I acted like a jerk, not an English one thank goodness, but still."

"Peter." Arthur sighed, feeling a headache coming on. "Please, where do you live? Where is 'Gilbert' anyway, I can't leave you alone in the city again, you might get hurt."

Arthur got a sinking feeling from the mischievous grin that crossed over Peter's face. "Then don't." He said almost evilly before dashing off suddenly.

Arthur cursed and dashed after the boy. Where did he think he was going? "I have a plan! I may be good, but I'm still a Joker." Peter called back cryptically after Arthur asked said question.

"When I catch you I swear-!" Arthur snarled, turning a sharp corner after the boy. He was tired, as Peter had been running for a good five minutes, not slowing while Arthur tailed him "You need to-!"

Peter was gone. Arthur gaped as he took in the empty courtyard in front of him. He walked forward slowly. "Bloody hell!" He yelled as he searched around the small garden for the boy. He stopped when he heard a giggle.

"Better late than never!" Peter's voice trailed from around a large tree trunk. Arthur frowned, he'd already checked there. He slowly crept around the tree, hoping to surprise Peter and catch him. He was disappointed when he reached the other side and found no sight of Peter. He stopped however when he spotted a large hole at the base of the large oak. He recoiled. That had most certainly not been there when Arthur had entered the courtyard. In fact...

Arthur spun, really taking in the courtyard. It was much too large and luxurious to be in London. He gasped as he realized he'd turned the corner of a dirty city street and ended up here. That couldn't be right. How had he done that?

In fact the city didn't even seem to be there anymore. The world was blurred around the edges of the courtyard.

"Oh for goodness sake just go down." Peter's voice called and Arthur felt himself being pushed. He tried to regain his balance, but found himself tumbling headfirst into the large hole in the base of the tree trunk. He yelped as the darkness engulfed him.

"Don't worry!" He heard Peter's voice call from somewhere vaguely upwards. "You'll be a great Alice."

Characters-

Alistair- Scotland

William- Wales

The Twins- North Ireland and Ireland

Anna- Kind of fem!England I guess? (Couldn't use 'Alice' because of the story.)

For anyone wondering, Peter is the White Rabbit. And poor Arthur is Alice. Pffftt. Wait til he hears that.

Comments please? I'll probably continue because I love Cardverse so much, heh heh.