"Ace, I'm leaving."

The tall man didn't expect for those three words to hurt so much. It'd been a few days and Ace now knew it was true. Alice was truly gone now. The absence of her smiles, her beautiful flowing hair that sparkled in the sun, just the absence of her presence made his life full down day by day. He had truly taken to the Outsider that had once been too afraid of him, the thought of their days together played back in his mind and he was soon taken over by a more bitter him.

"What a waste of time," he muttered angrily, but knowing if he had a heart, it'd be broken and hurting. Alice had told him about the heart and what it does, compared to his clock heart. He couldn't stop thinking about the Outsider, knowing he wasn't over her yet. Ace wondered if maybe he never would be over her.

He stared blankly at the sky, lying down on the cool grass, and waiting for his life to go on. He was willing something to happen, something to make him forget his self-pity and sorrow. Darkness sweeped across the sky soon and he found himself falling asleep. He closed his dry eyes, slipping off into a deep slumber.

"A thousand bodies..." Ace heard someone whisper. The voice was something he'd never heard before, it made his skin crawl and he shivered. It echoed around him, seeming to come from all directions, it sounded within him. Who was that? What about bodies? "piled up higher and high... The blood..."

"Hello?" Ace couldn't help but be creeped out by these whispers. It was pitch black where he was, he wasn't sure where that was either. He looked around more but only saw darkness. The whispers were chuckling. "Where are you?!" Ace demanded.

"Without a sound..." The whispers continued. "A thousand bodies... A wish..."

"A wish?" He decided to keep asking. He was getting tired of these whispers. He just wanted Alice back. He'd do anything to just hold her in his arms once more.

"Alice..."

The whispers said her name. "What about Alice?!" He demanded, balling up his fists. If this was some trick, someone would pay. He suspected that damn Blood Dupre.

"A thousand bodies... Wish... Alice back..." A thousand bodies? Corpses?

"I have to get a thousand bodies?" Ace called out, getting hopeful. A thousand was a lot but he could manage it. He'd manage anything for her.

"Yes.. The blood, oh the blood..." the voices almost moaned in pleasure. So he'd have to kill a thousand. Ace was about to ask more questions when his body shot up from his sleeping position. He looked around, it was daylight now. The sun was high up in Wonderland and the faceless wandered around him, doing their jobs in the rose garden.

Good, a nice start, he thought cruelly as a smile found its way to his lips.

"Fifty-three..." Ace mumbled as he swung his sword down upon the faceless boy. He screamed in agony before he died. Ace smiled as the blood splattered on the stone walkway, right next to the boy's faceless mother, who Ace had also murdered a moment before. He grabbed the corpse's collar and hefted him up, blood draining as Ace carried the two back.

He'd constructed a nice little pile in the past two weeks of murdering as his part-time job. He could almost see it now... Alice, home safe in his arms. Her smile came to his mind and he cringed at how much he missed her. That smile was the one smile he would probably die for.

Tossing the two bodies to his pile of rotting corpses, he dusted of his hands. He didn't mind the smell anymore, he supposed he didn't smell it anymore. His little mountain of corpses was placed neatly in the corner of the Land of Hearts, far that no one would come out there.

Ace stood there for a moment and admired his handiwork. He enjoyed murdering them too. He heard a rustle in the bushes and turned quickly, blood-stained sword in his hand. "Who goes?" He growled out.

"My, my," Ace's ears perked up at the familiar voice. The figure came out from behind the bushes, cane in hand and strolling casually. Blood Dupre.

Ace growled low. "What do you want?"

Blood's cold eyes ran over him, and then his corpses, "just wondering what the stench was I smelled." Blood dragged his eyes from Ace's to the pile of bodies. This wasn't the first time that Ace had murdered faceless, in fact he knew of his job that the clock-maker employed him in. Ace was too unhinged, out of all the role-holders he was the uncertain card in the deck. His sister, Vivaldi was also a little crooked card of Hearts in the castle, and the same applied to that annoying rabbit, Peter. Blood supposed he need not worry of Ace for now, so long as he regained a little composure soon and returned to his duty as the Knight of Hearts.

"Could be your pet rabbit soiling himself," Ace suggested, smug for having Blood notice the corpses' stench.

"Knight, what are you doing? With these bodies, what are you planning?" He had to admit that his curiosity was pricking at him like a needle.

"That's none of your concern, Hatter."

"Fair enough," Blood agreed before leaving promptly, saying not another word. Once Ace was sure he was gone, he wondered why he didn't consider killing the role-holder. He grumbled, feeling stupid for not killing him once and for all. And then the next Hatter that would replace him. Why not kill all the role-holders, in fact?

What stopped him?

Ace, with a devilish grin, set out to planning his next game.

"This gets harder, things get complicated with feelings," she'd warned him. Ace hadn't listened. He kissed her forehead, making her squeal with delight and playfully shove him. She shot off in a run, turning around to look at him with a smile. Ace took the invitation for a chase. He easily caught up with her and pulled her into a tight hug from behind.

Kissing her neck, he embraced her tighter, as if she'd disappear.

And she did, she left. Her body collapsed in a pile of bones and blood, right in his arms.

Ace woke up with a scream in his room in the castle. He panted, sweat plastered to every part of his body. He looked at his hands, seeing no blood on them but still imagining the sweat was blood. He stood up quickly to wash off in the bathroom.

It's been two months since he started his murder spree for Alice. He hadn't given up, far from it, he finally reached one hundred and the thought of it gave him encouragement to continue. He still imagined Alice's beating heart against his ticking clock, wanting that so bad. She had to come back. He felt his sanity unraveling with every single day that she was not his.

He looked at himself in the mirror, his brown hair tousled with sleep and blood stains on the tips from his messiest kills. He really needed to shower. With that thought, he started stripping. His clothes, on the other hand, were always properly cleaned. He had other jobs to attend to beside his murdering spree. Vivaldi knew of his second job for Julius, everyone knew but the pretending was the best game in the Land of Hearts.

Although he hadn't killed any role-holders, he still kept that idea fresh in his mind.

He hurriedly showered, wanting to get back to sleep and hopefully gather more bodies. The bodies at the bottom had rotted away and the blood stained the ground around it. Ace smiled once he reached the pile everyday, imagining it as Alice's ticket back to Wonderland.

He dressed once again, about to walk out of the bathroom when something caught his eye. He stared at the mirror, squinting. That couldn't be her, could it?

"A-Alice?" He squeaked, Alice was in his mirror, staring back at him. She smiled, tilting her head in that cute way that made him clock melt. It pained him so much. "Alice I-I'm trying to get to a thousand... Just wait a little longer.. I'm trying.." He said soothingly. Ace tried to reach out for her but his fingers came short of caressing her. The mirror held him back from what he truly desired.

But she didn't do anything else, nothing but smile. He would take the smile, because he knew he'd have her in his arms soon. He'd just have to work harder.

Three hundred. Ace had reached three hundred bodies. It was almost ecstasy to him know he was closer and closer to a thousand, and to Alice. He would admit he loved everything about murdering the defenseless faceless. He even played games with them to kill them slowly. He reveled in the blood spatters that stained his face. Sometimes, if daring, he wouldn't even wear his goggles or hood.

He felt rebellious.

Another thing new was that Blood often visited his pile of corpses, sometimes the Tweedle Twins accompanied him and played in his pile. Ace smiled as the twins ripped arms off his bodies and tried to high-five each other, or play tag. It was pretty cute, Ace had to admit.

Ace awoke one night to the same nightmare that had plagued him since that one night two months ago when he saw Alice in the mirror. Yes, it'd been four months since he started this spree.

Ace ran to the bathroom, his vision red as he imagined the blood staining his arms and torso. He scrubbed and scrubbed at his hands and arms, the blood not washing off. He screamed loudly, clutching his head as he slid down the bathroom wall.

"It won't come off, it won't come off," he repeated over and over until he wore himself out and fell asleep sitting up. He woke up the next morning, the blood gone but his arms red with irritation at him scrubbing so hard.

"What are you doing?" The screams reached his ears, musical. The beautiful screams, how he loved them. "Ace you can't do this!"

"Oh, but I can, dear, sweet, Rabbit." Ace grinned, lifting his sword up high and bringing it down with a loud thump. He loved to terrorize his victims before he ended them, but this victim was a special case. He'd had to give him 'special' treatment and torture him. The last moment was unplanned, but he admitted it was another nice technique to scare them. The victim had escaped, ran a few feet but fell, his legs having been cut raw with his muscles visible and throbbing. Ace was delighted. The victim pleaded for a second more before Ace had had enough.

He picked up the head of his latest victim by the ears, grabbing his body with his other hand and tossing it into his increasing pile of corpses.

The corpse of Peter, Ace's first role-holder, was now added to his pile.

His first role-holder, he thought happily, feeling slightly giddy. It'd taken him six months, and he was halfway to his goal of a thousand. Alice would be home soon, he got even more giddy at the thought. The numbers made Ace become obsessive, they got higher and higher every day and he never felt so happy in his life.

He sat down on the nearest rock, thinking all this over. He was so close now, he couldn't stop now, but the thought of him killing Peter finally broke his last bit of sanity. He let go of everything, sobbing suddenly and loudly. His friend, he killed his friend. He was a monster. He wasn't the Ace that Alice fell in love with. Days fade and nights grow, and he grew more insane with every day Alice still wasn't here. He gripped his hair roughly. What was he? What would Alice think if she saw this? This wasn't her ticket home, this was Alice's worst nightmare, and he brought it alive.

Was she really coming back?

"A thousand bodies for a wish?" He heard his once-enemy say in amusement. Blood had stumbled in at the worst moment.

Ace paused in his self-pity, looking up at Blood, standing a few feet away. Ace nodded slowly.

"You've been tricked, you know," Blood told him matter-of-factly.

"What?" Ace boomed, springing to his feet. Blood couldn't be serious, he just couldn't... These bodies had a purpose and they would serve their purpose once Alice came home to him.

"A demon," Blood paused, "a demon tricked you. You killed Peter, I assume you were close with him, weren't you? Alice isn't coming back, Ace."

"Yes she is! She's coming back! I'm halfway there! She'll be back just you wait and see!" Ace was seething, his vision blurring red in anger.

"Continue your blood bath, I don't care, but don't come near my mansion," the Hatter told the emotionally unstable Knight.

"I'll kill you," Ace swore at Blood's retreating figure, "I'll kill all of you."

"Alice!" The sound made the young adult's ears perk up. The breeze in her private garden picked up slightly and the voice repeated. That voice sounded familiar. Who was calling her name? "Alice jump down the hole! Wonderland is in danger!"

Wonderland? She hadn't thought of that strange place for two years and she assumed it was all just a dream. Thoughts of her Knight there came to her and she felt worried. Was he alright?

A shove at her back had her falling into darkness and she suddenly understood who had shoved her.

"Damn you, Nightmare!"

She tumbled into darkness for what seemed hours until a light at the end of the tunnel came near. Alice landed with a thump in something mushy. The stench was horrible. She looked around, wondering what she had fallen in. It felt sticky, she lifted her arm irritably, looking at it.

Was that blood?

She screamed, shoving herself up. She felt something squishy under her hand and dared to look. She moved her hand slowly, afraid of how it felt like skin. Please, don't let it be skin...

She moved her hand.

And she wished she hadn't.

"Julius!" She screamed, feeling her heart break as she cried at the sight of the head in the pile of bodies she'd landed in. The kind clock-maker had been slaughtered, his head decapitated and thrown in this pile or rotting corpses. His eyes were closed and his hair was patchy, as if some had been ripped out. Alice looked around, now seeing body parts everywhere. Bodies, individual pieces, just lying around in this pile. Alice fought her way to get out of the pile of bodies, sobbing uncontrollably as she felt bones and blood under her frantic crawling. she finally got out, running a few feet before dropping to her knees and vomiting.

The stench still filled her nostrils and burned forever in her brain. Who would do such a thing? Why Julius? Who else was now dead?

"Alice, quickly! Over here before he comes back and finds you!" She heard a shrill voice whisper from afar. She recognized it as the Tweedle brothers.

She lurched to her unsteady feet, wiping her tears off her eyes so she could see clearly, but they kept coming to roll down her cheeks. The brothers lead her to the Hatter mansion, telling her that he didn't come here anymore. She wondered if Blood was still alive, and she asked them this.

The two stayed quiet, confirming nor denying and Alice was somewhat grateful that they hadn't.

They sat around for a little bit, the brothers catching her up on what she'd missed in the past two years she'd been gone. She hadn't a glimpse of another role-holder and the twins weren't sure if any were still alive. Alice made up her mind.

"I need to find him."

"What?" They both exclaimed in unison, "you can't leave! He'll kill you too!"

"He's killing everyone for me!" Alice screamed, her voice cracking on the last word. This wasn't Ace, she told herself hopefully. She hoped and hoped she was just dreaming. But she knew she wasn't.

"He stays near the Castle," the twins told her. "Vivaldi has been dead for a long time."

Alice teared up at the thought of her close friend being brutally murdered by one of her own employees. The Queen of Hearts was gone, and there was no replacement. There were no replacements for anyone. Ace made sure to get rid of Julius, and thus getting rid of any future role-holders.

Alice suddenly stood up. "I have to go," she told the children.

They looked scared for her, which was surprising considering the brutal things they had seen in the mafia. "Take this," Dee told her, handing her a pistol.

"Your gun?" She asked as she took it carefully.

They nodded, "whatever happens, just shoot."

Alice nodded and it was all quiet for a moment. "It seems like there's something you aren't telling me, Tweedles."

They looked guilty. "He just," Dee paused and Dum picked up, "isn't himself."

"What do you mean?" Alice's heart skipped a beat. Isn't himself? Who is he then? She'd seen him almost kill Borris before, what could be worse?

"You'll find out," they said together, looking down in sadness.

"Ace I know you're in here somewhere," Alice called out, her voice shaking, as she walked the halls of the Heart Castle. It was a mess, some of it had burnt down, some wallpaper was torn off and all the pictures were ripped from the walls and throws around. Glass was everywhere, and Alice was surprised the lights still worked. She noticed with some morbid curiosity that there were clocks everywhere. Clocks of the people that inhabited this world. She wound her way through the halls, reaching the big open room that Vivaldi had sat in, delicately placed on her throne.

"What have we here?" A voice asked. It was Ace, she knew, but it sounded different, it went high at unexpected moments and seemed strange.

She spun to her right where a hallway entrance was. "Ace," she trembled, "what are you doing?"

"I am in my home, silly thing, what are you doing? Ready to be my new number? Well, that's what you'll get!" He screeched and threw a long knife at her. She screamed and ducked, dropping to the floor. The gun in her dress pocket clanged loudly against the floor. "What's this? Princess has a gun, hm?" Ace laughed cruelly.

"Ace, don't you remember?" Alice yelled, springing to her feet and backing away as he started walking slowly to her. Ace blinked and stared at her. She did look familiar, but he couldn't remember. "Don't you remember why you started this madness? Remember me, Ace, it's Alice!" He just had to remember her, he had to. The memories of the times they shared echoed in her mind. This wasn't Ace.

"I know no Alice, my dear, but you'll be pleased to know you'll be my only Alice." He moved his hand to grab another knife with a twisted grin on his mouth.

Alice screamed and ran, giving up and he started to get closer. She knew it was one thing that the Tweedles warned her of. He enjoyed victims that ran. They'd seen Borris, the cheshire cat, try to run with his feet cut off, it'd made Ace chuckle happily.

A sharp pain in her back. He'd hit her perfectly in her back. She choked, blood coming to her mouth. She vomited on the once-pristine floors, now littered with blood stains and debris. Dropping to her knees, she fumbled for the gun in her pocket. Alice heard his footsteps get closer, her heart racing and pounding in her chest and the knife in her back throbbing painfully.

"My sweet, dear, princess," Ace whispered mockingly. He thrust his hand out to grab her by her hair, noting with appreciation how beautiful it was. It felt like fine silk in his hand. She yelped and her head came back, lifting her chin up to look at him. His instincts told him to snap her neck right there. And he really, really wanted to, but he wouldn't right now.

Alice took this moment to shoot him. She spun, facing him and lifting her gun to point at his chest. She pulled the trigger.

Ace fell back with a gasp, feeling his clock heart start to crack. He landed back with a thump. Alice was hovering over him, tears dripping down onto the gaping hole in his chest. "A-Ace, I-I'm sor-ry," she sobbed pitifully. Ace felt no pain as he thrust his last knife into her heart. She wasn't expecting it either, she gasped, clutching at her chest as is ached, but not only from the stab wound.

He didn't remember her, and he would be the death of her. She smiled weakly at him, letting him have her final smile, because she knew she was the reason he went on this rampage. His eyes widened in realization. "Alice," he whispered, running his bloodied hand across her cheek, tracing the curves of her face.

She tilted her head, in that way that she had done so many nights ago in the mirror from Ace's insanity. She smiled and, with her last breath, whispered, "Ace," she fell forward on his chest. Ace was frantic, he didn't feel the patter of her heart against his clock.

He'd killed her. He'd tried to prove how much she meant to him by trying to get him back and he'd killed her. He felt his clock heart snap and he knew this was truly it.

Then everything went black. Ace and Alice were dead.