Tweedled
"Julius, I'm going out to get more coffee beans. We're all out." Alice said kindly, placing her coin purse into a small pocket on her white apron as she neared the door to the clock tower. The cold breeze around her warned the Joker season at hand, and the cold snow that awaited her outside.
"Be careful." the mortician mumbled, almost too low for her to hear. Alice smiled and nodded, briskly leaving the tower. However, it wasn't long until she bumped into two male bodies.
"Oh!" she cried, stumbling backwards into the snow. Quickly, she apologized, "I'm sorry! I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." "It's fine." the men replied, watching with bemused expressions as Alice lifted her head and raised an eyebrow at the two. They were tall, with raven locks that the sunlight danced off of and pencil stripe suits. The one on the right held a pair of blue eyes, while the left one held a pair of red. The right also had longer hair; a loose ponytail ran down to his calves, while the left's reached a little above his chin. They looked so familiar… yet so different.
They have faces. Alice thought, her eyebrows pushing into a v-shape as she allowed them to help her to her feet. They must be role holders… but I've never seen these two before.
"Um, I'm Alice. It's nice to meet you two." the brunette said, smiling politely, brushing off the small specs of snow that clung to her blue gown.
The red-eyed twin opened his mouth to speak, but the blue-eyed one quickly placed a hand over his mouth, pulling him close to whisper some inaudible words into his ear. Alice eyed the two curiously, raising an eyebrow at their mischievous grins that spread like wildfire; grins that she'd seen far too often from another pair of twins she knew…
"Nice to meet you Alice." they both said once they'd pulled away, leaning down to smile at the girl.
"I'm Ede-" The blue-eyed man gestured to himself.
"-And I'm Mud." The red-eyes man finished, his eyes widening in realization of his own name and quickly sending a glare to his snickering brother and punching him in the shoulder.
"Ede and…Mud…" Alice stated, a little uncertain of their names. Sighing, she shrugged and smiled her politest. She should have gotten used to weird things here by now. "It's nice to meet you both."
"So Onee- erm, Alice-chan-" Ede began, hooking arms with the girl.
"-Want to play?" Mud finished, copying his brother.
"P-Play…?" Alice questioned, blushing a little. "I-I don't think-"
"Come on!" They argued playfully, already leading her down the road. "It'll be fun! We can play at Boss's- erm, the Hatter mansion!"
"Blood's…?" Alice paled a little, quickly shaking her head. No way was she going there. Not after last time. She'd rather not go through another strangling incident… "N-no thanks, I have to go get groceries. Maybe some other time…" "Aww! Alice-chan!" they whined, still leading her towards the mansion. She struggled to free herself, but they were stronger. "We want to play with you!"
Alice sighed, frowning. "F-fine… But don't let us run into Blood, okay?"
"Don't worry!" Ede comforted her with a goofy grin.
"We'll keep Alice-chan all to ourselves!" Mud agreed, causing her face to grow a shade darker.
"We're playing kids games, right? Like Go Fish or Tag or something?" Alice demanded, a slight set of panic crawling in her body.
"Of course!" they both exclaimed, refusing to let her go. Alice sighed in relief, smiling nervously. At least that took one worry off her list.
It took a while, but eventually the trio made it to the large iron gates of Hatter Territory. However, it seemed to be missing two little gatekeepers…
"Where'd Dee and Dum go?" Alice asked out loud, tilting her head to the side as the twins pushed her past the gate and toward the mansion.
"Don't know-" Ede sang.
"Don't care." Mud finished.
"Uh… right…" Alice's eyes strayed to the empty gate, but it was soon out of her sight as the boys led her into the mansion. Those two are slackers, after all. It shouldn't be surprising that they're missing… But still… Glancing up at Ede and Mud, Alice felt her suspicions grow. I've never seen these two before, and the twins are missing. Could they have kidnapped them…?
"Here, Alice-chan!" Ede cried, pulling her into Dee and Dum's room.
"We can show you the grenades and axes!" Mud exclaimed, both releasing the girl to go rummaging through the children's belongings.
"Wh-what are you doing?" Alice cried in horror, watching the two carelessly toy with the twins' weapons. "You shouldn't touch other people's things without their permission!"
"Why?" they asked, curious eyes straying to the girl.
"Because it's rude!" the brunette scolded, quickly taking the weapons out of their hands. "Didn't you two learn any manners?"
The twins shared a glance and shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not."
Alice sighed, obviously frustrated. "Well I don't think you should play in here. Anyways… weren't we going to play kids games? Like Hide and Seek or tag?"
"Hide and seek!" the two suddenly cried, clinging to the girls' arms. "Let's play hide and seek, Alice-chan!"
"Uh, Um, okay." Alice agreed, nodding once.
"We'll hide and you seek~!" They sang, quickly rushing out of the room. Alice sighed, carefully placing the weapons back where they belonged before walking quietly through the mansion, her eyes scanning each hall suspiciously.
What a stupid idea. she scolded herself. Why did I have to say Hide and Seek? I'm bound to run into Blood now…
"Hey Alice!" "GAH!" Alice fell backwards, quickly spinning around to face a confused Elliot.
"Sorry, Alice! Are you okay?" The rabbit-eared man asked, quickly catching the girl before she could fall and helping her back to her feet.
"Y-yeah. Thanks." the brunette said, blushing a little from embarrassment.
"What are you doing here?" Elliot asked curiously, one ear scratching his head.
"Um, actually, some guys I met dragged me here… They wanted to play." Alice explained, smiling nervously.
"That explains how you got in. Damn those gatekeepers! I can't find them anywhere." Elliot grumbled, glaring at nothing in particular.
"Um, I could help you find them if you want." the brunette suggested kindly. Elliot raised an eyebrow.
"You sure about that?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. Alice nodded, a grin spreading across her face.
"Of course! I'll bring them back as soon as I find them." She said determinedly, nodding once.
"Alright, Alice. If you really want to." Elliot smiled at her, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder before walking off back to work. Alice nodded to herself, rushing off to find Ede and Mud.
That way I can find the twins and find out who these guys are. Alice thought pleasantly. Then I can get back to grocery shopping. Julius is probably getting tired waiting for his coffee.
"So you'll help me find them?" Alice double-checked as she and the twins walked swiftly into the amusement park, the boys' eyes lighting up at the deathtraps for rides.
"Of course, Alice-chan!" They agreed, clinging pleasantly to her arms.
"Okay. Do you guys know Gowland?" the brunette asked, smiling up at them kindly. They nodded. "Do you think you could ask him while I ask Boris? If you just ask where Dee and Dum are, he'll know who you're talking about."
Their grins seemed to change into that more mischievous smile from before, but they nodded, reluctantly releasing themselves from her arms to run off for the owner. Alice sighed, turning around only to find herself face-to-face with a certain cat-eared boy.
"Gah!" she cried, stumbling backwards. Boris quickly grabbed her arm, keeping her from falling over.
"Sorry, Alice!" he said with a laugh, his topaz eyes dancing. His hot pink ears twitched pleasantly, and his tail wagged excitedly; almost like a dog. "Didn't mean to scare you."
"It's okay. Just don't go up sneaking on people." Alice scolded, frowning a little.
"What're you doing at the amusement park?" Boris asked curiously, placing a casual hand at his hip. "I wasn't expecting to see you today- not that I mind! It's fun hanging out with you." He grinned, trying not to offend her.
"Thanks, but I wasn't really expecting to come over, either." the brunette replied honestly. "I'm actually looking for Dee and Dum. Elliot's mad that he can't find them, and I thought you might be with them."
"The gatekeepers?" Boris raised an eyebrow, trying to think. "Now that I think of it, I haven't seen them since last night. Sorry, Alice." Seeing her disappointed expression, he quickly took her hand in his, smiling broadly. "But don't worry! They're always slacking. Why don't we go ride for a while since you're here?"
"Um, no thanks, Boris. I kind of promised Elliot I'd find them." Alice apologized, gently taking her hand from his. He frowned, but shrugged.
"Okay. Come around later though, alright? We can hang out for a while." He smiled at the last sentence. "I'll let you know if I see them around, though."
"Okay." Alice smiled, nodding. "Thanks." Well, that leaves out the amusement park…
Sighing, the brunette spun on her heal and began to leave. It was only when she was near the front gate that she met up with Ede and Mud; both of them running for their lives past her.
"What are you two doing?" she demanded as they paused to grab her wrists, tugging her with them. However, her question was soon answered by gunshots.
"GET BACK HERE YOU BLOODY TWINS!" Gowland's familiar voice shouted angrily from behind, and a few more shots were heard.
"What did you two do?" Alice cried as they yanked her away from amusement park territory, rushing towards heart castle.
"We'll show you the tape later!" Ede said with a laugh, and it was then she noticed a video camera in Mud's hands. She sighed, shaking her head. These two were nothing but trouble.
Heart Castle: it was an extravagant building atop a narrow hill just beyond a long maze of greenery and red roses. It was a place she tended to avoid for it contained a certain rabbit-eared man, but also visited often enough to fetch the knight for Julius. She just hoped she'd run into neither and head straight to the queen- Vivaldi- to ask of the twins.
Of course, this day just wasn't going as she planned.
As they walked onward through the maze, rustling leaves caught Alice's attention.
"Did you hear that?" she asked curiously, turning her head towards the noise. Ede tugged her away from the bushes, but she planted her feet on the ground.
"Probably nothing." he said, trying to tug her ahead, but she wouldn't move.
"No…" Alice objected as the rustling continued. "I have a feeling who that is."
The twins exchanged a worried glance and let go of her, rushing off through the maze.
"Wait, where are you going?" Alice called in confusion as they ducked behind a bend.
"We're going to find the queen!" they shouted behind her, but before she could chase after them, the rustling noise held her in place.
Sure enough to her suspicions, a familiar brown-haired knight fell out onto the ground, his ruby eyes looking around in confusion. "This isn't the castle…"
"Hi Ace." Alice said, smiling half-heartedly at the knight. He was certainly direction-challenged alright… Normal guys didn't push through bushes to get out.
"Oh, hi Alice!" Ace greeted with his all-too-happy grin as he bolted to his feet, his sword swinging behind his back. Alice paled, but smiled in response. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm actually looking for Dee and Dum." she answered. "You've seen them?"
Ace thought for a moment, but shook his head. "Sorry, nope. Hey, do you think you can help me get to the castle? This maze is pretty confusing; you could get lost in here!"
I think you're the only one capable of getting lost in your own home. Alice thought, but nodded with a smile. "Sure, I was heading there anyways."
"Great!" Ace exclaimed happily, shoving his sword away and placing his arms behind his back, following the teen through the maze. It was silent between them for a while, but once they began to reach the doors to the castle, Ace said, "Thanks, Alice. I didn't think I'd get out of there in time to help Vivaldi set up for the ball."
"It's okay. I just hope you don't get into trouble." Alice replied politely.
"Eh, probably not. I'll see you later!" Ace called, quickly darting down the hall for the ballroom. Alice was about to begin her search for Vivaldi, but a sudden force pushed her to the floor to stop her.
"Alice~!" A high-pitched squeal cried out, and her blue eyes could make out a pair of white rabbit ears above her. Groaning unhappily, she shoved the man away, glaring.
"Peter, get off of me!" She shouted angrily, attempting to shove him off.
"Alice my love, you've come to see me~!" Peter sang, clinging to the girl, only to receive a quick punch across the face, sending him off of the poor teen.
Damned rabbit. she thought angrily, quickly climbing to her feet. "I did not come to see you."
"But what other reason do you have to be at the palace?" Peter questioned curiously, hopping to his feet and leaning towards her. "You must have come to see me, Alice!"
"I told you, I didn't come to see you!" she argued, frustrated. "I'm here for Dee and Dum." Peter's ears twitched and his crimson eyes turned into a slight glare. "The gatekeepers?"
Alice nodded, sighing. "Elliot was getting mad that he couldn't find them, so I told him I'd help out. Please tell me you've seen them." "Hmm…" Peter thought for a moment, his face suddenly set in a stern look. "Now that you mention it, I saw them down-" Before Peter could finish, a loud cry startled the two.
"OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!"
Turning their attention down the hall, Alice noticed Ede and Mud running at full speed down the hallway, scissors in their hands and an outraged Vivaldi at the very end of the hall. Faceless guards chased the two men, but weren't quite fast enough.
"There they-" Once again, Peter was interrupted as the twins grabbed Alice's arms and yanked her outside.
"Alice!" the rabbit-man cried, quickly running after the trio. "Let my dear Alice go!"
Of course, the twins yanked her through the maze roughly, losing both the guards and rabbit before collapsing near the Hatter mansion. Frustrated, Alice glared at the two, her hands balled into irritated fists.
"What did you do this time?" She demanded in a growl. As her eyes bored into them, she noticed small fluffs of cotton on their coats and a few colorful, furry scraps as well. She gasped, her eyes widening. "Y-You-! You didn't-!"
"I never knew the queen had such a girly side." Ede said with a shrug.
"Yeah! She likes beheadings so much, I thought her dolls would like it, too!" Mud added cheerfully.
While the two grinned widely exclaiming how "wonderful" her collection look, Alice remained pale and numb; her eyes staring blankly into theirs. They'd destroyed Vivaldi's stuffed animals; it was obvious. How…? How had they'd gotten out of that room alive? Staring at the two, Alice came to a conclusion; they were monsters!
"I-I'm just going to go in now…" Alice murmured numbly, quietly getting up and making her way inside the mansion. The twins quickly climbed up as well, clinging to her arms and following her inside.
They walked the halls aimlessly in silence; well, near silence. The twins kept going on and on about how much "fun" they had today, while Alice stared blankly at the walls around her.
"There you are."
Surprised by this sudden voice and her stomach tying in knots, Alice turned around and faced the one man she'd utterly hoped to avoid; Blood Dupre.
His blue eyes were set in annoyance, and his arms crossed firmly in front of his chest; Elliot behind him.
"Uh oh…" The twins muttered nervously.
"You brats!" Elliot shouted angrily, storming up to the two and grabbing them by their ties. "You had us looking everywhere for you!"
"Huh?" Alice tilted her head in confusion. "But I thought….?"
"It appears the Outsider found you." Blood stated in a bored tone, raising an eyebrow at Alice. "I do hope you two realize you're getting a pay cut."
"But Boss-!" the twins cried out in objection, and suddenly, it all clicked together for the foreigner. The clinging, the familiar looks and smiles, the devilish acts…!
Alice fumed, her hands balling into tight fists and her fragile frame shaking angrily. All eyes were on her now, concerned.
"Alice…?" Elliot tilted his head to the side, confused.
"I… can't believe… you…." Alice growled, his blue orbs suddenly locked in fury at the twins. "You had me looking EVERYWHERE, and you were RIGHT THERE THE WHOLE TIME!"
"O-Onnee-chan…" Dee objected, suddenly transforming back into his child form; Dum doing the same.
"T-take it easy now…" his brother added, holding his hands out like a shield.
"Take it easy? TAKE IT EASY?" the brunette shouted angrily, her body shaking fiercely in anger. "I'll give you to the count of THREE! ONE-!"
"But Onee-chan!" they objected.
"Wow, Alice looks pissed." Elliot noted, flinching a little at the girl.
"TWO!"
The twins were already running, and Alice took after them, her fists raised highly in the air.
"So what do you think happened?" Elliot asked, raising an eyebrow at his boss.
"I believe she's been Tweedled." Blood replied carelessly, waving a hand off at the distant trio, walking back to his room.
Yay! Done~! :3 This was done as a request from the wonderful Mourning_Black! I hope you liked it, hon! :3
For anyone else that has story requests, just PM me or put it in a review and I'll get back to you! 8D The only warning I have for you is no M-rated material; not ready for that yet. XD Anyways, I hope you guys liked it, and I'll see you again soon~!