Author's Note: Hello there! (=ﾟωﾟ)ﾉ This is one of my very first fan fictions, so please don't be hard on it. (^^;;) Enjoy the story and please review if you can~
"Don't even bother," A gruff voice scoffed at her efforts, alerting the girl that she was not alone, "Even if you make it out of your cell, that goddamn monster guards the exit." The man in a nearby cell listlessly gazed at her with tired eyes. He ran a calloused hand through his silver wiry hair and sighed.
"Monster?" Alice queried, her curiosity piqued. She focused her aquamarine eyes on the stranger, whilst she moved hair away from her face. Alice's mouth opened slightly but closed soon after; she was no longer shocked.
The elderly man's weary, grey eyes looked towards the exit, beyond the confines of his cell, and then back to her. "They call it… Berserker," He revealed solemnly, cautiously glancing towards the exit, "No-one has got the slightest clue as to what it really is though. It just stands there… waiting. At first the people here thought it was a statue. Some guys managed to pick their locks and ran for it but… it cut them down – one after the other. It was a massacre."
She followed his gaze until she set her eyes on a stationary figure. It was clad in pitch black armour. A sword remained attached to its side. The eye slot of its helmet was dark; maintaining an ominous silence. Alice's eyes wavered but regained focus as the old man continued.
"It doesn't eat. It doesn't sleep. All day and all night it stands there. If you ask me, it's because that cursed witch." He spat, "That thing is her pet; following her orders without a single complaint. Heck, I don't even know if it can speak! Those that oppose her or the Patrem, face the witch's wrath. She sends her pet to execute all who dare to even speak out against them… men, women, children… even my …" The old man paused before chuckling to himself, "But this is just the ramblings of an old man… tell me, child, what brings you to this god forsaken place?"
Berserker. Patrem. Sciandria. None of these words belonged to the Wonderland she knew so well – the place she chose to remain in. But it didn't surprise her, not any more. Alice was fully aware that she had lost yet another place she called 'home'. "I don't know…" she spoke softly; hugging her legs quietly.
"Nox is right, as always," A girl mused, gently stroking her black plush rabbit that wore a navy blue waistcoat with white buttons with her gloved right hand, "Nox said that what you are doing is madness, Kaine."The rabbit rested on top of her mauve Victorian styled dress that had a black trim and ribbon adorning the front. Her long, slightly wavy black hair was tied back in a high pony tail by a violet ribbon. She opened her lapis blue eyes and turned to face the long blonde haired man opposite her who sat deep in thought.
"You should not jump to conclusions Arya," Kaine advised, smiling back at her as his purple eyes met hers, "The experiment was a success." He removed his white trenchcoat with gold trims and lay it down beside him before loosening the black tie that suffocated his neck. Kaine sighed contently while he rolled up the long sleeves of his grey collared shirt. He then continued to loosen the leather belt around his white dress pants before leaning back on the soft couch.
"Nox says that machine of yours blew up part of the east wing," Arya retorted, clutching the stuffed doll closer to her, "It even brought some troublesome people here… even if you are his son, the Patrem won't be happy." She focused her eyes to gauge his reaction but as always he merely returned a smile in her direction. She sighed, already expecting that response.
"… Are you worried about me, Arya?" the blonde sat up quickly, grinning as he leant forward, "Father wouldn't be too upset over this, but thank you for thinking about me." Dismissing her words, he got up and stroked her head tenderly. "Tell me, Arya, are you excited? This was merely the first step, but soon…" he trailed off, smiling at how she didn't slap his hand away, "After ten long years, I can almost taste it… Don't you…Arya?" Kaine's strokes ceased. His eyes seemed to gleam with something unfamiliar to Arya. His gentle smile twisted into a grin.
"What you are trying to do is impossible, but… since it's you, K., the possibility is not zero. That is what I think… Nox wants to know what you plan to do with our guests," Arya changed the subject as he sat down beside her, "Nox senses multiple foreign presences. We know that one of them is enjoying the comforts of our dungeons. We also know that the Tsukiyomi siblings and Silis have welcomed some of your guests."
"..." Kaine paused for a bit, processing her words before beaming at her, "I'm glad you have so much faith in me Arya!" He leant closer to pat her head again, his smile softening as she huffed and slapped his hand away this time.
"All I said was that the possibility was not zero. The chance of success is still slim at best. Nox thinks so too," she retorted, narrowing her eyes, "That aside, answer our question. Nox is becoming impatient." Aria turned her gaze to the black rabbit doll she held and continued to softly caress its head.
"It has been a while since the last one, hasn't it," Kaine contemplated aloud, relaxing back into the couch, "What do you think, Arya? Shall we?" His smile twisted into a mischievous grin. Upon hearing her name, she looked in his direction but did not reply. "It is the Sciandria family's tradition, after all, to always welcome all our guests… accordingly."
Before Arya could reply there was a knock on the door. "Master Kaine," a man called, entering the study, "My apologies for interrupting, Sir, but we have four intruders in the gardens. They wiped out two squadrons of guards, Sir. A third squadron is on its way."
"My, that is quite the problem…" Kaine mused, pouring himself a cup of wine, "Call off the third squadron. They will only be a hindrance. Arya, would you and Nox like to welcome them properly? I'm afraid the guards were unable to entertain them well enough. I'll join you soon enough."
Arya looked to her stuffed rabbit before nodding. Within seconds her figure faded to black and vanished.
"You know, I never caught your name," the old man realised, "My name is Mund. What is yours, child?" His voice woke Alice from her thoughts, and she jolted back to reality.
"M-me? Oh, my name is Alice. Alice Liddell," she answered and after a moment of hesitation she continued with a wry smile, "I was going to say that it's nice meeting you but… this isn't exactly the right place to be exchanging pleasantries."
Her words were met with a chortle from Mund. "Oh, this child thinks she's funny, doesn't she?" he chuckled slightly before abruptly coughing into his arm. Noticing her widened eyes, he waved his hand, "Don't mind me. If you are ever lucky enough to reach my age, this is normal. Anyway, whereabouts do you come from, child?"
This question made the smile fade from her face. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she dismissed his query, turning to the floor with forlorn eyes, "I wouldn't even believe myself." Alice muttered the last part to herself. There was silence for a while…Silence that brought back those doubtful words. Silence that made her wonder, 'Was it all just a dream...?'
Before her mind could drift away further, she heard a barrage a footsteps. However, that wasn't what caught her attention, it was–
"What a pleasant surprise," a lethargic voice mused, Alice could just hear his languid smile, "If I had known that the young lady would be joining me, I would have allowed myself to get caught sooner."
Alice looked up to blue-green eyes, raven hair and a familiar smirk fitting for the mafia boss. At that moment, Alice knew it wasn't all just a dream.
"Lord Nightmare, please keep moving," Gray sighed, surveying their surroundings in an attempt to find out where they were, "There are probably more people on their way, we need to find somewhere safe." He couldn't recognise their surroundings and the fact that their enemies from earlier had faces… was unsettling. Something was going on and he needed to find out quickly.
"Easier said…" Nightmare began to retort before trailing off as he started vomiting blood again, "…than done…" He wiped his mouth with his handkerchief, slowing getting to his feet.
"Haha! You seem so pathetic right now, Mr Dream Demon!" Ace laughed loudly, receiving a glare from Gray, "As a knight, I'd offer to carry you…but…I wouldn't want to rob Mr Lizard of his role as your mother! Haha." The red-clad knight casually manoeuvred through the forest with the same grin plastered on his face. However he, too, was curious as to why everyone had faces.
"Keep your voice down, Ace," Julius scolded the knight, hitting him with his wrench, "Where, exactly, are we going, Gray?" The Clockmaker's eyes darted from one direction to another. It was too quiet. Suddenly, Gray stopped moving. Before Julius could ask why, two knives were flung in his direction. They narrowly missed his head and collided with a tree.
"Nox says… that wasn't very nice," Arya remarked, appearing behind Gray, "And I can't say I disagree…" She observed the four men calmly, gently stroking the rabbit's head, even as they bared their weapons at her. Gray, taking advantage at her seemingly defenceless state, quickly positioned a knife at her throat and held her still.
"Who are you? And where are we?" he interrogated the girl, bringing the knife closer to her neck. He looked towards Nightmare, who frowned at the girl. "Lord Nightmare, what is the matter?"
"I can't read her mind…" Nightmare answered worriedly, considering whether or not he should try to forcefully enter her mind.
"It's clear that we aren't in Wonderland anymore, huh? Doesn't that mean your powers have disappeared, Mr Dream Demon?" Ace laughed, his hand gripping his sword.
"No, my powers are still intact, knight," the Dream Demon corrected him, "I read the clockmaker's mind earlier… but something is blocking me now…" Nightmare tried to read the girl's mind again, but to no avail. To his and everyone's surprise, she vanished in a cloud of shadow.
"We have many names…" she ambiguously stated, reappearing behind them, "So does this place… To many, this is merely the forest on the outskirts of the Sciandria family's mansion… To the animals, it is their home… To some, this is a place of no return… To Nox, this is a graveyard…"
"Caught sooner…?" Alice scrunched her face in confusion before glaring at the Hatter, "You act like this is a game. Well, it's not exactly fun being locked up in a dungeon, Blood." She huffed in disdain, wondering how he could be so calm when he was about to be thrown into a dungeon.
"Believe me, I am fully aware, young lady, about the torments of prison…" the Mafioso chuckled, offering her his hand, "That is why I am here to offer you my assistance." His carefree attitude puzzled Alice, but his outstretched hand brought something else to her attention.
"They aren't putting you in a cell," she noted, observing his lack of restraints, "Why is that? Wait, don't tell me, you won them over with your charm?" She smiled sarcastically at him as she picked herself off the floor.
"You could say that," Blood shrugged, looking back to a small girl behind him, "The Princess and I have an understanding… "
"This is the one?" the blue haired girl questioned, stepping closer to examine the older girl. Her lone emerald green eye looked over Alice with mild interest. Her stare was unnerving and Alice tried to avoid her gaze. Instead she focused on her strange garb. The younger girl wore an open black vest with an intricate gold trim over a buttoned white long-sleeved shirt. Adorning her shirt was a simple red tie. She also wore black denim shorts accompanied with black knee socks and dark combat boots. The girl's dark blue hair was tied to the side in a ponytail with a pale yellow ribbon. But what was the focus of Alice's attention was the plain black eye-patch that covered the girl's right eye.
"She is," Blood answered calmly, "Now, if you would kindly release her, Lady Kumoko…" His blue-green eyes watched her stare at her hands that were covered with black, leather fingerless gloves. Her green eye glimmered with hesitation but she eventually moved her right hand towards the back of her head. Kumoko then untied the small black ribbon that held her eye-patch in place. With the black fabric removed, her sapphire blue eye was fully exposed.
"Nothing… how strange," Kumoko commented to no-one in particular, pausing for a moment before turning to one of the guards, "Open her cell." Upon giving the order, she replaced her eye-patch.
"With respect, Lady Kumoko," another guard interjected, stepping forward, "You do not have the authority to release the prisoner."
"If there was an issue, Berserker would have done something, no?" she remarked scornfully, glancing at the armoured figure that stood as motionlessly as ever, "Must I really spell it out for you, you incompetent fool? If that thing is not moving, then it means Arya does not care what we do. And if she does not care, it means that the Patrem has no issue with this. Do you understand where I am going with this?" Kumoko narrowed her green eye at the guard, waiting for his reply.
"Y-yes, Lady Kumoko," the guard stuttered, bringing his hand up to a salute, "I understand completely."
"Then open the door." Kumoko took out a golden pocket watch from her short pocket and began to trace the engravings. Her face softened as she held the ticking device.
The guard immediately took out his keys and attempted to open the cell door. His fumbling irked the young girl who promptly stopped him with a wave of her hand.
"Enough," she ordered, turning to her maid, "Sophie, open the door." Kumoko then pocketed her watch.
"As you command, Lady Kumoko," Sophie bowed to her mistress, swiftly moving to open the cell door. She wore a standard maid outfit consisting of a black dress with a white apron and cuffs. She also wore a frilled headband over her short brown hair. After opening the door Sophie stepped aside to allow Alice to move out of the cell.
Alice hesitantly moved out of her cell and, looking towards Mund, she opened her mouth to say something.
"Go, child," he dismissed her unspoken query, giving a hoarse chuckle, "They won't kill me any time soon. Besides, I've started to like this gruel they've been giving me." He held up a half filled bowel of sloppy grey gruel in Alice's direction.
"I take it this is your friend, young lady?" Blood questioned, lazily dragging out his words, "This isn't part of our deal but…I don't suppose you could free him too, Lady Kumoko? I'd hate to see the young lady with a sad expression on her face." He turned towards Kumoko who shook her head.
"I cannot do that," she replied in a stately manner, "Arya personally put him there herself. I don't know what he is to her but she visits him every day, and I bet that the only reason Berserker is here and not protecting his precious master… is because of Mund. Am I wrong, Mund?" She turned to the grey haired man who laughed in reply.
"Arya…" he whispered slowly as if testing the sound of her name, "Is that what she goes by now?" The elderly man burst out in a fit of laughter, disturbing the onlookers. "Beware, child, the path that Arya takes is dyed with blood… Day after day, she sinks deeper and deeper into that pool of blood…" Mund's face twisted into a mad grin and he continued to laugh… and laugh… and laugh.
"This man is clearly mad," Blood mused, gripping his cane tightly as he approached Mund's cell, "Wouldn't it be kinder to end his torment…?" As soon as the words left his mouth Berserker swung its sword at him.