Hey guys :) So this has been sitting on file for about a year and a half, without an ending. I'm procrastinating this evening, so I figured it deserved one! Now it can enter the realms of Heart no Kuni fanfiction...

My regular readers (are you still there? I hear echoes...) know the drill! Read, Enjoy and Review please (^^)

Oh, and I don't own any of these characters...much as I would like to!

A rather blatant twitch was making an appearance on Julius' face as Alice's noisy yawn shattered the silence of the clock tower for the 5th time that evening. She was staying up to make sure he didn't fall asleep at his desk again, but she was doing a very poor job of hiding how tired she was. If she wasn't careful, they'd both end up falling asleep on the table strewn with clock parts.

"Alice, for goodness' sake! If you're tired, go to bed! Don't sit up and pretend you can stay awake as long as I can. I promise, this time I'll go to bed before the next time change." Julius said, trying to sound commanding but ending up sounding quite pleading.

"But Julius…." Alice whined, the whine turning into yet another yawn. She wanted so much to make sure he went to bed this time…but her exhaustion was fighting a winning battle in her mind. She would have to give in.

Alice rose slowly to her feet, bid Julius a sleepy goodnight and trudged up the stairs towards her room. It wasn't a long walk, but the stairs always tired her out. By the time she had reached the top, she couldn't even summon the energy to get changed. She just stumbled over to her bed and crawled under the covers in her dress. It was gonna be a pain in the morning when she would have to iron out the crumples in her dress, but she was too tired to be bothered – too tired to notice the figure blending into the shadows in the corner of her room. A figure whose uniform seemed to darken the shadows even further, and whose red hair glowed as it hit the streams on moonlight from the window. He chuckled darkly and stalked quietly towards the sleeping Alice.

It didn't look any different. Alice should know – she was in the dream world every night, talking to Nightmare about her problems – but somehow it just felt different. It felt…darker.

"Nightmare?" she called out tentatively. If there was a strange feeling in this dream world, it couldn't be good.

All of a sudden, the hazy abstract mass, that was usually Nightmare's realm, melted into somewhere she knew all too well. It was somewhere she hoped she wouldn't have to return to. Grey prison walls, with endless dark cells, had sprung into place all around Alice. She knew with Nightmare, she could just wake up when she was finished talking to him, but she was sure that the Jokers wouldn't let her go so easily…she assumed it was both of the Jokers (it usually was). This was Black's realm, so nothing could be judged as certain.

"Black? I don't know what the hell you think you're doing, but this isn't funny. Where's Nightmare?" Alice shouted in annoyance, into the dark shadows where she knew Nightmare would be lurking.

A pair of arms wound tightly around her waist, pinning her arms to her sides.

"Caught you," Black murmured into her ear, in a teasing tone Alice knew was put on to mask his intentions , "your dear Nightmare is a little busy at the moment….let's just say sometimes it's not Gray who's fucking in control of what goes on in that tower of theirs. If you catch my drift…."

It took a moment for the meaning of Black's word to sink in, turning Alice's face an almost luminescent colour and sending a flush of warmth right down her neck. Black must have felt the flush, since he chuckled darkly.

"You certainly won't be looking at that bastard in the same way again….and he shouldn't leave his realm open to…certain people. You can have so much fun when you can get into someone else's dream, cause so much…havoc!"

Alice could sense the evil grin on his face that meant he wasn't joking - he would do some serious damage in the dream realm. She had to get him out of it the only way she knew how, bargain with him. It would be dangerous, but if worded right she might escape with her life, possibly even some dignity.

"Black," she asked, feigning innocence and naivety as much as she could, "if I wanted to, say, get out of here, how would one do such a thing?"

"By doing whatever I say, whore."

She had his attention now, he was calling her names. That meant he was interested (but feigning it under the pretence of his swearing).

"So if I do what you say, would you leave this realm, too? If I do what you say, will you promise to leave this realm for Nightmare?"

Black paused, seeming to contemplate this offer - he never could resist making a deal with some poor unsuspecting soul. He could get something out of it whatever happened.

"Fine, whore, but no messing about with me. You do what I say, how I say and when I say it. None of this shit that Nightmare always comes up with to get you out of things. Do we have a deal, whore?"

She'd got him.

"Deal, so let go of me and we can shake on it. I'm losing the feeling in my arms here, Black." Alice said, trying to cover her growing nerves with a confident riposte.

She didn't even bother trying to run - it was futile here, as she'd found out on a previous visit, you could just keep running forever (or until Black got tired and got his whip out to stop you). Instead, Alice spun around slowly to face the look of triumph that would be all over Black's face. She could even see the numerous nasty thoughts, about what he could make her do, in that deep red eye of his. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea…Alice reached to shake his hand to seal the deal, but he seemed to be still deep in thought.

"This is too much of an opportunity to get what I want, I'm gonna take my time over this one, whore," He said quietly, arms crossed, "I'm gonna fucking enjoy this."

It was his quiet chuckle that really sent the chills down Alice's back.

"What do you want me to do, then, Black? I want you out of this realm as soon as possible," Alice huffed. Black's silence was annoying her now, and it was putting it on edge.

After what seemed like ages, Black finally looked like he had made a decision. He lifted his head and looked straight at Alice, a smug grin splashed across his face.

"You what?!" Alice screamed, "no way, how can you ask me to do that?"

"I don't care what you want, bitch, this is about what I want! I want you to do what I'm telling you to do and I'm telling you: you have to face your greatest fear. This is my realm for the time being and I can make you face whatever I want you to."

"How do you know what my greatest fear is, Black?" Alice asked, timidly - really, she didn't want to know, she just wanted to get it over with.

"I know, because in my nightmare world all your nightmares, all you greatest fears, become real." Black said, his evil grin becoming even wider.

With that he raised his index finger to Alice's forehead and pushed lightly, at which point Alice felt herself blacking out. She knew she was falling, but just before she was gone, she could feel a strong pair of arms catch her and slowly lower her to the ground.

"Have fun, princess…" a quiet voice whispered in her ear.

Everything was black around Alice; she couldn't even see her own hands in front of her face. Suddenly she could feel warm breath at her neck and a pair of hands wrapping around her waist.

"Cut it out, Black. This isn't funny! I just want to get this damn thing over with…" she said angrily at the figure behind her.

"Who's this Black you're talking about Alice? I thought it was me you loved - you're not going around seeing other guys are you? I wouldn't want to have to talk to your sister…."

The caress of the voice was familiar, not Blood, no. Someone similar. It was him. The one who looked so much like Blood; the one who'd chosen her sister over her. She pushed away at the hands that held her.

"Why aren't you with my sister, you traitor!" she said angrily in the direction of his voice.

"Why Alice," a new, arrogant voice purred, "why would I be with your sister, when I could be with the village bicycle of Wonderland?"

This time it was Blood, she knew it. She bit her lip, refusing to rise to his jibe.

"Alice, my dear. Why are you so quiet? My love, you should be with me!"

Another voice she recognised and wished she didn't. Peter White.

"Peter, I told you. Leave me alone!" she blurted out.

"Yo, Alice! You teasing the rabbit? Let me join in!"

"Yeah, oneesan, us too! Us too!"

"You brats, leave the Alice alone and get back to guarding the gates! That's what you're being paid for!"

"Alice, what are you doing? I told you to go to sleep, didn't I?"

The voices were spinning around her head in the dark, making her dizzy, when suddenly a dazzling light appeared in front of Alice. She could just make out a female figure with long flowing hair leading a group of familiar looking males. She had to focus a little, until she saw the glowing figure for who she really was - her beloved sister.

"Oneesan, what are you doing? Where are you taking everyone? Why are you taking them away?" Alice crying desperately at her sister.

"But Alice, I thought you wanted them to leave you alone. I thought you wanted them to go away? What do you want, Alice?"

She was so confused. Her sister was taking all her friends away, and she was powerless to stop her.

"Black? Black! I hope you're happy now, she's taking them away from me," Alice screamed into the darkness, tears streaming down her face.

"Aw but Alice," a voice said behind her ear, "you've still got me. She can't take me from you…all these people in Wonderland and yet I'm the one you're most like."

The voice then split into two voices in sync - one in each ear.

"The Joker. That innocent façade on the outside, and yet a wicked heart hiding within you."

"No, I don't want to hear it! I'm not a slut, it's not my fault everyone here is nuts! I just want to go home."

"Home to a sister whose shadow you're living? A sister who stole your boyfriend? A sister who's-"

The voices alternated in her ear until she'd had enough.

"Enough! I don't need you saying those kinds of things as well! I get enough of it from everybody else."

Silence permeated the darkness that surrounded Alice. The tormenting voices had ceased and she was all alone. All she could do was wrap her arms around her – who knew when she would wake up. Black was in control for now. All of a sudden, a single red eye lit up the pitch black in front of her.

"Are you so sure that you have nothing to fear, Alice?" his voice whispered, her name said with an inflection she couldn't quite identify, "You're afraid of them all leaving you, aren't you…"

He was sneering now, a silky voice floating across the darkness.

"No…" Alice tried to say defiantly, but it came only a whisper.

"You want them to pay attention to you, yet you push them away…"

"No…I don't…"

"Poooooor Alice, aaaall alone. Her lover left her…"

"Stop it…"

"Her sister left her…."

"No, please"

"Her friends are leaving her…"

"Stop, Black…"

"Who's she gonna have then, huh?"

Black wouldn't stop, he just kept whispering his threats while keeping his fixed gaze on the now cowering figure of Alice. She slowly lifted her head, tears running down her cheeks, and gasped at how close his face had become.

"There's always me…" he said, the white of his teeth shining as his mouth curved into a smirk. Alice could feel the warmth of his hand as it stroked her cheek, "You're not very good at facing your fears, are you, princess? I might need a little more persuasion to not go meddling…or should I say distraction?"

Alice gasped again as she felt a foreign pair of lips meet hers in the darkness. She couldn't help but reciprocate, like some sort of magnetic force was pulling her. Black tilted her head as he deepened the kiss and tightened his arms around her in order to pull her ever closer. Alice couldn't think. Black's lips moved against hers with a ferocity that seemed to encompass all that he was – sneaky, quick-tempered and yet with enough passion to take down all obstacles in his way.

With a gasp of much-needed breath, they broke apart.

"Nice job, princess…I'll be seeing you soon," Black whispered against her lips, and then promptly vanished.

The blackness that has surrounded Alice was giving way to the usual surroundings of Nightmare's world, followed by the appearance of the rather frantic looking succubus himself.

"Oh, Alice. I'm so sorry! I don't know how he got in here…did he do any lasting damage?"

"No Nightmare, I'm fine…" Alice said with a small, tired smile, "Black was just making his usual havoc. What had you so distracted…or should I say who?"

She had the small satisfaction of a flash of guilt in Nightmare's eyes and the red flush that filled his pale cheeks.

"Well, I guess that's your business. So if you don't mind, I think I'm going to wake up now and see if I can forget all the nasty mental images that gives me."

Nightmare opened his mouth to say something but was quickly silenced by Alice.

"I don't want to know if they're correct or not, thank you very much. Stay out of my head, Nightmare – I've have enough of it being tampered with for one night."

With that, she could feel the power of sleep fading and the warmth of her bed back in the clock tower. Too much warmth. The pressure of a pair of arms around her…and a hint of red as she cracked her eyes open. Maybe she did need a bit more sleep – Black's influence was still there.

The body next to her smirked as he felt her drift back to sleep.

"Told you so, princess…"

A bit of a runaway ending, but let me know what you think! Winter is fast approaching, so flames will be used to keep me toasty!