Hello again! I think I'm going to make Ace a main character in this story as well. It was going to be just Alice, but when I went and re-read the manga, I remembered what an interesting – if batcrap insane – character he was, so if you're an Ace fan, you're in luck. Anyways, I'll stop talking now, enjoy!

Lost in the Forest….Again.

Ace had once again found himself inexplicably lost in the forest. He knew that there were roads that lead to all the different places he had to go. He knew that if he simply followed the dirt path, he wouldn't spend days on end trying to reach the Clock Tower. Ace knew these things, yet whenever the opportunity presented itself, into the woods he'd go, simply because the roads were boring.

He'd been trampling through the brush in his blood-stained cloak. It had been so long since he last washed it, he knew it would probably never regain its original color, but that didn't matter. He'd just spend three time periods walking circles in the trees. He sighed in aggravation. He didn't want to be lost; as much as he made fun of the fact that he was directionally challenged, the issue made his life that much harder. He resented it. He let himself be irritated for a moment, took a deep breath, and smiled big. Guess it's time to put up the tent! He thought to himself. He struck a match, lit his lantern, and started to uproot a few plants, as he could see no sign of a clearing. He started to hammer the tent stakes into the ground when he heard the bushes on his left (or was that his right?) rustle. He went to grab the hilt of his sword until he heard a girlish shriek, as though someone had tripped. His defensive stance relaxed as he heard a definitely female voice mumble to itself about how horrible the forest is.

"Ugh, my life is awful. Screw the forest." Alice stated as she promptly gave up and let her forehead rest on the forest floor. First, she came to the stunning realization that she was crazy, lovely. Next, she lost the path, awesome. Now, she tripped over a log and was fairly certain she'd sprained her ankle, fantastic. She was almost inclined to cry, but she decided she'd do so later, as she needed to check out her ankle. She carefully rolled to the side so that she was lying on her back, then she sat up, and tried to bring her foot closer to her limited vision. She bit back a cry of pain as tears built up in her eyes. Yep, she'd definitely hurt herself, and if she could barely drag her foot towards herself on the forest floor, there was no way she was going to be able to walk home to the Clock Tower.

"Was I a serial killer in a former life or something?" she mumbled, trying to decipher the reasoning behind her terrible luck, "Because if so, I apologize profusely." She huffed.

"You apologize for what?" A voice asked. Alice had thought that this night could not get any worse. She was wrong.

"Nothing, you're lost again?" She looked up to the grinning knight.

"Yeah, I had to deliver some clocks to Julius again." Then he noticed, "Why are you sitting on the ground like that?"

Alice deliberated over her options. Ace was not someone she wanted to be caught alone with. She could tell him she was just resting, he might leave her alone. On the other hand, she could also hope he was feeling merciful today and admit she'd hurt herself and couldn't walk. She didn't like that last option. Admitting weakness of any sorts to a man like Ace could result in death, or possibly a worse fate. As she thought it over, she came to a realization. She had no choice. She needed help, and right now, Ace was her only option. "…-rt myself." He heard her mumble.

"Sorry, what?" He asked, tilting his head a little. She sighed,

"I kind of tripped and…hurt my ankle. Will you help me please?" She stated, dropping her head to look at the ground as she swallowed her pride. Ace smiled to himself,

"So that's why you're sitting funny. Here let me help you up." He offered his hand to her and she took it. He lifted her to her feet, but as soon as she put pressure on her ankle, she yelped and leaned on the tree next to her, trying to stave off tears. Who knew a sprained ankle could hurt that much? Ace started to look worried. "Alice," he said, "If you're in that much pain, you shouldn't be walking. Let me carry you back to the campsite."

Needless to say, Alice was hesitant, but then again, the knight had never once before asked permission to put his hands on her. She looked at him warily, and then dropped her gaze.

"As much as I would like to insist that I'm fine, you're right. Will you please carry me to your camp?" She spoke quietly, so much that the knight almost couldn't hear her. He smiled slyly as her request reached his ears.

"Absolutely." Then very gently, he lifted her up and walked back towards the light of his lantern. As soon as he set her down on the log, he resumed his work on the in-progress tent in front of him, the lantern providing just enough light for them to see each other. "So what were you doing wandering through the woods at night? Isn't that kind of my thing?" He teased, she grimaced,

"I was actually going to the Amusement Park. I forgot how day can turn to night in two seconds, and forgot to bring a lantern." She admitted uneasily. He laughed,

"Come on Alice, I'd have figured you'd been here long enough to know better." His words were cheery and friendly, but Alice sensed a touch of something dark in his tone. "You never know who might cross your path in such a…vulnerable state." He said a little quieter, turning to face her. Needless to say, after the absolutely awful day she'd endured, Alice had reached the end of her rope. Although every fiber in her being screamed against it, she couldn't help challenging him.

"You mean someone like you?" She asked, meeting his gaze stonily, and Ace was surprised. And pleased. He laughed,

"And what would make you say something like that?" He asked, egging her on,

"The fact that you threatened to rape me in your tent and then came to the Clock Tower and shoved your gun in my face." He laughed, delight crossing his face.

"Ohh, Alice is being brave tonight." He grinned, but then a dark look crossed his features, "And now that you've brought it up, what makes you think I won't do any of those things now? You can't run, we're so deep in the forest that no one will hear you scream, Julius isn't expecting me for a few more time periods," He stepped towards her, "There's nothing to get you out this time." He finished softly. She looked at him with what he felt was an empty gaze.

"Ace?" She said, the question mark at the end quite audible,

"Yes Alice?"

"I've come to realize something. This isn't a dream. I'm bloody insane." And as she looked at him, he saw a tear roll down her face, and she broke down into hysterics. "It doesn't matter what I say to you, brave or not, because this place, this world, it's just a hallucination. I can feel the temperatures of the different territories and I can feel the wounds I obtain here," she stated, looking at her ankle, but then her gaze refocused to him. "I can feel the things from the real world, but for some reason, I can't perceive them as they really are." He tilted his head at her,

"So you mean to tell me I'm not real?" He asked dangerously. He could taste her rising fear on his tongue, and he decided he wanted a little more.

"Well, this is my hallucination. You may not be physically real, but you are a part of my mind. I guess that means you can't physically hurt me, and so, other than what horrors my mind can conjure up…." She trailed off. Now Ace had conflicting emotions, amusement and anger. He thought it was funny that she was still persisting in the idea that Wonderland was just a dream, even more so at the idea that he couldn't hurt her. He was angry because, well, she thought he couldn't hurt her. She thought he wasn't real, and that upset him to no end.

"Alice," his voice was quiet, and cold. She looked up at him met his stormy gaze with one of amusement. He knelt down to eye level. "If I'm not real, then how can you feel this?" He asked, gently touching her face. His hand then dropped to her waist, "Or this…" and then he grabbed her wounded ankle, "Or this." He watched as her face contorted in pain. "Alice I am just as real as you are." He whispered in her ear, and then kissed away the tears that dropped down her face. And then he sighed, a wave of guilt washing over him. "Let's get this fixed up." He murmured, then pulled some bandages out of his jacket and wrapped up her ankle. Surprise lit up her face, and then relief. He was surprised too.

Lame cliffhanger is lame. I know. v.v