Elliot's trigger finger itched. If it was what Blood would want, then it shall be done. Failure isn't an option. Or, at least, it shouldn't be. The greeters at the gate gazed at him in a confused manner.

"Hey! Are you here for business or fun?!" they shouted in their usual tone.

"Yeah! We were not informed of any negotiations!" another added.

"I'm not here to play and have 'fun' if that is what you're asking," he muttered angrily under his breath. "Where's the park owner?"

"The boss?!" one questioned. "He's probably out doing his rounds at the moment! If you want, we could escort you-…"

"No, I'm fine," the 'long' eared man interrupted, pushing past the gate duo to enter the park. "I can-…." His ears now twitched up as he heard a familiar voice not too far off in the distance. He darted of, towards the voice- towards Gowland.

"Hey!" Elliot called to the man in a not so friendly tone. Gowland was speaking with his subordinates when the man approached.

"Well if it isn't number two of the mafia. What are you doing here? We do not have any scheduled negotiations." Gowland questioned, eyebrows furrowed. "Did you come here to play?"

"I don't come here to play, old man," the angry non-rabbit scoffed. "This is business."

"What business could you possibly have here?"

"Blood has interests in Alice. So I need to make you disappear." With that, the blond pulled his gun, ready to shoot park owner. If Gowland were gone, then Alice would turn to Blood and love him (or so he believed). Unfortunately for Elliot, the park employees had already smelled something fishy and had readied themselves for anything to happen. Their shots were off before Elliot could even line up a shot. There was blood, lots of it. The not-a-rabbit was lucky there wasn't more from all the shots that were fired- the park had many workers and each worker had a gun. He was hit twice.

"Hold your fire!" Gowland roared unexpectedly. He waved his arms to call off the attack. Elliot fell to his knees, holding his side which began to gush with blood. His other hand hung limply as the crimson liquid trailed down to his fingers from the gunshot wound that had opened up on his shoulder.

"I just tried to kill you!" Elliot barked. He failed his mission. Wasn't even close. For his incompetence, he should pay the price. "Why are you sparing me?"

"Do you even care about Alice?" Gowland asked, his face grew dark with sadness and a hidden rage as his head hung. "Don't you understand her feelings? I'm not going to kill you. She cares about you, number two. She would be sad if you were gone."

"S-she would?" he questioned. He let out a loud groan in pain and hunched over.

"I would have no issue with killing you here if it weren't for her kind heart. I would shoot you myself for thinking of taking Alice from me. But Alice is her own person. She can choose who she loves and cares about. I won't stand in her way and I won't make her cry. If she wants to be with Dupre, I shall bow out. But don't make choices for her. She still has the choice to leave this world and then nobody, not even her, will be happy."

"Blood can chain her away and never let her leave."

"But wouldn't that make her sad too?"

"I… I wouldn't care if she were sad as long as Blood is happy."

"Get out…" the irritated redhead grumbled, trying to keep his anger in check. "GET OUT OF MY PARK BEFORE I REALLY DO KILL YOU!" he roared, kicking the hurting non-rabbit that was hunched on the ground. "The wounds aren't lethal as long as you get them treated. So get out now before I change my mind."

The man watched as Elliot stood and hobble out of the gates to his park. His clock-heart fell as soon as the rage subsided. What if Alice really wanted to be with the Hatter instead? She had told him once that Dupre had the face of her former lover. Perhaps she would be drawn to his face? No, he shook his head. Alice had never once said she had an interest in the man.

But from that moment on, a seed of worry was planted within him.

xXx

Blood Dupre was waiting patiently in his room as Alice tidied up the bookshelves around his room. He didn't usually post Alice to work within his room but for this to work, she needed to be there. He wanted to tease her, too, since that is always what he did whenever she came by, but this time he had to refrain if he wanted the plan to work.

He turned his attention once more to the paperwork he was working on. He scribbled some things down as he eagerly awaited the entrance of someone- anyone really- to announce the fate of Elliot whether he, himself, survived to tell the tale or if he had been savagely killed by the enemy territory. Either way would satiate his boredom.

As if on cue, "Blood!" a weak voice tried to shout as the doors to the boss' office swung open. It was Elliot, hunched over in pain as the man held the open wound in his gut. The thick, crimson liquid stained the floor upon which he stood.

"I'm sorry, Blood," he muttered, stepping farther into the room. He lost his balance and fell to his knees. "I'm so sorry, Blood. I screwed up."

"Elliot?!" Alice gasped, dropping everything as she darted to the man's side. "What happened?! Who did this?!"

"A-Alice?" he questioned. "What are you- ARGH!" a sudden stabbing pain overtook the blond man before he could finish speaking. He took a heavy, shaky breath.

"What happened, Elliot?!" Alice demanded him to answer. His purple eyes locked with her teal ones and he frowned. He was conflicted about the things that the Park Owner had said. He couldn't tell what she wanted from the look in her eyes- all he saw was worry.

"T-the Amusement Park-…" he stopped himself from saying any more. It would hurt too much. Instead, he looked up to the Mafioso- the one watching from behind his desk. "I'm sorry," he said one more time before falling over.

"Wait! What do you mean the Amusement Park?!" Alice pleaded to his limp body. He was out like a light- but at least he was still breathing. The girl shook his body, trying to wake him. She needed answers but she wouldn't get them. Instead, Blood stood from his desk and watched the site before him. Alice crying over Elliot who continued to bleed on the floor, demanding answers to her questions.

"Can I get someone in here to deal with this?" he sighed, waving his hand towards the duo. In an instant there were several servants helping with the large and heavy man. It didn't take long for everything to be cleaned up.

"Will he be alright…?" she croaked through her tears. She was only met with silence as the man went back to his paperwork. "Who did this? Why did this happen?"

"I do not know what happened," Blood finally answered in a bored tone. "From the sounds of it, he was attacked by the Amusement Park lot. We are enemies so it isn't that surprising for them to attack a member of our family." He sighed somewhat and dropped his pen on his desk. "Ah, but it is unusual for them to attack a main player without any provocation."

"Did Elliot provoke them to attack?"

"I never gave him an order to cause a dispute," he said truthfully. He didn't give an order. "He wouldn't do anything that stupid without my say-so. And if that is the case, we must be on guard against the Amusement Park. Even you could be in danger since you are a part of this family," Blood pointed out. She was wearing a maid costume- a sign that she was, indeed, a part of the Hatter's Mafia.

"B-but they know me!" Alice retorted. "They know I'm not a threat!"

"As your landlord, I cannot allow you to leave the premises until the matter is discussed in the upcoming negotiation. If you cannot entertain yourself on your next break before then, I insist you come and have some tea. It feels like it has been a while, young lady."

Although he was just offering, it felt more like an order to Alice. She frowned and rubbed at her pink and puffy eyes. She couldn't argue with him. Instead, she stood and turned to her boss.

"I-I'll go check on Elliot," she said before bowing politely and disappearing into the hall. It was then the Blood could let out his amused chuckles.

"Interesting," he practically laughed. "For once, Romeo did not slaughter poor Tybalt." And so he sat back, amused by the change in events. His players may not have moved as he predicted but the show will still go on.