Chapter Three

"Tiffany? And how did you get here?" Nightmare had plenty of questions to ask her, but he decided to not overwhelm the girl.

"... I don't know..." she responded.

"Describe the things that last happened to you."

"I was sleeping, and then I woke up and appeared here."

The group looked at Nightmare. He was the only one who could connect the Earth world and Wonderland together. Feeling the eyes on him, Nightmare turned around and claimed "I didn't send her here. She just appeared, and I felt a presence. That's why I ran here."

"Uh... Can anyone explain to me what's going on?" Tiffany said.

Peter stepped out of the crowd and joined Nightmare. He looked her up and down. Then, he lifted his gun up and held it against her head.

BA-THUMP. Suddenly, a pleasant sound and vibration went through the boys. Peter dropped his gun in shock.

"W-what was that?" he asked, bending down to retrieve his gun. He didn't press it back against her head, instead he gawked at her.

"I think... that was a heartbeat..." said Nightmare.

"How...?"

"It came from her." Julius spoke up.

"What are you guys talking about?" Alice asked. Apparently, she hadn't felt it.

"Maybe, it's because she has a heart?" said Dee.

Tiffany peered around the men, trying to see the source of the girl voice. Upon finding her, a smile lit up her face. BA-THUMP. The same feeling occurred. Everyone turned to face her, as she observed Alice with the glowing smile on her face.

"Hi!" she said, ignoring the many guns still aimed at her.

"Hello." said Alice, somewhat less enthusiastically.

Eccentric that there was a girl that she could possibly bond with, Tiffany walked towards her. Elliot stood in her path, with her gun pointed straight at her.

From behind, Nightmare came upon a black gun that was poking out of the back pocket of her jeans, chained to her pants similar to Boris's gun fashion. Careful to not alarm the group, he walked towards her, standing directly behind her.

"Tiffany. We need to know where you came from. Who are you?"

"I'm not really sure how I got here, I woke up here. I'm Tiffany H. Drace. I'm sixteen years old and terribly confused. Nice to meet you, and nice gun." she said, eying his pistol. He dropped his hands to his side, and she gave him a smile. Nightmare's face changed.

"Tiffany H. Drace... H... Drace..." he studied her.

"Yep! That's my name!" she exclaimed. She looked around Elliot, and to Alice. "And yours?", completely overlooking the handsome guys that watched her with guns pointed.

"Alice Lidd- Dupre." she said, with a small smile. The guys, besides Blood, cringed.

Tiffany smiled. BA-THUMP. The feeling hit them once again, turning their attention to her. "That's a pretty name." she said genuinely.

"What's that weird feeling?" Dum asks.

Nightmare interrupts any further questioning, by asking which territory Tiffany shall reside in. Now, attention was on him.

"She's staying here?" Ace questions.

"Yes." Nightmare says it in a tone that made it clear there would be no further questioning. Nightmare's leader role was clearly established in Tiffany's mind.

"Wait. Hold on. Who decided I would stay here? I don't even know where I am." Nightmare sighed, breaking his stern composure. This seems like it would be somewhat harder then getting Alice to stay here.

"You can't stay in the Hatter's Mansion since Blood's part of the mafia. You might get killed." She raised an eyebrow at the end of his sentence. "The castle... Vivaldi might behead you." An even more questioning look was displayed on her face. "The clock tower, Alice is already living there and there would be too much commotion for Julius to work. Your only choice would be the amusement park, with Gowland and Boris." He had completely ignored her question.

"Wait what about your hous-" Gowland began.

"Commander." she said teasingly, "You never answered my question."

"Don't question the commander." he answers back with a serious face. "Disperse, please."

Nightmare walks past her, as she says "Touche.", extending her smile even wider. He stops in his tracks, and after a little pause, keeps walking on.

"Touche indeed..." the rest of the boys heard him say as he passed by.