The author makes absolutely no profit off of this work of fan fiction, and no copyright infringement is intended on the franchise of Heart no Kuni no Alice and Doctor Who. In addition, Simon's Cat is the property of Simon's Cat Ltd. Some of the elements in the story have been incorporated belong to chaos-dark-lord but I have received permission to use them from Wonderful Wonderful Science and its sequel Wonderful Wonderful Science: Diamond Dust. There will be references from Alice in the Country of Joker: Circus and Liar's Game manga series.
Geronimo!
There was no doubt about it. This was the Prison. The first place since she had first stumbled into Wonderland. But how did she end up coming here when a few minutes ago, Leo was standing next to her outside of The Laughing Peacock?! Just as the perplexed young woman took a step back with every intention of finding an exit before the vulgar Warden appeared Erin felt a tug on her shoulder, followed by a jolt of pain when her small back was slammed against something rough. Bright green orbs blinked and looked up to see Leo staring down at her. The two of them were huddling against the back door of the dance studio as the lively music from the parade subsided to ceaseless chatter amongst the excited denizens.
"Did you see the Prison, Erin?"
He did not let go of her shoulders until she answered his question with a meek nod. The faceless remained silent for a couple of seconds until a heavy breath left his mouth. "I imagined that's what happened. Lady A spoke about it. April Season is about start very soon, Erin. It's the one event where each territory will have a season. When it first arrives, both the climate and land are unstable; which means that you and Miss Alice Liddell can see all of the Role Holders as you have so far. But once the seasons are unwavering, an Outsider would have to go to the Circus and beat Joker in a game, more likely a card game. He's the only Role Holder who can allow Outsiders to go to the territory they want to visit by changing the seasons."
"I-I remembering reading about that in one of the pink booklets, and it's an event that might seem entertaining but is much more dangerous for a foreigner." Erin mumbled softly, still shaken up from what she just had seen. Leo nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, in a way. The Fool's Season is meant to finish the Game that is still being played. Outsiders will wander into the Prison if they are not 'certain' about their final decision. That also applies to doubts and regrets that are unconsciously forgotten through a Role Holder's interference, or through sheer will power. The first of which is against the Rules."
"But if that is the case, then will the Joker be targeting Lady A since it is her Game that is being played?"
"No. My Lady and Joker have a unique relationship, even though he doesn't remember it. But you should still be careful, Erin. Not only because this April Season will become more intense since Lady A's Game has been going on for too long, but if you step inside that place again then Joker would be convinced that you had come to 'him' willingly."
"G-Got it."
Leo looks down at his new charge with concern as he felt her shoulders quiver slightly under his palms. It was obvious that Erin had become stressed again from what had just happened, but who could blame her? To be trapped in the Prison and slowly fade away to the nothingness inside a dark cell….it left little to wonder why most of the denizens here would rather be murdered.
But could he do to calm her rattled nerves again? More dancing lessons were out of the question since the poor señorita was exhausted, and had been through far too much in just ten time periods. His Lady had a presence that could overwhelm anyone. If he had known that Lady A would have given him this assignment, then he would have used his resources to find out everything that there was to know about Erin Oswald. So what could he do?
Leo gently guided Erin towards the bustling avenue and glanced around the area for a minute until an arrow-shaped sign caught his attention, nailed to an iron street lamp that stood nearby.
Grand Re-Opening Of The Looking Glass Art Gallery! Come And Discover Never-Before-Seen Paintings That Are Handcrafted From The Country of Diamond!
Below the cursive lettering was an address off of Cloud Stead and Main Street. It was not very far from the apartment complex where Erin had been staying since she assisted the Lullaby in bringing their Lady home. He glanced down at the green-eyed foreigner again and decided to take her to the establishment; if it did not work, then maybe a cup of hot xocolatl prepared by their baristas would be more effective than watching artwork move around on their own. Using evasive maneuvers to weave through the crowded streets, Leo was able to arrive at their destination in less than twenty minutes. But his spirits dampened slightly when his nonexistent eyes fell upon the 'Closed' sign on the door.
He turned to Erin with an apologetic smile and opened his mouth to speak until a silvery voice interrupted Leo. "Alonso Federico Xibalba Quijano! Is that you, young sport? I haven't seen you in ages!"
The Lullaby foot-soldier swiveled his head to the source of the noise and a blonde-haired bloke in his late twenties dressed an aquamarine business suit with a matching bowler's hat perched on top of his head. Leo blinked for a few seconds before a small smile stretched across his lips, the tension in his shoulders slowly subsiding upon recognizing a fellow comrade. "It's definitely been a long time, Giovanni. I took a small vacation and just came back a few time changes ago. And Our Lady gave me a new mission."
The faceless bugger grinned happily and strode over to Leo, the optimistic expression becoming even brighter when his attention fell upon Erin. "Well, well, that's quite a gem you have on your arm there, young sport. Where in the world did you find an Outsider like this?"
Leo ignored Giovanni's question and jerked his head to the art gallery. "Would be too much trouble to let us come inside for a little while? My friend here is a little rattled from an...unpleasant experience." The eccentric man raised an inquisitive brow at the request before he shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't see why not but only for one time change. I'm meeting my daughter at a diner nearby for something to eat, and I'd rather not be late. She's never had a tolerance for tardiness. Even outside of the laboratory. She's eager to tell me about the new developments that her team will be presenting to The Lady very soon." Giovanni plucked a russet-skinned palm into his lapel and threw a set of silver keys at Leo. "Just make sure everything's back in their place when I return, all right? The last thing I want to do is clean up any mess the two of you leave behind."
Leo nodded and set his hand over his clock. "I promise."
Giovanni turned on the ball of his heel and sped away from the quaint establishment, muttering under his breath about the importance of punctuality. Once he opened the deadbolt with a flick of his wrist, Leo held the door open for Erin before closing it behind them. After he turned on the lights, Erin turned to him with a befuddled expression.
"What business do we have here, Leo? Or is it Alonso Federico Xibalba Quijano?"
" 'Leo' is the name that My Lady has given me for this mission, so that is the name I will be referred as from now on. Alonso Federico Xibalba Quijano is just an alias that I took during the mission where I met Giovanni." Leo looked around the dimly-lit area for a few minutes until his attention caught on an entrance that was decorated with cute animals, Children's Section written in large, bold letters. He turned to Erin and smiled.
As for why for we are here, please follow me and use those little gray cells to solve the mystery." If his eyes were visible, then the faceless gentleman would have surely winked. He then took Erin by the hand and led her to the area he had found.
Bright green orbs blinked owlishly at the framed picture of three kittens fumbling with yarn while another two slept in a cushioned wicker basket. A small sigh left her chapped mouth. "I appreciate the thought, but I have a hard time appreciating art itself since I am not very good at it." Even while being stuck in a screwed up dimension like Wonderland, the young woman could still clearly remember just how bad her grades were in the Art I lecture. She had to take it for two semesters in order to get a passing mark.
But...the kittens drawn here were realistic. And very cute.
"It's not just any painting, Erin. Artwork here in Wonderland is different than what is in your world because some of it have the ability to come to life," The grip on Erin's loosened as both of Leo's gloved palms dove inside the frame to pull a kitten. It suddenly began to squirm and mewl unhappily. "Some are so special that you can even enter them. Here."
The college graduate stared at him in surprise and then looked at the wiggling animal before she hesitantly cradled it in her arms. It felt...so real. And yet so light. "B-But how is this possible?" Erin stuttered as more of the fuzzy critters began to clumsily crawl out of the elaborate frame and began rub themselves against her legs.
Leo took a step back and watched with crossed arms as the Outsider kneel to give each of them attention; a scratch behind the ears, or running a hand up and down their tiny spines.
"Most of the paintings in this exhibit were salvaged from the Country of Diamond, the main and best producer for life-like artwork. At one point there was even a large museum in that county, and it had paintings of places or events where you could go to by just jumping through the frame."
While she listened to Leo's explanation with a keen ear, the coffee-haired woman was more interested in playing with the pink paws of a mischievous snow-white kitten. This little bugger reminded Erin of Simon's Cat, a British comic strip in the Daily Mirror that depicted a household feline using absurd, heavy-handed tactics just to be fed by its owner.
She and Uncle Sal would always share a good laugh when they read it together until it stopped in printing in 2013. But that did not stop them from finding videos of Simon's Cat on Youtube and on the shelf of a bookstore. Nor remind each other that laughter is the best medicine.
A philosophy that she had forgotten until now.
To Leo, it was obvious that Erin Oswald preferred to be in the company of animals more than people. The faceless bloke was also aware that each Outsider carried a heavy burden or the memory of a tragedy when they entered Wonderland. The sadness and guilt from whatever happened in their past could easily consume them, yet they had the willpower to move forward. That was a quality the denizens of this hellhole severely lacked. In contrast to the emptiness that filled in their clockwork existence, an Outsider possessed the very essence of life, as well as the sadness and joy that came with having an actual 'heart' in their chest.
It was something that everyone in Wonderland desperately desired. Even him, to a certain extent.
When he noticed her stiffened posture become just as relaxed as the small smile on her face, Leo asked Erin if she wanted to see some bunnies next. Her reaction had the opposite effect.
"NO! I-I mean...N-No thank you. I-I...Well, truth be told," Erin looked away from the surprised faceless with a red flush on her face. "I'm...extremely terrified of rabbits."
At this point she expected him to laugh or ask why she was scared of them despite overcoming the paralyzing fear instilled by a certain Role Holder in the Hatter Family. Instead, Leo just walked over to pick up an ebony-furred kitten and sat next to her on the carpeted floor.
"Then we'll stick with kittens for now. We only have one time change to be in here, but I'll talk with Giovanni about letting us come back again after it's closed. That way we won't need to visit during regular hours when it's crowded. Or we could do that and perform a little exercise on surveillance." He suggested, tenderly rubbing the kitten's belly. "It's all up to you, Erin."
"Are you sure that won't cause any problems?"
"None whatsoever." Leo replied with a grin. "Did you know that My Lady used to have a kitten? She saved it from the streets and he was Lady A's favorite 'test subject'. There is no doubt in my mind that Bunsen was the most pampered feline in all of Wonderland."
Erin stared at the faceless with an incredulous expression at what he just said. Especially when Leo just said that it was Lady A's favorite test subject. She could not picture the Berceuse as the type of person to enjoy cuddling a kitten, much less use a shadowy tendril to amuse the animal. But if the mercenary had been using her own pet for a guinea pig, was it possible that at the time, Lady A had the ability to manipulate the shadows? It wasn't mentioned in any of the notes left behind in the pink booklets.
While she would admit to being a little curious about the Lady's past, Erin also knew that it was none of her business.
However, she appreciated this detour and a chance to play with these painted kittens. It lifted her spirits, but Erin was still wary of getting close to the bloke Lady A had assigned to be both a protector and a teacher.
"Bunsen? What kind of name is that?" The young woman knew and how to function a Bunsen burner from her science lectures back at college, but she still had to ask. It was an unusual name for an animal.
Leo shrugged his shoulders and placed the squirming kitten back on the ground, where it started to wrestle with its lighter counterpart. "Not sure." He continued to passively observe Erin until the Lullaby foot-soldier saw the dark-blue skies change became dyed with red, orange, and pink hues. He rose from the ground and stood up, extending a gloved palm to the Outsider.
"Time's up."
Erin nodded and released the snow-white kitten, watching with vague interest as it followed the others crawled through the picture frame, filling the empty space in its brightly-colored canvas. She then looked up at Leo and took his hand. "Hey, Leo? Thank you. For this."
"I'm glad to hear that you're feeling better."
Once the lights were turned off and the door was locked, the two of them through the dimly-lit streets until they reached the intersection of Crystal Swan Mews and Kingsbridge, the halfway point to Erin's apartment complex. When she turned around to thank Leo again for everything, he was already gone.
xDCx
Settling business once the Hatter Family had moved from one country to another was always a pain in the ass for Elliot. But what pissed him off even more happened right after the land had stabilized: lower and mid-level mafiosos would pull some desperate stunts to gain an advantage over them. That was exactly happened five time changes ago. And now here he was, standing in the skeleton of what had been once a reputed wine cellar that was to serve as a meeting place for Blood and the faceless Don in charge of the Trapini famiglia. Now it had served the purpose of being a trap.
He should have expected that bastard was up to something the moment his nose caught the vague scent of gunpowder and dynamite in the lobby. Blood must have likely had sensed something suspicious from about these uppity turds from the very moment that the meeting was arranged. According to the gossip circulating in Wonderland's criminal enterprise as well as from the results in his investigation, the Trapini famiglia were getting kickbacks from the Lullaby in exchange for exporting supplies. That was entire reason why the Mad Hatter had personally invited the Don for negotiations on a truce between their syndicates.
Just thinking about that maniacal cult made Elliot worry even more about Erin, especially after what he heard from Alice happening in the town, and the strange russet-skinned man that was with the older Outsider at the time. Those assholes were dangerous, resourceful, and prepared. All the more reason to finish this job and check on Erin.
"Move your ass, ya damn brats! We're not here to play!" The second-in-command barked at Dee and Dum, who were threatening to cut their gravedigger into tiny pieces with shit-eating grins on their damned faces.
"Search for any evidence that can be salvaged." Blood ordered to his men, standing among the charred rubble with an impassive expression as each of them did their respective task. Pierce began digging through the bloodstained soil while the Gatekeepers removed broken furniture to search for any documents. There was barely anything left to survey due to the unusually strong impact of the explosion. But the lack of either a corpse or clock confirmed another suspicion that Blood had. The Trapini escaped.
These foolish upstarts had probably survived the explosion through an intricate sewer system beneath the wine cellar that now inaccessible due to the rubble. Elliot had suspected early in his investigation that it had been provided by an unknown source, and the mysterious benefactors might be the cult The March Hare had encountered. But if it was so, then that meant that this obscure group also had its roots not only underneath the country of Clover but also in the veins of Hearts.
If violent tempers had not gotten out of hand between the Hatters and their guests, Blood Dupre would have been able to obtain evidence to prove the Trapini's affiliation with the Lullaby; bank transactions accompanied by wax-sealed envelopes written in Spanish, a complex language that was starting to echo through the criminal underworld. If the Don had been involved, then his reaction upon seeing them would have given him away or he then could be persuaded to translate such fascinating wording with the impromptu help of a flintlock pistol pressed against his head, then the Hatters would have a lead to ferret out the Lullaby and could pass the information to the Clover Tower so that the incubus or his faithful reptile handled the problem.
But Blood had yet to decide which choice would provide more amusement: Allow Nightmare to do what he wants, take care of the Lullaby himself, or offer an alliance with this annoying faction. Perhaps it was a combination of all three?
The Hatters searched the wine cellar but found nothing worth salvaged except for a silver ring that had the insignia of an ocelot etched on an oval-shaped sapphire that Elliot pocketed after discovering it underneath a cracked chair. The March Hare blinked in surprise. How did he even know what kind of an animal this was? He was positive that such a creature did not exist in Wonderland, unless it was a brand new species that appeared after the Big Storm? He shrugged it off, trying to concentrate on the task at hand, but it was becoming even more difficult as his muddled mind focused on Erin. Who could have been the guy that Alice saw with the fourth Outsider? From what the blonde-haired teenager had told him, it did not sound like a co-worker from the bookstore. But since Erin properly introduced him to Alice as 'Gabriel', then at least it was not a random spy following the college graduate.
Once the job had reached an unsatisfactory completion, The Mad Hatter and his second-in-command made their way back to Hatter Mansion while the Bloody Twins stayed behind to make sure the skittish mouse did his job or else their pay was going to get cut in half. Blood was silent, and Elliot did not feel talkative either.
He just could not stop thinking that this 'Gabriel' bastard might be the reason why Erin was avoiding him.
Elliot did not like the thought of any man getting close to her. What if 'Gabriel' was part of the Lullaby or an agent from another territory? And Erin knew about it, though decided not say anything to him? The March Hare was starting to dislike each of these possibilities bit by bit. If he were a little more honest with himself...Elliot would admit that he was beginning to feel jealous. Then again, maybe she was not avoiding him on purpose. Was her fear of dogs starting to come back?
Before his train of thought could venture further on the coffee-haired woman, Blood's baritone voice shattered it. "Oh? Isn't that Miss Oswald heading towards the edge of the town, Elliot?" The Mad Hatter pointed his cane further ahead. Mauve orbs followed it and saw a small wavy-haired figure in a dark-brown suit.
Emerald orbs looked at his faithful Bloodhound with a smirk. "Perhaps the young lady would like to attend our seasonal party, but she won't be able to attend unless she has an invitation."
Elliot smiled widely at the subtle message from his boss and walked ahead to follow Erin, trying to think of a gentle way to approach her and then have a conversation that lead to the inevitable invitation. One that he will make sure Erin would accept.
But as he continued to trail the college graduate from beyond the outskirts of the town, The Role Holder immediately noticed something was wrong as soon as his gaze fell upon the Forest of Doors. What business did she have in that place? His purple orbs widened in shock as the tip of a striped tent poked out from the towering trees, followed by an overwhelming scent of fried food and sweet treats that made a heavy stone plummet into his stomach.
Erin had arrived at the Circus.
It was against the Rules to interfere with an Outsider's choice, so the March Hare had no choice but to watch as a little girl dressed in a harlequin's costume approached Erin with a sunny grin, grabbing both of her hands. Elliot strained his ears to hear their conversation, but the grinding gears from nearby machinery made it difficult to understand what was being said between them. He moved to step out from behind the vendor stall, but halted his footsteps when his attention fell upon a red-haired man emerge from the Circus entrance, dressed in an obsidian costume with gold embroidery.
Joker.
The Ringmaster smiled at Erin. Within less than a second, Elliot's fear were confirmed as Erin disappeared from his sight. The Outsider had fallen into the Prison...but she willingly came to this fucking hellhole.
I would like to thank Momochan77, AngelicTrinity, C4rd of Sp4de, Kittycat0521, Big Ham, and xXxSebastian-MichaelisxXx for taking the time to read and review the last chapter! I truly appreciate the feedback and thoughts you have sent me. If you have any ideas for what might transpire between Elliot and Erin at the Halloween party, I would love to hear them! I look forward to seeing everyone in the next segment.
Allon-sy!
