. | Chapter Four |.

Broken Trust

Once the war had subsided, and the walls of the Castle were alive, dripping with warm blood, a tall man, clad in punctured armour limped into the Room of Hearts – the last known place of Queen Serafia and Hatter. Pulling the opening of his shinning helmet up, he glanced from left to right. Bright ruby coloured eyes hovered over his men for long moments, praying for each one of the Cardsmen. Gently, he set his spear, with a pointed spade on the end of it stained in ruby red blood, on the wall, respecting the walls as much as he could. The men of Albedo's army were lying lifeless on the floor, as well as the men of their army. To the left, on the furthest part of the room, he could see the large hole where the small Rabbit Hole had once been. He could hear the splashing of the water and slowly, he walked over to the edge, moving to crouch down. Focusing his vision, he could just about see the table down at the bottom; the water around the edges more fierce then ever. In respect, he put the tip of his finger on the top of his helmet and lowered his head before shutting his eyes gently.

"There are no reports of Queen Serafia or Hatter," came a deep, yet worried voice from behind the peaceful man. Taking his time, almost to prove his authority against the other man talking, he lifted his head and parted his eyes. Not turning around to see who was speaking to him, he looked down into the depths of the Pool of Tears.

"Then I believe our prayers have been answered, Caden," he told him. "Our Queen and her protector are safe. Wonderland is not at her final hour just yet."

"Are you sure of this, Hemi?" he asked, taking a step foreword. As he did so his armour squeaked.

"For now," he replied, letting his hand fall to dangle down the hole. "But until the return of our Queen we must protect Wonderland as much as we can," Suddenly, he stood up, a look of determination on his face as he turned to the smaller man. Caden stood there, wearing identical armour to his commander; yet without a helmet. His face was as pale as a sheet, yet Hemi knew the reasons for this were simply shock – his skin was naturally dark, like a shade of beige. His hair, in contrast to that, was a bright shade of white, which reminded Hemi much of the Queen's skin. It was cut just below his chin, with a feminine fringe going across his forehead; the tips of his hair threatening to cover his turquoise eyes. Each time he spoke his voice was calm and collected; almost monotone. "Where is Noir?"

"In the East hallway, taking account of the men still alive," he replied.

"And how many is that?"

"Too few, Sir," he replied almost regrettably. "Sir, how are we to keep the Castle with such few men? The fact King Albedo even left is a miracle to us but once the Queen returns we will have no way of protecting her. Albedo will continue to strike until we are so few that on her return there will be no way to protect her."

"You are wrong there, Caden," Hemi hissed hard, pulling the spear with force from where it rested on the wall. Firmly, he shut his helmet over his face once more, glaring at the younger solder behind the silver. "Hatter is still alive and he will protect the Queen. We only must keep the Castle in her absence. If the Hatter cannot protect her-"

"Then no one can," a third male said. Stood at the door was Noir, dressed in a pair of black trousers that were decorated in silver spirals and a white dress shirt that had ruffles around the neck and emeralds in the shapes of clubs for buttons. Of course, his outfit was covered in blood, and clutched in his hand was an old fashioned hand gun; made from wood and carved in it were letters that wouldn't even make words. "Hemi, I want this mess cleared up. Make sure the Castle is spotless by the time the Queen comes back."

"Excuse me?" the armoured man almost yelled, laughing at the end of his words. Despite Noir's height, he was nothing compared to the commander; a child in comparison. "I am the leader of the Cardsmen, Noir; you cannot even fight unless you have a weapon. Scratch that, the only thing you can do is aim with a barrel."

"True," he replied, nodding his raven locks as he looked at the man with emerald eyes. "But I planned to become the Queen's fiancé, do not forget. So for now, I am in charge."

"I am curious, oh great Noir," piped in Caden, raising his gloved hand. His gloves were a shade of dark navy, matching the outfit he wore underneath yet resting on each glove was a sparkling red gem. Never had the Cardsmen seen Caden use them – they were always curious as to what they were. "When were you planning on telling the Queen your relationship with Rouge? For I believe that she will not exactly be very pleased with knowing it."

"Oh and do tell, Caden," said Noir. "Who wishes to tell the Queen the moment she walks into her destroyed Wonderland that her fiancé has been sleeping with a woman? Who wishes to break the Queens heart already more?"

"Noir, people know," Hemi told him quietly. "And I would stay away from Hatter. He has expressed many a time how he wishes to use his bracelets on you if you ever went near our Queen," and with that he pushed past the bloody man, making sure to knock his armoured shoulder into his side. "Now clear up this mess, Noir."

And with that, Hemi had quickly gone, followed by Caden – the pair of them leaving Noir to stand there before he angrily threw his gun to the ground, smashing it into pieces. Sighing he glanced left to right, blocking out the noise of the water from the Pool of Tears. "What a mother fucker…" he hissed, before getting onto his knees and taking the wrists of the closest Cardsman and dragging him out of the room, leaving a line of blood as he did so. It took hours for him to empty out the one room, and with the help of the remaining people they managed to give as many of the fallen they could, a proper burial. The rest would be left for the next day. There were just a few of them left – perhaps three dozen. Perhaps enough to keep the Castle on a few attacks until the Queen arrived…

But who were they kidding? They knew they'd hardly be able to do anything to prevent Albedo. They had to build another army – a larger, better one before. They absolutely had to.

"Does anyone dare go down the Pool of Tears to try and find Hatter and Serafia?" questioned Caden as a group of them hovered around one of the fires; the five men having removed their armour many hours ago. They were situated in the Northern Hallway, a crystal beside them that was faint with light. The levels of Imagination in Wonderland were slowly fading, due to the Queen's absence. Well, in the Castle, rather then the city. The rest of the world would be fine, it was just the Castle that lacked the substance and the men that were fighters weren't brilliant in the ability the Queen had, which was like breathing. Still, just as long as there was enough for the Communication Crystals to work that was all they needed.

Sat at their fire were four men, the smallest and youngest looking one being Caden, who looked even younger then the Queen was. His attire was a simple pair of white trousers, a clean pair from his room, that were slightly baggy around his legs and lined with belts around his waist and right thigh. Attached to the belts were holders for small gems that would transform into weapons. He wore a long sleeved, hooded jacket that had buckles around the wrists to keep his gloves attached and wrapped around his neck was a necklace, with silver cross dangling from the end of it. The second man was Flynn, his hair a dirty shade of blonde; his attire just a pair of dark green trousers. His shoulder was bandaged up, along with his hand; these bandages already seeping with blood as time went by, yet he never complained and never moaned. His deep blue eyes were bloodshot and framed with dark bruises that seemed old – not gained from the fight they endured that day. The third was named Oscar, another blonde, and a tall man who too was dressed like Flynn but with less injuries then the man and his face was clear from any bruising. The final man, who's hands were near the fire to warm them, was Hemi, undressed from his armour. His hair was identical to Caden's in colour, yet was parted just to the side and curled ever so slightly as it fell down his handsome face – a face too handsome and beautiful to be one belonging to a commander. He looked as if he should be sitting side by side with the Queen, taking command of Underground a different way. His eyes were a sparkling red shade; his clothes a simple dress shirt, and black trousers. He couldn't be bothered to wear anything fancy. And sat beside him was his armour along with his weapon. He was always on guard.

"What would be the point in that, Caden?" questioned Flynn, ruffling up his dirty blonde hair with a bandaged hand. "Tell 'er 'Oh sorry, lovely, most of us got dead so you'd a be better off staying where the hell you are, while we makes a new army?'"

"It would be far better then her having to come back to us when we are in a state like this," Hemi said, agreeing with Caden. "We need to do that to buy more time for us to get a stronger Army. If the Queen comes back now to this, where will we be?"

"Yes, but if she comes back sooner, we'll have the Hatter," Oscar said, grinning wildly; his two front teeth missing from his gums. "We'll have her powers to boot as well."

"Did you not see the display of her powers upon King Albedo?" Hemi questioned his eyes wide in shock as he remembered the incident. "The Queen set vines to encircle King Albedo, yet just as they appeared he made them disappear! The Queen's powers are so weak, Hatter has commented on how he planned to get her into Military Training a year after her seating to the throne! Yet now, as we can see, it is too late…"

"But with her fights with Hatter," Caden muttered, leaning his head back as he admired the patterns on the ceiling of the still bloodstained Castle. "Every fight she had with him, she were to win. He was left trapped in the corner, unsure of what to do to stop her…"

"Only because he can't turn around and throw blades at her, remember that," Oscar said, pointing at him. "Still, she must have been pretty darn shook up if Albedo could destroy her imagination so quickly."

"Which is why this could all be another good reason for someone to go down the Pool of Tears," Caden said, backing his view again. "If we can warn Hatter, he can spend some time training the Queen while we train our own people."

"We cannot lose one more solder though…" Hemi muttered, staring deep into the flames as they licked the wood to pieces.

"I'm not a solder," came the voice of Noir from behind them. "As you said so yourself, Sir Hemi. I can only aim with a gun. I would happily go warn the Queen and Hatter."

For long moments they looked at one another before Hemi finally nodded, firmly. "You go do that son, but if I were you I'd change out of those clothes. I don't think any world really likes it when people are covered in blood."

Nodding solemnly, Noir turned and walked down the hallway, towards his own Quarters to get changed. As soon as he was out of ears reach, Hemi laughed. "That boy hasn't got a chance."

"Our Hatter is going to eat him alive," Caden added, smiling, before propping his hands behind his back to lean back, dreamily. "I might ask the Queen to marry me…"

"Even if it wasn't judged on rank, I doubt she'd say yes to you, man!" Flynn laughed, elbowing his friend who glared sharply at him. "The only person that can ask her is Hemi."

"My heart belongs to my weapons," he told Flynn, smiling deeply. "Queen's young but she's beautiful. Personality wise. I couldn't ask her to marry me unless I loved her. I'd want her to be married in love. Which is why if Noir ever does ask I'm going to kill him."

"Piece of fucking trash…"

"You can say that again."

"Besides, Caden whatever happened to Mary?"

"Ah, she's always in my heart."

It hadn't taken long for that "piece of fucking trash" to be at the Pool of Tears, dressed in fresh clothing. The clothes were exactly the same as his previous outfit, yet instead of silver spirals there were silver diamonds on his trousers. As he stared into the Pool, watching the water brush against the walls of the Rabbit Hole, he could feel the emotions of Serafia seep into his heart. The burning desire to keep together with Hatter, the fear she had felt as she began to fall yet this was all followed by a small moment of peace, something so welcoming it was like an air bubble. Sighing, he covered his emerald gems with his bruised eyelids and put a finger on his forehead, allowing the memories to worm their way into his mind. The noise of the lapping water slowly faded from his ears, and for a few moments he forgot his own memories as Serafia's came to mind.

"Hatter!" her voice was so childish, one that belonged to a ten year old at least but at that moment in time she actually sounded her age, at least to Noir as he replayed the events that had occurred.

"Don't let go of my hands," typical Hatter. Always having to protect her. He could feel something coming from Hatter, an emotion of care almost that he was not meant to posses. He felt this feeling grow and grow as time passed, the feeling first coming from when Hatter had spoken to Rubedo, when Serafia was fifteen years old. When Noir went into that room to gather the memories he was unable to read what had happened and so could never understand where Hatter's emotions had come from. "Do you have the key?"

"Hatter, it fell!" disappointment with herself rung in her voice. She always wanted to help… "What happened?"

"You caused a Pool of Tears to happen from your imagination," he told her. "Unfortunately with Albedo in the room, the results were chaotic. Queen Serafia you have to promise not to let go of my hands."

Noir could feel her confusion from her guardian's words; he could taste the fear that was running through her veins so much that his own hands began to tremble. "Are you not going to pull me up?"

"There is a war up here. Don't let go."

Noir gasped hard as panic surged through his body, from the remains of Serafia's memories. The panic, which was so strong, caused him to almost fall backwards; his heart pounding so fast he feared it would burst from his chest. Shaking his head and his hands, he tried to stop his body from trembling and cleared his throat, before frowning again. "If you caused this by crying, what were you crying about, Queen Serafia?"

Closing his eyes once more, he tried to retrace her steps as best he could. Blurred sights of her and Hatter having their feud in the hallway came to his mind for a second, causing him to smirk from her stubbornness. The fear was something he had never felt from her before. He watched as they walked into the room, focused as she dropped her hand into Hatter's and how he obliged her words by still gripping onto it as she fell into a slumber; he watched as Albedo entered the room and soon could see why the Queen had begun to cry.

"Hatter you can't do this! Don't do this, you can't leave me! You're meant to protect me!" wincing as he listened to the Queen's pained words, he kept watching on, wishing to know what happened.

"I am," with that Hatter went to his knee's to face the Queen but as he did he held an emotion that caused Noir to get slightly angry. "I apologise for not listening to you earlier. I will follow you. I will protect you."

"Hatter please…"

He stopped reading what had happened in the room, knowing what had caused the young girl to cry. All she wanted was to be with Hatter; the only person in the world she could probably trust. Noir could see it then; could feel it in his veins how much she liked him but there was something, an emotion that seemed to be blocked to Noir. Something had intervened with the memories that they had shared – something was always hidden and he desperately wanted to know what that was. When he was around them Hatter never spoke; Noir could never pick up on the emotion no matter what he did. Running a hand down his shirt to straighten it, he cleared his throat again, pushing what he had just seen from his mind; trying to clean the feelings he had obtained from the Queen. He didn't want to ever feel that fear or panic again; it almost made him feel sorry for the poor girl. She should not have felt that – Queen or not. Taking a small step back, he shut his eyes before bringing in a large breathe. And with that, he wasted no time to jump down the Rabbit Hole, falling into the Pool of Tears.

What had happened after that was a blur to Noir, his mind unable to catch up with itself as he tried to focus, tried to understand where he was and what was going on. He could hear panicked voices around him, speaking of how the "Master" was ill, women telling other people to call the "Little Master". Nothing made the slightest bit of sense as he felt his body being laid on something soft. Bright lights prevented his vision for long moments as he shook his head, parting his eyes now and then. His body felt soaked yet as time went by, how fast or how slow he didn't know, he felt himself drifting in and out of consciousness. After a few times, he felt clean to the bone; the clothes he wore felt almost foreign to him. He couldn't make anything out, his mind too confused from the Pool of Tears.

But on the fifteenth time his eyes parted his head hadn't felt heavy, he hadn't fallen back into slumber. Instead he had gained enough energy to sit up, pushing himself onto his elbows. For a few slow seconds his glazed eyes looked around the small, bright white room he was sat in. It was plain, so extravagantly plain; the walls just one shade of colour and that was it. He could hear a beeping beside him, which sounded like a heart monitor but as he glanced at it, there were lights flashing rather then beams of imagination that powered everything in Underground. Already, he knew the world he had landed in was most peculiar. Just as he was about to push his legs out of the soft sheets of the bed he lay in, he heard a childish voice he knew so well that caused him to freeze.

"Gaignun, you're awake! Awh man, what happened to you?" there was laughter followed by the voice, and before he knew it he felt a playful hit on his right shoulder. Slowly, ever so slowly, he turned his head to the right, his bright emerald gems meeting the gems that were exactly the same colour as the Queen's yet they belonged to a different person. A small, twelve year old looking boy that had the brightest ruby red hair, the most contagious smile and a face that caused Noir's eyes to widen bigger then his face. For long moments they stared at each other, the smile on Rubedo's face slowly fading away. Noir's throat felt dryer then sand itself and as he parted his lips to speak, he almost choked on his words.

"Y-You…" he couldn't help but reach foreword and place a hand on the arm of the young boy. "You're… A-Alive…"

A small laugh came from his thin lips. "Of course I'm alive Gaignun, jeez did you have a bad dream or something? You remember me right? Rubedo! Or Jr, whichever. Brothers?"

Noir's face remained blank, making Rubedo sigh hard. "We're in the Kukai Foundation; the place your pretty much the leader of, remember? Your name is Gaignun Kukai, and I'm your brother. Do you remember? Mary, and Shelly too?"

Frowning slightly, he managed to nod, his raven hair moving slightly. "Ah, of course I remember, Rubedo. Why wouldn't I? I think I hit my head pretty damn hard back then…" he muttered quietly, looking down at the ground; playing the part o-so perfectly. So this, this boy stood here wasn't his King; he was a different version of the King. Like an alternative universe. He had heard so many stories of that happening in the Pool of Tears, yet of course people rarely returned, so they couldn't be confirmed. This would work firmly at his advantage, especially if his alternative person was the leader of somewhere. This would make everything so much more easier when it came to finding his Queen. But the only thing that concerned him was where his alternative person was. The real Gaignun who was part of this world. And for that matter, who was Serafia to be a part of? If this Rubedo was so young, he obviously did not have children nor did he had a ring on his finger; there must not have been any Sakura. Ever such a strange thing, but still, he would not dwell on it. He needed to find his real Queen, not the one that belonged to this world.

"Pretty hard?" he laughed, grinning childishly. "Oh Gaignun, you were out for three days!"

Three days? Noir had to admit, he obviously wasn't very good at travelling through the Pool of Tears. He only hoped the Hatter hadn't just awoken too otherwise that would have spelled disaster. Three days without trying to find his Queen? What a failure. Ah, but what about the Queen? Would she still be sleeping? Forcing himself to laugh, he pushed his legs out of the sheets, noticing how he was already dressed in plain attire.

"Three days?" he hummed slightly. "I must have missed out on an ample of work. If you wouldn't mind Rubedo, would you walk with me to my office? My mind is still a bit fuzzy."

"Sure thing, Gaignun," he grinned. "Hey, but don't forget, it's Jr. in front of everyone else."

From the small walk, Noir had learned so many confusing things about the world he was now in. The fact there was no imagination to control things, the fact everything ran on electricity and technology was so advanced it was unbelievable. Things like cars drove in the streets; lights were on even during the day; magical holograms that looked like they were created from imagination were on the streets, like moving posters that advertised items that were so odd to his eyes. As they had walked further down the street, he could see something that would be the upmost advantage to him if he ever could get it to happen. There were announcements on buildings, with pictures and people talking through them. If Noir could actually somehow get his own announcement through one of those, he would be able to get the attention of the Queen. Once he stated to Rubedo that he wished to use one of them, he happily nodded and hadn't asked what for or why. He told him he would take him to the office that controlled what would go on there and it could actually be live. Well, Noir had no idea what "live" meant but it still sounded good.

Once they got to the building a number of peculiar things had happened to him. For starters, the doors, which were made from pure glass, slid open all by themselves; another thing from electricity possibly, and then instead of taking the stairs, they stepped in a glass box that moved them up to the other levels. He had to be careful not to express any of his shock yet a few times his "brother" gave him the oddest look, as if he was losing his mind. It didn't matter. What mattered was the room they were next stood in, with a man holding Noir something called a microphone.

"Once the light flashes, Master Gaignun, you'll be able to give your message," the helpful, brown headed man said, before leaving the room with Rubedo. Sitting down on the chair, he leaned towards what was a camera, and smirked ever so slightly. He was told the message would be transmitted to every planet, and this would be perfect.

One the light flashed, he cleared his throat and began to speak. "There is a man roaming the streets of our worlds, a man with the darkest intentions. This man is an enemy of us; a man that wants to destroy our world. His name is Hatter – he wears a top hat, dresses in the most peculiar fashions and his hair is a shade of copper. This man is under the violation of the law and has murdered many people and is searching for a young woman and will not stop until all are maimed in his way. This man is mentally unstable and I advise the authorities to take control of him. For the lives of our people he must be locked up. Thank you for listening, this is Gaignun Kukai."

Smiling sweetly at the raven headed man, Serafia exited the bedroom he had given to her for those past few days, wearing clothes the raven headed man's friend had picked out for her. They were so simple compared to her usual dresses, but beautiful. She wore a plain white shirt underneath another shirt with spaghetti sleeves. The straps were made from what looked like netting, and the shirt was dyed white too, with silver buttons. It resembled an almost corset design with patterns of flowers in silver dye along it. She wore, for the first time in her life, a pair of jeans that were a grey shade and a pair of grey trainers. Her hair was perfectly straight rather then curled as it normally was and tied back behind her face. After taking a silver ribbon, she had tied the cards to her hip, making sure they were securely attached to her body. It had only been a few hours ago since she agreed to Gaignun about having her mind examined, and he had made a few phone calls to a few friends to organise it. He had told her that three days ago he called in sick for work to take care of her, so it would be hard to possibly get them to do a favour for him like this but he would make it happen. A feeling of guilt came about her from him missing work but she couldn't help but feel grateful for this stranger's kindness.

As she quickly walked down the stairs, she brushed down her shirt, followed by the raven man. As she turned into the kitchen, she froze almost suddenly; like she had walked into a freezer. Sat at the table were three people; two of which were male, one was female. The one male and the female hadn't caused any shock to Serafia, though she had to admit they did look familiar to her – both of whom had chocolate coloured locks, the woman beautiful with green eyes and the man nervous looking with faded blue eyes. But it was the white headed boy, who looked a few years younger then herself that caused her to freeze. For a fleeting moment she thought she had entered the room where Caden sat at the table, but she remembered how she believed Gaignun was Noir. This would not be her Caden; her friend from Wonderland. She didn't even know if he was alive; she didn't even know if Noir was alive. These versions of her people could have been the only ones left. As if he noticed her panic, the Caden look-a-like stood quickly to his feet and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" he asked gently; his voice even just like Caden's and his eyes just as soft. Eventually, she managed to nod her head slowly. "My name is chaos, your Serafia, yes?"

Nodding again, she gave a small smile. "Yes Sir, Serafia Mizrahi-Yuriev," she said quickly. "It's a pleasure to meet you," she held out her hand for the stranger politely, allowing him to take it and shake it gently.

"Her surname is the same as Juli and Momo's…" the woman at the table whispered quietly. "And Dmitri Yuriev…"

"Ah, my grandmother is called Juli, her daughter, Sakura, is my mother," she smiled gently. She was oblivious to how much her words had caused the people in the room confusion.

"This is Shion Uzuki, and Allen Ridgeley," the Caden-look-a-like said and Serafia smiled at them both. "My name is chaos," he said, finally shaking her hand and letting go of it gently.

"Everyone here has entered an Encephalon before, which is what we're going to do with you," Gaignun explained softly, frowning a little as he realised her eye colour was a little much like his brothers. "These were the most professional people I could contact who I can trust. We'll be doing this in a research centre, where there shall be enough Vector Technologies to make sure this is performed thurouly."

All Serafia could do was nod. She had nothing else to do that would prove to this man that she was indeed the Queen of Wonderland and that she did need help to find her guardian, Hatter. Following the strangers out of the building, she stepped into the car, sitting between the Caden-look-a-like and the Noir-look-a-like trying her best not to dwell on how the box of silver was moving by itself, or anything going on from outside the window. If she tried to think it would drive her utterly mad!

But just after two minutes of driving, a small square popped up in front of her, from the centre of the car, causing her to jump. On the screen was the face of Gaignun, smiling almost menacingly at the camera and she couldn't help but frown, but not as much as the other people in the car were. "What is that?" she questioned.

"A…A live announcement…" the Gaignun beside her muttered with confusion laced in his voice. "When you speak, you will be projected to other places and people can hear you but you have to be talking somewhere at a certain place at the present."

"So…that's not you?" she whispered, looking at the screen.

"No…"

"That's Noir, that's Noir, I told you he looked like you!" she said, happily, almost jumping up and down. "He found me, the people found me!"

But the words that had left Noir's lips had caused all the excitement to run from her veins. A cloud of tension appeared in the car and she was left shaking her head, denying the accusation that Noir had made.