Hey. How's it going? Been a while. :3
-Static
/*\
When Julius made it down the stairs his clock stopped, and a red haze clouded his vision. To say that Ace had screwed up was an understatement. Ace had seriously fucked up, and Julius was not going to let it slide. The Clockmaker was so angry that streams of swears were creating tidal waves in his mind.
Alice, one of the only people he truly gave a damn about, was sitting on top of Ace. Under normal circumstances, this in itself wouldn't have incited the man's wrath so much as his embarrassment and minor amounts of anger. Ace wasn't stupid, but he wasn't socially adept either. It wouldn't have been the first time that Ace had chosen to push himself onto Alice against her will, nor would it have been the first time that Julius had come to her rescue. Though he could definitely win a fight with Julius, Ace always backed down. He always knew the boundaries. He always knew better than to cross the line.
That was, he knew better up until now.
When Julius saw the blood and the knife, he was more than infuriated. When his eyes caught a shimmering glimpse of the tears falling from Alice's face he found himself desperately wanting to pull out his gun, and for once, he gave in to that impulse. For once he thought he might have a chance at winning. After all, though he disliked getting involved, it didn't mean he wasn't perceptive.
He'd noticed that Ace was injured too.
/*\
Boris was too angry for words, but he had to tread lightly. As much as he'd have liked to let his control slip once more and shred Ace to ribbons, the human man was holding all the cards.
Though Ace had put away the knife, it didn't mean he wouldn't take it out again. As long as he was armed and had a wounded Alice sitting in his lap in such a convenient fashion, he was invulnerable.
All the same, he couldn't help but make the protest.
Ace broke off the kiss and Alice turned her head away, grateful for the release. However, the look on Ace's face did nothing to reassure Boris. He looked mildly annoyed, and his fingers flexed a fraction of a centimeter on Alice's waist, resulting in a soft wince they both could still hear. Then that deceptively sweet smile reappeared on his face, his grip loosening just enough for Alice to be comfortable again. At least, as comfortable as she could be.
"But didn't you hear?" He asked lightly, "She said yes. She's mine." And with that he pulled the girl a little closer. His hand was as gentle as could be as he pulled his fingers through strands of her silken hair. He looked down at her with an expression that could easily be mistaken for genuine adoration. He held her gently, and rearranged the bandages so that she didn't bleed out as fast. He wasted no time in disregarding Boris and placing a soft kiss to the girl's temple. The display sickened the cat to his core.
This blatant mockery of affection was intolerable. Although Boris was loathe to say anything that might result in Ace harming Alice, he just couldn't bite his tongue. Whether the fight took place in the evening forest or under the noonday sun at the entrance of the clock tower, it was in his nature to be sarcastic and confrontational. He had to say something.
"Not yes, 'fine', and even then, I'm pretty sure it was only because you threatened to kill her if she said no." Immediately, the facade vanished and Ace's hand balled into a fistful of Alice's hair. His 'sweet' gaze left her face, flickering to the cat in an instantaneous glare.
"Alice?" He asked softly, silently demanding that she defend him. However, in what seemed to be a final sign of defiance, she glared at him out of the corner of her eye and remained silent.
She would not speak for him, and so Ace took further action. His grip on her wound tightened, digging his fingers into her skin until she let herself cry out in pain.
Immediately Boris regretted each and every one of his words.
/*\
Ace liked to think that he was in love. In a world that he found bland and dull, Alice was a bright flash of color in the midst of his black and white universe. She was strange, and she was tiny, and she was weak. And she had somehow managed to get each and every one of the Roll Holders wrapped around her slender fingers.
All but him, that is. At least at first.
As he spent more and more time with her, she had started to get a little bit boring too, but he had found himself surprised by the fact that he did not mind it. Everything was the same, and he always knew what to expect, but he actually took pleasure from this state of sameness. He'd come to the realization that boring hadn't actually been the word he was looking for.
Things with Alice had become routine. Their camping trips and run-ins and everything. He still got to have his adventures with her, but the dynamic had changed. Instead of waiting for a new and fun reaction, he had come to rely on her annoyance and mulishness. Instead of having a shiny new toy, he'd gained a friend.
One that he'd loved to pester, and for almost a year it had stayed that way, until that fateful event one week ago.
That had been the moment he knew. As much as it was fun to toy with her, she had also come to be very important to him. When those men...
He'd come across the group in the forest one day after completing a mission for Julius. A normal time period, nothing strange at all. He'd simply collected the clocks and traipsed silently through the woods until he caught sight of a pale flash of blue out of the corner of his eye. Alice.
He'd decided that he would like to pester her, and cheerfully stepped her way when he saw someone else through the trees. A faceless, more than one, all male.
"C'mon girly," the ringleader snarled, "we just wanna have a little fun. This will only hurt if you make it hurt." The way she'd jumped back, the way she'd cried out in terror, screaming for someone to come save her...it got to him. It really got to him.
Ace didn't go out of his way to kill people. He'd never been able to understand how Alice could mistake his indifference for exhilaration. It wasn't a hobby he enjoyed, it was his Role. He never took pleasure in the task, but it didn't really bother him either.
Not until now.
He wasted no time unsheathing his sword and he killed each and every one of her attackers with a sort of bloodlust that he'd never felt before. He wanted them to die. He wanted to watch as their lives bled out onto the forest floor. He wanted them to regret with all their clocks their decision to even lay eyes on Alice, and he was not shy about letting the entire forest know about it. Each one of the disgusting pigs were cut down before they had the chance to draw any sort of weapon, and not a single one of the bastards had touched her with even a finger.
They were all dead within seconds, and none of the blood staining Alice's clothes was her own. She looked up at him with wide eyes, and he was sure his expression wasn't much different. Only when they were all dead, and no one was left but himself and this bloodstained girl, something had occurred to him.
Down to the point, he'd discovered something, something important. He'd figured out that he was more than capable of something he once thought impossible. Not only could she help him break away from his role but...
Yes, with Alice, he'd be able to do it. He could be confident in himself. He knew that he could be competent.
Ace had discovered that - unlike the only other person he had ever cared about - he could keep Alice safe.
He could protect her.
/*\
Boris was still a little dazed from his 'episode' but that didn't make him entirely unobservant. Though it might have taken a moment or two, he did see the Clockmaker.
He also saw the contorted expression under his excruciatingly long hair.
Boris didn't dare to look at Julius for more than a few seconds. In his weakened state it was clear that Ace didn't know he was there yet. Though he was one of the strongest men in Wonderland, even he wasn't invincible, nor was he omniscient in the manner of the Nightmare. Perceptive, yes, but not omniscient.
Boris watched from the corner of his eye as Julius drew his gun. Good. The Clockmaker was armed. The cat now had an ally, and in this particular instance he trusted Julius wholeheartedly. Right at that moment, the Cheshire Cat and the Mortitician wanted the exact same thing.
To get Alice away from Ace.
So Boris did his best to keep the weakening knight from noticing the other person. Boris crouched slightly and pinned his ears, growling deep in his throat. Alice flinched but he refused to let that faze him. She had never heard him growl, and he wagered that she'd lost so much blood that she couldn't tell up from down. She probably didn't even realize it was him, and thought that a wild animal had somehow made it into the tower.
No, Alice was not in good condition, and that only made him that much more anxious. Boris wanted to be able to protect her, but she was in between him and his enemy, who was not impressed in the least. His attention was not entirely focused on the cat, and that was bad.
Boris had to put on a better show, and he had to mask the sound of Julius's footsteps as he got closer. He let his claws grow back out slightly and let the sound in his throat deepen one pitch, then two, then three, his tail lashing all the while. Ace finally shook a finger at him.
"I wouldn't do that kitty cat," his sing-song voice lilted, "I'm-"
Ace's voice cut off abruptly, the look on his face betraying his shock as another voice cleared itself beside him, catching his attention.
"You're...?" Another voice asked, the tone perfectly neutral. The Clockmaker didn't sound nearly as angry as he looked, and though the expression on his face was entirely impassive and uncaring, everyone knew he was more than a little upset. Boris mentally applauded him.
I didn't know he had it in him. The cat thought to himself appreciatively. And it was true.
The Clockmaker was - for Wonderland - a very peaceful man. He didn't go out of his way to pick fights, and did his best to avoid confrontation with the other Role-Holders. It was a very, very rare sight to see him holding his pistol, especially towards any of the few people he considered himself friends with.
He must really love her, Boris continued in his head as the other two men stared each other down, if that pistol is resting just between Ace's eyes.
/*\
I'm so mean, finally coming back to this after so long and leaving you with that. How was your day? I hope it was good! R&R!
-Static