Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Kuni no Alice series; QuinRose does. I only own the original storyline and any characters not seen in the original games.
Chapter 7 – Love Me When I'm Gone
The world was chaos as too many things happened at once. Yelling, gunshot, chairs cracking against the floor as Alice jumped up and ran to one of the side doors. The main door slammed open, and a handful of soldiers rushed in to help. Flashes of shadow spun outward, twirling around the white-robed woman with incredible ferocity. The tendrils smashed into everyone but Alice, throwing the bodies against the wall hard enough to shake the war room to its core. Any of the soldiers in the room were killed immediately, their clocks raining down as the Role Holders fell unconscious to the ground.
Only Alice remained standing, backed up against a wall as the woman turned to her.
"So you are the newest Outsider. They are always so young. Like grains of sand in an infinite hourglass."
"Who…," and Alice stopped herself because se couldn't bear to say the words aloud. This woman, who can obliterate a room full of Role Holders, is the one I have to fight – and kill.
"This form is that of the Queen of Diamonds," the Jabberwock said. "We were quite pleased to have such a powerful clock, but it is nothing compared to the power of a human heart." Her expression turned from peaceful to cold. "We have been waiting for too long. It is ours now."
She made a grand gesture, royalty and pride evident in the motion, and Alice watched as an icicle nearly a foot in thickness rose up from then ground – and thrust itself towards her chest. She closed her eyes in reflexive terror and knew with unwavering truth I'm going to die.
Except that the cold never hit, and someone made a sound like he was choking on water, and something warm splashed against her dress and arms. She opened her eyes.
Gowland's jade green gaze met hers with visible relief. "You okay, Alice?" he coughed, blood dripping from his mouth, and she could see the giant icicle protruding from his chest because he used his body to block the hit.
"NO!"
He leaned in and whispered, "Run, sweet pea."
A lash of black shadows ripped the clock right out of him before he could make another sound, and Alice screamed high and loud as his body disappeared in a whisper of ashes. She kept screaming as the Jabberwock opened her delicate lips unreasonably wide, exposing shark-like teeth, and bit down on the clock as if it were a baked treat. The clock shattered and snapped, but it was the sight of the now-bleeding metal staining the woman's teeth that made Alice's voice disappear and her legs turn to water.
"Ahhh," the woman sighed with carnal pleasure. "The Duke. We did not have the joy of devouring his clock during our previous incarnation. But now… now Queen of Diamonds will be ever pleased to have his clock joined with hers in our belly."
"It shall be your last one."
A flash of curls from behind the Diamond Queen, and a gunshot rang through the room like a church bell. The woman jerked once, her forehead blooming a single bullet hole, and fell forward on her knees.
Vivaldi stood behind, her revolver out and smoking, and fired a second shot execution-style. The rest of the Role Holders were gaining their bearings, blood on their clothes and dripping down their faces. As they stood, afterimages began to spin through the room like a saw, and they brought up their weapons to fight.
"Damn, that thing's fast," Gray said, barely flicking his wrist as he cut a pointed afterimage in half.
The Jabberwock, still wearing the Diamond Queen's form, began to struggle to its feet, but Vivaldi shot it again. "No doubt it will get faster with the Duke's strength."
"Then we must bring you to safety," Peter said, putting an arm around Alice's shoulders as he shot another shadow apart.
"I agree. As such, I order everyone here to leave the castle. We shall remain here to dispatch the Jabberwock."
Alice realized what it meant just as Blood did; he actually opened his mouth to yell, but Vivaldi gave him a look to turn blood to ice. "You dare to disagree with the Queen's orders?" she hissed. "Or are you not the man you should be, Hatter?"
Vivaldi fired again into the Jabberwock; she seemed to be running on some invisible timer that kept telling her when to shoot. "What are you waiting for?" she demanded of the rest. "Follow the plan. Take Alice and disappear!"
But suddenly she disappeared; literally disappeared, as if someone blinked her out of existence. The Jabberwock was still on the ground, trying to recover, but the King of Hearts calmly walked up to it and, summoning his sword, stabbed the creature through its head deep into the stone floor. Alice couldn't stop a tiny shriek from escaping her lips at the viciousness.
Or the fact that he was young again, with eyes open and sharp as he stared at Alice. "We will not have our queen sacrifice herself. It may be called for during the war, but…," and he took a deep breath. "There can be no true recompense for what we have done to our friend, but this is ours to do for him."
He looked around the room, making sure every Role Holder was aware of what he was doing as they cut and shot afterimages. Then he rested his hand on the sword's pommel and said, "We, King Johann of Heart, hereby decree that all Role Holders shall be banished from the castle from this time until the threat of the Jabberwock has been properly resolved. Good luck, Alice, and may all of Wonderland be under your care."
With those words, Alice felt an invisible something hooking onto her stomach. Before she could even think of what was going to happen, the same hook suddenly pulled her like a fish torn from the water. She let out a soundless screams as she flew through the not-air, but the feeling stopped almost as soon as it started.
When she looked around, utterly unsteady on her feet and holding a nearby table (table?), she realized she was back at the Hatter Mansion. More specifically, she was standing in the middle of the secret rose garden.
All alone.
Her heart started racing (like it ever stopped) as she dashed towards the house, hoping that the twins and Pierce were still there. When she reached the back door, Alice felt the ground beneath her feet start to shake and shudder. It was so strong that she was actually thrown to her knees, bruising them against the concrete, and wondered is the world ending?
One of the faceless mafia men leaned out the window above her and shouted, "Look! The castle is falling!"
Alice braced herself against the doorway and saw, with cold sorrow, the beautiful Castle of Hearts collapsing upon itself. All of the towers, decorations, everything began to fall apart and tumble to the ground like a child's tower of rocks. It seemed to take forever for the world to stop shaking, and the aftershocks hummed through the ground even after the dust had settled.
The Jabberwock was somewhere in the rubble… but so was King Johann.
"Thank you," she whispered into the twilight before turning and heading into the mansion.
She passed by a handful of Hatter minions; her response to any and all questions had been, "The Jabberwock's in Heart." They responded with amazing aplomb, sending out orders and directions among their shared ranks as Alice made her way up the stairs.
When she burst into the guest bedroom, Dee and Dum were already awake – and had their guns pointed at the door. Alice stopped in mid-breath, but they dropped their weapons at the sight of her.
"Big Sis, you're okay!" Dum cried, sweeping her up into his now-grown up arms. "You're okay!"
He actually spun her around in a circle as if she were the child, absolutely delighted to be holding her again.
"Dum, put me down! I'm happy to see you, but-AH!" and her words were cut off as Dee tackled both of them, sending all three falling onto the bed.
"Big Sis is here," he said, almost purring with happiness. "Everything's gonna be fine."
She gave in and let herself enjoy their combined warmth, wrapping an arm around each boy-man as she said, "Yeah, I'm here. I'm glad you're okay, too."
But she turned her head to Dee and saw the left arm of his jacket tastefully pinned in place, and reality kicked in.
"Boys, the Jabberwock is in Heart."
The way their eyes changed from soft sweetness to blade-blue and blood-red made her chest hurt. Even after the loss and pain, they were still ready to fight.
"Where?"
"The King trapped it in the Castle of Hearts."
"He bought some time," Dee said, and Dum finished, "But it's gonna to go wherever it thinks Alice's hidin'." "So we gotta make sure she keeps hidin'."
They jumped up and took her hands in each of theirs, pulling her out of the room fast enough to keep her at a jog without literally dragging her behind them. "Wait, wait! Where are we going?"
"Gonna keep running," Dum said. "We've got you now, and we gotta keep moving so the Jabberwock doesn't find you."
An idea hit her. "Then let's go get Pierce!"
"He's here?" Dee asked.
"Getting some sleep. Come on!"
Now she was the one leading them through the house, calling out for the Dormouse as faceless Hatters flowed by. It didn't take too long before one door opened and a very sleepy Pierce stepped into the hallway.
"Alice?" he mumbled. "What's goin' on?"
"The Jabberwock's in Heart, and we gotta get Alice somewhere safe!" Dum explained.
Surprisingly enough, the sleep vanished from his eyes and was replaced with sharp emerald focus. "I know the best places," he said.
Now she was flanked from three points – Pierce leading, the twins to each side – as they dashed out of the mansion. "Where are we going?" she asked, now getting a little breathless.
"Gotta get you safe," Pierce said, not even winded. "Little cracks and crevices."
By the time they left the boundaries of the Hatter mansion behind, Alice was near completely winded. She never thought much about walking between the different lands, but today the distance felt particularly long. The good thing was that the Castle of Heart looked years away; even the Jabberwock couldn't move over that distance too quickly.
Fortunately, Dum realized that she was starting to slow down. "You okay, Big Sis?"
"I can't run as long as you guys," she said, puffing out the words as the others slowed to a jog.
"Oh, I can fix that!"
And before she could put up any kind of fight, Dum literally picked her up and swung her over his shoulders. It was the least graceless pose she'd ever been in – and she'd been picked up by countless Role Holders being cute or annoying – but he held her in place with just one hand as her hip settled in place. When he started up on a run, Alice felt only a mild amount of bouncing.
"Aw, I shoulda thought'a that," Dee said mournfully, though he took his brother's gun with notable pleasure.
"Bet'cha Chicken Rabbit's gonna be jealous when I tell him how nice Big Sis's body felt on mine," he said, sounding just a little too knowing, and Alice felt her face burn with embarrassment.
When this is done, I am going to give all three of them a talking to, she silently promised herself.
Then, as they were about five minutes away from the Forest, the time changed to midnight. At that same moment, Pierce shouted, "Wait!"
"What?" Dum asked, and now there wasn't a hint of playfulness in his voice as he set her on her feet.
"This is bad. I smell something bad," he said, and that's when she saw it.
It was Gowland, but not Gowland, walking out of the Forest. There wasn't much light from nearby – no one put streetlights in the Forest – but she could tell it was him. It wore his form like a suit that didn't fit quite right, and the motions weren't nearly as smooth as they had been when the Jabberwock wore the Diamond Queen's skin, but it radiated power in a way that no Role Holder had ever done.
And that look in its eyes was nothing close to the affectionate, happy-go-lucky man that ran the Amusement Park. Her heart started to pound as his eyes ran up and down her body before focusing on her chest – her heart.
"Good ta see ya again, sweet pea. Miss me?"
To their credit, the three Role Holders stood in front of her with their weapons at the ready. They didn't brag or taunt or show any sign of emotion; they simply readied themselves for a fight they couldn't possibly win.
"Alice, take this," Pierce said, slipping a hand into his pocket and pulling out a small jar of fluid without taking his eyes from the Jabberwock. "First sip will make you shrink; second sip will make you grow."
She took it and put it next to the vial in her apron pocket.
"I told'dja ta run before," Gowland said as deeper shadows gathered around his legs. "Maybe ya just wanted ta get caught."
Dum made a rather un-subtle 'run' motion with his hand behind his back, but none of the boys otherwise moved.
"Or are ya willin' ta make a deal? How 'bout I eat yer heart, and I won't kill these little ones. Sound good?"
He didn't even wait for an answer before springing forward, the violin rifle in his hand and afterimages cutting rifts into the ground. Both Dum and Pierce blocked the bullets and cut through shadows, but Dee grabbed Alice around the waist and dodged behind the nearest tree.
"Stay behind the trees, and run for the Forest 'til you find the doors," Dee said, using his gun-hand to point towards the darkened way. "We'll stay here an' distract the Jabberwock."
She grabbed the back of his jacket. "Dee, you can't go! You've already been hurt!"
He made a motion as if to peel her fingers away, but there was no left hand to do it. Instead, he gave her a kiss – a real kiss that was full of warmth and affection – before saying, "We told'ja before that we're willing to die for you, and we're gonna do that."
Her fingers had loosened in surprise and, before she could say a word, he hurled himself into the air and fired at Gowland.
Don't waste this. Don't waste their lives – any of them!
So she didn't look back when someone made a horrible coughing sound, or when someone else let out a scream of pain. She ran for all she was worth.
But something tangled around her ankle before she could take more than a handful of steps, and Alice fell face-first into the dirt, scraping herself on the rocks and branches.
"Here I was, tryin' ta give ya a sporting chance, sweet pea," Gowland said, his boots crunching leaves. As she scrambled around trying to escape, she saw blackness (afterimages) wrapping themselves around her ankles and keeping her from standing.
Now Gowland bent down right at her head, smiling that old friendly smile though his eyes were hidden in shadow. "It's kinda fun chasin' you 'round. Yer not like the other Outsiders, sweet pea. But ya know… the prize is much sweeter when flavored with the blood of fallen prey," and his voice changed with that last sentence to one of monsters and horror.
Alice swallowed but found her own voice. "Don't call me sweet pea," and threw a handful of dusty soil into the Jabberwock's eyes.
It flinched back with a snarl, but hadn't been expecting that. Enough dirt had gotten caught in its eyes that the grip on her ankles loosened, and she scrambled back just as a bullet passed through Gowland's head. He fell to the side without a sound as a handful more bullets went through his body.
Then someone picked her up princess-style, and began jogging into the Forest as footsteps followed behind.
"You got her?"
"Sure do."
Her heart sped up in joy. "Elliot?" she whispered, and now she could see his ears and hair in the moonlight, tell it was him by the feel of his jacket against her skin.
"Sure is," he said. "Damn lucky I happened to see you guys heading into the forest. What the hell's up with Gowland?"
"Jabberwock, not Gowland," Dum explained, and she craned her neck to see that all three boys were there. All were injured, and their blood glowed black in the darkness, but they were alive and ticking.
"Fuck! So where are we going with you?"
"Didn't get that far in plans," she admitted.
"Then I'll take you t- AAAH!"
And his words were cut off in a shout, and Alice felt blood on her face (oh god not again!) as Elliot pitched forward in pain. Alice tumbled out of his arms and hit the ground as three more shouts went up into the air.
Gotta hide, gotta hide, she thought, barely able to roll over and hide in the nearby brambles.
"I keep missing the vital organs," the Jabberwock said, with no attempt to use Gowland's voice though it still wore his body and blood. "This is becoming quite tiresome."
Elliot groaned and rolled over, bringing up his pistol and firing it at the advancing Jabberwock. But whether it was a trick of the shadows or the Jabberwock itself, none of the bullets made their mark. Even adding Dee and Dum's guns didn't improve their chances.
"This is the only game that the Role Holders have fought me this hard," it said as it came closer. "And forced me to use the afterimages so frequently. I wonder the reason behind it."
As it passed by Pierce, he attempted to slice open the Jabberwock's ankles. Without a glance downward, it kicked him so hard he went flying and Alice heard something crack in his chest when the Dormouse hit a tree. Before the twins could find their feet, a pair of afterimages speared down and impaled them into the ground. Alice covered her mouth to prevent a scream from escaping, the sound muffled by their ragged cries.
But Elliot was standing up, holding out his pistol though his breathing was uneven and was barely keeping his balance. "You can't have her," he growled, firing with each word.
Gowland's body jerked and twitched with each bullet, but he kept moving forward as if the wounds didn't matter. Just as he summoned a handful of afterimages, Elliot dashed forward and threw a high kick at the Jabberwock's head. The move had obviously not been expected because Gowland didn't even put up a defense and actually stumbled backwards.
"Hell yeah," Elliot growled as he fired off his pistol so quickly that Alice could only hear a hum of bullets rather than separate shots.
"Foolish creature," the Jabberwock growled. "I will devour your clock."
"Screw that!" and he actually dodged quickly enough to avoid a slash from nearby afterimages. How in the world he managed to see then, Alice didn't know, but she had regained enough of her breath to remember I know I should run. I know I should run.
But I don't want to leave any of them to die. I can't do that.
That hesitation would be her downfall. She looked back once, hoping that her friends were still alive, and didn't see the trap at her feet until she stepped in it. Afterimages suddenly cocooned her and lifted her off the ground so quickly that she couldn't stop a shriek from escaping.
"Alice!" three different voices shouted.
But then Elliot's voice cut off, and she heard the sound of a body being slammed into the dirt with enough force to break rocks and bones. She managed to twist around and see the Jabberwock – now wearing the form of a faceless – pinning Elliot down with a hand around his neck. By the way he was flailing, it was obvious that the Hare couldn't breathe.
"Stop! Leave him alone!"
"I grow bored of these ants," and it brought its arm back to drive through Elliot's chest.
A sword winged out of nowhere and cut off the Jabberwock's head and hand just as it moved for the kill. Elliot, taking the opening, rolled backwards and shot the afterimages holding Dee and Dum down.
"Nice timing," Elliot barely managed to cough. "You've been standing there for five damn minutes!"
"Aw, I just didn't want to steal the spotlight," Ace smiled, flicking the blade through his fingers before stabbing the Jabberwock's chest.
"Ass."
Someone shot apart the afterimages holding her up, and Alice fell into the waiting arms of the twins. Both of them looked like hell, to say nothing of the incredible six-inch hole through their chests, but they gently caught her and set her down.
"How's the mouse?" Ace asked, pulling out his sword and stabbing the Jabberwock again.
"He'll live," Elliot whispered, then gracelessly tossed the boy over his shoulder. Alice actually heard something give a crack, and winced as Pierce let out a groan. "Oops."
Oh good lord, Alice thought to herself. "Come on, guys. We're almost there."
The twins supported each other and Elliot was still carrying Pierce, so Ace took it upon himself to stay at her side. "Here I thought I was heading towards the Clock Tower."
"Not quite, but I'm grateful for your help."
"Above all else, I'm a Knight here to protect the lady."
They made it into the Forest without any further ado, but then there was the second problem.
"Which door do we take?" Alice asked. "I've never used one before."
"Doesn't matter. We just need a destination," Dee said.
"So where are we going?"
"The Circus."
"Are you serious? Why there?"
Ace opened his mouth to answer, but the sound of cracking bark and crashing logs stopped his answer. As they looked around, afterimages were whipping through the forest and bringing down ageless trees as they stood in place.
All the Role Holders realized what was happened at the exact same time. Ace pushed Alice to the side a handful of thigh-thick afterimages cut past their group, driving into the forest's doors and slicing away the trees.
"Come on!" Dum yelled, as he grabbed Alice's hand. There were countless doors already around them, but the Jabberwock's reach was too close for comfort, and if she stopped to open one that was in reach, it would be on them in a heartbeat. They had to get farther away.
But none of her escorts had escaped injury (and Alice was realizing that she'd earned a few bruises herself), and the blood loss and pain was taking its toll. To her pained shock, none of them could keep up with her sprint.
Damn it all, I'm NOT leaving them! I'm tired of being told that they're disposable!
She knew the risk, knew that if she wasn't quick enough that she'd put the rest of Wonderland at risk, but Alice quickly made a ninety-degree turn and literally ran into a tree and thought of the first place she could.
Joker's Circus.
And she flung open the door and heard laughter and smelled popcorn and yelled, "Hurry!"
Ace was the fastest, and he nearly threw Dee and Dum through the door as Elliot handed off Pierce. Just as they were ready to jump in, an afterimage cut through the door and the connection was lost. It was just a regular door on a regular tree.
"NO!"
The Jabberwock came walking through all the destruction, and trees continues to fall all around them. "You have no escape, Outsider. You have run far enough. I will play this game no longer."
Both warriors stood in front of her, their stances combat-ready, but Alice could see blood dripping down and staining their jackets.
"Guess we both do this, then, Knight?"
"Nope."
"What?!"
Ace literally spun in place, removed his jacket in a single motion, wrapped it around Alice, and threw her at Elliot. The Hare caught her, no problem, but the sheer surprise of the move made both her and Elliot gasp in surprise.
"Ace, wha-"
"Get her out of here," he said. "Get out while the getting's good."
"But wh-"
"No worries, Alice. You'll be fine," and he looked at Elliot, eyes a little more red than usual in the speckled moonlight. "Better make sure she's safe."
Something she didn't understand passed between the two, and Elliot suddenly threw her over his shoulder.
"NO!" she screamed, unable to keep from crying and shrieking. "Stop! Don't let him die! STOP!"
"This is his choice, Alice," he said, voice rough. "He's giving us a fighting chance to get somewhere safe."
"I can't leave him behind!" she screamed again, watching Ace and the Jabberwock grow smaller and smaller as they ran deeper to find an unbroken door. "No! Please!"
But all he did was hold her tighter as he picked up speed, and Alice buried her head and tears in his scarf.
"You stay behind while your companions run. How odd of one who seems so… distant from other humans."
"It's not weird," Ace said, lightly swinging the sword in his hand. "But I don't really wanna talk about it."
The Jabberwock smiled, showing razor sharp teeth. "I will understand soon enough."
And the creature shifted into something that must have been its usual form, though he got the sense that it wasn't as big as it should be. Not that it wasn't gigantic like this.
Huh. Guess it's not had enough life energy yet.
Despite what stood before him, Ace couldn't stop smiling. His clock felt strange, almost light, and mind was absolutely crystal clear. He didn't feel lost anymore.
"Come, Knave of Hearts. Wage your war."
"Then let's dance."
It was the most brilliant fight he'd ever engaged; greater than any silly fight he'd had with soldiers or even his most trying battle against the Lizard. Now, he knew no restraint. There was no thought to holding back or testing the waters. He could give his everything to this moment. Every move was so textbook perfect that it may as well have been a performance all choreographed to utter flawlessness for the awe of anyone blessed enough to watch. It didn't matter that the Jabberwock kept cutting him down, knocking him around, making him bleed and break. He was picture perfect even as he lost.
He couldn't feel anything when it picked him up off the ground by the arms, holding him out like a penitent before an angry god. He just kept smiling through bloodied lips, staring at the empty sky through blackened eyes.
Alice… I found what I've been looking for.
And his chest exploded, and a single gasp of pain escaped his lips before the world turned white… then forever black.
Author's Note (07/10/13): I've actually had the ending of this chapter written almost since the beginning of the story. I had always planned that not all of Alice's beloved friends would survive the meeting with the Jabberwock, partially because (I believe) the Jabberwock is a Role Holder; its role is simply one that destroys the other Role Holders.
Ace has always been a difficult character for me to like, but I sympathize with him a great deal. I wish I could have gotten deeper into his thoughts, but now he has what he wanted - freedom.
Thanks, again, for reading.
