I AM BACK! (*back in black by ACDC plays in the background*). This is the second biggest chapter I've written so far, the first one is still in course of writing. SchattenSoldat08, this is dedicated to you.

Chris's eyes snapped open as soon as he ran out of oxygen. At first he panicked and wave his arms aimlessly, but he quickly regained his composure and swam to the surface. Once he replaced the water in his lungs with air he got out of River Thomes and laid on the ground exhausted for a few minutes, feeling how the cold entered his bones making him shiver. Looking around for some shelter he found a warehouse and after a few failed attempts to stand up made his way towards it. Once he took shelter inside it he rested his back on one of the crates inside, listening for any other sounds other than the falling rain and when he was sure that there wasn't any he slipped into unconsciousness.

Alice gaped at the sight. Before her very eyes was, with his back against a crate, the man who saved her a few nights ago. She checked his pulse and breathe a sign in relief that he was alive. Not being powerful enough to carry him to the Mangled Mermaid she opted instead to put him in a corner and get Nanny to help. After she secured her saviour, curiosity took control over Alice and she pulled down his hood and gasped. 'I always thought that I dreamed him up, that he was part of my subconscious, but he is real!' Putting his hood back on, Alice rushed towards the brothel, determined to get some answers when the young man would wake up.

He stood ready, his body tensed as he waited like a predator ready to strike, anticipation rising as the footsteps were getting louder and louder. In a blink of an eye he left his hiding place, he swiftly pierced his victim's throat and pressed his other hand on the mouth to prevent his soon-to-be-deceased prey from screaming. The victim was too shocked to actually consider screaming and it was too late to do something. Feeling the orderly buckle, the killer gently laid him down so that it could avoid making noise. He looked at his blood-stained hands and scowled, he really needs to buy a pair of gloves.

"So, how old is your sister?" asked a voice which made the murder excited. From the sound of it two persons were nearby. He already killed most of the staff without being detected and he made a bet with himself that he could kill them silently. He silently made his made towards the sounds, poised to strike.

Chris woke up with a terrible headache and his heart was pounding in his chest like crazy and because of that he stood there for five minutes before he stood up and discovered to his surprise that he was standing behind some crates in a corner, hidden from anyone's sight. 'Who would do this?' Checking himself to see if the person might have left a clue on him and he discovered that all his money had been stolen, which made him angry. He kept searching and found a letter in his inner pocket.

Dear Chris,

I believe I forgot to mention about other side effects such as: increase heart rate, headaches and memory lost.

Regards,

Doctor August Bumby

PS: I cannot determine if the memory loss has long or short term.

Chris ripped the letter apart in anger, deciding he had enough. He was going to make the doctor cure him and then he would interrogate him, properly this time and when he was through with him he'll kill him. He navigated through the docks, ignoring the dull headache until a cry for help got his attention. The ex-Assassin arrived at, what he thought at first was, a cheap hotel in flames.

"Is everyone out?" asked someone from the small crowd at the Mermaid's entrance.

"No, Nanny is still in there."

Without a word, Chris rushed in the burning building, faintly hearing the people outside calling him. While he was inside he saw a man rushing through the back entrance and assumed that he was the culprit of the fire, however he let him go since his purpose there was something entirely different. He rushed upstairs and found two women: the older one was standing over the young and unconscious one. Chris immediately recognized the one lying on the ground.

"Help us! Please!" begged the older one.

"Come on!" he said as he grabbed Alice and ran out of the inferno with Nanny right behind him.

Men rushed at them in order to check if they were injured, but they were politely brushed off by Chris.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" said Nanny repeatedly, while crying of joy. The former Assassin just shook his head as a mean to tell her that no thanks were necessary. "Here, this is all I have left. It's not much, but it's a start," she told the silent young man and headed him a bag full of coins. "If you ever need anything more, come to the Mangled Mermaid. I own you a debt that I can't repay properly."

The dark Assassin nodded in appreciation and was about to leave when his vision became blurry and he couldn't keep his balance anymore. The last things he remembered before the darkness took hold of him was how he fell on the ground, worried looked on Nanny's face and the distant cries for help.

Chris found himself in a land completely covered in ice, despite that he didn't fell cold. The young man would later confess to Alice that he liked Wonderland for its unusual environment. 'Not every often you see the Moon smoking and creating Auroras.' The ex-Assassin followed the trail of Ruin goo and Ice Sharks bodies Alice left behind, while keeping his guard up as he saw the frozen animals with their insides out. 'Looks like they were running from something.' He stood on an iceberg and watched how Shipwreck Sharks attacked a sailboat inside of a bottle. The black eyed young man could distinguish two persons on the boat and he figured one of them was Alice. He threw some cards at the sharks, hitting them in the eyes and boarded the ship.

"About time you showed up," commented Alice

However, Chris ignored that. "What now?"

"We need to ship out," said a voice he didn't recognized. The young man raised his brow at the Mock Turtle's appearance.

"Destroy the bottle with your cards," said the young woman, stopping Chris's staring at the Turtle.

He nodded dumbly and proceeded to do what he was told to. For a while they sailed smoothly, but Chris noticed how the currents became stronger and when he saw the huge waterfall he froze for a split of second before going frantically chance the ship's course when Alice stopped him by grabbing his hand. He looked at her like she lost her senses and was about to yell profanities, but they died in his throat when he saw the look in her eyes, that look of certainty that reassured him everything was going to be alright. He put his hand on the side of the boat and whispered in his ear: "Trust me." Normally he would scoff at these two words. He trusted no one, not even his fellow brothers in the order, which was ironic considering that it was he who betrayed them, abandoned them. But now, he would listen to her, trust her.

'Why?' the demonic voice asked

Before he could come up with a decent answer he heard Alice scream and saw how close they were to the edge. He shut his eyes tightly, gritted his teeth together to the point of pain and clutched the side of the wooden boat until his knuckles turned white. He felt how his stomach dropped and the water splashing against his face, then nothing. When he opened his eyes he expected to see Kami-sama or some demon, but he found himself on the ship with Alice and Mock Turtle. The creator of Wonderland would have made a comment, but before she could a high pitched screamed came from the Mock Turtle.

"Sharks!" he yelled.

Alice pushed the scared Admiral from the wheel and said in a booming voice. "Chris, go below at the cannon. When I say 'fire', fire it." Chris nodded and did what he was told. "Fire!" barked the dark haired beauty and the dark Assassin complied. "Chris! Look around for depth charges. I'll open the hatch and when I say 'drop', threw the charge through it."

Without a single thought Chris obeyed Alice's every order, trusting her judgment completely. Everything was going well, when a Shipwreck Shark sneaked behind them and disabled the boat. The former Assassin was tossed out of the ship like a ragdoll, narrowly avoiding being crushed by the cannon. The former Assassin was lying on his back gasping in pain, the pain was so horrible he had trouble breathing. 'Relax, it will pass soon.' Trusting in its judgment, Chris relaxed his body and mind and soon the pain was gone. He got up and noticed that his top was gone, leaving him in only dark cargo pants and dark combat boots. He saw Mock Turtle crying at the remains of his ship, not even caring about his, Chris's or Alice's life. 'Alice! Where is she?' He looked around and finally spotted her, lying unconscious on the ground. "Alice!" he yelled and ran at her, felling angry at the pathetic Admiral. 'I'm going to rip his claws apart and beat him to death with them!'

"Alice…" he whispered her name, while gently shaking her shoulder.

The said person let out a groan before opening her eyes. "Chris?" she asked after her vision became focused again. She tried to get up, but she was in too much pain to stand.

"Don't move too suddenly, we just had a spectacular crash," he told her softly

"My body aches all over. We submerged too quickly…" she said tiredly as she slowly blinked

'She quite beautiful and this dress brings out her gorgeous features,' he thought. The young man caught the creator of Wonderland staring at his fine toned chest and noticed the faint pink in her cheeks. Deciding to look elsewhere, the ex-Assassin focused intensely on her lips 'How lovely and lonely those lips look…' He had the urge to press his lips against hers and was about to when the dark voice inside his mind spat with disgust. 'Are you sure you want to touch them? The same lips that child molester touched, the same lips that were around his cock? How come you're vomiting at the mere thought? I know I am!'

Suddenly anger started to burn through Chris's veins, consuming him like a fire. The twenty-year-old man felt bile in his mouth and he was about to throw up on Alice if not for the years as an Assassin. He started to count and after several deep breaths he was able to force the sick feeling away, but his anger remained.

"Can you stand?" he asked her as civil as he could

"Yes. I'm surprised you can after our quick submerge. My body still aches."

Ignoring her, he turned to the Mock Turtle.

"My ship is a wreck and I am too," the self-proclaimed Admiral said.

"Save your self-pity for someone who gives a damn!" he said harshly making Turtle cringe and Alice look wide-eyed. "What's the train destination? Does it have a schedule?"

"Y-You d-don't respect the suffering of other," the former station master shuttered

"And you don't know the true meaning of suffering," said the raven-haired man before grabbing the Turtle's shell, forcing him to look into his dark orbs. "But I'm going to show it to you, if you don't start telling me something useful," he told him menacingly

"C-Carpenter m-may know something. I-I only know that we've escaped a contaminating corruption," said the visible shaken Turtle. "Here is the ticket to his show."

Chris took it and left with Alice in a tow, contempt to leaving the disgraced station master to his fate. Alice could sense the pure rage radiating from her companion as he marched automatically. 'What happened to him? One minute he was calm and then his temper flares up.'

The duo continued onward without a word, Chris a few steps ahead of Alice. They found another wooden door and this time Alice entered it without a problem this time. Chris watched with disinterest Alice's revelation and started moving immediately when the memory ended. If he had paid attention on his surroundings he could have spotted the movement in the shadows and he could have avoided the bomb on the ground. He heard Alice calling his name before he went flying. The wave of pain that hit him broke him out of his trance and he found himself face-to-face with a worried-stricken Alice standing above him, trying to tell him something reassuring, but he couldn't hear her because his ears were ringing. Alice tore his gaze from him to look at enemy in front of her and before she charged at it, she gave Chris one last word of reassurance that he couldn't understand. Two minutes later all of the former Assassin's pain was washed away and he could finally stand.

"Thanks," he said, gruffly

"What happened?" asked Alice, putting her hands on her hips, to show she was dead serious and there was no escaping this discussion.

Chris stared at her blankly before he replied: "I was distracted. Don't worry it would happen again."

She shook her head. "I am not talking about what was pretty obvious, I am talking about what happened that got you distracted."

"It's none of your concern," he replied acidly

"That's where you are wrong," she began hotly. "It concerns me because it has something to do with me. The fact that you are still here proves that you haven't completed your business yet and from what I've seen in the Hatter's Domain it has something to do with my current condition, so you better start talking! Who are you really and what to do you want with me?"

"Tell her nothing!" growled the voice inside Chris's head.

The blank expression on the former Assassin's face turned into a scowl. "I don't have to tell you anything!" he said through his teeth. "Rest assure that when I'm done your condition will be improved." That was true. When he'll find his father location he'll kill Bumby and temper with his will, or create one, so that Alice will inherit the orphanage and all of Bumby's live savings. Hopefully she'll find a better psychiatrist, one who isn't a psychotic rapist and murder, and she might meet the love of her life and have a family. With that thought in mind he was about to keep going when Alice's voice stopped him dead in his tracks.

"I know you're the one who saved me two nights ago!" she yelled

The air inside the dark Assassin's lungs simply vanished when her words were registered by his brain. Slowly he turned to face her wide eyed and his face having an unhealthy shade of white. "I beg your pardon?"

"I know," she said, her eyes sparkling with determination to get all the information out of the man in front of her, while keeping her frustration in check.

A wave of horror washed over Chris as he realized the possible predicament he might be in. 'If she found the letter, I'm fucked.'

"Tell me, that night did you know I was the one you seek?" the creator of Wonderland asked and the former Assassin felt relieved, but he kept his facial expression in check.

Deciding that he could no longer keep her in the dark he decided to tell her some truths. "No. I didn't know you back then. I only knew that the person I seek had been in contact with Doctor Bumby. The doctor told me that the one I'm after was interested in you and you've met him, but the memory is locked into your subconscious."

"Who is this person that you seek and what did he want with Doctor Bumby?"

"My father. Don't think that I want to have a heartfelt reunion, no I want to kill him for killing my mother and put me into a mental asylum!" he said, venom dripping from his voice and Alice was disturbed by this information. 'Who would do such a thing to his own child?' she thought to herself

"What was the name of the mental asylum you were?" she asked, though deep down she knew the answer.

"Rutledge."

The creator of Wonderland lowered her gaze. "I had a feeling like I knew you from somewhere, but it wasn't what I originally thought. You were that boy who got away," she told him softly.

"Yes," he confirmed in the same tone.

"How could you have left me there?!" she asked a bit angry that he left her there

"I had no choice, I barely made it out myself," he said, feeling the guilt return. "It was either you or me."

Alice nodded in understanding. She knew that after Chris's escape, the staff decided to put bars on the windows and guards outside the building. She also noted that two orderlies came to give her the food and medicines and usually one would only watch from the door. "Are you sure you don't remember how you've entered my mind?" the green-eyed young woman asked tiredly

"No," the black-eyed young man replied firmly.

Alice nodded once again. "Is there anything else I should know?"

The former Assassin hesitated for a split of second before replying in the same tone as before: "No."

Lucky for him, Alice didn't notice. "In that case we should get back to what we were doing."

'Why did you hesitate?' asked the dark being

'I don't want to lie to her anymore.'

'We've been over this. It's only for a short period, until we-'

'Until we find father, I know. But do you know the saying: the lie has short feet? There might be a point where we'll need Alice's help and if she found out we lied to her, she'll left us for dead. Hell, she might kill us herself!'

'Now you overestimate her. While she may hold the advantage here, she's no match for us out there.'

The duo walked in silence to Barrelbottom, where they were greeted by Cat. "What lies beneath this patina of civility? Something wicked I'll wager," he warned them in his cryptic way before disappearing.

As soon as they passed the gates of Barrelbottom, Chris felt like he was attracted by something or someone in this town. He walked around the town, not caring if Alice followed him or not. When the last Liddell saw the ex-Assassin walking mechanically once more, dread filled her and followed the vengeful young man and was surprised to see him in front of a Rondula Room.

"I'm surprised you can find them," she said, pulling him back to reality. "I thought I was the only one who could use them."

"What is this?"

"It's a Rondula Room. After I finish the task inside of it, it strengths my connection to Wonderland, giving me more time to save it."

'You should enter it. It'll give us the edge we need in this place.'

'I don't like the idea of having a strong connection to Alice's mind.'

'Regardless, you need it. You saw how easy you can be knocked out of a fight. I bet Alice could take a knife to the heart and still live. Dying is something you ought to avoid and if this thing helps you stay alive, even if just a bit, use it.'

Convinced by the voice's logic the raven-haired young man proceeded inside with Alice. He found himself on the same floating platform with the same chained figure. After it gave the same command the dark Assassin's foes appeared out of nowhere and charged at him. Within minutes all of Chris's opponents had been killed and exactly like the last time a chain broke off and the figure gazed upon him with demonic red eyes. The ex-Assassin saw white before his eyes and then he found himself outside the now sealed Rondula Room with Alice.

"What happened? Why haven't I seen you inside?"

"Maybe it's different from one being to another," he offered an explanation and the duo headed towards Dreary Lane Theatre and once they landed on the final platform that lead into Carpenter's home they were attacked by a Drifting Ruin.

"Another arrow in this abomination's bulging quiver of mayhem. It moves faster, it's bigger and it can fly! What's next? Impregnability? Immortality? Who dreamed this up?" commented Alice as she blocked the projectiles with her umbrella.

"Don't give ideas," said Chris behind Alice

Because direct attacks were useless against these creatures, the former Assassin was forced to take cover behind the creator of Wonderland, as she deflected the Ruin's attacks. Once they've dealt with them, the pair entered the Theater and they were greeted by the Carpenter.

"Ah, Alice. Delighted to see you again, my dear. Your arrival is filled with fortunate-aibity itself."

By now the raven haired man was used to Wonderlanders, so he was staring blankly as Alice and Carpenter talked. "Really? I…didn't even know…"

"Never mind. My pregnant show," the red haired impresario said, using his hands to emphasis the word "is set to pup. It requires only a medicament of your helpful-osity."

Chris frowned, not liking where the discussion was going. "I don't have much experience, but I do need to reconstruct my…"

"We can banter. I have a screw-driver, nearly new, or a nice hammer if you're more interested in…"

"There's a train that's corrupting Wonderland and I'm looking for help to restrain or destroy it."

"Most vexatatious, no doubt," the Carpenter said while walking in circles. "We'll address that monstrosity directly, that's to say, eventually. Now let's intermedia-ate more important matters. Due to logisterical foul-up, some of the show's requisites need to be gathered."

"Pardon me," cut in the dark Assassin when he saw that Alice was being sent to fetch things like a dog. 'No wonder she didn't find out the truth. Her own creations are sending her on a wild goose chase! I've never seen such stupidity in our entire life. The janitor from Rutledge was a genius compared to her.' "I think there has been a misunderstanding. You were supposed to help us and not the other way around. And before you say something among the lines 'you scratch my back, I scratch yours' I'll tell you that there is no time. You see, the Ruin is already here," he paused here to enjoy the Carpenter's shocked face. "That's right your safe heaven is not so safe and it'll be only a matter of time before this place turns into a graveyard, so I suggest that you postpone your show for now and help us."

The Carpenter on his part looked calm. "Even if what you say it's true, it's already too late. The tickets have been sold and the spectators are on their way. Besides if that is the case shouldn't we live life to the fullest?"

The former Assassin's patience was thinning. "But shouldn't you do something to live another day?!" he asked annoyed "He still thinks he's safe. Prove him wrong!" In a flash the dark Assassin's sword was at the would-be impresario's neck. "You really think that you're safe, aren't you? If you are so safe then how can I do this and get away with it?" he asked as he pressed the sword forward into his neck, the tip barely touching the skin. His voice and eyes were cold, showing everyone present that he had no problem with spilling blood. "But you can be that stupid, can't you? I can see the cowardice. That is enough for me to know that you want to live and if you wish to continue being this way, I suggest start talking about the Train."

"Enough Chris!" said Alice and stepped as a shield for the red-haired man. "I don't know how you obtain information in real life, but here there are specific steps that must be followed," with that he turned to the Carpenter. "We'll do your biding, but you better keep your word."

"I promise," and bowed. "Now, the munificent script needs fetching. The writer's overly imaginative and exploring different endings. Then you'll need to assemble the show's tune deaf music. And finally gather our stars: the show's tasty…nay tasteful performers. You should leave now. The essentiality of haste is essential."

Once the Carpenter was done talking, the ex-Assassin left immediately. "Chris!" Alice called after him, but he pretended not to hear her and continued his walk. Only when she teleported in front of him did he stopped. "Who do you think you are, treating the citizen of Wonderland, my citizen, this way?" she asked between her teeth.

"A person with common sense," came the cold reply, his face emotionless, but in truth he was angry. "How can you let yourself be controlled by your citizen? I can't believe you would just let them tell you what to do since they are your creations."

"I will never become a tyrant who exerts his will on others!"

"I have seen how they treat you. You are their dog, fetching things for them. Tell me Alice, didn't it occur to you that your creations won't give you straight answers?"

"Spare me your games! If there is someone I don't trust it's you!"

The mask he wore broke the instant he registered her words, hurt flashed across his eyes.

"I don't even know you!" continued Alice, not noticing his hurt. "I know next to nothing about you, yet you aspect me to trust you? Ha!" she said and moved forward leaving him behind.

He didn't know why, but he was hurt. 'This is ten times painful than any other injury I've received. It's like my mother died again…'

'See how that little bitch repays you? You try to help her and she throws your help in your face. Let her deal with her own problems, you just worry about yourself.'

And so he did. He let her to fight the Cannoncrabs and left the theater, going back into the city. 'That stupid girl! She's stupid and blind! I bet that, on unconscious level, she knew about Bumby and yet she stands by him. God, I can't stand this shit anymore!' He stopped and faced upwards. "Come at me, you bastard! Stop running and face your sins!" Something came at Chris, but it wasn't the Train or his father. He felt pain in the back and chest and he saw how his feet left the ground. He looked up at his captor and gasped when he saw the Carpenter on Walrus's back.

"You," the ex-Assassin said weakly

"I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they," mocked the psychotic artist.

"Whatever you are doing…you'll fail…even if you kill me here."

"Empty words when you cling to as the darkness claims you. Believe me when I say this, I take no pleasure in doing this, but someone must protect a part of Wonderland."

"You…made a deal with him?"

"It was for the good of the people, it was nothing personal in this."

"You…won't…get away…with this," Chris said before coughing out blood.

Carpenter chuckled darkly. "Oh, I think I will. I've already taken care of you and soon Alice will follow."

"She'll…get suspicious…when I won't return."

"Are you certain of that? After the quarrel you had, she wouldn't be surprised when she'll hear that you abandoned her. Don't feel too bad, you're not the first one and certainly you won't be the last."

Chris would have liked to yell at the Carpenter, to deny what he just said, but he knew the insane impresario was right. He had abandoned Alice to her fate.

"Oh, would you look at the time? I have to go. It was a distinct pleasure to meet you and don't worry about dear Alice, I'll take good care of her."

Walrus sunk his teeth deeper into the dark Assassin's skin, making him cry in pain before throwing him into the chasm below. He didn't know how he survived the fall, but it wouldn't matter because he could hear the Cannoncrabs coming his way. As he stood there in his own blood waiting for the crabs to come tear him to pieces, Chris felt useless. 'All of my struggles were for nothing.' The blood loss finally took its toll and his vision begin to darken. Images of his mother and the good times he had with his fellow Assassin's flashed before his eyes. He felt numb, his vision was fading fast and the crabs were getting closer. The last thing he saw was Alice with a playful smirk on her beautiful face. 'I'm sorry I couldn't save you. I'm sorry…for everything.' Then everything faded to darkness.

The carbs were happy, they were going to eat well tonight. As they advanced they didn't noticed how Chris's skin turned grey and his muscles began to expand.

'Don't worry, Chris. I'll take it from here.'

The crabs stopped when they saw their meal suddenly combust and backed away slightly when the flames increased. Suddenly the fire attacked the crabs that were the closest to the former Assassin's body, carbonising them. The dark Assassin rose to face his opponents and if the crabs weren't scared before they were now by the chances he suffered. His face was cloaked by a hood, the only thing they could see were the blood red eyes. He smiled sadistically at them, revealing his shark like teeth before lunging at them and grabbing one of them. He raised above his head and ripped it in half. The blood hissed as it touched his grey skin. The Cannoncrabs started to fire at him, but the demon dodged all of their shots. He summon his sword and charged at them, jumping over one of them and after one slash the crab turned to ash. He cut down the closest one and dodged a cannon ball before kicking one crab into three others. Summoning five cards in his hand he threw them at his opponents, the cards leaving holes in them. Four crabs tried to escape, but their fate was sealed. Chris's demon form put his weapons away and formed in his hands a ball of fire. After slamming it to the ground the four crabs were engulf in fire pillars. Letting out a victory roar, Chris began to change again in his attire from the real world, but his eyes remained red.

"Not bad," he mused out loud.

Hope you guys enjoyed! The next one would be as long as this one. So if you have any ideas or some comments, please PM me or used the review box below. I understand constructive criticism, but I don't accept flames. Until the next chapter I bid you farewell.