Hello everyone and welcome back to yet another exciting chapter! I loved your guys' comments on the last chapter, it made me so happy to know you all love the story and are still loyal to it and keeping up with me. It makes me so glad to hear from you all, and I promise to try my best and improving every chapter as we go along. Also, I apologize if the last chapter ended rather awkwardly, it was late at night and my brain couldn't process a better form of words so I apologize if it seemed out of line for some of you. Either way I hope you guys enjoy this one. As always don't forget to leave behind a review or two, it really helps a lot in improving my writing. Thank you all so much once again and, enjoy!

"Roy! Roy! Catch me if you can!" chirped the delightful Katherine as she frolicked through the woods, the sun was peeking its golden rays through the clouds of the temperate climate of grand ol' England, and past the canopy of trees. The light shimmered down her body like threads of gold and sparkling diamonds as it hit her big beautiful blue eyes. Jenkins did the best he could to catch up to her, but she was a playful little bunny rabbit, and he was a newborn deer with weak lungs that could barely hold their own. His frail legs could barely run, they would snap in two if he wasn't careful where he stepped, and his beloved Katherine was just out of reach... again.. She disappeared into the darkness, escaped him like the breath in his lungs with every passing second.

"Kat... Katherine... don't go..." he murmured, panting and trying to compose himself.

"Katherine..." he murmured in his slumber. Asleep and dreaming once again on the rugged sofa. Alice was walking around the small room looking for other keyholes or clues as to where they should be heading next.

"The pathway on the other side is the main trail... but what exactly are we looking for? Are there any signs or clues as to where the Queen might be hiding?" she whispered to herself. Pacing back and forth would do them neither good, but it was the best way to keep Alice focused and contemplative, at least for now. They weren't in much of a hurry, as much as they were in a hurry to find out the source of all the commotion in Wonderland, and if that hot headed monarch wanted to play games, fine, but so be it they will get the information they need!

...

After searching profusely around this cubby hole for a while, I reluctantly gave up and decided to wake up Jenkins for our next conquest. I walked over to him, but just before I could put a hand on his shoulder to nudge him awake, he moaned and murmured something in his sleep.

"Kath... Katherine... don't... don't go... please.."

"..." I frowned, who was he reffering to? Katherine? Who was this girl? An old lover of his? Jenkins didn't even seem the type to look at women romantically... well... perhaps..

*sigh*... whatever.. anyway, I went in and nudged him awake, hoping I wasn't interrupting a pleasurable dream.

"Jenkins... Jenkins wake up..."

".mmm... hmmm?" he moaned awake. "Aaaagh... wh..what's going on?" he sniffed.

"Let's get going, we can't afford to waste any more time." I said, lending my hand to him for support. He took it and I helped him up. Groaning fully awake now, he rubbed his eyes and shook his head, shaking off the last of the sweet dream he might've been experiencing.

Shrinking down to go through the keyhole, we jogged down the narrow corridor until Jenkins stopped us, holding my shoulder back.

"Wait... Alice look!" he said pointing to an unexpected turn in the small hallway, a branching one that led to another room. How could we have missed something so vital?!

"Jenkins, this could lead to another memory! Come!" I urged, pulling him along. Exiting the keyhole opening, we grew back to normal size and, stopping in our tracks, we beheld another crystal floating memory... one shaped like a hand glove... I turned to look at Jenkins and he seemed to be eyeing it carefully as if he's seen it before...

"Jenkins?..." I asked, but he didn't respond, he simply walked up to it slowly and, extending his hands out carefully, took in the crystal-light memory. In an instant, it shattered into a million pieces, and its essence that was trapped within it enveloped him all around, catching him in a trance.

"Roy you are much too old for nightlights. A boy your age should differentiate between the shadows you perceive and the monsters in your head..." a feminine motherly voice called out from all around us. I watched Jenkins slowly snap out of his trance and turning to look back at me.

"Well? anything?" I asked, pretending I didn't hear anything.

"N-No... nothing important just... a flashback to my childhood... when I was four..." he murmured deeply, holding his head steady. I looked down in disappointment.

"Well.. alright. Come, let's head back. You'll recollect all your memories along the way, maybe then we can recover your entire memory of what happened to this place." I said, turning back to go through the keyhole. I heard Jenkins hiccup behind me as he too shrunk down to follow me inside.

Once we got out of that compact space that made our heads spin, we finally found the main trail once again, a long stretched country of debris spread out before us that lead to another corner into the next area of the castle.

"What other enemies do you think we'll encounter this time?" Jenkins asked with a timid voice.

"I'm not sure... enemies will come in all shapes and sizes, we just have to make sure that whatever comes next, we'll be prepa-"

*tremble* *tremble* The ground shook underneath our feet. Oh bloody 'ell what is it this time?! As soon as we caught our balance once again, from behind we witnessed the ground opening up to yet another foe, and this time, it wasn't just a dastardly feral pawn, but a more powerful and impotent chess piece...

The bishops didn't come too numerously as the pawns did earlier but they were definitely stronger and less reliable on brute strength.

"Well well.." Jenkins interjected, his eyes gleaming with a killer's glare. I did the same, as I always have when a new enemy appeared before me. However, I had a sense that there were more on their way, and not just bishops but more annoying pawns.. and... for some reason I felt like there was something here we needed to obtain... but what?... Unable to afford any more time for mucking around and over thinking things, I decided to focus back into battle, however..

OOF! I stumbled backward, falling on my posterior... The bishops wasted no time in attacking. They were shaped like actual bishop chess pieces, except their smooth porcelain miters were cracked at the base to reveal a pair of glowing blue eyes that pierced us with light and fury. They hovered over the ground using no legs to transport them, and only moving in diagonal directions. They all wielded long and sturdy staffs tipped with silver, I'm sure that's what they used to knock me down on the ground..

"Jenkins!" I called out, he was already in combat position. "What?!" he called back.

"Go! Get out of here! I can take care of these monsters! You go find something to get us out of here!"

"WHAT?! NO! I'm staying here to fight with you!"

"There is no time! Look over there!" I yelled, pointing to the ominous glowing light in the distance that begun to glimmer in the already sun kissed atmosphere. That's where we needed to go! That's what we needed to find! Jenkins turned to look at me for a few brief moments before reluctantly turning away to sprint after the light.

THWACK! A staff from one of the bishops hit the ground right beside my head, snapping me out of my train of thought, making me gasp aloud. I then clenched my teeth in raw anger, ready to fight these menacing clusters of manipulated porcelain. I let out a war cry and, taking out my trusted ebony hobby horse that breathed blue flames, I charged towards the obstacles that were between me and victory.

...

Jenkins couldn't remember the last time he ran this fast for this period of time... he couldn't even remember the last time he ever truly ran after anything in his life at all.. except of course... that one sunny day in the woods..

"Roy! Roy! Catch me if you can!" she chirped with that sing-songy voice of hers as she scampered past the woods, dodging every obstacle like an elk. "Wai...Wait for me!" he called out, already panting his lungs out, unable to move on. Finally after fruitless endeavor, he collapsed to his knees, his hands on the ground, unable to continue running, if not walking.

Why... Why did she run away... why did she leave him behind?... Why couldn't he be strong enough to catch up to her... grab her and pull her away from what became of her morbid future... to play with her for just a little while longer...

...why?...

The beating of his soles on the ground remained surprisingly constant. He didn't falter, he didn't stop to catch his breath. Why?... Why was Wonderland being so merciful to him?... So much stamina for such an undeserving individual, he thought... Running after that glimmering burst of light reminded him of that day... the day he felt the closest thing to him, his ultimate goal, was just out reach... yet so close he could almost touch it...

Thankfully for him however, today was not that day...

As he approached whatever gleamed in the distance, he stopped immediately in his tracks, almost sliding down the path. He looked up at what he beheld to be...

...a new suit of armor... and a brand new weapon.. His eyes were almost burned to a crisp at their brilliance, the armor itself was separated into different sections of the body. A pair of glimmering silver plates of armor that covered his shoulders and neck (with enough space for him to turn his head) another set of plates of armor that encompassed his shoulder blades on his back, and another smaller plate to protect his lower back. The back part of his jacket was extended so it resembled a duster, and was, also, lightly plated with armor. His knees were heavily protected with a mix of silver and bronze, his hands now dressed in leather finger-less gloves with metal finger plates covering them, and finally, a breast plate that was easily detachable with chain mail hidden within his vest. And for his weapon, a retractable shield hidden in the arm brace of his armor, and a large metal framed crossbow with an infinite amount of poison-tipped arrows already installed. Already equipped with his trusty arrow sword, the boost of power made him feel god-like. He felt like he could take on any obstacle that crossed his path, like he could grab that little girl by the hand and take her back to what once was...

However... now was not the time to indulge in self praise... for the cries of distress shook Jenkins out of his trance of overconfidence. Alice needed him much more than that little girl ever could at that moment... she was of course in the past after all...

"Alice!" he called out, he could hear her faint but apparent cries of rage and distress, the bishops were too strong to be handled on her own. Now with his new upgrade, Jenkins was able to help Alice defeat his demons once and for all. He sprinted after her once again, but was blocked by the emergence of five ferocious snarling pawns.

"You've got to be kidding me..." he murmured under his unshakable anger. The ivory and ebony spherical pawns had their distasteful jaws open and fangs practically popping out waiting for a bite. With a deep breath and a swift grab at his sword, Jenkins concentrated... gathered his nerve... heightened his sensibilities...

..and ran the hell away from there!

"I don't have time for you mongrels!" he sneered, making his way towards Alice. The pawns were screeching from behind as they witnessed their opponent flee the scene, and proceeded to run after him. She was in dire condition, she had already taken down two of the four bishops circling around her, but the remaining were still unfaltering to take her down.

"Alice!" he called out, sprinting to her aid, her sight was tugging at his deepest fears... She was sweating and bleeding like crazy, her skin was patched with bruises and scrapes from the bishops' staffs and swift unpredictable attacks, her energy was draining at a terrifying rapid rate, as were her rose petals of life. His face twisted to shock and terror at the sight of his beloved mistress beaten to a pulp. But she didn't dare give up just yet!

"Stay away from her!" he screamed at them, holding up his sword. One of the bishops went to take care of the annoying pest while the other still had control over Alice.

CLANK! CLANK! SHNK!

The thrusts of his arrow sword against the bishop's smooth and tough exterior clanked again and again, they sparred staff and sword, so much so that Jenkins was almost tempted to drop everything he had to use his bare fists...

wait... fists... Fists! That's it! His fingers and knuckles were plated with silver! His sword strikes weren't enough to break through the bishop's outer shell, he needed something harder, something with more brute strength! In an instant he sheathed his sword and raised his fists up to his face like a boxer as the bishop approached him ready to attack again. With the swing of his strengthened arm and indestructible metal plating, his punched a dent into the bishop's porcelain exterior!

HUAHH! *punch!* HYAHH! *punch!* Little by little the slow but powerful blows broke into the bishop's crumbling shell which exposed, yet again that trademark weak spot, the heart of their overall corporal self. Time to test out that new crossbow! The bishop lowered itself into a weakened and exhausted position, kneeling down in agony. Jenkins quickly pulled out his new toy and, with impressive aiming skills, he pulled the trigger and out shot a poison-tipped arrow straight to the heart!

RAAAAAAARRRRRARARARRRRRRGHH! It roared into the air! The finishing blow sent the bishop back to the heavenly residence within the bosom of its creator. Its essence dissipated into the atmosphere as its physical outer shell crumbled into dust within the earth. Yes! Jenkins has once again outdone himself! He would've given himself a pat on the back if it wasn't for the fact that there was a small army of pawns out to get them, and Alice was still battling the last bishop, already on the last few rose petals of her life...

"No! Alice!" he called out, running after her again to save her from the last bishop, the snarling pawns still hot on his trail.

He had to make a choice... it was either save Alice from being killed or saving himself...

Once again... even with armor to coat the weakness that hid beneath it..

He felt powerless to stop the inevitable future that lied ahead...

Once again its taken me alot longer to finish a chapter than I thought. Well, anyway, here marks the end of this week's chapter! I hope my play on literary devices and such were appealing to you! Thank you all so much for sticking through with this series and for all your support! Alice: Madness Returns belongs to American McGee and Spicy Horse, this fanfiction is for entertainment purposes only! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I will see you all again soon!

P.S: There was a fallacy I caught in my fanfic that I failed to mention earlier, I will try my best to fix it as soon as possible.