Robin was right.

After an unknown amount of time had passed, Alice was forced to pause her run when one of her legs nearly stumbled out beneath her, her foot slipping slightly on a hidden dip in the ground. She was tired and her limbs were screaming loudly in protest against any further movement, just as much as when she run from Gothel's castle, with her lungs and chest aching like she was back under the sea water. The only good thing was the cool light wind that had cleared the last of the dizziness from her head, even if the pain along her ears and temples had remained.

Alice took as moment to rub her chest, leaning over and wincing at the dull pain throbbing along her calves and up her sides. She took the chance to glance back behind her, and it didn't take Alice long before she saw that Drizella and a single guard were still on her tail, not even a fair distance away. The sight shocked her but she forced herself not to move just yet and instead stood up straight, trying to look over their shapes towards where the other three had vanished. The others were now tiny specks in the distance and so it was impossible for her to tell which of her loved ones had two of the guards following them rather than just the one, so she sent a silent prayer for them both. She wanted to linger, to watch the dots in the distance and see how quickly they caught up with one another but Drizella was closing in at a speed that was surprising considering how injured she seemed to be.

So, taking one last deep breath and apologising to her limbs for what she was about to do, Alice turned and continued her get away up to the farm.

While pushing up the hill, which seemed a lot steeper than it had been before she started up it, Alice did a quick mental inventory for what she on her in terms of defence. Between the craziness on Black Beard's ship and the constant running for their lives every few seconds, Alice hadn't been able to store up much in terms of weapons. But she still had the short poll stretched along her back. It wouldn't be a bad weapon to use, considering she wouldn't have to fear too much about accidentally killing anyone with it, but she wasn't an expert with it either. It was more dumb luck than anything that allowed her to get the upper hand before, and these guards didn't seem like they were going to underestimate her anymore. Lately it seemed like it was only thanks to Robin and her father that she managed to get this far, and now she was on her own.

Maybe splitting up hadn't been the best idea after all. Not that Alice had been happy with it to begin with.

Alice didn't want to take them all the way to the farm, not if that was where they were going to meet with the others, but she wasn't sure where else to go. She didn't recognise the area, she couldn't see anything else beside an open field of dying grass in every direction, and she wasn't comfortable facing off against them here, with no cover and nothing to put between them. She'd rather somewhere she might actually stand a chance of catching Drizella and her friend off guard by hiding around corners from them.

With no other choices, Alice kept running until she rounded the top of the hill and finally caught sight of the farm Killian had been talking about. It wasn't anything like Robin and her mother's farm, which was full of life and a constant good memory to Alice each and every time she paid them a visit. This farm was dark, and not just because the day was getting on and there were clouds looming overhead. The main barn was painted a faded dull red with splashes of brown that were more than a little worrying, while the grass around the area was not just dead and dry, but to the point where she couldn't even tell what even used to be grass any more. The fence around the area was half missing and the other half was either cracked or broken, and finally, the house which had once held a family, now had a series of holes along the walls and where its windows should be. Alice had no doubt that anything inside had long been looted but the barn itself seemed to be holding up surprisingly well, or at least enough to provide passers by with some form of shelter.

Alice pushed herself, aiming for the barn with a new strength she got from the sight of it, even though she had no idea what she would do once she reached the open doors. But in the end, she never got that far. Despite her best efforts to stay ahead, the guard had gotten a bit of a boost of his own for whatever reason and closed the distance between them without her realising. He jumped and dived onto her, missing her torso but grabbing hold of her leg instead, tripping her up onto the hard cold ground. Old injuries that she had forgotten about came bursting back to life but Alice had little time to worry about any of them with the guard weighing heavily on top of her.

She let out an angry shout and rolled over onto her back as best as she could, kicking her free foot out at the guard and catching him on the shoulder and torso, but his armour protected him and he crawled on top of her, grabbing her shoulders and pinning her in place. Alice scrambled for the pole pressing into her back, but was unable to lift her hand up or twist around enough to pull it free and then the guard was sitting on her knees and grabbing her wrists, holding them to her stomach and keeping her there as Drizella finally caught up.

"Well, that was easy." Drizella commented, walking to stand beside Alice's head, smirking down at her and somehow, didn't seem the slightest bit out of breath.

"Don't do this, Drizella!" Alice snapped, fighting to break free but the guard was completely focused on holding her down and it was like fighting iron chains in a cement wall. "I can help you! We can stop Gothel together! Once and for all!"

"You're as delusional as they say if you really think Gothel can be stopped." Drizella said, calmly crossing her arms as she walked around to the other side of Alice's head.

"She can be. We can stop her!" Alice insisted. "Come on, Drizella. I don't know what you're life is really like here but according to Robin it sucks pretty bad!"

"That little tramp doesn't know what she's talking about!" Drizella snapped angrily. "And neither do you!"

"Drizella, we need to get her back-" The guard began.

"Shut up!" Drizella snapped at him, turning quickly to glare back down at Alice. "You don't know anything about me, Mistress. The precious little gem, spoilt rotten by the world and beloved by all." She sat on the ground, too close to Alice's head for comfort.

"Beloved?! You think that I'm beloved?!" Alice snorted, rolling her eyes. "I'm feared in this world, Drizella. My own true love hated me when she first saw me."

"Oh shut up!" Drizella lifted her foot to stomp down on Alice's face.

"Enough!"

The guard released Alice seconds before Drizella's foot made contact, jumping up and grabbing a hold of the other girl instead, pushing her back out of the way. Alice instinctively rolled away from them both and climbed back onto her knees but was too shocked to make another attempt at escaping. The last person she had expected to help her was the very guard pinning her down. So instead of heading on towards the farm, she paused where she was and watched as the guard shoved Drizella away, hard enough to make her stumble. His armour hid his facial expression from her but his body language was clear enough. These men may take orders from her now, but this one clearly wasn't very happy about it and it was most certainly just a temporary arrangement.

"You ever touch the Mistress in that way again and I'll-" The guard began, walking over to grab her again.

"Get off me!" Drizella snapped. "I don't care what Gothel does to me! I don't care about any of this! I'm going to teach that little bitch a lesson she'll never forget and you're not going to stop me!"

"You've lost it. Gone mad, even." The guard said quietly.

Drizella sneered at him. "I'm not mad. I'm furious."

Then her hand flashed behind her back and before Alice could cry out a warning, Drizella pulled out and slammed a long thin object up into the guard's throat, slipping through the tiniest of opening between his helmet and his body armour that Alice hadn't even noticed before. The object turned out to be a needle like blade that was as long as a normal dagger and twice as sharp, sliding in and out of the guard as easily as butter.

Drizella smirked at him as she slowly pulled the needle free, drawing it out as he gargled and gagged in front of her. He was either frozen from shock or the needle was just as long as it looked and had severed some kind of nerve, preventing him from moving even his arms which were hung loosely by his side. When she had pulled the needle out of him completely, she watched him slowly drop to her feet with an insane look of joy in her eyes and a disturbing smile on her lips.

Now Alice had a whole new reason to be frozen to the spot. She had never seen Drizella this ruthless and blood thirsty for revenge before. Even when she wanted to get back at her mother, she was never like this, and Alice didn't know how to react to this version of Jacinda's nasty step sister. At least not until Drizella had turned her mad smile on her and her mind screamed at her to get away. It seemed whatever memories Gothel had given her in this world; they were enough to drive her far over the edge. And as if things weren't complicated enough; that just made Alice pity her. Even while she knew that now was the very last moment she should be holding back in a fight.

Alice held up her hands in front of her and slowly climbed back onto her feet. "Drizella-" She began, still hoping she might be able to talk it through with her.

She didn't get any further before Drizella shot forward and closed the distance between them in a matter of seconds. She reached out a hand and Alice barely had time to get her arms up in order to protect her face from the harsh slap that slammed against her arm and knocked into her face. She even stuck her fingers around like a set of claws, digging her nails into the back of Alice's wrist and scratching her deeply. Before Alice could do anything else, Drizella had grabbed a clump of her hair, pulling her head back sharply before winding back her free fist and swinging it through the air. And just like that she was punching Alice in the stomach with a powerful blow, knocking the wind from her but also keeping her from doubling over by the tight grip she held on her blonde locks, pulling them hard to keep her standing somewhat straight.

"Stop!" Alice gasped, or rather tried to gasp but instead her voice came across as a senseless wheeze.

"I hate you." Drizella snarled, throwing Alice to the ground. "I hate your mother! I hate your life! I HATE YOU!"

She lift her foot to start kicking and stomping on her just as Alice rolled out of the way. As much as she wanted to get through to Drizella in a way that would save them both, she knew she couldn't just lie there and let this woman beat on her until she was satisfied. Not when she needed her strength if she was going to undo Gothel's spell and save all of them, including Drizella.

"Enough, Drizella!" Alice snapped, trying to sound as tough as this world's Alice. "This isn't helping either of us!"

"Oh, it's helping me plenty." Drizella hissed, stumbling after her as she backed away.

"I said, enough!" Alice said, taking a step forward and swinging a fist at her.

Drizella was surprised, and didn't even attempt to dodge the retaliating attack, leaving Alice's fist to knock against Drizella's jaw with a surprising strength hidden behind it. She stumbled back a step, nearly losing her footing before she caught herself in time and spun to glare at Alice, eyes even more mad than they were before.

"You're going to regret that." Drizella whispered coldly.

"Felt like I was regretting it before I did anything." Alice commented, rubbing the back of her hand where there were marks left over from Drizella's sharp and broken nails.

Drizella just sneered at her, stalking forwards, fingers flexing like she was itching to wrap them around her throat. Alice tensed and reached back, but her fingers floated through air and patted against the flat of her back. Her pole, it was gone. Alice glanced around at her feet but she couldn't see it anywhere amongst the dry grass at all, or at least nowhere close by. It had been on her back just a few seconds ago, she had felt it when the guard had her pinned, but she couldn't have a proper look around. Not while Drizella was still advancing on her so quickly. But without her pole, she didn't have a weapon to defend herself with either…

Alice glanced towards the guard's dead body. It wasn't too far away from her now. And surely he would have a weapon on him, considering Drizella hadn't bothered to take anything before she had launched into her attack on Alice. It wasn't much and Alice still wasn't willing to cause Drizella any serious harm if she could help it but... If Drizella gave her no other choice, then she might have to...

"Why are you so desperate to hurt me?" Alice demanded, trying to keep her busy as she side stepped in a circle, moving towards the body. "What have I ever done to you?!"

"Is that a joke?" Drizella whispered, momentarily pausing with a look of confused disgust on her face. "You… You, who have single handedly made my life a misery, want to know what you've done to me?!"

"Drizella, I haven't done anything to you!" Alice said, starting to lose what little patients she had left. She knew this Drizella couldn't help her fake memories, but there was something really foul about her blaming Alice for her fake life, considering in their real one, Drizella really had tricked Alice into almost killing her father, just to get to Jacinda and Henry.

"You took my mother from me!" Drizella screamed. "We were going to escape. After all these years of trying to get Anastasia back, not even caring if I was put in danger, mother finally agreed to leave this world with me so we could start again… And you ruined it!" Drizella lunged at her. Alice dived to the side towards the body as Drizella tried to claw nails down her face. "You found out and you sold us out! I just got her back then lost her again all because of you!"

"I'm telling you," Alice shouted, trying to keep a distance between them as she stepped back, closer towards the guard's body. "I didn't do any of that! None of this is real, Drizella! This is all fake! All your memories are fake! Gothel implanted them in you so she could take over everything!"

"You really think you can worm your way out of this by playing crazy?" Drizella laughed, tears streaming down her swollen cheeks now. "You're pathetic. The only reason people bow to you is because they're terrified of your mother. Well not me. She can't do any worse than she already has. I'll at least have the last satisfaction that I took her daughter from her before she finishes me off."

Drizella lunged again and this time Alice tripped when she tried to run away. Their bodies hit each other hard and they tumbled to the ground, now just inches away from the corpse, but Drizella wasted no time and gave Alice no chance to search for a weapon on his body. They scrambled and struggled against one another, rocking slightly as they both tried to gain the upper hand but it soon ended with Drizella rolling around so she was sat atop of Alice's hips and lifting her fist high in the air in order to bring it forcefully down on her. Alice reached up, covering her face with her arms only for Drizella to change direction and punch her in the chest instead, hard enough to knock make her choke from pain and leave her even more winded than before.

"I don't have anyone! I lost every single person I ever cared about because of you and your family!" Drizella shrieked, sobbing as she punched Alice again on her torso and arms. Despite her despair, her strength was not affected and every blow was as painful as the one before it.

Alice tried to curl in on herself but Drizella shifted so she was sat on her stomach, keeping her firmly on her back. She was winced and whenever she moved her arms to protect herself, Drizella just lashed out as whatever else was left exposed.

"I have no one!" Drizella cried, reaching down and grabbing Alice's head, pulling it up and slamming it down on the ground, hard enough that the pain burst throughout her entire body and she suddenly found she couldn't move at all, giving Drizella an opening to slap her across the face, and then punched her on the same spot a second after.

At some point Drizella paused in her assault, briefly catching her breath before she continued her attacks but the small pause was enough for Alice to gather her bearings and push through the pain. She couldn't reach the guard to search him for a weapon with Drizella sitting on her like that but nor was she as helpless as she seemed. When Drizella moved to punch her in the eye, Alice lashed out first, punching back and aiming for the soft area of Drizella's exposed throat. They both made contact but while Alice felt a blast of manageable pain, Drizella choked and was temporarily thrown off, coughing and gasping in surprise more than anything.

As soon as Drizella was thrown off her, Alice spun away, reaching for the guards limp body. She didn't even have time to worry about how awful it was to rob a man's body before he was even cold, and instead grappled at the sides of his armour, trying to find where a weapon might be hidden. Finally, sticking out of a sheath against his right hip – the handle a matching colour as the amour, causing it to blend impossibly well – was a shiny smooth blade. As soon as she had the blade in hand, Alice was jumping to her feet, spinning around and holding it up in defence against the other girl.

She really didn't want to do this. She didn't want to hurt anyone in this world, knowing it would just serve to amuse Gothel, but it was clear this Drizella was not going to be talked down. She would do anything to kill Alice as a final act of revenge against her mother for all the fake misery she has suffered under her imaginary rule.

With her dagger now in hand, Alice at least had some decent form of defence while she watched as Drizella – now recovered from the soreness of her bruised and aching throat muscles – hesitated in front of her. She still had her own needle like dagger in one of her fists, but compared to Alice's weapon it was quite… Well, it was just a needle.

"We can stop this now, Drizella." Alice said slowly, it hurt to move after the blows that Drizella had given her but she worked through them, forcing her body to begin circling her again, making sure to keep a wide space between them. "Walk away, and I promise I'll fix everything."

"No. There's no walking away for me now." Drizella said shakily, sniffing and blinking away tears. "I die today. And I swear I'm taking you with me."

"Drizella, I don't like you but I don't want to hurt you either!" Alice begged. "Please, just leave."

"You've already hurt me." Drizella whispered, another sob building in her throat before she turned it into a scream of fury and ran at her again.

This time Alice didn't try to run or move away from her. She tensed her body with the dagger clenched in hand tight enough to pinch the skin of her palm and prepared for whatever attack Drizella was going to throw this time.

In the end, Drizella threw her whole body, trying to tackle Alice back to the ground like before. But this time Alice was prepared and grabbed her outstretched arm before she could make contact, twisting her around and swiping at her with the dagger, narrowly missing cutting her arm when she ducked out of the way at the last minute, breaking Alice's hold and side stepping away from her.

Taking a shaky breath, Alice continued walking in a circle while Drizella watched her pointedly, snarling like a wild animal every few seconds. She couldn't keep waiting like this. She needed to finish up so she could get to the farm and wait for Robin and Killian to join her. So, before Drizella had the chance to charge her another time, Alice beat her to it, running forward and ducking to the side at the last second, lifting her arm and elbowing her in the back when she stumbled, trying to make a grab for her. Drizella fell to her knees but Alice seemed to have underestimated her, because even hitting the ground didn't stop or slow her down in the slightest.

While on her knees, Drizella spun her upper body to the side and wrapped her arms around Alice's knees and pulling. She was tripped up and fell to the ground, narrowly avoiding stabbing herself with her own dagger but then accidentally letting it fall from her fingers, bouncing to the ground, just barely out of her reach. Alice twisted around in her grip, trying to push her legs out of Drizella's hold but the other girl was clinging on too tightly, worming her way up her body.

Alice lay back on the ground, stretching her arm for the dagger as best as she could and trying to nudge her way closer but while her fingers brushed the handle, they couldn't pull it close enough to get a hold of it. And then Drizella was close enough to sit up on her ankles, reaching down and wrapping her hands around Alice's throat. She didn't waste any more time gloating or insulting her, and instead squeezed hard as Alice's air was cut off immediately. Desperately, she began reaching to try and pry her fingers off but she couldn't find a grip on them and Drizella seemed immune to having her skin scratched at, barely reacting as if she didn't feel any of the pain at all.

Drizella was panting as she tightened her grip and Alice felt the hotness of her breath under the intense anger of her gaze. It was more frightening than almost anything else she had faced, if only because she knew that Drizella's anger wasn't her fault. She was being used and manipulated by Gothel. And what's worse, she thought she was getting one over on the 'Empress' by killing her daughter, not knowing this was exactly what Gothel had probably been hoping for when she sent her out in search of her.

She was literally doing Gothel a great service and after Alice was dead, Gothel would have the perfect reason to kill Drizella as well. She was killing them both without having to lift a single magic-weakened finger!

"I'm sorry." Alice mouthed, unable to speak while being choked so tightly, but even that seemed enough to confuse Drizella into loosening her grip, if only for a second.

But, like before, it was all the time Alice needed. She pushed her body up just enough to slam her fist into Drizella's side, stunning her and throwing her off at the same time. She rolled out from underneath her and crawled the rest of the way to her dagger, grabbing it even as she felt Drizella grabbing onto the back of her heel.

Alice, still gasping painfully for breath and wincing at the soreness along her neck, grabbed the dagger and spun around, slashing it through the air and cutting Drizella on the soft area just above her elbow. She shouted in pain but didn't let go of Alice's foot and pulled hard, crawling and reaching for her face with her jagged nails like she was going to rip her eyes out. Alice tried to push her off but nothing was going to stop Drizella at this point.

Except the dagger.

Alice pushed herself up and rammed the dagger as hard as she could into Drizella's leg. She had originally aimed for her side but changed direction last minute, accidentally making the wound longer than she had intended.

Drizella screamed out, blindly grabbing Alice's ear and hair and trying to punch her in the face but Alice twisted the dagger inside her thigh, causing her fist to slam into the ground instead as she let out another agonised cry. While temporarily distracted by her pain, Alice pushed a hand on her chest and the other against the dagger and threw her off, ripping the blade free at the same time. She might have left it inside her to keep her from bleeding out, if she wasn't worried about Drizella taking it for herself using it against Alice in her blind suicide quest for wrongfully placed revenge.

Instead Drizella finally seemed to lose the last of her fight. She rolled away from Alice, crying and clutching at her bleeding leg, cuddling it as close to her body as she could bend. Alice scrambled back onto her feet, taking a step back and keeping herself tense but it seemed Drizella really wasn't going to be making any more life threatening moves towards her. Instead she lay on the ground, openly sobbing in a way that made Alice feel like she wasn't crying over any physical pain.

Alice was gasping for breath still, shaking slightly as she tucked the dagger into the side of her boot, ignoring the blood still clinging to the blade and now soaking through her socks. She took a slow step towards the other girl, still prepared for any trick she might be playing to lure her in. However, she either didn't notice her approach, or simply no longer cared and instead Drizella screamed at the sky so brokenly that Alice felt a sudden urge to cry with her.

Instead she walked over, lifting her foot off the ground and slamming it down hard onto the top of Drizella's head.

O*U*A*T

When Drizella next woke up, Alice had dragged her onto the farm land, taking shelter inside the barn. She had also taken the time to find some rope to tie her to one of the pillars near the back and out of the way of the cold air coming through the broken double doors. It wasn't easy. Most of the rope was worn out and short, or weak and easily breakable, and if Drizella had her strength then she could probably even get out of the one Alice had settled with but it should at least stall her while she was still injured.

While she was still unconscious, Alice took the time to raid the area for supplies. It was abandoned, but it was also used by the pirates as Killian had said and after some searching, Alice was able to find a box hidden under the floorboards that held a few bottles of rum, a change of clothes for men twice her size and some thick blankets and sheets. Alice wasn't a drinker, but at this point, she'd take a swing of anything to calm her endless jitters.

After her nerves had somewhat eased, she'd taken an old looking white shirt and tore it into rough uneven strips, using the fabric to wrap up the wound she'd given Drizella on her leg, covering her in a thick blanket, before collecting one more for herself. Finally she settled down by one of the pillars close by to wait patiently in silence, either for Drizella to wake, or for her father and love to join her. Whichever happened first.

In the end, Drizella woke first.

"What… What happened… Where am I?" Drizella moaned, twisting slightly as she sat up before she winced and gasped, no doubt at the sharp pain from her head as well as her leg.

"We're under cover," Alice explained, taking another small sip of the rum she had in hand. She'd been foolishly gulping it a few moments earlier until just sitting became an unsteady challenge, so she had poured half the bottle over her head and limited herself to slow sips then onwards. "We're safe. For now."

"Until your mother finds us?" Drizella snarled, tears building back in her eyes. Her face looked even more swollen than before and it hurt just looking at her, but Alice tired to stay focused, setting the rum on the floor by her side.

"I hate that cow as much as you, Driz." Alice grumbled with a slight slur, then winced and tried to concentrate. She hadn't realised how strong rum really was. She knew her father used to have a taste for the stuff, but he hadn't touched it since she was born and she'd never encountered anything like it during her constant travels or her years in the curse. If she'd known, she would have gone easy on it, or better yet, left the stuff alone. "I hate that bitch with every fibre of my been… I mean… Being."

Drizella frowned at her, her confusion outweighing her misery and pain. "Are you drunk?" She demanded.

"By accident." Alice said, blushing. "Anyway! Who cares! You tried to kill me! Because of fake memories! I mean, what's wrong with you?!"

"You're crazy. And drunk." Drizella sneered.

"I'm drunk, but I'm not crazy. Gothel wants everyone to think I am. Just like back in Hyperion Heights. But I'm not crazy. Not here. Not anywhere. Everyone wants me to be but I'm not!" She snapped then stopped and pressed her hands to her face. Maybe pouring the alcohol over her head was a bad idea. The smell of it was practically choking her. What she really needed was some ice cold water to duck her face into. That worked to sober people up, right? She took a breath. "I'm not crazy, Ivy. I'm just trying to fix things."

"What did you just call me?" Drizella frowned.

"Ivy. Your cursed name from Hyperion Heights." Alice explained, still rubbing her face. "Ivy Belfrey. Daughter of Victoria Belfrey. Sister of Anastasia…" She paused and peeked through her fingers. "She doesn't have a cursed persona. So no cursed name for little sis."

"She's not even my little sister," Drizella snapped, fighting to sit up properly against the pillar she was still firmly tied to.

"Was by the time she woke in the Heights." Alice said, groaning. "God, I feel sick."

"If we're not waiting for your mother. Why are we here? Why did you bring me here?" Drizella hissed.

"I'm waiting for my papa and Robin." Alice explained, standing and trying to walk off the dizziness in her head by pacing around the area.

"To finish me off? Well go ahead!" Drizella shouted.

"If I wanted to finish you off, I wouldn't have bandaged your wound." Alice snapped, walking over and pulling the blanket off her so she could see the binding around her leg.

Drizella paused, frowning down at her limb. "You… Why did you do that?" She looked up at Alice. This close, she could clearly see the tears rolling down her swollen cheek and the bruise on her forehead that stood out among the rest if only because Alice knew that was the only one caused by her.

"Because this isn't real, Drizella." Alice said, crouching by her side. "And I'm getting really tired of repeating myself. But here I go!" She made herself comfortable, taking the blanket that had been on Drizella and using it to dry off some of the remaining alcohol still sticking to her hair. "Gothel has changed the world thanks to a spell. A powerful one that took most of her magic. It changed the world so she was… Empress." She pulled a face and stuck out her tongue. "The truth is, none of this is real, none of your memories are. It's all a trick. In the real world, we beat Gothel. And she's a sore loser. So she did some stuff and messed everything up for the rest of us."

"That's nonsense." Drizella said, glaring at her.

"Why?" Alice frowned. "Gothel's a witch. Why is it so crazy to believe magic screwed things for us? Why is it so hard to believe that there's a chance that we're happier in another life? Or that she lost and is just bitter about it."

Drizella hesitated, opening her mouth before closing it again and frowned at her in silence.

"Just think." Alice pressed. "If there's even a chance that we can undo this and change things. Are you really going to stop me?"

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Drizella growled, but there was a slight waiver to her voice.

"Because no person as drunk as I am, could lie this convincingly." Alice shrugged.

"It might not be a lie. It might be that you really are just insane." Drizella sneered.

"Maybe so. A lot of people seem to think that's true. But, that just means that I'm going to get myself killed on an insane idea anyway." Alice shrugged. "So what's the harm in letting me try? On one hand, I'm telling the truth and I fix things and everyone gets a better life. On the other, I'm insane and nothing changes. And so, if you kill me, then, on one hand, you stop me from making your life better, and on the other hand, Gothel kills you for killing me and you're dead." Alice shrugged, rubbing her eyes. "If you want to die then fine, I can't stop you. But. I dunno, just hold off for a bit in case, in case there's something better for you. You know?"

Drizella glared at her, then took a shaky breath and let out a soft sob. "Say…" Drizella cleared her throat. "Say I believe you. Tell me. What's my life like… In this other world? Does my mother… Does she care for me? Are we family?"

Alice hesitated, taking a slow breath to keep her thoughts clear so as not to say the wrong thing. "I don't really know you that well in the real world. I know you and your mum don't get on great but… Well, your sister's a nice girl. If nothing else, you can be a family with her." She purposely left out some important details. After all, when they returned home, Drizella would have her memories back about what happened to her mother. No point dashing her hopes when she didn't need to.

And on top of that, Alice's head still wasn't clear enough to be tactful with such sensitive information.

"Anastasia's nice?" Drizella laughed cynically through her tears.

"What's she like here?" Alice asked, leaning back on her hands.

"She's Gothel's little mini me." Drizella said with a snarl. "She left our family and hasn't spoken to any of us since, even when my mum tried to reach her, she blocked her out…" She hesitated then sneered. "And she's your best friend."

"Why does that not surprise me," Alice snorted, rolling her eyes then wincing. "I mean, she's nice and all but I don't see us ever being buddies in the real world."

Drizella sniffed and shifted on the spot. "Can you untie me? I need to blow my nose."

Alice hesitated, then shook her head. "Sorry. Nope. But here," She grabbed the blanket and held it to her nose. "Blow."

Drizella glared at her, but did as she asked. Alice dropped the blanket to the floor when she was done and sat back again. For a moment the two girls fell into a silence, one that felt awkward for Drizella but quite peaceful for Alice. In fact, she wished her whole life could be as silent as now, with only a gentle wind rustling through the cracks and holes along the broken building around her, just enough to sound like soft natural music without making her head ache.

Then; "What happens after your friends arrive?" Drizella asked.

"We leave." Alice said. "Go and find a friend of mine and put a stop to Gothel once and for all. You can join if you want. Help take that bitch down." She grinned.

"No." Drizella said immediately, shaking her head.

"Just no?" Alice blinked.

"Just no." Drizella confirmed, turning her head away and sniffing sadly off to the side.

"Okay…" Alice said quietly, suddenly feeling a lot more sober.

After that, they fell silent once more, and this time no one broke it. Alice lay back on the floor, still feeling a little drunk, and it didn't take long before she had drifted to sleep all the while Drizella continued to cry quietly by her feet just a few inches away.

She knew it was dangerous. But now that the adrenaline had all but worn off and the rum was settling in her stomach, Alice suddenly found herself incredibly tired and she just couldn't keep her eyes open even if she was thinking straight enough to want to.

And, thankfully, for the first night since she changed the world, Gothel didn't make an appearance in her dreams.

To Be Continued...

Chapter Thirteen: Back On The Move - Sneak Peek:
"I don't… Think you're crazy." Killian said carefully. "Just… Confused. And anyway! Let's say the spell is real and we can't undo it. I want you to know that, no matter what you decide to do afterwards, I want to be a part of your life now. And, if you want, you could come and live with me on my ship…"
"We don't need to worry about that." Alice said firmly. "We're going to undo the spell and fix things and we'll be together again back in Hyperion Heights. You, me and Robin. And Robin's mum and Rumplestiltskin and-"
"Wait what? What did you just say?!" Killian demanded, grabbing her sleeve and pulling her to a stop, letting go as soon, even though it was the exact opposite of what he wanted to do.
"What?" Alice blinked, surprised by how terrified he suddenly looked.
"The people you said would be together, me, you, Robin, her mother and…" Killian trailed off and waited for her to finish for him.
"Rumplestiltskin?" Alice blinked. "He's the friend I was telling you about-"
"He's the friend you were talking about?!" Killian shouted.

So, I'm not entirely happy with the fight scene. I think I repeated too much... But then I am my own worst critic so what do you guys think? Did it flow naturally?

Please comment, tell me what you think of the chapter, tell me what you think is going to happen in the next chapter, tell me what you wish would happen, tell me what you thought of the finale, just tell me something!
Thank you! ;)