Devin's PoV:

I bolted straight up in bed; ready to kill whoever it was that had woken me up. The Doormouse jerked away from me in surprise, eyes a bit tired. I reigned in my anger quickly and smiled at her reassuringly. "What are you doing here?" I asked, voice rough from sleep.

She made a face at me. "Masters Hatter and Caterpillar instructed me to wake you up. I'll be going back to sleep soon though," she explained, slipping her hair over her shoulder.

I stiffened at her use of the "Masters." "Why do you call them that, Arian?" I asked.

She stiffened at my use of her real name, which I had remembered from the last time I was here. "You should remember, Master Devin, that though I am their friends, Kagamine Hatter is my employer, and March Hare is my fellow servant."

I got up and stretched absent mindedly. "March is a Servant?"

She blushed and stared at me. "Y-yes, sir. Though he is never treated like one, the Hare's serve the Hatters very loyally. Think of it more as if he was a knight of sorts working for a king."

I nodded and followed her gaze, looking down at myself and realizing I was naked except for my boxers. I blushed a little as well. "Um…. Where are my clothes….? And what time is it exactly…?"

Her blush deepened and she gestured toward the dresser, where my clothes sat, folded and clean. "It's about five in the morning. It seems the Higher Powers felt like sleeping a long time though, so you got about thirteen hours of sleep."

I went over and got dressed quickly, but tilted my head at her in confusion. "Yeah, I don't get that. Higher Powers? Why are the days sometimes longer than the nights, or vice versa?"

She crossed her arms and seemed to think a minute. "Master Cheshire didn't tell you? Well, I suppose it's like… Hmn. Topside, there's a God, right? Where you're from, Earth? Well, here there are 3 Higher Powers, or God's as you'd call them. One is Light, everything good and pure. The other is Darkness, everything vile and unclean. The third is Balance. He is indifferent to goodness or evil, and exists only to keep things balanced. Their names are Benignitas, Ira, and Reliquum. They decide how long to keep the daylight or nighttime darkness upon Wonderland based on what they perceive needs to be done."

I nodded, thinking. "Are they real? Or, like our God, is there no proof they exist and you all just believe in them?"

She looked slightly offended. "Of course they are REAL. Good lord, you have no proof your God exists, and yet you believe in him?"

I blushed a bit and looked away. "I never said I believe in our God. I stopped believing long ago."

She looked sad a moment. "Yes, I saw your scars. I'm sorry," she murmured.

I stiffened. "Not your fault. Thank you for everything."

She smiled warmly at me. "You're welcome, Devin. Welcome back," she said quietly before walking out.

I smiled at the door as she left. It really was good to be back here. I frowned after a moment though. Right now, there was something important that I needed to tell Julus about Alex.

I went into the bathroom and slashed some water on my face, combing my hair while still thinking about Alex. God…all those cuts. No, not cuts. Slashes. Deep, raw slashes. I didn't even want to think of all the pain he must have endured to have the King put them there.

I walked down to the dining room, and everyone was already seated at a large table. It reminded me of the one outside, only this one was bigger. "Good morning, Devin!" Kagamine said as I walked in and everyone turned to look at me.

I gave him a sleepy smile. "Morning. Got any coffee?" I asked, walking over to the table.

Kagamine stood out of courtesy, pulling out a chair next to his. I sat slowly, watching him carefully. "Have you not taken your medicine today? You seem…energized," I commented.

He sat next to me and smiled. "No, I have not. To train you, I need to be on alert. Also, coe-fee? I do not know what this is."

Julus spoke up and drew my eyes to him, and I rose an eyebrow at the fact March was seated between him and Ches. "It's a drink. Made of beans from a tree, it contains a chemical called caffeine that wakes you up and energizes you," he explained.

I raised an eyebrow and the Hatter looked enlightened. "Ah, we have something like that! Marie, could you bring us a cup of Granwal juice please?" he asked, snapping his fingers. A woman with dark, chocolate colored skin appeared with a cup of juice.

She smiled warmly at him. "Here you are, sir," she said.

Kagamine chuckled. "Not for me, Marie, but thank you. Devin here wants some."

She looked at me and immediately blushed. I raised an eyebrow as she set the cup in front of me. "H-here you are sir," she murmured, not making eye contact with me.

"Thank you," I said immediately, and her eyes widened. She bowed and left quickly.

Kagamine chuckled and then turned to me. "Sleep well, my friend?"

Alex came flooding back into my mind. "Julus! I saw Alex!" I stated abruptly.

"What?" he asked.

I quickly explained my night in my mind to him. When I was done, everyone was staring at me and Julus simply looked amazed. "He…contacted you. He's going to learn fast. Though to learn this…. Your mind must have reached for him first."

I nodded. "I think I did. Right before I went to sleep." I paused. "Wait, learns? Julus, how could he do this in the first place?"

Julus was hiding something and I knew it. He just smiled at me and recited that rhyme again. "So many secrets I know to be true. Who is Alex? Devin, who are you? All will be revealed in time."

Everyone at the table seemed fine with that answer. Except me. It enraged me. "That's bull shit Julus! What the fuck are you hiding form me?" I asked, standing with my hands anchored on the table.

Julus and Ches were silent, but the Hatter stood and put his hands on my shoulders. "Devin, please sit. That's no way to talk to a Caterpillar."

I never took my eyes from Julus's serene and somewhat mocking face. "No, Hatter. He's been hiding something the whole time and I'm sick of it. You gave me my memories back; let Alex be taken by that bastard of a King, only to keep something I'm betting is important hidden form me. I will not help Wonderland if you keep things from me," I stated in a cold, matter of fact voice.

Julus's eyes glowed neon. "Oh, but you will, if only for Alex's sake. Sit," he ordered.

My body planked itself down on the chair of its own accord, following Julus's orders. I gaped at him. "How dare you!" I shouted, willing myself to get up and failing miserably.

"How dare you," Julus replied calmly. "Do you want to save Alex or not? If so, such a trivial thing as me keeping something from you shouldn't matter."

I stopped struggling and Julus's eyes returned to normal. When I could move my body again, I clenched my fists in anger, eyes narrowing at the dark haired boy, who only smirked in response. I opened my mouth to scream at him this time, but Ches disappeared form his seat, appearing behind me with his hands on my shoulders to keep me from standing.

He leaned down and whispered in my ear. "Calm down, Devin. He's doing this on purpose. The angrier you get, the more the situation turns in his favor." His hands tightened and squeezed encouragingly.

I clenched my teeth and nodded, making Julus smirk once more. Marie chose that exact moment to walk in with a pitcher of juice. "I brought some drinks for you all," she said happily, smiling brightly.

Kagamine smiled and thanked her, and she glanced at me, blushing one more time before bowing and leaving the room. "Well, nothing to defuse a bad situation like a cup of juice, eh?" he said, chuckling.

I grunted something unintelligible before sipping my juice and smiling. It tasted like coffee. I gulped it down as breakfast was brought to us. All of the food was somewhat familiar, only it was strange colors and all had a sweet aftertaste. We ate in relative silence, with Ches or the Hatter trying to start up conversations or cracking jokes every once in a while.

Julus nodded o Kagamine once everyone's plate was pretty much clean, and the Hatter in turn stood accordingly. "Right then," he murmured, eyes going molten gold and a maniacal, crazed grin settling itself upon his face. "Time for training," he said creepily, his voice rougher than usual.

I glanced at Ches nervously, not sure how to react to Kagamine's other personality most definitely taking control of his mind. The Cat shrugged and gave me a helpless look, so I turned my gaze to Julus, whose look was encouraging. "You'll learn the fastest from him," was his only explanation.

I sighed and stood, everyone else following suit, and I noticed Arian was conspicuously absent. The Hatter gestured for me to follow, and turned his back, walking from the room. I began to follow him outside, March walking beside me. "Be careful, Devin. When he's like this, even I don't know what he might do," he murmured, angelic voice full of worry.

I smiled down at him and shrugged. "I'll be fine March."

His light brown eyes lit up at hearing me say his real name, and we finally came out to a dueling area in Kagamine's back yard. The area was about fifty by fifty feet, the titles resembling a marble chess board.

Kagamine walked to the center and suddenly cackled like a crazy man, throwing his jacket off and over to the side. "Let's fight, you useless pile of shit!" he shouted at my in that gravelly voice.

My jaw dropped and I just stared for a moment. This other persona of Kagamine was nothing like him! March pushed me forward gently, and I stepped onto the tiles, shaking off my shock.

The Hatter smirked. "What, yer head full of shit, too? C'mon! Let's see that wimpy-assed weapon of yours!" the once polite man shouted at me.

I clenched my fists and tried not to be angered. This was not Kagamine.

The Hatter spit to the side and made a disgusted, slightly annoyed noise. "Tch. Fine! If you ain't manly enough, I'll fucking draw first." He took his hat off and threw it in the air. "Burn, Lucifer!"

The top hat caught on fire as it spun in the air, and when it came down, Kagamine caught a black and white dueling sword with multicolored jewels decorating the swirling, intricately patterned guard. Immediately the atmosphere was different, the power from his weapon radiating through the air. I simply had to stare for a moment.

The other man smirked. "Yeah, yeah. My big sword is amazing. Now summon your damn weapon!" he ordered, his tone arrogant.

'Okay, this version of the Hatter is really starting to annoy the ever living shit out of me." I took my ring off of my finger and the Hatter burst into a laughing fit, clutching at his side.

"That tiny piece of shit is your weapon? Oh good Gods…." He spat out as he laughed.

I ignored him and tried to think of why his weapon was obviously giving off more power than mine. I heard a whispering in my mind, and my gaze immediately darted down to Revenge in my hand. "The words…?" I murmured to it.

It pulsed in my hand in agreement, which freaked me out in a way. These things could think? 'Alright Revenge. What are the words…?"

"You tell me. I am your weapon Devin. Know me…" I heard as barely a whisper in the back of my mind, the voice raspy and hissing. It was so faint, I wasn't even sure if I had heard it. And then I knew. I knew what to say. It was like when you forget something, then remember it and don't know why in God's name you forgot it in the first place.

"Whisper and Slither, Revenge," I murmured, giving Kagamine a cold, calculating glare, and he stopped smiling for once.

Tendrils of smoke rose and snaked from my ring, slowly creeping across the ground and engulfing my body, caressing it lightly, before condensing into my twin short swords. The early morning sun flashed and gleamed off of the blades as everyone stared, even the Hatter, but he soon snapped out of that.

"Eh, not bad, you snot-nosed brat," he commented, sneering at me indignantly. He held up the sword in a straight, tall dueling stance. "Let's see what you can do," he growled, that grin appearing again, and suddenly, without any warning, he charged me, slashing at my neck with what looked like the intent to sever my head from my shoulders.

I dodged, gasping and gaping at him.

"Dodging's fer pussies! Block!" he shouted, swinging again.

I brought both swords up quickly and blocked, the sound of clanging metal ringing in my ear drums, sparks actually flying from how hard he had hit my swords. "The fuck, Hatter! Are trying to kill me?" I shouted.

The crazy man got a very serious looks on his face, eyes connecting with mine as he stopped his attack and stepped back. "Yes, I am. The will not hesitate to kill you, and therefore neither will I," he explained in his serene voice, once again calm.

He went back into his dueling stance, the gleam returning to his eye. "Come at me!" he ordered harshly, eyes narrowing.

I did as I was told and ran at him, swinging down as I went.

He blocked and deflected it easily, not even stepping back from his stance, slashing at me and ripping a huge tear in my shirt. It stung slightly, and I looked to see a long, shallow cut, only as deep as a paper cut.

I clenched my teeth. He could have killed me, but he had so much control, he could control how deep he made the cut. And the speed at which he cut me with was almost super human; I had only seen a blur. Ches was fast, super fast, but with a weapon, even he couldn't get that fast.

In my distraction of the cut, I see him strike. I blinked in shock as he held his blade to my throat and lifted my chin with it. "You are fast, but your technique is horrifying. Do not take your eyes off of your opponent. Step forward with your strong foot. You have double swords, an advantage against my single weapon if you use them right. Use your strong hand to strike and your weaker to follow up and defend. And do not," he emphasized, "…get distracted by your wounds."

He removed the blade from my neck, and I gulped, rubbing neck. I nodded silently; somewhat overwhelmed by all of the information he was giving me. I fell back into my own stance, and he smiled. "There we go. That's stronger, more confident. Move your foot forward just a bit. Yes that's it," he complimented.

I struck fast with my right hand, and he blocked just like I knew he would. I brought the other sword up and knocked his dueling sword out of his hand, sending it skittering across the ground easily. That was just a little too easy.

I held both blades to his throat calmly as he smiled. "Not bad, fucker. Wanna make a bet?" he asked confidently.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew he had let me disarm him, which this was a trick, but nonetheless, I was curious. I lower my blades and he walked over to his sword, picking it up and swinging it once.

He grinned at me. "If ya can do that again by the time the sun goes down, I'll owe ya one service of any kind," his eyes gleamed in a scary way at this point. "But if I win, you have to eat our candy, and I spend the night in your room."

My jaw dropped, and I started to shake my head. He wanted to have sex with me, but I loved Alex, and….and he would….want to be on top….I couldn't let him. My mind still had problems with people on top of me, it scared me like no tomorrow, because of the abuse I had received.

He laughed at me, the sound chilling me and warming me with anger at the same time. "Ha! Your pussy-assed self is scared. I knew you were just a wimp!"

The words sent memories flashing through my mind. My father had said the same kind of things to me, and my anger ended up overpowering my common sense. "Alright, let's do it. Bring it on."

The Hatter grinned, and the Hare, who had been quiet up until now, ran out onto the tiles of the arena to stop me from accepting. "Devin, you can't! He's tricking you! You can't beat him!" he told me in a desperate tone.

I shook him off. "Be quiet, March. I've disarmed him once, I can do it again," I told him, never taking my eyes from the Hatter. I. Would. Not. Lose.

"March, get yur ass out of the arena, will ya?" the Hatter yelled from his place.

March flinched, looking suitably scolded as he walked back to the edge of the arena. Julus and Ches were silent, still just watching, though Ches looked about ready to murder the Hatter.

Kagamine walked over to me and held out his hand. "Deal?" he purred, eyes still challenging.

My eyes never moved form his face as I reached out to take his hand and shake it. "Deal," I conceded.

He smirked and let go of my hand, stepping back, yellow eyes gleaming. "Now try yer hardest, but you won't win" he mocked.

I rushed him, swinging strongly to his left side. He deflected the strike with ease, sending one of my swords flying to the side. I stared at him and clenched my teeth before going over to pick up the discarded weapon.

He never moved, continuing to watch me with an arrogant look on his face. I swung again, and he blocked yet again, calmly and efficiently.

I gritted my teeth and let out a frustrated scream, running at him and swinging with both swords. I had been tricked, and I had known it, but thought I over come him at some point. Apparently I was wrong. I stuck rapidly, over and over, and he blocked every single blow.

I continued attacking, over, over, and over. By the time I stopped, it was a good half an hour later, and I was sweating, exhausted. My legs collapsed under me, causing me to fall on my knees in front of the Hatter.

As I sat there, staring at his shoes, I realized something. He hadn't moved a single step back; his feet were in the exact same position as they were when we started. I hadn't affected him at all, he wasn't even breathing hard.

I looked up at him in wonder, and he smirked, squatting down to eye level with me and tilting my head up to look into his eyes with a finger. "Don't worry, lovely. I'll be gentle," he whispered.

My eyes widened and fear coursed through my veins. I stood back up shakily. I couldn't lose for Alex, I couldn't lose for me. I. Couldn't. Lose. I locked eyes with him as I panted and tried to breathe correctly. "I…" pant, "Won't," pant, "…Give…up…" I said exhaustedly as I moved back into attack position.

He gave me an admiring look, though it was laced with sadness. "You cannot win, Devin," he murmured in a kind sounding voice, his voice.

I let out a loud roar and began to attack him again, Julus, Ches, and March all staring with wide eyes as I continued to fight even though I was close to passing out.