Right then, so all I have to do to really annoy everyone is break up the Jun x Shinku pairing? Noted! Lol, kidding, I'm not going to do that. Here is the next part of episode nine, which definitely will be more than the normal four chapters long. I only have a few episodes left though, and I still have to cram everything in. This is a very Rozen centric chapter (and episode, really), but rest assured that Rozen will be leaving at the end of this episode and will not return until the very end of the story. Also, I managed to submit my finished writing competition entry so updates should hopefully be a bit more frequent. Anyway, that's enough from me, on with the episode!

Rozen Maiden: Märchen

EPISODE NINE

Rude Awakening

"I HATE YOU!"

Rozen flinched the instant before the cushion hurled by his sister struck him square in the face and sent him sprawling back against the bed. He recovered only to find a tea cup flung in his direction, forcing him to duck. Ada continued to hurl whatever she could lay her hands on at him, her face a mask of grief and rage. Fortunately for Rozen, Souseiseki and Suigintou rushed to his aid and deflected the improvised projectiles away from their father.

"What are you doing?" Ada demanded in disbelief as she stared at the two dolls, "Why are you defending him?"

"He's our father, why wouldn't we?" Suigintou asked in equal amazement, her wings curled ready to block the teapot Ada clutched in a trembling hand. She pointed the spout at Rozen accusingly instead, her glittering green eyes narrowing in anger.

"Some father! Some brother! He abandoned us! All of us!"

"I didn't-" Rozen tried to protest, hands raised defensively. Ada snarled and stamped her foot.

"Shut up! Just ... shut up, you great big meanie! I hate you!" She pulled back her arm to hurl the teapot and both Suigintou and Souseiseki tensed in readiness. Ada suddenly sagged instead. Her shoulders drooped and the teapot fell from her hand onto the bedroom floor. She dropped to her knees and pressed her hands to her face, sobbing loudly. It was a miserable lonely sound in this desolate and decaying old room.

"Err..." said Jun, not sure what to make of all this or what to do. The Rozen Maidens were all too stunned to react, but Rozen himself slid off the bed and cautiously approached his sister. He knelt down and tentatively wrapped his arms around her, fully expecting another slap at any moment. Ada didn't react, she merely continued crying. Her brother pulled her close and stroked her hair. For a long time no one spoke, until Ada pulled slightly away and struggled to quell her tears.

"Y-you left us. You hid from us where none of us could ever find you. All because of Alice!" She hiccupped and screwed her eyes tightly shut, shaking her head from side to side. "None of us were good enough to measure up to her!" She opened her tear-filled eyes wide and punched Rozen weakly against the chest, her face filled with pain and anguish. "It's not our fault we're not perfect! It's not our fault none of us are Alice! Why ... why do you love her so much more? Aren't we enough for you? Isn't it enough that you have a sister that adores you and daughters that worship you?"

None of the other dolls spoke, yet several of them hung their heads in guilt or winced at her words. Because she had spoken the very words that many of them had also wanted to speak, words they had all wondered at. Even though Jun felt the words were perfectly justified, he also felt kind of sorry for Rozen, because they were being directed at a younger version of the person they were meant for. This Rozen hadn't even made his daughters yet, yet here he was taking the flak for things he hadn't even done.

Rozen blinked back tears, his face showing the mixture of confusion and frustration that was whirling around inside of him right now. He shook his own head as if to deny the accusations levelled against him. "That's not ... I didn't ... I don't even know who this Alice girl is! I would never abandon you Ada, nor any of them!" He glanced around at his daughters, who were all watching him with wide eyes now. Ada's gaze lowered to the floor and tears fell straight from her eyes onto the faded carpet.

"You already did, big brother. It's no use saying you wont when it has already happened."

"Well as far as I'm concerned, this is the future!" Rozen countered angrily, tightening his grip on his sister, "A bad future! Maybe my future self made me come here to see the mistakes he made, so that ... so that I wouldn't make them myself!"

"Uh, I don't think that's why he brought you here," Jun said carefully. He'd only met Rozen as an adult briefly last year, but he didn't get the impression from the man that he was altogether unhappy with the way things were. From what little he'd told Shinku, he still wanted Alice. The young Rozen here however seemed determined. He sniffed and wiped his eyes on his sleeve.

"I wont abandon any of you. I don't care who or what this Alice person is, I love you, Ada. And my daughters."

"Ask them!" Ada said sharply, pointing across at Shinku, who was stood by Jun's side, "Ask them how much time their father spent with them! Ask them if they think they're good enough for you! Well?" When she saw Rozen hesitate she directed her piercing gaze at Suigintou, who was still standing on the bed. "You, Suigintou - do you believe you are worthy of your father's love? Do you think he truly loves you?"

Suigintou gaped at the sudden and direct question as all eyes turned on her. She glanced around at her sisters and then turned her gaze on Rozen himself. He was watching her with pleading, begging eyes, and for the first time she truly saw him as the child he was rather than as her all-wise father. She seriously considered the question before answering with complete honesty.

"No," she said flatly, "Even though I love Father more than anything, I ... I don't believe he loves me in return. I was his first attempt at creating Alice, and also ... his first failure. He left me unfinished," she gently brushed a hand against her midriff, which up until recently had not even existed, her father only completing her after the Barasuishou fiasco, "I never measured up to his vision of Alice, so I am not worthy to be with him. It's the same for all of us. It's why the Alice Game exists in the first place."

Rozen's face fell and he hung his head in shame. Fresh tears started to well up in his eyes and this time he didn't even try to fight them. Ada regarded him coldly. "No," she echoed Suigintou, "You heard what your own daughter said. She's not good enough for you, because she's not Alice. Neither am I. That's why you left me, big brother. That's why you left them."

Rozen clutched at his head, fat tears falling into his lap, creating dark patches on his trousers. It pained the dolls to see their father so distraught, but what could they say? Everything Ada was accusing her brother of was the plain simple truth, and none of them could deny it. It still didn't stop them from loving him, but that didn't change what he'd done. Or at least, what this boy was going to do when he grew up.

"Don't cry, Father," Souseiseki hopped down off the bed and approached the weeping Rozen. She gently laid a hand against his arm, yet he scarcely seemed to notice. He shook his head and coughed lightly.

"How can you even stand to call me that? If I'm really destined to be such a horrible father, why would you even want to call me that?"

"Hang on just a second," interrupted Jun, taking a further step into the room. He gestured to Rozen, "You may not be the perfect father, but geez, who the heck is? Have you ever met my father? It's been so long since I've seen him I sometimes have trouble remembering what he looks like. I'm sure he still cares about me though."

Rozen looked up at Jun with red-rimmed eyes. He sniffed. "It's hardly the same. Your father hasn't abandoned you, he's just away from home working to make money so you and your sister can have a good future. If he could be with you, I bet he would. Me though? From the sounds of it I don't even want to be with my family. Face it Sakurada, my sister is right; I'm a jerk."

"That is not true," insisted Shinku, striding past Jun and stopping before Rozen. She looked up at him and fixed him with a firm, confident gaze. "Whilst it is true that my sisters and I have few memories of you, the memories we do have are fond ones. More than anything, my recollection of you is one of happiness and warmth. I always felt safe and loved in your presence, both your elder and younger selves."

"She's right," Suiseiseki chimed in, waving her arms for emphasis, "Even though I so hate the very idea of fighting my sisters, none of us would even exist if it weren't for you. We all love you no matter what, so don't ever doubt that, okay?"

Rozen seemed genuinely astonished to hear such praise from them, and certainly didn't feel he deserved it. Sadly their sentiment was not shared by his sister, who stood and scowled at him. "It still doesn't change what you are, big brother; a bad person. We all love you so much despite everything, but it's just not enough for you. You're too busy chasing a dream to see what's right in front of you."

They watched as Ada smoothed the creases in her dress and strode out of the room without another word. Jun stared after her and rubbed the back of his head. It didn't look like she was in a forgiving mood, at least not right now. "So," he said, "That's your sister huh?" He turned back and found Rozen staring at his own hands in silence. The dolls were watching him with concerned expressions. He had stopped crying, but he didn't seem remotely happy.

"Father?" said Suigintou, floating down off the bed. Rozen clenched his hands tight and raised his head to stare at his own reflection in the dresser mirror. His eyes, still bleary from the tears, narrowed sharply.

"There's someone I have to talk to," he announced abruptly, standing up. Jun frowned.

"Who?" he asked. Rozen tore his gaze away from his reflection and regarded Jun without really seeing him.

"Myself," he answered, and then walked out of the room.

It wasn't just raining outside, it was a downpour. A torrential hail of raindrops that pounded the streets and sloshed in the gutters, driven by a heartless icy wind. Rozen shoved the front doors of his home open and ran out into this thoroughly unpleasant atmosphere. By the time he'd taken a dozen steps into the dead garden he was utterly soaked to the bone, his thick blond hair plastered to his face and neck. Water poured from his dripping sleeves and gathered inside his patchwork boots, making his feet squelch with every step he took.

He stopped in the middle of the estate's back garden and whirled around, blinking water from his swollen eyes as he searched about. He flung out his arms wide and turned in a circle, as if giving an invitation.

"Come on!" he yelled, his voice muffled by the storm, "Show yourself! I know you're out there! I know you're watching!"

His only answer was a flash of light and a deep roll of thunder. Rozen lowered his arms and stared up into the sky, causing the rain to hit him square in the face. He didn't seem to care. "Show yourself, you bastard! If you don't show up by the count of five-" he reached into his sleeveless coat and withdrew the Timepiece, holding it up to the sky as if for the dark clouds inspection, "I'll leave! I'll go back to my time and Jun can find Pandora on his own!"

More thunder. Rozen lowered his arm and head and stared fixedly at the Timepiece in his palm. Water splashed off its gleaming surface and droplets rolled across it, leaving wet trails in their wake.

"ONE!"

Rain and wind and nothing more.

"TWO!"

Dead leaves whipped past his face.

"THREE!"

One of the metal gates creaked with rust as it battered against its holdings.

"FOUR!"

Rain water dripped from his hair down his spine, prompting an involuntary shiver.

"FIVE!"

There was a flash of lightning and everything stopped. No, everything literally stopped. The rain, the wind, even the lightning itself. The sudden deafening silence rung in his ears. Rozen blinked and stared, millions of raindrops suspended in the air about him. He turned and saw a bolt of lightning striking the clock tower some distance away. It was frozen in place, a brilliant blue-white arc of raw energy. Time itself had come to a screeching halt the very instant he'd called out the number five, and it had not been his doing. Actually, it had been his doing, just a slightly different him.

There was a sound, despite the fact that sound shouldn't be able to travel if time wasn't progressing. Then again, Rozen himself shouldn't be aware and moving either, yet he was. He turned and saw an almost surreal sight. Paving stones were materialising in the ground, providing a dry path for a tall figure to walk across. The suspended raindrops parted for this figure, tugged aside as if by some unseen force. Rozen lowered the Timepiece and moved to stand at the end of the new stone path, facing the approaching man.

It was himself, but grown up. A very disconcerting thing to experience, meeting your future self. His age was impossible to guess, since he was probably several centuries old at least, yet looked to be in his mid to late twenties. His hair was slightly longer, yet still messy, just in a different way. It partially obscured his eyes. He approached Rozen with his hands in his pockets and stopped about half a dozen feet away. He was of course completely dry, and seemed to almost glow with an aura of light. Young Rozen continued to drip, and by now a pool of water was forming on the paved path underneath him.

"So," said Rozen, tucking the Timepiece away, "you're me then?" His future self nodded and Rozen scoffed. "Not much to look at. Nice trick, by the way," he gestured to indicate the selectively halted flow of time about them. There was a protracted silence between them, but as the younger Rozen was the less patient of the two it was he who eventually broke it. He jabbed an angry finger at his future self. "I hate you."

"That's understandable," his adult self replied. The voice was different, naturally. Rozen instantly hated it, or at least wanted to. He wanted to hate everything about this person, even though he knew this person was him. Who he would one day become.

"Why?" Rozen demanded, exasperated, "Why did you leave them? I love them, all of them! As daughters go, they're amazing!"

"They're not Alice."

Rozen clutched at his head and snarled. "Who the heck is Alice? What is so goddamn special about her that would make us abandon our family? And if you tell me that I'll 'understand one day' or when I 'grow up', I will kick you, fancy powers or not. So tell me, and make it good, because I might just kick you anyway."

His future self removed his hands from his pockets and approached. Rozen eyed him warily, but it wasn't likely he was going to harm his past self. Adult Rozen stopped before him and knelt, arm resting on one knee. He regarded his younger self for a long moment and smiled an infuriatingly knowing smile.

"You've noticed the way Shinku and Jun are together, haven't you?" he asked himself. Young Rozen frowned.

"I don't-"

"They're in love. Truly, deeply, madly in love with each other. I know you've noticed, because I remember noticing when I was you. And I've been watching them for a long time now."

Rozen scowled at his elder self. "I'm sure they'd be thrilled to know that. And how wonderful; I grow up to be a voyeur. Marvellous."

"And I'm frankly amazed at how precocious I used to be, but I don't hold it against myself. I was young after all." He smirked and brushed a sopping wet strand of hair from his younger self's face. "My point is, they love one another. Even though they love their siblings and friends as well, they themselves are in love. It's a different kind of love."

"And? So? Therefore?"

"You love our daughters just as our daughters love one another, but you haven't yet felt that kind of love that Jun and Shinku have. You haven't fallen in love with someone. I have."

Young Rozen was starting to see what he was getting at, though that didn't mean he liked it anymore for understanding it. "With Alice."

"Yes. I love our sister and our daughters, but I'm in love with Alice. You will be too, one day. It doesn't matter that Alice is our dream girl, or that she's perfect. I don't care about that. I care about her because I'm in love with her, every bit as much as Jun loves Shinku. Now, try to imagine what Jun would be prepared to do to get Shinku back if he lost her."

Rozen sighed and shrugged, rolling his eyes. "I don't know him that well, but ... anything I'd guess."

"And now you have some idea of what I'm prepared to do to be with Alice. Even if it means hurting the ones I love."

"But why do you have to be apart from them? Why do you have to force them to play this stupid Alice Game? Some of them don't even want to play it. I'm amazed any of them do."

Adult Rozen hesitated for a moment, and then glanced about as if afraid someone might be listening. He turned back to his younger self and leaned close, speaking in a hushed voice. "They aren't playing the Alice Game," he said, "I am. The Alice game isn't a battle between our dolls to become the perfect girl, its a battle between dollmakers to create Alice. If I lose, then I lose Alice forever. I can't let that happen. There are rules to the Alice Game that I have to abide by, as much as I despise them. All I can do is hope to make things right once the game is over."

Young Rozen's mind reeled at this new information and he struggled to make some sense of it all. To his astonishment he found that he didn't quite hate his future self as much as he had a few minutes ago, although he was still angry with him. It all depended on how things were going to work out in the end, which neither of them knew. With a wry smile he flicked one of his dripping wet sleeves at his adult self, splashing his face with water. Naturally he had been expecting this, since he would no doubt remember doing it himself. He flinched regardless, but smiled back.

"You're still a big meanie," Rozen scolded himself, "but I guess we both need to try and make things up to everyone. I hope you know what you're doing."

"I do," he assured himself, wiping the droplets of water from his face. Young Rozen folded his arms and regarded himself shrewdly.

"Alright then, I'll let you off without giving you the kick you rightly deserve. For now at least."

"Thank you. That's very kind of ... me."

"What do you need me to do then?"

"What I asked you to do in the first place; find Pandora's box and give it to Jun. It's very important you do that. Jun is our ace in the hole. If things go horribly wrong, and I'm afraid they just might, we'll need him if we want any chance of making a happy ending to all of this."

Young Rozen stuffed his hands in his damp pockets and nodded morosely, and his older self noticed the troubled expression on his face. Despite being the boy's future self, he still did not perfectly recall every detail of this encounter, and had to ask what was bothering him so much. Rozen was reluctant to say at first, but if he couldn't confide in himself then who could he?

"It's nothing really, it's just..." he sighed heavily, "I did notice the way Jun and Shinku are with each other."

"And?"

"Doesn't it bother you?"

Adult Rozen tilted his head slightly and smirked. "Yes, a little bit. You're jealous, aren't you?" His younger self blushed visibly and stared at the ground, but said nothing. Adult Rozen's smirk transformed into a sad smile and he laid a hand on his younger self's shoulder. "I know," he said quietly, "She's my favourite too." He leaned forwards and planted a kiss on his forehead, before whispering to himself; "Bless you."

"What?" Young Rozen asked. Then he sneezed. At once time resumed, a fresh wave of rain pelting him. He blinked and opened his eyes to see that his future self was gone, along with the paved path he had created. Thunder rolled from the previously frozen lightning strike, and Rozen glared at the space his elder self had occupied an instant ago.

"Thanks a lot," he muttered, getting soaked all over again.