I'm Nobody

by free man writer

He didn't have anything when he was born. Just a name and number. But over time, what he had grew. He, with his friends began to understand that there was more to their existence then just their name and number. They will prove that they were meant to be real. To exist. To become something more than just a Nobody. Co-written and created with Jebest4781. Fem Shepard. Now on Ao3.

35. Sanity is Overrated

Been a slight while with this one but at long last returned to it.

Could have been a lot longer actually and not gonna lie, we finished this when our brains were basically on its last legs after so many sprints and such.

Thanks for being so patient.

Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.

I'm Nobody Chapter 35: Sanity is overrated

"Urgh."

No. XIII, formerly of the Organization, began to stir.

He raised a hand to his head, rubbing his forehead as he slowly opened his eyes.

The teen winced and shut his eyes to block out the bright lights in his eyes.

Roxas forced himself to sit up as he tried to get his bearings together.

Blinking a few times to get the black splotches out of his sight, the blond teen at last had the chance to see just where he was now.

Up above, he saw a night sky with aurora lights dancing in the skies with…

Was that a curved moon with a face smoking a pipe?

He couldn't help but laugh to himself and shook his head slightly as he stood up.

Roxas let out a groan at the feeling of his joints and bones popping and his muscles stretching themselves out.

"Alright," He said to himself, in the process of now stretching and limbering up. "What twisted part of Wonderland did I wind up in this time?"

After his little warm up got the soreness out of his body, Roxas began to walk forward and took in the landscape around him.

The ground beneath him was sort of sandy with him leaving some footprints as he walked forward.

And there was a large starfish standing upright in front of him.

So… that's strangely not the weirdest thing he's seen in Wonderland.

Taking a closer look around, this place looked slightly like a winter tundra underwater.

For some reason, this reminded him of Sora's time in Atlantica.

"I wonder… if I took off my coat, would I suddenly gain a merman tail?" He pondered to himself. "Nah, I don't think it works like that. I'm not even underwater."

Roxas then looked up at the skies above where he "fell" from earlier.

He didn't know how he got here, just that he was here and that's all there was to it.

All he could remember was plummeting from Hatter's domain and landing in the ocean.

What he could surmise was him being swept along the waves and miraculously survived before drifting to whatever this place may be.

Or he could have legitimately just fallen here.

Or maybe even thrown out from the seemingly bottomless chasms that appeared to be all over the place.

It was Wonderland afterall so nothing weird was outside the realm of possibility.

He let out a sigh as he just had to accept the fact that he was here for the moment and was still alone unfortunately.

"Come on guys, where are you?" Roxas murmured to himself.

He had already been traveling alone for some time from his point of view.

Roxas thought that Axel and Xion would have at least popped in through the corridor. Wouldn't have been hard to find him with their Omni-Tools.

No. XIII brought out his own Omni-Tool and saw that he had gotten no messages or any attempts from his two friends that they tried reaching out to him.

What if there was something blocking their attempt in coming back here?

He did recall the mention of this "Looking Glass" being an apparent portal between this world and where the others went to. Could that be a factor to consider?

Whatever the case may be, he needed to keep on moving and figure out his next courses of actions.

He needed to continue to try and reunite with his lost friends whilst also locating the Keyhole Master Yen Sid spoke of that was the source of the corruption of Worlds being influenced by the Milky Way Galaxy.

The Nobody just needed to figure out where or maybe what the Keyhole could be hiding in.

His mind drifted back to the Hatter's Domain and what he saw there before his abrupt departure from that realm.

'That train…' Roxas internally thought to himself.

Whatever that thing was, he felt it in his gut that it was something that did not belong in Wonderland.

It sure as hell didn't fit the aesthetic of Wonderland.

He was pretty sure that in his memories of this place through Sora, it was a fantastical medieval sort of place.

Then again…

"You know what, it's better not to think about it too much." Roxas said to himself.

Traversing through this underwater tundra-like environment, Roxas saw some fish swimming through the air and disappearing sometime later.

Coming across an open area, he was soon confronted with a number of Insidious and Menacing Ruins with some aquatic Heartless backing them up. Summoning his Classic Tone Keyblade, he was quick on the offensive.

It was a quick battle as he really didn't want to nor had the time in dealing with these enemies.

He instantly had his brand new Keyblade shift into its hammer form and promptly smashed, bashed and flattened all that came before her.

They were taken out in a matter of minutes.

He recalled his Keyblade and continued his journey onward.

As he trekked his way up the side of a… Well, he wasn't sure if this was a mountain or not, Roxas saw a large yeti bellowing a large gust of air as if it were an obstacle along a frigid path. It was quick to get around it with a few good jumps and gliding along the air current so he wouldn't crash into anything on accident.

He soon entered a cavern and dropped through it. More Heartless appeared, in which he had to swiftly take care of them. It wouldn't be long through the conflict did he use some of them to break through some icy walls which revealed more pathways for him to explore.

There were a few instances he had to shrink himself due to their abnormal sizes, but he was able to get through the cavernous tunnels just fine; even if for a short time.

When he was exploring more on how to traverse further, Roxas saw a dead frozen creature with a large chunk of their body having been bitten off and left for dead.

"What could've caused this?" He asked himself.

Upon entering another set of caverns through a higher ledge, more Heartless and Ruins appeared which were soon dealt with.

Once more he found another frozen corpse with a large portion of their body being eaten. His earlier inquiry would soon bug him ever further as he kept on his exploration.

Upon going through the frozen maze by jumping off of a series of blue mushrooms, Roxas came across a large space with several icy paths going downwards. He leaned a bit too forward did he not notice a Ruin bashing him when he least expected it. This caused him to fall onto the icy paths and started sliding along. He had to be careful so he wouldn't fall and plumber to the seemingly endless abyss below. He even used his boots and gloved hands to help move him along through the high speeds he was riding through the hazardous slide.

When reaching its end, the Nobody basically slammed into a large pile of snow which ended his ride.

Shooting out of it, he started dusting himself off and flicked his blonde hair to rid himself of the residue.

In a sense, this moment reminded him of when he and the others finally reached Peak 15.

Actually, now that he thought about this underwater frigid environment, this place was a lot like Noveria.

Rounding about a corner, Roxas momentarily stopped in his tracks as he spotted something far ahead in the distance.

Squinting his eyes slightly, he walked forward to make sure he wasn't seeing things and in his mind confirmed it not to be some kind of illusion or trick.

"What's a ship in a bottle doing?" He asked himself.

It was some ways off in the distance but not too far really.

"I see you've made your way through the Hatter's Domain."

Roxas rolled his eyes as he looked over to the Cheshire Cat that appeared out of thin air in front of him.

"Making my way here doesn't feel appropriate." No. XIII remarked.

"Ah~ then perhaps dropping in is a far more appropriate title."

The blond snorted and shrugged in agreement.

"Welcome, Roxas, to the Tundraful."

Mentally jotting this location down, he spoke to the demented feline.

"Tundraful." Roxas repeated. "Well, makes sense with how it looks, I guess. So what is this place, Cat? What's the deal here?"

Cheshire Cat simply looked away and ahead to the bottled ship in the distance.

"Assistance is needed for a beached captain." The Cat said in a vague tone. "As to the path that it will take you to remains to be seen."

And like that, Cheshire Cat disappeared.

No. XIII rolled his eyes with a shake of his head. "Never can get a simple answer now can I? That's just asking for too much."

Getting closer to the bottled ship, Roxas made quick work through the Heartless. When he got close, he saw someone was inside the unique object and was waving towards him.

Navigating around the giant bottle, he saw a big crack and made his way into it-

"LOOK OUT!"

Out of instinct, Roxas' Keyblade flashed into his hand when he whirled around and struck what sought to attack him.

It was a giant, floating boat-skeleton shark. And it wasn't alone.

"Seems I found the culprits with those frozen corpses."

Bashing them away, he quickly casted Thundara before using his Phantom Rush shotlock. The landscape became monochromatic as he started zooming across the area and started destroying these irregular creatures as they soon became broken pieces of timber.

When this was all done, he went into the bottle and was greeted by the one inside of it.

"Deary me, lad, never would have thought to have seen such a welcoming sight such as that one." Spoke a… cow head with a turtle's body?

"Uh, who are you?" Roxas asked.

"Admiral Mock-Turtle, at your service lad." The denizen of Wonderland said with a crisp salute.

"Admiral Mock-Turtle?" No. XIII said the name again, expression conveying thought.

Roxas recalled Alice mentioning him, who pointed her to where Caterpillar resided.

"And who might you be?"

"Oh, my name's Roxas."

"Pleasure to meet you lad." Mock-Turtle said with an appreciative tone.

The blond nodded at him in return.

"So…" Roxas looked around at the ship. "Are you stuck here?"

"I am, for those confounded beasts want my ship!"

Roxas raised a brow at the fusion animal before him. "Are you sure it's not you they're after?"

The Mock-Turtle then replied. "Never. We're almost relatives! I mean just look at them then at me. Why would wood want flesh?"

The blond Nobody actually took a moment to think this question over.

"Huh… you know, that actually makes sense… somehow."

Near-muted banging was then heard from all around. Looking at the source, the pair saw more of these skeletal sharks striking the giant bottle more and more.

"Jeez, more of these sharks to deal with." Roxas murmured, Keyblade in hand.

"No need for that, Roxas." Mock-Turtle said. "We should leave this mayhem and go to Carpenter's show. It's better than a gaff. Carpenter promises what we don't take seriously can't harm us!"

No. XIII considered this thought for a moment, looking over to see more skeletal sharks joining those that were already attacking the bottle and he grimaced. "It's better than just staying here and becoming their next meal."

Their glass barrier then broke in half, causing the ship to begin sailing along the water.

"Do be a good lad and keep those dreadful creatures at bay." The Admiral asked as he ran towards the wheel of the ship.

"Sure thing."

As the Mock-Turtle navigated his vessel, Roxas battled against the floating enemies who sought to end them.

He occasionally utilized the ships cannons and apparent depth charges the Mock-Turtle had at his disposal as they traversed the "Seas" in the sky so to speak.

Fortunately it wouldn't be long as they'll be away from them. Unfortunately, however, the cause of this would be the ship plummeting over a waterfall.

"OH NOT AGAIN!"

In mere moments, the vessel sank into the water.

Strange thing was, it miraculously survived and stayed in one piece. Not to mention the blonde Nobody was able to breathe.

"...Okay, didn't expect that."

"We're not out of the woods yet, Roxas." Called out the ship's captain as he pointed his flipper onwards. "I'll need your help."

Looking around, Roxas saw more of these skeletal sharks appearing as they started swarming them.

"Can't I catch a break?" He said to himself, readying himself for battle once more.

-Scene Cut-

"When you said your old nanny works at a brothel, I didn't know it would be at a rather shady spot in London."

"Come now, it can't be all that bad."

"It does look a bit dingy."

The trio of Alice, Axel and Xion found themselves standing before a building where a questionable profession was practiced near the Thames River.

"Also who names a brothel the Mangled Mermaid? It sounds like a trashy music band name." Axel commented.

"I don't know what you're referring to, but I clearly don't know who'd name such an establishment." Alice stated. "All I know is my Nan is here and she's someone we could trust."

"We'll take your word for it, Alice." Xion remarked.

It was starting to drizzle, which wouldn't be long before a rainfall would become present. This made them quickly go inside as they were met with a number of things.

For one, a good amount of warmth as a nearby fireplace was roaring with candles and electric bulbs lighting up the place.

On the far end of the space, they saw a bar with an assortment of liquor bottles placed along the shelves. The bartender was there cleaning a few mugs while servicing some other customers.

While there were an assortment of sailors and workers present, there were others of the female variety as they were having some fun with the male patrons.

"This place looks… like shit." Was Axel's first words upon entering the establishment.

"Well excuse my nan for having to make the most of what she can here." Alice said defensively, walking forward.

"Right~" Axel drawled out, him and Xion quickly following after Liddell.

They walked past a man obviously passed out on a table from all the liquor he consumed.

Before they could go any further, one of the female workers approached the lone male of the group.

"Hello there, handsome."

Axel turned around to greet her but recoiled at the sight of her.

Sure she was… decent looking. Not extraordinary like most women he'd seen and interacted with. But what made him rather unsettled was seeing a few sores around her mouth. And when she flashed him her teeth, he saw how crooked they were.

"Uh, hello ma'am."

"Would you like to give a girl a pint to drink?" She said in a flirtatious manner. "Maybe later a bum dance? Maybe give a hard ride with your-"

"Ah, no thank you. I'm good." The prostitute tried to reach out for his arm, but he quickly pried it away. "Sorry, but no means no."

This got the smiling woman to snarl a little. "You pussy asshat." She then huffed. "You probably don't have it in you anyways."

Axel arched a brow in her direction and snorted at her. "If you mean if I prefer men over women, then you're wrong. I just have a standard. One you don't reach at all."

"Oh c'mon, you're probably reaching too high sir."

"Which I am really fine with." Axel said. "So herpes, kindly turn yourself around and walk your diseased face away from mine."

The prostitute's expression morphed into one of fury now.

"How dare you!"

She reared her hand back and went for a slap when the redhead caught her by the wrist without any effort.

"I'm not afraid to turn a lady to ash." Axel threatened, eyes become menacing now. "You need to learn some boundaries, woman. Not to mention knowing some common sense on when to act accordingly. You were way too forward with your approach way too soon."

The woman pried her arm back. With a huff, she stormed off to seek another person to have some fun with for a while.

"What was that about, Axel?"

No. VIII internally cringed upon realizing that Xion had seen all that.

"Nothing that you need to concern yourself over Xion."

Before the young girl could further question things, a large burly man came up to her with a leering gaze.

"Well aren't you a pretty o-ACK."

The large man found himself suddenly being unable to breath properly as a hand had clamped tightly around his throat.

"You have one second to reconsider what you were about to do there before I rip out your throat and shove it down your stomach." Axel's voice was deadly, promising excruciating pain of the highest caliber.

The man barely managed to choke out that he'll leave them alone until he was "roughly" shoved away from them, falling to the ground.

His head bounced against the floor and he was promptly knocked out, causing a momentary pause in all the activities in the establishment.

All eyes were now on the three newcomers.

"...He slipped." Axel quickly said an excuse. "Don't you people bother cleaning up around here or what?"

One of the patrons crouched down to get the unconscious man up when he noticed something around the guy's neck.

"What the 'ell is up with 'ese burns?"

"Hmm?" Axel didn't spare much of a glance. "Must've brushed against something scolding in the fall or something." He then saw some looks which screamed "bullshit". "What? You've never heard of wood or friction burn?" He said rhetorically.

Not waiting for a response, Axel walked off along with Xion in order to find Alice who seemed to have disappeared on them.

-Scene Cut-

"Ok, what is it this time?"

"Huh?"

"You seized up all weird there, Commander," the flanging voice of Garrus stated. "What's up?"

"She did this last time." Kaidan Alenko revealed. "It had something to do with Axel and the others."

"Really now?" The Turian detective's tone conveyed intrigue. "So what is it then?"

Jane scrunched up her face in deep concentration.

"I feel like… I should be proud of Axel." Shepard said. "But at the same time slap him upside the head for neglecting a blindfold."

"A blindfold?" Ashley Williams repeated in bewilderment. "For who?"

"Xion." Was Jane's flat response.

-Scene Cut-

Back at the Mangled Mermaid, the two Nobodies searched for their wayward companion. It shouldn't be hard, given there's not much to explore at the pub.

When reaching the upper levels, they checked through some other rooms that weren't closed. Xion sought to peek inside, but Axel halted her action saying some excuse to not taint her innocence.

It wasn't much longer before they soon found a room where Alice wandered into. There she was soon conversing with a rather large and rotund woman. She wore a pink dress that accentuated her breasts and black lace gloves. She has a peacock feather placed on the bun of her hair and has a sailors anchor tattooed onto her right breast. And pertaining to the lighting in the room, there was a hint of a black eye being recovered.

"Alice." Nan greeted with a pleased smile. "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes." The large woman then noticed the new arrivals. "Oh? And who are these two here with you?"

"Nan." Alice smiled at her. "These are good friends of mine. This is Axel and Xion. They've been helping me with a number of things recently. I owe them much."

"That is mighty good to hear."

Whatever pleasant conversation that was sought to continue on was spoiled by someone yelling from outside Nan's window.

"Where's my money, you flipping spank bucket?!"

The large woman looked crossed before turning around and shoving most of her body out of the window. "Back off, you dimwit. You'll never get past Long Tim!"

"I'll get what you and your ladies owe me, Miss Ladybird. See if I don't."

Nan Sharp saw the man down below run off just as she pulled herself back inside. She then saw the concerned and confused looks on the faces of Alice, Xion and Axel.

"Sorry you had to hear that."

"What was that about?"

"Nothing you should concern yourself with."

"I doubt that ma'am."

"Well proper introductions are in order. I'm Nan Sharpe, I was Alice's nanny when she was little."

"Nice to meet you."

"Who was the guy you were arguing with?"

Sharpe exhaled a sigh. "That was Jack Splatter. He's a man who needed my girls for more of his business."

"Your girls?"

"Yes, my girls. You got a problem with that?"

"Nope, not at all." Said Axel. "Just recommend they do a different approach on getting their clientele."

"Oh? Like what?"

"Like those such as myself, be more subtle and charismatic. Most people tend to be more attracted towards those traits."

"Speaking from experience?"

"...You can say that."

Not that Axel would admit it, but his eyes were onto someone else entirely.

Axel then heard some banging and momentarily thought it was just some people having "fun" in some nearby room. The very sound of it seemed to make him recall something beforehand, but he couldn't place it all that well.

But he noticed the banging was going rather fast and was coming their way. Turning around, No. VIII saw a man -who resembled a pimp in the present era's fashion- charging towards the room with a fierce look on his face.

"We got trouble coming this way."

Whatever brief conversation took place between Nan, Alice and Xion came to an abrupt halt upon hearing Axel's warning.

"Seriously Jack, just leave us be!" Said Nan Sharpe.

The identified Jack Splatter snarled as he shoved past Axel and marched towards the tall woman. "You won't give me what I want, I'll see this dump of yours in shambles and ashes!"

Alice soon intervened. "Go away! She's done no harm!"

The pimp responded back. "She hurt me feelings."

Before the others could intervene, Jack punched Alice's head. She tumbled down and went out like a light.

An instant later, Axel punched the pimp in return. But in the process, Jack fell over and knocked over the nearby stand which held the lantern. It fell over and broke, spilling its contents over the attacker.

The flames quickly caught onto the man's coat, setting it ablaze. Jack screamed in fright as he tried taking it off, but it spread too quickly, due to the lantern's oil. In his frantic state, he ran past the others and tumbled out of the window.

If one were to see him now, Jack would be fully covered in flames as he ran towards the Thames River to douse himself before he was truly consumed.

Back inside Nan Sharpe's room, the fire started to spread and oddly too quickly.

Axel sought to quench the flames but found himself not able to. In fact, he started to notice both he and Xion were starting to fade away from the world.

'Great. Alice is indeed our anchor here. But we had to learn that in the worst way possible.' He thought with disdain.

"Ms. Sharpe," Xion called out, who soon picked up Alice from the floor. "You need to get everyone evacuated from this place."

Alice's former nanny nodded before making her way out to help everyone else.

The two Nobodies tried getting Alice out of the burning building, but they were too late as they disappeared. As this occurred, the former princess of Heart tumbled onto the ground once more.

-Scene Cut-

Roxas groaned as he got himself up from the wreckage.

Everything was fine and good when he assisted the Mock-Turtle against their attackers. Unfortunately they submerged too quickly and crashed to their present location.

He soon heard the ship's captain weep in sadness not far away and approached him.

"You okay?"

"I'm not." Said the Mock-Turtle. "My precious ship's a wreck, and I am, too."

"While most captains and admirals go down with their ships, I thought you were a rather good one." Roxas said in his attempt to cheer the cow turtle up.

"I've lost everything now." Mock-Turtle said in an over dramatic cry. "I was once the head of the station on the Looking Glass line until I was sacked. "Redundant" they called me."

Roxas blinked in surprise upon hearing this.

"The Looking Glass Line?"

"Yes, I used to run a train… I think." The minotaur-reptile rubbed his head. "Things seem foggy… until that blasted Infernal Train went and took my place."

That got the Nobody's full attention. "Infernal Train? Do you know about it?"

"None of that now." Mock-Turtle quickly said. "The less spoken of that ill corruption the better."

"But I came here to help save Wonderland." Roxas said emphatically. "My friends and I were sent here to help and Alice knows of it."

"Alice?" Mock-Turtle said in surprise. "Alice is here? She's returned to Wonderland?"

Roxas nodded when his face became a bit conflicted. "Er… She did return for a bit but she up and disappeared with my two friends. But I'm confident she'll be back. So for now, what can you tell me about this train you mentioned?"

"You have no respect for the suffering of others." Mock-Turtle drearily responded. "Go ask such questions and smart remarks to the Caterpillar."

"Admiral," Roxas spoke slowly now. "I don't wanna cause you distress and all. But I need to know so I can stop and prevent the sufferings of others here in Wonderland. I was tasked with this mission and the White Queen is also counting on me and my friends to see this through to the end. So help me out here."

Mock-Turtle sagged slightly before he reached behind him and pulled out a large ticket.

"I only know it to be a contaminating corruption that has no decency." The fused animal stated. "Perhaps the Carpenter has a greater idea as to what that ghastly train is. Always was a shifty one with knowledge not of his own. You can find him somewhere here in the deluded depths."

Roxas gazed at the ticket presented before him and took it out of the admiral's hand… flipper… whatever, he had it now.

'Totentanz.' Roxas read to himself in his mind, inspecting the ticket. "What's this mean?" No. XIII asked, looking up to find Mock-Turtle gone.

Blinking, the blond Nobody looked around for a moment, quickly spotting the former captain weeping before the wreckage of his ship.

Seeing as he wasn't going to get anything else out of him, Roxas went on forward through these Deluded Depths.

There were shipwrecks all over the place for the most part. And upon coming out of a tunnel, he saw the large expanse of coral, rock formations and sea-life.

This place now resembled Atlantica far more than the land above.

Before he could traverse further, Roxas froze in his tracks upon seeing some familiar faces.

"GUYS!" Roxas shouted in pure joy, running straight towards them.

While he saw Axel and Xion as they were, Alice appeared differently than before.

Instead of her gothic blue blouse and blood stained white apron attire, Alice now wore a dress based on deep ocean colors, mythical characters like mermaids and sirens, as well as pinks based on corals. She no longer wore any footwear as she was now barefoot. The bodice was stylized as scales, the bust itself was seashell shaped and the skirt reminiscent of a jellyfish's body with patterns which looked like it could glow in the dark. The bow on the back bore an angular fish skull instead of a human-like one.

"Roxas!" Xion said aloud, making Axel and Alice turn around in time to see No. XIV sprinting right towards their wayward friend.

"Guys." Roxas said again in relief, slightly getting the wind knocked out of him from the pouncing hug he got from his fellow Keybearer. "Oof! Good to see you too Xion."

His friend simply hummed happily, squeezing him tightly before stepping away.

"We were worried about you." Xion stated.

"Well, more like these two were." Axel spoke up, thumbing at Alice and gesturing at Xion with his chin. "I figured you'd survive any whacky crap Wonderland threw at ya."

Roxas chuckled slightly, not at all bothered by No. VIII messing with his hair.

Once Xion pulled away from their hug, Alice moved in to take her place.

"It's wonderful to see you're alright, Roxas." Alice said happily. "I was worried that we left you alone out here. I'm sorry. It's my fault."

"I'm just happy you guys are here and are alright." Roxas stated with a wide smile.

The former Princess of Heart blinked at hearing that but found herself smiling a moment later. "I am glad to see you're well too, Roxas."

"So where are we now, buddy?" Axel asked, looking around. "Are we… underwater?"

Roxas held up his hand in a so-so manner. "Kinda. We're underneath Tundraful and in whatever this area is called."

"The Deluded Depths." Alice hummed aloud.

"Been here before Alice?" Xion asked.

"Sort of but not for too long."

"How'd you get here, Roxas?" Axel said, looking at the blond Nobody.

"That's a bit complicated." No. XIII answered, rubbing the back of his head.

"Don't mind us asking but were you successful in finding Hatter?" Alice inquired with a hopeful gaze.

Roxas found himself cringing. "Yeah… about that…"

Alice's expression changed into one of concern. "What happened?"

"Well… I did find him, but things got out of hand along the way and what came after." Roxas said with a grumble. "All I know is that there's more to Wonderland's corruption than we realized."

"Meaning what?"

"Ok, let's see…" Roxas held up his hand and started listing them off with each finger. "The corruption can literally corrupt Wonderland's residents from friends to becoming enemies. Hatter's whole domain was more like a death trap than a tea party. And there's this "Infernal Train" which may play a significant part with this whole mess on this World."

"What happened there?" Alice asked, a worried look coming over her.

"It got corrupted and fell apart. Hatter was taken over by the Ruin and Darkness of the Heartless and I was forced to fight him. Whatever happened to him after, I'm the foggiest." Roxas said, rubbing his forehead now. "Honestly, I don't wanna think about that place. Nearly getting killed there is enough to warrant me not going back."

"But what about the Hatter?" The former Princess of Heart made her concern for her friend clear for them to see.

Axel patted her shoulder. "Look, Roxas said he lost him but he didn't see him get killed or anything. Who knows, maybe your friend is alright and out in Wonderland again."

"I wouldn't count on it with how this place is turning out to be." Alice remarked dejectedly.

There was an awkward moment of silence until No. XIV broke it with a small cough into her hand.

"So what should we do here now?" Xion inquired.

The answer came from Roxas. "Find this Carpenter guy Mock-Turtle mentioned."

"Any idea who this guy is Alice?" Axel questioned the Wonderland native who adopted a thinking pose for a second.

"Can't say I know him too well." Alice admitted to them. "I met him only several times at most since I first came here and can tell you that he is a bit on the dramatic side."

"Dramatic you say?" Axel said with a raised brow. "Define dramatic."

"He's a showman to say the least. Stage shows and all."

"So then this oversized ticket here must be one for a show this Carpenter guy is making." Roxas said, pulling out said large ticket for all to see.

"A show huh?" Axel muttered with slight intrigue. "Well I figure we're due for some entertainment since coming here. Might as well check it out."

"Knowing how things have been going, I find that to be highly unlikely." No. XIII countered, the four of them resuming their journey through the deluded depths.

Going across a series of jellyfish-like platforms, the group soon came across some more enemies in their wake. Things were rather quick in disposing of them, given their numbers.

Having to explore a little more by shrinking themselves through a few tunnels, they soon came across another open area.

It was there they found a door of all things. One that was similar to what they've seen before. Being set up out of place with fire seen behind it's glass.

"Another memory of yours?" Surmised Xion.

Alice stood with a slightly frozen look of fear as she gazed forward at the flickering red and orange light coming from behind the door.

"You know," Axel spoke quietly. "We don't have to go in there if you don't want to."

Liddell remained stationary for a number of seconds, terror still plain as day upon her face until she violently jerked forward and began to walk towards the door.

"Alice." Xion's hand shot out to grab hers and the former Princess of Heart stopped and looked back at her.

The Wonderland native gazed upon the brunette with a blank look on her face yet a haunted gaze in her eyes.

"Are you sure?" No. XIV asked, voice low.

Alice didn't respond at first until she slowly shook her head in the negative but regardless found herself turning back to the door and opening it.

Everything around the four appeared to be consumed as their surroundings swiftly changed.

Instead of the underwater environment, they were now what appeared to be in a darkened space.

Respectively, the three Nobodies conjured their own form of light above their hands to brighten things up. The combined light was able to reveal a nicely furnished residence.

"My home." Alice muttered in remembrance.

"Any reason why we're seeing this place again?" The Redhead of the group asked, being on guard in case anything happens.

Liddell shook her head. "I do not know."

Axel snorted. "Well then I, for one, ain't gonna stand around and wait for nothing."

"Where are you going?" Roxas asked, watching the fiery Nobody walk on ahead.

"Checking this humble abode for myself. See if Alice's proclamation on the fire had something else behind it." No. VIII said, eyeing the environment all around them.

"Come on." Xion encouraged. "Let's not split up."

They explored the dimly lit Liddell residence. Neither of the four made a sound with the floor, as if they were quietly moving like a dormouse. Then again, neither of them can affect the stage of a memory as they are now.

If Namine was here, then perhaps something could happen in their present circumstance.

"Any idea what we're looking for?" Roxas inquired.

"That maybe." Axel remarked, pointing ahead of them to see Alice opening a door at the end of the corridor they were standing in.

Quickly following after their friend, the Nobodies realized they entered into the Liddell library and saw a large amount of objects sprawled out in an organized mess.

The fireplace at the far end was long since dead with the log inside having been snuffed out of heat.

Going to a bookshelf, Axel pulled out a book at random to see what's inside. All he was met was blank pages. Closing it, he saw whatever lettering on the cover was a jumbled mess.

Axel wondered why, in brief passing, but figured Alice can't recall everything from her childhood or her favorite place in her family home. This may even include the many printed works for her leisure.

But where was the oil lamp? The object which apparently was the cause of the travesty. It was not in the library as Alice said it was.

Looking around more, he squinted at the library and he couldn't quite put his finger on it but something felt a bit off.

"Found anything on your end?" the redhead heard Xion call out to them.

Alice and Roxas replied that they didn't whilst Axel remained silent.

"Axel?"

"Huh?"

He looked down slightly at a concerned Xion.

"Are you alright?" She asked. "You've been standing here by yourself making your thinking face."

His serious demeanor broke apart upon hearing that last tidbit.

"Thinking face?" He repeated in amusement. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Despite the present circumstance, Xion couldn't help but giggle slightly. "You always have a funny way you squint your eyes and frown when you're thinking about something."

The redhead snorted, tousling her hair over her eyes to get an amusing reaction of a small temper tantrum.

"But really, Axel, what were you thinking about?" No. XIV asked after straightening out her hair.

The taller of the two crossed his arms as he looked around the library.

"Just that this form of investigation may not be all entirely great."

"What do you mean?" Alice asked from her end of the library.

"Can you give us a refresher on the night your family died?" Axel asked. "I know it's not something you wanna talk about but…"

"What else is there to tell. I was the last one in the library, I was soundly asleep in my room until the fire broke out. I escaped and-"

Axel quickly cut her off. "We know, Alice, but the finer details, what of them? Was there anything else about the night or perhaps leading up to it?"

The former Princess of Heart frowned until her expression changed into one of deep contemplation.

"Anything off at all?" Axel tacked on.

It took her a moment but realization or at the very least, a remembrance of a certain point in her memory came to her.

"Lizzie."

"Your sister?" Roxas said for confirmation which Alice nodded.

"Yes, Lizzie. Her door was locked."

The three Nobody's were confused.

"What does that have to do with the fire?"

Alice looked as though she was discovering something for the first time. "Lizzie hated locked rooms. It was from my room that I saw the fire but her room was further from the fire than mine. Smoke couldn't have killed her. She never locked her door! Besides, she knew another way out of the house in case of anything."

Xion recalled said method of escape. "Like the window? Like how you escaped with your pet cat?"

Alice nodded.

"Then how is it she perished with your parents?" Roxas asked, now thrown off by this new piece of information.

Alice frowned at the question and opened her mouth to say something when a stray thought went through her head.

"She was always a light sleeper. Only the simplest of touches may awake her from slumber. Same with how loud one could be. She would've been awake if our parents went to get her before me. And they could've gone through her window..."

"Are you sure she was a light sleeper?" No. VIII inquired.

"All the time." Alice spoke with assuredness. "Every time I would open the door into her room she'd instantly start to stir."

Axel recalled a few things and came to a small realization.

"Your sister… If what you're telling us is true… must have been incapacitated or killed before the fire."

Alice looked alarmed at this proclamation. "W-What?"

Axel faced her with a grim visage.

"Remember your parents were awake and tried to get into your room and get you out yet failed. Why wasn't your sister with them before trying to escape?" Said No. VIII. "And remember the other thing we saw in the previous memory we witnessed? I don't know about you, but that centaur-like thing may have been the culprit for the fire. Not you, Alice nor your cat; but that thing."

"Then the fire-"

"A way to cover their crime. What it may be…"

"Axel?" Xion abruptly spoke up.

"Yeah?"

"Do you hear something?"

Within the quiet space, they started to finally take note of something rather off. No matter what they did with the present environment, neither of them produced a sound.

But now something has changed.

They soon heard the front door being jingled, as if someone was picking the lock. After some moments, the door was opened to reveal the centaur they've seen before.

Unlike the four traversing through the memory, this new arrival was making a few sounds as it trotted. It's feet faintly squeaked the wood as it went.

It soon spotted some keys hanging from a wall display. It procured a particular one before sneakily making their way upstairs.

Suddenly the four saw things in a different perspective. And the first thing they witnessed was the home invader going right up to Lizzie's room where a lit oil lamp was placed beside the doorway.

What followed after was hard to hear, but it soon became clear as some details began piecing together. And the nearly closed door censored the visual actions within the bedroom, but not the sounds.

Faint squeaks, grunts, moans and cries with a struggle. The cries were soon extinguished, but not the others as they resumed.

After several minutes the centaur left Lizzie's room and locked it with the key they procured from downstairs. It quickly made its way back out of the residence, but not before taking the lamp with them. Once making it near the front door, the centaur tossed the lamp to the floor, letting it's lit oil spread and start to consume the Liddell residence.

The memory thus ended as the perpetrator stood outside the burning home with a satisfied smile on their face.

"Oh god…" Alice whispered in horror, falling to her knees as tears flowed down her cheeks.

Apparently Axel's theory was sadly correct.

"Wh-what happened to her sister?" Xion asked, deeply disturbed as to what she saw.

"Her sister was assaulted and in the worst way possible." Axel surmised, his face a tinge of darker emotions then either of his two closest friends had ever seen him to have.

"Lizzie, oh god." Alice wept. "No, no, no, no, this… this can't be-"

She cut herself off as she lurched forward and howled in agony as tears fell from her eyes.

In an instant, Xion was by her and pulled her into a hug. The young woman in her arms clung to her tightly as if she were a lifeline.

Roxas knelt down and placed a solemn hand upon her shoulder and he felt her grab onto it tightly.

Axel simply stood behind the trio with his arms crossed and his eyes glazed over slightly as they returned to the watery depths.

After some time crying, Alice eventually composed herself. Her emerald eyes were stained red as she sniffled and tried cleaning herself up.

"I… I may have had a role in my family's demise, but I most certainly didn't play any role in the fire." Declared the former princess of Heart.

Whilst a part of her was relieved to truly realize this, the manner for it to occur now broke her ever further.

"Let's keep going." Roxas stated. "I'd rather not stick around here any longer."

Alice nodded, giving a look of gratitude toward Nos. XIII and XIV before she was helped up and the quartet resumed their trek through the area.

Eventually, after going through a number of platforms, paths, caves, enemies and all, the team neared an entrance with a plank overhead labeled as Barrelbottom.

"Could the Carpenter's place be there?"

"It is." Clarified Alice.

"...For some reason the name of this place reminds me of some cartoon I saw." Xion said in passing.

Before they traversed further, they heard the familiar, cultured voice of Cheshire.

"What lies beneath this patina of civility? Something wicked, I'll wager."

Whereas his appearance was brief, Cheshire disappeared in a moment's notice. Yet his words did echo more in these watery depths.

Despite the demented Cat sounding peaceful at first, it was more of a warning that like most of wonderland, not everything is as it seemed.

The group found Barrelbottom as a town, full of fish that were standing or floating around as if they were normal civilians. Near the town's center was a statue of the upper part of a man posing. Rotted or coral covered wood made up most of the buildings with electrical lights littering the darkened space.

In a sense, this place was rather surreal.

There were many paths they could go in order to search for their present destination. Since they couldn't decide on the ones on the left or right, they went through the middle from the town square.

Through their new path, they came across a series of new foes which were aptly named Drifting Ruin and Drowned Sailors. The four dealt with them accordingly as they made their way through shaking platforms, more jellyfish and other confusing pathways, they finally found what they've been looking for.

The Dreary Lane Theater.

It was a rather grandiose building that seemed rather gaudy in its appearance. It was stability built on top of a large platform hovering over a darkened abyss with its support beams stretching out for miles on end.

"So this Carpenter dude is supposed to be here." Axel stated, looking at the highlighted sign above them.

"That's what the ticket says." Roxas remarked.

"Wonder if he'll be helpful." Xion thought aloud.

"Think he won't be?" Liddell asked with her black haired friend shrugging.

"I wouldn't put it past the realm of possibility." No. XIV pointed out. "Aside from Cheshire and the White Queen, Wonderland hasn't been all that friendly to us."

"Then it's best we be ready for anything." Axel said in a firm manner. "Half of everything we've encountered here wants us dead."

"That would be a more depressing reality if not for what we've already been through." Roxas dryly stated.

The four of them went into the theater, standing in a foyer of sorts with several staircases that led to higher floors in the building.

There were a few… fish people, if they would describe them, in fancy getups idly standing around.

In front of them, a set of large doors opened to reveal the way into a stage.

"Looks like we're expected." Axel commented as they all walked forward.

On the stage for them to see was a large, sleeping Walrus wearing a frilly collar of some kind and it's right tooth having half of it missing.

Before anyone was able to say anything, out from the right hand side of the stage walked a tall man with a hammer and red hair.

"Ah, Alice. Delighted to see you again, my dear, with three new friends to meet as well." Greeted the Carpenter. "Your arrival along with your friends are filled with fortune-ality itself."

Alice then replied. "Really? I… didn't even know…"

The Carpenter interrupted and spoke whilst being charismatic. "Nevermind. My pregnant show is about to pop. It requires only a medicament of yours and your friends' helpful-osity." He paused and looked at the three Nobodies. "Who are you three anyways?"

Roxas made the introduction. "I'm Roxas. And this here is Xion and Axel."

Carpenter made a quick spin into a lavish bow. "Pleasure in making your acquaintances, friends of Alice."

"Right~" Axel said under his breath.

Alice then spoke up. "I don't have much experience, but I do need help to reconstruct my-"

Carpenter jumped off the stage, waking the walrus up a bit, but it soon fell back to sleep, and interrupted Alice once more. "We can barter. I have screw-driver, nearly new, or a nice hammer if you're interested in-"

Axel let out a despondent and annoyed sigh. "Can you please just cut the bullshit and help us out? Is that too much to ask for? Wonderland is in a shitfest and all you care about is your show. We don't have time for this."

Carpenter only wagged his finger at the redhead.

"Most exatatious, no doubt. We'll address that ah, particular issue, that's to say, eventually. No, let's intermedi-ate more important matters."

"Being what exactly?" The Redhead was clearly not all that pleased with this looking to be another detour from their original intended purpose in coming to Wonderland.

"Due to a logisterical foul-up, some of the show's requisites need to be gathered." The red haired Carpenter then began listing off the things he required. "The munificent script needs fetching. The writer's overly imaginative and exploring several endings. Then you'll need to assemble the show's tune-deaf music along with our performers."

"And who are your performers?" Roxas inquired.

"Our show girl oysters. Keep up, good sir." The Carpenter continued. "Our stars, the shows tasty… nay tasteful women." He then clapped his hands. "You should leave now. The essentiality of haste is essential."

No. VIII found his brows twitching, wanting to walk over and strangle the man only for Xion to grab him by his elbow to hold him back.

"It hardly seems you're ready for the show. Why can't you assemble these things yourself?" Roxas asked.

A response was given soon after. "An impresario has arrangements, ducks in a row, fish to fry, coals to Newcastle etcetera etcetera. Fetch the script from the writer, then we can batter or clatter or natter as the case may be."

"I can just burn him and his stage to cinders." Axel said in a low voice.

"Axel." Alice said in an exasperated sigh.

The fiery Nobody rolled his eyes and waved his hand, walking away from the stage.

"I'll stick with him." Roxas said, gesturing back to their tall friend and moving to catch up to him.

"Then we'll handle the rest." Xion declared with the two girls looking back to the Carpenter.

"Just asking, but is the writer cantankerous?" Alice said.

"To a personage for your distinguished repudiation? I blush at the nationality. He's an octopus by and by." The Carpenter points towards the group's left. "Lives over that way. Tata!"

With that said, the man walked away to carry on with his own business, leaving the four to do all the hard work now.

They left the central theatre and went right to the stairs. During that, Cheshire appeared and briefly spoke.

"You four are sufficiently fortified to kick some a- To boot these creatures' nether regions."

"...Are you trying to censor yourself?"

They got no response as the smiling Cat disappeared as per usual.

Upon exiting the theatre, but not through the way they entered from, the way behind them closed.

"Seems the Carpenter doesn't want us back until we get what he wants." Xion remarked.

"Afraid so."

"Why can't I just make him help us out?"

"Axel, not everything can be done through brute force." Alice chastised him.

"And who decided that?" Axel sarcastically asked. "I'll have you know that sometimes brute force is the way to go."

"In this instance I believe it to be more prudent we help." Alice declared.

No. VIII just groaned. "Fine. So what's the plan here? We split up and cover more ground?"

"Sounds reasonable. Can get more done that way faster." Xion said with a nod.

Jumping off the wooden ledge, the group came across some enemies, one of which was rather new being a Cannon Crab, which had a cannon replacing one of its claws.

After dealing with these foes, the group split into two with Alice and Xion going one way while Roxas and Axel went through another. The Nobodies, however, promised to keep in touch with each other with their Omni-tools so they may signal each other and meet back up at the theatre once done.

The two girls navigated their way through a series of tunnels and odd puzzled mechanisms with more enemies in their wake. By the end of their trek, the pair came across the octopus, next to a series of bottles.

"I don't know if it's possible, but I swear this place smells like a ripe distillery." Alice said with disgust. "With a whiff of halitosis and urine."

"I won't argue with that." Said Xion, plugging her nose due to the rancid odor.

The octopus then floated towards them and spoke in a harsh accent. "It's the scent of unrecognized genius, so piss off you two!"

Alice gave an amp response. "More empties than a Dublin brewery."

"The Carpenter sent us." Said Xion. "He wants a script from you."

The octopus huffed. "For starters, that bloke is a pusillanimous, parsimonious, pettifogging moron."

Xion tilted her head a little. "First the Carpenter, now you. Have you two been carrying dictionaries with you to use these big words?"

Alice and the octopus looked at the Keybearer, but the former Princess of Heart turned to the drunk writer to see what his response was.

"That's as may be. But we are still here for the script. We need-"

"Your needs are stupid." The octopus interrupted her. "I need a drink, who cares? I need those responsible for my abortive career in chains; no joy. I need to know what love is; the world is mum. Just now, I need is a dose of "hide-and-seek". Fine' me "thrice" fair maids. Be quick about it and we can deal."

The octopus then took off, leaving the two girls alone.

"Does he literally mean "hide-and seek" or is there something I'm missing here?" Questioned Xion.

The Cheshire Cat then reappeared beside the two girls. "A lifetime hiding his true colors gives him an edge. But he can't conceal the way he moves." He said before disappearing once more.

Xion was confused and turned to Alice for an answer.

"I believe Cat is referring to the fact the octopus is an expert at hiding in plain sight. But with how he moves can give away his position."

"Right."

The girls took off to where they saw the octopus headed towards. The pair jumped on top of some jellyfish, while avoiding some particularly dangerous ones. Before long, they made it to an area with wine bottles.

The two dark haired girls broke through a series of bottles getting in their way. In the process, Xion ended up drinking some of the liquid and scrunched her face a little.

Alice took notice of her friend's reaction. "First time with wine?"

"Yeah."

"It's not for everyone, apparently."

"I get that, but the taste was weird."

"True. We are underwater, so the blending of liquids isn't enjoyable once exposed."

Eventually Xion spotted a bottle with the octopus in it and breaks it with her Keyblade. He soon got out and bolted as he snarked at them. "Oh, this is too easy!"

The girls soon followed the octopus but were blocked by red jellyfish. Xion batted them away with a mixture of Keyblade strikes and wind spells but couldn't find the drunk writer.

Looking around for a way to catch up to the drunkard, Xion spotted a pressure plate with a clock some distance away at an awkward placement.

"Alice. I'll go on this pressure plate and you fire at the clock. I'll meet up with you after."

The former princess of Heart nodded and went to fulfill her part of the task. Once in position, Alice saw her friend get onto the pressure plate to raise the corresponding clock higher. At that moment, Alice pulled out her pepper grinder and fired upon it. Soon enough, a wooden plank rose up, causing her to jump on it and reach a higher area.

With more wine bottles present, Alice signaled Xion to come up here. In mere moments, she saw a Dark Corridor appear beside her with Xion walking out. The pair began smashing more bottles before finding the octopus once again.

"Oh you two have me now, but you won't have me again."

As he took off, Xion frowned a little and decided enough was enough.

Conjuring a Dark Corridor, she slipped through it and appeared before the octopus when he least expected it. When he turned around, he was startled in fright and nearly crashed into the Keybearer. And before he could move elsewhere, Alice boxed him in.

"Sorry, but we don't have time for games." Said Xion.

"You're a poor sport, you know that lass?"

"I can live with it. But I am literally trying to help my friend here with a crisis in this world."

"Then why are you trying to seek me out of all people?"

"The only way the Carpenter may help us is with you."

"Of course that's the reason." Spat the octopus. "He is too lazy to do everything himself and uses others for his own devices and goals."

"I know the feeling." Xion said in agreement. "The people I used to work with, they basically used me for their own ends."

"Then you understand my plight and my wish to severe myself from such atrocious working standards." Octopus said in dramatic agony.

"At least you have an opportunity here." Alice quickly said. "Once you hand us the script, you can either cut ties with the Carpenter for good or charge him more for your work."

The Octopus blinked, looking between both girls for a moment and it appears the suggestion had the desired effect.

"You may have a point, lassie." The octopus exhaled a sigh. "Fine. Follow me to my library. Unlike some, I don't Welsh."

The two girls followed where they eventually came across an interesting home with music playing in the air… water.

"The Carpenter commissioned me a song and dance number on mortality. Art and good sense be darned. He demands mirth, silliness and restrained debauchery all around. Walrus will do a hero turn as Death. Imagine! I'll bring the script to the theatre. You two can go now." Before they left, the octopus said one final thing. "No doubt Carpenter's got you to collect the piscine divas for the musical portion. The man hires the proper talent! Some fish can sing… but not all."

Exiting through a connecting tunnel, the pair soon came across a brightly lit area after some time walking.

"It's all wrong!" A faint voice spoke out through an echo. "If I had ears, they'd be hurting!"

The two girls explored the space and came upon a strange creature that looked like a cross between a bottle and a fish. Well maybe not a fish, but a dolphin or rather a bottlenose dolphin.

Alice soon came to the creature and spoke. "I'm not terribly musical, but I don't know about my friend Xion-"

"Excuse me?"

"But… you seem out of tune."

Xion gave Alice a narrowed glance and puffed cheeks on the jab as the bottlenose dolphin creature responded in a tone reminiscent of singing. "It's not my fault. I can't hear my notes. The pipes are obstructed."

While it was talking, the girls looked around and found three horns around them.

Xion spoke. "I can see that. Why not do something about it?"

"And endanger my vocal chords?" The creature replied back to them. "You two might do it for me."

Alice soon spoke in an annoyed tone. "Everyone here has an excuse for doing nothing. Reminds me of the asylum."

Xion cringed, though not having been there, she didn't want to be there at all if the chance presented itself.

"Alice, if we need the music for Carpenter, we better do it. No point to stand around and argue any further."

Releasing a sigh, Alice complied as the pair went into the first horn.

Walking ever further on a wooden ramp, they saw some horns were covered in tar-like ruin. They jumped over the gap and were greeted by some Ruins and Heartless. The two made some quick work with their combos and synched attacks before they were able to clear the space. With no enemies present, the pair went to the horns and destroyed the tar-like ruins, causing music to now be heard.

Soon, as if by magic, the girls were back at the entrance of the place they entered. And they were soon greeted by the bottlenose dolphin.

"You two have made a respectable start to it; but a decent job would require considerably more application. I'm sure you two would like a decent job."

Knowing what needed to be done, Xion and Alice went to the next area.

Turned out it was a space filled with things shaped like stringed instruments like violins, cellos, sitars, etc. Before long, more enemies made themselves known. After a struggle, the girls defeated their foes before they destroyed some instruments which had the tar substance on them. In mere moments, music was heard once more.

Like before they appeared back where they started with the bottlenose dolphin greeted them happily.

"That's all well, but my range needs a fully functional orchestra."

Getting to the final music room. They saw the tar covering what looked like drums.

The Ruins and Heartless appeared once again, but in overwhelming numbers.

With how quickly things escalated, the adrenaline within Alice became too much for her. Her vision became distorted as she let loose a scream.

The surroundings warped in color as Xion saw the monochromatic look once more like back at the White Queen's palace. Turning over, she saw Alice enter her Hysteria form with the blood red like stains on her body were present.

From what Xion witnessed, Alice became barbaric like before as she started cleaving and bashing her foes all around with a sickening smile on her face.

When things eventually went to normal, Xion slowly approached Alice with a concerned look.

"Are you alright?"

"I don't know." She responded to her friend. Her green eyes looked towards her hands and saw they were shaking slightly. She didn't know if it was from fear or excitement.

"That form of yours really caused a massacre." Xion commented. "I just hope you can tell friend from foe when you're like that."

"...I know." Alice said sadly. "I don't want to hurt those who don't deserve it."

Destroying the ruin tar, the girls heard the drums playing music once more as the pair disappeared.

Reappearing before the bottlenose dolphin, it appeared happy at first, yet concern took over.

"There's something wrong. I can't find time for the notes."

Alice gave a response. "It's surely not lost. Perhaps mislaid. I suppose we'll have to help you carry the tune. It better be light."

Xion pondered a little before coming up with an idea. Pulling out her Keyblade, she spoke up. "Perhaps you just need a conductor."

In mere moments, the Keybearer helped work alongside the music flowing through the water. The bottlenose dolphin carried on the tune of the number and for several verses, everything went wonderfully. At its end, the creature gave Alice an appreciated look.

"The audience will be grateful for your friend's efforts."

Alice nodded as she smiled at Xion, who smiled back.

"You best head off to the Carpenter now."

"Will do."

The bottlenose dolphin then took off to where the Dreary Lane Theater resided.

"After interacting with that thing, I swear it could give Demyx a run for his munny on being melodramatic."

A familiar pinging sound was heard from Xion. Pulling out her Omni-tool, she got a message from Axel.

"Alright." Began Xion. "Seems the others got the performers to head back to the theatre. We best go as well."

Alice and Xion quickly made their way back to the theater, encountering a smattering of Heartless and Ruins here and there along with bipedal angular fish but they were brushed aside.

After some amount of time, the two girls were soon reunited with the boys standing in front of the theatre.

"Took you long enough." No. VIII drawled out, leaning against the wall next to the theater entrance.

"Excuse me if I can't use your Corridors all that easily." Spat Alice in mock frustration. "We had to come here the old fashioned way."

"Yes you did." Axel said cheekily. "You needed the workout unlike us."

"Don't make me hurt you with my Hobby Horse."

"Or my Keyblade."

"First of all, threatening someone with a "Hobby Horse" doesn't sound all that threatening." Axel pointed out. "And Xion?"

The girl gazed at him quizzically before he quickly grabbed her hood and pulled it over her face.

Xion let out a squawk of protest and threw off her hood and was about to go for a tackle when her taller friend grabbed hold of her head and began messing up her hair.

"AXEL~~~" Xion whined aloud, flailing her arms about.

Alice and Roxas couldn't help but laugh slightly at the two before the former said they should hurry up with the Carpenter so they could keep going.

Hopefully the man will keep to his word and assist them in their overall endeavor.

Making their way inside, the foursome eventually found the tall Carpenter working further on his production.

"Alright Carp, we got everything." Axel announced aloud, walking into the stage.

The hammer wielding showrunner faltered and looked over to the four of them in open surprise.

"Truly? Already? My word, speed would do little in your description." Carpenter said in open astonishment.

"Yeah, we like to take care of wasteful tasks faster than most." No. VIII quipped.

Rather than being elated or overjoyed at their quick work in procuring his script and workers, the red haired carpenter seemed unimpressed.

"You four did a few errands, got your hands dirty. Big deal. The show distrac-ulates the crowd."

"We've done your bidding. Now repay us for getting your show together." Alice said with an impatient tone.

"Shame on you, Carpenter. You made a promise." Came Xion's complaint.

"One can't always do as one would like. I would've thought you'd know that by now."

"It's time for you to uphold your end of the deal." Roxas refuted the Carpenter's comment.

At the stage, the walrus responded when he heard the word "time".

"Time? Time! The time has come to talk of ships and, and, and vegetables and royalty and, and, and whether pigs have wings… and so on." The broken tusked mammal blubbered out.

The Carpenter was annoyed by his companion's antics. "Enough of that, Walrus. You start wailing about being too much sand on the beach, I'll have your blubber for breakfast. Now rehearse your lines."

The Walrus grumbled as he did what he was told.

Alice was not amused in seeing this. "Carpenter, your promise-"

"All will be repaid later. I must see to it that my show is a success."

The tall redhead then took off to help organize the rest of his show now that everything else has been taken care of.

"That guy has a serious problem with his production." Axel deadpanned.

"I believe he needs an attitude adjustment." Roxas commented.

"I concur. But what else can we do?" Alice asked.

She got her response in the form of Axel holding out his palm with fire dancing atop it and a made grin in place.

"Axel." Alice admonished.

"What? It's an effective way of getting things done."

"If you do that, the Carpenter will outright refuse helping us."

"No~ He'll know when time is of the essence and not bullshit his way into us helping him." Axel countered.

"Who knows how long it'll be before this show is underway." Xion added on.

"What should we do now?" Roxas asked the group as a whole.

"Probably knowing what happened with each other when we were away." Alice suggested. "I would very much like to know what happened to Hatter."

"I think that would be best. Don't want the other to be left out of anything."

"Or-"

"No Axel, now come on." Alice stated, grabbing hold of his wrist and pulling him forward.

Getting away from the theatre, they made their way back to Barrelbottom so they may be able to converse in peace.

From Roxas, they learned of his unique conversation with Cheshire on how the others left.

It eventually led to his encounter with Luxord. It was rather tense in conversation with several topics being exchanged. The Keybearer giving his warning on Luxord being used, but him being shot back that Luxord mayhaps be using his superiors for his own ends. The players being pieces and vice versa.

After that, it went down to learning more of the Mad Hatter from the Dormouse and March Hare and how he came to be prior to meeting Alice; all due to their encounter with Mr. Time.

Then came the particular specifics at the Hatter's domain up to how everything fell apart.

Alice, Axel and Xion spoke of their small journey through a different London, encountering a litany of individuals that were… less than helpful to say the least. An eventual means of becoming a better person in order to help repair Wonderland from the outside world.

They last recalled being in Nan's brothel and they wound up in the deluded depths upon Alice falling into unconsciousness.

Eventually, they heard chimes of sorts going on from the theatre.

"Whelp, looks like the show's finally on." Roxas declared.

"Let's get this over with." Axel remarked in a bored fashion.

Returning into the theatre after some time, the four walked past the octopus and bottlenose dolphin who were chatting amongst themselves.

When entering the auditorium, they saw it was packed to the very brim with the fish-men audience. Hardly a spot was available, yet they were able to procure some spots near the front row.

As they took their seats, they saw the Carpenter come on the stage's right side in a different attire than before. He wore a long nosed mask with a tuxedo and tattered cloak.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" The Carpenter greeted the audience. "Welcome to the shoooooooooooow!"

Making it off the stage, the masked redhead joined Alice and the Nobodies in their seating as the oyster performers came from the stage's left to begin the performance.

When the oysters began dancing in front of their captive audience, the leading one was suddenly squashed by something falling from the rafters above.

It was the Walrus, wearing a skull mask and holding a scythe of all things.

Confusion quickly reigned over the cheering audience as they only now gave out silence.

"Is this a part of the show?" Questioned Alice.

"Should've taken a look at the script before we handed it over." Xion commented.

The Walrus then spoke up a monologue. "That's quite enough of that, I think. Enough preliminaries. Here's the performance you've been waiting for; proves I'm without prejudice and have a fine sense of humor."

The oyster performers then left the stage as cardboard gravestones were then dropped into the stage's background from the ceiling. "Sword and crown are worthless here, I invite everybody to dance. Laborers, lawyers, church and gown all make their little prance."

The scenery began to change into something rather disturbing as the Walrus continued his monologue.

"This life is full of random deaths; and heaps of grief and shame. So few are soothed by 'accident'; you want someone to blame." Fire then arose from the stage as faint sounds of screams could be heard. "Fire, plague and strange disease; drowned, murdered, if you please. A long fall down the basement stairs; none are expected, no-one cares. I often must work very hard; sweat running down my skin. After the dance, I then must rest; and the eating can begin."

Alice and her Nobody companions were disturbed with the implications the monologue was depicting and didn't know if this was all an act or not.

The Walrus soon took off his skull mask and spoke. "Time to eat. Death is the ultimate equalizer. All have the right to be eaten."

Before anyone else knew it, the Walrus then got off the stage and rushly swam towards the side. Screams were soon heard from the side. But they didn't seem like acted screams, but genuine ones.

This was confirmed when one of the oyster performers ran on stage in a frightened manner. She tripped and fell over the body of the crushed oyster from earlier. The Walrus then swam up, harshly grasped her and tossed her into his mouth.

A panic quickly took place with the audience as many tried running for their lives.

Realization soon dawned on Roxas that it wasn't those wood-skeletal sharks who took the bites of the animals in Tundraful, but the Walrus.

The Carpenter then stood and spoke. "Get in line creatures! Don't push. All will be served, so to speak-"

The masked redhead was then harshly grabbed at the scruff of his neck by Axel, who hotly glared at him.

"What the hell is the big idea here?"

"We have to help them!" Xion shouted, calling forth her Keyblade with Roxas doing the same.

The duo jumped up with their Keyblades held high above their heads and fell to bring them both down hard upon Walrus.

The tusked stage performer/murderer let out a grunt and whimper before keeling over and laying upon the ground, unmoving.

Alice soon seethed at the Carpenter. "You bastard! You're doing this while Wonderland is coming to ruin!"

"I'm not the enemy you seek. I tried to hide this bit of Wonderland from that beast! Appeasement is never clean. We all must play our assigned roles. Are you a pawn or something more? An idiot or a practiced fool? However this turned out, consider the prospect that you have been misled. Then ask, by whom?"

What Carpenter was saying reminded Roxas of his previous conversation with Luxord.

Over the chaos, all can hear the shrill wail of a train whistle with its roaring engines.

"Oh, no, who set that darn train in motion?" Alice demanded. "Where has it come from?"

Everyone sought to flee for their lives, yet the exit was swiftly blocked by an oily substance. The noise from outside then got louder as the theatre's foundations started to cave in and collapse.

"It arrived when you returned, Alice. And it's more horrible than even you can imagine! The death of a dream! Caterpillar may know how!"

After the Carpenter said this, he was crushed by a support beam.

Given how close she was to the now dead man, Alice was harshly knocked back with Roxas holding onto her.

Axel erected a Dark Corridor beside him as he tried to get his companions through it. Even with the risk of Alice being hurt by the darkness, no longer being a Princess of Heart, No. VIII didn't want her here at all.

Unfortunately that wouldn't be the case as Alice started to quickly fade away from Wonderland alongside Roxas. Before Axel and Xion can call out to them, their companions were gone; forcing the two Nobodies to leave on their own.

-Scene Cut-

Roxas inhaled sharply and shot up where he sat.

He immediately felt the heat all around him and coughed into his hands, seeing that he was surrounded by fire.

"Oh shit." Roxas said to himself.

He stood up and looked around to see that he was in a room.

Surrounded by fire…

'What the hell did I wake up to?' Roxas thought to himself.

He spotted a nearby window and was about to jump out of it when No. XIII saw something out of the corner of his eyes.

Lying on the ground, he spotted a figure. Without thinking, he rushed over and picked the person up before trying to get out of the fire.

Roxas quickly ran towards the window, spinning around to have his back facing the glass and jumped backwards.

The glass harmlessly shattered against his back as he sailed through the air and landed on the ground.

A number of pedestrians were talking aloud and pointing at him but he ignored them as he gazed upon a burning brothel.

'Where am I?' The blond asked himself within his thoughts.

*Plip*

Roxas blinked and looked up as he felt a steady stream of raindrops falling down upon him, the droplets bouncing off him and the person he was carrying.

A groan was then heard with a familiar voice coming from them.

"W-What's going on?"

No. XIII looked down and finally got a proper look as to who it was he had in his arms, who was clutching on a stuffed rabbit.

"Alice?" He said in surprise.

"Roxas?" She murmured blearily. "What happened? Where are we?"

"That's what I should be asking you." The younger of the two countered. "Weren't we in Wonderland? Is this still Wonderland or someplace else?"

"Someplace else." Alice responded, groaning as she placed a hand over her face until she realized something.

She wasn't standing. She was being held up off the ground.

By Roxas. He held her bridal style in his arms with no issue at all. And the closeness made her guess how firm his form was beneath his dark coat.

"Well now Roxas, I had no idea you had such a gallant disposition." She said with a light tease in her tone.

"What?"

Alice laughed slightly

"You can put me down now."

"Oh, right."

He gently set her down with her wobbling slightly in her step yet remained standing and gave an appreciative smile to him.

Roxas returned the gesture when he took the time to quickly look her over.

"You look… different." He pointed out. "Another… well I don't think wardrobe change applies here."

Releasing a sigh, Alice gave the response needed to be heard. "This is the real me, Roxas. The appearance you saw of me in Wonderland is a self-reflection."

"A self-reflection." He repeated. "So where are we now?"

"London."

"This is London?" Roxas looked around. "A lot more dingier than the London's I've been to."

"I'm still trying to wrap my mind around that if I'm being honest." Alice admitted. "I am aware of other Worlds but never thought there would be other London's."

"Well, your life like mine is already weird. What's another layer of strangeness to add to it?" Roxas asked with a shrug, tone conveying he didn't really expect an answer other than agreement.

Which he got with Alice simply nodding.

"So this is where you, Axel and Xion went when you disappeared the first time." Roxas said, rubbing his chin in thought. "Cheshire mentioned something about you "waking" up but I didn't think it would mean this."

"Yes, he never could give a straightforward answer even if you wrung it out of him."

"I did get one, but it was rather… complicated to fully understand." Roxas then looked around their present surroundings. "What do we do now then? How do we get back to Wonderland?"

Alice hummed in response. "You more than likely can do just that with ease but I have to "fall into it" by going to sleep."

Roxas nodded and thought for a few moments. "Why not get some kind of sleeping medicine then? Won't that speed up the process?"

Alice opened her mouth only to clamp it shut.

"I… hadn't ever considered using such a thing." Liddell said, more to herself than to Roxas. "Perhaps I should give it a try then."

"So where do we go then? Your home? A doctor that has some sleep medicine?"

"I was wondering if perhaps you can do something about it."

Roxas only shrugged in response. "I don't know any spells yet that can put people to sleep… but maybe… wait… nope, yeah, got nothing."

"Then perhaps a lullaby is needed to get us back to Wonderland." Alice joked. "Come on Roxas, it's best not to preside here any longer."

No. XIII only nodded with the duo now walking away from the burning brothel that was getting put out by the rain and some "firefighters" that arrived on the scene.

"So where do we go?"

Alice was silent for a few seconds as she thought over what to do.

"Perhaps… It's high time I go home for the night."

And with that, the two of them went off with Alice taking the lead to guide Roxas to her own home.

Yet they didn't get far when someone approached them.

"Alice."

The former princess of Heart turned around and saw her former nanny who was somewhat covered in soot and scrapes.

"Nan." She said with a happy smile.

"Oh how good it is to see you're alright." The older lady said with a relieved look. "After what happened at my establishment and me losing sight of you, I thought the worst had come to pass."

"I'm alive and well, Nan." Alice said, placating the woman's worries. "It's all thanks to my friend here."

"Friend?" Nan looked over at Roxas and took a moment to look him over. "Well now, you are a sight for the eyes, young man."

"Uh… what?"

"Nan." Alice spoke up, both annoyed and amused as she immediately saw the glint in the older woman's eyes.

"What? A woman of culture can look, no?" She asked in a rhetorical fashion.

Liddell scoffed good naturedly. "Well don't. He may not be that much younger than me but come now."

"Perhaps he is the perfect man for you then." Nan remarked with approval. "That Axel fellow was a bit too old for you and… Wait… where is Axel? And your other friend Xion for that matter? Were they not with you in the brothel?"

"They were." Roxas said quickly. "But something came up and-"

"Feh. Some friends. Not staying long enough to see if you're alright."

"They… had their reasons, ma'am."

"The brothel." Alice whispered before recollecting what happened prior to returning to Wonderland. "Where's that brute that hit me, Nanny?"

"Nasty prat's out cold by the river. Not dead and more's the pity." Responded the taller woman.

"But why'd he come after you? What did he want?" Alice questioned her.

"What they all want. Money he didn't earn." Ms. Sharpe then chastised her former charge. "What were you thinking butting into that mess? You could've been killed!"

"I-I'm sorry." Alice stuttered out. "I j-just didn't want to see you hurt."

"I appreciate it, but I could've handled myself if Axel didn't intervene." The former nanny then voiced an inquiry. "I've been meaning to ask, Alice, but why'd you come to see me in the first place? I doubt it was for a social visit."

"You're right. Nanny, my mind's in pieces. I still have terrible visions and I need to know!"

Hearing this made Roxas feel sad for Alice, who was truly desperate to fully find out the truth.

Sharpe exhaled a sigh as she sadly looked at the dark haired, green-eyed girl. "About the fire, it's the same as always. You need to move on, Alice. So do I."

"No, you don't understand Nan." Alice spoke with a greater degree of urgency. "I've recently remembered something that… that changes what happened in the fire."

"Oh?" Nan appeared skeptical. "And what would that be?"

"It's complicated as I'm still piecing things together but I know this now." Alice's expression became far more fierce than Nan had ever seen her to possess. "It was never my fault."

The former nanny bore a mixed expression. One part showed a sense of relief to see her former charge was starting to move on. Another was rather curious with what Alice was perhaps thinking of now for this to conclude in such a manner.

"Let us speak on this in a better environment."

Nan led the two to a horse-pulled wagon where the other people from the establishment were at. Once seated, their mode of transportation took off as the tall woman spoke up.

"So then Alice, tell me this new development of the fire." She said in a patient manner.

"Well, my friends helped me in this little revelation." Alice admitted. "Axel, Roxas and Xion helped me realize that the death of my sister was far more sinister then I had originally presumed."

"Sinister?" Nan said, blinking at the word. "You had never used such a term in describing the demise of your sister."

"Things were not as they appeared to be upon first glance."

"At least you're no longer spewing that asylum nonsense." The older woman said with a small sigh of satisfaction.

"What do you mean by that, Nan?"

Nan wearily looked at Roxas before glancing back at Alice. "Does he-"

"He does. Neither he, Axel or Xion don't see me negatively because of it." Alice said with a truly happy smile.

"That's good." Breathed out the tall woman. She looked back at Roxas with an apologetic look. "Forgive me on this, but it's hard to talk about it with others who aren't close."

"No, I get it and I'm quite understandable about it. I know a number of people who had tough pasts to dwell into." Said the Keybearer. "If you don't mind me asking, what exactly did she spew as you say?"

"My past is dead. I killed them. I should have saved them! I should have died!" Nan quoted from memory. "Her mind was in shambles and it broke my heart seeing her in such a state."

"You visited her at Rutledge?" the blond Nobody said in surprise.

"I most certainly did, Roxas, for a time." Nan then explained. "First it was voluntarily, but then I stopped for a while due to me needing to find work. Radcliffe did pay me at one point, given he thought familiar faces would bring her around. After a year, he lost interest in Alice's inheritance and cut off paying my visits."

Roxas frowned. "That's very inconsiderate."

"He's a greedy jerk, that's what." Nan spat out.

"Given what Alice told us of him, I agree." Said Roxas. "He could've helped out more, you know."

"True. Still, always asking his bizarre questions. A heavy dose of madness, I'd say. But honesty's never the best policy in this life!" The former nanny then shivered on her recollection. "When she wasn't comatose, she gaped, her eyes like pinwheels; drooled, occasionally screeched, but never uttered a sensible sound. And like the child she was, she kept her secrets close."

"Some secrets are often hard to reveal." Roxas lamented. "It takes time to muster the courage to speak of them."

"Sadly so."

Silence fell between the three as their ride kept moving along through London's streets.

"I don't mean to pry, Nan, but after Alice's family perished, why didn't you seek work in a similar profession?"

"I felt it may have been a betrayal if I suddenly worked for another family."

"You could've done so." Said Alice. "I may have been fine back then."

"I doubt it." Countered Nan. "You were in a vulnerable state, Alice. You would've thought I didn't care for you if I made such a decision."

The former princess of Heart frowned, perhaps knowing her former nanny was right."

"Then about your current occupation…" Roxas began speaking.

"A woman alone sometimes does what she doesn't particularly feel like doing… as you know."

Alice soon spoke. "Nurse Witless said you'd fallen on hard times."

Sharpe replied in an angered tone. "I'm no drunk like her. I'm hurtin' no one. Hookin's not a bad life…"

"Except for the pimps." Came Alice's response.

"Except for them, yes."

They soon came upon an area which had a flare of the orient. A lot of lanterns were hung nearby hanging laundry, which was no doubt ruined from the recent rain. Many outside stalls, booths and shops were somewhat abandoned due to the present weather, but with the weather slowly clearing up, business will resume in due time; if not tomorrow.

To Alice, she knew they were now crossing through the Oriental District as it's remotely close to her family's lawyer, Wilton J. Radcliffe. Perhaps several blocks away, give or take.

The three then saw some kids that were with three male adults, causing Sharpe to comment.

"Thieves and lurkers! Common as cockroaches. And those poor children are food for perverts. Like the blameless ants that wasps consume, or a spider's feeble prey."

Given his growing knowledge as of late, it didn't take much for Roxas to know that Nan was referring to those men as pedophiles, which also made him sick for people to be that into children.

The cart they rode soon came to a halt as they got off.

"I best make my way back to my lodgings now the Mangled Mermaid will be closed for a while." Said Sharpe.

"Take care, Nan."

"Will do."

Roxas and Alice waved Nan goodbye as she went off back to her home whilst the two of them went elsewhere.

Before making it far, they heard Nan call out to them both.

"Oh Alice, my dear."

"Yes?"

Nan gave her a mischievous smile.

"He's a fetching young man." She remarked with a coy smile, who briefly eyed the blonde beside her former charge. "Try not to lose a young strapping boy like him. I'm sure he'll be good for you."

It took several moments for Alice to realize what Nan was implying. Red started to tint her pale face as she grew embarrassed.

"NAN!" She shrieked out.

The former nanny had the last laugh as she soon departed from the area.

Even though she left, Nan's words seemed to remain in the air. And Roxas seemed to think more about the topic in a different manner.

Made him realize he could perhaps work with the present opportunity, now that he is alone with another woman close to his "age" in a sense.

"Hey Alice."

"Hmm?"

"I've been thinkin' about it and I wanna ask ya something."

"Sure, I'm more than happy to assist you on your inquiry."

"See… I have someone from another World..."

Alice's expression perked up and a mischievous smile suddenly found its way onto her face.

"Oh~? Do you now? Do tell me about her."

"Well, her name is Tali." Roxas said. "And when I walked away from the Organization or… accidentally at first, she was one of the first people I met that became my friend."

"How did you two meet?"

"I uh… saw her bleeding and went to help her."

"Oh my Roxas, a dashing hero if I do say so myself." Alice remarked with a light laugh. "Still, she was hurt? What happened?"

"That's a longer story than I have time to tell." Roxas admitted. "Let's just say that's how we first met and from then on, I basically spent every day with her. We fought alongside each other and helped save the galaxy from the Reapers."

"Sounds like quite the adventure to tell."

"It most certainly is." Said the Keybearer. "Would you like to see what she looks like?"

Green eyes widened as she nodded.

Pulling Alice into a nearby alley, Roxas activated his Omni-tool and scrolled through a number of photos. Before long, he found what he was looking for and presented it to the young Englishwoman.

Alice marveled at the photo taken between the two and took note of the person beside Roxas with a wonderful rocky landscape in the background. More particularly her "unique" physical characteristics in her exotic, body tight outfit as she didn't wear her helmet and face plate.

Seeing past them, she made a pleasant remark.

"Oh she's gorgeous." Alice exclaimed. "And where was this photo taken?"

"Rannoch, her homeworld." He said with a smile. "We took a few, just in case some others wanted to see."

To prove his point, he scrolled to show a few other pictures with her wearing her signature helmet underneath her hood-like shall.

"Is there a reason why she's wearing that?" Asked Alice, eyeing the recent few pictures. "She's covering up her beauty."

"Her people have a weak immune system."

"Weak immune system?" Alice murmured. She wasn't overly familiar with the human anatomy and what went on inside them all but she had heard about the immune system before.

She just didn't know what it was exactly.

"It's part of the body which helps keep a person healthy."

"Ah, that's what it does. Thank you Roxas. But how did that happen?"

"Long story short, her people have been exiled from their homeworld for roughly three centuries and haven't stepped foot on its soil since. Because of being confined and not settling on another planet for all those years -for numerous reasons- their bodies became really sensitive. So they have to more or less confine themselves within their suits when they're not inside of a really sterile environment… which is, like, extremely rare. Even on their own ships."

"Sounds like an awful life to live."

Roxas exhaled a sigh. "It is." A small smile formed soon after. "After a circumstance, Tali is getting better now. She can start going around without her helmet and breath without the built-in filters."

"Really now?" A pleasant smile appeared. "How is this possible?"

No. XIII reached into one of his pockets with seemingly endless storage and pulled out a specific item.

"Elixirs apparently can do wonders for her body's defenses." Roxas stated with a wide smile, holding it up for Alice to see.

"Goodness." Alice remarked. "Magic can be a wonderful tool."

"It can be."

Alice nodded as Roxas put away the item.

"That sunset in the background is lovely." Alice commented, taking a look at the picture once more before Roxas put it away.

"Practically rivals the one Axel, Xion and I used to often see."

"Would like to see them if I could."

"Maybe one day." Roxas said, earning a pleased smile from his friend.

"I do have a question though. You said Tali and her people haven't been able to go back to their homeworld for three centuries, yes? Then how are you two there?"

"Once again complicated. And it's been more of a kept secret between us with us being there."

Alice tilted her head slightly. "How so?"

"Another thing about their planet are the present residents, who are these dangerous robots whose people reacted as indentured servants who rebelled."

"Sounds more complicated than it already is."

"You have no idea." Roxas grumbled. "It would take hours to fully go into detail about them and the arguments about the subject. Regardless, it's hard to get to Rannoch through traditional means. Tali and I merely snuck our way in and have been exploring on our visits."

"This doesn't explain-"

"Why are we there in the first place? It started a while ago in me fulfilling a promise to her. After that, we occasionally returned for a few reasons."

"And that would be?"

Rather than verbally answer, the blond teen looked away with red tinting his cheeks.

"Um… just to… spend some time together there… by ourselves…"

"My Roxas, I didn't know you had such a romantic side in you."

The red on his cheeks deepened by a shade.

Shutting off his Omni-tool, Roxas departed from the alley with Alice following in tow.

"So what is it that you need help with?"

Roxas rubbed the back of his head and began to blush up a storm. "Um… uh, well… ya see I… how should I say this?"

Alice was thoroughly bemused by this rather uncharacteristic behavior of her friend.

The Nobody coughed into his hands several times, trying desperately to clear his voice.

"So… we haven't seen each other in a bit." He said. "Her needed to go back to help her people and me with my friends helping out the World's here."

Alice nodded, understanding the responsibility as she was well aware of the duty of a Keybearer.

"And when I last saw her…" Steam began emanating off the boy's cheeks, making Alice laugh at the sight.

"Yes~ do go on." Alice egged on.

"She was returning to her people and we said our goodbyes…"

"And~~~"

"We… *cough*... we uh… kissed." Roxas paused for a beat. "And… she told me… she loved me."

Alice was now giggling profusely.

"Oh, you are shy like an innocent schoolboy."

Roxas playfully shoved her. "Shut up."

Alice laughed, throwing a hand around his shoulder. "That sounds lovely to know that you have someone like that in your life. I may not have experienced it in the way you have but Love is a beautiful thing. My sister Lizzie meant the world to me as did my parents and I remember how they would behave around one another. She must be a very special girl to make you act like this."

A genuine smile graced his face. "She is."

"Then are you asking me for help on this endeavor?" She saw him nod in confirmation.

"Well," Roxas crossed his arms in thought. "I know this may come out weird but you being a girl and all, what do you think I should do when I see her next time?"

"What now?" Alice was slightly thrown off. "What do you mean?"

"Like… I've never had anything like this, I don't exactly know how to act on it all-"

"Roxas." She interrupted. "Flattering as all this is, I haven't ever experienced something like this in my own life if you know what I mean."

Roxas' shoulders slumped slightly at the reminder of her rough upbringing in life.

"I know." He admitted. "I just wanted another perspective to work with on this issue."

The former Princess of Heart shook her head with a small smile forming. "I figured, but you may have to take my advice like a grain of salt."

"Anything is better than nothing." He said with a shrug.

She hummed to herself, thinking over on what exactly she would do in this predicament.

"I recall my sister had several suitors wanting to court her, but she turned them all down one way or another. I asked one day why, which she told me they were not courting her for her personality, but for her looks alone. A prize they sought for, which made her rather repulsed by the notion. And there were some which began to… disturb… her..."

Alice then seemed lost in memory on the recollection, which seemed to sting her mind. In mere moments, she can hear her sister's voice echoing through a series of flashes. A scene of her witnessing her dear Lizzie conversing with their parents in a desperate manner.

"I saw him following me to the Ladies Washroom. Several times now. His hand was slimy, like an eel from the isis as he started grabbing my arm so I may pay attention to him."

"Surely you jest, Lizzie." Said their father.

"Most certainly not. He's starting to become stranger and unnerving. He claimed I'd stolen his heart, Papa. 'Trifling with his affections!' Creepy sod! Touching me. Practically assaulting me if we weren't around others."

"Are you sure, my dear?" Spoke their mother.

"Most certainly."

"I see. I'll be sure to have words with him." Their father said sternly.

"Let alone the fact he'll no longer be invited for tea ever again." Said the mother. "Mayhaps have to have him expelled from the university if this were to occur again."

"You're probably right on that one."

Lizzie let out a small sigh of relief. "Thank you. I just don't feel safe around him anymore."

Alice then came out of the memory as she heard Roxas' voice.

"Alice?" She blinked, seeing the concerned blue eyes of her friend. "Are you okay?"

"I… I think so." She muttered. "Just remembering something; something important, I think." She shook her head a little to get back to the matter at hand. "Tell me Roxas, is this Tali a prize to be won?"

"What's that mean?"

"That she's nothing more than that, a prize to be paraded around for all to see rather than someone you wish to show genuine care for.

"What?" Roxas balked at the notion. "No! Tali's no prize, she means a lot to me."

Alice gave him a satisfied smile and nod. "Good, then you're already on the right track."

"So what do I-"

*Grooowwl*

Both of them blinked and they looked down to Alice's rumbling stomach.

"Hungry?" Seeing Alice not answer right away, Roxas got the idea. "C'mon. Let's get something to eat."

Going to a nearby food stall, Roxas viewed the menu and was able to pick out what he wanted to order. Alice, however, was rather lost as she couldn't understand the present language or know what to get. Yet the smells were rather mouthwatering.

"Ah, hello there." Greeted the cook. "New here, I take it." Seeing them nod, the man continued. "What would you like today?"

"I'd like to have Chongqing xiao mian." Said the blond Nobody. Turning to Alice, he saw her questioning look. "Want me to order you something?"

"How would you know of these?"

"There's this place at the Citadel the others and I started to go to so we can change up our hangout spot. It serves this kind of food and it's actually quite good."

"Is it?" Seeing Roxas nod, she decided to see if this was indeed true. "I'll trust your judgement."

Nodding, Roxas ordered a lan Zhou la mian in beef for Alice.

Soon enough, the cook was quick in freshly chopping up most of the ingredients; such as green onions and certain peppers. Alice was amazed at the speed he was able to do so. The cook then grabbed a spoonful of certain spices and seasonings from the side before putting them into a bowl with the broth soon following. And in the end, the cook grabbed a batch of noodles from a boiling pot and placed them into the bowl.

"Here you go, sir."

Roxas thanked the man as he was handed his meal.

The cook then began working on the next order with the roaring flames. He poured the desired broth with other ingredients soon after he stirred and flipped them. Putting that off to the side for a moment -with flames creeping into it- the cook quickly chopped up the rest of the already cooked beef before tossing them into his wok.

Swirling around its contents for several minutes, the dish was being cooked quite well. It's smell was rather pleasant towards the Englishwoman's nose. Her mouth salivated and she swallowed it all as she grew more hungry by the minute. And after what seemed like forever, the cook tilted the still hot wok over a bowl and poured it's entire contents before giving the dish to Alice.

"Here you go, ma'am."

Giving him her thanks, Alice eyed her meal before seeing Roxas eat his meal with a pleasant expression as he used chopsticks instead of the traditional utensils she grew up using.

Alice found it weird to use the wooden sticks but was quick to properly use them once Roxas showed her how. She did fumble a little as her hand ached a bit, but she went through it.

With how hot the meal was, Alice slowly blew on the noodles and eventually placed them into her mouth. She slowly slipped and sucked the noodles into her mouth before chomping down on them. The flavors assaulted her tongue and she indeed felt the unique taste, which made her give out a pleasant hum. The noodles were spongy and chewy which carried more of the unique taste. Once swallowing, she gave a brief smile as she grabbed a small cloth to dab away some sauce from her lips.

"It tastes rather exquisite. My sincere compliments."

The cook smiled as Roxas soon paid the man of the required amount with extra as a tip for his service.

As they continued eating, a thought lit up in her mind like a lightbulb.

"You can try this." She said to her companion.

"Hmmm? Try what?"

"You wish to do something special with Tali, yes?" Roxas nodded. "Then court her, take her out to places that you would both enjoy and can be alone together. Even trying out new things like I am now."

Roxas hummed at the suggestion and thought back to his time on the Citadel. There was a word used to describe something like this.

"Like… like a date?"

"Is that what you call courtship… in your time and place?"

"I think so, yeah." Roxas nodded.

"Then yes, take her out on… a date." Alice encouraged him. "I believe the two of you will have a lovely time together if you both care for one another to such a degree already."

Roxas mused on the suggestion, a slow smile forming on his face as he thought about the personal times he had spent together just with Tali.

"Do you have an idea in mind?"

"Several now, actually." Roxas said. "Thanks Alice."

"My pleasure, Roxas."

-Scene Cut-

"God dammit that is annoying."

Axel and Xion stood before the entrance to the kingdom of the White Queen with the former looking clearly aggravated and ticked off.

"Of all the times to just "wake up"." Axel said with a scoff.

"Come on Axel, how could we have known that would happen?" Xion said, patting his arm softly.

"We should have at least seen it coming." He argued back in a huff, the two now entering the Kingdom of Marmoreal.

They would have been accosted by the residents and guards of this place had they not been recognized by a number of the Chess soldiers telling all to let them through.

Entering into the Castle, they made a beeline for the throne room and walked in to see the White Queen holding court.

Their entrance was noticed immediately by the ruling monarch of these lands who stood to walk over to greet them both with a beaming smile.

"My friends." She greeted them both, brimming with joy. "It is so good to see you two so soon. I hope your journey through Wonderland has bore fruit."

"Rather hit and miss, your majesty." Axel remarked truthfully. "Putting a lot of emphasis on 'miss'."

Her expression fell slightly yet remained upbeat. "I see. Rather unfortunate. But my faith remains strong. I know you all will- I say, what has happened to dear Alice and sir Roxas? Are they not here?"

"They uh…" Axel scratched the top of his head. "Hmmm, how should I say this? They are back in the… waking World? Is that what you call it?"

Understanding dawned upon the White Queen.

"Ah~ then I need not worry. They shall return in due time."

"...Does everyone here know of this?" Axel soon held up his hand to halt the queen. "Don't answer that. That was rhetorical."

She giggled behind her sleeve. "Yes, well, all are well aware of Alice's proclivities in going in and out of Wonderland. We always know she will return eventually."

"But she left at a bit of an annoying time." No. VIII pointed out.

"All you need to worry about is where she will return." The White Queen said, placing a comforting hand on the fire-user's arm.

"Um, your majesty." Xion spoke up, making the Queen turn to her.

"Yes my dear?"

"I was wondering…" Xion reached behind her and pulled out a familiar item before the monarch.

The White Queen blinked upon seeing the weapon that Alice had been utilizing for some time.

"The Vorpal blade?" The Queen said in surprise. "And how did you acquire this?"

"By accident." Axel stated. "It must have been left behind when Alice "woke up" and we got it when we came out of the Corridor of Darkness."

The White Queen hummed to herself and held out her hands for the knife which Xion placed it down in her palms.

She inspected it on every curve and corner, noting some extensive wear and tear with a few chips on the metal itself.

"And what, pray tell, do you wish to do with this?" She asked the duo.

"Is there a Moogle around?" Axel asked. "We usually find one in every World."

"Moogle… Moogle… Funny word." Muttered the monarch.

Xion soon described the creature. "They're these cute little creatures who resemble plump white cats with red noses, have bat wings and have a pom-pom antenna."

"And they saw Kupo a lot." Axel added in.

Realization dawned on the queen's face. "Oh, you mean Gunther."

The Nobody's blinked before No. VIII snorted. "Gunther?"

"It's what we call our native armorer." The White Queen said whimsically. "You can find him in the west wing of the castle. What do you wish to request of him?"

"He and his kind help improve weapons and armor, among other things." Xion stated.

"And you wish for him to improve the Vorpal blade, yes?" Seeing them nod, she smiles. "I'll be sure to give this to him. Hopefully it'll be done before Alice's return."

"I sure hope so. Don't know what she could do without it."

"Yes, well then, come." The White Queen said. "I can imagine the two of you have been rather frazzled and tired in your adventure and would like to take a moment's respite, yes?"

Axel grunted with a small grin forming. "Very much appreciated."

"Come, the cooks are just about done with dinner." The White Queen gestured for the two of them to follow after them.

The trio soon arrived in the dining hall of the palace and were seated, getting served dinner in a moment's notice.

Once more, an odd spread of food was presented for the Nobodies to partake. Some were recognizable while the rest were quite alien on their… uniqueness.

After some minutes eating the evening meal, the queen asked her guests the details of their journey thus far. And a particular issue came up.

"An Infernal Train?"

"Yeah, it's been running all over Wonderland causing hell wherever it goes." Axel said with a grim look. "We were hoping you have some idea of what's going on."

"I have been hearing rumors of this invasion but my scouts could only tell me so much before it goes off beyond their capabilities in pursuing. I have been getting more reports of its sightings all over Wonderland" The White Queen said. "What I do know is that it brings nothing but ruin to every domain it traverses through. Same with its mysterious harbinger."

"Harbinger?" Xion said, mouthful of food.

"A winged, metallic creature. It precedes the train, as if it's guiding to any and all parts of this world to spread its destruction."

"So another asshole we gotta take care of." Axel grumbled "Wonderful."

"Hmmm, yes, the dangers of Wonderland proceed to grow evermore as time goes on." The White Queen remarked drearily.

"What do we do then?" Xion asked. "I feel like we're missing something here."

The White Queen was contemplative for a few moments before snapping her fingers.

"When in doubt of answers you seek, the Caterpillar is the one you should meet."

'Just like the Carpenter told us.' Thought Xion before voicing a question. "Do you perhaps know where the Caterpillar is now?"

"Where he's often been, in the Vale of Tears. Why do you ask?"

"We need answers about this Infernal Train." Axel reminded her.

"Hmm… Yes, yes, you do… He would know more than any of us." The White Queen said distantly.

Once finishing their meal, the two Nobodies oversaw the queen deliver the Vorpal blade to the resident Moogle and worked on it post haste.

From there, the pair freshened up and rested for a bit before heading towards the Vale of Tears. And the duo originally thought it would be a simple means of traversing through the forested territory to eventually find Caterpillar.

Yet that wasn't the case.

Instead of the beautiful forestation they've known previously, it became a true manifestation of ruin. Hardly any flora was present as it was smoldering pieces, which seemed to work alongside the burning tar-like streams. Debris floated all around with an apocalyptic sky burned brightly overhead alongside thunder and lightning being present.

This section of Wonderland was now more of a Vale of Doom.

"This blasted Ruin is corrupting more and more of Wonderland."

Cheshire appeared beside them and said, "I welcome you to the arrival of a phantomed landscape. It's sunset is ever present, but I doubt it's one you Nobodies favor."

"Not by a longshot, Cat." Said Axel. "If this was ever a dream, I'd rather wake up from it."

The deranged feline gave out a sophisticated chuckle. "True. And seeking refuge from the increasing ruin is becoming far more difficult? Perhaps things only "look" like they've gone to Hell."

Xion looked cross at that remark. "By far, you're not that good of a liar and I'm not stupid, and neither are my friends. But you could've been better on your welcome."

The Cat replied back. "This unmitigated disaster is Alice's doing. And it will get worse. The train keeps a hellish schedule and its companion enforces it. Now get moving, you two. Time waits for no one. The change has begun."

"Yeah, the train's doing a fine, good job in worrying us." Snarked Axel. "You should find another occupation."

"Is there really so little hope?" Asked Xion.

"There's even less," answered the Cat. "And if fear paralyzes either of you Nobodies or Alice, we're lost."

Before the Cat could depart in his usual fashion, Axel asked him a question.

"Do you perhaps know exactly where Caterpillar's at? Neither of us would want to waste any time, given the present state of things."

"Since you asked so nicely, I'll give you the straightforward answer. His true domain resides at the highest point of this place. The last visage of the Vale of Tears, which broke away before the ruin corrupted this marvelous place."

"And which direction is it, if you would so kindly tell us?"

Answering Xion's question, Cheshire pointed eastward from their present location before disappearing.

Summoning her Desert Firefly Keyblade, Xion shifted it to its glider form. As she hoped on, Axel summoned his chakrams as he ignited them. The pair thus took off into the air and headed towards the general direction of Caterpillar's domain.

They had to be careful in traversing through these floating debris. If they were to suddenly crash into them, they could risk having them plummet from the sky and hurt any possible survivors down below.

The duo then came across a floating island which stood out amongst everything in this region. It was still green with some flowers blooming in a number of spots. There was a small pond with a rock formation placed in the very middle of it.

"I believe we found it."

"Has to be, given it's untouched by the destruction and ruin all around."

Making their small landing, the pair came up to the rock formation of jade and greenery, with trickles of water running down the sides to meet at the pool below. At its top was a small house with smoke coming out. Yet the odd smell from it made Axel believe it was from a hookah pipe.

"Answer me this," spoke a near familiar voice which seemed to echo all around, "are you two familiar with the saying that smoking stunts growth?"

"Not exactly, Caterpillar, but I at least know it hurts a person's health considerably." Responded Axel.

Xion leaned forward and eyed the small house on top of the rock formation in front of them. "Are you there, Caterpillar?"

"I am, young Keybearer."

"Won't you come out and properly talk to us face to face? There are more questions we need answers for."

"I unfortunately cannot. You both will need to see me in my home."

"I doubt our shrinking ability can get us small enough to see you face to face."

"Which is why you'll need to exceed this trait for a time."

"How?"

"I won't ask you two to inhale. Let the smoke envelop you both."

After Caterpillar said that the Nobodies saw rings of smoke envelop them as they began to shrink. Far more than the size of a dormouse, but something considerably smaller.

As the smoke cleared, Axel and Xion saw the new landscape they were in.

It was oriental in its theme, filled with motifs like ornaments, platforms, buildings and especially with certain text scrolling down in the smoky skies around them. Floating amongst the clouds were kites that resembled fish, koi in particular. The mound in their normal size was now that of a titanic mountain with waterfalls falling downward in roaring sounds. The surrounding water appeared to become an ocean with giant Mahjong pieces floating about. And the greenery was full-grown trees.

In a small sense, there could've been some inspiration from a number of artifacts and art found from Radcliffe's home.

"I doubt sightseeing will get us anywhere. We need to head for the top where Caterpillar resides." Axel stated, pushing away a floating Mahjong piece.

"Do you think he's still up there?" Xion couldn't help but ask, seeing as how dilapidated and ruined the Vale of Tears had become.

"He responded, didn't he?"

"Yeah but what if we get there and the ruin reaches him?"

"Then let's get there before it has the chance to."

Using their quicker forms of travel, they flew through the air in hopes of getting to Caterpillar's home posthaste.

Unfortunately, along the trip up the mountain, they heard cries of distress from down below.

Xion was quick to react and change their course. Axel was forced to follow after his friend.

Landing in what resembled a small village, they came across what appeared to be an assortment of Samurai Wasps attacking the locals, who appeared to be origami ants. Most of them appeared to be lightly armored, wielding their equivalent of katanas. One of them, however, was heavily armored and stylized as something lavish which Xion quickly dubbed as a Daimyo Wasp.

The Nobodies were quick to act and react against the present foes. Nothing like fire based attacks couldn't help quickly solve the issue before cleaving through them.

As the fighting ended, a number of origami ants came out of their homes and saw the invaders had been defeated.

"Are they the chosen ones?" Spoke one resident.

"Our saviors?" Said another.

"Our benefactors?"

"We wouldn't say that." Said Axel. "We're only here to see Caterpillar."

"Though we did come to help." Xion added in.

"You seek the great one?"

"If that's who you're implying, yes." Said the Keybearer.

"Speak with the Elder."

"He knows things."

"He even thinks things."

That last one made Axel raise his brows in question why that was said but brushed it off.

Coming towards another origami ant, they saw he was a bit different from the rest for he had a rather long pointed beard.

"Your victory in combat and conundrums suggest your fitness to confront the challenges ahead. Mental strength will confirm your worthiness… or declare your defeat."

An assortment of blocks appeared and rearranged into a confined space.

"What's this about?"

"Oh, I think I know this puzzle." Axel thus elaborated to Xion. "Roxas and I had to do a number of these puzzles back in the Deluded Depths. Help me out with this."

Navigating the block pieces around, Axel occasionally went back overhead to oversee what needs to be done. With some direction towards his friend, they were able to complete the puzzle, showing a picture of a Chinese dragon.

As the puzzle was complete, the blocks disappeared and the elder soon appeared before them

"You two can save us. I'll open the path for you to continue. Though be warned, the wicked wasps lay siege above and control the peaks to east and west. You two must defeat them to reach Caterpillar's retreat."

"Seems the simplest paths aren't always easy." Axel commented.

"I concur." Said the elder ant. "We must have faith that Caterpillar, the strange and wondrous, helps those in need. One day, we'll have proof. Purity of heart is to will one thing. To approach his sacred aerie, you two must confront the invaders, who prevent our access to his power."

A distance away, a pair of doors opened to reveal a new area, in which the Nobodies traversed through.

Through a number of twists and turns, the Nobodies went through passages as they dealt with a number of Heartless that came their way. As they were defeated, they came across a stone opening where they slid down a ramp to a room where some stone heads decorated the space. Between the ones on the far end was a painting in front of a stone carving of the mountain.

"What are we supposed to do now?"

Taking a closer inspection of the oriental painting, Xion ended up touching it, which started to pull her in. Seeing this, Axel grabbed hold of her other arm before he too was dragged in.

Next thing they knew, they appeared different as they soon recognized their surroundings.

"Are we in the painting?"

"I feel weird being flat. I'd rather be more dimensional."

"What are we supposed to do now?"

"Only what we can do: move onward."

Trekking through the painted landscape through a series of jumps and parkour maneuvers, they heard Caterpillar's voice in the air.

"Regard this depiction of domestic harmony and order. The fruitful landscape encouraged industry, tolerance, and cooperation. Loving family flourished. Happy children and dear friends… grateful for their well-being, lived for generations, secure, active, and free. But a sudden onslaught of alien attacks broke their fragile bodies, and nearly crushed their generous spirits."

Xion thought that if whatever Caterpillar said, it would've been a rather nice poem.

Upon reaching the end of the painting, the Nobodies found themselves out and in another cave entirely.

"That was rather weird." Said Axel.

"I thought it was fun."

"Of course you would." The redhead then moved onwards with Xion following.

Exiting the cave, they found themselves higher on the mountain with a number of geisha statues decorating the pathway. They were pleasant to look at-at first, until seeing they were crying blood.

The cat appeared beside them as the Nobodies inspected them.

"Only the foolish believe suffering is just wages for being different."

"Sadly so." Xion said sadly. "I wish it wasn't so. It would make things much more bearable to experience."

The Cheshire cat nodded as he disappeared.

The former Organization members pressed on as they came across a series of bridges. Some were intact, others weren't. For the latter, the two friends used their powers and skills to quickly overcome the obstacles before running into the Samurai Wasps.

Instead of wielding swords, a number of them used bow and arrows to fight from afar, which quickly dubbed them as Archer Wasps.

It wasn't too much of a hassle for them as their attacks made quick work with them.

Making across the other side of the floating islands, they entered the mountain once more and began navigating through it with ease.

Once encountering another set of enemies, quickly dubbed Samurai Ink Wasps, due to their inkish appearance, they entered the next area. Awaiting them was a slide made of China-like material, in which they avoided hot ruin tar on the intended path, which they used to get into another area which showed a big hookah pipe.

"We're getting close." Said Xion. "We gotta be."

"Hopefully cause I don't wanna delay this any further than needed."

Using a number of parkour moves and their natural abilities, the Nobodies were able to come to an area with a doorway on the far end that looked like the Yin-Yang symbol. But in front of it were some wasps attacking some origami ants.

After disposing of the invaders, one of the ants, who was unharmed, spoke as he trembled. "Oh this is terrible. Oh great Caterpillar, why have you abandoned us? The door ahead is sealed."

"I can help with that."

Aiming her Keyblade at the Yin-Yang door, a beam of light shot out of her Keyblade. Once making contact, the Keyhole symbol appeared as the doorway swiftly opened for them all to cross through.

Navigating through the mountainous pathways, the Nobodies encountered more and more Wasps and Heartless along the way. They once more rode another slide to another section of the mountain.

Upon going through another cave, they saw and approached another bearded origami ant who seemed to await them.

"A bridge will complete the path, but this ruinous substance has blocked the way." He said, pointing towards a further area with a ruin wall which trapped several ants. "Can you help us remove it?"

"Of course we can." Said Xion, who quickly went into action with Axel following.

"We got the tools to do so, old man."

Upon getting close to the ruin wall, more Wasps and Heartless appeared to halt their progression. The Nobodies were once again able to make quick work of them before they used a combined attack to scorch the ruinous substance entrapping the ants.

"We're saved!

"Huzzah!"

"Thank you for your service." Said the elder ant, who came down to reunite with the others. He then pointed towards the opened ceiling which seemed to go on for a while. "At the top of the mountain, you will find the entrance to the next Sacred Cave. Through there is the path to Caterpillar."

"You mean where a painting is being kept?"

"Exactly."

"Wonderful."

Making their way up, the Nobodies saw more of the ruinous substance as they went higher and higher. It was as if they were now entering the mountain's wounds and sickness as the hot oily tar was running all over.

Eventually reaching the top, the duo found more origami ants in front of a collage of fans and were chanting something on repeat. As it went on, several fans flew overhead.

"Oh mighty Lepidoptera, oh sleeper in the mountain, many-legged lord of lake and peak, divine benefactor, protector of the frog and tree, on your humble ants look kindly."

Cheshire soon appeared beside them and spoke. "The grateful most often confer benefit to the source of their gratitude. And freedom is so precious to some that they pay for it with their lives."

When the cat disappeared, the Nobodies moved onwards and maneuvered around the fan-like platforms hanging all so delicately.

Once on the other side, they saw how much was perhaps left of their journey.

"This is going to be one hell of a climb."

"I know, but just be patient Axel."

Entering the nearby cave, the pair were able to swiftly go through the obstacles. This ranged from the usual enemies to a number of traps and puzzles. There was an issue at one point with a doorway swiftly opening and closing, due to the jade lion statue going up and down. But with Xion quickly cutting through it with her Keyblade, the pair eventually came to the oriental painting forewarned earlier.

Knowing what to expect this time, the Nobodies entered the painting without a fuss.

The former Organization members appeared two dimensional once more and began to move and navigate through the challenging space. During their trek, they heard Caterpillar's voice in the air.

"The belligerents, without true cause or purpose, abused and murdered their pacific victims, whom they hated for being different. The invaders corrupted the vivid world. The assaulted could not comprehend the merciless brutality. Still, they stayed on, trying to placate their oppressors and recover their past. The cruel interlopers attacked at intervals, instead of killing them all at once. The wretched survivors suffered in perpetual fear. Is there a worse fate?"

Once exiting out of the painting, Xion and Axel were quickly confronted with some enemies. As they were dealt with, they were once more out of the mountain as they were met with another ant.

"It's terrible, the key to the door is forever ruined." He mourned, eyeing the destroyed puzzle block pieces.

Knowing what needs to be done, Xion aimed her Keyblade at the locked doorway. Once again, she was able to unlock the gateway, allowing them all to pass on through and ascend towards the peak above.

When coming across some rather shady hanging cages, which seemed to serve as platforms, the Nobodies forgone the traditional maneuvers. Eying the sturdy rocky ledge on the far side, they opened up a Dark Corridor to traverse through. And they repeated this several times over before making it through the end of the hazardous chasm.

Soon enough they were confronted with a small contingent of Wasps and Heartless before going through an archway.

As the doorway closed behind them, they saw a giant sleeping frog on the far end with a gong attached to its back. Attached to the rocky wall was an ant in a built-in cage who soon addressed them.

"You there. Come closer. I can recite Red Riding Hood backwards; I know my multiplication tables to 11s, I… I have intelligence."

"Oh really? Then what do you know on how to proceed further?"

"To remove your obstacle, wake the frog and empty it's belly."

"...You mean to tell us we need to make the frog throw up?"

"Precisely."

"And how did you come to that conclusion?"

"I imagined how it was done… while I was sleeping."

"...That wasn't helpful at all."

"Maybe so, but we got something to work with."

"I'm listening."

"We just need to hit the gong hard enough to wake the frog."

"And after that?"

"...We'll think of what to do after."

Before they could act, more Ruin and Wasps appeared before them. The Nobodies were quick to attack them as spells exploded all around.

During the confrontation, Xion focused on her Keyblade and performed a shotlock attack towards the gong in particular instead of the enemy. As it reached its peak, the streams of energy shot onward and stuck the metal disk. The sound rang loudly, waking the frog. In mere moments, it spat out a large boulder which sailed through the air.

In its path was an insidious ruin, which was swiftly crushed by the boulder when it destroyed the far off wall. From its location, it revealed a pathway.

Traversing through it, Xion and Axel found themselves in a literal wasp nest.

The cat appeared and spoke to the Nobodies. "Only the savage regard the endurance of pain as a measure of worth."

"What does that mean?"

"He means that the bad guys love to make good people surfer for pleasure."

It was a bit of a maze for the two friends to navigate. Some twists and turns started to test their patience. Luckily for them they didn't encounter any enemies along the way.

Well… that was until they came across a large, enclosed space.

The large assortment of wasps came down hard upon them, making the two friends fight hard to take down their insectoid foes. Fire burned all around with thunder raining down upon their foes.

At the end of this issue, they came across another painting room, where the pair entered the unique gateway.

Again as two dimensional characters, the Nobodies made their way through one end of the painting onto another. Going through countless dangers like bamboo spikes, wasps and fires. All the while, they can hear Caterpillar's voice in the air.

"A restless seeker, on private business, with two others, arrived in the misery-infested land. She, with her friends, despite ignorance, uncertainty and unhappiness in her own life, could not endure to see them suffering. She and her companions began to fight against the savage murderers, abusers and defilers without quite knowing why or for whose sake she truly fought or how the struggle would end."

It honestly took a while for the Nobodies to finally learn the significance of Caterpillar's weird stories. Working alongside the paintings, he was telling the story about how the Oriental Grove was, how the wasps attacked which ruined the peace and how they were here to save it. If not just this domain of Wonderland, but the rest of the world.

Once out of the painting and out of the cave, Axel voiced a small complaint.

"I hope that was the last one, cause I'm gonna get tired going through these paintings."

"Just hang on a little longer. I believe the journey for knowledge is sometimes treacherous."

Axel soon chuckled and ruffled her hair, much to her annoyance.

After several minutes of walking, they finally made it to the top as they saw a rather large shrine. One they seemed to recall at a miniature scale.

Knowing they reached their destination, they climbed up the stairs and found a big statue of Caterpillar at the center of the space.

"...Is this it? I don't see him anywhere?"

"We've come all this way to find a gaudy statue. What a rip off."

Caterpillar's voice was soon heard, echoing from all sides.

"If I had the time, I'd detail how often Alice prefers dealing with illusions rather than the real thing. Problems she refuses to deal with don't exist! For she denied reality, much like yourselves."

"That's not fair at all and you know it." Came Xion's response.

"It is not." Confirmed Caterpillar. "And yet many allow others to tell them what isn't real."

"Alright, where are ya?" Axel said impatiently. "Enough hiding, will ya?"

"I'm not hiding. You just don't know where I reside. But enough jabbering, come inside so we may speak face to face."

After the hookah smoking insect said that the ground shook and the tiles beneath the Nobodies collapsed beneath them. They fell down, yet they worked through their own landing strategies on their descent.

As they did, they noticed a peculiarly large silk-like chrysalis with a figure inside, making them realize the Caterpillar was inside.

To their knowledge, he was going through a metamorphosis in order to become a butterfly.

Upon their landing, Xion and Axel approached the sage-like being.

"Alright, we're here and we need answers." Spoke Xion.

"For starters, what's up with the Infernal Train? It's ruining Wonderland with whatever this Harbinger thing is supposed to be." Axel began questioning. "And what is up with those memories we saw with Alice? Who is the one who caused her family's demise?"

"If we don't get these solved, then Alice and many others will greatly suffer." Xion said emphatically. "You told us that, yes?"

Caterpillar's voice began booming within the cavernous chamber. "Like progression, many changes. But you must realize you have certain things backwards. I must remind you that you must save Wonderland and Alice. Yet it's much more than that, for you must save her from herself."

"From herself?" Xion looked at Axel in shared confusion. "Is she harming this world somehow?"

"Unintentionally, but from an outside manipulator." The Caterpillar vaguely said. "The Carpenter was onto something. But he was hiding from the real truth of the matter. You must tell Alice that her goal at the end must be to accept it. And it can be done far sooner with your assistance."

Axel looked at the giant insect inquisitively. "You mean to tell us that asshole had something on his mind, but couldn't accept it? Or even tell us about it?!"

"I'm confused on this as you are, Axel." The Keybearer looked towards the hookah smoking bug. "You still didn't answer some of our questions."

"With the train, it was originally created to help guide Alice's memories back together. Yet an outside force derailed it, manipulated it for their own machinations. The harbinger, however, is a foe long thought dead, yet arisen. It too is controlled, even if guided through similar hatred and goals."

"And the memories we saw?"

"The truth of what Alice's fragile mind couldn't handle years ago. One which many sought to benefit and exploit for their own means." The Caterpillars tone took on a more somber one.

This got quite the reaction out of the Nobodies, making them realize there was more to this issue than they realized.

"Where should we go then?" Asked Xion. "What should we do?"

"The time to confront the Queen has been prolonged long enough. Seek her out, confront her and defeat her. Through this the truths will be fully unraveled. And the Queen of Hearts, in all her guises, must always be served."

As this was said, the cavern started to shake with debris falling down from above.

"What does the Queen of Hearts know that we don't? What aren't you telling us?" Axel demanded.

Caterpillar only gave a vague response. "She is someone Alice once knew and loved. Yet time changes us all."

"Looking at all that's happening, it doesn't seem like this kind of change is the good kind." He argued back.

"Remember this when you and the others confront the Queen..."

The quakes escalated, having some debris break the hookah pipe not far away. Soon enough, wings sprouted out of Caterpillar's back, showing his metamorphosis was complete.

"Time changes us all."

As the shrine started to collapse, Xion opened up a Dark Corridor for them to depart and seek safety.

Things were at a dead end, and yet they got answers which will need to be cleared up for the next leg of their journey.

-Scene Cut-

"So where to now?" Roxas asked, walking alongside Alice down the streets of London.

After their meal earlier, Alice had shown Roxas a number of places throughout her home city. He helped give comparisons between the London here with what he knew after what Axel and Xion spoke to her previously.

It still made things interesting on what future generations may expect centuries from now.

He could probably take Alice to see the technologically advanced London of the Milky Way one day.

In their tour, Alice ended up bringing Roxas to her home for a decade at the city's outskirts: Rutledge Asylum.

Hearing Alice's descriptions did not do it justice in comparison to seeing it firsthand.

The old rundown facility stood at the top of a solidary hill. With the rolling fog slowly creeping in, it made things rather unsettling about the horrid place. And it didn't help to hear the faint sounds of screams and wails coming from the place.

All that was missing of the present sinister setting was the rolling thunder and flashing lightning.

Alice commented the world would be better off without places like that, after all the horrid events she experienced there. And Roxas was quick to agree with how appalled he was.

This institution was supposed to help treat the afflicted, yet the doctors and orderly there were corrupt and abused their authority to perform an untold amount of atrocities. All the while getting away with their crimes, such as inhumane experimentation, abuse and rape.

The only reason why it wasn't shut down was due to a number of things. Words of higher men of learning and authoritative individuals weighed far more than the deranged, even if the inmates were telling the truth. Blackmail and funds from varying people was another factor.

Neither of the two couldn't help but move away from the place fast enough as they returned to the city.

Upon returning back to "civilization", the pair tried to have a pleasant time to mend their previous mood.

As the hours passed on by, it was time to return Alice to her home at the orphanage she worked at. And through this, their return to Wonderland as she slumbered.

They soon returned to Houndsditch Home for Wayward Youth where upon entering the building, the two encountered a familiar face to Liddell.

"Ah Alice, good to see you have returned." A middle-aged man with spectacles greeted me in a kind tone. "Have you had a good day?"

"I did, Dr. Bumby." She said respectfully.

The man took notice of Roxas and inspected him for the briefest of moments, as if he was measuring him.

"Hmmm? Oh, and who might you be? Another friend of Alice's I take it?" The therapist asked, holding out a hand. "Dr. Bumby, at your service."

"Roxas." The blond Nobody introduced himself, taking the offered hand the Doctor held out.

The moment he made contact, Roxas started to feel something quite off about the man. Something unsettling dwelled within him behind the calm, proper appearance he bore.

"A pleasure." The man said politely. "Hmmm, interesting."

"What?"

"You wear the same coat that fellow Axel had when I encountered her at her lawyer's office." He noted. "Is this some sort of fashion statement I am unaware of?"

"We have the same tailor." Roxas said with a shrug.

"Hmm, quite." Dr. Bumby then turned to Alice. "Don't bother waiting for me. I've already had supper and will be in my office until I turn in."

"Of course Doctor."

The man strolled past them as Alice turned to face her friend.

If she did so far later, she would've seen something flash from Bumby's person. Something which resembled an old, rusted key.

Roxas, however, did notice.

Using his focus ability, his perception slowed down to a crawl and saw the item.

It was more oddly designed than a traditional key of this time period. Outside of the skeleton key's teeth being in a particular measure, the handle resembled that of the sign of Venus.

Before he could see more of it, his focus soon ended as everything returned to normal.

"So who's that supposed to be?" Roxas asked, thumbing back to the man walking away from them.

"Dr. Agnus Bumby. He's my psychiatrist." Alice elaborated. "He has been helping me in dealing with my trauma from the past."

"Right. I recall you and the others talking about it. Not only do you live here, but you have a job as well."

Alice noticed her friend's gaze was distant, still trailing the man's form, even though it disappeared from sight.

"What's wrong, Roxas?"

"I dunno… just something about that guy feels really… off."

"I don't follow."

Roxas scrunched up his face in concentration. "Don't know exactly but… What does his medical profession focus on anyways?"

Alice blinked at the question.

"He focuses on hypnotherapy to help his patients with traumatic events and issues."

A small dark feeling stirred within the Keybearer. A queasy gut feeling churned, making him want to relieve this issue.

With additional things being brought up, Roxas felt there was more about Dr. Bumby than meets the eye.

Made him wish he could quickly get in touch with Namine. He may try to play telephone with Sora to relay the message but doesn't know if they can get to their location in time.

Because only she may swiftly resolve Alice's memory issues and clear a number of things which may not add up at all.

"Are you alright Roxas?"

"Hmmm? Oh, uh, yeah, yeah I'm fine." Roxas waved her off. "Just something on my mind."

Alice remained unconvinced. "Are you sure?"

Roxas grimaced, not really wanting to speak on what was bothering him. "Where's your room?"

His friend clearly wanted to press the matter but acquiesced to his change of subject matter.

"It'll be this way."

Traversing the flight of stairs, they reached her quarters as she saw how somewhat spartan it was. There were a number of items here and there for decorations, but nothing really standing out.

Roxas figured it was due to how tight money was for Alice, due to the blackmail Nurse Pris Witless had over her to her greedy lawyer holding over her trust fund and inheritance.

Locking the door behind them, Alice laid down on the bed and got comfortable, soon hugging her long departed stuffed bunny before giving Roxas the okay to do what was needed.

Holding out his hand, he focused magic into his palm and let it glow.

"Sleep."

As the spell was cast, the young Englishwoman started to swiftly drift to slumber. And with that, Roxas started to fade from the present world to join her into the other.

-Scene Cut-

Roxas shot up from where he lay and instantly got up to his feet.

It took him a moment to realize that the land was farther down below then he had ever seen.

"What the-?"

He heard a grunt from behind him and he turned to see Alice laying on the ground, regaining consciousness.

"Alice." He was by her side in an instant, helping her sit up.

"I take it we're back in Wonderland." Alice stated with a moan then asking.

"Wouldn't be in the skies if we weren't." Roxas quipped, getting her up to her feet while noting a visual change in Liddell. "Huh. Nice new duds you got there."

Alice blinked and looked down at her now card themed outfit with an emphasis on red and black to reflect a deck of cards.

This time she wore gloves that mimic castle towers and the dress had recurring prints of hearts and checker patterns. The pinafore featured an upside down spade, as well as the astronomical signs of Venus and a south ascending moon. The how on the back was now black in color with matching golden dotted pattern adorning the edges of the bow and hanging ribbons. The pattern is simply a golden line, which is covered by another line of golden hearts. The skull was replaced by a twisted dark grey heart-shaped skull with red glowing eyes.

"A bit much for my tastes but in looking like this, I can only presume one thing." Alice looked ahead at the endless horizon as they stood upon a card in the sky. "We're near the Queensland."

Around and ahead of them were nothing but floating cards in the skies, making pathways, bridges and castle-like structures.

Spades, clubs, diamonds and hearts.

Kings, queens, jacks and numbers.

"The Queensland." Roxas murmured aloud. "So the Queen of Hearts resides here."

"Yes, this was where I defeated her the first time." Alice paused. "Well not here in particular but you get what I'm saying."

"The Queen of Hearts." He said again, thinking back to the memory Sora had when he first came to this World. "So what's she like this time around? Terrifying? Freaky? Every negative word you can think of to describe how bad she is?"

"Well the last time I was here, she was the source of my inner turmoil." Alice recounted, thinking back to her lone foray through Wonderland. "As to what she may be now… if Hatter had become corrupted and turned into an enemy, the Queen of Hearts may have become something worse. Or maybe, something better. One cannot expect the expected in Wonderland."

Roxas snorted. "Ain't that the truth."

Alice smiled slightly at Roxas before she patted down her dress and a confused expression appeared.

Something of which her companion took note of.

"Everything alright Alice?" He asked.

After patting herself down, a slightly panicked look came over her.

"No." She said in slight alarm. "I've lost my Vorpal blade."

Roxas frowned. "Your main weapon?" She nodded. "How?"

"I'm not sure." Alice admitted. "Perhaps… it had to do with me returning to London and I may have lost it in that manner."

"Do you have any other means of defending yourself?"

Alice paused before nodding and in her hands appeared her heavy weapon Hobby Horse.

"I'd much rather prefer the Vorpal blade." She said with a shrug. "Much more usable and more in line with my form then Hobby Horse."

"Least it can still serve ya to defend yourself." Roxas said.

Alice shrugged, seeing this reasoning to be true.

"Let's get going then."

The two began walking along down the pathway of cards that kept forming before them and jumping from platform to platform.

"Where do you think we should even be going?" Roxas asked, sliding down a hill of cards.

"I figure that castle of cards is our best bet." Alice remarked, pointing ahead to the floating palace.

No. XIII nodded and the two resumed their jumping and gliding from card platform to card platform.

They landed on a large King of Hearts and looked ahead when-

"Roxas! Alice!"

Both jolted, recognizing that voice in an instant.

"Up here!"

The duo looked up to see Axel and Xion standing higher above them on a card platform of their own.

"Guys!" Roxas said aloud with a beaming smile.

The two Nobody's jumped down from their platform and landed before Alice and Roxas with Xion instantly hugging the latter tightly before doing the same with the former.

"We're glad you're both ok." No. XIV said happily.

"Same here." Alice said, smiling widely at being reunited with her friends once more.

"Can we not make this a habit?" Axel remarked with an easy going smirk. "It's a bit redundant going through this on repeat."

"Yes, it is rather grating separating from one another so often." Alice concurred.

"Alright, let's agree that if we get separated like you going to London again, we'll all just go with ya cause this is becoming more annoying as is."

"Agreed." Was the collective response from the teens.

"So, what's the whole goal here Alice?" The redhead of the group asked. "Where are we even right now?"

"I believe we are close to the domain of the Queen of Hearts." She said with certainty. "Otherwise this whole card motif would be a red herring."

Axel nodded, taking a moment to look around at the floating cards passing by overhead.

"I wonder if Luxord is nearby." He remarked.

"Why'd you say that?"

"He does have his cards afterall. And seeing all these here makes me think he isn't that far off."

"So we should be on our guard then." Roxas declared.

"Pretty much a given here." Xion stated.

"Let's keep going." Liddell said aloud. "I'd rather not stand around waiting for all the corruption of Wonderland to spread any further. We're nearing the end. I can feel it."

Hearing her say that set the three Nobody's on edge slightly with the reunited quartet resuming their traverse through the floating cards in the sky.

Eventually, they had reached the Castle of Cards from the card bridge that led to it and walked in to find it strangely quiet.

The Card Castle was seemingly pristine with no signs of ruins or corruption.

"Wow." Xion murmured, standing at one of the ramparts. "It's so beautiful up here."

"Much as I wouldn't mind sitting up here and eating ice cream, we can't stick around here." Axel stated. "I feel too exposed up here and if something happens-"

"A long way down." Roxas finished for him.

"Yeah." No. VIII murmured. "Let's keep moving."

While they explored the Card Castle...

"I don't know about you Alice, but that outfit of yours screams tyrannical royalty."

Alice gave Axel a glare in response.

"What? I'm just saying."

"Is it because of where we are?" Xion asked.

"Most likely."

"Bugger off."

The group continued onwards, inspecting every corner and room they came across in the floating Castle of Cards until they reached a card with a doorknob on it.

"Looks like we're meant to go through here." Axel remarked.

"Are you sure?" Xion asked, leaning forward and squinting at the doorknob. "What if this is a trick or a trap of some kind."

"Maybe." Axel said with a nod. "But sometimes you just gotta take things at face value."

Without needing any encouragement, Axel walked forward and grabbed hold of the doorknob and pulled it open.

The group was momentarily blinded by a white light with them having to shield their eyes.

When the light had subsided, they saw that they now stood within a boxed in Card structure with one opening in front of them.

Off in the distance was a large stone castle that appeared to be falling apart with twisted and deformed shapes littering the landscape.

"This is it." Alice said in a low voice. "This is the domain of the Queen of Hearts. The Red Queen."

"Back to admire your handiwork?"

The quartet knew that voice and looked around before Xion spotted him and pointed up to the upper left side of them on an elevated piece of ground.

There sat the Cheshire Cat, grin ever present.

"Back to the scene of the crime." The Cheshire Cat stated.

"Was it not you who told me it had to be done?" Alice rhetorically asked, speaking in a more condescending manner. "You and this Red Queen cannot both survive. She is a Cancer in your body. Excise her or perish.' Were these not your own words?"

"Well she was the face of Evil in the Heart of Darkness." The Cat's tone matched his last word.

"That doesn't sound terrifying at all." No. VIII quipped.

"Well he's not wrong about her being the face of evil." Alice stated. "Last I recall, she took his head for simply smiling too much."

"Huh?" Was the collective response from her friends.

"She was completely deranged." Cat said conversationally. "You picked up her crown, but now you've put it down. You must speak to her this time; what's left of her at least."

And with that, the Cheshire Cat was gone again, leaving the four of them to face the ruins and dangers of the Queensland.

"This place is really creepy." Xion commented as they began walking through the decrepit and eroding wasteland that is the kingdom of the Queen of Hearts.

"What exactly happened here, Alice?" Roxas asked, looking at the British teen who looked down at the ground.

"What's there to tell further than I had previously. I came here to take down the Queen of Hearts, the Red Queen as she had begun to call herself." Alice stated. "She was a tyrant, ruling Wonderland with fear and blood. So many of my companions that I knew fell to her wrath. Granted they returned, but they were never the same as I once knew them."

"And gotta imagine this place was more than what it has become at that time."

"Had to, at least, or it wasn't at all." Alice said with a grimace. "Who's to say it was through the Red Queen's influence or the Infernal Train. I just… I don't know anymore."

The Quartet was silent for a time until Axel coughed into his hand.

"Speaking of, there's some stuff we need to talk about."

"Being what?" Liddell asked, looking at him curiously.

"Us talking to Caterpillar while you were away." Began the redhead. "And our stop at the White Queen's Kingdom. We-"

Xion soon interrupted her superior and friend. "Oh and before I forget."

Reaching behind her back, Xion withdrew Alice's signature weapon and held out a gleaming Vorpal sword.

"Guess you can't call it a simple blade anymore now, can you?" Axel cheekily stated, laughing at the astonished look on Alice's face.

"How did this come to be?" She asked in astonishment.

"You can thank the Moogles for it."

"Moogles?"

"We'll tell you later. But for now, you got something far more improved."

"It'll take some time getting used to wielding a sword over a knife." Alice said, holding the blade aloft. "At least it's light. Lighter in fact now that I feel it." She awkwardly put the sword away as she focused back at her companions. "Now, you were saying…"

AN

Mmmmkay, that one was surprisingly a lot longer to write than expected.

Jebest4781: Lots of content to put down and adjust so we may get through this arc quicker. And yes it was difficult to do, but what else could we do?

FMW: Yeah, we were actually on a good track to finish it up sooner than later but we got sidetracked by other projects on top of things in life forcing us to do what we need to and all. Had a lot more planned for this chapter but we both came to the conclusion it would have taken WAY longer than originally planned. Would have reached into the 40k numbers so we decided to say sod it and focus on closing out the arc next chapter.

Jeb: Hopefully things will go quicker and easier in later content. But that's easier said than done with our luck. Especially with what intended promises may or may not have been fulfilled.

FMW: On top of the fact that we had recently undertaken a reboot with my old Avengers/RWBY story, going on a bit of a crazy role with Infinite Wars and figuring out other ideas to work on. Oh and Sora is in Smash Bros Ultimate as the last fighter. Crazy right? Smash fans have been wanting that for a while now but in the end, in the most literal way possible as him being the last of the roster, we got him. We also saw Dune and it was real cool and a slow burn and a movie that needs a sequel. What If, other Marvel stuff, other Star Wars stuff, sci fi, nerd shit all around. Yeah, lots of busy distractions.

So with that said, thanks for being so patient everyone.

Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.