WORD OF WARNING: this chapter and fic will place Jackie in more adult situations than what I usually write. DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE TO MATURE TOPICS AND SITUATIONS thank you and otherwise, enjoy!

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Nervous but excited Fiore arrived in the main headquarters of the for the first time since the experiment that turned him into a living relic happened. His tail was tucked between his legs but it was wagging, his ears moving in all directions at any sounds that caught his attention. To tell the truth, he was nervous. Not only had he made direct contact on the foreigner, he also had direct contact in the foreigner. He had no idea how his beloved boss would think of that.

His hands trembled considerably as he raised his left hand, kissing his ring finger that proudly held the Lullaby symbol. He would give everything, his life, his physical possessions, his own blood and clock is it was meant to please the wonderful and brilliant living God among them, their Berceuse. His clock raced, feeling a sense of fulfillment deep within the pit of his gut that spread through his entire body, making him tremble to the point he believed he could perhaps faint. He was so humbled by being presented the chance to meet with her that he lost all sense of reality and floated towards the receptionist desk, his head in the clouds. His tail wildly wagged back and forth, very, very excited about all of this. He wanted to run to her immediately and express his utmost devotion but alas, he must wait.

"Hola," Fiore happily greeted the boss's receptionist, his tail wagging wildly, "I a-am here to give my reports to Lady A," he explained, his eyes shining as the woman looked up at him, rather bored.

The receptionist looked at him up and down, her eyes focusing for a second on his happy wagging tail. "Lady A. is busy at the moment. You can fill a form to schedule a reunion once she has some free time, which would be in around 3 weeks."

"Come on, mochi," He pleaded. He flickered his ears, his tail calming just a little, "I wouldn't be here to bother the Berceuse without a good reason. Also I would like to see you too more often. Care for a date?"

"You could also fill a form to schedule a meeting with me. For not Lullaby's related stuff I may have time once all our projects are done however long that takes." She smirked, adjusting her glasses, "but if really urgent for you to see Lady A soon, you could also come in 6 time changes for the general audience at the cathedral"

"Well, I only came here because I was told to give my report regarding the 3rd foreigner directly to Lady A." He cheerfully grinned, his tail still wagging quite a bit.

The receptionist stopped for a moment what she was doing and pressed the intercom. "I'm sorry to interrupt your experiments, Lady Aria, but the security chief for the Amusement Park is here to report about the third foreigner under his surveillance."

A second later, a feminine voice that sounded digitized spoke. "Let him in."

The receptionist released the intercom button and looked at Rico. "You heard the Boss, go in and don't waste her time."

"Thank you, mochi," Fiore smiled.

Fiore quickened his pace down the hall, feeling his clock race in his complete and utter excitement. He, Fiore Rico Barone Cerqueira, was about to meet the wonderful Berceuse for the second time in his life! He came to a stop besides the door, taking some deep breaths to calm himself before bringing his hand up to knock. Before he could, however, bright surges of light and crackle of electricity filled the air, making him hesitate before knocking. "Greetings, my Lady, I have news regarding the third foreigner, Jackeline Penske."

The door opened on it's own to let him in, and when he entered, he saw the Berceuse wearing a lab coat, taking off her goggles to look at him while a strange red and gold fish swam around in the tank behind her; which was rather odd in itself but would not have been as odd if very powerful electrical cords weren't inside of the tank, making the water glow with the amount of electricity within it.

He gave a polite bow and waited for her to speak first while his senses basket in her presence. Her scent was still as he remembered, ozone or static electricity.

Her voice came from everywhere around the room. "Fiore Rico Barone Cerqueira, the maned wolf. Current post: Chief executive operative for the amusement. Undercover as security chief for the park's underground projects. Secondary mission: Surveillance and protection of the third foreigner Jackie Penske. Main business appliance and talent: Chef at the 'Royal staircase'." She walked towards her desk and leaned towards him. "How have you been? I got notice that you've been trying the recipes I sent you from the sweet breads and other desserts from my world. Seems they are successful. Good job."

Fiore's heart nearly stopped in his excitement, feeling his tail wag no matter how he tried to corral it. "Y-Yes, and I am very happy and grateful you trust me with such delicate recipes!" He happily cried, bowing towards her in excitement.

Aria Hadron Scherzi, the Berceuse, chuckled as she saw his fluffy tail wag and remembered what his species was. She wasn't a mere foreigner anymore, but the extent and influence her mere presence was causing in Wonderland around her was more than she anticipated. "How would I not? Your talent for all sweet stuff in magnificent."

Fiore looked taken aback, startled that she knew him but felt an incredible surge of warmth and happiness, "you flatter me, Berceuse." He said, his ears turning turn in embarrassment while his tail wagged back and forth.

"I would have liked if you brought some of your pastries, though." She offhandedly noted.

"I-I apologize for that. In my run to arrive here and give my report, I did not think to bring some. I will bring as many as you may desire next time, however." He promised her, frightened that not even three large cart fulls would earn his forgiveness. "I am grateful my pastries are to your liking."

She turned of the electricity off the water tank. Surprisingly the fish was still alive. "Well, back to business you wouldn't have been sent to me unless you had something important to tell me."

"I beg your pardon, Berceuse, but I have information directly regarding Ms. Penske, the 3rd foreigner, for you." Fiore said, wagging his tail still.

"Not that I don't like your fluffy presence, Rico, but why are you the one reporting directly to me?" She knew that the security chief for the territory would not have sent any of the security zone chiefs directly to her if it wasn't for a good reason.

"She ordered that I come myself and report directly to you instead." He sheepishly smiled, appearing quite happy.

"And why is that?" Aria asked with a raised eyebrow. However care-free this pup was, she knew he was nervous.

"Well, for one, I am to report to you directly and tell you that my time manipulation time has increased." He happily announced.

Aria's eyes widened just slightly, which in her case meant great surprise. She hadn't gotten much time to experiment more on him, but this was perhaps worth more time. "Explain."

"During my report to Sour Apple, we had a small sparring contest as we usually do." He explained happily, not bothering to mention about her attempted murders, "and as I dodged her attack, I took exactly 2 and a half steps more than I could before, increasing my ability another .5 seconds." He happily and fully answered.

"That is interesting. I'll call you later to observe better this, but how is that related with Jackie Penske?" In truth she was delighted. His experiment had been a success, limited in time but incredibly successful.

"Because I slept with the foreigner." Rico answered with a sheepish smile, trying not to allow his face to crack under the pressure but his tail went between his legs.

" … BULLSHIT, THAT PRUDE GOT LAID?!" The Berceuse lost her composure, her mouth agape and her eyes wide. Few would ever see such a shocked expression from the almost mechanical woman.

"But I did … last night … she was drunk and I took her to my home after killing 3 faceless trying to do unknown things to her." He answered, his tail wagging, "after I took her home, she simply could not keep her hands off of me and one thing led to another before we shared quite a lovely night together. In the morning she left out the window but she was quite hungover." He sadly reported with his ears lowering just a tad

"Prude started it? And she was drunk?!" Aria's surprise kept on, her normally stoic face showing the confusion she was experiencing. She had no reason to believe her loyal card would be lying to her and his reputation was that of someone who liked to make love to many women.

"Yes, quite a bit." He answered, resigning himself to his fate of something perhaps worse than death. He really had no idea how the Berceuse would react but whatever she did, he would accept without complaint.

"WELL DONE, FIORE!" Aria beamed. "Now come here! You deserve a reward."

"Eh?" Fiore said, perking up in surprise. His large ears turned towards her, confused and wondering if he misheard his great Berceuse. D-Did … she just say reward?

Aria first grabbed d his big fluffy ears and began to rub them softly but firmly, petting him nicely. "That was a very good move; I'm so happy that you got that prude laid. Who knows? You may even be able to capture her. Maybe even win her game. I'm gonna give you mana." She began humming a small tune, concentrating with each hum and focusing on desiring the power and intent of her glee at the news that her operative have gotten that prude of a contracted friend to loosen up. She began focusing more and more mana on him, keeping a hand caressing an ear while she slid her other hand along his jaw, tracing his lips and then moving over his clock, where she began focusing her mana output, the tune no longer a hum but a melody that pumped and fixed power in his being with each note.

Fiore's lips parted, stiff as an electrical surge of adrenaline pumped through his body, making his entire physical being feel light as a feather. Between his lips he loudly yowled, startled as he grasped her wrists from the pure energy wriggling through his system and centering over his burning chest. The sensation was almost too great for him as his legs buckled, making him fall to his knees in a silent scream of both excitement and fear; excitement at the pleasure and enlightenment his body was experiencing and fear at the deepness of the penetration that shook him to his very clock with power that altered his very existence while providing him with utmost electrifying pleasure.

Aria continued the song, observing him under the lenses implanted in her eyes, noticing how a bit more substance fixed into his existence, making him a bit more real of a character in this world. And when she finally finished the song, she took a step back to look at him wilting in pleasure, with his mouth open, his tongue lolling out and his tail wagging like a tornado of happiness. "Seems like you enjoyed that part of your reward."

His shoulders shuddered a bit before he fell onto the ground and looked as if he would melt into the floor. Fiore struggled to answer her but he was still drowning in just the mere experience of being touched by his Berceuse's precious mana. He, Fiore Rico Barone Cerqueira, was deemed worthy enough by The Berceuse to be imbued with some of her mana.

"I'll create some nice items for you you later. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go be a good recipient of the friend contract." Aria said, patting his head and then waking out of the room. She needed to celebrate that she was helping Jackeline as stated in their friendship contract while being able to experiment in new ways along the way. (I'm such a good friend)

Fiore stayed on the ground, his leg twitching continually in pleasure as he let out short, fast whines of happiness, his head spinning. He felt his power increase greatly and he could not express just how joyous he was of this event. While he wanted to go directly back to work to better serve the Lullaby, he wanted to last in this sensation of knowing that with his new power he could better serve the Lullaby. He kissed his knuckles right over his ring tattoo, feeling particularly blessed by his precious Berceuse. He would not fail her.

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Jackie let out an aching sigh as she finally pulled herself out of the shower, awkwardly walking as every inch of skin on her body burned. She scrubbed herself so much that her skin was now red and deprived of way too many skin cells. Her attempt to scrub off all feelings of that stickiness from before left her stiff and disgusted, still feeling that stickiness and alcoholic stence all over her body; she hated it. With a disgusted shiver she pulled on some clothes, towel drying her hair a little bit before stepping out into her room.

Party poppers exploded as soon as she came in. "CONGRATS ON LETTING GO OF YOUR PRUDENESS!" Aria stood in the middle of the room, a bunch of shadow arms holding a bunch of poopers, various bottles of wine ready in a side table and Aria's expression super happy "WELCOME TO REAL WOMANHOOD, EX-PRUDE!"

Jackie stopped dead in her tracks, staring at Aria in complete silence as she saw the minimal decorations around her room, along with a large mess of the party poppers all over the floor. Her face paled, mortified but tried her best to hide it as she awkwardly looking away, "I-I-I-I don't kn-know what you're talking about," Jackie said, trembling as she tried to think how the hell she found out … unless Boris had something to do with it.

"Oh, c'mon. According to the article 117 of our contract, important events should be discussed and an appropriate response should be given. In this case, you finally slept with someone and drank some real drinks!" She applauded … with many shadow hands behind her mimicking the motion to create a big applause. "I also congratulate you in your non-Role Holder choice."

" … well, sorry to burst your bubble, Aria, but nothing happened," Jackie assured her, walking over to her closet and pulling on her work uniform. Despite Jackie's attempt to calm herself with her words, the burning skin signified that it was perhaps not true. Something … probably did happen and whether she couldn't remember it or not didn't matter.

"Evidence and testimonies differ," Aria dropped herself on the bed, "you apparently were drunk after the party and jumped a nice guy." Aria grinned.

"Aria, I … I-I don't remember anything." Jackie admitted, turning to look at her with a teary gaze, her hands trembling, "I-I-I-I really can't remember anything, Aria!" Jackie cried, bursting out into frightened tears. "How the hell could this happen?! I didn't have anything to drink at that stupid party!" Jackie cried, startling Aria by the sudden outburst.

"You didn't?" Aria scratched her chin and pulled Jackie on the bed to examine her. "Let me see."

"I hate the taste of alcohol, it disgusts me and you know that!" Jackie cried, deeply sniffling as Aria poked and prodded at her. "I-I mean, I m-mean, Aria, why can't I remember anything?! I left the party after feeling light headed and then I end up in some random guy's bed?!" Jackie shouted, finally feeling safe enough to break down in tears.

"Jackie … did you really drink nothing? Forget alcohol; anything?" Aria then pulled down Jackie's pants. "If you say you were feeling light headed then you might have consumed something after all. Foreigners are targets, after all."

"No, I didn't! A-A-All I had was tap water in a cup I brought myself! ... what are you doing?" Jackie asked, sniffling as Aria tossed the engineer's shorts aside, startling her.

"Why is your skin so red?" Aria mentioned while trying to control a smirk from coming up.

"M-My skin felt disgustingly sticky so I went a-an-and scrubbed it all off in the stupid bath." Jackie said, gesturing towards the bathroom rather pathetically as she tried to rub the tears out of her eyes.

"Sticky?" Aria raised an eyebrow and her smirk returned fully, then she put her hand between Jackie's legs. "Do you want me to ... check more deeply?"

"Ch-Check what?" Jackie asked, confused and obviously distressed.

In a sudden moment of tactful execution, Aria pulled herself over Jackie. "Listen to what I think happened. Someone drugged the so called water you took at the party. After that you did get drunk and stumbled upon this guy. And from what I've learned so far, you assaulted him and took to bed in his house. You two had sex and then you ran away." She tilted her head and then rolled of Jackie to bring back a bottle of lotion that she slurped over Jackie's red skin. "So, you were the one who took the guy to bed, which gives you +10 points." Then she considered more, "were you sticky between your legs?"

"I was sticky just about e-everywhere." Jackie explained, happy that at least one person was listening to her. "I'm wondering if I spilled some alcohol on me or something."

"Jackie? Semen is sticky." Aria stated with a straight face. "Minus 10 points for not knowing that."

"Ugh! Don't talk about it! I don't want to hear it!" Jackie shouted, falling face first into her pillow before letting out an aggravated and whining groan of despair. "Aria, what the hell am I going to do?" Jackie cried out loud, "I have no idea about this stuff, I don't even know what to do now!"

"You are going to put that lotion on your body." Aria rummaged in the pockets and compartments of her armor, looking for something.

"W-Wh-Why?" Jackie asked, turning to her with red puffy eyes.

"Because your skin is super red and I already dripped it over you. So start rubbing yourself while I explain stuff and continue telling you things like 'told you so'." Aria said, getting primed and prepped to give a lecture.

"F-Fine." Jackie pouted, still huffy and very upset as she began rubbing in the lotion to her painfully screaming skin.

"First of all, face it. You raped- got laid with a guy. How did he act in the morning?" Aria questioned.

" … I'm not really sure. It's still fuzzy." Jackie admitted, rubbing the lotion in still.

"What you remember?" Aria then grabbed a little bottle and shook it, making sure it still had some left.

"Well … I remember waking up … he offered coffee, I think." Jackie said, glancing off to the side in thought, "I … well, weirdly I thought I was still dreaming. I still thought it was a bad dream until he brought me my bra during work." Jackie frowned.

"That's nice. I also heard that he looked for you some time later. Why? What did he say?" She took two pills from the bottle, "and open your mouth. You probably want to swallow these pills."

" … that he was a perverted creeper who takes advantage of drunk girls." Jackie summed up, "or whatever I was last night," she noted, staring at the pills. "What are those?"

"You said you must likely had bareback sex with the guy, no? These are the pills for that." Aria put the pills into Jackie's mouth and a tendril of darkness passed the other girl a glass of water to help her swallow while Aria crossed her arms, not really doubting that statement from her operative. "Did he? What exactly did he say or do?" Aria again asked, watching as Jackie's eyes grow large as she swallowed.

"WE DIDN'T WEAR A CONDOM!" Jackie almost shrieked, "Aria, what am I going to do?! Am I getting a baby in my belly or, o-o-or can we even have kids here?!" Jackie shouted, freaking out.

Aria gave a 'friendly' slap to Jackie, making Jackie shy back in surprise as Aria held up a finger. "Calm down and let me impart some experienced female knowledge."

"O-Okay." Jackie whined and sniffled before rubbing her eyes to clear away the tears.

She tapped Jackie's nose. "First, you might not be on the fertile part of the menstrual cycle or you might permanently be on it while staying in this world." She crossed her arms, "I have not researched that because I have an IUD with hormonal control, a control chip with chemical distributions and way too many safe and protections. Also, Alice is already with Blood and it would be useless to research her. However, in your case, if you've been menstruating then your cycle is normal. In any case I just gave you happy pills for that, so don't worry." The mercenary waved her hands ambiguously with a slight roll of the eyes, "but regarding your other question, yes, you can have descendants in this world by traditional reproductive means, in fact it's part of the objectives of the game even if almost no one is aware of that."

"B-Bu-But will I be alright?! What am I going to do?! I'm not ready to be a mother!" Jackie cried, her hysteria creeping back in again. "This is really freaking me out, Aria!"

Aria pat Jackie's head a bit too hard. "You swallowed the happy pills, so be happy. You should explore the fun of getting laid so forget about mother stuff for now. For real, look at me. How many times have you caught me with you know who? So far and so long I won't be ruining my life. But if you have puppies I'll be glad to offer medical support as stated in chapter 13, section 356 of the friendship contract, also I would adopt the puppies in my organization if you want me to; so don't worry and have fun. But first tell me more about this guy and what happened when he came looking for you." Aria very calmly asked, wanting to get more information out of the ex-prude.

Jackie shivered, still frightened before she forced her mind to the matter at hand. "He came by and just gave me back my bra and shoe. He offered to talk some more before I left to go retrace my steps and try to figure out what happened." Jackie frowned, "he basically said that I threw myself onto him and that I was holding a bottle but I left the party with a paper cup." Jackie frowned before pausing, "wait! He said he still has that bottle." Jackie said, snapping her fingers as though it were a 'eureka' moment.

Aria turned to look at Jackie with a grin, "get that bottle and I can analyze it! There is the alcohol," Aria mentioned while pacing around. "You were drugged with whatever was in the bottle of alcohol."

"Aria, I left the party with a paper cup, not a bottle!" Jackie reminded her, "I have no idea where the bottle came from. Gowland doesn't even drink vodka." Jackie said before her hopes raised, "you'd do that?" Jackie said, hopeful.

"Jackie, it was a super big party. Everyone was there and everyone brought alcohol. Slipping a bottle with something else would not have been difficult." Aria then paused to think about it. "And yes, I'll analyze it if you get it, but you need to give me a sample of blood now so extend your arm." Aria pulled out a needle from nowhere.

"Blood?" Jackie asked, startled.

"Of course. I need to analyze whatever is in your system now, duh!" Aria pulled on Jackie's arm to stick the needle connected to a big blood bag.

"Ow." Jackie hissed under her breath as she began drawing blood.

"And you should also apologize to the guy. He helped you during the night, took your drunk ass home, prepared you coffee and even went to give back your stuff."

"Yeah, and took advantage of me." Jackie deeply frowned, looking away awkwardly. She had no idea how to react in this kind of situation.

"Actually it sounded more like you took advantage of him." Aria rolled her eyes.

"I highly doubt that." Jackie frowned.

"Why? Do you have some stupid primitive preconception that girls can't sexually take advantage of guys?" Aria chuckled. "I tell you we are pretty capable of that."

The way Aria spoke made Jackie think she had experience somehow with that as she shivered a bit, deciding not to comment, "I've never even been with a guy before and now I suddenly wake up in bed next to one?"

"You haven't been drunk and drugged too at the same time before." Atia pointed out.

"I have been both of those thanks to Gowland's stupid 'get drunk fast' experiments." Jackie huffed. "I took that by accident. It was horrible." She grimaced, gagging in remembrance of the experiment. She took it by mistake but that didn't change the fact he made one.

"Do you want me to get revenge on Gowland for you?" Aria smiled darkly, "he would be an interesting test subject."

"Absolutely not." Jackie stated with her arms in an X formation.

"Well, in any case you should go speak with the guy and get that bottle. Also if you listen to what he has to say you can get a better idea of what really happened." She then relaxed her smile. "And now that you're not a prude anymore, and because I know that you are too much into this marriage, marriage, marriage, yada, yada, yada stuff, do you want me to see who is this guy and negotiate him to marry you?"

"What?! I-I have no interest in him like that." Jackie said, startled. In all honesty, she wanted nothing to do with him and pretend it never happened. Well … not that it changes what actually happened.

"But you have said around 6,452 times that you would only save sex with a guy for marriage… or things of the sort. Thus you surely want to marry now don't you? Plus he seems like a good guy. He prepared coffee and then looked for you to give you your stuff back and talk to you." Aria suggested.

" … ugh, I really don't know anymore." Jackie heavily sighed, rubbing her head in annoyance. "My head is a mess right now. And yeah, I was planning on it but now … ugh." Jackie groaned.

"I'll see my contacts and have him marry you to salvage your stupid original ideals!" Aria declared among evil chuckles.

"What?! No, no Aria don't get involved with this. I-I really appreciate and all but this is my business." Jackie said, now suddenly worried for the mystery guy's safety.

"And as your best female friend and due to the clause 89 of our contract now it's my business too. Besides, you are involved already."

" … A-Aria, look, just let me talk to him first, alright?" Jackie said, now suddenly very uneasy. Aria was quite terrifying … that poor faceless is probably going to die somehow.

"Alright. I'll let you speak to him first. You get that bottle and also find out as much information as you can about the guy. Anything you know already?" Aria asked, finding it fun to know everything while Jackie was still struggling to figure things out and catch up.

"Well, I know he runs a bakery near the Amusement Park east gate across the park. I saw the front of the store after I snuck out of the 3rd story window."

"Jackie, the only bakery on that place is the the Imperial staircase. That is the most exclusive bakery in Clover country." Aria said quite seriously, playing up her card while holding back a grin.

"Really?" Jackie asked, surprised.

"Yes. Vivaldi's favorite pastries and treats come from there and they sell to the most the most 'outstanding' clients. Of course anyone can go and buy at the place, but not everyone can afford their delicacies. However you should go and, 1- speak with the guy, and 2- try some of their chocolates." Aria explained before she noticed the bag of blood was filled and she removed the needle.

"Ouch," Jackie hissed as Aria sealed the blood bag.

Aria put the tip of Jackie's towel over the dot and pressed against it. "Just go and taste those deliciousness."

"Yeah, as if I would have enough money to afford one." Jackie sighed, "I'd rather spend it on clothes or something more practical."

Aria rolled her eyes. "Even for someone that loves money so much as me, I do treat myself to some mango mousse from them every once in awhile." She then thought on an idea, "do you like sweet stuff?"

"I love it, of course." Jackie answered, stating it as though it were obvious.

"Alright. And only because you just had a breakdown." Aria looked in her armor compartments and took out some piece of paper and then wrote something on it. Then shadows formed an envelope on it to seal it. "Give that to the manager. I sold them a couple recipes from desserts from our world and I told them I'll give them more later. So I'll have them treat you some desserts in exchange."

"Really? What kind?" Jackie asked, suddenly very eager.

"None that your little gringa experience would ever even heard about. But very delicious, nonetheless."

"Alright, I'll go do that now. Thank you, Aria." Jackie grinned, hugging her closest female friend in Wonderland.

"Mmhh … what should be an appropriate response now?" Aria asked, hesitant.

"To hug me back; I'm thanking you." Jackie grinned.

"Must I?"

"You better." Jackie said, hugging her more tightly.

Very awkwardly and hesitantly Aria passed her hand to Jackie's back. "Mmhh … are you open now to some more sexual experimentation?"

"NO." Jackie stated in a very hard and firm voice.

"Then go get that bottle and some candies."

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Jackie stared at the front of the pastry shop, trying to brace herself for what's to come. First, the sweets, and then, the … guy … dog… fox...canine … person. She heavily groaned and dragged her fingers through her hair, trying to make herself look more presentable as she hesitantly entered the building.

The place was a palace of splendor with golden lights above the stonework of the walls and ceiling. A huge staircase covered with presentations of the goods in the shop combined with trees of trays with different desserts,treat and pastries. Colorful sets of diverse products were arrayed over ostentatious tables with silver cutlery and golden embroideries of the image of a card's 'imperial flush' as motif for the store. But all the amazing sighs did not compare to the smells that filled the air and melted the senses of any customer that came in. The variety was amazing and the section dedicated to products traditional to wonderland palled in comparison to the 'revival styles' brought from recipes of the foreigner world. Accompanied by small flags near the trays were Algerian almond cookies, Persian rose-scented sweet, Rice with milk and capirotadas, Turkish nut and phyllo sweet pastry, Indian sweet chickpea flour balls and many others that Jackie had never even heard about. All of those not even looking as inviting as the fine selection of chocolates; or, as it was announced here, Xocolatl.

Jackie stared at the large selection, drooling over just how many sweets there were. She couldn't believe that she had somehow missed this place the last time she came to Clover unless it recently opened up. So distracted with the sweets, she did not realize the strange looks the other customers gave her; in comparison to their high class outfits, she was still in her oil stained uniform for the Amusement Park.

A clerk approached Jackie. "Welcome to the Imperial Staircase, miss. May I suggest one of our most favored wide selections?" The woman then led Jackie to an isle that although was still fancy, did look like it held the cheapest items, which still were far more expensive than any of Jackie's full meals would cost.

"Well, thank you, but I'm actually here for the manager," Jackie said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out the envelope with Aria's seal, "my friend told me to give this to the manager here." She cheerfully smiled. After dealing with the manager she'd go ahead and ask for … what was his name? She really, really didn't feel like dealing with him right now.

The clerk's expression widened upon seeing the black envelope and the seal. Making her gasp and tightly grasp the letter before running into the back, startling Jackie and making her think Aria has threatened this place before before coming back. "Right away, miss. Please come," the woman smiled. Jackie was then led through a back door and then to a smaller staircase that led to an office. "Please wait for a second, miss. The manager was busy baking some goods but he'll be up here in no time. Would you like a coffee in the meantime?"

"Oh, uh, yes, thank you." Jackie smiled. If this place wasn't so fancy she would decline but how could she possibly decline fancy coffee?

"Some preference? Dark, cappuccino, moka?" She offered, suddenly quite friendly.

"Anything sweet." Jackie smiled.

She was served a cappuccino with cajeta rims inside a jar with the logo of the place and served a small plate with 5 different micro cakes before she was left alone.

Jackie stared at the amazing looking coffee mug alone along with the design on the coffee itself. You know it's a fancy place when they make little designs in the top. Jackie hummed with a satisfied smile, poking her finger into it to test its hotness before waving her hand, finding it too hot for now.

The door opened behind Jackie. "Alright. Who is looking for me?" When Jackie turned around, she saw the same guy from the 'incident' in full chef's attire. The sight startled her as her eyes burst open, startled as she wordlessly stared at him. Her heart dropped into her gut, as if wanting to hide and never look back. She tried to speak but couldn't manage any words much less what to say.

"Oh, it's you, my sugar bun." The dog faceless smiled and went to the chair behind the desk, letting flour and sugar drop everywhere around as he walked. "So? What's up?"

"U-Um … r-r-right, well, uh, you said you still have that bottle, right? F-From that uh, night?" Jackie asked, looking away and not meeting his eye-less gaze. She felt extremely awkward and really unsure how to talk with him.

"Mhh … yes, up in my apartment. But did you call the manager for that?" He asked as he leaned on his chair, watching her behavior closely.

"Well, no. I was going to call for you next after that." Jackie grimaced, "Aria gave me that letter to give to the manager.

"You speak to the Ber… to My Lady, by name!?" He looked surprised and took out the letter. He hadn't even opened it yet but he did so right away.

"Well yeah, that's her name." Jackie said, baffled by his sudden shock. He acted like it was blasphemy to say her name.

He read the letter a couple times silently, burning the words into his memory;

Fiore Rico Barone Cerqueira

Congratulations on getting inside the prude's pants. Do so again and as often as possible. Make sure it works, be nice and charming. She is weak against sweets, so use that to your advantage. You will report on this to me directly from now on. Your other duties still stand. Good luck.

Berceuse

After reading it once more time and noticing how the shadows curled around his finger like a new ring; he stood up. "Wait here, Jackie. I'll be back right away."

"Uh, alright?" Jackie said, surprised before he dashed out of the room.

Jackie stared at the door, puzzled before looking back and around his office a bit. She swung her feet a little bit, bored as she sipped at the cooled coffee, finding the taste irresistibly sweet and tasty.

A minute later he returned. In his arms a big basket full of the Imperial Staircase's products in his arms. From fine bread to small chocolates in golden and silver envelopes.

The lust and glutton desire was immediate on Jackie's face as she stared at the expensive chocolates, knowing that it all had to be easily worth almost 100 Time Changes worth of pay. She was shocked that a single letter from Aria got her so many things; she was going to have to try and suck up to Aria a little more often, if possible.

He noticed her gaze fixated on the basket and moved it to his other side, her eyes trailing the basket. He also noticed her eyes were red, possibly from crying, which made him feel bad enough for making a mental note to go and get a more detailed file on her later to learn more about the foreigner. He placed the basket on the desk and took out a marble sized chocolate. "Let's start again. I'm Fiore Rico Barone Cerqueira, owner, manager and main chef of the 'Imperial Staircase' part times. Nice to meet you … formally and again." He extended his hand with the chocolate in it.

Jackie hesitated, surprised before sheepishly smiled back and shook his hand, "and I'm Jackie Penske, chief engineer of the Amusement Park." Jackie introduced herself, feeling a little bit better in the formal greeting. She felt stiff and uneasy but she would simply have to get over it; she needed to get that bottle. She shook his hand and touched the chocolate, which he left in her hand.

"Try that chocolate. It has almond cuts inside surrounded by wined chocolate under the dark chocolate and cookie crust." He explained with a beautiful smile as Jackie's mouth began drooling.

"Thanks," Jackie said, hesitating before popping it into her mouth. The immediate melting touch of the chocolate made her pupils widen in immediate adoration for the chocolate, drooling in her mouth as she just let it melt; no chewing required.

"Was it good? It's one of our more recent recipes." He smiled all too charmingly. My Lady, as always, was spot on. And now knowing Jackie's weakness, he intended on exploiting it thoroughly before he reached her heart.

" … I don't think I can ever eat normal chocolate again." Jackie admitted, hanging her head in amazement at just how great a single piece of chocolate could taste.

He chuckled, "I'm glad you like it. It took me some tweaking on the wine quantities to get the inside so smooth." He then grabbed another chocolate. This one was of the same size than the last one but had a triangular shape. "Are you feeling better? At least more calm?"

"Y-Yeah, a little better." Jackie admitted with a forced smile, "can we get that bottle? Aria wants it." Jackie said, standing up with her eyes on the basket.

He looked at her. "Alright, let's go up to my apartment. But promise me you'll accept the coffee this time and won't jump out of the window?" He playfully questioned.

"No promises." Jackie said, glancing up at him with a faint and teasing smile. It was impossible to remain tense around such a carefree guy; even if they did the, well, yeah.

"But this chocolates taste great with coffee. You hadn't even touched your cappuccino," he pouted and then passed her triangular chocolate. "Try it and then take a drink of your coffee."

"Okay." Jackie said, eating the small triangular chocolate before taking a sip. The immediate splash of hot coffee mixing with the chocolate made her head spin in amazement at the combination of the taste.

"See? Besides, we should probably speak about stuff and that will take more than one coffee and more chocolates," he signals to the basket. "I also want to talk too. So can we talk, please?"

"Talk … about what, exactly?" Jackie asked, clearly uneasy. She didn't want to talk at all; she just wanted to grab the bottle and make a run for it. But the taste was also just too good.

"Well, I don't think you were lying about drinking water but you did have that bottle. Don't you want to hear my version?" He opened a small metal cube and pressed it over his palm, some small white chocolate pearls appearing as he extended his palm to Jackie for her to try them.

" … yeah, I do." Jackie admitted with a grimace, hesitating before taking the chocolate from his hand and popped it into her mouth. She let out a soft sigh, closing her eyes for a few moments and feeling the delicious chocolate melt over her mouth. She knew she was in trouble; this chocolate tasted more than amazing. She took another sip of the coffee, her mind beginning to feel odd and fuzzy. "Does the coffee have anything else in it?" Jackie asked, puzzled as she took another sip to taste a strange aftertaste.

"If Brenda prepared it then it probably has a little Brandy or Kahlua to make it better." Fiore flickered his ears. "Does it tastes bad? It normally is a very good coffee."

" … oh." Jackie said, tilting forward ever so slightly as she set the mug down. Gross … is what she wanted to say but it tasted pretty good. She reached up, rubbing her head rather achingly, "yeah, it just tastes a little … off." Jackie admitted as she stared at his belt buckle, feeling her cheeks turn red. When she 'attacked' him … did she rip that off?

"It does? Let me try it." He took the coffee and gave it a taste, licking his lips. "It tastes normal. A bit of Kahlua and brandy in the nothing more."

"I feel … dizzy and hot." Jackie admitted, standing up and holding her head. Her heart was racing and she had a terrible feeling that something was about to go very wrong. She could sense it but she just couldn't muster up the energy to run. All she could do was stand there and try not to fall over. Her eyes turned to his neck, staring at the slightly perspiration drops that accumulated through working in the head of the kitchen and baking.

He took another sip "I don't." He stood up from his seat and moved to check on her. "Are you alright?" As soon as he as close and caught on her scent, he felt some anxiety build up. He held her by the shoulders and approached his nose to her neck. "Your scent… it's hot." He began feeling something was off, he was getting light in the head, like last time when they hit it in his apartment.

Without warning Jackie's hands shot forward, startling him as she grabbed his shirt. The suddenness of the attack and her weight shoving against him made him fall back against the wall as she fell onto him, tightly clutching his chef's uniform as his hat fell onto the ground. Fiore tensed up, startled as Jackie's plush lips pressed against his neck, sucking at his skin while licking at his sweat.

"Not that I'm complaining, but why … ?" He was quieted when Jackie kissed his mouth instead, and when he tasted the rich coffee and liquors, he lost it, kissing her back and tightly hugging her against himself. His tongue slid against hers, hardly aware of her back leg slipping behind his. With a staggering step they both fell over onto the ground with Jackie gripping his shoulders tightly before their lips parted, looking to one another while heavily panting before she pulled his head up and more deeply kissed against him with a groan while her hand grabbed around his stomach in search for his belt. Fiore's leg began kicking as she scratched a particular nerve, making him kick his desk quite a few times before knocking it over with all his paperwork and the basket of sweets onto the ground.

The door suddenly opened as another chef peeked inside, seeing the overturned desk and the two bodies tangled together. She stared, her mouth in open shock before she hesitantly chimed it, "hey I heard some noises from the other office. … um …Boss, you're still on office hours so … well, okay, um … bye, I guess." She said, seeing neither was stopping anytime soon. The moment the young foreigner began unbuckling Fiore's pants the faceless let out a squeak, blushing deeply before locking the door from the inside and quickly closing it to give them their privacy. After listening for a few more moments she let out a heavy sigh. "Oh Fiore, you going to be in lots of trouble later if you mess with a foreigner. That puts you on every Role Holder's hit list."

The young worker listened for a little longer but the deep heavings quickly made her leave with a deep blush, hoping this won't get out. A foreigner with a faceless? Who'd ever thought?

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Not that long later Fiore woke up, still dizzy and on the floor. With a groan he sat up, rubbing his head before noticing the lovely foreigner's face right between his legs and over his crotch, knocked out cold. To half his disappointment, he still had his pants on and so did she, albeit they were unbuckled and the rest of their clothes were in complete disarray, he wasn't wearing a shirt and from what he saw, her bra was not in place either. "Hey, Sugar Bun, wake up." He gently moved her head.

Jackie groaned, shifting and keeping her eyes closed as she nestled closer against his crotch to rest longer. Her fingers curled as her hand moved, pushing against him to get more comfortable as he let out a small hum.

"I would enjoy this more if you would open your eyes, Sugar Bun." Fiore softly whispered into her ear, sneakily smiling before kissing her ear.

The engineer cracked her eyes open, puzzled before she raised herself up a bit and rubbed her eyes. She groggily stared at what was her pillow, taking a few moments before realizing where she was. With a sharp and startled gasp she flew back, crawling back and away from him before noticing her loose bra, "w-what happened?!" She cried, startled as she turned away from him and quickly righted her clothes. Why was her work suit open and w-why was she sleeping on his crotch?!

"We were speaking and then you got dizzy. After I tried the coffee too I also got hot but not as much because I only took a couple sips, then you jumped me and we started making out." He explained while getting up and accommodating his clothes, not bothering to button up the shirt over his well toned chest.

"I did-?!" Jackie gasped, covering her mouth in horror as she could remember most of it rather well. She quickly zipped up her suit, blushing quite deeply, "I-I-I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to uh, d-do that." Jackie stuttered, thoroughly embarrassed. How did this happen again?!

"Yes, but since our pants are on I think we somehow fell asleep. I think it was the liquor in the coffee that triggered and the vodka last night but I'm not sure." He scratched his head, puzzled.

"I-I'm really, sorry, bu-but I should probably go now." Jackie said, planning to make a quick getaway from this thoroughly embarrassing situation. This was ridiculous! How in the hell did something like this happen?!

"I'm not sorry at all, even though whatever drug you had you passed it on me." He smiled goofily as Jackie stopped short, looking back at him with wide eyes. "Don't go, we should discuss this and what happened the other night, plus you want that bottle, so let's go upstairs." He hummed.

Jackie stared at him in silence, glancing away in thought. Well … he's not wrong. And now whatever she was drugged with, he had too because of her so really they're in the same boat. She lightly shivered, not wanting to go through with this but knowing that she had to. It was her fault he was infected now and she needed to know what happened. She couldn't leave now. "A-Alright."

"Excellent!" He grabbed the basket and stood up, walking out the door. "Follow me and bring what remains of the coffee. We'll figure all this out while we end up the basket, after that you can take some other treats from the store." He began picking up all the goods that had fallen of the basket and placing them where they should be.

"Are you sure that's alright?" Jackie asked, helping him pick up the chocolates and papers from his desk. She was not willing to pay a dime for any chocolate herself; if she did, she'd be in debt quite quickly.

"We owe much to Lady Hadron, so some treats would be fine even if a small one at a time for every time you visit. If my accountant complains … and she will, I'll just have to prepare more for her or to replace them."

"I will have to be careful how many times I come, then. With chocolate this delicious it's amazing no one working here is rolling around instead of walking." Jackie lightly laughed, trying to lighten herself up.

"On the contrary, you should come often from now on, agreed? The Berceuse says the treats from our store are good for a foreigner. And since you apparently made a deal with her, you shouldn't waste her graceful efforts and generosity." He walked some other stairs and reached a door. "Would you please get the keys from my left pocket and open the door? It's the blue one."

"Hmmm~ I'm starting to wonder if she's plotting to get me fat." Jackie stated, trying to laugh but couldn't help but wonder if there was truth to it. After that very sudden and weird, uh, making out session, it's made this whole coming to learn his side of the story and get the bottle a lot more awkward. "Yeah, sure." Jackie said, reaching into his left back pocket. As she grabbed the keys, she couldn't help but blush; she couldn't get the image of his impossibly round and firm butt out of her head. "Here." She said, opening the door for him.

He went to the tall bar table on the kitchen and set the basket down. Then he pointed to the counter, where a cheap vodka bottle stood, empty. "That is the bottle."

Jackie stared at it, frowning as she grabbed the neck of the bottle to twist it around in her hand, getting a better look at it. "When you said earlier that I threw myself at you, what exactly do you mean? What happened right before we met?" Jackie asked, feeling a cold shudder down her spine.

He motioned her to sit down in the bar stool in front of him and took set the table before taking out one of the pastries; a long bread covered with white powdered sugar. "Sit down and try this while I explain. But first let me prepare myself a coffee; without alcohol, since it appears it's a trigger of the strange drug." He prepared some dark coffee for himself with the coffee machine he had in his kitchen before sitting down across from her. "Last night I was going on the backstreets near the party when I heard a small commotion. I would have passed up but I heard a girl's loud complaints."

"Okay, and what else?" Jackie asked, eager to learn what happened in more detail from his end of things.

"I, of course, went to see if said woman needed help and it turned out that you did." He motioned to her coffee.

"And?" Jackie encouraged him to continue, not understanding why he was taking so many pauses other than to drag this out.

"Well, you were between 3 guys that were half dragging you somewhere but I believe it was you who was grabbing them; and you were complaining because you wanted more fun." He smiled, "I asked if everything was alright and then one of them grabbed a knife and pointed it at you while the other two attacked me."

"A knife?" Jackie asked, startled. How could she not remember anything like that? She frowned, deeply disturbed as she realized just how much danger she was in. "Are you alright? Did you get hurt?" Jackie asked, unsure if he had gotten hurt at all.

"No, I was just fine." He smiled before chuckling, "you laughed about the 'pointy stick'. That's when I knew you were completely wasted." He passed her a new treat. "Eat that one. The sweets will help."

Jackie quietly sat on the other side holding her cup of evil coffee - that somehow wasn't knocked over during their little session - and feeling certainly uncomfortable. She called a knife a 'pointy stick' … she had to have been gone very far. "If I ate sweets each time I was stressed I'd already be very pudgy." Jackie admitted, glancing away as she ate the sweets regardless, unable to stop the satisfied hum that escaped her throat.

"Well, I of course fought them off and once you were free and I asked if you were alright, you jumped on me and opened my shirt, pulling it outside of my pants and then started trying to undo my belt. Since you couldn't, you got your hand inside my pants and got a hold of my-"

"P-Please spare me the details," Jackie said, glancing away with a blush on her cheeks. S-She grabbed him? Oh this was horrible! She just completely jumped this guy!

"Then you wanted to get a ride right there but I asked if you would prefer to go home. When I took the bottle from you, you wanted me to take a sip. Not wanting to disappoint you, I did so, and then you wanted it back to drink the rest but I drank it all in one go to save you from an alcoholic overdose. Which got me drunk too," he laughed, "you drink hard stuff, girl."

"Ugh … th-this is just getting worse and worse," Jackie said, looking away in complete embarrassment. "A-A-And I told you before, I don't drink; at all. Alcohol disgusts me." She admitted as she gagged.

"Well you did last night and that explains why you were so wasted. Lack of resistance," Fiore placed the bottle in front of her before he placed in front of her a few colorful macaroons. "I'll continue when you eat one. You seem to need it."

"Y-Yeah," Jackie said, fidgeting in discomfort as she took a macaroon and nibbled on it, frowning deeply as she tried to figure out how she went from a paper cup to a bottle of hard liquor and groping strangers.

He waited until she finished the macaroon. "Alright, next thing I knew is that you insisted on having some action. Your hand was still inside my pants and you were still grabbing me, then you began dragging me." He cheerfully grinned, lightly blushing at the memory.

"I don't need to know the exact details, please." Jackie said, clearly sounding uncomfortable as she blushed quite deeply.

"But the details are incredible and they give more clues," he laughed, "and your grip is very good, I must say. I was quite hard before we reached the main street." He looked at her and then said with a more calm tone. "Don't be so embarrassed. Really, we both were into it at that moment. You should have seen it in every man you've dated, Alfajor."

"That's not it." Jackie admitted, looking away still as her grip on the coffee tightened, "th-that was … well, that was my first time. Ever." She admitted, unable to bare looking at his expression at all, "that's why I, uh, have such a hard time accepting this. My first time being piss drunk and with a stranger I grabbed hold of?" Jackie said aloud, voicing her unease.

"Oh. So I received the honor of giving the lady foreigner her first experience? I would love to do a rehearsal so your first time becomes a wonderful memory embedded in your mind." He smiled and wagged his tail, his ears perking in attention, now getting why his Berceuse had called her a prude. "Eat some more sweets; you'll feel better and get energy. Want to celebrate you getting your first time?"

Jackie stared at him, blushing and feeling annoyed. So her 'first time' was with … this guy? She lightly shivered, frowning as she delicately held her mug of evil liquored coffee. "Well, what did you have in mind for celebrating?" Jackie asked, unsure of what she was even doing anymore. She was very uncomfortable and wanted to leave but she wanted to know more.

"Then let's have some … ah, we shouldn't, it might trigger the drug," he pouted, thinking before smiling, "I think I have something," he turned around, his reddish tail with white tip wagging happily as he opened a door to a hidden cellar, from where he took a glossy pink bottle that looked more like a bottle of perfume than of wine. "This is ice wine. It's made from the first pick of the grapes that had been frozen overnight when winter season comes. It's more sweet and light than many other wines.

"Doesn't wine have alcohol in it?" Jackie pointed out, unnerved.

"No, this wine is not considered an alcoholic beverage. Less than 10% is not even considered an alcoholic beverage and it's made of too many fruits to have enough alcohol that would trigger the drug, from what we've seen so far." He smiled, offering it to her. She hesitated.

" … I've never really had wine before." Jackie admitted as he began pouring her a glass. Jackie just stared at it, struggling to decide before throwing her cares out the door; oh to hell with it. Alcohol got her into this mess and now it's going to help ease the horrors of it.

"First move it in the cup a couple times and then smell it." He showed her how. "Then take a very small sip and move it around you mouth to savor the taste.

Jackie let out a small sigh, moving the cup as he did before she took a small sip, startled at the sweet taste. She paused, looking at it. Did this really have alcohol in it at all? It was so sweet and delicious that she couldn't taste any substance like paint thinner in it.

"See? It's delicious." He licked his lips and took another sip before filling up her cup. "Now take another sip and open your mouth."

Jackie hesitated, unsure if she should before she took a sip and parted her lips. He smiled and leaned forward, pushing a small chocolate dipped strawberry in her mouth. She lightly blushed as he smiled, pulling away and letting her eat the strawberry mixed with the wine in her mouth.

"You are looking better now." He smiled and savored another sip, licking his lips slowly and taking a deep breath over his glass cup to smell the fine liquor, "I'll continue. You really wanted to do it. You were very hot for it by how you grabbed and caressed my butt while trying to pull my pants down so I asked you if could wait till we got home. Since my house was closer we arrived here. As soon as I closed the door you began kissing me deeply, your mouth sucking on my lip, softly biting on them." He took a new sip from his cup, suddenly feeling more dizzy and distracted than he should.

Jackie stared at him as well, feeling herself beginning to feel a little hazy again. She could hardly taste the alcohol at all; was her tolerance really so bad that it can't handle this? All she could do or think about was stare at his lips, imagining how they would feel against her skin, again. Where … was all of this coming from? Unable to tell what was happening, she continued to sip at the wine in hopes of making the feeling pass. Maybe there was just some lingering effects from before.

"We left the bottle here on the counter before you pulled me near." He drew closer to Jackie, smiling with those perfect lips of his that took her breath away the more she stared at them, "whatever you had certainly you passed to me because I was as hot and dizzy as you were. Then you began removing your clothes but I stopped you and took you to the room where you took them off one by one, tossing them around while I removed my own clothes. You grabbed me again and pulled me to the bed over you on all fours. I remember you said something very sexy and cute but I can't remember what." He took a smaller sip before noticing how affected he was; dizzy, a bit disoriented and quite aroused. Since he knew it wasn't his wine, it was clearly something else. Still, it had been triggered when he drank the wine, and if it affected him … he gently took the cup from Jackie's wine and set it aside along his. "Are you feeling alright?"

Jackie continued to stare at his lips, unable to hear what he was saying. She leaned to the side, seeming to be tottering now. Fiore's eyes trailed on her more or less vacant expression before she rounded the aisle to get a hold of her "What happened?"

The moment he grabbed hold of her to steady her, she grabbed him, startling him as she smashed her lips against his. Her fingers dug into his shoulder, startling him as she held him close, breathing hard through her nose.

Fiore pushed back without hesitation, feeling his clock racing. The sensation building up in him was probably similar to what she was feeling and it was to say the least, arousing and profound. He felt the need to hold her, touch her and taste her. With expertise he pressed his tongue inside her mouth and began a deep french kiss, tasting that the sweet taste of the alcohol was clear inside her mouth. Their tongues feverishly and quickly took to a dance, moving alongside one another rather sloppily but passionately. When they pulled apart to breath he lifted her up and carried her to the bedroom.

Jackie gripped his hair, continuing to kiss him as she trembled. Her breath staggered, catching his attention as he noticed frightened tears budding up in her eyes. She knew what was going on; she could sense it. But she could not stop it, and that terrified her. All she knew was that she wanted him for whatever reason and wanted him close to her.

"Relax, sugar bun ... I have an alternative." He smiled. He laid on the bed and held her tightly, grabbing her butt with one hand and pressing her back with the other, "just hold onto me, Alfajor. Close your eyes and take deep breaths." He smoothly instructed as his hand trailed circles over her rear in a soft petting way. "Sorry … I was wrong … it seems any bit of alcohol does this."

Jackie trembled as she pressed her face against his neck, shakily breathing and clearly frightened. Her fuzzy eyes stared at his skin, slowly closing as she leaned in and tenderly began sucking on his neck while her other hand rubbed his chest, tightly gripping his buttondown shirt.

He was not going to complain; there would be plenty of time later to figure this out but for now he helped her open up his shirt before pulling her hand over his chest to feel his ticking clock racing. "You have talent, there."

Jackie continued what she was doing, trembling still as her hand dragged down his chest, rubbing his pec before sliding up and around into his hair. She held his head still before connecting their lips again, trembling. Fiore in turn caressed her sides while returning the kiss, grabbing her and rolling so she was on top. His lips soon attacked her neck in retaliation, his hands moving to her shirt as well.

She rolled over again and laid her weight over him, returning the tongue play as her hand slid over the side of his neck, lifting her hips up a bit before their lips parted, gently and softly, with the smallest breath between them before she connected their lips again. Her heart ached as she pressed against him; what the hell was happening to her?

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So late at night that it might be considered already morning, a dark shadow crept into the apartment of the Lullaby's security CEO for the amusement park territory. She had barely needed to climb down the wall towards the second floor and from there up to the apartment and entering there had been too easy. She knew that Rico was quite a relaxed guy but this was too much.

The mercenary silently walked over the tiled floors of the kitchen towards the counter where a big basket of sweets was place besides 2 empty coffee cups, half a bottle of nice ice wine, and a bottle of cheap vodka. She looked at the bottle and then the 2 cups. She didn't even have to guess that one had been for Jackie given the stupidly sweet cajeta remains in the mug and it wouldn't be surprising that Jackie had lost her nerve in coming to Fiore for the bottle.

With a surprisingly delicate touch, she outstretched her hand with a small swab and touched around the lip of the bottle of varying depths, trying to determine what sort of poison or drug her best female friend had encountered. Truthfully, if the effects of the drug were anything but getting rid of her prudeness, Aria would not have taken much interest. However, her curiosity was peaked in Jackie's explanation of what happened along with Fiore's; she was interested in knowing what other factions like the Jeralds wanted with the third foreigner.

Aria's eyes shifted the lens so she could perform an spectrum analysis on the bottle and its remains. After that, a small piece of cotton was slid inside the bottle for it to absorb the remnants of substances inside before being encased in darkness and pulled out for later further testing. Although she new there was a drug in there, she hadn't much idea of what it may be, however, the vodka was not the original source of the drug. Something had been added to the liquor later, of that she was sure.

Her expression became stern. Drugs in wonderland were complex and often affected in almost impossible and unpredictable ways. Had she not seen it and even being subjected to them on occasions he wouldn't believe in genetical reconfiguration or long term effects that triggered upon very defined stimulus. But she would need to observe rather than experiment in this case. It was against the friendship contract to do that.

Aria let out a sigh, leaning back in thought. What could the Jerald's faction possibly gain from giving Jackie a long term drug like this? Her frown deepened, annoyed with the Jerald's random acts which were inefficient in completing mission objectives but made it difficult to understand what their true objective is.

A soft and feminine moan from the bedroom caught Aria's attention as she glanced over, hearing the rustling of some sheets. (So Fiore is with some girl again? Wait… he consumed the drug too). She slowly and carefully walked over to the door, tapping it open just a bit before she peeked inside. The mercenary's eyes widened in shock, her mouth parting in silent surprise when she spotted Jackie cuddling up against Fiore in his bed.

(The prude is really not a prude anymore) Aria then looked at them and noticed they were barely half naked (ugh, she is still half a prude because still has her clothes on; what a prude … but not if I have a say in it) She smirked. Of course she as a contracted friend she needed to help Jackie stop being a prude, plus her distress would be funny. And all the mana Jackie was sure generating would be better in the lullaby's ecosystem. Plus Fiore was quite a successful experiment and Jackie needed to relax more. (What a good friend I am!)

With a malicious grin she smoothly set her shadows into the room, slipping under the covers and finding their attire mostly intact, although messy. Although disappointed it appeared they did not go through with it, she was determined to rid Jackie of her half-prudeness. The mercenary evilly smirked as she walked back into the kitchen, mixing up some of the powdered sugar and water in a small glass that had been by the counter until it was a sort of whitish syrup. Slowly she walked back into the bedroom, smirking as her impossibly thin shadows lifted off the covers and removed the rest of their clothing, leaving them completely naked. Although both of them stirred a bit, they held onto each other tighter for warmth.

(Awee… how sickly cute, now they just need more sweetness) Aria then focused mana on the syrup to warm it a bit and then she let the shadows slowly disperse it between their bodies, especially between their legs and even around Jackie's ass while containing her giggles, now suspecting that the long term drug had knocked them out .

After that, she went back to the kitchen to wash the dish and place it exactly how and where it had been while her shadows made sure that the cameras in place were working perfectly. Once all was set, she left the place as silently as she had come in.

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The next morning, Fiore took in a deep and comfortable breath, feeling an opposite soft body pressing against him. His eyes cracked open, seeing the top of the foreigners head resting against his chest, twitching with the last few minutes of sleep. He coolly stared at her, kissing the top of her head before hugging her tighter to prevent her from running away out the window again. This drug, whatever it was, was very strange. It appears that certain things triggered the events and he could only hope that it was just the alcohol that made the drug activate. Thankfully the effects were not as powerful as before, although it still came on quite suddenly.

The young chef shifted around a bit, pleasantly surprised to feel so sticky and wet beneath the sheets. It appears they lasted a lot longer for some reason this time around than before. Rather than pondering the reason, Fiore cuddled closer to the foreigner.

Jackie mumbled in her sleep, cracking her eyes open as she felt Fiore's embrace around her. She jolted, startled as she tried to worm away from him in shock. A-AGAIN-?!

He tightened his grip in a way that it was impossible for her to get free. "I loved last night a lot, even if I can't remember most of it."

"D-Did this … really happen, again?" Jackie rather meekly asked, her face brightly blushing to a rosy consistency. She shivered, frightened at the fact she couldn't remember the details once again. However, she did remember just about body slamming Fiore onto the bed before trying to rip his clothes off. That and the stupid wine … looks like there was enough after all to trigger whatever kind of drug they have.

"Yes, it happened, and it was wonderful," he placed a small kiss on her skin, "and whatever drug you took, you passed it to me … I think any amount of alcohol will trigger it."

Jackie groaned, hiding her face against his chest as she shivered. She wasn't like this at all; she never did things like this! And now they're happening so suddenly that she's swept up in the whirlwind of it all, her head still spinning in fright. "I don't know what's happening to my body and it's terrifying." Jackie admitted, shivering as she held him closer. She froze, however, feeling a friendly poke against her lower stomach.

"Don't worry, you'll get use to. Want to take a shower? We are quite sticky … or if you'd like, I can help you start getting used to it." He relented his hold slightly to get his hand over her rear end, "wow, you're sticky here too, I think we went at it all night."

Jackie smacked her head against the pillow, letting out a loud, irritated, wailing groan of despair. And, yet again, she could not remember anything. At all. Or even really feel anything. Still trying to remain hopeful, she turned towards him, "if th-that's true, shouldn't I be feeling sore?" Jackie asked, somehow trying with all her might to believe that this wasn't happening to her … despite all the clear evidence pointing to it.

"Not if you enjoyed it that much with a skilled lover." He stretched on the bed, "besides, the drug probably covers it. I don't remember getting tired or sore either from the last time." He then looked at his boner, "so … would you like to keep on? We should try it without the drugs effects to compare."

"No, that's fine." Jackie said, looking away, "I need to get to work. Gowland is probably wondering where I am since I'm never late." Jackie sighed, sitting up before remembering that she was naked.

"You sure? I'm pretty up for it." He happily smiled as his tail wagged.

"Don't you have work too? Workers in pastry shops like yours usually have to get up very early to start the backing, don't they?" Jackie questioned with a frown, covering herself with the blankets.

"Actually my next turn is at the Amusement Park. I told you when you were screaming and not listening. I work there part time too."

"You do? Where?" Jackie asked, surprised.

He tilted his head and sighed, "yup, you weren't even listening when I gave you back your bra? I work underground as security chief."

"I was busy freaking out," Jackie pointed out with a frown before thinking about what he was saying. Since when did we need a chief of security for underground? There wasn't many places in the Amusement Park that went underground anyway. But, at least Gowland wasn't going to chew her out for being late to work but she still felt bad. "Well, if you work part time down there why don't you tell me what Gowland wants me to work on?" Jackie questioned, still not entirely trusting him.

"Not much actually. He only wants you to check it out because the area was closed after that little mini civil war from before you came to Wonderland. He wants to fix some rides in the Underground Amusement Park. We already have the systems covered for air, water and electricity, so no big deal."

"Underground rides?" Jackie asked, surprised, "since when did we get those?"

"Since Gowland rediscovered the underground areas that were designed by … the second foreigner. Although then there were only maintenance tunnels and control rooms." He got off the bed with a bounce. "So let's take a shower, shall we?" He opened the bathroom's door for her as an invitation.

"That's alright, you can go first." Jackie said, looking away so she didn't have to see anything. She had to admit she was surprised to hear about the underground rides. Without meaning to, she found herself smiling and getting excited to check them out and see how they work.

"You did me last night … hard. So taking a shower with me is alright." He grinned.

"I like my personal space in the bathroom," Jackie countered, clearly looking uncomfortable.

"Alright, then you go first while I take care of how hard you got me." He chuckled. "Then I go in real quick and we can have an actual breakfast this time before we go to the Amusement Park."

Jackie blushed, glancing away and rubbing the back of her head, "yeah, that's fine." She admitted, hesitating before taking a deep breath, bracing herself and stepping out of the bed. She quickly picked up her uniform, leaving her tools in the room before rushing into the bathroom and, without a look back at him, quickly shut the door.

He opened his closet and grabbed a small shirt, then knocked on the bathroom door and opened it. "Hey, here, I'll lend you a shirt. Some pants too if you want, and since your clothes are dirty I can toss them in the washer while you take a bath."

" … th-thanks," Jackie said, taking the shirt and holding it in front of herself before he took her uniform, the bathroom's door closing. This drug was so weird - who knows what can cause them to spontaneously change personalities. What if there was more than just alcohol that caused different effects? The thought made her shiver before she stepped into the shower to try and drown her thoughts away in near scalding hot water.

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With steam flowing out in plumes from the shower, Jackie stepped out of the restroom feeling nice and refreshed. She pulled her wet hair into a bun and walked into the room where she saw Fiore laying on the bed and sniffing the pillow she slept on while his tail wagged back and forth in a fast manner.

Jackie froze in mid step, puzzled by what he was doing. "F-Fiore, uh, what are you doing?" Jackie asked as turned his head towards her with a bright blush on his face.

"Sniffing this cute scent. You are cute, I want to cuddle." Fiore sat up on the bed, holding his arms out to her. "Come cuddle me, Jackie," he asked as his tail wagged back and forth in a fast manner as he made canine whistling sounds.

Jackie remained where she was, hesitant. "Fiore uh, did you have any wine?" Jackie asked, staring at his open armed invitation.

"No." He answered with a cute smile. "I just want to cuddle you, Jackie, because you're so cute." He spoke, sounding completely enamored with Jackie as though she were the love of his life. Jackie hesitated, staring at him as she felt her heart skip a small beat.

"We don't have time to cuddle, Fiore. We need to eat and get to work." Jackie said but her conviction slightly wavered. He was a bit of a weirdo pervert - that much was obvious.

He dropped his ears before perking them again. "We can cuddle for a bit and then go." Fiore practically barked.

Jackie hesitated, unsure to even trust the man but his wagging tail and fluffy ears did look pretty cute.

"Please? I won't be able to function properly if I don't have cuddles from a beautiful woman, so cuddle me." He whined, dropping his ears and tucking his tail, looking like a very sad but excited dog.

Jackie stared at him, finding herself actually hesitating. The way he was moving made her think of a very excited dog needing attention just to get through the day. Jackie shifted in place. Well … it wouldn't be that bad … perhaps.

"F-Fine." Jackie agreed. She was a dog person through and through, falling for his puppy dog act. "Just for a little bit, alright? And then we need to go." Jackie said as she walked over to him. As soon as she crawled onto the bed he wrapped his arms around her and held her close with his tail wildly wagging as he whimpered in excitement and nuzzled her face.

"Yay! I'm getting cuddles from a very cute girl!" He barked, wagging his tail madly around.

Jackie glanced away as she hugged him, trying to ignore the man and concentrate on his wolfish features instead. She reached up and pet his soft hears, hearing him thrum in pleasure as he rested his head against her collarbone and sniffed her skin. The young woman gingerly rubbed the edges of his ears as he lightly licked her skin in an excited fever and hug her close against his body.

"I like cuddles." Fiore dreamily stated, licking and kissing her collarbone like the happy canine he was.

She returned the hug, finding his body to be rather warm and inviting. As she pet his ears she frowned, glancing at the clock. They really should get going soon, preferably after she ate but, to be perfectly honest, she was very comfortable at the moment. She closed her eyes, enjoying the warm embrace.

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After having everything settled, Jackie walked along with Fiore rather slowly, continuously glancing up at him rather nervously. Walking with him to work felt very weird. The silence was stifling and she almost felt like she was suffocating, not to mention she had no idea where and when Aria might next show up. And since that was the case, it's safer to keep the bottle with her in her large back against her lower back on the belts.

He looked back at her. "Hey, can I hold your hand? You seem … mmhh ... distracted and about to stumble. Maybe we did hit it hard again and didn't sleep much after all." He extended his hand and as she looked down at it she noticed he had a small tattoo on his ring finger.

Jackie lightly blushed at his words, staring at the tattoo with the note. "Are you a Lullaby member?" Jackie asked in a quiet and curious voice.

"Eh? So you know about us," his smiled didn't lose his shine. "I'm undercover, so please let's not speak about it. It's not safe."

"Ah, right, sorry. It just popped into my mind when I saw it." Jackie apologized as they walked right on through the entrance to the Amusement Park. She planned to later ask Aria about this guy. She acted early like she didn't know about him but she had to; he was one of her own notes!

As soon as they arrived to the park and reported in, Fiore guided her to the underground portion of the park. In the center of the Amusement Park was a large glorified entrance leading underground but it was roped off to the public. Jackie eagerly walked ahead of him, peering down the stairs.

"Good morning, Ms. Jackie!" One of the attendants watching the entrance cheerfully cried, "what are you doing here?"

"Margret, why didn't you tell me there was an underground portion of the Amusement Park in Clover?" Jackie teasingly grinned, almost unable to control her excitement.

"It never came up." She answered with a smiling shrug. "We recently rediscovered it the morning we arrived in Clover. Gowland has been down there running around in excitement for sometime now." She giggled.

"And I'm about to join him. Come on, Fiore, let's check it out too." Jackie grinned, hurrying down the stairs ahead of him.

"Right away, sugar bun." Fiore followed her, his tail wagging quite happily.

The moment she came to a stop at the opened entrance of the Underground Amusement Park Jackie's eyes grew large and sparkly as she gazed at all of the rather new looking equipment, locks, chains and rides. She could hear Gowland's voice echoing in the distance in excitement as Jackie resisted the urge to go flailing her noodle arms in the air while looking at everything and joining him, instead waiting for Fiore to catch up.

After a moment of waiting and Fiore taking too long, she jumped the entrance and ran into the park as well.

"GOWLAND!" Jackie shouted, running towards his excited shouting and planning. "WHY DIDN'T YOU EVER TELL ME ABOUT THIS PLACE?!" She excitedly laughed, sprinting around a corner before running into the big man himself.

"Jackie! There you are, isn't this place amazing?!" Gowland gushed, "have you seen the water ride in the Northern part of this place yet?"

"Well, it wasn't a water ride before, just the average water plant system." Fiore came in "Reporting, sir. The corridors are clean and control rooms are, well, under control-"

"I just got here! Th-This place is huge! Since when did this place even exist?" Jackie asked, grasping his hands as the both of them excitedly moved around and chattering quite quickly, Fiore going completely ignored for now.

"No idea, hun! Some workers are looking into the background to find out more of this place but I haven't been to Clover Country since a wee lad! This is my first time seeing an Underground Amusement Park here but since it's here, I'm going to add it on to the park!"

Fiore remained quiet looking at their excitement. He genuinely liked the idea of an Underground Amusement Park; however, he was not just going to say that he hated very deeply that the rightful credit belonged to the Lady Aria. She had designed the place just for maintenance and direction purposes for the park above, and the marquess had even been during all development, but the duchess had dared forget all about it. Without meaning to, he let a small growl.

"THAT'S SO COOL!" Jackie shouted, her eyes bursting with excitement. "I need to have a look around!" Jackie shouted as she zipped off in another direction like a squirrel on caffeine before Gowland noticed him.

"Ah, Rico! Great to see you again," Gowland grinned, grabbing his hand and bringing him into a firm handshake, "how have you been?"

"Fine, sir, all initial surveillance is done and ready for this part. We can start with the lighting programming soon." He answered, keeping a non-existent eye on Jackie as she ran around from store to store, looking at the merchandising and especially the nearby rides.

"Great! You and your boys can sweep the area; I want to make sure it's clear of anything nasty before the sweetheart gets her heart set on working here," Gowland pointed out as Jackie continued to run around with a big grin on her face. "I've even got a great idea for some new rides!" Gowland broadly grinned.

"Yes, sir. I'll also keep an eye on her while she is around. There were some faulty lines here and there but all is being fixed." The faceless commented.

"Jackie can take care of those and most other things here; I'll leave her in charge of fixing up the place along with your boys. Show her around, will ya? I need to head back to the Amusement Park and get a shave." He brightly laughed, feeling his stippled chin.

"Sure, sir." Fiore answered with a smile as Gowland headed for the entrance while some of his executives approached him.

"Just a routine sweep, right?" One of them, Jill, asked, sounding quite bored.

"We haven't established a procedural sweep yet. First we are testing various sweeping formations and tactics." Fiore shrugged, his still tail spoke volumes of how boring this was. He wanted to hurry and attend to Jackie but he needed to instruct his underlings first.

"So regular formation 1, 3 or 4?" Juan asked, also very bored with this.

"4 is for shopping centers, not Amusement Park." Jill huffed, adjusting her glasses while reprimanding Juan.

"It's the same if the layout is similar. Plus there are going to be far more stores in this place; a private investor has already purchased the rights, so it'll be a shopping gallery too probably. I suggest we use #3 and see how it goes, then try 4 when the stands are actually build" Juan retorted.

"I will sweep the right, and Juan, you sweep the left with your people. Do you have any complaints?" Jill asked with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"I'll take the left. My people haven't trained on that side. You take the right." Juan told her.

"Before you even say anything else, Juan take the left, Jill take the right and then you will do the opposite just to be sure. After that well make some general exercises with encoding sweeps towards each area." Fiore broke it up before it became one of their usual discussions. In his opinion, these two should just go out and hit it but they were too stubborn to consider it. "I heard reports that there were infiltrations during the party so consider that we are under orange status."

"Fine." Jill stated in a hard tone, adjusting her glasses again in annoyance.

"No problem. And you will take care of the foreigner? I say you're doing a great job so far." Juan said with a deep set laugh, looking up past Fiore's head.

Fiore smiled. "You have no idea how well I'm caring for her. And I better get back to it." He then grinned with the memories of the morning. "You heard him, Sugar Bun. Let's see those lines." He called to Jackie but when he actually turned around to look at her, she was already on top of a roller coaster that was still under construction.

"Look at the view from up here, it's awesome!" Jackie shouted, looking around over the entire park from the top of the tracks of a large rollercoaster. Her rather precarious stance almost made his clock leap out of his chest. It was reported she could get overly excited with new rides and machines but he didn't think she'd be careless like she appeared to be now.

His ears lowered and his tail raised in alarm, "Sugar bun, get down from there!"

"It's fine, I'm just checking out some of the emergency stops," Jackie called back down to him as she crouched down and took a good look at the hidden mechanics under the rails of the ride - and to her delight she saw that they were looking great.

"Not without turning them off." Fiore ran towards her to stop her from doing anything stupid or having a horrible accident. "They can crush you if they get activated."

"It's fine, Fiore. There's a ledge right there in case something comes along." She grinned, "I don't get why you're so alarmed, I do this all the time. I know what I'm doing," Jackie grinned, enjoying his discomfort. She had been so stressed about the drugs and everything that's been happening that she didn't mind seeing Fiore all freaked out - it was actually pretty funny compared to how he normally acted.

"And the records say you've been in danger 46 times while trying to fix security problems alone." He huffed. "You can check and fix stuff but do so as long as you go with safety measures. Remember you can get hurt very easily and take a long time to heal. There might be many different types of wounds for you that Wonderland doesnt know how to treat."

"Aria would take care of that," Jackie confidently grinned, wanting to check out some of the other parts but she had a feeling Fiore would nag her right off the ride. She casually began trotting down the sharp incline, hopping on top of the spaced planks while she took a look around at the underground Amusement Park. She was so excited she didn't know where to start! The young engineer picked up the pace, making it to the bottom as she started heading towards a carousel with large, mechanical looking animals.

"Just be careful, please, Licorice." Fiore followed her. If he had eyes he'd surely be rolling them.

Jackie nodded and stepped up to the control panel before taking a look inside. After an expert glance she closed it back up and flipped on the ride, watching as it began moving and playing music. Once the platform began moving, the mechanical horses and other animals began to slowly move as well, looking to be running around at a slow pace around the platform. Jackie's eyes widened and excitedly shined as she immediately wanted to take a look at this ride's blue prints. "This is so cool-!" Jackie almost shouted in a restrained cry before she ran up to the platform and hopped right on, holding onto a pole to steady herself as she began to take a closer look at the moving mechanical parts making the horse appear to gallop in a slow motion.

"At least it seems you are enjoying this." Fiore wagged his tail somewhat at seeing her cute excitement, joining her in the carrousel while leaning on a running deer. "I think this carousel was made because lady A left a note on the idea for it back when she worked in this place."

"I really wonder if the rides in here are like the ones she rode on while in her world." Jackie spoke aloud, "in my time, we had something like this but the animals were still and unmoving. I'm wondering if in her time the carousel had developed to the point of actually moving like these ones here." Jackie hummed, now dying to see what other kind of mechanical advances Aria had made. She also wondered if the rides here were powered down versions of what she had in her time considering the technology differences.

"You could ask her. If you like mechanical stuff I'm sure my Lady could provide you with more ideas and blueprints." He smiled. "Although I have another idea of what you could ride." He chuckled. "I can't remember much the night but I know I feel wonderful in the morning. What about you?"

" … to be honest, I feel confused," Jackie frowned, feeling her enthusiasm level drop quite immediately. "And very awkward." She said as she got on her knees and began looking under at the belly of the mechanical horse and watching as all the intricate gears worked and moved in perfect harmony.

"Confused? I suppose the drug IS confusing." He crossed his arms. "I haven't encountered something with such effects before." He then smiled. "I also think I'm more happy than awkward."

"Neither have I and I've had my fair share of being drugged," Jackie nervously chuckled, trying to ignore his flirtatious remarks as she moved on to the next ride that caught her eye; a rather big building of mazes, bigger than the one above ground. "Any idea if Aria is any closer to a cure for this thing?" She asked, glancing back at Fiore.

"The Lady would summon us if she did." He shrugged. "But we could go lay it down while she researches."

"I don't know about that. Sometimes she likes to prolong my suffering for her amusement." Jackie heavily sighed with a small chuckle. "And I don't want to lay low; I want to check out the rest of this place." She eagerly grinned. She didn't mind going hungry for a while if she had such fun new toys to examine.

"That is not true." He said with confidence. "Lady A would not make her friend suffer for something as mundane as amusement. She is the most well intentioned person to ever grace this world." He proudly proclaimed. "And we could lay low after you check this place out. After all, we'll need to eat something eventually."

Jackie held back a laugh at his remark, feeling like that might insult him laughing at his almighty Aria. "And, yeah, maybe you're right. I wouldn't want to be super hungry and forget about the drug. We could probably lock ourselves in separate rooms and eat; although we may have to trust someone to open the door for us." Jackie noted, wondering if a restraining jacket might work. They did need to eventually eat but she had no intentions of sleeping with the man again, accident or not. So she could take a lot of countermeasures for when they ate.

"Or we can lock the door and we can share a meal and something else." He proposed. "I doubt locking ourselves separately would be good given the effects of the drug, and you would be far better fairing with a lovable guy that you already know and that Lady A trust instead of risking running out and falling into unknown hands. Plus I can't leave you alone, donut. I'm here to protect and safeguard you. And if or rather when needed, to service you."

Jackie nervously shifted her jaw, stepping into the house of mazes before finding the control room and glancing over the blueprints tacked up on the wall for whoever operated the house. "I guess so." She admitted. She honestly wouldn't trust anyone to help her out with this either. "Maybe we could take turns eating then. And then lock the other in a room." She suggested, taking a stand against the two of them being in the same room together while being influenced by the drug. Doing so would result in what she's trying oh so desperately to avoid.

"It's not as if we can avoid the effects, donut." He followed close by looking around at the place to ensure there weren't traps or dangers. "Or worse. We don't know what would happen if we try to avoid them - some drugs are designed to increase the effects of those avoided or delayed, and I've seen some causing far more dangerous secondary problems if the intended effects are ignored. I heard the hatters once tried a drug like that as a torture device."

"I'm not saying to avoid them, just … to restrain each other when we know the effects will happen." Jackie suggested, suddenly not so sure about Fiore being able to restrain himself from potentially taking advantage of her. She really didn't know him all that well and did not exactly trust him, Lullaby or not.

He let out a deep sigh. "Is it anything wrong you find in me? Do I seem weird to you?" He straight up asked. "We already came to each other in the deepest of ways, so you know I won't cause you any harm. Much less when it's my duty to make sure you're safe."

"I know, we did, Fiore. And uh, can you please slow it down with the constant flirting?" Jackie asked, knowing full well he could tell she didn't entirely trust him. After all, her face was very easy to read; one of her flaws that she did not put any effort into changing.

"But I'm going slow." Fiore flickered his ears and tilted his head.

"Well why don't you try to stop entirely?" Jackie frowned, getting slightly annoyed now.

"Mmh? Stop? I don't understand that. What do you mean?" He whistled a doggy wristle before scratching his chin. "Maybe it's a culture difference?"

Jackie stared at him for a moment before looking away, unsure how to respond to that. She knew some people in Wonderland were flirts but it really wasn't all that common; not nearly to the level he was taking it. Or at least no one had come to flirt with her and she had not paid attention to others regarding that. It wasn't as if faceless would readily approach a foreigner either. "Yeah, maybe it is." Jackie relented, not having the energy to keep arguing with him. She frowned, staring at the blueprint. Honestly, this whole flirty conversation crap killed her enthusiasm entirely. With a heavy sigh she glanced at the rides. She wondered if she could get away from him for a little bit; just a little bit.

"Why don't you ask me stuff then? Unlike holders or those under them I won't hide information from you and I never lie to pretty ladies." He dared wag his tail a bit.

Jackie frowned, not feeling like wanting to get personal with him. She just wanted to be left alone to examine the rides by herself. She glanced over the blueprints again and looked over the control panel. She could probably trap him long enough to get away and check out one ride by herself without being bothered - if she played her cards right, which she rarely ever could. "I'm going to do a walkthrough of this place. I want to get a closer look at some of the hidden puzzles." She said, turning on the ride and listening to all the gears and mechanics slowly whir to life as she set a timer for the place to start speeding up in the rhythm of changes.

He let out a deep sigh and followed.

Jackie stepped onto the floor and stepped along to the steps of the tiled floor while looking at the constellations on the walls for direction. "This really is a cool place." She said, picking up the pace and somewhat hoping that Fiore wouldn't catch on to the fact that the same path taken twice wouldn't work. If she misstepped, he'd fall into a pit with a bunch of pillows giving her time to get out.

"This is interesting." He said while easily bypassing the place until he misstepped. The floor opened up but he used his time skip ability to step over to where Jackie was before time resumed. "Phew, that was close." Fiore laughed.

Jackie blinked, unsure of what she just saw. He literally just … appeared right beside her. She stared at him, confused before she continued on. "Yeah, that surprised me too." She said a little mechanically, startled that he had made it through. "This is a fun place." She said, trotting off with Fiore following close behind.

"It actually is." He wagged his tail.

Jackie glanced around as she stepped through the halls before glancing back at Fiore, "Fiore, make sure to stay close. I don't want you falling in any traps." Jackie lightly chuckled as she eyed up the button of the floor that would open up a trap door right behind her. The hallway narrowed, making it so only one person could pass through comfortable.

"Here, let me take lead," Fiore offered, stepping in front of Jackie. The engineer blinked, staring at his back. Well, this could work too. Now she'd be the one to fall through the trap but that would be fine. They walked forward and as Fiore kept an eye out for traps along the sides and ceiling, he stepped right onto the button that opened a trap door right beneath Jackie. She sealed her lips up tight, not wanting to scream and give her position but Fiore whipped around seemingly without warning and grabbed her arms before yanking her back up and into his arms. He hugged her tightly, staring at the pit trap and seeing pillows below. "Careful, don't want to lose you so soon." Fiore smiled as Jackie nodded as Fiore set her down again.

"Fiore, you saw the blueprint, right?" Jackie asked, puzzled how he managed to get out of that one. She might actually have to get a little more involved if she wanted to trap him instead of just letting the house do so. There were some rotating doors he could get stuck behind for about 10 minutes; that would be plenty of time for her to catch her breath.

"Not really. At least not in detail." He shrugged. "I guess this place is fun but it seems to be running fine, so we should go before we get separated."

"Well, that's what this place was designed to do - kind of like the one at the Amusement Park above but much more elaborate." Jackie smiled, "and there's one more trap I want to check out. The one in the Amusement Park is always having trouble and it looks like this place as an improved version of it so I want to check it out and see what Aria did to improve the design." Jackie said.

"If my lady designed it then it should work well. So let's go; I felt the time change." Fiore smiled.

"Please, Fiore? I need to check everything down here anyway and I want to see if I can get some inspiration from the design and try to replicate it for the Amusement Park." She asked.

"I'm afraid I have to say no." He sighed. "We should really be going back and report before anyone else is send looking for us."

"Then what if I promise something in return if you let me explore a little more?" Jackie asked, needing to get him to the next room in order to try and trap him.

"Mmmhh … I think I could take a kiss and a cuddle in that case." He smiled charmingly.

"Yeah, I can do that." Jackie said, feeling a little embarrassed. "But first let's go check out the ride." She said before taking his hand and walking with him. Fiore's tail happily wagged as he walked alongside her.

Jackie uncomfortably frowned as she walked on up to a portion of the wall and clicked a button, making the wall open up. "Stay there for a minute; it's too cramped for both of us." She said, about to go in but Fiore stopped her.

"Hold on a minute, Sugar Bun. What if you get stuck?" Fiore asked with a frown.

"Then you click the button here on the outside." Jackie said, hitting the button again and it closed up before she hit it again and made it open up again. "See? Easy; and there's a failsafe too, much better than the one in the Amusement Park; this one will let you go after 10 minutes instead of a whole Time Change." Jackie laughed.

"Very well." He smiled, placing his hand on her back to give her a pat forward. "Go."

Jackie stepped inside, looking up at the top where the panel was in the Amusement Park's once but noticed the panel here was by her feet. She frowned for a brief moment, looking up and pretending not to notice the one by her feet. "Hey, Fiore, the panel is a little too high up for me to reach. Can you open it?" She asked, stepping out of the trap and giving him room.

"Sure, sugar bun." Fiore happily wagged his tail and stepped inside before looking up and touching the top of the solid ceiling. "Umm Jackie? It doesn't look like one is here." He said as she pushed the button and closed up the wall.

Fiore remained silent as he stared at the door that closed on him. Did … she just lock him in there? "Hey, Sugar Bun, I love to play games like everyone else but … hmmm … can you open the door?" He asked, flicking his ears but couldn't hear anything. Fiore nervously smiled. Looks like the foreigner gave him the slip. That wasn't good; did he say something to upset her?

He frowned before he stepped around and stepped on the real panel right at his feet. He popped it open, searching through the wires in it. He was never one to be good with wires but he knew a small bit. The faceless pinched two wires together, getting a small shock before the doors opened again. He quickly stepped out, finding her nowhere to be seen. The foreigner managed to give him, an elite member of the Lullaby, the slip.

He ran out of the house of mazes, sniffing the air and picking up her scene as he quickly began tracking her down. As he made his way through the twists and turns, he spotted Jill and Juan, his two associates, staring up at a rollercoaster.

Jill turned, noticing Fiore walking up behind them before she lightly smirked. "Having trouble keeping up with the foreigner, are we?" She teased.

"Nope." He huffed and sniffed the air again to try and figure out where she was.

"She's fine, she's up there again checking some things out. Shocked she gave you the slip." Juan laughed at him.

"Foreigners are full of surprises, aren't they?" Fiore then walked towards Jackie. "Donut, get down from there."

"No; and don't rush me, you're killing my enthusiasm." Jackie huffed, looking back at some of the tracks before checking the quality of the screws. Seen only by the three faceless, a red dot creeped along the wood of the rollercoaster, creeping up Jackie's leg with laser pointed aim.

"Jackie run, now!" Fiore rushed towards her, his ears high and alert.

"What?" Jackie said, startled as she backed up. Once she did so, her eyes caught sight of the red dot repositionable against her thigh. "Whoa-! No, no no-!" Her eyes burst open as she staggered back and around, running away from the red dot as she shot back down the tracks quickly. Was someone trying to shoot her?! Whatever that red dot was, she knew to start booking it. Living in Wonderland for so long, she knew that when someone said run, you run.

"Juan, Jill! Sweep, NOW!" Fiore barked as he ran towards the roller coaster, jumping unnaturally high from a platform to the next and making his way up with agility towards the back part where the beams would provide some cover but then he saw the dot position on the back of her leg. His teeth clicked together; he knew Jackie would not reach the edge in time.

With a deep inhale he activated the ability imbued in him and time distorted, everything but him became still. He jumped up into the rails and saw a pigeon flying away the direction the bullet shot sound had come from, while the bullet was already suspended in the air a meter away from Jackie. He jumped and got out his big kukri knife, striking from above and cutting the bullet in half along its metallic body. A fraction of a second later, time went back to normal when his power ceased, the bullet part losing trajectory and shooting in an angle, impacting at the sides of the cave and of the roller coaster.

"AH!" Jackie screamed, jumping back as she heard the pings of the bullet pieces on other side of her before Fiore tackled her over, falling off the tracks a few feet and onto the platform below. A loud shattering sounded as Jackie painfully cried out from a hard pressure against her lower back, forcing her to roll over and relieve herself as she reached down and rubbed her aching spine. What the hell did she hit?

"Sugar bun, you alright?!" Rico saw the pigeon reach a point behind a sign and a figure moving there. He took out his own carbine rifle and took aim "BEHIND THE THIRD SIGN!" He shouted before shooting but the figure was already running away. Despite his attempt to flee, Jill was already closing in on the place with more operatives.

Jackie put her head down, covering herself as she held absolutely still where she was. Someone actually took a shot at her? But why?! Her adrenaline was pumping as she reached back to her back, grasping at the shattered remains and hearing the pieces click together. "T-The bottle-!" Jackie gasped, pulling off the back and looking inside to see the bottle had shattered.

"Wah … DAMN!" Fiore growled while shooting again, this time the figure slumped. He had hit the person in the leg.

"WE GOT HIM!" Juan screamed. Fiore didn't lower his guard, he looked around for any other attacker before he looked down to Jackie.

"Are you fine? Can you stand up, licorice?" Fiore looked down at Jackie

"F-F-Fine, just a little uh, startled." Jackie admitted, shakily rolling onto her feet and standing up sorely. That was the first time someone tried to deliberately shoot her; in her own park, no less! "Do you think there's more of them?" She nervously asked, looking around and down at herself to see if anymore dots were on her.

"Might be." He growled, taking her arm and helping her up as she held onto him. "I don't think is safe for you here. We'll need to sweep the entire place so I think it's best if you go out of the park for at least a couple time changes. You need to seek My Lady anyways, right?"

"U-Uh, yeah, I do." Jackie said, lightly shivering as she held onto him as well, "I-I'm going to go to my apartment first, though. I-I don't think Aria's notebooks will be safe there." Jackie admitted with a shiver, "people have come after me before for those notebooks and I doubt Aria would want them in someone else's hands." Jackie said, walking ahead of him.

"I'll go with you." Fiore said, wrapping his arm around her waist and walking with her towards the stairs. He kept a sharp ear and nose out, sensing for enemies nearby before they quickly made it up the stairs and into the crowds of the Amusement Park and letting out a whispered growl.

Jackie glanced at him, puzzled before he turned towards her.

"I don't like crowds." He lowered his ears for a second and then perked them in attention "There could be more attackers around here." He sniffed the air. "Be sure to get all you need from your place."

"Yeah, I will." Jackie answered as she guided him to her apartment, nestled nicely in the corner of the Amusement Park. She let out a breath of relief as they approached her apartments, letting him go. "Alright, I'll just run in and grab the notebooks before we go." Jackie said as she flipped out her keys.

"Wait!" He noticed the click sound when they approached, and despite being tired he activated his ability again and felt how it was pulling to hard on his clock but that didn't matter. He grabbed Jackie by the waist and pull her up before running the way they had come a few steps before he couldn't hold the power and time resumed.

"F-Fiore-?!" Jackie gasped, startled as she found herself further away from her door than before. When did he grab her?

He managed to take a few more strides before a huge explosion threw him of his feet and blew both of them away and to the floor, where he rolled on top of her.

Both of them braced themselves, feeling the intense head against them before Jackie peeked out from under him, startled as she stared at her entire apartment up in flames. "A-Again?! Why again?! This is the third time already!" Jackie shouted to no one in particular in her grievance at her house getting blown up.

"Again?" Fiore asked, alarmed before waving it off. He stood up and helped her to her feet. "I'll take you to the entrance of the park, and … you can stay with me again and for as long as you want. I insist."

"W-With you?" Jackie echoed, surprised before shaking her head, "wait, w-wait, before that I need to find Gowland-," she started before gasping deeply in horror, covering her mouth with wide eyes. "THE NOTEBOOKS-! ARIA IS GOING TO MURDER ME!" Jackie shouted, lurching for the burning building but Fiore quickly grabbed onto her and prevented her from going in. "Let go! Getting burned getting them is better than what Aria would do to me!" She fruitlessly cried.

"Not like you haven't done so for 2 days already, Sugar Bun." He smirked and took out a walkie talkie "Here, F-Rico. A new explosion has targeted the upper park on zone F. The foreigner is alright. I'm issuing order Red-01. We'll do a complete sweep. I repeat, Proceed with order RED-0. Romeo-Echo-Delta-0-1," he stated before looking at Jackie. "That takes care of the Dutchess. But … you must inform My Lady of this if it was important and accept whatever punishment she deems fit." He then smiled. "You belong to The Berceuse, so your death will be fast or the experiments won't be that painful."

"Don't even joke." Jackie sourly huffed before rubbing her aching head.

"But it says so in your collar." He pointed to her choker and his tail wagged just a little, "I noticed it early today. It says 'Property of Aria Hadron Scherzi, if lost take her to the circus'."

" … irrelevant. A-Anyway, let's just go find Gowland before going to your place." Jackie heavily sighed.

"I'll explain to the dutchess. You should head to the circus now while the commotion is still going on and they don't know if you are alright or not."

"Y-Yeah, alright. I'll run now, then." Jackie said, taking in a deep breath before shaking off her fright.

"I'll see you tonight at my place." He took a key from his pocket and gave it to her. Then he pulled her in a sudden hug and placed a kiss on her cheek and letting go. "Take care, licorice."

"Yeah, sure. See you there." Jackie said, pocketing the key before taking off in a brisk, fast jog away.

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5 REVIEWS for the next chapter! I'm having a hoot writing Jackie in situations she's never been in before like this; it's so funny! I really hope you are enjoying this as much as I am :D

Chaos-dark-lord: Hello everyone. Can you guess what species the guy actually is? Well, I hope you are enjoying this as much as we are, so see you in the next chap.