Author's note: I'm super glad, I had review asking me questions about Alice and stuff! This only mean, that I picked your interrest, heh~ :D

Great, because the truth about Alice is far far from being discovered! But, I think some of you can guess it if, you understood the hints I left wondering around. Anyway, I'm glad you appreciated my fanfic. As usual I apologize in advance if you see grammar errors... English is not my fluent language so I definitely did errors that I didn't notice...

Oh, and be aware of this sign:

#= means check note at the end of the chapters.

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Chapter 2: The lost one

Third party p.o.v.

Back at the Clocktower, an unexpected guest arrived. Althought, his eyes were glue to the broken clock he was fixing, Julius already knew his visiter. He expected said person, to visit him because of the outsider, he recently found in his domain.

"I see that you kicked her out as well. You never change Clockmaker."

The visiter said while he approached the desk full of clocks where the owner of the tower was currently working.

"When she arrived you did the same? Do you recall that?". The unknown man asked.

However, the navy bluenette remain unfazed by the intruder's words instead, he concentrated on his work. Unsatisfield of Julius's lack of reaction, the visitor turned around and decided to leave. Since he knew about Julius's antisocial character and he was sure that he wasn't an exception for the clockmaker's uninterested attitude to other people, he knew that it was a lose cause.

"Tsk, Forget it. Just remember this Clockmaker, that woman is not Alice".

The unexpected visitor coldly said with a heavy icy tone. Just before, he was about to exist, Julius, although with his eyes still occupied with fixing the clock, asked:

"Then, who is she?" He said with his low and masculine voice and added...

"That girl is an unstable existence in our country. She's guideless. Her presence here, is simply breaking the rules, yet she still here and the administrators still haven't taken any action either..."

Julius calmly explained as he recall the sensations and doubts he had when he met the [H/c] haired girl. He was a roleholder afterall, he sensed that there was something odd with her. Especially starting with her clothes that were the exact copy of his beloved outsider friend...

The visitor didn't turn around to answers his question, instead he remained at the door with his hand still on the doorknock.

"...Who knows?" he muttered and left.

Once, Julius was alone again, he lifted his eyes and stared at the closed door that was parallel to his desk.

He couldn't help worrying. Things in the country of Heart had become extremely unstable. The moves# had become more frequent, same goes for the time periods and there had been a couple of storms appearing(in which he wish he could forget what happened).Although, right now things had become calmer, as a roleholder he could sense that it wasn't over yet.

He thought about the outsider he sent off... At first glance she looked independent and a little childish. But he indeed hoped she doesn't met some specific roleholders who changed in a quite negative way since that person's disappearance. Not to mention, he suspected that person to know what's truly happening to Wonderland.

·

Back to Y/n...

"This is such a huge mistake. A complete fail. " I said aloud to myself.

Earlier...

Instead of following the bricked streets and remaining in the populated area, I entered the forest that surrounded the Clock tower. I was so excited at first, I went further and further within the dense forest, convinced that surely I'll eventually find those hourglasses. Plus, logically speacking, if I continue to walk straight I'll just exit the forest and end up in another domain. So, I stupidly wondered around. At first I searched calmly while humming my favorite song and occasionally observing plants that were unfamilair or simply bizzare to me. But, after two or maybe three hours, no hourglasses appeared.

I checked behind the bushes, looked behind the trees, even stared at the sky, demanding for hourglasses to magically appear but, nothing. After finally accepting defeat, I decided to head back to the tower. I was kinda getting hungry too. Judging from the noise that my stomach was making, I probably didn't arrive inside this game full.

"I should have followed Julius's instructions. If I went to the role holders like Blood or Vivaldi, I wouldn't be here starving but sipping tea!"

I lamented while recalling those delicious CGs and manga illustrations that showed the roleholders and Alice enjoying a a nice brewed tea, at a big table adorned with high class sweets and cakes. Just the thought, made me salivate. I'm so hungry. Hungry.

I continued to walk while praying God that Julius would have mercy of me and share his food and hospitality. "Begging Julius for food... that will surely be awkward and embarassing... But, I got no choice here. "

...But, first I wonder if he would even open his door to me... Or maybe the tower is always open..? Or else how could his client hand him the clocks?! It's not like he would go greet them personally. That's just not like him. So it must be open to public.

As I was lost in my thoughts, while casually walking and ripping leaves to past time, I realize that something was wrong. Terribly wrong. I been walking for a while now, more specifically a couple of hours, but, I still haven't come any near to the town! I should have been there right now! I looked around and around.

"Oh, NO."

Back to the present...

"Ouch!" I screamed as my dress was caught by one of the bushes. As I tried to get it off, I fell backward exactly where there was a line of ants! Enraged by the sudden intrusion, the ants quickly reacted and climbed on my arm and legs. Soon after, unbearable bug bites started. I stood in a flash, and tried to get the ants off. As I stood my hair was then caught by a tree branch! While freeing my hair, I walked straight and bumped into a tree! I let out a scream of frustrations at this horrible turn of events.

I was now covered with dirt, leaves and scratches. My skin was full of bug bites that I simply couldn't help scratching. And the edge of my dress was even ripped! It's unbelievable how blindness increased my clumsiness! And yeah, now it's Night. The forest is completely pitch black. It happened a while ago. And now I'm alone in this stupid forest.

Forget about starvation, my feet hurts more!! Listening to my body's condition, I decided to rest on a big rock that served as a sit.

"I can't believe this... I feel like Alice lied to me in the game. She said that clothes in the country of heart don't get dirty but, look at me! I'm been in this condition for a while now!"

I said in esasperation as I scratched the bug bites in my arm. My surrounding was pitch black but I was surrounded by the animals' noises. It almost like they're laughting at me!

"This is the worst... I wanna go home and sleep".

As I said so, I smelled something "nice". I enhaled deeply trying to figure what it was... Food. I quickly stood up in disbelief. Is this just an illusion or is there actually a house nearby?! Never the less, I decided to follow the tempting aroma. I moved quietly through the forest while my stomach made noises of hunger.

The closer I get to the smell, the more the forest was illuminated by the firelight ahead. Apparently, someone was cooking outdoors. When I was close enough, I hid behind a tree and I observed the surrounding of the firefit illuminating that area. There was a beige colored tent at a side, in front of the fire there was a log and a grey pot sustained by two sticks on the fire.

The sweet and alluring aroma was coming out from that pot. Hmmm. So delicious... My stomach growled louder.

To my surprise there wasn't anyone in this small campfire. Sure, I was hungry but, I wasn't that nasty to eat other people's food while they're not looking. So for courtesy, I decided to wait for the owner and then just come out from my hiding and explain my situation. Plus, observing first is important. I wouldn't want to go there without knowing who they were. They might be dangerous people too! We're talking about the country of hearts afterall...

So I decided to just stay behind the tree, waiting. Minute after minute passed. After almost thirty minutes, no signs of someone coming out or even sign of life coming from the tent or someone approaching. I was personally getting annoyed and stressed. This wait was torture! Remember that I'm still hungry here! But still, I decided to resist the urge of stealing so, I remained still on my spot.

"So, for how long are you planning to stay here? The food is getting overcooked y'know. "

A masculine voice said from somewhere terribly near me. I looked at the source and what I found was a man. He was behind me, almost a few centimeters separating us. Close enough that the words were literally whispered to my left ear.

The sudden realization of his presence, made me jump from the surprise, while my heart skipped a beat.

He stood there with a bright smile that radiated his entertained mood. He's tall and athletic; a brunette with scarlet eyes matching his vibrant red coat.

With a hand on my chest, I tried to calm my beating heart, all the while, I put distance between us. I looked at the guy at my side, who still grin at me waiting for an answer.

"I-I got lost. I saw this firepit and wanted to search for help but, the owner wasn't around so I waited here. I didn't want to intrude..."

"Hmmm... Then, what's a cute miss like you wondering around here?" he said with his cheerfull voice but, his eyes where somehow... Cold.

He keeps eyeing me from top to bottom, his gazes made me extremely anxious. But, I couldn't show weakness before this man.

Ace was the Knave of the Heart Castle.. Although, the Queen of Hearts is his superior he never showed genuine loyalty or kindership towards her or the other roleholders, except Julius... He was a person who couldn't accept his role, this leading him to do activities unbefitting his role. In the games and mostly in all the Dj mangas I read of the serie, Ace was often viewed as the main antagonist. Heck, even in manga dedicated to the AlicexAce fandom, he is often features as the lover and at the same time the enemy! This man is dangerous.

In the game, Alice saw Ace as the cheerful, kind and honest man but as she go deeper to his route we discover that Ace is probably one of the most messed up character in the serie. One that kills anyone and anybody. Someone that won't hold back his instincts just for the sake of his friendship with Alice. A man that doesn't let anyone doctrine him.

Generally speaking Ace is a false Nice guy, he's violent and unpredictable. So, knowing all these I couldn't help putting my guards up. I must pay attention to what I say and actions! This guy is too scary, I don't want to die in his hand. I haven't even met the others!

"I entered the forest because I saw... a rabbit. And I chased it." I said with a confused tone because I myself, didn't know if I told an appropriate lie. Plus, my response sounded so dull that I could almost hear my inner self say that were doom while facepalming.

Seriousely, this situation is getting worst by the second!

"Oh, A rabbit?! Is it a white one or a Hare?!" He cheerfully asked with a glow of interest in his eyes. With a hand already on his sword and eyes scanning the area, he added: "An exciting sparring before dinner is perfect. Though, I do hope it's the Prime minister."

"No no, it was a normal rabbit! There's no need for sparring. You can't challenge it! " I immediately corrected after I heard him mention Peter's title and realizing the terrible misunderstanding.

"Heh, that's lame..." He said as he relaxed his body and put his sword back to its place.

Ace walked towards the firefit, he took off his red coat and rested it on a tree. When he turned around and sat on the log in front of the fire, he gave me a friendly smile and patted the log, indicating me to sit beside him. "Well, sit down. Let's eat. If we wait a little longer the food will go bad."

When I sit next to him, I looked at the food in the pot. It looked like meat stew. It looked delicious.

Ace, from somewhere, got two wooden bowls accompanied by two spoons. He handed me one of each. "Here, let's dig in! Oh, don't get embarrassed and such, I know you're hungry. Your stomach noises is what betrayed you, y'know. When you approached this camp, I almost mistook you for a wild animal."

He laughed as we ate the just-cooked stew. Oh, Ace, if you're trying to comfort me then you're doing it wrong. I even feel more embarassed! Stupid stomach!

"H-Ha ha... I'm sorry. I was really starving." I apologized while trying to forget it by changing the subject. "This stew is really delicious. You're a good cook."

"Oh, you like it!? It's Boar stew!" He chipped pleasantly.

"I used the boar I accidentally killed a while ago. I was dealing some nasty guys and suddenly I found the boar dead after the fight. Really lucky, right?"

"I-indeed." I anxiously said with a forced smile. So, I'm eating a victim of his carnage... Knowing him, he probably killed some faceless on the forest and during gunfire the boar was shot. Ace, you brute.

Seriousely, this guy is merciless even to animals! I sympatheticaly stared at the meat floating in the stew in my hand. "I'm sorry, this happened to you, Mister boar..."

"What about you? You look really dirty and ragged... What happened?" he question while looking at my dirty and worn out clothes.

"Oh, these. It's a long story... I'm not really good in the dark so, when night arrived I ended up running into trees, bushes, bugs, and well, you can guess the rest."

"Heh, you're sure clumsy... Here, let me lend you a hand." he snapped his fingers and in a second, there was flash that forced me to close my eyes. When I opened them, I saw that my clothes were back to normal again, as if I never went to the forest.

"Unfortunately, I can't do anything to the bug bites... But, I do have a cream that could reduces their swelling and irritation."

He said as he stood up and went inside the tent to get the item. At the time, we already finished the food in our bowl, so I remained there waiting for him.

When he found it, he once again sat next to me and asked me to show where I was bitten. He opened the container and gently applied the cream on my arms. I insisted that I should take care of it myself but, Ace didn't budge. According to him it is because he's a Knight that he has to do it.

He applied them so gently and kindly it was almost scary. This was Ace afterall. Although, I knew the danger lingering in this man, I couldn't ignore the surprise when I felt his big hands that was supposed to be rough due to his military job, be so gentle and calming. You could say it was strange.

Once, he was done, he put the cream away. I then thanked him with a kind smile which he kindly exchange with his.

"You know, you're strangely kind to someone you just met. I mean you don't even know me... Why do you bother helping me without asking anything in return. " I declared as I said aloud what had been bothering me for a while.

At my words, Ace stared at me for a few second then finally gave a smile. It wasn't the same smile he kept giving me untill now. If you only looked at his smiling mouth, you would never notice the difference. Only when you look at his face, you'll be able to notice that his eyes glimmed more scarlet than usual. It was scary. Especially with the two of us alone. Needless, to say our surrounding went silent.

With no humor and kindness in his voice he said: "I'm not kind for free".

He raised his right hand and pressed it against my chest, in particular at my left breast. The sudden touch froze me in place. I couldn't move. Or rather I didn't know how to react.

"Emmnn... Ace.. T-This is kinda...Emmn... Can you please move." I stuttered while holding back my fist which was eagerly waiting to punch him away from me. But, I hesitated because I was afraid of his counterattack. And we all know, I have no chance of winning against this guy.

"Shhhh- I can't hear it, if you make all these fuss." he silenced me as he now moved closer to me and leaned his chestnut-brown head on my chest.

The closeness bothered me at first but, soon I recalled how this scene was very familiar. It was similar to when Alice spent a night with him in his tent! Oh, dear lord... Don't tell me, I'll be experiencing what she went throught!! I thought in esasperantion in my head. That's impossible though, I'm not Alice!

"Ahh, this sensation... This sound... I missed it so much." Ace said with a calm voice that quickly brought me back to my current situations.

"Eh? Wha-what do you mean?" I said playing dumb. I couldn't afford to make the same mistake I did with Julius. It'd be really bothersome explaining why I knew them or all these familiar scenes.

Ace's head was still pressed on my chest. I tried getting him off but he didn't budge. I couldn't see his face but, his voice's tone had become softer almost distant when he said: "You know, I once knew a girl with the same sound as yours... ".

"...And just like you she was also a foreigner." This time he looked up at me and his eyes were colder than before. "Now tell me, who are you?"

His gaze locked my eyes so, I couldn't help but, look at him and replying. "I'm Y/n."

"Y/n. It's a nice name but, unfortunately I'm not familiar with it. You must be new then, Y/n~"

He said my name in a teasing way before finally getting off me."Now, last question. This is important so no lying. Are we clear?"

Staring at his serious eyes accompanied by his cold voice and his face poorly illuminated by the campfire, all I could do was nod my head as I felt my sixth sense warning me of the danger.

"Do you know Alice?"

The mention of that name clearly alarmed me of something I wasn't expecting: I wasn't the heroine of this game. Considering how I started and my clothes, I thought I was Alice, I didn't even speculate that she's was in the country of hearts too.

That thought aside, now I have to deal with Ace. Technically speaking I didn't know Alice in person so...

"Alice? Someone called Alice... No. No, I'm not acquintanded with anyone with that name... " I answered with a calm yet, resolute voice while staring right into Ace's crimson eyes.

Although, Ace mostly acted as the cheerful dump guy amoung the roleholders, I knew he was extremely observant. So, if I have to lie to him I had to be convinced I'm telling the truth! With that in mind, I didn't back down when he continue to look into my eyes. Then with a last stare we finally broke eye contact and Ace returned to his goofy self.

"Hmmm, you don't seem to be lying. That's good, you're quite a honest girl aren't ya!"

"...yeah." I replied while not hiding my creeped out reactions to those killing stare he'd been shooting me just a second ago.

"Oh, sorry about all the questioning. You see, Alice is a precious friend of mine. She kinda went missing. And that worries me alot. Then, there's you who suddenly appeared in this forest, wearing the same outfit she often wore. You do realize, how suspicious you are, right?" He explained to me as he noticed my discomfort at his previous actions.

Well, that make sense... Though I wonder why Julius didn't say anything about.

I looked down at my clothes and explained myself: "These? Believe me. This isn't intentional. When I arrive here I strangely have them on. Seriousely, I was also wondering about that.."

"You're new in this country... So, Y/n have you met anyone else beside me?" He asked me with an interested tone.

"Well, I met Julius and... Peter! I also met Peter White. He's the one who brought me here".

"Peter? Well, that's strange..."

Ace said with a puzzled expression.

"Hm? Strange..? What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, you see it's not that, it's the first time he brought someone in. The problem is why. You see the Prime minister had been in a bad mood recently and he is extremely devoted to Alice. So, I don't understand why he would bring another girl beside her."

He explained with a hand on his chin.

"...Anyway, hey you met Julius?! You know he and me gets along well".

I know, Ace. I couldn't help but, feel happy hearing him talk about Julius that way. The relationship of friendship/parenthood between them, have always been admirable to me.

"You're a good friend. I don't know Julius for long time, but I learnt he's very grumpy so, seeing someone like you getting along with him so well, is nice."I happily told him.

"Eh? Oh, yeah right..." He looked surprised at first, almost as if I caught him off guard then he quickly turned his gaze away with a hand of his face like he's trying to hide something. When he noticed me staring at him, he recover his normal attitude and gave me a cheerfull smile.

"Anyway, let's call it a day. It's already late. And as a Knight I ask of you to spend a night at my tent tonight." Ace said while taking my hand and leading me inside the beige tent. I wanted to refuse but then, I decided to listen to him. The forest looked even more scary at night so,... Yeah, safety first.

He handed me a cover and a pillow. He then proceed at taking of his black officer uniform that usually was hidden by his red coat. When I realized I kept staring at him changing, I quickly turned around and lied down. Oh, dear... How could I have stare at him like that as if he's a piece of meat!? I do hope he didn't saw me staring...

I shyly throw a look at him again only to saw him snickering at me.

Needless to say my cheeks heated up from the embarrassement but, no words came out of my mouth!

Seeing my reaction, Ace bursted into a laughter as he sat next to me. He playfully rubbed my head with his right hand, making my hair all tangled up.

"Hahaha. You're funny, Y/n! Really funny. I missed these moments. Being with you makes me nostalgic as well..." He softly said. But, this time his voice then sounded distant.

"Nostalgic? Why?" I asked as I adjusted my hair.

We now laid down. Ace at my right.

"It's nothing... So, Y/n what are your plans for tomorrow?"

Good question.

The hourglasses mission ended as a faillure so, I better change strategy. I don't think the game would let me cheat using its system,... That's why I think, I'll just go do it the right way which is... Visit all the roleholders!

Now, what should I choose...? Hatter or the Castle? At the Hatter, I could met Blood, the twins and Elliot... The hatter are knows as one of the most dangerous... Of course, I could rely on my gameplay informations but considering I'm not Alice, I hardly think the events will repeat themselves. So, even though they are shown kind to Alice in the serie, it's not guarantee they be the same with me.

But, if I choose the Castle... I might meet Peter who is heartless to everyone except Alice. And if, he knew I been spreading rumors about him and me, it'd be dead end for me.

So the castle is dangerous as well.

Ughh, Castle or Hatter..? You know what let's choose the most lenient one.

"The Amusement park. Tomorrow I'll head there". I firmly said to Ace.

"Oh the Park! Sounds fun. Hey, I know a short-cut want me to guide you?"

"NO!"

At his suggestion, my instinct naturally responded on their own! It is known that Ace has no directions at all! Being guided by him is terrible idea... Right now, I don't know where am I, so I fear of getting lost even any further.

"Oh, come on, Y/n! Oh, now that I think about it... I never told you my name. I'm Ace, the knight of the Queen of Hearts and also the general of the military faction. Pleasure to meet you" He proudly said with his hand on his jaw sustaining his head as he tried looking at me from above. He then stretched his hand forward.

I already know you Ace... I helplessly thought to myself. Never the less, I took his hand and shake it.

"The pleasure is mine"...i think. Because I still fear him even if, strangely he acted a little too friendly than I predicted.

"Does that mean you'll be coming with me tomorrow?" he said eyes radiating with excitement.

"Go to sleep Ace." I cut him off. It's been a long day of walking so, I need rest.

"...and No."

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Ace's P.O.V.

In the pitch darkness of the night, I waited for the girl's breathing to finally relax and stabilize. Indicating that she fallen asleep.

By then, my eyes had gotten use to the low illumination making it possible for me to distinguish her facial features. She fairly have a nice face, can't say cute neither beautifull. She's pretty average. Her clothes was the exact copy of Alice's outfit. If it wasn't for the face I would have mistaken her for the previous outsider.

Earlier...

That day, after I prepared food at my camp, I decided to gather woods for the fire when suddenly I heard a sweet and pitch voice. I investigated the voice and saw that it belong to a young girl. From afar, her clothes was the first thing that caught my eyes. Happiness and joy filled me inside, emotions frozen in a long time, awakened. I walked towards her from behind, planning to tease her. As I walk closer...

"Ali--" I halted when I didn't recognize her. The girl wasn't Alice.

I quickly hid behind a tree when she turned her head.

My role quickly told me that something was off. I could feel that she was an outsider but, it was different from what I felt when I met Alice. Whenever, I looked at Alice I could always sense Nightmare and Peter White's powers lingering around her. And later on even the Hatter's. But, with this girl, there was nothing.

A clean slate.

There was also that thing with her clothes that definitely was suspicious.

I silently stalked her in the woods. I countlessly tried to attack her from behind, ready to interrogate her. However, I hesitated at each attack when I saw her clumsiness.

It was kinda... Fun. A strange feeling indeed. Nostalgic. Feeling like that had been rare for the roleholders, frozen since the sudden lost of that person.

The new outsider will surely be entertaining.

I thought while the other part of me warned me to inform the jokers of the disturbance in front of me. Haha... Don't worry, if she gets too suspicious I'll just kill her first before telling the admin. For now, I want to see what she has to offer.

I then I silently walked towards her, with my most dazzling smile...

"So, for how long are you planning to stay here?"

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Author's note:

First some note references:

#The "moves" Julius mentioned are referred to ocurrances that happened in Clover and Diamond.

#The "storm" is a fenomenon that happened in Daiya no kuni no Alice Twin World.

#In Daiya no kuni no Alice, it was once mentioned that the "Roles" given to the main characters actually have their own personality. So, Ace was talking to "the Knight of Hearts" in his head.

The slight romance with the roleholders wasn't in my initial plans for this story but, reading in reviews about people hoping for romance and alternative endings made me change my mind. So, I hope you enjoyed this slight AcexReader!

And lastly, I wonder what you think about "the visitor" that talked to Julius. Who do you think that guy is? :3