A/N: Hey-yo~! Back again with more Wonderlandian mischief. Sorry it took me forever, for those who were waiting. It ended up being longer than I expected. Anywho, I do hope you're enjoying it so far. With that being said, thank you for reading. Comments/questions/concerns always welcome. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own this wonderful series.

PEW! PEW!

"Wh-What the hell!?" Trinity found herself ducking for cover behind the closest solid object as stray bullets zipped right on by. Most of what she assumed to be customers were running every which way in a panic, screaming and what not. It was strange, though... Perhaps it was due to the fact she being indirectly shot at that she didn't notice, but Trinity could have sworn these people were missing, well... their entire face... Yep definitely the panicky stress doing its work...

The heavy scent of salted butter that wafted up her nose was enough of a distraction to reveal that she was leaning against some form of unmanned popcorn machine. Looking down at one of the many prepackaged bags of popcorn that lined the front of the machine, then back up at the chaos that ran rampant throughout the park, and then down again. Trinity knew it was going to haunt her as she reached out to take one of the bags. If she was going to die in an amusement park, may as well die while being amused. She was by far too out of place to either join in or take off, though the later did sound rather plausible. She had no idea where she was, how she got here, or even how to get back.

Popping in a handful of buttered goodness, Trinity stood from her hiding spot and walked into the fray, no longer giving a flying f- wait... Was that guy wearing a top hat? She couldn't help but stop mid-pop when her eyes laid upon a rather dressy man in a top hat. He and another man in some... unique yellow clothes were firing at each other. The guy in yellow - he was somewhat older than the rest that seemed to be firing amongst themselves - was holding a heavy rifle, or at least what she assumed to be a rifle. Guns weren't really her thing as her younger brother abhorred violence. Top hat guy, on the other hand, was firing a tommy gun. Just the sight alone was enough to have her mentally screaming, "May the Godfather have mercy on you."

There was a moment's repose when the two stopped firing at each other long enough to take notice of a girl munching on popcorn, watching them intensely with seemingly no care in the world. It must have shocked them both as they turned away from the other just to stare at her for a moment.

"Oh please, don't mind me," Trinity waved to them before another handful made its way to her mouth. "I'm just an innocent bystander that just happens to be eating popcorn and watching a duel to the death. Please, continue to fire at each other for my amusement. Should I get injured in the process, by all means, continue on." Her tone and mannerisms were obviously sarcastic, denoting that she wasn't at all serious. At least her jump in the dark worked...for now.

The man with the top hat, which she finally was able to see the ornaments that adorned the brim of said hat, gave her an awry grin. Flashy guy in yellow, however, just tipped his head to the side with the confusion written all over his face.

"What's the matter, Mary? Something bothering you, Mary?" There was a smug grin on Mr. Top Hat's face as he turned face the flashy yellow guy.

There was a dangerous twitch that replaced the previous expression as the older gentleman turned to snarl at the man who called out to him. Mary? Was that his name? What were this guy's parents thinking when they named him? Or were they even thinking at all..? Probably not.

"I'll kill you Blood! Today, you die!"

Blood? He was looking at the guy with the top hat when he spoke, Trinity could only assume that that was his name. Sure, it sounded a little more... masculine, but in her opinion it wasn't any better a name. Refraining from laughing at their unfortunate names, she seen Mary raise his rifle. Was teasing really such an offense that it called for shooting at someone. Or perhaps... that was the entire reason the park was in such disarray in the first place? Hopefully not. That would have been so stupid.

"For what? Calling you by your name? That is your name, right?" Trinity didn't know how her attempt to create a cease-fire would go, but trying was better than doing nothing.

Mary flinched as she called him out, turning to look at her with a mix of anger and desperation. Did it bother him that much? "Well... yeah, but-"

"But what? If you'll not have people call you by your name than what would you have them call you by?" She was being unusually diplomatic for lord knows what reason as she took a few steps closer. Diplomatic yet nonchalant, that was the goal.

"Gowland. I'd prefer it if people called me Gowland," he stood up straight with a stern face after giving Blood a dissatisfied glare.

Mary Gowland? Mary... Gowland? It took everything in her power to not chuckle at the name. Now she seen why that guy was teasing him. His name was so similar to 'merry-go-round' that it couldn't have been a coincidence. "Well, Gowland, are you really gonna let a bully get the best of you and get under your skin so easily? It's that kind of reaction that prompts them to do it again, you know."

His reaction was like a child getting scolded. From behind her, a voice chipped in. "Yeah, Mary." The phrase got a low growl in response.

"And you!" Trinity flipped around, mainly in surprise as she didn't know he had managed to creep so close without noticing, and pointed an accusative finger at him and his ridiculous top hat. His tommy gun was no where to be seen, mysteriously, and there was now a short cane like thing. The actual identity of the object evaded her. "What are you? Twelve? That is such a juvenile move, teasing someone about their name. I've got pinkies that are more original and mature than you, 'Blood'. And quite frankly, I find you and your hat silly, so... Yeah! I apologize for interfering with such needless, obscene bloodshed. I shall take this popcorn and leave you two to your childish antics. Good day!"

She didn't stick around long enough to see how they reacted, turning on her heel and walking away. Quickly. She was sure that having that kind of attitude with two armed and dangerous men was most likely not her life's most wisest choice. However, she had a low boiling point when it came to people acting immature. Children up to a certain age were acceptable - to a point - otherwise it was a pet peeve. She bit her tongue when lashing out wasn't an option, but when there was nothing to stop her then she was definitely going to speak her mind. But in this case, the best move was to retreat. Any further rudeness to strangers was likely to leave her carcass full of various holes.

Trinity stopped paying attention to her surroundings after she felt the danger was gone, munching on her popcorn with mindless content. It didn't take long for her to find herself in front of the tall Clock Tower once again. Looking up at the tippy-top, where she was when she first got here, from her spot on ground level. It was so high... and that's when she noticed. It was midday. Or at least some time in the afternoon. But since when? It was evening just a little while ago. Was she really wandering all night and just didn't notice or something? Impossible. There was no way she could have gone a whole night and notice that she couldn't see where she was going. That, and there was still a minuscule amount of buttery goodness in her bag. Definitely would have been gone by now, if that were the case.

With a hair flip that had all of the long, messy brown locks placed once again behind her, Trinity started for the tower once again. Hopefully she didn't run into Mr. Rude Guy again. That encounter was short, but left a lasting impression. And a bad one at that. Tip-toeing around, she flinched when a voice suddenly spoke out to her.

"What are you doing here? I thought I told you to leave."

Turning around, she came face-to-face with the one guy she was hoping to evade. He was standing there, arms crossed, a not-so-pleased expression upon his face, raining down the glares. It wasn't really a pleasant feeling.

"I tried to go home, thanks for being concerned. But I have no idea where I am. Or how to get home. I was hoping to use this tower here to hopefully find something that looks familiar and go from there."

"Huh?"

"Yeah. That's what I was thinking when I was booted ever so gracefully by you earlier." It was these words that made Trinity swear she seen something akin to guilt in the eyes that looked away from her. But this guy? Feeling guilty? Trinity didn't see it happening from the little time that she knew him. "After being kidnapped by some guy with rabbit ears, thrown down some random hole, and somehow waking up on the top of this tower here, I don't find any of this surprising to be honest. Oh, and the immature men at that amusement park that were trying to shoot each other full of holes. That was an adventure, let me tell ya. And let's not forget that weird tasting 'potion' I was tricked into drinking. So yeah! Thanks for asking about my well-being and all that good stuff, but I'll be on my way now. Sorry to bo-"

"Potion?"

Trinity stopped herself as she had almost turned around to turn right back and look at the guy with an annoyed expression. "Yeah. Or at least that's what he called it. Uhm.. 'Potion of Hearts' or some other nonsense like that."

"Damn that rabbit. Going over me and doing as he pleases," the words were hissed under his breath mostly to himself. Looking from somewhere on the wall towards her with a look of defeat, he sighed. "I guess it can't be helped. Follow me."

Trinity did so without much thought, but as her feet began to move she wondered why? "Go away. Follow me. He isn't very good at making up his mind, is he..?" She mulled over several other things as she eyed the back of his head. Sleek dark blue hair sat neatly tied with a ribbon at the center of his back. And that jacket... Was it just her, or was everyone in this place so old-fashioned when it came to dressing? The guy with the top hat, Blood, and the other guy with the flashy yellow clothes, Gowland, were also wearing clothes from the same time era. It was odd, but perhaps it was just her that was the odd one.

Stepping through the threshold, Trinity didn't know what to make of what she saw. There were loose papers everywhere, and clocks, parts, tools and good number of other things all tossed into a single room. Boy, did this guy have a lot of clocks. There was a bed, which led her to believe that the space she was in was this guy's room, but it was like half a bunk bed, the bottom bunk missing. Under it, there was a desk and loads of stuff on it. There was another desk and from the looks of it, this was the one used most often. He sat in the chair stationed behind it and continued to pull something out from one of the drawers. Trinity stood on the other side, letting her eyes roam the wonder that was this guy's living/working space.

"You said you were brought here by a man with rabbit ears?"

The fact that this guy was listening to anything Trinity said earlier was a surprise to her. "Y-Yeah... I think he called himself Peter or something."

"Does he look like this?" He held up a small picture, sighing when Trinity confirmed his identity. "This is Peter White, Prime Minister of Heart Castle."

"Whaaat!? That guy's a Prime Minister?" The very idea of that pervy rabbit guy actually being someone important was quite astonishing. She paused for a moment to ponder just how anything got done there...

"Yes, and he's very dangerous."

"No way. That guy?"

"Yes. He's known to shoot the employees for just about no reason at all."

"That's... awful..."

"Mm," he nodded, pulling other things from the drawer and closing it. Holding up another picture. "He works of the Queen of Hearts, Vivaldi, who is also a ruthless person." Looking at the photo, Trinity seen a beautiful woman with curled black hair and an elegant face. The red dress she wore seemed to suit her very well. From what she could tell, this woman didn't look very dangerous. Unless looks could kill. That'd be a different story.

"But don't be fooled by appearances," Trinity flinched when he seemed to read her mind. "Her favorite saying is, 'Off with their heads,' which she says for the most trivial of things." He found big blue orbs blinking at him. Such a pretty lady would do something so heartless? Guess she was a living oxymoron... Adverting his gaze to the next thing in line, he unrolled a map and pointed to one corner of it.

"Heart Castle, ruled by the Queen, is just one of three territories here fighting for dominance. There's also Hatter Mansion, lead by Blood Dupre, and the Amusement Park, owned by Gowland. Both are-"

"Blood and Gowland?" Trinity blinked at the pictures he placed over their perspective territories. In them were indeed the two men she met at the park. There was no way such immature people could be so important.

Over-looking her little interruption with a short sigh, he continued. "Both are very dangerous though for different reasons. The Hatter Family, lead by Blood, is our local mafia."

"The mafia!? No way. That guy?" Maybe she caught him on one of his off days, which she was suddenly grateful for. In hindsight, Trinity was relieved that she left the park when she did. She would have most certainly been shot full of holes. But at least the tommy gun made sense now... The man before her just cocked an eyebrow in a silent question. "Ah, right. When I went to the park earlier, there were people shooting at each other and these two were some of them. I might have said some things I probably shouldn't have..."

He gave her a short nod and continued. "Gowland is the owner of the Amusement Park, and while not as dangerous as Blood or the Queen, is still capable of many things," There seemed to be some hidden warning in his message, but what he was trying to get at was a failed attempt on Trinity. "It's a three-way war between the them that will probably never come to an end."

"O..kay... But what about you? Where do you fit in in all of this?"

"!?" He looked up at her with a blank sort of shock.

"You haven't even told me your name yet. I'm Trinity, by the way," there was a innocent curiosity in her words, but old habits made it sound anything but.

With a small 'ahem' into a closed fist, he sat up straight. How could he really forget to introduce himself? "I am Julius Monrey, caretaker of this Clock Tower," he pointed to another area of the map. "This is the only neutral area in the power struggle. And you, Trinity, are an Outsider, not from this country."

"Well that's kinda rude."

Julius sighed. "No, that's what someone is called when they aren't from the Country of Hearts, an Outsider. It's a title, not an insult."

"I see... I guess that kinda makes sense. But I still don't like it."

"Think of it as you will. But this country is dangerous for Outsiders to be wandering around aimlessly."

"Okay then, Julius. How do I get home?"

"That is impossible, now that you drank the potion of hearts."

"Eh? How is it impossible. Just point me in the right direction and-"

"It's not that simple."

"What do you mean?"

"In your game, you 'can't play alone'. And so, you 'can't go home alone'."

"Game? Peter was saying something about that, too. What do you mean?"

"If you don't play the game, you can't go home. Those are the rules."

"Games, rules. None of this is making any sense..." Trinity was standing with her arms crossed as she thought to herself, eyes downcast. It was then from the corner of those downcast eyes that she noticed. "Whoa!" Running around the desk to the window behind it, she placed her hands on the glass and looked out. There, right there before her eyes, the time of day changed on a dime. It went from a bright, sunny afternoon so the middle of the night in no time flat. "It did that earlier, too, didn't it? What happened?"

Looking at him from over her shoulder, Julius looked at her with a mild degree of irritation. "It's normal here. Time changes in zones in a random order. We never know what will come next."

"But how?" she asked, looking back out the window at the countless stars that sat in the sky.

"It's a dream."

"This is... just a dream?"

"Call it what you will," his tone was bland yet serious as he looked at her. "But it's a never-ending dream unless you play the game. You had a chance to leave, but that vanished when you drank that potion. As I said earlier, your game is whether or not you can return home. You 'cannot play alone' and you 'cannot leave alone'."

"Ugh. You people have some lame rules. Of course I'll return home. There's someone there that needs me. But, uh, how do I know when I can return home."

"That bottle the potion was in. Look at it."

With a quiet "Hm?", Trinity reached into her pocket to fish out the small glass vial that somehow managed to find its way into her hoodie pocket. To her surprise, there was a tiny amount of liquid lingering there in the bottom. The Outsider was sure that she drank every last drop, so how some remained in there was a mystery to her. "There's... some in there. But..."

"As I thought. The more you interact with the people in this world, the more liquid will accumulate. When it's full, you can go home."

"'As I thought'? You make it sound like some of this is common knowledge, but at the same time like you don't know at all."

"Heh," as Julius leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms in a casual manner, there was a look on his face that she couldn't quite pin. Bittersweet? No, it didn't seem that attached. More like... he forgot something important and couldn't remember what it was. "To be honest, this all seems like horrible deja vu but as far as I can tell, this is the only time I've explained this to an Outsider."

"How often do you guys get 'Outsiders' in Wonderland?"

"They're very rare," he looked up at her with a matter-of-fact tone. "You're the only one I've ever met."