Jackie trotted down the road around town, finding herself freaked out by all of the changes; none of them were serious changes at all but it was the minor changes that made her the most uneasy. While the streets were familiar what kept throwing her off were the massive mushrooms sprouting up out of nowhere all over town. They weren't there earlier; it's like they just suddenly appeared when the Dawn Time Change came around. Her frown deepened as she tried to think hard about how this all happened. Blood said something about a move but what he said made no sense. Alice had to know what was going on and she needed to find her. Since she had been here longer than she has Alice most likely had the insight as to what was happening.

After wrestling her way free of the sleeping twins and escaping without waking them somehow, a servant told her Dupre and Alice were strolling around town. That in itself was a rather cute and tame date for the odd couple but the engineer didn't feel like sitting around and waiting for them to come back.

As she continued to walk around the town she found herself getting more and more anxious over the thought of what happened to Mary and Boris. Where were they? Were they alright or were they hurt somewhere, wherever the Amusement Park went? Jackie could be rather stoic at times where her face did not portray just how deep her worry was but her stomach was churning and aching over how much it hurt her not knowing what happened to her precious Amusement Park and what happened to everyone else who was there.

Jackie heavily sighed again as she rubbed her aching head. All of this thinking was really starting to upset her.

"JACKIE~!" A loud voice meowed loudly as Jackie sucked in a fast breath, whipping around and tightly hugging Boris back as he tightly gripped her in a hug.

"This is so cool! I didn't know if you made it over in the move or not." He toothily grinned as Jackie held him more tightly, not saying a word. Seeing Boris took so much of the pressure off her chest that she was admittedly lightheaded now. "Hey~ come on," Boris said, lightly rubbing her head as she sucked in a deep breath and let go.

"Alright Boris, start talking. What in the world happened to the Amusement Park?" Jackie started, feeling her heart aching, "is Gowland and the others alright? Why was the Amusement Park there one Time Change and suddenly disappeared the next? And how are you here-," she started before he pushed his furry scarf into her mouth, making her gag out the loose hairs as he lightly laughed.

"Come on, relax, nothing bad happened to them. Come on, let's go to the ice cream parlor and I'll explain it there." Boris grinned as he took her hand, trotting off down the street with her in tow.

"Can't you just explain what happened to me now?" Jackie impatiently asked, pulling his arm back as he let out a sigh. His finger tapped against her head, making her peel off as he smiled.

"Come on, Jackie. Everything is just fine; it was just the move," Boris shrugged, "it happens every now and again; totally normal."

"Nothing is normal here. How is it 'normal' for an entire territory to vanish overnight?" Jackie pressured, wondering briefly if the Amusement Park was still there somewhere but she just couldn't find it.

"Because we moved from Heart Country to Clover Country." Boris answered with a shrug before his head suddenly snapped around, his eyes becoming excited slits as a creepy grin flashed across his face.

"Boris," Jackie growled, grabbing his fur and trying to pull him back down to her but something permanently had his attention.

"Stay right here and get ready to catch him," he grinned, leaping into the alleyway silently. Jackie let out a heavy sigh and deeply frowned in annoyance, briefly wondering if it was the twins he was going after. But as to why she would have to catch the twins when they would just fight back-

"SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" A piercingly loud shriek ensued, snapping her out of her thoughts as she looked up to see a green coated mouse sprinting out from the alley with Boris chasing him.

"Whoa, what?!" Jackie shouted, seeing the mouse try to make a break for it before she automatically shot forward, catching him in his arms. The boy struggled and kept screaming in fear, nearly breaking her grasp twice before she locked her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "W-What is going on right now?! Boris, what are you doing?!" Jackie shouted at him as the feline trotted around her side, sneakily grinning as he looked over the mouse.

"Ha ha~ caught again, rat." Boris evilly grinned, taking out his gun and nudging it against his head.

"Squeeak! D-Don't eat me, Mr. kitty!" The boy screamed, hiding his face against Jackie's shoulder as she brought her hand up, blocking the nozzle of Boris's gun.

"Boris stop that, you're scaring him!" Jackie scolded, turning away from him to keep her body between the fighting boys but he easily circled her with his eyes on the mouse.

"So? He's just a rat." Boris said with a cheeky shrug as he slipped out a fork, wickedly grinning, "now let's eat!" He grinned as Jackie's arm wrapped around the boy's head protectively. The prongs of the fork lightly pricked her arm as he tensed up, appearing rather uneasy as he pulled the fork back and saw the small dabs of blood.

"That's enough, Boris." Jackie stated in a finalized tone, glaring at him as he blinked, startled before his expression fell to a rather uneasy one.

"Hey come on, this isn't funny anymore." Boris said, leaning towards her arm and giving the small stab wound a few licks.

"It wasn't funny from the beginning. Don't go chasing him around anymore, you're scaring him!"

"He's just a rat, Jackie." Boris huffed, his eyes narrowing in annoyance, "cats chase rats."

"Come on Boris, lighten up." Jackie countered, trying to play it off a bit as she more tightly held onto the shivering boy.

"Ugh. You foreigners all act the same, taking away my fun," Boris pouted, "fine, I'll just go mess with the twins then. Enjoy your time with the rat." He growled, clearly hurt before he trotted off grumbling. Jackie made sure he wasn't going to turn around and start chasing the boy again before she loosened her hold, seeing him looking up at her with watery eyes.

"W-Wh-Why do you smell like the twins, Ms. kitty?" He asked, clearly almost on the verge of sobbing again, "y-y-you aren't here to just bully me, are you?" He asked, trembling some more as Jackie frowned. Yeah, she definitely did smell like the twins after being forced to sleep in the same bed as them and Boris too since she hugged him.

"Do the twins and Boris bully you a lot?" Jackie asked, letting him take a somewhat shy step back as he appeared to debate on either answering or running away.

"Yeah … i-it's why I ran away to Clover Country b-bu-but now they're here too." He sniffled, clearly upset. Jackie stared at him, still not understanding this whole Heart Country and Clover Country business before she let out a sigh. He perked up, ears low against his head before Jackie grinned.

"Hey, want to show me where the ice cream parlor is? I want to buy you some ice cream." She said as Pierce's ears perked up, surprised before his eyes began to excitedly glow.

"R-Really?!" He shouted joyfully, trembling in happiness.

"Do you not want to?" Jackie asked with a tease as the brightest smile flashed across his face.

"Yes! Chu~," he said, throwing himself onto her before kissing her on the cheek, "thank you! Chu!" He continued, kissing the corner of her lips as Jackie's eyes flashed, sensing what was fast approaching, "it's just over-" he started moving his lips onto her mouth before he hand shot between them, catching his mouth and seeing him blink, puzzled. He stared at her, eyes beginning to water again before Jackie hugged him tightly, seeing him pause before smiling as he hugged her back. Jeez, this guy is more high maintenance and sensitive than the twins and that's really saying something.

"Come on, let's hurry up and get some ice cream." She said, pulling him along as he grabbed hold of her hand.

"Yay~ I'm so glad I picked you up, Ms. Kitty! You're so nice!" He happily cried, hugging her arm as she looked him over. He didn't seem to be young but he definitely acted like a kid. She let out a heavy sigh, lightly hugging him back with one arm while wondering why she seemed to attract the younger Role Holders. To the twins she was like an older sister and now it seemed she was like an older sister to this guy too. Oh.

"Hey, what's your name? I don't think you ever told me." Jackie said as he cheerfully looked up at her.

"My name is Pierce Villiers!" He excitedly grinned.

"Well it's nice to meet you, Pierce. I'm Jackie, not Ms. Kitty." Jackie smiled, gently rubbing his ear like she does with Boris at times. He perked up, his ear twitching under her palm before he seemed to melt against her with a content and happy smile.

Jackie and Pierce both walked into the ice cream parlor which was fairly empty of people. She purchased a cheesecake ice cream for Pierce and, thinking it looked good, went ahead and bought herself the strawberry cheesecake ice cream before they walked out to the sidewalk, looking for a good place to sit and eat.

"They're ice cream is so yummy! Thank you, Jackie! Chu~," Pierce cheerfully cried as he leaned over to her, kissing her on the cheek with his ice cream sticky lips before he eagerly went back to his ice cream.

"Yeah, you're welcome." Jackie said, bothered by his touchiness but supposed it wasn't so bad. He meant well, she was sure of it. "Hey, let's sit over here." Jackie said, starting for an open table near the entrance but Pierce gently grabbed her hand.

"No way, that's dangerous! Here, let's sit in the corner." He said, directing her attention over to the back of the shop.

"But why the back when the street is right here?" She asked, puzzled as she licked at her melting ice cream.

"Because you're more easily seen that way. Plus, in the back, there are more escape routes into the forest and alleyways." Pierce cheerfully explained as Jackie stared at him, unable to help but wonder just how often he was bullied by the twins and Boris too.

"Well, yeah, sure. The back sounds fine." Jackie agreed, following him into the back of the shop where they took their seats by the corner near the forest. The engineer stretched, still a little sleepy since the twins kept kicking her last Night before she smiled, happy and content with the ice cream. "So, Pierce," Jackie started, curious about her new mousy friend, "what Role do you have?" She asked, seeing him pause. He broke into a cold sweat, looking away as he stressfully continued to lick his ice cream. " … Pierce?" Jackie asked, finding the behavior strange. After a prolonged silence Jackie let out a sigh. Maybe it was a weird Role where he can't talk about it? "It's fine if you don't want to say. I was just curious since I know everyone else's roles and I just met you." Jackie explained as Pierce hesitantly looked over to her.

"Um … well, I-I don't want you to hate me." He said, his ears pressed against his head.

"I work for a psychopathic maniac who builds rides I swear specifically for the purpose of destroying his customers," Mary Gowland, "my best friend is second command of the mafia for Dupre," Elliot March, "I have another friend who's Dupre's wife," Alice Liddel, "I am friends with an eccentric queen who delights in beheadings," Vivaldi, "I'm well acquainted with the knight of hearts who, generally, is psychotic," Ace, "and among others," namely Boris and the twins who she won't mention at the moment, "so, Pierce, I highly doubt whatever Role you have will scare me." Jackie teasingly grinned as Pierce stared at her in shock before smiling in excitement.

"You're friends with Elly?!" Pierce happily cried, his cheeks touching with pink, "that makes me so happy! Here, a kiss~! Chu," he said, literally throwing himself at her as she leaned back, holding her ice cream high to protect it, leaving her defenseless against him kissing her other cheek with the sticky remains of the cheesecake ice cream he has.

"You know Elliot?" Jackie asked, guessing that's who he was referring to when he said Elly.

"Yeah! He's so nice and cute!" He cheerfully smiled as Jackie lightly laughed.

"Yeah, I guess he is kind of nice and cute, isn't he?" Jackie grinned while laughing, trying to imagine how he'd react to being called 'cute'.

"Yeah!" He grinned, pressing his head against her neck and sniffing her again. His eyes burst wide open before he squealed in horror, leaping back and knocking his chair over as he trembled. Jackie remained frozen, looking around for whatever scared him but found nothing.

"Wh-What is it? Why did you scream like that?" Jackie asked, baffled as he frowned, trembling with tears forming in his eyes.

"W-W-Why do you smell like the twins? T-Their scent is all over you!" He said, looking almost mortified. "Is it true, th-then? That you're friends with them too? D-Does that mean you're going to bully me?" He asked. Jackie stared at him, puzzled. He mentioned their scent before but that didn't bother him the rest of the time? Pushing that aside she turned her attention back to Pierce, seeing him flinch back slightly.

"Look, it's not anything you're thinking. Yes, I'm friends with Dee, Dum and Boris but I don't want to bully you at all because I don't think it's right to bully anyone." Jackie explained.

"R-Really? Even though I'm a rat, you don't want to bully me?" He asked, inching closer hesitantly.

"No, I have no interest in bullying you." Jackie said, teasingly smiling, "you're too cute to bully, Pierce."

After receiving no response she simply sat there and stared at his trembling excitement before another bright smile flashed across his face.

"Y-You're so nice! And so cute!" He cried, hurrying over to her before happily hugging her, attempting to give her another kiss before she put her ice cream between them, watching him kiss the cheesecake flavored frozen milk before he blinked.

"Here, finish this for me." She said, handing it to him as his eyes glowed with excitement. "Thank you!" He cheerfully cried, taking the ice cream without question. Jackie stared at him as he happily licked at the cone, unable to help but feel the desire to tease him herself. He was just so innocent and cute and gullible that she could see the appeal in teasing him but not full out bullying like the twins and Boris did.

After Pierce finished the ice cream he leaned back, happily smiling while rubbing his belly before he leaned against her shoulder. Jackie smiled and reached her arm around, lightly playing with his ear as he hummed, leaning towards her again before pausing as he sniffed her, seeming puzzled.

"S-So … why do you smell like the twins so strongly?" He asked, coming back to the topic on hand. Jackie stared at him, puzzled by his behavior. He seemed like a bit of a scatterbrain but he always came circling back to the topic at hand.

"Well, after being unable to find the Amusement Park again I decided to go ahead to the Mansion for a night and the twins made me sleep in their bed is all," she answered with a shrug, seeing him blink as he thought about it. After some staring his expression turned to looking at her pitifully. " … what?"

"So you're bullied by the twins too?" He asked with a frown, "b-but you're so cute! Why would they bully you?"

"No, they don't bully me. They're like younger brothers to me so it's more like playful bantering." She said, waving them off before wondering something, "so both the twins bully you along with Boris?"

"Yeah … th-they scare me~!" He cried, trembling, "th-th-they always make my work harder by giving me more and more bodies to clean up! This assembly is going to be terrible with all the territory wars going on." He cried with a frown as his words sent many, many red flags shooting up in the back of her head. Territory wars … and here she thought they were bad in Heart Country but what if they're worse here? Her frown deepened in thought, glancing away. She needed to find a place to live, preferably a neutral territory somehow.

"What was this about an Assembly?" She asked, keeping that 'more bodies to clean up' in the back of her mind. She was starting to get a good idea of whom Blood was referring to about another member of the mafia family but she kept quiet, deciding to observe for now.

"Yeah, the Assembly at Clover Tower." He said, tilting his head curiously. "Have you never been to Clover Country before?"

"No, this is my first time and I'm pretty confused as to what's going on to be honest." Jackie sighed, rubbing her head as the sky shifted to Afternoon. "Hey, what Role Holders live at Clover Tower?"

"Oh, Nightmare and Gray live there." He said, making her perk up.

"Nightmare does?" She asked, wondering how that was possible. Wasn't Nightmare just all in her head? There was no way he was an actual person, was he?

"Yeah! Nightmare is super nice! He helps me fall asleep sometimes!" He happily grinned.

"Huh … that's awesome. Hey, Pierce, can you take me to Clover Tower?" She asked as the sky shifted to Dusk. Phew~ that was a short afternoon.

"Yeah!" He grinned, "it's not far." He said as he took her hand, tugging her towards the alleys.

"Why are we taking the alleys?"

"They're safer than the streets." Pierce smiled as Jackie very doubtfully felt that was true especially since it could turn Night at any moment, making her a little nervous.

"You sure?" She asked, doubting him but nevertheless tagged along anyway.

Not long after they started walking Jackie began noticing Pierce's ears. They remained high and alert while walking, reacting and twitching to every sound in the area. Every once in awhile, however, one of his ears would turned towards her, aimed directly at her chest before swiveling away, only to return a few moments later. She wondered if his hearing was as good as Elliot's and, if it was, he was probably listening to her heart. Soon after she thought that Pierce began sneaking glances over at her.

Feeling a little playful and wanting to test it a bit, Jackie inhaled deftly and held it before she started slowly counting. After only 4 seconds his ear turned towards her, high and alert before, after another 4 seconds, his head whipped around, looking her over in alarm before she let out a small laugh, turning to him as he intently stared at her in worry.

"Your ears are pretty good to be able to hear my heart." She teased as he stopped walking, looking puzzled.

"Heart?" He asked, looking down at her chest before back up at her, "i-is there something wrong with your clock? Is that why it's making those weird thumping noises?" He asked, drawing closer as he crouched down ever so slightly, intently staring at her chest where, underneath, her heart was pumping away blood through her whole body. After another moment of studying her closely in confusion he turned his head, pressing it against her chest while Jackie patiently waited with a smile. Pierce really was funny. She was a bit surprised he hadn't figured it out yet since he knew Alice and, if he was as acutely aware of sounds at that time then he should have already realized she's a foreigner too. After a few moments of studying he gasped, covering his mouth. Oh? Did he figure it out?

"Y-Your clock is very sick!" He cried, surprising her as she openly stared at him. He didn't get it.

"I'm not sick, Pierce. That's how it always sounds." She smiled as he fretted, pushing his hand against her chest and trying to feel the nonexistent ticking.

"But doesn't that mean you've been sick for a long time?" He innocently asked, looking up at her with large doleful eyes. Jackie stared back, wanting to tease him some more but instead let out a heavy sigh.

"I'm a foreigner, Pierce, like Alice so I also have a heart like she does." Jackie pointed out, watching his expression morph from confusion to amazement.

"R-Really?!" He cried, startled as he quickly hugged her, burying his head against her chest as he listened closely to the sounds of her heartbeat. "But why does your heart sound different from Alice's?" He asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"Every foreigner has a different, unique 'ticking' for their heartbeat. Don't the faceless here have unique ticking?" She asked as he turned his head up and looked at her.

"No, not really. Everyone's clock ticks at the same pace, never changing. But your heartbeat is different; it changes pace sometimes, just like Alice's especially when she's with Blood." Pierce noted, holding her a little tighter as he tried to listen more closely.

"Really? I didn't know that." Jackie admitted, staring at the top of his head. The close quarters made Jackie a little uneasy but she otherwise allowed it, amusing herself with his ear as she gently pet it. The little mouse let out a contented hum, relaxing in her grasp as his chest very slightly vibrated. Jackie paid attention to it, curious as she felt a very subtle 'purring' coming to his chest, one of which was more subtle than Boris and Elliot but it was still there. Huh … that's funny. It seemed like all of Wonderland's human animals have some kind of or weird purring. It was cute. Pierce let out a content sigh, snuggling a little closer with a smile and faint touch of pink on his cheeks.

"Your heart sounds really soothing." He admitted, his eyes very slowly closing as he leaned more onto her.

"Hey hey, come on, get up. I need to go see Nightmare, remember?" She said as he leaned back, now looking more relaxed and a little more sleepy rather than the highly alert state he was in earlier.

"Yeah," he said, seeming hesitant before inching closer, "c-can I listen to your heartbeat tonight so I can sleep?" He asked, his eyes gleaming with shyness but determination.

"Why do you need to listen to my heart to sleep?" She playfully questioned, lightly pinching his ear and tugging on it a bit as he grimaced but otherwise didn't say anything about it.

"Because it sounds so soothing a-and nice that it sounds like a sweet lullaby." He stated, looking eagerly up at her. Comparing her beating heart to a lullaby made Jackie smile rather bashfully. She's never thought of her heart sounding like a lullaby before. That was rather adorable. She hedged back a bit, glancing away in thought.

"Hmm~ I'm not so sure~ usually I don't like people sleeping in my bed," she playfully teased as Pierce gasped, sounding happy somehow through the fast inhale.

"Yay! Thank you, Jackie!" He happily trilled as she fall back a bit, surprised.

"Hey hey, I didn't say yes." She reminded him sternly but his adorable happiness made her 'no' stick in her throat. Out of any Role Holder she's ever met, Pierce seemed just so innocent it was hard to tell him no; kinda like with the twins but it was admittedly easier telling them no compared to Pierce.

"But you didn't say no! Thank you!" He happily cried, his chest softly and subtly thrumming in happiness as Jackie sighed, hugging him back and petting his hair. Such a cute kid.

"Yeah well, that's fine I guess. Anything would be better than sleeping with the twins. I'm still pretty sore." Jackie heavily sighed before looking up, seeing Elliot standing there with a stupified expression on his face. She sucked in a fast breath, grinning.

"Elliot! It's so good to see you-,"

"THOSE LITTLE SNOTS DID WHAT TO YOU?!" Elliot practically screamed, making both her and Pierce jump as they turned their attention to him.

"Elliot?" Jackie questioned, reviewing her words and locating the source of the problem. Ah~ he misinterpreted.

"Jackie, are you alright?! Those annoyances didn't hurt you, did they?!" He demanded, clearly looking flustered as Pierce gasped in excitement.

"Elly~!" He grinned, throwing himself onto Elliot as he tightly hugged the man. "How about a kiss? Chu~," Pierce happily smiled, standing on his tippy toes trying to reach Elliot's cheek but his big hand gripped the mouse's skull, pressing the nozzle of his gun against his forehead with a threatening, pissed off grin.

"OFF." He ordered before peeling Pierce off, tossing him aside before grabbing Jackie's shoulders and holding her steady while looking her over in a panic. She couldn't help but laugh at his reaction while his head spun, clearly imagining things much worse than what actually happened.

"Elliot, Elliot! Relax, it was nothing like that." She laughed, hugging him before he hesitantly returned with a flustered touch of red on his cheeks.

"But seriously, did those little s***s do anything weird to you?" He asked as they pulled away, both relatively happy at running into each other.

"No, I'm fine, I'm fine really," Jackie said, waving off his concern, "I came to the Mansion the other Night Time Change looking for you but I ran into the twins instead. Since I didn't want to bother the maids I went ahead and stayed with them is all." Jackie briefly explained.

"Jackie, that's no good! You shouldn't go around sleeping with guys in their beds!" He scolded as Jackie rolled her eyes.

"Oh please Elliot, you act like I'm going to do something with them." She laughed off, knowing he was right. Sleeping in the same bed as a Role Holder was certainly weird but she couldn't think anything bad about the twins. They were just some cute little boys to her.

"Jackie." He stated, ears lowering in annoyance, "watch yourself. The twins aren't just a couple of cute little boys as much as you and Alice want to believe that." He nagged as Jackie reached up, very gently gripping his ear and making him flinch as she gingerly but softly pet his ear to the tip.

"I know that, Elliot. Next time I will insist for a maid to set up a guest room but I was too tired to do that." She assured him before Pierce suddenly jumped her, surprising her as he hugged her and proudly looked up to Elliot.

"Elly, Elly look what I picked up! I found another foreigner!" He proudly proclaimed, clearly not having sensed that they knew each other despite their friendly conversation.

"You didn't, actually. She was in Heart Country before this with us." Elliot said as Pierce gasped, almost heartbroken from not having found Jackie first. She lightly laughed, petting the top of Pierce's head.

"So what brings you around here, Elliot? I was just heading to Clover Tower with Pierce to sort things out." Jackie said, catching the 'not rabbit''s attention.

"Clover Tower? Why would you go there? The Assembly isn't for another few Time Changes." He said, confused as Pierce's hug around Jackie tightened, listening to her heart a little more while they talked.

"And that's why I need to go see him. I have no idea what's going on here or where in the hell the Amusement Park went." Jackie admitted, feeling her stresses from earlier beginning to crash down on her. Pierce perked up, pressing his head against her chest and listened to her heart rate pick up.

"The Amusement Park? It's just in Heart Country." He said, his ear flickering as he clearly picked up on her anxieties as well.

"Saying that means nothing to me. I have no idea what's going on with, with this move or Clover Country or freaking giant mushrooms sprouting up everywhere and why in the world the Amusement Park disappeared." Jackie explained as Pierce's tail twitched back and forth, listening to her heart a little closer.

"Oh, the giant mushrooms are here because this is Clover Country." He explained happily as Jackie's eyes narrowed, finding his explanation to be rather poor.

"Right, right well whatever the reason is I need to go and see Nightmare. He'd be able to explain it better in a way I can understand." Jackie admitted as Elliot sighed.

"It's really not that hard, Jackie. We just moved from Heart Country to Clover Country." He said, sounding to be getting a little annoyed.

"Look, Elliot, I just need to get to Clover Tower." Jackie stated, ending the confusing argument right then and there.

"Well alright but the worm is just going to tell you the same thing that I just did." He said with a huff as the sky shifted to Night. Jackie's frown deepened, knowing it was going to be harder to find the building now as Elliot sighed, making her pay him attention. "Look, I'll go ahead and take you to Clover Tower if you'd like. I was on my way near there anyway."

"Yeah, that sounds good." Jackie said, trying to disengage from a highly attentive Pierce but he reached up, kissing her instead. A crackle of tension immediately shot out of Elliot's eyes as Pierce happily looked up at him, outshining the hateful glare rather amazingly that almost blinded Jackie.

"That's okay, Elliot! I was just showing her the way." He cheerfully smiled as Elliot frowned.

"You can't, you've got a lot of jobs to do for a while." Elliot said, pulling out a thick packet before handing it to the mouse. As Pierce reached for it, Elliot's eyes narrowed in annoyance, separating Jackie from Pierce as he opened the folder and looked it over with a frown.

"Awe … so much work." He pouted.

"Of course there is. With a new move comes more fighting for territory." Elliot said before pausing, looking over at Jackie. "Don't go out into the streets around Dusk or Night. There's going to be a lot more turf fights coming now that we're in Clover." He said before stopping short, seeing his words float right over Jackie's head as she blankly stared at him. "Anyway, just don't go out at Dusk or Night."

"Yeah, that's fine. I didn't usually do that anyway." She shrugged before Elliot grabbed her shoulders, making her tense up as she looked at his deadly serious gaze.

"I'm serious, Jackie."

The engineer stared at him, seeing his serious 'second in command of the mafia' face coming out as she grimaced.

"Yeah, that's fine. Can we head to Clover Tower now? I'm eager to figure out what's going on." Jackie impatiently asked as Elliot grinned.

"Leave it to me." He assured as Jackie smiled. Elliot really was the best friend she could have in Wonderland right next to Boris. "See you later, Pierce - Pierce?" Jackie questioned, finding him already gone. Huh. He's got one hell of a disappearing act.

"Come on, Clover Tower isn't far from here." Elliot said, gesturing her to follow as she walked besides him, wondering what was in that packet. "So, Jackie, there's an amazing new bakery not far from here almost entirely dedicated to carrot based foods. You should have seen the store front! It was mouth watering and they have everything from tea to cakes-," Elliot started, his eyes glowing while he metaphorically drooled in excitement, babbling on about how amazing the bakery was. Jackie's laughter made him stop short as she grinned up at him.

"Yeah, I get it. I'd love to go sometime you're free. How about in the next Afternoon Time Change?" She suggested, seeing him frown in thought.

"No good; I'll be swamped until the Assembly starts in 5 Time Changes." He deeply frowned, clearly yearning to go sooner but having no time.

"And what is the Assembly, exactly? I'm guessing it's a pointless meeting to get Role Holders together like the ball, right?" Jackie asked as Elliot nodded.

"More or less, yes." He grinned, "normally the Assembly lasts for a handful of Time Changes, holding meetings each Afternoon for whatever number of Afternoons it takes to complete the deal."

"Hmm~ sounds horribly boring." Jackie admitted with a grin, looking ahead, "well, at least you all know what you're going to do. I'm struggling to think of what I can do now that the Amusement Park is gone - or, moved, anyway." Jackie's expression visibly fell as she stared straight ahead, trying to figure out what she wanted to do. Elliot fell silent as well, seeming nervous.

" … do you want to stay in this world, Jackie?" He asked in a rather serious tone.

"Of course not." She answered without a pause in beat, seeing the almost immediately heartbreak in his eyes. Jackie stared at him, hesitating before letting out a stiff sigh. "Well, when Alice finishes her game … whenever that is," Jackie muttered in annoyance before smiling again, "I'll be able to start on my own game. And I have a pretty good idea how to fill up my vial quickly." She cheerfully smiled, remaining rather positive about how she'd be able to get back.

"But won't you miss any of us?" Elliot asked with lowered ears, seeming genuinely hurt by her comment as Jackie gently smiled.

"Of course I will. There's not one of you that I won't miss but it's probably going to be quite some time until Alice makes her decision." Jackie heavily sighed. Honestly … having to wait for Alice to made a decision even though she's already practically done was killing her. The longer Alice waited the longer Jackie had to stay in Wonderland and she did not like that very much at all.

"But why would you want to go back? Is Wonderland really that terrible?" Elliot questioned, his ears twitching irritably.

"Well no but I don't belong here, Elliot. I need to get back to my world as soon as I can." Jackie explained. This world … it's not a world she can be a part of. As much as it hurt her she really did need to go back to her dreary world and continue her life here. This time in Wonderland was something she would never forget but she was admittedly eager to go home to New York.

"I-I see … I thought that after all this time you would want to stay but I guess it would take more than that." He sadly smiled.

"Come on, don't be like that. I'm still going to be here for a while." Jackie admitted with a grin, "and in that time we need to go to that bakery shop, right?" She grinned, leaning against him a bit and trying to lift his spirits.

"Yeah." He grinned before stopping short, his expression falling flat. His eyes narrowed as Jackie immediately took caution, looking around the alleyway uneasily. " … head straight down this alley and turn right and you'll run into Clover Tower."

"Yup." Jackie said, not questioning him in the least as she started to quickly trot down the alley, barely turned right before the gunshots started firing off, making her break into a full blown sprint out of there. With all these gunfights around it really was amazing how she hadn't died yet and she didn't plan to die here in Wonderland.

A large building came into view as she looked up at the massive structure, finding herself stunned by the beautiful and otherworldly architecture. Whoa … this building was gorgeous. It looked so new in design compared to the rustic Clock Tower. Jackie took a deep breath before walking up the stairs to the front door, trying the door and finding it unlocked. The doors swung open as she stepped inside, finding the building bustling with people working through the Night period Jackie closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before screaming NIGHTMARE as loud as she possibly could in her mind, receiving a startled shout from up on the second floor. Huh, that was close.

"Lord Nightmare-?!" Someone shouted as he darted past Jackie. She barely had enough time to spot his bright topaz eyes before he leapt up the stairs, moving impressively fast. Another Role Holder? Just how many more Role Holders are there that she hasn't met yet? Jackie brushed it off with a wave of her hand before heading up the stairs, turning and looking down the hall to find Nightmare excitedly looking at her before darting back inside.

"Nightmare," Jackie called, walking towards the door and opening it to find a surprised Role Holder with a tattoo of a lizard on his neck standing before her, seeming surprised. "Oh, hey." Jackie smiled in a friendly way before stepping past him, spotting Nightmare trying to look cool in his chair and unlit pipe. Jackie nearly burst out laughing; he must have wanted to make a good impression on her. Despite the strange circumstances, it was somewhat nice knowing Nightmare actually had a normal body. Strangely it seemed like he only existed in dreams.

"Well, I am an incubus, you know." He said with a cheerful grin, seeming strangely pleased before he leaned forward towards her, "isn't Clover Tower amazing, Jackie? The architecture is certainly impressive compared to many of the other buildings, isn't it?" He asked, his eyes glowing as he cheekily grinned. Jackie stared at him, a little surprised at the change in attitude. Was this was Nightmare really was like in the physical sense? She had to admit it was strange seeing him so cheerful when he was so often so dreary and mysterious in her dreams. Nightmare smiled brightly as Jackie's eyes narrowed. In the very annoying sense, anyway.

"Using my abilities against me isn't fair." Nightmare pouted, floating up into the air rather effortlessly as

"Don't be so rude." Nightmare chided before grinning, floating down next to her before gesturing towards Gray with a haughty grin, "this is my subordinate, Gray Ringmarc."

Jackie turned to look up at Gray as he returned the staring, appearing curious as well.

"Nice to meet you, Gray. I'm Jackie," she introduced rather curtly and formally, eager to talk to Nightmare about what was happening to her.

"The pleasure is mine." He politely smiled back before Jackie turned back to Nightmare.

"So can you start explaining what is going on here?" Jackie asked, allowing her anxiety pour out in abundance in her mind. She grimaced, still trying to make sense of what was happening right now. The Amusement Park was gone, there were giant mushrooms growing everywhere and a new territory with Nightmare and this other guy in it; not to mention something called the 'move' and something about Heart Country and Clover Country. The incubus let out a faint sigh, reading all of her troubles without missing a beat.

"It's alright, Jackie. Take a seat and I will explain. Gray, bring us some coffees." Nightmare cheekily grinned as he began floating towards the young engineer. Gray's hand shot up, grabbing Nightmare's foot and making him look back at him.

"You have only one Time Change for your break before getting back to work." He said with a smile as Nightmare immediately started to pout.

"Well that's not really fair, she's very confused."

"I'll get your coffees now." Gray said with a smile before leaving. Nightmare cheerfully grinned once the door shut, flipping himself around through the air before taking a seat next to Jackie.

"Now, where would you like me to begin?"

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