*Apologizes for the super long A/N… ^^;;*

OMG YES, I'M ALIIIIVE! ! ! *blames school for my disappearance*

And nearly had a heart attack a week ago when I found out about DIAMOND NO KUNI NO ALICE! ! !

And I died and went to heaven when I listened to the OPENING OF DNKNA YESTERDAY! KYAAAAAA! ! !

The final game for the Kuni no Alice series!

So in total there's Heart/Clover/Joker/ToyBox/Diamond (ToyBox is more of a fandisc though.). But I do wonder why QuinRose never made a Spade no kuni no Alice. Oh well, I'll live.

Anyways DNKNA will be released on December 20th. ^^~

And for those who don't know, the places of stay will be Train Station, Hatter Residence, Graveyard and Museum, and the Castle of Diamonds. Poor Vivaldi, Pierce, and Gowland get replaced by Crysta Snowpidgeon (White Queen), Sidney Black (Black Rabbit), and Gericho Bermuda (Dodo). (Cute lil' Pierce is goooone… T_T) Oh and Gray gets a new hawt and smexy hairstyle. XD

And idk what happened to Peter. He's supposed to be in this new game, but I have no idea what the heck QuinRose plans to do with him. I don't even see him on the cover.

Anyone who wants to see the opening for DNKNA but can't find it anywhere, just send me a msg. I'll let you see it. *winks*

Well I've fangirled enough about this. Onwards to the story!

And hope you all enjoy!

Kyaaa~!

*edit*

Was about to forget the disclaimer again! *headdesk* x_x

Disclaimer: I do not own Joker/Clover/Heart no kuni no Alice, but if I did there'd be a spade!

Aaaand forgot to say this too and should have said so in other chapters if I didn't already... my bad... ^^;; Ahh but the words in italics are fragments of Alex's memories. The ones that were erased. xP

Kay now for the story. *dashes away*

-Chapter Seven-

-Hatred-

"You know when you tell people you're an incubus, they're all going to think you're gonna rape them," I said while sitting down comfortably in the dream world.

"Don't worry. I believe you're the only one," Nightmare said while twitching his brow.

I looked at my surroundings, a few questions popping into my head.

"Have you become accustomed to Wonderland?" Nightmare asked with a smile.

"Wonderland? I thought this was the Country of Hearts."

"Well you're not wrong. The Country of Hearts is located within Wonderland after all," Nightmare said matter-of-factly.

Now that I thought about it, it'd be silly to think a country made up an entire world. How embarrassing… But then again, why would this world be called Wonderland? Whoever came up with the name must've been high. It just sounded too childish to me.

"So have you?" Nightmare asked again, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Well this world does have a way of defying the laws of physics," I said while remembering the time when I was first brought here, "And the inhabitants are quite interesting."

"Though some seem to be quite frightening at times," I said while thinking about the twins.

"But I don't really have time to think about getting accustomed. I do still have to return to my own world. There's my sister and uncle to think about."

"You should just stay here. Everything would work out better for you in the end."

"How would you know?" I asked with a raised brow.

"Nobody would discriminate you if you stayed in Wonderland. You wouldn't be treated poorly since everyone loves outsiders."

Everyone loves outsiders? The twins and Boris made me think otherwise.

A thought suddenly crossed my mind. It couldn't be coincidence could it?

I couldn't help but feel excited as Alice and I walked through the maze to reach the Castle of Hearts. I wanted to meet Ace, and because she didn't want me to come here alone with the twins, Alice tagged along as well. I was beginning to think there was an important reason why Alice was trying hard to keep me from playing with them. I couldn't help but wonder why.

"You look excited. Do you like mazes?" Alice asked me with a warm smile.

"Yes," I said with a huge grin on my face. "I've only ever seen pictures and read about them in books. The real thing is so amazing!"

"In books, huh?"

I waited for Alice to lead us to the next path. Mazes, puzzles, and mysteries were my most favorite things in the world.

"Yeah. Back at home, I'd always read books to pass the time, since I never go out."

"You must really love to read."

"Well books are interesting, but my main reason for reading is because there isn't anything else I can ever do."

I saw a purple butterfly flutter about and decided to follow it.

"Why don't you go out? You don't look like the type of person who prefers the indoors," asked a puzzled Alice.

"Hm?" I asked, not giving much thought in the question.

"W-what I mean is that you seem to be excited whenever you're moving about. I just can't see you as someone who always stays indoors," Alice said nervously.

Alice looked the other way, disappointed in her curiosity and what she thought was rude manners.

"Although you don't have to tell me… I was only curious, but it's not important to say."

Silence.

"Alex?"

Still no response.

"Alex, are you-" Alice stopped midway in her sentence as she turned around to see nobody there.

"VANISHED AGAIN!"

I followed the butterfly merrily through the maze, not paying any attention to where I was going.

After some time, the butterfly decided to fly high into the sky and off to who knows where. I couldn't help but stare at the beautiful sky and fluffy clouds that looked like cotton candy.

Now that I think about it, the weather in this world always seemed perfect. Always nice, and guys with bunny and cat ears and tails were thought of as normal. What if this was all a dream? But dreams don't really last for this long. Do they?

I sighed and looked around. Nobody in sight.

Closing my eyes, I brushed my bangs to the side with my left hand so my face could feel the gentle breeze. This felt good.

"Damn you're cute," said a voice from above.

My eyes widened in shock as I looked up to see Boris sitting on top of the hedge, looking down at me with a grin on his face.

I quickly let go of my bangs so they could cover up my face.

"What the heck are you doing here! ?" I asked, feeling embarrassed and frustrated.

Boris jumped down and landed in front of me.

"I came here to play."

"Then play," I said as I tried to walk past him. Boris blocked my path.

"Isn't it annoying?" the cat asked me with a frown.

"What is?"

"Having your face all covered up. You could easily be mistaken for a faceless."

"In all honesty, I don't give a damn."

"Ouch. Well I guess it's good enough if I alone get the privilege of seeing it," Boris said with a smile.

"Please, just go do whatever it is you were planning to do. I need to go," I said while ignoring what he said, this time turning my back to the cat and walking in the direction from which I came.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to the Castle of Hearts to see Ace." I didn't even try to hide the irritation in my voice.

"You're going to see that knight? Do you have the hots for him?"

I stopped in my tracks and spun around, staring at Boris in shock.

"What on earth gave you that idea?"

"Well you came all the way over here from the Hatters just to see that guy, right?"

"Yeah, but still…"

"It's none of your concern," I said then walked off. Something started to bug me… a lot.

"That cold attitude of yours isn't cute."

"Didn't I tell you to leave me alone?"

"A feline!" shouted someone from behind.

Boris and I turned to see a beautiful young woman in red staring at the cat with joy in her eyes.

"Oh crap…" Boris said, not looking very pleased.

The woman then rushed to him and hugged him tightly.

"Oh we really adore felines," the woman said while still hugging the now suffocating cat.

"And I really adore you," I said cheerfully as I watched Boris suffer. This was a memorable moment indeed. Now only if he could just stop breathing.

"Oh? And who might you be?" asked the woman with a curious look.

"Oh I'm Alex Garsel. It's a pleasure to meet you," I said with a bow.

"Can't… breathe…" Boris' face was blue at this point.

"Are you a princess?" I asked the lady while studying her outfit. She wore a crown and was in an expensive-looking beautiful red dress.

"Oh my," the woman said with a smile as she chuckled and let go of the dying cat.

Boris fell to the ground, gasping for air.

"A tunnel… a light… I saw a light!"

"You are the second person to mistaken us for a princess."

"We are Vivaldi, the Queen of Hearts."

"A queen?" I asked in surprise. "That's amazing!"

Vivaldi laughed at my reaction.

"Are you an outsider?"

"Ahh yeah. I came here with Alice and…" My body froze as realization dawned on me.

"You came with Alice? Where is she?"

"I…"

Vivaldi stared at me curiously while Boris glared and tried to sneak away from the queen.

"I… I FORGOT ALICE! ! ! Oh my gawd, Alice!" I shouted as I ran around in circles. Realizing that this wasn't getting me anywhere, I spun around and ran back to find her.

Vivaldi and Boris stared at me in surprise.

"I'm soooorry!" I said while running off.

"Strange kid…" Boris said as they both sweat-dropped.

Vivaldi glanced at him.

"Would you like some cat food? We have plenty."

"No thanks," Boris said as he took that as a queue to scram and took off.

"Aliiiice! Aliiice!" I shouted as I ran around the maze to who knows where. I didn't pay attention to where I was walking to earlier, so I was now utterly lost. I was actually starting to feel a lot like Ace darn it!

I then spotted blue and red uniforms.

"The twins," I said while feeling slightly relieved. Maybe they could help me find her.

"Dee! Dum!" I shouted as I walked towards them.

"Oh it's sister," Dum said with a smile.

I then froze in my tracks as I noticed the scene before me. Dee and Dum were covered in blood, and dead bodies laid all around them.

"W-Wha…" My eyes widened in fear as the relief I felt earlier washed away. "What are you-"

"Oh we're just playin'" said a grinning Dee.

Playing?

It took me a while to process this in my mind. I was betting that this was the reason why Alice never wanted me to play with the twins.

I took a step back.

"What's wrong sister?" asked Dum.

"Ah…"

The twins stared at me, not understanding why I looked like I was about to explode.

"Ahh…"

I turned and high-tailed it out of there.

Murderers!

They're murderers! ! !

As I made a right turn, I ended up bumping into a red blur.

I fell to the ground, eyes shut tight.

"Alex?" asked a familiar voice.

I opened my eyes to see Ace staring down at me.

"Hahaha! What are you doing?" he asked.

I was about to respond, but then I saw his bloodied sword and two dead men on the ground.

I became as pale as a ghost as I quivered.

'What are you doing, Alex?'

Ace saw what I was looking at then laughed.

"It's just training."

'What are you doing to Uncle Aswal?"

I quickly got to my feet and ran. It really didn't matter to me where I ended up at this point. All I wanted to do right now was to get away from this nightmare.

I continued to run, finally making it out of the maze and into the forest. I still hadn't gotten over the stupid phobia the twins gave me, but compared to what I witnessed, going into the forest didn't matter at this point.

After what felt like a long time, I started to slow down my pace. I was exhausted. The dead bodies played repeatedly in my mind.

'WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? !'

What did I do?

Why was Aura screaming?

Why did she look so scared?

"I hate you… I hate you…"

"Hate?"

Oh… That's right.

Aura hates me.

Everyone hates me… That's why…

"I should just disappear…"

"What are you doing here?"

I looked up to see Julius with a bag of groceries.

"Are you alright?"

I stared at him blankly.

"You're crying," he said with a hint of irritation in his voice.

I touched my cheek, feeling the tears fall from my eyes. Since when did I start to cry?

"I'm okay," I said, eyes feeling heavy.

"You don't look okay to me," Julius said as he walked up to me.

'I despise you, Alex.'

I took a step back.

"Why do you hate me?" I asked, stopping Julius in his tracks.

"W-what?"

'You took everything from me.'

I covered my face with my hands and took a few more steps back.

"I have no reason to hate you. Why would you ask such a thing?"

"You don't have to lie!" I shouted in anger.

Startled, Julius took a step back.

"I'm not lying."

"What did I take from you? !"

"Alex, what's wrong?" Julius dropped his bag of groceries and walked up to me.

"WHAT DID I TAKE FROM YOU? !"

"ALEX!" Julius shouted, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me. "Have you gone mad?"

'Alex, it's not your fault. I'm sorry…'

"I'm sorry," I cried while hugging Julius tight. He froze, not knowing what to do.

"I'm so sorry. Please forgive me."

"Alex…"

"Don't hate me Aura," I said as I drifted off to sleep.

Julius sighed as he held on to me and patted my head.

Meanwhile…

A poor Alice was left in the maze searching frantically for the "missing" Alex.

Aaaand done! Sorry again for the super late post… Evil school assignments… T_T

Poor Alex is gonna get thrown into the psycho ward. tsk tsk~ xP

Anyways, will try to update next chapter sooner. Please R, and have a wonderful time! *throws hearts out to all*