A/N: Does the title even make sense?

Chapter Six

Mirrored Persona

Teito crashed onto the harsh ground, rather used to the idea that from this point on he was going to be doing that more often. He groaned loudly as he picked himself up and sat on the floor, his entire lower back prickled and pained terribly. Finding moving too difficult to do at the moment, he looked about to find his bearings. They were within a forest, though this time it was not composed of giant fungi. They looked like normal trees with small bushes about and soft grass underneath. Like the arboretum back at the Kruez Manor. Back home.

The sudden orchestra of cicadas and grasshoppers made the homesickness all the more real as Teito sat in complete silence, his mind straying. Naïve he had been when he thought things were going to be simple. Wonderland, the book that his Father had read to him, had seemed like such a harmless place, filled with magic and wonder. But this place, it seemed, shouldn't be called "Wonderland" at all. Everything that seemed to be so innocent turned out quite the opposite, even the plants and ground. And all that seemed dangerous was twice as much.

A soft vibration along his neck startled him back to reality, or wherever he was. The brunet stood to his feet, turning on spot all around him. The branches overhead swayed as if a soft gush of wind blew though Teito felt nothing, not even the faintest brush of air. He placed a hand on his neck, where he had felt something strange. If he wasn't so uneasy, he could have sworn he thought he had heard, well, purring.

Teito winced as his fingers pressed against his neck, it felt bruised. Frowning, he tried to remember what might have happened that would have caused that, not to mention his torn collars on his shirt and coat. But his mind came up blank.

They had been running from the Kor. Frau had used his scythe to get them into a strange white room, then a blurring memory of Frau using his scythe again to exit the place.

Immediately, he searched for Hatter. It had just occurred to him that he hadn't heard or seen the man since their escape from the white room.

The man was nowhere to be seen, Teito was utterly alone. Could they have fallen out into different locations? Or, as Frau had mentioned about the scythe's owner, fallen out into different times?

The thought of that scared the teen, rooting him in place even as the leaves above rattled once more, no wind blowing on them to do so.

Without competent thought, Teito seemed to find his legs and ran from that spot. His heart hammered viciously inside his chest, his breathing came erratic. His emerald eyes dashed to every little noise, sweat covered his brow. He continued to dash in no real direction, stopped only when he came upon a road. One sign pointed to the left, the other to the right, and the last one up. There were scribbles on the sign that pointed up. Curiosity diminishing his fear momentarily, Teito approached the sign and tried to make sense of the words. It appeared to say: 'do not look up'.

At reading that, Teito had the sudden strong urge to look up but he strained to keep his head leveled. His mind raced with excuses for why he should look up. For one, there could be an exit up there – stranger things have happened. But a more logical reason would be that there could be someone up above him, ready to jump down and harm him. Or as he was reminded, kill him. Maybe that was why the leaves were rustling, someone was creeping above him. Or, it could have been a Jabberwocky! But Teito easily dismissed that idea; those creatures were loud and were sure to give themselves away before they even got close.

Teito shook his head. Last time he had failed to 'not look up' Frau had ended up injured, no, half dead. The teen whimpered. But what if the enemy purposefully put that, knowing he wouldn't look up because he had realized the importance of paying attention to small orders like that. But they had to know he would realize that, so they put that there knowing Teito would look up and attack him from below.

"Ugh," he voiced his disgust as he massaged his temples. He was confusing himself and getting nowhere. Perhaps it would have been better if he had failed to notice the scribbling at all.

"The sign never said anything about not turning away," Teito came to that conclusion and did just that. Only, as he turned to walk the way he came, the trees were suddenly lined with thick brush. It was impossible to walk through it, let alone come out of it. He narrowed his eyes and looked about, just a moment ago, the ground was clear and leveled, now there was underbrush galore, making walking impossible without earning oneself a few scratches.

"Where do I go?" he whispered to himself as he turned back to the signs. They were still there, though now joined by many, many more. They pointed in all different directions and covered the poor tree to the point that the only way you knew they were nailed to the tree was the branches coming out from high above.

"Stupid Hatter, where the hell are you?" He shouted, suddenly infuriated, and kicked out to the signs.

To his surprise, the signs began glowing, each a different color. One by one they turned on and off, like twinkling festive lights before one remained constant. It pointed towards his immediate left, and much more to his surprise, the trees and underbrush jumped out of the way and created a path.

Teito blinked a few times before turning back to the cluster of signs. He bowed politely, said thank you – to who he was thanking, he wasn't sure but though he might as well, what with the plants always working against him, now they were helping – and proceeded through the path.

His eyes dashed left and right, almost expecting the foliage to close in on him and swallow him whole. A few vines snapped out at him but were tugged back into the brush by some unseen force. He kept a cautious eye, his hand tightly gripping his miniature Bascule. He was uncertain of how to put it back to its original state but it calmed him a bit having it, not that he knew how to use it either. If he ever survived this, Teito was going to force Frau to teach him the finer points of how to handle the stupid key.

For the most part, the forest had been light enough to see but as he seemed to be nearing the end of the path, what with the trees growing closer and closer together, it appeared to be getting darker.

As Teito forced himself through a small cluster of brush, he stumbled into a dark clearing. His eyes drifted off to the sky, seeing nothing but large branches reaching high, high above him. Then he understood the only reason it was so dark was because a tree's giant branches were covering the sun high above. Or, if there was a sun in this world.

As he approached the tree, he noted that its trunk was easily as big as a carriage, horse and all. He was so engrossed with how large the tree ws, never having seen one so wide and tall, he was caught off guard when the soft sound of a wind instrument sounded. Paranoid, as he was now, Teito did not let his guard down as he searched for the source of the sound. It appeared to have a point of origin so Teito followed it cautiously; surprised he was when he caught sight of a middle-aged man, appearing somewhere the age of his Father, leaning against the massive tree. The man, dressed rather formally for being in such a place, was playing a harmonica, his eyes closed as he entranced himself in the music.

The man did not appear menacing or dangerous, rather he appeared kind. Not wanting to interrupt his music, Teito sat a few yards away on the grass, cross-legged as he would do for his Father back home whenever they would read or discuss literature.

As the soft music continued to play, Teito wondered why he was directed this way. He assumed that he would be lead to Frau, what with him shouting to the forest where the blond was. But instead, he was lead here, to a man that appeared to be the complete opposite of the blond. That was when he saw it. How he had not seen it before was something of a mystery but on top of the man's dark hair was a deep crimson Homburg. It intended on the top and the rim curved along the back but flattened once it reached the front, dipping down slightly and obscured half of his features. Around the lower half, a black ribbon laced around with a card tucked neatly on the right side behind a silver ornament. From a distance, Teito couldn't very well see what the ornament was, but it looked oddly like a heart.

It was a rather wild idea (very wild) but Teito wondered if this man could be a Hatter, based on the assumption that the man was wearing a hat, and it had a little card tucked away like Frau's.

Teito had shouted Hatter; he had only assumed that there was one Hatter in this world. Perhaps he was wrong and there were more. Perhaps the signs had directed him to the closest Hatter. Then the thought hit him, if 'Hatter' was a family name, then did that mean Frau had a family?

Of course he has a family, Teito scolded himself. People didn't just happen. They have mothers and fathers, sometimes sisters and brothers and uncles and aunts. And maybe even a few cousins here and there. And certainly grandparents. It just seemed odd that a person like Frau, so confident and well-experienced in wilderness survival, to have once been a child.

As he was musing over the idea of how the blond might have been as a child, Teito failed to notice that the harmonica had ceased playing. He turned his attention to the man to get another look, maybe try and find features that he and Frau had in common, when he unexpectedly found himself staring into the man's light brown eyes.

"Hello," the man greeted. The mild surprise in his eyes and face made him seem younger, more juvenile.

"U-um, h-hello," Teito replied once finally finding his voice.

The man beckoned Teito forward with a wave of his hand. The teen remained seated for a few moments, staring, before standing and approaching the man. He bowed respectfully.

"I am terribly sorry for interrupting you like this, and how I must look. M-my name is Teito Klein, a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

The man chuckled lightly and Teito felt his chest constrict. He sounded just like his Father.

"My, you certainly are a polite one. You didn't interrupt anything. Please, sit."

Teito sat a respectable distance from the man and crossed his legs, folded hands falling into the gap his legs had created.

"Well, Teito-kun, my name is Bastien, Hatter Bastien. The pleasure is all mine. We haven't had many of your kind around these parts for years now," he smiled though it did not reach his eyes.

"M-my kind?" Teito asked, feeling uneasy now.

The elder Hatter tapped his neck causing Teito to reach up and grasp the cold metal collar tightly, his cheeks burning lightly. The man chuckled at the teen's response and turned his attention to his harmonica, turning over the silver piece in hand.

"It is rather surprising, not more so than seeing you wandering about by yourself. Isn't anyone with you?" He looked back up, eyes sympathetic and warm.

"W-well I did have a companion but we seemed to have been…separated," Teito looked around, worried. Frau had been bleeding pretty badly. He hoped the blond would be alright.

"Separated? Now that shouldn't happen. An escort should always have their patrons within their line of sight. That is failure on their part."

"N-no!" Teito turned back to Bastien. "It was my fault. I…" he turned away, dejected, "I should have listened to him. If I had then we wouldn't…he wouldn't have been…"

"Now, now, Teito-kun. I'm sure Frau is just fine. He is built to take abuse."

"But there were so many Ko-!" Teito silenced himself immediately, his eyes wide as he continued to stare at the man. "How do you know about Frau?"

"Kor?" The man looked slightly alarmed at that but, with a sigh, seemed to have composed himself. He removed his Homburg and dropped his harmonica into it. "Well, I am a Hatter. Much as Frau is one. A Hatter's role was to always…aid the Outsiders."

"You're not his…" Teito trailed off, not wanting to say it in case if he was mistaken.

The man laughed at this, threw his head back and laughed. After calming himself somewhat, he turned his attention back on Teito, his fisted hand over his mouth as he tried to stifle the laughter that still consumed him. His eyes were that warm cinnamon again, amused beyond all reasonable doubt. He closed them in desperation as he shook with more laughter though refrained from bursting as he did before.

"I-I'm t-terribly sorry," he spoke in between chuckles, "I-I am not laughing at you. Just…it is rather amusing that someone believe that."

Teito looked away, sulking, feeling embarrassed even if he wasn't being laughed at.

"No, no," Bastien seemed to finally compose himself. "It just is amusing, is all. It has been a while since he was mistaken as my son. It's a bit bitter-sweet, if you know what I mean."

Still not returning his gaze, Teito nodded, looking a bit solemn as he thought about his own Father, Fea Kruez. It was the same for Teito whenever they mistook Fea for his father, his real father. It was like if the world had finally given him a home but yet, Teito knew that he wasn't Fea's real son. He was a sham. An imposter.

"Frau," the elder man continued, a soft smile playing on his lips as he kept his sights on the teen, "He is my son at heart. I had taken him in and raised him as my own. Frau was…well, he wasn't in a very good place when I found him. I…fixed him, somewhat, and taught him my family ways. You see…"

The story had sparked Teito's interest, causing him to pay closer attention as he watched Bastien from the corner of his eye.

"I am the last of my kind, a Hatter. I was an only child and a widower so there was no one to continue my family name and trait. That was when I stumbled upon Frau, a boy without a past and, much less, a future. Surprised I was when Frau excelled as a Hatter, even without the training the Hatters go through at a very young age. He is even better than some of the most accomplished Hatters in recorded history. But the Hatters have a role to play in Wonderland. And Frau refused to play his part. He ran away and I've been waiting for his return, here, by this tree."

"How long have you been waiting?" The Frau Teito knew did not seem like the type to run away.

"…How long? So long I've lost count. But," the man looked down to his hat, a sad smile on his face, "I'm sure he's a grown man by now. Forgotten all about me."

"Would you like to see him again?" Teito asked, uncertain if he even could get Frau to come back here and reunite with his adoptive father. He didn't even know where the blond was.

"It would certainly put me at ease," the man smiled, though a hint of sadness still tainted that smile.

"Then I'll find him for you and bring him here, force him if I have to," Teito spoke sternly as if to rile himself up for this task.

"Then I shall take your word on it," the man stooped his head in a sort of bow. Teito did the same. "One piece of advice before you set out though." He pointed to the brunet's neck. "I would most certainly cover that up. In this forest, it won't matter much if you expose yourself as you are. The trees conceal your identity somewhat to those not belonging to the forest."

"So then, the Kor?"

"Yes, among other things. But once you are out of the forest, everyone will be able to confirm who you are, an Outsider. And I'm sure you have been told that Outsiders are not all too welcome anymore."

"Yeah, I've been told," Teito swallowed.

"Actually, if you do come back, I'll be more than willing to give you my hat. If you wear an item belonging to a Wonderlander, it will help mask you. My hat also does some pretty neat tricks, I'm sure Frau can show you how to use it," he smiled as he flipped his hat back onto his head, harmonica back in hand.

"But…shouldn't that hat, I dunno, stay in the family?" It felt strange to suddenly be offered a priceless heirloom from a dying bloodline.

"The Hatter family lives on in Frau," he said proudly, a smile curving the tip of his lips. "If he wishes for you to have it, then it is yours. I no longer play a part in the Hatter role."

Teito nodded, deciding that even if he was presented with the hat, he would deny it. He just couldn't take it. It seemed too valuable to be left with him, a complete stranger.

"Well, I better get going if I want to find Frau." Teito stood to his feet and gave the man a smile, something he didn't do often.

"I wish you luck, young Teito Klein. And when you see Frau, tell him that he is a Hatter, no matter how much he or others protest. And tell him to stop smoking so much," the man grinned, dropping years off his age, "he will never find a nice girl to settle down with if he keeps that habit up."

"But…" Teito trailed off, feeling suddenly awkward. "Can't you just tell him that yourself?"

"He won't see me, let alone talk to me," the elder Hatter smiled sadly, speaking as if he positively knew that Teito's attempts to reunite them would be pointless.

Teito frowned and shook his head rather childishly. He looked out towards the way he had arrived and much to his relief spotted the road that led him here. Without bothering to excuse himself, he took off running towards that road, looking back only once to shout: "I'll bring him and you can tell him that yourself!"

As the teen struggled through the first set of undergrowth, he could hear the soft music of Bastien's harmonica, a beat much happier than the previous song he had heard the man play.

x-x-x

Finding the signs wasn't as difficult as Teito had prepared himself for. The path was clear, the trees remained constant. For a while, he thought that maybe the path had turned off into a different direction, just to be evil, but he arrived without much trouble. It certainly was a relief. But then paranoia began to seep in. What did the plants want from him in return for being so kind?

He had asked this out loud but received singing cicadas as a reply. Since he wasn't fluent in the insect language, only having taken Spanish and French, and a bit of German and Latin (seemingly nice, Fea was a very strict father when it came to studies), Teito gave up and told the forest he would reward them only after he found Frau. The cicadas replied again with their incomprehensible music.

Shrugging his shoulders, Teito turned and asked the wall of signs where he could find "Frau Hatter", just in case he was lead off towards a different Frau. The signs began flickering on and off, longer than what it took for them to locate Bastien last time. They began to slow finally, their flickering more distant apart. Teito's eyes followed the lights, darting to all the ones flicking on. The time between their flickering slowed to a snail's speed until finally one remained constant. The direction as a bit difficult to make out, it was forward but a bit to the right. Teito looked around the tree's trunk but couldn't find a path that would lead him forward.

"What, no path?" He asked the tree and was rewarded by all the signs turning red and a very audible buzz before they all turned off again. "I'm sorry," he apologized, a bit startled, and walked around the tree, keeping a cautious eye on it.

Seeing that the plant wasn't about to get up and attack, Teito turned and advanced towards the direction in which he thought the sign pointed towards. As he approached the first tree, he pulled out his tiny Bascule and began carving into the tree a small 'X'.

"I'm sorry, tree, but I'm going to need to find my way back. And without a road, I might end up getting lost," he apologized for what he was doing, feeling slightly ridiculous that he was apologizing to a tree but the entire place was ridiculous.

As he advanced through the underbrush, ripping the legs of his pants as he did so, he scratched a few X's along the way. He shouted Frau's name every few feet, eyes darting around the forest. The trees were so close together, he was certain that Frau wouldn't be able to lay on the ground. The man should be leaned against a tree, if anything.

Rustling above his head caused Teito to stop in his tracks, his hand gripping tightly to his miniature Bascule. He held his breath as his eyes darted all around but not up. He had a bad feeling about looking up.

Inhaling a deep breath, Teito squared his shoulders and continued forward, doing his best to ignore the now obvious rustling above him. He shouted Frau's name in an attempt to drown out the suspicious noise. But the rustling increased in volume as well. Never higher than his own voice but high enough to be heard. The teen soon found himself running, his plan on marking the path easily forgotten. The only thing on his mind was to run, run as fast as he could from whatever was following him high above.

"What do you want from me?" He shouted as he forced his eyes closed, struggling to run at the same fast speed.

Something caught onto his foot, startling his eyes open only to watch as the ground came running at him. He landed face first onto the harsh ground, grumbling as his shaky arms lifted him up. Placing a hand on his bruised cheek, he looked forward to find himself just yards from a clearing, the sight of a large tent in the center of that clearing.

After tugging his boot free from a discarded branch, Teito cautiously made his way forward, encircling the clearing as he tried to figure out whether the place was friendly or hostile. But he found no reason for the place to be hostile; it looked like a circus tent. A soft blue circus tent, like the blue of a summer's sky with a logo stamped on the side in a deep blue color. Inside a circumference were the four suits of a deck: heart, spade, clover and diamond.

Hearing no sounds at all, Teito approached the tent cautiously, encircling it until he found what would have been an entrance. He lifted the flap and peered inside. It was dark and a bit musky, making it a bit difficult to breathe. Teito took the collar of his white shirt and placed it over his nose as he walked the rest of the way inside. It appeared so much larger inside than it did outside. There were benches upon benches upon benches lining the walls. They rose high, almost as high as the rope wire that strung the width of the tent, almost touching the top and down, as if they had placed the tent over a deep crater.

Teito looked about the place; it was obvious it hadn't been used in some time. There could be, at least, five layers of dust on the benches and there was no equipment or anything out. It was empty. Just as Teito was turning around to leave, a spotlight over head flashed on, startling him back forward. He cast a cautious eye all around him but spotted nothing. Then his eyes landed down to the center ring, where the light was pointing at.

He took a step back at the scene, his eyes wide with alarm. Suddenly the sound of cheering could be heart, causing Teito to immediately turn to the benches around him. But there was no one, Teito was the only living thing inside the tent yet he could hear the sounds of cheering, laughter and animalistic hollers. Forcing a lump in his throat down, Teito advanced forward until the flat platform converted into stairs leading down. He stared down at the scene playing before him on the ring.

A woman, wearing practically nothing, advanced forward with various items in her hands. Then another woman, wearing the same thing as the other, advanced as well with the same amount of items in her hands. They both stood on raised platforms and began juggling. Teito counted at least seven objects, from the distance he couldn't tell what they were. The items suddenly caught on fire, causing the invisible crowd to cheer wildly. Spotlights from below flared on, directing Teito's gaze upward to watch as two figures, one riding the shoulders of the other, walked the tightrope, having only a pole to keep their balance. There was no net under them.

The sound of a roaring animal brought his attention back to the center ring. An animal that looked oddly like a lion but with wings like eagles protruding from its back raced around the ring, jumping through flaming hoops that were not there a moment ago.

"Welcome on and all!" A voice boomed from all around, startling the already frightened teen more. "To the Suit Circus!" The crowd cheered and clapped. "Oh, we have some fun acts for you tonight! But first, let us introduce our special guest of honor!"

A spot light suddenly flared and landed directly on Teito. The teen was ready to run when the voice boomed again.

"Come on down, Teito Klein! There's no turning back now!"

Teito looked over his shoulder and found that the entrance was no longer there, just rows and rows of benches. Forcing himself to take a deep breath, Teito turned back around and cautiously walked down the steps. He watched as the two women missed a single object and burst into flames, disappearing from sight. The lion, as it jumped through a hoop, never emerged from the other end. The hoops themselves combusted and disappeared into smoke. Teito's sights went to the two walking the tightrope only to watch as their footing slipped and plummeted to their death. He placed a hand over his mouth but they vanished into smoke before ever crashing onto the ground.

All the spotlights but the one following Teito turned off and the place fell into immediate darkness. The invisible crowd had ceased in its cheering, clapping or in making any noise. Teito's footsteps echoed much too loudly on the cement stairs, bouncing off the hollow tent.

Once he cleared the steps and advanced towards the raised stage, a light flared and exposed a body length mirror standing all by its lonesome. He did not stop but continued, knowing that if he stopped walking for even a moment, he wouldn't be able to start again. He took the small flight of stairs leading to the platform one step at a time until he finally reached the last one. Throwing a cautious eye around, Teito advanced forward and encircled the mirror. His reflection stared back at him, frightened, on both sides. The mirror looked ordinary enough, he thought as he stopped and stared at himself in the mirror. His hair was full of leaves and twigs, his pants were ripped as well as the tail of his coat. Otherwise, he looked just as he always did, even with the scratches on his face. He tended to have many of those whenever he picked fights with the kids at school or when he rough-housed outside with his Father.

He began picking out the leaves in his hair when he began to slow down, his eyes trailing down to meet his mirrored ones. They were wide, with fear, but burned a deep ruby. Teito took a step back but his mirrored self did not. Instead it wrapped his arms around his stomach and laughed, his eyes forcefully shut as the laughter seemed too much for him to take.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," the figure spoke with the exact same voice as Teito, though a bit deeper and strangely foreign. "I didn't mean to frighten you, Young Master."

"Who are you?" Teito fisted his hands, eyes on himself.

"Well, I go by many names. I am power, I am strength, I am ambition, I am greed, I am pride, I am wrath, but most importantly," the figure's shining ruby eyes grew darker, the corner of his lips curling upward to expose a sharp fang "I am God." He instantly shrugged his shoulders, his eyes closing as he gave the appearance of having been bored with the conversation. "Well, I used to be God; sadly, I am but a god now. But that is unimportant at the moment; there is no need for you, Young Master, to hear of it."

"What…are you talking about?"

"You have lost your companion, yes?" He smiled, placing both hands on his hips.

Teito nodded.

The mirrored brunet looked left and right. Certain (not that he already knew) that there was no one around to eavesdrop he leaned onto the mirror, his hand cupped over his cheek. "I know where he is," he whispered.

Teito stepped forward and took hold of the mirror.

"Where's Frau?"

"App, ap, ap," he stepped away from the mirror, hands raised as if to calm Teito. "Be still, Young Master, be still. Your knight is…fine. Vaguely," he threw the last word in with a flick of a wrist, as if it was of unimportance.

"Knight?"

A smile played on the mirrored Teito's lips. "Oh ho? He did not speak of it with you? Well, I most certainly won't then. After all, I belong to neither of those stupid Kings," the mirrored Teito glared at something on his side of the mirror, looking ready to cause someone immense pain. "My King died long ago, replaced by that…filth," he snarled before he gave a faint sigh, accepting that things just happen. "Oh, yes," he cast an eye towards Teito, "call me Mikhail, Young Master. I'm certain you are used to addressing people with names, yes?"

Teito nodded, unsure of what else to do.

"Splendid," he smiled, a fang exposed over his bottom lip.

"Um, about Frau?"

"Oh yes," Mikhail snapped his fingers. "Through here, the looking glass."

"You want me…to go through there?"

"But of course, this is where he is currently wandering about and I rather him not be here. I dislike his company very much."

"How…?"

"Just reach your hand out, and touch the mirror."

Teito did as instructed, the tips of his fingers just inches away from the glass. Taking a deep breath, Teito pushed his hand forward and was surprised when his entire hand went through. On the other side, Mikhail took hold of Teito and tugged him forward. One his entire body passed through the glass, Teito's head swam and he had the strong desire to vomit.

"There, there, Young Master. You'll accustom yourself to this world in a few moments."

"Where am I," Teito groaned, an arm wrapped around his stomach, "What's this tent?"

"You are in the Speculum Mirage!" The mirrored brunet looked around, "well this here exactly is the mirror version of what is left of the Suit Circus. It was a very popular place, back before the Raggs War when those stupid cretins ruined my life," he hissed, his eyes shimmering bright red.

Mikhail turned to Teito, noticing that the boy looked a bit frightened. He sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Young Master. A bit of a sore spot for me. You see, I don't belong here, here in the Suit Circus. There was a war, two actually. I do not know if your…Hatter mentioned this?"

Teito shook his head.

"Well, before, Wonderland was once six nations – now it's seven – but two nations held the most authority: the Basburg Kingdom and Raggs Country. My home was Raggs, as is…" he trailed off as he noticed Teito's questioning eyes. "Either way, Raggs was my home. I was the high priest to the great Sovereign of Raggs. But those Basburg insects grew greedy with power, heh, and I am supposed to be the incarnation of Greed." Mikhail sighed, "Moving on, the Basburg military stormed my country and took it by force, killing everyone belonging to Raggs. The Red King was to claim Raggs Country as his but the country was unlivable to those who knew not how to cultivate the ground and survive the harsh winters."

"And those who did now, were all killed…"

"Very intuitive, Young Master," Mikhail gave a curt nod. "Well, they basically left the ground to rot. Raggs still stands, as ruins though. I was the only one captured by the Suit Court because of my abilities. They stole my powers as a God, imprisoned me in that mirror to become an act in their circus. I was to impersonate anyone who stood in front of the mirror and scare them white," the god smirked.

"And I'm sure you were perfect at that," Teito laughed nervously. Strangely enough, he was beginning to fear himself.

"But now, with you here, I can leave," Mikhail smiled innocently, like a child.

"W-what can I do?" Teito asked as he took a step back but froze when Mikhail caught him by the wrist.

"I was once a God," his voice was low, unforgiving. "I had unimaginable powers. I could control the weather in the sky and I could obliterate an entire city with a snap of my fingers. That is, until my powers were stolen by that…child. Now, I am tied to this tent, unable to leave the looking glass. I was the cause for this tent to shut down. I caused numerous accidents like the high wire snapping in two while those mortals attempted to cross it on their tiny little bikes. Or I would make sure that those fire breathers burst into flame themselves. Or, my personal favorite," he grinned maliciously "I would enrage the animals and let them loose on the crowds. Every night this tent was open, I did that until they finally closed the place but they left me here," he looked off towards his mirror, his face relaxed, almost solemn. "Completely forgotten once the Basburg War began.

I still have some of my power, as I have shown you just moments ago with the reenactment of my spectacular achievements. But I want the rest; I am not satisfied creating illusions and having the destructive power of a cannon. The only way I can retrieve the rest of my power is to leave the mirror through a host, a host that welcomes me in. I will take you to your Hatter; I will aid you from this point on."

Mikhail kneeled and took Teito's hand in both of his. While bowing his head, he continued. "Please, Young Master. I have been through hell and back, I can no longer take this abuse. Please."

Teito looked down to, well, himself. He looked awfully piteous. Teito wondered if that was how he looked like to other people. As he gazed into his own begging eyes, Teito was finding it difficult to say no to Mikhail. Then something became clear to the teen, the reason why his Father was so easy to manipulate when Teito really wanted something. Fea Kruez just couldn't say no, just as Teito was finding difficulty doing the same thing. Teito decided, then and there, he would use that 'technique' of his more often, seeing that it was rather effective.

Sighing, Teito nodded his head. "I'll help you, Mikhail, only if you promise not to hurt anyone anymore."

"Of course, Young Master! Your wish is my command," his ruby eyes sparkled. "I shall not even hurt a fly! Unless, of course, that fly tries something against you. Then master, I must revoke your wish. I cannot let anything, or anyone, harm you."

"Fine, fine!" Teito pulled his hand back, starting to feel a bit awkward about it all. "And call me Teito. It's weird being called Young Master."

"Sure, whatever." The god smiled as he stood to his feet.

"Now, where's Frau?"

"This way." Mikhail took a running start and jumped down from the platform.

Teito sighed and followed.

x-x-x

Teito had expected an entirely different world when he had stepped through the mirror but everything seemed oddly normal. Well, as normal as one could get in Wonderland. The only thing different was everything was backwards, and being in a forest, Teito could hardly notice if a tree was "backwards".

They had walked in moderate silence, Mikhail being the only one to open his mouth and name each plant they passed by. Teito had expected the ex-god to be rather ruthless and intimidating, but now, listening to him name off each flower and tree with their scientific name and a quirky fact, it just seemed that Mikhail was like any other 'mortal', as the god liked to put it. Only with Teito's face and, well, body.

"Hey, Mikhail," he interrupted…himself as he read off the many uses for a specific herb that grew under specific types of rocks. "Why don't you turn back to your original form? Why stay like, well, me?"

"One of two reasons," Mikhail raised two fingers, his face stern and serious. "One," he lowered one, "You are by far the most beautiful form I have ever had to duplicate!" The god grinned, causing Teito to wish his early death. "And two," Mikhail lowered his hand and looked off towards the foliage around, his grin gone. "Two, I no longer remember my true form. It's been so long…so many forms I've had to duplicate, I just simply…forgot. But when I recover my treasure, I am sure I will remember."

"Do you know where your treasure is?" Teito asked as he hurdled over thorny vines.

"No, but I am certain the man that imprisoned me here will have it."

As they continued to walk, the trees became scarce, giving the two males easier trek through the woods. Teito's eyes traveled to the treetops above, watching as the blue sky began turning a soft purple color as if the sun was setting.

"Mikhail, are there people in the mirror world?"

"Hardly. Only when one looks into a looking glass does their doppelganger appear in this world. As soon as the person turns away, their doppelganger disappears, back to their world."

"Their world?"

"Did Hatter teach you anything?" Mikhail spat.

"He…" Teito turned away from Mikhail, the glare he was being given too strange since it was his face doing it. "He, um, was rather vague, about everything."

"The Speculum Mirage is a plane between two worlds; Wonderland and Neverwhere."

"…Neverwhere?"

"Yes, I cannot say much about it, seeing that doppelgangers don't talk about it, and I don't have a doppelganger myself. But the little information I have overheard is that the land over there is hostile."

"So…what about my doppelganger?"

Mikhail turned to Teito, slightly surprised to see that the boy was staring at him, patiently waiting for the answer. He scoffed, rather ungodly-like. There was only so much stress one could put on a god. He thought of a response to give to the teen for some time, prolonging in hopes that the boy would leave it be. But every few moments, Mikhail would look up to see Teito watching him, waiting.

"Your doppelganger?" Mikhail asked.

"Well, you appeared instead of my doppelganger."

"That is because that is my mirror. Do you know how long I stay in front of that mirror to wait for lost Wonderlanders to stumble upon the abandoned circus tent and wait even longer for audacious mortals to come inside and approach the mirror? Let me tell you, it does not happen often."

"Oh, that makes sense then," Teito turned his attention back onto the road.

"A piece of advice though," Mikhail cursed silently at how nervous he sounded. Damn his master and his overly emotional voice. "I would avoid Wonderland mirrors as much as possible, if I were you."

"Why?" Teito looked at the god through the corner of his eye.

"Well, unused doppelgangers tend to be a bit…what's the phrase? …livid with rage against their counterparts. And since you, Young Master, have…never been to Wonderland, you've never used the doppelganger you have here. The poor bloke is beside himself with rage. He might very well attack you and drag you here and take your place out there."

"They can do that?"

"They can and will. That is why Vanity is not such a deadly sin in Wonderland."

Teito nodded, trying his best to take in all this information. There were so many rules in Wonderland. All Teito wanted was to go back home.

"We're almost there."

Teito turned to Mikhail then towards the direction the god was looking towards. Beyond a line of trees, there was nothing but black. It was strange to see and even stranger to feel once the duo reached it. The air was bitter and cold enough to burn. Teito raised the shredded collar of his coat over his neck and huddled it closer, the icy air somehow able to penetrate his layered clothing without difficulty.

As they walked deeper into the nothingness, Teito felt an arm wrap around his own and was surprised to find Mikhail pressed tightly against him. Teito raised an eyebrow and was even more surprised when the god seemed to blush deeply.

"…I just," Mikhail began, uncertain of where his unwanted emotions were coming from. "I just didn't want to feel alone."

He was right, Teito thought. Being in that nothingness, the feeling of isolation was great, almost unbearable. Teito mentally thanked Mikhail for being so close.

"How much farther?" Teito coughed violently, the bitter air stinging his throat and lungs.

Mikhail pointed a shaky finger towards a structure just some ways away. The two males hurried there, practically running since they could barely stand the cold and loneliness anymore. As they climbed the multiple steps, they pushed against the large metal doors, entered and closed the doors behind them.

They stood in relative silence, the sounds of their breathing the only noise that could be heard. Teito turned towards Mikhail, who he could barely see with the light that seemed to glow off the walls. The ex-god was panting heavily with sweat trailing down his face, even in the ridiculous cold.

"W-where is this place in Wonderland?" Teito asked just to hear Mikhail's voice.

"…This place doesn't exist in Wonderland," Mikhail released a breath. "The things that rest here, in catacombs like this, they drift aimlessly between the Speculum Mirage and Neverwhere in a sort of karmic penance. They shouldn't even exist. Their crimes are far greater than the work they do," Mikhail spat.

"…then why is Frau here?"

Teito turned to the inner chamber of the room. His breath came out as white haze as it hovered in the air. His footsteps echoed loudly, bouncing off the cold metal walls, while he walked the length of the room. As he neared its ending, Teito came face to face with a large casket. There was a strange marking on the casket's face, nothing Teito had ever seen before. And as he stood there, gazing at the thing, he had the strange feeling that he shouldn't be here. That whatever was inside should not be disturbed, especially by Teito. But he had come this far to find Frau, and he was not going to let his own fear stop him.

So with a deep breath, Teito reached out to the cold metal box, brushing it lightly with his fingertips when all too suddenly the casket swung open on its own. Teito crashed to the ground, disoriented. Mikhail's shouts roused Teito out of his bewilderment only to catch sight of a hooded figure, dressed in dark flowing robes. A scythe was staked into the ground behind the teen, keeping him in place. Unable to escape, Teito could only watch as the figure hovered closer. Teito could no longer hear Mikhail's shouts; in fact, he wondered why it was taking so long for the god to reach him. But thoughts of Mikhail helping him soon dissolved into nothing as a skeletal hand, bones as white as ash, took hold of his wrist in a tight seize.

Mikhail raced forward but was too late as the figure took Teito with it into the coffin. It slammed closed just as he slammed into it. A second too late. Mikhail pounded fiercely against the metal, his boyish fists having no effect on it. He bit back a cry as his eyes accumulated tears. He had not expected this. He had imagined that the stupid blond would come stumbling out. Never in his life did he imagine Teito would be pulled inside. Into a world even darker than the rumored Neverwhere. He shook his head, his entire body leaning against the casket, his legs unable to support his body any longer.

In a mortal body, what could a dethroned god really be able to do?

A/N: "Duuh. I wonder who the coffin belongs to…?" I will personally find and slap anyone that says that! D: I swear I will! I'm psycho! I will do it! …ah. That was a good laugh. Anyway, you guys curious about the Suit Circus yet? :D I bet only the smart readers can figure out who belongs to the Suit Circus. –cackles–