WHAT'S UP! YET ANOTHER CHAPPY AND THIS ONE'S GOT A FEW ANSWERS…AND EVEN MORE NEW QUESTIONS! MUHAHAHAHAH! PLEASE REMEMBER TO REVIOW! I LIKE TO HEAR YOUR FEED-BACK!

Ch. 24: New Complications

I gently pressed blue cold press over Alister's brow as he continued to burn up. Alice looked over at me worriedly from the other side of the Clover Tower guest bed, "It was so sudden…will he be ok?" I shrugged, "I think so…."

I turned to the small collective of role holders that had remained at the tower after we had put Alister to bed. Julius and the other tower inhabitants, Boris (whom I suppose stayed because he seemed to be friends with Alister now) Peirce, Ace, (lord knows why he stayed) and White. I started my investigation, "Is there any kind of disease going around that includes a flash fever?" Boris shook his head. "There's nothing in Wonderland that would take someone down that fast. Any poisons or diseases would have shown warnings beforehand."

I sighed, "And his wounds fine, so it's no infection. No signs of dehydration or malnourishment… no bumps on the head that might have led to delayed head trauma… and no other symptoms aside from flash fever and fainting… I'm stumped."

Alice nibbled on a knuckle nervously as Julius sighed. "There's nothing we can do about it now. We all might as well go back to our own business and wait for him to get better…or worse." Alice gasped and slapped him on the arm, "Julius, bad!" he looked pretty startled, "What?" I couldn't help but snicker, "Aww, Julius is so cold…. He's right though. You all go back home and visit tomorrow. I found him, so it's my responsibility to take care of him."

Ace turned back as he left, grinning,"You make him sound like a dog." Then he turned around and left. Alice continued to scold Julius as they left. They sound like an old couple…. White also got up to leave, "Speaking of business, I want to discuss something with you in private Nightmare." Those two left with Gray, probably to Nightmares office.

Boris and Peirce turned back to me as they were about to leave as well. Boris looked nervous, "…Are you sure he's going to be ok?" I blinked at him, "You're worried? I thought no one in this world cared about life." He grinned sheepishly, "Yeah, but ever since Alice and you came, I've been noticing how everyone who gets replaced isn't like the person they were before…." Peirce piped in, "And Alisters a nice guy. It would be sad if he got replaced." I smiled as those two left.

I remembered my conversation with Blood, 'No one values life here enough try their hardest and work to make the world better. And unlike my world, there aren't those who try to make it WORSE, their just…stuck. No one puts it past themselves to do something important because it doesn't seem to matter….' I looked up at the celling and smiled. Was this the purpose of bringing foreigners here? To innovate? To stir things up and make them care?

"PUN!" I looked down, a bit startled; to see Patch sitting on Alisters chest, staring at his face with what might just have been a calculating expression. Then he punned again and snuggled into a ball. I chuckled, "Looks like he likes you…." An image of Alisters face before his fever had struck flashed across my mind. I stared at his face as it was now, red, feverish, and miserable. As though he were having a nightmare. I blinked and stared a bit more as realization dawned on me. I rested my chin in my hand and sighed, "…What horrible things did you remember, hmm?"

…

P.O.V Change: Gray.

Joker sat on the other side of Nightmare-sama's desk, as Nightmare-sama seated himself. I stood behind Nightmare-sama, not expecting, but ready for any trouble Joker might be up to. My boss glared at the Joker. "Alright, is this about Alister, Alistair, or…" He leaned forward a bit, "about C.J?" White cleared his throat, "All three. Don't you think it is strange for a new role holder to show up out of the blue, with no idea of how he got his role, or any real memories?"

Nightmare-sama frowned, "You're not suggesting that Alister is-" "Of course not. But you must allow that it is also rather coincidental for him to show up soon after the convict Alistair escaped, and for the very first person he met to have been C.J? You know as well as I that attack was not of the USUAL* means." Nightmare-sama nodded, "That I know. The poor man is clearly not in total control of his own mind…so who is?" He then frowned, "Where are you going with this Joker?"

The red-head pulled out a map and laid it across the desk, facing Nightmare-sama. He pointed to an area. "This is the circus…" His finger slid to another familiar area, a little to the left of it. "…and this is the Hatter Mansion. This is an approximate path that C.J took on her way to the Heart castle." The darker Joker spoke up for the first time, "In the completely wrong direction." He then pointed to the Clover Tower. "I trust you know what this is." He then traced a path, past the Hatter Mansion and the Circus, all the way to the Badlands. "This is the second time she got lost. And look here." His hand floated back to the tower, then traced a path heading towards the Badlands again, only to stop short. "This is the area of the camp. Have you noticed a pattern yet?"
Nightmare-sama studied the map for a moment, stumped, then his eye widened in horror. "Every time she gets lost, regardless of her current position," My eyes widened in equal horror as I caught on. "She goes in the direction of the Badlands!" I blurted. Joker nodded grimly as he rolled up the map, "Precisely. I believe that, somehow, someway, for whatever reason, C.J has a subconscious tie to the Badlands, drawing her there without her awareness."

I had to lean on the wall behind me for that. Boss leaned back and ran a hand through his hair in exasperation. "Unbelievable. C.J is a foreigner, so how could she possibly have any connection to a place in Wonderland?" Joker shrugged, his face etched with an expression I'd never seen on him before. "Dealer knows. But I do think… no, I know that there is another game afoot. And C.J is the crown piece."

…...

P.O.V Change: C.J

I sighed as I took one last check on Alister before bed. His condition hadn't moved an inch in either positive or negative. The biggest change was that he had started mumbling incoherently not long ago; further justifying that he was having a nightmare. Poor guy. I paused, then patted his head, picked up Patch, then made my way to my bedroom.

I sighed deeply as I took in my room. It seemed like freaking forever since I'd been here. My full exhaustion hit me head on and my lids started to close even as I stood there leaning against the door. I shook my head; I NEED to get these clothes washed. Running around all day wasn't good for my new shirt. I dropped Patch down on the bed, went to the dresser and rummaged. Really, I was so tired; modesty wasn't a factor to me at the moment. I yanked out a night gown at random and changed. I groaned, but didn't bother changing after seeing it on me. It was pure white, went down to mid-thigh (Seeing how short I am, it made me blush to think of where it was supposed to hit.) and had a bowl neck line that dipped a good 5 inches below the hollow of my neck. Far too low for comfort.

Ignoring the violations of my personal dress code, I dumped my clothes down the chute and plopped myself down on the bed and almost cried at how soft and warm it felt. I promptly wriggled under the covers and curled up into fetal position. Patch padded over to the pillow in front of my face and curled into a ball. At first he just stared at me. He was still staring at me as I closed my eyes and let sleep take me, his golden little fox eyes the last thing I saw.

….

Sunshine streamed into my eyes as the damn random time patterns here woke me nearly 2 hours early. I groaned and tried to roll over, away from the evil morning. As I tried to pull the comforter with me, I felt resistance. My eyes flew open as I heard a yawn that did NOT belong to me. Is It just me, or is the bed a lot WARMER than it should be? I very slowly sat up and turned to see the other side of the bed.

Beside me lay large creature, with white hair as silvery as chrome, and what seemed to be animal ears on its head and a tail, curled around it, that matched. Blood red tips tinged the end of its hairs, tail and ears. I stared open mouthed as a small squeak escaped my throat.

The creature stirred, and sat up. The tail that had previously concealed its face now hung over the edge of the bed. He blinked lazily, and then realized I was starring directly at him. Bright, golden, eyes bore into mine. I finally found my voice and let loose an ear-splitting scream that scattered birds for 2 miles!

OH MY, WHAT ON EARTH HAS HAPPENED HERE? ANOTHER TWIST, THAT'S WHAT! WHAT THE HEAK IS THIS THING AND WHY WAS IT IN C.J'S BED? FIND OUT NEXT TIME!

*WHIT EWAS REFERING TO HOW NIGHTMARE WOULD CAUSE ALICE PAIN SO SHE WOULDN'T REMEMBER HER SISTER.