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WAKING UP

"I'll kill you here, and then I will have one less problem when I wake up." - The digitized voice that came out of the foreigner was hollow and inhuman. The black blade was calmly pointed at him and didn't shed a single reflection on it's edge but neither did the armor and fog that covered the foreigner. In fact, the thick darkness seemed to negate all light.

"Are you in need to burn some steam with training, my lady? I shall comply then to my lady's wishes" - Ace knew his smile wasn't as relaxed as it should, not because he considered her any real treat, but because he all too easily could kill her here and then his fun would be over. And all because he had killed a fake image.

When he reached this platform, a visage of a creature had taken the form of the man that looked like the dodo from Aria's past.

"You aren't the one I was expecting, da?" -He, or 'it' had spoken with a thick accent and prepared a heavy weapon Ace hadn't seen before but in Aria's memories.

The knave didn't hesitate and immediately attacked. Avoiding the heavy caliber bullets that exploded at his far back when the rounds impacted on the far walls, Ace rushed to cut down the man, The 'not the dodo' got out a combat knife to intercept the knave's sword and dealt a kick towards Ace's side, but Ace sidestepped and tried an upper slash. Whatever this creature was, it was good enough to maintain his ground against the stronger fighter among the role holders, still it wasn't enough. Not but a few blows of his sword later, Ace already had the upper hand, and with a quick faint of a blow to the head, he got down and impaled his opponent throw the chest.-"Aria doesn't need reminders of her past." - He barely spoke to the corpse when a small metallic clashing sound made him turn his head around.

There was Aria, who had come just in time to see him impale her old loved one right in front of her. Her weapon laid in the ground; her expression lost all color and her eyes lost all their shine. She looked dead inside. All life had been drained by seeing that. And wouldn't he know? It was the same expression his younger self had when he, the executioner, killed Julius in front of him.

Ace expected that she'd scream, that she would break in crying or that she'd rushed to attack him. None of that happened and his own clock felt clogged. Her breathing was obviously faster and deeper, and when she opened her eyes, her expression was void, calm, collected and dead. All it's brilliance had dulled, almost as if she belonged to this 'wonderful' world, and that was something Ace despised, something he couldn't allow. He needed to make her react, one way or another. He needed her back; even if by making her hate him, as long as that spark returned he'd do anything. -"Are you feeling well Aria, do you need your gallant knight to save you?"

The sword in her hand didn't shake, but her eyes lit with an orange light blinking with red dots.-"I'm not feeling anything. Just so I know, Aegis classifies this as a 'Despair Event Horizon '. It admittedly has advantages. Like the madness, it's liberating. It dulls everything."- With a blank face she looked around never completely losing sight of him.

The mercenary always aimed to deal the first and last strike. She obviously wasn't well. Perhaps she was preparing for that?

The first cracks appeared on the stone pillars that held the tower above their location and she ignored them.- " I already knew this, of course. No expectations = no disappointments. With all inputs cut, there is no pain or joy, just purpose."- She walked around the perimeter, always pointing her sword at him -" ...Except that there is no purpose either. There is nothing to gain and there nothing to lose. "-The mercenary woman didn't seem capable of feeling anything. No rage, nor pity, no sadness… nothing. - "There is no future. "

"Geezz, so much despair, Ari... turn it down. It makes you boring. "- Ace scratched the back of his head and held up his blade, letting her gain time for whatever she was planning while her shadows finished consuming the corpse he had dropped. -"That man wasn't real, Mercy." - He showed a soft smile, but he well understood that this confrontation was all but inevitable now.

Just when she stop under the shadow of a pillar, her eye's glow shifted to red, and yellow triangles appeared over her irises. - "I know this Andrick wasn't real. It was just another trap from this world... It will never end… The Game will just keep forever setting traps for me. It doesn't matter. I'll just get rid of them as they come; and that includes you Ace, because holders are traps to capture the foreigner."

At the edge of the platform, pieces of the rail began crumbling down and served to signal the start of the fight.

Shadows began gathering from the architecture and merging with the darkness that crawled in swirls around Aria as she concentrated on transmitting 'ideas' data packages to her sentient A.I. to call forth gear. She'd take any and all advantages she could get. The chimera or the succubus were naught compared to Ace.

Ace put one hand over his clock and made a small inclination while stepping aside to keep his own shadow from touching the crawling darkness on the floor.-"As a knight, I should let you have the first move, my lady." - He wondered how she was controlling it. His smile brightened knowing it had little to do with the dream or else he'd also be able to so something like that. No, she had learned to do it on her own as much as she had figured out this world- "You are pretty awesomely smart, Ari. No one else could have understand and surpass the horrors that underlay Wonderland's pretty exterior. "

Without answering, Aria extended her hands sideways and a couple UZI submachine guns appeared on her palms. At the same time, Ace jumped away to avoid the black spikes that sprung from the shadows over the soil to lash at him. She watched the shadows curiously and 'felt' them crawling on the terrain. She wanted to end this fast, but with Ace such would be impossible.

"You never flocked to the holders like foreigners were supposed to. Even Alice went from person to person seeking solace. You never needed it. I kinda liked that. It used to be funny."- Ace effortlessly moved his sword up to block a lashing tendril that had come from above aiming for his head. She didn't spoke, instead, she dropped the UZIs to the floor confusing him, but when he saw a new weapon appear in her hands, he grinned madly.-"That's sophistication, my dame! " - The weapon was a heavy mortar, which she immediately set on the floor and aimed at him but he jumped forward and rushed at incredible speed towards her with the intention to strike that mortar and force her to fight, however he wasn't even halfway near her when a spike barrier of darkness rose from the floor and stopped him.

"Used to be funny… I can't see anything to be fun now." - She stepped aside the mortar and raised her open hand in Ace's direction. Her uneven digital voice was stoic. -"No purpose or protocols are detected, and usage of all fighting and engaging capacities can and will be performed without restraints."-When she closed her hand, from the wall of shadows a desecrated fangy jaw sprung to bite the knave.

Ace swung his word at the barrier and cut the jaws in two, then he twisted in a circle to gain momentum and stroke a new arc from above and twisted again with tornadoing speed to deal a third blow, from the corner of his eyes he saw something speeding his way. Just in time he let his sword strike down on the floor, and used the momentum of his strike to impulse his own body and twist into the air to avoid the upcoming black mass that went past by him, and which was none other than Aria herself using her dual forearm black blades as if she had been launched straight at him.

Another wall rose from the floor and intercepted Aria's trajectory while she twisted in the air to land her feet perpendicular to the wall, then a new mini wall coming out of the wall propelled back towards Ace. Ignoring using the UZIs in her hands, she again twisted in the air to kick him, but he raised his sword and stopped her heel; The knave took a second to whistle when he saw she was wearing some guns on her heels, and took just as long to avoid the bullets that came from them, and then kick her on the chest, sending her back several meters away.

She flipped back in the air to land, and Ace saw the change in her attire, getting the uneasy feeling that he had seen her like this before. -"Have I ever told you I love your style, my lady?" - He couldn't deny that this spar was exciting him more than needed. He had seen her fight the hordes of enemies here, and now that she had her magic armor back and all the shadows at her command, the foreigner might turn out to be a good match in more way than one.

Aria remembered the fight with the Jabberwocky in Diamond. This was her battle attire from then and from back in her world after she had lost far more or her mind and humanity to mere electric impulses towards a goal, but the suit was slightly different, as if she hadn't been able to recall all of it. Still, this was not armor but a power exoskeleton. It was not meant for defense but for attack. The long robotic boots connected to white external armored plaques covering the inner black layer of the suit's legs in the same way that the white plaques extended along her arms reaching over the tactic combat gauntlets or covered her shoulders all the way around her neck and the upper part of her breasts, while the lower part and all her middle section was protected by a black and dark grey carbonic layer. -"To fight without restrains..."

"I wouldn't insult you by restraining myself now. And when I get the honor of defeating the most special person in all of wonderland, I wont be restrained either in whatever we do afterwards. " - Ace threw his sword towards her as if it was a giant throwing knife, but she leaned aside only to see that Ace has already moved behind her to catch his own sword and deal a new slash, which she blocked with her forearm blade while with her other hand she pressed her Uzi's trigger to shoot a barrage of bullets at Ace in close range. Ace moved his head aside to avoid the lead shower and Aria kicked up to hit his chin; he leaned back and the weapon in her heel shot, forcing him to jump back in response while swinging his sword to parry the bullets while she dodged his next sword strikes. To his delight, they seemed evenly matched.

Both combatants ran towards each other to enter close combat. Ace tried slashing her up front and she blocked and deviated his sword with her own blades or with the guns while shooting at him as soon as she got chances for that, but he easily avoided the bullets or parried them.

"Renowned as the strongest holder… Yet you hate and enjoy your roles so much. What if I tell you I may know how to take away a role from a holder?" - Aria made brief eye contact with him as she dodged another swing of his blade and countered with a kick to his stomach which he avoided by sidestepping. -" Would you take up on the offer or remain lost forever? I would experiment on you of course, but there's the chance that I'll remove your role from you, even if by killing you"

Ace's eyes widened for a second. This was so devastating that it was wonderful. - "I like when you think about me. I also like that you are so independent and free that you could have perhaps found a way to achieve that. You are never lost, always having a direction to go. I think you are my guiding light in this messed up world. It makes me want to coddle and give you more things to have fun." - The experienced soldier feinted a forward kick and she jumped back, giving him the chance to thrust his sword forward right at her heart, but just when he tip of his sword was reaching her flesh, scaled darkness covered Aria's gauntlets as she grabbed it.

She held onto the blade that threatened to break at the pressure of both fighters pressing it towards the other.-"Or perhaps you want to consume your role before it consumes you?"-The mercenary bended her knees to lower her body, and let the blade pass forward and slice part of her armor and the flesh beneath it while she bent back to set her palms on the floor and carousel back, spreading and extending her legs up so her heels were practically on his face ready to shoot on point blank, but being such an experienced swordsman, from out of nowhere Ace unsheathed his other sword to block the bullets from hitting his head and got shot in the hand instead.

Ace lifted his bleeding hand. I was useless for holding a sword - "All roles take their holders. I believe you, my dame. Will you tell me during pillow talk?* - He transformed his sword into an assault rifle and shoot her, but darkness appeared to block the bullets and lash at him again.

While the knave dealt with the shadows, Aria ran back towards the mortar and shot it towards the knight. Ace caught on it and rolled away. The mortar's round exploded behind him and sent debris flying everywhere while he ran forwards, zigzagging towards her; as he was getting near, a new wall of shadowy spikes rose from the floor and intercept him while she recharged the mortar - "I can't remember the last time I've had this much fun! You're definitely more entertaining than Alice! More fun that the other holders! I can't wait to break you and find out every little secret you have." - He slashed the tendrils with relentless force, but cutting them only made the darkness turn into misty ink in the air that was soon absorbed by the darkness.

"Will you torture me to tell you?" - Aria pressed the trigger of the other Uzis at the knight while Aegis, her A.I., handled the calculations and operated the shadows. Without previous training it was hard for her concentrating on using the shadows, so she left her A.I. handle it in order to push Ace so that she could use the mortar again; however, Ace either evaded or blocked and wasn't making things easy for her.

"First I have to get to you."- The knight of Hearts tried a low kick that the darkness blocked andnoticed the place was coming apart and the building was starting to break down.-"Even if you run, I'll chase you. Like a dog for your bones."- He wasn't gonna deny that. He was the mortician's hound already, so why not be Aria's too? -" I know we are enjoying ourselves, but why don't we take the fun to another place?" - He jumped back and his sword transformed into an assault rifle once more. He shoot towards her, aiming for her arms or legs, but the shadows intercepted all his shoots while she got to the mortar again.-"I love really having fun with you, Ari. Who'd think I'd get a girl just as fun as I am?" - He let out a little deranged happy laugh.

"Don't fool yourself Ace. You're not getting anything but a bullet or a slash through your clock." - Aria seemed too calm when her shadows condensed into black tentacles the size of a kraken's and started attacking not Ace, but the structural supports of the place to make it fall apart even faster.- "Silly man. Don't make the mistake to hope, you won't escape this place. Whether I kill you or whether you get trapped in the nightmares that are devouring this dream. You'll die …"- she pointed her UZI and shot at him again to zero effect-"Or you will feel pain again, and again, from repeating your past. You found someone or something to care about. Now you dread the day when it will be gone. You know you'll be disappointed again. You are afraid to reckon that you will lose all, and acknowledge that all your struggles are in vain, you fool."

His clock warmed at her words. He knew that very well and he knew that such had happened to her- "I don't fool myself, mercenary."- His dashing smile brightened with conviction. He couldn't allow her to lose her spark. - "Take it from me, Aria. Sometimes, it feels good to be the idiot that fights back. Specially when what you fight for is really worth it, MY lady."

A grimace crossed Aria's previously stony face as she clutched the dog tags on her neck. The memory of Andrick Jeloudov came to the front of her mind. That time he had said something similar: "...World is not a fine place, it's terrible and horrible but still worth to fight for…I wanna live and enjoy while I alive." She had agreed then, but now she didn't even have the strength for that. For a tense second she closed her eyes tightly and gulped down, swallowing any flicker of emotion before addressing Ace, who was again trying to cut his way through the now thinned darkness to reach her.

"It doesn't matter who dies here, Ace." - Aria dropped the UZI's to the floor and her whole body relaxed. -"Everything ends at some point" - She kicked the mortar so it pointed upwards and shoot the round towards a boulder from the collapsing tower right above her. The resulting impact explosion separated the piece from the structure and it began crumbling. In matter of seconds it would fall right over her.

Ace's eyes widen and the shadows disappeared from his way. Without thinking he rushed and grabbed her into an embrace to escape being crushed by the boulder while the rest of the place began flickering out of existence. They rolled on the floor and Ace tightened his hug on her. When they stopped near the collapsing edge of the platform, blood ran down the corner of the knight's mouth.- "I finally caught you, Ari… that was dangerous, you know? but I'm happy you went so far only to get me to hug you"

Aria pushed him away from her but his hold was still strong. She only managed to roll so she was on top and able to twist her forearm blade and cause him pain. The crushing boulder had been her trap to draw him near, and she had used that one suicidal chance to struck Ace over the stomach when he grabbed her to get her out of danger. -"Die already."

The place flickered again. The time changed had passed and the effect of the relic ends with it, pretty soon they would be back in the real world.

"See you when we wake up, Ari."- Setting a hand behind her back and once behind her head, Ace smiled and pulled her towards him to crush his bloodied lips against hers while she repeatedly stabbed his sides trying to kill him before they woke up as everything fade away.

Back in the real world, upon finding the time distortion Julius forced the time to change to its next cycle and the hidden room that had been cut off from space began to reappear. It started blurry and distorted, but the time master could see a couple of figures, one clad in with a red trench coat and the other in a black armor.

The black one started incorporating first.

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Aria felt really groggy but the electric jolts of her suit helped her waking up; since Ace had inhaled more smoke, she had a couple seconds of advantage. The merc unsheathed her forearm blade to stab Ace, but she looked Julius's blurry figure start appearing in the place as the time readjusted, she knew that she wouldn't have the time for it. Instead, she located the window from where the gas grenade had been thrown and jumped out of it while Ace got up from the floor.

Outside, the street was starting to get busy and full again after the crazy shoot down from the last time change.

Dizziness, tiredness and a horrible hangover from last nights drinks cause the escaping foreigner o stumble while running between the crowd.

Ace hadn't even thought about it before he jumped out of the window to follow her, and in matter of second he caught up to the unsteady woman and with a tight hug around her arms he held her struggling frame trapped while a bunch of people looked at them.

"Let me go, Ace!" - The foreigner looked like a feral animal, struggling and trying to escape his hold. She was desperate to get away and not face him or Julius at all.

"No. Finders keepers. I found you and I'm not letting go"- When a tremor happened in the land she almost got away, so using his taller stature he easily lift her from the floor to prevent her from escaping. - "Right, Julius?"

Julius came running behind them and quickly got in front of her and set his hands at the sides of her Jaw to make her look at him in the eyes. She tried to shake them off but couldn't, and before she cussed them more, with a red face Julius screamed what he needed to tell her - " I'm sorry! Look, Alice means little to me as a woman, she's only a friend. I like you, no, I love you, so dont go running away, you unreasonable, overly dramatic mercenary!" - He didn't gave her a chance to retort, and continued despite knowing the crowd was eagerly listening to this - "I am selfish and I want you to stay with me in that dark tower because I'd miss your presence and I'm desperate to have you closer. You may be rash, authoritarian ,a pain in the ass with your emotionless weird voice, greedy as hell, selfish, thick skulled, paranoid, distrustful, indecipherable…."

"What Julius tries to say... " - Ace continued when Julius couldn't put into words anything more than her bad but fun qualities-"... Is that your intellect shallows others understanding and that he doesn't mind being your pillar of stability in her times of need. "- Ace contributed with unusual eloquence - "He also wants your warmth in his bed and desires to have more of it. "

"THIS IS TORTURE! LET ME GO DAMMIT!"- Aria struggled even more to get free and not deal this this - "Actions speak louder than words Julius. And you already spoke enough!"- She just wanted to get a way to the normal emotional dullness of her existence, and to hell with everyone else.

"Then what about you!? You never say anything of what you really want or expect!?"- Julius stood there, not knowing what to do or react but angry that she wasn't even willing to listen. She looked like a trapped wild animal, angry and lashing at everyone around in order to get free. He growled. ("Not this time.") . He wasn't gonna let her go until she listened.

Aria expanded her forearm blades and twisted her arm to lift her blades and failed to slash Julius. -" I'm trying to kill you, what do you think that says?!"- She extended her blades to stab the clock master but he moved back with more decisions than hurt in his eyes while the crowds around kept murmuring in the background.

Ace held her tighter.- "THIS IS LOVE" - He was having field day with this. Julius being direct, Aria switching in his arms, and he with them both. All so that everyone knew about their love. This was really fun.

A new quake made the soil tremble, and this time, Aria considered that she had another tool at her escapee disposal. Her shadow. Her eyes flickered a glowing blue hue and her A.I. showed the list of commands in her vision.

"Z AXIS, ROUND TARGET, STALAGMITES !" - As the ground tremble continued, from the shadows on the floor, spikes of darkness shot up around and forced Ace to let go and Julius to move back so Aria dropped to the floor just when the land finally shifted and transported the foreigner, the role holders and a bunch of bystanders from the busy streets of clover to the far off forest of doors.

Taking her chance, Aria immediately ran towards the closest door, but a jolt of electricity from her suit directly into her nerves caused her to jump aside as a barrage of bullets destroyed the door she had reached for. She jumped behind a tree and looked how Ace was shooting down all nearby doors with his assault rifle while the faceless that had accompanied them in the change were scurrying away and taking cover behind the trees.

"Diablos!"- She knew of this place. As a foreigner she could get towards any of this doors and reach whenever she wanted, while the inhabitants of this world simply were forbidden for using the doors. They knew that and now they were resorting to destroying the doors instead. That would of course leave her with no escape route. Not to mention that some of the faceless had started to shoot at them and even Julius had changed his wrench into a gun.

She looked around but there was nowhere to run or to hide, however there were many shadows around. Why not? It was a mad attempt but the only shoot she could think off. If she couldn't use the doors here then she'd create one.

"Aegis, cast a door with the shadows!" - She said and extended her hand while calling forth the shadows of the trees, bushes, broken doors and anything around, even parts of her own armor. In front of her an obsidian door emerged from the ground, but more like a door it looked like a mirror or a glass, and in it at its other side, her eyes widened, shocked at the sight before her. It was an incredibly big and fearsome wolf-like creature, which had a silvery coat that looked like needles but still relatively fluffy. It had a long and strong neck and muscular forequarters, but had a slim yet strong build that made it look far more agile than a feline could be.

The creature turned his head in her way with surprised, and upon seeing her, ran immediately towards her and crashed on the mirror like surface. She gazed into' his' electric blue eyes with slitted pupils, and his eyes connected with her. For a moment everything was calm. She had no apprehension at this creature whatsoever…. she… she somehow knew it was fine, and she knew what it was.

Aria extended her hand towards the surface but bullets hit the door above her and forced her to take cover behind it. Aria knew who 'he' was. He was the bandersnatch, and by the frumius clawing and growling sound, he wanted to cross to this side. She smirked and chuckled in despair. Having nothing to lose, in front of her vision the words of a poem appeared and she began to chant it aloud.

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Thre is an M oneshot for an alternative end of how the dream ends. In case you wanna check it is called ' Wonderful Wonderful One-shots: CAPTIVE '

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