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CHAPTER 2: THE PRICE OF A DEAL

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She got far more than angry at him for even thinking that such thing as rape would work against her. He was desperate but it was not an excuse. It even was obvious that he barely had enough strength at all and she was not going to tolerate this. In a quick move, she made a grip on his neck with one leg and then used the other in a scissor kick to throw him off her and into the hard ground.

"Listen up Joker! Remember that little deal everyone made with me before you all sent me into a suicidal mission to get to Alice!? Well, guess what!? My undeniable request with yours or any role is that whatever I order will be obeyed unquestionably!" – She barked with merciless malice as her eyes shone with a digital hue and the world stopped.

No other sound but their ragged breaths resounded in the air.

Joker's eye widened and he moved to launch himself and strangle her.

"HOW DARE YOU! ...AHHHGGHHH!"- A scorching sensation engulfed him like a burning web, it was not only his body, he felt it in all his being, in all his role, it was completely binding and it was the will of this world.

Not so long as it seemed, during a concert event at the amusement park, there had been a well-planned and well-coordinated attack from various factions. They had managed to capture Alice and had almost captured Aria and had used that to make all roleholders stay put in one place. However, Aria had managed to move by herself thanks to her experience as a mercenary. She had managed to establish communication and had exposed her grim situation; she was in the middle of the fight, completely outnumbered and outgunned, already hurt and without support.

And what had they done?

They of course asked her to go and get Alice. Some hired her to get Alice 'permanently' out of the way just for the fun, and others of course hired her to go and get Alice out of danger. None really gave a second though about Aria's own safety until later.

That completely destroyed whatever little trust or care the mercenary girl might have gave during her stay in Wonderland.

With all due scorn, she had accepted the deal whether she helped Alice or not at the end. As payment for engaging in the mission she asked for a huge monetary compensation for every kill she directly or indirectly caused; and as payment for fulfilling her contract when she reached Alice, she asked something that no one would have thought possible. They offered whatever she wanted and Joker had came up with the idea of one undeniable request from his part. She had asked that from everyone but sworn by their roles. An oath that would be fulfilled by their roles independently of their current holders, something that they could not refuse or twist, a promise almost as strong as a rule.

She had been very angry. And somehow, the king had used his power as ruler of Hearts, and because the oath had been done during an official event, any deal made with her that night was accepted and enforced by Wonderland itself.

Joker never thought that such deal would come to bite him in the ass so hard.

The burning sensation concentrated on the back of his hand and into a mark that faded from view but that would never disappear from his being. He would have never though that she would ask something so binding and terribly wicked.

Now he really was about to kill her. He would have had she not acted first.

"Now you WILL stay put and away from me while I do my best to save BOTH OF YOU Joker!."- She stood up with despise on her gaze that burned like the flames of hell.

"You fucking bitch..."- His red eye shone with pure hatred and his finger closed as if they were around her throat.

She walked past him and stopped at the entrance. - "And if I can´t do anything I promise you that I will kill you."- She didn't look at him as she made her way toward the bed where Black laid in unrest.

White on his part didn't even followed her. He couldn't. The command to stay away had been absolute and he couldn't violate it no matter if he wanted to launch himself at her and beat her skull into the ground repeatedly until only a bloody and gory mass remained.

She came back to Black's side and cussed heavily when she saw his chest. It was bad. She wasn't exactly fine herself but he was far worse. From her suit she took out a few ruby red pills made or her own crystalized blood and she threw them towards White. She had learned that even foreigner's cells contained a bit of their mana life energy, thus, even blood or something as simple as a kiss that exchanged saliva, could enhance the natural processes of healing from people in this world. A natural injection of life. The pills were useless to her, but they were a nice power-up for wonderlanders and they sold for high amounts in the black market even if people didn't know what they were.

"Swallow those!"

Without a choice he did so and immediately felt a small rush of energy that made him feel a bit better. He had heard of this kind of pills and wondered how she had them and why she was giving them to him.

She returned towards Black and took out her field equipment to try and analyze what was wrong with him. She tried a general analysis and went from mode to mode until a violet hue illuminated the integrated lenses in her eyes so that she could see the energy and electromagnetic fields with her optic implants.

From the doorway White saw her bark a long string of cusses and curses in her mother language.

She had detected that there was that anti-energy of the Jabberwocky clung onto the wound, like a dark film that blocked the natural mana energy that should be absorbed in order for him to regenerate and heal. That was why the Jabberwocky had been so feared, because before she made a deal with it, the creature was a mass of antienergy created by all the hatred and despair from foreigner, and as such, it could nullify and eliminate the natural mana energy harvested from the outsiders love and positive emotions. None really knew the details that she had discovered, but what she such knowledge had allowed her to destroy the mindless beast in Diamond, and later on to make a deal with the original role of "the jabberwocky" in Spades...

It made sense why Black hadn't healed even when he was in his own territory. Roleholders were supposed to be able to naturally gain mana and share it with their territories, even if they weren't aware of such fact. It was one of Wonderlands ways to make use of foreigners while the game was on or even when it was actually won or until they weren't there anymore. They could receive the power that came from the shared life, love and time of a foreigner and condense it back into theirs lands.

Of course neither roleholdes or foreigners were supposed to be aware of that.

She augmented her zoom as much as she could and then took out a mini field microscope from her things. She saw the effects of the Jabberwocky's attack on Joker as a sort of oily wall that was cutting him from wonderlands energy. And without that, people from this world were even weaker than a foreigner. However there was a way. Being a foreigner, she was a source of mana energy. She might not be able to produce much like Alice's real love, but she had the knowledge to manipulate it and she could try using the same trick of the Jabberwocky's anti-existence against it. If she could direct her own energy towards the Jabberwocky's on Black's wounds, she would be able to nullify and destroy it.

1-1=0

She put her hand on his chest and the digitally light of her eyes turned to purple as she concentrated in one very defined section of the spectrum; she took a deep breath, knowing just how much this would cost her, and lowly sang some little tune in her language, a soft lullaby with a strict tempo to set up a radiation rhythm.

White barely heard her words, but he felt warmness seeping on his counterparts chest as she directing her own mana towards the wound so that both energies could clash and cancel each other. Then he felt a cold burning heat on Black's torso, but as she went along in her little trick he began feeling better. Whatever she was actually doing, it was working.

She allowed herself a grin at the success.

By the time she finished she knew she was close to pass out and she accommodated herself at Black's side. Her hand trembled and she considered that there was one more thing she could do to help him accelerate his recovery rate. She moved her lips towards the warden's mouth and prepared to direct all her remaining intent towards him. Before she did so, she addressed the Jester without even turning to look at him. - "Stay the fuck away from me White. I'll stay here with Black... as a foreigner, even my proximity helps..."

The next second White felt her soft lips crashing on his counterpart's. It was not a timid kiss. She parted his lips and used her tongue to caress his's and used her teeth to lightly pull on his lip. He felt as if this kiss was a taste of life. It was not a mere kiss. It was far more than that. Whatever she was doing was like taking a thousand of those ruby pills, make them powder and sniffing them while drinking the best wine of the world and getting hardcore fucked. It didn't last. All too soon she passed out from exhaustion. And he was left wondering what to do.

He tried taking a step closer but he couldn't. She had been clear about wanting him away. Instead he hit the wall in frustration and stormed away.

What the heck had she really done!?

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That was a deal with the devil, right? I don't know who is more devious, if Joker or Aria... both shouldn't be trusted or taken lightly.

Still she did her best to help him... at least for now. He really tried something very bad and Aria is not someone that forgets or forgives.

I know that the explanation about here regarding the Jabberwocky is a bit confusing. If you want the whole explanation (including what deal was that) and even the scientific description you can check the last chapters of the original fic "Wonderful Wonderful Science: Diamond Dust" , I will also add it later in a simplified version in the mini notes on the one-shot "Wonderful Wonderful Science of a Wonderful world"

Alas, the explanation about the energy, blood and pills is also in fic "Wonderful Wonderful Science"