Xenosaga 1. Wholeness

_**.|. Time Waits For No One .|.**_

_**..: Chapter One :..**_

_**Wholeness**_

"Hatter!" the Queen, she was barely seventeen years of age. She hadn't been taught how to fight yet, which was rather unsophisticated for a Queen but necessary for that time in Underground Land. The war against the sets of Cards had taken its toll for the worst just at the point the newest, youngest Queen had gained the throne. Serafia was the newest Queen of the one half of Underground she nicknamed many a time Wonderland, a place where anything could happen and everyone smiled. She was to control the Diamonds and Hearts of the Card sets, all of whom were the black colours. The red Diamonds and Hearts had disappeared to another world many a year ago when the war had first begun. Then it was just a spoken war, threats and arguing between Wonderland the other half of Underground that was indeed called Underground. There was no Queen; there was a King who was named Albedo. He controlled the red versions of the Clubs and Spades. His land was one of darkness and it was said the argument between the two sides had gone back years upon years ago, steaming from Albedo and his brother Rubedo, both of whom had been invincible. Neither of the powerful men could die, Albedo having the ability to regenerate and Rubedo having the ability to control his cell growth. But unfortunately, the man who could prevent the war had been killed a year before Serafia's announcement to the throne. Rubedo had quite obviously been her father, her mother having been called Sakura, who died just after giving birth to the seventeen year old girl. That meant she would be battling against her own uncle, her blood relative but no one had prepared her for combat due to the King's sudden death.

Hatter had planned to train her once she had turned the age of eighteen so she had a taste of the throne and had fully grown. Never in his years had he even contemplated training a woman so it was something peculiar to think about but necessary. Once he had heard her yell in the Castle walls he spent no moment running up the spiral, black and white chequered stairs to her aid, thinking the worst of what could be wrong with her. Cardsmen had surrounded the door to the Chamber that belonged to the Queen. It was strange, Hatter thought, as he approached the large, wine red doors. This young woman, this child, was the Queen of Wonderland and was being thrust into a deadly battle, having the strain of caring for her people in a hard way. He had watched her grow up from her baby years; she was bright, spontaneous and full of life and it was peculiar.

Hatter placed a hand on the knob of the door and twisted it, feeling his thick bracelets move around his wrists. He pushed the door open seeing the mess of the Queen's bedroom. His eyes glanced around quickly, trying to find the woman he was meant to protect as best as he could. He spotted her, close to the wide widow that looked out to the main courtyard. Her hair was a white blonde colour, shinning magnificently in the midday sunlight. She was wearing a white dress, that puffed out at the lower half as all her elegant dresses would do. This one was white, covered in black suits of the card at the lower half where it puffed out. The neck was high, flounced ruffles at it and the chest, along with silk white lace to give it a more elegant look. There was a corset design at the back and it gave her the most beautiful figure ever. How she was so thin was beyond Hatter – she looked as if she could snap. Her eyes were a stunning ice blue, childish and framed with thick black eyelashes and finally her skin was ivory, almost a pure white colour.

"Your Majesty," he bowed lowly to her, holding the rim of his hat as he did so it wouldn't drop straight off his head. She turned to him, watching him with wide eyes as she waited for him to stand up straight. Once he did she looked at him for a moment. His hair was a copper colour, to his shoulders and layered. He wore the most lovely top hat ever, that was a dark brown, almost black colour. It was decorated with silk scarf's with strange patterns on them. He wore a pair of dark brown trousers, a white undershirt and a waistcoat along with a Victorian dress jacket. The ruffles from his dress shirt could be seen at the end of his jacket sleeves, and on his fingers were many rings with garnets, rubies and diamonds. He never smiled at her nor did he laugh. He was a peculiar man. "What may be the problem?"

"I had another vision, Hatter!" she breathed heavily as she approached quickly, almost stumbling as she did so. She was not the most elegant Queen he ever had to protect … "We have to leave. We have to leave this Castle."

"Queen Serafia, doing such a thing will alarm the people of Underground," he told her. She glared at him slightly from his word 'Underground' rather then 'Wonderland' but let it pass. She moved up to him, standing two inches smaller then he did. She put her hands hard on his chest, staring deep into his eyes.

"I am the Queen of this Castle and if I demand for us to evacuate, then we bloody evacuate!" she yelled up at him, determination sparkling hard in her eyes along with a mix of fear.

Hatter stared hard down at her for long moments, knowing she would not give up just yet. He raised a hand, getting the attention of the Cards. "Create a guard inside the Castle. Do not alarm the guests and do not allow the towns people to see what is happening. Work quietly and keep your guard up. Load the weapons and get ready. Leave us."

With strong hands, he took her wrists and pulled her hands off his chest where she was gripping his cloths hard. Once he heard the door shut, he took a few steps away from the Queen as she glared harder at him, more angrier then ever.

"I told you to make them evacuate!" she hissed hard. "Hatter you're meant to let me give all the orders!"

"When your eighteen you have full control of the throne, for now I am your adviser and I advise you to look at yourself, Serafia!" he told her, his voice hard yet not raised. "If there is an evacuation from the Castle and we go to Underground we put our people in danger. The opposition will change their tactics, thus killing innocent people as well as ours."

"You don't get me, do you Hatter?" she hissed hard, moving to the dressing table. She began to fiddle with pictures and items nervously.

"I do 'get you'," he told her, watching her carefully. "You need to keep yourself under control now you're the Queen. That includes no foul words and no demands like that. You cannot evacuate the entire castle."

"I didn't mean the entire castle," Queen Serafia told him, looking at him with breaking eyes. "I meant me and you. We."

The Hatter's brows furrowed as he leaned his head foreword, looking at her carefully. "What are you talking about, Queen?"

"The Jabberwocky …" she whispered, her hands shaking around a small piece of paper. "There will be an attack this evening and the Jabberwocky shall be here."

Hatter blinked, unsure of what to say or what to do. Many a time she had visions of things happening, big events and even little ones. Little ones like her tripping over a stone were ones that would most defiantly come true but big events like an attack on the Castle? The likelihood of such a thing happening was slim, very slim. The Queen had yet to have control of those powers just yet and he couldn't rely on it. It could have been just like a simple nightmare, an illusion she told herself after scaring herself for a long period of time. Sighing slightly, he walked over to Queen Serafia.

"You know no harm will ever come to you when you are by my side, don't you?" he asked her, taking her chin in his hand. He lifted it and looked her deep in the eye. Her ivory skin became the shade of red quickly and she nodded. "You are in no danger. I understand your father was killed by King Albedo but you are his niece. This war will continue to go on for a long period of time but hopefully he will not attack us nor will he attack you."

All the Queen could do was nod at him. "I believe in you Hatter," she smiled faintly. "Will you be joining me for afternoon tea?"

"I have no choice," he answered in such an emotionless tone she was unable to tell whether he enjoyed afternoon tea with her or not.

* * *

Queen Serafia was a little shaken up if that was the right word to use after having such a vision. Her fingers held the floral porcelain cup gently as she was chatted to by many a people at the Tea Party. They were seated in the North dinning hall where the walls were a sparkling dark blue and black colour and the chandelier was made out of pure diamonds. It was a beautiful, dark room filled with the most peculiar looking of people. Men were dressed with large top hats, with feathers and all sorts of items upon them. The women had beautiful makeup one, one being covered entirely of black and white stripes. Queen Serafia wore the same dress she had been wearing earlier with a spiralling pattern around her left eye, something that made her eye look like it was falling. She had a few Diamonds and Hearts painted on her right cheek, she did want a Spade but of course such a thing would have looked wrong.

The Queen helped herself to a piece of rainbow cake, eating it with delicate, long black painted finger nails. As usual she wasn't paying attention to the words being spoken to her, instead she kept glancing at the empty seat to the left of her. She sat at the head of the table, Hatter to her right and the empty chair to her left. She sighed sorrowfully, blinking a few times. Finally, she brought herself to speak through her ruby coloured lips.

"Has anyone heard from Noir?" she asked in a loud tone, causing all at the table to look at her.

Hatter cleared his throat. "Majesty, it is better to address someone without speaking."

"Yes but I had no one to address," she said, looking at him. "I wanted to ask everyone at the table rather then just one."

"Oh, I know where he is!" the stripped woman peeped up, her voice high pitched. "I'm sure he was having a bit of a moment with Rouge!"

The women at the table laughed while the men sniggered. Hatter stayed emotionless as Queen Serafia looked at them with confused eyes. "Having a moment?" she repeated.

"Yes, yes, he was under the sheets with Rouge," laughed another woman. Queen Serafia's eyes suddenly showed ones of hurt, understanding what they were talking about. "He's slept with her many an occasion too, has he not?"

Hunching her shoulders, the Queen returned to her rainbow cake. She was the youngest at the table and despite being the Queen she was rarely spoken to. She found herself so immature at times it was strange. She liked talking to the Caterpillars and the Cheshire Cat and all the childish beings in the Courtyard but Hatter had begun to stop her, telling her it wasn't the right thing for a Queen to do. She hated being a Queen, all she wanted was to have fun once more.

Suddenly, the door to the dinning room was swung open and a dozen Cardsmen entered the room. Hatter immediately stood to his feet as the guests began to grow silent. Queen Serafia raised a brow as she looked at the cards, wondering what was going on. The number Seven Diamond card bowed at the Queen and looked to the Hatter.

"There has been a penetration through the Castle," he informed him. Queen Serafia's eyes widened suddenly as she shot up to her feet, dropping her cake to the floor. Hatter calmly nodded as she turned to him.

"I told you!" she yelled. "I told you this would happen but you didn't listen to me. We have to leave Hatter, we have to leave!"

"Queen Serafia I would advise you to calm yourself," he told her sternly, turning to the Cards. "How many are there?"

"We are unsure at the number Sir," he replied. "Things are fierce out there."

Hatter grabbed the wrist of the Queen hard in his hand, his skin cold against her warmth. "Where is the fighting suitated?"

"South Gate, Sir," he replied. "The Southern Courtyard is covered in Clubs and Spades. My advice is to take Queen Serafia in the safety of North."

Hatter nodded seriously, pulling Queen Serafia away from the table. "You all will stay and protect these guests. Make sure everyone in the Castle is safe and secure, the people are own main priority. Do not come to North Secuirty. Have men here just incase but if we alarm Albedo and let him look like we're guarding something then he will get suspicious and follow us here."

"Guard my bedroom," Queen Serafia suddenly said just as Hatter pulled her to the opposite door. He froze suddenly and stared at her. She blinked a few times. "What? If they guard my bedroom it will make King Albedo think that I am there along with you. He will tell all his men to go there. My bedrooms in the East, right and there aren't many other people on that floor."

Hatter stared at her for long moments. "Do as your Queen tells you and guard the bedroom. If anything happens contact me on the Crystal."

"Yes Sir," the Cardsmen nodded and bowed for what would be their final time.


	2. Hollow Bones

_**...: Chapter Two :…**_

_**Hollow Bones**_

"Hatter, loosen your grip!" the Queen demanded stubbornly, pulling her wrist sharply from the protector's grip. Her dark blonde brows furrowed as she stared at him in the mystic hall way, covered in moving paintings of butterflies that danced from one picture to another. The walls of the hall were a bright ice blue, almost white while the floorboards were a silk blue, outlined in white gold. Decorations of diamonds and hearts were along the walls, the symbols for Wonderland. They had been running down the hall for a good half of five minutes and she had grown stubbornly bored. Being a Queen was obviously not working well for the childish character as she stopped stubbornly, causing Hatter to swiftly turn his focus to her.

"Your majesty we have to go to the Room of Hearts to keep you protected," he insisted, reaching once again for Queen Serafia's wrist. She pulled it back from him sharply, and within a flash of her magnificent eyes a fence had suddenly appeared between the pair of them. The gate was lined in dark vines, the leaves of the vines in shapes of Spades and Clubs, Hearts and Diamonds: all the suits of the cards.

A strange red glitter emitted from the vines and Hatter glared furiously at the hold between the two of them. The fence was made of hard iron, going from the floor to the ceiling. The gaps were two small for him to squeeze through. Her powers of imagination were wild to say the least, especially as she possessed the Cards that allowed her Imagination to take on a powerful side. The cards she owned were magic, an item that everyone in the royal family wished to own. What he wanted to know was _why_ she had those cards and what in the earth she thought she was doing playing stupid games during an ambush on the Castle. Surely she was wiser!

"Queen Serafia," his voice was dark and stern as he looked at her through his cerulean eyes. "This is no time to play such games. Lower the gate or else I shall have to lower it for you and I shall remove The Cards from your possession."

"You don't control me, Hatter," she growled at him, pulling out a card from the corset at the back of her Poker dress. The cards were larger then her hand and the one she had picked out was a Spade number Eight, which held dark powers. He bit his lip in frustration, putting his index finger on the rim of his silk hat. "We have to leave this Castle, _now_. Either you leave with me or I leave myself to the streets of Wonderland and you will have to find your own way."

"Queen Serafia I advise you not to do such a thing…" he warned, his patience growing thin now.

"Do you want it to be 'Off with your head'?" she was screaming now, the card she was holding had dropped to the floor as she bent her body foreword, yelling to try and make her words sink into Hatter's mind. "I am no child, Hatter, please don't believe me to be. Listen to me, we and are in danger. Not the Cards, just me and you. If you continue to let them fight this entire War will get out of control. King Albedo is looking for me and of course looking to kill you. Hatter, we need to leave."

He sighed as he looked at her deeply, believing her words ever so slightly. "And where do you suppose we leave to?"

All Queen Serafia could do was shrug. "I hadn't thought of the rest of the plan."

"Wherever we go we put people in danger," he told her, placing a hand on the gate. The iron was cold against his fingers and he couldn't help but shiver slightly. "Queen Serafia, here in the Castle myself and you have the protection of the Cards. Wherever we go we put people in danger and we cannot take the Guards with us. Now we stick to our plan and go to the Room of Hearts. "

There was a long pause as the Queen lowered her head. To his relief the bar between his fingers disappeared, along with the rest of the gate and the vines. The leaves in the shape of the Suits floated through the air for long moments before she made them pop into sparkling glitter, almost to show off her power to Hatter. Once it had done he reattached his grip to her wrist and dragged the flimsy Queen down the hall. It took them a few more turns and minutes before they reached a single white door. Pushing it open he hushed her into the Room of Hearts.

The room itself was rather small, without a window. There was wallpaper made of deep wine red with patterns of hearts going across it, along with wine red fine furniture. In the corner of the room was a large hole, large enough for a rabbit to easily slip in and out of. Once Hatter locked the door behind them both Queen Serafia made her way to sit down on a leather red seat, brushing down her hair a little as she did. He stood at the door as she stared down at the floor and they both waited. The Hatter's eyes kept looking to a white crystal in the centre of the room that glowed a vivid shade of red.

* * *

"I'm cold …" she uttered quietly, leaning her head on the back of the chair, feeling her eyes begin to droop. In all honestly he was too but he never expressed any emotions. They had been waiting over an hour now, the Queen growing obviously sleepy from the day's events and the use of her powers. He knew doing what she did with her imagination would cause her some strain, especially as earlier in the day she had gained that vision. Sighing slightly, he fished around a cupboard before pulling out a blanket.

Hatter carefully draped the blanket over the Queen watching as she slowly parted her eyes, looking up at him sleepily. "Please rest, your majesty. Thing will be fine."

Suddenly, she let her hand fall from her side, catching his own with it just as he was about to walk away. Hatter made no difference in his emotions though thanks to the contact she could tell his heart had sped up just a little bit. Smiling slightly just as she was being drifted through to her dreams she whispered "Don't let go, even when I'm asleep…"

When her eyes shut, her hand became limp within his and he ended up holding her hand tight. "I won't, your majesty," he promised her solemnly.

It wasn't long until the Red Crystal began to wildly flash between its ruby red colour to an ice blue, grabbing Hatter's attention immediately. For a split second he contemplated whether to ignore it and bestow the Queen her wishes but forgot completely as his main job came into mind. He released her hand and placed it just above the Crystal, creating a small image in front of his eyes. He was face to face with a Heart Card, the number three upon it. In the background he could see utter bloodshed, there were cards torn and ripped to shreds, limbs having been thrown about. Blood was splattered everywhere, even upon the messenger card who had an expression of pure fear.

"Good Sir," there was just enough time for the Card to lower his head in a slight bow. "We are being out numbered by the opposition; there isn't much for us to do. There are enemies headed North, Albedo has figured out our tactics as the Queen's room has been searched. I urge you to inform the Queen and change your tactics. There has been word of the Jabberwocky."

Just as his lips were parting to say another word, the spear from a Spade Card lunged through the chest, killing the Card almost instantly. Hatter took his hand away from the Crystal, removing the image with his face of utter disgust. He sighed, lowering his head as he turned from the red Crystal, to the Queen who was wide awake, staring at him with wide eyes.

"What have you done to this Castle …?" she whispered, her throat dry.

"You Majesty I did what I believed to be the right choice," he answered her with a cold voice. "My job is to protect you."

"Bullshit!" she screamed suddenly, standing to her feet. The blanket was dropped to the floor fiercely as she punched the air.

"Queen Serafia, do not use such foul language!" he told her hard but she was no listening, instead her eyes were moulding into a shade of red.

"I told you we had to leave this Castle because we're putting them in danger!" she continued yelling. "What about the guests?! What about my fiancé, Noir and the family I have? You've murdered them all; you have Hatter because you wouldn't listen to me!"

"Thing's like this happen when you are in power," he told her, taking hold of her elbow firmly.

"I am in power and yet you will not listen to me," she yelled, staring him deep in the eye. "I am seventeen, I cannot walk and I am dense but when I see something I damn well see it and you didn't believe me. This is your entire fault, Hatter, your fault!"

"My job is not to care for the people in this Castle," he glared at her. "My job is to keep the King or Queen of Wonderland on the throne, meaning I protect _you_ no matter what the circumstance."

"You'd have protected me by taking me away from here," she whispered, feeling tears running down her cheeks from her cold guard. "What are we to do now?"

"We're going to leave the Castle and I shall take you into the Forest of Doors," he told her quietly, making her heart skip a beat in dismay. She stared at him for long moments and he sighed, tucking her elbow hard, commanding her to walk with him.

Stubbornly, with nothing more to do, she followed him obediently, feeling his bony fingers digging deep into her flesh. She winced slightly from the pain and was just about to protest when there was a sudden knocking at the door, a loud bellowing knock that caused them both to stop in her tracks. Queen Serafia froze in her footsteps, her mouth completely dry as she sensed something dark and foreboding deep in her veins, as cold as ice itself.

"Albedo …" she whispered, pulling back. "Off with our heads … Off with our heads, off with our heads…"

"My dear niece, please open the door," the man on the opposite side purred in a sing song voice, his voice soft yet frightening. Queen Serafia bit her lip hard. "I would very much like to see that pretty head of yours…"

"Hatter, the rabbit hole," she whispered desperately. With her small hands she clutched his sleeves hard, trying to pull him into the direction she wanted, towards the hole in the wall. She knew once crouched down the pair of them would be open to fit through, it opened up so easily and magically. It was an escape route her father had told her about many a time, just in case her protector Hatter wasn't nearby. Hatter was holding the rim of his hat, eying up the door cunningly. "Hatter no war, please, please Hatter protect me and come through the Rabbit Hole. You told me it was your duty to protect me then do so!"

He turned his eyes to her that were shadowed by the hat and she could just about see his fangs on show as he lifted his lips into a smirk. Nodding, he needed no tugs from Queen Serafia to go towards the Rabbit Hole. She was panicking, frightened of the man on the opposite side of the door who most likely had the Jabberwocky with him. They had to leave, at least then the Castle wouldn't be under attack and everyone else, and including Noir would once again be safe. That made her flutter and she had obviously forgotten about what everyone was talking about in the day – him and Rouge being together earlier, doing some things she would be heartbroken to know. Rushing, Hatter helped push Queen Serafia down onto her knees so she faced the hole in the wall, which had grown to her height. He too went to his knees and patted her corset, making sure she still was holding onto those magical cards.

The door abruptly opened, causing them both to snap their heads back, just as Hatter was about to gently push her foreword. Queen Serafia's breathing hitched hard as she saw the white headed King enter the room, followed by a dozen Club and Spade cards, which followed him, close like sheep. He had snow coloured hair, his eyes a stunning shade of amethyst. He wore a Victorian dress suit that was coloured white, with Clubs and Spades along the bottom coloured black. Ruffles were along the edges of his outfit that was similar to a male version of Queen Serafia's. Unlike his innocent niece, he had a look of dominance and fear about him, especially with the way his lip was curled into a fearful grin. She could hear Hatter growl impatiently behind her and she slowly brought her hand to her corset to fish out a card.

"Ah my darling niece, what are you doing all the way down there?" he purred menacingly, titling his head as he did as such, staring deep into her soul with those stabbing eyes. "Come and greet your Uncle Albedo, it's been years since I've seen you."

"And still it has not been enough time…" she muttered, glaring at him. Furrowing her brows, she concentrated on creating a string of vines to surround him yet just as they appeared in mid air to wrap around him they were snapped into a thousand little pieces and dropped to the floor. The white headed man only laughed at her.

"Such weak powers, no wonder you are Rubedo's daughter," he hissed, glaring at her. "The time has come, Serafia for you to let go of your throne and provide the rest of Underground to me."

"No, I refuse…" she whispered, shaking her head as more Cards entered the room. Hatter suddenly shot up to his feet, glaring at the Card's within the room. He put his thumb and index finger on the rim of his top hat, staring at them with pure determination.

"Queen Serafia take this key," he told her, throwing one beside her hand. She grabbed it with shaking hands, staring at Hatter with terrified eyes. "You want the door with clockwork patterns on it. Lock the door behind you. I won't be far behind."

"Hatter, you can't do this," she whispered. "Don't leave me, you can't leave me, your meant to protect me!"

"I am," he told her, turning to look down at her. He quickly moved to his feet and looked her straight in the eye, showing something of warmth in his emotions. "I apologise for not listening to you earlier. I will follow you, I will protect you."

"Hatter, please," she whispered, tears pricking her eyes. She felt her feet dangling off the edge of the Rabbit Hole as she stared at him, feeling a tear drop down her face and land on the floor.

Once the tear had landed on the floor there was a bright white light engulfing the room, causing everyone within it to shield their eyes. Queen Serafia gripped Hatter's arms as tight as she could, feeling her head becoming dizzy, as if something wrong were going on. Spinning, she felt as if she were spinning around, around and around.

"_Hatter, take the Queen and keep her safe! The people of Wonderland will be fine, just keep her safe."_

Gasping, Queen Serafia shot her eyes open suddenly, the white light having faded away. The crystal in the centre of the room had disappeared, taking away the only light for them. The room was dark, with a hue of red to illuminate the silhoute of shadows. Her body felt light, her cloths damp and wet and something salty smelling was in her nostrils. Her arms were aching, especially her shoulders that felt like they were going to pop off. Groaning, she looked around her, feeling something clutching her wrists tightly. Dangling, she was hanging off something and whatever that something was she didn't know, her mind too hazy to understand. Biting her lip she looked to her left and right, feeling a gush of cold air engulf her. Wincing, she could see chequered pattered made out of black and brown, and tables hanging off the sides. Was she being held from falling down the Rabbit Hole? And since when was it so large and so wet? Looking down as best she could she could just about see the movement of water and then the world caught up with her faster then a second. She could hear water splashing against the sides of the hole, feel it running down the hole she was dangling in. Blood splatters were bright against the top half of the Rabbit Hole and she could hear fighting and yelling going on at the top, along with the yelling of 'Off with his head!'

Craning her neck, she could see a face, clouded by a top hat holding her where she was. "Hatter!" she called out loudly, grabbing his attention.

"Don't let go of my hands," the Hatter warned her sternly. "Do you have the key?"

Queen Serafia blinked, trying to think where it was. She couldn't even think what had happened, had she caused all this damage from her one tear just falling? That light … the water flowing from the top, had her desperation been that strong for Hatter to stay with her? And that key … it must have fallen down the Rabbit Hole that was now drowned in her tears – a Pool of Tears. "Hatter, it fell!"

In the darkness she could see him nod. She dangled her feet, looking down and then looking up, feeling her heart racing hard. "What happened?"

"You caused a Pool of Tears to happen from your imagination," he told her. "Unfortunately with Albedo being in the room the results were chaotic. Queen Serafia you have to promise not to let go of my hand."

The sentence didn't quite sound right as she looked up, feeling her dress grow heavier from how wet it had become. "Are you not going to pull me up?"

"There's war up here," he told her sternly. She could feel herself lowering down the hole as he moved foreword. "Don't let go."

Panic struck her as she realized the Hatter's plans. Suddenly, she felt herself falling, still clutching the Hatter's hands as tight as she could. In the air, she spun a few times as they both began to fall, his body soon close to hers. Once he was close enough the Hatter grabbed her by the arms and pulled her tight to his hard body, keeping her safe. Her heart was pounding, her breathing faster then it ever had been before in her life, her skin quivering. "Point your toes as you land!"

Queen Serafia hadn't the chance to do as he said before she felt the water gushing around them both, her tears. She had managed to take a deep breathe and he had managed to make his body as straight as possible before they impacted the water, still holding her close to him. But despite all this, she felt herself drifting away from him and the sudden entrance to the water caused her to panic. She twisted hard, pulling away from him as they floated down, soon to be in a small room, covered in half a dozen doors with different patterns. The room was filled with her tears and he still held her hand even as she felt herself drifting away, he refused to let go. Going deeper into the room, he swarm to the centre and placed her hand on a glass table for her to hold onto as he searched for the key.

Waiting patiently, Queen Serafia glanced from left to right, hoping to find the key to help Hatter. Spotting it, she grinned happily to herself, seeing the silver item glowing under the water like a fish. Pushing herself from the table, she weakly swam to the key, grabbing it within a few minutes. She reached out and pulled herself in Hatter's direction with the table and grabbed her arm once she was right by him. For a second she could have sworn seeing fear plastered on his face but he warmed as she held the key right in front of his eyes. He took it with his left hand, holding her wrist with the other and pulled her towards the right door it would fit into.

Such a situation was meant to terrify the Queen but instead she actually felt at peace in the silence under the water. It felt like it was only her and Hatter in the entire world, there was no Wonderland to look after, no Albedo to threaten to kill her and no bloodshed going on above their heads. Underneath the water, where there was a chance of them drowning there was happiness which she showed by creating a small, rainbow coloured fish that swam about them in circles. It caused Hatter to try to swat it away and she smiled from his reaction. Quickly, he opened the door, obviously having different feelings then she did about the situation.

They were swung into a vortex, where all there were was falling – the pattern around them similar to the makeup painted around her eye. Hatter had pulled her close once more as they fell, able to finally breathe. Her head began to feel dizzy and her body was slowly growing limp against Hatter, who was struggling to keep her held properly to him. He winced and frowned, feeling the vortex pulling her through the portal faster then him and before he knew it the Queen had panicked once more, just like she had done under the water and was soon out of his grip.

"Hatter!" she yelled in fear, reaching for him once more before the colours and the spirals engulfed her into a different world that was meant to be safer.


	3. Unfortunate Nothingness

_**.|. Chapter Three .|.**_

_**Unfortunate Nothingness**_

"Hatter!" her scream was one of pure desperation, sending blood out of her mouth as well as her panicked voice. As she screamed she could feel her throat tearing as her voice ripped through the pouring rain. Her body felt heavy under the weight of the water, under the weight of her panic. Even though she had come out of the water over in the Rabbit Hole she was still getting wet, her mind too dazed to realize how or why. Nothing was going right as she moved her feet foreword, hardly picking them up at all. The scent of salt lingered through her nostrils, something stronger then her tears had produced but because of her dazed mind she had no idea what was going on or where she had landed. Her head was low, her hair covered her eyes she felt liquid run down her face. It was raining, she figured and she was outside. The fact she couldn't understand anything nor force herself to caused the fear to rise to unbelievable levels.

"Hatter!" she called out once more, lifting her head slightly. She managed to part her eyes, seeing the rain pouring from the dark grey clouds. There was something under her feet and looking harder she could see it was dark sand, damp in the rain. The stuff was sticking to her cloths and skin, knotted deep into her hair but she didn't care. She could hear the movement of the sea behind her as she suddenly fell to her knees, too weak to keep herself stood upright.

The Queen felt a cold wind engulf her as she forced her ears to work hard, trying to hear something. She listened but heard nothing – all that was left was her and the rain. She uttered Hatter's name many a time before she finally lay on the sand, falling into a deep, dreamless, slumber.

* * *

Queen Serafia parted her eye lids slowly, feeling them lighter then they were last time she had woken up. She could feel warm sheets wrapped around her small, thinner then usual body that didn't feel sore anymore. It felt perfectly fine and her skin felt wonderfully clean. Everything felt fine just as it should have done, had the attack on the castle been a bad dream? Along with her and Hatter going down the Rabbit Hole and entering the door? Well, it certainly felt that way, though as she rubbed her eyes with the back of her palm something seemed peculiar. The movement from her hand to her eye became slow as she tuned back in with the world, looking at her surroundings as best she could. Hers nerves became alight as she felt the sheets that weren't as soft as she was used to – most defiantly not a product of Wonderland. In the back of her mind she could hear loud crashes of thunder and thunder never happened in Wonderland. It happened only in Albedo's side of the world – Underground. Her heart tensed as she moved under the sheets slowly, feeling them loose around her body. She could feel the fabric of the sheets on her legs, thighs, arms and part of her stomach and even her feet. Moaning slightly, she pushed the sheet down to reveal her body, which was heavily bruised on her legs. Frowning, she saw herself wearing only her underwear and a grey tank top she had used as an undershirt for that dress she wore. Biting her lip, she covered herself back up, not because she was cold but simply because it wasn't right to show off so much skin, at least not for a Queen.

Slowly, as best as she could to not hurt her legs anymore then they were, she pushed herself to sit up straight, leaning her back on the fluffy pillows. The sheets on top of her were pure white with some lilies along the bottom, smelling of fresh roses. Looking around, she could see in the darkness the shadows of simple things like a dresser, a small desk, the door to leave and the window. The bed was in the centre of the room, against a white wall. This most defiantly wasn't Wonderland; it wasn't elaborate enough to be it. Where in the world was she? Had Hatter brought her somewhere in safety? Yes, that was most defiantly it. Hatter had found her lying on the beach and took her to a safe home, figuring a way to get back to Wonderland. He was a clever man, so very clever. Of course, the Queen wouldn't let herself think otherwise. She couldn't think anything bad had happened, not ever. Life was good, life would always go the happiest way possible and even if she had her spats with Hatter he would protect her and keep her safe. Nothing was wrong.

The room was pitch black, showing it was late at night but what the time was she didn't know. Too unsettled to fall back asleep, she pushed her bare legs out of the bed, letting them hang as she shut her eyes momentarily, gathering her thoughts. She could remember gentle touches and warm water running over her skin as she was cleaned. She could remember being spoken to; the words too muddled up in her mind to make sentences. Whatever had happened was unclear to her no matter how hard she tried to think. As she assured herself nothing bad had happened, she opened her eyes, stepping onto the slightly cold floorboards. Clothes, she would need clothes – never would she allow herself to walk wearing nothing. Investigating in the little light, she tried to find something to wear, just something. It didn't take Queen Serafia long to find a pair of dark blue jeans and a red dress shirt to wear. The jeans were just about her right size, while the shirt was a little too big. Well, way to big. As she buttoned it up it seemed to be something Rubedo would wear. She remembered many times when she was younger, going into her father's bedroom to take one of his fancy shirts. They would always drown her.

The habit of wearing people's shirts continued even later in life. It had only been a week ago when she had stolen Noir's shirt with a ruffled collar, wearing it happily around the Castle. The shirt she was wearing was the exact same size as Noir's – the _exact_! Was it Noir's? Had he come through the Rabbit Hole with them too and was safe? Her heart began to pound as she finished the last button, feeling her cheek's grow red. Yes, Noir had to be here too. Everyone was completely and utterly safe. Well, everything apart from that damn Rouge, she morbidly thought.

Rouge was trying to steal him.

Stepping to the door once fully dress, Queen Serafia put a hand on the cool knob. A shot of dread suddenly ran through her body as she widened her eyes – something felt wrong. Something inside of her was telling her it wasn't how she expected but naively, she shook her head and pushed the door open quickly. It seemed the quicker she opened the door then the quicker those horrible thoughts would leave her head.

"Hatter?" she whispered quietly, looking left to right. It was a simple hallway, the walls painted a deep red, with old fashioned pictures along the walls that looked odd to Serafia. The people within them looked odd from what she could see yet she failed to notice how the red headed boy looked similar to her father. She failed to notice something simple like that and shook her head, trying not to ask herself questions. She stepped out into the hall, barefoot, glancing down the stairs for a moment. The darkness was as pure as black; almost frightening even, like the greatest abyss that sent shivers down her spine. Ignoring them to keep her fear levels as low as possible, she turned her head and looked down the hallway; a small lamp lighting it from the one end. There was one door just a few steps from where she stood and then another one further down. Turning gently, she headed for the first door – making sure her footsteps were light on the floorboards. Quickly yet silently, she pushed the white door open, her long nails scratching against it only slightly.

The white light for the room came on instantly, making her blink. She hadn't imagined the light to turn on so what caused it to? How … peculiar. The room was a large, fancy bathroom, something like one in the Castle but not quite the same. Frowning, she moved back, the light turning off even though she hadn't imagined it to. She parted her heavenly rose coloured lips to allow her teeth to gently chew the bottom one as she stared into the darkness, feeling her body swaying slightly. What in the world had caused the light to turn off so? She continued to stare childishly, finding herself blanking out from the world, her mind forgetting about everything as she continued to think harder, harder and harder. Without thinking, she moved her foot back to slowly get away from the bathroom but the heat of something behind her caused her to snap into reality. The thoughts of the light, Hatter, Wonderland and everything spiralled away out of her mind like someone had pulled the plug and all she was left with was panic moulded with a heightened sense of shocked curiosity.

As she stepped foreword a few steps and turned her head suddenly, her entire body froze for a moment as she contemplated everything. The moment was less then a split second, the smallest amount time in the world that contained her panic. The shocked drifted away faster as she found herself face to face with someone that was not a stranger. Widening her lips, she felt her eyes softening as she turned fully around, letting a gasp draw through them. She uttered his name softly before flying into his chest, wrapping her arms tight around him, never wanting to let go.

Serafia had failed to notice the look of bewilderment plastered on the raven headed mans face as she hugged him closer, her hands tightening around his waist.

"I thought the cards had killed you!" a cry emitted from her throat as she shook her head against his warm chest, trying to get passed the feelings that wanted her to cry. "I thought everyone in the castle was gone for but your okay, you're okay, aren't you Noir?"

Pulling back gently, her brightly coloured gems glanced up into the familiar mans face yet the expression he gave her was completely alien. Her hands were resting just above his elbows, gripping the fabric of his shirt gently – the shirt identical to the one she was wearing. She hadn't seen simple fashion like he was wearing. A pair of plain black trousers and a simple dress shirt. Too simple. No spirals, no fancy words or anything; not even one ruffle. Certainly odd. But it was the way he looked at her, like she were completely and utterly bonkers was what caught her off guard. Frowning her dark blonde eyebrows slightly, she tilted her head, allowing them to stare more and more at each other.

"Whatever might be the problem, Noir?" she asked, taking a small step back that caused her to drop her hands from his arms. They landed perfectly at her sides. "Did travelling through the Rabbit Hole cause you to lose your memory? I've surely heard of that happening to people before. If you can tell me where my cards are then I certainly would be able to help you…"

"C-Cards?" he repeated; a throat that seemed to be as dry as sandpaper. His own brows were furrowed in plain confusion; almost horror as he looked at the eighteen year old girl, trying to figure her meaning out.

"Yes Noir," she smiled, giggling slightly. "You mustn't tell anyone that I stole them! Hehe, even though Hatter knows and he's really the only person left that I would have had to hide such a thing from. Rubedo being dead and Sakura too, there aren't exactly many people-"

"What in the world are you talking about?" a small, faint gasp came from him and his brows furrowed deep into his face, shaking his head at the same time. "My, my name isn't Noir, it's Gaignun Kukai and I can assure you that Rubedo isn't dead."

"Gaignun?" she repeated, laughing slightly. "Oh Noir don't be silly! That's the name of the cat, now come, come, I understand Noir isn't really your name – It's Nigredo, but surely you can't be holding a grudge on me for calling you Noir! Or has amnesia caused you to forget your nicknames?"

Pressing the tips of his fingers against the centre of his forehead, the tall man began to pace from one side of the bathroom to the other for a few long moment's; his spectacular emerald eyes covered by his eyelids. With a concerned look on her face, Serafia took a small step back and sighed slightly, playing with the cuffs of the shirt she was wearing. "It's me, Noir. It's Serafia. I do not know where we are now, but we are from Wonderland. Remember? With King Albedo and the War of the Cards? If you can hand me the cards I can show you our pow-"

"This is the Kukai Foundation," his firm voice said, stopping right in front of her. Sighing almost frustratedly, the man went down onto his knees and looked the young girl, who he did not know was a queen, straight in the eye. "My name is Gaignun Kukai, the chairman. I don't know anything about Wonderland, or the cards. I found you washed on the beach and I brought you here three days ago. You have been sleeping ever since. I can assure you I'm not who you think I am and whatever you think Wonderland is, I am sure it is just part of a dream you had."

"A…dream?" she whispered, frowning slightly.

"Yes a dream," he replied, his eyes softening as he knew his voice was finally being heard from the young girl. "You were out for a long time. You may even had amnesia."

"No, no, no!" she yelled hard, feeling her heart pounding in a way she didn't like it. That wasn't true. Her life had been real, what happened in Wonderland was real and she could prove that. She could actually prove it. "There's a man I have to find. He came out of the water with me too. You may not believe about Wonderland but you must believe me that there's someone out there I have to find."

"Who might he be?" he gently asked her, watching as tears began to grow at the rims of her eyes.

"Hatter."

* * *

Three _days_. Three long, Goddamn days the Castle had been without its Queen. By this time Hatter knew that there was more then a good chance King Albedo had taken over. Hell, he and the Queen had left them to defend for themselves. Why, oh God, why had he listened to the child rather then stay and defend their Castle? Perhaps Queen Serafia was right in the fact that if they stayed everyone would die. Maybe the second the Pool of Tears had been opened and the pair went falling down the Rabbit Hole Albedo would have realised they were lost forever, in a different world. Then he would have left the Castle, left their half of Underground World on its own. Of course it would fall on its own without a King or a Queen in the long run. But what if this had all been his plan? To send the Queen into a terrified furry that caused him to believe only she and Hatter were in danger. It would make sense. It would be a much easier way to overrun a Kingdom and by the time he was to return it would be near impossible to get it back again and Underground would fall to King Albedo. The work that Rubedo had done in his time would be wasted, and of course everything they stood for would be pointless. Hatter had no idea who had survived – which solders were there and which were not. If stronger ones such as Hemi and Noir were still walking they would have a plan to keep an army in the background, for the return of the Queen. They would be smart in keeping the people safe along with the chances of getting their Kingdom back. In those three days Hatter had fought with himself whether to find a way back to Underground or to carry his duty to find the Queen. His duty was of course to protect her, yet if the danger of Underground was much stronger then he knew he would have to go back there and it wouldn't be hard to find a way back. It was just a case of finding the right water that would bring him back to the Pool of Tears.

But something hung in the back of his mind. Something that was rather annoying, yet he didn't dwell on it. It was the thought of the Queen being unhappy, not her safety that he cared for most, but how she felt. Whether she was in pain, physically or mentally. He was there to protect her physically, but he wanted to do all he could to make sure she was happy. And so he was. For days he had travelled, finding the name of the "planet" he was upon. Miltia. That was the name, a peculiar one at that with peculiar people. The first night had been the worse – with the technologies and the lack of imagination. They used a thing called _electricity_ for the majority of their things. Everything was mechanically run unlike Underground. They had a few mechanical things, small things mind you like pocket watches, clocks and windmills but not cars and flying tin cans, as he thought they were. Or things that would create a beam of light. All of that was made by the power of imagination in Underground. He hoped the Queen was adjusting to her new surroundings finely.

Clearing his throat in the darkness of the night, he adjusted his black backpack that was filled in assortment of weaponry. His bracelets clicked and popped out, spinning like a propeller – silver strands of the moons rays reflecting on the silver. Pulling the rim of his hat down, the corners of his cat-like lips pulled up into a menacing grin. Everything was with him, nothing had been lost in the exit portal. This was fantastic. Even his hat was with him – the most important thing on his person. His attire had gotten the attention of many people; their eyes not leaving him until he was completely out of sight. A few times he wondered whether to get new clothes but the money he had with him was not accepted in this world.

"Sera…" he muttered a few times, searching every corner in the darkness, trying to find her brightly coloured hair – her bright eyes. Even to hear her childish laugh was something he wanted then.

"Have you seen a girl with thick curly blonde hair? Her skin is the shade of ivory."

"Her name is Serafia."

No one had answers for him, they only had questions. Where he was from, why he wore funny clothes and why his bracelets were so big. Often he had wanted to turn around and say "I'll give you a demonstration, if you wish for it," but that would not have gotten him anywhere apart from prison. But even if he were to be forced to go to one, he was the Mad Hatter – he could get out. He could fight anyone he wished. That was why he was given the duty to protect the royal family of Underground of course. But once and awhile… as he travelled deeper through Miltia, he sometimes couldn't help but question why he had been given that task.

* * *

Serafia had spent so much time rambling to the stranger about her life in Wonderland, and the people she knew and the creatures she saw that it had lasted until the early hours of the morning. Of course she was worried for Hatter, she would need to find him as soon as she could. She would have to tell him she lost the cards and that –

Cards.

Cards, they were _everything_. Her weapon against King Albedo and she lost them! Oh damn! Noir – no, Nigredo, no wait, _Gaignun_ had said he found two cards in her dress – a two of Spades and a four of Clubs but that was it. The rest were still missing. Through her stories of the wonderful Wonderland she had completely forgotten about all her problems of herself and her people. Sitting up suddenly from the glass table she and Gaignun were seated at, her face became one of pure panic.

"I have to leave now, Mister Kukai," she quickly said. "I really do appreciate you looking after me but I have to find the rest of the cards and I have to find Hatter, I really do."

He blinked a few times, before shaking his head, a few strands of raven hair covering his eyes slightly. "Serafia, I want to help you with your memory. If you can just give me today I promise you I will give you your memory back and we will find your friend and your cards if you still wish for it."

"W-What do you mean?" she questioned, panicking slightly as she frowned deeper.

"There is a thing where a small group of people enter your mind through a stimulator," he told her softly. "Through this we can determine what might be wrong and we can unlock the memories you have. Please let me do this for you, Serafia. I promise it will make things better."

'_If I can prove to this man that what I know is real is that then I can get him to help me find Hatter and the cards,'_ she thought, trying not to glare at him. She wasn't dumb – not at all and of course she knew he believed that there was no Hatter and no cards. But what was in her mind was real. To her, he was the odd one. Wherever she was, she knew to be a different world, of course. But the man sat opposite her?

Hah! He was Noir whether he liked it or not! Not Gaignun Kukai and a chairman or whatever it was. He was Noir, a fighter for Wonderland. And she couldn't wait to see his face when he was inside her mind and he realised he was wrong all the time.

Ah she really, really couldn't wait. It was his fault anyway for screwing around with Rouge.

Smiling as sweetly as she could, trying to contain her laughter, she nodded. "I accept your offer then, Mister Kukai."

OOC- Really…really…crummy chapter :/


	4. Broken Trust

_**. | Chapter Four |.**_

_**Broken Trust**_

Once the war had subsided, and the walls of the Castle were alive, dripping with warm blood, a tall man, clad in punctured armour limped into the Room of Hearts – the last known place of Queen Serafia and Hatter. Pulling the opening of his shinning helmet up, he glanced from left to right. Bright ruby coloured eyes hovered over his men for long moments, praying for each one of the Cardsmen. Gently, he set his spear, with a pointed spade on the end of it stained in ruby red blood, on the wall, respecting the walls as much as he could. The men of Albedo's army were lying lifeless on the floor, as well as the men of their army. To the left, on the furthest part of the room, he could see the large hole where the small Rabbit Hole had once been. He could hear the splashing of the water and slowly, he walked over to the edge, moving to crouch down. Focusing his vision, he could just about see the table down at the bottom; the water around the edges more fierce then ever. In respect, he put the tip of his finger on the top of his helmet and lowered his head before shutting his eyes gently.

"There are no reports of Queen Serafia or Hatter," came a deep, yet worried voice from behind the peaceful man. Taking his time, almost to prove his authority against the other man talking, he lifted his head and parted his eyes. Not turning around to see who was speaking to him, he looked down into the depths of the Pool of Tears.

"Then I believe our prayers have been answered, Caden," he told him. "Our Queen and her protector are safe. Wonderland is not at her final hour just yet."

"Are you sure of this, Hemi?" he asked, taking a step foreword. As he did so his armour squeaked.

"For now," he replied, letting his hand fall to dangle down the hole. "But until the return of our Queen we must protect Wonderland as much as we can," Suddenly, he stood up, a look of determination on his face as he turned to the smaller man. Caden stood there, wearing identical armour to his commander; yet without a helmet. His face was as pale as a sheet, yet Hemi knew the reasons for this were simply shock – his skin was naturally dark, like a shade of beige. His hair, in contrast to that, was a bright shade of white, which reminded Hemi much of the Queen's skin. It was cut just below his chin, with a feminine fringe going across his forehead; the tips of his hair threatening to cover his turquoise eyes. Each time he spoke his voice was calm and collected; almost monotone. "Where is Noir?"

"In the East hallway, taking account of the men still alive," he replied.

"And how many is that?"

"Too few, Sir," he replied almost regrettably. "Sir, how are we to keep the Castle with such few men? The fact King Albedo even left is a miracle to us but once the Queen returns we will have no way of protecting her. Albedo will continue to strike until we are so few that on her return there will be no way to protect her."

"You are wrong there, Caden," Hemi hissed hard, pulling the spear with force from where it rested on the wall. Firmly, he shut his helmet over his face once more, glaring at the younger solder behind the silver. "Hatter is still alive and he will protect the Queen. We only must keep the Castle in her absence. If the Hatter cannot protect her-"

"Then no one can," a third male said. Stood at the door was Noir, dressed in a pair of black trousers that were decorated in silver spirals and a white dress shirt that had ruffles around the neck and emeralds in the shapes of clubs for buttons. Of course, his outfit was covered in blood, and clutched in his hand was an old fashioned hand gun; made from wood and carved in it were letters that wouldn't even make words. "Hemi, I want this mess cleared up. Make sure the Castle is spotless by the time the Queen comes back."

"Excuse me?" the armoured man almost yelled, laughing at the end of his words. Despite Noir's height, he was nothing compared to the commander; a child in comparison. "I am the leader of the Cardsmen, Noir; you cannot even fight unless you have a weapon. Scratch that, the only thing you can do is aim with a barrel."

"True," he replied, nodding his raven locks as he looked at the man with emerald eyes. "But I planned to become the Queen's fiancé, do not forget. So for now, I am in charge."

"I am curious, oh great Noir," piped in Caden, raising his gloved hand. His gloves were a shade of dark navy, matching the outfit he wore underneath yet resting on each glove was a sparkling red gem. Never had the Cardsmen seen Caden use them – they were always curious as to what they were. "When were you planning on telling the Queen your relationship with Rouge? For I believe that she will not exactly be very pleased with knowing it."

"Oh and do tell, Caden," said Noir. "Who wishes to tell the Queen the moment she walks into her destroyed Wonderland that her fiancé has been sleeping with a woman? Who wishes to break the Queens heart already more?"

"Noir, people know," Hemi told him quietly. "And I would stay away from Hatter. He has expressed many a time how he wishes to use his bracelets on you if you ever went near our Queen," and with that he pushed past the bloody man, making sure to knock his armoured shoulder into his side. "Now clear up this mess, Noir."

And with that, Hemi had quickly gone, followed by Caden – the pair of them leaving Noir to stand there before he angrily threw his gun to the ground, smashing it into pieces. Sighing he glanced left to right, blocking out the noise of the water from the Pool of Tears. "What a mother fucker…" he hissed, before getting onto his knees and taking the wrists of the closest Cardsman and dragging him out of the room, leaving a line of blood as he did so. It took hours for him to empty out the one room, and with the help of the remaining people they managed to give as many of the fallen they could, a proper burial. The rest would be left for the next day. There were just a few of them left – perhaps three dozen. Perhaps enough to keep the Castle on a few attacks until the Queen arrived…

But who were they kidding? They knew they'd hardly be able to do anything to prevent Albedo. They had to build another army – a larger, better one before. They absolutely had to.

"Does anyone dare go down the Pool of Tears to try and find Hatter and Serafia?" questioned Caden as a group of them hovered around one of the fires; the five men having removed their armour many hours ago. They were situated in the Northern Hallway, a crystal beside them that was faint with light. The levels of Imagination in Wonderland were slowly fading, due to the Queen's absence. Well, in the Castle, rather then the city. The rest of the world would be fine, it was just the Castle that lacked the substance and the men that were fighters weren't brilliant in the ability the Queen had, which was like breathing. Still, just as long as there was enough for the Communication Crystals to work that was all they needed.

Sat at their fire were four men, the smallest and youngest looking one being Caden, who looked even younger then the Queen was. His attire was a simple pair of white trousers, a clean pair from his room, that were slightly baggy around his legs and lined with belts around his waist and right thigh. Attached to the belts were holders for small gems that would transform into weapons. He wore a long sleeved, hooded jacket that had buckles around the wrists to keep his gloves attached and wrapped around his neck was a necklace, with silver cross dangling from the end of it. The second man was Flynn, his hair a dirty shade of blonde; his attire just a pair of dark green trousers. His shoulder was bandaged up, along with his hand; these bandages already seeping with blood as time went by, yet he never complained and never moaned. His deep blue eyes were bloodshot and framed with dark bruises that seemed old – not gained from the fight they endured that day. The third was named Oscar, another blonde, and a tall man who too was dressed like Flynn but with less injuries then the man and his face was clear from any bruising. The final man, who's hands were near the fire to warm them, was Hemi, undressed from his armour. His hair was identical to Caden's in colour, yet was parted just to the side and curled ever so slightly as it fell down his handsome face – a face too handsome and beautiful to be one belonging to a commander. He looked as if he should be sitting side by side with the Queen, taking command of Underground a different way. His eyes were a sparkling red shade; his clothes a simple dress shirt, and black trousers. He couldn't be bothered to wear anything fancy. And sat beside him was his armour along with his weapon. He was always on guard.

"What would be the point in that, Caden?" questioned Flynn, ruffling up his dirty blonde hair with a bandaged hand. "Tell 'er 'Oh sorry, lovely, most of us got dead so you'd a be better off staying where the hell you are, while we makes a new army?'"

"It would be far better then her having to come back to us when we are in a state like this," Hemi said, agreeing with Caden. "We need to do that to buy more time for us to get a stronger Army. If the Queen comes back now to this, where will we be?"

"Yes, but if she comes back sooner, we'll have the Hatter," Oscar said, grinning wildly; his two front teeth missing from his gums. "We'll have her powers to boot as well."

"Did you not see the display of her powers upon King Albedo?" Hemi questioned his eyes wide in shock as he remembered the incident. "The Queen set vines to encircle King Albedo, yet just as they appeared he made them disappear! The Queen's powers are so weak, Hatter has commented on how he planned to get her into Military Training a year after her seating to the throne! Yet now, as we can see, it is too late…"

"But with her fights with Hatter," Caden muttered, leaning his head back as he admired the patterns on the ceiling of the still bloodstained Castle. "Every fight she had with him, she were to win. He was left trapped in the corner, unsure of what to do to stop her…"

"Only because he can't turn around and throw blades at her, remember that," Oscar said, pointing at him. "Still, she must have been pretty darn shook up if Albedo could destroy her imagination so quickly."

"Which is why this could all be another good reason for someone to go down the Pool of Tears," Caden said, backing his view again. "If we can warn Hatter, he can spend some time training the Queen while we train our own people."

"We cannot lose one more solder though…" Hemi muttered, staring deep into the flames as they licked the wood to pieces.

"I'm not a solder," came the voice of Noir from behind them. "As you said so yourself, Sir Hemi. I can only aim with a gun. I would happily go warn the Queen and Hatter."

For long moments they looked at one another before Hemi finally nodded, firmly. "You go do that son, but if I were you I'd change out of those clothes. I don't think any world really likes it when people are covered in blood."

Nodding solemnly, Noir turned and walked down the hallway, towards his own Quarters to get changed. As soon as he was out of ears reach, Hemi laughed. "That boy hasn't got a chance."

"Our Hatter is going to eat him alive," Caden added, smiling, before propping his hands behind his back to lean back, dreamily. "I might ask the Queen to marry me…"

"Even if it wasn't judged on rank, I doubt she'd say yes to you, man!" Flynn laughed, elbowing his friend who glared sharply at him. "The only person that can ask her is Hemi."

"My heart belongs to my weapons," he told Flynn, smiling deeply. "Queen's young but she's beautiful. Personality wise. I couldn't ask her to marry me unless I loved her. I'd want her to be married in love. Which is why if Noir ever does ask I'm going to kill him."

"Piece of fucking trash…"

"You can say that again."

"Besides, Caden whatever happened to Mary?"

"Ah, she's always in my heart."

* * *

It hadn't taken long for that "piece of fucking trash" to be at the Pool of Tears, dressed in fresh clothing. The clothes were exactly the same as his previous outfit, yet instead of silver spirals there were silver diamonds on his trousers. As he stared into the Pool, watching the water brush against the walls of the Rabbit Hole, he could feel the emotions of Serafia seep into his heart. The burning desire to keep together with Hatter, the fear she had felt as she began to fall yet this was all followed by a small moment of peace, something so welcoming it was like an air bubble. Sighing, he covered his emerald gems with his bruised eyelids and put a finger on his forehead, allowing the memories to worm their way into his mind. The noise of the lapping water slowly faded from his ears, and for a few moments he forgot his own memories as Serafia's came to mind.

"_Hatter!" her voice was so childish, one that belonged to a ten year old at least but at that moment in time she actually sounded her age, at least to Noir as he replayed the events that had occurred._

"_Don't let go of my hands," typical Hatter. Always having to protect her. He could feel something coming from Hatter, an emotion of care almost that he was not meant to posses. He felt this feeling grow and grow as time passed, the feeling first coming from when Hatter had spoken to Rubedo, when Serafia was fifteen years old. When Noir went into that room to gather the memories he was unable to read what had happened and so could never understand where Hatter's emotions had come from. "Do you have the key?"_

"_Hatter, it fell!" disappointment with herself rung in her voice. She always wanted to help… "What happened?"_

"_You caused a Pool of Tears to happen from your imagination," he told her. "Unfortunately with Albedo in the room, the results were chaotic. Queen Serafia you have to promise not to let go of my hands."_

_Noir could feel her confusion from her guardian's words; he could taste the fear that was running through her veins so much that his own hands began to tremble. "Are you not going to pull me up?"_

"_There is a war up here. Don't let go."_

Noir gasped hard as panic surged through his body, from the remains of Serafia's memories. The panic, which was so strong, caused him to almost fall backwards; his heart pounding so fast he feared it would burst from his chest. Shaking his head and his hands, he tried to stop his body from trembling and cleared his throat, before frowning again. "If you caused this by crying, what were you crying about, Queen Serafia?"

Closing his eyes once more, he tried to retrace her steps as best he could. Blurred sights of her and Hatter having their feud in the hallway came to his mind for a second, causing him to smirk from her stubbornness. The fear was something he had never felt from her before. He watched as they walked into the room, focused as she dropped her hand into Hatter's and how he obliged her words by still gripping onto it as she fell into a slumber; he watched as Albedo entered the room and soon could see why the Queen had begun to cry.

"_Hatter you can't do this! Don't do this, you can't leave me! You're meant to protect me!" wincing as he listened to the Queen's pained words, he kept watching on, wishing to know what happened. _

"_I am," with that Hatter went to his knee's to face the Queen but as he did he held an emotion that caused Noir to get slightly angry. "I apologise for not listening to you earlier. I will follow you. I will protect you."_

"_Hatter please…"_

He stopped reading what had happened in the room, knowing what had caused the young girl to cry. All she wanted was to be with Hatter; the only person in the world she could probably trust. Noir could see it then; could feel it in his veins how much she liked him but there was something, an emotion that seemed to be blocked to Noir. Something had intervened with the memories that they had shared – something was always hidden and he desperately wanted to know what that was. When he was around them Hatter never spoke; Noir could never pick up on the emotion no matter what he did. Running a hand down his shirt to straighten it, he cleared his throat again, pushing what he had just seen from his mind; trying to clean the feelings he had obtained from the Queen. He didn't want to ever feel that fear or panic again; it almost made him feel sorry for the poor girl. She should not have felt that – Queen or not. Taking a small step back, he shut his eyes before bringing in a large breathe. And with that, he wasted no time to jump down the Rabbit Hole, falling into the Pool of Tears.

* * *

What had happened after that was a blur to Noir, his mind unable to catch up with itself as he tried to focus, tried to understand where he was and what was going on. He could hear panicked voices around him, speaking of how the "Master" was ill, women telling other people to call the "Little Master". Nothing made the slightest bit of sense as he felt his body being laid on something soft. Bright lights prevented his vision for long moments as he shook his head, parting his eyes now and then. His body felt soaked yet as time went by, how fast or how slow he didn't know, he felt himself drifting in and out of consciousness. After a few times, he felt clean to the bone; the clothes he wore felt almost foreign to him. He couldn't make anything out, his mind too confused from the Pool of Tears.

But on the fifteenth time his eyes parted his head hadn't felt heavy, he hadn't fallen back into slumber. Instead he had gained enough energy to sit up, pushing himself onto his elbows. For a few slow seconds his glazed eyes looked around the small, bright white room he was sat in. It was plain, so extravagantly plain; the walls just one shade of colour and that was it. He could hear a beeping beside him, which sounded like a heart monitor but as he glanced at it, there were lights flashing rather then beams of imagination that powered everything in Underground. Already, he knew the world he had landed in was most peculiar. Just as he was about to push his legs out of the soft sheets of the bed he lay in, he heard a childish voice he knew so well that caused him to freeze.

"Gaignun, you're awake! Awh man, what happened to you?" there was laughter followed by the voice, and before he knew it he felt a playful hit on his right shoulder. Slowly, ever so slowly, he turned his head to the right, his bright emerald gems meeting the gems that were exactly the same colour as the Queen's yet they belonged to a different person. A small, twelve year old looking boy that had the brightest ruby red hair, the most contagious smile and a face that caused Noir's eyes to widen bigger then his face. For long moments they stared at each other, the smile on Rubedo's face slowly fading away. Noir's throat felt dryer then sand itself and as he parted his lips to speak, he almost choked on his words.

"Y-You…" he couldn't help but reach foreword and place a hand on the arm of the young boy. "You're… A-Alive…"

A small laugh came from his thin lips. "Of course I'm alive Gaignun, jeez did you have a bad dream or something? You remember me right? Rubedo! Or Jr, whichever. Brothers?"

Noir's face remained blank, making Rubedo sigh hard. "We're in the Kukai Foundation; the place your pretty much the leader of, remember? Your name is Gaignun Kukai, and I'm your brother. Do you remember? Mary, and Shelly too?"

Frowning slightly, he managed to nod, his raven hair moving slightly. "Ah, of course I remember, Rubedo. Why wouldn't I? I think I hit my head pretty damn hard back then…" he muttered quietly, looking down at the ground; playing the part o-so perfectly. So this, this boy stood here wasn't his King; he was a different version of the King. Like an alternative universe. He had heard so many stories of that happening in the Pool of Tears, yet of course people rarely returned, so they couldn't be confirmed. This would work firmly at his advantage, especially if his alternative person was the leader of somewhere. This would make everything so much more easier when it came to finding his Queen. But the only thing that concerned him was where his alternative person was. The real Gaignun who was part of this world. And for that matter, who was Serafia to be a part of? If this Rubedo was so young, he obviously did not have children nor did he had a ring on his finger; there must not have been any Sakura. Ever such a strange thing, but still, he would not dwell on it. He needed to find his real Queen, not the one that belonged to this world.

"Pretty hard?" he laughed, grinning childishly. "Oh Gaignun, you were out for three days!"

_Three days?_ Noir had to admit, he obviously wasn't very good at travelling through the Pool of Tears. He only hoped the Hatter hadn't just awoken too otherwise that would have spelled disaster. Three days without trying to find his Queen? What a failure. Ah, but what about the Queen? Would she still be sleeping? Forcing himself to laugh, he pushed his legs out of the sheets, noticing how he was already dressed in plain attire.

"Three days?" he hummed slightly. "I must have missed out on an ample of work. If you wouldn't mind Rubedo, would you walk with me to my office? My mind is still a bit fuzzy."

"Sure thing, Gaignun," he grinned. "Hey, but don't forget, it's Jr. in front of everyone else."

* * *

From the small walk, Noir had learned so many confusing things about the world he was now in. The fact there was no imagination to control things, the fact everything ran on electricity and technology was so advanced it was unbelievable. Things like cars drove in the streets; lights were on even during the day; magical holograms that looked like they were created from imagination were on the streets, like moving posters that advertised items that were so odd to his eyes. As they had walked further down the street, he could see something that would be the upmost advantage to him if he ever could get it to happen. There were announcements on buildings, with pictures and people talking through them. If Noir could actually somehow get his own announcement through one of those, he would be able to get the attention of the Queen. Once he stated to Rubedo that he wished to use one of them, he happily nodded and hadn't asked what for or why. He told him he would take him to the office that controlled what would go on there and it could actually be live. Well, Noir had no idea what "live" meant but it still sounded good.

Once they got to the building a number of peculiar things had happened to him. For starters, the doors, which were made from pure glass, slid open all by themselves; another thing from electricity possibly, and then instead of taking the stairs, they stepped in a glass box that moved them up to the other levels. He had to be careful not to express any of his shock yet a few times his "brother" gave him the oddest look, as if he was losing his mind. It didn't matter. What mattered was the room they were next stood in, with a man holding Noir something called a microphone.

"Once the light flashes, Master Gaignun, you'll be able to give your message," the helpful, brown headed man said, before leaving the room with Rubedo. Sitting down on the chair, he leaned towards what was a camera, and smirked ever so slightly. He was told the message would be transmitted to every planet, and this would be perfect.

One the light flashed, he cleared his throat and began to speak. "There is a man roaming the streets of our worlds, a man with the darkest intentions. This man is an enemy of us; a man that wants to destroy our world. His name is Hatter – he wears a top hat, dresses in the most peculiar fashions and his hair is a shade of copper. This man is under the violation of the law and has murdered many people and is searching for a young woman and will not stop until all are maimed in his way. This man is mentally unstable and I advise the authorities to take control of him. For the lives of our people he must be locked up. Thank you for listening, this is Gaignun Kukai."

* * *

Smiling sweetly at the raven headed man, Serafia exited the bedroom he had given to her for those past few days, wearing clothes the raven headed man's friend had picked out for her. They were so simple compared to her usual dresses, but beautiful. She wore a plain white shirt underneath another shirt with spaghetti sleeves. The straps were made from what looked like netting, and the shirt was dyed white too, with silver buttons. It resembled an almost corset design with patterns of flowers in silver dye along it. She wore, for the first time in her life, a pair of jeans that were a grey shade and a pair of grey trainers. Her hair was perfectly straight rather then curled as it normally was and tied back behind her face. After taking a silver ribbon, she had tied the cards to her hip, making sure they were securely attached to her body. It had only been a few hours ago since she agreed to Gaignun about having her mind examined, and he had made a few phone calls to a few friends to organise it. He had told her that three days ago he called in sick for work to take care of her, so it would be hard to possibly get them to do a favour for him like this but he would make it happen. A feeling of guilt came about her from him missing work but she couldn't help but feel grateful for this stranger's kindness.

As she quickly walked down the stairs, she brushed down her shirt, followed by the raven man. As she turned into the kitchen, she froze almost suddenly; like she had walked into a freezer. Sat at the table were three people; two of which were male, one was female. The one male and the female hadn't caused any shock to Serafia, though she had to admit they did look familiar to her – both of whom had chocolate coloured locks, the woman beautiful with green eyes and the man nervous looking with faded blue eyes. But it was the white headed boy, who looked a few years younger then herself that caused her to freeze. For a fleeting moment she thought she had entered the room where Caden sat at the table, but she remembered how she believed Gaignun was Noir. This would not be her Caden; her friend from Wonderland. She didn't even know if he was alive; she didn't even know if Noir was alive. These versions of her people could have been the only ones left. As if he noticed her panic, the Caden look-a-like stood quickly to his feet and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" he asked gently; his voice even just like Caden's and his eyes just as soft. Eventually, she managed to nod her head slowly. "My name is chaos, your Serafia, yes?"

Nodding again, she gave a small smile. "Yes Sir, Serafia Mizrahi-Yuriev," she said quickly. "It's a pleasure to meet you," she held out her hand for the stranger politely, allowing him to take it and shake it gently.

"Her surname is the same as Juli and Momo's…" the woman at the table whispered quietly. "And Dmitri Yuriev…"

"Ah, my grandmother is called Juli, her daughter, Sakura, is my mother," she smiled gently. She was oblivious to how much her words had caused the people in the room confusion.

"This is Shion Uzuki, and Allen Ridgeley," the Caden-look-a-like said and Serafia smiled at them both. "My name is chaos," he said, finally shaking her hand and letting go of it gently.

"Everyone here has entered an Encephalon before, which is what we're going to do with you," Gaignun explained softly, frowning a little as he realised her eye colour was a little much like his brothers. "These were the most professional people I could contact who I can trust. We'll be doing this in a research centre, where there shall be enough Vector Technologies to make sure this is performed thurouly."

All Serafia could do was nod. She had nothing else to do that would prove to this man that she was indeed the Queen of Wonderland and that she did need help to find her guardian, Hatter. Following the strangers out of the building, she stepped into the car, sitting between the Caden-look-a-like and the Noir-look-a-like trying her best not to dwell on how the box of silver was moving by itself, or anything going on from outside the window. If she tried to think it would drive her utterly mad!

But just after two minutes of driving, a small square popped up in front of her, from the centre of the car, causing her to jump. On the screen was the face of Gaignun, smiling almost menacingly at the camera and she couldn't help but frown, but not as much as the other people in the car were. "What is that?" she questioned.

"A…A live announcement…" the Gaignun beside her muttered with confusion laced in his voice. "When you speak, you will be projected to other places and people can hear you but you have to be talking somewhere at a certain place at the present."

"So…that's not you?" she whispered, looking at the screen.

"No…"

"That's Noir, that's Noir, I told you he looked like you!" she said, happily, almost jumping up and down. "He found me, the people found me!"

But the words that had left Noir's lips had caused all the excitement to run from her veins. A cloud of tension appeared in the car and she was left shaking her head, denying the accusation that Noir had made.


	5. Capture

_**. | Chapter Five | .**_

_**Capture**_

**Comments:** This chapter is such a mess, its unbelievable. It jolts from one part to another too horribly, but I can't think of how to make it work properly; its meant to be weird and confusing and just mad but I think I made it too mad. It looks like a child wrote it :/ *sigh* + I forgot everything I wrote before XD and my brains mush so … mmm just enjoy. It was only wrote for a distraction but I'll upload it none the less ^_^

Scanning her eyes across the strangers, Serafia found herself engulfed in the awkward silence. She shuffled from side to side, wondering what to say or do as she admired the people she had seen all her life. As her ice blue eyes looked down to Gaignun's hands they noticed something on the left one; a gold ring with words she couldn't see engraved on it. As time passed, she stared at it longer; unaware of the gaze of chaos on her. Clearing her throat, she gained Gaignun's attention, looking up at his emerald gems.

"I do not wish to pry, Gaignun," she said quietly, nodding at his hand. "But are you married?"

His eyes seemed to be pained for a moment before his nodded; his voice hitching when he began to speak. "Y-Yes I am."

She smiled softly in response to his question. "May I ask her name?"

For a split second his eyes shocked panic as he looked over to chaos; almost asking him a question silently before looking back to Serafia. "Serah," he said quickly, smiling slightly; his voice still pained as if he were trying not to cry from something. She wondered whether he was ill as she tilted her face to look at him carefully; eyes curious as to what could be wrong. The white, black and emerald coloured man turned his face from her for a second as he slipped a hand inside his blazer. As he pulled it back out, also bringing a black leather wallet with him, she could see the trembling of his hand; shaking so much that as it slipped lighter then a feather across his blazer that too shook. In the corner of her eye she could see chaos wincing too but looking out the window as if he wasn't apart of the conversation. Had his wife died? Oh God, she felt terrible for bringing such a matter up that had nothing to do with her! Just as she was about to apologise he opened the wallet and almost thrust a picture in her sights.

"This is our son," he smiled at her; his eyes bright. "Our beautiful son," he gave a little pause before speaking again. "Do you know his name?"

"N-No, Sir, I do not," she said, looking at the young boy in the picture. He was possibly just a few months old; his eyes a bright emerald colour and his hair a startling, fluffy blonde. He was dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans and a green jacket with pictures of snow on it. As her eyes explored the picture even more, Gaignun spoke. Something within it had caught her and wouldn't ever let go.

"If you had brought a child into the world what would you name him?" he questioned his voice so soft, yet still pained and she could just about see a tear run down his face. She looked at the frail arm holding the child; how the arm was as thin as bone, like a skeleton and as pale as ivory. She couldn't see the face of the living dead person, but she couldn't help but continue to stare; her mind feeling dizzy as she felt herself trapped in the picture.

"I would name him after the father," she whispered, her eyes lifting up from the picture to melt into the eyes of Gaignun. "Nigredo."

"Nini," he whispered; their eyes locked so tightly that they completely forgot the world around them.

* * *

Turning her eyes from Gaignun, she found herself stood in a different room, smiling contently as she glanced around her surroundings. The room was small, silver and blue painted and bland just like she imagined it to be. There were a few glass desks around the edges; a few of them covered in paper, a few of them not. On one desk there sat a small machine with three red sunglasses right by it; chaos was there, fiddling with some wire as Gaignun gazed at Serafia; as if to make sure she were safe. She knew she had been in the room for quite some time, but it felt as if she just arrived; as if she had blanked out since gazing Gaignun in the eyes. But what had she and him been speaking about? There was a photo between them, yes, but the words they had shared were a blur to her. As she tried to ponder and think of what had happened, memories that did not belong to her flashed sharply in her mind. The memories of Noir, talking to a young boy that looked like Rubedo came into her head. The memories of him walking into a room, to make the announcement too were there and then in another flash she could see herself stood with Caden and Hemi around a fire, with others that were part of the army. She could hear their laughter; their words like a distorted echo to her mind. As she stood in the castle pain overwhelmed her side yet she did not move; she could not, nor could she cry out. She felt cold run up her body as she heard a small word or two fall from their lips.

"_Our Hatter…is going to eat him alive…_" more laughter but who had said that she never knew. People passed in front of her; people from the world of Miltia and the confusion welled up in her veins like no other. Her mind began to throb with pain as she watched the castle turn into the streets of somewhere she almost recognised; a place that reminded her much of the Foundation, with the light colours and plastic and metal and the glass. She could see people passing, along with Hatter who walked straight past but she couldn't move to cry out for him. Instead she just heard him asking people where she was; telling them he was looking for her. As she watched it was like trailing back on memories that had happened since falling down the Rabbit Hole and into the Pool of Tears; these were memories that didn't belong to her, but why did she posses them? And oh God that pain; especially on the right side of her body was growing. She could hear a voice; two voices echoing off in the distance, but who they were she never knew.

"Serafia?" came the gentle voice of the Caden-wanna-be, quickly snapping her from her thoughts. Turning around, with weary, dull eyes, she noted the red glasses he held in his gloved hands; a pair upon his face. "Can you put these on for me, please?" he asked softly.

"Okay," she nodded, trying not to think of the thoughts that had passed through her mind. Was it Wonderlands way of contacting her to tell her things weren't going well? Or to tell her what was going on? Oh, she didn't want to know. All she cared for was making these men know what was going on; to prove Wonderlands existence though she thought that Noir's announcement would have proved it enough. After putting the glasses on, little could she remember before tumbling into her own mind.

* * *

Confusion was the first thing to well in Serafia's little heart as she found herself stood in the main Ballroom of the Castle, with chaos to her left and Gaignun to her right. A little cloud of tiredness was over her, as if she had just awoken from a long slumber but she brushed it away quickly. People she knew were dancing about happily, and Serafia's eyes widened in joy as she felt her heart pounding in a wonderful way. "Am I home?" she questioned happily, looking back at Gaignun first. "Am I?"

"No," he replied, placing a hand on his forehead. "Not quite. These are your memories, Serah," a little jolt came in her heart when he called her that, and unknowing to her chaos winced slightly.

"Proof this has happened," she began with a slightly firm voice though on the inside she was trembling furiously. In the corner of her eye she could see another version of herself, darting about the ballroom happily, which was … more then peculiar. "This is proof of Wonderland."

"Yes," Gaignun nodded. "But no at the same time," he watched carefully as a man approached the younger Serafia, taking her hand in his.

"That's Hatter," she said, pointing to the man before leaning back against the wall to watch. Before allowing silence to engulf the three of them she muttered; "I told you it was real." And with that they watched what Serafia thought to be embarrassing memories of her younger self.

Taking her hand in his, he brushed her flesh against his silk glove that was made in the form of black netting; intricate floral patterns decorated on it. She had the other glove on her left hand, which moved up to rest on his firm shoulder; the fabric of his ever so soft dress suit like warm magic to her ivory fingertips. The suit he wore that night was the most unusual for the Hatter. The waistcoat he wore was coloured a ruby red, sparkling with the moons rays; the ruby red there to match the colour of the red that she wore. Along the waist coat were patterns of flowers, deep red in colour, which was so unlike the Hatter. He either had spirals, like all the other men, or clubs and spades, or even hearts and diamonds, much like the Queen. His trousers were the same colour as the flowers on his waistcoat, which when Serafia looked much closely at were roses – a romantic flower. He had a pair of black boots on, slick and made from leather that went up to his knees with small buckles on the sides of his feet. The undershirt he wore was black, without a neck collar that was tipped with many ruffles. Finally, his jacket that he wore was identical in shade to his trousers, and the flowers, and had two tails that reached just past his knees. Their attire was alike, of course, for the reason of beauty. Her father had obviously known they were to be the main dancing couple, she had figured this out the second she had seen Hatter, who must have been more embarrassed then she was. Serafia was expected to be paired up with Hemi or Noir, not with her guardian. But she was wearing a dress, the same colour as Hatter's jacket and trousers, and it was just to her knees. It was sleeveless, and had no collar unlike some of her dresses. The neck was an oval, showing off her protruding collar bones quite well. The sleeves just covered her shoulders, and puffed out with frills. Along the bottom of her dress was a ruffle that moved up from the hem of her dress, to her hip and was attached their by a wine red bow. The material from the ruffle downwards was a shade as dark as midnight, and again ruffled. Her shoes were flats, which was unbelievable for any woman of the Castle but she could barely dance as it was. So instead she had to do with flat, black, doll shoes and pray no one would think of saying anything to her. Her hair, unlike how it normally was – thick and curly, was layered and straight for that dance; a small ribbon on the left side of her head was the only bit of decoration. She looked so beautiful, but avoided eye contact with Hatter as they positioned themselves.

Unable to stop herself, she jumped as Hatter's hand was placed directly on her hip. Wincing, he could feel the burning eyes of King Rubedo on his back, knowing he too was a little shocked from Serafia's jump. She blushed even harder, knowing people were watching them. Slowly, as if she was a skittish animal, Hatter leaned in so close his lips were almost touching her ear. Above the music, it was a struggle for her to hear his whisper. "Princess, you must not be nervous," he had told her, before pushing his fingers softly into her flesh. It was only then how he realised how painfully thin she was – her hip bones were digging into his hand and he frowned slightly, letting his eyes look down to her collarbones. Taking one step to the right, she followed and it didn't take long for the pair of them to be twisting angelically around each other. Still, her guardian wouldn't let her enjoy it not just yet. His mouth was still close to her ear, allowing him to whisper as quietly as possible as people watched – unaware he was about to engage into conversation with her. "When was the last time you had eaten, Princess?"

Pursing her rosy lips together, she just continued to dance to the music playing in the beautiful ballroom, pretending she hadn't heard the question Hatter had asked her. But, of course, he knew that he had heard her and once he glanced left to right to make sure no one was watching, he quickly ran a hand from her hip to her ribs, and then back down again. All bones. No fat. "Princess, answer me."

"I ate with you, today at lunch like I always do," she told him, lowering her eyes to her feet. After a few steps with her eyes looking down, he let go of her hand momentarily to flick her chin up, reminding her even if she didn't want to, she needed to glance into his eyes during the dance they shared.

"Nibbling on a biscuit isn't eating," he told her, spinning her quickly; his fingers tightening on her hip yet being gentle. "You never eat breakfast, nor do you attend dinner with your father and the others."

"Stop this dance, I'm not dancing anymore," she whispered, trying to pull away. Instead, he twisted her again, almost spinning her – any of his movements prevented her from breaking away from him.

"Serafia, I care for you," he told her gently, pulling her body close to his. "Eat for me."

Once their dance had finished, and they had gained a loud applause that was embarrassing to the Princess, Hatter retreated to the corner of the ballroom, near Sir Hemi and his small army he had brought to keep the room safe. Of course, these were unnecessary with the Hatter about but still – it was helpful. As he listened to the banter of the men that were slowly getting drunker with every passing moment, his eyes followed the feet of the Princess, eyeing every man that glanced her up and down – whose eyes flashed a little brighter at her young appearance. It was tradition to marry young, yet this woman was different and Hatter knew this. He knew better then every man in the room; none of them, no matter how much they tried, would court the young woman. No one would be allowed to, due to the rule of the King. Her fate with a man had already been placed and even she did not know it. Sometimes, throughout the night, the corners of his lips drew inwards momentarily as she brushed away a stranger, only sticking with her friends. But the only thing that night that concerned him was that it only took her two dances before she almost collapsed in the arms of Noir in pure exhaustion. Even if he had to force feed her, he would.

"How long must we watch these dammed memories for?" came the voice of an irritated Serafia; a tone of words she hadn't used in such a long time. Usually she was so calm, so polite, especially in the company of strangers yet she had so much evidence to agree with her story that Gaignun was not agreeing with. And Noir, his actions had completely horrified her. But … to twist the story even more, could that have even been Noir? Would he go against the man that protected the Royal family? Or was that man that gave the live announcement Gaignun and this was Noir? But if this was Noir then how could he know the technologies to get into the Encephalon? She had to stop thinking – this man was Gaignun, the other man was Noir.

"Serafia, I understand these memories aren't ones you wish to recall," chaos gently said to her, placing a soft hand on her shoulder. When she looked at it she only then realised how much his gloves were like Caden's. Such, such a confusing world she had brought herself in. "But we need evidence to prove that what you are saying is correct."

"And I have provided such evidence," she countered, moving away from his touch, away from the gloves. "Right now, as we stand here, most of these people we look at are _dead_. Their lives destroyed by the hands of my uncle Albedo. Their lives destroyed because I was weak enough to not convince Hatter it was just I and him Albedo wanted. If I had stopped being a child the moment I entered the throne people would not be dead because of me, and you pulling me into worthless memories isn't helping. There might be one, two or even three people alive if I'm lucky and I have to protect them. Now, let's leave this wretched place because I have to find the Hatter."

Quickly, she brushed past the two men, her blonde brows furrowed in both anger and determination. Just as she took a few steps foreword she turned around to Gaignun. "And you, Good Sir, need to stop wasting your own time in getting Noir away from this place. You too will be losing the trust of your people if you allow this to continue. And I advise you to remove Noir once we have the Hatter on our sides."

"Where will we find Hatter?" chaos questioned, again his voice soft as silk. Gaignun was left standing there, guilt plastered in his eyes.

"From Noir's little speech there will be people after him now," she smirked slightly before shrugging her shoulders. "He will fight for his freedom. He will fight to see me. So listen to your people."

Sighing, she turned her head from the two men and glanced around the beautiful ballroom. Her heart was pounding from the speech she had done – never in her life had she given such a mature, strong speech before. Never had she spoken so well in front of strangers. Biting her lip, she managed to ask a question she had wanted to the moment she got into their world. "Do either of you know a Rubedo? The version of my father."

For a split second Gaignun passed a look of concern to chaos, who passed one directly back. They knew a Rubedo; they knew him ever so well. It was Gaignun that finally cleared his throat to talk. "He's my brother. The brother of myself and Albedo to be exact."

"Y-You have an Albedo?" she whispered, her eyes widening and fear seeped into her veins.

"He died," Gaignun quickly said, hoping not to frighten her. "Rubedo has special powers that can destroy the life of Albedo."

"Because your Albedo was invincible too?" she whispered. Their Rubedo, their saviour had been murdered by Albedo. All hope that was left in her sole faded once she realised the fate of Wonderland. "He can regenerate in my world; can create arms and heads and hearts that have been destroyed…"

"Yes, he could do such things," nodded Gaignun, pity for the child in his eyes. "Your father passed, did he not?"

"He did," she replied, her voice dry as she put her hand on the wall, trying not to pass out; a feeling of sickness overwhelming her. "My people are forever in danger, it would be best for us to surrender to him…"

"No, don't talk like that," said chaos, smiling at her softly. "You're the daughter of Rubedo – related to both Noir and Albedo. If the people here have powers exact to the powers your people have you must have inherited something from them."

Firmly she shook her head. "I'm the failure. As Gaignun even said there isn't even another version of me in your world. All I have are cards and even then I cannot use them because I only have two! I can't even look after the cards."

"Serah," his voice was firm this time, firm but beautifully soft – so soft it had prevented her from allowing the tears to flow down her ivory cheeks. Moving her ice blue eyes, she looked at Gaignun who was bringing a hand into a pocket inside his black blazer. "I only gave you two because I feared what they really meant but now I believe in you. Please accept my apology," and out came the cards – each and everyone of them, the Royal Cards that she feared had been lost forever. In her happiness, she had completely forgotten how Gaignun had taken them and was just grateful they were back in her possession. Proudly, she undid the ribbon wrapped around her hip and reunited the cards with the other two; the smile never leaving her face.

Just as she put the ribbon back together, her body began to feel tingly and not a comfortable feeling it was. Finally, the smile drifted as she felt water running down from her hip to her leg, dripping to the floor. Glancing down in confusion she could see a thick, black, ink running from the cards, seeping into her leg; some of it running to the floor. She lifted her arms, keeping them away from the ink as she stared in horror, not sure of what to do. The ink had a life of its own, drawing a circle around the small body of the girl, before making patterns of the cards on the ground. When she finally tried to move her legs, they seemed to be stuck to the ground, her heart pounding quickly. Had Gaignun put a curse on the cards? As she brought her eyes to the two people she noticed they weren't even paying attention to her, instead they were watching as another danced commenced. Parting her lips, she tried to yell; tried to call for them but no voice left her throat, it was like being in the depths of a nightmare. Her body began to feel light as her feet slightly drifted from the floor, the ink drifting through the air around her, spinning and moving in the shapes of numbers; so many times it became a blur to her eyes. She could finally hear her name being yelled by either chaos or Gaignun; her mind too numb to tell. And then she felt herself falling. She could hear a splash as she fell into what she imagined to be the black ink that had flooded the floor around her and darkness took over her mind as she drifted out from consciousness.

* * *

Opening her eyes, the first thing that she saw was the pool of shadows oozing underneath her legs on the floor. It began to disperse into a fog, and soon the black on the floor had disappeared, leaving blackened fog hovering above the ground. It began to tangle itself around the luminous white skin; twisting and turning around her shape, around her arms, and around her neck. Greedily, it began to eat her up; covering each part of her white skin and turning it to black. It sent shivers up her spine, as if she was being touched by pure ice.

Frozen in fear or in amazement, the girl was unable to move. She was sitting in a position showing despair; her knees pulled up to her chest, and her head leaned on the knees. Her head was tilted to the side, letting her soft, mousey brown hair fall down to her side. She watched hopelessly as the shadow began to engulf her. The feeling was strange and peculiar, and somehow familiar and warming at the same time. The shadow twisted around her body teasingly; almost as if it was having fun giving such fear and despair to the girl. It left an ice cold feeling run through her body as the shadow grew darker and darker; it grew and grew as well. It held tightly onto her skin; so it would not let her go, and as it covered her chest she found it hard to breath. It looked just like fog, but felt like a thousand cold hands grabbing each part of her and stealing her. Soon the fog had made its way to her face, and she began to feel frightened as the fog slowly ate her up; bit by bit. And then she was in pure darkness once again.

* * *

Another feeling came into the girl as she began to awake yet again. Slowly, she emerged from the floor, and the pool of shadows. The dark shadow pooling on the floor was liquid, and had swallowed the girl up and was letting her wake again. As she lifted her body out of the blood like substance, she felt it run off her body and it dripped down, returning to the rest of the liquid. The liquid kept bleeding from the floor and was thick like syrup. The girl watched in a strange curiosity as the liquid began to fall down from her arms to the floor in thick drips. Blinking a few times, so that her mind would be clear, the girl soon realised her memories – her name, her age, her life and the new life she had entered. Staring more at the liquid that began to disperse like fog, she lifted her head and glanced around her surroundings quickly. A brightly coloured room; the shade of pink, with a few beds lined up against the walls. From the unfortunate decoration she knew she was not back home in Wonderland just yet. Once the fog had disappeared, she looked down at herself, seeing how she was wearing the same clothes she last remembered yet despite all the black liquid that had twisted about her frail body. The cards were still tied around her waist, and everything seemed to fine about her. She was sat upon the floor, her body feeling sore and weak, demanding for her to put her small hand on the bed beside her and push against it to get up to her feet. Once she was on her feet she swayed slightly, trying to keep her mind at least on the brink of consciousness until she realised where she was this time.

Shivering hard, she brought her arms across her chest, fearfully looking from left to right of the room; her sight blurring now and then. Making sure the pool of shadows had disappeared; she looked down at her feet before taking one step foreword when she knew it was safe. Just as she went to take another step, the door slide open, scaring her so much she almost fell back. But to her relief, stood there, was Gaignun; his face soft like always. Relief was plastered upon her own face as he stepped into the disgustingly pink room; the door silently sliding shut behind him. A grin, almost like the Cheshire Cat's, grew on his face as he stepped towards her; not bothering to conceal the gun in his right hand; his left hand behind his back. She felt no fear as she weakly went to sit back down on the ground; only feeling sleepily dizzy as she watched him approach.

"Ah, the beautiful Queen, it's lovely to see you again," he smiled, now stood in front of her; the silver of the gun reflecting the lights in the ceiling. Slowly, he kneeled in front of her; his lips curling into a wider grin. She leaned her back on one of the beds, gazing deep in his emerald gems. As he placed his left hand upon her right shoulder, she couldn't help but glance to it; realising what was wrong. There were no rings on his fingers, no symbol to show he was with Serah. Panic overwhelmed her as she felt her heart speed up instantly; her palms beginning to sweat as she turned her face to him.

"Noi-" a small squeal left her throat as the taste of metal slid over her tongue, settling deep in her throat. The cold of the gun ran through her body; the barrel sunk deep in her mouth, pushing her tongue down and parting her lips so that a small line of saliva ran past them and to her chin, followed by a fat tear drop.

"I thank you for being clever," he smiled, running a hand through her slightly messy, blonde locks. "No one ever knew the potential of the Queen. They treated you a child, did they not? A poor child, lost in the realm of society; blind and naive to the bloodshed around her but my Queen, how does that taste? The metal in your mouth?" he shook the gun and gave a feral grin; watching as her body began to tremble. "You've been thrust into a different world as your men panic and try to save what is left of your Kingdom. I followed your last memories; touched and felt your final thoughts in Wonderland. And what I felt was utterly disgusting. Your final thoughts of Hatter." He almost questioned that sentence; the tone of his voice causing tears to stream down her face. "A Queen should not think more of a man then him being just a friend, for you Queen are a disgrace. The people, your people, were being murdered and as you left you thought of Hatter? You never even thought of Wilhelm. Or is that name foreign to you?"

Panicked, she shook her head. The name wasn't foreign at all; he was the Knight of Wonderland, the commander of the armies yet long ago as a child she had given him the name Hemi; unable to pronounce his proper name. Like most of Wonderland, he too had a nickname. "Your father never trusted me. Neither did your mother. But I guess such a trivial thing does not matter, considering they have both fallen. Your mother died to give you a life and your father died to protect you. And you destroy their Kingdom."

'_Noir let me go, please, I beg of you,'_ she shakily whispered through her mind; her voice seeping into his. Little did she know communication like this was shared between Rubedo, Albedo and Gaignun in this world.

"Why?" he questioned, laughing a little on the end of his words. "Why must I let you go?"

'_Hatter…I have to find Hatter…'_ her eyes widened as searing hot pain came onto her cheek, burning through her face from the slap of his hand.

"Again with that bloody Hatter!" he hissed hard, glaring at the Queen. "Tell me why, why do you care for him so?"

She shook her head, denying him the answer to the question.

"I try to figure it out," he hummed calmly; his response shocking to Serafia. She had expected him to snap, to hit her again yet he didn't. "Each time I pick up on memories between you and him I find something, something hidden and blocked to me. Just like when I entered the room when you were fifteen years old. Twice Rubedo had words with Hatter; one of those times you accompanied them but you had fallen asleep during one. Or passed out, I couldn't tell. Those memories in those rooms were blocked; your emotions are blocked but do tell Serafia, what is it you feel that I cannot?"

Slowly, he pulled the cold gun from her lips, leaving her to sit there almost horrified as he stared into her icey gems. "Tell me, tell me the emotion you hear otherwise this will return to your mouth and it will not leave."

"I do-"

"Serafia!"

**Comment:** I have NO idea if I put Faith somewhere in there rather then Serah regarding Gaignun's wife BUT ITS MEANT TO BE SERAH D= I'm just so tired at the moment I ...fwarh you know XD I put it somewhere, knowing my good ol' brain x3


	6. Let the Games Begin

_**.|. Chapter Six .|.**_

_**Let the Games Begin**_

'_You must run. If someone is ever going to hurt you while I am not there, you must run Serafia.'_

'_Run? Must I? But running is weak, is it not? You always tell the Cardsmen never to run. Never ever.'_

'_No, Serafia. For you it is different. The men have been trained while you have not. If you ever find yourself in danger then just run; run away from it. I shall not think less of you. Now, show me how fast you can run around the courtyard.'_

"_I am to run …"_ she quickly thought the moment Noir had yelled her name in such a horrible manner that made her flinch out of her skin. Never had she been yelled at before, nor had she a weapon pointed to her let alone in her mouth where it would most likely be shot. Before she even made a decision to run, she questioned whether she could with how shaking her legs were. She had no idea where she was, or even if she was somewhere; she could have been still in that 'Encephalon Dive' as the other, kinder Noir had said. Even if she was or wasn't she would have a difficulty finding her way out of wherever she was. And then another question shot through her of how Noir had found her and what had happened to her when she received the cards? A quick glance down at her attire showed she was wearing what she had been the last time she awoke in a stable state. They didn't matter; nothing mattered. Either she fought or she ran and Hatter had told her to run, run, run, which she would have done -

- if she had not imagined a vine encircling the wrist of the man opposite her. The vine was as bright as the gems in Noir's sockets; glistening against the bright light of the large, bedroom-like room they were in (it reminded her of a pink version of the sleeping quarters for some of the armies, but of course with the most peculiar of decoration). The leaves were made in the shapes of the clubs of the cards, tickling against the body of Noir as it constricted so tightly around him that the gun dropped from his weakened finger tips. Pushing her back against the bed, she watched as Noir cried out in discomfort; she tried not to hurt him if she could. He tugged at the vine with his left hand, scratching at the plant that seemed to be a living snake. When her mind snapped slightly into reality, she reached down to grab the silver gun with her shaking hands, noticing how plain it was to her eyes; defiantly not a product of Wonderland. A little unsure of how to use it, she simply pointed the barrel to Noir's head and though she was trembling, this seemed to be enough to still the shaking cat firmly in his boots. Biting the corner of her pale lip, she stared at him like a cornered, defenceless child that trembled more then she ever had done. She looked not like a Queen but of a simple teenager fighting for their life, which caused Noir to chuckle slightly underneath his breath though she paid no attention to it. A tear, followed by a few more, dripped down her face; glistening like stars in the night sky.

"You _toad_," she finally whispered with her breaking voice. The vine tightened around his wrist as she swallowed a lump in her throat; "You silly, silly _toad_," she refused to speak like her father with a bad mouth, after having a slap from Hatter the one time she swore. It was only on the hand, and she was eight years old, but still it had disturbed her enough that even eleven years on she spoke as politely as possible; "You've gone against our Kingdom. Such disloyalty will grant you a death warrant."

"We have no Kingdom," he replied sternly, feeling his hand numbing from the tightness she was causing him but with that barrel pointed at his head so precisely he wouldn't try to get rid of the plant. "There is no one left but myself, you and Hatter," he lied, though Serafia knew no different. Her eyes widened as a sob escaped the back of her throat. Guilt shrouded her as she took in a shaky breath, making sure a part of her mind was working with the gun in her fingers. She couldn't let grief overcome her in such a situation; she would have to take control of her emotions, which was something Hatter believed she never could do. But never did he believe she would be able to stand up to someone that was inches from killing her. She was going to prove Hatter wrong whenever and wherever she could.

"Why did you say what you did?" she finally managed to muster from the back of her mind, though her words came to be nothing like a faint whisper; a forgettable breeze on a summers day. "Why did you pretend to be that man and say what you did about Hatter?" she questioned in exactly the same tone, having forgotten momentarily about the name of Gaignun whose child was the same name as Noir's true one; Nigredo. Her heart ached painfully unlike it had done before, yet she tried her best to ignore it.

The man tilted his head to the side before speaking like the Cheshire cat did; "Were you never taught to silence your questions? Asking of ones motives is rather bad-mannered," he gave a little smirk as she felt her cheeks burning, knowing she had been impolite; "Asking so many questions can get you into trouble, my dear. Do not forget that."

Letting out a long breath, she caught a small cloud of confidence, trying her best to speak with a clear voice though it wasn't working so well; "You are the one in trouble," she reminded him by shaking the weapon in her hand along with tightening the vine, which caused him to gasp slightly in pain. The Queen winced, loosening it only slightly, which caused laughter to enter her ears.

"You can barely cause me pain without the feeling of guilt," he pondered more to himself then speaking directly to her. Serafia returned her teeth to chew slightly at her bottom lip in a nervous habit. "Why should I believe you will pull the trigger?"

"I have your weapon," was all she could reply with. The vine's brightness had begun to fade as her mind grew weak from imagining it being there for so long; her brain feeling almost empty as she tried to weakly keep the item there. Even her beautifully bright, pale, eyes were fading from the weakness. She hadn't been trained and without being in Wonderland itself made it harder for her to use her imagination. "You have nothing to harm me with so I suppose that even if I do not pull the trigger, you cannot hurt me."

"Oh my dear…" another laugh escaped his lips as he shook his head in denial to her speech. It seemed her attempt to be strong more then amused the maddening man in front of her. "You forgot one thing men have against underweight souls such as yourself," he copied her little biting of the lip before continuing his words. "Brute force."

Before she knew it, a sharp pain engulfed her right hand holding the weapon, causing it to fly from her grip. Her mind disconnected with the imagination, causing the vine to disperse into a cloud of glitter that faded into the clear air. Panic struck the young woman as she felt the rough hands of Noir grabbing her arms; the one hand's grip less then the other due to the circulation having been cut off for so long. Her frail body was pushed to the ground in one swift, almost graceful movement; with the body of Noir straddling her on top to keep her from moving. Breathing quickly, she felt her arms being tugged behind her head; her mind too weak to do anything but stare into the bright, menacing emerald coloured gems of Noir. Against his body he could feel her bones protruding through the fabrics Gaignun had given her, which had weirdly fit. The pink carpet scratched horribly at the backs of her hands as he pushed them down with too much force; he could have saved some of his energy with what she could have been overpowered with.

"Your body is so disgusting…" he couldn't help but mutter, seeing the bones of her ribs against the shirt she wore. In denial, Serafia could only shake her head; feeling a tear move from her eye to the side of her face to seep into her hair. "Why women think perfection rests within a skeleton I do not know…"

"Perfection…?" she repeated questionably with a breathless voice. A face of puzzlement grew on her so strong that Noir couldn't help but frown at the same time.

"Yes, perfection," he repeated as she wriggled against him, wanting him to release his grip. He pushed his hips into hers with a feral grin as she blushed furiously, knowing little but enough of what such a movement could mean. "Such disgusting bones … why have you never questioned why I spend my days with Rogue?" a little bit of heartbreak came onto her face as she remembered Caden telling her once he planned to be her fiancé, though the King wasn't too sure of such a thing. "I want to have at least some fun before I mark you, my dear. With your clouded perception of how a body should look, however, I doubt I'll ever be able to stop gagging to mark you. I doubt anyone would wish to be with a Queen as foul as you."

"Then that's fine by me…" she finally whispered through her tears though a small smile had appeared on her face. Noticing Noir's bewilderment she managed to explain to him; "This isn't for perfection, my starvation. It's my punishment," two tears quickly fell down her face as Noir's brows were raised. "I have sinned so badly within my life, Noir. Why should I relish the moments and gain happiness from life's items? Sure, I will go to Hell once my time is up in this world but I sinned in this world and I should be punished in this world. And now, I am the reason for the deaths of people…" a small sob escaped the back of her throat as she looked away from the mans stunned emerald gems. His fingers loosened around her wrists as he realised the true pain the Queen had undergone; a pain he had dug at. The child hated herself so much she prevented herself nourishment? He had been angered from her lack of food in Wonderland but never had he thought her reasons were like that – he always though they were self-centred. The true reason he had slept with Rogue was to get her to be hurt from it, because he thought she was being selfish but no, she was not.

"Serafia," he whispered gently, letting go of her hands yet she dared not to move them. "There are others left. A few but there are some. There's Hemi and Flynn, Oscar and Caden. Caden's alive. There's a guy here that looks like Caden too."

"I know…" she finally whispered, feeling her heart pound a little better from his words.

"And there's more," he promised her before running a hand down her arm, which caused a shiver to run through her little body. After a small pause, he turned her head with his large hand so she would look into his eyes. "What do you believe you did so badly that makes you want to do this to yourself?"

"I don't wish to talk about it," she replied, looking down to the ground again but he snapped her face back up to look into his sharp eyes. Again he questioned her but again she refused to give an answer.

A long sigh escaped the back of his throat as he suddenly got off her, standing to his feet. "Get up," he ordered, holding out his hand for her to take politely, which was in firm contrast to the way he had spoken to her. "Gaignun would like to know that you are okay," he informed her as she caught his large hand with her small, freezing cold one.

"Gaignun?" she questioned, standing to her feet before capturing her head when a dizzy spell overcame her. With his right hand, with a wrist marked from the vine, he steadied her weight on the ground.

"Yesterday I followed you onto here," he informed her, which caused her to frown.

"Yesterday?" she asked, feeling her heart skip a beat; she could remember nothing but the shadows eating her hungrily and spitting her out, in the room they stood in.

"He explained to me you had something called an Encephalon Dive," the word tasted weird to the mans tongue. "But your mind reacted in such a way it was shut down and you were knocked out until today. I found you and followed you. I thought it was Caden and … I was really confused until they explained to me. Now we're onboard something called an Elsa, like one of those ships we have. We're heading somewhere where Hatter is."

"And Gaignun trusts you?" she questioned with a deep frown, remembering the gun he had pointed to her. A little laugh escaped Noir's lips.

"Of course," he replied sneakily; "when you know the right things to say. Now, we won't need to speak of what happened in here, do were little one?" he asked creepily as he tightened his grip around her hand. Quickly, the Queen shook her head. "Good to hear, little one," he kissed her head softly.

As they walked out of the room, hand in hand, Noir purred something to her; "When we return to Wonderland perhaps I could be the fantastic King at your side," which sent shivers down her spine. She needed Hatter.

* * *

A pale hand, shaking like a leaf in a breeze, grazed over a picture of the young Queen, who was stood in the Courtyards; wearing a sparkling red dress and imagining a fish coloured azure to dance in the air about her. Stood near the Queen, who at the time the picture was taken was just a princess, was the white haired Caden, reaching up to capture some sparkles of glitter that floated in the air from her last creation. The frame that held the picture was painted silver, with moving, tiny fish inside of it that did not eat, drink or think. The hand retracted from the picture, returning to the armoured side of the body belonging to Caden, who for a few more moments gazed at the happy picture. The room he stood in was glowing a faint orange mixed with red from the setting sun; a morbid silence coming from the open window to his right where not even a bird sung the sun into her slumber. The Queen; the light of Wonderland had disappeared and even if so much blood had not been shed, the world would have been the same; drenched in a thick silence where the men remaining could barely breathe. The blonde headed girl was the life to Wonderland; the only reason clocks ticked, birds sung and people smiled. Caden couldn't even muster a little smile as he looked at his favourite picture in his, what seemed to be, empty bedroom. Never had he realised how much the Queen had meant to him but not on a royal point of view; in a friendship aspect. He prayed with all his might that Noir had not found her and that things were doing fine for the lovely girl. Since Noir had left, he argued with himself whether to jump down the Rabbit Hole to come to her side, but no he could not do that. They had far more men then they first believed; just over one hundred, which was utterly fantastic but still they needed to train. People of Wonderland, typical civilians had offered their help to the Castle and Caden was to help train normal people into fighters. Sighing hard to himself, the man moved to sit on the edge of his little bed, which was decorated in a fine, Victorian like, floral pattern.

"I do not have a good feeling about this…" the young man muttered to himself with his calm voice, gazing down at the dark wine coloured floorboards, which matched finely with the dark wallpaper Serafia helped him chose when she had offered him his own private quarters, which amazed him. Only Commanders such as Hemi got their own private rooms, while Caden had shared with three other men (one of whom was Oscar, which he was happy to get away from). He had even been give a room on the same floor as Serafia, albeit not on the same side of course (she slept on the East side while his rested in the South).

"About what?" came the voice of Hemi; which had not startled him at all. He had sensed the man's presence long before he even looked at the photo on the bedside table.

"Noir…" he muttered thoughtfully, feeling something wrong deep within his heart. A silent bird flew past the window, all on its lonesome; the first bird he had seen since the attack. "He seemed to be so insistent on meeting with the Queen … I can't help but find it suspicious."

"You worry too much about her," the man smirked as he brushed some of his white locks from his face. "Yeshua-"

"Do not call me that," he firmly told the higher ranked man, turning to face him with sharp yet disappointed eyes. "I do not deserve to be named that. For all the chaos I have been apart of these years without being able to prevent, I should be called chaos. Not even Caden is a name I am deserving of."

"You have to believe," he reminded him softly. "Believe that things will work themselves out."

"When, Wilhelm, when?" he questioned, fiddling with the gloves upon his hands. "I want to believe…" he whispered with a shaking breath. "I want to believe there is good within this world … But I sit around and I do not help those who are good. What does that make me? Just another one of the bad ones that spoil this land…" he let out a long sigh before placing a hand on his forehead, feeling a headache grow uncomfortably. "Believing helps nothing. Normal people believe while we make their beliefs come true. We cannot believe with them."

"Yeshua this is-" he was yet again cut off; Caden standing firmly to his feet.

"Stop calling me that," he whispered, biting his lip just as Serafia was doing at the exact same time, in a different world; with a gun in her hands yet the white headed men had no idea. "I honestly have not got a good feeling about this, Hemi," he muttered, placing a hand on his beating chest as a feeling of fear that didn't belong to him enter his veins. "I know where the Rabbit Hole leads and I know what the people are like there. Hemi, I cannot just stand here."

A long, almost distasteful sigh escaped the red-eyed mans lips before he walked fully into the bedroom that belonged to Caden. With watchful eyes, he curiously stared, unsure of what the taller man was doing. He reached into a draw before pulling out a small box, almost knowing exactly where the item had been hidden. Printed on the velvet box were patterns of the cards in an ice blue shade, much like the Queen's eye colour. Before Caden knew it, Hemi had thrown the item into his direction, making him catch it suddenly; almost letting it drop to the ground. "If anyone in this Kingdom has romantic feelings for the Queen, it is you," Hemi told him as Caden stared at the box, not even knowing he owned it. "Hatter and Queen Serafia share a bond almost like brother and sister; I doubt she would ever allow him to marry her."

"Hemi, I wish not to-" his voice was as delicate as silk as he held out the box like it was a piece of fragile glass.

"That's not a wedding ring," he laughed gently, before nodding for the boy to open it. "It's a gift for her from you," inside of the box was a beautiful silver chain with a pendant of a small jar on the end of it, which was barely an inch big. Inside the jar was a small, tiny liquid coloured blue.

"What is it?" he questioned, gazing curiously as the piece of jewellery.

"She will know," Hemi replied with a little smile. "Don't worry about that," as he spoke, Caden handled the necklace carefully as he placed it back in the box with slightly pink cheeks. "Do you still have those clothes from the last time you went through the Rabbit Hole?"

"Yes Sir," he answered with a firm nod. "Will you be alright without me?"

"Fine. Just go make save the Queen, if you fear something may be wrong. I trust you, Yeshua."

**OOC:** I'm tired now XD Night night lol (its only 2pm here but man that has tired me out D=) x


	7. Curiosity  Killed The Cat

_**.|. Chapter Seven .|.**_

_**Curiosity….**_

_**Killed the cat.**_

To say she felt like a prisoner, with two identical men sat near her and the Caden-look-a-like was defiantly the right thing. Never in her little life had she expected to feel so frightened being in the company of men she thought she could have trusted, even though two of the men weren't really who she thought they looked like, she had to remember that. The man sat opposite her, Gaignun (who's only difference to Noir was the beautiful light green tie he wore along with a pattern on his blazer in neon shades) was as deemed to be called a toad as Noir was, or so Serafia though. He had believed Noir; allowed him to almost shoot the brains out of a Queen. The man was naïve, and she would need to explain to him what had happened but with Noir sat so close to her on the cream coloured table with orange cushions, she stood no chance. She couldn't even run away, after learning they were travelling through the blanket of darkness, between sparkling stars (she dared not to even ask how such a thing was possible in fear of melting her brain). The Queen was trapped in the corner of the table, with a plate in front of her full of food that had not even been touched while everyone else was more then half way through their own food. Noir, being the cruel man she had only just realised he was, requested Serafia have _extra_ food because she needed the energy, which was utter nonsense. Her stomach felt empty, along with the corners of her brain that felt like nothing but air, which was good; her punishment was serving well but if she ate, as Noir cruelly wanted her to, then all of that would go to waste.

"Do eat, your majesty," muttered Noir at the right of her in a bright, shinning voice the other two strangers would not see the menace behind. "You need to otherwise you'll be sick, little one."

The long fingers belonging to his left hand curled around her thigh, before pinching at the flesh. Biting her lip, Serafia held back a little whine in pain as a blush appeared on her face from never having a hand even on her leg, let alone her thigh. A sickening feeling grew from the pits of her stomach, to her throat; a fear landing itself on a whole new level. If anything, she wanted to be dining with King Albedo – at least then she could see his madness in all of its glory, rather then the terrifyingly oddness Noir gave to her mixed with pain. Finally, as she picked up a plain silver fork did he let go, bringing his hand back to his own leg; close enough to be a warning to her. Casually, she leaned her head on her right hand, her shoulder against the table to rest the weight. The fork was pointed down at the food as she watched it casually; Noir unable to see the side of her face, which was covered by her tiny hand. Biting her lip, she slowly grazed her eyes to Gaignun, who was looking down at what she believed to be a newspaper.

'_Please look at me…'_ she thought, wincing as she did. Unknowing to her, Gaignun had heard her words, using the same power she and Noir shared. Instantly, he lifted his head with his lips parted to speak but when he saw the pained, panicked expression of Serafia, his lips sealed shut. Deftly she mouthed the words 'help me' before sliding her hand back down across her face. Her long index finger went across her lip to tell him to be quiet before she began picking at her dinner, as if nothing happened. For a split second, Gaignun glanced at his mirror image before clearing his throat softly.

"Serah?" he questioned lightly, causing her to lift her head from where it was dismally. She still found it odd to be named Serah from him. The name made her wonder whether it was a simple nickname or a homage to his wife, who still she had no information of. She only knew of the child. "May I please have a private word with you? For just a few moments, of course," he glanced softly to Noir to prove his words, though the man seemed not to be interested at all; obviously and luckily unaware of Serafia's plea.

For a moment Serafia could only stare at the man for a few moments; unnerved by her own behaviour to speak out. If someone were to tell her just a few weeks ago that in a foreign world, after almost being killed by a man she had enjoyed the company of, she be willing to ask for help in a dangerous, almost trapped situation she would have not believed them at all. Serafia was a seventeen year old girl that acted nothing more then a ten year old; even her voice sounded as such. Her mannerisms were once to be touched upon, as Hatter had pointed out many a time to her but she was normally so secluded and would have lived with discomfort rather then speaking out and asking for relief. She was not brave enough to turn to Noir and stop his horrible behaviour herself but she was brave enough to stand to her feet to ask for the assistance of someone. She told herself that was all she was doing; asking for Gaignun's assistance so there would be a better chance of her not getting attacked by Noir. Once her mind clicked in that Gaignun had spoken, the bewildered beautiful girl nodded her head quickly in answer to his question. Slowly, almost stiffly, she moved out of the table, once Noir had moved so she could. As she slid across the seat to get out, her senses grew wild as her palms began to sweat. The metal of the cream seat felt cold against her clammy hands; her light grey jeans rubbing uncomfortably against her legs while her white sleeves were irritating her knuckles. The scent of the food, which was a sharp, spicy curry, lingered in her nostrils, causing her to feel a little bit sick like she had done earlier. When she came to the edge of the seat, she placed her feet firmly on the ground. Biting her lip she took a moment to collect the thoughts in her dizzying mind that felt as if it were spinning in the Rabbit Hole once more. Darkness shrouded her vision momentarily, causing her to lower her head.

"Serah?" Gaignun asked lightly, pushing past Noir almost urgently when he saw the girl lower her head; her paler then usual face covered by her locks. The kinder man crouched down, brushing some of the locks from her face away with his left hand. The ring around his finger was the only thing she could see clearly in her shaking vision. "Put your head on your legs," he instructed as if he knew what was going on perfectly; his vision being hers at the same time. For a moment the confused Queen stared at him before his hand dug deeper into her curled locks, lowering her head. Doing just as the man wanted her to do, Serafia placed her forehead on her knees, inhaling the sweet scent of rose as she shut her eyes gently. "Breathe deeply, in through your nose and out through your mouth and think of something you love. chaos, get a can of coke."

Without question, the white headed boy stood to his feet, moving to the back of the kitchen past a few droids. Noir watched curiously as the man who he looked like tried to prevent the Queen from either being sick or fainting; something that happened to her quite often. To his surprise, however, the man actually looked like he knew what he was doing. Still, Noir couldn't help but scoff, thinking it was unlucky for the man if he had to deal with someone as prone to fainting as Serafia was.

When chaos returned not even a minute later with the red can, he opened it before handing it to Gaignun; the condensation dripping down the side of the metal. "Serah," Gaignun whispered, sliding a hand over her knee to poke her chin gently. A tingling sensation that was like a kind bolt of thunder ran through the innocent girl as she raised her sunken, pale face; her eyes weary and faded as if she had not slept for weeks. She seemed to forget all fear of calories as the rim of the can was placed to her lips; Gaignun's hand soothing over her cheek. A fluttering sensation grew in the pits of her stomach, rumbling across her chest in such a way she felt as if she had already drunk the entire can. Despite the horrible situation at hand, the touch he gave her seemed to make the whole thing disappear. Never had the Queen been touched so tenderly on her face before. Never had she had anything more but a kiss on the cheek from her father, and he only did that once when she was very little. The girl was naïve to every touch upon her, having experienced so very little in her life. A blush filled her pale face as the bubbling refreshment ran down her throat. When she had enough, she placed a hand no on the can but on the wrist of Gaignun bravely, feeling the pounding of her heart grow faster. Slowly, he pulled it away before placing it on the table, watching as the life returned to the pretty teenager. From the way she blushed, to the emotions he could feel sparkling off her flesh, he knew of her lack of touch; her embarrassment yet enjoyment of just a simple feeling of his hand on her cheek. With a soft smile, staring deep into her eyes with almost admiration, he ran his fingers across her forehead before pulling some hair from her face, causing the teenager to bite her lip in embarrassment and lower her head.

"Come," he muttered as the smile faded. His hand dropped down to her own, clutching it firmly. "I must speak to you in private, Serah," again with the name but she noticed no difference though chaos winced slightly again as he did in the car a day prior.

Slowly, he lifted her to her feet when he knew she would feel fine. Gazing into his fantastic emerald eyes, she gave a frail yet lovely smile.

* * *

"If Noir is truly doing such a thing, I can keep him locked up in the floor below," Gaignun informed her, causing the blonde headed Queen to frown in bewildered puzzlement. Pulling her gaze from the raven headed mans gems; she felt a split second of dizziness before noting her surroundings about her. The cafeteria had changed into the main hall of the Elsa, where she had been three times in such a short space of time. Gaignun was stood against the horribly plain wall, while Serafia was stood just near the glass banister for the slope leading to a second exit along with the bridge. She could feel the cold of the glass against her left arm, seeping into her shirt as she stared at Gaignun's calm expression.

"What?" she whispered breathlessly, wondering how she had found herself from the cafeteria to midway in conversation with Gaignun about Noir.

"Serah, I will protect you," he promised solemnly with such care in his voice it was like they had known each other for years. Placing a hand on her forehead, Serafia took a shaking step foreword; her body feeling as if it were a foreign item like the previous day when she had those images of Hatter and Caden run through her mind. "No matter what, I will and I am so sorry for what Noir did to you. I wish I hadn't allowed him into the quarters to see you. I wish I hadn't even allowed him-"

"No," she quickly interrupted with a confused tone. "I mean…" she raised her arms to give a gesture of the room they were in. "I mean," she repeated with a shake of her head; Gaignun's brows furrowing in confusion from her words. "We were just in there," quickly she pointed to the small hall that led to the cafeteria; Gaignun's gaze following her finger before looking into her panicked face. "And now we're out here? Just like that?" quickly she clicked her fingers.

"Serah," he seriously said, checking his black watch for a split second before looking back at her. "We've been out her for a good ten minutes now."

"No," denied Serafia quickly. Firmly, she shook her head, feeling her curls tickle the edges of her face. "I was not here." She pointed to the floor with a shaking hand.

"You need some rest," Gaignun told her softly. "Please rest; you'll feel better. I'll protect you from Noir but you have to rest. You're probably getting forgetful because of the stressful situation."

Just as she was about to protest a familiar voice ringed through her mind; _'Lookin' gurd there mistah Cade if I do say so me' self!'_ The voice was one belonging to Flynn; one of the solders Noir had told Serafia had lived. About to question why the sentence had entered her mind, the ground twisted and turned beneath her feet. Eyes widening, she grabbed a hold of the banister as the entire ship began to shake; cracks appearing in the once perfect floor. Unable to move from sheer fear, Serafia could only look to Gaignun, who was watching her with a bewildered expression though his lids did not blink nor did his body move. The noise of the water from the Pool of Tears echoed through her mind; whispering from one end of her brain to the other uncontrollably. The ground shifted beneath her, cracks appearing at the soles of her feet and before she even had a chance to think, water crashed over her; her mind becoming nothing but darkness.

"_I won't be here very long …"_

"_No, you will, please don't talk like that…"_

"_It's true; we have to face it, Nigredo."_

"_I can't live without you … Not after so long…"_

"_I'll always be somewhere…I don't know where…But I'll be somewhere, Nigredo and when I'll come … I'll come back to you and the baby. No, no, please don't cry. You're making me cry…"_

"_You're my world, Serah. My entire world."_

"_It's our world; remember that it is our world."_

"_Take me with you."_

"_I can't. You know I can't."  
"You can, Serah, you can I know that you can. If you can go then so can I. I don't know what I'll do without you."_

"_We'll be together again. One day. I promise, I swear to you. I'll climb up a rabbit hole if I have to. I love you too much."_


	8. The Madness Begins

_**.|. Chapter Eight .|.**_

_**The Madness Begins**_

_A girl, almost looking twenty years of age, and as frail as a leaf in the bristling wind walked weakly into a dimly light room. With bright gems sparkling on an older, albeit slightly sunken face similar to Serafia, her mind absorbed all that was about her - the brightly coloured walls that she knew who had painted, but she thought nothing of it. Her senses were alight from pure adrenaline; her nose inhaling the sweet scents of tea mixed with some coffees, while her eyes were fluttering from colours; the pads of her fingertips touching the almost silk walls surrounding her. Her thin, pink painted lips were parted in awe as she fluttered her eyelids. The corners of her lips pulled inwards, creating creases along her beautiful face, where the skin unfortunately had lost its glow. Little, matchstick legs, brought her body across the room, trying not to collapse underneath her weight. The girl looked ill, in the magically painted room that looked like a wonderland to her. The only think that was magic about her were her eyes. The room had been painted an azure shade, with darker coloured trees with branches that spiralled about each other; a woodland. Birds fluttered from branch to branch; their feathers coloured shades of silver and gold and other sparkling hues. There were a few foreign creatures upon the ground that only the girl knew of. It seemed the world existed in nothing but the walls or pictures she knew that she drew. Near where the window was (the outside world unknown to the girls vision due to the pitch black curtains that had been put up) a paining of a white castle had been put far away from the forest; the building almost soothing to her iced eyes. A tear formed beneath her lid as she bit her lip, immersing herself into the world about her; her brain almost closing up as her vision blurred slightly at the edges. Just in the corner of her vision, she could see and read words imprinted into the wall near the castle in silver italic handing. The worlds read; "Serah" but just as she tried to continue reading it the rest became a blur. Sounds swooped radiantly through her eyes; the sound of a babbling brook followed by the gentle whisper of the wind, which she could almost feel against her skin. A bird sung happily, causing her eyes to shoot open. She could see the birds in the painting upon the walls dancing about in the air, leaving glitter shinning in the cerulean hued woods. Parting her lips even more, she let out a little amazed laugh like a young child before holding out her skinny hand, reaching into the picture._

"_Serah?" the one simple word had snapped her from her world. The noises echoing through her mind stopped abruptly and the birds froze in flight; the glitter disappearing from the beautiful air. The women's vision became clear as she caught her breath in her throat; a tingling sensation drawing through the arm she held out in the air. For a moment she stood, almost feeling cold encircle her as disappointment rung through her brain as she was snapped from her 'otherworld' as she thought of it. Letting the breath out of her throat she had caught, she allowed her body to turn to the man stood behind her at the door. Just the sight of his appearance caused a large grin to appear on her face; a smile so bright and beautiful that it almost made the sick look about her disappear. The man, with his raven hair and emerald eyes, wore a simple pair of black trousers and a white dress shirt, though often she tried to insist he wore more elegant, Victorian fashion to add to his handsomeness. His own lips were curled into a small smile, but his eyes looked concerned as he eyed the thin, almost decaying woman._

_Before he had a chance to say anything, she spoke with a childish voice; "Thank you, Nini!" and with that she ran to the man, almost collapsing into his masculine figure. Firmly, his arms wrapped around her protectively; his face digging into her straight shoulder-length locks that smelled of spicy tea. Softly, she pushed her lips against the base of his olive coloured neck. "Nigredo, you're amazing. It's exactly how I imagined it to be. How did you know?"_

"_Since you were seventeen you drew of this place," he began with a voice as soft as silk yet pained at the same time. As she listened to his words she could hear what sounded like a radio playing in the background along with a ticking of a clock but neither of the noises did she pay attention to or ask Nigredo if he could hear them; she learnt not to ask such questions two years ago. "You speak of it so vividly that it's almost impossible to not know what it looks like. Is the artwork okay?"_

"_The best," she laughed, lifting her face to look into his bright emerald eyes; the light flickering in them. After a few moments of a peculiar silence (or silence for him – the radio and ticking was overtaking her sense), Nigredo bit the corner of his lip._

"_You have another appointment tomorrow," he whispered to her though it was a struggle for her to hear as the ticking began to speed up. Her fingers tightened around his shirt from the discomfort, though he took the gesture to be from his words, which caused him to mutter a small apology before continuing with almost dread in his tone; "The doctor wishes for you to bring any diaries or photos you own before you turned seventeen."_

_Though she hadn't heard his words well, she nodded her head. Her dark blonde brows furrowed into a frown; her lips pursing together as her fingers tightened even more around Nigredo's shirt. The ticking became a pain in her brain, digging deeply into her as she ignored everything about her. Quickly her body began to feel weak against her lovers figure; her vision turning into darkness. Just as she was about to cry out a horrifyingly uncanny voice ringed through her ears that caused her hear to skip a beat._

'_Come, come Serah it's time for the tea party!'_

* * *

Gasping like a fish out of water, Serafia found her body convulsing at the same time as she was thrust out of such a dream with almost brutal force from just nine simple words. Questions never entered her mind as she struggled to grab a hold of her sanity; trying hard to get over the daze of awakening in such a state. Her body felt hot and sweaty against thin sheets that had been wrapped around her frail figure firmly. Despite her convulsing and sudden awakening, they had not ripped from her body, which was almost shocking. Parting her lids as she finally settled back into the unfamiliar bed, she could see a dim light, emitting from the right of her yet her mind felt too weak to even turn her head. An ache, from the pits of her right side came through her like it had done the last time she remembered being 'awake' properly. Her last true memories had been of the Elsa ship almost falling apart horrifyingly and just the thought of it caused her weak little heart to skip beats beneath her chest. Pants escaped her lips as she spent a few moments in the daze of awakening, trying to collect her memories; the first person coming to her being Hatter. She still needed to find him and perhaps get back to Wonderland. Being in this world was obviously not helping her at all, and Gaignun nicknaming her Serah wasn't the best thing she had going for her either. And then there came the issue with Noir but that she couldn't think about; Gaignun promised to protect her and hopefully the rat had drowned while the water poured into the Elsa. The dream had been peculiar, with the Wonderland Woods painted upon the walls along with her castle but no, that didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was reality and finding Hatter to help save Wonderland. Not silly little dreams that her mind had made for her. Letting out a little breath, she turned her head to the left side on the warm, soft pillows but when her eyes landed upon a figure sat in a wooden rocking chair in the corner of the room where the orange light had struggled to get her, she jumped again; just as hard as she did when she awoke.

"N-Noir?" she quickly questioned with a trembling voice. Her hands tightened weakly against the white sheets as the man suddenly lifted his head to look at her; his face plastered with such concern she knew she was looking into the eyes of Gaignun rather then the cruel lookalike. The fear subsided into perplexity from the world about her. Alarm still lingered in the back of her mind, where she questioned what was wrong with her in the new world that made her skip things she had done. He wore a colourless dress shirt that had creased, perhaps from his sitting position, along with his simple black trousers. His hands had been clasped together, hiding the ring around his finger, while his blazer along with his tie were on the end of the bed, which she realised was a king sized one. On the ends of the duvet were patterns of lilies along with some stunning red roses. The walls of the room were cream; basked in an orange hue from the lamp to the side of her on a wooden table. Few things lined the small room; just some vases of flowers on the windowsill, where the curtains were sealed, a wooden set of draws and a desk covered in more flowers that were so simple she had no idea what they were along with another electrical item she knew nothing about.

"Serah…" he breathed, quickly standing to his feet to be at her side. The darkness of his shadow overcast her in the already dim room, which seemed too neat to her liking but too plain at the same time. What boring people … With hot soft hands he caressed her face, causing a blush to appear on her face. She could see the clothes she had been wearing before on the back of the chair he had been sat on. From a quick glance she noted herself wearing a big white shirt along with black shorts, which was good. Gazing back into Gaignun's eyes she could see raw unease within them; the man having been so silent with his emotions before. "Are you okay?" he asked her as a finger ran across her oval jaw line, causing a shiver to run through her. She didn't like being touched so by a stranger, for no one had ever touched her that was a friend but she brushed that thought from her already busy mind.

Placing a hand on the pillow, she looked cutely at him before nodding as best as she could. "I think so. Are you? You didn't get hurt did you?" worry clouded her tone just as his. After having such an abnormal dream she felt different being around the stranger, who she realised had been so kind to her during her bizarre stay in his world. She owed the man his life and would let him know it as soon as they got back to Wonderland.

"Hurt?" he asked curiously before shaking his head. "No, of course not."

"Good," she smiled, almost failing to notice the oddness to his manner in response to her. "Where's Noir? Where are we?" she added the second question quickly, realising how strange her surroundings were.

"Noir has been arrested," he quickly replied, causing Serafia to frown. What had the man done during her unconsciousness now? If she had indeed been unconscious, that was. "And we're upon Second Miltia. At the moment we're in a hotel; I wasn't sure what to do with you because the travel to my home is far from the Space Port and you didn't seem quite so well."

"What did Noir do?" Serafia asked curiously, feeling energy return to her, which allowed her to sit up slowly. As she did, she winced as the ache became a sharp stabbing pain momentarily. Gaignun watched her face screw up in pain carefully, before sitting beside her on the bed. Cautiously, Serafia covered as much as her bare body as possible with the thin duvet, though Gaignun's gaze stayed within the region of her face politely. Once she had done, Gaignun replied to her question softly.

"Attacked," he told her honestly before raising a hand with a slight mark on it; the remains of possibly a stab he had done to the identical man. Serafia's eyes widened as she parted her lips, curiously looking down to Gaignun's hand for a split second. What a disgusting toad! She would certainly make him pay for his misdeeds. "Serah, do you remember anything between waking up and being on the Elsa with me when you told me about what Noir did?"

"No," she replied with a quick shake of her head. "Save for the water on the Elsa when it got damaged or attacked; I'm not really sure."

"What…?" he asked; utterly bewildered from her words. Leaning foreword he frowned in puzzlement as she began to play with the bed sheets; unaware of the confusion welling within him or unwilling to know about it. "Water on the Elsa? What are you talking about?"

Quickly, she snapped her face to him; looking deep into his eyes. "The floor began to crack and break apart and then there was water everywhere. I went unconscious then. Don't you remember?" it seemed this time that the tables had turned and Gaignun was the one struggling with his mind. But still, he shook his head as if he held all control of the conversation.

"Serah, that never happened," he told her with difficulty as if something was on his mind, attempting to block his words. "You collapsed again, just like you did in the Encephalon Dive. I'm worried for your wellbeing, especially if you're having hallucinations such as them."

"They're not hallucinations," she protested almost angrily as her cheeks grew a vivid pink. "Since I got here I've been seeing things, from Caden and Flynn who are part of the army speaking to the streets of Second Miltia, I believe, through the eyes of Hatter. These things are real. Alright, maybe the thing I believed to happen on the Elsa did not; it could be Wonderland's way of contacting me. We're here now, near Hatter, so that does not matter."

"Serah, I honestly think that you should rest before we go looking for him…" Gaignun told her gently, reaching foreword to stroke her hand. The touch caused a flinch to run through her body but she made no more attempts to move; either in fear or politeness. She wasn't even sure herself.

"I need not rest," she quickly protested. "I need to find Hatter," she tried to stand to her feet though Gaignun's hands wrapped so firmly around her wrists she was prevented any movement. Eyes widening, she froze in almost fear as his bones tightened around her; his eyes firm.

"You need to stay here and rest," he almost ordered to her with a tone she didn't quite like. Frowning, she held her breath as she looked into his eyes almost challenging. As if he knew what she meant behind her gaze, he spoke once more; "Serah, that's what you're going to do. You're sick, which is why your memory isn't as it should be."

"Challenge me," she quickly said with determination in her heart she never knew she had. Her Hatter could have been just around the corner! They were so close to meeting one another that even though this man had done so much for her she wouldn't allow him to order her about. She _needed_ to find Hatter and being so close to him was driving emotions to drive through her that she never even knew she had. In response to her words, Gaignun could only frown. But within moments, two silk ribbons had appeared in the air from her imagination; wasting no time to coil tightly around the mans thick wrists. One ribbon was a beautiful shade of emerald, identical to Gaignun's eyes, while the other was a simple white but with pictures of turtles printed on it that Serafia couldn't help but find adorable. With unbelievable strength, the long ribbons pulled Gaignun's hands off her wrists, causing his eyes to widen in horror. Before he even had the chance to ask what she was doing, she jumped off the bed and onto her feet; bringing the sheets to dangle down with her. The ache had subsided as she stood, feeling the cool air wrap around her body. Ignoring the growing sense of embarrassment from having so much of her body on show, she created two more ribbons; one ruby red and a cobalt one. Each wrapped around his ankles and as she pointed his limbs into other directions with her two index fingers he began to thrash in denial, trying to fight against the simple pieces of fabrics that proved to be stronger then even a U.R.T.V.

"I don't like tying people up," she commented almost casually as she brought the ribbons to tie around the wooden posts of the beds as she straightened Gaignun's body with them. When she tied each limb to the bed, she made a little ribbon with the material and giggled cutely; obviously not wanting to hurt Gaignun, only wishing to be able to find her guardian. A little bit of guilt panged into the seventeen year old but she wasn't hurting him, which was all that mattered. "There we go! Nice and cute!" she smiled proud of her work, before moving over to grab her clothes from the chair, noting her cards stacked neatly in a pile. "Do you like the colours? Because if you don't I can always change them for you."

"Serah, how are you…?" he couldn't finish his sentence from amazement in being overpowered by _ribbons_ that appeared in _mid air_. Sure he could survive bullets, fight against things that even normal humans couldn't run away from but he had been overpowered by … material? No … No way. And that made him fear the powers the Queen held within her heart that she obviously seemed unaware of. From how she acted, bouncing about the hotel room as she changed quickly into her clothes, he knew she meant him no harm. But still, questions grew in his mind like they never had done before. "Serah?" he grabbed her attention as she began to fiddle with the grey corset-like shirt on top of her white, long sleeved one. Raising her brows, she looked at him questionably. "How did you do that?" he finally asked, causing a little laugh to escape her lips. She folded up the clothes she had been sleeping in, placing them on the chair before turning back to the vulnerable man.

"Imagination," she replied solemnly, before grabbing the cards and placing them around her waist with a silk, lilac ribbon. A little pang of fear came to her as she remembered the last time she had done that but it soon disappeared. Nothing happened, thankfully this time though she feared the powers the cards held within themselves; whether they would lash out at her again with those oozing shadows. Putting her grey boots upon her feet, she quickly made her way to the door; staring at the holographic keypad for a moment before realising which buttons to push almost magically. Quickly, she turned to Gaignun with a little bit of guilt in her eyes. "I thank you," she quickly said with a smile. "For all the lovely things that you have done for me. And for these clothes. And for saving me from the ocean and providing me shelter all these days. I'll come back once I've returned to Wonderland, and we can bring you with us for a reward," for a moment the raven headed man stared at her as they passed a moment of silence she broke with a cute little giggle. "Those will disappear when I'm out the room," a serious expression came upon her face as she opened the door; the hallway white and bright with light, a clean yet boring hall. She could see glass stairs at the far end, near an elevator, allowing her to know her escape. "Toodles!"

With that, along with a cute grin and a wave of her left hand, she ran out of the room. Just as she had promised, the ribbons around his ankles and wrists disappeared into glitter, allowing the man freedom. From her leaving, the door shut and on the other side, Serafia ran as fast as her little legs would allow her down the hallway. When she came to the glass stairs, which she realised were spiral ones, she grabbed the banister to provide her with balance as she raced down to the lobby. Beautiful light belonging to the sun ran through the large glass entrance doors, much to Serafia's pleasure; she couldn't stand the night time, let alone in a strange city. Jumping off the last step, she gave a quick glance up to check whether Gaignun was following her before running across the white floored lobby. A few visitors, wearing odd clothes as Serafia though they were, watched her as she quickly made her exit. Opening her hands, she pushed the doors open before stepping outside onto the pale pavement of Second Miltia's street. For a moment she stared at the tall buildings that almost made her want to be sick; a dizzying spell overcoming her as she heard the noises of vehicles she saw at the Foundation racing past her. The energy she had while running out of the hotel had disappeared, leaving just the vulnerable girl to stand there in the strange city; unknowing of where to go.

But if Hatter could venture in the strange place then so could she. She just needed that little bit of confidence she hoped she had somewhere. Just as Serafia was about to take a step foreword, a voice familiar to her own ringed through the back of her mind.

'_I have a guardian angel, Nigredo! He helped me go outside today with the nurse. His hat is pretty too. Its one of those massive ones, I forgot what they're called… a top hat? Here I'll draw him for you …'_

Hissing in pain, she placed her hand on her side where the ache grew uncontrollably as she recalled the conversation she heard just after 'passing out' in the Elsa's hallway, with her voice and Gaignun's at the same time but never had she spoken the words nor did she remember any conversation such as that. Unable to stand, she took a seat upon the floor in the shadows of the building away from the passers by but near some flowerbeds, protected by white metallic fences. Leaning her forehead on her knees, she tried to ignore the pain that felt like a knot appearing in the depths of her body. Tightening her fingers around her shirt, she let a little cry of pain escape the back of her throat but despite the looming questions in her mind, all she could think about was finding Hatter; the pain stopping her from doing so.

'_Outside isn't as pretty as I hoped it would be … Could we plant more flowers? I love lilies and tulips – oh ! – and peonies, don't you think?'_ Serafia winced hard, wanting the voice to stop speaking in her head that was causing the pain to worsen. She didn't even _know_ what those flowers were! Concentrating, she struggled to stay awake through the pain, not allowing herself to pass out in the unknown place.

'_It's all very queer, don't you agree, Hatter? May I call you Hatter – for you've not spoken a name to me before and Hatter does seem to suit oh! but do you find Hatter to be boring, for I should have a far more interesting name to please you with. Let me think … We cannot give you a normal name - that would be far too boring!'_ she wanted it all to stop, from the horrible badgering voices to the disgusting stabbing pain in her side. Oh Hatter, how she needed him! These most defiantly were not her words bringing the girl such agony but why, oh why, did they sound so much like her?

"Curious, curious…" ground out Serafia through the pain as she felt her head becoming delirious. "It certainly is making me feel madder then ever…" she pondered aloud to herself, yet not loud enough for busy passers by that minded their own business to notice the girl hunched over in pain. Tightening her fingers, she began to whisper to herself to distract her mind from the pain; "During times such as these, think of six impossible things…" she muttered a line that one of her friends in the courtyards had told her when she scraped her knee so painfully on the wall as a child. And to think, they would be so proud of her for being so brave through a far more painful time! "Number one…finding there are _three_ lookalikes to all of my friends. _That_ would be impossible … number two: Hatter losing a fight," Serafia was defiantly certain the pain was returning to an ache though she carried on none the less. "Number three; seeing the Cheshire cat without his grin. Number four; surviving a visit to King Albedo without losing your head," the pain had defiantly gone into just an ache, allowing Serafia to slowly lift her head. "Number five; going through the day without nibbling on just a morsel of food," with a cute gasp she pushed herself up to her feet; the ground cold against her hands.

"Number six," she muttered proudly, adjusting herself as she waved a smile upon her face. "Not being able to find Hatter is _impossible_."

* * *

A cat, with fur as white as the purest of wedding dresses, and eyes sparkling with a hue of mauve about them, prowled through the halls of the castle contently with a wild, almost menacing grin upon its face. A collar, painted lilac with a dozen dangling amethysts in the shapes of clubs and spades, was wrapped around his fluffy neck, allowing him to raise his head proudly. Pointed ears, much like the point on the end of Hemi's spear, kept listening to the noises about him in the Northern castle halls. His paws trod gracefully along the patterned red carpets, which felt like nothing but dirt beneath him. The lips of the cat parted, allowing the fangs as sharp as knives to shine through as he allowed a tongue to draw across his lips. Before taking a turn into an open door, he checked left to right before slipping into a room he knew ever so well. Effortlessly with his tail as strong as steel, he shut the door behind himself. Letting out a long growl in the Room of Hearts, the shape of the cat moulded into a human figure; the fur transforming into a white gown, covering a beautifully decorated suit in spades and clubs. Once the cat had transformed into a human magically, a large menacing grin appeared on the face of King Albedo; his mauve gems sparkling happily. "Oh how damn easy those guards are to get past…" he purred before ripping the collar from around his neck. One by one he picked the gems from where they dangled from, and dropped them into the Pool of Tears where he had last seen his darling niece and her damn guardian.

"Play, my children, play," he whispered with a far eerier voice then he had ever spoken with before; "Off with their beautiful heads…I need a man working behind the scenes; someone ruthless, criminally insane. Awaken the Mad March Hare. Awaken him my beauties in the world our Queen is in! Show her not even in another world is she safe from my palms."


	9. The First Sin

**{Chapter Nine}**

**The First Sin**

"_Are you enjoying your tea?" questioned the peculiar man sat beside the weak twenty year old blonde. Raising her head, she looked into his peculiar sparkling green eyes. Three people, including Serah, were sat upon a square, glass table in the middle of the room Nigredo had decorated for her just two days ago; the surprise being more then amazing to the young woman, along with her two guests that stated many a time how they enjoyed the moving forest about them. Without Nigredo in the room, she could hear the babbling brook in the woods; the noise of the leaves shaking against each other from the sweet whispers of a gentle breeze. The chirping of the birds was an excited, high tempo song to the ears of the guests, which was a beautiful noise during their evening tea party. In the background, Serah could hear the usual ticking of a clock, but she knew it was not one of the pocket watches upon the glass table, for they had stopped at exactly six o'clock, when the party had begun. It wasn't just watches upon the table; there was a pot of tea, the china an ivory shade with beautiful roses decorated upon it that were a pink shade, along with five porcelain tea cups with plates beneath them in exactly the same decoration, though only three were being used. Four tea spoons were in the centre of the table, more then half having drips of tea on them; on the ends of the spoon, flowers had been engraved into the metal beautifully. Napkins were dotted her an there, some being used while some weren't and close to the pot of tea was a jug of milk along with a plate of chocolate cake, which was half gone; crumbs laden on the table. She loved the items Nigredo had found for her, having a strong passion for English styled things and her guests seemed to enjoy them just as much. It wasn't just a tea table in the room; there was a single bed near the window with the curtain across; the sheets cream with pale flowers upon it and there was a chest of draws next to a large vintage box filled with Serah's makeup, hairdryer and other familiar things._

"_As much as I normally do," replied Serah with a smile spreading across her pallid face. The man she was speaking to was none other then Hatter; a man she had met just a few years ago. His skin had a complexion of light beige while his hair was a messy, dark copper, almost chocolate brown shade that reached his shoulders in a variety of wavy layers. Upon his head was a smart top hat, coloured such a deep red Serah struggled to tell whether it was indeed black or red! His suit was a similar colour as well, except for his dress shirt beneath his blazer which was a colour of black. Ruffles had replaced his collar, going up to half of his neck, and wrapped upon that was a necklace; a silver, strangely shaped key that Serah knew very little about. The shades around the mans eyes were so dark he looked almost as if he wore makeup, though when she asked whether he did (which offended him almost) he said no. Sometimes she wondered how little he must have slept to have such dark, almost black rings. Though his appearance at first could have been eerie, she could only see the kindness in his concerning eyes; the brightness of his lips when they curled into a smile. Sat beside Hatter was the March Hare, who looked nothing like a Hare as she imagined! Save for the two, white furred, ears that stuck up upon his head exactly like rabbit ones. Oh and those whiskers upon his pale nose. He was a cute little thing, with a wonderful smile and looked almost like a child, though he was a few years older then Serah. His long hair had bangs cut across his forehead, and was such a light shade of honey it looked almost as pure as white! His eyes, framed by thick black eyelashes were a pink shade with a sharp red pupil within them that absorbed the world about him. He dressed smartly, yet not as eccentrically as Hatter. He lacked a hat, for starters, and wore just a white dress shirt with a black netted tie along with black trousers. His hands were wrapped in gloves similar to his netted tie, but though he wore little he looked more then fine._

"_Have some wine!" offered the March Hare ecstatically with a flick of his ears, though Serah could only glance about the table for a few moments._

"_Hare, there is no wine," protested Serah almost with irritation in her voice for being almost tricked._

"_Well then be grateful, for you can have no less then you already have," he grinned at her happily to show off his sharp fangs, while Hatter dipped another spicy tea bag into the pot. She wondered for a moment whether there would be any tea left at the end of the night when Nigredo would come collect her! In response to March Hare's sentence, however, Serah just ignored him and took a sip of her boiling hot tea that trailed down her throat lovely. She didn't like wine as much as tea or those wonderful vanilla lattes so it made no difference. Scanning her eyes across the table, she noted a small clear bottle that Nigredo had given her. Dangling from the nozzle was a tag, reading 'drink me,' with a small kiss on the end; the writing belonging to her love. The liquid in it was half gone, the other half something she would need to drink just moments before the end of the tea party to please Nigredo. As if Hatter knew somehow what she was looking at, he spoke gently._

"_Curiosity killed the cat," muttered he yet in a soft tone, but Serah shot him a confused frown none the less. "Though, luckily for you that you have no died, is it not?"_

"_Indeed in some circumstances," replied she, feeling the urge to lean her elbow on the table to lean her chin upon her hand but such manners were impolite, so instead she kept her straight posture. "Though at times I welcome the ground swallowing me whole, especially when those vulgar doctors speak to me in a way they believe they are kind – Hatter, you know how I feel distaste for them."_

"_Oh I know, little one, believe me that I do," said Hatter kindly before offering her a slice of the delicious chocolate cake on her plate she hadn't notice him take. Politely, she took the plate from his hands, setting it down beside her tea. The breeze from the woods brushed the steam from her cup in an odd direction; allowing tendrils of white to dance in the air. March Hare nibbled contently on a piece of his own cake; his eyes madly glancing from one person to another as they spoke. "I do wish your Nigredo would treat you with a bit more respect when it comes to situations such as these. The man speaks as if his memory is backward! Sure he should remember what happens in weeks to come for you as well as he."_

"_His memory is backwards," assured Serah with an almost dull tone regarding the conversation. "He remembers nothing from the future, only from the past, like me; don't forget."_

"_I could not," began Hatter informatively. "I remember you were going to tell me such a thing. One day my memory shall become backwards as well, I remember that much, now dear," slowly, his long fingers reached across the table, grabbing the vile of the blue liquid Nigredo had given Serah. Uncapping the top, he slowly poured the liquid into Serah's small cup of tea; the blue shade disappearing into the beverage. "Drink up, for the happiness of your future husband."_

_With a small smile that let out a little laugh, a shaking hand reached for the cup. Slowly she wrapped her left hands fingers around it; her ring upon her wedding finger clanging against the porcelain. With a look of panic upon her face, she slowly pulled the rim of the cup to her rosy lips. Both of her guests watched with anticipation as she shut her eyes tightly; gulping down the drink in one. Once she had done, she placed the teacup back on its plate with a large pant of air. The hot liquid slithered down her throat like a horrible snake, causing a shiver to run between her shoulder blades. Hatter clapped his hands happily, while Serah gazed at the birds flying between the branches of the woods. Barely a minute later, the pocket watches began to tick in a furious fashion, reminding the guests the time was coming up to eight in the evening. Quickly, Serah shot to her feet, clearing up the plates, while Hatter and March Hare readied themselves. Once Serah had cleaned the things up, she ran to a small cupboard in the room, opened it and pulled out a tall looking glass. Placing the looking glass on the wall near the castle, she smiled sweetly at her guests._

"_Thank you for enduring our stay," smirked Hatter politely as he tipped his hat in a bow. Serah mimicked him, despite the lack of hat upon her head. "It was such a pleasure."_

"_The pleasure is mine," smiled Serah honestly as she walked to her guests; planting one kiss upon each of their cheeks. The strong scent of tea lingered firmly on their clothes, almost refusing to leave the fabrics. "And March Hare, I advise you to bring some wine to our party tomorrow so you may offer it."_

"_Why I do remember bringing it the week after next…" muttered March as he walked towards the looking glass. "Evening of good, little one," he smiled before walking straight into the looking glass. The reflection twisted upon itself as March Hare disappeared into it. Once the looking glass had settled, Serah and Hatter could both see a figure in the woods, jumping up and down excitedly._

_Hatter turned to Serah and bowed once more politely, causing the girl to giggle. "Sleep well, dear," he told her before slipping into the looking glass as well. Again the mirror distorted for a few moments before returning to its original state. Just as she was about to take it away, a rattling at the door startled her from her very wits. The noises she had listened to for hours disappeared into an uncomfortable silence, which broke from a knocking at the door again. Straitening her posture as best as she could, she bit back the tears as she slowly made her way to the door. As if the doorknob were a monster, she wrapped her fingers skittishly around it; jumping hard when a knocking again entered her ears. Finally, after what felt like something constricting around her chest, she opened the door; catching her eyes with a male figure, whose hair was a short, messy chocolate shade; his eyes identical in colour yet weary and tired. He was taller then Serah, wearing a white, sterile coat with a pair of blue jeans underneath and a white dress shirt. _

"_Doctor Madigan," she nodded politely, speaking with her most confident voice possible though she was shuffling from foot to food uncomfortably. The mans horribly analyzing eyes glanced about her small room momentarily before settling upon the young woman clad in a light azure dress. "May I help you?" she questioned after a small amount of silence, hoping to break his trail of thought of whatever he was thinking. The birds had stopped flying between the branches, though there were two more figures in the painting but the Doctor had failed to notice them, causing a lovely feeling to well in Serah's heart._

"_Yes, well," he tripped over his words, almost annoying Serah who leaned her hand against the door, politely waiting for him to speak in a correct manner. Giving up, he finally just blurted out; "Master Gaignun is here to collect you. Are you packed, Serah?"_

* * *

As the vision or the "memory" of someone else came to the mind of Serafia, the first thing she made sure to remember was the name 'Doctor Madigan'. To say it was peculiar to have such thoughts ringing through her mind as she walked down the dark streets of Second Miltia, where the sky was so grey it looked as if it were about to rain (Serafia had seen very little rain in her life – the only storm she experienced was in the odd world). She walked on pathways along larger ones where the cars drove, leading her to the main heart of the City. A sign had told her she was walking towards 'Sector One'; whatever that was. The pathway, against the road, she walked upon was like a bridge, with another road beneath her but little did height bother her; it only bothered her when she was dangling in a rabbit hole like a few days ago. Despite the aches in her legs from walking for so long, Serafia was proud of herself for throwing away her fears and walking away from Gaignun who was not helping her a bit. She couldn't bring up the thoughts she had of Serah, who she assumed was her copy in this world; Gaignun's wife, which almost made sense for she had been close to being the wife of Noir one day but the only thing that didn't make sense was the fact she was experiencing her memories. Or she was going utterly mad; Serafia had no idea but she prayed they were the memories of the other, older woman. She wanted to know whether the woman was dead or alive or even where she had gone to, because of that conversation and the biggest question of all was what was she doing conversing with Hatter and _the_ March Hare? The March Hare was perhaps even crueller then King Albedo himself! Yet she was speaking finely with him at the tea party table!

"It seems," muttered Serafia aloud to herself for she cared not who heard her; "Things are going to get a lot more peculiar in this world. Hm – I do wonder what to do. Do I find Hatter first or try to find that Doctor Madigan?" a few drops of rain stopped her for a moment from doing anything; how odd that was! With a little smile on her face, she continued to speak; "But if I find Hatter first should I just ignore the thoughts of Serah and continue on my way back to Wonderland? But that looking glass they walked into … is that the gateway back?" for she had never actually thought of _how_ to return to Wonderland, especially because coming to this world had been achieved by diving into a pool of tears _she_ created, followed by the rabbit hole and then through one of the doors in the small hallway. Suddenly, a wide smile appeared on her face as she punched the palm of her hand like the solders in the army did when they gained an idea. "I shall find Hatter first, perhaps even along my way find out where Doctor Madigan is and then we shall find that room Serah resided in, gain some answers about her, though curiosity did kill the cat I suppose…Maybe I shall leave out finding the answers, though the entire thing is rather odd … No, we'll leave that and find answers to questions we need to know. But as long as we have that looking glass nothing else is to matter."

Just as the rain began to pour from the heavens, causing the smile to widen on Serafia's face for she minded the rain just as much as she minded comfits, she noticed a peculiar, yet familiar figure walking along the road opposite her. The figure was pending towards her eerily unhurriedly, causing the smile to slowly disappear as she frowned. Two more oddly shaped figures followed and a constricting feeling came over the queen as she stopped in her tracks; noting how each figure, which she soon realised to be a man in armour, held a large spear. The first man's spear was in the shape of a spade, while the other two's were clubs. Gulping hard, Serafia quickly checked behind herself; nothing else there but the odd car driving past her. When the men emerged closer she could see their armour decorated in spades and clubs; the name of King Albedo printed along their left arms in such fancy writing it was difficult to see. Their armour was far darker then her armies; the steel looking almost black in the already dark light. Feeling her heart in her throat, a sickening feeling overcame Serafia as she stared at the three members of King Albedo's army. Her breath shook in the wet air as she literally forced herself to breathe; unsure of what to think as her mind felt like it were all over the place. The was no Noir, no Gaignun, no Hemi or Caden or even Hatter to protect her this time, but she told herself as strongly as possible she needed them not. The first of the three was just feet away from her now, and in a second's decision, she imagined the spear in his hands being nothing but water. And such a thing worked! The spear he held so dearly onto disappeared into nothing but water, which splashed upon him and the ground; washing down across to Serafia's feet.

"Troublesome girl," the man hissed angrily, causing her to take a small step back as they stopped walking. "Where is your guardian, I do wonder?"

"I haven't the faintest of clues," replied Serafia with a breathless voice though she tried her best to stay strong despite how much her body was trembling. The tips of her fingers felt numb from the lack of circulation in her body, which was panicking along with her mind."I am Queen Serafia, I demand that the other two of you lower your weapons otherwise I shall have to lower them for you." She remembered when Hatter had demanded she lowered the gate, or he would lower it for her, which had supplied the inspiration for her demand.

"We fear not a little girl," the main man told her with a small smirk, before another spear appeared in his hands. "Worry not though, for we will not kill you, Serafia. We only wish to take you to the King."

Shaking her head, Serafia took another step back but they closed the space she had created by taking one themselves. "No, I shall not allow this to happen," she whispered. A few tears dripped down her face, though they could have been easily mistaken for rain drops.

'_Princess, you run faster then the bugs can fly!'_ she recalled one of the frogs telling her as she ran around the courtyard, abiding Hatter's rule to learn to run. Firmly, she gave a face of determination as she pushed away her fears, pulling out four cards from her side. She cared not for what they were, and imagined their sides were as sharp as knives; their corners pointed like a spear and in an instant they were. "You can tell uncle Albedo that he's bitten off far more then he can chew," and flung one of the cards to the Cardsmen, wincing when she heard the squelching sound of it sliding through their throats. She wanted to faint, to run away from the blood and she hated herself for causing them pain but she had to fight; she had to kill them to save herself as well as Wonderland.

* * *

To say Hatter was even livid from the actions Noir had done was an understatement by miles. Despite the fact the irritable _rat_ (or toad as Serafia called things) had used a different name during the 'broadcast' as they called it (on Wonderland a broadcast was conducted in a far different manner, but five days after being in the abnormal world Hatter was finding himself adjusting rather well if he just ignored the curious questions in his mind and took the planet as it were) he knew it was him from that twinkle in his eyes to the aura about him he could see through the glass screen on one of the tall, white buildings. The man, for his disobedience and betrayal to Wonderland was going to be put to death and Hatter would have been fine to do such a thing in the streets, in front of the people that found him to be 'mad' as it were. As the other men of the army would say, he would indeed 'eat him alive' and eat him with joy he would. He could only imagine the trouble he was causing his poor Serafia, which angered him even more. The girl was naïve to disloyalty, always believing there was good within people when there was not. The only person in the world she was allowed to trust was Hatter and that trust wasn't as good as he wanted it to be for he wasn't even at her side, protecting her from vermin such as Noir. Even before Serafia had been born, he knew time and effort spent on her protection would be far greater then other members of the royal family. Serafia was the most precious of women, of even people, he had spoken to or knew existed and now she was somewhere strange; hopefully not in the downpour of the tedious rain and in the safety of somewhere, away from Noir. As time had passed, even while hiding in the shadows, he felt emotions drift into his heart that he tried not to think of. When it came to the beginning of the fifth day, the start of the second day he had to take extra care where his feet landed, he began to realise what the emotions were. The need to have her protected mentally, to make sure she was happy (which he had felt on the second day) twisted into a little guilt (though he ignored that – he was trying his best) along with a sense of missing her. It was like something was absent from his mind, which after some contemplating he realised it was the girl that looked just ten years younger then her, while who was hundreds of years younger. He missed the laughing she did at anything or anything; how he had to keep on extra guard whenever she found something curious (he knew in this world he would need to keep an extra, extra eye upon her – almost a leash nearly if it were possible). He missed the wonderful world of Underground Land too; wherever he was wasn't exactly his best taste. Walking down the pathway, against a road, he sighed outwardly; feeling a little better as he walked underneath a bridge; sheltered from the rain.

As he passed through the bridge, he heard a sentence ring through his ears over the splashes of the puddles and the fierce hiss of the rain, which was soon followed by a loud crash of thunder; "No, please, I hadn't meant to cause such a thing! Oh why won't it work! Work, work!" the troubled voice caused the eyes of Hatter to widen as his legs darted from under the bridge with haste. Taking some steps back, he looked up; the rain dripping into his face miserably as he saw a girl clad in grey clothing, which he could see stained in red, shuffling from one foot to another near the edge of the pathway. Long tendrils of wet blonde hair curled down her back; sticking to her face at the sides. Instantly, he knew the woman stood at the top, panicking so much he could see the trembling of her body. Excitement came over the Hatter as he watched her for a few moments in almost disbelief; his Queen stood in obvious discomfort as sobs escaped the back of her throat. Five long, long days he had been searching for her and there she was; stood in the rain wearing such simple clothes that were damp to her bones, with blood upon them for some bizarre reason. Never had he wanted to find her in such a way; he hoped she had been inside for her days, but he assumed she had spent her time in the streets searching for him. Disgust lingered in his chest for himself but he pushed away the emotions, concentrating on the condition in hand.

"Queen Serafia!" he yelled up to her, causing the little girl to jump out of her skin like a skittish animal. Her hands flung up to her chest, allowing him to see four cards shaking in the wind, yet they were tipped sharply with what he assumed to be blood. What in the world had his Queen done?

"Hatter…" she whispered breathlessly, being overcome with an array of emotions. Quickly, she glanced from the man she cared so much about to the dead Cardsmen upon the floor; her most terrible deed in her life. Biting the corner of her mouth, she wasted no time to dart from the bridge; away from her protector in a fit of tears.


End file.
