14What would happen if Alexis chose to stay in Clover without falling for anyone? What if, because of that, Wonderland needed to correct a mistake, and had Nightmare do the deed? What if, Nightmare chose to send Alexis to Diamond of his own free will, but having only waited for a certain amount of time before doing so? Timing is everything. So in order to give his close friend "true" happiness, he used his powers and sent her to Diamond while she was sleeping, leaving her in the care of his younger self, in the time to when her mother was in Wonderland and living?
A year ago, Nightmare had told her he knew she was her mother's daughter from the start, and that that was partially the reason as to why he had Peter bring her to Wonderland. He said he recognized her. She had thought he meant that she looked a lot like her mother, but she was starting to get second thoughts...
Now, Sixteen-Year-Old Alexis Reynolds wanders around Diamond Country, trying to figure out how she was going to get back to Clover all the while convincing her mother to think of her loved ones, and trying to keep her from figuring out that Alexis is her daughter. This is Wonderland, so there are no paradoxes of any sort, but with a foreigner involved, will one happen? Will Alexis have ever even been born at all? If she plays her cards right, and doesn't screw up despite what she wants her mother to truly do, she may just avoid writing her and her brother out of existence.
"Damn it, Nightmare, I told you that you should've just done the paperwork!"
"Watch your language," He scolded, clinging onto the walls for dear life, his legs and arms held out to his sides as he pressed them against the wall to keep himself steady and in the air. I wasn't too far behind, hiding from Gray as well. The ex-assassin was going to murder me for letting the Incubus skip out of his paperwork again. "And if you don't want to get caught, you might as well go find another place to hide." Ha! Even he knew he would be caught eventually. Not even Nightmare, he who can float in mid-air, can hide from Gray's piercing lizard eyes. "I thought you liked his eyes?"
I would've shrugged if I could. I scowled at Nightmare. "Gold is actually a very nice color, thank you. I quite like yellow." I personally prefer purple, green, and black though.
"I found you." I let out a startled scream and lost my grip on the walls, sliding off and falling towards the floor-and my untimely doom. Luckily, and also unfortunately, Gray ran up and caught me, almost as though I weighed no more than a feather. "Lord Nightmare, explain yourself! Why did you make Alexis hang from the ceiling with you?" Holy-yes! Blame Nightmare! Thank you, Gray!
"Wha-I didn't do anything! She followed me! Why are you both blaming me!?"
Gray raised an eyebrow at his boss, looking up at him from his position on the floor. "Really? Now, why would Alexis-who might I add happens to be afraid of heights, go and climb up onto the ceiling?"
Nightmare stammered about for an excuse, and I tried my best to hide the amused smile on my face. I felt bad for letting him take the blame, but if neither of us were going to get actually murdered, I'd let him be the scapegoat any day. "Wh-Why!? You're so mean! Why am I the scapegoat?"
"Lord Nightmare, she didn't say anything of the sort."
"Not out loud! I can read her mind, remember!?"
"I know very well what you're capable of, Lord Nightmare. You seem to have forgotten that I was hired to kill you once." Whoa. They're actually mentioning Gray's past? Huh. They never really talked about it-especially when Gray himself was around. But when he was mentioning it...
"I know that! Just-GYAH!" Nightmare screamed as he suddenly lost his grip, falling towards the ground. It was so sudden that he didn't even have time to think about using his powers to catch himself. Thankfully, in a flash of lightning, Gray had set me down and leaped up, catching Nightmare and landing gracefully on one knee.
How did he do that, you ask? Because Gray was just one hell of a subordinate.
"Waaaa! No! I refuse! I'm not doing my paperwork-" Nightmare clamped his mouth shut when he saw Gray's eyes narrow. He swallowed, fear running down his spine. I turned my head and held back a snicker, trying my best not to smile. This was ridiculous. I loved them to death, but man-this would never get old. I'm...kinda glad I chose to stay in Wonderland; even if Sarah and Jack may end up hating me for it. Sarah texted and said that she didn't, and that Jack doesn't even know what happened, but... I'm not too sure. Jack may hate me for disappearing on him like that. I'm a horrible friend. Father...Derek said dad was fine, and that he was getting better, but it still hurt to know that I made him cry. He had lost mom...now he was losing his only daughter? All he had left was his son... I'm a terrible daughter.
I'm...I really am a horrible person. What have I done? I should have never stayed. I only made things worse. What would my mother say if she saw me now? Not that I even knew her.
Little did I know was that Nightmare had read my thoughts then and there; already making a decision on what to do.
I mumbled in my sleep and turned onto my side, finding my bed even comfier than usual. Huh. I don't remember my pillow being this soft. Wait, why were the blankets silk? Haaah? Sorry, but what?
"Oh, you're waking up." Groggily, I opened my eyes and looked at Nightmare, staring for a few moments as my eyes adjusted to the light. I blinked a couple of times before yawning again and stretching, cuddling the pillow that was against my head. Nightmare sounded surprised as he asked, "You know my name?"
"'Course I do, stupid..." I went quiet, closing my eyes as I allowed myself to indulge in the comfiness the bed and pillow provided. So warm~. "I...I know you didn't mess with my mind or nothin', so why you actin' so weird?" I turned onto my back and yawned again, placing a hand over my stomach. Nightmare is acting really strange.
...I know Gray often slips Nightmare's medicine into his food, but did he slip something else in?
"...Oh. I understand now. You must be talking about my older self, then. Wait, hold on-ACK! That explains why it tasted even worse than usual!" There were spitting sounds and complaints, and my brain finally noticed how...different Nightmare's voice sounded. It was really deep like usual, but...how to explain it. Hm...Oh! He sounded...younger. Wait, what did he say? "Older self"? What is this, Doctor Who? I shot up out of the bed and sat up on my knees, turning my head to stare at Nightmare in confusion, only to gap in shock.
Holy shit-"Dude, what happened to you!? You're-You're-" I tripped over my words, staring at the teenager in shock. His silver-purple hair covered his eyepatch, giving him a slight similarity to Ciel Phantomhive from Black Butler, and his face was younger by quite a few years. He looked around eighteen at this point. And...Holy hell...
It may have been because he looked similar to Ciel, but he was god damned adorable! Whoa-okay, Pierce and Gray are rubbing off on me. Not a good thing.
I watched in curiosity as Nightmare's face flushed, turning a light pink as his eye widened. "I-I am not adorable!" Yup. Totally adorable, and he can totally read my mind, can't he? Damn. Wait, hold on-
"Why the heck are you so short now!?" His face turned even redder.
"I'm taller than you, I'll have you know! A-And I'm not adorable. I'm just a younger version of the Nightmare that you know."
"...Okay, then. I got this. I'm dreaming, and this is you trying to get back at me for letting Gray force you to do your paperwork while I ran away?" His eye widened at the memory flashing through my head.
"I-I haven't done anything like that! This is reality, Alexis." Okay, yeah. Sounds like Nightmare, but younger, and is acting slightly different from him. I think I should be scared, or at the very least worried, at this point. "My name is Nightmare Gottschalk, I am nineteen-years-old, and you are in the Country of Diamond."
W-Wait, what? No, no, no...That's...That's not right. There wasn't a move, was there? April Season just ended! God damn it, I had just managed to get away from the stupid Jokers and now-now this? Pierce and Boris-crap. Damn it, what am I going to do? How-How did I even end up in Diamond?
"There was no move," Nightmare informed, frowning at me and sighing as he placed a hand against his forehead. He looked rather tired. "The me from Clover Country merely used his powers to send you here. I have no doubt that there will be some ruckus back in Clover but... as long as you're cautious here, there should be no worries."
"No...worries." I repeated slowly, furrowing my eyebrows as I tried to process everything. This was not something that should happen right after someone wakes up. Nightmare...forced me out of Clover and to Diamond...No. No, he couldn't have. I-I know I was jerk sometimes, but-but I was joking during that! He knew that-he could read my mind! He was my best friend-the very first role-holder I met in Wonderland! I'm closer to him than I am to Pierce! He can't have-he...he doesn't hate me, does he? Oh, god...that's why he did it, isn't it? He hates me. He sent me here because he was sick of dealing with me.
He...wasn't my friend. Or, at least I wasn't his. No... He-He would have told me if he hated me! Why-Why was this happening!?
Nightmare's eye widened at my thoughts and I gave him a small bitter smile, eyes tearing up. "This-This is a nightmare, right? You-You're just screwing with me. Or-Or it's Joker! Yeah; Joker's strong enough to appear even without April Season!" I laughed loudly, making myself stand up. "This is all just a bad dream!"
Nightmare appeared stunned at my words, and quickly exclaimed, "C-Calm down! This-This isn't a dream, or a nightmare! My older self does not hate you," He said, causing me to freeze. "You can ask him why he did what he did the next time you sleep, alright? The older me will explain everything."
"Explain what!?" I demanded, only to flinch at my words. That was mean. I scowled and crossed my arms, sitting back down on the extremely soft bed. I held back the apology that wanted to escape out of my mouth. Nightmare blinked at me, before smiling.
"It's alright. I understand how you feel right now. I can read your mind."
"That I know," I responded easily, before swallowing the lump in my throat. If...If older Nightmare hated me...then why did he comfort me all those times? Why he hugged me when I needed a hug, why he told me the words I wanted and needed to hear? Why did he act like my best friend if he hated me? No. No, he doesn't hate me. He definitely doesn't hate me. I know he doesn't. He...he has his reasons, I'm-I'm sure. Not-Not that I'm worried or anything. I-I could care less, really.
Yeah...I don't care. I don't care if he hates me. Who needs friends? I'm perfectly fine by myself. I told myself, trivializing everything. Why should I care if he-if he hates me or not? I'm...I'm fine by myself.
I laced my fingers together on my lap and stared down at them for a moment, before looking up at the younger teenage Nightmare and asking quietly, "So...where-where am I, anyway?" He frowned at my sudden change in persona, and looked slightly sad for some reason.
"You're in the Train Station. I happen to be the Station Master. Welcome to the Country of Diamond, Alexis."
...I feel like I'm forgetting something important. Something...deeply important-something that I held dear. Something extremely close to home. Something Nightmare told me...
-she met me when I was a teenager and as an adult-
My head shot up as I stared at Nightmare with wide eyes, realizing just what it was I was forgetting. If...this was where he was younger and a teenager, and a parallel world...
Holy shit. My heart just about stopped beating at the sudden realization, tears welling up in my eyes at the very thought-the very hope that I'd be able to meet her. Launching forward and grabbing Nightmare's coat lapels, surprising him and causing his face to turn red at the sudden closeness, I cried out, tears welling up in my eyes, "Nightmare! Is-Is there a blonde girl around here with a freckles!? D-Does she have pale skin? Is-Is she alive? Do-Do you even know her!?"
"Wh-What are you talking about!?" He stammered, alarmed as he leaned his head back, his face growing redder by the second. I looked at him almost desperately, this feeling forming in my chest something that I had never truly felt before. Complete and utter desperate hope. "W-What relation do you have to Cathryn!?"
Cathryn...Cathryn Anderson, if I remember correctly. That was her maiden name. My...My mother... My mother was alive...
"Your mom!?" Nightmare was alarmed, and the realization flashed across his pink face. However, it didn't last for long as blood suddenly spurted out of his mouth, coughing harshly as he clamped a hand over his mouth. I scrunched my nose up at the wet blood on my face and clothes and quickly wiped the blood off of my skin with the dry part of my sleeve, before moving over and rubbing Nightmare's back. He hunched over in his chair as the coughing grew rougher, sounding like there was something stuck in his throat that he absolutely could not get out. He had stiffened when my hand touched his back, but he quickly relaxed as it started to rub soothing circles on it, lessening the pain just the slightest. He coughed again, but now it was decreasing in harshness. He looked at me, tears in his eye, "You...You're her child?" He sounded in complete disbelief. "She's the same age as me; s-she'd have to have been a mere child to have you!"
"Um...Time travel?" I suggested, giving a broken grin. My chest hurt. I felt like crying. "I don't know how Wonderland works! You tell me, jerk!"
"I-I am not a jerk-!" He was cut off by another cough, blood trailing down his lips. He looked much paler than before, and even a little faint. I knew he didn't look well earlier. "Ah..." He swayed and fell to the side, and I let out a startled squeak as I caught him, his head leaning against my shoulder. "S-Sorry..."
"D-Dude, are you okay!?" What the hell? Has been skipping out on his medicine? "Nightmare? Nightmare!" He didn't answer, closing his eyes as his rough breathing slowed. Terror hit me as the worst appeared in my head, and it was only when I realized he was just sleeping that I relaxed. Oh, thank god... How bad is it? I brushed his bangs out of his face and hovered my hand above his forehead, alarmed at the heat that I could feel coming off of his skin. I wasn't even touching him and he was burning up! "Freaking- Damn it!" Why couldn't this had been Clover? At least I knew my way around the tower! (Mostly. Still got lost.) "Don't-don't die on me, okay!?" Bed, bed, where's a bed-oh yeah! The one I woke up on!
...Hopefully this Nightmare is lighter than other Nightmare, otherwise we might have some problems. Let's try bridal style!
And now I'm imagining him in a dress. Great. But, in my defense, he was wearing a purple bow to tie his long hair up. Kinda cute, actually. Okay, weird thoughts. Let's not go there. "Up and-oof!" I grunted, stumbling as I tried to carry him over to the bed. "Not...that heavy..." Oh, who am I kidding? I have, like, no arm strength whatsoever. The only strength I have is in my legs, and that was from all the times I had to run for my life away from crazy murderers and psychopaths. Like Joker. Like angry people who didn't like Nightmare. And also like Dee and Dum. By the time I got to the bed, my legs gave out and I crashed on top of him on the bed, my head on his stomach. He let out a groan, and I lifted myself as best as I could before attempting to get my arms out from under him-which since he was laying on them wasn't very easy. Stupid Nightmare. I'll give him nightmares... Haha, see what I did there?
Okay, enough of that. Damn it, okay, what to do, what to do? I don't know-Oh, hold on a second... Looking around the room, I noticed that we were actually in a infirmary. Well, wasn't that just a coincidence? ...I just now realized this, but I never bothered to ask how I really ended up in the train station instead of a random forest. Huh. I'll ask later.
Lifting up Nightmare's legs, I grabbed the blanket he was laying on and threw it on top of him, knowing that sweating would help get rid of a fever. His body needed to fight off the bacteria. I knew at least that much from when my brother had to take care of me when I was younger; I was always getting sick. Maybe it was a side effect of being born a few weeks early? Hm. I didn't really know. I ran over to the cabinets and searched frantically for any ibuprofen or Tylenol. Finding something that similar effects to them both, I popped out two pills and grabbed a plastic cup and filled it with water.
Decreases fever, rids colds, and clears sinuses. The bottle had read. It was good enough for me, and hopefully Nightmare. I knew he hated taking medicine, but these kinds of pills were generally tasteless, so he shouldn't freak out too badly. Was there even any cough medicine? I scowled and made a face, remembering the horrible taste of cherry cough syrup. Ick. I hope that crap dies a brutal and painful death.
I dropped the pills into the cup and headed over to Nightmare, knowing he wouldn't willingly take them unless he swallowed them accidentally. I knelt down beside the bed and lifted his head up, holding the cup to his pale blue lips. Oddest time to grow jealous of someone, but his skin had no acne, whatsoever. It was pale, but clear, and I was slightly envious of the Incubus. Che. So unfair. "Say "ah"." I spoke, voice completely deadpan. Nightmare groaned and turned his head, refusing to drink the medicine-altered water. The pills were dissolving rather quickly into the water. I hoped the effects still worked. He looked horrible-Not that I cared or anything! He's not the Nightmare I know-not-not that I cared for him much either... But still. He looked really bad. "Oh, come on, stop being a baby and drink the stupid thing! No pills; see!" I shook the cup lightly in front of his face, knowing full well he couldn't see it with his eye still closed. I threatened, "Don't make me force you." I remembered the time when I had seen Ace forcefully give Julius cough medicine-manually.
Before anyone knew what was happening, Nightmare had down the cup and was scowling furiously, sweat beading down the side of his face.
Good. Much better. Now, if he stops being so damn stubborn and refusing his medicine, he might actually get better and not have these stupid attacks! And smoking. I have yet to actually get older Nightmare to get out of that stupid and reckless habit.
I watched as younger Nightmare opened his single gray eye and stared at me, looking like he was trying to glare but the tears in his eye just making him look like an abused puppy that you wanted to hug. ...Wow, I am really hopeless. This is what I get for hanging around people who love cute things. It's so bad it's almost sadistic! I really needed a life. Preferably one not-so-deadly. Remembering what Boris does-or did-to me often, I reached over and poked him lightly in the forehead, trying to ignore the feeling in the pit of my stomach that was forming as I felt the really high temperature. I wasn't worried. I refused to be. REFUSAL!
"You dead yet?" I asked bluntly, half-tempted to smack him for being an idiot. I mean, I know he's scared of hospitals and all, including needles, but you have to face your fears sometimes. I did all the time when I hung out with the twins-from dangling from treetops and falling to my doom to nearly having my throat slit with a knife. They always tried to think of new ways to scare me. They're not very friendly. "'Cause if you are, I'm totally stealing all your clothes."
Red spread across his face again and I wondered if his fever grew higher. I pushed his hair out of his face again and placed my hand against his forehead, frowning and biting the inside of my cheek. I knew Older Nightmare was stupid, but to think Younger Nightmare would let it get this bad? At least Older Nightmare knew when to give up and let Gray drag him away to the hospital-even if he did it kicking and screaming. "Wh-What are you doing?" I blinked at his question, surprised and confused.
"Whattya mean?"
"Wh-Why," He appeared embarrassed. "Why are you d-doing this?"
I almost replied with "'Cause I can and you're my best friend" but remembered that this was not the same Nightmare I knew. This Nightmare didn't know anything about me and was not the man who had brought me to Wonderland. Instead, I went with, "'Cause you're sick." I knew it was it was like to be horribly sick. The memories still haunt me sometimes...the thought of dying...clinging to every breath in hopes of survival. I may talk nonchalantly about it like it doesn't bother me, but it...it does scare me still. I used to have nightmares about it before I came to Wonderland-that my sickness would come back and I'd die from it. Older Nightmare was nice enough to keep all the scary dreams away. "It's free country dude. Er, well, at least where I come from it supposedly was, but still. Same-Same reason." I cleared my throat and diverted my gaze, feeling incredibly awkward. "So, yeah..." I pulled my hand back from his forehead and scratched the side of my neck awkwardly, feeling my face heat up slightly. I'm...I'm not worried or anything. Definitely not. Why would I be worried for someone I technically just met? Not the Nightmare I knew.
Nightmare turned his head away from me, his face flushed. "Th-Thank you..." For what? Ah, whatever. I'm not gonna bother figuring it out.
"You-You're welcome, I guess." I looked at him and tilted my head, observing him slightly. ...I can kinda understand what Pierce meant when he said I was "pathetic but cute" now. Nightmare looks pathetic tucked under the clovers like he is, but it is rather cute. Huh. Wait, what? ACK! NO! WHAT THE HELL!? Gah! Random though process scares me! I hate it. "Uh...well, do you have any specific medicine you need to actually take?" He scowled at me, and I scowled back. Yeah, that's right, I'm the queen of the scowls! When have I ever not scowled?
Oh...right. Before Wonderland. But-But my point still stands! Nightmare can not out-scowl me. "I wasn't trying to-to out-scowl you," he coughed, making a face at me. I scowled at him again and made sure to keep the hair out of his face. Having hair sticking to a sweaty face doesn't feel too good-at least, it doesn't in my opinion. I would have taken his eyepatch off, but I knew it was one of the rules that he needed to keep at least one eye so closed so I left it on. "...Thank you."
Again, for what? Jesus-this Nightmare makes even less sense than the last one! "Where's the medicine?" He turned his head, refusing to tell me anything. I scrunched my nose at him and said, standing, "Fine. I'll just go grab every single medicine bottle in there and shove them down your throat until you decide to tell me which one is the correct one." I will do it, too. That's the thing. I'm a jerk. It's a fact of life that I will be violent one way or another.
Nightmare, sensing that he was in grave danger, shot up and tumbled out of the bed with a thud, crying out the name of the medicine. Keeping the name in mind, I lunged forward and caught Nightmare before he could bang his head against the floor. The thud was the sound of his knees hitting wood.
"Dude! What the hell-?" I cut myself off, trying to lift him up again. I grunted, the back of his head resting on my chest as I tried to lift him by his armpits. "Get up-damn it! Urgh-!" I let out a loud grunt as I heaved him up onto the bed, sliding an arm under his legs and shoving them onto the mattress. I huffed, leaning over with my hands on my knees. "You're...freaking heavy..." Lighter than older Nightmare and the average teen, but still heavier than what I can actually carry. "Don't...Don't move," I breathed, eyeing the half-conscious teen warily. "I-I'll be right back." I fumbled to the cabinets, scrambling about trying to find it. The faster Nightmare takes the medicine, the better. Don't you dare die on me, idiot.
But he-his older self-hates you. Why are you trying to help him? My mind argued, sounding very reminiscent of Joker-something that he would say, whisper into my ear and try to make me get lost and leave Wonderland. Well, tough luck buddy, because I am here to stay. Besides...Sarah and Jack probably hate me for leaving them by now anyway, so what would be the point in returning? Derek made it more than clear that he wanted me to stay in Wonderland. You're such an idiot, Alexis. You're even more stupid than that Incubus. What kind of "Dreamer" are you? You're already failing at your supposed role.
That role wasn't given to me yet, but it is something that Nightmare would have to bestow upon me in order to make me an official citizen of Wonderland-a new role-holder. Any foreigner that chooses to stay in Wonderland has to partake a role, that role having already been chosen by Wonderland upon the foreigner, ready to be given access to at any given moment. Depending on the role, the foreigner may need a specific role-holder to grant them that role and make them true, other cases, more uncommon ones, would have to be blessed by Wonderland itself.
Nightmare has yet to truly give me my role. He told me he wanted to wait to make sure I was truly happy here in Wonderland and that I would not regret my decision to stay before he made me a true citizen. Before I could truly belong.
But if that was the case...why did he send me to Diamond? I was happy in Clover-I had family (Nightmare, Julius, Boris, and Gray) and friends (Pierce, Peter, Vivaldi, and Alice). I was home. But now...
Now what was I supposed to do? GAH! STOP THINKING AND GIVE THE STUPID MEDICINE TO NIGHTMARE! Damn it, this is why I shouldn't think. I just start getting negative and lost in thought. I completely forget what it was I supposed to be doing. One time, because of having a such bad day, I completely forgot that Gray couldn't cook at all and that his food was practically poison, and ended up retching my guts out after taking a bite. That...was not fun.
I knelt down next to Nightmare's bed and read the instructions, before scowling and pouring the liquid into the cap, knowing that was about a tablespoon. I held the cap to his mouth, lifting his head up, and tried not to laugh at the sour expression on his face. It wasn't really medicine that Nightmare was scared of, more as it was getting injections. He just hated the taste of medicine. I'll be honest; I hate medicine too and the horrible taste-but it was really only with cough syrup.
Ugh...I hate cherry cough syrup. That stuff is freaking nasty! "Drink." I ordered, causing Nightmare to narrow his eye. I frowned, realizing he wasn't going to take it willingly. The pills were different since they were tasteless, but this tasted like crap... His eyes widened in terror and he clamped his mouth shut as tightly as he could, my other hand trying to force his jaw open with my right hand trying to pour the purple liquid into his mouth. "Just do it already, damn it!"
"N-No!" He tilted his head up and tried to scoot away on the bed, but he was too tired to actually escape. "G-Get off of me-" He squeezed his eyes shut as the disgusting liquid hit his tongue, leaving a foul taste in his mouth as he was forced to swallow it. He was left hacking and wiping his tongue on his purple handkerchief, completely disgusted. He scowled at me.
I grinned at him, smiling widely. "Good boy!" I pat him on the head to prove my point. He's adorable even when he was glaring and possibly plotting my doom. ...I need to stop hanging with cute-obsessed people, I thought dryly, worried about my well-being and mental state. Then again, I already loved cute things to begin with...
Damn. Who knew being in Wonderland for a whole year would make me so corrupted? Wait; speaking of that, why the hell am in a train station? Why do I keep delaying these questions?
Oh... I then realized it was because I was so used to random crap happening to me all the time, I just stopped questioning it and just went with the flow of things. Hm. Makes sense.
"Some of the servants found you laying near the train tracks and brought you here," Nightmare explained, wincing as he made himself sit up. "It was a good thing they did, otherwise you may have gotten hit." I blinked, stiffening just the slightest when I realized that I could have gotten killed. How nice. Sadly, not the first time my life has been attempted-intentional or not. Nightmare nodded in agreement, "I understand completely. Now, if you come with me, I can show you a room you can stay in for the time being. At least, until you find a way back to Clover Country."
Ah. Little Nightmare doesn't like me, huh? Then again, I forced him medicine, so it's understandable.
"It's not that I don't like you, it's just that you're not supposed to be here. It makes me curious as to what my Older self was planning when he sent you here. Just what was I thinking then?"
Wouldn't it be more "What will I be thinking"? Agh. Time Travel. Dimension hopping-world switching-moving country thingy-GAH! MY BRAIN HURTS! Screw it-Parallel Country. Yeah, that works. Much less painful on my brain.
"It's not really that complicated," Nightmare said, pushing himself off the bed and stumbling. He caught his balance and coughed roughly into his fist, beginning to walk out of the room. I ran up to catch up to him and walked beside him, listening to him explain as I tried to keep eye contact. It's been a long time since I heard the explanation about Diamond, as I only really asked about it to find more about my mother, but now that I was here...and that she could be alive... I had to meet her. "Everyone here is just different from the people you originally know-we're younger and our personalities are slightly different, and we may have different roles. Diamond is a parallel country to the one you know."
Yeah. I already figured that one out. Wait, how did Older Nightmare put it... Think, think...Remember. He said...Only those in "Heart Country" are in Diamond, and those that have an actual connection to it... That was why Nightmare was in Diamond with Gray-Nightmare was a dream demon, which meant he was everywhere in Wonderland, and that allowed him access to more places. And because Gray is part of Nightmare's past, he's in Diamond as well. And since Pierce used to be a part of Heart before he ran to Clover, if he wanted, could he visit Diamond using the pathways with the mouse doors? Hm...That would be an interesting thought.
"Perhaps he could," Nightmare mused, before saying, "But that would only be possible if the current Gravedigger in Diamond, Jericho, were to die. Only then could another appear-or perhaps this version's Pierce would arrive and take his place? Wonderland is full of possibilities and questions, but none quickly answered and shown."
...He was so childish, I forgot how knowledgeable Nightmare really could be. Younger-Older, there's not much difference between them other than age and the slightest bit of personality. It takes time for personality to change, events to happen that change you; The Nightmare I knew was probably much more mature than this one in both mind and body, but this one had a whole different challenge on his plate.
...Wait, if this is past...Does that mean Gray's an assassin still? Oh, shit... Wait, wait, wait! He-He works for Nightmare in the future or whatever, which means that Nightmare can't die. He won't die. It's a fixed point.
Because if Nightmare died here, then that would mean that Alice and I would never have been brought to Wonderland, and Blood would have never made Alice give birth to his daughter, and I would still be in High School and starting tenth grade. I'd probably be crying in a bathroom stall or practice room somewhere.
Wooow, I used to have a really happy life. Does my negativity ever end? Man. What is up with Nightmare and Peter bringing negative people to Wonderland? First Alice, then me-who next, my brother? Jack? Actually, let's not think about it. If my brother came and found out what happened...Good god, he'd go on a killing spree with just a screwdriver and a nailgun.
Anyway, as I was saying, this Nightmare was younger and far more stubborn and childish-so I've observed so far. He was also way more sickly. I felt like banging my head against a wall as I stopped walking, staring at Nightmare in horror. Sensing my terror, he paused and turned his head to look at me, confused.
"What is it, Alexis?"
"WHY THE HELL DID YOU GET OUT OF THE DAMN BED, YOU IDIOT!?" I exploded. First I found out that I wasn't in Clover anymore because Older Nightmare had to be a jerk and send me to Diamond, then I found out my mother-who happens to be dead, by the way-was alive and a teenager (Paradox alert) and now younger Nightmare is too stupid to stay in a bed and rest so he can get better!? THAT DAMN INCUBUS IS SO FREAKING STUPID! "You're sick! You're fever is probably around 103 or higher!"
Nightmare looked surprised at my reaction and his already red face turned even redder. And now his fever is rising again!
"Go to bed, damn it!"
"B-But if I rest I can't show you around the station!" He protested, most likely trying to get out of paperwork again. Always-always looking for an excuse. "That's-That's not true! You have no other place to stay at the moment, so why not just stay here?"
-because hospitals are deathtraps, and I'm offering you a place to stay during your time here in Wonderland-
I scowled at him, still not happy. I crossed my arms and glared at a wall, refusing to look at him. I refused to say it out loud, but he was right. There was no way in hell I was risking the Hatters, and if Vivaldi and Peter were here... Oh, god, beheading, beheading, beheading-Oh, wait, a hanging and a bullet through the skull! I remembered the first time I visited Heart Castle and swallowed, remembering the horror I felt at witnessing the murders. I still don't understand how people were able to kill so easily here. I know that life didn't matter to them, but...
It was important. You only live once. You shouldn't waste your life.
After a few moments, I sighed and slumped my shoulders. "Fine...B-But only because I don't have anywhere else to stay!"
Nightmare smiled down at me, his arms behind his back. "Great. Your room is this way-" He was cut off by a cough, holding his fist up to his mouth. Before I could ask if he was okay, he removed his hand and started walking. "It's not that bad here at the station; just be careful around the train. There are a lot of accidents. However, you are not declined to be able to ride it when you wish."
The main thing I was wondering was this; Why the hell did Wonderland have trains when it didn't even have a car!? Or, it did have cars and I just didn't see one yet?
I scowled as I ran to catch up to the teenage Nightmare, wondering just exactly why Diamond was so different compared to Heart and Clover. Kinda made me curious as to what Spade was like-If Spade was even a country and not some death-trap with the Jabberwocky and/or Bandersnatch.
Dude...that would be so awesome-but utterly terrifying, too. Haha-I couldn't imagine Alice cutting off the Jabberwocky's head off at all. It just wasn't in her character. It was an amusing thought, though. Amusing, but foolish. I let out a small yawn and rubbed at my eyes, my tiredness from before finally kicking bad in as all my adrenaline left me. This is why I shouldn't be woken up early.
I know very little about Diamond. XD There are very few game plays and summaries about it. I finally found out who the two random twin prince-looking guys were from Twin World.
In my defense, I had no idea that two little eggs with anger-issues could turn into people. O.o So weird, but I'm not gonna question it. XD Humpty and Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty and Dumpty had a great fall. All the Queen's horses and all the Queen's men, could never put Alice together again. BAD END. :P Dunno, I'm bored. Might make this a continuation or a "What-if" that could explain some things as to how Nightmare knew her mother exactly, and how he was able to recognize Alexis so easily.
Variety show in band today in the auditorium-my legs and hands were SHAKING so bad. I only had that one five minute practice to learn two songs on the Flute for the show- I was focusing on Oboe and had no idea that the variety show was today. DX I didn't screw up though, so I'm happy. I was still terrified though. Waaahahaha...
Well, if you guys want more one-shots, shoot ideas at me. I'll try and write them if I like them.
Tell me what you think about this little idea, though-Should I do another part or no? I figured it would be interesting, and that Teenage Nightmare and Alexis would make an interesting couple since they both get embarrassed easily. Also, Alexis' personality is slightly different than what it was before, mainly because she's older by a year now. It'll keep changing as she progresses in age. Just clearing that up.
