Chapter 1

Yay! I finally began my story! :3 I'm so excited about writing this. There are so many possible directions I want this story to go! Hopefully Tsubasa turns into the character I want her to be, and that I get old characters in-character.

Enjoy chapter 1 of Wonderland Paradox and expect more to come! (I already have lots of plot twists in mind. Heheheh)

Alice walked down the forest path. These days she did nothing but wander. Partially because she was sick of the constant harassment of everyone here, and partially because she liked reflecting on her decision to stay in Wonderland. She felt it was the right thing to do, but every so often there would be the pang of guilt for leaving her older sister behind. More often than late, Alice had begun to question herself.

She sighed sadly. She had made a decision and needed to stick with it. There was no going back now. But what if Nee-san could come here? she wondered. Would it be possible for Peter to go back to my world? Her thoughts were interrupted suddenly by a commotion. A scream echoed through the woods. Alice looked around frantically. Where was it coming from? The scream got louder and louder, until Alice finally glanced towards the sky.

"Oof!" Alice cried, as a body landed on top of her. "Hey, what's going o-on?" she faltered as she gaped at the brunette girl. Turquoise eyes met purple ones. The girl jumped to her feet, wincing.

"OUCH! God dammit, that hurt!" she cursed. "Stupid rabbit man pervert!"

The girl brushed her dress off. It was similar to Alice's except it was purple. Brushing long strands of hair off her face, the girl blinked at Alice in surprise.

"Oh my Gosh!" she screamed. Alice started at the unexpected shout. The girl hurriedly picked Alice up off the ground. She twisted her hair nervously.

"I am SO sorry! This is embarrassing. Just my luck to fall on top of somebody! I must be socially awkward." she groaned. "Yep, that's probably the case."

Alice opened and closed her mouth in surprise. This was definitely not what she had expected today. The strange girl continued flustering about, completely forgetting she was there.

"I have the most rotten luck, Onee-san was totally right. Arrghh! No wonder I don't make friends easily!"

Alice rubbed her eyes. She wasn't imagining this was she? The bump on her head said otherwise.

"I can't believe it! It's the worst, rotten, luck in the whole dang-!"

"Excuse me," Alice interrupted. The girl paused and whirled around. Alice continued, "Um, who are you?"

The girl's mouth hung open. Her eyes were wide. "I haven't introduced myself?" she gasped. "Well! In that case..." The girl stuck out a hand. "I'm Tsubasa Rakka."

"Alice Liddiel." she replied, shaking hands. Tsubasa shook her head apologetically.

"Sorry about all that craziness. I can be so rude sometimes." she snorted.

Alice smiled kindly. "No harm done."

Tsubasa brightened considerably. "Really? That's awesome!" she grinned. Then her eyes unfocused as she took in the forest. Tsubasa walked slowly towards a patch of sunlight. She held out her hand and inspected the patches of shadows on it. Then looking to the sky, she raised her hand out as though to ouch the sun.

Um, Alice thought. I pretty sure she just forgot about me. She seems to be around my age... Her mind wandered to Tsubasa's strange arrival. Humans falling from the sky were not normal, even for Wonderland. What were the chances that Tsubasa was-?

A muffled thump next to her feet interrupted her thoughts. Out of the bushes came a man in a long red coat. He was sprawled out across the ground; his tasseled brown hair was mussed up everywhere. The man lifted up his head and spotted her.

"Look who it is!" he exclaimed, "Alice! What a surprise to run into you!"

Alice gazed disdainfully down at the Knight of Hearts. He pulled himself into a sitting position.

"Are you lost again Ace?" Alice deadpanned. Ace smiled sheepishly.

"I don't think so. I've just completed a mission and I was headed for the Clock Tower." He pointed past Alice's shoulder. "It's that way right?"

"You're pointing the complete opposite direction." Alice groaned. "Honestly Ace, do you have any sense of direction?"

Ace contemplated her statement thoughtfully. "But I was certain my instincts were telling me to head this way..." he muttered. No offense but your instincts suck." Alice said bluntly. Ace smiled and lowered his head shamefully. Alice pointed down the path wearily.

"The Clock Tower's that way. I'll take you there." she sighed. Ace jumped to his feet energetically.

"You're so nice Alice!" he cheered. Before Alice could say more, she felt a presence behind her. Tsubasa stood stiffly, staring at Ace. He cocked his head sideways.

"Who's that Alice?" he asked curiously, but Alice didn't answer. She stared intently at Tsubasa. Her purple eyes were mixed with emotions. Recognition, Disbelief, Amazement, and... Fear? Tsubasa blinked, and Alice could no longer read her feelings.

"My name's Tsubasa." she introduced herself coldly. Ace held out a hand to shake, but she did nothing to take it. He let it hang for a few moments, then let it awkwardly fall to his side.

"Ace, Knight of Hearts and your service." Ace bowed civilly. Tsubasa narrowed her eyes. She crossed her arms firmly. Ace rose from his bow.

"What a cute mad face." he chuckled, "Although Alice was a lot nicer when we met."

Tsubasa's eyes widened. She opened her mouth for a stinging retort, but Alice intercepted.

"Ace," she cautioned, "Julius will be waiting for you..."

"Ha ha ha! I guess you're right." he laughed. "I don't want him to get mad at me."

He turned to walk down the path. Alice grabbed his arm quickly. A vein jumped in her cheek.

"Ace."

"Yes, Alice?"

"YOU'RE GOING THE WORNG DIRECTION!"

(The journey to the Clock Tower has begun! :D)

"I'm pretty sure I know where we are now."

"I'm pretty sure you don't."

"Aww, what happened to your cute personality?"

"Shut up you brute!"

Alice turned irritably to watch Tsubasa whap Ace's head. He sniffed loudly, and touched his red cheek gingerly.

"Tsubasaaaa, that hurt!" he whined.

Tsubasa twitched. "Maybe if you stopped being such an idiot I wouldn't be so fed up with you!" she said furiously.

"Why do you hate me so much?" he sighed, but a grin was still etched across his face.

A muscle jumped in Tsubasa's cheek. "Because you're. An. Idiot. Now wipe that silly smile off your face before I do it for you."

Ace rubbed his check and said nothing.

The silence drew out as they continued walking down the path. Tsubasa and Ace walked side by side. Energy crackled between them like lighting. Alice looked back and forth, wondering which one would explode first.

Fortunately, the Clock Tower came into view a few moments later, peeking over the treetops. Alice picked up her pace. She wanted to get there as fast as she could. The atmosphere between Tsubasa and Ace was now ominous.

As the trio emerged from the forest undergrowth, Ace gazed up at the building.

"We made it!" he cheered. "Nice Alice! I wasn't expecting to get here for at least another 5 more time periods." They entered the tower and hurried up the spiral staircase to the top floor. Ace pushed open the door to reveal a large room.

A bookshelf sat in one corner. Wrenches and odd tools were scattered across the floor. There were boxes stacked up, filled with spare parts. Two tables also occupied the room. A man in dark robes sat the table farthest from the door.

"Julius!" Ace called happily. The man looked up from the clock he had been working on. Darkish blue hair fell in front of his eyes.

"You're late." He observed coldly. Ace laughed, and shrugged off Julius' accusation.

"I would be a lot later if I hadn't run into Alice. Wasn't she nice to walk me here?" he asked.

Julius muttered something under his breath and begun working on the clock in front of him again. Twisting the final screw on, he placed the finished clock beside him. Grabbing another clock, he wordlessly began working again.

Alice stepped forward. "Julius," she said, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but something came up while I was in the forest. Or should I say," She continued, glancing at Tsubasa, "Someone came down?"

Julius lifted his eyes slowly. He looked back and forth between the two. Finally, he sighed, and put his screwdriver down.

"Ace, please wait outside." He ordered the knight. Ace nodded mutely and left the room without making noise. When the door closed shut behind him, Julius sighed deeply. He ran a hand down his face.

"Who is this girl?" he asked, "And why is she in my tower?"

End of chapter 1! I hope Ace, Julius, and Alice sounded in character. If not, tell me because I'll try and fix it. Soooo we have a new foreigner?! Tsubasa may seem a little weird right now, but she might grow on you…. (Oh, and that part where Tsubasa first met Ace? That's an important scene. XD) Chapter 2 coming soon!