Joker/Clover/Heart no Kuni no Alice 1. Chapter 1

Hello. yes I know this is a new story but it is a co-written and a lot of fans to **peekodemeeko12** stories wanted a story with her OC and Nightmare. Well in this story you get it, I am just the one posting it :P anyways this story will be told in both Third and first person as well as have a mixture of both pretense and past tense. To understand what I mean by that please read the chapter and see for yourself. Anyways please enjoy the story

Oh and to just clear things up this is not a crack story just because it's labeled humor; it's not one of those stories where everyone is really OOC and the role holders fall in love too quickly. I ask that before you judge this first chapter too harshly just take a look at the next chapter.

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"So, did you hear from your mother at all yet?" Avery Fernandez asked her brunette friend as they walked down the street. The brunet girl, who was a few inches shorter than Avery, shook her head.

"No, not really. Well, I mean she obviously still wants me to come home but I'm not ready to do that yet. I love my family and everything but there _is _a reason I left in the first place." Alana answers as she thought of her family. Her older brother flashed in her mind and she smiled sadly.

It had been a little over a year since Alana has run away from home. Her reason for doing so was she couldn't handle living with her mother anymore. The girl loved her mother but the woman was very old school when it came to how women and young girls should act. From as far back as Alana could remember it had always been _ladies don't do this _and _ladies don't do that_. Normally it wouldn't be that big of deal but the girl had grown up as a tom boy. Still that never stopped the woman from trying to turn her daughter into a proper young lady. Her father was somewhat more understanding but it was her older brother Kyle that really accepted her for who she was.

"I suppose I miss my brother most of all since he's the only one in my family that understands and accepts me for who I am. It's not like I regret living with you and your brothers, though. You've become like a sister to me and your brothers have become like my brothers. Heh, I wouldn't be surprised if Jeremy ever arrested Kyle for doing something stupid." Alana laughed, vividly thinking of Avery's brother arresting her own. After all, while he was a loving older brother Kyle wasn't the best influence around.

"Well, until that happens, you can always visit your brother if he's that important to you." Avery suggested, smiling at her friend as they turned the corner. Alana nodded in agreement and tightened her grip on Jaiden's leash as they passed a man walking his own dog.

"Well, yes, I know and I've tried to get in contact with him too. However, as much as I miss my brother I've been living with you for over a year now and I'm happy where I am. You're the bestest friend I've ever have." She tells the taller girl, her smile becoming softer to show Avery she was being genuine. A small blush came onto the other's face and she smiled back at Alana.

"W-Well, thank you, I'm glad you think so." Avery stuttered slightly as she held a tight grip on Jett's leash when he began to get close to Alana. Even though she had been living with Avery for a little over a year the young dog would try and bite her now and then.

Alana simply smiled at Avery and glanced down at the younger dog. She didn't understand why there were times where it seemed that he didn't like her. The dog sure liked her enough when she feed him treats at the table or gave him baths. Hell, Jett sometimes even slept with her when none of the boys were home. However any other time Jett would try to bite at her ankle for reasons she didn't know. When Alana told Avery this the girl simply shrugged.

"Maybe he was just kicked in the head too many times." She guessed, seriously trying to think of a reason before shaking it off. "But Jaiden seems to really love you." She pointed out with a smile, where Alana smiled in agreement.

"Yeah, he's a good boy, a little strange but good. I honestly don't think I'll ever understand how he's able to get out of a locked room. We should seriously hide a video camera in the room the next time we leave him alone." She suggested seriously, looking over to the old but still energetic and playful dog as they entered a park. Luckily there weren't that many people around at the moment which made walking the dogs easy; as Jett had a habit of chasing almost anything that ran and that would cause Jaiden to follow.

"Hmm, maybe we can steal one from Jeremy." Avery suggests with a chuckle as she continues, "but he'd probably dust it for fingerprints later." She teases, holding up her hand to wiggle her fingers. Alana laughed back and tightened her grip on Jaiden ones again as his pulling got stronger.

"Not unless we use gloves." She teased back, winking towards Avery. The taller girl simply smiled and opened her mouth as if to reply but never got the chance.

Without any warning the bush next to the two girls rustled and got the attention of the dogs. Jaiden began barking at whatever was in the bush, seemingly scaring it away. Before either Alana or Avery had a chance to react Jaiden managed to slip out of Alana's grip and bolted after whatever was in the bushes. With a growl Jett's ears perked up and he too managed to pull out of his walker's grip as he ran after the older dog.

"Jaiden/Jett!" Both girls cried out at the same time and took off after the dogs. However their leashes whipping around the air like a hoes not being held; which are hard to grab onto without difficulty.

"Jett, Jaide-" Avery starts to call out again as they are about to cross the road, what the dogs were chasing invisible from her line of sight. However she was cut off by the loud, deep honking of a truck, making the two girls turn their heads to see one coming straight for them.

Instantly both girls screamed and Alana shielded her face with her arms, knowing it was much too late to jump out of the way. Before Avery could even try to pull them out of the way and before the trunk was able to hit them, both girls felt themselves fall. It was as if the ground beneath their feet had just disappeared and the two girls were then falling through a deep, dark hole. Again Alana and Avery let out a startled scream as they could also hear loud howling which signified that both dogs also fell even though they couldn't be seen.

"What the hell is going on?!" Alana shrieked, frightened that she couldn't see anything around her but darkness. Well she could see Avery but she couldn't see the dogs even though she clearly heard Jaiden howling; although where that howling exactly came from she had no idea.

'D-did we just fall down a manhole?' Avery thought as she continued to scream, feeling herself tumble down further into the darkness. When was this going to end and was she going to die when they finally landed?

Having similar thoughts to Avery Alana looked up to see the light above get smaller and smaller as they continued to fall down the hole. There was no way they had fallen down some manhole; the hole above was much too big and the hole was far too deep to be the sewers. Then, if this wasn't a manhole to the sewers just what the hell was going on?! The girls could feel their heart beat repeatedly in their chest and Alana's stomach turn on itself as she waited to hit something and break all her bones; after all with a fall like this there's no way the landing would be gentle. Not unless there was a mountain of pillows waiting for the girls at the end of the hole.

Without warning a mind numbing sensation swept through both Avery and Alana's body. Instead of falling it suddenly now felt as if the girls were floating. Avery struggled to keep her eyes open long enough to look over at Alana, noticing that she looked as exhausted as she too was struggling to keep her eyes open. W-what was….?

_Ah, just on time. Shell we watch the fun game commence? _A strange voice asked as Avery's eyes finally shut and she drifted off into a deep sleep.

"A-Avery?" Alana weakly called out to her friend, keeping her eyes open long enough to see her pass out. However, before she could feel any sicker, she too fell victim to the strange force that caused her to feel light headed and fell into a deep sleep.

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Well I hope you enjoyed, I edited the chapter just slightly. Chapter 2 will be starting with Avery. Please **favorite, follow or review** ^^


	2. Chapter 2 (reposted)

**Edited:** I'm sorry but I had to delete this chapter so I could edited it. Something went wrong as I was editing it the first time and doubled everything. Then all my previous edits were lost.

A quick heads up: this is the Diamond Country where Nightmare and Ace are teenagers. I've read what walk throughs I could find of their routes to understand their personality better. For those that know more or have played the game sorry if someone might seem a little OOC. To those that don't I will say now, to avoid confusion, teenage Nightmare is really shy; or so I read in a walk through.

Anyways please enjoy the chapter ^^

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**Avery's P.O.V**

I cracked my eyes open as I felt a throb in my head and a pain radiating through my leg. I could also feel myself laying on something pretty stiff though my head rested on something much softer. My vision was pretty blurry and I couldn't remember anything past falling down that strange hole. Maybe that was all some weird dream and I was actually hit by the truck. What other explanation was there? That would mean I was lying on an uncomfortable hospital bed and Alana was likely on the bed next to me. At least I hoped she was.

"Will she be alright?" A strange, young sounding male voice asked. Craning my head to the side I was nearly blinded by a bright light as the blurry form of a figure sat next to me.

"I believe so, Master Nightmare." A woman's voice answered and I heard light footsteps get louder until another form loomed over me. "It was the strangest thing, seeing a foreigner falling onto the train tracks out of thin air like that." She continued, seemingly looking down at me before her form vanished from my line of sight.

'… Train tracks?' I think, finding it hard to believe. Even if falling down that hole wasn't a dream landing on train tracks seemed extremely unlikely. Also why did the voice call me a foreigner?

"The me from Clover Country must have brought her into Wonderland; I don't have the strength to do that kind of thing yet. However I believe she should be in Heart Country rather than here. April Season must have interfered with the rabbit hole somehow and brought her here instead." The male from before spoke again as I felt a hand gently touch my forehead. I twitched at how cold the touch actually was but didn't try to pull away as I tried to make sense of what he was saying.

There have been times where people have told me that I'm pretty oblivious when it comes to certain things. I don't really know what they are talking about but this is something I really can't wrap my head around. Everything from that woman saying I fell on train tracks to this boy saying weird things like _the me from Clover Country_, wherever that is, just didn't make any sense at all. Maybe I was just having a strange vivid dream at the moment. Yeah, that made more sense. I bet walking Jaiden and Jett with Alana was part of the dream as well. So that should mean I should wake up soon in the room I share with Alana.

"… There's another girl here, and two dogs. Get anyone and everyone who is not working to look for them." The male voice ordered after a short silence, his hand slipping off my forehead. Huh, by how surprised he sounded one would think he had read my thoughts or something.

"Yes, Master Nightmare." The woman's voice replied as I then heard more tapping sounds getting further away. A moment later I heard a door shut from somewhere nearby and I finally lifted my hand to cover my eyes from the light.

'Ugh… ow, my leg hurts. What happened? I-I didn't _really _fall on train tracks, did I?' I think, forcing myself to sit up. Well at least my vision was finally clearing up.

"Unfortunately you _did _fall on train tracks and pretty hard too. Normally the landing shouldn't be that rough but it seems that, because it's April Season, things got out of control. I'm sorry if you got hurt and I have sent my staff out to look for your friend and your dogs." The young, male voice told me as my eyes slowly adjusted to the light. Groaning in the back of my throat, I looked to my side, finally able to see the young man who was talking to me.

His silver hair partially covered his right eye and was tied with a purple ribbon in a side pony tail. His left eye was gray but his right eye was hidden not only by his hair but by an eye patch as well. His chin was resting on the end edge of the bed and he was rather pale. He also looked rather young; perhaps a few years younger than myself. Lastly he was wearing the most adorable clothing; a white and black jacket that was lined in gold and black pants. I wonder just what kind of design they were.

"U-um, anyways, are you alright? I'm surprised that the only real damage to your body is your legs with the way you fell. You're lucky that you were found before you froze." He told me, sitting up straight as his pale cheeks darkened a bit. Oh, was he alright? He wasn't getting sick or anything was he? It _was _a little chilly in here after all.

"Oh, um, yes?" I answered, not entirely sure if I _was _OK. Tossing the blankets back and away from my body I saw the large, ugly and purple bruises forming on both my left thigh and shin. Ouch, no wonder why that hurt so much.

**Nightmare's P.O.V**

Needless to say I was very surprised when I was told a foreigner had fell at the Train Station, on the tracks no less. If it wasn't for the faceless woman or Gray, who had been searching for bombs at the time, she would probably still be outside in the snow. I had never met a foreigner, though I knew my adult self in Clover had the power to connect to their world, so I was curious to meet the girl. In fact, when I walked into the infirmary and saw her laying on one of the beds I insisted on staying with her until she woke up. After all as the master of the Train Station it was only proper for me to do so.

Convincing Gray to leave me alone with the foreigner took a bit of work, though. While I'm glad he decided not to assassinate me he is still a very scary man. If he's not trying to poison me with medicine or his awful cooking he's trying to force me to work. He is also the only person who's mind I can't read so I can never tell what he's thinking. So I have no idea what he thought about the foreigner but he had wanted to stay with me until she woke up; even tried to get me to do some paper work in the meantime. After about twenty minutes I managed to convince him to go look for the spies that were running around the station.

It was easy to tell when the girl woke up but since her thoughts were still so jumbled I decided to wait a little longer until speaking to her. However I was pretty stunned to find out that, through listening to her thoughts, another girl and two dogs had come to Wonderland with her. Another girl I could imagine but dogs as well? What purpose could my Clover self have by not only bringing in two girls but two _dogs_? Either way I ordered the faceless woman who was with me to go out to look for the missing foreigner and the two dogs.

After that the girl's thoughts became more focused, if not somewhat embarrassing. Honestly I don't pay attention to what clothes I wear or the design of them. My train staff does that all for me and what I'm wearing now is just my typical train station uniform; nothing all that special. Yet she thought they were cute.

I decided to not to think about it too hard as I instead explained what had happened to her leg. She didn't even to seem to realize I had read her thoughts and instead threw the blanket off her body to reveal how bruised her leg really was. This was the first time I noticed the injury and I felt the blood in my face drain.

"I-I'll have someone take care of those." I tell her, trying not to stutter too much as I look at her bruises. They looked really bad and since she is a foreigner they'd take a while to heal, right?

"Oh, I-I-It's alright, I'm fine." She stuttered, tossing her long legs over the side of the bed. Before I could convince her otherwise she stood up and took a couple of steps toward the door.

D-damn it, this wasn't good! I can't allow a foreigner to leave while she's still hurt. Besides, even if she _wasn't _hurt it's cold and dangerous outside the train station. Diamond Country was currently undergoing April Season and, even though foreigners are extremely rare, there were rules in place for them in case one ever came. That made Wonderland even more dangerous than usual for foreigners; not that I exactly knew how not dangerous their world was in the first place. Still, as master of the Train Station it's my job to make sure that this girl stays safe and that's just what I was going to do.

**Avery's P.O.V**

Every muscle in my body felt stiff and rusty, as if I had been lying on that uncomfortable bed for a while. However, since I had been through worse, it was nothing I couldn't handle. The pain in my left leg was a little harder to ignore but it was something I would _have _to ignore if I wanted to find Alana and my dogs. I might not know where I was but that wouldn't stop me for looking my friend or dogs.

"H-Hey, don't rush yourself; you're hurt! Please Ahh..." I heard the young boy cry out and trail off from behind me, which was followed by a chair scraping against the floor. Turning to look behind me I saw that the boy had stood up to try and stop me but stopped as he realized he didn't know my name. R-Right, I suppose telling him my name is the least I can do for helping me.

"Don't worry about me, OK? I really am fine. Ah and my name is Avery Fernandez." I answer his unasked question with a smile. However my smile dropped as Alana, Jaiden and Jett entered my mind and I turned around fully so I could face him.

"A-Although, do you know where Alana is? And my dogs?" I ask, remembering what he had said earlier about sending people out to look for her. Are they really not here and if not then where are they?

If the boy ordered that woman to send out people to look for the others, that should mean he had some idea where they were. Right? I mean how else would he know about Alana, Jett and Jaiden? If he really knew where they were I needed him to tell me so go to them as soon as possible. After all, as confusing as falling on train tracks was, if I got hurt did that mean the others were also hurt?

"Sorry but, no, I don't know. April Season has messed with the land so they are probably in one of the other territories. However I've sent my staff out to look for them so, please Avery, stay here until then. Oh, and I'm Nightmare Gottschalk. " He tells me while I noticed he was looking at my left leg again. I didn't mind all that much and decided to ignore his stares for now.

"Territories?" I asked, wondering what Nightmare meant by that. He nodded as he then began to explain what he meant.

"Normally there are only five territories in Diamond Country but, since it's April Season, there are six. You are at the Train Station at the moment, which is run by me." He tells me, placing a hand on his chest with a bashful smile. Huh, so this kid is the boss of this place? I wonder how old he is.

"The Graveyard and Museum are owned by a mafia boss by the name of Jericho Bermuda. The Hatter Mansion is also owned by a mafia boss by the name of Blood Dupre. They're rivals and both are dangerous. I wouldn't suggest being around either for a very long period of time." He suggested, suddenly looking somewhat disturbed but I paid little attention to that. M-Mafia, there are mafia's here? I noticed that he nods his head but I don't put too much thought into it as he continued.

"The Castle of Diamonds is run by the Queen of Diamonds, Crysta Snowpigeon. Be very careful around her if you ever met her; she's a _very_ scary woman." He warns as his face pales and he even shivers. Huh, I wonder what so scary about the queen that it has Nightmare looking frightened.

"The last territory is only here temporarily and that's the circus. Unless your friend landed somewhere in the forest I think she'll be in one of those territories, along with your dogs." Nightmare finished explaining and I nodded in understanding. So, including a forest, that was seven places to search.

"Right. Um, can you point me in the right direction for the closest territory?" I asked, eager to find Alana and my dogs. Nightmare looked troubled and shook his head.

"Sorry, but no. I've already ordered my staff to look for your friend and dogs so there's no reason to worry. Besides it's dangerous to walk around Diamond Country alone right now; especially during April Season." He told me apologetically as he glanced to the side. Following his gaze to a window I saw that it was snowing pretty hard and dark.

Oh, so is this why Nightmare keeps trying to keep me here? Because it's night and snowing? As a Chicago girl I have walked through darker and worse; though only when I had no other choice. I know how to protect myself from creepers but I don't think I'd get very far in the storm. Yet what if Jaiden or Jett gets trapped out there? Or Alana? Unlike the dogs she didn't have a fur coat to keep herself warm so she'd freeze way quicker than they would. Oh, what I am going to do?

"Don't worry, they aren't near the Train Station. They are all … somewhere safe and warm, that much I can tell you." Nightmare tells me and I turn my attention back to him. Huh, was it just me or did he look slightly paler again?

"Really? … Wait … how did you know what I was thinking?" I asked, realizing that I didn't speak that out loud. In fact, this wasn't the first time he answered a question I never asked out loud. But how … how was that possible?

**Nightmare's P.O.V**

"Oh, that's simple. I can read your thoughts. Well, technically, I can _hear _your thoughts." I answer, actually surprised that she didn't ask that sooner. After all, I have been reading her mind for a while and she hasn't reacted until now.

I became concerned when I suddenly could no longer hear Avery's thoughts. It was strange because Gray is normally the only one who's mind I can't read. Was she really so stunned that she became thoughtless? Huh, I guess mind reading isn't a normal thing in her world … at least according to the doubt in her thoughts just now.

"But that doesn't exist." She says doubtfully and wondered if I had some sort of strange disfiguration as she looked me over. I felt my cheeks flush and I cross my arms at the comment.

"Hey, don't be so mean; there is nothing disfigured about me!" I cried, feeling insulted by her choice of words. It's not my fault I'm an incubus and have mind reading powers; it's just the way it's always been.

"You sure? No third eye or something?" Avery asked with a serious expression but a playful tone as she walked over and poked my forehead with her thumb. I felt my face heat up in embarrassment as I realize she was just teasing me and brushed her hand away from my head.

As far as I can remember no one has ever teased me before; at least not in such a playful way. My train staff might pamper and spoil me but they don't _tease _me. Gray more tortures me with medicine poisonous food and forcing me to work than teases me. As for Crysta … well I rather not even think of her. I know for a fact that she has an interest in me for, if she didn't, she wouldn't try to freeze me almost every time we see each other. So I don't really know how to handle Avery's playful tease.

"Of course I'm sure; I am an incubus after all." I tell her as I rub the spot she poked, looking up at her. Wow, I didn't notice before but she's actually very all; probably even taller than Gray.

"Really?" She asked, clearly in denial of my powers. "If you can really read minds than repeat this." _Ronald raspberries roast rocks in a rotisserie_

"Ronald raspberries roast rocks in a rotisserie?" I asked, completely stunned and confused by Avery's thoughts. I get that she wants more proof but do all foreigners think of the weirdest things?

"Whoa. Now repeat this!" _Slithering snakes swallow sweets and get tooth cavities _she thinks in an excited tone and an amazed look on her face. Wait a minute, excited and amazed?

"Are you enjoying this?" I question, feeling a smile creep onto my face. Well, this was new.

Not many people actually like the fact that I could read their minds. Even the faceless that work for me were slightly uncomfortable around me at times. Yet this girl seemed completely different from everyone else. Is this what a foreigner really is?

"I am." She confirmed, grinning as I could hear her mind thinking of more things she could _test _me with. _Creaking crickets cretins croak signing sally songs _she thought, again confusing me with the randomness. However I'll put that issue aside for later.

"Huh, not many people like the fact that I can read minds. In fact they hate it. You're the first person to think differently; thank you." I told her, once again feeling my cheeks heat in color. Ugh, it's a good thing Gray wasn't in the room or he'd probably scold me by now from how much blood I have rushing to my face; not that I can help it.

**Avery's P.O.V**

Wow, so he really is a mind reader. I don't know why he'd say others hated his ability; I think it's cool! I bet Jeremy would love that kind of power; it would likely make his job ten times easier if he could just read minds. I was a little upset that he didn't repeat the last thing I said but towards him thanking me for not hatting his ability I was about to reply but was cut off by a knock at the door.

Turning my attention towards the door I saw a man who was probably in his mid-twenties enter the room. He had mid length blond hair, wore a uniform that likely went with the Train Station, was probably five foot six and had no eyes. E-Eyes! W-What happened to his eyes?!

"Master Nightmare, we believe we have located the two dogs but we are still unable to find the other girl." The man said but I barely heard him as I continued to stare in shock. H-How can he even _see _with no eyes?!

"Where are the dogs?" I heard Nightmare ask from beside me. Blinking in shock I turned to look at him. A man with no eyes was standing in front of us, did this not bothering him?

"We believe that one of the dogs was found at the Graveyard and the other was thought to be seen running around the forest near the circus." The man answers again seeming to see very well despite not having eyes. However my mind was caught on the new information and seemed to temporarily forget the fact that the man didn't have eyes.

'The Graveyard and Circus? Those were two of the territories that Nightmare told me about earlier. What are Jaiden and Jett doing there?' I think to myself and felt my brain try to progress what I had heard.

"Retrieve the dog from the Graveyard first, before it is chased away. I don't think Jericho would stoop so low as to hurt a dog so it may still be there by the time you get there. As for the one seen running through the forest he is probably at the circus by now so send a few people to ask Joker if anyone has seen him." I heard Nightmare order from beside me, making me perk. Oh, he's sending people out to get my dogs? Good, then maybe I can go along and see if they are OK for myself.

"I'm sorry, Avery, but as I already explained it's too dangerous to be walking around Diamond Country right now. Besides you're still hurt." Nightmare apologized before I could say anything, clearly reading my mind. I frowned and watched the eyeless man walk out the door, determined not to give up.

"I-I know but I still want to go. It's not right that I'm here while they're all out there, wondering where I am." I argued, hoping he'd change his mind. Nightmare sighed softly and walked back over to the chair by the bed, sitting down.

"Maybe but wouldn't it be bad if you got hurt while looking for them?" He asked, looking me directly in the eye. I frowned as I realized he had a point but still didn't want to give up.

"W-Well yes, but what if they are hurt too?" I counter, fearing that the others were all hurt somewhere. After all that eyeless man said they _believed _they found my dogs but never mentioned the condition they were in. Also that Alana was still missing.

"…I don't know if it will work on dogs, but I suppose I can check the dream realm to see if your friend is sleeping." He suggested after a moment of silence. I looked over to Nightmare in confusion and walked over to him.

"The dream realm?" I asked, wondering if I had heard him right. What exactly is a dream realm?

"The dream realm is my true territory outside the Train Station. It's the place everyone in this world goes when they fall asleep. Since I am a dream demon I can control people's dreams if I want to." He answers with a proud smile before rubbing the back of his neck. "Of course you have to be asleep to go there."

Wow, as weird as this whole situation is, Nightmare continued to amaze me. First I find out he can read minds and now he's telling me he can control dreams. That's pretty amazing, a little hard to wrap my head around, but still amazing. I wonder what other powers this boy had but I suppose I could ask him that another time. For now he was offering up a way to find Alana and that's what truly matters to me at the moment.

"You can really control dreams? That's so cool!" I tell him with a sheepish laugh and grin at him. "A-And Alana will be there?" I asked, hopeful that she would.

"I-I think so. Y-Yes, if she's sleeping she will be." Nightmare stuttered as his seemed to redden in color again and he coughed behind his hand for a moment. My eyes widened at the roughness of the coughing but, before I could ask him if he was alright, he stopped and wiped his hand on his pants.

"A-Anyways, your friend might be in a dream right now but it should be easy to pull her from it. That way the two of you can meet." He offered, smiling shyly though I recognized an obvious hint of excrement in his eyes. I nodded eagerly, smiling at the thought of seeing Alana and knowing if she was safe or not.

"Yes, I would like to make sure she's safe for myself." I tell him excitedly. Nightmare nods in understanding but then looks nervous all of a sudden.

"Alright, you just need to fall asleep and you'll appear in the dream realm. A-Although it will be much easier to do so if we touch while sleeping; since I honestly don't know how it will effect someone like you. S-So when you're ready just let me know." He stutters before walking over to the cot I had woken up on. Well if this was all to see if Alana was unharmed I suppose I can handle lying on that uncomfortable bed again. Sleeping with Nightmare, however didn't bother me; if we had to touch for me to be able to get into the dream realm then so be it.

"O-Oh, alright." I say, thinking that I just needed to fall asleep. … Well, seeing that I'm not tired, that's actually going to be harder than I thought.

Hmm, well if this was an infirmary that meant there had to be a medicine cabinet somewhere in here. I didn't want to bother Nightmare because he was already lying down. Looking around the room I noticed for the first time that there was a woman on the other side of the room. The woman, much like the man, also had no eyes but I did my best to ignore that fact as I walked over to her. That man from before seemed to be able to see despite not having eyes so maybe this woman would be able to help me.

"Um, excuse me, do you have any nightquil?" I ask, hoping that I wasn't disturbing her work. The woman turned her head towards me and tilted it in what I guessed was supposed to be a confused look.

"Nightquil? Is that medicine, dear?" She asked, her voice soft, kind and confused. I nodded and glanced towards the cabinets with the glass windows, searching for the sleeping drug.

"Y-Yes, it's something that will help me sleep. I-I'm supposed to meet Mr. Gottschalk in the dream realm." I tell her, looking back at her when I was unable to find the drug. Even without eyes I can tell that the woman was startled for a moment before she turned around and grabbed a purple bottle that was on the table beside her.

"If Master Nightmare wants you to meet him in the dream realm, than take this. This stuff will put you to sleep within seconds, dear. I am not sure how it will work on you, since you're a foreigner, but a cap full should do the trick." She tells me with a smile and opens the bottle for me. She then pours some into the small measuring cup that was covering the lid and then hands it to me.

"T-Thank you, ma'am." I say politely before drinking half the cap without thinking. Oh, wait a second, I should really lay down first before I drink the rest.

Turning around I walked back towards the bed Nightmare was still laying on. His eyes were closed and his chest was moving slowly. Ah, it seems that he had already fallen asleep. He must have been more tired than he had been letting on. After all he did… whoa, I suddenly didn't feel very well. My head spins as my knees buckle under me. The last thing I remembered before blacking out was heavily falling on the cot and thinking the medicine sure kicked in fast.

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Yep, we are doing April Season in Diamond Country. Since Joker is far more active in Diamond Country -from what I read in all the walk throughs- we thought it would be fun to include April Season. I apologize to** peekodemeeko12** if I went OOC with Avery

Ah, and if you see any grammar mistakes please let me know, it is something I need to work more on. However, as mentioned in the first chapter, I tend to use both pretense and past tense from force of habit so, unless it sounds really off, please leave that be.

Anyways Please leave a **review, favorite** or **follow**


	3. Chapter 3

Yo, hi everyone :3 sorry it took a while to get the next chapter up. A big portion of his chapter will be told in third person. Oh and I reedited the last chapter again though I am pretty sure there are some things I missed. The important things I may have forgotten to mention last chapter will be mentioned here.

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**Third Person P.O.V**

With a small groan Avery cracked her eyes open and saw a swirl of random bright colors all around her. Still feeling some of the effects of that medicine the nurse gave her, she shakily pushed herself to her feet. So this was the dream realm Nightmare told her about? It sure was colorful, kind of like outer space in a science fiction story. It was actually pretty cool and Avery was really impressed. Except Nightmare himself seemed to be missing.

"Mr. Gottschalk?" She called out, searching her surroundings for the so called incubus. By addressing him by his last name Avery felt she was being more polite; even if he _was _younger than her.

"Mr. Gottschalk? D-Don't call me that! It makes me feel old." Nightmare's voice complained from behind her. Spinning around Avery saw his young form floating over her.

"Oh, s-sorry." She apologized with a slight stutter. "What would you like me to call you if not Mr. Gottschalk?" she asked, hoping she didn't offend him.

"Just Nightmare will be fine." He told her insuring, his cheeks tinted a light red from the unexpected name. Not even his staff addressed him by his last name.

"Oh but Mr. Gottschalk works perfectly for me, though." Another male though older voice said. Both Avery and Nightmare looked to the side and saw another man who looked exactly like Nightmare floating there.

The first thing that Avery thought was that this new man was Nightmare's father. Or possibly even his older brother. They looked too much alike not to be related. Hell, the older one was even wearing an eye patch similar to Nightmare's though his looked slightly more worn. The only differences between them, besides age, were the style of their hair and the clothing style they wore.

"Oh, are you Nightmare's father? Or maybe his brother?" She asked out loud, curiously looking between the two men. Yep, they must defiantly be related somehow.

"No, we are neither father and son nor are we brothers. We are simply the same person with age and the country we live in being the difference." The older man said with an amused chuckle as he held a pipe in his hand. The younger man's face flushed again and he glared irritable at his older self.

"Wha-"

"He's the me from Clover Country. He's the one responsible for you being in Wonderland." The younger Nightmare explained as he continued to glare at his older self. Go figure he'd appear here without warning.

"Huh? But, but even a different county shouldn't effect age... should it?" Avery asked, trying to figure out what was going on in her head. There was just so much that she didn't understand and that still included how it was possible to fall in train tracks. And what was Wonderland?

Besides being told she was in Diamond Country Avery had no idea where she was. A part of her still believed she was dreaming. After all how else was it possible to fall down a hole in the road only to end up in some strange county? Not to mention that the few other people Avery saw didn't have eyes or the fact that it was snowing. Neither of those were normally, though the latter more so because it was sunny and warm before the fall. Then there was Nightmare. As cool as she found his mind reading ability it was also abnormal in her world. What else could it be if not some kind of dream?

"Ah, all those questions will be answered shortly. However to answer your first question right now, Diamond Country is different from most other countries. To put it simply it's an alternate world where the residents you'll meet are younger than the ones I typically know." The older Nightmare explained as they both heard the storm of questions race through her head. "It's too bad you ended up in Diamond when I intended for both you and Alana to end up in Heart Country." He added with a small sigh before blowing a puff of smoke into his younger selves face.

"Gack, blech-!" The younger Nightmare coughed, covering his mouth with his sleeve as to the smoke from entering. The older Nightmare smirked at his younger self as Avery looked at him concerned.

"How's the strain on my younger self? It's difficult without my help, isn't it?" He teased, tapping the top of his head with his hookah pipe. The younger Nightmare glared at his older self again and swatted the pipe away.

"Shut up! I'm doing just fine on my own." He snapped, his hands balling into fists. "If you want to be useful and _help _me, why not do so by looking for the other girl?" He asked as he had not been successful in doing it himself. Either the girl was hard to find or she was already awake.

"Oh and why would you need help with that? Can't find her on your own?" The older one teased some more, once again tapping him on his head. He honestly had fun teasing his younger self; too bad the rules instated he wasn't allowed to abuse his power to visit other dimensions.

"Um, excuse me Mr. … uh, Mr. Gottschalk? Can you please explain what you meant when you mentioned Alana and I not ending up in the Heart Country?" Avery asked hesitatingly, interrupting the two men before a fight could break out. Besides being curious she also didn't like the fact that the older Nightmare was bulling the younger one.

Both Nightmares looked towards her, sensing her slight discomfort and her confusion. It wasn't unexpected or surprising that she'd be confused to what was going on. Although neither of them really expecting her discomfort in watching older Nightmare tease his younger self. It was something he normally did when he visited Diamond Country so it wasn't that big of deal. However it was probably better to pay more attention to Avery than tease his younger self at the moment anyways.

"Ah yes, that. Well, as I have already mentioned, I had intended for you and your friend to end up in Heart Country. However I was unaware that Diamond Country was undergoing April Season at the moment and it messed with the rabbit hole." He explained, pulling his attention away from his younger self.

"Bunny hole? Is that what we fell down?" Avery asked, thinking about when she and Alana … she and Alana … wait, what were they doing again? With a frown the tall girl looked off to the side as she tried to remember what she and Alana were doing before everything happened.

Both Nightmares stayed silent this time. Even though younger Nightmare had nothing to do with it he knew, along with older Nightmare, that it was best no to say anything. Well, at least not about Avery's suddenly foggy memory. Instead older Nightmare waved some of his hookah smoke around to put her attention back on him.

"Anyways I believe I have located Alana but it might be a little tricky to get to her." He announced, looking somewhat troubled. Although only his younger self noticed as Avery's eyes widened at being told Alana had been found.

"Tricky? Why?! Is she hurt?!" She anxiously asked, immediately thinking of the worst possible scenarios. Both young and older Nightmare looked somewhat disturbed by the thoughts going through Avery's mind; they were pretty gruesome for a foreigner.

"No, I don't think so. I believe Alana had a softer landing than you did. There are just some places that are harder to reach than others." He explained to which his younger self's eyes widened in shock. While his powers were a lot weaker than his adult self in Clover there was always two places that were really difficult to enter than any others.

"B-but you can still connect to her, right? M-maybe you can do it without me and let her know I'm alright?" Avery asked, her blue eyes staring at him beggingly. She really did want to see Alana herself but she'd settle for just knowing if she was alright and knowing Alana knew the same.

"Technically Diamond Country is not in my jurisdiction; I have no authority here. Although I suppose I can manage to bring her to us just this once. I am, after all, the stronger of the two." Older Nightmare claimed as he seemed to think it over. Avery looked hopeful as younger Nightmare landed beside her.

In all honestly while he hated when his older self came to visit, he did need his help in this case. Since he was younger his powers weren't nearly as developed or as strong as his adult self. If their suspicions were correct and Alana was _there _he'd need all the help he could to bring her to them. It was just lucky that he knew one of the rules involved he wasn't allowed to hurt her; not yet at least.

"Hmph, even you know bringing her from there is hard to do." He said, not liking the fact that Avery was paying more attention to his adult self then him. Sensing this older Nightmare grinned at his younger self and waved his hookah pipe around again.

"Perhaps but it will be easy than taking all of us to her. Especially if she really is in either of those two places." He answered before his grin turned into a smug smirk at his teenaged self's thoughts.

"Heh, is my younger self jealous of himself? How cute~! You've even convinced her you had to sleep together in order to have to stay in the dream realm." He teased, clearly amused. The younger Nightmare's face light up in a blush as he then crossed his arms against his chest.

"I-I was only trying to think of what was practical!" He claimed with a pout. "Anyways, if you are so much stronger than me as you claim, why not bring Alana here as you said you would?"

"Oh but of course I am stronger than you; I'm older and far more experienced." Older Nightmare grinned, having fun teasing his younger self. It wasn't very often he came to visit himself so when he did he liked to make the most of it.

Younger glared at his adult self and gripped Avery's hand. The girl flinched at the sudden action and looked at him but didn't bother pull away. It wouldn't be long until he needed to return to the train station and he honestly wasn't sure what would happen to Avery if he left her alone in the dream realm. Would she just stay with his adult self until he too left or would she enter her own dream where he couldn't interfere? It was a risk he didn't want to take.

"Don't worry; she'll fade out before you do. Well that is unless you truly stress your powers in the end." The older Nightmare said with a chuckle before floating to the ground. As he did so Alana's form began to appear beside him.

She took a few steps forwards, looking slightly dazed as if she had walking for a while. However, when she noticed the strange eye patched man beside her she let out a cry of surprise and fell backwards onto her butt. Clover Nightmare smirked at the reaction and chuckled to himself, amused by her sudden reaction. Ah, now that both girls were here it would be a lot easier for him to explain things. Although it was technically his younger self's job seeing as it was his country, adult Nightmare was still responsible for them being in Wonderland so he planned to take the responsibility to explain things.

**Alana's P.O.V**

W-What the hell was going on here? The last thing I could remember after falling down a strange hole with Avery was I had fainted. When I woke up I had been surrounded by strange colors all around me. Even though there didn't look to be a solid ground I was able to stand if there was one and walked for what felt hours. I thought I would walk forever, wondering was I was before I felt a strange force pull me. So I did not expect to see the strange silver haired man next to me and cried out in surprise as I then fell on my butt.

"Alana!" I heard Avery cry and I felt her tackle me in a tight hug before I had time to react. H-huh, she was here too?

What was Avery doing here? Was she even real or was I having some freaky kind of dream? The kind of dream where I am aware I'm dreaming but things are extremely random; like the man beside me or all the random colors. There was also another man in front of us who looked exactly like the man beside me. The only difference was he was younger and wore a different outfit.

"I'm so glad to see you! A-are you alright?" She asked as I felt her grip tighten almost painfully. Although it insured me that, unless I was having one of those vivid dreams, she was really here and I returned her hug.

"Y-yeah, I'm alright, just really weirded out. What the hell's going on here? The last thing I remember is we were falling down some weird hole that opened up beneath us." I asked, expressing my pure confusion. If to make things worse I was having trouble remembering what Avery and I were doing before we fell.

"I-I'm not really sure. We're somewhere called Diamond Country." Avery told me though she didn't really sound too sure herself. Diamond Country? I never heard of a country like that before.

"Ah well then, now that Alana is here, allow me to explain things more fully." The older of the men said with a smile as he stepped forwards. I don't know how he knows my name but if he had answers I'd be more than willing to listen to them.

**00000000000**

**Avery's P.O.V**

"Whoa." I was the first to say once Mr. Gottschalk finished explaining everything. There were way too many rules and too much information to remember.

"There is actually a whole lot more to know but that you'll have to find out yourself." Mr. Gottschalk told me, probably reading my thoughts. I looked to Alana to see a stunned look on her face, revealing she was as speechless and confused as I was.

Most of the things Mr. Gottschalk had explained to us sounded either made up or just really, really weird. Apparently Alana and I were in another world called Wonderland. The hole we had fallen down was called the rabbit hole -which I was already told about- and it acted as a portal to this world. We were told that there was two types of people in this world and were addressed as either role holders or the faceless, who were people without eyes. Apparently only role holders had eyes as well as certain powers. Other things such as April Season, the different season, the time changes and all that was explained.

"But why are we here? It's not like we choose to come here." She pointed out and I looked towards Mr. Gottschalk in agreement. Yeah, why _were _we here?

"That discussion is for another day. All I can tell you now is that you're both here to fulfill your 'happiness'. And I can assure you that, if you play your cards right, you'll be very, very happy here." He answered with a smile and made a small, cool looking bow. Huh, I wonder what he meant by all that.

"Tch, stop showing off, old fart! I should be the one explaining everything. It's _my _country after all." Nightmare demanded, looking pretty upset. O-oh, I didn't offend him by letting Mr. Gottschalk explain things, did I?

"Well, then you should have been faster." Mr. Gottschalk teased as I began feeling weird. I felt really light and the everything looked as if it was starting to melt.

"Avery?" I heard Alana ask. Turning to her I saw her reach out for my shoulder but her hand went right through me as if I was a ghost.

"W-what's happening to me!?" I demanded, patting myself down as I began to panic. W-was I _dying_?!

"It's nothing to worry about. You're simply waking up. I hope to see you again soon, Avery." Mr. Gottschalk told me with a goodbye wave. Before everything completely vanished I'm pretty sure I heard Alana call out to me but I was unable to respond.

Tiredly opening my eyes I saw that I was back in the infirmary. With a tired sigh I tried to sit up but was unable to as I felt a trembling figure snuggled up against my side. Looking over I saw that it was only Nightmare. He was curled up against me and was gripping my arm pretty tightly as his body seemed to shake. Something seemed off and, with a closer look, I noticed that Nightmare looked paler than normal and his lips were as blue and my eyes.

My eyes widened in shock and realization as I pulled myself from Nightmare's grip and sat up. Looking towards the window I noticed it was wide open and snow had begun to build up in front of it. There even seemed to be since ice forming on the floor. W-who in the world would leave the window open! It wasn't like that before I fell asleep.

Quickly jumping from the cot I nearly slipped on the slippery floor as I struggled to get to the window. I don't know who could have opened the window but it needed to be shut. The floor was coated in ice and I nearly fell on my butt a few times but I managed to get to the window in seconds and shut it. Although I had to stand in the pile of snow to do so I'd be fine. After all _I _wasn't the one with blue lips. With a small sigh I turned to look back at Nightmare, only to see him going into a coughing fit.

"O-oh no! I need to get him out of here!" I mumbled to myself nervously, hurrying over to the door and grabbed the freezing metal. Too cold to hold onto I let go of the handle and instead banged on the door, trying to break it down.

It wouldn't be the first time I had to break down a door but this one wouldn't budge. I tried to break down the door two more times but it still wouldn't move an inch. W-what in the world? Was the door _locked_?! Why would anyone want to lock us in here?

Just as I was beginning to panic I heard muffled voices and footsteps from the other side of the door. They were kind of faint but loud enough that could make out a few words being said. That meant there was someone out there that could help! If I can't get the door open maybe I can get their attention.

"S-someone, please help. Anyone please!" I cried, banging on the door to try and get some attention. However, when it became obvious that either no one heard me or wasn't coming that left me with no other choice.

"S-s-so, so s-s-sorry." I stammered, shivering in the cold as I took a few steps back. Reading myself I lifted my leg and kicked at right at the base of the handle as hard as I could.

Instantly the door creaked and groaned as I kicked it again and again. I was rather surprised by its resiliency as I finally managed to kick off the handle. I felt a moment of triumphantcy before I stumbled back over to the cot and shuffled Nightmare into my arms. Trying hard not to slip and slide on the slippery floor I made my way back to the door. My legs ached horribly from the bruise but I did my best to ignore it as I instead noticed how empty the Train Station was. Weren't there some people out here a little while ago?

**Third Person P.O.V**

Nightmare didn't even seem to realize that he was being carried and continued to shiver. A bit of blood rolled down his bottom lip as Avery followed the sounds of voices she suddenly heard again. One was unmistakenly female while the other was a man. The female sounded angry if not slightly scared. The man sounded calm but with an unmistakable undertone of anger.

'Oh no! I need to get Nightmare to his room or at least somewhere he can warn up. The poor boy is freezing!' Avery thought as she looked down. Nightmare had shuffled his head around so it was resting on her shoulder, allowing him to see down the hall.

_Don't go any further. Turn around and head back _a voice weakly and quietly demanded in the back of Avery's mind.

"H-huh?!" Avery asked, stopping in her tracks and looking down at Nightmare in confusion. Did he just speak to her without moving his lips?

_Quick, turn around and go to the room with the large double doors up the stairs _the voice ordered again before fading out. S-stairs?

Avery was slightly confused but did as the voice told her. Turning she was surprised to see a flight of stairs to her left. Why didn't she notice those earlier? No matter. Trying not to think about it Avery rushed up the stairs and towards the mentioned room. As she did so she heard the female voice scream in the distance.

Frightened by the sound Avery kicked the door open and rushed in, kicking it closed behind her. Rushing towards the couch that was convently placed in front of the fireplace she put Nightmare down on it. Luckily there was already a fire lit so she believed he'd be fine as she went to investigate. That woman that scared probably needed help.

_No, don't go _the weak voice returned, startling Avery.

"W-wha- who is that?" She demanded, searching the room before looking to Nightmare. He was hugging himself as he continued to shiver but was looking right at Avery.

_T-that woman, she's an assassin trying to finish the job. S-stay here _he says before letting out a slight groan. Avery's eyes widen as she realized it was him somehow speaking to her through her mind.

"N… Nightmare? I-is that you?" Avery asked, staring at the boy in worried shock. Was he really speaking to her through her mind? Honestly if this wasn't such a dire situation she would have found it pretty cool.

_Y-yeah. _The voice said with another groan, confirming it was Nightmare after all. Seeing his eyes close and that his shivering wasn't stopping Avery jumped into mother mode.

Reaching for nearest pillow she could find Avery gently lifted Nightmare's head up and put it under him. Next she looked for some random papers she could use as kindle to the fire. Finding some newspapers on the desk Avery grabbed those and walked back to the fire. Crumpling them up she threw them into the fire, barely paying any attention to what the papers actually were. Nightmare, however, did noticed and a small smile broke out on his face.

'Yay~ no paper work for me~' he thought happily before breaking out into more coughing fits. Avery tossed in the last piece of paper before walking over to his side.

"A-Are you alright? Do you need water?" She offered, gently setting her hand down on his forehead. She pulled her hand away a moment later and looked down at him in shock.

"I-I'm fine." He replied roughly, hugging himself as he waited for the fire to really warm him up. Avery sent him a scolding look as she sat down beside him and pulled him into her arms.

"No you aren't! You're as cold as ice." She fretted, wrapping her arms around the boy to get him as warm as possible. Nightmare's face flushed slightly but gladly accepted the hug. This was something his adult self would never get to have.

For a while neither of the two spoke and instead allowed the fire to warm them both up. Avery stared into the fire as she worried about Nightmare. It was lucky that the boy didn't seem any sicker from exposer to the cold. She could remember taking care of her brother John when he stayed outside in the cold too long. He had gotten the flu and none of her other brothers had the time to take care of him. Avery hoped that Nightmare wouldn't become that sick. He seemed so young that it would be a pity to see him bedridden with the flu.

"…. Sorry I didn't wake up sooner, Nightmare." Avery apologized after the short silence. Maybe if she did she could have caught who opened the window or, at the very least, gotten out of the room a lot sooner.

"It's not your fault. It wouldn't have mattered how soon you'd wake up." He answered softly, leaning against her as he enjoyed the warm from her embraces and the fire. "That nurse that was in the room with us was probably an undercover assassin who came to kill me. I should consider it lucky she tried to freeze me to death rather than put a bullet in my head. If she'd done that she would have killed you too."

"A-a-assassin?!" Avery gasped, shocked at the news. "B-but what would anyone want to kill you?" She asked, mortified. T-then that meant that scream from before was-?

"People have wanted me dead for a really long time now because I'm a role holder, just like my older self explained. If you heard a woman scream than Gray must have killed her." Nightmare explains, as if talking about death was causal. Then again the older Nightmare did also mention life didn't typically matter to the people of this world.

"O-oh …" she trailed off, not sure what to think of that. Even though Mr. Gottschalk did explain it hearing it in action is still just … well, terrifying.

"Perhaps but it's a normal thing in this world. Don't worry, Avery, you'll get used to it sooner or later." Nightmare sighed contently, now much warmer and comfortable. His head drifted down slightly until he was able to hear the abnormal bur calming thumps of her heart.

"I-I don't know if I ever could get used to that." Avery replied sadly, gently brushing her fingers through the incubus's hair. Nightmare enjoyed the affection as the girl leaned back, allowing his head to rest on her collarbone.

"Well I hope you enjoy Wonderland either way. I would be sad if you wanted to leave." He admits, feeling his cheeks flush as he felt feelings develop for the girl. After all she was the first person who was actually nice to him without wanting anything in return; not to mention that she thought his mind reading powers were cool.

"Hmm." She simply hummed in response, leaning against the side of the couch to rest. This allowed Nightmare to rest even more against her as they both looked into the fire.

'Gosh was it ever so cold outside but at least it's better in here.' She thought, feeling calm and contented as she continued to brush her fingers in Nightmare's hair.

The young incubus smiled, enjoying Avery's touch very much. He could feel his body warming up in more ways than one; and he liked the feeling. He really did hope Avery would agree to stay with him, even if it was just a little bit longer. It just sucked knowing that he'd have to share her with his Clover self in the dream realm.

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Ah, finally got it finished! I might have some spelling mistakes still unedited but I was really tired of the chapter by then. Please let me know if you spot a mistake. I will show where Alana ended up the next chapter. Please **Favorite, Follow and/or review**


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Joker/Clover/Heart no Kuni no Alice, Humor, Romance