I'm really hoping the new Alice game is gonna' get an English dubbed or subbed version, or at least an easier way to access it since it will be available on the Switch. I've never actually played one of the games before and I'm DYING to play it!

Victoria POV

Shoot. Shoot. Shoot. Reload. Shoot. Shoot. Shoot. Shoot. Shoot. Shoot. Reload.

Over and over it repeats in my head while I stare at the screen in front of me, the fake gun in my hand as I give several head shots to the Faceless on the screen, the rest getting it in the chest or neck and being taken down pretty quickly.

I've been in this arcade for quite a while now. At least a full time change. This park never seemed to close down, unless it did and I didn't realize. Boris would have accompanied me, if it weren't for the fact he saw some mouse eared boy and charged at him, bullets flying and a hysterical laugh coming from him. A real life Tom and Jerry it seems.

Nick would be judging me for not getting a one hit on each of these Faceless right now but, does it really matter here? A shot is a shot and it still takes them down. It's much better than what Alice can do, since everyone here probably compares her to me and vice versa. Boy, do I hate being compared.

Sucking my teeth, I reload and let off six more rounds, hitting each Faceless between the eyes.

'Good shot!' I can practically hear him yell. 'Again! Keep doing it until you're perfect!'

Perfect.

It's what he always wanted me to be, what my father always wanted of me yet-

My mother was the one who embraced my flaws.

How emotional I was- how I still am. How addicted to carrot cake I am, how tall and unfeminine my figure is in comparison to others, my sense of fashion, the things I love...

Far from perfect.

"Perfect Score!" Yelled the man on the screen, a leader board coming up as I see the Twin's names and Boris's name on the board, my score nearly identical to theirs. Off by 45 points. They probably stay here and shoot at it all day for fun, what a dream. Entering my initials, I see the VAR and edit it once more, leaving a little heart emoji so it now said VAR 3.

Perfect~

Maybe, just maybe...

'You should have fun sweetheart. Ignore what your father says.'

'Your mother has no idea what she's talking about. You're taking over the Rose family business and that's final!'

What if I don't want to take over the business? What if I want to live out my life being happy? Finishing college, actually become a lawyer- maybe a marine biologist like I always wanted to? It is my minor after all. Get a place of my own outside of the one I inherited so I could call it my home. Take care of my fur baby, meet a guy, or girl, who makes me happy and lets me just be me around them.

Is this why I'm here? To give me that chance? Even if it's just a coma, I can dream out my happiness for the rest of my life until I finally pass or Nick pulls the plug on me. Brandon won't be happy about it but... maybe it's for the best? It's not my actual happiness, the one I can find at home but maybe, just maybe, I can fake happiness here in this dream and stay here for as long as my body permits it before it loses all fighting chance and rots away.

Yeah, mom would want me to be happy. She'd want me to go out, explore, be me and just make friends here with the people of this world I dreamed up.

Why would I dream up people with rabbit ears and cat ears though? Do I like animals that much? I mean, I've explored those kinks before but-

"You're still in here?! Gowland said he hasn't seen you in two time changes!"

So it was that long then? I couldn't tell, the doors don't give off much light so it's hard to tell what the time is outside.

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Boris POV

Has she really been in here all this time? Alice has been looking for her like crazy, the Twins too. They're both excited to play with Victoria, hopefully she knows what it means to play with them. They said she promised them which means I'll need to keep them at bay for a while.

Seeing the leader board in the background, I spot my name and the Twin's before looking at a score right under theirs.

VAR 3

Who's VAR? Is that Victoria? Has she been trying to beat our score this whole time? She's come close, no other Faceless has come close enough yet here, a Foreigner, is less than 50 points away from beating the Twins and 75 away from beating me. Quite a feat.

"Has it been that long? I can't tell with those doors closed. No windows in here." She said, trying to hide a yawn as she looks back at the screen and shoots the green dot in the corner, sealing in her initials on the board. So it was her.

"You came real close to beating the Twin's score~ They would have been so upset to see it happen next time they came here that they would have spent time period after time period trying to get their spot back." This grabs her attention, making her look back at the game and set the gun down before looking back at me.

"They're that obsessed over having their names on the leader board? I was just playing for fun and to clear my mind. I've been thinking a lot." She sighs, her eyebrows furrowing in frustration as she looks over at the games behind me. Their noises make my ears twitch, especially because some of the rhythm games are quite loud with their music.

"They're nuts over it. It frustrates them to no end knowing they have yet to beat my score on it."

"Huh. I suppose it makes sense, they're just kids. Competitive kids at that." She says, her sight still off in the distance as I turn and look, the sound of her shoes tapping against the tiled floor making an ear twitch her way as she walked closer to me. What was she staring at? I don't-

"Are you good at claw games?" She asks suddenly, standing right by me and looking at me with the most serious stare I've seen on a woman since the Queen. Quite a look. What does she want from a claw machine?

"Nyahhh, not really. They're one of the few games I can't seem to get the hang of." I said, tail flicking to try and see what she was looking at again. She's nearly the same height as me, it's surprising for a woman. They're normally much shorter and her clothes are nothing like that of the usual woman's outfit here in Wonderland.

Tight black pants with rips in them, a fitted top that's cut short like mine, dark boots with a heel, a cardigan reaching to her ankles to top it all off. Her bag is hidden behind her but you can tell it's there, just like the revolver she has tucked inside of her cardigan to hide. Poorly at that, she must not care to hide it here.

"Damn. I'll just have to try again. I'm probably the worst person alive at them." She sighs, catching my attention as she brushes some hair behind her ear only for it to fall back in the same spot. If she wanted a prize from those, she should find the Twins. They always seem to know how to get them out with ease.

Following where she was walking, I lick my lips as she stops in front of one where there was a pile of animals ranging from whales to cats to cows and unicorns. What one could she possibly want? Hopefully the c-

"That cow will be mine."

A COW? Out of all the animals in that machine, she wants a cow? What kind of woman wants a cow? Don't they like cats and stuffed bears and all that? That's what Alice wanted from it when she firs came here. The Twins won them and then some for her and she was over the moon yet here Victoria is, wanting a cow.

What a strange Foreigner.

"Here. I think I know a trick or two to get it out."

"Get it for me, and I'll pet you and play with your ears. I saw the way you watched me pet Elliot." She looked at me, a glint in her eyes. She really wants that thing, huh? It's on. You're mine, you stupid cow.

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Victoria's POV

I think I'm in love. This cow may not have eyes, but it's the cutest thing this world has had so far. The best thing, the only reason I'm staying here as of now. This cow.

I named him Franklin and he'll forever be with me. I'll have to go shopping now so I can buy him a little hat to put on him.

My hands mindlessly ran through Boris's hair, gently rubbing the base of his ears as the purring coming from him increased tenfold. I'm glad I guessed right when it came to him wanting to be pet. He's really enjoying this.

Amber's favorite spots seem to be close to the same spots for him as well, which makes my life easier. One hand trailed away from his ears to gently rub down his back and play with his tail, flicking the piercing going through it. Knowing how sensitive cat tails are, that must have hurt like hell. The piercings in his ears too. They're like- twice as sensitive as a human's ears so I can only imagine how much it must have hurt getting them done.

Hearing him groan and stretch, he moved to twist around in my lap and face me, his eyes barely open. He's really enjoying it, you can see it on his face. Amber pulled the same face and I could do anything to her and she'd let me so long as I kept petting her. I miss her, but Boris is definitely a good enough replacement since I'm here.

Seeing a shadow looming over us, I look up hesitantly to see Ace beaming down at us. I haven't seen him since I was at the Clock Tower and first met him along with Alice. What's he doing here at the Amusement Park? Is he lost? Alice says he gets lost easily.

"Hey! You're that new Foreigner, Victoria right? Did we meet before? I'm Ace, the Knight of Heart Castle~!" He beams, making me raise an eyebrow. Is he air headed too, or did he just genuinely forget? It was such a rushed meeting, maybe he did forget. I wouldn't blame him if he did.

"Yeah, I'm Victoria. We met before, at the Clock Tower. It was such a quick meeting and Alice was all over me trying to explain things with Julius so we probably had such a brief one that you don't remember it." I say, feeling Boris's ears twitch in my hand and the man groan.

He probably hears all of this, yet he's just lying here. Is he having that much fun? How silly of him in a world where everyone wants to kill one another.

"Perfect! I was making my way back to the Heart Castle and the Queen has been livid because you haven't met her yet! Come on, we have to go." He smiled, picking me up roughly making me yelp as he draped me over his shoulder and hurried off into the forest with a laugh.

"Wait I-!" Boris is on the ground groaning from being tossed from my lap. He probably hit his head and barely knows what's going on, the poor cat. I'm sure he'll be okay. He should go to his home and rest, he still looks so tired.

"Ace! I can walk, my legs aren't useless yanno'."

"I know, but this way is quicker and easier for me!"

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"Ace I've been telling you for like- hours now! We're fucking lost and you're not listening to me! I have a map, what the hell are you doing?!" I yell, pissed beyond belief at the aimless wandering. There's having an adventure, and then there's lost wandering in the woods for hours on end. My feet hurt and I'm exhausted. I haven't slept in at least four time changes at this point and just need a few hours of rest.

Please, whatever God may exist here. Let me sleep in peace in the next time change. Just a little bit of sleep, please.

My bigass mouth, I regret it the minute the time period changes from morning straight to night. It's pitch black and I can barely see my own hands. Where's-?

"Ace?"

"Right here Victoria! Man, it got dark quick huh? Hold on one second." He said, his cheery one never faltering as a fire soon started up where we were standing, a tent already pitched. It's like he's done this a million times before. Knowing how he gets lost now, he probably has. Yikes.

"You pitched that uh.. real quick." I mumble, trying to sit comfortably on the ground and enjoying the heat of the fire. Closing my eyes, I try to enjoy the silence of the woods and the crackle of the fire only to feel a presence next to me.

If it's Ace I swear-

"Fuck! Why do you havta' be creepy like that?! Can't a girl enjoy some peace and quiet?!" I yell, scrambling away from the brunet that was smiling creepily at me from the ground where I once was. He was literally breathing down my neck staring at me. What the hell?

"I can't help it. You're so different than Alice, I had to see you up close for myself. Everything is so different between you two. The looks, the personality- well, not everything. You're both so lost, like me." He says, making me twitch and sit closer to the tent.

"What?"

"You're just trying to find your way, right~? Feel you don't belong?"

"I have no clue what you're talking about. I don't want to eat, I just want to sleep. Can we share the tent you pitched for the night so I can sleep? I haven't slept in several time periods and I'm beyond exhausted." I sigh, seeing him beam and crawl inside of it and yank me in, zipping it shut.

"Of course! It'll cost you though~"

What? Does he want money? My money is no good here and if he thinks we're fuc-

Before I have a chance to respond, he yanks me down to the ground and rests his head on my chest, eyes closed as he holds me tight. My heart? He wants to listen to it? I know that people here supposedly have clocks for hearts but, why does he want to listen to mine?

"Is... that all? Just to listen to my heart?"

"Yup~ I just want to listen to it. You can sleep now."

He's certainly a strange fellow but, it doesn't take long for me to fall asleep despite how uneasy he makes me. I guess the exhaustion finally settled in.

I'll need the sleep for meeting the Queen anyways.

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