Hide Emotions, Seek Truth

I walked ahead in the plains. It was empty, only being filled with wildlife and humanoid creatures. I decided to take a break from walking and found a small rest area. I made my way there and sat down on one of the benches.

Snow White and Alice sat with me.

"Sorry.." Alice said softly.

"For?" I asked.

"Constantly leaving you when trouble arises. It isn't my intentions.." Alice said.

I let out a nose exhale. "Three times is three too many for me to accept an apology. If you want to make it up to me, you put in some legwork as well. If I could leave you to die, I would've. Fortunately for you, I need you and all of the Aces so I can leave Wonderland."

"It is true that you need us as we are the keys, but we can't defeat the Royals on our own despite being Aces. The King of Hearts is more powerful than we realize because at the end of the day we are still subjugated to his Authority." Snow White said and looked at the ground.

"What caused the Goddess to grow greedy like this? Why would someone like her need this form of chaos? Wouldn't that make her a Joker herself?" I asked.

"No. She isn't a Joker but she is inspired and driven by Sin. She's driven by Lust, Greed, Envy, and Wrath. The Four Sins of Wonderland. The Hearts are Lustful Beings, The Diamonds are Greedy Beings, The Clubs are Envious Beings, and finally The Spades, the strongest of the four Regions are Wrathful Beings." Snow White explained.

"So the King of Hearts is a Lustful Being. You have trouble defeating him how?" I asked.

"He can induce us with Lust. Making us give into our lascivious desires. Lust makes us weak...Sin in general makes us weak. If you haven't noticed, the reason I run is because the King's Units can entice me with lust. They can entice all of my allies with lust thus making us weaker...more vulnerable...more Bound to Wonderland and its constant torture." Alice explained and stood up.

"I hate feeling lust...I hate being in love in general. Love is what binds me. Love is what makes me weak. Humans are weak creatures because of their emotions. I can not be Bound to emotions." Alice said and looked at the sky.

As I stared at Alice, I could see a woman who once expressed emotions to her fullest...a woman who used to be happy now hardened by her own home.

I stood up and sighed softly. "Emotions don't make a human weak. Avoiding them is what makes you weak. Rejecting them is what makes you weak. It makes you easier to bind. Makes you more vulnerable than you realize."

Alice looked at me and crossed her arms. "That's rich coming from a guy with lack of remorse for those he uses as assets."

"That doesn't mean I'm emotionless. A tyrant like me can still express emotions. It's only that I am in a calm state. I have Regulated Emotions...it's different from Suppressed Emotions." I said and closed my eyes feeling the gentle breeze of the wind.

Our bracelets began to beep.

[Due to the victory of your last Challenge, you have been rewarded.]

[Reward: 8 of Hearts]

[Life Force: 11,200]

[Challenge: Hide and Seek]

My Preflex activated and I dodged a dagger then noticed it stick to a tree that was behind us. I looked ahead and noticed a woman wearing an assassin's attire and her black scarf flowed in the wind as she walked to us. She vanished within her shadows.

"C'mon, we need to go." I said and ran off.

Alice and Snow White followed behind quickly. Ahead was our next destination, Forestland. Our next challenge was set there. We ran around the forest and I gave the order to split up and we did. I closed my eyes and imagined myself on the chest board.

'She's an assassin. Assassins have properties of Knights meaning she's extremely fast. Our best bet is to set traps the best we can. Due to her qualities...she's moving three times within a second. Our only hope is to catch her off guard..' I thought to myself and opened my eyes then grunted as three clones of the assassin appeared around me.

'No it isn't that she's moving three times...she's in three places at once..!'

"Found you~" The Assassin laughed then groaned as she was shot. She disappeared and retreated.

I looked in the direction the bullet came from and noticed a woman walking forward toward me in black and red spiritual armor. She got out of the armor and it turned into a small automaton.

The woman had fair skin, short black hair, red eyes, and a curvaceous and sexually appealing body. She wore a beautiful black dress, black shoes to match, and had black vine like tendrils around her arms. Her Ace Symbol was in her right eye.

"Who are you..?" I asked.

"Suimin...That's what I go by now. My armor's name is Briar Rose. I am commonly named...Sleeping Beauty. Only those I trust can call me by my alter ego, Briar, so if you dare to call me that...I will have you sleeping forever." Suimin said and pointed her gun at me.

"Her Languor is her strength..."

"Eternal Sleep for her enemies and Eternal Rest for herself..."

"Sloth is a Sin...but her Sloth is a Virtue.."

"Save her of her Eternal Nightmare..."

Suimin lowered her gun and heard rustling then looked around. Laughing was heard as the assasin rushed around us.

"Sleeping Beauty...Your name is correct for you. You are most beautiful when you're sleeping and the King wishes for you to sleep forever!" The assassin laughed and appeared in front of Suimin.

Suimin yawned and noticed three clones of the assassin appear around her. She began dodging the assassin's attacks then her Automaton turned into her Spiritual Armor. She went inside the armor and fell asleep. The helmet of her armor appeared then the eyes shined brightly, activating the armor.

'She's like a rook...that armor offers top notch defense and offence. It's also in autopilot so Suimin isn't even controlling the armor..' I thought to myself.

The Assassin bellowed and dashed toward Briar then noticed she swiftly dodged her attacks. Briar constructed a lance and thrusted it at the Assassin. She grunted as she blocked the attack then vanished.

[Promotion Gauge: 45%]

"She's too fast for us for right now. We need to lure her into a trap." I said and looked at Briar.

Briar looked at me and nodded. "Okay."

We ran through the forest and I created clones to distract the Assassin. My clones ran across the forest and used the scent of the plants to mess with the Assassin's senses.

Alice looked around and noticed one of my clones then looked around for me. She grunted as the Assasin appeared in front of her. She summoned her scissors and blocked the attack. She slid backwards then noticed the Assassin moving around her swiftly.

"Who are you truly..?"

"You lost your confidence...that's why you run.."

"Coward..."

"Where does your loyalties lie..?"

"What is your true goal...?"

Alice closed her eyes and grunted as the voices in her head grew louder.

[Alice's Sanity Decreased: 100% -> 89%]

"You can't get it back..."

"Your dreams are unachievable..."

The Assasin noticed Alice's vulnerability and took the chance to strike but Snow White blasted her away with an ice blast.

"Alice!" Snow White called out and grunted as she noticed Alice's dark aura.

The whispers of the forest grew louder for Alice. This forest is the root of her trauma...the root of her torture. Without her Cheshire Cat, Alice knew she was lost. Her Familiars were her only friends once Aladdin, Tethys, and Dorothy were separated by the Goddess.

Alice opened her eyes and her dark energy surged around her body then she looked at the Assassin with Wrath filling her eyes. She bellowed and dashed toward the Assassin. She slashed in a circle and struck one of the clones of the assassin. The Assassin noticed Alice had lost herself and blocked her wild attacks then was forced to retreat.

"Alice!" Snow White yelled.

I set up my clones in well hidden areas and looked at Briar. "Ready?"

Briar nodded. "Yes."

"Save her..."

I grunted and held my head then felt dark energy. I heard an explosion and looked in that direction then noticed Snow White fleeing the area. Briar noticed as well then saw Alice wildly attacking everything that moved.

"Her Wrath.." Briar said and grunted as she dodged a black crescent wave of energy.

Alice walked toward us and her eyes shined with hatred in her heart. She allowed herself to succumb to her own Wrath. "This place..."

I walked forward and prevented Alice from coming closer. "Snow White, Suimin. This is the Base. Castle it. When the Assassin comes, take her down to the best of your abilities. I will stop Alice and calm her down.."

"But you're an Unranked! You'll die!" Snow White said.

"So be it, we all know we can't keep her in this state and someone has to take the sacrifice. It can't be one of you either. I will take the fall." I said and held my sword out.

Alice stared at me and her eyes shined.

[Mission: Calm Alice's Wrath]

I lowered my stance and got ready. "Let's go."

I dashed past Alice and she looked back at me and chased after me. We held no connection so she had no issue in chasing after me with no thought behind it. I led Alice away from Snow White and Briar.

Alice vanished and appeared in front of me then slashed at me. I blocked the slash and dodged her next strike then jumped up, slashing down. Alice blocked the slash and pushed me back then split her scissors in two then launched an X shaped cutting wave at me. I blocked the cutting waves and grunted as I slid backwards. An explosion happened and Alice watched then a sadistic smirk curled on her lips.

[Promotion Possible!]

"I wouldn't be smirking...this battle isn't even close to being over." I said and the smoke cleared revealing I had promoted to a Bishop.

I looked at Alice and magic circles surrounded my wrists then formed into magic gauntlets. I took off my cloak and dashed toward Alice.

'Bishops the third fastest piece in the game...and possibly tied for the third most powerful piece between the Knight, only having a slight advantage because of versatility. Bishops have the second strongest magic ability, second behind the Queen. A great strategy for a Bishop is to overwhelm their opponents with magic and with their quick speeds.'

Alice slashed at me and noticed I had shifted and vanished. She looked a bit surprised and groaned as she was blown away from a blast of wind. I appeared in front of her then struck her stomach and kicked her away then formed a magic circle, firing a blast of lightning at her. She groaned as she was hit. She fell onto one knee and stuck the blade of her scissors in the ground.

I lowered my arm and exhaled then closed my eyes.

[Mission Complete: Calmed Alice's Wrath]

Snow White dodged the Assassin's strikes then swung her sword at the Assassin, striking her. Briar thrusted her lance at the Assassin and bellowed, striking the Assasin from the other side. The two split the Assassin in half then watched her body disintegrate.

[Challenge Complete: Hide and Seek]

[Award: Wonder EXP +200]

Snow White sighed tiredly and sat on the ground. "Finally..!"

Briar's helmet disappeared and Suimin had awakened from her slumber. She got out of the armor then Briar turned into a small automaton and hopped into Suimin's arms.

"Yaawwn..~ Finally...~" Suimin yawned and smiled. She noticed I was missing. "Huh? Where's the guy?"

"Leo? He went to calm Alice down. She went on a rampage because her sanity grew too low...I heard her talking to herself when I arrived and tried to calm her down but she attacked wildly." Snow White explained.

I walked back to Snow White and Suimin, carrying a sleeping Alice in a bridal style. Snow White and Suimin looked at me in shock. I stared at them and stopped walking.

"She's calmed." I said.

"They say if you want your dreams to come true, dream it once more or succumb to harsh reality..."