Child of Mine

Morning arrived with a sense of dread. Alice stared up at her ceiling, waiting for the routine noises of prisoners shuffling to breakfast and Joker's harsh antagonizing to begin. But with each glance at the clock, another few minutes passed with silence. She absently stroked the metallic diamond key on her necklace, straining to hear some kind of commotion through the halls. Why haven't they started?

Getting up, Alice began her own routine, pulling on some slippers and grabbing her toothbrush. Although she carried her morning with consistency, her mind was on anything but. She recalled all of the past games the keys had put her through, furtively trying to figure out what it could have done this time. Maybe they're all mute? But that wouldn't explain the lack of any noise… Maybe they've all grown suddenly polite? She laughed aloud at this. Yeah, right. Let's see… Diamonds… Have they all turned to jeweled statues?

Lost in thought, Alice turned towards the kitchen, only to come to an abrupt halt. Down the hall, a small figure approached, no taller than her stomach. At first she mistook him for one of the circus children, but as he grew closer, she realized this one had a face.

A child…?

Alice stared at the child as he marched forward, his hands balled into tiny fists. There was no mistaking his familiarity. Wine red hair… matching eye…

The color drained from her face. Joker has a child…?!

When he got closer, Alice knelt down to the child's height, nervous sweat breaking out on her hairline. Relax. She told herself. This might not be his child. Maybe it's a new roleholder… or another outsider… Even as she thought the words, Alice was entirely unconvinced. The resemblance was too clear. This had to be Joker's son. What kind of father would keep a child hidden away for so long…? She tried to picture Joker as a father in the first place, but the image wouldn't fit into her head.

Laughing nervously, Alice tilted her head at the child, reaching out to ruffle his hair. "H-Hey there, sweetie. Are you lost?"

The child slapped her hand away. "Don't 'sweetie' me, you fucking brat!"

"Eh? Joker?" A wave of both shock and relief washed over her. On one hand, she knew immediately what had happened to the roleholders. On the other, she had not been prepared for such foul language erupting from this squeaky-voiced eight-year-old.

"No shit." He snapped. Definitely Joker. After a moment, "Why are you staring at me like that?"

She hadn't meant to, but Alice couldn't help but admire how adorable the smaller Joker was. Until he opens his mouth, that is. He vaguely reminded her of her sister Edith. She didn't often think of her younger sister—they were never very close—but there were times she could admire how youthful her sister had been.

"I just want to pinch your cheeks." She admitted with a light laugh. Joker stepped back, horrified.

"Hell no! Ack! Get away!"

Alice reached out to stroke his hair but caught herself, immediately retracting her arm. No matter how young he appeared to be, this was still clearly Joker. And after their conversation last night…

While relieved she moved away, Black seemed to recall the conversation at the same time. Both of their faces flooded with pink hues as they averted their eyes from each other. An awkward silence stretched between them, only offset by light footsteps down the hall.

"Ah, here you two are." White popped his head around the corner, identically young to Black. As he approached, his legs wobbled under the weight of his oversized costume, his pant legs rolled up so high that they looked big enough to be shoes themselves. Black was dressed similarly, with both of their shirts long enough to be knee-length dresses. "I had hoped one of you would be able to explain this sudden..." He gestured toward himself.

"Um, well… Before you get mad…" Alice fumbled with the necklace tucked under her nightgown, yanking out the diamond key. "This is probably why—"

"Are you serious?!" Black grasped the key and yanked on it hard, pulling Alice forward onto her knees. He inspected the key, furious. "When did you find it?! You didn't even think to tell us?! Of all of the stupid, irresponsible…!"

Black carried on in a long string of cursing and foot stomping. Alice ignored him, tucking the key back into her dress and rising to her feet. She and White watched his tantrum with crossed arms, neither amused by his display.

Alice sighed. "I should have told you both, I know—"

"Then why didn't you?! God dammit!" Black punched his fist against the stone wall, immediately recoiling upon impact. Without the strength of his elder persona, it did him more harm than a means of venting his anger.

"Well," White clasped his hands together, a smile on his face "There's no helping it. We'll just have to find the box and fix this."

"We should find the roleholders first." Alice disagreed. "If they're all children…" She tried to imagine her friends in such a state, but aside from the twins, she had trouble picturing it. But they already caused so much trouble as adults… "They should be protected."

"Why should we care?" White held up a hand, silencing Black's protest.

"If it's her friends Alice is worried about, then we will be happy to oblige." Alice stared at the gentle smile on White's face, trying to decipher the meaning behind it. Although it was true they'd gotten closer over the past month, it was simply out of force and Black's inevitable stubbornness that forced her companionship to go elsewhere. With White, everything felt like it hid a meaning.

You're just being paranoid. White hasn't… Intrusive memories of White's manipulation invaded her thoughts, cutting off her kindness short. She had every reason to be distrustful of him. But, since they were both Joker, shouldn't she be wary of Black as well?

"But first," White continued, gesturing towards his current oversized attire. "Allow me to find something better suited to this form."

Alice agreed, pushing her thoughts aside. "Yes, of course."

Gathering all of the roleholders—especially as children—in the country was easier said than done. The curse had spared no roleholder; even the twins had been de-aged into crawling infants with no capacity for speech. Although, Alice had noticed, they seemed to understand what was going on in their surroundings quite well. While those in most territories went willingly, there were some… less successful attempts.

"Lord Nightmare, that is enough! You must come with us!" Gray fretted. Alice had Nightmare by the ankles, pulling him across his oversized bed. The dream demon flailed between his burrito of blankets, gripping onto his bedpost with a surprising iron grip. She hadn't expected him to be so strong, especially when he was this young… and sick. "At the very least, use this energy to complete your paperwork!"

"I'm a sick child!" Nightmare gasped between violent coughs. The tug-of-war on his body was physically straining, but he refused to give up his position. "You're being cruel! Let me rest!"

"If you're so sick, then allow me to take you to the doctor." Alice insisted. Nightmare shrieked.

"N-No!" He sputtered. Coughs and wheezing escaped his tiny body, preventing another argument. His fingers slipped from the bedframe and he plopped onto the edge of the mattress stomach first.

"Lord Nightmare!" Gray ran to his side, but was quickly met with a spurt of blood upon his shoes. Nightmare huddled over, coughing the red liquid up.

Regardless, they had managed to gather the roleholders in the circus tent by evening and have a borderline civil meeting.

"Do you have any idea where the box is this time?" Boris, usually quiet and goofing off with the twins in meeting as such, was oddly active in this particular gathering. Alice secretly hoped it was a sign of maturity in his nature, but was certain his activity was due to the twins' inability to vocally distract—er, communicate.

"I mean, not its exact location." Alice toyed with the key around her neck. "But I suspect it's in the amusement park. Every other box we've found has been in the other territories, so I think the amusement park is our best bet."

"I think that's a fair deduction." White agreed. While the other roleholders had struggled to pin and tuck their clothes suitably before arriving for the circus, Joker wore the circus children's clothes. Although the pants were a bit short, they fit him well enough.

"Great! Then we'll go first thing in the morning." Gowland announced. "I know the place better than anybody, so I'll help lead the search."

"Very well. We shall go back to the castle and wait until this game is over." Vivaldi clapped her small hands together, decreeing it so.

"Actually, I think you should all stay here with us." Alice objected, receiving several outraged glares and gasps in the process. Black grabbed her by her sleeve, yanking her down to his height.

"This is a prison, not a daycare!" Black whispered, although it was more of a hushed shout. "We're not housing a bunch of fucking kids unless they want to sit in the cells!" At this, he shot a look at Elliot.

"Ah, what I think Joker means, is that we don't have enough room to house everyone in the circus." White interjected.

"I know what I meant."

"Then we should stay somewhere larger, like the castle or Hatter mansion." Alice said. "I don't think it's wise for us to split up at a time like this. Many of you are already vulnerable to attacks, and being at this size and strength will make it worse."

Elliot stood up, gun raised in hand. "Let them try to take us out! I'm still as strong as ever!"

Blood tugged on his companion's elbow. "Sit down, Elliot. Alice has a point. We may have skill in fighting, but shooting a child is much easier than an adult." At this, they spared a curious look toward the twins who slept beside each other in the chair next to them. The twins were a special case, they decided.

"We had not prepared accommodations for so many guests, but We shall assure that the castle is ready for everyone's leisure." Although she spoke politely, Vivaldi glared at the other roleholders, clearly uninterested in giving them refuge.

"Thank you for the offer, but I think the mansion is much more equipped for what we're planning to deal with." Blood smirked. "We have the best military setup in the country. No one's going to have any luck barging in there."

"And live in the middle of a dirty, grimy, crime infested territory? I'd rather take my chances with the assassins." Peter stuck his nose up at the thought, his rabbit ears twitching considerably.

"We could all go camping." Ace suggested.

"That's even worse!" Peter cried.

Camping…? Alice looked towards the large packing crates around the room. Arguments bubbled from the roleholders in the stands, neither one satisfied with the suggestion of another.

"I say we just stay at the amusement park." Gowland offered. "Kids love amusement parks!"

"Your argument lacks any sort of logic whatsoever." Vivaldi deadpanned.

"Of course, any child with a name like Merry-Go-Round would of course love amusement parks…" Blood chided.

"Why you…!" Gowland reached for his violin.

"Why don't we just stay at the tower?" Gray offered. Nightmare was inclined to agree, but Gray continued, "Lord Nightmare has too much work to get done. He cannot afford to procrastinate in another district."

"I don't want anyone bursting into my home—" Julius started.

"Who said anyone wanted to visit you in the first place?" Elliot snapped.

Clicks of guns snapped and swords unsheathed as the crowd grew rowdy. Dee and Dum, now awake and aware, clapped at this development.

A loud whistle silenced the room.

Alice stood atop a large circus ball, moving it to and from the roleholders with precision. The children watched, slightly awed by her ability to balance so well.

"I think we should all stay somewhere where the territory is neutral. This will avoid more fighting than necessary." She began.

"Exactly. This is why the tower is most ideal—" Gray started.

"No, not the tower." Alice rolled her ball around one of the crates. The curious roleholders followed, Dee and Dum even crawling to see what the foreigner had in mind.

Behind the crate, several large, colorful tents were set up around the stage rings. They were circus tents, used for acts within the show, but as Alice had them set up, they looked like they belonged to a large camping outing. The children wandered around, examining the structures.

"I know it's not ideal," She started. "But this is neutral territory, and no one will really think to come here with the circus moving out." Plus I'll be able to keep an eye on all of you.

"This is… lovely, Alice." Vivaldi hesitated, searching for what appeared to be the largest tent. "We thank you for your generosity."

"Anything from my Alice is home to me!" Peter declared. This was enough to settle the roleholders into choosing tents, each separating themselves into their own little districts.

Alice picked up the crawling twins, letting them tug at her hair as she helped the roleholders set up their temporary homes. Ace seemed the most adept to all of it. "I'll prepare some beds for everyone, so you don't need to sleep on the stage. I can also buy some clothes that properly fit you all… Ah, but I'll need you to come with me so we can get the correct sizes. Maybe we'll take a few trips so we don't overwhelm the shopkeepers…"

This was not ideal. None of the roleholders desired to be settled in tents like they were on a summer vacation, especially in a territory belonging to the Jokers, but their trust in Alice was absolute.

"Perhaps we should spend less focus on our comfort and more on finding the box." Gray suggested, claiming a tent beside Nightmare.

"Right." Alice agreed, although secretly she didn't mind having so many adorable children nearby for a few days. Although, these weren't children; they were her friends deep inside. Their personalities had not changed, with the exception of the twins who were too young to speak properly. Their actions seemed to portray their thoughts fairly well, though. "Well, at the very least…"

Alice rummaged through a large crate in between Ace and Julius's tents, setting aside various brightly colored and patterned clothing. The roleholders, with the exception of Gowland, watched in distaste at the vibrant clothing.

"You're going to make them wear it, too?" Black laughed.

"I want everyone to be comfortable, at least." Alice handed out the articles of clothing to Black and White to divvy amongst the roleholders. "Please try these on. If something doesn't fit, I'll try to fix it."

Boris held up one of the jingling shirts, grimacing at the loud blue and yellow stripes. "Uh, you know, Alice, we appreciate this, but…"

"We cannot wear something so vulgar!" Vivaldi shouted, throwing a bright green dress onto the floor. "We will not be made a fool of."

"You seem to do a pretty good job of that already." Blood mumbled. Vivaldi's eye twitched.

"What was that?"

"Hey, hey." Alice held up her hands, stepping between the bickering siblings. "I know, I know. No one wants to be here, no one wants to wear these clothes, and no one wants to be kids. I get it. But let's not start another war over it, okay? It's only temporary. I promise, I'll have everything fixed tomorrow."

Vivaldi stuck her nose up, but pointed back to the crate. "…Very well. White. Find us something more suitable." Peter glared, but followed suit. "We will not leave Our tent until the situation has been taken care of."

Blood examined his own outfit, and with a look of disgust, left for his tent to change. Alice sighed in relief and stepped away from the crowd.

It won't last long. She told herself. Tomorrow, everything will be back to normal. Everything.