Alice in a Twisted Wonderland (BL 18+ Completed)

Chapter Thirty Six: Knight in Shining Sword

Where were the times... the three of us held hands together? Helped each other climb trees to get the fruits?

We were so innocent. We knew nothing of war, of competition. We were friends.

"I, Aster, will someday protect Wonderland till the day I die!"

"I, Spade, will be the most powerful Magician in Wonderland! Hahahaha..."

"Shut up you two, you don't even memorize the multiplication table and now you want all of that?!"

"Oh come on Knight, there must be something you want to be when you grow up!"

"... fine. When I grow up..." I look at the two idiots with their hips buried under mud and dirt. "I will protect the two of you. Until the day I die..."

I never thought... it would come to this.

"Ace!" Knight entered the observatory only to see the King of Hearts surrounded by jolts of electricity and blinding magic. "Ace... this isn't healthy anymore."

His eyes were pure glowing, 12 cards surrounding one hand and the other, a ball of light. Outside, the red skies are swirling around huge cloud around the castle.

Finally, a giant bolt of lightning strikes the center of the palace and all power goes out for exactly 14 seconds, before coming back again. In Ace's other hand, is a single card: a Queen of Spades.

"Knight... I need to study Marco's powers. I need him to defeat Spade."

"You want another secondary power? You've got 13–"

"Marco's powers of Illusions ensure I get Erin back. In all loops, I didn't dare create another card. But Spade has left me no choice." Ace's  voice is as cold and empty as his heart after Erin had left. "I need you, Knight, to extract Marco's power with this card."

"Wh-why me..."

The King twirled the Divination card around his fingers. "Marco will do absolutely anything to gain your attention. If anyone will convince him to give that power to me, it's you."

"You cannot ask such a thing of me." Knight begs Ace, "You don't need to do this! You don't need to risk a life for an outcome you aren't sure of!"

"If I extract his powers myself, he'll die in my hands." Ace's eyes were pure lightning, none of his bright reds. "If you do it... the boy may live."

Knight looks down at the new card that appeared in his hands, conflicted. "Is that why you told me to prioritize saving Marco over the others?"

"If it doesn't work, the loop will start again and we will start anew." Ace looks back at Knight, a whole new different man with a new agenda. "If I don't get Marco's powers, Knight... I might die in the hands of Spade."

Knight knocks on Marco's bedroom door, opening it with a solemn look on his face.

"Knight! Have you seen the weather, it's crazy! It's insane—INCENSE, burn it up, burn it—!" Marco cleared his voice, "Sorry... I get worse when you're around. You make m-m-me very—HOR—Nervous."

Knight smiles at him. "I'm not here to clean your room, Marco. You can take your dirt off from under the bed now."

In an instant, an explosion of paper hearts scattered onto the floor where the mouth monsters happily ate some. "U-uhh! Don't mind... them... they're—why are you here? Why are—YOU—here, why—ARE—sorry."

Knight, for the first time ever, sat on his bed unsteadily of the random ugly monsters under it, and on the pillows. "I came to ask for a favor, Marco."