• I have never been so saddened in my whole entire life. I miss Borodo. I miss his sweet words and soft kisses, I miss not being able to see him everyday at my doorstep. I hope he's alright, I keep waiting for him by the shore. It's been three months since he left. Roberta had her baby. Now I have a little brother named Akisu. He is such a bundle of joy, he lifted my heart a little. But alas, I cannot truly be happy until Borodo returns.

    -From the Diary of Alice

    The wind carried the salty, ocean air to the shore as Alice sat on the seashore. She wore a sky blue dress that buttoned down the front and ended in an inch of white lace. Her boots were black and were buttoned up on the insides of her legs. She sat under the shade of her matching umbrella and wore a lovely blue hat with fake blue flowers pinned in it. She dressed like this everytime she went down to the shore, despite the weather. There, she waited for Borodo until the sun set or until she couldn't take it anymore. He promised that he would come within six months. He loved her too much to break that promise.

    Alice saw a figure in the distance on the ocean. Could it be Borodo? She squinted, waiting for the object to get closer. A couple more appeared on the horizon. Did Borodo bring back a fleet to throw a wedding party? Alice stood up and watched as several more objects dotted along the horizon. They were big ships like the White Rabbit, different shapes painted on the sails. She saw numbers, diamonds, hearts, clubs and spades. What kind of ships were these? She decided she would tell the townspeople. Alice folded her umbrella and made her way into the cavern, up the elevator and towards the mayor's office.

    She opened the large wooden door to see the mayor in his large chair, tied up and gagged. Behind the chair stood a man dressed in purple. He tipped his hat at Alice and grinned.

    "You saw the ships coming?" Chester asked her. She nodded. "Your prince is coming, you know? He's in one of those ships."

    "Borodo?" Alice's heart skipped a beat, she was excited.

    "No, you silly girl. Borodo was a mere thief, he was no royalty. The man you are about to meet is of ancient, mystical, royal blood. You will like him, if you give him the chance. I recently engaged in a duel with him. He is quite skilled," Chester looked down his cane as he held it up like a rifle. "A good man, he is."

    "I'll be with no other man but Borodo," Alice stared angrily at him.

    "You'll change your mind soon. Eggs and promises are bound to break," he snickered before he mysteriously disappeared. "Hush, Alice. Don't say a word about the ships." She heard his voice linger in the air. Alice hated when he did that.

    Alice untied the gag from the mayor and loosened the ropes so he could slip from them.

    "Alice, those ships are coming to attack the island. We need to close off the cavern so they won't come in through there. The stairs is full of traps, they'll never get up that way," he told her as he opened a door and entered the small room. "Dammit, the lever is stuck."

    She watched fearfully as he came out of the room, a look of dread in his face. "What can we do?" She whispered, worried about the townspeople. Especially little Akisu. The mayor shook his head. They couldn't do anything, the lever that controlled the cavern door was stuck, most likely Chester's doing. There was nothing they could do except wait for their doom, the rest of the town shall live peacefully until the very moment, without the knowledge of the attack.

    The mayor fell to the floor, sitting up against the wall. Alice saw he had lost all hope. "Ever since you came here, bad things have happened. I don't know how you got up those stairs but it was a miracle. That man, Chester P. Cheshire, he's awfully dangerous. It may not be your doing entirely but none of this probably wouldn't have happened if you never came here."

    Alice was stricken by his words. She didn't mean to be a burden to anyone, she could've went to another island to recooperate. "How can you say that? After all I did for the town?"

    "The contract Alice, we failed to read it. Do you know what it says in the small print?"

    She shook her head but he didn't see. "No, sir. I don't because I did not write it."

    "Of course you didn't. I believe you entirely. Chester showed the contract to me just moments ago. It stated that Clockwork Island does not belong to its inhabitants and was free for the taking of anyone who could control the island's key. I signed that damned thing! I authorized it!" the mayor began to weep silently. After awhile he looked up to see that Alice was gone, the door was wide open.

    Alice ran as fast as she could, pulling up her skirt so she wouldn't trip on it. She was determined to save Akisu by warning the Cadys. Akisu had his whole life in front of him, being only a month old.

    "Run, little rabbit. Run," she heard Chester whisper in her ear. He was following her the whole time as she ran through town. "Kill a thousand souls for a single innocent one."

    "I shall do so, Akisu is precious," Alice huffed as she turned a corner onto her street.

    She trotted down the stairs, exhausted. Her body was so tired, she could hardly go on but she kept running. She had to save Akisu before the ships came. She didn't know how close they were to the island but either way, time was precious. She turned the handle to the house, relieved she had finally arrived. As she ran in, she stared up at the Diamond Clock that Eugene and Roberta had built for Akisu during Roberta's pregnancy. It was to commemorate his birth because he was such a precious child. Alice couldn't help but smile a tiny bit. Thinking of Akisu made her slightly joyful.

    "What is wrong, Alice?" Roberta asked as she held the bundled-up Akisu in her arms. Eugene stood behind her, his face full of surprise and worry.

    "Oh, Roberta! Eugene! Ships... Pirate ships! The lever is stuck. We must flee," Alice told them as she ran up the stairs.

    Roberta nodded to her husband and on signal, he disappeared into another room, returning minutes later with a large, clam-like basket, blankets and a little box. He set the basket down and stuffed it with blankets. Taking Akisu from Roberta, he placed him gently into the clam and put a blanket on him, pulling up to his chin and tucking it in around his body. He placed the music box beside the babe and handed the clam to Roberta.

    "Come, we shall take the laboratory exit to the cavern," Eugene motioned and the two women followed.