Leo and I sat at the dining table with Addis who wanted to join us for the conversation. Cecilia also joined with Astar, who was preparing the tea. All eyes were on Leo now, interested in the answers he has to give.
"My first question...System Wonderland. What is that and who controls it truly?" I asked.
Addis rose an eyebrow. "System Wonderland?"
Leo looked serious and closed his eyes. "How did you find out about System Wonderland?"
I gave a look of confusion and made a bit of a face both Cecilia and Leo noticed when I felt a dumb question was asked. "Dad...How else? The Original Ones? Alpha, Nexus, and Omega? Besides, I'm a part of it. You should know Project Wonderland is going to be used for not only Suxen's Cult, but to also merge our universe with some dimension named Wonderland!"
"Calm down, Claudio. I get it. Uhm...System Wonderland...also known as the Dearie System, is the very first System that Luke created using an entire Wonder Star. The Stars work similar to a relic named Eloheim's Tree...only found in Nexus's Garden where only the fruit with Nexus's Marking grants Nigh-Omnipotence." Leo explained.
"And who controls it?" I asked.
Leo was silent. Even he knows he can't expose such a secret. He looked at me and noticed my serious gaze anticipating the answer.
"Leo..." Addis said.
Cecilia looked at Leo as well.
"Well? Answer me, I have to know..." I said.
Leo kept his eyes closed as he sighed softly. "Your mother does. Alice...controls System Wonderland."
"How..? My original mother died long ago during the first stages of Project Wonderland and the clone of her is dead too! So how?!" I asked.
"She isn't dead. Luke's angels took her body and resurrected her. She's alive...trapped in Reverence Corps that lays underwater. The Tower of Reverence Corps is right under the Central City of Seraph City or as known as the Heart of Heaven." Leo said.
I closed my eyes and felt a sense of relief that my mother was alive. Clone or not...I still loved her with every fiber of my body. I opened my eyes and exhaled. "These Alice Units. What are they?"
I heard glass rattle and knew Astar was also listening. She froze as soon as I mentioned Alice Units. Addis was more on edge the more he learned about me and Suxen's plans.
"The Alice Units...oh you're really pulling my leg here, son." Leo said knowing there was no turning back.
"This is important for everyone's sake. I need to know these things and who better to ask than my own dad?" I asked.
Leo kept his eyes closed then exhaled. "The Alice Units...are artificially created beings that were made from Alice's DNA. Arabella is an Alice Unit...no she's a perfect being that was created to serve Luke and gather Wonder Energy. Recently she's been revolting against Luke.."
"Listen, Alice Units are highly dangerous Darling Class Units. These Darlings are the strongest Darlings and the most important Darlings in Suxen's arsenal of units. Astar is an Alice Unit, Everleigh, Tempest...Daisy is also one, but she's a failed experiment..." Leo added.
I looked at Leo then looked at the table. "I have more questions, but I'll save it for later...my main question that everyone keeps ducking is why was I chosen?"
"It should be obvious. I know what I know and everyone else now knows as much as I do, but we can't stop Suxen like you can. Claudio..." Leo said then placed his hand on my shoulder. "You are the only one who knows the full truth...all of the visions you see and the battles you're fighting lead to the Ultimate Truth."
"I agree with Leo here. You're the only one who has the answer on how to stop System Wonderland. You need to dig even deeper and keep exploring you visions." Addis said.
"I don't think I can take anymore after my most recent vision. I cant...look at my dead mother sitting in that chair again...it hurts..." I said. "I can barely handle my responsibility of saving everyone..."
"Why won't you just release all that anger. You don't have a Divine Sin for no reason, Claudio.." Astar said as she walked over toward us.
I looked at Astar then looked down. "You know my rage. All of you do. I was a destructive and curious child and adolescent. I can't...I can't hurt or lose anyone else I care about and love."
"Holding it back is essentially destroying yourself." Astar said. "I should know...your smile isn't the same."
"She's got a point..." Addis said. "This path is full of pain, but the bigger the pain the bigger the end result. Trust me."
I looked at Addis then looked at everyone else. I looked at Dearie and noticed her nod. I smiled a bit then looked down. "Right."
Leo looked at me and smiled. "Do you trust me?"
"Yeah." I nodded.
"No, do you trust me. As your Dad, do you trust me." Leo asked.
I stated at Leo then looked down. I closed my eyes and thought about how happy he made me and my mom. "I do."
"Then let us go back out there and finish what we started. A battle between Father and Son shall be finished under any circumstances. My dad taught me that...and I'll be happy to teach you a few of my tricks." Leo said.
I smiled and nodded. Leo noticed the wall slowly beginning to lower.
"We can go after we enjoy Astar's tea. I've been dying to taste it." I said then winked at Astar.
Astar blushed a bit and smiled at my gesture then hurried to the kitchen to get the tea.
"Even while in your moments of pain, you can still be a huge flirt." Addis chuckled.
"I can't completely lose myself now. Not anymore. I know what I must do, all it takes is for me to find that power from within me to do it." I said and looked at Addis.
Addis looked at me and smiled. "Right..."
Cecilia watched us then smiled. 'I can't wait until you actually come back to us..~'
_______________________
Aria wandered around the castle grounds and was in deep thought. She had me on her mind, wondering if I was okay or not. As she walked around she heard an explosion then grunted. The explosion also alerted Detre and Madris from their rooms.
They hurried toward the explosion, preparing themselves to eliminate the potential threat that could've slipped into the kingdom. Detre noticed a light and white lightning then rose an eyebrow.
"That was a good one, but the newer generations are meant to surpass the old." I bantered toward Leo then smirked.
"They're back at it..? Look how closely Lady Cecilia is watching. Almost as if she's excited." Aria said then watched as I dashed toward Leo.
Leo dodged my attack perfectly then dodged a Light Blast. His eyes shined then he dodged the Light Blast that came from behind. He revealed his pocket watch then slowed down time.
"They don't call me the Joker for no reason." Leo chuckled then rushed me with a barrage of attacks.
Time resumed and I rolled backwards then recovered onto my feet. I grunted softly then fell to one knee.
"Alert: Leo also has Time Manipulation, but not only that but abilities that seems to match yours, almost like he copied you." Dearie alerted.
"The Joker is the strongest card in the deck, and the Jokers are also well known Tricksters with Abilities unlike the others. How is Claudio getting past this?" Addis said then crossed his arms.
"So he copied me. Has to play out like the Soul Scanner...if that's so, I'll just have to become even faster." I said then placed my hands on the ground and closed my eyes. I put all my weight on my legs then white sparks crackled around my legs.
Leo watched me and rose an eyebrow. "What is he doing..?"
I heard the soft giggles of the Angel of Nature then my Halo of Geo appeared above my head. I could feel my heart racing faster. 'Not yet...'
Addis grunted softly then felt my Willpower. He watched me closely and noticed my silver aura surrounding my body.
I grit my teeth then felt my heart beating harder. 'Find it..!'
Leo prepared to attack then paused as he felt my ever growing power. He lowered his stance then grunted softly and smirked. "This power...I can actually feel his Willpower..."
I looked up and my eyes shined a bright silver color. I chuckled and lightning crackled around my body. "Here's my current full power without Dearie's help..."
"Without Dearie's augmentation...It feels even stronger than his Augmented Power. What is this strength..?" Verin asked.
"Willpower." Cecilia said and smiled brightly. "I can feel him coming back to us...truly..."
"You want me to explode?! Well I have my explosion right here!" I bellowed then my aura surged powerfully.
I propelled myself toward Leo and he grunted, noticing how much faster I've become. He barely managed to block my attack then slid backwards. He stopped himself then reached for his mask, but I stopped him with a powerful gut punch. He groaned and closed one eye as he was in pain. I rushed him with attacks then struck him with another powerful attack.
I knocked him away then dashed toward him again. I conjured a Holy Geo Blast in my hand then formed it into a lance then hurled it at Leo. Dearie made a Live Decoy appear behind Leo to grapple him then flew away from the two as the lance hit Leo then exploded.
Leo spread his black wings then the smoke vanished all together. He put on his mask then his eyes shined red. "Well done, getting it this far...Usagi tells me all the time to only use my Joker Form for serious usages only. Well this is a serious moment...a moment I'll cherish. The moment of showing my son, the strongest Omega Angel on Earth."
I stared at Leo and grunted softly as his power rose through the charts. My body got goosebumps from his presence. 'My body...It's heating up...'
"How about we wrap this up?" Leo asked and snapped his fingers and rose his hand then a sphere of dark energy formed in his hand. "A good old fashioned...final clash."
"This isn't gonna destroy the field is it?" Aria asked.
"This training field has survived an all out battle between me and Lady Cecilia. This field is fine." Verin said.
I looked at Leo then smirked. "Let's go... Let's do this! Dearie!"
Dearie struck me with her Digital Pulse then began to boost my power even more with her Augmentation. "Let's go, Claudio!"
I conjured two Light Blasts then merged them together. "I'll call this move, Holy Beacon!"
"Let's see if it can overpower my Calamity Discharge.." Leo said and smirked.
I bellowed and fired my beam of light energy at Leo. Leo chuckled then launched his sphere of energy toward me then our two attacks collided. Dearie was constantly boosting my power to the highest she could but noticed there was no way she could boost my power beyond Leo's.
"He's too strong!" Dearie called out to me. "I can't elevate your power to match his!"
I grunted and closed my eyes tightly. My Wrath Symbol shined brightly on my arm then my dark aura fused with my Angelic Energy. "Nexus won't answer me like you will, so Lilith, lend me your strength!"
Leo's Calamity Discharge grew closer me then Lilith's Symbol shined on my back, boosting my power even higher. I heard Lilith's soft chuckle in my ear then felt a hand on my back.
"Push." Lilith's voice said.
Everyone watched with anticipation. Addis, Cecilia, and Astar watched the closest to see if I could overpower Leo. Cecilia was biting her thumb nail and stood up. She wanted to see me win the most as this is the best anyone has done against Leo except Luke.
I could feel myself sliding backwards and pushed as hard as I could, but Leo was just simply too strong for me. I watched as Leo's attack broke through my beam then struck me then an explosion happened. The smoke cleared then everyone watched as I kept standing and reverted to my normal state. I fell to my knees and panting heavily with my hair covering my face.
Leo took off his mask then looked at me with a smile. He walked over to me then crouched down and placed his hand on my shoulder. "Claudio..."
I looked up at Leo and noticed his smile. I smiled back and closed my eyes. "And I lost against you again..."
"Correct, but this time you are more experienced and you've found that Willpower within. The same Willpower I felt at Woodcrest. I got so into the battle, I forgot I was supposed to teach you one of my moves." He said and chuckled.
I shook my head and smiled. "It's fine, I learned a lot from this. I needed this...I haven't exploded like that in a long time." I said and chuckled softly.
"Glad I could help, but...as you know there's always room for improvements." Leo said and chuckled as well.
I stood up and wobbled then Leo caught me. "I guess I should take time to rest huh.."
"Yeah.." Leo said with a soft laugh.
Addis watched us and noticed a smile he hadn't seen from me in a while. He looked at Eve and noticed her smile. He looked back at Eve. "You think he's ready?"
"Not yet. He needs to establish his connection with Nexus first. Lilith already likes him because of what he is, but Nexus and Claudio don't really know each other and he still hasn't seen Nexus's Vision yet." Eve explained.
"He's probably waiting for the right time...We'll see soon. I'm ready to train him." Addis said.
"I know you are." Eve said and smiled.