Disclaimer: I do not own Alice in Wonderland, the Cheshire Cat, When the Higurashi Cry, Full Metal Alchemist, or Bizenghast.

So yeah. This is just something I submitted for the Short Story assignment in Language Arts Class. It's not really very Alice in Wonderland-y, but more like a modernized, manga-fied, twisted thing-a-ma-jig that just so happens to have stuff from Alice in Wonderland in it. Just to let you know. So, sit back and enjoy!

I dashed across the sidewalk as fast as possible without completely dropping my binder, notebook, and pencil pouch. I couldn't believe I was so late! Ms. Peterson would give me a detention for sure! Which would mean I wouldn't be able to see the next episode of When they Cry, which came on right after school- and it was the grand finale, too! As I began to wallow in the miseries that this one detention would cause me, I, being my brilliantly intelligent self, decided not to watch where I was going and trip over a rock. It was a very small rock, about the size of my pinky. Once I was on the ground, my History supplies scattered around me, I decided to procrastinate and glare with all my being the pebble that had caused my demise. I was certain that it was just about to explode from all the hate I was sending toward it, when a loud 'crack!' from the woods made me turn my gaze to the forest surrounding the Bradley Middle School Campus. I saw no signs of what could've made the noise, and began to pick up my stuff. That's when I noticed the sun's light reflecting off an object a few yards into the woods, almost blocked completely from view by the thick trees and undergrowth.

"Hmm… Well, I'm already late, so why not?" I mumbled to myself and waltzed over to the woods, completely abandoning my history supplies. A bit into the forest, I found something that definitely was not supposed to be there: an ornate, full-length, mirror. I stared at it for a while. It looked pretty old, and I liked old stuff. I wondered what it was doing there and stood there staring at it until a bird decided to startle me out of my daydreaming by flying dangerously close to my face. After jumping about 5 feet in the air, my brain began functioning again. 'I really should be getting to class…' I thought with a sigh, 'But it's such a pretty mirror….' I reached out a hand to feel the smooth glass, but, lo and behold, my hand didn't stop at the surface of the mirror, but went right through the glass. I blinked and pulled my hand back out, then slid it back in. It felt cool, and wet, but when I pulled my hand out again, I found that it was perfectly dry. Enraptured by the strange phenomenon, I found myself reaching the entire length of my arm into the mirror, and then I just sort of walked through it. I blinked and looked behind me. There was no mirror. I looked ahead of me. There was no mirror. I raised an eyebrow and turned back towards where the sidewalk was hidden by the trees, deciding that eating left over pizza for breakfast was not a good idea because it made me hallucinate.

Five minutes later, I stopped. I still hadn't reached a sidewalk. I walked in another direction, just incase I had missed it. Five minutes later, I stopped again.

"Where the heck is the stupid sidewalk?" I screamed, startling the birds out of a nearby tree. "Grr… Bloody sidewalk. It just had to go and disappear, didn't it? Of course it did- why would it stay in one place? Why would it help me in the slightest way to get to History class? Why would it- Gah! Stop talking to yourself! It gives off the impression that you're insane!"

"I'll say." I whipped around to face whoever was speaking, only to find nothing there. I froze, listening, but heard nothing.

"Who's there?" I called out cautiously.

A giggle seemed to echo from everywhere at once. "Do you really want to know?"

I opened my mouth to shout 'duh- why else would I be asking' when I decided that it would really be much less problematic if I just went on with my trying to figure out where I was. "You know what, no. I do not want to know who you are. In fact, I was just leaving. Goodbye." With that said I turned on my heel and began walking at a brisk pace.

"That's the way you just came from."

I stopped. "Really? I hadn't noticed."

"Well then," A person dropped down in front of me. "Why are you doing it?"

I screamed, before I realized that the one in front of me had been on a tree branch above me and was now hanging by their knees. She had dark hair and dark skin, and brown eyes that almost looked black. Her hands were folded behind her head and her jean-clad legs wrapped seemingly effortlessly around the branch.

"Geez, could you be a little louder? I think the people on the other side of the world still have their eardrums intact."

I frowned and attempted to think of something witty to reply with. I couldn't come up with anything and the girl was beginning to grin widely, knowing she had won. I narrowed my eyes at her and promptly spun on my heel and stalked off.

"Oh, come back. I was just kidding!"

I didn't listen but just kept on walking until she was out of sight. After, well, I really have no idea of how long it was, I'm terrible at keeping track of time, but eventually I was getting tired and sat down by a mushroom. Then I noticed that the mushroom was about my height. I stared blankly at it for a minute, and then slowly brought my hand up to touch it.

"AGH!"

I screamed and jumped in the air as a cry sounded from somewhere close by. It sounded like it was in pain, so I rushed around the mushroom to see what was going on, and nearly tripped over a person.

She had scarves wrapped around her head and face- only letting two brilliantly green eyes show. I couldn't tell you anymore about her appearance, because she was submerged from shoulders down in a hole in the ground, with a net laying over her.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" I asked, kneeling down and removing the wooden pegs keeping the net in place.

"Oh, yes, yes… I must have stumbled into one of those traps that those nasty poachers set up."

"Poachers?" I repeated as I pulled out the third peg.

"Yes, yes, there's a group of them that hunt here. They're not supposed to but no one can catch them."

My mind flashed back to that girl in the trees. Was she a poacher? But, there was no way- she couldn't have been much older than me!

"Um, how old are these poachers?" I asked, pulling the net off the old woman and holding out a hand to help her up.

"Oh, it varies." She said as she grasped my outstretched hand. "But, that really doesn't matter… Because there are no poachers in these woods, girl!"

My eyes widened as she suddenly grabbed my and threw me (with much more strength than what was natural for an old lady) into the trunk of an old tree. I hit it with a 'thunk' and slid down in a daze, the wind knocked out of me.

The so-called 'old lady' pulled off the scarves and crawled out of the ground using eight legs. Yes, eight legs. She had abnormally pale skin and a strange green fur that seemed to make up and outfit fitting over her torso and legs, but I could see no seems where the cloth changed to skin. It was as if the 'outfit' was a part of her. Her fingernails were long and pointed, and looked at if they could easily pierce through a solid piece of iron. Also, a green, jester-like hat sprouted from the top of her head and two black triangles were painted below her eyes.

"Bali-Lali is so pleased to meet you girlie. Won't you stay for lunch? It's a middle schooler specialty!" She began to cackle and I tried to back away around the tree, but I moved only a little less than a foot when one of her legs was slammed down in my path.

"Now, now, leaving without saying goodbye is rude manners."

"Yeah? Well, in my book, eating your guest is even worse!"

Bali-Lali's head whipped around and she growled at the girl standing on the tree branch above me.

"Hey! It's you!" I shouted.

The girl glanced at me. "What? Are you going to tell me to leave and let yourself get eaten?" she said sarcastically.

"Uh, no." I stated in a 'duh' tone of voice.

"Then shut up and keep still."

I pouted and crossed my arms, momentarily forgetting that I was on the menu for that afternoon and instead choosing to dwell on the slight annoyance that the girl inspired in me.

"You're the one who needs to stop blabbering, girl!" Bali-Lali shouted from behind the tree branch. "I've got you now!" She shot a piece of web from her mouth towards the one on the tree branch.

The girl got a slightly ticked expression on her face and I heard her mutter 'well' before she promptly vanished. She reappeared behind the woman… Spider…. Thing, and kicked it forward. It landed in a pile to the left of me.

The second it hit the ground, nets sprung up and the ground gave way beneath her… it. She was trapped in the same type of thing I had set her loose from.

"That's like the thing from before…" I muttered aloud.

"Yeah, usually when something's trapped like that, there's a reason." I jumped and spun around to face the girl. "Yo. I'm Austin. Call me Tashie." (I had to think for a moment before deciding that there was no logic behind this at all and accepted it) "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"Um, well, I'm Jo. Well, I'm actually Josephine, but everyone calls me Jo. And I'm lost."

"Hm, fair enough." Tashie muttered and began walking away. She stopped after a few paces. "Well? Are you coming?"

"Oh! Right!" I jogged over to her as she started walking again. After a few minutes of silence I decided to break the quite.

"So…. Where are we going?"

"School."

"What school do you go to?"

"Bradley Middle School."

"Really? I've never seen you around before…"

"And I've never seen you before. Wow, we have something in common. Let's be best friends."

"You're really rude, you know."

"Who?"

"You!"

"Me?"

"Yes, you!"

"Me what?"

"You're rude!"

"I am not!"

"Yes, you are!"

"I'm what?"

"Rude!"

"Who is?"

"You!"

"Me?"

"Yes, you- argh! Arguing with you is pointless."

"Glad you see it my way."

I pursed my lips and made forceful grabbing motion in the air at Tashie's back as she skipped off into the forest. 'I'mgoingtokillherI'mgoingtokillherI'mgoingtokillher!' I thought over and over in my head as I stomped after the happy girl, snapping as many branches under my feet and kicking as many small pebbles as possible.

Once we reached the school, however, my anger was gone in a flash as I gaped in awe at the building in front of me. It had large, mosaic windows; each glowing faintly, the walls were made of neatly cut blocks of stone, and a giant arched entrance stood near us. There were several towers, and I guessed that each one had their own spiral staircase, and a long bridge connecting the 'school' (it was more like a castle than anything) with a small tower across the grounds that I didn't know what it was for. Though there was one thing I was certain of: This was most definitely not my school.

Tashie led me swiftly through the hallways, passing numerous mystical and (at some points) gruesome sights. In fact, there was one particular time when we passed through the Hall of Heads…

"That. Is. Disgusting." I said bluntly, gazing at a severed head that seemed to float above a plaque reading 'Mitchell Oleander Robert Percival Duell, 3rd Headmaster of Bradley Middle School. He is known for his excessive cruelty towards twins and his hobby to lock young mistresses who misbehaved in small, dark cupboards.'

"Hm?" Tashie stopped and looked behind her to see my staring at the drop of blood sliding off the sever point and going to join the puddle of dark red liquid on the platform below. "What is?"

"I think it's turning green…"

"Oh- that'd be my fault." She said as she glided over to peer over my shoulder. I glanced at her questioningly. "I sort of neglected to clean them last week."

"Just sort of." I muttered dryly. "I don't blame you. That's just messed up."

"Not really. It's just the Hall of Heads."

"Oh, yes. Perfectly normal." I was certain the wound would start oozing puss at any moment now. "What type of a school has a hallway lined with human heads?"

"They're not actually human heads… Well, I guess they are, but it's like, they decide to sign this contract thing, where, when they die, their head comes here and represents their term thing at the school. It's sort of like donating an organ."

"… That's still disgusting."

Tashie rolled her eyes.

We were then walking down yet another hallway, when I saw a familiar grin from the shadows.

"Ah!" I cried out, causing Tashie to jump a little. "It's the Cheshire Cat!" I scurried over to the large, sculptured, feline head that grinned out at me. "That's so cool!"

"You know about the Cheshire Cat?" Tashie asked, looking at me in surprise.

"Well, duh! I love Alice in Wonderland! I want pictures of the Cheshire Cat at my school!"

"Um… Why?"

"Why? Because it's awesome, that's why!"

I got a really weird look for that statement. "He's everywhere. It's always- 'you want to grow up and be a great Warper like the Cheshire Cat, right? So do your homework and wash your shoes!'"

"Warper?"

"Oh, it's what we learn here. The art of Warping from place to place. You've seen me do it when we were with that Bali-Lali."

I thought back to how she had been seemingly teleporting around in the forest and I made an 'oh' shape with my lips. Before I had the chance to investigate any further, however, the sound of footsteps could be heard.

"Oh snap!" That was the last thing I heard Tashie say before someone rounded the corner and faced us.

He was a middle-aged man with dark hair and dark clothes. He surveyed Tashie through suspicious eyes and spoke after a moment. "Shouldn't you be in class, Natasha?"

I gulped and glanced at Tashie. Something told me that I wouldn't be all too welcome here if she told him just how I had come to be there.

"Oh, hi, Mr. Donnelly. I'm taking the visiting student around for the day. Principal Douglass told me to."

"Really? Perhaps I should accompany you." He obviously was making no effort at hiding his suspicion.

"Um, all right. We're going to Ms. Parvarti's class."

He hesitated, and then glared at Tashie. "I'll look into this matter soon." With one final, suspicious glance at the two of us (who smiled up at him with as much innocence we could muster) continued off down the hall.

Once he was gone I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, that was close-" Tashie cut me off with a quick 'sh!' and set off at a brisk pace

"Just keep walking." She hissed quietly at me.

I gave her an odd look but complied to her request and obediently followed in silence. After walking for a ways she began to whisper to me again.

"He's going to follow us for a while- just to make sure I'm telling the truth." She pointed at a portrait on the wall.

I glanced at her and then the portrait, and then back at her. "Am I… missing something here?"

"Oh, I'm just going to randomly point to stuff while I talk to you, so that it looks like I'm showing you around."

"Ah. So, where are we going?"

"Towards Ms. Parvarti's Astronomy class." She began to speak louder, "… And that's a statue honoring the Oni attack of 1982."

I nodded; pretending to know what she was talking about- I had enough sense to figure out that Mr. Donnelly was in hearing range again. "Cool."

Things carried on that way for quite a while, until, at last, Tashie deemed it safe for us to assume Mr. Donnelly was gone. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Whew. Good thing he didn't catch us. I've already got in trouble twice this month for skipping…"

For a moment I thought she meant that she had been yelled at for hopping down the hallway. "Wait, you mean cutting class?"

She glanced at me and shrunk back at my disapproving look. "Hey, hey, if I hadn't been out there you'd be being digested, right now."

I noted the logic in it and shrugged as we set back off. "True, true. So where are we going now?"

"Oh, I know this awesome room- it's a secret room that us students aren't supposed to know about, but… I have my ways."

I smirked. "You mean you eavesdropped."

"Yup. We can sort everything out once we get there. Something tells me you're not supposed to be here." She grinned and pulled a torch out of the wall, pressing a small knob that was behind it. A small door opened in the side of a statue (I would have missed it if Tashie hadn't begun to poke and prod in the stone foot of… A giant Alice), which revealed a set of buttons and knobs (which Tashie pressed and turned with practiced ease), which opened a door in the wall, covered by a tapestry.

"Well… That's not complicated at all." I muttered dryly as I followed the girl down a set of stone steps.

"It really isn't once you figure out the overall jest of it."

"And what is the overall jest of it?"

"That's for me to know and you not to." She sang out cheerfully, which caused me to scowl darkly at her back. "Okay, here we are!" She pushed open a door to revel a ball-like room covered in strange and ancient symbols. A giant tree seemed to be at the center of the room, with it's enormous roots going out across the floor and branches winding themselves around the tons of balconies over-looking the open space. Doors half hidden in the roots of the walls led every which way, and I found it no surprise that Tashie could slip in here and spend hours without ever being found out.

"Whoa…" I gawked at the room before us and took a few steps forward after Tashie. "This is so cool."

"Uh, yeah. Why else would I hang out in here?"

I rolled my eyes, getting used to her sarcastic remarks by now. Okay, now explain some things, okay?"

"Right, what do want to know?" She sat down, cross-legged on a low branch.

"Well, how about we start with this whole 'warping thing." I walked over and sat down on a spot on the floor. The moment I did, however, iron bars slammed up around us and I leapt to my feet at the same time as Tashie.

"What the heck?!" I heard Tashie shout from behind me. "I can't warp out!" I glanced at her, but before I could ask anything, a laugh cut me off.

"Of course, dearie, why would I let my precious meal escape for the second time in one day." I gulped and turned to face the pale, sadistic smirk of Bal-Lali. "You won't be getting away this time."