Hello, everyone! I will say that this is my first time publishing any of my stories, so please be completely honest with me when criticizing! Anyway, enjoy~!

Chapter One - Welcome to Wonderland

"Not a single breath in the distance, huh? Interesting, hehe! Buuut~ I heard that a new ALICE will be joining us soon, right Hatter?" A swish of the tale, and a flick of the golden wristband, the Cheshire Cat looked down from a tall willow tree; bearing huge purple flowers and fruit that's free for the taking. A faint breeze and the smell of fresh cake lingers through the air like a silky ribbon on a beautiful kimono in the afternoon festivities. He looks upon his dear friend as he flicks his tail back and forth in a sort of rhythm with the small trickles of water hitting a nearby pond. "Well, my dear kitty! I do believe you were eavesdropping on my conversations with Mr. Spade again, right?" The Mad Hatter began to swing a small teacup around his index finger and giggle like a child. "You really shouldn't do such things unless you want to end up as a decorative rug in some poacher's riverside home in the human world." "Whoa now, no need to go that far. I was just having a small thought that it might be fun to listen to you for a moment, that's all. And besides…" The Cheshire Cat leaps down from his position and starts circling the older male. "Even if a new ALICE were to come along, I wouldn't care. Sure, I'd keep an eye on her and annoy her from time to time, but you have to remember one important thing." He stopped next to the Hatter and leaned close to his ear. "No matter what ALICE may come here, I'll always hate them. Every last one. Each of them will have a slow, painful death, that's for sure..." He let out a small sigh and backed away; suddenly looking to the ground in a sort of sorrowful way. "My, is something bothering you? It's not like you to be so down in a sudden leap of the throat." The Hatter pet the Cheshire Cat's head and smiled softly down at the younger male. "Lukas, why don't you tell me what happened in your past? Why do you have every ALICE? Don't you think at least one is different from the others? Or…" He lightly grabbed the Cat's right hand and kneeled down to look in his crimson eyes. "Did an ALICE do something that stuck with you all this time…? Please, you know you can tell me anything… I'm always here for you, and you know that." By this point, the Cat was nearly in tears. Seeing this, the Hatter gently leaned the younger of the two against his shoulder and hugged him tightly. One hour would pass, then it would be two, and soon five hours had passed in complete silence from the Cat. Every now and again, the Hatter would gently stroke the back of his head and say "It's okay, I'm here." He always was there, after all. When Cheshire would need to vent to someone, he was there. Whenever he was bored and wanted to talk, he was there. Even in the night when Cheshire would snap awake due to his night terrors and scream, he was always there to hold him and tell him "It's alright, I'm here for you." After another hour or so passed, the younger male huffed and look at his elder. "Geez… you really are a boner-blaster, aren't you…?" Slightly turning a shade of pink, he pushed the Hatter away from him and scoffed at him. "You'll never get a girlfriend with that kind of attitude- all girly and caring… well, I guess you could stay caring for them-" "But I don't WANT anyone else. Lukas, I already told you-" The younger of the two sighed and looked up at the tree he had just been on a few hours ago. "Well… could you at least sing that song? You know-" "The song I used to sing back then? When will you get tired of it, huh?" The Hatter let out a small chuckle and began to hug him once more. "Why, I could never get over it! Besides, it's my favorite song in the whole world!" Cheshire looked at him with a look of confusion for a few moments, then opened his mouth. "Why do you even like that song? I only-" "It's my favorite because you're singing it, Lukas. So, can you? Please?" The Chesire Cat began to blush as he sighed and walked over to the tree; leaning on it when he approached it. "F-fine…" He took a deep breath and began to sing…

-Kitto boku wa tazuneraretandarou

Umareru mae dokoka no dareka ni

Mirai to kako dochira ka hitotsu wo

Mireru you ni shite ageru karasa

Dochi ga ii? Dochi ga ii?

Soshite boku wa kako wo erandandayo

Tsuyoi hito yori, yasashii hito ni

Nareru you ni, naremasu you ni to

Omoi de tte nandaka wakaru you ni

Tsudukete dareka san wa boku ni iu

Ude mo, aishi mo, kuchi mo, mimi mo, me mo

Shinzou mo, oppai mo, hana no ana mo

Futatsudutsu tsukete ageru kara ne

Iidesho? Iidesho?

Dakedo boku wa onegai shitanda yo

Kuchi wa hitotsu dake de iindesu to

Boku ga hitori de kenkashinaiyou ni

hitori to dake kisu ga dekiru you ni

Wasuretai, demo wasurenai, konna omoi wo nanto yobu no kai?

Sukoshi fukigen na kao no sono hito wa

Mata shikata naku hanashi hajimeta

Ichiban daiji na shinzou wa sa

Ryoumune ni tsukete ageru kara ne

Iidesho? Iidesho?

Matamata boku wa onegaishitanda

Osore irimasu ga kono boku ni wa

Migigawa no shinzou wa iri masen

Wagamama bakari itte sumimasen

Boku ni taisetsu na hito ga dekite

Sotto dakishimeru toki hajimete

Futatsu no kodou ga chanto mune no

Ryougawa de naru no gawa karu you ni

Hidari wa boku no de, migi no wa kimi no

Hidari wa kimi no de, migi wa boku no

Hitori ja doko ka kaketeru you ni

Hitori de nado ikiteikanai you ni

Wasuretai, demo wasurenai

Konna omoi wo nanto yobu no kai?

Mune ga sawagashii, demo natsukashii

Konna omoi wo nanto yobu no kai?

Souieba saigo ni mou hitotsu dake

Namida no opushon wo tsukeyou ka

Nakutemo zenzen shishou wa naikedo

Ryoutou dakaratte tsukenai hito mo iru yo

Dousuru? Dousuru?

Soshite boku wa onegai shitandayo

Tsuyoi hito yori, yasashii hito ni

Nareru you ni, naremasu you ni to

Taisetsu tte nandaka wakaru you ni

Jaa, chinami ni namida no ajidake doomo

Kimi no suki na aji wo erandeyo

Suppaku shitari, shoppakushitari

Karaku shitari, amaku shitari

Doredemo suki nano wo erande yo

Dochi ga ii? Dochi ga ii?

Nozomi doori subete ga kanaerareteiru no desho

Dakara namida ni kureru sono kao chanto misete yo

Saa hokorashige ni misete yo

Hontou ni arigatougozaimashita

Iro iro otekazu wo kakemashita

Saigo ni hitotsu dake ii desu ka?

Dokkade oai shita koto arimasu ka?-

…

A short while after he was finished singing, Cheshire realized that his elder had gotten unbearably close and was giving him the look of satisfaction. Hatter leaned closer to him; lightly placing a kiss on his lips, and backed away so he could begin making some herbal tea. The feeling of confusion was mixed with a sudden happiness at the constant new memory from the one he loved so dearly. Yes, he did love the Hatter. And the Hatter loved him back. Of course, it was never noticeable when others were around; only when they knew they were alone could they act however they saw fit towards each other. Just as the memory was placed away safely in his mind, a beam of blue and white light shot into the black sky. Cheshire's eyes snapped in the direction of the light, and his joy and confusion over the Hatter turned into pure and unrivaled rage. "This is happening NOW!? You've got to be kidding me!" He flicked his tail back and forth; faster and faster as his anger only grew more. "I could go check it out, if you want me to. I wouldn't want you be face to face with an ALICE after all the crying you did earlier." Hearing this, the Cat quickly grabbed his elder's hand and glared at him. "I refuse to let you go head-first into this." His voice became soft and barely audible as he looked at the ground. "I've lost you once… I don't think I can do it again…" His hand lost its grip and dropped down at his side as he kept his tone. "No… I couldn't handle it… It'd be too much; just like it was the first time around… I know I'll give up this time..." Without looking back up, he just simply laughs and turns back around at the light. "I'll go. After all, it would throw off just about everything this world built up if the new ALICE saw the oddball Hatter before anyone else. In fact, I think the first person should be greeting her about now."

Near the Landing Location…

Personally, as the narrator, I don't believe that a simple CRASH or BOOM or even a THUMP would be suitable for the varieties of different noises that came along with someone falling down. Along with the bits and pieces of the ground and some broken glass, lay the new ALICE; partially conscious, and partially tripping on the piles of twigs that lay with her. After some time of readjusting her balance, she tripped once again; only this time, faceplanting into the soft-to-rough ground. "O-ow… W-what is this place…?" "This place, my dear ALICE, is Wonderland. You seem to have no memory of it; however, looking around wouldn't-" At that moment, there was no denying that her existence was known to the entirety of Wonderland. She let out a loud scream and backed away from the stranger; looking to her sides for something to protect herself with. Since he backed away quite a bit, she could tell that her "welcoming party" was a young male about the same age as her. "M-my, you startled me there! W-who are you, and where am I…?" Well, if you haven't screamed…" The young man sighs and looks down at her. "I would have told you that this world is Wonderland. You are this world's new ALICE, and I was sent to this location by the queen to greet you." He gives her a wry smile and holds out a hand to her; slowly yet surely feeling a sudden malice from her. "Oh, I see… Well, I guess having a rather attractive guy greeting me from the queen herself isn't such a bad thing. Now, why don't you tell me why I was chosen instead of any other girl in my world." She lightly grabbed his hand and pulled herself up; quickly adjusting herself a few comfortable feet away from the man, she looked around for a better view of her new surroundings. From what she could see, every tree had its own color; from blues and purples to reds and pinks, each was somewhat of a delight to the eye. She marveled at how each one even had their own twinkle and song to them as well; one shines dimly and plays calming lullabies, while another shines brightly and plays an upbeat tone as the wind blows through them. Whenever they play together, it's almost impossible to pick out what song is what; sometimes the orchestra of trees play "Cara Mia Bella," and other times you can faintly pick out "No Strings On Me" and a music box version of "Diary Of Jane." Her gaze drifted down to the grass, which wasn't really grass at all. Each blade was an individual piece of candy. Candy. Each and every blade of grass was made out of sugar. Just. Plain. Sugar candy. "What's with this place anyway? I mean… If there's cute guys like you here, what's the need for all of these sweets-" "Well, maybe if you wouldn't be so picky ALICE, this wouldn't be a problem for you!" Adjusting their gazes, the Rabbit and ALICE quickly looked into the dimly lit pure purple tree not too far from them. Seeing a black silhouette, ALICE backs away with a fake hint of fear. The Rabbit, on the other hand, walks towards the figure and grabs what appears to be a tail. "Cheshire, would you please stop scaring her? She's the new ALICE, and I cannot really condone your attitude towards her already. Now then…" He tugged on the tail hard enough to make the figure lean to the point of almost falling out of his "hiding" spot. Now, I don't say "hiding" spot in a leisurely fashion. For this man, it was like his last line of defence before he has to go for an all-out attack on an opposing soldier. Quickly readjusting himself on the tree branch, he chuckled and lifted his tail near his shoulders. "I don't need to listen to someone lower on the food chain now, do I~? Haha!" He began kicking his legs back and forth, purposely knocking a few of the trees' fruit off in their direction. "Look, I don't care who the new ALICE is, they're all the same to me! Each and every one of them are just sick freaks with nothing on their mind but hurting others! I mean-" He points over to the smiling ALICE and flicks his tail in the air in a furious fit. "You never SAW what each ALICE did! And yet you think you can just-!" "That's quite enough, Lukas. You'll get the queen riled up with that kind of yelling." The sudden voice rung out like a wind chime in the middle of summer. Accompanying this voice, another cat appears in another tree, except this cat was a different color palette- He was sky blue, sakura pink and white instead of purple, red, and black. Seeing the other, Cheshire scoffed and let out a deep sigh. "Dude, why are you even here? Won't sis be crying since you're not around her?" "She'll be fine without me being there." The Cat began to crack a smile when he looked over to ALICE in a small amount of amazement. "My, ALICE's get younger every year, don't they? How old are you, miss?" ALICE looked around at her… erm… "Capturers", and smiled as wide as she could. She then proceeded to back away and turn her back towards them while bringing her hands in front of her stomach. "I'm 15. How old are all of you, if I may ask?" As if hearing this before everyone else, the Cat stepped closer to her by only an inch and raised his hand. "I can answer that for you. The Rabbit is 17, and as for my brother and I…" He glanced over before giving a small smirk to Cheshire and went on. "Are both 17 as well. We were all born on the same day, but we were born in different families and different regions. My brother and I were born in the Clockwork region, and Mr. Rabbit here was born in the Mayflower region." "And, I might add…" Cheshire stood farther away from her than the others and huffed at the thought of her knowing more about their personal being. His tail flicked back and forth, giving a sort of warning that if one thing annoying comes out of her mouth, he'll have no hesitation to strike her down. "Clockwork HATES any ALICE that happens to come by. So if you think you're little Miss High and Mighty, you might want to climb back up to your world and cry to mommy and daddy that you got scared by some bear or something before you get fed to the Clockwork Dogs." "Lukas, that's enough of scaring the young ALICE! And besides, she hasn't-" Before he could complete his sentence, everyone fell quiet. ALICE, being confused, looked around at everyone; trailing her eyes to where theirs were aimed. As she did so, a chocolate and mint colored cat walks out from behind the bushes; rubbing her eyes as she inched closer, realized that her older brothers were there too. "Oh… So this is were you two wandered off to… It's not fair that you get to have fun with the ALICE that falls down here and I don't." She then began to yawn; her tail twitching in interesting direction and her ears flickering to the sides like a pointed fan. After regaining a small amount of her normal eyesight, she glanced at the ALICE that had arrived. "Oh… Fresh meat, I see. Lu, I'm surprised you haven't torn her to pieces yet. You're usually really into the whole ALICE annihilation thing every year." "A-ALICE annihilation!? What kind of sick joke is that!?" Silence fell once again after ALICE had bursted out. Everyone looked at her, then at Cheshire with a questioning expression. Positioning himself in a proper manner, Cheshire gave a fake smile and reached out a hand for the new ALICE to shake. "Ecila, now's not the time to be speaking like that in front of older women. Welcome to Wonderland, ALICE." "Ecila? Wait, isn't that name-" "ALICE spelled backwards? Yes, it is." From there, everyone began discussing what Ecila's name meant and why it was given to only females in the Cheshire family and no other family throughout Wonderland's history. After some discussion time, Cheshire spoke up and flicked his tail towards Ecila; lightly patting her on the head as she scooted closer. "But let's make this clear. There's no way an ALICE can ever become friends with an Ecila. Even if you tried with all of your might, it would be happily in vain." With this being said, yet another silence washed over the group. Cheshire yawned, indicating that he was clearly bored of idle chatter and he just wanted to go out and play a few pranks on his way back in the direction he came from. He lazily took a few steps back; since he'd rather be reclusive from any ALICE that happens to enter Wonderland, and he wanted to go quickly before the Hatter's cakes go cold. After a few more steps back, he grinned at the Rabbit. "Have fun with little miss bloodbath~! Hehehehe~!" After that, he vanished into what seems like nothing. His two siblings followed suit, and a small glimmer of light vanished from beside the Rabbit. "Well." The Rabbit began, looking at ALICE with a small frown and backed away several feet. "This is goodbye for now, I presume. Be careful with the Clockwork paths, and you shouldn't be in any trouble." With that, he disappears into the turning night. Even though she was overwhelmed by so many new faces, ALICE seemed more happy than worried. She giggled to herself and rubbed a spot slightly below her hip; a wide grin wiping across her face. "Hehehe… Welcome to Wonderland, hmm? How absolutely WONDERFUL. I'll be sure to have a thank you party worth the wait. I do hope they'll be patient with me until everything is ready to go."

Chapter One: END

That was more time consuming than I originally thought it was going to be… Oh well! At least I'm already working on Chapter 2 as of –literally- right now! No breaks for THIS girl! *internally cries* Any who, see you all in the next chapter~!

Extra note: I have links to other sites I am on in my profile, if you'd like to check that out :3