Yami Ryo: This was edited by akuoni. Hope everyone likes this! Pretty much a crossover with American McGee's Alice in Wonderland, book Alice in Wonderland, Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland, and my own devices.
Warning: Crossdressing, questionable plot, bad writing and grammar. This one will most likely not have a pairing at all though there might be hints of yaoi from time to time.
Chapter One: The Fourth Alice
The small child ran as fast as his tiny legs would carry him his breath coming in short gasps. His normally carefully brushed chin-length curly hair was matted with sweat, twigs, and leaves as he ran through the forest. The sun had long been set and he searched desperately for the child that he knew should be with him. He looked around fearfully clutching at the polar bear cub he held in his tiny arms, tears stinging at his eyes as the shadows of trees curled and reached out to him in the oppressive darkness and barely existing light.
"AMERICAAAA!" The small boy screamed out desperate and searching. His heart beat painfully in his chest as he continued on deeper into the forest. He had lost his brother earlier that day to the strange and terrifying forest and, though he was horrified, he was determined to retrieve his brother. Looking around, he froze as he spotted an abnormally large gray and black cat with large luminous golden eyes. The creature looked at him and pulled back its lips into something resembling a large, sinister grin. The boy took a step back from the horrible thing before he realized that this cat was the creature his brother had followed into the forest. "W-where is America?" The boy pleaded with the cat. The cat's grin became wider and it turned abruptly in its spot, lifting its tail haughtily and walking off.
Hesitantly the boy followed after the cat, wanting to find his brother. The cat led him around for a long time before they came to a small clearing surrounded by thorny branches and trees that seemed as though they were protecting something. When the boy pushed his way into the clearing, he saw that in the center of this clearing was a large dark mirror with a twisted looking golden frame with five carved symbols in it. The left side of the frame had clovers and spades curling and twisting together in sinister ways while the right side had hearts and diamonds carved into it and at the very top of the mirror was an old golden ticking clock with five hands rather than the usual three. Thorny branches and vines curled around the dark mirror. The mirror itself seemed to be leaking something dark and unpleasant.
The boy's eyes were so focused on the mirror he almost missed the cat jumping and climbing onto the top of the mirror as though there were no thorns at all. The boy locked eyes with the cat and the cat grinned widely at him before nodding down and patting the mirror. The boy hesitantly stepped forward and walked up to the mirror. As he got closer, he saw something strange in the glass of it; making him squint to try and make out what it was. He stepped even closer, curious, until he was just a few inches away from the mirror. He hesitated a moment before lifting his hand and placing it on the cool mirror before him. Suddenly, the hazy form in the mirror began to take shape, like smoke turning solid, and the boy gasped when he saw his twin brother on the other side of the glass.
"America!" The boy screamed, dropping his polar bear and pressing both of his hands against the mirror. His brother looked as though he were sleeping just behind the glass; his tiny form moving only slightly to show that he was breathing softly. The boy began to slam his small hands on the glass, trying to wake his brother or pull him out of the mirror. His brother did not stir beyond the glass and the harder he slammed his hands against the glass, the darker the mirror became until suddenly his brother began to bleed from his eyes as though he were crying in his sleep. Immediately the boy stopped, tears streaming down his face. The boy looked up desperately at the cat.
"Please! How do I get him out? Please give me back my brother!" The boy begged, sobbing. The cat seemed to look at him judgmentally for a moment before nodding and jumping down to stand beside him. The cat grinned at him again before simply walking into the mirror and standing beside his brother inside. The cat began to rub against his brother and it was not long until his brother opened sleepy sapphire eyes and looked around. The boy laughed brokenly with relief as his brother looked at him and smiled, mouthing words he could not hear. His brother looked around confused before placing his hands against the boy's just beyond the glass. The brothers were so busy trying to reach each other beyond the glass that neither noticed that in place of where the cat once was, a tall young man with black and gray hair stood with luminescent golden eyes. Or at least they did not notice until the man reached forward and grabbed America up into his arms, scaring them both. The America looked as though he were screaming and struggling and the boy began to hit the mirror again, more desperate than before to save his brother.
The man grinned widely at the brothers, turning the struggling brother so that he held him just under his arms facing his brother. The man slid his right hand over his brother's chest, just above his heart, and pushed his hand in. His hand sank into the small chest, blood spurting forth even as the man reached into his brother and seemed to squeeze. America's body began to glow and the boy watched all of this, horrified and helpless. The boy let out a shriek when the mirror cracked right down the middle. Horrified that he would lose his brother forever, the boy slammed his hands against the glass, trying to get through or pull his brother out.
"No! Noooo! Americaaaa!" The boy screamed desperately, the mirror crumbling beneath his hands. The frame itself began to crumble as well. The mirror collapsed and the boy was forced to jump back. He looked at the crumbled pile of broken mirror with fear and desperate sorrow, tears streaming faster down his face. "No no nononono!" He screamed, jumping to the pile and digging through it; ignoring the scrapes and cuts he gained from doing so. He froze when he felt soft cloth so different from the glass and metal of the broken mirror. He lifted the fabric in his hands and saw that it was his brothers torn bloody nightgown. More desperate than before, he dug through the broken mirror and uncovered his unconscious brother. "America!" He shrieked, fearing the worst. He finished digging his brother out and the polar bear cub came over, nuzzling his unconscious form. The boy turned his brother over a little and tried to listen for his heart and breathing. He gasped, hearing both, a smile coming back to his face.
"We need to get America home, Kumajiji." The boy told his bear.
"We'll get him home. Just put him on my back, okay?" The bear told him gently. The boy nodded and helped the bear put his small brother onto his back. The two quickly made their way back home, careful not to hurt America. Just as they reached the door of the house, they heard some shouting and the door swung open, revealing a flustered and terrified young man with blond messy hair, emerald eyes, and rather defined eyebrows. He looked down and saw the state the boys were in and made a very distressed sound.
"Canada! Oh my god America! What happened to you boys? Where have you been?" The man shouted, distressed. The boy teared up instantly.
"Englaaaand! America! He's hurt!" The boy sobbed, rubbing at his eyes.
"Shhh, I'll fix it Canada, it's okay." The man assured him, bending down and picking up both of his boys. He took his children into the house and fixed them up before putting them to bed. He was very concerned that America had not woken up once. Canada hovered over them, worried and sobbing the entire time. England could not for the life of him get the entire story out of Canada and had given up, simply believing they had been attacked by a wild animal. Though it did nothing to explain the strange wound over America's heart which resembled an omega symbol.
America laughed as he chased the odd gray and black cat through the dark forest. He was completely unperturbed by his surroundings; choosing to focus entirely on the strange animal he was chasing. He could hear his brother Canada calling out for him behind him but ignored his calls, wanting to know where the animal was going. He chased the cat deep into the forest. He pushed his way into the clearing that the cat led him to and paused when he saw a very intricate mirror. It was both beautiful and terrifying. The cat walked up to the mirror and simply walked into it. America watched wide-eyed and curious and walked forward. Without a second thought or any sort of hesitation, he walked into the mirror.
America looked around amazed at the sight before him. He was in a very tall and long hallway with many doors of different sizes and shapes. Some were decaying and some looked brand new. Some were just his size while others were huge and others were far too tiny. America walked down the hall, curiously trying each door as he passed; curious about what was behind each one. None of the doors opened for him, however, and this made him pout with disappointment. He had been walking down the hallway for a very long time before he reached a tall glass table. Curious, America approached the table and reached up to grasp the edge of it. He could see two bottles on the table and a key and he wondered how to get them without breaking the table. He let go of the table to pace around it, trying to figure out how to get the items without breaking the table.
"Why not just climb onto it?" A soft voice asked, startling America badly. The tiny nation jumped and looked around for the source of the voice. He saw nobody in the hall with him, however. The hall was in fact quite empty apart from the white stuffed rabbit in a tailcoat sitting against one of the doors.
"The table is glass." America said, hoping to find out where the voice had come from; only to jump in surprise when the stuffed rabbit turned its head to look at him with red button eyes.
"The table will hold you." The rabbit told him confidently. America hesitated only a moment before turning back to the table and climbing onto it. He was very surprised that the table did not move at all and did not crack or break under him. He sat down on the table top and looked at the two bottles and the key, wondering what they were all for.
"Come now we haven't all day. You're late as it is." The rabbit told him, causing him to look over at it.
"But England said not to drink anything if I don't know what it is." America protested a little. The rabbit stood and turned fully to face him.
"But you cannot enter unless you drink. You're far too big." The rabbit told him reasonably. America paused thoughtfully and nodded.
"Don't forget the key. The first Alice forgot the key." The rabbit told him.
"The first Alice?" America asked curiously. The rabbit nodded.
"Yes the first Alice. You are the fourth Alice that has been chosen." The rabbit said.
"But my name is America, not Alice." He replied.
"No, you're the right Alice." The rabbit waved him off. "Now hurry. We're very late; we must go see the caterpillar."
"The caterpillar?" America asked, tilting his head curiously. The rabbit shook his head, pulling out a golden pocket watch.
"Come Alice; no time to dawdle. We've already missed the train." The rabbit scolded. America frowned in confusion but took a gulp from the bottle, clutching the key in his tiny fist tightly. His body tingled and he hiccuped, dropping the bottle. He hiccuped again and, as violet bubbles left his lips, he shrunk down to a fourth of the size of the rabbit. The rabbit sighed.
"Why is it that every Alice drinks too much?" The rabbit mourned rhetorically, picking America up and putting him in the front pocket of his waist coat. "Right then, off we go Alice." America's stomach jerked as the rabbit raced down the hall, passing many doors rapidly with his long powerful legs.
"But Mr. Rabbit, I told you my name is America!" America protested with a pout. The rabbit simply sighed and shook his head. America frowned at being ignored and sighed thoughtfully, wondering what to talk about; he really hated silence. It did not take long for his curiosity to find something. "Mr. Rabbit, what's a train?" He asked. The rabbit smiled so warmly at America for such a brief moment that he thought he had imagined it.
"You're just as curious as all the other Alice's...Time will tell if it will be your making or your undoing." The rabbit told him softly, looking forward. The rabbit stopped so abruptly that America felt as though his organs had kept going and left him behind.
"Key please." The rabbit held his paw out expectantly and America fumbled around in his pocket before pulling out the key that was suddenly much larger than he was. The rabbit took the key and opened the locked door. America felt his heart stop at the sight beyond the door.
Beyond the door was a vast nothingness, with only darkness and a few slowly floating bits of broken land and some random objects. The rabbit put protective paws over America and jumped into the abyss without hesitation, easily landing on one of the floating pieces of land. America shook fearfully in the rabbit's pocket, afraid that at any moment they would fall to their deaths. America tried to think of anything he could to take his mind away from the terrifying ordeal.
"Mr. Rabbit what is your name?" America asked hesitantly, both curious and afraid to distract him from his task. The rabbit was silent for a while as he jumped to the next bit of floating land.
"You are the first Alice to actually ask me that. My name is Wyatt Morrow." The rabbit told him, jumping to the next floating broken landmass.
"Mr. White?" America pronounced hesitantly. Wyatt chuckled.
"Close enough Alice." Wyatt replied. America sighed frustrated that the rabbit was still calling him by a girl's name. It was not long before they reached a landmass that had an old long table with a tattered grungy table cloth on it surrounded by chairs. On the table was a wide variety of tea sets and treats. Some of the sets were broken some were not; many were old and few were dusty.
In two of the chairs were two very different people glaring harshly at each other. One was a very tall man of an unreal stature sitting hunched over, he twitched and jerked at random, looking jittery and strange as his eyes shot from one thing to another; never focusing for very long on one thing. He was so pale his skin was tinted blue and he was very handsomely dressed in a black suit with a tall top hat. His hat had some turning gears on it and a checkered ribbon wrapped around the base of it.
The other sitting at the table was a very small and young looking girl with short black hair and dressed in a very regal crimson dress with black hearts along the front of it. She looked very much like a queen with her intricate red crown. Her sleeves were long and bell shaped and covered her hands. She sniffed haughtily and reached out to grasp a cup of tea delicately, despite her massive skinless hands that seemed to taper into large claws.
Just behind them, laying on a very massive mushroom was a very beautiful man with long silken black hair and smooth creamy pale skin. This man was draped in beautiful, flowing silk robes unlike any America had ever seen; the robes fell off one shoulder and revealed a lot of his legs. From the man's back sprouted large beautiful blue wings that looked very much like they belonged on a butterfly. The man smiled lazily as he smoked from a strange looking jar connected to a long thin pipe.
As soon as Wyatt landed on the land they were on, all three looked over at them with very different expressions. The queen-like girl sneered at them coldly while the man in the suit looked eager and hopeful; the man laying on the mushroom turned his face toward them with a half-lidded gaze, his eyes clouded and unseeing.
"Is Alice back?" The well dressed man asked eagerly.
"I've got him Hatter." Wyatt assured the man. The man on the mushroom smiled dreamily.
"This one is a strong Alice...such a long time ahead...So many dreams..." The man took a long drag from the pipe and let out a steady stream of smoke. The smoke curled into odd shapes that seemed to struggle against each other. "Such madness..." He chuckled and America frowned in confusion at the strange things he was saying. Wyatt pulled America from his pocket and placed him on the table. The Hatter stood instantly, hands slamming against the surface of the table in his eagerness to get a closer look at America. Hatter grinned at the tiny nation.
"Such a pretty girl! I simply must make you something lovely to wear! That simply will not due for our tea parties!" Hatter said, his voice changing with his rapidly fluctuating emotions. America pouted at Hatter, unhappy with being called a girl.
"But I'm a boy! My name is America!" He insisted, stomping his tiny foot unhappily. The regal girl scoffed at him.
"No use complaining to him. He's quite mad." The girl told him. America turned to her curiously. "I am the Red Queen Elica Hartigan; you shall refer to me as Your Majesty or it's off with your head." The girl told him sternly. America looked at her wide-eyed before scowling.
"You're awful rude!" America snipped, annoyed with her. Elica glared furiously.
"Terrible brat! Soon enough it will be off with your head!" Elica shrieked, slamming her massive skinless fist down on the table with a tremendous rage. The table cracked under her strength and Hatter made a loud noise of disapproval from where he sat, once again sipping tea.
"Watch the fine china Majesty!" Hatter pleaded, cradling a broken teapot in his hands protectively.
"You have questions don't you little Alice? So many questions..." The man on the mushroom sighed as though his thoughts were far away. America looked up at him, curiosity winning out against his annoyance with Elica.
"Who are you?" America asked him. The man chuckled, more smoke escaping.
"There are many that call me Caterpillar...However I am Carter Pillar, I am the kingdom Clubs." He replied before he took another long breath from his pipe. America looked up at him, wide-eyed, before grinning.
"So are you a nation too?" America asked excitedly. Carter chuckled.
"Not hardly...I am a kingdom as are the others here...It is only you that is a nation..." Carter told him.
"I'm not a nation. I'm only a colony still, but one day I'll be a huge nation!" America told Carter with confidence. Carter smiled dreamily at America and shook his head.
"The moment you stepped through the Looking Glass, you became Wonderland...You are the nation Wonderland...and we are the kingdoms within..." Carter told the wide-eyed colony.
"I-I am?" America asked with shock, unsure how to take the news.
"Right-o Alice! That's exactly true! Tradition must be upheld! The truth revealed! The trust rewarded! The t-" Hatter began shouting excitedly gesturing wildly, only to be punched hard by Elica who snarled at him.
"He will not be Wonderland for long! I will take my rightful place as Wonderland and all will become part of me! Everything will be the Queendom Hearts and it'll be off with your heads for the lot of you fools!" Elica hissed with great loathing. America stared at her in wide-eyed horror.
"She wants to take over all of Wonderland! You have to watch out for her." Wyatt whispered to America fearfully.
"Right-o! I am the Land of Spades, otherwise known as Mad Hatter, or just Hatter. I think my name is Hawthorn...or maybe it's Hank?" Hatter paused thoughtfully, eye twitching as he tried to think of what his name was.
"I am the country Diamonds." Wyatt told America as Hatter continued to mumble and talk to himself, twitching and jerking every now and then.
"Is he really mad?" America asked worried for Hatter.
"Oh yes, he's quite mad I'm afraid." Wyatt replied.
"Enough of this chatter! We have more important things to worry about! Like the reconstruction of ourselves! That last blasted Alice left us in pieces!" Elica shrieked with rage, slamming her fists onto the table again.
"B-but only Cheshire has the wonderpple!" Wyatt protested warily.
"Well where is that blasted cat?" Elica demanded snarling at the poor white rabbit.
"Leave him alone you bully!" America snapped, glaring at the queen. Elica shrieked furiously and began slamming her hands on the table repeatedly. A mass of skinless, long, clawed arms burst from her back and rushed towards him, causing him to scream in terror and flee the hands. Wyatt snatched America up and and fled quickly behind the mushroom. Carter took a deep breath from the hookah before letting out a deeper sigh, releasing the smoke into a colorful stream that hit Elica solidly; knocking her back into the table before she could chase after Wyatt and America.
"That is enough..." Carter said firmly, his eyes pinning Elica in a cold focused glare. "Cheshire!" Carter barked, his patience lost. A deep chuckle echoed around them. America's eyes widened as he saw the cat that he had followed in melt into existence.
"It's you!" America accused, pointing a finger at the cat. The cat grinned widely and bowed his head at America.
"Cheshire Cat at your service. I am also Londerland, the veil connecting this realm to yours." The cat purred, twitching his tail back and fourth. With a wave of his tail, an oddly shaped black fruit with violet specs materialized and sat precariously on Cheshire's tail. Wyatt put America down on the ground and Cheshire flicked his tail, tossing the strange fruit towards him. America caught it despite its massive size compared to his current size.
As soon as he touched the fruit, America became mesmerized by it. Something compelled him to bite into the fruit. As soon as his teeth broke the soft skin, his mouth was filled with a bittersweet tasting juice. Crimson juices slid down his chin as his mouth overflowed with the juice of the fruit. He swallowed as much as he could and devoured the entire fruit, leaving behind only the dark orange stem. As he ate, his size began to return to normal, though he was too far gone to notice.
The Wonderlanders watched America eat with varying expressions of eagerness. As soon as he swallowed the last of it, the ground began to tremble. He looked around fearfully, eyes wide.
"What's going on?" He shouted, terrified.
"Time to go." Cheshire told him with a wide toothy grin. America suddenly felt lightheaded and his vision blackened; he felt himself drop as his eyes shut and his consciousness left him. When he opened his eyes again, he felt heavy and tired. He lifted his head to try and figure out where he was; his eyes were instantly met with the sight of his slightly older brother.
"Canada! Where were you?" America asked, smiling at him. It took him a moment to notice that his brother was behind some glass and he could not hear him. Confused, he stepped up to the glass and pressed his hands against Canada's. He tried to reach through the mirror to grab his brother but the mirror simply would not give. He suddenly felt firm arms grab him up and he began to struggle. "Let me go! I need to go back! I have to see Canada!" He shrieked, struggling hard. It got harder for him to struggle as the man held onto him. "What are you doing?" He demanded, gasping when he felt a horrible pain bloom in his chest.
"Just a little more and you'll be Wonderland forevermore." The man spoke softly, a wide grin on his face. America's vision darkened once again as he fell into a deep sleep as his mind sought to escape the pain. The last thing he saw was a wide grin reminiscent of the glowing crescent moon.
TBC...
Yami Ryo: Thank Akuoni for editing please. Leave a review to let me know your thoughts.