'Once there was a small dream. No one really knew who had dreamt it. Such a tiny dream it was. The little dream thought, 'I don't want to disappear like this. How can I make people dream me?' For a while, the dream pondered on this issue until it finally reached a solution. 'I will make humans dream me, and they shall create my world.'
I chuckled with delightful thoughts crawling around my head. Menacing, if thought by others, but I found them quite entertaining. As I debated how to lure some pitiful humans into my dimension, I recited the old prophecy,
...Aru tokoro ni, chiisa na yume ga arimashita. Dara ga mito no ka wakaranai. Sore wa chiisa na yume deshita. Chiisa na yume wa omoimashita. "Kono mama kiete iku no wa iya da. Dousureba, hito ni boku o mite moraeru darou?" Chiisa na yume wa kangaete kangaete, soshite tsui ni omoitsukimashita..." My voice trailed off as I saw my first target.
...Woman in Red...Thou will be the first..." I smirked, mocking the fools who disregarded the prophecies warning. I prepared for the last part of the prophecy to leave my mouth.
"...Ningen o jibun no naka ni mayoikomasete, sekai o tsukurasereba ii to..."
'The first ALICE was a red warrior woman, charging gallantly into Wonderland with sword in hand. In order to escape the woods, she cut down all who stood in her way with a bloody wake. This first ALICE, somewhere in the woods, was finally trapped and locked away as a criminal. Were it not for the paths she had made, no one would have ever known she was there in the first place.'
The 'Woman in Red' looked around cautiously, having her surroundings appear out of nowhere. Out in the forest, she had been shoved down a rabbit hole, and ended up in some creepy looking woods. Hearing a twig snap from behind her, she raised her sword in defence, to see no one there. Believing she was going to die, she ran through the woods, cutting down trees to see ahead of her. She heard screams as well, but the only thing on her mind was what that... that thing said to her as she fell down that nearly-endless chasm.
"Thou art the 'Alice of Spade'. Do not forget thy purpose, or the worst shalt befall upon thou..."
The next thing Alice knew, she was being carried away in a cage. Unable to control herself, she began lashing at the steel bars that held her hostage. Blood flashed across her mind as she was driven insane by her unfortunate fate.
'The second ALICE was a frail blue man, singing out his own song. His notes created a mad blue world. That second ALICE was that of a rose. Just as he bloomed he was shot down by a cross eyed man. He left a flower blooming sadly red, with that as his sole remain, he is now long forgotten.'
"Thou art the 'Alice of Diamond'. Do not forget thy purpose, or the worst shalt befall upon thou..."
The 'Man in Blue' was singing half-hearted, the other half only focused on the last thing he heard from his world. Unlike the Alice before him, he had seen a glimpse of the one who had forced him down that hollow passage. It was only for a split second, so the only thing he managed to determine was that it was not human...
"...Tsunai da ase no kaori ni tada okasa reteru." The second Alice finished his song, bowing to the eruption of applause that followed, and smiled. He didn't think anything bad could happen anymore.
A few months passed, and day by day, he began loosing his grip on reality. He stared at himself in the mirror, cross-eyed, and held a gun to his head. To others, it didn't seem to matter, as he had no hold on the world in the first place.
I frowned to myself. These 'Alice's' are getting me nowhere. I need an Alice to pass their test before they can leave...
...And I can live...
''The third ALICE was a green girl. Seducing many people, her Wonderland was quite twisted. Using her body as a poison to the eye, countless lives she tricked.'
The small girl always responded to her original name, "Girl of Green", but now that term was almost completely forgotten. Each and every day she will forever respond to "Queen Alice". Oh how that name petrifies her mind. That was the name she was dubbed before she landed in this kingdom. Her kingdom...
"Thou art the 'Alice of Clover'. Do not forget thy purpose, or the worst shalt befall upon thou..."
That's the only thing Alice remembers of her world. That one sentence. She can't remember her parents, or if she even had any. She can't remember her friends, her home... or how to sing. All of this was her own fault as well...
'The third ALICE, now crowned the queen, found herself caught up in a distorted dream. What she feared most of all was losing to death. Ruling at the highest peak, she fights off eternal rest.'
...I felt sorry for that little girl, I really did... But... She wasn't the right one...
She said I was weak. She said that all I did was hide until something went my way. She said that she is doing everything for me. She taunted me. She mocked me until I snapped. I slowly took away her ability to sing. I slowly drained all of her past memories. All I thought about was how much of a brat she was, so I gave her eternity. She'll have to suffer for all she had done and all she will do, and that is what drove her to madness.
I feel sorry for what I did because... Because...
...Because everything she said was true...
'Sometime when all of this was happening, two lives had tea beneath the rosebush. Their invitation from the palace was the ACE of HEARTS.'
...This is wrong... All of it... But I... I want to live...
I sat under a tree in the human world, giving up on trying to find a new Alice. My knees were tucked to my chest as I pondered what I need to do, but my mind was almost completely blank. The only thing remaining was the one sentence I was destened to repeat untill I was no longer...
"...Kono mama kiete iku no wa iya da... Kono mama kiete iku no wa iya da..." I whispered, over and over again, until I lost my composure entirely. I ducked my head into my chest so no one could see the tears running down my face.
"... I don't want to disappear like this..."
It was then I first met the next Alice, or, should I say 'Alice's'. Two children, a boy and a girl, looked down at me with concerned, yet confused faces.
"... Um... Hi...," The female said, then turned to the male and whispered, "... What is that thing?..."
"I have no idea, sis..." He answered.
'Ah, siblings...' I thought, unfazed by their questions. After all, this wasn't the first time. I looked up and them, and saw how alike they looked...
'Ah, twins!' I thought, delighted. I decided who the next Alice, er, 'Alice's', would be just in time! If a few minutes later...
I pushed that thought out of my head, and began a small conversation with the children, explaining everything as best as I could without scaring them, but I still had to explain about my disappearing, and what would happen to 'Wonderland' If I did... They even started calling me 'Chiisa', which made me laugh. I was expecting something worse... The twinkle in their eyes was enough to tell me they were in, but I still had to ask,
"... So, would you like to be the next Alice?"
'The fourth ALICE were twin children. Filled with pure curiosity, they explored Wonderland. Passing through many bogus and strange worlds, they had arrived on a yellow boat. A stubborn older sister, and intelligent younger brother. They came the closest to being the real ALICE, but...'
The twins, dubbed 'Sister Alice' and 'Brother Alice' to avoid confusion, at first had been thrilled to be in a new world with new discoveries, just like when they were invited to the queen's castle. It was gorgeous, shining in the sunlight. Once inside, they were greeted by one of the queens servants, who looked almost exactly like the first Alice. After a small talk about how to stand, what to say, and more, while getting a little lost, they found their way and entered the queen's quarters. What they saw standing there was a child, with an axe in hand, covered in blood.
"... So, AlIcE's... ArE yOu ReAdY fOr YoUr FaTe?..."
The twins were more then happy to run away from the castle and into the gardens, where they assumed they'd be safe. ... Assumed...
A look to the left immediately changed their minds. Sister Alice jumped up and grabbed Brother Alice's arm in fright and screamed. And Sister Alice could scream.
"W-what is that!" She cried, pointing to the odd figure on the garden grass. Just behind the figure was a mirror, rusted from past rains. The frightened twins took a few steps closer, being the curious children they are, and immediately regretted it. Up close, the figure was revealed to be a rotten corpse. A look upon it's face would show that it was indeed a male, wearing all blue, and surrounded by red. A gun rested in his hand. Brother Alice just stared at the sight before him, his sibling oh so desperately trying to convince him to run. Once he regained his composure, that's exactly what he did.
The family of two ran into the forest from which they came, only to find it had darkened from emerald green to a sickening gray.
"...It's as if... The whole forest has... died!..." Brother Alice exclaimed, with a small gasp from Sister Alice.
"Does that mean... Chiisa..." She whimpered, and looked up into the sky, small tears welling up in her eyes, 'Is gone?' She thought, shivering slightly. Brother Alice reached for her hand, and they went into the forest, hoping that even with 'Chiisa' gone, they could still make it home...
'...Never can they wake out of their dream. Lost in Wonderland they'll explore forevermore.'