Her fingers tore as they attacked the strings of steel. One hand spasmed its way down the long neck while the other blurred across the body. It was a clash of maddening clings and clangs disguised under the electric currents flowing through her love, power that surged through dark wire tunnels until it found its way out the quaking disks of colossal speakers in the form of abusive noise. But in this madness was a deranged symmetry, a clumsily dancing melody, a beating heart, and with each pump of life, there was a crashing wave in the ocean of barbarians. They joined the swirl of sonic sound as they smashed their heads into invisible drums. She hurt herself as she hurt her love, strangling it and punching it with cramping hands. They sweated pain under the strands in their faces, but they were mad, in more ways than one, for each other, and this is how it showed. They loved the ache, and their love was on display for the world to see and cheer. The music climbed its way to the very last note and as it did, she dug her feet into the ground and coiled her arm back. She had to wait for just the right moment. Then it came, and she shot her arm down for the last time, that sweet final note cozying itself into crowd's ears for the rest of the night.

The mass poured out a great roar. She smirked back at her crew, focused on the drummer who shook his head, laughing. "How do you do it?" he choked out. She spun around, chucked her guitar, and spread her arms out, the sun falling behind her. "It's all in the heart!" She fell back, bouncing as the hands gathered under her. She relaxed her muscles, glaring at the blue and purple blends above as she floated out towards the horizon. The sea soothed her, massaged her, rubbed her, nudged her, smacked her, yanked her, jumped her. She sank as a swarm of hands clouded her vision of the blackening sky.

She shot up in a cold sweat, her nails clawing the couch she dangled off of. She could feel the whole room vibrate and rumble. She glanced out the nearest window, catching a glimpse of the night desert rushing by. After letting a cool breath of air cycle through her, she threw her head back into the arm of the pillowy couch, her black mess of short hair falling over her face. Following a flushing sound, the drummer stepped out of a door. "May want to give that a few days," he joked as he conjured his sticks and faked a rimshot along the doorframe. He took a seat opposite of her, hunching over and letting his arms hang off his knees. She squinted at him, her eyes still adjusting. "Still alive?" he exhaled. She palmed one eye, somewhat stretching that shoulder as she did.
"The hell happened?" she droned.
"Fangasm. You know the deal. Fans get all grabby and you decide it's a good idea to give them a big hug."
"Oh yeah…" she chuckled. "That was awesome… Hey, how's my axe?"
"Sir Vopral's good for another gig. Wouldn't have to be if you didn't practically murder him every song."
"Eh, he knows I love 'em."
"By the way, where did you run off to this time?"
"It's Sin City, Oz. Where else would I be?"
"At practice? Not like you need it, though."
"Damn right. And look what I snagged." She pulled out a small white tablet with the word "wonder" carved into it.
"You got that? Look, I'm down for a lot of stuff, but that stuff is overkill… You feeling ok?"
"What, I need to be depressed to have a little fun?"
"Well, now that you mention it, I think you've been having a little too much fun lately."
"Eh, quit your worrying. Rock, fans, money, and the damn face of Black Rabbit… life's too good for me to be depressed."
He just sat there for a moment, mouth off to the side, staring at the floor. With a sigh, he finally got up.
"Alright. Have fun in wonder-land, Alice."
She stared him down before flicking her long-finger at him with a clenched grin. He simply shook his head.
"Just don't you die on us…" he joked.
The door slammed behind him and he was off, riding in the back seats of the vehicle section of the RV while she held the tablet up, eclipsing the light above her.
"Don't plan to…" she mumbled.

She was there all night, staring at the little piece from various angles, leaning up against a wall, on her belly on the floor, upside-down on the couch. She just stared at the white wonder, trying to remember another time while keeping her progressively shaking hands from shoving it in her mouth. While aimlessly walking around the room, the tablet crossed a cage. She brought the piece down and inspected the tiny prison cell. In it lay a tiny, filthy, flea-infested black-spotted white rabbit. Though its stained body remained puffy, its head was shriveled and hanging off its shoulders by a boney stem, its skin was sunken into the contours of its skull, and its soul-drained eyes bulged bigger than usual. Her brows came together as she stroked the black bars. How long had it been like this?

"Sorry I wasn't there for you, buddy." She gently laid her bunny into the cool water. She hesitated, but finally pulled the lever, and the critter flushed down into the hurricane. She pulled out the tablet, crushed it into powder, and sprinkled some of it into the swirling water. "This is for you, Kidd."

With that, she downed the rest of the powder. Her eyes dragged around, following the streams that went round and round and round, getting bigger and bigger and bigger. Her eyes snapped open as she began to feel the vacuum, the eye of the storm yanking her by the hair. She braced herself against the toilet bowl, but with the slip of the hand, she found herself sucked into the vortex. Falling, speeding, spinning as the water drained away into the dry walls of a black-striped white tunnel. Crashing into the walls, she twirled like a drunken ballet dancer, until finally she saw a window above her. In all the tumbling, she hit her back on the glass, flowing right through seamlessly, though she knew it wasn't over. She felt something tug her back, as if she had landed in gelatin and was about to launch back out. She noticed that the clear shards that danced around her began to rewind, puzzle-piecing themselves back into a solid singular piece as she herself began to fall in reverse. She smacked face-first into the window and noticed that her reflection, glaring at her horror-eyed, started to fall back, ripped out into the blinding light of the real world, leaving her there. She then choked as something yanked her by the collar and pinned her to the wall-floor beneath her feet. Her numb legs stung as her wobbly arms helped her back on her feet. Her contracting pupils zipped around in the mad hope of processing her surroundings, meeting the negative space that made up the eyes of her laughing, taunting shadow. The shadow peeled off the wall and tackled her against the window, cracking the crystal. It squeezed her wrists and ripped off its hands, leaving black bonds. What remained of it swirled into the shape of a vial which then splintered itself into her gaping mouth, tar-like contents rushing into her. Before anything could be said, her poison-green eyes were bleached with darkness. She could not look away from the abyss before her as it devoured the rock of the tunnel in chunks, consuming the land. And her.

She could feel herself slipping. As the giant green plant slowly opened its thick pedals, the blue-white-black garbed girl began to roll out of the makeshift bed. With a slimy splat, her face met mud. "… Fuck me…" her voice groaned in the bubbles. After finding her balance and taking a second to breathe, she took in the environment. Dead gray skies, a forest of drooping dark green mesh, and prismatic colors literally dripping off the leaves of most every plant. Then rain began to pour. "Great…" Not knowing where else to go, she went the only way she could think of: forward.

Step. Step. Step. Clank. She lifted her eyes from her feet, noticing a great cracked clock on the floor, its hands spinning rapidly, minute-hand forward and hour-hand in reverse, and lying at its center was "Kidd!" She rushed up to the rabbit's side, her hands floating above the corpse, not knowing what to do. Then she felt hot air brush the back of her neck. "Well hello, my dear." She hesitated to turn. As she twisted her neck, her nose nearly touched a row of razor teeth. "Shit!" She scurried back and fell on her rear. It was a cat. An eerie, ghostly cat. The black and purple feline offered a paw. "Cat," he grimly grinned, "Cheshire Cat." One brow cocked, she stared at his paw, then his stabbing eyes. "Oh, I get it now…" she chuckled. Up on her feet and dusting herself, she threw her arms out. "I'm Alice, and this is my fucking Wonderland! Right? That's the joke? Whatever, let's get this trip over with." The feline slithered around her head, his teeth filling her vision again. "You may be Alice…" He brought his head down, his eyes bridging hers. "… but you are far from Wonderland…"

The girl chased the shadowy cat up a spiraling staircase that ran along a nocturne cluster of flowing spires, the gray skies and green semi-life far below and behind. "What… exactly… are we do-… doing again?" she puffed. The steps seemed to get a little steeper with every second. "It's all about the journey, not the destination, my dear." The spirit flew far ahead of her, floating on his back and smiling his smile. "Answer… the question… you prick…!" She crawled to a stopped. After a moment of trembling, her limbs snapped like twigs. She just laid there, her cheek pressing up against a step as she gulped in air. She stared at the perfect white circle in the painted sky of many blues. Then an upside-down head peeked from the top of her sight. "Done already, are we? I didn't fancy you as the type to give up, let alone so soon." His teeth weren't showing, but the smile was still there. After getting some air in, she flicked a finger at him and began to climb again.

Finally within the inside of the tower-top, the two walked into the dark chamber and down the half-red-half-white rug that led to two thrones. Behind the thrones was one gothic window from which lunar rays shone, barely illuminating the room as they spotlighted the seats. On the white throne sat a young sleeping girl dressed in red. In the red throne sat a young quivering woman dressed in black. As Alice drew closer, the details became clearer. The woman was enveloped in a black web of slime, and the girl was drenched in blood. "White turned red, and Red near dead…" the ghost whispered, "… the sisters, our queens, over them Death leans." Alice slowly approached the sisters. One's eyes were sealed. The other's eyes saw nothing. "The hell happened to them…?" On the armrest of the Red-turned-Black Queen, just in front of her twitching, clawing hand, sat a tiny caterpillar blowing bubbles from a frothy pipe. A sudden echoing bang ripped Alice's attention away. Looking back, she saw the grand twin doors wide open, troops pouring in from the now-crimson night. "An intruder! An intruded has killed the White Queen and infected the Red Queen!" The soldiers took formation and readied their shields and spears.
"I believe it's time we took our leave." The feline slipped through the glass of the window.
"Take a bubble and dive through the window!" he called from outside.
"Are you crazy?! Why would I do that?!"
"Hmm… You're right. You never listened to me before, so why start now?"
"The fuck are you talking about?!"
"Ready! Aim!"
"Oh, for Christ's sake!"
Alice grabbed a bubble no bigger than her palm and rammed through the window.

The girl drifted down through the night, hanging by a bubble. She breathed, then she laughed. "Man, what a rush… Ok, I'll bite, that was awesome. Been a sucky trip 'till now." The cat swam around her, beaming. "Glad you enjoyed it. You ought to listen to me more often." She squinted at him, still smirking herself. "What are you getting at, cat?" Before another word could be said, she was struck with the stench of burning. Alice found herself carried by the winds toward what looked to be a bomb site.

Her feet crunched the debris she treaded as she looked around. Fires worked to crumble what was left of the town of muted colors. "Damn, this place went to shit. What happened here?" Cheshire curved around from behind her, a bright red, triangular guitar in his paws. "You may need this." She just stared at it for a moment. "My axe…?" She then wasted no time snatching it out of his claws. "Where'd you get this from?" The cat simply shrugged. "Don't see how it matters, given how you're already dead!" a voice called. Looking past the cat, there was a lanky, pointed creature waltzing his way towards her, arms out, unrestrained by his straightjacket. His long, bent top hat obscured little of his large, lidless, blank eyes. She looked at him, unamused. "Let me guess, Mad Hatter?" He bowed with a crooked grin, somewhat showing off the infinity-divided-by-zero size tag tucked in his hat. "Alright, what's going on here?" she sighed. The madman stepped to the side and with a gesture, presented a distant, rampaging beast. The beast caught sight of her and raced up to her, the ground trembling before it. As it drew closer and closer, her eyes grew wider and wider, until the abomination halted just before her, towering high, engulfing the sky. It peered down at her from the high-up head that sat upon the tallest throne of a neck, crowned with twin horns. "What… the hell… is that?!" The beast snorted fire, churning out smoke, shaking with power as the rusted bronzes and silvers on it shined. A junkyard turned demon. The mad scientist slid back in front of her, his pointed shoes nearly stabbing her feet, his long nose meeting her small nose.
"Like it? I call it the Jabberwocky. Perhaps not the cleanest contraption, but it gets the job done."
She glared at him, appalled.
"You wrecked this place? What's your deal?! Are you nuts?!"
"Indeed. What's your point?"
"Wh-why would you trash your own town?"
"Do I need a reason?"
She stumbled over her words, nearly speechless. He rolled his eyes, or so it seemed, as he smiled, puffing out his sunken cheeks.
"But if you must have a reason, would 'I did it for fun' suffice?"
"How is this fun?"
"It all starts with one piece…"
He pulled out a small piece of metal.
"… and a little wonder."
He scrutinized the metal, still smiling.
"It's kind of beautiful. It's kind of mad. It's kind of interesting. It's kind of sad. So many have their reasons, and yet, I had none. Only wonder, regarded a reason to some. Link by link, the chain expands. But for it, there is no demand. Little pieces, here and there, but soon the pieces are… everywhere."
With that, the beast stretched out its great wingless wing structure, claiming the world as its own.
"They say curiosity killed the cat…"
The Hatter eyed the Cat who nervously smiled.
"… but satisfaction will not bring it back."
The Hatter's eyes connected with Alice's again.
"Far from safe, far from sound. Soon, your pretty little head… will be in the ground."
She stared up at the beast, mouth gaping.
"… This is not how the story goes…"
"The tale's been told time and time again, with every tick of the tock, this way, that way, traversing from teller to teller. To you, it travels. So take a turn, and tell your tale. O-R-U! What's. Your. Story?"
"… I- … I don't have one."
"Nonsense! You have history, that's more than enough."
"Well, I-"
"Pick a card! Any card! In fact, take two!"
He reeled through a deck of cards until they exploded in her face, a few smacking her eyes. She peeled the two cards off.
"Queen of Hearts and Ace of Spades!" he predicted.
"Death's coming for you, Love. I'd start running. Not that it will really help, but it should make you at least feel better."

After she finally processed everything, she backed into a mad sprint. The beast leveled surrounding buildings with its roar alone. It tensed itself up before launching itself forward. She maneuvered through some structures, hoping to lose the creature who just punched its way through the walls, head first. She swung around a corner and huddled herself low against a wall, dodging the hate-fueled train that kept forward. "You're insane!" she barked. She jumped as the madman was suddenly before her, his white eyes and teeth sticking out on his silhouetted body. "All men are mad, Alice. To go on and on, always repeating the same thing, over and over, always expecting a different outcome to eventually come, hoping against all reason that it will come, or is even possible. That is a definition shared by both stupidity and madness. Now I ask: to one extent or another, is that not the plight of all men?" He snapped his fingers and the beast leaped behind him. "You have an axe, dear." She jumped again. The cat was by her side. "Use it." With no other solution, she frantically unstrapped her guitar from her back and began playing it, scrunching up against it, eyes shut tight, plucking the first notes that came to mind. Even without her amp, she knitted an electric melody of the medieval ages. The madman squealed a laugh. "Sorry, no solace for you here!" The beast swiped at her, launching her back where she first stood before the Hatter. The lanky man and his titan pet walked back up to her. She reached out for her grimy, buried instrument, that bright red peeking out of the filth, surrounded by gray, but she yelped as the deranged man crushed her hand under his foot. "Such is life. That all men are trapped upon its stage, doomed to play their parts." The beast stomped on her lower body and she cried out. Her screams went ignored. "They go through all the e-motions, putting on a display for all to see, then the play ends, the next showing begins, and the players go through the acts all over again. Or perhaps it's not quite that public. Perhaps the player puts on a mask, or the audience is a private one, or there is no audience to begin with, but the show must go on! …Well, to each his own. Regardless, we're all just pawns in this game, puppets played by our own demented selves. Truly, a tale told by an idiot. Now be a dear and die, please." The beast stepped on her again. And again. And again. And again. Though sounds were muffled, she could still hear his shrilly voice. "Happy un-birthday!" he giggled.

After examining her with a looking glass, the twisted two began to leave, their work done. The town was little more than rubble. Alice was little more than a gargling body crushed into concrete. Her eyes cracked through their crust. She blurrily saw the ghostly cat that circled above her. "Giving up again?" No response. "… You know, victory is not about skill. It's about determination. There have been so many who have lost because they gave up right before they won. How tragic…" Her hand twitched. Her brows came together. Her teeth clenched.

"Get back here, you sonova bitch!" The Hatter stopped mid-walk. She was still moving, dragging herself towards him with one arm. "Finish the job, will you?" he sighed. The beast grunted and obeyed. It swirled back and raced towards the girl in bounds. It crushed her again, then casually walked back to its master. He checked back for certainty, then happily continued walking. "That… all you got?" she coughed. His lower lip nearly came to his nose. "Give her a taste of Hell." The beast shook, turning around before it could make its way back to him. It ran back and roared, drenching her in fire. He kept his eyes towards her, making sure her shrieking, burning body stayed down. The beast began to leave again. It didn't finish three steps before she screamed "Fuck you!" The Mad Hatter chucked his hat on the floor and began kicking and jumping, trying to hurt the floor and murder his hat. "Good Lord, will you just do yourself a favor and die already?! Kill her! Kill her proper!" The mechanical monster's joints appeared to rust as it struggled to move back towards her. Its leg creaked as it raised its claw. In one swoop, three wounds through the chest. She dropped, face down. "Third time's the charm…" the boney man snarled. The contraption of a creature vibrated as it returned, hesitating before each step. The black cat swiped the flames away from the body with his tail. The feline curled up on her back, frowning. "It's your story, you know. You decide how it ends."

The beast finally caught up to its owner. They were about to disappear. Then her voice echoed behind them. "I'm not done with you!" His neck nearly snapped as he looked back. She was limping towards them. "Wha- what are you?!" he squawked. She gestured the behemoth towards her. The beast-master's face hung in shock. "Are you daft?!" She smirked, eyes fixed on him. "Guess so." He grinded his warped teeth. "Finish her off, you bumbling fool!" The beast moved towards her at a slant, one side of it drooping as one of its shoulders came closer to the floor than the other. The cat handed her the red guitar. "Didn't I break that thing?!" the madman choked. The staggering dragon leaned its head forward, ready to swallow her whole. With a good swing of the arm, she shot the instrument into the air. Seconds before the vibrating beast touched her, the head of the guitar speared through its skull, pinning it to the floor. The demon collapsed instantly. "You… you… you wretched…!" The desperate man dashed at her, arms flailing. He ran right into her fist and fell unconscious. "You talk too much…" she spat.

She played the melody that she hadn't finished from earlier. As she did, the sun began to rise, the White Queen awoke from death, and the slime on the Red Queen retreated. All the servants and soldiers wasted no time tending to the queens, cleaning off the blood and black, consoling them and asking how they could be of use. After some conversation among the crowd, the White Queen offered Alice a bandage. "For your broken heart." She couldn't help but smile. "Thanks kid, but I don't think a bandaid's gonna fix this. Besides, it doesn't really hurt anymore." The child took her by the hand and led her to the white throne. The little queen climbed up onto her seat to reach her friend's height. She pressed the small bandage across the center-wound. After her servants brought her a glass sword, she touched her friend's shoulders with the blade's flat-end. Alice hugged the two sisters and said her goodbyes.

She buried her pet bunny by the clock. Though it was still cracked, it worked properly again. Cheshire offered her a piece of cake, which she shook her head at.
"Come now. You didn't stay for the tea party. The least you can do is have a piece. You must celebrate!"
"Wait, don't tell me. The cake is a lie."
"Actually, the pie is a lie."
"Smartass."
"Just eat the blasted thing, would you dear?"
"Fine, whatever. What's the worst that can happen, right?"

Oz and the rest of the band yanked Alice's head out of the toilet. Her eyes and head spun.
"A cake…? All it took to get out… was a cake?!"
"Alice, what are you talking about?"
"I killed a fucking Jabberwocky!"
"You killed a member of the Jabbawockeez?"
"Shit no! … Where's Sir Vopral?"
She stumbled out of the bathroom, looking for her guitar. She tripped over her Yin-Yang-logoed bag, spilling a handful of pieces of wonder. She felt the world around her slow to a halt as she stared at the white plague.
"Ought to listen more often…" she recited.
A cluster of wonder smashed out the window. The band walked in from the bathroom, glaring at her.
"… What was that about?"
"Don't worry about it. Listen, I need to set a mood, so we're gonna need a caterpillar- no, wait, a blue butterfly- and a bunch of bubbles, hold the hookah."

She tuned her guitar. "Grab your stuff…" she grinned.
"… I think I got an idea for a new song…"