Sakura: Well, glad to see this up!

Die: Yeah, it'll be nice to get rid of this one from my desktop too...

Haou: Am I normal in this?

Die: ... Um... maybe? *smiles while slowly backing away*

Sakura: As normal as we can get ya! *smiles while backing away*

Haou: *chases after them*

Jesse: Sakural7865 and Black Die own nothing that connects to Alice in Wonderland and Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.

Jehu: *pops head out* Enjoy. *insert psychotic laughter here*

Looking Glass

Chapter One:

It was the itching of fur along the underside of his nose that had him awakening, sneezing harshly as he quickly sat up to dislodge whatever it was on his chest. As it turned out, that something was a black cat with silver fur on its paws and the tips of its ears and tail, the creature having leapt to the ground before the incline became too steep and now sat there on the dirt floor, skillfully avoiding the roots protruding from the ground as it casually licked a paw, its milky eyes betraying an avid intelligence far beyond that of its clouded gaze. The forest stretched as far as he could see in all directions, and he couldn't help but feel as if he had no idea where he was or how he had gotten here. It certainly didn't look like anywhere he knew at any rate. "You know," a soft voice stated coldly, "most societies consider it rude to ignore your host."

"Hello?" he called, emboldened by the concept that perhaps there was someone nearby who might be able to tell him how to get back home. "Who's that?"

"I," the voice continued, the cat leaping to the gnarled stump of a tree where the every motion of its mouth could be viewed, to his amazement when the movements corresponded perfectly to the cadence of what was being said, "am known by many names, but you may call me Rissy; most do." It continued with its washing, seemingly content to simply watch him with his eerie misty gaze over the edge of one silver paw. "Now, I do believe it is human custom to exchange nominatives rather than simply give them away, so that would mean it is my turn to ask who you are."

"Well, I'm Jesse. Nice to meet you, Rissy." The now-introduced bluenet got up from his spot on the ground, only to trip on the roots near his feet. Rissy, with the grace only a cat could possess, jumped from one root to the next until it was on one that was next to Jesse. The southerner groaned as he tried—and succeeded—to sit up again. He looked at the strange cat and wondered how it could move around in this mess of tree roots. The misty glaze over its eyes clearly told the dumbest of people that it was blind, so it must have had a special power or great familiarity with the place to be able to move without getting hurt.

Speaking of this place…

"Um, Rissy?" Jesse began, "where are we? And how can I get back to DA from here?"

Rissy gave Jesse a cryptic look, seeming to think over the answer before revealing anything to the bluenet. "Chess always said that with humans, you must start in the middle of things for them to truly understand you," it stated contentedly, in no hurry to come up with an answer. "As such, there is no way back to where you came from until it is time for you to meet your hero." It yawned lazily, tail twitching. "And as for our locale, I'll simply tell you that we are in a land where everyone is a puppet and things never go more than skin deep, everywhere and nowhere all at once, the land where I was born and the land where I will die."

"Yes," the bluenet said, emerald eyes sparkling earnestly, "but that gets me no closer to knowing anything!"

The feline's tail twitched once in amusement. "You humans are so impatient," it murmured. "Of course, like Chess told me, I shouldn't expect much else from such an ignorant race." Its fur shuddered delicately, creating the illusion of a silky ruffle snaking its way over its slender body. "Honestly, only humans think it marvelous to kill each other for mere sport, you never see animals taking fights that far."

Jesse should have been offended, but Rissy was right. Humans, most of them, did kill each other for mere sport. And the good sort weren't as good as they think, ignoring the pain of others because it was none of their business and believing lies they made themselves. So with a sigh, Jesse gave the cat a nod and a weak smile.

"Thank you for telling me, and I'm gonna lie and say I understand. But I need to ask you, could you please help me? I know this place isn't even the world I was in the first place and I know for certain that I'm not the only one here from my world. Could you please guide me to them?"

Rissy, though taking to think about it, started to walk and jump into a direction that seemed to be north. As it was doing so, it mewed, "I know there are others from the world next to this but none from yours…" Rissy jumped to the next root in the direction it chose. Jesse paled a bit, worried that his secret has been discovered so quickly by someone he just met and a cat no less! But he just buried the panic into the deepest part of his mind—the same place his secrets were—and followed the knowledgeable cat.

Zane groaned as he sat up, wincing as he cradled his head. Blearily, he opened his pale blue eyes to the sight of a desert stretching as far as he could see, the spindly shade offered by a palm tree giving him the only reprieve. Shutting them and wincing at the harshness of the reflected light, he lamented, "Okay Atticus, that is the last time I ever listen to you when you want to throw a party."

The brunet, who was in a similarly disoriented state, merely gave his bluenet companion a weak smile. "Hey," he protested, "in my defense, I didn't know this was gonna happen."

"How, how the hell, did you think for a second that nothing would come of a party in the Abandoned Dorms?" the Truesdale spat, wondering for not the first time if his friend was entirely sane. Neither of them noticed the fierce sapphire eyes focused on the pair of them from a concealed place in the small oases near the forest.

The silver-haired boy was amused as the other-worlders continued to wander around the desert after leaving the oasis. It was almost as funny as Judai being given sugar, and that always resulted in a good time! He could tell they were getting thirsty and irritated, and the bluenet looked like he was ready to kill the next person to come their way. He looked like Jim when he was frustrated after a raid… He shivered, remembering what happened after one particular raid… He shook his head and realized the two humans from the other world began to fight each other over something called a 'party' in an 'Abandoned Dorm'. He knew what a party was, though there hadn't been one since the Red Queen took power, but the 'Abandoned Dorm' thing was new to him. And now that he got a good look at them, they were both really… He shook his head again. He was not admiring the trespassers! In fact, he should be capturing them! They could be in cahoots with the Red Queen! His mind made up, he started to walk up to the duo and trick them into their imprisonment.

"You!" he called, drawing upon one of his bonds to create the illusion of a disguise for himself. "You're coming with me!"

The teal-haired boy snarled, "I don't think so…"

The brunet, however, beamed and bounced over. "Okay!" His companion threw a look at the sky that almost begged for answers as to why the brown-haired moron was his problem and not someone else's.

Chazz cursed as he dragged himself out of the lake, shaking out his wet hair and glaring at the water angrily. He wasn't sure how he'd gotten there—he had a feeling it was Atticus's revenge for sneaking into the girls' locker room last week to watch his little sister change—but he had managed to swim from the tiny island in the middle of the rather spacious lake onto the sandy shore. "I would hazard a guess that you do not appreciate nature in its 'finest' form, only that I myself would have just as colorful an explerlative if I myself had been faced with the task of swimming from the Isle of Lost Things."

Chazz freaked out. "Who said that?" When a spot of purple came into his peripheral vision, he turned to see… a kitten colored so strange it puts all the years in DA to shame. The kitten is mostly dark purple, but each paw had a different color to it: red on the right front paw, yellow on the left front paw, blue on the right hind paw, green on the left hind paw, and neon pink on the tips of the tail and ears! Chazz couldn't help but drop his jaw. "What happened to you! Did you step into permanent paint, or something as a newborn?"

"No, you silly human! Younger Disappearing Felines change colors to blend in, not disapparate like the adults do, and their coloring doesn't really calm down until they fully mature, so I'm rather susceptible to, if it's a color I like or a rather strong one, gaining the color in my pelt if I try to camouflage myself with it," the kitten answered, giggling at Chazz's reaction to its coloring. Its ears twitched at the sound of a roar. "C'mon!" it giggled, bouncing forward. "You don't wanna get found by the Starbeast, now do you?"

Chazz, thanks to hanging around Atticus for every school year they'd both been at the Academy, knew that anything was possible and Duel Monsters being real in this strange place was a risk he wasn't gonna take! So our favorite emo followed the multi-colored fur ball and ran before the (metaphorical) Duel Monster decided he was a tasty treat…

Jehu's head hurt. With a groan, he sat up to find himself inside a dungeon cell. He cursed under his breath. And that raid with Jim had gone so well… at least he was still alive and could escape. After looking around the cell, Jehu noticed a cute brunet on the other side of the bars dressed in expensive black clothing. The other boy looked to be around his age and had an air of power to him that drew Jehu in. He has always loved a good challenge and if he won, freedom! "Hey there, cutie," he purred in his best come hither voice.

The brunet did not look amused. "Good, you're awake," he pronounced, golden eyes narrowing dangerously. "You should be grateful, Mother wanted to execute you for intruding upon my quarters, but I generously insisted upon waiting for answers… a choice I'm now beginning to regret."

Jehu's eye twitched. That air of power surrounding the brunet was very strong, so maybe flirting wasn't gonna get him out of here. The smirk returned. "I was in your room, how did I get that lucky?"

The brunet still didn't looked amused. "Look, here is the deal. You tell me why you were in my room, and you may get out of here alive."

Jehu shivered, feeling fear for the first time in a long time. He just knew that his life could cut short if he answered wrong, by the other boy's standards. Well, he couldn't just tell the truth, he'll get killed on the spot! He licked his lips nervously. "I…" he began, then paused. Surely flattery would get him somewhere, right? It usually did with the bullies at school who weren't afraid of his threats when they tormented his little brother. "I know what I did was wrong," he murmured, letting his hair fall over his orange eyes in just the right way to imply that he was feeling guilty as he forced a light blush onto his cheeks, "but I just wanted to feel closer to you… I wanted to feel, just for a little while, what it was like to be under your power…"

The brunet blinked. He wasn't expecting that, the bluenet had an aura of defiance and mischief. He smirked. "You almost had me there, if I couldn't see auras as well as my Mother can, I would have fallen for your act. Now, tell me the truth or I will make you really feel guilty and submissive."

Jehu pouted. Well… he always could go with that version of the truth… "Okay, in all honesty, I have no idea how I got into your room." Technically, it was true… Jim had found him wandering the castle and pressed him into service, and he had lost himself in the corridors leading up to that…

The brunet blinked again. His aura changed from defiant to truthful—though there still was some untruth to that—but that was as close to the truth as he'd gotten so far, and the bluenet did have a cute pout… He smirked, believing to have found a way to get more out of the bluenet and that was by playing his own game. "Well then, by the laws of the Red Queen, my mother, you belong to me now."

Jehu's jaw dropped to the ground. This was the Red Queen's son! Wait, when did that big-head imp have a son? And why did he look so different from her, if she even was his mother? He knew that wimp of a royal wasn't married anymore, she had beheaded her husband the first week after the marriage ceremony. Had they even done it! And how had they combined into this beautiful creature? Jehu shook his head to stop any more questions from forming and keeping from asking. "You're the Red Queen's son!"

He delicately raised an eyebrow. "I am obviously of high rank, did you expect anything else?" he asked coldly, waving one hand to create a collar made of shadows that he swiftly placed around Jehu's neck before unlocking the door, harshly yanking on a black chain leash he'd manifested as well to cause the bluenet to topple to the stone floor, the action causing the nametag's inscription to flash before his eyes. Haou's bitch. Oh, real mature.

Jim paced back and forth in the forest with an annoyed Shirley as he waited for Jehu to get back. It was a simple mission: get in, steal some jewels, get out. What could-? Never mind, Jehu looked like the kind with reputation to get lost, even if you broke in with him and were on the same path! That idiot must have taken a wrong turn when they had almost gotten caught and must have actually been captured as a result. Jim sighed, he knew something went wrong and now Jehu was gonna die. "Man, Shirley, I should have known we had to find somebody else, but no, Jehu was the only one there—and willing—to steal something from the Red Queen, and the only one stupid enough to use his thieving skills to do so! Man, girl, this one screwed up badly…" When the ravenet stopped ranting, he heard the bushes shaking in the distance and the sound of talking in the distance. Jim, after picking up the crocodile, ran to the nearest hiding place and prayed that he wasn't captured and suffered the same fate as Jehu…

Atticus was getting bored of all this walking without any conversation. Sure, Zane was giving him the cold shoulder because he was still mad about the whole party-in-the-Abandoned-Dorm thing, but the mysteriously-alluring figure? What stick was shoved up his cute little ass? "Sooooooo," he stated, drawing out the last letter of the word while he slung his arm around the other male, "what're you doing out here all on your own?"

"None of your business," the other snarled, sapphire eyes flashing as he twisted out of the embrace.

The brunet pouted but remained undaunted. "Aw, come on, pleeeeeeease?" He gave his best pout, widening his big brown eyes in the way he knew Zane never could resist when they were kids.

"No." The word was harsh, cold and brutal; he had no time for cute.

"At least give me your name!" Atticus protested half-heartedly, his gaze dropping to the ground just ahead of his feet.

"I can't give you that." The response was gentler now.

"Why?" he asked childishly.

A sigh reached the brunet's ears. "I… I just can't." Another sigh came as the mysterious figure added, "but if you wish, you may call me Edo."

"Edo," Atticus murmured, testing the title out on his tongue and finding it… different with its harsh roundness. "I like it."

Zane sighed, recognizing the signs of Atticus being interested but not bothering to get involved. It wasn't worth it. He knew from the time where he'd dated the other that it wasn't worth trying to talk him out of his hare-brained schemes, which was part of the reason why he'd broken up with the bouncy brunet, though he couldn't help but appreciate the sunlight streaming over those soft chocolate locks.

A loud roar shook the forest then, causing their mysterious leader to freeze in front of them. "Dammit," he hissed, "I was hoping she hadn't let the damn thing out today." He turned his head to the side. "Keep close to me," he ordered, picking his way through the trees. "I may not be able to hold it off for long, but it should be long enough to keep it from picking at our carcasses."

"What is it?" Atticus asked in an undertone right as a large white dragon peeled open the foliage like it was nothing, spitting out a large stream of ivory light from between its jaws.

"I'm guessing it's that," Zane stated, yanking the two of them down while their guide stiffened in a defensive stance above them.

"Yes," Edo confirmed, "that is the dreaded Starbeast." Judai, Daichi, it would be nice to have some backup right about now, where the fuck are you? he thought rhetorically, stiffening himself in preparation for a fight. Sure, the magic woven into his cloak left him currently invisible to the beast, but surely it wouldn't last for long before the damn dragon spotted him and chewed on his bones for breakfast. Okay, if I die here, serious words will be had with those two morons, if not in this life then in the next.

The brunet in his disguise was flying to the spot where he felt Aster's position. The Starbeast was out of its cage and looking for a snack. Word from Chess was that some idiot had found his way into an important person's room and was now known to be said person's slave. The Red Queen was obviously mad, seeing as she always let the thing out in times of frustration. So far, he was the only one who can battle the Starbeast and hope to win. He hated this rebellion, but too many people suffered at the Red Queen's hand and it had to stop! Man, Edo, I hope you're under something…

As he continued to fly, he saw something very strange, even in Wonderland: a boy his age in all black—which was insane since people want to blend in rather than stand out—with a multi-colored Disappearing Cat that looked too young to fully use its powers. You have got to be kidding me! Even I'm not that stupid to be walking around like that! …well, these two need help and I know Edo can handle himself, it's not like he's with anybody. I'll go see who they are! Mind made up, he tucks his wings in to descend to the place where he saw the two.

The kitten took fright at his shadow, jumping onto the boy's head and making them both disappear. Well, that just made things all the harder. Fighting off the urge to sigh, he began flying a grid pattern, hoping to find the two before they got eaten by the Starbeast, which would be a shame. The ravenet was rather cute…

Sakura: So much stuff going on!

Jesse: *comes in* Yeah... and why am I the one stuck with the crazy cat?

Sakura: I thought Chazz was the one with Catnip? *reads above*

Jesse: Catnip's not crazy. Immature, yes, but not crazy.

Rissy: Are you implying I am not right in the head, Johan?

Jesse: ... Maybe a little.

Rissy: Glad you are conscious of that.

Jehu: WHY!

Haou: ... *grabs Jehu and pulls him to his chest*

Die: ... I'm bored... *gets idea and smirks evilly, chucking nearest object at Zane's head*

Zane: Gah! What the hell?

Die: *shrugs unrepentantly* It's fun throwing things at you. *continues throwing things*

Sakura: Please review and remember! All flames shall be used to torture the prisoners of the Red Queen!

*something hits Sakura in the back of the head*

Sakura: Ow! Not you, Jehu! You are not the Red Queen's prisoner, you are Haou-chama's sex slave! There is a difference! And who said there isn't going to be some kind of plot twist?

Everyone: BLAUSPHAMY!

Haou: *sniffs* And I don't even need a sex slave... I'm not THAT desperate...

Sakura: Then explain why you like putting the poor psycho in leather?

Haou: Because he looks all the more fuckable in leather.

Sakura: ... Against his will...

Haou: Minor details.

*heavy objects from the fight come in and knock everyone unconscious, ending the chapter*