"…Hey!"
The voice seemed so far off.
"Wake up. Kairi!"
Kairi groaned, fighting her way back into consciousness. Everything ached, always aching.
"Yeah, that's it! Wake up Kairi," the voice sang out.
Kairi slowly opened her eyes to see the bright face of Sora, the white rabbit from earlier. He looked as energetic and happy as always, eyes popping and smiling wide.
Oh yeah. Wonderland.
Kairi coughed. As much as she liked the happy boy- in the short time they'd met- she really didn't feel like acting cheery. It felt as if her spine had been plucked out, reversed, then shoved back in the wrong way. She couldn't feel her legs either. She was pretty sure they could've fallen off and she wouldn't know the difference.
"Sora, back off. Give her some space," a calmer voice cut in.
That had been 'Roxas', right? The rude kid from earlier! Wasn't he a sheep? A black one. Like the nursery rhyme. 'Ba ba black sheep, have you any wool? Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full….'
Kairi couldn't help but giggle. Animal people, that's who she was affiliated with now. She would have been certain she was dreaming if not for the pounding ache in her skull.
Sora backed away and took his choking optimism with him, giving Kairi space to breathe. She silently thanked Roxas before sitting up, clutching her head.
"Wasn't it fun?" Sora called from somewhere near her side.
"Are rabbit holes always this…fun?" she muttered, voice thick with sleep. She had never been so frazzled before. She wasn't sure she would be jumping anymore rabbit holes. Ever.
Roxas shrewdly looked her over. "You passed out on the way down."
Sora stared at Kairi, mouth agape. "You passed out?" he inquired. "You fell asleep? Kairi, you missed everything," he whined a bit, looking crestfallen. He seemed childlike to Kairi.
She rubbed at her eyes, taking in her surroundings. They were in some strange hallway, full of upside-down pictures and furniture. It looked nonsensical. Fitting for Wonderland.
Gazing over at the two boys, she asked, "I missed everything? What was there to miss? All we did was fall down a hole."
Sora shook his head, wrapping his arm around Roxas's shoulder. "That's what we thought when we first got here, but when Riku convinced us to hang out with him, we had to jump down one. Best thing ever."
Roxas shrugged Sora off, looking reluctant to the physical contact. Sora just grabbed him tighter, grinning. Now that Kairi thought about it, they looked kind of similar. Maybe they were related?
Kairi perked up, her drowsiness fading. Thank goodness! "I don't think I get it. Does something special happen?" She could feel her legs again, wiggling her toes in the heavy boots.
Sora nodded. "You have to see it to understand, y'know? I can't explain it!"
Oh well, looks like she would never know since she wasn't going near anymore rabbit holes. Kairi stood and wiped herself off. Time for some answers.
"So, you guys don't live here? In Wonder-" she paused, struggling to get the words out, "-Wonderland?"
Shadows flitted across their faces, and Kairi suddenly felt like she was broaching a bad subject.
"We didn't always live here," Sora shrugged, releasing Roxas. The blonde slumped away down the hall, hands in his pockets. Looks like he wouldn't be joining this conversation.
"We used to be normal guys. No animal ears," he pointed at his head. Kairi nodded, though she couldn't really imagine Sora without the fluffy white ears. They seemed to fit him.
"We used to live on Destiny Islands," Sora continued. Kairi froze.
"Destiny Islands? I used to live there! We probably went to the same school and everything!" Kairi grinned, jumping up and down. She was finally making some connections in her foggy memory. She vaguely could remember a tropical sun, sandy beaches, and smiling faces. Her home.
Sora chuckled at her sudden joy and began to follow Roxas. Kairi trailed after them.
"Yeah, I guess," he wondered, "but you would've only seen me around in school. Roxas wasn't there for a while."
What? Kairi folded her hands behind her back. Weird. Had he been homeschooled or something?
"Why? Did he live somewhere else?"
Sora shook his head. "Nah, he lived there too. We're brothers. Can you tell?" He grinned at her, pointing towards himself. Kairi smiled back, nodding softly. She really could. They had the same eyes.
Sora's cheeks flamed at the sight of her smile and he continued on with more vigor then before.
"No, he couldn't go to school for a while." Sora waved his hand, leaving the subject behind. Kairi grew curious. Sora seemed like a talker. Why wouldn't he talk about this?
"Anyways, we lived there before. We both were fine until the accidents, and when we woke up, ta-da," he spread out his arms, motioning to the kooky hallway, "Wonderland."
"What 'accidents'?" Kairi asked. Sora's jaw clenched and he grew quiet. Kairi didn't like the look on his face. It didn't fit him.
"Just…accidents." He simply said, cutting off the topic. Kairi huffed silently. Fine.
"Oh. Well, I was just asking because I was in an accident too- before all this." When Sora looked at her curiously, she said nothing. Why share with him what had happened to her when he wouldn't share anything? What was there to hide? They were all stuck in this damn place anyways.
Kairi continued walking, wondering. "What about the ears?" She questioned, reaching for one of his. The furry rabbit ear twitched and avoided her roaming hands without Sora noticing much. "Why are you a rabbit?"
Sora shrugged. "Dunno'. It happened when we got here. We just woke up and it was like, wham, you're a rabbit now. I'm a rabbit, but Roxas is a sheep, or a ram as he likes to say." Sora laughed. "He's the cutest widdle sheep I ever saw!" he called up ahead, taunting Roxas.
Roxas's shoulders slumped even more and he walked faster.
Sora laughed. "Yeah, it's strange isn't it? You wouldn't believe all the kids from the island we've seen around here!"
Kairi slowed. "There's more of us?"
Sora nodded. "Yeah! We see them all the time. Never really talk to them though. We only hang out with Riku."
She silently noted this 'Riku' character. He seemed important.
"So how did we all get here?" Kairi questioned.
She didn't think that things could get any stranger. A bunch of Destiny Islands kids popping up in Wonderland? Why?
Roxas was suddenly near them and waved his hand, silencing their conversation. "This story is too long to tell here. Let's just find Riku and let her ask all the questions she wants to him. He's been here longer than the both of us."
Sora grinned, approving of Roxas's idea. "C'mon Roxas, I like talking to Kairi. It's not like the wolves are going to jump down the rabbit hole after us! They hate rabbit holes. Don't you like talking to me Kairi?"
She looked over at him and he looked back intently, eyebrows arched. His eyes sparkled mischievously and his mouth was a smirk.
'He's flirting,' Kairi thought vaguely. She liked Sora's attitude and all, and he was pretty cute. She didn't miss the sun kissed skin or the muscles lining his arms and legs under his clothes. He shone like a tropical sun and his smile was bright. Okay, he was very attractive.
But, things were a little too confusing to be making moves on anyone right now. She still didn't understand even the most basic of things, like what her life was like before the accident. She simply couldn't get distracted now.
Also, Roxas looked pretty sickened by the display.
Kairi opted for a simple smile and replied, "Yeah, I do Sora. But I think Roxas might be right. If this Riku knows more about the situation than any of us, I should probably talk to him instead."
Sora nodded, satisfied. Roxas perked up a bit, walking taller now.
Kairi smiled at both their quirks, walking between them silently.
They walked out of the hallway into an open valley, full of colorful rolling hills and trees here and there. Kairi paused.
It didn't look as eerie here like it had felt back in the woods, but she still felt chills run through her limbs. She didn't trust this place.
They walked on many different paths, running into many strange animals and plants. Kairi could have sworn she saw a clock with wings swoop by overhead, but Sora and Roxas didn't note any change. They ignored much of the wildlife, including the crazy looking signs posted all over the place. Each sign seemed to have twenty different locations tacked on in all directions.
"What's with the signs?" she questioned softly, marveling at one as they strode past.
"Don't pay attention to them!" Sora exclaimed. "They'll lead you in all sorts of crazy places. Each day, they show up in different places at different times."
Kairi laughed, unable to stop herself. It seemed so silly. Useless signs?
"Who has the time to go around changing these ridiculous signs?" she asked.
Roxas cut in before Sora could respond, surprising everyone. He had been silent since he had spoken to Kairi back at the rabbit hole.
"No one is moving them around." he pointed out. "It's this place. Wonderland. It tries to confuse people by changing things around."
Sora snorted. "Roxas, that sounds crazier than this place really is. I'm pretty sure the land isn't doing anything on purpose."
Roxas continued walking with tight lips.
Kairi moved a little closer to him, curious. Roxas's ebony ram horns were sharp, large, and intimidating, but he seemed calm enough.
"Well…if you can't trust the signs, how do you know where you're going?" she responded.
Roxas looked over, jumping a bit at how close she was. He looked away, muttering, "You don't need too many directions here. If I need to get somewhere, I just picture it in my head and start walking. I always end up where I need to go."
Kairi's eyes widened, intrigued. "So I could just imagine Destiny Islands and walk there?"
Sora shook his head. "Nah, don't listen to Roxas. We tried that of course, and ended up in a messy situation. His little theory didn't work. It only works with places in Wonderland."
Sora turned to them, walking backwards. "I still don't get why it works though. It's not like this place can guess where you want to go."
Roxas shook his head, his voice a little quieter now. "Space and time don't work the same here-" he began, but Sora cut him off swiftly.
"Whatever you say, Mr. Expert! I still think this place is just like any other old place…only kookier!"
Sora laughed and skipped off ahead, dodging cracks in the pavement and singing to himself.
Kairi could feel the tension in the air as Sora skipped ahead. Roxas wasn't the most welcoming person to be around, she realized. She was still trying to figure out how to break the heavy silence when Roxas spoke again.
"I think…I think this place is getting to him. He never used to …" Roxas ended.
Huh? Kairi looked over.
His face twisted painfully and Kairi was about to question him before he straightened it out and said nothing.
Kairi stared at him, waiting for an answer, but none came. Roxas passed her up, avoiding her watchful eyes, and moved down the road.
She folded her arms in defeat. These brothers were almost more confusing than Wonderland itself, and that was saying something. Her mind began running rampant with no one to question.
How could they all have ended up in the same place? How did this place even exist? Was it some sort of limbo that they were all stuck in? Kairi knew that truck should have hurt her, yet here she was moving around freely. The fall down the hole should have killed her, and yet Roxas and Sora had bounced back like nothing had happened.
Here blue eyes strayed over to the two brothers.
And what was she to make of them? She was glad that they had helped and all, but they were still strangers. They were animals like the Cheshire Cat had been. She shook off the thoughts. The two boys weren't nearly as frightening as the cat, and they had even risked themselves to save her from the wolf.
'Even though I didn't need it by the time they showed up,' she thought absently.
It wasn't long before she could see a house in the distance. At first she thought it had been her sight tricking her, but Kairi soon realized that yes, the house was as strange as it looked.
The architecture was just as nonsensical as the local wildlife. A chimney stuck out the side, with doors where windows should be and windows where doors should be. The chimney spouted different colors of smoke. The gate surrounding the house was bent and twisted in science-fiction directions, the iron tips threatening instant impalement.
A large table sat in the front yard, covered in teapots, teacups, tea stains, and anything else that had to do with tea. Cups of sugar and milk lay strewn across the place, pieces of cake and pastries laying on the seats. So many seats, she couldn't believe that that many would show up just for tea.
Kairi was amazed at the disorder.
"Riku!" Sora cried, waving his arms.
Silence.
Kairi moved forward as Sora pulled open the large gates, eager to get a close up look of the house.
"Wow…" she whispered, running her fingers down the length of the table. She picked up a small, gold engraved platter with ribbons and birds etched on the rim.
"This is pretty," she said to no one in particular. She was so busy glancing over the detailed plate that she didn't notice the gloved hand reaching out from one of the chairs nearby.
She screamed when she felt a grab at her wrist, dropping the plate. It shattered on the table, but Kairi didn't notice as she tried to jerk back, pulling someone out of the chair along with her. They climbed out, leaping onto the lawn and yanking Kairi closer.
"Sora, who is this?" The voice was deep and angry. For a moment, all Kairi saw was a scowl and a big, green hat.
"Get off of me!" Kairi squealed, leaning back on her heels and squirming.
Sora and Roxas sped over, Sora placing his grip on Riku's shoulder while Roxas gripped Kairi's.
"Relax, Riku! She's a friend."
Riku glanced at Sora and softened his grip, giving Kairi a chance to look at her attacker. He was much taller than the three of them, and that was without the large, worn hat that loomed on his head. It was covered in clock gears and strange metallic dust. Silver hair spilled from underneath the brim, reaching his padded shoulders. He wore a ratty green overcoat with a messy bow planted at his neck. Leather gloves dug into Kairi's skin. His eyes were fiercely green, and enraged.
It looked like the Victorian era had swallowed this guy before puking him back out.
"A friend?" Riku repeated. "Sora, you don't know who she is or where she came from. She could be a shadow, or a pawn, or a spy from the Queen herself, coming to get us all executed!"
His grip tightened as he went on, and Kairi didn't know if she could feel her fingers anymore.
"I'm not a spy! I'm not any of those things, I swear it." She really didn't want to do anything drastic- especially after Sora went on about how much he loved the guy- but if this 'Riku' didn't let her go in ten seconds, he was going to get decked. She couldn't promise all his teeth would survive it either.
Riku seemed to sense her rising frustrations and released her. She stumbled backwards into Roxas, gripping onto him to keep balance.
Riku smiled, waving Sora away and giving Kairi a slight bow.
"My apologies 'friend', but we can't be too trusting here. If you don't work for the Queen, then why are you covered in red? You look as if you've just finished doing the Queen's dirty work for her."
Red? What was this guy talking about?
"My hair?" Kairi guessed. "That's just the natural color-"
"No," Riku interrupted, "the blood."
Kairi gasped, looking down at her dress. Of course there wasn't any blood on it, it seemed resistant to dirt now. She looked at her arms and hands, seeing the rustic red that had dried all over her.
The wolf.
She snatched a silver platter off of the table and looked into it. Her face was pretty and had a healthy pink, but it looked almost pale with the splatters of wolf blood on her cheeks and neck.
'How could Sora and Roxas stand to look at that?'
As if sensing her thoughts, Sora added, "We knew it was all from the wolf. We figured we'd get you cleaned up when we got to Riku's place."
So this was their hangout? Kairi put the platter back on the table and reached for a dishrag nearby, dipping it into a cup of water. She gazed back into the platter and begand scrubbing at her arms and neck. Gross.
Riku looked at her suspiciously. "A wolf? What wolf?"
"The one I ran into when me and Roxas went to the woods to look for the jabberwocky." Sora said grinning, pointing to his shredded pant leg. Riku noticed it for the first time, eyebrows furrowing.
"You got hurt?" he questioned softly, bending down to get a better look at Sora's leg.
Kairi was a little thrown off by the display of affection towards Sora. He had seemed so angry before.
Sora shook his head. "Only a little. I ran into Kairi and she saved me! At least, until I went to get Roxas, that is. We were coming back to help her out, but by the time we got there, the wolf was dead."
He grinned at Kairi, impressed.
"She killed it."
Riku's gaze shot back to Kairi, the suspicion gone. "Impressive. They aren't easy to kill. Well then! You wouldn't kill the Queen's special pets if you worked for her. She'd have your head for it." Riku smiled broadly, reaching out for Kairi. She backed away.
"I'm truly sorry," he said, and she had to admit, he kind of did seem like it. "I have a home and friends to protect. Here, we are safe from the eyes and ears of the Kingdom but there are still things to watch for. I didn't mean to scare you the way I did."
Kairi nodded absently, looking at his outstretched hand. So they all lived here, and Riku was in charge. She understood his temper from before, but that didn't mean she couldn't still feel her skin bruising from his hard grip.
She cautiously took his hand.
"I-I'm Kairi," she stammered, "nice to meet you."
Riku shook her hand lightly, his expression soft. "I'm the Hatter around here. But friends call me Riku. Nice to meet you, Kairi."
Riku looked her over, wondering at her appearance. "Where are you from, Kairi? And who are you supposed to be?"
Kairi began, ready to find some answers.
"I'm from Destiny Islands, and I don't really know who I'm supposed to be." She looked to Sora and Roxas before beginning again. "I have questions. Sora said you were the guy to ask."
Riku nodded as if he understood, leading Kairi away from the brothers and into one of the chairs near the head of the table. He sat himself down, inviting Sora and Roxas to join them. They refused and strolled into the house, speaking quietly.
"So," he said absently, dipping a plate into a cup of tea before biting into the plate, "what do you want to know?"
It took Kairi a few moments to find her voice again as she stared at the older boy chewing glassware.
"What's going on? There are other kids from the islands here, but no one will tell me why."
"That's because no one knows why." Riku responded swiftly, biting into another teacup. Kairi cringed.
"So what, we all just woke up in Wonderland?"
"Basically…yes."
Kairi slumped onto the table, confused. That wasn't a solid, stable answer. Nothing here was solid or stable.
"Hey, don't frown yet," Riku intervened, placing a hand on her shoulder, "I have a theory, if you want to hear it.
Kairi perked up. "Sure." She was willing to hear anything sensible at this point.
Riku sat back, twiddling a shard of teacup in his fingers before continuing.
"Sora and Roxas have only really spoken with me, but when I showed up here, I met more people from the islands. All of them showed up at different times in different ways. I don't know who showed up before me, but I know who came after. All the ones that appeared afterwards had gotten into…accidents back at the island."
"Accidents?" Kairi inquired, leaning in. Riku paused for a second, taking in her sudden interest. She had a cute nature about her, he noted.
"Yes! Barely any of them could remember their lives from before, but all of us remembered at least one thing before we woke up here, and that was usually an accident. Some remember falling off buildings, others remember slipping on flights of stairs. Some remember passing out while others remember being in motor vehicle accidents-"
Kairi inhaled sharply. Car accidents. Her.
"After all of their accidents, they woke up here as different things. Surely, you know where you are, don't you?"
Kairi nodded vigorously. "Wonderland."
Riku nodded. "Precisely. Do you know how the story goes? No? Few of us do. Few of us remember anything before this all happened. I, however, remember the story perfectly. And I can't explain why we're in it."
Kairi looked on intrigued, as Riku drew himself closer.
"Something wicked comes this way, I think." He muttered.
"What do you mean?" Kairi questioned. That had sounded strangely ominous and foreboding, giving her the same feeling the forest had.
"Each of us were given Wonderland roles as we arrived here. You can tell, can't you? Sora's the white rabbit. I'm the Mad Hatter. Others are running around here, all of them playing a character from the story. Some woke up with the changes, some stumbled upon an item or a charm and got themselves stuck to it," Riku pointed to his hat, "I couldn't take this damn thing off even if I wanted to."
Kairi gulped. The dress. The one she had found in the woods.
"What happens?" she whispered.
"The roles are beginning to take over. People are starting to lose their own personalities and are adopting their Wonderland roles. Just last month, I saw a girl who was perfectly normal, with only a few rose petals stuck onto her that she couldn't take off. Last week? She turned into a rose. A giant, red, rose."
'What the hell?' Kairi sat back, taking it all in. They were all turning into Wonderland characters?
"Sora is starting to get obsessed with time now, than he had been when he first showed up here. Even me…" he broke off, dropping the shard of teacup he had been about to eat, as if he didn't know what he was doing.
"Even me…sometimes when it's quiet, I hear the hat whispering to me. Sounds silly, right? It's not. It's not funny at all when you have little voices whispering in your head, telling you to think crazy things...telling you to do crazy things."
His fists tightened into the tablecloth.
"I haven't slept in days. Sometimes I think the only way to get rid of them is to give the Queen my head. You can't talk to dead men."
Kairi gulped hard. The air was heavy and she didn't know how to cut the tension.
Riku sat back, sighing. "Roxas is the only character I can't identify. Wonderland didn't have black sheep. I don't really know why he's even here to be honest."
Kairi tilted her head at that. She didn't remember the story all too well, so she wouldn't know who belonged and who didn't. She felt somewhat glad Roxas was there with them. She felt like he needed to be here in Wonderland with them.
She didn't know about Sora. Since the entire time she had met him, not once had he mentioned time. And what did Riku mean about the wolves being the 'Queen's pets'? Who was the Queen?
And who was she?
"Riku," she began, "what role do I play?"
He smirked at her, propping his heavy boots up onto the table and making the silverware tremble.
"Surely you know the answer to that, don't you?" he jeered at her, making her answer her own riddle.
Kairi shook her head in disbelief, remembering the Cheshire Cat.
"A new day, a new Alice."
"Alice…" she murmured. "I'm Alice."
Riku clapped in a slow, mocking way. "Congratulations Kairi, you got the main role."
She frowned at him, clutching onto the blue dress. A main role, huh? She didn't know whether she should be happy or pleased.
"What happens to Alice in the story?" she questioned.
"She wakes up and goes on with her life." Riku responded, fiddling with a teacup again.
Kairi grinned. Waking up possibly meant that she could wake up from this crazy dream and be back home in Destiny Islands, her real home.
"That ending doesn't sound so bad to me!" she sang happily, reaching for a strawberry pastry nearby. It honestly didn't. She could go home.
"I don't know Kairi, it was only a theory of mine. And you never know. The Queen might get your head before you go anywhere." Riku's voice came low.
The pastry's journey to Kairi's mouth stopped. The Queen.
"Who is she?"
Riku smiled, liking the new subject they had approached.
"Well, she's only the nastiest, most heartless and tyrannical bitch to ever step on the soil of Wonderland. She executes people at the speed of light, and she doesn't know what the meaning of 'mercy' is. She's monstrous."
Woah. She sounded pretty awful for a Queen.
"How do you know all this about her? Have you ever seen her?"
Riku shook his head. "No," he admitted, "but I've heard rumors. Rumors that come from the Royal Kingdom itself, a nasty place to be. You think the woods were bad? The Kingdom makes that place look like a playground. You don't want to step in her royal courts. Few that go there ever returns. She's addicted to bloodshed. Just this week, she executed seventeen people."
Kairi was shocked. "Why would she want to kill so many subjects?"
Riku shrugged. "No one knows why she kills, we just know she does. She has spies left and right, in both sky, land, and sea. She's a force to be reckoned with, and she must be stopped at once."
Kairi didn't know who would be willing to go up against a woman like that.
"Who can stop someone like her?" Kairi questioned.
"We can!" Riku revealed. Kairi jumped.
"Sora, Roxas, and I all have keyblades, and once we get our hands on the jabberwocky, we'll be unstoppable." Riku continued.
A jabberwocky? She had heard Sora mention it was why he and Roxas were iin the woods in the first place. And the keyblades! Kairi remembered her own, wishing she could see it once again. She jumped when she saw it appear in her hand, resting magnificently on the table.
Riku gaped at her shining weapon and gazed at her.
"What's a j-jabberwocky?" she stammered, alarmed by the keyblade and her power to call on it. It was just like Roxas said! It came when she needed it.
Riku leaned in, inches from her, with a crazed look in his eyes.
"A jabberwocky, my dear, is the strongest weapon in all of Wonderland. It was forged from the bones of Bandersnatches and polished with the feathers of the Jubjub bird."
Riku stood up on the table, hands in the air and shouting to the sky.
"It can cut through ten men in one swing and hold back the force of a shooting star! It has jaws that bite and claws that catch, blades that cut and cords that stretch! It can stop the Queen of Hearts, if Fate permits-!"
Kairi made to leave the table, but froze as Riku glared at her, daring her to step away from him.
"And you're going to help us get it."
AN: I'm sorry for such a late update! I'm not dropping the story, it was just i got whisked away from my laptop and the story files for a while. I just got back. Since my winter break ends today, I'll be pretty busy, but I swear to try my best and update at least once every two weeks. Thanks for sticking around! Reviews make the world go round and the writing hand strong, ha!
Happy New Years, guys!
