A/N: This Story will feature alternating points of view. In our introductory chapter, we saw the events through our favorite Demon Hunter's eyes. Now how about someone a little more...Unhinged.
Please R&R!
Just how long had it been now? Since she last saw the sun? Since she last felt it's warmth permeate her skin, and warm the confines of her soul. Alice had long since lost track of time. She hadn't even seen the Rabbit in ages to ask him what time it was. He was probably off having an anxiety attack about being punctual again. The very least he could do was point her in the right direction. It had to have been at least a year since her most recent tumble back into Wonderland.
And had it changed... But so had she.
No longer full of rainbows, singing flowers and people giggling over tea. No. This was a realm condemned to hell. Flowery scenery had been exchanged for polluted, ruined wastelands. Empty crumbling cities, disgusting mills and distilleries. It was every little bit the picture of an apocalypse. "It is only fitting I would suppose." She had huffed upon realizing her predicament, what seemed like an eon ago. Ash drifted airborne through the ether, her pale hand swatting away the charred speck. "A broken world for a broken girl."
Things had been... Difficult for Alice as of late. The walls of the Pale Palace had been seemingly closing in on her these days. What used to be a welcoming space, had turned sullen and stifling these days. Tea parties had been cancelled, meetings held in their place. Halls that used to be full of laughter were now full of silence, scurrying servants who dared not utter a peep, for fear of upsetting her once again. Warm gazes and tender smiles had been exchanged for anxiously bitten lips and empathetic smiles… Or none at all.
When was the last time Knave dared to smile at her?
Even Lance's smiles were growing few and far between these days. Though she had bore witness to a few, on occasion. A new squire had been added to their ranks, a refugee from the neighboring kingdom, freshly freed from the cells of the Dark Keep, if her fragile mind could recollect correctly. His visage was blurry in her mind. But all that had mattered was that he was a fresh face, a happy, grateful face.
The memory is dodgy at best. But then again, when was the last time she had ventured outside of her room?
It was only at the beckoning of him that she had breached the threshold once more.
She doubted anyone noticed her presence in the halls. Her dear Knights had long since given up their posts at her door, the servants had stopped traveling her halls. When was the last time the Queen even graced her with her presence? Alice could scarce remember. However, it was truly no wonder her dear friends were flocking to other, fresher faces, or throwing themselves into their duty. Who wanted to entertain the whims of a mad girl, shrieking on and one about the smell of smoke...
Or some demented thinly veiled asylum, for broken girls like her to be picked apart by the good doctor Angus Bumby. She hadn't lasted there long before this realm became her home once again.
Alice just had a feeling she wouldn't be leaving as easily as she had in the past.
She brushed her raven black hair away from her face, nose wrinkling as the smell of soot and grime invaded her senses, and pulled her from her melancholy wonderings. It was a stark contrast to last she roamed these streets. At a time, she would have wondered why the sky was blue, or what made the flowers bloom in the bright colors that they were.
But the sky wasn't blue. And the flowers had wilted and died.
And there she remained, retracing the pathway her ghost had taken, kicking up charred Earth beneath her boots, her fingers brushing against glorified kitchen blade tucked into her apron. Though the Vorpal Blade would greatly protest at being called as such. The blade hummed in the depth of her pocket, growling in a sense. The sentient blade had its quirks. Numerous ones. the growled, the crackle of energy, the wisps of violent light that shrieked about the blade like lightning barely scratched the surface of the blade that had served as her dearest companion in these dark times.
At times. the blade was her guiding light. Guiding her through Wonderland, through life, just as much as it guided her through the battles that fell along the way.
She felt the fine hairs at the back of her neck stand on end, a weight pressed itself down upon her shoulders, and she didn't need Cheshire to speak to know he was there.
"So do you know how a raven is like a writing desk?" She rolled her eyes.
"Are both trying to kill me? Because I'm getting bloody tired of this muck, Chesh."
"You lack discipline. You have wasted ten years, and what have you regained of your sanity? Of your strength?" Chesh was scolding her, curling himself around her, his tail swishing over her chest. His claws dug gently within her shoulder with warning.. Alice only sighed in response. Ten years then?
"At least someone is keeping track. I'll note that you're as reliable as a calendar, Cheshire."
"And I will note that you are as reliable as a broken clock." The barb rolled off her shoulders, emerald eyes averting themselves, lost in thought once more. Ten years. and only the gods knew how long she had in Wonderland. Her trips previous were never more than a handful of days at most-It was all the time she was afford, back in the day. It was all her lifestyle allowed her, and then? It was all the nurses would allow her, before their pills and would drag her back. But now? The days had turned into months, and the seasons had changed several times. What of her body in the real world? Did it even exist? Or did she simply disappear. Nothing but an empty bed in London,leaving behind a house full of confused children and a boggled doctor.
Boots clicked softly as she made her way down a cobblestone path between the run down buildings. The sky a eerie, smoky shade of yellow above her. The smell of sulfur hung thick in the air, and it pulled her from her thoughts more than once. Was this supposed to be a leisurely stroll?
"No one gave me a guide. None of you have been any help." Alice huffed, but reached up to the Cheshire Cat and stroked his neck all the same. The malnourished, skeletal cat pressed its head against her cheek in response, a purr low in its throat.
"I never known you to be the type of girl who sat and waited to be guided. This is your life slipping away into the abyss, Alice. Do you wish to perish in this hell?" She stalled in her footing, her intense emerald gaze dropping to her boots. Ash had begun to settle on them, despite her progress. The destruction of her Fair Wonderland still followed, still consumed her.
"I shouldn't be alive. I should have died long ago-" A brief cry escaped her lips. pain shooting through her shoulder until her body bent to contort itself from the source of the pain. Alice stumbled and glared at the mangy cat, who only glared in response. A great feat for this feline, who was infamous for his maniacal grin.
There was no grin this time.
"Silence your mouth. Before I bring new meaning to the phrase 'Cat has your tongue.', dear Alice..." Alice glared openly, a retort set on that same tongue before movement was caught her in peripheral vision.
Movement was not expected to be found, not in this charred wasteland of what used to be a bustling forest-side town that once stood proudly here. Now scorched in fire and brimstone, the landscape was painted in blacks and greys and splotches of yellows from the stained sky above. It had made the red all the more noticeable.
It was the crash that came next. And her boots launched themselves into action. Fingers finding her trusted blade once more. Some habits died hard.
And curiosity must always be satisfied.
Rabbit's appearance was a notable one. His white fur, the vibrancy of his riding coat that encased his miniature stature was the brightest object to be held amidst this monochromatic scene. Alice shouldn't have been surprised, Rabbit was always popping up in the strangest of places, usually just as disoriented and perplexed as her as to how it was he ended up in such predicaments, before turning his anxiety to the time, and the fate of his punctuality.
Even more so with him struggling in the clutches of a foreigner.
She quite nearly mistook him for another Rabbit, or perhaps the same Rabbit, caught in a disagreement with a Rabbit that was both himself, and not himself. Or perhaps even catching the rabbit in mid transformation, and finding himself at odds with both sides of the spectrum. The color schemes were the the same. Both donned in red coats, pale hair as silver as Rabbit's coat (Though she supposed the soot and grime was to blame...) Alice merely stood in incertitude. In Wonderland, anything was possible. Twins, Untwins, Rabbits turning into humans, Humans turning into cards, ravens turning into writing desks. Childhoods turning to ash, Champions turning into shtooms.
She half expected the scene to play without her, for a resolution to be found without need for her to intervene. It seemed to be the habit Wonderland had fallen to as of late. However, her blade would not have it.
It crackled, and itched for use. With a roll of her eyes Alice shrugged Chesh off her shoulders freeing her movements as she gripped at her blade once more. Feeling the familiar, thrilling hum of potential devastation, controlled in a grip that was well known for being anything but. The duo was busy in their bickering(Well, the taller one was threatening, Rabbit was merely stammering, but she supposed when the two were combined, it constituted as bickering) so it was no surprise that when she took the time to stand side face, and aim her blade at the humanesque impersonator, not a brow was raised in her direction. A quick flick of the wrist was all that was needed.
The blade made a sickening noise as it tore through wood, splinters sprayed out among the duo. It gave Alice a moment of pause, pale lips parting in silent question.
Vorpal never missed.
But perhaps the blade was becoming dull and inaccurate, after months of misuse. Dark brows furrowed together. Instead of a dead impostor, and a fleeing Rabbit, she had drawn the attention of both.
Her tongue jumped on ahead of her, as her hand returned to her now empty hip pocket."Rabbit, if you can be trusted for nothing else, it is your ability to fall into trouble."
"As can you." She could hear Cheshire's grin behind her.
The impostor loosened his grip upon rabbit then, the white bundle of nerves quaking as he hit the ground, dust ad ash bellowing around him. Alice's gaze was more focused upon the steely blue stare that had now turned upon her. Impostor indeed. Red coat, a bastardized version of Rabbits own, hair a pitiful shade of silver-not the stark white Rabbit often sported. Skin was sun kissed-What use would Rabbit have for a tan? And Rabbit's eyes were red, not blue!
Throwing her blade had been an error on her part. Fingers flexed upon her hip. The impostor stood well over six foot, as she need not stand closer to foreigner to know he would tower over her five-foot-nothing frame.
Recovering from his tumble to the Earth, Rabbit straightened his own coat, smoothing out the creases, tapping large foot several times in succession. Was he drawing attention to himself? Or was he merely fidgeting? Alice felt his gaze draw back and forth between the two of them as they stood in silent stand off, before calling out. "I've got him here Cheshire! I'm off to find the Caterpillar. He needs to know about this. I…" He gulped audibly then. The impostor still looked on, but as did Alice, waiting for the other boot to fall, perhaps. Rabbit panted. "I hope we were right about all of this!" Giving the Impostor one last, terrified look, the nervous git took off hopping, speeding down the uneven cobblestone road as fast as his little legs could carry him.
And then there was silence.
Alice could feel the impostor's gaze burning a hole through her stomach. He was sizing her up, surely. His lips twitched, seemingly in mirth, and Alice felt herself bristle. No doubt he was running an internal commentary about her. Scrutinizing her waifish stature. His body took its time to turn to face her proper, and Alice found herself falling in step, mirroring his actions, offering him the same scrutiny. He was tall, that much had been well established. But Alice took note of the muscles that tensed and shifted. Another oversight, Rabbit hardly had an athletic build, even when he donned his Glimmer for Otherland. This creature was built not unlike a well seasoned fight, the kind of brutes she saw cross blades with Knave and Lance in the tournaments. Had the rival Kingdoms finally made their move, and sent an assassin?
His hands twitched.
Her body half lurched, her boot kicking out a loose stone that had laid against it in their prolonged standoff. She had expected him to rush her. But the Impostor perplexed her further, Finger-less gloved hands merely turning outwards. That twitching lip had stretched into a full blown, crooked grin that had Cheshire purring at her feet. But for Alice, the sight did little more than flip her stomach, and drop it into her boots.
He finally spoke out, his tone barely holding back his laughter. "Listen, I don't know who you are or where this is. I was promised a job though, by the rabbit. So, where's the demon?"
Alice's eyes narrowed. Excuse her? A job? His body language screamed of the white flag. Perhaps her knife trick apparently had been enough to subdue him. But her curiosity was piqued. Usually, when cornered, the beasts dropped their acts. They shed their false skins, a slave to their rage. Too often, she had seen creatures break their 'character; in mid sentence when confronted by her. Their jaws falling slack, necks snapping as they spewed black ooze at her or shrieked incoherently. But this impostor maintained his ruse. If he was hostile, he was smart enough to hide it from her.
He wasn't from the Dark Kingdom then.
"...What?"
Cheshire sneered at her side. "You are content to suffer in your illusions, but some of us have grown tired of watching you die Alice. So we have sought out him" He gestured to the man with a swish of his tail, a cloud of dust flowing in its wake. "Do try not to put your knife through his heart."
So he was summoned.
"...No promises."
Alice warily took a few paces forward, curiosity guiding her movements, now that Cheshire had deemed the 'Impostor' not to be as such. But merely a stranger. A replacement. she placed herself out of his reach, but instead perched herself atop misplaced slab of what had once been someone's concrete stoop. The Stranger was less imposing, when she could sneakily shrink the height difference between them.
Her hand raised slightly, the Stranger's hand made move to meet hers. However the blade wobbled in the wall, before plucking itself out and returning to her, like any loyal Wonderland weapon should. It was then that Alice allowed herself to smile-No...Smirk, perhaps. her lips had long forgotten how to smile in any sense of elation. But they remembered condescension well. "This land is full of demons. I have half a mind to think you one of them."
"Half a mind? That is being generous. Alice, your sanity lies in fragments and you still refuse help?" Chesh vanished at her side, shaking his head when he reappeared… At the feet of the Stranger.
Judas.
Her feline 'friend' cranked his neck, grin on full display."Pay little mind to the girl. as I'm sure her death wish is of no interest to you. But she is correct about the demons." Alice blinked, jaw nearly agape.
"You know I can hear you right?"
The Stranger smirked then, dancing crookedly across his lips, his gaze still upon her. Alice felt her nostrils flair, fingers tensing around Vorpal. She had half a mind to cut into him now, and balance out that cocky grin. Something sparked in those too-blue eyes of his, something that burned at her stomach-seemingly for his enjoyment. He finally broke their gaze, just to spite her, she would bet her blade upon it. To regard Cheshire, his head turned askew. "Just so happens, demons are my specialty."
Of course, because he is one. A snake at that.
He continued, of course, oblivious to her internal sneering. "Of course, you already seem to know that considering you are the one who wanted me here. Generally I require some form of payment however for my services," He glanced up at her again, and her heart jumped into her throat, her stomach doing somersaults within her abdomen. Payment?
The past must be paid for, Alice.
If her face gave way any trace of the fear that fluttered through her, he made no comment about it. His gaze still bore into hers."If this world is as full of demons as you claim, it's going to take quite a sum to cover my costs."
Squatting down, he examined the cat at his feet, his face turned serious. "I don't do charity work cat. What'll it be?"
Alice's jaw did drop when it was made obvious she was all but shut out of the conversation. Cheshire even made move to disconnect them, to place himself between the two of them. She was nothing more than a witness! This was her Wonderland was it not? A world of her own mad creation! If she wanted to sit in ruins who were they to tell her no?
Who were they to keep her then!?
"Wait, if he's from reality then why haven't I been sent back?" She was here for two years for crying out loud. Not that she was in any real rush to head back to being strapped down to a bed and force fed Lithium to stop her wailing...
Chesh huffed, tossing a glance over his shoulder. He turned back to Dante. And were they in any better company, she would have felt tears prick at the corner of her eyes. Of all days, why shut her out now? "It is her trauma that has corrupted this land. And the demons here have taken prisoner of her as payment...Your payment shall not be as burdensome."
Burdensome. That's what she was.
It would have been kinder to twist Vorpal into her heart, and feast upon it. What would have been tears, turned into frustration, burning hot in the pit of her stomach. "Chesh are you familiar with the expression, 'More than one way to skin a cat'?" The grey feline physically shuddered at the comment. But Alice felt no compassion for this creature who was supposed to be her confidant. Her boot tapped in impatience.
But Cheshire continued. "The girl is rich. Her broken mind has no use for wealth. Consider it your payment, to be paid in full if you manage to cleanse this hellish place."
The Stranger held the cat's gaze while he seemingly considered his options. Alice threw her eyes into another dramatic roll, keeping them peeled back to the yellow sky, blinking furiously as moisture built up in her orbs unwillingly. Surely a mere eviction notice would have been kinder, than forcing herself out of the Palace to bear witness to this.
Then again, he could always refuse-"You got yourself a deal." Or not.
The Stranger stood then, boots crunching down on the charred earth as her made move to approach. Her arms crossed angrily over her was her replacement? If she narrowed her eyes any further she would just be closing them, so she settled for crossing her arms over her chest. Wonderland was her world. Her mess. It seemed fitting that she would die here while her body rotted away in some asylum. But Wonderland had moved on. Chosen itself a new champion.
Good. Maybe she could die in peace then.
"Broken huh?" He finally spoke to her. His voice too warm, too kind to match his role in her Hell. That crooked smirk was back in full force. "I'm of the mind that if something is broken, you either find a new use for it or you throw it away. Let's see which one you'll be." As if he had any place to judge her! Her lips parted, but her voice was gone, seemingly having found a small, dark corner of her soul to cower in its in self loathing. He seemed all the more amused for her effort. "You seem good enough with that knife of yours-it might be fun if you come along for the ride, " he added with a jagged grin, tossing the comment over his shoulder as he walked past her and headed towards the smoking woods. "If this is your world Alice, bring it on. The sooner, the better. If you want out so bad, it's about time you start fighting for it."
"Him? You chose him?" She hissed to Chesh as the Stranger started on without her, visibly seething at his comment. Chesh noted the anger in her eyes...And only grinned wider.
"A spark needed to be lit." With that he vanished into the aether, his grin the last to go, as was his trademark. Alice growled and clutched at the hilt of her knife, stalking after the Stranger. So Wonderland wanted to forget about her and be saved by some... Hunter for hire? She would see how long this would last. With demons like hers, he wouldn't last a minute.
"Forgive me if I don't become attached to you." She scoffed at the red clad Stranger, uncertain if the burning in her abdomen was betrayal or just plain jealousy. "I trust you'll do the same."
