Champ Bear wasn't quite sure where he was, or how he got there. Wherever he was, it was strange, dark, and incredibly odd. There was not much light save for the pale moon that he could just barely see through the silhouettes of gnarled trees and immense flowers. He paused to touch the petal of one of the several oversized roses, but it seemed to recoil before his paw could get near. He wasn't sure why, but an old story popped into his head, one about a strange and crazy world where nothing made sense, where the flowers acted like sentient beings…then he remembered the story he had heard from Good Luck several years ago when the green bear had gone with Tenderheart, Swift Heart, and the others to…

"...Wonderland?" he surprised himself with his own whisper. "Am I in Wonderland?"

Champ leaned against the bark of a tree, suddenly feeling lightheaded. He tried to breathe, and managed to take in the near-stifling earthy scent of the wood, the musky aroma of rainwater and soil and moss and the perfume of sleepy giant flowers. It was dizzying; he closed his eyes.

A small crack made him open them again.

His ears perked. Silence filled the wood. He slowed his breath and strained his ears for another sound. At first, there was nothing. Then, from the foliage on his left, he heard another snap and a small rustle. His pulse quickened, and he slowly turned to the source of the sound. Fear began to course through his veins, and he backed away from the dark brush. The rustling grew louder and closer...then ceased. The pregnant silence lasted only a moment; a low, menacing sound began to fill the air. It was a growl. The sound sent chills down Champ Bear's spine. He was frozen. Time slowed down to crawling seconds as a figure lunged from the bush.

A strangled sound left Champ's throat as he fell backward, numb in the legs with panic. The creature was ghastly and macabre, to say the least. Mangy tangles stuck out in its obsidian fur. Red-tinged ropes of saliva hung from its bared, pointed teeth, and sickly yellow eyes glared at him hungrily. A rancid, rotting smell filled Champ's nose, making his eyes water. The creature appeared to be some sort of dog, but it was humongous, and Champ knew not of a hound this large. All he could do was back away as the creature slowly stalked toward him, a menacing gleam in its eyes. With a gulp, he tried to think the nicest thoughts possible to summon a Care Bear Stare. He shot the beam of feelings straight at the beast. When it ceased, however, the monster only seemed a little dazed - and that confusion only lasted for a moment.

Champ shivered and fought down a desperate scream. He wasn't used to being this frightened. He had never encountered an enemy like this, either. He struggled to stand up and backpedal away, but with every step he took, the...the CREATURE took two toward him, and with every sound, it narrowed its eyes until they were little more than two golden slits. Within his ears, Champ thought he could hear a little whisper…

Shun the frumious Bandersnatch…Bandersnatch…Bandersnatch…

Champ missed a step, and fell backward. He winced as his right paw came in contact with something cold and hard. He dared himself to look back up at the monster advancing on him, who was growing more agitated by the second.

The monster gave a feral growl, and lunged.

In desperation, Champ picked up the closest thing, the cold, hard thing he had touched, and swung at the creature.

Snicker-snack.

After a moment of complete silence, Champ hesitantly opened his eyes. What he saw made him freeze and gasp in horror.

As it turned out, the thing he had grabbed was a sword. The blade had proven incredibly sharp, and had sliced through the creature's neck. The Bandersnatch keeled over in slow motion, its head rolling away into the wood. Champ raised the vorpal sword hesitantly. He stared at the shimmering red liquid dripping down the blade. He was still for minutes on end.

"I murdered it…"

It felt like his nerves were on fire, like his senses were more alive than they had ever been.

"No, I killed it…"

His heart beat faster, the adrenaline spawned from the encounter refusing to leave his system.

"No...I overcame it. It was my enemy. I defeated it."

A loud gurgling sound behind him made his fur stand on end. Startled, he whipped around, inadvertently spinning the sword again.

Snicker-snack.

Water and an earthy-smelling green fluid splashed onto his face. The snapdragon's head fell to the ground, still open from its attempt to taste-test the golden bear. Champ's eyes widened.

"It's like everything around her is trying to kill me...but I defeated them. I defeated them with one strike."

Slowly, a sick smile etched its way across his face.

"I bet I can defeat ANYTHING that tries to test me. After all, it's my only means of defense. The Stare didn't work. Without this blade…" he looked almost fondly at the vorpal sword. "I'd be defenseless here. And now that I have this, I should try to get out of here."

So he made his way through the forest. His nerves were still very much on end, and every little sound made him either jump or brandish the sword. He cut down every predator he encountered, from snapdragon to ravenous vultures, and eventually just began to cut down everything altogether, whether it was a tree, flower, or animal in his way. A bloody red trail began to follow him through Wonderland.

From behind a halved tree stump, a furry blue head appeared.

"What on Earth is he doing?" Bedtime wondered. "He's destroying my world! This won't do, this won't do at all. I must stop him somehow…"

Champ had come to a rather thick group of trees. He lifted the sword with a condescending smile, expecting the plants to fall at the blade like all the others. However, the moment he swung, the trees dodged. His smile was replaced with a confused frown. He swung again, and again the trees ducked away. The confusion was replaced by irritation, but that was replaced by worry when the branches began to reach toward him. He gulped as one vine wrapped itself around his arms, squeezing tightly and scratching him so that bleeding welts appeared beneath his fur. The vorpal blade clattered to the ground below.

"No...stop!" he cried desperately. "Stop it. Let me go. Let me go!" his demands and pleas were in vain; the vines and branches encircled his waist and pulled him closer. "NO…!"

His cries were cut short as the branches covered him, covered his ears and eyes and mouth. He was silent. the scratches on his arms caused blood to drip down to the blade that had fallen from his paw.

Deep into the darkened forest, Alice walked the line.

Captured and imprisoned as an embodiment of sin.

If it were not for the murderous wake left behind, no-one would have suspected that he had ever been.