A/N: Once again I do not own the Vocaloids or the song, and the lyrics used in this chapter were translated (and sung) by rockleetist on YouTube. :)
"What a skilled fighter you are, Meiko. We are very fortunate to have you in our kingdom." The girl bowed, thanking her king for the compliment that had made a smile spread across her face. The girl stood straight once more, her short brunette locks falling easily back into their place. The girl was dismissed, and so she headed back to her room in the palace.
Once inside, she sighed softly, allowing her body and her mind to relax a bit now. She found herself recalling how, many years ago, a very strange vampire had come into her room at night, though she never had bothered to find out his reasoning. She remembered how she'd single-handedly apprehended him and wondered now if he remained locked in the jail for his ridiculous crime. She sighed and shook her head at herself for even bothering to think of such a silly incidence now. She removed her armor and weapons, setting them aside and readied for the girl's next mission. She then lay down in her bed, her eyes feeling heavy as she near immediately fell into sleep… into a dream…
Into Wonderland…
The girl found herself in quite a strange land when she awoke, surrounded by a thick, dark forest, curious creatures all around her. She glanced around for any sign of human life, only to have a young boy seemingly appear from the shadows. The boy was quite pale and wore tanned slacks and a very oversized white shirt with sleeves much too long for him. His hair was messy and black, and covered his eyes and a good half of his face, but he smiled up at her warmly. The girl smiled back, kneeling to meet his level.
"Hello there" she said sweetly, the boy's smile growing in his silent reply.
"Are you Alice?" He asked the girl, seemingly quite randomly, and the girl blinked, becoming quite puzzled at this before shaking her head.
"No, My name is Meiko." she informed the boy, who sighed a bit in reply.
"Shame… You could be Alice you know." The girl remained confused but sighed a bit at him.
"Now then, little boy, what's all this Alice nonsense? My name is Meiko and I'm quite certain I am not in my homeland. Do you know the name of this place?"
"You're in Wonderland, Alice." The girl had become quite irate by this point, her blood boiling as it usually did when her short temper was pushed past it's limits.
"Now you listen here, kid! My name is MEIKO! NOT ALICE! And if you're only going to keep spouting a bunch of nonsense, I'll seek help elsewhere!" And with that, she turned to leave, intending on leaving the forest and finding a village or town that might have someone in it that could tell her where she was, and possibly how she got here.
"I wouldn't do that, Alice. You have no weapon and the creatures in this forest are far from friendly" The young boy warned. The girl let out a harsh sigh as she turned to face him once more.
"Well, I see no weapon on you, yet you seem to have survived the 'frightening' forest" she accused, only to be taken aback not a moment later when a long sword suddenly appeared in the boys hands. It had no sheath, but was obviously hand crafted, and from high quality steel at that. The hilt was gold, and on it was embedded a ruby that held the shape of a spade, a glimmer in it's center shining the number '1' as if it were trying to mimic a playing card, though there was no '1' in cards. Immediately the girl wanted it, not only as a mercenary wants a better weapon to play with, but she felt drawn to it.
"What is that…? Where did it come from?" she demanded in her curiosity, intent on getting her hands on it. The boy's grin only proved to grow wider from this.
"Why… This is Alice's sword. The sword sworn to assist Alice in becoming the Queen of this country, as it currently is without one." He replied, the girl's curiosity only further growing, her want for the sword growing along with it.
"Well now… how do you know who is Alice?"
"They can touch the sword, take it into their ownership, and not perish from it. Only a strong, brave should may become Alice." Strong? Brave? Meiko certainly was both of these things. And the child had thought her to be this… Alice. Hell, maybe she was Alice! Who was she to say otherwise? And if the prize was to rule over a kingdom… well, how could she possibly refuse to answer this call of destiny?
"Perhaps… Let's say I am this 'Alice'… What would I need to do?" The grin on the boys face grew, becoming near sinister now.
"You would take this sword and continue on to the heart of the red kingdom. Many, however, would oppose you with this task, and you must defeat them with this blade. If you are successful, you shall become the queen."
"Sounds pretty good to me" Meiko said, reaching out and taking the sword by the hilt. However, a searing hot pain entered her hand the moment she touched it. Thinking this to be a bad sign, the girl tried to drop the blade before it could take her life, but it seemed as though it had melted to her hand. The pain continued, a fiery feeling spreading through her hand and wrist as a dark, blood red brand appeared on the back of her hand-a spade-the mark stating clearly that she was Alice. The girl grinned at this and tested the sword, finding it quite easy to wield.
"Hurry now, the first enemy already approaches" The boy warned as he slid silently back into the shadows once again.
The boy grinned as he watched her from the shadows. At first, Meiko was only killing those she must, defeating her oppressors as she continued. However, it soon became that she got bloodthirsty, enjoying the kill, whatever it was. She began to kill everything she saw without discretion, leaving a bloody red path in her wake as she continued deeper into the forest on her quest. She gained a most gruesome M.O., having begun to decapitate her victims, the steel blade dyed red from so much bloodshed, her entire outfit colored with the human paint as well. The boy, the dream, became horrified at this. She wasn't supposed to kill the inhabitants! She was only proving to make the dream's existence lessened more and more!
"No more!" He cried out to her "Keep this up and you'll have no one to rule over!" He warned, worry in his tone. However the reply he received was a murderous sneer and an attempted decapitation from the girl. The dream was becoming angered now and he ordered the forest itself to capture her, the girl soon imprisoned in an indestructible cage, stripped of her weapon and her title. The dream approached the girl, whose bloodied path finally came to an end as the boy stood upon it. He let a heavy sigh escape and he shook his head at the girl.
"Deep into the darkened forest, Alice walked the line, captured and imprisoned as an embodiment of sin." he began to recite, his tone darkened, "And if it were not for the murderous wake left behind…" At this he looked to a particularly violent-looking creature who held a large axe and seemed to be aching as much for bloodshed as Meiko had, though he had enough restraint to follow the orders of The Dream. "No one would have suspected that she had ever been" He finished.
"What do you mean by that! Let me out of here you damned kid! Let me out!" The girl yelled, demanding her freedom, her tone darkened quite a lot since she'd first arrived. The Dream sighed and shook his head at the girl then turned back to the anxious and waiting creature.
"Off with her head" he instructed simply then turned and walked away, a horror stricken Meiko crying out in fear, the creature's insane laughter could be heard as well. After a few moments however, the girl's voice ceased, replaced by a light thud, then a heavier one, her head and body falling to the ground separated. The creature's laughter died out and following was an eerie silence. The Dream sighed to himself as he returned to his peaceful place in the shadows. Much to his disappointment… The first Alice had failed miserably.
A/N 2: Oh, I forgot to do this part. This is for you, Zorua:
Meiko was pretty bad, but it always could have been worse. The Dream could have given her a Sonic Screwdriver, then we'd be in a mess.