Author's Note:

Wow! I wasn't really expecting a single review, if truth be told, and I get five? Thanks you guys, you're awesome.

So the beginning of the chapter is a little tedious. It picks up a little way in, so bare with it.

Slight spoiler; the Black Ravens make an appearance in this chapter, but they're more like OC's than the actual Black Ravens, since I didn't have my copy of Spectre's Call, and so couldn't really get their personalities down. I feel that the one canon Black Raven is a little OCC. I apologise.

Don't own the Layton saga. We established that last chapter.


Arianna was a practical girl. Always had been, and hoped to remain that way for what remained of her life.

She saw no point in standing in the hallway of the Triton's house, pondering questions she had no hope in hell of gaining an answer to.

For example, she was wondering where she was, and how she'd gotten there, but she chose to push her questions to the back of her mind, and deal with the fact that she was there, and that was that.

The other questions circulating through her mind consisted mainly of "Why their Earth does Luke have rabbit ears?" and "Just what have I done to my ankle?"

To Arianna, the main decision she needed to make was whether to go after Luke, and find answers to the questions burning through her brain, the questions she was trying very hard to ignore, or to address the matter of her ankle, which she could barely walk on.

Being the practical girl she was, she chose to attempt to restore her ankle to it's normal, painless state.

From her knowledge of the Triton Estate, she knew that, were she to follow the staircase before her up to the top, and then follow the hallway through to the left, she would find the bathroom. Brenda, Luke's mother, always made sure that the medicine cabinet in the bathroom was full of various bits and pieces of first aid.

This seemed like the most logical place to start her quest to help her ankle heal.

She limped her way up the stairs, biting her lip when the pain grew to be too much, but otherwise trying her best not to use her injured ankle to walk. It was while she was griping the banister as if her life depended on it that she realised it was not just her ankle that pained her, but the wrist of her right hand as well. She put the knowledge to the back of her mind, and decided to focus on conquering the stairs.

Once in the bathroom, she thought, she would analyse herself for all ailments. Because she was practical like that.

She'd spent enough of her life flitting in and out of hospitals to know exactly how to examine herself. At least, she could examine herself at eye-level rather efficiently.

Slipping off her shoes and rolling down her tights, Arianna gasped when she saw her ankle. It was swollen, and had turned a peculiar shade of purple. She poked it cautiously a few times, biting her lip and feeling her eyes water, before deciding that is was just swollen and bruised. She applied a wet flannel to it, hoping the Tritons wouldn't mind too terribly that she was using their bathroom utensils, before moving on to her wrist.

She came to the conclusion that she'd fractured it in the fall down the rabbit hole. She wrapped it quickly with a white bandage, still praying Brenda wouldn't mind.

And then she noticed her reflection.

Her hair was matted, and resembled a birds nest, a fact emphasised by the twigs and mud that had become stuck in it. Her face had a few small scratches, none of which she had noticed bleeding, but all of which were beginning to scab.

She filled the basin up with water, and splashed her face, before quickly removing the flannel from her ankle and using it to was her face. The water in the basin very quickly turned brown with the layers of mud Arianna was whiping off.

Reapplying the flannel, Arianna resolved to sort out her hair next.

She tore as many twigs as she was able to from her hair, then emptied the sink. She ran the tap for a bit, washing away the imprint the mud had left behind, and then filled the basin again. She bent down at an awkward and peculiar angle, wetting her hair and massaging the mud from it, leaving a basin full of repulsive brown water, twigs, dried leaves and even a lone feather.

Grabbing a towel from the rack and wrapping it around her head, Arianna remembered that the room next to this one was Brenda and Clark's bedroom.

Seeing how Brenda was a woman, and a rather beautiful one at that, Arianna guessed it would be safe to assume that she owned a hair-dryer. Or, at the very least, a hairbrush.

Arianna tried to ignore the fact that she was effectively taking advantage of the fact the Tritons weren't in, and using their house as her own. They were nice people, and she was injured and confused. Surely they wouldn't mind?

Besides, it was Luke who led her here in the first place, and he was a Triton too.

Nodding to herself, and making a mental note to thank them at a later date, Arianna removed the flannel from her ankle, grabbed a length of white bandage, and hobbled her way out of the room, remembering to turn the light off as she did.

Once in the master bedroom, Arianna made quick work of finding a dryer and sorting out her hair. After it was dry, she ran a brush through it, restoring it to a straight cut, nary a hair out of place. She then took the length of bandage she didn't intend to use, and tied it round her head in a make-shift bow.

Smiling at how she had managed to rescue her hair, Arianna glanced down at her dress, which was muddy and ripped.

She sighed, realising that what she was about to do was practically theft.

But really, what was the point in washing her hair and face if she was going to track down Luke dressed like this?

She opened the wardrobe, taking what looked to be the smallest item of clothing in there, a dress a few shades lighter than the blue she was used to be wearing, and slithered out of her tattered dress.

She slipped Brenda's on over her head, also taking a cardigan for good measure, and a pair of comfortable looking shoes that she hoped would make walking on her ankle less of an ordeal.

Folding her dress neatly and placing it on the bed, Arianna considered leaving a note to explain the situation to the Tritons when there returned from wherever they may be. She decided not to do this, coming to the conclusion that she had already wasted enough time, and that now, her main priority should be finding Luke.

She began to walk.

It was a slow, painful walk, but she found that the more weight she placed on her ankle, the easier it became to walk through the pain.

Finally at the bottom of the staircase, she place a hand to the door, only to find it locked.

Brilliant.

After searching, she found a second door, a much smaller door, but, coming to the conclusion that she would never fit through it, she did the practical thing, and climbed out of the open window.

Once outside, she realised that, wherever she was, it was not Misthallery.

To start off, the sky was wrong. It still had a sun, and a moon, but for some reason, they were both in the sky at the same time. It wasn't blue so much as it was a kind of purpley-red, like it had gotten stuck one sunset, and never changed back.

The grass and the plants felt different. She couldn't put that feeling into words. The grass was still green, the trees still had trunks and branches and leaves, but there was something about them that was different.

The whole place seemed oddly familiar to Arianna, like she was thinking about a dream she'd had a few nights ago, but she couldn't remember anything about it except that it had been beautiful, enjoyable, and really, really vivid.

She didn't know how long she stood there, awestruck, but the spell the new world held on he was broken when someone not much taller than her, dressed in a black cloak and beak-like mask, bumped into her and knocked her off her feet.

"Sorry, miss," he mumbled- Arianna assumed it was a he because of his gruff, masculine voice. "Didn't see you there."

He stood up, and held out a hand to help her up. She grabbed it, trying not to rely on her injured ankle too much.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry anyway?" she asked, dusting herself off.

"Meant to be meeting with the other Black Ravens," he answered, looking around worriedly.

"Hey!" she heard someone distant yell. "Didn't think we'd evah find you! Thought them damn Tweedles 'ad got you for sure!"

"Those, dammit, those! For God's sake, learn to open your mouth without disgracing the English language!"

Arianna turned as Masked Boy, which is how he shall be referred to as until a more fitting alternative is displayed, laughed and waved at the two people, both dressed identically to him, in long black robes, birdlike masks, and straw wigs.

Approaching the pair, Ill Spoken Lad looked between Arianna and Masked Boy, before saying rudely, "'o's the skirt?"

"God," came the more feminine voice of his companion, leading Arainna to the conclusion she was a girl, "could you be anymore politically correct if you tried?"

Ill Spoken Lad shrugged. Girl assumed he didn't know what political correctness was.

Arianna held out a hand to Girl. "My name's Arianna Barde." She attempted a friendly smile, but was unaware of whether or not it succeeded.

Ill Spoken Lad grabbed her hand, and shook it. "Nice tab meet yah, Ah-rih-ah-naa! I'm-"

"Idiot!" Girl whacked the back of Ill Spoken Lad's head. "You can't give her your real name! We're Black Ravens at the moment!"

"Ah, course! I knowed dat!" Ill Spoken Lad rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, whilst Arianna struggled to decide whether his accent was annoying or endearing.

"Knew. You knew that," snarled Girl. Her fists began to clench. "And you obviously didn't."

"Anyway," Masked Boy spoke, causing the others to look at him, "are we gonna get this Crow Race on the road or what?"

Whilst the other two nodded enthusiastically, Arianna asked, "What's a Crow Race?"

"'sa race ya our leadah, Crow!" exclaimed Ill Spoken Lad.

If Arianna could see Girl's face, she imagined it would be full of displeasure.

"Fool!" she screamed. "You just gave away the identity of our leader!"

He shrugged. Masked Boy turned to Arianna and asked, "Wanna join us?"

She shook her head. "I've hurt my ankle; I'm afraid I'd-"

"Ah, whot? You has ta play if you've 'urt yah ah-nkle! I'll win fah sure!"

"Oh God," Girl fell to her knees and buried her head in her hands. "I'm not even going to bother trying to correct you anymore..."

"If you can't play, why don't you judge? You can hand out prizes," suggested Masked Boy.

"Ah-rih-ah-naa can give us prizes!" cheered Ill Spoken Lad. "We'll start now! On yah marks, set, GOO~!"

Ill Spoken Lad and Masked Boy sped off, leaving Girl still sat on the ground. She scrambled up from her seat, and called, "I was sat down! That's an unfair start for you two!" and chased after them.

Arianna limped forwards slightly, unsure of where to go or what to do.

"So you're Arianna, eh?"

She turned. A figured loomed out from the shadows, taller than the others, robes darker than the others, beak longer than the others, a slight smile visible beneath the hood.

Arianna could feel his eyes on her. She nodded.

"I've heard a lot about you from the White Rabbit," his voice was light, like he was amused, chuckling about some inside joke that only he understood. "I never expected to meet you, though. Not in the flesh-like."

"Who- who are you?" Arianna choked out, clutching her hand to her chest.

He laughed. "I've been called many names. Here, I'm known as the Dodo. To those idiots you just met, I'm the Black Raven. But you," he took her hand, bent down and missed it lightly, "can call me Crow."

As he stood back up at his full height, Arianna asked, "Are all your names bird-related for a reason?"

Lowering his hood, revealing dark hair tucked neatly under a blue cap not unlike Luke's, Crow smiled. "Nah. I just think they sound cool."

Arianna nodded. "Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

"Ask away," Crow said, gesturing to a ground as if to suggest they sat down. "It'll be a while 'til my troops work out where I am. In the meantime, would you like me to take a look at your ankle? I heard to say it was injured."

Sitting down, she answered, "Yes, but there isn't much you can do for it. It's swollen, you see?"

Crow looked at it and nodded. "At least allow me to wrap it in some Syrus leaves. They'll take the swelling down."

She shrugged. "If you like."

As he began searching through the pouch attached to his waist, Arianna asked, "So where exactly are we?"

Acquiring that which he needed, his nimble fingers making quick work of binding her ankle, Crow said, "Wonderland."

"Wonderland? Strange name. How did I get here?"

Crow smiled. "I assuming Luke brought you, in which case, you will have fallen down a rabbit hole."

"I'd worked out that much for myself," Arianna admitted, watching his long, slim fingers. "It wasn't quite what I was asking."

"Well, I suggest you make what you mean clearer in the future, that way we won't get into any more misunderstandings."

Arianna felt her eyes narrow. She leant slightly closer to the boy, her hair brushing against her face and tickling her cheeks. "You know Luke then?"

"But of course," Crow's smile grew. "'cept, round here, we call 'im the White Rabbit."

"What, because of his ears?"

A nod. "And his social standing."

"Social standing?" She was confused. Luke was the Mayor's son. That was his father's standing, not his.

But maybe it was different here, in this Wonderland.

"Highest ranking Cards after the Queen 'erself," murmured Crow, nodding. "That's the Tritons."

"Cards?" Arianna was lost again. "What on Earth are you on about?"

Chuckling, he said, "I'm a thief Arianna, and a bloody good one at that. I can tell you how to unlock a safe in less than three minutes, but I can't tell you anything about the Queen and her Cards. It's not my job."

Arianna nodded, although she wasn't entirely sure she understood. In fact, she felt more confused now than when they sat down and began their little chat.

"Luke'll explain better, you should ask him," said Crow, rising.

"I would," Arianna took the hand he extended to her, but I don't have a clue where he is."

Both now standing, Crow paused to think. "You should ask the Tweedles; they'll either know or help you look for him."

"Tweedles?" And she'd thought she couldn't get more confused.

"Yeah. It's slang for "policemen". I forget that different countries have different words."

"Is this a different country then? Am I going to be in trouble if I don't have my passport?" Arianna began to fret.

Her panic just earned more laughter from Crow. "Not at all. You needn't worry so Arianna. It's fine."

"Right," she nodded determinedly. "Where can I find these 'Tweedles' then?"

"We have two," stated Crow, pulling his hood back up, but not so far as that Arianna couldn't see his face. "We call 'em Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, but their actual names are Tweedles Barton and Chelmy."

Arianna nodded.

"Barton's almost always eating so... So if you follow the Yellow Brick Road to Katia's Café, you'll most likely find him there."

Nodding once more, Arianna thanked him for his help.

"Stay on the path," he warned. "Thing's lurk in that forest, unsavoury things. Mad things. Things of pure evil, that won't hesitate to... Well, you're a beautiful girl, miss, I'm sure you can imagine what they'll do."

"I'll be careful," she promised, smiling slightly despite herself.

"I don't doubt that you will," Crow pulled his hood up completely, so that it hid his face. "Now, Arianna, this is where we part ways."

She waved slightly as he turned to find Girl, Masked Boy and Ill Spoken Lad. Still limping slightly, she then went in the other direction, following the carefully laid path of yellow bricks, until it came to the forest.

Remembering Crow's warning, she kept her gaze on the path, blocking out the darkness of the woods with it's light.

However, just because she was focused on the yellow didn't mean she missed the spot of blue when it entered her vision.

She spun around quickly, staring after it.

"Luke?" she yelled, desperate with the idea of finding him.

"Arianna!" Her name came back distant, a whisper, carried on the wind, and the next thing she knew, she cared not for Crow's warning, or for what lurked in the woods, because there was only one thought going through her mind, and that thought was Luke.

So she ran.

She ran through the pain of her ankle, she ran through her fear.

She ran through the trees until she came to a circular clearing.

And for some reason, she didn't want to run anymore.

She just wanted to stop.

It was as she stood there, catching her breath, that she heard a chilling voice, a voice that literally sent shivers down her spine, practically purr, "My my, what have we here?"

And all too late, Crow's warning came back to her, along with the realisation that whoever the voice belonged to was standing right behind her.


Extended A/N:

How was that for a cliff-hanger? 45 Picarats to the person who can successfully guess which Layton character Arianna's about to encounter, and which Alice character they're portraying.

Hmm... No puzzles in this chapter. Instead there are references to things that aren't Layton related. 10 Picarats if you review and tell me what they were. I think at least one of them is obvious.

Okay, right, answers to last chapters puzzles;

Puzzle 001- 10 Picarats

What word, when pronounced right is wrong, but pronounced wrong is right?

Looks like no one tried this one. The answer is the word "wrong", get it? Bet you're kicking yourself with how easy it was

Puzzle 002- 25 Picarats

There are three candles; a tall thin one, a small stout one, and a long winding one. When lit, which candle burns longer?

None of them, they all burn shorter

Puzzle 003- 25 Picarats

A man never leaves his house. One dark stormy night, he turns out his light and goes to bed. The next morning he's told he's responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people. How did he kill them?

He's a lighthouse keeper

Puzzle 004- 30 Picarats

There's a street in which all the houses are painted black. The lights in the houses are off, the streetlights outside are off, and a man is driving his black car without the headlights on. A black dog runs out in front of the car, and the man stops. How did he see him?

It's daylight. Congratulations to Redsparrow3 who got this correct and earns the full 30 Picarats!

Puzzle 005- 20 Picarats

There were ten candles burning. the wind came through the window and extingiushed two. Upon checking them later, you see another has gone out. You close the window to prevent any more going out. Assuming none do, how many candles are you left with in the end?

Three, the seven that are lit will melt. Congratulations to MikuLover, who got this right an earns the full 20 Picarats!

Next time: Expect more puzzles, the debut of Tweedle Barton and Tweedle Chelmy, who we've heard so much about, the mysterious whisper person, and possibly a cup of proper, English tea

Oh, and before I forget, MikuLover has been working on a "Luke in Wonderland" story, which is older than this, and seriously awesome. It has the plot of the new Disney film, whereas this one is meant to be "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass".

The Mocking J has also been writing a Narnia one, which is also awesome. I recommend those two if you're following this story.

Hope this chapter lived up to your expectations, I'm off to the clock shop on Midland Road. You see, I just received a most peculiar letter...

-TotI