Vorpal Eyes Chapter 3: A Grave Mistake, an american mcgee's alice fanfic

Colors and sounds were all Vira could understand as she fell. Thoughts of the rabbit and cat were pushed completely out of her mind. She tried to get her bearings, but it was impossible for her to even think. She didn't know which way was up. The air rushed loudly in her ears, the blackness overwhelming her. Suddenly the dark that surrounded her flashed to an electric blue light that seared her closed eyes. She shut her eyelids tighter, wishing she would land so it would all end.

She heard the thump as her body hit solid ground.

No more falling…it's over…

She took a deep breath. She was still breathing. Still alive. The sound of rushing air was replaced with the sound of rushing water. It sounded like she was near a river.

A river in a rabbit hole?

Vira rolled over onto her back.

Where am I…?

"Alice…"

Someone was saying her mother's name. Was her mother here?

"Welcome back."

Vira opened her eyes and froze in shock. A twisted rabbit in a tattered waistcoat and top hat was leaning over her. "Alice?"

She slid backwards and stood up, her eyes locked on his wrinkled features. Something grasped her shoulder and turned her around. She screamed.

"You must remember us now, Alice." A skeletal gray cat was sitting there, his heavily clawed paw on her shoulder. Tribal tattoos laced his legs, back, and face. A grin full of sharp, red-stained teeth flickered on his dangerous features. Immediately his yellow eyes narrowed. He shoved her forcefully against a rock wall and held his face close to hers.

He looked straight into her eyes and snarled, "You aren't Alice."

Her confusion and terror became too much. Vira burst into tears, sliding to the ground as the cat stepped back. His wicked features softened and he looked apologetic.

The rabbit shook his head. "That was uncalled for. It isn't her fault, it's ours. She looks exactly like Alice."

The cat sighed. "I remember Alice. I remember her eyes." He looked over at Vira, tears still spilling down her cheeks. "I'm sorry child. I should have known you weren't Alice. I should have known we would never be saved."

Vira wiped her eyes with her apron. Her head was spinning with so many questions. She wanted to ask where she was or who they were, but instead she said, "Alice…Liddell?"

Their hopeful eyes locked onto hers. The rabbit held out a white paw to help her to her feet. Now she could see that he had a faint resemblance to the white rabbit in the field. "Can you tell us where she is, child?"

Vira dried her eyes a little more to delay herself form taking the creature's paw. "I'm her daughter…Vira."

He smiled. "The similarity is striking. She still doesn't remember, does she?"

The cat scoffed and walked down the bank of the river. He sat down a short distance away, his back to them. "Alice forgot all about us once she started taking that medicine."

"Is that what she took it for?" Vira said, her curiosity rising. Maybe she could finally solve the puzzle that was her mother's past.

The rabbit nodded. "We never used to be like this. But after what happened in Alice's childhood, she was sent to Rutledge's. For a few years she was able to help us, but then…" he sighed heavily. "The medicine. In a sort of hypnotic state we were pushed deep into her subconscious, never to be remembered. If she only stopped taking it for even a day…"

"What happened in her childhood?" Vira asked quickly.

The cat turned his head and looked back at them. "Rabbit…"

Rabbit sighed and said, "I'm not the one that needs to tell you, and neither is the Cheshire Cat. When the time is right, Alice will tell you all."

The Cat walked back over to them, his tail swishing methodically. "Time…very few of us choose to keep it…" At this remark, Rabbit pulled out a handsome pocket watch and checked it carefully. The Cat ignored him. "We don't age quickly here. It's been twenty six years, and though we find ourselves the same in many ways, we are altered in very many more. Without a savior, our world is slowly…fading…away."

The hopelessness in his words made Vira's heart sink. Already she was wishing for her woods, her house…

Her mother…

"I wish I could help you," Vira said, choking back a sob, "but I still don't understand. I don't even know where I am. I want to see my mother again…I want to go home…"

Rabbit looked down, avoiding her grey eyes. "I'm sorry, Vira. But…you can't."

Tears flowed over her cheeks again. "Why not?"

"You are from the Outside world. That means you can't leave Wonderland until we are restored." He watched as she walked down the river bank in the same manner the Cat had.

When Vira got closer to the edge she realized that she was on top of a cliff and the river dropped over the side in a mighty waterfall. "Wonderland? Is that what this place is called?" She wiped her new tears away. "None of this makes sense."

Rabbit placed a consoling paw on her shoulder. "I'm afraid I don't have much information, since most of what I know is impossible to explain. But I do know that the Caterpillar can help you." Vira looked up, her hopes slightly rising.

The Cheshire Cat nodded. "Rabbit, you need to find Alice." He looked at Vira. "You aren't ready to be out here on your own. Not yet. I'll help you to the best of my abilities for the time being."

It took nearly all of the courage Vira had left to speak to the Cat. "Shouldn't we wait here for Alice?" She dimly wondered why she was using her mother's first name.

The look in the Cat's eyes made her want to shrink back against the wall. "Would you rather help save innocent lives, or wait here for help that may never come?"

She didn't respond. Rabbit had already left to find Alice and wasn't there to back her up. She wasn't afraid of him anymore…but she still felt shaken up from her first impression of the Cat. The thought of being alone with the creature didn't help at all.

His voice was stern, like a teacher that didn't want to be asked questions. "Follow me, child."

He led her away from the cliff's edge, farther down the river. The flow of the water grew calm as they reached a lake. Another, swifter river was fed by the other end of the lake. Vira looked around in awe. The forest they were in was huge. The leaves that were scattered on the ground were big enough for both of them to stand on. This appeared to be the Cat's intention as he pushed a nearby leaf into the water. He stood on one end and held Vira's wrist, gently pushing her to the other end to balance it out.

When the makeshift boat moved smoothly over the rough water, Vira sat down quickly. She thought she saw a smile jump to the Cat's face, but it was gone in a heartbeat. He had a vibe that told her to remain distant. He didn't want to get close. He was helping her for Alice, no more. As the leaf slid down a small waterfall, she shivered. It was as though his cold attitude was chilling her to the bone.

"Army ants," he said rather suddenly. Vira followed his eyes to the shores, but saw no one. "They were everywhere, when there was the possibility that Alice was coming back. But…she never made it past the waterfall. They returned to the fortress, with Centipede certain he would rule forever."

Vira wasn't sure if the Cat expected a response. She swallowed her fear and asked, "Is that where we're going?"

The Cat continued staring over her head at the barren shores. "I'm not going there. And you aren't either. Alice will be back soon and she can fulfill Caterpillar's prophecy. Wonderland will be saved…" he sounded like he only half-believed in what he said, and was trying to convince himself. "…Wonderland will be saved."

Vira stayed silent and attempted to control her thoughts. One answered question raised so many more. Caterpillar? Centipede? Army ants? She stared at the rushing water, imagining her mind a cascading river that she was struggling in.

The Cat switched directions several times, speaking no more. At last they slid from the rapids into a mirror-like pond surrounded by mist. The Cat paddled the leaf to the shore where a dark structure was obscured by fog.

Vira climbed off after him, listening intently to his instructions. "The Mock Turtle is waiting for you around the back of the Duchess's house." He pointed to the barely visible object towering behind the sheet of mist. "He'll take you safely to the other end of the woods. Rabbit will meet you there."

"Where are you going?" Vira said. She still wasn't comfortable around the Cat, but she didn't want to be left alone so quickly.

He looked at her, slightly reproachful. "To help Rabbit. We need Alice now more than ever. She needs to know that you're here and you aren't supposed to be."

He disappeared without a trace, much to Vira's surprise. She looked around the clearing, wishing she could sit down and cry. With a deep breath, fighting the urge to sob, she turned and walked through the mist to the house of the Duchess.

Suffering from something we're not sure of
In a world there is no cure for
These lives we live test negative for happiness
Flat line, no pulse, but eyes open
Single file like soldiers on a mission
If there's no war outside our heads
Why are we losing?

I don't ask for much
The truth be told I'd settle for
A life less frightening, a life less frightening
I don't ask for much
The truth be told I'd settle for
A life less frightening, a life less frightening

Hang me out to dry I'm soaking
With the sense of knowing
What's gone wrong but doing nothing I still run
Time again I have found myself stuttering
Foundations pulled out from under me
This breath is wasted on them all
Will someone answer me?

Is there a God tonight?
up in the sky or is it empty just like me (Just like me)
A place where we can hide out from the night
Where you are all I need (Where you are all I need)
So all he says, Goodbye and close your eyes
Tell me what you see (Tell me what you see)
A life I sit inside this dream of mine
Where you are all I see

-Rise Against
Life Less Frightening