Sorry the update was a bit longer than I wanted, but that's the unexpected for ya. And may I just say 'YAYYYYY' and 'Thank You!' to gecko-samedi, nineteennintytwo, and Anneliese for the awesome Reviews? I really appreciate them. Oh, and I had a friend read my writing, and they told me that I seem thoroughly different when I write. :/ Well, then apparently there's two people living inside my body. Anyhoos, on with Alice's adventure!

Disclaimer: I seem to have forgotten all about this, it seems. I don't own anything! Lewis Carrol, Disney, and Tim Burton do. Not me. Sadly.

How frightening that fall was! This time Alice didn't know what to expect when she landed. Or, tried to land without getting wounded too much. And to make matters worse, she had to guide her body while falling at the speed of light so she wouldn't make contact with the walls of the tunnel. They looked very rough and Alice wasn't in the mood to bleed.

Alice looked around her, getting anxious. She guessed she had only been flying for a minute or two, but at the speed she was going, that meant the hole must've been extremely deep. There was only about five feet or so on each side of Alice.

About three minutes later, Alice looked below her and saw a whole lot of blue and red. Focusing more on the shapes and not the colors, she realized that she was about to fall into a huge field of mushrooms. At least her landing would be cushioned. . . somewhat.

"Ah!" She had landed right on top of a red mushroom. She sneezed. What smelly mushrooms these were! And how many! There were only mushrooms for as far as the eye could se. Then again, she was probably under a foot tall at this time, so everything seemed larger to her.

Alice remembered her very first visit to Wonderland. She had eaten a chunk of mushroom to make herself taller, but she had just ended up entirely too huge.

She pulled a piece away from the mushroom she was standing on. How much should I eat?

"Hello, Alice."

Alice jumped and looked to her right, for that was where the voice had come from. On the next mushroom over sat a blue butterfly with a hookah at its side. "Absolem!"

The butterfly sighed and blew smoke in Alice's face, making her cough. "Must we really do this again, you stupid girl? Yes, I am Absolem. And before you 'ooh' and 'ah', let me tell you that I already know I am a butterfly now. Yes, the course of my life is amazing, isn't it?" he asked sarcastically, but Alice saw that his eyes were twinkling. "And apparently you remember who I am."

"Yes! I remember everything and everyone."

"Not possible."

"No, really! I remember you, the March Hare, Mallymkun-"

"Of course you remember them. You met them, silly girl."

Alice's brow furrowed. "Then what are you getting at?"

"It would be very hard for you to remember the places you haven't seen and the people you haven't met, would it not?"

"Yes, I suppose. . ." Alice paused and shook her head. She had been to Wonderland enough times to know when to stop a conversation before it got too long and utterly baffling. "Honestly! What is it with all of you and confusing me? Is it amusing to you?"

Absolem laughed. "Very."

"Well, I don't have the time to entertain right now. I'm trying to figure out how much of this mushroom I should eat so I grow back to my original size."

"You don't seem to remember things too well, Alice," Absolem said with another sigh. "Do you recall what happened to you, your first visit here, when you ate part of a mushroom?"

"I grew."

He rolled his eyes. "And when did you stop?"

Alice's eyes widened. "I never did!" She dropped the mushroom as if it had burned her.

"Precisely. You need upelkuchen. Now I know there's plenty at Marmoreal, but that's far too long a ride. . ."

"Ride?" Alice stepped forward. "What ride?"

Absolem appeared to not have heard her. "I'm sure Thackery has some, yes. . . It shouldn't take long to get there, either. . . Assuming you don't weigh much at your current six-inch height. . . "

"Absolem! please explain what you're babbling about."

He looked at her. "I never babble, dear. Climb upon my back and I will take you to the Tea Party. The usual crowd will be there, and they will have the upelkuchen you need. And I'd wager that you're wanting to see the Hatter?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Well, yes, I am." She found herself blushing under Absolem's knowing stare. "You said I'd be riding you? Will I not crush you?"

"Please, you underestimate me, Alice. Besides, you're only six inches tall, like I said before." He fluttered his big, blue, and very beautiful wings and gracefully leaped into the air and came back down, landing in front of Alice on her mushroom. "Now climb aboard."

"Aye, aye, captain," she muttered. Absolem chuckled. Alice wasn't sure how to ride a butterfly, so she settled with lying down on her stomach, leaning up a bit, on Absolem's back. She held on tight to the base of, what she thought would be, his neck. Her grip only tightened as he launched into the air with no warning at all. Alice had to try to calm her berathing down at first, since the wind was coming at her so fast. Apparently she wasn't trying hard enough because she found herself gasping for air. Absolem seemed to realize this, for he slowed down a bit. "Thank. You," Alice managed.

Now being able to breathe, Alice asked Absolem why she had ended up in the middle of a mushroom field when she had left the Round Hall.

"Things in Wonderland are always changing, dear girl," he said. "That includes doors, and where they lead to. Or on the other hand, where they've come from. We can only guess that the door from your world to ours got a bit tired of its location, and decided to move. In one way, at least."

"Oh." No matter how long she stayed in Wonderland, Alice could never fully understand the world.

A few minutes of silence went by before Alice asked another question. "So how have things changed? Ever since I left on the Frabjous Day?"

She could practically feel his smile. "Things are marvelous, Alice. Everything that was formerly restless is now at peace, all the Red Guards have pledged their loyalties to the White Queen, and everyone is content with the way things turned out."

"That's wonderful!"

"Except. . . " Absolem was clearly contemplating whether or not to tell Alice something or not.

"What is it, Absolem?" No reply. "Absolem, please tell me!"

"Oh, fine. But let me tell you that whining will not get you far in life." Absolem shook his head, and Alice had to resituate herself so she didn't lose her balance and fall off. "Ever since you left, the Hatter has been getting. . . upset, more and more often."

Alice frowned. "'Upset' meaning. . . ?"

"Throwing mad fits. They are very common now."

"No!" A huge wave of guilt crashed over Alice. If she hadn't left Hatter. . . If she had stayed in Wonderland. . . If she hadn't been so selfish. . .

If she had done what her heart desired to do.

"Do not worry, Alice," Absolem said, as if reading her mind. "You're back to stay, are you not? The Hatter will simply be overjoyed by that."

"Yes. . . " I dearly hope so.

In about ten minutes' time they had already flown out of a mushroom field and through a mystical forest. The farther they flew, the lower the sun got and by the time they landed in a place Alice recognized, night had fallen.

Absolem had fluttered over onto a rock and leaned down so Alice could hop off his back easily. With a look around, she realized that they were in the woods outside of the March Hare's house. "Absolem, why have we stopped here when the Tea Party is just through these woods?"

He looked at her and smiled. "Well, apparently-"

"It seems to be a tradition that only I may escort to a party so magnificent as the one you're heading for." Alice turned and saw a wide grin before her, and soon enough cat's eyes, too. Then Chessur's head and body materialized.

Alice also grinned, although hers couldn't possibly be as extensive as the cat's. "Chessur!" The cat's gay mood was contagious.

"Hello, love. And what brings you to our simply divine Underland this time around?"

"I've decided to come back and stay. For good."

Chessur's grin only widened. "But this is fantastic news! And it will surely cheer up gloomy ol' Tarrant."

Alice frowned at how easily Chessur could talk about how sad Hatter was, but Absolem seemed cool about it. "Quite right. So hurry along." He turned to Alice. "I'll hope to see you soon, Alice." Absolem gave one final nod before lifting into the air, soon out of sight.

"I believe he gets a kick out of showing off every now and then." Chessur was still looking at where Absolem was sitting before.

"Would he be Absolem if he didn't?"

Chessur caught her gaze and grinned mischievously. "Of course not." His tail flicked from one side of his body to the other, and he disappeared, only to reappear at Alice's left. "You haven't come back because another Jabberwocky needs slaying, have you? Because if that's so, I must say I am genuinely hurt for no one telling me and that I might fall into a very grave, grave, depression."

Alice laughed. "Oh, well we can't have that!" She started walking in the direction of the March Hare's house and Chessur floated alongside her. "And as far as I know, there are no more little monsters wandering about Wonderland. Except for you, of course."

Could Chessur's grin get any wider? "I would be scared spitless if you came running at me with the Vorpal Sword, Alice."

Their conversation went on like that for a while and Alice found that she really enjoyed Chessur's company. They didn't talk much the last time he led Alice to the Tea party because she thought he wasn't real. A character in a dream. A figment of her imagination. But now she knew better and was glad to have this vanishing Cheshire Cat for a friend.

Alice didn't know how long they had been walking, but it didn't feel that lengthy with Chessur constantly talking with her and vanishing just so he could materialize at her other side.

She did notice that the path they were walking on (or Alice was walking on, Chessur preferred to float) had narrowed into nothing and that there were no more trees up ahead. They stopped in order to form a clearing. Alice looked up and saw what looked like the fans on a windmill. The top of the March Hare's house!

Suddenly Chessur stopped swinging through the air and grinned at Alice. "Time to be on our best behavior, love. We're now acting as guests at the Tea Party."

Do you think I got Absolem and Chessur alright? I wasn't too sure. Let me know in a Review, possibly? ;)