4. Friend Like Me
"Remember, guys. We're here to help my dad with work. It's not just a trip for fun." Alice reminded the men as they walked through the bustling path of Main Street USA, trying to avoid the upcoming trolley and women with strollers that nearly took over the path. Ace waved her off, and Boris rolled his eyes.
"Come on, Alice, live a little!" Ace insisted, swinging his arms behind his head casually with a grin from ear-to-ear spread across his face. "We have three weeks to give the old man the reports. It won't kill him to wait a while."
"Well, unlike you, Ace, dad actually trusts me. He expects me to get the job done, and I'm not going to let him down because you are careless." the brunette replied, turning towards Julius. "Can I have my notebook, please?"
The navy-haired man nodded, reaching for the small black backpack that hung over his left shoulder and fetching the pink Cheshire Cat notebook and pen from inside. He handed the items to the girl, who gave a small smile and a "thank you" before returning her attention to her brother.
"Now, we should start where most of the crowds are going." Alice noted to herself out loud, blue orbs examining the different pathways that led to different lands in the kingdom. "It looks like a lot of them are going to Fantasyland, so we should start there." As she examined the pathway, Cinderella Castle caught her eye, and she grinned widely. "The castle is so pretty and big…"
"Want to get a picture by it?" Boris offered, his digital camera already whipped out from his black shorts' pocket. Alice thought for a moment, but shook her head.
"Nah, we have to get this done first." Alice objected, holding up her notebook. Boris rolled his topaz eye, shoving the camera into Julius's hands and yanking the girl roughly to a statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse, forcing her next to him.
"Just smile at the camera and have fun. It'll only take a sec." Boris assured her, his hand in a thumbs-up pose and a bright smile directed to the camera that Julius held up; an annoyed expression on his face.
"But we shouldn't-" Alice tried to object, but Ace cut in.
"Hey, let me join!" he exclaimed, jumping in next to his sister and wrapping an arm around her shoulder carelessly. Alice sighed, faking a smile towards the camera. The small red light on it blinked when Julius pressed the button, and the trio relaxed when the photo was taken.
"Happy now?" she asked, and Boris nodded, taking his camera back and stuffing it in his pocket. Alice sighed, turning towards the opening to Fantasyland through the castle before pulling out her park map. "We should probably start with soft rides like It's a Small World or-"
"NO." the three men cried, and Alice glanced up at the trio with a raised eyebrow.
"Why not? It's cute." Alice objected, tilting her head to the side in confusion.
"I'll get that song stuck in my head all day!" Boris cried, clutching his hot pink locks tightly as if he were in pain.
"It's very irritating." Julius said in a low tone, his eyes set in a glare. "I'll have a headache worth the entire trip."
"And what's your excuse?" Alice demanded, hands planted on her hips as she turned to Ace. The brunette shrugged carelessly.
"It looks boring." he replied, scratching the back of his head uncomfortably. Alice sighed. There was just no pleasing him.
"Then what do you want to go on? It has to be in Fantasyland." Alice demanded, crossing her arms in front of her chest in annoyance.
Ace tapped his chin a few times, his crimson eyes staring at the blinding blue sky ahead; clueless. Finally, he grinned widely at his sister. "How about the teacups?"
Julius suddenly paled from behind, and Alice half-smiled. "Um, maybe we should ride something else."
"Yeah, I don't think the clockmaker's up for it." Boris teased, jabbing a thumb at Julius, referring to his odd obsession with pocket watches. He glared.
"It's not that. I just…" Julius searched for an excuse, his eyes darting from one land to the next. "I'm… hungry. Yes- very hungry. I didn't get to eat before we came."
"Then we should ride the teacups first so you don't get sick!" Ace objected, slinging a playful arm around his friend's shoulders. Julius glared, brushing his arm off.
"Come on, let's go!" Boris insisted, clutching Alice's hand in his as he dragged her through the tunnel underneath the grand white-stoned castle; stained glass pictures of Cinderella's story surrounding the walls around them before they reached Fantasyland.
It certainly did look like a Fantasy. Straight ahead was Cinderella's Golden Carrousel, and on either side of them stood dark rides and attractions like The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and Mickey's PhilharMagic. Young girls in bright pink and blue Disney Princess costumes ran about, while young boys with Mickey ears and mouse-shaped balloons chased after them. Elephants named Dumbo took flight with youngsters, and several parents and the elderly were looking for a relaxing ride on Snow White's Scary Adventures to escape the heat around them.
"Come on, it's over there!" Ace shouted excitedly, pointing towards the Mad Tea Party attraction not too far away. Gripping a protesting Julius's hand, the brunette dragged his friend towards the spinning cups of doom.
"Wait, guys! Hold on!" Alice cried, struggling to catch up; Boris right at her side as they raced after the two. Their feet pounded noisily against the concrete grounds, and a few annoyed shouts echoed after them as Boris roughly pushed a few kids out of his way.
The cousins caught sight of Ace dragging an objecting Julius into a teacup, and they had begun to spin before the two could reach the attraction. Alice and Boris sighed unhappily, leaning against the sea foam green rails to watch the men spin wildly in a yellow and blue blur.
"Ah! Don't hurt me, chu!" a squeaky cry let out, and both cousins raised their eyebrows curiously at the intruder. A young boy with red hair and yellow streaks ran in from Liberty Town Square; his lone, visible green eye wide with fright as his hands were held out to keep his balance. He wore a silky white tank top underneath an olive green jacket that had the sleeves of a T-shirt and owned velvet red cuffs and collar. His pants were black, despite the heat, and a small matching hat with brown mouse ears sat atop his head; almost looking as if they belonged to him.
"Ah! Watch out, chu!" he cried, but it was too late, for he crashed straight into Alice. The brunette fell backwards underneath the boy, blinking a few times to keep herself conscious.
"Ugh… That hurt." Alice moaned, rubbing the back of her head. The boy on top of her squeaked, too frightened to move.
"I'm sorry, chu! I-I-I was trying to hide from the ghosts!" he apologized, pointing a shaky finger behind him.
Boris glared from overhead, grabbing the boy by his collar and yanking him off of his cousin. "Hey, get off of my cousin! Are you trying to rape her? Come on, this is a kid's park!"
"I-I-I didn't mean to! I wasn't trying t-to! Please don't hurt me!" the boy squeaked, quickly covering his head as if it were a defense; his eye growing teary. Alice climbed to her feet, feeling bad for the boy.
"You're totally lame, you know that?" Boris insulted, his topaz eye glaring into the male teen. "What's with those ears? Stupid rat boy."
"Boris, leave him alone!" Alice objected, quickly at the boy's side and placing a comforting arm around his shoulders. The redhead cowered into her side, and Boris glared.
"Alice, are you really going to let him crawl on you like that?" the pink-haired teen snapped, and Alice smacked her cousin upside the head.
"Stop being such a bully, Boris." Alice ordered, her eyebrows knitting together as she glared at her cousin. "And don't judge him because of his hat. You bought a pair of cat ears as soon as we got in here!" She pointed to the fluffy pink triangles sticking out from her cousin's pocket, and Boris blushed lightly; eye still giving the boy an evil scowl.
He pulled his cat ears out, placing them on his head and crossing his arms in front of his chest. "That's because the Cheshire Cat is the best Disney character ever created. Not like the stupid dormouse." The redhead winced at his words. "What's this loser's name, anyways?"
"P-Pierce!" the boy squeaked, too frightened to dare to object. "Pierce V-Villiers."
"Are you okay, Pierce?" Alice asked, patting the boy's head gently as stood upright and paused his cowering.
"Y-yes." he stammered, his eye wide with wonder as he stared at Alice. The brunette smiled genuinely.
"That's good. I thought you got hurt." she said, and Pierce blushed lightly; surprised. "So, what were you trying to run from?"
"Th-the ghosts!" the mouse squeaked, pointing to Liberty Town Square.
Alice raised a curious eyebrow. "You mean The Haunted Mansion?" Pierce nodded frightfully.
"When we were entering, m-my brother was right behind be! B-but when I boarded the buggy, he was gone! A-at the end of the ride, I still couldn't find him! I think the ghosts got him!" he cried in panic, his skin was pale as could be.
"Tch. What an idiot. They're not real, stupid." Boris muttered from behind, and Alice glared at him before smiling softly at Pierce.
"Don't worry, I'm sure he's fine. He might have gotten on a different buggy than you." Alice tried to comfort him, patting his shoulder gently. "Boris and I will help you find him, okay? Right, Boris?"
"What? ! I don't want to help the loser!" Boris objected, gesturing an angry hand towards Pierce. The mouse-eared boy flinched, and Alice sighed.
"Coming from the boy in pink cat ears." she deadpanned, and Boris frowned. "Now be nice and help me find his brother, okay?"
Boris was quiet for a minute, but he finally mumbled, "If it wasn't for you, Alice, I wouldn't do this."
Alice grinned. "I'd be surprised if you did."
"What did your brother look like?" Alice asked, her arm hooked with Pierce's as she kindly led him back to The Haunted Mansion; his face growing paler with each step. Boris trailed on the other side of Alice lazily; his arms pressed behind his head.
"W-well, he has orange hair." Pierce began, using his free hand to create invisible waves around his head. "It's really wavy, and he has blue eyes."
"Is he tall?" Alice questioned, and Pierce nodded.
"Really tall." He held a hand above his head to emphasize the man's height. "He still gives me piggyback rides." He blushed as he said this, and Alice chuckled. Boris rolled his eyes.
"What's his name? Was he with anyone?" the brunette continued, pausing near the entrance to The Haunted Mansion. Pierce nodded once again.
"Elliot." he said. "He was with our cousins Blood and Vivaldi. Oh, and Blood's kids! They're so mean and scary! Wah!" Pierce's eye grew watery again, and Alice quickly patted his head, trying to soothe him. "They said they were going to get my other brother at the hotel… Do you think they went with them?"
Upon hearing Blood's name, Alice raised her eyebrows and quickly nodded. "You mean they went to get Peter?" And those kids were Blood's? He didn't look that old…
This time, Pierce's eyebrows rose, and he nodded in surprise. "You know Peta-chan?"
Alice smiled, nodding eagerly. "Yeah! I met him earlier. We were hanging out for a while before that Blood guy came and got him."
"Yay!" Pierce surprised the girl by wrapping her into a tight hug, and Alice's eyes widened, shocked. "Thank you, Alice-chan! Will you take me to them? Please? Pretty please?"
Alice's eyebrows rose and she patted the boy's head, trying to gently take him off. Boris did the job for her; he yanked the kid off quickly, glaring at the mouse.
"Um, sure, but I think Ace and Julius are probably done with the ride by now." Alice replied, checking the blue watch that sat overtop her wristband and nodded an affirmative. "Do you think we could meet up with them first and take you back later? You can hang out with us for a while, if you'd like."
"Really?" Pierce's emerald eye widened at the invitation, and Alice ignored the several "NO!" hand motions Boris gave from the background.
"Sure!" Alice assured him with a smile, and Pierce grinned while Boris smacked a hand against his forehead with an annoyed sigh.
"Yay! Thank you, Alice-chan!" he cried, wrapping his arms around her waist in a tight hug. "I'm so lucky to have a friend like you!"
Alice sighed, gently pushing the boy off and giving a small smile towards him. "Heh. Yeah. A friend like me."
I originally wasn't going to include the Clover/Joker characters in this; it was just going to be Heart. However, I REALLY wanted to add Pierce into this so Boris would have more of a part in the story, and that means Gray and the Jokers will be appearing in later chapters, too. ;D I think Peter's family is all wrapped up now; no more stray cousins and siblings running about, don't worry. ;D
How are Dee and Dum Blood's kids? Well, my friends, it's a thing called "adoption". ;3 Back story time~!
When Blood became heir to the mafia and such, one of his employees had kids- Dee and Dum. The twins grew up nice and healthy and deadly, blah blah, until one day when their parents died in a fight, and Blood adopted them as his own and made them the gatekeepers. End of back story!
Wow, I really didn't think that many people would get the answer for the last chapter, if any at all. O.o Disney sequels aren't really well-known; especially their songs. I guess there are more Disney freaks in this world than just me. XD
Can you guess the movie for THIS chapter? Winner gets… *drum roll* a digital Pierce plushie! 8D
Previous Answer: The Lion King II: Simba's Pride
Congrats to the winners: FantasticalFantasy, elliotxalicexlover, and octicy! *hands them Julius plushies*
Ace: *pops out of backpack* Now can I be a prize? ;D
Me: …*falcon punch* NO! DX