A/N: Jeez, Has it been forever or what, Sorry about that! Life got crazy on my end. Family illnesses and all that fun whatnot. Hopefully I got a grasp on it now and can return to my usual schedule. Thank you in advance for your patience. Don't forget to leave me some lovely comments~ Also rapid fire question, should I change the category this story is in. Technically it is an Alice crossover fan fiction, but I wasn't sure where the audience was larger. What do you all think? Leave a review, I'd love to hear your opinion


Dante stared down at the little vial, shaking his head. "Aw hell...I'm not getting paid enough for this." He swore that the cat's grin grew at his statement. He'd seen plenty of evil in his time but nothing seemed worse to him in that moment than the little bottle begging for someone to wrap their lips around the rim. It wasn't that he was opposed to drinking—he enjoyed the bottom of a bottle as much as any other guy. It was more the fact that this was Wonderland. He'd just witnessed the damage a peppercorn could do. He wasn't eager to learn about the damage of the beverages here.

With a deep sigh, he bent over and picked up the bottle. Holding it out for Alice, he wrinkled his nose slightly. "Ladies first sweetheart." Perhaps not the bravest of moves but he was no fool. He was the outsider amongst them. If Alice drank first, he'd know it wasn't poisoned.

Not that putting his money on the girl everyone thought to be insane was all that bright either.

However, it was all worth it for what happened next. It was small but, with a gentle upturn of her lips, Alice offered him a smile. It was followed by a soft chuckle, the sound like a melody as she took the bottle from his outstretched hand, her green eyes meeting his briefly. Cheshire tilted his head slightly, his manic grin dissolving into a more genuinely pleased smile.

"It tastes like sweets, if you're concerned." She offered as consolation or perhaps, as comfort, trying to make him feel better about ingesting something entirely foreign. Bringing the bottle to her lips, she flicked her head back to consume half the contents before handing it off to her partner.

"Head through the colony, Caterpillar's realm should be somewhere down there. You know what to look for," Cheshire instructed. Alice nodded, before hiccups over took her thin body. She grasped at her chest, wincing with the first one. By the second, she fell to her knees. And with the third, she vanished from sight. "Do mind your step not to trod on her." Cheshire warned Dante, before vanishing himself.

Watching Alice shrink, Dante blew out a deep breath. Looking into the bottle at the liquid it contained, he tried to keep in mind what Alice had said. "Sweets. Right. Bottoms up," he muttered before tossing back the rest of it like a shot.

At first, he was certain that it hadn't worked. There were a great many things that didn't work on him. Shots, stitches, tattoos—the list went on and on. He wouldn't be surprised if he grew instead of shrunk with how opposite his body was. Though, how terrifying would he be if he grew above his near seven foot stature?

His thoughts were quickly interrupted when the first hiccup escaped his chest. He understood the wincing now—it felt as if his very ribs were shifting. On second thought, he realized that was precisely what they were doing. All of the bones in his body were shifting and soon, he had to fight the urge to fall to his knees as Alice had out of fear that he would crush her should he fall. By the third hiccup, he was feeling much better and much, much smaller. Alice stood before him and the grass around them was well above his head. Looking at his partner, he grimaced. "That was...unsettling, at best. Ready?"

"It's worse when we have to grow up," she retorted, blinking at the obvious double meaning in her words. Lifting her emerald eyes, she looked over the blades of grass before continuing.

"Just... need to go down into an ant hole. We'll have to find a teapot. Probably through the mountain with our luck."

Yes, because those instructions made a lot of sense. However, Dante was quickly learning that nothing in this world made sense and it was best to just roll with it. He had to wonder though—was this what Fortuna seemed like to normal humans? A jumble of creatures that didn't seem to follow rhyme or reason?

He watched as Alice brushed her hair out of her face and to one side, running her fingers through it like the nervous girl she was as she made wary steps towards the ant hill. It had been utterly destroyed by Cheshire's slashing claws. Bodies of soldier ants lay scattered around them. He hadn't just been destroying something at random. He had been clearing them a path.

"Mangy cat. I don't know what I'd do without him," she whispered.

Dante followed Alice as she tracked along the path Cheshire had made, marveling at the bodies of the ants around them. He'd never really given much thought to the tiny creatures, except to think of them as a nuisance. Now, he would never look at them the same way again.

Perhaps that was because these ants were wearing helmets and carrying weapons when they were killed. He wondered if the ants in Fortuna looked the same, upon further inspection. It was something to look into, if he ever returned home.

"So...this Queen. Is she our size? I mean, our normal size? Or is she...miniature?" He asked, following after his companion, smiling at the way she traversed the land. A gentle push of a blade of grass here, a hop over a seed there, her nose wrinkling the entire time as if she were displeased. He wondered if she disliked being this small. She was already plenty tiny—perhaps it wasn't any fun for her to have grown smaller.

When they got up to the hole in the anthill, she sat down and swung her legs over the edge before answering his question.

"I...don't truly remember. I've grown and shrunk so much here that I hardly remember what size is real anymore. Either way, small or not the size of her trouble is all encompassing." Tucking her blade away, she leaned over the hole and seemed to be bracing herself, gathering up the courage to drop her body down. She stilled however, shifting her gaze to Dante.

"B-Back there." Alice cleared her throat. "You saved my life. Thank you..." Even though the girl seldom seemed to care whether she lived or died, at least she was grateful for the effort.

Coming to sit on the edge of the anthill with her, he shrugged, as if saving her life was nothing. "Don't worry about it. I'm not going to let you die Alice. No matter what you put me through while I am here, you're not going to die while you're with me." He swung his legs into the hole, stealing a glance down at his burnt boot. "Besides, I really didn't like the look of you on that table. Quartered for a pig of woman-it just doesn't suit you."

Looking down into the hole, he got ready to slide through. "Let's do this," he said with a grin before dropping down. His knees felt the impact as he landed and looked back up, waiting for Alice to drop down to his level. She dropped down soon after he did, landing gracefully on her feet.

"The sooner we get out of here, the better," the girl murmured, her face illuminated by mushrooms that dotted their path. The light was eerie, a bizarre yellowish-green that made her pale skin glow an unhealthy color.

"I couldn't agree more," Dante muttered, his hands resting against the grips of Ebony and Ivory. He felt comfortable in dark spaces but the mushrooms were a little off putting. His blue eyes nearly glowed in the dark, the demon blood in his veins kicking in to adjust his sight to his new surroundings. "Let's find this caterpillar, learn about the Queen's army, and get the hell out of here."

As they walked, Alice sank her blade into a nearby mushroom, cutting off a chunk and carrying it in her hand like a makeshift flashlight. The light didn't travel far but it was better than nothing. As they wandered the twists and turns of the path, she suddenly stopped, pointing ahead at something in the dark. "There's Rabbit! He said he was off to see Caterpillar! Rabbit, Rabbit!" She called, giving chase. "RABBIT!"

The tunnel shuddered as she all but screamed the name. Something fell behind them, and there was a distinct sound of something rolling ever closer. Alice paled in the odd light, a look of terror washing over her face. "Oh bloody hell."

Hearing Alice's curse, he looked over his shoulder but knew that standing there and waiting wasn't exactly the best option. It didn't matter what was coming after them—what mattered more was getting away from it!

Scooping Alice up into his arms, he ran off in the direction Rabbit had gone. "Help me keep an eye out for that little bastard! I'll try to keep us ahead of whatever that is."

"Meep," was Alice's only reply as she shifted in his arms to look over his shoulder. "Oh me and my blood gob," she muttered, giving him no indication of what was chasing after them. Rabbit seemed to know though as he had doubled his speed from earlier, pushing farther and farther ahead of the both of them.

"Alice? What's behind us?" He asked, increasing his speed so that he was running as fast as he could. Daring a glance over his other shoulder, he spotted what she'd seen. Mud was pouring down the walls, falling faster and faster towards the rest of them, coming in the form of a large glob of a wave. He knew Alice wasn't the type to be afraid of a little mud on her dress so it was easy to come to the real conclusion.

The tunnel was collapsing around them.

"Oh, you've gotta be shitting me!" He knew that there was absolutely no way he could outrun that mud in this form. It was picking up speed, the whole system falling down around them far faster than he could possibly outrun. He'd really been hoping to avoid this particular maneuver but it seemed to be his only choice.

"Hold tight," he warned the girl in his arms. In the dark of the tunnels, he felt safe allowing his demonic blood to take over. Black skin replaced what had previously merely been kissed by the sun. Red eyes flashed where warm sapphires had been. And his speed? Well, that quadrupled in a heartbeat, easily catching him up to Rabbit in the blink of an eye.

Of course, when Rabbit turned to look behind him, all he saw was a near seven foot demon giving chase with a girl crumpled against his chest and the entirety of the tunnel collapsing behind him. He let out a little yelp of fear and tried to push his own speed, eager to escape the terror following him. Luckily for all of them he had the map of these tunnels memorized. Even as horrified as he was, he knew where to turn and which quick turns would lead them further down the proper path.

Just when Dante thought he could catch Rabbit, the creature dove down a hidden tunnel with a slide that catapulted the lot of them outside. They landed in a land vastly different from the marsh where they had entered. This was a red wasteland, from the Earth up to the sky. Alice was flung from Dante's grip by the force of their landing and slid through the red dirt until her momentum finally ran out.

"Rabbit!" Her voice halted him, turning around to face the two.

"W-what-huh?!" He blinked, and then pointed his paw at Dante. "What in the devils has happened to you?!"

"Accurate choice of words," the Hunter grunted. With a shudder, he allowed the transformation to fall away until he was back in his natural form, his skin tanned but no where near as dark as it had been, and his eyes cerulean once more. Transforming had zapped some of his energy and he found himself breathing heavily, something he very rarely did. Sweat dripped from his temples as he ambled over to his companion and offered her a lift to her feet. She pulled away at once, her eyes drifting over him with a touch of fear reflected in the depths of those shining emeralds. Her hand held her blade ready, as if she expected him to attack. However, Rabbit was quick to interrupt the awkward silence that had fallen between them.

"Oh Alice, it isn't as if that is the weirdest thing you've seen all day. I'm over it now," he informed Dante, tapping his foot on the ground. "It was a shock to see you barreling after me though, a simple calling would have sufficed."

Alice still did not budge, emerald orbs searching cerulean ones, as if she would find the real answer behind his eyes. Dante was used to it—he just had been hoping to hide it from her.

Rabbit sighed. "Come now. When those demons had run you through with their teeth I recall you turning a different color as well. Stab her, if you don't believe me. You two are of similar makes I'm sure," he murmured to Dante, sounding entirely impatient and over the matter.

Rabbit's words bolstered the Hunter, making him more and more sure that he had been right to pull his trigger at that moment. The majority of people who saw that form didn't live to speak of it and the few people he had cared about in his lifetime didn't have to know about it.

He wasn't really sure if he wanted Alice in either of those categories.

Slowly, he raised his hands to the side, showing that he wasn't touching any of his weapons. He spread his fingers wide so that she could see the details of his fingerless gloves, could see that he aimed to be the least threatening he possibly could be. She was wearing his coat so the majority of his weapons were open for anyone to view. He was raising a symbolic white flag, his eyes never leaving hers. Those emerald eyes that held so much fear and yet, so much tenacity. She was broken but she wouldn't go down without a fight and he could see those embers of life growing stronger.

"I have no intention of harming you Alice. I told you when we shrunk...I'm not going to let you die. I'm going to protect you. That's what I felt it took in that moment. If what Rabbit is saying is true, that we are similar, feel free to do your worst. Shove your blade through me, shoot me with my own guns, stick that ticking rabbit of yours in my gut. I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here to help you get Wonderland back."

"Caterpillar's place is tucked just beyond that tree," Rabbit interrupted. As always, he was ever pressed for time. Seemingly, he was the one creature in Wonderland to realize time was short. While Alice and Dante had their stand off, he began to dart across the red dust, moving through dried reeds and into the open space. Alice did little else but stare at Dante, mouth opening and shutting uselessly.

Then the ground shook violently. Rhythmically. Given their size, it could have been anything. But it made itself known, a great shadow falling over all of them. Another tremor had Alice tumbling back onto her backside, finally breaking her eye contact with Dante to look up at the source of the shadow. A man in a tailored suit and top hat stood as tall as a mountain before them. But he paid no mind, walking through the red valley...Which in proper scale was just a simple bit of flattened trail.

Rabbit was toppled by the force as well. A misstep had him sprawled out on the ground. Barely halfway across the wasteland, the last thing he would see was the shadow of a shoe before he was crushed.

Any attempt to scream on the creature's part had been cut short, but it was continued by Alice. And the giant simply moved on, oblivious to the entire murder. "R-RABBIT!"

Dante stood frozen, staring at the grotesque scene, his eyes moving to watch the giant man stroll away. His top hat was huge, even in comparison to what was surely a standard size human and it sat off-kilter on his head. When the suited man was out of sight, he turned his gaze back to the spot where Rabbit's remains lay on the dusty red ground, his blood clumping the bits of red earth around him.

Taking a step towards the deceased creature and Alice, he spoke softly. "Alice...we have to go. Rabbit was right. We need to get moving."

The young girl slowly stood up and crossed the empty plane, her feet aimed towards her friend. No tears stained her cheeks, despite the terror written clearly upon her face. Her blade shuddered into the form of her rabbit for a brief moment, as if to comfort her. She dropped the weapon however and darted away from it as if it had burned her hand. Her thin form was trembling and still, she struggled to form the words. Her mouth was simply agape, as if stuck silently screaming.

Reaching Rabbit's side, she fell for a third time upon the tundra. Her hand tentatively reached out and stroked a flattened ear.

"I...I'm cursed." She muttered without emotion, though her pain and grief were clear in her eyes. "Everything I love dies violently...unnaturally. Why did I think I could do this, I'll only hurt others..."

Pushing a hand through his silvered hair, Dante stared down at the girl, unsure of what to do for her. He'd never been a very comforting person and he was terrible when it came to tears. Maybe that's why he could deal with Alice...she wasn't actually crying. She was upset but even when she had cried, it wasn't the kind of blubbering he was used to out of the female half of the race. It was silent and cleansing.

Carefully, nervous that the thing would shock him, he picked up her rabbit and kneeling next to her, resting his forearms on his knees. "Alice, that was in no way your fault. Rabbit was here of his own accord. Just as that man was passing through of his own volition. You had nothing to do with either instance. It's a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Standing, he looked down at Rabbit's remains one more time before scanning the horizon. "If you really want to honor your friend, then you will take his last words wisely. He said we had to hurry and find the Caterpillar. He wanted us to get going. We need to finish this mission and take back Wonderland. For you, for your friends. For Rabbit."