Hello Everyone. A couple people have recently asked me if I would allow them to do a fan art tribute to this series. I am flattered and I will say to anyone wanting to do something like that "Please do and send me the link." I would love to see your art!
On a side note that's still related… I really love all of your kind words, favorites and follows. Please keep them coming and remember that I always welcome suggestions.
Chapter 9: A Most Unfortunate Encounter
After some time of trudging though the shadowy woods, the hatter finally found a suitable place to rest. He placed McCoy on a small log and began to clear away some of the debris. Once he was finished piling some leaves together for comfort, Jim took a step back to admire his handy work with a nod. McCoy's eyes never left the form of his strange friend, taking in all of his bizarre mannerisms and comparing them to the young starship captain he had known for so many years. He couldn't help but snicker at the thought of Jim's reaction if he had ever come across this strange, fantastical version of himself. What is that bastard doing right now? He thought to himself as a sentimental smile played across his features. Upon arriving in Wonderland, Bone's hadn't really had the time to sit and consider his friends back at the Enterprise. Now, in the dead silence of the woods he was forced into a painful recollection of all of the people he found himself admittedly missing. Damn…What I wouldn't give to see them again. McCoy inhaled deeply as a rush of memories clouded his mind. He even found himself thinking fondly of his Vulcan commander. This place really does drive people mad, he thought with a light chuckle. He couldn't help but be amused at the thought of Spock raising a skeptical eyebrow as he told his friends about his adventures in the hallucinogenic fantasyland. Just as he began to sink deeper into nostalgic thought, Jim broke his concentration by leaping headfirst into the leaf pile, sending a cloud of debris in his direction. McCoy threw his hands out to cover his face from the projectile twigs with a grunt. Bones watched as the hatter buried himself under his pile. McCoy couldn't help but think that his friend resembled some sort of brightly colored creature from one of the many crazy alien planets he had explored with the team. Silence fell around them as the sound of Jim's rustling leaf pile subsided as he relaxed beneath it. McCoy watched as the pile slowly rose and fell with his friend's calm, sleepy breaths and when Bone's was certain the surroundings were silent enough to be uninhabited, he finally settled down on a patch of strange red moss growing from the log and watched the stars until he fell into a deep, reminiscent dream.
McCoy's let out a groan as the morning light filtered through his sleepy eyelids and he rolled to plant his face deeper into his mossy bedding. Sleep was just beginning to take hold of him when a jagged cry echoed through the reticent morning air. McCoy leapt to his feet as wave of terror shot a wave of heat throughout his body. Jim.
The doctor tore through the dense forest floor as fast as his inch long legs would allow, following the direction of his friend's tortured cry. The chill of paralysis overtook him when his eyes fell upon his friend's coercer. Before Jim's cowering form was the massive body of Nero, clad in a suit of magnificently shined black amour. He was wielding a blade, black as ink, which curved into a gruesome hook just the right angle to remove a person's head from the shoulders with a single, strong swipe. The sight of the night-black soldier was, alone, the material of nightmares. However, the beast he was mounting overshadowed it. The repulsive, black-furred monstrosity held its enormous weight on four stout and massive paws, each adorned with eight hooked claws resembling the jet-black iron of Nero's blade. The beast's torso was roughly comparable to an elephant's in size and musculature and it was evident as even a man of Nero's incredible size struggled to wrap his legs securely around the back of it. Despite the monster's massive frame, it was the face and head that unnerved the doctor beyond any other feature. McCoy had traveled through space and encountered countless of the galaxies most repulsive existences, yet he had never seen anything quite like the creature before him. The head was just about half the size of the body. The enormous weight seemed to attach seamlessly to the body as no neck of any size or shape could support its burden. The mouth stretched over a canine-like muzzle and began at the furthest end on either jaw so that when the creature bared its ivory fangs, its mouth appeared to unhinge like a snake's, it's lower jaw hanging loosely under the burden of its incredible size. Its teeth were longer than the height of the creature's snout and protruded past closed lips. The large ivory masts forming a cage over the beast's face, clicking as its jaw swayed. Its electric, white, pupiless eyes were focused on its prey. McCoy had never felt so helpless in his entire life.
"O-o-o-oh!" Jim sputtered, cowering behind his hands. "What a n-n-nice little d-d-dog you have there, very s-s-suiting." He uttered, chuckling nervously.
"Oh? You mean the Bandersnatch? Yes, he's a bit aggressive though. Would you like to pet him?" Nero mocked as a cruel smile distorted his features. His eyes grew wide with shock as the hatter reached his hands forward to tap the massive beast on the head. At the sudden movement, the beast opened its cage of fangs and let out a bellowing howl that sent McCoy falling back from the shock. The hatter wiped a sufficient amount of saliva away from his coated brow and let out another nervous chuckle. Nero let out a thunderous laugh at the absurd looking man before him.
"Well, they did always say owners have a strange tendency to resemble their pets. I'd say this breed was a good fit for you." The hatter said, laughing madly. His high-pitched fit agitated the Bandersnatch and caused it to swipe a massive clawed paw. Jim, still rolling about madly, avoided contact with the blow and Nero struggled to regain his balance, as he cracked the whip across the animal's large backside.
"You really are MAD!" Nero spat, enraged by the hatter's brazen behavior. "You know, it's a real shame the queen has requested I retrieve you alive." He said as he leapt from the back of the beast. He approached the hatter with dangerous intent and grabbed hold of his collar to pull him to eye level. Jim's feet dangled nearly a foot above the ground as he gasped to breath in Nero's strong grip. "Because, I would really like to see what color a madman's blood runs when he's cut across the throat." He growled as a demented smile cracked from his lips.
"Can I tell you a little secret?" Jim sputtered, as his gloved hands lifted as high as he could manage to beckon the knave to come closer. Nero considered the man with a look of fury and bemusement, before he leaned in slightly. "Closer" the hatter choked, waving a little more. Nero sighed at the ridiculousness of the situation, but obliged out of curiosity of whatever this madman had up his sleeve. When Nero's face was mere inches from Jim's, Jim let out a loud hacking cough, being sure to mist the unsuspecting knave in saliva before he contintued. Nero jumped back, disgusted and wiped his mouth clean with his free arm. "I have never told another soul * COUGH * what I am about to tell you. It is * HACK COUGH * Something the Red Queen once asked me to reveal, but I never obliged." Nero's face fell stone cold as he considered the crazed man before him and the dark secrets he claimed to hold. "Come…..closer" Jim beckoned. Nero lowed the hatter so that he was supported by his toes, no longer gasping, but still short of breath as he leaned his ear mere inches from the hatter.
"I'm waiting." Nero growled. The hatter's eyes grew dark as he inhaled slowly, as he prepared himself.
"Sala….ga….dooola." He said, darkly. "Mechicka…..booooola." Nero's eyes squinted as he tried to make sense of the hatter's rambling. "Bibbidi…bobbidi…..BOO!" He shouted, lifting a free arm to smack Nero square on the head. "Oh Goodness, this is no good. I thought I should have turned you into a frog. Oh well, I really must work on that when I get back to my unbirthday party." He said, as he continued to laugh merrily. Nero roared in fury as he threw the hatter to the ground. He lifted a large, metal-clad boot and stomped on the hatter's leg, ushering a howl of pain from the latter before he grabbed the small whimpering man by the neck.
"The Red Queen said she wanted you alive…" he snarled. "Well accidents can happen!" He bellowed as he raised his hooked blade high above his head. With that, the small doctor acted without a second though as he raced toward the feet of the towering beast. What the hell am I going to do to this thing? He thought frantically as he watched Jim try to fend off Nero's assaults. The blade crashed down upon the hatter, who tried to deflect it with his arm. It swiftly cut the material of his jacked and bright red blood had begun to crawl along the yellow satin as Jim let out a howl of pain. Before Bones could consider the logic behind his actions, he took two fistfuls of the animals fur and savagely bit down of the creatures paw, ushering a magnificent, blood-curdling howl, which threw the fighting pair forward. Nero tumbled from Jim's frame and turned back in horror as he watched the beast rise upward on its hind legs, a slashing hurricane of claws, jaws and blazing marble white eyes. McCoy was thrown violently from the raging beast's paw and catapulted into the dirt several feet away. The cloud of dirt cleared and McCoy felt his back against something hard, but he was unable to move to see what was becoming of the confrontation before him. He could still hear the howl of the monster, although it faded as he fell into darkness.
Hello! I hope you are enjoying the avenues I am taking with Trekkies in Wonderland. I am always up for suggestions, critique and reviews. I have gotten some awesome feedback and I am very grateful for all of your kind and encouraging words. Thanks a ton to the people who favorite, follow and review.
Just a head's up, I have been struggling filling some roles for the upcoming chapters, which is why my updates have been few and far between. That being said, I am adding a couple of cute little OCs. Nothing special that will take from the plot or the actual characters. Just a little cute entertainment to keep the story going. Let me know what you think.
