What Dreams May Come

by Amaris Twins

Post-Stars, Usagi, Mamoru, and the Senshi are living their best lives. Simply biding their time until fate unravels and Crystal Tokyo comes to pass. They don't expect the new unseen enemy that pulls them all into a series of unimaginable nightmares in which Mamoru is the only one that always remembers who he is. Epic romance, strange worlds, and fun twists ensue.

3. Chapter 3: Wonderland

A/N: Hi, all! This is our second nightmare. It was written by both NinjetteTwitch and I. For those of you who have already ready this nightmare on the old profile, not much has changed though we've tweaked it to fit the first chapter better. This nightmare is a whole lot different than the first one! Hope you like it!

Wonderland

Part 1

Mamoru groaned, disoriented, his ears still buzzing as he slowly drifted back into consciousness. It took several moments, blinking into the darkness of a room that was painted entirely black before he remembered the events of the horrific nightmare and his final moments with Usagi before they'd been torn apart again.

Cursing, he bolted upright, his head spinning with the movement as it registered that he'd woken up alone again, this time somewhere else. Exhaling slowly, raking his palm over his face in frustration, Mamoru took a moment to clear his head before taking stock of his surroundings.

He was bathed in darkness, the floors, the walls, the ceilings all painted black and absorbing any light that may have reflected off of them. He was inclined to believe that perhaps he was waking up in the room that both Usagi and Rei had alluded to being a lab in which they were strapped to gurneys when he realized that, once again, he was wearing clothes that did not belong to him.

His heart sank with the realization, and he gritted his teeth in disgust. He hadn't managed to escape anything, and he knew, without a doubt, that this was another nightmare as he moved, frowning at the severely constricting outfit that he would never have picked out for himself. He was used to wearing uncomfortable formal wear (he was Tuxedo Mask, after all,) but this was just ridiculous.

He was wearing skinny jeans. Except that instead of the traditional denim colored blue, they were dyed a very deep navy shade. Tucked into his jeans was a short-sleeved, cerulean blue button-up shirt. He grimaced as his hands gingerly reached up to the collared neck, which was most definitely a bow tie. What completed this ridiculous outfit, though, were the two white suspenders clipped to his jeans. He hooked his thumbs around them, pulling forward to test their elasticity, frowning as they snapped back into place.

Mamoru grimaced as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, and with a sigh of resignation, he carded his fingers through his hair. Where the hell was he now?

The familiar pull that he'd felt at the beginning of the last nightmare tugged in his chest, and he knew that he needed to find Usagi again. Rei as well. First, he needed to figure out where he was. Had the nightmare restarted? He was sure that they'd won, he'd felt it, with Usagi's confession of love, but maybe the rules weren't what Rei thought they were. It was possible she'd read the fire wrong.

It didn't matter though, he was going to figure it out, and he pulled himself up, wavering a bit unsteadily before taking a determined step forward. He scanned the blackened room, on alert, searching for some kind of clue.

The room was empty except for a simple polished oak-stained, wooden pedestal table, which sat a small vile of liquid. Mamoru frowned, disconcerted because he had a feeling that the nightmare hadn't restarted; this was something else. He took a tentative step forward, the sound of his feet shuffling across the floor practically deafening in the silence of the room when he noted a miniature door against the wall that opened to an unknown area.

He frowned, stepping closer to examine it. The white wooden door came up to mid-calf. His frown deepened, dread unfurling in his chest as he studied it, contemplating its size. This was just as weird as the first time he'd woken up in the apartment that he shared with Jadeite, and Mamoru's heart began to race when he considered how real the details of this felt. If this wasn't the same nightmare, and given the capabilities they possessed to make this all feel real, they could have created anything.

He spun, his movements frantic now, as his gaze searched the room he was trapped in with rising alarm. What kind of nightmare was this? There were no other entryways, no holes, nothing that gave him any indication of where he was or how he would find Usagi and get the hell out of here. There had to be a way to get out. He turned back towards the door, the only visible escape, and crouched down to give it a better look. Frowning, bewildered, he carefully inspected the handle.

He blinked twice, dread gnawing at his chest as he fought back the urge to rub his eyes in disbelief. What he was looking at couldn't possibly be real. The handle —if you could call it a handle— had two big blue eyes etched into it. They opened, quite alarmingly, to peer up at him. It was covered in soft white fur, whiskers that swayed with the movement of a little pink nose. It was a cat. The handle was a live, actual cat, and he recoiled when its small mouth curved into a smile, it's tail curled underneath its face imitating the door handles latch.

Mamoru's eyes widened, and he cringed, still in disbelief as his eyes remained fixated on the moving eyes of what should have been an inanimate object. It looked like… but it couldn't possibly be…

"Artemis?" he choked, stunned. What the hell kind of world was this?

When the handle's eyes swiveled, focusing eerily on him, Mamoru gasped, springing backward in horror, bracing himself on his forearms as he fell with a jarring impact onto the unforgiving stone floor. He cringed when the doorknob opened its mouth to speak.

"I'm a doorknob!" The talking Artemis doorknob snapped. "Can't you see that?"

Mamoru exhaled a strangled breath, practically choking because he was, admittedly, having a hard time wrapping his head around the fact that a door handle was currently mocking him.

It dawned on him then, horror churning like acid in the pit of his stomach, that in a nightmare, anything could happen, and this nightmare was not going to be like the other one. The sooner he allowed himself to come to terms with the fact that things were going to be really strange, the sooner he could find Usagi and get the hell out of here. Where was Usako? He forced himself to tear his gaze away from the atrocity that was Artemis to frantically scan the room once more, just in case, before exhaling a shuddering breath of resignation and reluctantly settling back on Artemis.

"Where am I?"

His tone was tentative, laced with trepidation, panic rising with his need to know what he was facing. At some point, he was going to have to figure out where the disembodied monsters, whoever the hell they were, had put them this time.

"You're in Wonderland, boy!" The doorknob bellowed, and it sounded exactly like the white-furred feline that Minako carried with her everywhere.

It took a moment for the words to register, and when they did, Mamoru laughed. It was more a hysterical, humorless, strangled sound that tore from his lips because that was ridiculous. It was fucking absurd even as the creeping realization that this was happening overwhelmed him as he studied the Artemis door handle.

Mamoru groaned, raking his palms over his face as it clicked and images of the fantastical world flashed through his mind in horrifying sequence. Oh, God. Fucking hell. He'd seen those movies plenty of times, many different versions. The storyline made his heart race and his palms sweat. From what he could remember, Wonderland was a land full of strange creatures, run by a queen who ruled with an iron fist that frequently threatened decapitation. He needed to get to Usagi. The pull in his chest was almost unbearable.

"Artem….er…doorknob!" he snapped, pulling himself up into a sitting position, falling forward onto his hands and knees, moving closer to the door as he spoke. "Where's Usagi?"

"Usagi? I don't know an Usagi. Although, I don't really know anyone. I'm a doorknob," he laughed as though he'd just told the funniest joke.

Mamoru groaned with irritation, gritted his teeth, and clenched his jaw as he reached out tentatively with his hand. This was strange, and he felt uncomfortable doing it. It was Artemis, after all, but he grasped the door handle, twisted, and pulled the door open. He forced himself to ignore the cat's muffled protest as he crouched as far down to the ground as he could and peered through the tiny opening.

If this was Wonderland, it definitely looked the part; lush green bushes, tall trees, and flowers of every shape and color. It was a gleaming, beautiful landscape that shone brightly in the sun. However, there was a notable difference this time, and that was his Usako standing in the middle of this lustrous scene, enshrouded in the light of the sun. His breath caught in his throat, and relief swept through him at the sight of her. At least he didn't have to go far. It took a moment before her appearance, or more accurately what she was wearing, registered in his mind.

Her outfit was eccentric, a mixture of fabrics that was strange and oddly alluring. He was used to seeing her endlessly long legs clad in red leather boots and the impossibly short skirt of her sailor fuku, but this was something else altogether. She wore a cream-colored, short capped-sleeved dress that, just like her fuku, stopped mid-thigh. It was lacy, layered and ruffled, tiny white-polished beads interlaced delicately in the material that shimmered slightly every time she moved. A red leather, sleeveless doublet jacket, with raised embossing, buttoned up and contoured her body tightly. It cinched at her waist, stopping, except for the coattails that encased and highlighted the curve of her hips.

The strangely enticing ensemble was completed by a silky black scarf, flower-patterned, tied daintily around the slender curve of her neck and white knee-high socks and white mary-jane shoes that made him visibly swallow and his heart race.

Dear God. She was beautiful.

"Usako!" he called out desperately, his voice projecting over the small door's threshold.

It was clear that she hadn't heard him as she seemed too focused, her gaze fixed on what appeared to be a watch. Her slender finger tapped it gently, and the golden arches of her brow furrowed as she held it up to her ear, as if checking to see if it worked. He was forced to watch in dismay as her big beautiful sapphire-blue eyes widened and, with a quick twist of her lithe form and a flurry of white fabric, she bounded off into the other direction, darting into the trees and disappearing out of sight.

"No!" he cried hoarsely, slamming a fist into the stone floor with frustration, an involuntary expletive hissing through his teeth under his breath. It was too late. She was gone.

He quickly sat back onto his heels, cursing loudly this time, before leveraging the blackened wall to stand. He exhaled a breath of irritation, pushed away from the wall and its ridiculously small doorway to pace the room. The panic was building with his inability to get to her, and it felt like he was a caged animal. Two things became infinitely clear to him. This was most definitely another nightmare, and it was going to be a hell of a lot harder than the last one.

He stopped, took a deep cleansing breath, and ran a hand through his hair. "How the hell do I get to her?" he growled to himself, his muttered words echoing around him.

"Well, I am a door…"

The statement, snapped in a snide and derivative manner that Mamoru did not appreciate, had come from the Artemis door.

Mamoru's gaze snapped back to the cat handle, and he chuckled dryly. "Yeah, a door that doesn't even come up to my knees!" he retorted darkly, a mixture of anger, desperation, and frustration building in the pit of his stomach. Why the hell was this happening to him? What was the purpose of locking him in Wonderland, of all places, and separating him from Usagi? "There's no way I can fit through you. It's impossible."

"Nothing is impossible," Artemis replied, his tone that had previously been filled with mocking censure had turned serious.

Mamoru stopped pacing. His breath hitched in his throat as his eyes fixed curiously on the white wooden entrance and the furred handle that was honestly disturbing to look at. He noted that Artemis' almond-shaped eyes were looking past him, and he followed his line of sight to the pedestal table that still sat in the middle of the room.

Suddenly, Mamoru felt incredibly stupid. He closed his eyes for a moment, exasperated and irritated with himself. He'd seen Wonderland many times, which was where he was currently trapped, apparently. Why hadn't he thought of it sooner? He'd been so wrapped up in his need to get to Usagi, he'd completely disregarded the table...the same table where a small vile, filled with a clear liquid, currently sat. He grimaced with dread. He knew what the fluid in that vile would do to him. He couldn't believe that he would have to go through Wonderland, and the thought instantly filled him with indignant outrage.

His gaze snapped back to the door and his grimace melted into an irritated scowl. "You couldn't have reminded me about that in the beginning?"

"Oh, come, come now. Crying about it won't help," Doorknob-Artemis chuckled brightly, and Mamoru rolled his eyes in disbelief.

He fixed his gaze onto the table, sighed, and internally resigned himself to the fact that he was going to have to do this. Once he'd made the decision, he strode to the table and scooped the vile up into his hand. He turned it over in his palm and carefully scrutinized the words. 'Drink Me' was etched into the dark glass. He gave the door one more cautious glance before taking a deep breath, then poured the contents into his mouth, swallowing it quickly. It tasted sweet, with a tangy aftertaste.

He licked his lips before setting the bottle back down on the table. He knew what was supposed to happen, but as the seconds ticked by with no change, he turned back to the door, tapping his foot with undisguised impatience.

"Nothing's happening," Mamoru snapped.

The Artemis door handle simply rolled his eyes. "So impatient," he chimed, his tone condescending.

The Artemis of this world, usually Minako's voice of reason, was decidedly annoying, and Mamoru would have preferred if the handle had been inanimate -like a door handle was supposed to be- rather than currently prodding him into losing his temper.

With all the frustration and irritation that this situation's unfairness elicited, he glared at the cat. "Of course I'm impatient! Usako is out there, and I-"

He stopped suddenly as he realized that the door was getting bigger. Or...was it getting bigger? He looked down, swaying dizzily as the floor suddenly began to approach him at an alarmingly fast rate. Dammit, it worked. The door wasn't getting bigger; his body was shrinking.

He wobbled, feeling slightly nauseous as the tabletop flew above him, growing impossibly large as he became smaller and made a quick descent downwards. His heart lodged into his throat as his body adjusted, and it felt like he was rapidly falling from immeasurable heights onto the ground. The sensation stopped abruptly and, once the dizzy feeling passed, he whipped his head back towards the door. He was now the perfect size to go through it.

His breathing quickened, and the anxiety began to build in the cavity of his chest as he took a tentative step towards the door. He inhaled deeply, mentally preparing himself for what he was about to walk into. He was grateful that he knew about Wonderland, at least, but there was no telling what other things had been conjured into this world. He needed to find Usagi. He knew, just like in the last nightmare, that finding her was the key to rescuing them.

He grimaced, trepidation blooming in his chest at the thought. At least in the last nightmare, things had made sense. It hadn't been some unrealistic design like this one, and he hadn't been expected to wade through a terrifying world based on a book whose author had probably written the tale while under the influence of hallucinogens. He didn't know if the things in these dreams could fatally harm them, but he remembered the dangers in Wonderland, and it wasn't worth the risk. He just had to find her… and fast.

As he reached the door, the white cat's lips curled into a wide grin. "It's about time you got down here," he exclaimed cheerfully. "Welcome to Wonderland."

Mamoru took a deep breath, reached out, and firmly grasped the white door handle. He twisted it and, with an abrupt movement, pulled it open.

He stepped into the new world, and though it was terrifying, he still couldn't help but marvel at the detailed landscape. It was so real; a vast array of vibrant colors and lush foliage. It was almost too much to take in as his eyes darted between the different types of trees, bushes, and foreign flowers. This world was bright and colorful, almost blinding in its brilliance, and he quietly admitted to himself that the movie hadn't done this place justice… or the monsters that were responsible for creating it had some pretty wild imaginations. The thought made him scowl.

Mamoru shook his head, determined not to get distracted again, as his eyes scanned his surroundings in search of his beautiful Usako. He tried to determine where he'd seen her last and which direction she might have gone in. He bit the inside of his lip as he considered his options, made a quick decision based on what he remembered, and then headed in the direction he was sure he'd seen her go.

He hoped she hadn't gotten too far as he waded through the thick vegetation and squinted up into the canopy of strange leaves that loomed over him. He was startled, once or twice, by insects that he should have been able to crush. Instead, he shuddered and did his best to avoid them as they were now not much smaller than he was.

He was beginning to feel ridiculous, and he couldn't imagine that he would cover much ground at this size. What was it that Alice had done again to get back to her regular height? He racked his brain, trying to remember the various scenes from the book he'd read and the movie he'd watched in his youth for an inkling of where it was that he needed to go next.

He huffed, inwardly cursing as he waded through a river of moss and into a forest of long-stemmed plants that he probably could have easily plucked but that currently towered over him. The strange canopy of yellowed leaves above him thickened and bathed him in the darkness that made it difficult to see. Great. Just great.

He was forcibly trudging along, conjuring an image of Usagi in his mind to give him strength, when something shifted in the air.

He wasn't sure what it was at first, but it sent shivers down his spine and lifted the hairs on the nape of his neck. There wasn't much light down here on the ground, so naturally, it would feel much colder than what it would have been had he been allowed to continue at his regular height, but he was sure he felt the temperature drop a degree. He shivered as he halted in his tracks and, with narrowed eyes, let his gaze peruse the shadowed crevices in his immediate vicinity.

His eyes widened, and his breath hitched in his throat as two figures materialized suddenly from the darkness behind a bent, twisted stem in front of him. He'd wondered briefly if the generals appearing in that first nightmare had been a fluke. Just a by-product of the conjured illusions that were weaved so tightly into these nightmares, but he was wrong. It was very clearly Kunzite and Zoisite who appeared so suddenly in front of him, with crossed arms, a hardened glint in their eyes, and a sly half-smile curled onto their lips.

Their movements were eerily synchronized, and they did not look like any character that he remembered from Alice. Both of them, long hair - silver and tawny brown- tied back, donning identical black pin-striped suits that gave them an expensive, sophisticated air that churned around them in droves. The only noticeable difference in their outfits - the color of their silk neckties; Kunzite in gold and Zoisite sporting lapis blue. He inwardly rolled his eyes, giving silent props to the disembodied monsters and creators of this world for their rigorous attention to detail.

The pair halted in front of him, identical wry half-smiles on their lips and dark amusement glinting in their eyes. It was unsettling, and he automatically took a step back. His muscles coiled tensely, as warning bells were internally triggered by the strange unknown versions of his Generals.

He clenched his hands into fists, prepared to protect himself should he have to, as his gaze bounced from one General's face to the other. "Who the hell are you supposed to be?" he demanded, his tone projecting confidence he wasn't entirely sure he felt. He didn't have time for this.

Zoisite chuckled darkly as he clasped his hands behind his back and leaned forward, his grin widening ominously across his face. "Why, brother! This visitor doesn't know who we are!" he exclaimed with clearly contrived disbelief as he glanced slyly over at Kunzite, whose steely gaze remained fixed firmly onto Mamoru. "Isn't it obvious, visitor?" Zoisite whispered impishly, and Mamoru stepped back in tandem with the step he took towards him.

Mamoru's caution only served to amuse the tawny-haired General because he chortled loudly before continuing. "Why, this is my brother Tweedle-Dee, and me? Well, I'm Tweedle-Dum," he stated with a tone of dark merriment that made Mamoru frown.

The Tweedles? He hadn't been entirely sure how his friends would have been woven into the strange nightmare that was Wonderland, and he was admittedly a bit surprised that they were going to actually be characters in the storyline. However, he probably should have expected it.

So, if he was correct, and judging by Zoisite's introduction, he should be able to determine where he was in this ridiculous world. The revelation didn't serve to offer him any comfort, though, because he specifically remembered the Wonderland Tweedle brothers as confusing, bumbling idiots in gaudy red and yellow outfits. The suave, dark, and slightly menacing generals did not resemble the original Tweedles, and it made him wonder what other liberties had been taken while creating Wonderland characters out of his friends.

"Do not be fooled by the light nature of our names, visitor," Kunzite warned, his tone calm and filled with a steady coolness that sent shivers down his spine. Of the two, Kunzite was the more terrifying. "We can be quite dangerous," he said with a tilt of his silver-haired head.

The tension crackled around them, and Mamoru was carefully considering his next move when Zoisite chuckled loudly. "Of course, you don't have to worry! Why don't you stay for a while?" he invited with an excited bounce in his step as the warm brown hues of his eyes locked onto him, and Mamoru suddenly felt like he was frozen. "We like visitors!"

Mamoru's limbs felt like they were getting heavy, weighed down, and immovable as Kunzite stepped towards him and locked the arctic blue of his gaze onto his face, too. "Yes, stay," he whispered, sweeping his hand back, gesturing towards the darkened forest behind him. "Do you see these trees? They were once visitors, too. They're happy now. Don't you want to be happy too?"

Mamoru blinked in confusion, his body utterly numb as a strange, dizzying haze took over his senses. What the hell? He couldn't move, and what was even stranger was that he didn't want to. The trees did look happy, didn't they? Why couldn't he stay too?

He was feeling sluggish, all of a sudden, and wondered if maybe he leaned up against one of the oddly twisted stems, he might get some rest. It would feel nice, wouldn't it?

He was beginning to fade, the dark Tweedles laughter dimly piercing his senses, when an image of Usagi flashed through his mind. Usako. He needed to save her. The thought sobered him and, with a firm shake of his head to clear the cloying haze, he snapped out of it.

The Tweedle's expressions darkened as they noted that whatever the hell they'd been trying to do wasn't going to work, which was clearly evident by the withering glare Mamoru shot at them.

"I don't have time for this," he snapped, flexing the feeling back into his legs before furiously stepping around them. "I need to find Usagi."

He was striding away, with no intention of looking back, when Zoisite spoke. "Oh! What a shame, brother. The visitor doesn't want to stay! He's curious! Curious about the Queen's rabbit, it would seem."

The proclamation had Mamoru skidding to a stop. The Queen's rabbit? An image of her strange outfit, the hurried expression on her face as she'd bounded away after looking at… her watch. His face blanched, and he inwardly cursed. Usagi was the damned rabbit. The one that Alice had chased through Wonderland. Or that he was now chasing through Wonderland.

With a groan of irritation, Mamoru swiveled back around toward the Generals, whose backs were facing him, though he noticed that Zoisite threw him an amused, knowing glance over his shoulder.

"Ah! Well, you know the oysters were curious, too! And you know what happened to the oysters!" Kunzite replied, leaning conspiratorially towards his tawny-haired counterpart.

Mamoru rolled his eyes because he remembered this part of the story, and he was not interested in hearing it. "I don't care about the oysters. I want to know more about the rabbit," he demanded, and, in one simultaneous motion, the brothers smoothly twisted their bodies to face him, with identical smirks on their faces.

Kunzite chuckled, "The rabbit? The rabbit is always late, isn't she, brother?" he whispered menacingly, and the tone in his voice filled Mamoru with dread.

Zoisite's grin melted into a sneer, and his eyes glinted dangerously as he regarded him. "Oh, yes," he snickered. "This time, the black-haired Queen will have her head for sure."

Mamoru's breath quickened at Zoisite's harsh words, and his mind began to race, quickly flitting through the multitude of possibilities. If his friends were the characters in Alice in Wonderland, then there was only one black-haired woman that he knew that could be the Queen of Hearts. And that was Rei.

The Senshi of Fire had been his only ally in the previous dream, so she was more than likely awake here too. If Usagi was the rabbit and the rabbit worked for the Queen, then his only logical next step was to find Rei so they could locate Usagi together.

His urgency and his relief at having a plan of action spurned him forward, and he twisted back around to make his way through the strange Tweedle forest. "Guess the visitor has to go, brother," Kunzite's deep baritone drifted through the air and echoed around him as he weaved his way through the stems and away from them. "Enjoy your rabbit stew!" he called out, and the words, for some reason, settled in his chest like a piece of lead.

oOo

He was getting irritated, his frustration building as he blindly stumbled around looking for his bunny-clad Moon princess. He was slowly beginning to despair when he practically fell, tripping through the exotic foliage into a clearing.

He vaguely remembered this setting from the ridiculous wonderland versions that he'd seen over the years, and judging by the fact that he was standing in a field of abnormally large multi-colored mushrooms, he knew that this is where he would encounter the caterpillar. What he did not expect, however, was the person that had been picked to play the hookah-smoking insect. Of all the people that could have been forced into this role, Ami was the least likely candidate. However, that was precisely who he encountered perched on top of a billowed red mushroom cap, and it took a moment for his mind to wrap around what he was looking at.

The Senshi of Intelligence was usually seen in blue. Even her hair, kept cropped short, was a demure shade of lapis that genuinely suited the modest girl, whose calm and cool intellect had often saved them in battle and served to offer a sound mind to his adorable, but sometimes not-so-logical, Moon Senshi. Which was why it was so alarming to see her now...

Though nothing was revealing about her outfit, it was still unnerving to see how she was dressed. Her hair was longer, the silky locks feathered and cascaded well past her shoulders. It was a disconcerting shade of blue, a fluorescent cyan with black feathers intermittently braided into the strands. Her top, a shimmery fabric that was the same color as her hair, was covered by a pashmina in a vibrant Persian blue color. Edged in gold trimming, the material was cinched to her waist with a wide, sturdy-looking black leather belt. Her skirt, the same color as the pashmina, fell modestly above her knees, flowing around legs encased in black and blue striped stockings.

Her face was heavily covered in makeup with strange swirling designs etched into her skin. He was briefly contemplating whether or not the designs were tattooed above the curves of her cheek, rather than just painted on, when he finally took note of the horrified expression in wide, aquamarine-colored eyes.

Her gaze fixed firmly onto his, and it was filled with terror, alarmed and brimming with shock. He inhaled sharply as he recognized that look. It was the same one he'd sported on his own face the moment he'd first realized that he'd helplessly been thrust into an alternate reality where he was the only one who knew that this world was utterly false. His heart skipped a beat in excited anticipation; could that possibly mean that Ami was awake too?

He took a tentative step toward her, cautiously approaching her mushroomed- perch with his heart pounding furiously against his ribcage. Was it possible that there could be two of the Senshi awakened? He carefully scrutinized her expression, hardly daring to let himself begin to hope when …. She visibly recoiled, shrinking away from him, an unmistakable aura of fear emanating from every inch of her body.

He inhaled sharply as he halted his movements to avoid startling her. "Ami?" he asked timidly, his tone laced with a silent question and his breathing quickening with the possibility that he might actually have another ally. He could have wept with grateful exhilaration when her eyes widened, a mixture of shock and relief etched onto the contours of her face as she realized that he was awake, too.

"Mamoru!"

In a flash, with a strangled-sounding whimper that spilled from her lips, she jumped down from her mushroom podium. She was a flurry of blue as she gracefully barreled into him. He grunted at the unexpected impact of her embrace as her slender arms coiled around him. She squeezed tightly as if she was afraid that he would disappear if she let him go.

He tensed for a moment, as he'd never witnessed this kind of affection from the always calm and collected bluenette. When the surprise wore off, he smiled softly as the tension melted away, and he gently reciprocated her hug. He understood, more than anyone, the emotions that were currently washing over her. He remembered all too well the terror and helpless feelings that he'd felt the first time he'd opened his eyes and realized that his world had been viciously ripped away from him and replaced with a false reality.

He'd had the luxury of waking up in something that made sense, at least. Ami had opened her eyes to Wonderland, dressed like a gaudy blue caterpillar. She must have been terrified, not knowing what was going on or where she was.

He tightened his arms around her and took a deep cleansing breath as he allowed himself just a moment to savor the comfort from a friend that was equally as afraid as he was before he steeled his resolve and immersed himself back into the crazy, contrived world of Wonderland.

The bluenette tensed suddenly and abruptly pulled away, blushing, a red tinge spreading across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose as she straightened her dress and cleared her throat with embarrassment.

Mamoru offered her a reassuring smile to comfort her, but it only served to deepen the shade of red on her cheeks as she shifted uncomfortably.

She frowned, and her eyes narrowed as she took note of their surroundings. "Mamoru...where are we?" she asked, her voice breaking slightly as she attempted to keep the hysteria at bay. He watched her gaze carefully scrutinize everything around them before her eyes fell back onto him. She visibly shuddered as the aquamarine-hues of her eyes swept down the length of his body, carefully perusing his outfit. "And what are we wearing?"

Mamoru sighed and lifted a hand to scratch the back of his neck nervously before he tentatively gestured to a pair of oddly shaped, purple-tinged mushrooms, a silent invitation for the Senshi of Intelligence to sit down. She was going to need to be sitting to hear this.

He watched the terror in her eyes melt away, to be replaced with calm contemplation as she nodded curtly and, with a wary expression, moved to sit across from him. She carefully folded her hands into the folds of her vibrant colored skirt, demurely crossed her ankles, and took a deep cleansing breath, clearly preparing herself for whatever it was that he had to say.

He exhaled deeply, feeling oddly deflated, as he soundlessly opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, finding it almost impossible to summon the right words to explain this to her.

She offered him a small comforting smile with a slight nod of her head that gently invited him to begin. He sighed softly. Why was he so nervous? This was Ami. He knew the best course of action would be to describe everything to her in detail. Ami was highly analytical, and if anyone had any idea about what their next course of action should be, it was her.

Mamoru took a deep breath, and once he started talking, he found it difficult to stop. He recounted the events of the last dream and everything he'd been through so far in this one. Ami listened quietly as she took in all of the information, and Mamoru could see the wheels slowly turning in her head. He could practically hear the cogs of her mind clicking into place as she considered all of his words.

When he was finished, they both sat in silence for a couple of minutes. His heart began to race anxiously as he waited, with bated breath, for her reaction to everything he'd just explained as it slowly and logically registered for her.

She was chewing on her lower lip in quiet deliberation, her gaze seemingly unfocused as he wordlessly watched her sift through his explanation. "So...Rei was awake in the last dream?" she asked finally, her words thoughtfully spoken.

He nodded quickly. "Right," he replied, and he couldn't help the eager anticipation that crept into his tone. "So there are two of you that are awake now."

He was extremely grateful that the most logical of Usagi's Senshi was on his side this time. God knew he could use some intelligence amidst the insanity of this nightmare.

Her eyes narrowed furtively, unconvinced, it would seem, that there was someone that would have purposely done this to them. "Did you get a look at the enemy?" She asked softly, her eyes finally fixing onto his face as she studied his expression.

He shook his head and crossed his arms. "No. We didn't see anything. Everything just froze, but both Rei and Usagi alluded to being strapped to gurneys."

He grimaced as the memory deflated him. Ami nodded, and he could see it in her eyes. Her mind was percolating, considering and working through all of the information that he'd provided her.

"So, you're supposed to be Alice, and I'm…" she looked down at her own outfit with dismay, "I'm the Caterpillar…" Mamoru couldn't help the small smile that formed on his lips. At least he wasn't the only one disturbed by their current attire. "Are you positively sure that it's Usagi's declaration of love that pulls us out of these...nightmares?"

His brow furrowed as he quietly considered her question for a moment, replaying the horrific final moments of the last nightmare in his mind. "I think so. That's how the last dream ended; with her finally admitting that she loved me. As soon as she did, she woke up, remembered everything, and the dream was over," he said, unable to bite back a sigh of frustration as he raked a hand through his hair. It didn't make sense, really. He knew that. But it was the only thing they had to go on right now.

Ami was silent, quietly ruminating, before a look of awe-filled wonder washed over her face. "Wow. The sheer amount of work and power that would have been needed to construct something so elaborate is practically inconceivable. I would love to see the kind of ingenuity used to concoct this sort of…"

She probably could have continued musing theories out loud to herself for ages if Mamoru hadn't interrupted her. "Ami," he said gently, with raised eyebrows and an amused smile on his face.

Ami's gaze snapped back over to him, and her eyes cleared and perceptibly widened. She blushed, her face reddening brightly. "Sorry," she squeaked with embarrassment, and he coughed to cover up an involuntary chuckle. While he liked to think that he'd become friends with all of the Senshi, he related best with logical, quiet Ami, whose thoughts often aligned perfectly with his. She cleared her throat again. "So, what's the next step, Mamoru?"

Her question firmly brought the task at hand back into the forefront of his mind. "Well, I'm going to go find Rei," he declared resolutely and pushed away from the mushroom he'd been sitting on. "If Usagi is with her, she'll know what to do. Maybe she's already talking to Usagi...trying to get her to remember."

"Okay, so let's go find Rei," Ami said as she curled delicate fingers around the edge of the mushroom cap and leveraged it to gracefully push herself to her feet. "I'm curious to see what else was crafted into this nightmare. It feels so real."

The fear that had glistened in her eyes was now replaced with curiosity and determination. He knew that Ami would continue on calmly, and he was relieved to have her ability to solve the impossible on his side. Who knew what characters they would encounter next?

The thought made him cringe as it reminded him that the generals were here and that Ami still had no idea that they were somehow wound up in all of this. He wasn't sure if they would encounter Nephrite and Jadeite, but he knew Ami would have questions if they did.

Mamoru grimaced as he mentally prepared himself for what he needed to tell her next. His memories as Endymion were hazy. The clearest ones featured Usagi as Serenity, so he wasn't entirely sure what the nature of Ami's relationship with Zoisite had been, and he'd never thought to ask… but he did recall that when they'd perished under Beryl, that the girls had mourned them.

"Ami, one more thing," he took a deep breath as she turned towards him, her face lit up as she eagerly awaited the next bit of information he was about to give her. "Zoisite is here."

Her bright expression faded, and she frowned. "Zoisite? How is that possible?"

Mamoru sighed and shook his head. "I don't know. All of the Shitennou seem to be here. They were in the last dream, too."

Ami's eyes widened. "Are they a construct of our memories, perhaps?" she asked softly, her expression thoughtful. It seemed that she was trying to process something that was even more illogical to her than being trapped in Wonderland. "Zoisite... he's… is he still like what he was under Beryl or is he..." she trailed off painfully.

She was clearly struggling with some emotion, and Mamoru offered her a sympathetic smile because clearly Zoisite had at one point meant something to Ami. "He's different in every nightmare, apparently. Just like everyone else. I'm not sure if he's part of the landscape or if he's real, but he's not like anything you remember."

She glanced up at him, and his heart clenched with alarm at the tears that welled and glistened in her eyes. She quickly blinked them back, took a deep breath, and forced a calmly impassive look on her face. She visibly reigned in any emotion that may have crept through with his revelation.

With a reassuring smile and a curt nod of her head, she resolutely met his gaze. "Who is he in this world?"

Mamoru cringed. "One of the Tweedles."

Ami blinked, her expression bewildered as she tilted her head to the side in confusion, cyan-colored locks tumbling over her shoulder with the movement. "One of the Tweedles?" She whispered, her lips forming around the word as if she were speaking a foreign language that she couldn't understand.

He was confused for a moment when a sudden, slightly horrifying thought occurred to him. "Ami, have you actually seen Alice in Wonderland?" he demanded, then let out a strangled breath of disbelief as she bit her lower lip, and a crimson tinge of embarrassment spread across her face. "Not even the book?!"

Ami crossed her arms and glared at him defensively. "Look, just because I'm intelligent doesn't mean that I'm expected to have read every single book in existence, Mamoru!" She exclaimed, her fingers twisting at the bottom seam of her Persian blue pashmina nervously. "I mean, especially Alice in Wonderland. The entire concept was ridiculous!" She snapped, then swiveled around in a flurried huff of sheepish indignation. "Let's just go find Rei so that we can save Usagi and get out of here."

With an exasperated sigh, he moved to follow her. He was still infinitely grateful that Ami was awake and his ally in this. It would have been much more manageable, though, if the Senshi of Intelligence had a clue about what it was they were about to face.

He was sure that if the creators of this world were watching him right now, they were surely laughing.

oOo

They walked in tandem, still small in size, through the daunting fields of plants that he'd never seen before. Ami was apparently having a difficult time wrapping her head around the eccentricities that made up Wonderland. As a result, the Senshi of Intelligence, usually known for her calm, quiet demeanor, wouldn't stop talking.

She kept sprouting ideas and theories that explored the multiple possibilities that might logically explain the reason for the nightmares and the false worlds that they were continually being thrust into. Mamoru considered himself a relatively intelligent person, but he could only listen and smile as she recounted the theoretical differences between books that she'd read on parallel universes and multiverses.

Her gaze kept darting around nervously as they walked, and she warily kept her eyes on the array of insects and small creatures that moved around them. Mamoru offered her a comforting smile more than once, and he made a concerted effort to remain close to her. He knew just how terrifying this world and its inhabitants were.

He was at least afforded the luxury of having knowledge of Wonderland and what might happen next. She did not, which was very evident by the way she tensed and sidled up to him whenever an abnormally large ant or completely fabricated creature happened to get near them. It was promptly followed by a catch of terror in her voice as she fumbled over her words, and he would take over the conversation in an attempt to calm her.

They'd been moving pretty steadily, their movements hurried as they tried to determine their best course of action. The dull throb in his calves that mirrored the despondency that was starting to settle in his chest was beginning to get to him, though, and he briefly considered stopping so they could catch their breath and regain their bearings. It was an impossibly large world, and he suddenly had more respect for Alice and the constant confusion that had plagued her.

He leaned over to make the suggestion to Ami as he caught sight of something curling up into the sky over the horizon. His pace slowed, and his eyes narrowed in confusion as he fixed his gaze onto it. Was that...smoke? Beside him, Ami slowed as well.

"Ami," his voice felt like it was caught in his throat. "Do you see?"

"Smoke," Ami clarified with a nod. "It looks like smoke coming from a chimney," her tone was matter of fact, not bothered by the sight like he was.

He couldn't put his finger on the reason behind the nervous dread coiling in his chest until it suddenly clicked into place. Smoke coming from a chimney? He didn't remember any chimney smoke in any of the countless versions of the Wonderland story.

He grimaced at the thought. So much for the luxury of knowing. "Come on," he murmured, lightly grasping Ami's arm to steer her with him toward the rising soot. She followed wordlessly and kept up with him as his pace quickened.

He quickly noticed when his feet moved from dirt and grass to the firm texture of stone. His breath hitched, and he was only dimly aware of the red, haphazard cobblestones as they hurriedly moved along the new pathway.

The further they went, the more the dense forest thinned, and it was clear that the smoke was coming from a small cottage that became visible as the foliage finally gave way and opened up into a small clearing. Well, the cottage was probably considered small to a normal-sized person. To him and Ami, it loomed over them like an impossibly large-sized castle that belonged to a giant.

The expression on Ami's face mirrored his own as she halted just behind him. Her eyes were wide, and the aquamarine pools filled with awestruck wonder as her gaze fixed onto the building before her.

It was definitely quaint; a white stone cottage drenched in moss and flowers sat at the end of the stone path that they'd followed here. It was modestly sized, with only two starburst, radius topped-shaped windows, lined in cherry-stained trimming, that lay tucked beneath the small, oval-shaped overhanging parts of the layered, cedarwood thatched roof. The wooden door, which was the same color as the trimming, was slightly warped and even closed, didn't quite align with the tan-colored siding.

He quietly inspected the cottage when a certain beautiful girl, a flurry of white fabric and blonde hair, rushed in front of the window. He inhaled sharply, his body tensing in anticipation. Usako! His feet moved of their own accord and carried him rapidly across the remaining distance, toward the cottage. He could hear Ami running behind him as she tried her best to keep up, but he couldn't help but pick up speed as Usagi moved away from the window and disappeared from his view.

When they finally made it to the door, he frantically scanned it, eager to find some sort of crack or hole that would allow them entry. It was frustrating, the panic building in its intensity in his chest as he hurriedly searched and found nothing.

He was considering the extra time it would take them to walk around the cottage when Ami's excited voice echoed around him. "Mamoru!" She called out. He turned to see her at the other end of the door, and oddly disconcerting sight of her body half through to the other side. "I found a way in!" Her words were muffled as they drifted through the opening.

His breathing quickened, and in three giant strides, he made his way to Ami. His gaze firmly fixed onto the sight of her as she suddenly disappeared through the door. He finally noted a crack twisted and etched into a groove in the big wooden planks as he approached. It was dark and well hidden, which explained why he'd so easily missed it. It was one of those moments where he was infinitely grateful for Ami as he slipped through and made his way into the home.

He nearly collided into Ami's back as she'd skidded to a halt and was gawking, open-mouthed, eyes filled with wonder at the perfectly quaint home that towered over them. It was warm, dimly lit, and perfectly cozy. There were low hanging wooden beams, carefully crafted, and impossibly large wooden furniture pieces covered in rustic flowered patterned material. Mismatched golden and silver gilded photos of country scenes, like pretty little water cans, hung on the walls. He took a step past Ami, inhaling deeply as his gaze desperately searched the room. Usagi was in here somewhere. He had to find her. He had to-

His thoughts were cut short as a loud thudding reverberated from the other room, the sound ominously vibrating through the wooden plank beneath his feet. Mamoru's eyes widened as a huge Usagi suddenly came barreling from a different area of the house. He was instantly relieved that he hadn't missed her again. But his relief quickly faded into terror when he realized that the extremely large version of his little rabbit was currently headed in their direction.

With a speed that he didn't know he possessed, he twisted around, grabbed Ami by the waist, and threw both their bodies to the side, sliding across the floor, as Usagi's white, slightly scuffed Mary-Jane shoe landed right where they'd been standing. He cringed, his heart hammering as he pondered the near-miss, and they both watched as she bounded into another room and disappeared from view.

Mamoru dropped his head to the floor as both he and Ami took a moment to collect themselves, their breathing labored and their chests heaving from the exertion and the terror of narrowly being crushed. After a moment, Ami sat up and turned to look down at him; a red-tinged blush, embarrassment for needing to be rescued, crept up her neck and spread across her cheeks. She quickly curled slender legs beneath her and leveraged her hands to jump to her feet, averting her eyes as she straightened her dress out.

"Thank you," she whispered gratefully.

He nodded. "No problem," he groaned and winced as he slowly stood and stretched a kink from his neck. The soreness of landing hard on the ground was starting to throb dully through his muscles.

He brushed off his ridiculously tight pants, thankful that they hadn't impeded his movements, and carefully scrutinized his surroundings. "We need to find a way to get her attention," he muttered to himself, his tone laced with determination. There had to be a way to get her to notice them down here.

Then again, from this height, what would he even say to her? How could he get her to fall in love with him when she towered over him at such great lengths? He shook his head to clear it. He couldn't dwell on that particular thought just now. His first priority was to simply find a way to talk to her.

"Up there!" Ami exclaimed and pointed to a polished oak table in the center of the room. "If we can reach the top of the table, we should have enough visibility to get her attention," she reasoned calmly, her eyes wide and hopeful.

He nodded curtly, then sighed, a grimace twisting onto his face as his eyes peered up at the looming height of the table. "How do we get up there, though?" That was a long way up and an even longer way down should they happen to fall.

In the regular world, he could have turned into Tuxedo Mask and just jumped his way to the top of the table. In this world, though, he would have to climb. It was a daunting task, and he wasn't sure exactly how he would achieve it. But he had to. He just had to. And before she came back into the room and he missed her again.

Taking a deep, shuttered breath, he made his way to the leg of the four-columned table. He then noticed the intricate design etched into the wood that worked itself all the way up to the top. He quickly glanced back at Ami to see that she was also studying the woodwork.

"The layout of these etchings in the wood could provide the right amount of leverage to climb to the surface of the table," she stated as her eyes darted from design to design.

He internally shook his head and smiled. "Took the words right out of my mouth, Ami," he said as he made his way to the leg. As he grabbed onto a ledge, his fingers curling around the splintered edging, he looked back at her over his shoulder. "Stay here. Under the table, so you don't get stepped on. When I get to the top and get her attention, I'll let her know you're down here," he ordered, his tone filled with an authoritative firmness he hadn't really intended.

Ami frowned indignantly. "Why would I stay down here? I'm perfectly capable of climbing this table just as well as you are," she snapped, her eyes narrowed with irritation.

He sighed, dropped his hand, and turned to face her completely. "I know you can. It's just that it will be hard enough climbing this thing by myself. With both of us, it will just be more difficult and take more time. This is the easiest way for us both to get up to the top safely," he assured her, though he purposefully failed to mention that although he knew she would more than likely have no problem climbing up with him, he didn't want to have to worry about her the whole time.

Ami nodded, not looking entirely satisfied with his explanation, though her face softened with an understanding of what he was getting at. She crossed her arms as she stepped further under the table, effectively shielding herself from any more would-be Usagi footprints.

Mamoru turned back to the intimidating high rise before him. His stomach churned, and he took a deep breath as he grabbed hold of the first ledge and tucked his foot into another at the base. With one more glance at Ami, who gave him a reassuring nod and smile, he hoisted himself up.

As Mamoru climbed higher and higher, he didn't dare look down at the ground. He wasn't scared of heights, but a lot was resting on him to make it to the top. It made him dizzy, but the knowledge that Usagi was somewhere in this house, that she was so close, gave him the strength he needed to continue upward, even as his muscles began to burn. And this restricting, ridiculous outfit was not helping matters at all.

He had no idea what he was going to say to her when he finally did get her attention, and he swallowed nervously as he continued his climb upwards, only slipping once before he reached the top.

Once he'd leveraged himself over the edge, he bent over, hands on his knees, as he tried to catch his breath. A thud in the other room caught his attention, making him stand upright and face the door Usagi had gone through earlier. He heard a faintly muttered, "ow!" as the door opened, and Usagi emerged slowly, her face twisted into a pained grimace as she rubbed her backside through the tufts of lace that made up her ruffled skirt. He grinned and shook his head with amusement. Even in different worlds, his Usako was still adorably clumsy.

As her large form neared the table, he ran to the edge, his lungs burning with the exertion as he called out to her. "Usagi! Usagi!..." his throat began to burn hoarsely with the force he was pushing into his words. "White Rabbit!"

At that, Usagi stopped short, her eyes widening as she looked around in confusion, her blonde tresses twisting around her face with the movement. "Down here! On the table!" He yelled hoarsely. Her head whipped into the direction of the table, and she gasped as she finally spotted him. He felt the air leave his body as their eyes finally met. Finally.

She rushed over to him, bent down, and brought her face level with the table and directly in front of him. His breathing hitched as her big beautiful sapphire-blue eyes filled with wonder.

"Hey...who are you?" She asked, confused, the sweetly melodic trill of her voice resonating around him. His heart immediately deflated. In the last dream, she'd known who he was. Here, it would seem that she didn't know him at all…

He smiled sadly. "Mamoru," he introduced himself and tried to hide the disappointment and hurt that twisted around his heart. "My name is Mamoru."

She blinked twice, lacy black lashes fanning the tops of her cheeks when they fluttered closed. "Mamoru," she stated slowly before her lips curled into a sweet smile. "Nice to meet you, Mamoru!" Her voice boomed around him, and he clamped his hands over his ears in an attempt to dull the sound. Her eyes widened, and she snapped a hand over her mouth. "Oh Gosh, I'm so sorry," she whispered with dismay, and he smiled as he pulled his hands away. "Nice to meet you, Mamoru," she said, this time in a sweet, thoughtful, exaggerated whisper that made his heart skip a beat. "Why are you so small?"

Mamoru sighed. "I shrunk to get through a door," he replied, captivated by the soft pink tinge that spread across her facial features. He did have to admit, she was seriously cute as Wonderland's rabbit.

She tilted her head to the side. "So you aren't supposed to be this small?" she asked innocently, and he shook his head. "Hmm…" she thought to herself as she tapped her chin with one long slender finger. "I have just the thing!" She exclaimed, straightened up, and skipped to the counter across the room.

On top of the counter was a plate of cookies. She picked through the treats, searching for just the right one. When she found it, she squealed in delight, hopped excitedly in place, and practically bounced back to the table. She broke off a small crumb with a broad smile and dropped it on the table next to him. He looked down at the crumb before glancing back up at her overly smiling, beautiful face.

"What's this?" he asked skeptically. He knew the cooking skills of the Usagi in his world, and he eyed the dessert in front of him warily.

Usagi giggled, "It will help you grow!"

She clapped her hands excitedly and urged him to eat it. He took a deep breath as he grabbed the crumb, giving it one more look before shoving it into his mouth.

It didn't taste bad at all. Actually, it was pretty good! He smiled up at her indulgently, and she giggled with delight as he swallowed the piece of cookie. Suddenly, he felt himself starting to stretch as the table began to shrink beneath him. She, too, began getting smaller as he finally reached his full height and found himself sitting on the table that wobbled slightly under the added weight. He looked down at himself, breathing a sigh of relief that he was finally himself again.

He grinned at her warmly and was rewarded by another sweet giggle as she jumped in place and clapped her hands, cute and proud of herself for helping him. He couldn't help but stare. After all, he'd been through to find her, here she was, standing in front of him in the strangely appealing outfit and a sweetly innocent smile on her face.

He was still lost in her gaze when he suddenly remembered Ami, and his eyes widened as he quickly jumped off of the table. "Can I have another crumb?" he asked her and held out his hand.

She frowned, her golden brows knit in confusion as she handed him another piece. "Are you supposed to be even bigger?" she questioned with disbelief, and her wide-eyed gaze swept over his form as if she was imagining him growing to a bigger size.

His eyes softened, and his lips curled into another indulgent, doting smile. "No. It's for my friend," Mamoru explained as he dropped to his knees and crawled under the table to find Ami waiting.

With a smile, he held out the piece of cookie in his hand to the little blue-haired Senshi, and a tiny hand shot out to gently take it from him. He made sure to shield her, protecting her from any random falling debris as she made her way out from under the table and took a bite of the crumb.

Mamoru sat back and watched as she grew to her standard height and stretched as if she'd been cramped underneath that table. He turned back to his little bunny, who looked utterly confused as she tilted her head slightly to the side and looked at the bluenette.

"Aren't you...the caterpillar?" she stuttered slightly, her tone puzzled and her eyes wide and full of confusion.

"This is my friend, Ami," Mamoru stated, lightly touching Ami on the arm, as he pulled her up a step closer to the blonde. After a moment, Usagi flashed them a beautiful smile that made his heart skip a beat and sent a fluttering feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Hi, Ami! Nice to meet you!" She giggled. Ami smiled softly and waved. She was clearly as enchanted with Usagi as he was.

Usagi turned back towards him, and he couldn't help but notice the slight blush that tinged her features as her gaze focused in his direction. "Anyway, I'm glad I could help, but I really have to get back to what I was doing. I'm terribly late!"

She tried to step around him, but he gently clasped her arm. "Wait," he breathed with desperation. He cleared his throat and pulled himself together as she tilted her head again in the sweetened, most innocent display of adorableness he could barely stand it. He opened his mouth soundlessly for a few seconds as his mind raced through all of the things he wished he could say to her. "What are you doing?" he asked softly. "Can I help?"

The small smile and blush that fanned across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose made his heart skip a beat, and he had to restrain himself from pulling her into his arms.

"Well, um, sure." She bit her bottom lip innocently and blinked up at him. I'm looking for my gloves. I need to find them before I go see the Queen."

"Are these them?" Ami said from across the room.

He'd been so focused on Usagi, he hadn't noticed Ami move. He inwardly cursed Ami's efficiency as his beautiful bunny pulled away from him and skipped excitedly over to Ami, who had quietly distanced herself from the couple. There on a side table sat a white pair of gloves.

With a squeal of excitement, Usagi scooped up her gloves and shoved her dainty hands into them, flexing her fingers. With a smile, first, to Ami, then to Mamoru, she moved towards the door. "Thanks so much for your help!" she exclaimed excitedly. "I really have to go!"

No! He couldn't let her leave just like that. He'd finally found her!

"Wait!" he called out again. She halted and peered over her shoulder at him, her cheeks flushed and her breath slightly heaving. Mamoru quickly closed the gap between them, his own breath hitched with anticipation, his fingers instinctively flexing with his need to reach out to her. "Where are you going?"

She twirled around to face him, a look of genuine dismay on her face. "I...I have to go…" she breathed, her eyes locked onto his, her gaze filled with wonder as she stood rooted in place. "I have to go see the Queen. And I'm late. She doesn't like it when I'm late. She's cruel, and I'm... I'm afraid of her…" she trailed off, her voice small and filled with shame as she averted her gaze and fixed it onto the floor.

Mamoru swallowed, heart racing with the need to protect his little bunny as anxiety coiled and twisted in his chest. In his world, Usagi was powerful, a beautiful and fiercely strong Senshi warrior that defeated enemies regularly. Here, she seemed so much smaller, more vulnerable, and it tore at his heart. He gently grasped her chin and lifted it to face him.

He needed her to hear this. "I promise I won't ever let the Queen, or anyone else, ever hurt you, Usako."

Her eyes widened, and he heard her sharp intake of breath. He noted the visible rise and fall of her chest with the quickening of her breath as she began to back away slowly, pulling herself out of his grasp.

Suddenly, she dropped, tripping over something he didn't see. It was something he was very used to, and without even thinking about it, he swept forward and expertly caught her. He'd prevented her from falling, as he had so many times before. She grasped his arms, clutching a little more tightly than she needed to, as he carefully steadied her and pulled her back up into a standing position.

He felt her tremble beneath his fingertips. "Usako?" she breathed quietly. "That means rabbit, right? What an interesting way to say my name," she whispered, her tone filled with awe as her brow knit, her expression confused and bewildered.

He wondered if he'd sparked something in her memories, and he had to consciously bite the inside of his lip to keep from saying something. He knew what would happen if he tried to tell her that this world wasn't real. He was finally holding her in his arms, though, and he had to reign in the desire he had to crush her against his chest and never let her go. But she was so close, and they moved closer together as if they were stuck in a magnetic field.

"This feels familiar. Have you caught me like this before?" she asked.

Her breath warmly fanned across his face, and her eyes widened as her lips parted ever so slightly. He knew what was coming. He could feel the crackling in the air between them, so he couldn't be bothered to answer her question. A ringing sound echoed around the cottage, and Usagi jumped, startled, as she quickly pulled out of his arms and glanced down at her watch.

"Oh, no!" she cried, her tone frantic and filled with terror. "Oh, I'm so very late! I must go! Thank you for your help!" she exclaimed with a slightly clumsy twist of her body. "Buh-bye!" And with that, she flew out of the door and down the path.

Mamoru felt cold and disoriented with her departure. What just happened? He'd been so close! And now she was gone. Wait...she was gone! His eyes widened, and, with a harshly muttered expletive, he raced out of the door after her.

"Usako!" he cried out. He heard Ami following behind him as he ran, and she called out to him. But he couldn't stop. He couldn't. She'd been right there...right there! And he'd let her slip through his fingers. "Usako!" he yelled again as he desperately followed the path he knew she'd taken.

He skidded to a halt as they came upon a fork in the road. He looked in both directions, his gaze furiously skipping back and forth, as he tried to determine which path she'd taken. But both paths looked precisely the same.

"No," he hissed angrily as he shook his head. How had he let this happen? "Son of a bitch!" he cried out with barely restrained fury as he kicked over a nearby boulder in an attempt to release some of his frustration.

When Ami finally reached him, she remained silent as she allowed him to kick out the last bit of his temper. After a moment, Mamoru crouched down, took a deep breath, and calmed himself before standing and making his way back to her. She gave him a tentative look as if asking permission to speak after his outburst. He sighed, closed his eyes, and apologetically waved his hand, signaling that he was relatively okay.

"It seems we've come to a fork in the road." She held her head high as she spoke. "The only logical approach would be for us to split up."

He frowned, slowly shaking his head in quiet protest. "Ami...you don't know anything about Wonderland. Are you sure-"

She shook her head and raised a hand to silence him. "We have to find Usagi. This is the best way to accomplish that. It's what we have to do. I will be just fine, Mamoru," she said bravely, her chin jutted out proudly with determination.

He didn't like this at all. The very last thing he wanted was to let her go out into the harsh Wonderland landscape on her own. Just like Usagi, she was vulnerable here. But she was also correct. They needed to find Usagi, and he would have to trust that she was going to be alright. He exhaled slowly and raked a hand through his hair as he offered her a tentative smile.

He'd always admired her, and he knew she was just as capable as he was. "You take a left? I'll take a right?" he suggested with a raised eyebrow. She nodded with a relieved smile and, with a graceful twist of her body, turned to leave in a flurry of vibrant blue. "Ami," he called, and she turned. He sighed, deflated, as he steadily met her gaze. "Be careful."

She nodded again. "You too."

She turned back to the left path and made her way toward the clearing in the distance. Once he lost sight of her, he turned to face his own path, one that led into the woods. With a deep sigh, he steeled his resolve and headed into the forest. He would find Usagi again. He had to.

oOo

He found himself being more cognizant of where he stepped (having personally just been small enough to be crushed under the heel of a boot) as he made his way deeper into the forest. The strange purple trunked trees, with their steadily swaying branches and the vast array of multicolored leaves, thickened the further he walked. The winding path thinned as the vegetation, unkempt, grew wilder, curling outwards and covering everything in its way.

It was warm, and the sweet scent of honeysuckle assaulted his senses as he stopped. He inhaled deeply with his eyes clenched shut as he attempted to calm his heart that had begun to race with panic and steady his breath that had quickened with anxiety-ridden impatience. Every moment that they were trapped here, every second he was away from Usagi, made him nervous. Although the fact that two of the Senshi were now awake slightly comforted him, he still couldn't stop the helpless, all-encompassing feeling that coursed through him with the daunting task of wading through this impossibly large world.

He'd steeled his resolve, bearing down with determination, when he heard a teasing lilt drift around him, intermingled enticingly with the breeze. "Oh, what are you doing?" the giggling chime in the tone of those words was vaguely familiar, and Mamoru whipped his head around, and his gaze furiously scanned his surroundings.

"I'm up here!"

He craned his neck to peer up into a nearby tree and squinted in confusion at where he was sure the sound had come from.

His eyes widened. Standing precariously on a thick outstretched limb of the tree, in a flurry of blonde hair, with a wide white-toothed grin splayed out across her lips, was Minako.

While most of the strange outfits that his friends had been wearing up until this point had been alarming and out of place, Minako's outfit oddly suited her.

She was in her element, and on anyone else, the dress would look seriously gaudy. But not Minako. She was clad in her signature colors, a gold and orange striped dress that fit the Senshi of Love like a tightly wrapped glove. A muslin material, the short-sleeved corsetted contraption accentuated her curves and was laced with a yellow satin ribbon that was looped into a bow that sat daintily on her chest.

The dress was short, just like most of the skirts she wore, but this one expanded around her hips due to a yellow ruffled petticoat that probably would have been more suitable for a child rather than this strange version of Minako.

Her knee-high socks mirrored the colors of her dress, tiny satin bows just above her knees. The whole ridiculous outfit was topped off with a pair of orange-furred cat ears perched on the top of her head, her red bow curiously absent. He supposed that she was supposed to represent an orange-colored alley cat, and he rolled his eyes, silently scoffing at whatever monster had decided to create this strange version of Alice in Wonderland's Cheshire cat.

He closed his eyes for a moment, as if offering a silent prayer for patience, then, with a sigh, took a step closer to the tree. "Minako?" he questioned, his tone laced with exasperation. It somehow seemed fitting that Minako had been the one chosen to play this role.

The blonde-haired Senshi giggled loudly, and he tensed. His breath caught in his throat as she let herself fall backward. Her body froze mid-air for a moment before she slowly began to float downwards. Her blonde hair and the strange ruffled fabric of her dress rippled around her as she gently landed onto her back on a thicker branch just below the one she'd been standing on.

She propped herself up onto her elbows, crossed a slender leg over the other, and tilted her head to the side to peer down at him with an impish smile and mischievous glint in her eyes.

"I'm a cat," she exclaimed merrily and lifted her hand, a slender finger gesturing at the ears perched crookedly at the top of her head. "The Cheshire cat, to be exact," she purred, then swiftly twisted herself onto her stomach, planted her elbows onto the tree limb in front of her, and perched her chin into the palms of her hands.

He had a difficult time understanding Minako in the real world. Why not make it even harder by making her the riddle-spouting cat of Wonderland? It's not like things were hard enough!

He exhaled deeply, willing to play this game if it meant he could somehow find Usagi more quickly. "Do you know where I can find the rabbit?"

Minako's expression brightened, and she squealed with excitement. "Oh! Well, she could be anywhere, now, couldn't she?" Minako exclaimed cryptically. "Though if I were you, I would go to brunch. She surely doesn't eat like a rabbit, does she?" Minako chortled, her eyes welling with tears of laughter as if she thought she'd just said the funniest thing in the world.

Mamoru exhaled again slowly for patience as he considered Minako's words. The Rabbit was eating brunch. That was not particularly helpful, though. A frown formed gradually in between his brows as he thought about it carefully. "Is she at a party?" he demanded, fishing for information as a sneaking suspicion began to creep to the forefront of his mind.

Minako smiled impishly, her tone playful as she rolled onto her side and stretched her lithe form out along the branch just like the cat she was pretending to be. She sinuously curled one arm in front of her chest, and the other carefully propped up her head. Her blonde locks of glossy hair cascaded haphazardly all around her, trailing down the tree and fluttering gently in the breeze.

"I suppose, for all intense and purposes, she is at a party!" she exclaimed wryly, blinking down at him mischievously.

Mamoru rolled his eyes. "I think you mean for all intents and purposes," he stated dryly, shaking his head. It didn't matter what role they wove for the Senshi of Venus, they'd never be able to change her.

Minako raised an eyebrow and tilted her head slightly. "Did I, though?" she purred, the question uttered with tantalizing mystery. "Their parties do tend to get intense, seeing that they're mad and all," she stated, her tone matter of fact.

Mamoru remembered this specific quote, and he decided to beat her to it. "Right, because most everyone's mad here?" he retorted with a sardonic lilt.

Minako gasped and leveraged her hands to push her body up as she swung her legs over the limb so that she was in a sitting position. She propped a delicate hand on her hip and waved her finger in the air with a satisfying smile curled onto her lips.

"Exactly! Why are there so many mad people here? The other day, I kid you not, the flowers cursed at me with so much rage! Can you believe it? So many mad creatures here in Wonderland!" She ranted, her indignant tirade spoken so quickly it took a moment for it to register that she meant angry when she said mad, as opposed to the original Wonderland quote.

He was sure that if the author of Wonderland were present, they'd be horrified with Minako's version of the Cheshire cat.

He shook his head in disbelief. "I don't have time for this," he muttered, deciding that Minako had no idea what she was talking about and took a step away from her tree.

He stopped when Minako cleared her throat loudly, swung her legs over the tree limb, flung herself backward, and hooked her legs around the branch to hang upside down from the tree. He gasped and jumped back as her face fell, upside down, and eye level with his. The strands of her hair whipped across his cheeks, smarting slightly, as the momentum forcefully propelled the glossy locks downwards.

His gaze fixed onto the strange sight with disbelief, and her grin widened. "Just follow the path behind this tree. You'll find her," Minako said with a giggle. "Also, you should probably tell your little bunny that curiosity killed the rabbit," she said, then swung her upper body up, locked her hands onto the branch on either side of her legs before she tucked her knees up into her chest and used her feet to forcefully propel herself off of the tree. He had to duck as she flipped over his head and landed gracefully on her feet just behind him.

He swiveled around to face her, his breath hitched with alarm in his throat after witnessing Minako's daring acrobatic act. "I'm pretty sure you mean that curiosity killed the cat," he choked, his eyes narrowing as her form slowly began to flicker.

Minako snorted and offered him one last smile. This one was filled with scathing sympathy. "Why would I mean that?" She questioned, her tone filled with mystery and a strange, magic-laced wonder that he would forever associate with Wonderland. "I am the cat, and I'm not curious, so I will not die," she said, as the edges of her form began to imperceptibly blur. "It makes sense to me…" she trailed off, "but, what makes sense to me, may not make sense at all. You may have noticed I'm not all there myself," she said, and with her parting words, and an eerie giggle reverberating through his head, she disappeared with a pop.

He stood rooted in place for a moment, frozen, as the only sound around him was the wind as it whistled through the leaves. He hadn't realized his mouth had fallen open until he forcibly snapped it shut and shook his head to clear the strange disbelieving daze that was remnants from the peculiar, wholly unbelievable encounter with Minako.

With a growl of irritation and a twist of his body, he was now stomping down the path indicated by the orange-clad cat. This weird version of Wonderland was definitely the stuff of nightmares, and he needed to get the hell out of here.

oOo

The Wonderland version of Minako was just as frustrating as the real-life version of Minako, so he wasn't entirely sure the vague directions, mischievously offered with an impish smile, could be implicitly trusted. In fact, after the third time passing what he was sure was the same damn tree, he had half a mind to turn back around, find her, and wring her neck.

He was on the verge of doing just that when he stumbled onto the part of this tale that he'd forgotten but admittedly disliked the most.

In retrospect, he should have known that when Minako had sweetly advised him that Usako had been sitting down for brunch at a party, that it was going to be that god-awful Mad Hatter scene. He wasn't sure what he would have imagined himself in this situation, but the monsters that had placed them here definitely did not disappoint.

He had to give them credit for creativity when he collided, very painfully, into the tall, statuesque Amazon-like figure that could only belong to the Senshi of Jupiter.

It was like she'd leapt out of nowhere. He grunted, wincing with a sharp intake of breath, painfully hissing through his teeth as he fell backward, landing hard onto the cobblestoned pathway he'd been traveling on. He'd managed to brace himself with his forearms, but a sharp stinging sensation coursed up his spine from the small of his back that had borne the brunt of the jarring impact.

He couldn't help the glare of irritation that glinted from the pools of hardened cobalt eyes as he stared up into Makoto's face that was contorted into an amused, half-crazed expression as she stood over him. Her gaze held a mixture of curiosity and gleeful delight.

Of all the versions of the Mad Hatter that flashed through his mind, he grudgingly admitted to himself that this one was the best. Makoto looked quite at ease in a forest-green, velvet, vintage-styled trench coat with subtly embossed swirls etched into its lapels. Big brass buttons cinching it closed at her waist, tufts of lace exploding from its cuffs and encircling slender hands that were currently propped onto her hips. A cream-colored necktie, with silly cartoon images of flowers and cupcakes sewn into it, tied into a winged bow around her neck.

With a groan, he pushed himself up into a sitting position, bringing himself eye-level with her knees, currently clothed in black leather leggings, as she impatiently tapped the toe of one of her green leathered ankle boots.

She cleared her throat, and he lifted his gaze once more just as the Senshi grinned widely, pulled the enormous top hat from her head before bending forwards, folding in half at her waist, and dramatically swept her arms into a bow. The loose, glossy locks of chestnut brown hair tumbled forward with the movement.

Ever so slightly, she cocked her head up to meet his gaze. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance," she said, her tone and gestures dramatic and over the top as she swept back up, tall and proud, with a flourishing movement and a maniacal grin on her face. "Are you here for brunch?"

Mamoru's eyes widened, and he barely choked back a hysterical laugh of his own as he pulled himself to his feet and brushed the specks of dirt from his stupidly tight pants. The Mad Hatter unbirthday scene was the very last place he wanted to be, and though Jupiter strangely fit the role, he wanted to turn back and take another path. He would have if not for his need to find Usagi.

He grimaced, and the resigned cobalt blue of his eyes met the amused forest-green of hers. "Yes! I'm here for brunch," he replied and carefully eyed the Mad Makoto Hatter as her disconcerting grin widened.

"Oh, goodie! We do so love having guests!" she exclaimed as she turned on her heels with a theatrical twist of her arms and began to saunter away. "We have quite the spread, the Hare and I," she said, glancing back at him over her shoulder with a conspiratorial wink.

There wasn't a damn thing that could surprise him about Wonderland anymore. "Usa- I mean, the White Rabbit," he asked as he followed behind her closely. "She's at brunch, too?"

He did his best to keep the urgency from creeping into his tone. He didn't know what kind of reaction to expect from this version of Makoto. It was hard because he needed to know. She just had to be here.

There was a teasing expression that twisted onto Makoto's face, and a flash of mischief glinted in the pools of her eyes as she gracefully flitted down the path. "Oh, yes! The bunny never misses an opportunity to eat!" She chuckled, thoroughly amused with herself as though she'd just told the funniest joke in the world.

His eyes narrowed on the brunette's back, and he couldn't be sure, as everything in Wonderland was off-kilter, but her tone had sounded almost insulting. He didn't like to hear Usagi's friend talk about her that way, even here, and he forcibly bit back the defensive retort that bubbled up in his throat.

She continued along, blissfully unaware of his irritation. "Come come, now! This way! We don't want to be late, now do we?"

She skipped down the path, her movements speeding up, as she took a sharp turn around an oddly bent, purple-tinged tree. He quickened his pace to catch up. He did not want to be left behind; who knew if he'd be able to find this place if he got lost...again!

He chased after her, striding around the tree, and stepped into a clearing in the middle of the woods. Various decorations, half-fallen and slightly torn, hung from random branches that encircled the clearing. Gaudy patio-lantern lights haphazardly intertwined throughout the trees strung up and hooked from tree branch to tree branch. It was a strange sight, though slightly different from what he remembered.

He sighed, filled with resignation and dread, as his gaze fell onto a long rectangle table that sat in the middle of the clearing. It was covered in an elegant white cloth, edged with shining green trimming. There were various succulent desserts, from Daifuku to Warabimochi, that covered the table and hid practically every square inch of the tablecloth. It was involuntary, and he had more important things to think about, but it smelled so good, and his stomach rumbled as his mouth began to water. He'd been so caught up in trying to find his bunny beauty that he was only just realizing that he hadn't eaten a thing in who knew how long.

Makoto trotted ahead of him and sauntered over to the far end of the table. He was still taking in his surroundings, and his gaze automatically scanned along the table before halting suddenly on another one of the Shitennou. He inhaled sharply, unable to stop the shock that instinctively coursed through him at the sight of them, and almost choked as his eyes met Nephrite's.

His old friend, who was obviously the March Hare, looked equally as ridiculous as the rest of his counterparts. He leaned back casually in a wrought-iron chair, sporting a velvet, royal-purple trench coat over a coppered colored vest in the same material. A little black bowtie sat above three enormous mismatched brass buttons. His legs, clad in white tapered jeans, were crossed nonchalantly, a black top hat with white bunny ears perched on top of his head. His long brown hair, wild and unkempt, twisted around his shoulders.

Makoto melodramatically cleared her throat, and he turned back to her. "Another guest has arrived!" she called out, and she'd managed to gain the attention of everyone at the table, including what appeared to be Luna lapping at milk in a brightly colored teacup.

From the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of gold that glinted in the light, and he whipped his head towards it. His tensed shoulders relaxed as relief swept through him. Just behind the pale pink frosting of a three-layered cake, peeking over it with wide saucer-sized, bright, blue eyes that innocently blinked up at him, was the little bunny he'd been chasing since he'd opened his eyes here.

Usagi.

His breath caught in his throat as her ample, pink lips spread into a dazzling smile, and with a gasp of excitement, she jumped to her feet. She'd dropped the food she was holding onto her plate and swallowed down the large mouthful that she'd been chewing on. His heart melted at the enchanting sight.

"Mamoru!" she exclaimed happily, and his throat constricted with emotion at the look of excitement that lit up her face at his arrival.

The March Hare chuckled. "Ah, so you know our mystery guest?" Nephrite asked, and to hear the deep baritone sound of his voice again was jarring.

He began to pour himself a cup of what Mamoru could only assume was tea. Usagi nodded her head vigorously, practically vibrating with her excitement, as she peered over at the Hare-garbed General.

He couldn't help the tender smile that curled onto his lips at the sound of her chiming giggle. "Yes! He helped me find my gloves! He and…" she trailed off, a little deflated as she turned back to him, her head tilted to the side questioningly. "Where is your friend, Ami?"

He inwardly cringed guiltily at the softly whispered question. Where was Ami? He wished they hadn't split up, and he sincerely hoped that she was okay. Wonderland was clearly perilous, especially to someone who knew nothing about it. He honestly still couldn't wrap his head around it. How could the Senshi of Intelligence have gone this long without at least skimming Alice in Wonderland?

He sighed as he considered his words and offered Usa an apologetic smile. On the other hand, he was a little glad that she wasn't here to hear Usagi call her his friend instead of her own. All of the Senshi were fiercely protective of Usagi, and he knew how much Ami loved her. They all did. Though her logical disposition would prevent her from showing it, he knew that if she heard her talking like this, as if Ami was nothing to her...it would hurt... Hell, it had hurt like hell for him. Wonderland was hurting them all, and he was over it.

His eyes softened into a tender look as he made his way around the table and carefully seated himself beside her. "I'll be meeting up with Ami later," he explained.

Usagi smiled, her gaze firmly fixed onto his face as she, a little clumsily, sat down again. His heart skipped a beat as she bashfully peered up at him from under long, lacy lashes as an enticing pink blush crept across her cheeks.

His stomach flipped, and he swallowed as he stared at her, positively mesmerized. She was so beautiful, and he knew it didn't matter what happened, what role she was forced to play, or what nightmare they were thrust into, he would always find her. She was his reason for breathing, no matter what world they were in.

Her blush deepened underneath the intensity of his stare. "Would you like something to eat?" she asked shyly and placed a castella cake onto his plate.

It reminded Mamoru of a smiling Usagi, a teasing glint in her eyes as she'd offered him a taste of wedding cake samples just before they'd been forced here, and Mamoru swallowed, pressing back his sorrow he picked up the piece of cake and took a bite. It was delicious.

He turned back towards her and smiled indulgently with a reassuring nod of his head. "It's good," he declared. Her face lit up, and she began to clap excitedly.

"But of course it is!" Nephrite interjected, and Mamoru jumped as his voice boomed around him. Honestly, he'd been so entranced by Usagi that he'd almost forgotten that they were here. "The Hatter made it!"

Makoto dramatically bowed again. "We must have only the best desserts for our party," the brunette grinned. "Tea?"

Without waiting for an answer, she leaned over, grabbed the teapot, and poured the contents into Mamoru's cup. He gave her a grateful smile and slowly took a sip. Even the tea was delicious. The things here were definitely tempting, and he frowned as he pulled the cup away from his lips, wary of some strategically placed trap.

Nephrite promptly refilled his half-empty cup. "Oh...thanks…" he said and set the cup down.

He was contemplating what he would do next when Nephrite spoke again. "Oh, Raaaabbit!" he called in a singsong voice that gained both of their attention. "Ol' Hatty here made you a wonderful cake!" He reached under the table and pulled up a three-tiered cake, decorated in vibrant colors and a multitude of sugar-coated candies. Usagi's eyes widened, and she licked her lips.

He couldn't help but grin. Usagi had an insatiable appetite; it was one of the adorable staples of her personality. Nephrite jumped to his feet, bouncing like the Hare he was imitating, and strode opposite of the table from her. He reached over and promptly dropped the cake onto the plate in front of her. It splattered a bit, and the icing sprayed over the plate and table surrounding it.

Usagi drooled over the dessert, and he chuckled as she quickly scooped up her fork and speared it into the second tier of the cake. She shoved the forkful into her mouth and released a soft moan as her taste buds took in the delightful flavors. Her eyes fluttered closed, black lashes fanning across the tops of her cheeks as she sighed with content. He had to suppress a groan of his own as he felt the blood heating up and rushing through his body as he watched the alluring, innocently seductive display.

Her eyes flew open. "This is delicious," she whispered with pleasure, and his breath caught in his throat.

She shoved her fork back into the cake, spearing another piece onto its prongs, then offered it to him. Slowly and deliberately, he stretched his neck, accepting the forkful into his mouth before sliding it back out. Her eyes widened an impossible size, and he heard her inhale harshly as she completely stopped breathing.

Mamoru chuckled softly as he swallowed the piece of cake in his mouth and wiped a bit of icing from his bottom lip. "You're right. It's delicious," he whispered softly. He ached to pull her into his arms. Even as an innocent little bunny rabbit, Usagi could drive him insane.

Usagi stared at him a moment longer before hastily turning back to the massive cake in front of her. With shaky hands, she cut a piece and placed it on a plate, holding it out to the March Hare, who watched them with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Oh no!" he said with a grin, waving away the plate. "We have plenty of food. This whole cake is for you! We know how much food the bunny likes to pack away!"

He laughed, and his tone was taunting, tinged with a cruel edge that had Mamoru straightening with a frown. Usagi froze, her face heating up into a crimson red color, this time in embarrassment before she slouched in her seat and cringed away from the table.

At the end of the table, Matoko let out a shrill-sounding chuckle. "This is why we put out sooo much food every brunch! So we can make sure we have enough for ourselves!" she jeered meanly. The two laughed hard, and Usagi forced the fakest smile he'd ever seen grace her beautiful lips. "Ah, Hare! Now that the Rabbit is finally here, we can break out the ice cream! Lord knows the tea is already cold!"

She cackled, and he did not miss the slight tremble in Usagi's lower lip as she tried to maintain a straight face. Mamoru's eyes darkened angrily. He was starting to hate this version of Makoto, as well as her counterpart.

"That tends to happen when you're always late!" Nephrite spat out and the table, including the little black feline that had been silently watching up until this point, erupted into guffaws and loud trills of laughter.

Usagi's smile was officially gone now, and she ducked her head with shame as she tried her best to make herself as small as possible. The sight of her beginning to tremble, as tears began to glisten in her eyes, filled him with an intense fury that coursed through him with a ferocity that made his shoulders quake. Their laughing was endless as it echoed around them in differing pitches and octaves. It ripped at his heart to see the vulnerable, sweet innocent version of his Usako being torn apart for the 'flaws' he'd come to love so much in her.

He knew deep down that his rage was intertwined with guilt as well, as he recognized some of the remarks they were making as the same type of thing he'd taunted her with. Albeit, that was before he'd stopped being so thick-headed and finally admitted his love for the beautiful reincarnation of the princess that had stolen his heart and soul so many lifetimes ago. Still, he'd known that the things he'd said to her back then had been mean, and hearing them coming from someone else enraged him.

"That's enough!" he hissed through gritted teeth as his blazing gaze darted back and forth between them. Their laughter slowed, but their faces were still contorted into looks of amusement.

Makoto glanced over at Nephrite, her eyes dancing with a grin on her face. "Yeah, maybe we should stop, Hare. We would hate for the Rabbit to get upset and runoff. Because we both know she wouldn't make it four steps before face-planting!"

They erupted into laughter again as they doubled over and clutched at their stomachs, except for Luna, who rolled onto her back. Beside him, he heard Usagi sniffle, and he was horrified to see tears sliding listlessly down her face.

Oh, hell no! No one made his Usagi cry. He was consumed with rage as he stood abruptly, his chair flying back as he leaned forward and slammed his hands onto the table. Everything on the table rattled and shook with the jarring impact, and Luna meowed indignantly as it spilled her cup of milk.

"I said that's enough!" he roared, his whole body tensed and tightly coiled.

His fury must have finally pierced through their dim-witted senses because they immediately stopped laughing, and their faces fell as they peered up at him with varying expressions of confusion on their faces.

Nephrite frowned. "Calm down," he said defensively, holding up his hands in surrender.

"We were just having fun."

The words did nothing to calm his anger. "Fun? Do you think this is fun? Making fun of a beautiful, innocent girl for no other reason than your own personal amusement?" he ranted, unable to stop the angry words from spilling from his lips. "You should be ashamed of yourselves!" he hissed furiously, and their faces paled as they bowed their heads in embarrassment as their shame deepened with every word he spoke. "What has she ever done to you to warrant this kind of torture?"

There was a tug at his pants, and he frowned, glancing down to look at Usagi, who blinked up at him innocently, her eyes wide and still glistening with tears. But this time, they weren't tears of sadness. She stood slowly, slender fingers twisting into the fabric of her skirt as she straightened it and nervously turned to face him. He lifted his hand to gently brush away a tear that slowly rolled down her face.

"No one has ever defended me like that before," she whispered softly, swallowing with sorrow. "At least...I don't think they have." She frowned, her brows knit in confusion. "Have you...have you defended me before?" she questioned slowly, her breath warmly fanning across his face. His breathing quickened, and his stomach fluttered with hopeful anticipation. Was she remembering?

He gently caressed her face, tenderly running the pad of his thumb over her cheek. "What do you think, Usako?" he whispered hoarsely, his breath lodged firmly in his throat. Remember, Usa. Remember!

Several things flashed through the delicate blue of her eyes, an array of emotions he desperately tried to decipher. "Well, I think you're really handsome," she blurted, and her eyes widened as her blush intensified to a brighter shade of red. "Oh, gosh! I'm sorry. I just-" but he couldn't take it anymore. Her eyes were so big, her lips so inviting, and everything about her emanated a vulnerable innocence that elicited every protective instinct he possessed. She was just so fucking beautiful.

He couldn't help himself as he lowered his head and captured her lips with his. She stood still, startled and frozen in place for only a moment, as he'd clearly surprised her. It didn't take long before she responded and reciprocated his kiss. Her movements were a little clumsy, as if this was her first time, again.

He groaned against her lips as one hand cupped the back of her neck, his fingers weaving into the golden-spun strands of her hair, and the other grasped her waist, tightly holding her against him. She laid delicate hands onto his chest, her slender fingers curling enticingly into the fabric of his shirt, as she instinctively pressed her body against his.

He wondered if she could feel his heart hammering beneath her palms as she whimpered into his mouth. She tasted like the cake she'd just been eating, and he breathed in her scent, lavender, and vanilla, as he deepened their kiss. He couldn't get enough of her. He missed this; missed her touch, her lips, her.

They pulled apart breathlessly, and he tried to slow his breathing as his hands cradled her face and he gently laid his forehead against hers. It took a moment for his labored breathing to steady, and he pulled away and tenderly peered down into her face. Her eyes were closed, but her eyelids slowly fluttered open, and her gaze met his. There was confusion written in her stare as she quietly searched his face.

She exhaled slowly, her warm breath tickling his cheeks as she visibly swallowed. "My heart. It's beating so fast," she whispered softly, the statement filled with awe-filled confusion as if she couldn't understand why her heart would possibly be beating so quickly. "I like that a lot...Mamo-chan," she said, her lips formed around the word experimentally as if she was testing the sound of it on her tongue. He inhaled deeply, and it was like she'd knocked the wind out of him when she'd whispered his nickname. "Have we done that before?"

It took him a moment, and he carefully considered his words as he tried to determine the best way to respond. When he finally opened his mouth to speak, a ringing sound pierced through the clearing around them. Was that her damn watch again? His heart dropped as he watched in dismay as her eyes widened, filled with horror as she pried herself out of his arms.

He cursed under his breath as all of the progress he'd just made with her disappeared into a wisp, along with any hope he'd had at breaking her free of whatever spell she was under. She gasped, shaking her head as she slowly stepped back. Her face had become ashen-colored, her eyes filled with regret, and he desperately reached for her as that damn watch persistently kept ringing.

He gritted his teeth, hell-bent on breaking it when Nephrite spoke. "Oh, you better run, bunny rabbit! You'll lose your head for sure this time!" he teased, and his eyes glinted with twinkling merriment that made him want to scream.

"Oh, no," she whispered hoarsely, flustered as she clumsily stumbled backward. "I have to go!" She cried, and he could feel the panic begin to rise in his chest. She looked terrified, and he could feel her slipping away from him.

He reached for her, and his fingers gently wrapped around her delicate wrist, "Usako," he pleaded. "Stay."

He heard the desperation laced into his tone, the purely unfettered urgency that masked the terror he felt at the thought of losing her again, but he didn't care. He was so close. She was almost there!

He could see her stop and consider it for just a brief second before Wonderland won her over again. "I can't...the Queen...I have to go!"

She yelped and ripped her hand away from him. He wasn't quick enough to catch her, and she twisted her body around and almost tripped over a chair as she flew around the table with an ungodly speed that was reminiscent of his Moon Senshi. He was having a hard time moving, and though he was ordinarily quick, it felt like his movements were purposefully made slow and sluggish; Wonderland's magic granting the bunny the speed to escape him. What was wrong with him? He could hear Nephrite and Makoto giggling as he attempted to keep up and miserably failed.

"Usako, wait!" he pleaded. "I won't let her hurt you. I-"

His muscles tensed and coiled tightly. It felt like his lungs compressed harder the faster he tried to move. What the hell?

Usagi was a flurry of blonde hair and white fabric. "I'm sorry! I have to go!" She called out behind her as she melted into the woods and disappeared from view.

The moment she was gone, the strange hold that had been clamped down on him instantly released, and he'd almost made it to the tree line when Nephrite stepped into his path.

Mamoru's heart was pounding, rage coursing through his veins as he glared at the long-haired general in front of him. "But where are you going, friend? We still have so much more to eat!" Nephrite taunted with a white-toothed grin that Mamoru sincerely wanted to slam his fist into. Instead, he pushed the Hare violently out of the way, not even glancing back, as he barreled forward again.

This time he was stopped by Makoto, who hopped into his way, a malicious smirk splayed out on her lips. "It's very rude to leave in the middle of brunch," she said with a deliberate slowness that incited a guttural growl of frustration from his throat.

Mamoru had never felt the urge to hurt any of the Senshi. His first instinct was always to protect them. But right now, he'd never wanted to hurt Jupiter so much in his life. He seriously considered it for a second, his vision blurring red with rage at the edges, but he stopped short with the devastating realization that it didn't matter.

Usagi, gifted with unnatural speed in this world, was long gone. He wouldn't be able to catch up with her now. The realization was painful, and for a moment, he let the sorrow overtake him. His shoulders slumped, and his face fell. He'd lost her...again.

He was momentarily numb, his breathing ragged as he peered mournfully at the spot beyond the tree line where she'd disappeared. The daunting task of navigating through Wonderland, the emotional rollercoaster of finding and losing her over and over again, and the injustice of having to be in this situation in the first place were suddenly unbearably overwhelming. They were pawns in a game he didn't understand why they were playing.

He considered himself a reasonable person, and he'd never been the type to lose his cool, even in the face of the multiple enemies they'd faced over the years. But he felt something snap inside of him. The rage was blinding, a red haze of fury that he couldn't control, and he knew he'd lost it when he spun around, grabbed the table, and flipped it over. Desserts, tea, and dishes flew everywhere, crashing to the ground with a resounding crash that pierced terrifyingly through the clearing. The guests, including Luna, scattered and left him alone with Makoto and Nephrite.

He was done with this world, and the gasps from the strange couple that was supposed to be his friends as they broke into laughter, enraged him even more.

"Ah, Hare! I do believe brunch is over," Makoto said with exaggerated sadness. He turned to face her. His lips twisting into a hate-filled sneer as he glared at her. He hated this version of the Senshi more than any of the others.

"Such a shame," Nephrite said with mock despondency. "I was so enjoying our time together," he drawled slowly before the two burst out into another bout of laughter.

His body shook with his fury, and his fingers flexed and curled into fists that he consciously needed to restrain by pressing them firmly into his sides. He had to go. He didn't trust himself around these two anymore. He was going to say or do something that usually just wouldn't be in him to do. He felt like he could seriously physically harm them, and the thought disgusted him.

He forcibly swiveled around and waded through the chaos and disaster he'd created as he inhaled a shuttered breath in a desperate attempt to reign in his emotions. He was angry, frustrated, and hurt that he couldn't seem to keep up with her.

He needed to save her, to rescue all of them from this hell, and he wasn't going to accomplish anything by continuously losing his damn temper. He vowed to keep it together as, without a glance backward, he made his way toward where Usagi had gone. He cringed as Makoto and Nephrites laughter echoed behind him.