She trudged up to the top of the cliff, and stood facing her house, for what seemed like hours. What was she doing there? It wasn't like she was going to accomplish anything once she reached the house. She couldn't even kill the Jabberwock. It was useless.
"Cat!" she called. He appeared. "Yes, pet?"
"I'm afraid."
"Whatever for?"
She looked at him incredulously. "What do you think, Cat? I'm about to face this thing... I can't even kill it, there's even less of a guarantee that I'll survive than there was with all the others."
"Faith, you've improved tremendously since you first arrived, and take my word that it is actually saying quite a lot... I have all the confidence in Wonderland for you."
"Yeah, just like Rabbit. And Caterpillar. And everyone else," she groaned.
"Exactly. The only one that doesn't see that is you."
"It's not that I don't see it; you've been really really supportive of me, but I don't feel it now. I haven't heard that much about the Jabberwock at all, practically nothing, in fact, but for some reason even hearing the word makes my blood go cold."
"I'm going to take a leaf out of Rowling's book and tell you that fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself."
"Inspiring," she said, chuckling. "It's true, but I'm still a bit nervous."
"Understandably so; I can imagine that whatever you've heard about the Jabberwock was told to you by someone too afraid to be coherent."
She nodded.
They had come closer, and she could just make out her front door. And now she could hear a long, low growl coming from inside, and her knees buckled. "Confront what frightens or offends you," he said, planting his paw firmly on her hand. "Don't let your fears impede the ass-kicking that so many deserve."
She laughed somewhat, and they walked some more. "Where will he be when I get inside?" she asked quietly. Her voice was shaking, but she was still determined to get it done.
"Where do you think, Faith?"
"I think... in the family room," she said, looking at the window to it. It was dark in there, she noticed. Was that a flash of gold? No... just her imagination. "What colour eyes does he have?" she asked.
"Considering for a suitor?" he teased. At her irritated look, he sighed. "Touchy... yellow."
She shuddered, not quite so convinced that it was her imagination any more.
"I leave you now," he said.
"Cat... you're abandoning me?!"
"Of course not, pet. I have summons that I must attend to."
"Putting that smushy layabout over me, god I feel honoured," she grimaced. He sighed.
"He has been in danger as of late. It is my duty to check on him... and I relish the thought of meeting the Jabberwock no more than you."
She nodded quietly and he vanished. Then she turned and faced her front door, reluctant to even lay her hand on the doorknob.
The door swung open of its own accord, saving her the trouble, and she jumped back, feeling both scared out of her wits and a wave of heat washing over her. She shook her head rapidly, trying to clear it, and stepped inside. One step. Two steps. Three. The door swung shut and she turned, expecting to see enemies of some sort waiting for her. But there were none, and she crept down the hall, towards the family room.
She entered, and there was a strange... yet achingly familiar smell hanging in the air. Their last dinner, mingling with burning fur and flesh and paint and smoke. She looked at the walls, seeing the fire going up in the corners, but not spreading any further. "Oh god..." she muttered, feeling her voice catching, and she forced it out again. She turned to face the fireplace, and there was a head, just resting on her shoulder. Almost serpentine, with great yellow eyes. And it was leering evilly at her. She screamed.
"You're late," it whispered, and drew back. "Have you never heard that punctuality is an asset, Faith?" Mutely she nodded.
"So, this is the famous Faith. The saviour that Wonderland has been all abuzz about."
"I'm Faith, yes, but I'm no saviour." She spoke calmly, surprising herself to absolutely no small degree.
"Tell that to your loyal subjects," he purred. "To all those who fervently believe it with all their hearts. Cat, for example."
"He knows that I'm not," she argued, but he laughed.
"Does he? No, when you refused to come here the first time, he was the one who believed that you eventually would. Such a shame to disappoint him with the truth. Lucky for you then, that you and the truth are not frequent company."
She glared at him, but said nothing, not wanting to provoke another vein. Her silence seemed to make it more fun for him, however.
"But I didn't need to talk about your reprehensible morality, did I? No, she's heard it all before, in her vast experience fighting the devils of Wonderland."
"That's why whatever guilt trips you may lay on me won't work," she said fiercely. He laughed again.
"You stupid, misbegotten, selfish child." He drew closer, and she backed away until the couch prevented further movement in that direction. "You betrayed your brother and your family to the smoke and the fire, and you put yourself on a pedestal by saying that you've been killing Wonderland's devils." He shook his head, and narrowed his eyes.
"No, that's wrong," she said, betraying her uncertainty.
"No it isn't. It's the perfect truth, Faith. You don't even deserve your name. Your brother had every faith that you would help him... but no. You tripped over him. You couldn't even take the time to point him down the right tunnel. You had to go into heroics. And even then you failed."
"NO!"
"How can you deny it? I haven't spoken a lie yet."
"NO!!!!"
"It was your fault, Faith," he said quietly. "If you hadn't forgotten to turn off that burner, if you hadn't been such an idiot, your family would be alive today."
Tears streamed down her face. He was right, and they both knew it. How couldn't he be? She had forgotten to turn off that burner that the raccoon had fallen onto. She hadn't pointed Jeremy down the right tunnel, just a vague wave in the general direction of the wall. She was a failure; an idiot that betrayed her family with a single move of horrible carelessness.
The Jabberwock looked down at her and knew he had won. Killing her now would be so easy... he leapt at her, mouth open with flames pouring out, and she looked up at him, eyes dead.
A brown streak knocked her out of the way, taking most of the fire. "CAT!!!!!" she shrieked, and yanked him out of the flames. She stared up at the Jabberwock, suddenly filled with rage. "If you EVER dare TOUCH one of my friends again, I swear that I will kill you with my bare hands!"
And she grabbed the ice wand and nailed him full in the face. He staggered back somewhat, stunned, even more so when she cut a deep gash in his cheek with the knife. He opened his mouth to speak, but she hurled the jacks at him and he dodged, and stared at her, menace in his eyes, and a golden beam shot out of them, narrowly missing her.
She fired back with the ice wand, and he took the opportunity to attempt firing at the prostrate Cheshire Cat. Immeasurable fury filled her and she whipped out the still-powerless scythe, using the sharp, curved blade to knock him off balance. He roared and a Jabberspawn leapt in, roaring. She turned to it, shaking with rage and grabbed the jacks, temporarily ignoring the Jabberwock. He swatted her across the room, but she recovered quickly, running back and standing protectively in front of her friend.
The Jabberwock laughed. "How pathetic you are," he laughed. She glared up at him, almost daring him to continue. "Protecting your cat. He may as well be dead now, anyway."
She shrieked and threw the ice wand at him like a javelin. It stuck in his side and he roared in pain, and he wrenched it out, but it vanished from his mouth and reappeared in her hands. This summoned another Jabberspawn and soon the two of them came at her from both sides. She grabbed Cat and set him on the couch, and fired the ice wand at them as they approached.
One of them leapt at her, but she grabbed the mallet from her back and knocked it away, breaking one of its teeth in half, cutting through the nerve. It yelped and roared at her, and she hit it again. The other one leapt and she sent the knife through its mouth and into its brain, and it slumped. She gingerly pulled her arm out, but couldn't avoid getting any cuts. Its teeth were razor-sharp.
The other attacked and she dropped the mallet and grabbed the jacks, throwing them into its mouth. They bounced wildly around, and it soon joined its companion.
The Jabberwock then attacked, using everything he had in an effort to kill her. He finally pinned her to the ground. "Good-bye, Faith!" he crowed triumphantly, but something crashed through the window and onto him. He roared in surprise, but this time, no Jabberspawn came. Gryphon smiled knowingly at him. "I took care of them for you," he said calmly, and the two wrestled around, clawing and roaring and hissing and biting. The Jabberwock knocked Gryphon over the couch (he only just missed Cat) and went after her. She grabbed the scythe and swung. The Jabberwock shrieked and struggled to stop before the blade could connect with him, but was not quite successful. A single finger fell to the floor and he howled in pain.
Gryphon was back, and leapt at the Jabberwock before he could retaliate against Faith, sending him crashing into the fireplace. The Jabberwock howled in pain and shot out, diving for Gryphon. Faith stood back, pulling out the jacks as the Jabberwock pinned him, and threw them at the oversized lizard's face.
Distracted, he screamed and batted at them. Gryphon took that opportunity to knock him across the room and grabbed him round the neck with his paw. With his beak, he tore out the Jabberwock's left eye.
The Jabberwock shrieked and wrestled his way out from underneath Gryphon, and dashed towards the window. Before he leapt out, he looked around at the three, blood streaming from the empty socket. "We all shall meet again," he warned.
Faith nodded, as did Gryphon. The Jabberwock flew off, and Faith immediately dashed to the prostrate Cat and grabbed a paw. "Cat! Oh god, Cat, wake up!"
"Cat!" she called. He appeared. "Yes, pet?"
"I'm afraid."
"Whatever for?"
She looked at him incredulously. "What do you think, Cat? I'm about to face this thing... I can't even kill it, there's even less of a guarantee that I'll survive than there was with all the others."
"Faith, you've improved tremendously since you first arrived, and take my word that it is actually saying quite a lot... I have all the confidence in Wonderland for you."
"Yeah, just like Rabbit. And Caterpillar. And everyone else," she groaned.
"Exactly. The only one that doesn't see that is you."
"It's not that I don't see it; you've been really really supportive of me, but I don't feel it now. I haven't heard that much about the Jabberwock at all, practically nothing, in fact, but for some reason even hearing the word makes my blood go cold."
"I'm going to take a leaf out of Rowling's book and tell you that fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself."
"Inspiring," she said, chuckling. "It's true, but I'm still a bit nervous."
"Understandably so; I can imagine that whatever you've heard about the Jabberwock was told to you by someone too afraid to be coherent."
She nodded.
They had come closer, and she could just make out her front door. And now she could hear a long, low growl coming from inside, and her knees buckled. "Confront what frightens or offends you," he said, planting his paw firmly on her hand. "Don't let your fears impede the ass-kicking that so many deserve."
She laughed somewhat, and they walked some more. "Where will he be when I get inside?" she asked quietly. Her voice was shaking, but she was still determined to get it done.
"Where do you think, Faith?"
"I think... in the family room," she said, looking at the window to it. It was dark in there, she noticed. Was that a flash of gold? No... just her imagination. "What colour eyes does he have?" she asked.
"Considering for a suitor?" he teased. At her irritated look, he sighed. "Touchy... yellow."
She shuddered, not quite so convinced that it was her imagination any more.
"I leave you now," he said.
"Cat... you're abandoning me?!"
"Of course not, pet. I have summons that I must attend to."
"Putting that smushy layabout over me, god I feel honoured," she grimaced. He sighed.
"He has been in danger as of late. It is my duty to check on him... and I relish the thought of meeting the Jabberwock no more than you."
She nodded quietly and he vanished. Then she turned and faced her front door, reluctant to even lay her hand on the doorknob.
The door swung open of its own accord, saving her the trouble, and she jumped back, feeling both scared out of her wits and a wave of heat washing over her. She shook her head rapidly, trying to clear it, and stepped inside. One step. Two steps. Three. The door swung shut and she turned, expecting to see enemies of some sort waiting for her. But there were none, and she crept down the hall, towards the family room.
She entered, and there was a strange... yet achingly familiar smell hanging in the air. Their last dinner, mingling with burning fur and flesh and paint and smoke. She looked at the walls, seeing the fire going up in the corners, but not spreading any further. "Oh god..." she muttered, feeling her voice catching, and she forced it out again. She turned to face the fireplace, and there was a head, just resting on her shoulder. Almost serpentine, with great yellow eyes. And it was leering evilly at her. She screamed.
"You're late," it whispered, and drew back. "Have you never heard that punctuality is an asset, Faith?" Mutely she nodded.
"So, this is the famous Faith. The saviour that Wonderland has been all abuzz about."
"I'm Faith, yes, but I'm no saviour." She spoke calmly, surprising herself to absolutely no small degree.
"Tell that to your loyal subjects," he purred. "To all those who fervently believe it with all their hearts. Cat, for example."
"He knows that I'm not," she argued, but he laughed.
"Does he? No, when you refused to come here the first time, he was the one who believed that you eventually would. Such a shame to disappoint him with the truth. Lucky for you then, that you and the truth are not frequent company."
She glared at him, but said nothing, not wanting to provoke another vein. Her silence seemed to make it more fun for him, however.
"But I didn't need to talk about your reprehensible morality, did I? No, she's heard it all before, in her vast experience fighting the devils of Wonderland."
"That's why whatever guilt trips you may lay on me won't work," she said fiercely. He laughed again.
"You stupid, misbegotten, selfish child." He drew closer, and she backed away until the couch prevented further movement in that direction. "You betrayed your brother and your family to the smoke and the fire, and you put yourself on a pedestal by saying that you've been killing Wonderland's devils." He shook his head, and narrowed his eyes.
"No, that's wrong," she said, betraying her uncertainty.
"No it isn't. It's the perfect truth, Faith. You don't even deserve your name. Your brother had every faith that you would help him... but no. You tripped over him. You couldn't even take the time to point him down the right tunnel. You had to go into heroics. And even then you failed."
"NO!"
"How can you deny it? I haven't spoken a lie yet."
"NO!!!!"
"It was your fault, Faith," he said quietly. "If you hadn't forgotten to turn off that burner, if you hadn't been such an idiot, your family would be alive today."
Tears streamed down her face. He was right, and they both knew it. How couldn't he be? She had forgotten to turn off that burner that the raccoon had fallen onto. She hadn't pointed Jeremy down the right tunnel, just a vague wave in the general direction of the wall. She was a failure; an idiot that betrayed her family with a single move of horrible carelessness.
The Jabberwock looked down at her and knew he had won. Killing her now would be so easy... he leapt at her, mouth open with flames pouring out, and she looked up at him, eyes dead.
A brown streak knocked her out of the way, taking most of the fire. "CAT!!!!!" she shrieked, and yanked him out of the flames. She stared up at the Jabberwock, suddenly filled with rage. "If you EVER dare TOUCH one of my friends again, I swear that I will kill you with my bare hands!"
And she grabbed the ice wand and nailed him full in the face. He staggered back somewhat, stunned, even more so when she cut a deep gash in his cheek with the knife. He opened his mouth to speak, but she hurled the jacks at him and he dodged, and stared at her, menace in his eyes, and a golden beam shot out of them, narrowly missing her.
She fired back with the ice wand, and he took the opportunity to attempt firing at the prostrate Cheshire Cat. Immeasurable fury filled her and she whipped out the still-powerless scythe, using the sharp, curved blade to knock him off balance. He roared and a Jabberspawn leapt in, roaring. She turned to it, shaking with rage and grabbed the jacks, temporarily ignoring the Jabberwock. He swatted her across the room, but she recovered quickly, running back and standing protectively in front of her friend.
The Jabberwock laughed. "How pathetic you are," he laughed. She glared up at him, almost daring him to continue. "Protecting your cat. He may as well be dead now, anyway."
She shrieked and threw the ice wand at him like a javelin. It stuck in his side and he roared in pain, and he wrenched it out, but it vanished from his mouth and reappeared in her hands. This summoned another Jabberspawn and soon the two of them came at her from both sides. She grabbed Cat and set him on the couch, and fired the ice wand at them as they approached.
One of them leapt at her, but she grabbed the mallet from her back and knocked it away, breaking one of its teeth in half, cutting through the nerve. It yelped and roared at her, and she hit it again. The other one leapt and she sent the knife through its mouth and into its brain, and it slumped. She gingerly pulled her arm out, but couldn't avoid getting any cuts. Its teeth were razor-sharp.
The other attacked and she dropped the mallet and grabbed the jacks, throwing them into its mouth. They bounced wildly around, and it soon joined its companion.
The Jabberwock then attacked, using everything he had in an effort to kill her. He finally pinned her to the ground. "Good-bye, Faith!" he crowed triumphantly, but something crashed through the window and onto him. He roared in surprise, but this time, no Jabberspawn came. Gryphon smiled knowingly at him. "I took care of them for you," he said calmly, and the two wrestled around, clawing and roaring and hissing and biting. The Jabberwock knocked Gryphon over the couch (he only just missed Cat) and went after her. She grabbed the scythe and swung. The Jabberwock shrieked and struggled to stop before the blade could connect with him, but was not quite successful. A single finger fell to the floor and he howled in pain.
Gryphon was back, and leapt at the Jabberwock before he could retaliate against Faith, sending him crashing into the fireplace. The Jabberwock howled in pain and shot out, diving for Gryphon. Faith stood back, pulling out the jacks as the Jabberwock pinned him, and threw them at the oversized lizard's face.
Distracted, he screamed and batted at them. Gryphon took that opportunity to knock him across the room and grabbed him round the neck with his paw. With his beak, he tore out the Jabberwock's left eye.
The Jabberwock shrieked and wrestled his way out from underneath Gryphon, and dashed towards the window. Before he leapt out, he looked around at the three, blood streaming from the empty socket. "We all shall meet again," he warned.
Faith nodded, as did Gryphon. The Jabberwock flew off, and Faith immediately dashed to the prostrate Cat and grabbed a paw. "Cat! Oh god, Cat, wake up!"