Aeris In Wonderland
Disclaimer: I only own a copy of Final Fantasy 7 and the only wonderland I have, is in my head.
A/N: Hey everyone how are ya? Ahem Welcome to Aeris-piece theater. On tonight's show...yeah right like I'm gonna spoil it! Well as you all may have noticed, I have type-o's. It's a serious disease I tell ya. Sorry about that, my fingernails were long. Any girl (or boy if you keep them long) that can type, can relate. On top of that I was so tired from typing, that when I revised it , I must of missed some of them. Well enough babbling, ON WITH THE SHOW!
Chapter 6: A Mad Scientist and a Dream
Aeris left the mean flowers and continued on through the massive garden. Cold, wet, tired, and hungry, Aeris complained out loud to herself.
"Man for something that's supposed to help you feel better, it sure gives you an upset stomach." Aeris groaned.
"I hope that's not what I think that is. I think I'm gonna hurl. Maybe the remedy didn't cure that type of poison."
Aeris saw a cloud of smoke ahead, almost like the kind that surrounded the drug-dealers back in the Midgar slums. But this type of smoke smelled differently. It didn't have a grassy smell like the kind back home.
"Maybe this is what's making me sick."
Then she heard singing.
"J-E-N-O-V-A..."
'What the heck is that?' Aeris thought to herself. Then it got louder.
"C-R-I-S-I-S...F-R-O-M..."
Aeris got a bit closer, covering her mouth. The smoke was getting thicker. She began to feel a bit light-headed. But she was curious to know who that was. He sounded so familiar, like something from a nightmare. She saw a giant mushroom, not like the ones that she saw earlier, this was your regular garden variety. She saw an opium bowl like the one Don Corneo had back at his mansion. As she got closer, she heard it better.
"T-H-E...S-K-Y..."
'IS THAT HOJO?' Aeris froze in her tracks. The sound of his voice, chilled her blood. She tried to creep back the way she came.
"I know you're there, who are you?"
'Shit' Aeris wasn't the type to curse, she left that up to Cid and Barrett. But this time she was too terrified to care.
"I asked you a question." he addressed her again.
"Y-you mean you don't know?"
"If I had known, would I have asked you?"
'I'll lie.' Aeris thought to herself.
"My name's Alice." she replied to him, trying to get a better look at him.
"Alice, why are you here?"
"I was just trying to find my way..."
"Every way, is the queen's way here."
"Right the queen, can't wait to meet her." Aeris muttered sarcastically.
"Speak up girl, that's very rude." It was Hojo. Everytime he spoke, smokey letters came out of his mouth.
"I'm sorry to have intruded, I just thought you could tell me where I am?"
"You are here."
"I know I'm here, now how can I get out of 'here'?" she was getting rather annoyed with him.
"Why?" he blew a big cloudy Opium "Y" into Aeris's face. She choked.
'I hope I don't get a contact high from this crap.' Aeris thought to herself, trying to futiley fan away the smoke.
"Why? Because I'm Tired of being small, that's why." A hint of aggravation in her tone.
"How much bigger can you get?" he asked her.
"A lot taller than a crappy three inches, that's for sure."
This angered the Hojo caterpillar.
"I'M THREE INCHES TALL!" he shouted. Aeris instinctively flinched.
He was so angry that he huffed and puffed and Poof! He vanished.
"I wonder where he went?" Aeris said.
"UP HERE, CHILD." came a voice from above her.
"Oh, wow the opium is kicking in. Now he's a butterfly." Aeris said looking up at him. He was very colorful. Maybe an effect of the opium, she thought.
"One side will make you taller, one side will make you smaller."
"What side of what?" she asked him, confused.
"THE MUSHROOM!" he shouted at her angrily. Then he flew away.
"One side will make me taller and one smaller, huh?" Aeris said walking up to the mushroom. She took a piece from the left side and a piece from the right.
"Is this even safe to eat?" Aeris recalled the earlier incident with the remedy. Hojo's effect on her made her forget about it.
"Well it can't hurt to try it. It might actually work this time."
Meanwhile...
All the while he visited Mother, he couldn't help but wonder if Aeris was alright. He got away with thinking about her while he was with Mother, because of this world. Now he was on his way to see someone else of special importance. But first he had to summon him.
"Lord Shaper of Dreams, I summon thee. It is I Sephiroth who seek your audience."
Sephiroth was transported out of Wonderland and into the Dreaming. He stood in front of a giant gate, that was guarded by a Wyvern, a Gryphon, and a Winged horse.
"State you're business here." said the Wyvern.
"I am here to seek the audience of the Lord Shaper of Dreams, I am Sephiroth."
"The Lord Shaper bid's you enter. But do not stray from the path, for your safety cannot be guaranteed if you do." said the Gryphon. And with that they opened the massive gate.
Sephiroth found himself walking down a beautifully decorated palace with all sorts of creatures walking about. He saw a pumpkin head smoking a cigar and carrying a ladder.
"Beautiful day isn't it? I painted it myself." he said walking away.
Sephiroth came to a large room with a throne at the far end.
"You may enter." came an ethereal voice from the throne.
"Lord Shaper, I have come to request an audience this afternoon to discuss our agreement. I have come to ask for more time."
"The terms of our agreement were finalized earlier, why is it that you wish for more time?"
He was a rake thin man, with skin the color of fresh fallen snow. His eyes were endless pools of darkness. His hair, the color of night.
"I lost the girl." he felt foolish, but it was the truth. Sephiroth hoped that would be enough to grant him his wish.
"I will be in your debt. I will do as you ask if you grant me this. Please." This is not the kinda guy you wanted to upset. Even Sephiroth knew that. They were suddenly interrupted by the voice of a woman.
"Hey Dream, you got a minute?" She was as pale and thin as the dream king. She wore an ankh on a cord around her neck, and she too had hair the color of night. She was dressed head to toe in black.
"Oh I'm sorry, didn't know you had company." She looked at Sephiroth. "I know you from somewhere don't I?"
"I'm the one who escaped your grasp before." Sephiroth said to her.
"Very well, I shall grant you two more hours time. The terms are you shall be in my debt, and you shall do as I ask if ever the need arises. Now go on your way and safe travels."
Sephiroth turned to the woman. "I wan't to ask you something."
"She's not with me." the woman replied.
"Thank you." And with that Sephiroth left the throne room and the dreaming.
Back In Wonderland...
Aeris was still contemplating whether or not to eat the mushroom. She didn't want to end up with another stomach ache. Aeris felt her temperature rise a bit. Then she began to sneeze.
"Ahh-choo!" she sniffled.
"Oh, great now I've caught a cold." She looked at the two pieces of mushroom in her hands.
"Well, here goes nothing,"
She took a small bite out of the lightest of the two pieces first. Almost instantly, Aeris began to grow till she was her normal height.
"That's better. Guess I should save this for later, just in case." she said as she sniffled again. She put the two pieces of mushroom in the inside pocket of her jacket.
"Now what?"
Aeris surveyed her surroundings. She noticed that she was in an entirely different area, than from where she was before she shrank. From the looks of everything, Sephiroth's cottage was nowhere to be seen.
"Did I walk that far from his house?" The forest seemed endless.
"Great more walking. I should've fallen asleep with the rest of the gang instead of letting my curiousity get the best of me."
Aeris sighed. "Well it's like the phrase goes, curiousity killed the cat. I barely escaped that fate earlier.
"But have you heard that satisfaction brought him back?" Came a voice from one of the trees.
"Who's there?" asked Aeris, startled by it.
Then a cat like creature appeared on a tree branch.
"Red?" Aeris asked it, puzzled.
"More like a burnt sienna really." he said grinning. She'd never seen Red grin before. He looked sort of insane smiling like that.
"Why are you smiling like that?" Aeris asked him, getting creeped out by his facial expression.
"I'm a chesire cat. Chesire cats always smile." Aeris forgot about that. The last time she heard the story of Alice in wonderland was when her mother, Ilfana, told it to her.
"Can you help me find a way out of here?"
"Hmm...well over there lives a hatter." he said pointing west. Or at least Aeris thought it was west. The cat disappeared and then reappeared on another nearby branch. " And over there, lives the march hare." This time, he pointed the opposite direction.
"Ahh-Chooo." Aeris sneezed. "Excuse me. What was that last one?"
"The last one of what?" he asked.
"What did you just say?"
He disappeared and then reappeared, this time he hung by his tail.
"What did I just say?" he asked her.
Aeris was getting rather annoyed with this game.
"Are you Mad?" Aeris asked him.
"Why everyone here's mad!" he said disappearing and reappearing again.
"Would you quit doing that, it's making me dizzy."
"Quit doing what? This?" and with that he vanished, leaving his smile to disappear last.
"That was annoying. Oh no. Ahhh-Choo!"
Aeris sneezed as she headed in the direction of the Hatter's residence.
A/N: And there you have it! Hope you enjoyed reading tonight's episode. Lol. For those of you that don't know, the part where Sephiroth visited the dreaming was based on Neil Gaiman's "The Sandman". Poor Aeris, I wonder what I'm gonna put her through in the next chapter. I guess you'll just have to wait and see. Tune in next time for Aeris In Wonderland. Take care every body. Let me know what you think, ya? -Lamica
ps: here's a thought. If something is mispelled in the dictionary, how would you know?