By: Insomnia's Child
AN: At last, I finally had the time to post this chapter. I'm so sorry for this veeeeeery late update! It sickens me just thinking that I made people wait for so long! But anyway, thanks for the awesome reviews. They are very much appreciated. I know a lot of people hate Alice in Wonderland (Btw, I am not a fan or basher) so I was surprised with your reviews. Here are the responses:
KotoYuri: Yay! You're my first reviewer! Sankyuu! (beams)
Patto-chan: Yeah, I know you don't like Alice in Wonderland. That's why I made this fic in the first place :P Just kidding :P
Wolflover: Thanks! This humble writer was flattered…
IrrelevantMaverick: Your wish is my command! Although the "riddles" part will happen on the next chapter….And yeah, Gyoukumen is the Queen of Hearts…(Aww! Sorry…I'm such a spoiler…Lol…)
Doublelynn: Okie dokie! Nii is the Cheshire cat then :D Thanks for helping me decide :D
Midori Hakkai: Thank you so much! Hope this chapter isn't disappointing….
CHAPTER 2: TWIDDLE DUM AND TWIDDLE DEE"Hey you!"
Son Goku could hardly believe what he was seeing. He tapped his head, pinched his cheeks and even attempted to punch himself several times just to prove that he wasn't hallucinating. Maybe Gojyo was right, he thought defeated; I should never have eaten several boxes of pizza for dinner last night. Or maybe Sanzo hit him on the head with his paper fan harder than necessary. Or maybe the flowers' scent were mixed with some kind of substance used for drugging people. Because by any means, and without even looking at the two people in front of him, he trusted his instincts on the knowledge that they were really the ones named….
"Hakkai? Shien?"
Goku blinked as he stared at the familiar faces dumbfounded. One had green eyes that sparkled with wisdom and kindness, a definite trademark of his friend Hakkai. The other had a stoic, angular face that looked like it was carved out of stone, for it held no emotions whatsoever. Both were dressed in clothes Gojyo would have labeled as "uncool"; identical loose white shirts and trousers as old as the ancient Pyramids, but most importantly, they were looking at him with something akin to curiosity and guardedness.
"What did you just say, mister?" The man who looked a lot like Hakkai said, smiling politely. Out of the corner of his eye, he observed the young man with the most intense and unusual eyes. They were a striking molten gold that was strictly fixed on his green ones, and in all his years of living in this forest, he had never seen someone with eyes that could display such feelings openly.
Goku felt like hyperventilating. He had heard correctly. Hakkai called him not by his first name, but by the term "mister". If he didn't know any better, and if the idea doesn't sound so ludicrous, he'd say that he acted as if he didn't even know him. But could that be possible? He was Hakkai, after all. There was no way in hell that he could not recognize him. "H-h…Hakkai…" he stammered, unsure of what to say.
"Hakkai? Who is this Hakkai?" Hakkai asked, tilting his head to one side to show that he couldn't understand what he was saying. But he did not fail to notice the crestfallen look that crossed the young man's face when he said this, and this caused him to wonder if what he said offended the man somewhat.
"Ha…Hakkai…You're Hakkai…" Goku repeated again. Was this some kind of sick joke? His ears and eyes were telling him that he heard and saw right, but his brain refused to believe it. After all, this was the man whom he had been traveling with for what seemed like centuries, and it was this same man who had always been looking out for him whenever Gojyo or Sanzo felt too annoyed with him. How on earth was he going to convince himself that this Hakkai couldn't really know him?
The green eyed man laughed nervously. "I do believe that you got the wrong person, mister. My name is Twiddle Dee. And I've been living in this part of the woods for as long as I can remember, so there is no way that you can know me. In fact, my twin over here, can testify to that," he explained, glancing at the Shien look-alike who was watching the scene with impassive eyes.
"You've…you've got to be kidding me…" Goku muttered under his breath as he backed away a little. This was weird. Very weird. He refused to believe him. Maybe Sanzo and the others are conspiring against him to teach him a lesson for being too annoying, or for eating all the food at the table during meal times, or for waking up late in the morning, or rather, afternoon. But if this was truly a joke, he knew deep inside that Shien, whose presencepractically screams "Enemy!", would not have the heart, much less the sense of humor, to join in their plot against him.
"My twin does not kid. Nor does he lie. So quit your bothering," came a cold voice that belonged to the person beside Hakkai.
Goku gazed unbelievingly at Shien. "He's not your twin! We're your enemies! His name is not Twiddee Pee, or any other name you can think of. He's Hakkai. I don't know what on earth you're doing here, or what you have to do with anything, but if you were the one responsible for…brainwashing Hakkai, then I'd readily fight you!" he exclaimed as he summoned his Nyoi-bou.
Shien quirked an eyebrow as he eyed Goku's weapon. "I'm sorry. But I don't fight kids, especially kids whose weapon consists of a stick hardly able to beat anyone up," he told him calmly. "And by the way, it isn't Twiddee Pee. It's Twiddle Dum."
Gaping at him, Goku protested, "I'm not a kid! And Nyoi-bou isn't a stick! If you don't know, it's very powerful! I even beat you once using this."
"Now, now. Please don't fight. Twiddle Dum, please, restrain yourself. And mister, I do apologize in behalf of my twin. He can be very rude to strangers, but I assure you, he can be quite the softhearted fellow once you get to know him," the Hakkai look-alike told them as he stepped between the two.
"Twiddle Dum?" the golden eyed boy said incredulously. What kind of a name is that? He was afraid his mind would burst from all the strange events happening around him. He didn't even want to think of the possibility of Hakkai and Shien having amnesia… It was downright driving him nuts.
"Hmph. Sometimes I don't know why you even bother," Shien told Hakkai as he distanced himself from Goku and settled for just staring at him.
Hakkai, or rather, Twiddle Dee, chuckled. "There, there, my twin. No need to get heated up over such a simple matter," he said. Then he glanced at Goku, who at the moment was looking like the world's best winner for "Most Stunned Expression." "Are you alright, mister?"
Goku honestly didn't know if he was. It was as if he was having an internal debate with himself. One part was telling him that they were merely bluffing and that no matter what, they were not illusions. The other half was telling him that these two were not the real people that he knew. After all, he did think that the smile the Hakkai look-alike was giving him was simply hollow, unlike that of his real friend who has the mixture of fake happiness and bitterness brought to him by his turbulent past. And the Shien he knew was not at all very carefree. Sure, he was still silent and a bit detached, but you could see from his movements and his aura that the weight of the world was not on his shoulders.
"Mister?" Hakkai, or rather Twiddle Dee, prodded. An expression of worry was now etched on his face.
"Er…I'm fine," Goku finally said as he snapped out of his daze. To hell with all this…he thought, if my instincts are telling me they aren't the real thing, then who am I to object?
"Are you sure? You looked a bit shaken back there…"
"No…I'm alright…" Goku insisted.
"Okay then," Twiddle Dee said, smiling politely. "If you wouldn't mind me asking, would you permit me to know your name? If I might say so myself, I am quite uncomfortable addressing you as 'mister'."
"Uhh…It's Goku," Goku told him. He was half-hoping that the mere mention of his name would cause their expressions to change and maybe, just maybe, they would now recognize him for who he truly was. But he was quite disappointed when Twiddle Dee merely smiled at him again.
"Ah. Goku it is then. It's nice to meet you," Twiddle Dee said. "I really am sorry for not turning out to be the person you thought I was. But if you would kindly tell us who it is you are really looking for, perhaps we might be able to help you. We have been surveying this woods for quite some time now, so it is most likely that we might have seen your companion."
"Okaaaay…" Goku said as he took in a deep breath and prepared himself to narrate the morning's events. "I just woke up this morning to find my companions gone. I looked for them everywhere, but there was no trace of them at all, and I'm sure they wouldn't leave me alone unless something happened. And then I ended up in a room and after a few seconds, all types of food materialized in front of me. I hadn't eaten breakfast yet so what else could I have done? I ate them, but then…then…I shrunk! And then…and then…I found this talking doorknob that told me that he saw Sanzo pass by that small door. So I did the only think I could think of. I went inside too…. and found myself here." By this time, Goku was already close to crying out of frustration. How could so many things happen in just one day?
"Oh, dear. I think he's really lost it. The poor guy's very troubled. I think he's suffering from severe brain damage," The Hakkai mirror image said as he gave Goku a look of concern. He had never seen a boy act so distressed before, and he felt guilty that it was partly his fault. After all, he was mistaken as somebody else, and upon the denial of it, he had crushed the boy's hopes. "Twiddle Dum, do you suppose we could help him?"
Twiddle Dum raised his eyebrows, but it wasn't until he had fully scrutinized his twin that he gave an answer. "Seeing as you're so intent on helping him, then I don't feel like objecting," he replied, shrugging.
"Very well." Twiddle Dee nodded gratefully to Twiddle Dum and held Goku, who was now shouting protests of him "not being mentally incapable", by the shoulders and steered him to a log nearby. "Please, sit down first. It would do you no good if you continue to behave in such a rash manner. My twin and I are going to help you, so hush now."
Goku stared at Hakkai out of the corner of his eye. And right now he was really convinced. This man was nothing like Hakkai. The Hakkai he knew could act like a mother at times, but this guy was ridiculous! He was treating him like a baby, and if there was one thing Son Goku, the Great Sage of Heaven hated more than Gojyo's name-callings, it was being thought of as weak. "I'm fine! I don't need any help!" he insisted, as he tried to sit up, but Shien, or rather, Twiddle Dum, held him down.
"Just play along and you'll be fine," The one who looked like Shien yet was not Shien said. He sat beside Goku in the lotus position and Twiddle Dee soon joined him. "You will see. This would calm your nerves and cleanse your mind of all worries. Now, relax…"
Goku, for all he was worth, couldn't force himself to relax beside two complete strangers who looked a lot like his companions back home. He glanced at the familiar face of Hakkai, who was telling him, in a whisper, "Close your eyes, rest your hands on your lap and feel the air around you vibrate with energy…"
Goku fidgeted even more in his uncomfortable seat. This was starting to look like one of those yoga sessions he had seen on TV before.
"Feel the log you are sitting on. Feel the fabric of your clothes on your skin. Feel the steady rise and fall of your chest. Focus on no one but yourself…"
Goku struggled to keep himself together. This was as boring as hell. Anything, even Gojyo's occasional stealing of his food at the dining table during mealtime, was better than this. And it was definitely not a plus that the way those "Twiddle" somethings droned on and on like a broken record was very, very dull. Then he wondered. Was this how Hakkai learned how to control his chi?
"Focus… Block out all the other things on your mind…Block out all sounds you might hear…and concentrate on the energy wrapping itself around you…"
Sleepy… The golden-eyed boy was feeling immensely sleepy. This entire tedious lecture was making him feel limp and lifeless, as if the very essence of his life was being sucked out of him. He wanted nothing more than to just curl into a corner and close his eyes. Dream, his subconscious mind told him. Dream and sleep. Soon, Hakkai and Shien's voices beside him, who were telling him about "fueling your energy" or something along those lines, faded in the background. For the first time that day, Son Goku lost control. And darkness engulfed him.
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The harsh rays of the sun shone freely on a certain earth child's face. Goku raised his hands to his face as if to block the sunlight, but he did not succeed, for the sun, as if scathing him, seemed to shine more brightly than ever. Goku groaned and opened his swirling golden orbs to face reality once again. He yawned and attempted to get up, although all his body could manage was to sit up. It was at this point that he was, albeit a little groggily, able to survey his surroundings.
Where the heck am I? He asked himself as he looked at the tall trees and scattered flowers around him, and then at the bits of soil and dirt staining his cheeks, hands and clothes. Some leaves and small branches were also sticking out of his hair, and although he couldn't see it, he could feel it. It was then when he also realized that he had slept on the ground. But as to why, he did not know. But when he remembered the familiar faces of Hakkai and Shien, the past events dawned on him.
"Kuso!" Goku exclaimed in aggravation as a sudden thought occurred to him. Those two posers might have tricked him! If they truly cared about him, they wouldn't just leave him alone in this forest. Certainly, they knew that he was lost. Furious, Goku's hands went to his hair and luckily for him, it was his remaining self-control that stopped him from just banging his head on the ground.
"What will I do now? Ahh...Hara Hetta..." he asked himself as he looked once more at the landscape around him. For a moment there, he almost forgot why he was there in the first place. But then an image of Sanzo, Gojyo and Hakkai appeared on his head, and his doubts ceased. Yes, he remembered, he came here to look for his friends. And somewhere in this strange world, Sanzo was there.
I have to find him, he told himself. With a determined face, he slowly walked to wherever his feet took him, not even bothering about what was the right or wrong direction. After several minutes of endless walking and the rumbling of his stomach as background music, Goku finally caught sight of something. It was an odd circular house that had similar circular windows and doors. It seemed to stand out on its own in the heart of the forest. And maybe it was this factor that aroused Goku's curiosity.
"Wow…" Goku breathed as he eyed the house.
Just then, one of the windows opened and to Goku's immense surprise, he found himself face to face to what he presumed was the very person he was looking for – Sanzo. He seemed to be wearing another scowl on his face and if Goku's senses were correct, he looked grumpier than usual.
"SANZO!" Goku exclaimed joyfully as he ran and without a care in the world, opened the front door. Once he was inside, he realized that the house was smaller than he thought it was. The hallways were narrow and the ceiling was low, and that's saying something, considering that Goku was by no means considered tall.
He found Sanzo inside what he presumed was his room, digging through a chest of drawers, piles of clothes littering the floor and the bed. He was still dressed in that weird yellow bunny costume that he saw him wearing a while ago and was occasionally muttering curse after curse and phrases such as "Where the hell is it?" He didn't seem to notice Goku's presence, for if he did, he was sure that he would've hit him on the head already.
"Sanzo? What are you doing?" Goku asked curiously, careful not to say something to anger the monk-now-turned- rabbit any further.
The blonde whipped his head and a pair of stormy violet eyes met Goku. "You again!" he shouted, an expression of annoyance on his face. "What the hell are you doing in my house?"
Goku tried to smile. "Erm…nice house?" was his pathetic response.
Unfortunately for him, Sanzo did not take this comment too kindly. "Get out of my house! And stop calling me Sanzo! How many times must I fucking tell you! I'm the Yellow Rabbit!" he exclaimed as he threw one sock at Goku, hitting him in the head.
"Ouch! What did you do that for? I didn't even know rabbits are capable of cursing!" Goku said, a bit miffed at Sanzo's harsh treatment. He threw the sock back at Sanzo, but missed, as the blonde ducked and the annoying piece of cloth hit the wall instead.
"Shut up!" Sanzo aka the Yellow Rabbit barked. "I've got a better idea. Why don't you look at that door over there? Its purpose is to let people out of the room. Would you kindly care to help that door fulfill its purpose? And don't look at me like that. If you still don't get the hint, I'm going to shout it at you: Get lost!"
Goku blinked. "I'm already lost, dammit…" he said in a quiet voice. He looked at Sanzo's angry face and was not unfazed. He sat at the edge of the bed and asked, "What're you looking for?"
"None of your damned business," Sanzo said, clearly ignoring him, his face still burrowed inside one of the closets as clothes went flying here and there.
But Goku did not take being ignored too well. He went to face Sanzo and gave him his best puppy dog eyes. Real Sanzo or not, he knew this would work. Or at least he hoped so. He grinned in victory when he saw a tick on Sanzo's forehead and heard him sigh, an indication that he was about to give in to Goku's…erm…charms.
"The Sutra. I'm looking for the fucking sutra. That pathetic excuse for a queen will shave my head off if I don't have it by this afternoon," Sanzo said, as if annoyed with him for being tricked into explaining something to Goku. Just then, a suspicion formed in his anger-coated brain. He glared with all his might at the brown haired youth. "You haven't got anything to do with this, have you? After all, it wasn't the first time that you and I bumped into each other…"
Goku looked appalled. Sanzo, the same Sanzo that rescued him from his rock prison, was accusing him of stealing his most important possession? How was that even possible? "Do I look like a thief to you? Sanzo! I can't believe you'd say that!" he said, shocked. "You of all people should know that I'd never steal from you!"
"I've had enough of your innocent acts. Where did you hide the Sutra?" Sanzo asked, gripping Goku by the hand.
"Hey! I told you. I'm telling the truth. Why won't you believe me? Why won't anybody believe me?" Goku said, as he remembered the reactions of those Hakkai and Shien clones when he told them about how he got transported to whatever place this was. He inwardly frowned. They even thought that he was a raving lunatic! And now he was playing the role of a thief?
The Sanzo in the bunny suit glared at Goku. But when he looked at his eyes all he saw was those wide eyes burning with honesty. He released his hold on him. "Fine. But get out of my house," he ordered as he directed Goku to the door.
"But Sanzo!" Goku protested as he felt the human-slash-rabbit shove him outside the room. "You've got to help me find the real Gojyo and Hakkai. Maybe you've seen them?"
"I don't know what you're talking about. And for the last time, stupid brat, I am not Sanzo, and I do not know anyone named Hakkai or Gojyo! Now go away and don't come back or I swear I'll kill you! You've already caused enough trouble as it is," Sanzo replied and with those final words, he slammed the door in front of Goku's face.
"Sanzo…" Goku tried one last time, but this came out more of a whisper. He was a bit shakenby Sanzo's words. He was never this ruthless before. It was as if he was faced with the extremely ill tempered Sanzo he knew during lonely, rainy days. Sighing, he figured he'd try again. One last time.
"Sanzo!" he wailed as he tried to push the door open, not caring if his shoulders hurt or if the door breaks. During his first few tries, he failed, but during the third push, the door budged, and he was again faced with the blonde's wrath. He didn't look particularly happy to see him again.
"Sa-"
"You are really annoying, you know that. Not only do you think I am your long lost friend, but you make my life more difficult! Because of your earth-shattering wails, I haven't found that missing Sutra, and better yet, I am going to be late!" he bellowed, close to exploding now.
Just then, something caught Goku's eye. "Um, are you referring to this?" he said in a small voice as he pulled out the familiar long scroll of ancient writing from behind a pile of old clothes near the door.
By the look on Sanzo's face, Goku guessed that he was as shocked and angry as he thought he would be. Mentally chastising himself for not seeing it in the first place, he grabbed the scroll in one hand and placed it not on his shoulders, but on a hidden pocket in his bunny suit. "Hmph," was all he said before going out of his room and down the stairs, not caring if he left Goku all by his lonesome.
"Hey, wait! Where are you going, Sanzo?" Goku asked as he ran in order to catch up with him, but Sanzo, fueled by his annoyance at Goku,increased his speeduntil it was too late for the earth child. When Goku reached the bottom of the stairs, Sanzo was already gone, leaving behind a swinging door.
But Goku had no time to feel depressed, for at that same moment, he, being a demon, caught the smell of something…It was wafting through the air, teasing his nostrils and making his mouth water. Food! His mind screamed, and only then did he become aware of how hungry he had become. He followed the scent until he reached the kitchens and there enough, on the table, was a single platter containing one piece of meat bun, looking especially made for our favorite monkey.
Without wasting another second, he grabbed the bun and wolfed it down in one bit, savoring its rich taste and the feeling of being in heaven. He didn't even think and learn from his previous actions, one in which the result was the shrinking of his body. Well, too bad Goku was going to regret even eating that meat bun…
At first it was his hand. He noticed it was getting bigger and bigger. At first he thought he was only dreaming, but then that thought was confirmed when he felt his legs expand, and then his body, and before he knew it, he grew so big that he wasn't able to fit inside the small house anymore. His arms and feet got stuck on the windows and he couldn't move a muscle.
"Ahhhhh!" Goku shouted as he was again faced with another problem. He had no idea of how he was going to go back to normal. He erased the idea of trying to stand up, for he knew Sanzo's house would be wrecked. Just thinking of the murderous glint in the monk's eye if he went home and found his house in pieces made him shudder. But staying like this all day didn't sound so appealing to him either. If Gojyo saw him like this, he would laugh for eternity.
He racked his brains for a solution, but it seemed like his brain did not feel like helping him today. Shifting his overgrown hand, which was resting on the soil, in a more comfortable position, he felt something. Goku didn't have to think long to comprehend that what he had just touched was a carrot. A very, very small carrot. Well, small considering his hand was as big as two balloons put together. He reached for it again, thinking that just one more meal wouldn't hurt. (He really didn't learn from his lessons…x.x) But when he touched it again, something miraculous happened.
He felt himself reverting back to his normal size. How very weird, he thought as he sensed the house growing larger again. Goku sighed with relief, not even bothering to find out the reason behind his recent transformation. That was so close...He walked away from the house, as if traumatized and afraid that something might happen again andventuredto the woods, hoping to find traces of Sanzo's footsteps.
He was so engrossed in his search that he almost jumped when he heard a spine-chilling voice behind him…
"Now, now. What do we have here?"
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AN: I know.This chapter sucks. My grammar mistakes and weird ideas will really be the end of me...Wow, I never realized how OOC Sanzo and Goku can be in this story…Oh, well. Review anyway or I will send the Cheshire cat to get you :P Kidding…