Chapter 1

The Jabberwock flew across the crimson sky, his wings stretched out in a way that made him look like a mutant eagle, wind he could not feel blowing harshly in his face. He looked down and surveyed the landscape which he called home. He saw never-ending oceans of glowing orange lava bubbling furiously, and crumbling, grey, lifeless land. He glided softly onto a rock and began to walk towards his destination.

The castle seemed to burst from the ground like the hand of an imprisoned giant, creating a somewhat triumphant shadow against the red skies and the gravestone clouds. As he stared upon the demonic building with pride, the dragon soon came across a crowd of playing card soldiers. Spades in a row, clubs in a row, diamonds in a row, hearts in a row. Small devils raising pitchforks in the air surrounded them, each performing a strange parody of a dance. Even some small insects – ants, ladybirds and a centipede – were watching the castle impatiently.

The castle began to tremble. It shook slowly, slowly, then faster, faster until it erupted like a volcano. However, it wasn't lava that erupted from this volcano…

The Red Queen burst out of the castle, raising her thorny arms in the air. She rode a giant pulsating tentacle as if it were a giant horse, looking at the crowd with brimstone eyes peering through a harlequin mask.

"Citizens of Wonderland, lend me your ears!"

The playing cards raised their weapons in reverence, the demons danced quicker and the Jabberwock just stared at the Queen like a small child would stare at his favourite person in the world.

"I am here to remind you that the enemy is fast approaching."

Each of the congregation let out vicious cries of anger, except for the demons, who just giggled with glee.

"Remind me, dear subjects, remind me who this enemy is!"

The subjects screamed louder. "Alice!"

"Alice!" repeated the Queen, "She created us, so she can destroy us! She is supposed to be our God yet she gives only vengeance and no blessings!"

She pointed to the Jabberwock, her pride and joy.

"Look at this poor creature! Alice created him, not to nurture him but so he can die and so his death would be celebrated! Then, when Wonderland became the nightmare you see here, she resurrected him, just so she can torture him further! She made him an unnatural beast of metal and steam! But now he fights beside us and will destroy Alice's tyranny once and for all!"

The crowd yelled frantically again.

"We will kill Alice! And when we do, I will take her place! I will transform Wonderland into an eternal utopia, with everlasting peace for everyone! But, in order to gain peace, we must prepare for war!"

The gates of the castle burst open, as a marching band of playing cards, with piccolos, drums and trumpets began playing the Queen's anthem as the playing card warriors used their weapons to shoot strange beams into the air, creating a display of explosions and myriad colours, each contributing to a series of images in the sky. Alice. Alice's intestines being ripped out. Alice exploding. Alice being decapitated, of course.

The Jabberwock took a few moments to stare into the sky and gaze at these vivid images, the perfect representaton of what he thought about each and every day. Alice. That wretched, miserable little girl. Die.

After the display, which had sent the little devils into a hyperactive frenzy, the Jabberwock took flight once again, deeper into the realms of lava and brimstone which any human would find intoxicating, to his house.

The house.

It should have looked innocent, plain and ordinary. However, that task seemed impossible, due to the fact that it stood atop a twisted mountain overlooking an ocean of magma, from which creatures and abominations emerged. Not only that, but because it was Alice's house.

A perfect reconstruction of the house Alice once had before she burnt it to the ground so her parents can die and she could poison and destroy this land. The Jabberwock found it rather handy; as much as he hated to dwell on the subject of Alice, he needed to. When the inevitable time came when they would meet face to face, he not only wanted her to die by his hands, he wanted her to suffer while he did so. Did Alice ever think of what trouble, what strife, what suffering she had caused the denizens of this world? What it felt like? Just because they were figments of her imagination, she thought she could manipulate and torture them to her heart's content without any consequences. She even sent herself insane to further this.

She created the Jabberwock, but was not his mother. He was born without a purpose, except, perhaps, to amuse. All children enjoy tales where the hero slays a ferocious dragon. That's it. He was just meant to die. Then he rose. Resurrected as a hideous form, broken parts of a creature haphazardly connected with machinery. Resurrected wasn't even an accurate word; he wasn't alive at all. He couldn't taste, he couldn't smell, he couldn't touch. An unnatural monstrosity, meant only to be loathed and depised.

The Red Queen. She was the Jabberwock's hope and salvation. She promised that if he killed Alice, she would help him. She would grant him freedom, and his form would be magnificent. Gone would be the mechanical pieces of his body, replaced by flesh and blood. The Queen of Hearts. Heart. A heart would be lovely. Beating behind a ribcage, 'Ba-thump, ba-thump'. He constantly heard the sound ringing through his ears, a siren song beckoning him, and a lament of loss.

All of a sudden, the Jabberwock had a sudden urge to leave his lair; he wanted to observe the scenery.

He beat his wings quickly, and the orange sky of his homeland dissolved into pitch-black, the only illumination present being the slimy yellow moon. All of this could be beautiful. All of this could be idyllic. The thorns sprouting from the ground, curling and twisting themselves into knots. The mushrooms - which should look lovely and ethereal - withered and decayed; they looked like gravestones. A gorge, which looked like a mouth with long, jagged teeth. It could be beautiful.

How could you do this, Alice? Is this a sort of sick pleasure?

"Hur hur. Hur hur."

Tweedle Dee, out collecting something for that damn Hatter.

"What you doing out here?"

The Jabberwock growled as tendrils of smoke wafted through his nostrils. "That is none of your concern."

"Hur hur. The boss told me 'bout you. Said you're always goin' aroun' feelin' sorry for yourself, moping 'bout Alice."

"She is our enemy. She destroyed this land and must be destroyed herself."

"Hur. Maybe you're in love wit her and perhaps denying it."

The Jabberwock let out a roar that almost blew the oaf away. "Tell the Hatter not to get his slimy hands on her. I am the harbinger of her destruction."

Tweedle Dee rolled his eyes and walked away. The Jabberwock then leaned against a bent tree and sighed. Was he the only one who understood these things? The Hatter sad he didn't want Alice to die. Wanted to 'improve' her, he said. He was only making things worse; his plans to turn Wonderland into a clockwork 'paradise' seemed nothing short of demented.

Everything here was going to pot. However, there was absolutely no chance of things getting any worse, was there?

A man in a cloak stood by with a book.

"Who are you?"

"My dear Jabberwock," said the man, eyes being the only visible part of his face behind the hood, "Both you and I know that you and only you are destined to be this Wonderland's saviour. However, there is only one path to this destiny, and that is through Wonderlands other than your own."

"Other Wonderlands? I'm not sure I believe you." This statement was obvious from the fiery look in the Jabberwock's eyes.

The man handed the book over in a surprisingly calm way. "Just read the first spell from this book."

The Jabberwock, although full of skepticism, did as he was told, read a page of nonsensical words aloud, causing a key to drop out of the book and a glowing white trail to illuminate the sky.

"Interesting reaction," said the Jabberwock, amazed by the sparkling trail, "but what does it mean?"

The man sighed. "It means you have to follow the trail."

Follow the white rabbit.

He frantically beat his wings, following the trail, all the while asking himself questions on what these new Wonderlands would be like. They could only be better, can't they? There's nothing worse than this squalid pit.

The trail ended at a forest. Thick, grey clouds clotted the sky. The trees resembled emaciated old hags, trying to claw his guts out. Giant dying mushrooms bent and drooped.

The trail ended at a certain tree, a thick one. There were those children, the manic, deformed, demented children that ran rampant, clawing at it, as if something sacred were within. They saw the Jabberwock, and ran.

The tree, it had a strange marking on it. It was that damn Cheshire Cat, a picture of his head on that tree, a thick lock on his cheek. The Jabberwock ignored the marking of the miserable feline, and turned the key.

Sunshine burst through.

Sunshine, oh, oh, the glorious rays beamed down upon his body, the picturesque forest that lied beyond the portal, things he had longed to experience to the point of insanity.

He closed the Cheshire Cat door behind him, ignoring the beauty of the forest for just one minute, he read the book for further information. While the spell lasts, he will visit the other Wonderlands in an invisible form. These other Wonderlands, they must be accessible through trees, and their door, their door should be a reflection. Thus, using this logic, he tried to deduce which door is best to take.

One tree had a door that looked like a smiling black rodent with oversized ears. Ugh. It was just disturbing.

Another door was shaped like a crown, labeled 'Hallmark', which the Jabberwock just found nonsensical.

Another tree had a door that looks like a smiling teddy bear with a heart on its breast. The Jabberwock loathed teddy bears. Alice had one of those toys; the images of her snuggling up with something cuddly made him want to murder himself.

Another door.

That one was special.

A door made of crystal, a circle with card symbols, one that glimmered brilliantly in the sunlight, one that sparkled with a regal innocence that beckoned the Jabberwock to come. His claw took on a life of its own, forcing its owner to unlock this door.

He unlocked the door.

He turned the knob.

He found himself zooming through a spinning crystal tunnel.

He was in an ocean, yet could not drown.

He searched for the Wonderland the door promised.

He could see it.

Heaven.

He saw shimmering crystal buildings climbing towards the air, he saw large turquoise amphitheatres, he saw fantastic foods that he could never taste and he saw the centerpiece of the marvelous feast; a gigantic crystal heart, measuring ten-metres tall and sixteen-metres wide. And a castle, oh a beautiful palace, a palace as gleaming and beautiful as the door that led him here, with towers that twisted and turned in ways pleasing to the eye. And there was a party! A big celebration with singing flowers and a giant choir and a cake and these little things that looked like penguins with old man's heads. And children are at the celebration, children wearing glorious clothes and running around playfully, no clamps or exposed brains or maniac gibbering.

He saw this Wonderland's queen.

"She's beautiful."

He said it aloud, but, due to the magic he was practising, could not be heard. The Queen was an utter angel, a heavenly aura surrounding her as she walked, a flowing golden dress wrapped around her voluptuous body. She was surrounded by several people, each of them praising her and worshipping her, as she…as she conjured things out of her imagination.

The Jabberwock tried to cling onto this world, he wanted to stay, he wanted to be seen, but the magnificent world melted away quickly, leaving the poor beast back in his burning abode. Away from the crystal and wonder and back into the hellish realm of the dancing flame people.

There was the cloaked man.

"I see we enjoyed ourselves then."

"Do you know anything about that place? That woman?"

"Ah, yes, her name is Alyss. That's with a Y-S-S at the end." A woman with a name almost like his sworn nemesis…how could she be so enchanting? Why wasn't she his Alice? "Your other friends are there too, you know." The man wiggled his fingers, creating an illusion of a legion of zombies, a sight so disturbing the Jabberwock actually felt cold in spite of the climate of his home. The Hatter appeared; it was the Hatter and yet it was not. He had similar headwear, but his nose was much smaller, and he looked more human. With an impressive, action-packed display, this new Hatter destroyed the undead monsters in the blink of an eye. This was a hero. He defeated and did away with the forces of evil. He didn't add gears or machinery to defenceless little creatures, he didn't destroy the structure of organic creatures so they could never taste food or feel the wind blowing in their faces ever again.

"I must know more. Tell me more."

"Once upon a time," said the man, taking a seat on a pile of bricks, "there was a magical kingdom called Wonderland, and it had been taken over by an evil witch." The man conjured up another vision, this time of a tall, thin, red woman, snarling viciously with long black fangs, and saliva dripping off her lips. "But a beautiful princess named Alyss came and defeated her." An artificial Alyss fought the witch…with her imagination. Conjuring up weaponry and missiles all meant to contribute to the villainesses' destruction. The climax wasn't shown. "She then became Wonderland's most beloved Queen and everybody loved her because she was so kind and thoughtful." The Jabberwock felt a tingle of excitement. If – when he succeeds in his quest, everybody will love him. No longer a fearful monster but a kind and loving saviour.

"But there was a sad and lonely monster from another kingdom, which shared the name of Alyss'." The Jabberwock smiled a hopeful smile. "The monster said 'There is another evil witch that has destroyed my homeland, and she is your evil twin sister'. Alyss defeated the witch…"

The vision of Alyss approached the Jabberwock.

"…and restored order to the sad creature's kingdom."

This wasn't an artificial construct…she was real. Concrete. She felt real.

"'Thank you!' said the monster…"

She felt. The gears, the furnace, all his mechanical parts were all vanished and e was completely organic once more. 'Ba-thump, ba-thump'. His new heart was pounding against his ribcage as Alyss came closer and rubbed against his face.

"…then he kissed Alyss…"

Then he kissed Alyss. She felt warm.

"…and he turned into a handsome prince."

Gone. Alyss wasn't real after all. He was still a cyborg. He didn't feel anything.

So, was it all a dream? Did he imagine that beautiful crystal Wonderland? Did he imagine seeing his worst enemies in more admirable forms?

No. It wasn't a dream. It was all too vivid, too brilliant, t was beyond anyting e could imagine.

The book. It's there. It couldn't have been a dream.

He knew what he had to do.