Chapter 5
The Jabberwock took Alyss upon a cliff, that glowered over all of Wonderland. From up here, they saw barren wastelands, they saw jagged mountains that resembled witch's hats, they saw lifeless forests, they saw streams of lava bubbling, they saw pain.
Not for long.
Holding Alyss under his arm as if she were his daughter, he looked to see the Red Queen restore Wonderland. The wastelands would sprout grass and flowers of several varieties, they would see mountains become rolling hills, they would see forests teaming with life, the sound of birdsong and merriment filling the air, and they would see streams of cooling spring water. They would see permanent night grow into permanent summer days, with the sun always warming their bodies and never ever never ever a single cloud or drop of rain. Alyss would see this universe's surrogate of her tutor restored to life and living in a perfect world.
And also...
Both of them would watch as the Jabberwock becomes a more…appropriate being for this world as those mechanical appendages, the furnace for a stomach, the gears for intestines, the pipes sticking out of his back, his metal wings and tail…they would be gone. They would be replaced by flesh, bone, blood and organs. He would be a natural creature. He would be able to taste the cooling flavor of the water, he would be able to feel the sun warming my body, the leathery petals of the giant flowers, the thick bark of the trees, he would be able to breathe. He wouldn't shoot lasers or breathe fire, he would be a simple creature with no purpose but to enjoy this new Wonderland to its fullest.
Alyss would have to leave for her Wonderland, but he was sure she would pay constant visits, she would keep me company…she helped him save Wonderland.
So why wasn't it changing?
There was still lava. There were still wastelands. There were still death and pain.
Where were the flowers? Where was the sunshine? Where was the salvation and warmth the Red Queen promised?
The only thing that had changed there was the tentacle that had just sprang from the ground.
The tentacle that impaled Alyss.
The Jabberwock held his head in my hands and screamed.
She shouldn't die! She saved Wonderland! She made the Jabberwock natural!
But Wonderland wasn't saved. And he was still a synthetic abomination.
Wonderland shattered like a looking glass, pieces that were once a world falling into a black abyss like feathers.
Only he remained, standing on a hovering rock.
Thank you Jabberwock.
He heard her.
You helped me completely take over Wonderland.
He saw her.
But, truth be told, I've grown weary of that Wonderland.
The huge red blob stood before him wiggling its tentacles joyfully.
The Jabberwock did all this.
He ruined Alyss' Wonderland.
Alyss can't die! She's a good person! She fights for justice and a more peaceful kingdom! She's a beautiful creature! Good people aren't supposed to die!
He tried to force tears out of his eyes. Crying would ease the pain, wouldn't it? They never came. He was a machine. Machines don't cry. Machines only serve their masters' purposes.
Tell me. Tell me about the other Wonderland.
He was left with no choice but to follow her orders. He revealed everything he had learned in my studies, the crystal cities, the foods, Alyss...everything...
That other Wonderland needs someone to order imagination, it needs a Queen. It needs me. You had such a wonderful idea…
Thus, they escaped from the abyss, and into what was once Alyss'.
"Ba-thump."