Wonderland Was Never Enough

Chapter One:

Juu's eyes snapped to the corner just as the man came upon them, swinging a heavy fist towards Kat. Before it could connect Juu thrust his own body into Kat's, effectively knocking her away and taking the blow himself.. His neck lashed to the side as he was stuck, slowly moving his head to glance back at the man, whose knuckles were slowly bleeding. "Did you forget already, Wykeed?" Juu grinned mischievously, rearing his head back before smashing it into Wykeed's. "Did you forget why it was I, not you, who led us to become so much?" This came out much differently than his normal speech. His voice was more of an aristocratic, calm manner now, with only a slight tinge of venom shining through the mask.

As he stumbled backwards from the impact, Wykeed seemed stunned for long enough to give Kat her first look at him. His skin was a dark tone, thus explaining why he hadn't stuck out immediately upon entering, paired with dull, gray clothing that was covered in soot and dirt. He was bald, and his black eyes were glazed over, as if looking back at the past. In those moments, a question came to Kat's mind: The best of what?

Just seconds later, Juu was asking himself the same thing.

It seemed to be an eternity before Wykeed and Juu broke off their deadly stares, blood slowly leaking from their foreheads. Juu's tongue emerged from his mouth to catch a few droplets as they fell, yet Wykeed refused to divert his attention from Juu and let the blood drip down his face.

This time it was Juu who lunged forward, his fist connecting with Wykeed's cheekbone, or...where it should have been. In the moments before his blow would have landed, Wykeed's head seemed to compress itself into a small shape so to narrowly avoid the blow. Juu's eyes let loose only a small fraction of the surprise that hit him when he saw this before he pressed on, strike after strike. Each time he seemed to narrowly miss what would have been easy hits. In a quick change of tactic, Juu grabbed hold of Wykeed's left arm, moving with a swift momentum to bring his arm back to a position that would have normally broken the bone.

Instead, the arm twisted with Juu, turning in a way that would normally be impossible. Juu stared at it for only a fraction of a second in disbelief before the arm shrunk in diameter to slither from his grasp and straighten itself again. Upon returning to its full size, Kat noticed that Wykeed's arm was lined slightly with blood, as if he had been cut severely by so many knives. Yet…she could see no cuts.

Wykeed twisted around now to face Juu, slamming his knee into his gut. As he keeled over, Wykeed leaned down to wrap his arms around Juu's body. They seemed to extend, wrapping like two titanic serpents around the man's body, threatening to suffocate him. Juu was held just inches above the ground, a tranquil stare still present in his eyes, as if without worry. He hid a smug smirk as he glanced at the blood that layered Wykeed's arms. Without warning, he thrust his head back to slam it into Wykeed's...

But he made contact with nothing. Kat watched as Juu's head went backwards and at the same time, Wykeed's own made itself more compact, as if the bones collapsed inward to avoid being struck. Juu slowly brought his head up again, and as he did Wykeed's face reconstructed itself, bone by bone. "No more playing…" Juu muttered to himself, thrusting his body again yet this time it was forward, not backward. With the movement, he sent Wykeed off of his back and slamming into the wall. As the building shuddered upon impact, Juu looked at Kat.

"Back to the clearing, find the path to the Mad Hatter. He'll know what to do," The malice within his voice was back fully, the words coming out almost as a hiss.

As Wykeed slowly helped himself up, Kat understood that Juu needed her out of there. Though she wanted to help him, she nodded and slipped out of the crypt, heading back in the way they came. The fog had lifted now, so when she got far enough away she was able to look back and see the two fighting. They were locked in a fierce battle of pure strength, sending blows back and forth. She could not see it, but Wykeed's chest and face were both almost completely torn apart by Juu's claws. This wasn't enough…somewhere in the back of her mind, she was still being told to run. Thus, run she did. Away from there, back towards the pool of water where she had met Juu.

Juu grabbed hold of Wykeed's arm, spinning to toss him at the wall again. Another shudder. In swift response, Wykeed bound off the wall and ran headfirst into Juu's gut. He felt the brick meet in an unfriendly manner with his back, just before the bricks descended atop the both of them, covering them

As she returned many hours later, she collapsed next to the water, letting out an exasperated sigh. "Oh…what am I to do? I know I was just doing as I was told…but I just left the only person I've met so far in combat with someone who will surely kill him…and, oh my, what was wrong with that gentleman's body? How was he able to command his bones in such a fashion as to collapse his skull and rebuild it? And Juu…he made that man bleed without even cutting him. Oh dear, this is such a dreary and dismal place!" She stared with despair at the sign that read 'TO THE MAD HATTER'. Kat stood slowly, stumbling only once in her attempt, deciding to go along with Juu's advice. "He will explain things to me when he comes to meet me, I am sure of it. If he does not, then I will not go with him…" Yet she knew that was a lie. Part of her would always trust him, though at the time she knew not why.

She started down the path, deciding that as soon as she could she would find something else to wear. Whatever she could find, actually. She was deep in thought, thinking about whether any clothes fashioned for the animalistic Juu would fit her, when suddenly she felt a bag tossed about her head.

Thin as paper, Wykeed's body slithered out between the bricks to rest on the ground. Slowly he expanded to normal size, seemingly undamaged by the event aside from the mysterious blood drawn by Juu. He turned to the wreckage and kneeled down, tossing bricks everywhere as he dug deep in. Before long he saw one of Juu's claws, groping at the air as if looking for something to hoist himself out. Wykeed proceeded to unbury him, reaching out a hand to lift Juu up.

He kneeled before the Mat (Or was he a Can?) calmly, "What is your next command, my Master?" Wykeed's eyes looked up soullessly to Juu, upon whose face a smirk etched itself maniacally, eyes gleaming.

There were voices, three of them. One of them was definitely male, a second was also male but had a sort of inhuman sound to it (Why didn't that surprise her?), and the third was abnormally high pitched, which only merited the smallest surprise from her. Kat's eyes fluttered open to see a man staring at her with chestnut brown eyes, matched with short gray hair that stuck out from beneath his tall top hat. The hat itself must have at least been a meter long, checkered with squares of dark crimson and black. His hands, which were fixing a cup of tea, were thin and knobby. The man's arms were abnormally long for someone of his height.

Next to him was a hare of sorts. His tan ears flopped out underneath a golden-tinted top hat that was considerably shorter than the other man's. He had wide blue eyes, paired off with whiskers that curled back in a sinister sort of fashion. He studied Kat intently, so focused that after just seconds of seeing him she became uncomfortable...but, wait, hadn't there been three voices?

"Would you like a cup of tea?" The man, whom by now Kat had assumed to be the 'Mad Hatter', asked. He leaned over to make it before waiting for an answer, and Kat saw that there was no top on his hat, which was ironic in a way, it being a top hat and all.

She was about to respond with a soft-spoken 'Yes, please', when she noticed a small mouse sitting on her chest.

Juu looked at Wykeed, nodding slowly, "Stand, my pet," His hand reached down to slowly guide him up with what would have been his index finger had he possessed human hands. As Wykeed stood, he was oblivious to the steady stream of blood falling from his chin.

"Take a rest, Wykeed," Juu muttered calmly, an almost kindly tone, placing his finger lightly on Wykeed's throat. Blood slowly seeped out before Wykeed collapsed to the ground, his heart having stopped. "You've outstayed your welcome." As he spoke, his voice slowly reverted yet again, become harsher.

Juu sat in a clearing near Wykeed's body silently, a dumbfounded look on his face. He held up one of his claws with interest in his eyes, running it down the side of his face lightly. He pressed his paw against his cheek immediately after, feeling no blood. "Why is it...that I could make him bleed by touching him, yet nothing comes from my skin now?" His head was flooded with questions, so much so that the mental him was wading through a chest-high pool of words. This wading occasionally messed up the order of the words, so that when Juu asked himself his last question of the night, it came out as "What of the was best I?" instead of "What was I the best of?" when questioning his words to Wykeed earlier that night.

He watched the moon rise and slowly set as he sat in the clearing, questioning his very existence and what had gotten him there.

Kat's eyes fluttered open with a yawn, instantly widening with a start when she didn't recognize her surroundings. Before she knew it she was sitting up, rigid as stone, slowly remembering the events of the day before. The Mad Hatter and his companion the March Hare, whom Juu had sent her to stay with, had captured her in the forest. They also had some sort of 'pet', if you will, although going by what else she had seen in Wonderland she couldn't be too sure that the Dormouse was not the father of the Mad Hatter and March Hare.

She found the Dormouse sleeping in a tea cup, with the March Hare lazily slumped over a chair in the corner in a position that would have been quite very uncomfortable had she tried it, so she had no idea how he could manage it. It was only now that she noticed she had spent the night sleeping on their long table, surrounded by tea cups and pots. In her sleep, she had upset quite a few cups of sugar and jam, which now thoroughly coated her left hand (She wouldn't notice the mustard in her hair until later that evening, although for quite a while after that she would wonder what mustard was doing at a tea party in the first place).

Kat slowly slid off of the table soundlessly, eyes glancing to the forest past a gate. She slunk over to the gate, quiet as a mouse (if you excuse the irony). Her hand had just settled upon the gate when a voice spoke up behind her. "Oh, I don't think you'll get out that way," The voice echoed into her ear as if far off, yet she could feel a presence standing right behind her. The rich, flowing voice of the Mad Hatter was right behind the breathing that beat upon her neck.

Turning in a fluid motion, Kat laid eyes on the Mad Hatter again. "And why is that?" She questioned, crossing her arms.

"Because this place, this garden, is on a completely different plane of existence from the rest of Wonderland." The Mad Hatter responded, talking effortlessly yet it seemed he did not open his mouth.

"Then how could you get out to catch me, or how could Juu come to get me here if he wanted to send me to you?" Kat pushed on with even more questions, as was usual for an inquisitive girl like herself.

"Those with power can cross the barrier," The Hatter responded, lifting up his left arm while at the same time using his right to roll up the sleeve. Etched into his skin was a clock, although instead of numbers it was inscribed with symbols, which also lined all around the clock. "Juu is an exceptionally powerful Mat --"

"Can," came the snoozing voice of the Dormouse in an interruption.

"An exceptionally powerful Mat, although what that power is, is unknown. I myself am a master of Time Magic, and can thus pass through the barrier. I can bring whomever I wish with me either way, but only those with power may go freely." The Hatter finished his explanation before giving out a wicked smile, "You simply cannot leave until Juu comes to collect you."

"Oh, great," Kat muttered to herself, her eyes settling upon the Mad Hatter's right hand, which was heavily bandaged. "If you don't mind my asking...what happened to your hand? I meant to ask last night but it slipped my mind."

The Mad Hatter glanced at his hand slightly, "I don't know, exactly. I went to bed one night, about five days ago, completely fine. I woke up with my palm bleeding profusely, so I bandaged it. Things like that happen to me and the March Hare all the time, really."

Kat raised an eyebrow in suspicion as she sat upon a chair in defeat, knowing she could only wait until her doom finally came for her, brought by one insane, lying, murderous dooms mat.

That evening, Juu slid into Kat's room gracefully, eyes darting to where she sat on the bed, her own green eyes locked on the doorway in which he stood. "Good evening, Kat." He said casually, moving to take a seat.

"Good evening," She replied, a bit more stiffly than was necessary, blocking the seat as she spoke. "Juu, I want answers. What was that, back there with Wykeed?"

Juu frowned, looking down and away from her in shame. "I don't know. Something came over me. Like you, I do not remember who I was before I came to Wonderland aside from my name. I was something, that's for sure, and apparently I was the best. I know just as much about myself as you do, Kat." His eyes met with hers for that last statement, and within those eyes there was not a shimmer of a doubt that he was speaking the truth.

"I don't want to trust you. I barely even know you. Yet…part of me tells me you're trustworthy, and you would never lie to me. I don't know how true that is, but I have always lived on instinct." Kat said warily, wondering where this 'instinct' came from.

"May I sit down?" He motioned to the spot on the bed next to her.

She nodded, watching him carefully sit besides her while leaning his back against the wall before she spoke. "Tell me, because it has been worrying me...Is the Dormouse the father of the Mad Hatter and the March Hare?"

He looked at her with a look of pure bewilderment, "I think you've gotten a little too wrapped up in Wonderland. That is pure nonsense. The March Hare is the Hatter's familiar, and the Dormouse is his older brother."

"...This gets weirder by the minute," Kat sighed, leaning against Juu's body. When she noticed that he gave no resistance, she adjusted herself to be more comfortable while resting her head in the crook of his neck.

He let out a smile she didn't see before letting out a slight sniff and glancing at her hair, "Uhm...Kat?"

"Yes?"

"...Why do you have mustard in your hair?"