"Emergency! Emergency!"
"Nightmares are grouping in a castle"
Parrah and Noya's voices could be heard in the forest speaking to someone. They spoke loudly as if to ensure they were being heard by more than just the girl in question.
"They must be multiplying, those monstrous rabbits!"
"It's a breeding party!"
"You have to get rid of their leader."
"Snuff out its life."
"Go on, slaughter them."
"You'll go through with it, right?"
"You've got to kill every last one of them, isn't that right?"
"Go on then"
The two stopped speaking, leading the girl towards the castle in question. Steeling her both her nerves and resolve, Alice took a deep breath and crossed the doors of the old, worn down the castle. She was met with darkness, looking around before seeing a light at the end of a long corridor. Before she begins to walk, however, she sees numerous red pairs of bright lights around her.
No, upon closer inspection, it was obvious said lights were eyes. Eyes belonging to monsters, too many nightmares to count, coming closer to Alice, who gripped her sword, ready to charge if need be, though she wasn't given the chance. Before even being able to blink, a nightmare pounced and pinned her down on the ground. A large, four-legged beast, with white fur and a rabbit-like head sporting a pair of long red ears, looked down at Alice, intrigued by the flowing bow on her head, reminiscent of a pair of blue rabbits ears. The beast opened its mouth, getting closer to Alice's face, but stopped short.
Taking advantage of this, Alice raised her sword and brought it down, only to be interrupted by a bright light, and a series of ticking sounds coming from the beasts chest. There, hung a large pocket watch whose hands began to move backward, its face glowing brighter by the second until Alice was no longer in the castle, but instead in the forest where she had begun her journey
Alice looked around, trying to make sense of what was going on, but her head refused to move, acting on its own instead and letting out a large yawn. She heard the rustling of leaves behind her, and her body, feeling much heavier, moved to the side for a better look at the source of the noise. What she saw were two large nightmares, just like the one she had seen earlier: a rabbit-like body, with glowing red eyes, and tinges of red fur on their hind legs. The two began to approach Alice, who was unable to fight, let alone even move out of her own free will. The peculiar thing was, she did not feel afraid, or even threatened. These creatures appeared familiar to her, and a wave of relief showered her body
"&h &-%!?~"
One of the rabbits opened its mouth, letting our a string of unknown sounds to Alice, however, she understood perfectly what was being conveyed to her
"Are you lost too?"
Alice nodded her head, not of her own will, and raised a paw in the air
"A paw?" she thought, as the rather large paw pointed at a puddle nearby, giving Alice a view at the reflection it showed her. It was not her face she saw, but rather the face of the rabbit nightmare that had attacked her moments ago at the castle.
It hit her then that she was experiencing a memory, she was living through the eyes of something else, of the nightmare. She was seeing things because of the glowing pocket watch at the rabbit's chest. It was also clear to her, that she was a spectator, unable to do anything of her own will. She opened her mouth and let out a string of unrecognizable noise, which she understood to mean
"You're like me?"
"Yes," answered the rabbit on the left, "not related by blood, but still will help you"
"Related?"
"There are more like us," added the rabbit on the right, walking closer to Alice, "we have become a family. Join us, isn't it lonely to be lost and alone"
Alice nodded and followed the two rabbits through the forest into a small cave where ten or so other rabbits-like nightmares were conversing. They stopped and greeted Alice warmly, asking if she would join the family, and stating they would live happily together
"Two rules," the largest of them all said. He looked the same to all the rest, except for a pocket watch that hung around its neck, "we ask you follow only two rules"
"What are they?" Alice asked, determined to stay
"Help each other when sad, share when you are happy"
After these words, the scene changed. No longer was Alice in a small cave, but outside in the forest, cowering behind the same rabbit she had just been speaking to. The clock-wearing rabbit turned around and brought down his head, allowing the pocket watch to fall on the floor. He picked it up with its mouth and placed it around Alice's neck, simply uttering the words, "Keep them all safe"
With one final and abrupt change in the scene, Alice was no longer in a cave, but instead, in a castle; the same one she had entered earlier. There were over fifty nightmares now, huddled together and conversing with Alice overseeing them all, feeling a wave of happiness as she saw the smiles on their faces. She felt that happiness, but at the same time, unease, as though something was out of place, something was wrong. She began to walk around the castle and heard two voices in the forest, going on about a gathering in the castle
"Could it be?" Alice though, a sense of worry etched in her heart, "could another one lost, not knowing where to go?"
Everyone at the castle was gathered to mourn the death of their common savior, organized by Alice who was referred to as "mother" after becoming the new leader.
It was the anniversary of when she met the previous leader. It was a day to rejoice about, a day to meet all those he had saved, including ones that lived in deeper parts of the forest. A day where everyone would converse together, sharing stories and exchanging laughs.
It was to be a beautiful anniversary for both mother and the others to smile despite the world they were in
It was supposed to be a beautiful day
It was supposed to be full of smiles
It was meant to be filled with life
And yet, there was a girl who entered the castle, bearing a look of determination much like Alice herself. Alice opened her mouth and ask the girl if she would join them as a family when a voice from above spoke some task, leading the girl to bring down her sword and swiftly cut Alices side causing her to collapse, bleeding out on the cold castle floor
Two puppets were floating behind the girl, laughing and chuckling at the sight before them. At the girl cutting Alices family members to pieces, leaving them limp, lifeless on the floor. The girl's blue ribbons swayed with the wind, being stained red the more the girl killed
"Protect," Alice said weakly, the smell of death becoming ingrained within her, "I was to protect them…"
Alice struggled to get up, raising her head and moving her aching body in search of the murderer.
It didn't take long to find the girl. Alice, now enraged, pounced up ready to swipe, when the blade in the girl's hand swiftly rose, cutting the watch, and slicing Alice's neck. Alice crashed into the wall behind the girl, tears in her eyes after seeing the carnage around her. Her family, all gone in an instant, not a single one left whole, not one left alive
"I'm so sorry," Alice sobbed, her voice getting weaker by the second, "I couldn't protect them… your watch, it's broken, I'm sorry… I was supposed to help them… I wanted them to happy, I wanted you… to praise…."
With that, Alice felt her last breath leave her body, and she faded into darkness, unable to see, hear, or smell a thing. She was unable to even breath, her mind becoming empty, unable to think, when suddenly
She opened her eyes. Alice was able to open her eyes. She was on the ground. She could feel a heavy object on her chest. She looked up and saw a rabbit, one that had her pinned down on the ground. A large, four-legged beast, with white fur and a rabbit-like head sporting a pair of long red ears, looked down at Alice, intrigued by the flowing bow on her head, reminiscent of a pair of blue rabbits ears. The beast opened its mouth, getting closer to Alice's face, but stopped short.
Taking advantage of this, Alice raised her sword and brought it down, only to be interrupted by a bright light, and a series of ticking sounds coming from the beasts chest. There, hung a large pocket watch whose hands began to move backward, its face glowing brighter by the second when it stopped. Alice had the feeling she had encountered this before, but couldn't recall ever seeing such a nightmare before in Library. She could feel a sense of familiarity, and her head ached, as though trying to remember something important, but just as she felt she had figured out what it was, she was interrupted by Noya who was floating above
"Kill it! It is a task you must complete to revive your author!"
Alice suddenly shook her head and brought down the sword, slashing the rabbit's side and kicking it off her before getting up and walking towards the rest of the rabbits, hacking them into pieces as they tried to run past her. As she took them out, the one she had cut first struggled to get up and lunged at Alice, who turned around and cleanly slit its throat causing it to fall limply onto the ground, unable to move.
"She killed them off"
"So much blood"
"Shut up..."
Alice wiped off the blood that had splattered on her face and walked away from the castle without looking back. It wasn't the first time a massacre of this sort had happened, and she knew full well that it would be far from the last judging by the laughter coming from the two irritating puppets.
Whether it was right or wrong, she didn't have to care, after all, it was for the sake of bringing back her author. It was her mission, her purpose, her fate. She was bonded to the task at hand, she'd do it for her author. For him, not for her
