A/N: Hey, everybody! Sorry this chapter took a little longer than usual to get out. I've been busy lately, so it's been a bit harder to find time to work on this. But I am determined to continue this story! I also apologize that this chapter is a bit on the shorter side. That's just the way it worked out. I didn't want to unnecessarily pad out the chapter if it didn't need it. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this one nonetheless.
Alice woke up sometime later. It was hard to tell if it was morning or not, given that she was underground. She heard some of the Lost Boys snoring softly. One of the Twins' head was resting on her chest (Meep or Jeep? She couldn't exactly tell), so she set his head aside and quietly got out of bed.
The girl began exploring the underground home until she came across something that truly shocked her. It was something she had only seen in her dreams before. It was a small door, only about a foot tall, and on it was a doorknob with a face. The Doorknob was sleeping, along with everyone else in the home, so Alice knelt down to it and said, "Hello, Mr. Doorknob. It's quite a surprise seeing you here."
The Doorknob woke up and said, "Oh! Why, hello, young lady! Great to make your acquaintance once again."
"How ever did you manage to end up here?" Alice asked.
"Well… I'm not quite sure," the Doorknob said.
"I think I know how," Peter said, startling Alice. She looked back and saw that he was standing only a few feet behind her. "What did you dream about last night?" he asked.
"Hm. I think I dreamed about…Wonderland," Alice said. "Including you, Mr. Doorknob."
"Then that's it!" Peter said. "When someone with a strong enough imagination comes to Neverland, the things they imagine can become real. Sort of like our food last night, except anyone can do that. But this," Peter pointed at the little door, "this takes some powerful imagination."
"So… if I imagine that I have a beautiful, bejeweled queen's crown on my head right now, will it appear?" Alice asked as she began thinking really hard.
"Nope, probably not," Peter said. "Usually, things only come from a person's dreams, since that's when our imaginations are most active."
"What's going on?" Slightly murmured as he and the other Lost Boys began to wake up.
"Yeah, why are you guys talking so much, so early in the morning?" Cubby said, yawning.
All the Lost Boys eventually got out of bed and joined Peter and Alice. "What're you looking at?" Nibs said.
"Hey! That door was never there before!" Slightly said.
"Yeah, it came from Alice's dream," Peter said.
"Wow, you must have a really powerful imagination, then," Cubby said.
"Yeah, none of us can do that," Slightly said.
The Twins began poking the Doorknob's face. "Ouch! Do stop that at once!" the Doorknob said. "How would you like it if someone kept poking you in the face?"
The two boys in the raccoon costumes giggled. "He's funny," Meep said. "I wonder what's behind the door," Jeep said. The Twins opened the little door, and behind it was a portal to a dreamlike dimension. They saw a crowd of figures getting closer and closer. "Hey, there are some people coming," Meep said. "Except… some of them aren't even people," Jeep said.
A stampede of crazy characters burst through the small doorway, which logically, they shouldn't have been able to fit through, but it was clear to Alice that logic had no relevance anymore. The rush of the Wonderland crowd was so strong that they ended up taking the Lost Boys with them. Slightly and Cubby were carried off by the Mad Hatter and the March Hare. The Twins were carried off by Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. Nibs and Tootles were carried off by the Walrus and the Carpenter.
Peter and Alice hid behind the bed as the characters stormed through the hideout. The crowd scrambled out from the underground home and into the wilderness of Neverland, the Lost Boys with them.
Once it seemed like no one else would be coming out from the door, Peter stood up. "Look what you did!" he said.
"Look what I did?" Alice said. "It was the Lost Boys who started this. They're the ones who opened the door."
"Well, the door wouldn't have been there in the first place if you never dreamt it up."
"That wasn't my fault. I didn't even know I could do that."
"Now the Lost Boys are gone and it's all your stupid imagination's fault," Peter huffed.
Then, an army of card soldiers emerged from the small door in a single file line.
"Oh, no! It's the Queen of Hearts!" Alice said. "Hurry! Duck behind the bed again. She can't know I'm here."
The White Rabbit came out, blowing his bugle. "Now presenting her royal majesty, the Queen of Hearts!" he said. After a tight squeeze, the Queen popped out from the little door, followed by her incredibly short husband, who was the perfect size for the door. "…And the King," the Rabbit added.
"Where is that little weasel Alice?" the Queen of Hearts bellowed. "Once we find her, she'll lose her head for sure!
"Maybe she went outside," the King said. "That's where everyone else went."
"I have an excellent idea!" the Queen said. "We'll search outside! That's where everyone else went."
"Great idea, your majesty," the card soldiers said. "Yes, we'll begin our search outside."
The Queen, King, White Rabbit, and card soldiers all made their way out of the underground home, leaving the den deserted, except for Alice and Peter.
"Is that it? No more people coming?" Peter said.
"I think so," Alice said.
"Good. Then we can finally close this stupid door." Peter slammed the little door shut.
"Ouch!" the Doorknob said. "And don't put the blame on me. I have no control of who comes in or out of me. I don't even control whether I'm open or closed."
"Well, I guess you're right," Peter said. "Still, this is a big problem we have on our hands. Those guys took the Lost Boys away, and now they're loose out in Neverland. Who knows where they've gone to; they could be anywhere."
"Then I guess we'll have to go find them," Alice said.
"Really? You'd do that, Alice?"
"Of course. After all, I am their mother, aren't I? It would be plain irresponsible of me to abandon my children. Besides, this is all my fault, apparently."
"Listen, I didn't mean that. I know it wasn't your fault. But… thank you. For helping me find the boys. They're practically my family."
Alice said, "Well, I haven't known them for very long, but I do have a strange feeling that they are like my family as well. Now, come on, we can't keep on staying here if we want to find them; let's go!"
"Wait!" Peter said. "We can't go without Tinker Bell."
"Tinker Bell? Oh, yes, I almost forgot. Where has she been all this time?" Alice asked.
"Sleeping," Peter said. He went over to the tree trunk Tink slept in and pulled back the leaf curtain. "Tink, wake up!" The pixie yawned and stretched as she got up from her little bed. "Come on, how could you sleep through everything that just happened?" Peter said.
Tink replied to Peter with a series of bell sounds.
"Okay, okay, no need to be rude now," Peter said. "This is important. Alice and I need to go find the Lost Boys. I can explain more on the way. Come on!"
So, with Tink by their side, Alice and Peter went up the spiral staircase through the hollow trunk of Hangman's Tree, leading out into Neverland's jungles, where they would start their search.