Black Kitten Chara: Chapter five, folks! Enjoy and please leave a review! P.S. if any of you have a request for this story or a question, just PM me and I will try to answer it to the best of my abilities.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hollow fields or American McGee's Alice!
Falling is all they can remember if you asked them about what happened to the Rabbit House. Falling tens of thousands of feet in mid-air as debris of the old house fell pass them, barely missing them as they all yelled in fear and panic.
"We're going to die...!" Simon yelled.
Claude shut his eyes as he hoped the landing would be at least either on a very soft ground or water. But he knew that probably all of his bones would break and he would have serious head trauma for many years if he lands on anything at this point. "Maybe it would be easier if something stabbed me." Claude thought to himself.
Then, like by some miracle she had remember this, Claude heard Francine yell, "Guys, use that move that Cat taught me. The one where you float."
"But he said that would work for getting to higher places or to get across large gaps! Not for falling ten thousand feet in the air!" Carmen yelled.
But Francine didn't listen as she placed her feet under her and closed her eyes. "She's dead." Simon mummbled. But as Francine pursed her lips together, an array of red buttterflies, golden leaves, and a white hurricane appear under her feet as she steady herself and started floating down slower than her friends.
Simon looked at the small girl as he yelled, "Why does she always have to be right?!"
"Just do it!" Claude yelled back as he somehow got his feet under him. He shut his eyes tight as he prayed that this would work, and he began to feel something under his feet. He looked down to see golden butterflies, brown leaves, and his own black hurricane around his feet as the speed of his falling decreased.
He looked at Carmen and Simon to see they had the same luck. Simon had green butterflies, blue leaves, and a golden hurricane under his feet, and Carmen had dark purple butterflies with pink leaves and a lilac hurricane under her feet.
The three teens followed behind their smaller friend as they began to see something in the ocean; it looked like a continent, but some parts were black with strange-colored skies while some looked like tropical paradises with blue skies. And they were heading for one of the tropical parts.
"Wow!" Francine squealed as they got closer to the portion of land.
It was a large, vibrant, and lush forest that was growing a around a long and dark blue river, with tall trees, colorful mushrooms, and lots of flowers. A huge, gigantic statue of a crying girl was providing the tears that made up the rivers and streams. The river formed into various waterfalls, and there were other large crying statues along the path. There were also large game pieces around the place, including marbles, jacks, dominos, and dice. The only other deliberate construct there was a house, which looked like a shack made out of various bits of junk.
As the teens got closer, the butterflies disappeared from under their feet as they slowly reached the surface of the forest and landed softly next to a waterfall. Huge dominos lead the way to a small rock in ther river, and the Cheshire Cat appeared on this rock. "About time too, you four."
The four teens stared at the Cat as they began making their way across the river by the huge dominos, and Claude said as he crossed his arms, "Blasted Cat. Don't try to bully us, because we are very much on edge at the moment."
"Purrfect. When you are not on edge here, then you're just taking up space." The Cat smiled with his cruel grin.
"You're no help at all! Leaving us to die, and we don't even have something to carry these heavy things." Claude said in anger as he held his sword.
"But you know I can be." The Cat said as he used his paw to pull out two leather, slender quivers and two leather sword belts. Carmen and Simon picked up a quiver as they placed their weapons inside, without the worry of them not fitting in. Claude, still angry, and Francine grabbed the belts as Claude placed his sword in the leather holder and Francine had a small hole instead of a holder that fit snuggly around her umbrella.
Claude turned his back and said to the Cat, "Well, good-bye then. I am hoping to get out of here as quickly as possible."
"Abandoned that hope. A new law regins in this Wonderland, Knave. It's very rough justice all around, and we're at risk here. So your four, be on your guard." The Cat said as he disappeared again.
Simon crossed his arms as Claude started to walk. The blonde boy looked at Francine and asked, "Where are we?"
Francine tapped her chin thoughtfully as she said. "Well, I think we're in the Vale of Tears. An old part of Wonderland that isn't metion much, but lucky we're here instead of being in one of those dark areas."
Carmen and Simon nodded their heads in agreement as the three followed Claude through the river and back on land. The forest seem to be thicker and thicker by what they could see, and Carmen began to notice something after walking a few feet on dry land again. "Doesn't that statue look like Lucy?" Carmen asked as she pointed to the gigantic crying statue on the cliff.
Simon, Claude, and Francine all turned around to see what she had meant; the statue was of a girl no more than seventeen. Even though it was void of color and just grey, the facial structure and the shoulder-length hair with M-shaped bangs looked so familiar. It wore an old-fashioned Victorian-styled dress, but it was cut off by the waist.
"It does." Francine said as the statue's closed eyes let water flow like they were real tears.
Francine looked at the statue a moment longer as Carmen pulled her along to catch up with Claude. Simon looked at the girls like he had nothing to do with Claude going ahead, but they kept silent as the four walked through the thick, lush, and colorful forest as Simon licked his lips at one mushroom.
As he wander to grab a slice, Francine pulled on his collar and said, "Oh no, you don't."
Simon looked upset as the four continued down the forest, where the sound of a small waterfall could be heard from only a few feet. Claude kept his right hand on his sword, now safely tucked in its sword holder on his new belt, as sunlight poured through a small opening in the forest. There, on a rocky ledge, was a circular, dark purple bottle twice the size of car with a long top that had a tag that said Drink Me in delicate, black curvsy. It was pouring dark purple liquid into a small pool, and the Cat reappeared on the sole rock in this pool.
As they walked to the pool, Carmen smirked at the Cat as she said, "Let me guess; good things come in small sizes?"
The Cat shook his head as he said, "Though lacking bathing suits, you four are due for a swim."
The teens looked unsure as they walked into the lilac-colored waters and some of the handmade waterfall splashed on their heads.
Then they began to shrink. "My God, we're shrinking. Are we going to disappear?" Claude asked as he shurnk to the size of an ant. His friends follow suit on his size as they became small enough and their visions became tinted with purple.
"Almost. This was the other skill you need to know. Shrinking comes in handy when looking for escapes and prizes that you can not see with the naked eye. Hiccup and your size shall change before you can blink." The Cat said as his grin became a little wider.
The teens looked amazed as they hiccup once, and they grew back into their normal izes within a second. "Cool!" Francine said as she hiccup again and became small more once, then hiccup once last time as she grew back. "Sorry, but I'm just testing it out."
The Cheshire Cat smiled at the four as they walked out of the lilac pool, completely dry as he said, "Now, for a test. If you can prove yourself, then you will be given a lift and the explantation you so need."
As the Cat began to diappear, a scream could be heard as the teens all huddled together and looked with freaked out as at the direction the scream came from with all of their weapons out. But all it was just a child-sized, yellow-green chameleon that stood like a man on his back legs. He wore a brown tool-belt, a flatcap and an off-white waistcoat. His eyes were huge and his long, red tounge stuck out as he ran for dear life into Claude's leg.
"OW!" Claude yelled as he kicked the chameleon and held his hurt leg. "What the bloody hell are you doing running into my leg?"
The chameleon got up and shook his head as he breath in heavily. Claude had to hold his breath, and giving the other three teens daggers for hiding behind him, as he smelled the strong scent of brandy off the chameleon's lips. "She got me home. Dirty bitch! And she stole me brandy at that too!" The chameleon said in a thick Scottish accent.
Claude glared at the chameleon as Francine pushed pass the brunette and said, "Who has your home, Mr. Lizard?"
The chameleon gave Francine a dangerous lok as he yelled, "The name's Bill McGill to you, Missie! And that damn Duchess took me home and me brandy. I'm going to die if I don't me brandy back..."
"What about your home?" Carmen asked in confusion.
"Me brandy is the most important thing to me. If you can get that bitch out of me house with me brandy safe, then I will give you anything." Bill wailed in despair.
Claude looked at the chameleon as he began to think thoughtfully on this. A smirk came acros the brunette's face as he said, "We need to get to the nearest town, or whatever you call it here. We have enough wits to get the Duchess out anways."
"Boy, wits are useless in Wonderland! Plus, the nearest town in the Village of the Doomed and the old railroad has been torn to peices since the arrival of that damn Ruin! But, I might as well since you are helping me." Bill wailed.
The chameleon got up and began walking towards where him came from, and with worried looks on their faces, the teens followed him.
Bill wailed on and on about his "lovely" brandy as Francine looked around the lush forest with interest.
Francine had always the girl to take in her environment, then ask a million questions to understand it. At the moment, she was taking in the beautiful place as she asked questions to herself she didn't dare to ask the old, drunken chameleon. "Why is the Cheshire Cat and Bill McGill acting so different than what they do in the book, which I have proudly read over ten times, and Wonderland still look like this? And how does Lucy have control over this place?" Francine thought silently as the chameleon finally stopped at the house built out of junk.
"This is me place." Bill said sadly. "...Or was, at least."
Claude went up to the door as he pulled the Cheshire Sword out. He curled his hand together as he looked at Bill and said, "So, what happened exactly before we walk into a death trap?"
Bill looked upset as he lamented, "I was sitting, drinking me brandy when that wretched bitch came in with her pepper gun! She began shooting at me, and I ran out as that damn ruin covered my back door. I didn't dare go back through the front because that leads straight to the main room, and the Duchess is in the main room!"
"Pepper gun, eh?" Carmen said with a cocky smirk as she took her own Pepper Grinders from her belt.
"You don't understand. The Duchess' gun is powerful, and she is very fast. You basically have to burn her to actually defeat her." Bill lamented as he looked at his empty hands. "But you if burn me brandy-"
"You'll kill us?" Simon finished off.
Bill looked upset as Claude sighed and knocked on the door lightly. But even with the light knocks, the doors swung open and a strong gust of wind began to pull the teens in. Bill looked in shock as he turned on his heels and yelled, "AHHHH!" He ran away as the teens were pulled into the house and the door slammed shut as a latch shut them in.
~0~
Claude fell face-first into a brick wall as Francine and Carmen plowed into his back and Simon just fell straight to the ground. Claude felt some blood rush to his cheek as the two girls on his backs groggily moved off of him and rubbed their faces. Simon pushed himself off the ground as he spit some dirt out and asked, "Since when in hell does houses pull you in?"
"Since we came into Wonderland..." Francine mummbled as she helped him up.
Claude rubbed his cheek and looked at the small amount of blood he had gotten. He looked around and said, "Okay, we are not in the main room by the looks of this." The room they were in was a long, narrow hallway with bits and pieces of random junk poking out from the walls.
The brunette looked at his friends and said, "Looks like we're walking."
Everyone nodded their heads as they held their weapons close and walked down the narrow hallway. Francine's knees were heard hitting one another and her teeth were clanking together as Simon told her, "Can you stop moving?"
"I'm scared and I'm cold." Francine snapped back.
Claude hushed the two as they kept walking down the cold hallway. But Claude started to hear the sound of a chimney roaring, the air in the hallway became slightly warmer with every step, and Claude sound smell something strong that burned his nostrils; it was the smell of pepper filling the air.
Carmen pinched her nose as the teens entered a simple room; round and made out of dirt, without nothing more than a chimney and a few tables in the room. There were wooden shelves built into the wall and the chimney burned with a blazing fire. The smell of pepper burned the air as it mixed with the smell of the fire and brandy, causing tears to well up and hairs to burn at the slightly touch.
"This is the only room here?" Carmen asked as she looked at a circular well that was closed up in the middle of the room.
Claude walked farther into the room as he looked around. There was nothing close to a threat as he could see, but the smell of pepper did throw off his senses. "Why on earth would that lizard have pepper in his house?" Claude asked as he looked at the brandy on the wall. He smirked at the sight of the alcoholic drink, but the smile soon fade as a noise came from the chimney.
As he looked at the chimney and backed away, Simon looked on one of the tables as what looked like a jack-in-the-box. He jumped on the table and grabbed the tag, reading "The jackbomb is a friend, but his temperment is explosive, maybe best to let him play by himself. Make him angry and fire shall come from his bad mouth."
As Claude realized the blonde teenager was on the table, Simon grabbed the toy and jumped down. But this caused something to happen he wished he didn't happen.
The floor near the fireplace began to move inwards towards the chimney, causing an old woman to jump out from it. She wore a veil that covered her hair and most of her head, her dress was a pale with a pink design by her waist, a pink corset top around her chest, and the dress went down to her ankles. Her nose was pointed and her eyes were covered by blue eye shadow.
"SIMON!" Carmen yelled in anger.
The old woman grabbed a pepper gun from her waist and said in a harsh voice, "Come here, my little chicks! Mmmm, properly served and you shall make handsome dishes."
Claude crossed his arms and said, "We're not edible."
The Duchess cocked her head and said, "Well, you're not full meals, mind you. But light snacks, I think!"
Carmen stood by Claude as she added in, saying "We are not here to be eaten. Now, you disgusting orge, make way for us and get out of Bill's house."
"Over my dead body!" The Duchess wailed.
"We shall try to help you with that!" Claude said as he pulled out his sword. Carmen pulled out her own Pepper Grinders and Simon stood in the corner with his new toy as he got out the Hobby Horse.
Francine stood in the corner as the Duchess began to run at Claude. The brunette, being skilled in martial arts, grabbed his sword and drilled it into her chest, then used it to hold himself as he jumped into the air and kicked her throat.
But as Claude pulled his sword out, the Duchess hit him and he flew to a wall with full force. She began twirling the handle of her pepper gun as multiple pepper corns came out as fast bullets. Carmen avoided the attack as she grabbed her two Pepper Grinders and began two out pepper corns at fast speeds.
But the Duchess jumped on a table as Carmen's bullets barely missed her. Then the old woman jumped off and came at such a fast speed, Carmen didn't know that she was punched to the wall until she banged her head against it and groaned next to Claude.
Simon looked in fear, but he held his Hobby Horse steady as he ran up and began hitting the Duchess. The old woman looked at him with a pitiful look as she slammed her arm against his throat and he flew towards the wall his friends were already at, coughing up blood and rubbed his the back of his head as he dropped the Hobby Horse.
The Duchess smiled at the three wounded teens, licking her fat lips as she slowly walked up towards them with her pepper gun in hand. She gave a cruel smile as she held the pepper gun at the chests of the three teens and smiled, "Time to make a nice meal."
As the three teens closed their eyes and said their final prayers as the Duchess barely touched the handle, they heard a loud thud. They opened their eyes to see the Duchess' pepper gun on the floor in brown-colored water that had white steam rising up from the ground.
The Duchess turned around to see Francine pointing her weapon at the old woman. The clock face of her watch was now a huge black metal teapot with silver detailing and a blue clock face on both sides. Depsite its large size, Francine didn't seem bother by it only being on her thin wrist. Next to her foot was the Jackbomb, the same weapon that had caused the Duchess to come out.
"You wrecthed girl!" The Duchess yelled as she ran towards Francine, forgetting her pepper gun on the floor. Francine gave a small smile as she pressed a button on the curved handle of the teapot, causing a black, round pocket watch with a blue face to shoot from the teapot with white steam behind it.
The attack hit the Duchess in the chest as the old woman was thrown into a table, screaming as she was thrown. Francine saw her chance and yelled, "Guys, get out of the way!" Her friends looked confused but saw her hold the Jackbomb in her hands as the Duchess tried to get out of the rubble she was in.
The three teens near the wall ran the best they could as Francine threw the weapon near the Duchess. Luckily for them, they were out of the way as the jack came out of the box and began turning his head slowly as fire came from his evil smile. The Duchess was not so lucky as the fire hit her and she began to burn.
The old woman shot up form the rubble she was in as she ran around in pain. Francine looked at Carmen and yelled, "Carmen, use the Pepper Grinders!"
Carmen nodded her head as she pulled out the automanic guns and pressed the buttons as pepper corns began shooting out. She directed them at the Duchess, who was still burning, and used all the Grinders's power as she kept her balance and kept eye contact the the moving Duchess.
But the Duchess grabbed her pepper gun from the floor as she tried to turn the handle as she burned, not knowing which way the handle was turned. As she turned the handle furiously, the pepper corns hit her instead and she began sneezing uncontrollably. She dropped the pepper gun as the teens watched her sneeze until finally, she gave a huge sneeze that her head burst.
"Gross!" Carmen yelled as blood, pepper corns, and black dust from the chimney covered the teens. "And I just got this outfit cleaned!"
Claude looked at the dark-skinned girl and asked, "All you are worry about are your clothes?"
"At the moment, yes." Carmen snapped as the well in the middle of the room opened up.
Bill McGill jumped from inside the well and looked around the room. "Well, you got that damn bitch out. And you saved me brandy. A double whammy deserves a double reward, don't you think?"
"Um, sure." Simon answered. He looked at the Jackbomb and said, "Can we keep this?"
Bill looked angry as he grabbed the weapon and said, "Nope. This is the only thing that will keep me safe." He took the weapon as he went to a wall and opened a door that was camouflage into the wall with the bash dirt and rocky texture. He threw the wepaon in as he began rummaging through the closet.
Claude kept his eyes on the headless Duchess as he asked, "About what the mess we made?"
Bill waved his hand without looking back as he said, "Don't worry. I will get me leeches to clean it up."
Francine and Carmen made faces to show they were disgusted and Bill came out of the closet with three very silimar yet different weapons. "Besides the Vorpal Blades, you are out of luck boy with getting a new weapon. But the Cheshire Sword is powerful enough not to need a stronger version." Bill said as he looked at Claude. The brunette looked at his sword as his friends looked at what Bill was holding.
"For the wee lass." Bill said as he walked over to Francine, only to rip her Teapot Cannon off her wrist and replace it with a silimar one. It was the same silver bracelet, but it had a new clock face. It was a golden, gargoyle-shaped teapot with a red-and-gold clock face. It had horns on its lid, and its spout was the gargoyle's head with a mouth with sharp teeth. Francine pressed the top as it came to life. She pressed the button on the handle as it released golden pocket watches that were studded with spikes, and it released red steam.
"For the scrawny lad." Bill said as he walked over to Simon, taking the Hobby Horse as he gave Simon a new version. It was a "hobby unicorn" with a silver body and head. The head had gold glowing eyes, nostrils and a single horn protruding from the forehead. The weight was pointed, resembling a diamond, and the rein was made from white leather and chains. The white-blonde mane was long and more wild than the Simon's old Hobby Horse.
"And for the smart-ass." Bill said as he walked over to Carmen, takng her Pepper Grinders as he gave her new versions. The new Pepper Grinders were fatter, with warthog-like appearances, and made from black and silver metal. The body of grinders were now a full-bodied pig, gaining four legs and the crank becoming the tail. The eyes and mouth glowed like red fire, and long, pointy tusks were present in the lower jaw. The nose had a silver ring piece through the "nostrils."
Francine smiled as she pressed the button for the new Teapot Cannon to look like a watch as Carmen smiled as she placed her new Pepper Grinders through the loops of her belt. Simon still had a disappointed look on his face as he placed his new Hobby Horse in its quiver, saying "I still have a girly weapon!"
Bill looked at Claude as his skin turned blue. "Boy, you and that redhead girlfriend of yours have the strongest weapons here. Be lucky for what you have."
Claude's face became a bright red as he stammered, "L-Lucy is not my girlfriend."
Bill shook his head in pity as he went back to the table that lead out of the house. "Now, if you lads and lassies were smart, you will follow me and I'll take you to the old train station. From there, that will take you to the Village of the Doomed."
Bill jumped into the well as the teens looked at one another. Carmen follwoed behind Bill, then Simon followed behind her with Francine at his heels, and Claude sighed as he grabbed the top of the well and closed the handmade escape hatch as he jumped in to follow his friends.