EH, SORRY. I KINDA DRAGGED MY FEET ON GETTING THIS ONE UP. NO INSPERATION. THE LAST CHAPPY WAS UP FAST CAUSE I WAS IN THE ZONE, BUT NOW I THINK I DRIED OUT THE ZONE! XP BUT AS A REWARD OR THE WAIT, THIS CHAPTER IS LONGER THAN ANY I'VE MADE SINCE COMING BACK! ANYWAYS, PLEASE TRY TO ENJOY! (AND, I FINALLY HIT 72 REVIEWS AND THE 80,000 WORD MARK! TT_TT THANK YOU ALL WHO REVIEWED! YOU REALLY DID HELP ME FINISH THIS CHAPPY!)

Ch.36: Great View, Bad Exits

I slowly opened my eyes to see the sun, bright and huge above me. Icy air cut at my face and I realized I was damp; as though I'd walked through a soupy mist. I managed to gather my courage and peek over Alister's scaly side. I epped. The clouds were not that far below us! They were as gray and dark up here as they were down there, but this time, the blue, rich sky stretched endlessly above me! I shivered and wrapped my arms around myself, the damp that apparently had come from the clouds making me colder than usual. Though to be honest, this wasn't bad at all! Actually, it was kind of fun!

"So how do you like flying?" My eyes widened, and then quickly squinted again as the wind stung my eyes, as I jerked to the voice, "Alister?! You can talk?! I mean, I know you can talk, but in this form?!" I felt his neck strain and his ribs shake as a deep, throaty noise was carried by the wind back to my ears. I glared at his head, "Are you laughing at me?" "No, it's just that…it is rather difficult to speak in this form. The jaw is ill suited for speech." I blinked and face palmed; of course it's hard for him to talk! That's a hell of a design flaw! His voice, only barely recognize able as his, was strangled and rough, as though he had had to form the words in the back of his throat and shove them past his teeth out into the open.

"You didn't answer; do you enjoy flight?" I looked around at the open, vast sky, "H*** yeah! This is amazing!" This time, I think he did laugh, "I'm glad you enjoy it. I was afraid I'd upset you." I laughed a little nervously, and then my smile turned sad. …Alister really is a good guy. I wish there was something I could do to help him…. "…C.J?" I snapped up, "Huh? What?" He chuffed, "Get ready. Their just below us…. How should we go about this?" I thought for a moment as Alister hovered in midair. (Super cool, by the way) "Umm… it's not like their bullets can hurt you…."

….

P.O.V Change: Peirce

I sighed and wound my hands around themselves nervously as we kept on moving. It had been a while since C.J was kidnapped, and there didn't seem to be any sign of the Jabberwocky or C.J! I sighed again, my nervousness only growing. The cat looked back at me, a snarl on his face, "Would you stop that you dumb rat! You're making my fur bristle!" Yuri, the strange dog boy, looked back and nearly barked at Boris, "Enough! Your foolishness must wait until after this mess is sorted out! Then you may chase each other about until your heart's content; but until then, try being civil to one another!" My ears pinned against my head. I thought Yuri was ok. I mean, he protected me from the cat and all, but he was kind of scary when under pressure. …Like someone stepped on his tail.

Boris let out a low hiss. I KNOW that Boris didn't like Yuri. I honestly thought that if he tried, those two could be good friends, but as of now, there seemed to be something about Yuri that Boris just didn't like. Maybe because of Yuri being a dog?

Ace grinned and leaned into the conversation, "Hey now, let's all just be friends, ok? We're all in the same boat!" Both Boris and Yuri twitched.

"Keep off! This doesn't concern you fool!"

"Butt out you idiot knight!"

The two blinked and looked at each other; Boris let out another low hiss and Yuri growled. Finally fed up, White turned around; a less than pleasant expression on his face. "Both of you stop it! Arguing is not going to save C.J!"

The knight was looking into the air, slightly startled. I frowned and looked up, only to have my jaw drop. I pointed up, "And a-a-apparently we're n-n-not going to either. Look!"

Everyone glanced up, only to do a double take as they all saw dark shadows on the underside of the cloud above us. To our horror, the Jabberwocky emerged from the clouds, dark and deadly as ever. We all stood and watched, horrified, as the beast circled in for landing! Boris drew his gun, snapping out of his state of shock with a look of anger on his face. White held out a hand, stopping him as he took aim, "Stop! The bullets are useless, you'll just waste ammo. And if it still had C.J, you could hit her!"

All we could do was stare and wait as the beast hovered for a moment before dropping down to the ground, the ground shaking upon the new burden. It had landed facing away from us, exposing its entire scaly, irritatingly impenetrable right side to us. I twisted its head to look at all of us with its left eye. I frowned, noticing something…wrong. Its eye was dark, almost black; far different to its normally bright red reptilian gaze. …Why hasn't it attacked yet?

The beast chuffed and lowered his wing/arm, only to reveal…C.J?! There she was, sitting as healthy as ever, not a hair on her head harmed, on the Jabberwocky's back! She grinned and gave us a small salute from the beasts back, "'Sup guys?" …I almost had a heart attack.

….

P.O.V Change: C.J

I grinned from on top of Alister's back; trying not to freak them out too bad…it didn't work. Peirce started hyperventilating and Boris had his gun drawn. White and Yuri looked both confused as h*** and worried. Ace started clapping, clearly impressed with my feat.

I swung my other leg to the other side and started dismounting…or, sliding off, as anyone watching might have put it. I got hung up and started falling as my sleeve caught on of the many spikes on Alister's side. "AKK!" Graceful, no? I covered my face in attempt to save it as I prepared for impact, only to be caught by strong arms. I peeked out from my hands to see that, naturally, White had caught me. Yippee. I blushed and quickly squirmed out of his arms. I backed up, shoving my blood back down where it belongs, and gave the others a grin. "I'm back!"

Everyone just stared at me. No talk, just stared. Finally Boris opened his mouth, "HOW ARE YOU HERE?! HOW?!" Ace laughed, "I guess it really is impossible to kill C.J!" Let's hope he didn't speak too soon…. Yuri slapped poor, choking Peirce on the back, still not looking away from me. White sighed and put a hand on my shoulder, his expression a strange mix of confusion and relief. "Could you please explain what happened?" I smiled nervously, "Well, let me start off with this." I reached behind me and pulled the Vorpal Blade from my waist band, Holding it up and showing it to all of them. White's eyebrow hit his hairline and the others looked puzzled, not knowing yet what it was. I smiled again, "Also, you need to see this," I turned and whistled the signal to Alister. He dipped his head in a nod and closed his eye, before he transformed again; the strange popping noise echoing. There he stood, human for with a bandana over his skull, covering his eye, and otherwise unharmed. He smiled shyly and waved, "Hello. It has been quite some time." Peirce fainted on the spot.

…

Peirce finally opened his eyes, the green like emeralds. He carefully sat up and rubbed his head (where'd he'd landed on) and looked at the others. He did a double take on Alister and started hyperventilating again. I knelt down to him, "Peirce! Chill out! He's cool!" "B-b-b-but, J-j-jabberwocky! K-kidnaped! Y-you, ride, Alister, how?!" I waved a hand, "I'll explain as soon as you calm down! Get a grip dude." He stared, teary eyed, at me right before he threw his arms around my waist, hugging me around the stomach. "I was so worried! I was afraid I'd never see you again!" …Awww. I grinned sheepishly and patted his head, "There, there Peirce. I'm alright now." I felt another pair of arms wrap around my shoulders. I twisted my head to see Ace snuggling into my neck. "…What the h*** are you doing?" He looked up and grinned, "What? I was worried about you to." Both Ace and Peirce were then promptly dragged off me by White, whom looked non-too-happy.

Yuri leaned in, "Now then, an explanation?" I nodded and sat down, while advising them to do the same. "Alright, so when we were flying…."

…

"…And that's what happened basically." Everyone but Alister (who was bored because he'd already heard this) was staring at me like I was crazy. I huffed and crossed my arms, "Hey! Don't look at me like I'm loony! What in this world ISN'T crazy?!" world ISN'T crazy?!" Yuri massaged his temple, "Forgive me, it's just…difficult wrap my mind about the concept."

Alright, so I had just explained the outline of the situation and the basics of what had happened after the kidnapping. Mostly about how we couldn't go home now that we've pretty much accomplished what we'd set out to do, and how I now had an epic weapon and had to go find and old city and kill someone. Peirce looked over to Alister, "…So this whole time, you were the Jabberwocky?" Alister looked away shyly, "Yes, and I'm not proud of that. I'm sorry for all of the trouble I've caused." Yuri grinned and clapped Alister over the shoulder, "Hey! Don't go kicking yourself over it! Water under the bridge." Alister shifted uncomfortably under Yuri's hand, looking distressed. I felt a pang of pity again for him. I had been hoping that seeing Alister face to face would stir some memories for Yuri, but in all surface appearances, Yuri's memory status was unchanged. Yuri was one of Alister's best friends, and Yuri didn't even remember him. To Yuri, it was like meeting a total stranger.

I quickly waved my hand around to gain everyone's attention, "Ok, I know this isn't exactly what you all volunteered for, but this rescues team is hence forth an assassin squad! Our target is extremely powerful, we have only one weapon that can hope of killing him, and he's a complete lunatic! Who's backing out?" Ace grinned and laughed loudly, "Are you kidding? This is finally getting fun!" I rolled my eyes, "Anyone going to second that?" Simultaneous 'I's' sounded. I smiled, "Well alright then."

….

….

I peered once again, for the hundredth time, down the edge of the giagantor fracking cliff in from of us! I gulped as I stared down at the silver sliver of a riven at the very bottom of the dizzying height. I stepped away from the edge, still fuming about the crappy terrain. No landscape of any kind, and suddenly, there's a gigantic freaking canyon in the middle of the d*** desert?! Nice placement, whoever the h*** made this world! I looked both ways and was even more p***** off to find that I could see no end either way to the massive mar on the landscape. No going around and there was no way in h*** I was going to climb down this thing! It was like the Grand Canyon!

I huffed as Alister came up to me and muttered in a hushed voice, clearly not wanting anyone else to hear, "Um…C.J?" I glanced at him, "What?" "…I think Alistair was the one who did this." My eyes almost popped out of my skull. White, who had happened to have been in ear shot, let his jaw drop. I grabbed both of them into a huddle, "What the f*** do you mean Alistair did this?! What'd he do, wave his magic wand and wish for a huge a** trench?!" Alister winced at my harsh tone, "No, but rather close. He used a rather powerful spell, intending it to be the final blow to…the Bandersnatch. If I recall correctly, he managed to dodge it in the nick of time."

Finally, the full scale of the battle in all of its epicenes dawned on me. Inky black spots glided across my vision and I stumbled a little bit. White automatically reached out and steadied me, putting a hand on my waist. Not noticing, I grabbed my hat off my head and fanned myself with it in a nervous habit, and found my voice again, "What?! You, and everyone, expect me to beat someone who made the Grand Canyon?! This like one of those freaking animes!" White took his hand from my waist and patted my un-hatted head. This time noticing, I flamed and looked up. He smiled comfortingly down at me, "I'm sure you'll manage C.J. You always do." I huffed and muttered, "Sure, but it usually helps to know what the h*** I'm getting myself into beforehand." The pat on the head became more of a stroke as his fingers lingered in my hair. An icy shiver ran up my spine and my blush deepened further.

I cleared my throat, as he didn't seem to be planning on removing his hand any time soon. He blinked, as though snapping out of a trance, and pulled his hand away. I slapped my hat back where it belongs, my scalp still tingling from his touch. I then quickly turned around so he wouldn't see me slap myself. Get a freaking grip! Focus on the real problem at hand here C.J! I then spun back around to face the gorge. I sighed, "Anyone have any bright ideas?" Ace scratched his head, and then brightened up (seriously, I could have sworn there was a light bulb above his chestnut hair) and raised his hand. I sighed, "Does anyone have an idea that won't get us killed, maimed, broken or fractured in any way?" Ace kept his hand in the air. I pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling a headache coming on.

"Yes Ace?" "We have someone who can fly! Can't he just fly us over?" I paused, and then blinked. I turned and let an evil grin loose as I glanced at Alister, "That's actually a terrific idea Ace. Gold star for you." He sun beamed as Alister went paler than usual. He gulped, "Um…I know I can carry one…but 6? I think that may be well out of my abilities C.J." Yuri clapped him on the shoulder, "Well, let's find out then! No use in standing here trying to guess now, is there?"

I nodded, "It's either that, or we spend all day trying to find another way to cross this. Your choice." He stood there, clearly conflicted, and then dipped his head in submission. In an instant, he once again became the Jabberwocky. He turned and lowered his wing, bending his knees so he'd be low enough to climb on.

Suddenly Boris started laughing. I frowned at him, "What the heck got into you?" Boris managed to speak around his manic giggles, "I just noticed…Alister kinda looks like a giant chicken!" I stared at him and then looked at Alister. …I couldn't say he was wrong. …I mean, the anatomy was actually very similar to a chickens. Yuri snickered a little behind his fist, trying not to get in trouble when I scolded them. However, I didn't have to. Alister flicked out his tail and nocked Boris's feet out from under him, a lot like how he did with me! Except, instead of catching him like he did me, he let Boris fall on his face. Then, Alister wrapped his tail around Boris's ankles and lifted him up upside down! (Here's a tip: Cats do NOT like being held upside down.) I laughed out loud at Boris's face, "Ha-ha! Now that's funny!" Peirce ground up some courage, "Serves you right you mean cat!" He then hid behind me, whimpering. Yuri and Ace were laughing their heads off, Yuri actually falling to the ground laughing and Ace starting to tear up while holding his sides. White face palmed, but couldn't stifle a chuckle at the cat's misery.

Boris wriggled in the air, clearly unhappy, and let out a deep hiss, "Alright, alright! I'm sorry, ok!" Alister huffed, satisfied, as he lowered Boris to the ground, waiting until Boris was nose on the ground before, without warning, dropped him on his face. Boris picked himself up and tried to clean his now bloody nose, "Yesh, learn to take a joke." Alister kept staring at him, unyielding, until Boris looked away, " Tightwad." Alister chuffed and turned his head, satisfied in the small victory. He stretched out his wing again and once more offered for everyone to climb aboard.

Ace was first up, clambering on without a problem. He reached down and held out a hand for Peirce, who was having trouble scrambling on. Peirce hesitated, and then quickly grabbed Ace's hand at Boris's 'encouraging' hiss. Boris hopped up next, all three of them then helping Yuri up. I padded up and hopped, grabbing on of the nearest spikes. I reached for the next one, but I wasn't quite high enough to reach a new spike or any of the guys' hands, however I stretched. To my embarrassment , I felt SOMEONE wrap their arms around my waist and give me a boost. Yuri grabbed my hand and hulled me up as White followed, taking the seat right behind me. I glanced back at him, "Umm…thanks." He smiled, "You're welcome."

"Hold on." Before anyone could voice their surprise at Alister's ability to speak in that form, the winged role holder jumped into the air with a pulse of said wings. Within seconds, we were above the clouds, coasting on the warm air drafts. Ace looked over the side and laughed, "Wow, this is fun!" I leaned over a little to see him, "Yeah, when you're not the one doing all the work! How are you doing Alister?" "I think I can manage, but landing might prove to be an issue." "Don't worry! Just coast as long as you can, ok?" He didn't reply, but instead dipped his head in acknowledgment.

The clouds moved swiftly under us as Alister stayed above them, a blurry blanket of gray and shadows. I kept scanning the air around us, taking the moment to appreciate the view. Then, a darker smudge above the clouds caught my eye. I turned my eyes to see a dark, menacing bank of black clouds was sprawled out in the distance, spiraling down in a column before spreading out and mingling among the paler clouds. I squinted and jumped a little bit as I saw a brilliant flash of lightning. I frowned …storms don't happen this high up…do they? I pointed, "Hey, check that out!" All on board turned their heads to the disturbance. Peirce leaned and squinted, "…What is it?" Yuri frowned, "…A thunder storm?" White' eye narrowed, "This high up?" Ace chipped in, "And I think it goes lower than that!"

Suddenly, my leg got damp and cold. I yelped and jerked. I looked down only to notice that my leg, as well as a good portion of Alister's lower half, had dipped beneath the clouds! My eyes widened as the chill crept further up my leg; we were going down! I leaned over and shouted, "Yo, Alister! Is there a reason we're going down?!" He didn't respond. I frowned and not so gently rammed my heel into his side. He jerked his head up and instantly flapped his wings, carrying us up again. The resulting jolt startled all of us. I was nearly thrown off, but White put his hands on my shoulders to steady me. I glanced back, blushing, and muttered, "Thanks." I turned around and leaned over to yell to Alister, concerned, "Umm…you ok dude? You nearly dozed off!" "…No, I'm not. Flying takes a lot of energy and trying it with six extra bodies is taking its toll." Hey, at least he's honest. I nodded, understanding. White pointed over to the cloud tower. "What do you make of that Alister?"

He twisted his head to see the massive electric storm and he widened his eye. "That is no natural storm. That is the result of a beacon spell." Boris frowned quizzically, "What's that?" "A spell to signal that you are entering a specific area. It's high level magic and requires a great deal of energy." "Well, what area is it indicating?" Alister dropped down to the cloud blanket and dipped his head down to see below the fluffy, damp mass, the long neck of the Jabberwocky serving him well. He soon brought his head up, "…It is directly over Marmund."

All eyes widened. Except Boris's. He scratched his head, "Umm…what's a Marmund?" Yuri growled at him, "Have you got wax in your ears? That's the city we need to get to!" "Oh." I took a deep breath, "Ok, Alister and the rest of us are tired. We'll land for now, outside the storm." The others nodded and Alister wordlessly shifted to glide below the clouds.

Once we were below them, the ground was far, far below us. I gulped, now nervous. I know I'm not typically afraid of anything trivial like heights, but that last near fall to my death was enough to make me a little bit acrophobic. Noticing my nervous glance at the distant ground, White chuckled, "Just don't look down. And don't worry; I won't let you fall." To punctuate this, he raised his hand and set it on my upper arm; a demonstration of his willingness to catch me if I should be unlucky enough to fall. Which I probably was. I blushed slightly, but didn't complain and took his advice, pulling my gaze up to the heavy clouds, which were now getting further and further away.

Finally, we made it to the ground. White, Ace, Boris and Yuri all hopped off Alister's back with ease, though Peirce fell on his face with less than grace. I gulped again, remembering the last dismount. White smiled and held out his arms, "Don't worry C.J, I'll catch you." Ace grinned and leaned in, "Aww, but I want to catch C.J! It'd kinda be like catching a falling angel!" White death glared him. I stuck my tongue out at Ace, "Forget it Ace! I'd rather fall on my a** than you catch me!" "Aww, you're mean C.J!" Boris snickered, "Falling angel? More like a snarky demon." I made a face at him. I sighed and swung my leg over to the other side. I looked down and groaned. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, oh well. What do I have to lose anyway? Without opening my eyes, I pushed myself off of Alister and fell to the ground, prepared for the painful aches in the spine that come along with busting you're a**.

Except, I didn't hit the ground. I cracked my eyes to find that, as promised, White had caught me and was holding me bridal style. I twitched a little, "Thanks…again." He smiled, "You're welcome…again." "Umm…you can put me down now." Ace popped in again, "Or you could give her to me! I want to carry C.J!" What am I, a kitten in front of Wal-Mart? White, clearly not liking that idea, pulled me a little closer. "Not a chance." I frowned and started squirming. "Put me down, NOW." Ace looked disappointed and White sighed, shifting me and setting me on my feet. I promptly turned at a familiar popping noise and turned to see Alister, in normal form, resting his hands on his knees. He was panting like he'd just run a marathon. My eyes widened, "Dude! Are you alright?!" He looked up, still heaving and having to pause to breathe, "Yes…I will…be. It's…a bit…difficult to…adjust after…a hard flight." I frowned, "Really? You'd think that'd take care of its self." "You would…think."

Someone, knowing it wasn't me, let their stomach complain loudly. I raised an eyebrow. Alister blushed and put a hand on his stomach, "I did mention…that it takes a lot…of energy to fly, yes?" I face palmed, of course it does! Aren't I smart?! I quickly started rummaging for the thing Alice had given me earlier, before we left. "Where…ah ha!" I grinned as I pulled out a brown paper bag. "And Bingo was his name-o!"

I sat down on the sand and started to rummage. "Let's see…we've got about 5 sandwiches, a couple of protein bars, a few bottles of water…." My eyes widened and I chuckled. White leaned over, "What?" I held up the object of amusement, "…and a chocolate cupcake." Peirce leaned over and peered into the now empty paper bag, "…How did Alice fit all that in there?" Yuri plopped down to the ground and picked up his share of the sandwiches, "I'm not about to go questioning it!" He shredded up the plastic wrap around it and tore into the bread and other ingredients with enthusiasm. Boris, Peirce and White all took their shares, leaving me with the cupcake, a sandwich, a bar, and a drink. I tore my sandwich in half and tossed it to Alister, along with half my protein bar and the cupcake. "Here, you need it more than I do right now." He shook his head, "No, I can't. You have a battle tomorrow, and you need your strength for it." I bit off a mouthful of my half-sandwich (peanut butter and jelly in case you're wondering) and waved. "No problem. Besides, you've earned it." He looked down, blushing, a guilty look on his face. None the less, he started to scarf down the food with a speed that put a large pack of piranha to shame. I chuckled as I waterfalled half my bottle of water and handed it off to Alister, who gratefully polished it off.

I stretched, the food helping fill the void where my stomach should have been, "Alright, I think we should all get some rest. Tomorrow, we end this. Alright?" Everyone nodded and we all went off to set up camp. There was no real wood around here, so no fire, but almost everyone had a sleeping bag…and of course, Ace had his tent. Which he put up in like, the five seconds no one was looking. (This was followed with many questions.) I got the tent, and everyone else was to sleep in the sleeping bags. I objected strongly to this arrangement, but White, Yuri, Alister, and Peirce all 'insisted'. In other words, they tossed me in the d*** tent and said night-night.

As I curled up under the (also mysteriously appearing) blanket, I stared at the side of the tent and thought about the quickly approaching battle. I sighed, unsure of what to do. I had the necessary weapon. I kinda knew what to do. I had back up. What I lacked was the confidence. Could I really defeat a guy who made the freaking Grand Canyon? Who has lived un-aging for eighty years? Someone with enough power to shift the very weather and not break a sweat? I sighed and closed my eyes, and for the first time in what seemed like years, I prayed quietly. Not to God, should he exist, but to my big brother, and all the people from the past who have looked after me and cared for me.

"Ni-san, I don't know if you're listening…but please help us. Watch over us; protect us as best you can. I know I might be asking a lot, but when was the last time I asked a favor of the dead?"

P.O.V Change: Fly on the Wall

A shadowy figure stood in the center of a large, circular chamber, gazing into a mirror. The room was barren, aside from the large mirror hanging by a thin cord on the wall, a thread bear rug lying limply on the stone floors, a trap door exit set in the floor on the far side of the room, and a large glassless window with tattered curtains overlooking a dead and barren ruin. Instead of his own reflection, he saw the blonde foreigner, whose name he had learned from the memories of the Jabberwocky. He watched as she snuggled into sleep, a small frown on her face, as though she were conflicted with her thoughts. She closed her eyes and murmured something. He slightly regretted that this spell could not bring sound, as he might have liked to hear her voice just once before they met.

As she settled down to sleep, he waved his hand in dismissal, the mirror wavering before once more becoming nothing more than that; a mirror. He walked to the window and tossed open the ragged curtains, ripping them when the rusty rings caught on something. He sighed and stared out onto the landscape and scanned the horizon, the darkness of his beacon casting an even darker gloom than the clouds of the Badlands cast. He swept the area once more, hoping to catch a fleeting glimpse of where the girl with the heart's camp was. However, he could not pick it out from among the vast area.

He sighed, contemplating sleep. Tomorrow would be a big day for him to. The day he destroyed Wonderland forever. He opened his eyes once more before retiring to the bed further below and said to the wind, hoping it might reach her ears somehow, "Come to me C.J. Come and meet the man who's going to kill all you now hold dear."

OH MY, THAT WAS LONG! IT TOOK FOREVER, BUT I HOPE YOU ENJOYED IT! WE'RE IN SIGHT OF THE END PEOPLE! IT ALL COMES TOGETHER HERE! PLEASE REVIEW, RATE, COMMENT, ALL THAT SHIZ, OR THE BUNNIE OF DOOM WILL COME FOR YOU! ALSO, IT WOULD MAKE ME VERY HAPPY SO PLEASE?