HELLO FRIENDS! SORRY, NO INSPERATION ON THIS ONE :/ TOOK FOREVER. SO HERE IT IS, AND I HOPE YOU ENJOY!

Ch. 54: A Murder if Crows

White's P.O.V

C.J flailed in the claws of the creature, pounding at the hand that held her around her stomach. A sickening image crossed my mind for a moment; a flex of those claws snapping the tiny girl right in half. My clock froze, paralyzing me.

My mind raced a mile a minute as that filthy thing held up C.J, who was starting to cry out as it tightened its grip on her fragile torso.

And the realizations that came with this incident were just as terrifying as this incident itself.

#1: That the seemingly indestructible C.J was completely defenseless.

#2: That WE were the only ones who could save her.

And #3: That I was willing to do absolutely ANYTHING to save her.

The thing let out a shrill cry and, like greased lightning, tore off back into the living room.

Black's P.O.V

The d***** thing took off back into the living room, moving so fast I could barely see it. We ran after it, only to see that it had disappeared through a new door, which was gaping wide open. We raced to it and plunged into the unknown terrain, the side of Reason slung over Whites shoulder.

It was another of the long, fabricated paths. Dead, twisted trees lined the edge of the path; a dead prairie sprawled out as far as the eye can see. Birds with feathers a light absorbing black perched in the trees, eyeing us carefully.

I looked around, unable to see the thing that had taken C.J. Where the hell did it go?! Something shifted high in the trees, the black branches moving swiftly. And it wasn't the birds.

In an instant, the thing was in front of us again, C.J now dangling by the back of her dress in its beak. She was grabbing at her throat with her tiny hands, kicking like a frog. Oh Dealer, she can't breathe. She's choking, it's going to hang her, she's going to suffocate up there and there's nothing we can do about it!

Thoughts spun so fast, impending doom seemed to swallow his mind. She's dying. She's going to die and Wonderland will die with her. How did we let this happen?!

And now, it wasn't just one of those things. We were surrounded. 20 of them in a small crowd around us, making a horrific hissing sound as the birds in the trees cackled mockingly above us.

I drew my gun and fired at one of them, only to find that the gun didn't shoot. It made noise, and it smoked as though it had, but no bullet came out. White held C.J's reason closer, "We're powerless. We can't do anything…."

For the Joker, that was a big deal. We were the most powerful role holders in Wonderland, and now we were useless. I could tell from Whites eye that his clock was shattering; after all, what's the good in being strong if you can't save the one you love? (And I've known his feelings for a while now. How could I not?)

The thing holding C.J, who was now starting to go still, suddenly stood taller, as though it were about to strike…when something pierced it right through the chest. The thing shattered, like it was made of glass, and C.J came crashing down.

…Only to be caught by the Caterpillar.

Nightmare held the sputtering C.J as she gasped desperately for air, glancing up at the other things that were trying to close in on him. He raised his hand and flicked his wrist. "Get lost." And they were gone. Just like that.

We stared at him in disbelief. He glared at us, "…What?!" I grinned, unable to wrap my mind around the fact that all of us were still breathing. "Just happier than I've ever been to see you!" Forget about our pride and all that for now, C.J's ok!

White ran over to him, checking on the younger of the two C.J's. "Nightmare…how…." "I came as soon as I caught word that C.J was in trouble. And it's a good thing I did." White stared at him, before glaring at the ground. Nightmare sighed, "For once, it's not your fault Joker. You can enter people's dreams as well as I can, but I'm still the master of the mind. Those pests didn't stand a chance."

I saw C.J's breathing start to return to normal and she managed to cough. She looked up, "Th…thanks Nightmare. I owe you one."

He smiled and set her to her feet, "You're about to owe me a lot more than that. As soon as Reason wakes up, we'll continue. It's not very far from here, and we'll be back in C.J's own mind." I grinned, "So this is almost over?! We're home free?!"

"From this, almost."

The only thing that kept me from jumping for joy and or hugging Nightmare was my pride as man. C.J jumped up and down and clapped her hands in happiness. "Yes! Then you can all get the f*** out of my head!"

White lay the side of Reason down on the gravel gently, "Yes, but for now, let's wait for C.J…er…." I blinked, seeing the problem. I pointed to the 5 year old, "Henceforth, you are Emo. She's Reason. When referring to both of you, its C.J. Got it?"

Everyone nodded and White continued, "Right then, we'll wait for Reason to wake up."

The birds in the branches above us stirred and some of them cackled. Emo shivered as their scratchy call echoed. White took note, "Is something wrong C-…Emo?" She looked up at the trees, "…I hate crows." I blinked and we all looked down at the small child as she curled up on herself.

"Why?" She paused for a long time, "…When I was about…well, this age, Mom took me and Ni-san for a walk. She took us to a trench in the middle of a field. …She showed us a body inside the trench."

We all shuddered. "It was a kid that had gotten lost a few days ago. I guess that's where he ended up. But the worst part was…he was being eaten by the crows. When the search party found him a day later, they determined that he froze to death…and that he was probably still alive when the crows started eating him." She tightened up her ball, "I don't like them. They're filthy cackling scavengers. Worse than vultures."

Nightmare paused, "…Why would your mother show you that?" She shrugged, "I don't know. …That was a bit before she…well…stopped…loving us. Maybe she wanted us to get used to the sight of dead bodies."

We were all silent until White came up with another question. "Umm…Emo-!"

Reason stirred on the ground, gently rubbing her head before attempting to get up. "Oww…my head…guys? Where are we? …And why do I sound like an adolescent?"

Reason sat next to Emo, arms crossed with her face blank. "…Under normal circumstances, I would call you all insane and run away. But the fact that this is Wonderland and previous experiences, there's really no other explanations as to why I'm now two people." She stood up and dragged the younger side with her, "So let's go. The sooner we're out, the better."

I sighed, knowing that the final leg of this race was going to be…weird. There are no other words for this entire ordeal. Just weird.

And so, C.J (both of them), the Jokers, and the Caterpillar continued the journey to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.

THERE YOU HAVE IT! IT'S SHORT, BUT NOW NIGHTMARE GETS TO SAVE THE DAY! R, R AND R PLEASE, AND STAY TUNED~!