Chapter Seventeen

We were suddenly yanked up. I saw that Stork had deployed his parachute/safety balloon and we were floating gently, maneuvering through the Wastelands.

The heat made me nervous. "Next time, Stork," I groaned, holding him tighter. "Tell me your plan."

"Sorry." He said.

I looked up to see him blushing. "Stork?"

"Hm?" He looked down at me.

"Why are you blushing?"

Stork just stared at me but blinked when something caught his eye ahead of us. He shifted me so my waist was at his ribs and he held his legs up. A jagged point hit him and I heard him hiss in pain.

"Stork, you okay?"

"Just fine." He said, smiling down at me.

"All right, what's really up, Stork? Lately, all you're doing is smiling at me! When I met you, smiling was about as rare as a Lunar Rainbow. What's going on?"

Stork just smiled a little more. He shook his head. He then watched ahead then giggled nervously. "Oh boy. You're not afraid of…boiling lava by any chance, are you?"

I looked ahead to see a larger volcano ahead of us. I pulled a face and held him closer. "This would be my first encounter." I gulped. "Normally, the first time's the scariest. But I'm probably only saying that because people don't normally survive these conditions."

Stork tightened his grip on me as we came closer. He then pulled a cord and steered us clear of the volcano.

"You'll have your own trading cards!" Stalford bribed behind us.

"How the hell did he survive that jump without a parachute!" I whispered to him urgently.

"Action figures, your own fan club!"

"We don't want any of that!" Stork said with a whiny voice.

"Fine!" Walder shouted. "What do you want!"

"For you clowns to leave us alone!" I shouted.

"I am not getting back on stage!" Stork agreed.

We drifted by a pillar of rocks. Please let that slow 'em down. I begged. The beast then smashed the pillar over. Damn you, Satan!

"We're willing to negotiate!" Walder called out.

"These guys are seriously pushy! Like some Chinese salesman!" I said out loud.

"What?" Stork asked.

"You don't get the joke cause you're not from my world."

Stork and I gasped when the balloon actually lowered. We both shrieked when two geysers erupted. One was beside us and the other in front.

Stork leaned us back to get away from it but we were unintentionally leaning towards tentacles!

The tentacles wrapped around us, crushing us together. I groaned in protest.

"Ow, ow!" I whimpered.

"Alice." Stork whispered. "Don't worry. I'm right here." I felt his arms wrap around me. "We're stuck in this together, you hear me?"

I nodded and gripped his uniform. "Yeah."

With a flick of the tentacle, the balloon we were floating with was popped and flew away comically. I actually shook in fear. This thing freaked me out.

"We're not getting back on stage!" Stork said, trying to sound brave.

"You can't make us!" I confirmed.

They both just laughed. "We're the producers, kids." Walder said.

"We don't take orders from the talent." Stalford said.

I was suddenly flicked in the cheek by a tentacle. Stork was getting hit in his cheeks too. They were actually going to break us!

My head began to spin as I held onto him tighter. I felt light headed. "I don't feel so good." I whimpered.

"Alice…" Stork said. My world began to fade away from dizziness. I couldn't see straight at all. Stork

I felt Alice's grip loosen and knew she'd passed out. I glared up at the "producers", as they've dubbed themselves, in fear and hate.

Fear: I never wanted to go on stage again; these guys are scary; I'd rather die.

Hate: They hurt Alice.

My growl of anger was defeated by another whip to my cheek. I finally drooped my head and moaned in pain.

"You're both ours now," Walder said, snapping me out of my dizziness. "And the show will go on!"

I closed my eyes and held onto Alice, the only thing that could keep me sane. This is bad! Really, really bad! We may as well be sold as slaves! I looked down at the brunette I held on to. Alice. I'm sorry you had to get dragged into this.

I then heard the sound of salvation: the blades of a Heli-Scooter rotating in flight mode!

I looked up to see Piper, Finn, Junko, Aerrow, and Radarr on their skimmers and heli-scooter.

I smiled in relief and looked down at the unconscious brunette. "We're saved, Alice." I whispered to her.

She probably would've been cheering like she always would have, doing some weird little dance or maybe even cussing our friends out for not coming sooner. Either way, I know she'd be happy.

Our rescue wasn't quite done yet as the monster ran away from our friends.

"Hang on, guys!" Piper shouted. "We're comin'!"

Aerrow

I saw Stork and Alice in the thing's tentacles. Something's not right. Upon closer inspection, I saw that Alice was unconscious.

Junko fired a Blue Tickler at the beast's back but Stalford ducked and the missile into a volcano instead.

"No!" I scolded. "You could hit Stork and Alice."

"If we can't blast it," Finn said in irritation. "How're we gonna stop it?"

"Good question." I answered.

Alice

Everything felt warm to me. I felt light, like I was floating. I opened my eyes to find myself in a dark room.

I opened my mouth to speak but was interrupted by the sound of someone stepping closer. I couldn't move. I just stood in the dark, wondering who was coming closer.

About five feet behind me, the steps stopped all together. I heard a deep voice chuckle. "Little Alice has made it to Wonderland." He said, clapping in a mocking way.

I then spun around. There stood the man in the top hat. The man who killed my parents. I stared at him in anger. "M-M-Mad…H-Hatter." I whispered.

He smiled and laughed. "So you remember me? How delightful!" He proclaimed. He then vanished. I looked around for him. An arm wrapped around my shoulders and I felt someone lean on me. A gloved finger poked my left cheek. "I was beginning to wonder if you had let me slip from your memories. I'm honored that you remember."

I swung my arm but he vanished. I looked all around me again.

I heard him click his tongue thrice before I found him. He was sitting casually in the air. "You shouldn't be so rude, Little Alice. After all, you should be courteous to your guests."

I growled. "Fine then!" I spat. "How can I be of some service to you, Murderer?"

Hatter smiled in that weird twisted way he always smiled. He then vanished and reappeared in my face. I staggered back as his hand reached out towards me. He grabbed some of my brown hair which had grown longer from my time in Atmos. He held the stands between his forefinger and thumb almost gently.

I shuddered as he leaned in closer.

"Why not visit me some time." He suggested. "I am in Atmos, you know."

"Wha-" I was stopped when his finger touched my lips.

"It's rude to interrupt, Little Alice." He said kindly. "I am on Terra Wonder. I am waiting for you…Alice."

Then, he vanished and I was alone again.

Piper

"Piper," Stork asked me as I got comfortable in the tentacle. "What're you doing?"

"An agent!" Stalford said, laughing good-heartedly. "Finally, someone we can negotiate with!"

"Alright, kid." Walder said, leaning closer. "What d'ya want?"

"A package deal." I said. "If you want your star, you have to take Finn too."

Finn smiled and raised an eyebrow. I wouldn't doubt Finn liked this idea.

"That hack!" Walder said after making a sound of disgust. "Never!"

Alice

I wandered around in the darkness out of sheer curiosity. As I walked, I kept hearing Piper's voice trying to negotiate with the beast that had captured myself and Stork.

I froze in my steps. "Stork." I whispered. "I hope he's doing alright."

"They'll be fine." A voice said. "Of course, they'll need your help in a moment."

"Who's there?" I asked, looking around. "Show yourself."

"Very well, Miss Alice. If that is your wish-" In a swiping motion, a young boy dressed like a cat appeared, floating in the air. "-Then I will follow your command."

I stared at him. He wore a tight purple outfit that had pink stripes going down his sides, green-gold eyes, large, paws that looked more like gloves (Now that I think about it), pink-purple hair, and a purple-pink tail. He looked like a cat.

"Who're you?" I asked.

"Name's Cheshire Cat." He said. "Just Chess for short."

I blinked and nodded. "All right. What do you mean by 'my help' then, Chess?"

"You have a power locked up inside you." Chess said. He floated closer and put his right paw over my heart. "I'm here to help you unlock that power."

"What will happen if I unlock it?"

"Nothing to serious." He said. "You'll at the very least increase your fighting abilities, being able to transfer memories through forehead contact, actually be able to talk to animals, and heal any wound."

I stared at him, wide eyed. I then shook my head. "O-Okay. This better not be a trap."

"I assure you, it is not. I am the Guardian of Wonderland and your trainer, Miss Alice." He then floated down so he'd be standing in front of me. "Let us begin."

Aerrow

I caught Alice and Stork on my skimmer. Stork held onto her tightly.

"Nice for such big stars to drop in on us little people." I joked.

Stork just growled at me. A tentacle hit my skimmer and we were spinning out of control.

"Oh no!" Stork shrieked. I looked down to see Alice back in the producers' grasp. "Alice!"

"If we have the girl," Walder said. "The male and female audience would be please."

"That's true." Stalford said. "She alone could get us rich."

I heard Stork growl at them. I stared at him in shock. "Stork, I've never seen you so fired up." I said.

"As long as we get Alice back, I'll be fine." He said, looking at me intensely.

I nodded then smiled at him. "You really care for her, don't you?"

"I do." He said with no hesitation.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Walder shouted. I looked up to see something extraordinary. Alice was standing on the tentacle. She seemed…different though. A light green aura pulsed around her.

"What's with this chick!" Stalford asked.

I heard Alice growl in anger. I pulled around to see something odd. Her eyes looked like cat eyes. It was unreal.

"When the people say 'No,' they mean it." She said, smirking. I heard a dark giggle from her. "Time to perish."

I saw an enormous pulse of energy.

"Aerrow!" Piper shouted to me. "We've gotta calm her down! That power is too much for her body!"

"Storm Hawks! Get Alice!"

With that, all of us swarmed the beast.

"Stork!" I said to the Merb that sat behind me. "Grab Alice the second we fly by."

"Right!"

Stork

I stood on the wing of the skimmer, watching Alice.

We flew closer. I quickly saw that Alice was just floating as tendrils of green whipped out at the beast.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Walder said. "If it's about the deal, we're willing to do what you want!"

"Don't hurt us!" Stalford begged.

Alice smiled then laughed. When she laughed though, her voice was layered, much like the way that Aerrow had described Master Cyclonis. "Beg for mercy," The layered voice said. "Beg for forgiveness. It matters not. You will-"

"Alice!" I shouted. She looked up at me with those strange eyes. They slowly softened and reverted back to their normal state. The aura around her vanished and she was falling, passed out. I grabbed her wrist and swung her onto my lap. "I've got you."

With that, we all flew back to the Condor.

"So what happened to her?" Finn asked as I laid her down in her bed.

"I'm not sure." Piper said, continuing to flip through the pages of another research book. "I haven't seen anything like it. That power was intense."

"Maybe it's something we'll learn eventually." Aerrow said.

I moved the strands of hair from her forehead. She shivered a little and opened her eyes. Her weak eyes fell on me.

"Stork." She whispered. "What-"

"We're back on the Condor, Alice." I said, resting myolive colored hand on her forehead. She'll be fine.

Hey. I'm really sorry I haven't updated in a while. School took longer to get used to than I thought. My senior year is nice. We've got new teachers and lockers and classes. The only issue is the usual: Idiots.

Finn: What d'ya mean by 'Idiots'?

Me: Guys talking 'bout gettin' laid 24/7, people doing drugs, starting rumors and drama, and girls who're completely indulged in themselves. I miss the smart people that graduated last year. TT_TT

Finn: What's so bad about all that?

Me: *Only stupid people think that.* haha! I'm joking. Finn is a cool character and I like him just fine. But if he were my best friend, I'd probably bully him all the time.

Finn: Huh?

Aerrow: Thought sequence.

Piper: So, what's going on as far as school?

Me: Well-

Arygyn: Hello~ Lupin!

Me: ! *Runs away*

Dark Ace: Why are you back?

Arygyn: Nice to see you too, tall, dark, and handsome. *Dark Ace does a WTF face* I'm here because 1) I'm doing the disclaimer, 2) Saying the apology, 3) Surprise for the readers.

Dark Ace: *sigh* Be on with it. I'm going to make sure she's not balling her eyes out in a corner. *Everyone but Arygyn leaves*

Arygyn: All right-y then. For all you fabulous readers out there, Lupin would like to send her apologies on the skippyness *Me: Is that even a word?* of this chapter. It was difficult for her to right because she didn't want to change it. As an apology, (This is the big surprise) she'll do a one-shot of request for anyone who messages her. She'll do one-shots for the following anime, games, comics, and cartoons:

1) Storm Hawks
2) Assassin's Creed (Any)
3) Legend of Zelda
4) Haruhi Suzumiya Series
5) Vampire Knight
6) Fruits Basket
7) Death Note
8) Inuyasha
9) Naruto

Me: *Outta nowhere* I'm really willing to do anything that you want. All I ask is you give me the character(s), genre, and rating you want. I can do smut, cutesy, or even just straight up hysterical. I also ask what TYPE of story you want. Meaning Lemons, Fluff, etc. I will NOT however do MPreg, Incest, or Rape. I have issues with the thought of MPreg and Incest. They gross me out. Rape...c'mon, people. Really? I'll do S&M, no rape. Anyway, I'll runaway before Arygyn possibly rapes me. *Dust cloud in my shape left behind*

Arygyn: The attack on Nerd Corps the other day failed, so Lupy-babe still doesn't own Storm Hawks. *Sad face*

Please review!

-*Little heart* Lupin