Chapter 23

Stork

I opened my eyes to be met with an intense white light. I groaned and closed my eyes again. I began to hear the groans of my friends and the Cyclonian.

I opened my eyes to see everyone waking up. "Could someone please explain what just happened?" Finn said, rubbing his head.

"Everyone okay?" Aerrow asked.

Everyone said "Yeah" while Radarr let out a growl of approval. I got up and looked around. The room was pure white. The room itself was distorted almost, as if it were being sucked up. I looked up to see what we fell through. The pictures on the walls were crooked and hard to make out. There was a strange clock that kept ticking.

It struck high noon, twelve chimes echoing out.

"Weird place." Junko said. "What d'ya think about it, Alice?"

There was no response. We all started looking for her. "Where did she go?" Finn asked.

"Spread out. We have to find her." Aerrow ordered.

"What if she went to fight Mad Hatter?" Piper suggested.

"Then we would have heard something." Dark Ace said.

With that, we walked around the entire room in search of some trace of her. There wasn't even a door. Where did she go?

Alice

I got dressed, wearing leggings, a black skirt, and a flannel over a black tank. I walked down the stairs in a daze. Was it all really that? Just a dream?

I thought of everything that had happened. The night my family was killed, the ruins, the first time I met the Hawks, and even Mad Hatter.

I stood in the hallway that led to the kitchen and leaned against the wall. "Just what is wrong with me?" I whispered to myself.

I continued down the hall when I heard my mom scream. "Mom!" I shouted, rushing towards the kitchen. Was it a vision? Am I insane?

I skidded to a halt in the kitchen. A man was tickling my mother to death. She was laughing hard. "T-Tom! Stop!" She begged.

"Now why would I want to do that?" The man, my father, said.

"Probably," A deep but young male voice said as an arm wrapped around my shoulders. "Because you're basically molesting the eyes of your children. Isn't that right-" I looked up at a young man. His eyes were like mine but his hair was like my father's; dark blonde. "-Little sister?"

"Mathew…" I whispered.

"Surprise!" He said loudly, announcing his arrival. "I came for your graduation!" He hugged me tightly. "I missed you so much, Ali! Good to see you again!"

Piper

I looked for a doorway in the room. There had to be a way out. There just had to be.

"Any luck?" Aerrow asked.

"I got nothing." Finn said.

"Me neither." Junko responded.

"No progress here." I said, turning around and leaning against the wall.

"Nothing." Dark Ace said.

I looked at Stork who continued to search. He finally looked at Aerrow and shook his head sadly. Radarr whined with sadness, as if worried about Alice.

Aerrow sighed and his green eyes fell to the floor. "Then where is she?"

"Closer than you think." A voice echoed out.

We all jumped at the sound. At once, we each reached for our weapons but found that we were all defenseless.

"Who's there?" Junko asked aloud.

"Someone who protects the Terra with all his heart." The voice said.

"Show yourself!" Finn proclaimed. "Or are you a chicken?"

"I am no chicken." Suddenly, a boy with a cat like grin appeared, floating before Finn. Finn let out a girlie scream and jumped into Junko's arms. "I am a cat."

"Who are you?" Aerrow asked.

The boy floated up into a window sill that had somehow appeared. "I am Cheshire Cat, to put it simply. Call me Chess, if it does not trouble you."

"Where's Alice?" Stork asked, staring at Chess warily.

"Hmmm?" Chess purred, tilting his head. "'Where's Alice?' My, my. The way you say her name. sounds to me like you are infatuated with her."

Stork turned bright red at that. At least, as red as a guy with green skin can get. Stork shook his head at that and pointed an accusing finger to the cat-like boy.

"Answer me, right now!" He shouted.

Chess made a lazy like sound that seemed quite bored and tired. Dark Ace stepped forward, irritation plain on his face. "Tell us where she is or I'll destroy you!" He threatened.

Chess grinned widely, his pointed teeth poking out from under his lips. With a swish of his tail, Chess had vanished and reappeared before the Cyclonian. "You cannot simply threaten me. My Lady of the Terra is the only one who can oppose any power I have. If she wills it, I am powerless."

"Who is this "Lady" then?" Aerrow asked, taking on leader-mode. "We need help finding Alice."

Chess grinned cat-like again. "Very well." He snapped his fingers and a door appeared. He teleported to it and opened the door. "We must trek through her kingdom first though if we are to find her. Pass through a series of trials, her many traps, and so on and so forth." He said lazily. "Absuhlom can give us a map."

"Absuhlom?" Junko asked. "Who is that?"

"A good friend of My Lady's." Chess said as if it explained everything. "Come, come. We must be off. Terra Wonder is quite a dozy at night. We need to get as far as possible before Mad Hatter figures it out."

"Wait, wait, wait!" I said. "This is Terra Wonder? As in The Terra Wonder?"

Chess tilted his head at the questions. "Silly female, what else would I have said that sounds like Terra Wonder? Come now, surely you are wise enough to figure it out without asking questions."

At first, I probably looked offended, confused, and finally, embarrassed. "Give us a moment." Aerrow said.

The Storm Hawks and Dark Ace gathered in a circle and whispered.

"Can we really trust him?" Dark Ace asked.

"I'm not sure." Aerrow said.

I'm still having trusting you, Ace-y Boy. I thought to myself. "I say we can." Junko said. "He's a bit of a trickster but otherwise, it doesn't seem like we can't trust him."

"I don't like him but I think we can, too." Stork said.

"He's our only shot, Aerrow." I put forward.

"So, we're in agreement then?" Finn asked.

We all knew; if we can't trust Cheshire, we can't trust anyone. Aerrow stepped forward. "Okay. We'll go with you. You seem to be the only one we can really trust right now."

Chess nodded. "Just be careful. You're about to enter a mad world."

I know that I'm too fond of cliffhangers. Not my fault. It helps keep me motivated. I feel as though, if I don't have it down, then I can't get motivated enough to write. Ya know? I guess I'm a freak. All reviews are welcome! Flames, flowers, and also tips and tricks!

...that didn't seem as funny as I thought it would.

Anyone, if you haven't figured it out by now, I don't own Storm Hawks. Just the OCs. Any relevance to anyone real, dead or alive, is merely coincidence as this is a pure work of fan-fiction. Peace, guys!