All characters from Disney and other properties are owned by their respectful owners. The OCs made here are written entirely for the story. Enjoy this fic.

Chapter 102: Witches in Wonderland

"This is where I last saw Donna," Nina said as she showed Skara and LOWTH the rabbit hole where she saw Jackson take Donna down. Skara and Tina looked down the hole.

"That hole does look deep…" Skara said.

"So… who's going in first?" Tina asked.

"Well, with a hole this big, we need to use our staffs-" Tyrone then saw Nina just jump down into the hole. "She just… jumped in… like that!"

"Nina, wait!" Skara jumped in as well. "WAAAAAHHH!" she screamed.

"Welp, no time's a waste, Donna needs our help," Beocrow said as he leaned back and fell into the hole.

"Beo, wait!" Veronica shouted as she, Tina, and Tyrone looked down the hole. "Great… they went in without a plan."

"I don't see the problem is, I can just… float down," Tina said while jumping down into the hole.

"Tina, wait!" Tyrone shouted as he fell as well.

Veronica gulped, putting on a brave face. "For Donna," she said as she jumped down the rabbit hole. "Titan help meeeeeeeee!"

Everyone screamed as they fell down the hole. But once it became pitch black, they started to float.

"We're… floating…" Skara said in relief. "Nina, how are you hanging?"

Nina bumped into something. "Ow! I think I bump into a dresser!"

"Dresser?" Veronica asked as she saw a lamp levitating up. She turned it on, revealing that the rabbit hole was a lot more homely decorative now. "What the hell…?"

Beocrow passed by a mirror, showing his reflection falling downwards. "This feels like we're on a high trip."

"I don't think I feel so good," Tyrone said while swirling around, hitting his head on a piano. "Ow!"

Tina tried to swim in the air before finding herself sitting on a chair, passing by an overly long chimney. Nina was just crossing her arms while she floated.

"Enjoying the fall?" Tina asked, while Nina just shrugged.

Skara noticed that the hole was growing more narrow while they passed by a picture. "I think we're almost at the bottom!"

"Good," Nina said as she dived down, Skara and LOWTH doing the same.

Once Nina reached the bottom of the hole, she landed perfectly on her feet. She was followed by Skara and LOWTH… who did not have a happy landing.

"OOF/AH/DAMMIT!" they cried out as they hit the floor.

Nina turned to them. "Why didn't you guys use your staffs?" she asked while walking down the hallway they were now in. "Come on, let's go."

Veronica got up, looking at Nina. "Already she thinks she's in charge," she muttered while helping Skara up as Tina helped Tyrone and Beocrow up.

"So… does this lead us to Wonderland?" Tyrone asked as they walked down the checkered floor of the hallway. "Or are we already in Wonderland?"

"Maybe we're in some kind of castle, or a secret hideout," Beocrow suggested.

Nina took a whiff around. "Donna was around here," she said while leading them to a larger room, where they noticed a table with some cookies and a bottle that were labeled 'Eat Me' and 'Drink Me'.

Tyrone went over to pick the bottle up. "Something tells me that I probably shouldn't drink this…"

"Excuse me, over here," said a voice.

They turned to see a small door on the side of the wall. The golden doorknob was in fact alive, with the knob for a nose. "Mind if I ask who you kids are?"

"Um, sorry sir, but we're on a quest," Skara said, greeting the doorknob and kneeling down. "We're on a rescue mission to save a witch girl like us who was taken in by some creep in a hearts jacket."

"Did they go through here?" Nina demanded to know.

"Why yes, they went through here," he confirmed.

"Great! Wait, they didn't go through you, did they?" Veronica asked, noticing that the door was too small for them to enter.

"No," Mr. Doorknob explained. "They actually took the exit to the left."

They all turned to see a larger door that had just materialized out of nowhere to their left. "Well, that's convenient," Veronica commented.

"Yes, had that installed since she-who-must-not-be-named first came here," Mr. Doorknob explained. "Here is some friendly advice. While traveling through Wonderland, remember to not utter the name… Alice."

"Alice?" Tina asked in confusion. "Who's-"

"Don't mutter the name!" Mr. Doorknob warned. "Especially in front of the Queen…"

Veronica and Beocrow looked at each other in concern, but Nina remained determined. "Come on, let's go!" she shouted while leading them to the door, while Tina and Tyrone looked back at the table with the cookies and the bottle…

As they opened the door and walked through, they were met by a colorful land with beautiful fauna. Huge trees, flowers that seemed to be whispering to themselves, and rocking horse flies that flew past their heads. LOWTH looked in awe at Wonderland in all of its glory.

"Whoa," Skara said while snapping a picture with her camera. "Willow would like this…"

"Yeah, yeah, this land is nice, now let's hurry up and go!" Nina demanded as she ran forward. "The sooner we find Donna's alright, the sooner we can kick her kidnapper's ass."

Elsewhere in Wonderland, a carriage drove in front of a castle, where a crowd had gathered.

"The Prince of Hearts is here! The Prince of Hearts is here!"

"We must prepare, for he's got there."

"Another, lovely, dear!"

Coming out of the carriage was Jackson and with him was Donna, whose wrists were tied up. He waved to the card soldiers and the subjects of Wonderland as they cheered for him while Donna looked around in shock.

"Impressed, aren't ya?" Jackson asked her, smiling

He saw the card army marching up as they sang. "The Prince of Hearts is here! The Prince of Hearts is here! He's made it home, and now here goes, a new honey to be cheered!"

Rushing up was a small white rabbit with glasses and a red waistcoat. He was holding a watch.

"Prince Jackson of Hearts, welcome back from your trip!" the White Rabbit declared. "And I see that you've brought another girl."

"Yes, White Rabbit," Jackson replied. "Her name is Donna Masterskull. Donna, this is the White Rabbit, the royal herald."

"Um, nice to meet you, Mr. Rabbit," Donna said awkwardly. "I didn't think of seeing a demon bunny around here…"

"A demon?" White Rabbit asked in confusion. "Please, follow me to the castle, you two. Time to see your parents, Jackson."

As Jackson escorted Donna into his castle, he whispered to her. "Whatever you do, don't set off my mother's temper."

"What…?" Donna was afraid, but she tried not to show it and she put on a brave face.

As they got inside the castle, rushing up was a short man with a long red robe and a large crown for his small head. He had orange hair and a dark mustache and he was holding a small scepter with a heart at the end.

"Oh, my son! Welcome back home!" the King of Hearts said as Jackson greeted his father. "How were your travels?"

"Oh you know, my latest ones were alright. So many unique worlds and sights to see," Jackson responded while patting Donna's back. "Oh, and this is my new girlfriend that I've been telling you all about. Donna, meet my father, the King of Hearts!"

"Why is it so lovely to meet you, ma'am!" the small king said while offering his hand to shake.

"Um… nice to meet you too, sir," Donna responded, trying to shake his hand despite her wrists still being tied up.

"And I must say, congratulations," the King told his son. "She's a fine catch."

"Oh you don't know the half of it," Jackson responded while Donna glared at him.

"WHERE IS HE? WHERE IS MY SON!?" someone shouted.

Donna was startled as she saw a shadow looming from the other side of the hall. She spotted the White Rabbit and the card soldiers looking very nervous, while Jackson adjusted himself and got Donna to do the same.

"Is that…?" Donna asked in shock as she saw who it was.

"Meet my mother," Jackson replied.

Coming forward was an obese woman with a massive physique. She had fair skin, black eyes, and black hair tied in the back with a red headband. She wore a black-and-red gown with black-and-yellow stripes. On her head was a small, gold crown and donned matching gold earrings while holding a heart scepter. She gave a mean glare at her son. "Jackson… you're back?"

"Yes, mama," Jackson said as he knelt down. "And might I introduce you to my new girlfriend… Donna Masterskull, from a far away land called the Boiling Isles."

"The Boiling Isles, hmm?" the Queen asked as she eyed Donna, who stood still as the Queen looked her over. "Tell me, Ms. Masterskull, are you some kind of… royalty, like us?"

"Um… well, my parents run their own company, though I am not sure that is what you had in mind…" Donna said.

"Close enough," the Queen confirmed. "What are your… interests?"

"Well, I'm a Healer, or at least I'm learning how to heal others," she replied while feeling the Queen holding up her hair. "Um…"

"Hmm, silver, not blond," the Queen said while inspecting Donna. "Proper back posture, I see. Are you familiar with etiquette?"

"Y-Yes, ma'am," Donna said while feeling her arm raised by the Queen's scepter.

"Such grace, and you've pampered yourself quite lovely," the Queen said while her scepter raised Donna's leg up, making her yelp. "And not a hair on your shins…" She then brought Donna close to her face, inspecting her facial features.

"Um, heh, look ma'am, I-ahh!" She felt her mouth widen as the Queen looked into her mouth, before closing it. "Look, Miss, I mean, your Majesty, there's been a misunderstanding…" The Queen looked into Donna's ear, just ignoring her. "You see, your son, over there-" She pointed to Jackson. "Kidnapped me from my own home! Tied me up as if I'm some kind of… prize to him!"

"Yes, yes, prizes and all," the Queen said while turning to her son. "I must say, Jackson, this girl meets all of the standards, you've made a fine choice."

"Thank you, mother," Jackson said with a bow.

"Which is why I've decided… that you two shall be married at once!" the Queen announced.

Donna's eyes widened as she gasped. "M-Married?!" She backed away. "But… I'm too young to be married… we only just met!"

"Now, now, don't fret, you shall be taken to be prepared!" the Queen ordered while her card soldiers grabbed Donna's arms. "Take her to be dressed, have the seamstress prepare something to my liking!"

"W-Wait! Wait!" Donna cried out as she struggled while being pulled by the soldiers.

Meanwhile, the rescue team traveled through Wonderland, Skara walking alongside Nina as the werecat led the way.

"So… what do you think of them? Donna's friends?" Skara asked them.

"They're uh, fine, I guess," Nina responded while looking around.

"Maybe you can… talk to them," Skara suggested. "Like this is the perfect chance for us to get to know each other better…"

"Yeah, I doubt they'd want that," Nina said while lowering her head. "Donna already knows what I've done and so do they. I doubt we'll be friends after this…"

"Nina…" Skara tried to speak more until a pelican walked past them. "Huh?"

Some more birds walk past the team, much to their confusion "Where are they headed?" Veronica asked.

"Forward, backward, inward, outward, come and join the chase!"

They heard a voice as they followed the birds, finding them in a clearing with a bunch of other animals running around in circles. Standing on top of a pile of rocks watching the affair was a large dodo man in a blue coat. He was smoking a pipe.

"What's going on here…?" Tyrone asked.

"Looks like a game they're playing," Tina replied.

"Maybe that dodo knows some answers," Beocrow suggested as he walked up.

"Hey, wait!" Nina shouted as she went after Beocrow, only to be caught in a circle by some large storks "Hey! You're in my way!" she cried as she was forced to run in their circle. She fell back to the floor, the birds running on top of her while in the circle.

"Oh, looks like we have some new players in the game!" Mr. Dodo commented while seeing Skara and the rest coming up to him.

"Hey, we're not from around here, and we're looking for someone," Veronica said while being pushed by an eaglet. "Hey!"

"Gah!" Tina fell back as some ducks ran in squares around her. "Why is everyone running around in different shapes?"

"Why, it's a caucus race!" Mr. Dodo declared. "It is a game where everyone runs in any shape they want for as long as they want! Everyone's a winner!"

"Um… I'm very confused about this…" Skara admitted.

"Yeah, very confusing," Tryone replied.

Nina manages to get away from the circling birds. "I hate birds," she said while looking at the dodo. "Listen up, you overgrown, roast turkey, we're looking for a girl named Donna, so you better tell us where we'll find her or else?!"

"Turkey?" Mr. Dodo asked in surprise. "Why, that's the first time I've been called that…"

Nina just snarled in annoyance while Beocrow stepped in. "Look, do you know anything about a Cheshire Cat? Like, personally know him?"

"The Cheshire Cat…" Mr. Dodo thought about it. "Yes, I think he might belong to the Duchess."

"The Duchess?" Veronica asked.

"Yes, she lives in a small home, not very far from here," Mr. Dodo explained. "I can give you instructions, but uh… might I ask why you wish to see him?"

"Well, we've been told that he could help us," Skara answered.

"Help?" Mr. Dodo asked in shock. "I think someone may have given you bad advice. The Cheshire Cat is on nobody's side but his own. I doubt he would help you, not unless he can somehow benefit from it."

"Okay, but can you tell us about this guy who came here with a girl?" Beocrow asked.

"Hmm, what do they look like?" Mr. Dodo inquired.

"This guy has dark hair, wears blue, and has a jacket full of hearts," Veronica described. "He also has a deck of cards that he could turn into a humanoid card army."

"Card army… oh, you must be referring to Prince Jackson of Hearts," Mr. Dodo realized.

"Wait, prince?" Skara asked.

"Donna was kidnapped by some prince?!" Nina asked in shock. "Why would this guy kidnap Donna?"

"Oh it happens all the time, hopefully this one doesn't end up like the others," Mr. Dodo said, shaking his head. This confused and worried the teen witches.

"What… do you mean by that?" Veronica asked.

Donna looked at her new dress for the wedding. A red and black checkered one strap dress that stopped above her knees. She was also wearing black heels.

"My you look lovely in that dress, Donna," Jackson told while standing at the door.

Donna gave him a glare as she walked over and attempted to smack him, but he caught her hand. "You fucking creep…"

"Mon cheri, I know that you're a little mad…" Jackson told her.

"A little mad? I am more than a little mad!" she told him off. "This has been the most messed up week I've had, I just met you and already I am being made to marry you! I am not some prize you can just take! What makes you think I'd marry you?"

Jackson looked at Donna and sighed. "Let me show you my… mother's collection," he said as he pulled Donna to another room.

She struggled in his grip, but he managed to lead her to a certain red room. Once he opened the door, he turned to warn her. "Now, this could be a little… graphic." Once Donna saw what was in the room, her jaw dropped.

The room was full of glass cases that contained heads. Heads of card soldiers, denizens of Wonderland, servants, etc. But what Jackson wanted to show Donna were the heads of fifteen girls mounted on the wall.

"What… happened to those girls…?" Donna asked, turning to him. "Were they your girlfriends too?"

"Yes, girlfriends that didn't meet my mother's standards," Jackson said with a sigh. He pointed to the first one, a human girl. "That one's from the human realm, but my mother didn't like her all that much… so it was off with her head."

He then pointed to a girl who looked like a fish. "This one, I'm not sure why I thought she'd be approved." He then pointed at another girl, who was blonde. "This one actually triggered my mother due to her name being Alice… she suffered a lot more than beheading."

"Why would she be mad about her being named Ali-" Donna was shushed by Jackson.

"Don't say that name out loud," he warned her. "I don't know the full history, but it seems there was this someone who humiliated my mother and made her furious while managing to escape from here," he explained. "But you see, my mother has some… standards, and if I don't go through with this, I either have to go find a job… or have my head beheaded."

"What?!" Donna exclaimed. "Titan… okay, look Jackson, you don't have to go through with this! You can just… well, leave, cause clearly, your mother's a psycho!"

"Leave?" Jackson asked, sounding confused. "But… where would I go? What would I be without my status? I mean, I live a comfortable life. All of this luxury… I can't give that up."

"Titan's crack, your life's on the line if you stay here!" Donna told him. "You're clearly living under an abusive household."

"You have no idea how connected my mother is, even if I leave, she'll find a way to bring me back," Jackson pointed out. "She has an alliance with the Lord of the Underworld, for example. And I don't want to risk displeasing her, not like my sister…"

Donna looked at him. "Your sister?" she asked in concern. "What happened to your sister?"

Jackson didn't say. Instead, his eyes avoided hers and Donna's pointed ears dropped when she realized that there was no convincing him.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to this life, I already have," Jackson said while taking Donna out of the room, Donna looking even more distraught.

Elsewhere, Nina ran ahead of everyone else while Skara and LOWTH tried to catch up to her.

"Nina, wait!" Skara called out to her.

"I can't wait, Donna needs to be saved from that crazy mad Queen and her no-good son deserves a good clawing!" Nina declared with an angry look. "And if you guys can't keep up, you can stay behind while I find Donna," Nina told them before Tina floated up to block her.

"Even if you can smell where she is, do you even know the way?" Tina asked her while Nina shoved her aside.

"I don't care, I will run to the end of this world and back to find her!" Nina shouted.

"And why do you wish to find her?" Beocrow asked her, causing Nina to pause. "You really think this is going to win her over after she rejected you last Wickedsday?"

"Bailey…" Veronica whispered while Nina turned to him with a glare.

"Is that why you think I'm here to save Donna? So I can have her for myself?" Nina argued.

"Well, Gavin told us about the bad shit you've done…" Tyrone admitted.

"Oh yeah, I know that I did all of that back at Glandus, and I ain't denying it," Nina told them off while pointing at the four. "But I am only here because you weren't able to protect Donna when she was kidnapped!" She scoffed. "Some… friends you are…"

"Hey, that's not fair, we tried to save her!" Veronica countered.

"Oh yeah, by fighting a were-croc and a sea-witch while letting that creep get away with her!" Nina pointed out. "While I was getting myself turned into a kitten while trying to save her, you were all playing hero!"

"Like we need lip from the girl who served under Emily Tricks," Veronica pointed out, which made Nina look at her in anger.

"How dare you-!" Nina looked like she was ready to pounce.

"Guys, guys, let's not fight!" Skara said as she got in between them, trying to calm everyone down. "Look, I know that there's tension, emotions are high and so are the stakes, but we can't waste time arguing among ourselves… especially when Donna's in trouble," she pointed out. "Look, we need to set our differences aside and work as a team! We all want to make sure Donna's safe." She looked at Nina and Veronica, who each crossed their arms while looking away from each other. "So are we okay? What's the plan?"

"I think we should just… go find that Duchess," Beocrow suggested. "I still trust Luz and believe that the Cheshire Cat can help us."

"We don't need him," Nina pointed out, her arms still crossed. "I have Donna's scent. We can just follow that."

"But we are in a strange land," Veronica pointed out. "We have no idea what is in between us and Donna. Not to mention we are going up against a queen. The least we can do is get help from a local who knows the area better than we do. And I would rather not have to rely on your nose…"

They proceeded to take a vote, with the group ultimately deciding to find the Cheshire Cat instead of following Nina.

"Are you okay?" Skara asked Nina as the group began to follow the instructions given to them by Mr. Dodo.

"Let's just go," Nina grumbled as she walked away.

Skara sighed and turned to Jimmy, who sat on her shoulder. "Well, this could be going better," Jimmy spoke only to Skara.

"I know," Skara said with a sigh. "Honestly, I was hoping this could be a chance to make up for the falling out between Nina and Donna, but I guess wishing for them to all get along was too much…"

"Now you can't fault yourself for that," Jimmy told her. "Now, maybe some bard music can help relax them, hmm?"

Skara smiled at her Palisman. "Yeah, you're right," she said as Jimmy transformed into a cricket lute that Skara held up. "Hey guys! How about some traveling music?"

"I… could use some music right now," Nina said, looking back at Skara with a smile. "Something nice."

Skara nodded and began to play her instrument Palisman in a calm, melody tune. "The sun is fast fallin' beneath trees and stone, the light in the tower, no longer my home…"

As they travel through the woods, Nina found herself looking at a bird-like creature with a mirror which made its neck and face and a plumage of magenta feathers with a pale magenta belly. As she approached the Mirror Bird, an eyeglass-like creature with a pair of tips used as its legs, a beak between its two eyes, and a pair of dark blue eyes with tiny black pupils on both of its lenses landed on her face. While the Mirror Bird had no eye, when Nina looked into its face the Glasses Bird's eyes appeared on the Mirror Bird's face via reflection. Nina took the Glasses Bird off of her, shrugged, and continued walking.

"Past eyes of pale fire, black sand for my bed, I trade all I've known for the unknown ahead…"

The gang found a trail which they believed was the way, only to see the trail being erased by a broom dog with a broom for a head and the end of his tail. Nina had to be held back by Skara and Veronica to keep her from choking the broomdog.

"Call to me, call to me lands far away, For I must now wander this wandering day, away from I must wander this wandering day…"

They stopped to speak to a humanoid egg man in a tailor suit who sat on a wall. They asked him questions and he gave them a nod. As they began to walk past him, Humpty Dumpty suddenly fell off the wall. They rushed back and tried to fix him, but it was no use since there was no putting him back together again.

"Of drink I have little, and food I have less, my strength tells me 'No' but the path demands, 'Yes.'"

They were shown having the shovel storks make a hole which they put the pieces of Humpty Dumpty into. Beocrow placed a wooden cross on the grave site while Tyrone is shown crying as Tina comforted him. Skara just looked down, depressed, while Nina comforted her and Veronica placed some roses on Humpty's grave.

"My legs are so short, and the way is so long, I've no rest nor comfort, no comfort but song…"

At a sea coast, they meet up with a large turtle with a cow's head. He was wearing a blue hat. With him was a brown furred gryphon as the teens asked them both for directions to the Duchess's home. The Gryphon pointed in one direction, while the Mock Turtle pointed in another.

"Sing to me, sing to me lands far away, oh rise up and guide me this wandering day, please promise to find me this wandering day…"

Later, Veronica knelt down to some talking flowers as she asked them questions, while Tina and Skara spoke to a blue butterfly that hovered near their heads.

"At last comes their answer through cold and through frost, that not all who wonder or wander are lost…"

They finally noticed a cottage home in the distance.

"No matter the sorrow, no matter the cost, that not all who wonder or wander are loooost!" Skara finished her song while walking alongside the group.

"Think this is where the Duchess lives?" Tina asked while Nina walked in front of everyone else.

"One way to find out," Nina said as she headed towards the house, the others following.

"I expected someone named the Duchess to live in something more… luxurious," Veronica admitted.

"Yeah, well back at the reservation, there is a werecat named the Duke, but he calls himself that while living with his mother," Nina pointed out. "Probably self-centered…"

She knocked on the door and it was opened by a frog in a tailored suit.

"Yes, can I help you?" the frog footman asked.

"Hey, we're here to see if the Duchess is home," Skara told him.

"Hmm, it's uncommon that we have guests here," the frog footman said. "Come in, I'll show you to her."

As they stepped inside, they could hear a lot of crying, shouting, and other noises. The frog footman called out. "Duchess, you have guests!"

"Guests?! Can't they hear I have a crying baby to take care of?!" cried out the Duchess, a lime-skinned woman with an indescribable ugly face. She had a long snout and wore a pointy head dress, a white furred robe while her fingers had many rings on it. She also wore striped stockings and red buckle boots. She walked over from the kitchen, spotting her frog footman with the guests. "Who the lot are you?"

"Um hi! You're the Duchess, right?" Veronica greeted her.

"That is I, who are you?" The Duchess asked them.

"Well, we're travelers on a quest to find a friend," Skara replied. "And we're looking for your cat."

"The Cheshire Cat, where is he?" Nina demanded.

"Oh, you're here for Chessy?" the Duchess asked. "Well he's-!"

CRASH!

"Pepper! Pepper! I need some pepper!" a cap-wearing woman with an apron demanded while sprinkling pepper in her pot she was carrying.

"Oh don't mind her, that's my cook," the Duchess said while a plate is thrown, causing them to duck.

"Why is she throwing plates around?!" Tina asked.

Not answering her, the Duchess went over to a carriage "Oh, would you stop crying, Lewis," she told the baby in the carriage, while Nina went over to get a peek at the baby.

"Oh whiskers, he's adorable…" Nina said with her eyes widening in awe. The expression really surprised LOWTH.

"Oh, I'm glad you think so, he takes it after his mother," the Duchess said.

"Is she… fawning?" Veronica whispered to Beocrow.

Tyrone and Tina looked at the baby as well, only to see that the baby was… more than just adorable… really took up from their mother.

"Isn't he cute? He might be the most adorable child I've ever seen," Nina admitted.

"Yeah, he does look cute!" Skara commented as the baby sneezed.

"Okay, so about the Cheshire Cat," Veronica said, getting to the point. "Is he around?"

"Oh he's here… or there… or anywhere for that matter," the Duchess said with a wave. "I'm sure that he's anywhere but here. But he tends to come back."

"So do we wait for your cat to come back?" Tyrone asked her and the Duchess nodded.

Veronica sighed. "Great, don't tell me that we came all this way for nothing…"

"I won't," the Duchess said while there was another knock on the door. The frog footman answered in and marching in was a fish footman.

"To the Duchess, from the Queen of Hearts!" the fish footman spoke up as he handed her a heart-sealed letter.

"The Queen…?" Tina noted as the Duchess read the letter.

"Oh how marvelous!" she declared, getting their attention. "Everyone, listen to this: 'You are invited to a wonderful date. An extra-ordinarily-merry kind of date, to witness the marriage between Prince Jackson of Hearts, and his new lovely wife-to-be, Donna Masterskull."

"Marriage?!" LOWTH exclaimed while Nina overheard.

"Marriage?! That guy's marrying Donna?!" Nina snarled which scared the baby. The baby's head popped up and he sneezed, changing into a pig. Lewis the pig crawled out of his carriage and ran out of the house through the open the front door.

"Oh no, my baby! You've scared him into a pig!" the Duchess cried out.

"Oh shit," Nina said as she rushed out. "Don't worry, I'll get him!"

"Nina, wait up!" Skara cried out as she chased after Nina, with Beocrow following them.

Before heading out to help, Veronica turned to the Duchess. "Say, um, if we get your… son back, can you take us to the wedding?"

"Yes! Sure, just go get my son!" the Duchess begged as the rest of LOWTH went after to retrieve her pig son.

Donna was escorted by the card soldiers to meet with the White Rabbit.

"Oh it's good that you're here, Ms. Masterskull," the White Rabbit said. "The Queen is waiting for you at the croquet grounds."

Donna spotted the Queen with the card soldiers on stand-by. One of them held up a bag as she took out a flying green flamingo that tried to flap away but she held it up and straightened it out like a club.

'What is she doing to that poor flamingo?!' Donna thought with concern as the White Rabbit went over with a pillow holding croquet balls… only for Donna to realize that they were actually hedgehogs.

"Oh, Donna dear, you've made it!" the Queen of Hearts shouted, waving to her. "Glad that you've come for a good game of croquet."

"Um… yes, ma'am," Donna said, bowing to her. "To be honest, I've never played this game before…" she admitted while being handed a pink flamingo, who looked a bit dimwitted.

"Oh it's a very traditional game," the Queen said, happy to teach Donna how to play. "Though it does require good strategy and coordination. Hit the ball through the nine card hoops and you win. I'll show you!"

Donna watched as the Queen demonstrated while the card servants set themselves up on the ground for her. The White Rabbit brought Donna to the side.

"Just a little warning," he whispered to her with sympathy in his voice. "Let the Queen want."

Donna saw the fear on the face of the White Rabbit. In fact, she saw the fear in all of her servants. The Queen must hold a lot of that power of fear and control over them. She watched as the Queen prepared to hit the green hedgehog and as she took a swing, she ended up missing and spinning herself around, but the hedgehog ran away anyway and rolled itself towards the cards. Donna looked flabbergasted as the cards moved themselves to make sure that the hedgehog went through them, the Queen watching after she was done spinning.

"Ah, you see here? I've been a champion of this game since my coronation!" she claimed.

"Yeah, I see…" Donna said as she cleared her throat. "You um… really got the game going, Your Majesty…"

"Oh stop, no need for formalities," the Queen waved off. "Since you'll be my daughter-in-law, you can call me by my real name… Drizella."

"Um, yes, that is a lovely name, Queen Drizella," Donna said with a nod.

"You know, the moment I laid my eyes on you, Donna, I was reminded of myself when I was young," the Queen said while preparing to hit the green hedgehog again. "Like you, I was not born in Wonderland…"

This caught Donna by surprise. "Really? Where were you from?"

Drizella looked up, lowering her flamingo. "Well, it was such a long time ago, but I was actually born in a place called France…"

A flashback showed that the young Drizella used to be much slimmer and wore a green gown. Alongside her was her sister, a red-haired young woman named Anastasia. With them was an elderly woman with gray, heart-shaped hair, piercing green eyes, red lips, and a violet gown. Also with them was a poor, blonde girl with blue eyes and fair skin who was dressed as a house maid.

"As a girl, I lived under the boot of my dear mother, Lady Tremaine, along with my sister, Anastasia, and my step-sister, Cinderella. My mother married Cinderella's father in the hopes of exploiting his fortune, even after his untimely death. For a while, growing up, things were going well, until my step-sister swindled herself into marrying a prince."

Another flashback showed the Grand Duke looking for the one girl who had danced with the Prince at the ball. Once Lady Tremaine realized that it was Cinderella who had snuck out to meet the Prince, she did everything she could to prevent her from seeing him. But despite Lady Tremaine's efforts, Cinderella managed to prove that she was the one who danced with the Prince that night at the ball.

"My good-for-nothing step-sister managed to get married off to that prince, which we later learned was the work of a fairy godmother she had, who used her magic wand to give Cinderella whatever she wanted."

Anastasia saw the magic wand dropped in front of her. She took it and gave it to her mother and sister. Realizing the potential of the magic, Tremaine used the wand to turn back time to make sure it was one of her daughters that ended up having the glass slipper fit on their foot. It was Anastasia that became the one to fit.

"But even though things looked like they were going to work out for us, in the end Cinderella managed to win back her happy ending. Especially since my sister had a change of heart and sided with her."

Afterward, Cinderella and the Prince were wed, Tremaine and Drizella ended up being maids, and Anastasia finds her happy ending with the town baker.

Briefly, Drizella looked sad while remembering her past. "Both my sisters had their happy endings, but I was stuck with my mother's abuse. And she got only worse after our failure, blaming me for ruining her plans and beating me…"

Donna looked sympathetic for the Queen. "Goodness… I'm so, so sorry that you had to go through with all of that."

"Yes, I hated my mother for that," Drizella said with a sigh. "Which is why I had to kill her."

Back in the flashback, Lady Tremaine was sleeping in her bed. Drizella walked up to her… with a knife in her hand. Once she shut the door behind her, she walked towards her mother, raised the knife, and thrust the knife down. This woke up Tremaine in shock and horror as she saw her daughter stabbing her in the heart while blood spilled on her face. Drizella dug the knife farther into her heart and the last thing Tremaine saw was the hatred in the eyes of her daughter.

"I did everyone a favor in slaying that serpent of a woman. But after that, I ran from there as far as I could because I feared being punished for it. I thought I had found a good spot to hide…"

Drizella ran out of the house and into the woods. Eventually, she tripped and fell down a steep hill. That hill led her down to find a large rabbit hole. She looked down the rabbit hole until she slipped and fell down the hole, falling…to Wonderland!

"As luck would have it, I ended up here in Wonderland! It wasn't like my world. I had seen magic before, but this was something else. Little did I know that I would be creating a new life for myself here.

Drizella walked down the streets of a village in Wonderland. She looked confused and scared before she found a pamphlet for a royal tea party hosted by the King of Hearts.

"But soon I saw an opportunity for me to find a new life, a better life. While my mother was unforgiving, I learned a great deal from her, including how to seize on a chance by meeting the King of Hearts."

At a tea party hosted by the King of Hearts, he was met with many guests, including Mr. Dodo, the Duchess, the Red Queen, and White Queen. But it was then he saw Drizilla, who was fanning herself while fluttering her eyes at the king. The diminutive king's eyes turned to hearts while he marched up to Drizella.

"My, you have the most lovely nose I have ever seen," the King declared. "Tell me… what is your name?"

"Drizella, Your Majesty," Drizella replied while offering her hand to him.

"My Drizella… how would you like to be the luckiest girl in all of Wonderland?" the King asked her.

"Why, really?" Drizella asked, folding her fan. "My, my, you have gone out of your way for little ol' me, mon cheri."

"Meeting the king was the best day of my life…"

Back in the present, Drizella finished recounting her life. "In the end, I found my own happy ending and became royalty like my mother wanted me to be… only that she isn't here to benefit from it. Ironic, isn't it?"

Drizella swung her flamingo while spinning again, the green hedgehog rolling across the ground while the card soldiers made sure that she won. The cards spectating cheered for her success while the King clapped his hands.

"Oh bravo, bravo!" The King cheered.

The Queen took a bow while noticing Donna didn't make a score. "And it appears that I win..."

"Yeah, I guess so," Donna replied while the flamingo kicked her in the back. "Hey!"

"Oh my dear, don't take the loss personal," the Queen told Donna, patting her shoulders. "You may not know how lucky you are yet, but you will…"

"Lewis! Here boy!" Veronica called out for the pig son of the Duchess. "Where did he go?"

It was just her, Beocrow, Tyrone and Tina as they looked around for Lewis. They had split up from Skara and Nina, who were looking for him on their own.

"Soowee, soowee," Beocrow called out in his monotone voice.

"You could have at least given more of an 'umph' on that soowee," Tyrone told him.

"This is my umph," Beocrow said.

"Come on, guys, the sooner we find her son, the sooner the Duchess can take us to save Donna from marrying that skunk-rat!" Veronica told them.

"Yeah, though then we will have to worry about whatever intentions Nina might have for Donna…" Tina pointed out, unaware that they were being watched.

In the shadows underneath a tree were two twin round figures in yellow and red, wearing red caps with flags on. The twins looked at each other and moved in unison, unnoticed by the teens until they were right in front of them.

"Hey, maybe those guys can help," Tyrone suggested, noticing and pointing to the two figures. "Excuse me, but have you two seen a little pig child?"

"Pig you say? What kind of pig?" spoke one.

"Are you looking for a Hereford, Tamworth, or a Hampshire?" the other spoke.

"No, no, no, they're looking for a warthog, are ye?" the first one asked.

"Just a… regular, pink, pig," Veronica said. "Though it was originally just a baby until he was scared by Nina…"

"Nina? Who's Nina?" they asked.

"A werecat that was with us," Veronica answered. "She and a girl named Skara are also looking for the pig, since we split up to cover more ground."

"And do you trust this werecat?" one of the twins asked.

"Not really," Beocrow admitted. "You could say that we don't exactly see eye to eye…"

"Gee, sounds like they're having a bit of a feud, right Tweedle Dee?" asked one of the twins.

"Yes, Tweedle Dum," Tweedle Dee replied. "Reminds me of what happened to the Lion and the Unicorn…"

"Oh, what happened to them?" Tyrone asked.

"Why, we'll tell you-"

"Actually, we should get going with our search," Veronica suggested but the Tweedle brothers got in front of her.

"Now hold up! You can't leave without hearing our story," Dee said.

"There might be a lesson from it," Dum added.

"It's not going to be a long story, is it?" Beocrow asked them.

"Not at all, short and sweet," they declared as they got the four to sit down on a log.

"Now listen here, and listen well," Dee started.

"We'll tell you how two rivals could have prevented their own demise if they had just put aside their differences!" Dum responded as they honked and squeaked as they danced and kicked each other. They began to tell their tale. "Title: The Lion and the Unicorn or-"

"The Rivalry of the Absurd!" Dee continued. "There was once a mighty lion, he was slow and stupid, but he was a better fighter." Dee states.

"And then there's the noble unicorn, who was both faster and brighter!" Dum described. "The two were bitter rivals, while on the same side."

"They fought for the White King's crown, so they were at each other's hide!" Dee said.

The story began with a unicorn shown in a white suit of armor polishing his horn. He was shown to be majestic and beautiful as he finished up his horn.

"Hey you, Mr. Unicorn!"

The Unicorn sighed and he turned around to see his rival, the Lion. The Lion had a skinny body and was wearing boxer shorts along with boxing gloves and a cape with the White King's insignia. "I challenge you to another match!"

"Again, Mr. Lion?" the Unicorn scoffed. "You still want to fight in fisticuffs?"

"Yeah! That White King's crown will be mine to claim!" the Lion declared while getting in a fighting stance. "Put 'em there, pal! Give me what you got!"

The Unicorn looked at the Lion as he walked over to his rival. "You're asking for it…"

And so the two had their usual clash. The Lion sent in his punches, while the Unicorn delivered his kicks. The two kept fighting until a passing fish paperboy was heard shouting.

"Extra, extra, read all about it!" the fish paperboy said while walking past the Lion and the Unicorn and handing them the paper once they stopped fighting. "Look out for the Hunter who is on the loose!" he said as he left.

"A Hunter? Let me read!" The Lion grabbed the paper from the Unicorn and squinted his eyes. "I don't understand what it's saying!"

"That's because you can't read, you fool!" the Unicorn responded as he grabbed the paper back and read it. "Hmm, it appears that there's a Hunter around the area looking for trophies."

"Oh I ain't afraid of no Hunter, but you should," the Lion said as he pointed to his rival. "He's probably after that horn of yours. There's a lot of different uses he can get out of that horn."

"Oh but on the contrary, old friend," the Unicorn insisted. "The Hunter probably wants an easier poach, like that fur coat of yours."

"Who would want this old raggedy coat? It's obvious that he wants your horn!" the Lion argued.

"He won't get my horn, he'll be after your coat!" the Unicorn insisted.

"Your horn!"

"Coat!"

"Horn!"

"Coat!"

Their argument soon led to their fight. They started punching each other and beating each other up. The Unicorn held the Lion in a choke hold while punching him in the face. The Lion slipped away from the Unicorn, who began trying to stab the Lion with his unicorn. The Lion managed to dodge the horn until the Unicorn got it stuck in a tree.

"Confound it!" the Unicorn shouted as he tried to free himself. "I'm stuck! Pull me out!"

"AHAHAHA! Oh slap my knees, that's just too good! AHAHA!" The Lion was laughing at the sight of his rival's humiliation. However, while he was laughing, he didn't notice a crossbow being aimed at the back of his head from a distance. Having found his target, the Hunter fired his crossbow.

The Unicorn realized that the Lion had fallen silent. "Hey, Mr. Lion? Are you still there?" He heard no answer as he continued to struggle. "Mr. Lion?!" he asked while the Hunter approached with his knife.

Afterward, the big-headed hunter looked at both of his kills. "Wow! Looks like I'll be having both a fur coat, and a horn! Ha-a-ha-a…"

"And so you see, their fates were sealed," Dee explained.

"But if they had worked together, it could've been avoided," Dum pointed out.

"They shared a common enemy who was the larger threat, but instead they focused on their petty squabble, which brought about their mutual destruction," Tweedle Dee and Dum finished their story to the members of LOWTH.

"Okay, nice story and all… but does this have anything to do with our current situation?" Veronica asked them.

"Yeah, that story was pretty nonsensical," Tyrone said. "We're on a rescue mission, not being hunted. There's a difference," he said while Beocrow and Tina nodded.

"These youngsters haven't realized it yet, have they?" Dee asked his brother.

"Certainly not." Dum replied, shaking his head while a pig ran by.

"Look! It's Lewis!" Tina pointed at the pig.

"Wait! Come back!" Veronica shouted as she and the others ran after the pig, leaving Tweedle Dee and Dum behind.

Dum turned to his brother. "So, let's say we tell another story. Just for us."

"Alright!" Dee replied. "There was once a man from Nantucket…"

Meanwhile, Skara and Nina wandered around looking for the pig while Nina tried to get the pig's scent around.

"Where is that pig? Should be around here!" Nina shouted while looking stressed. "Ugh, we're never going to find him!" Tugs popped out of her hair and rested on her shoulder near her neck, causing her to pat her Palisman. "Thank you, Tugs."

Skara smiled before she heard some music. "Do you hear that?"

"Yeah, sounds like someone's having a party," Nina replied while seeing a straw roof house nearby and out of curiosity they walked over to the fence around the house. They could hear singing.

"We're having a very happy unbirthday!"

"A very happy unbirthday!"

"A very happy unbirthday, to us!" sang a big headed man wearing a green hat. He sat alongside a brown hare in a red coat and with yellow hair. They were having an outdoor tea party on a long table, the tea kettles steaming out smoke in a musical tone while Nina and Skara snuck over to get a closer look.

"AAAAAAA Very happy unbirthday," the March Hare sang. "To me!"

"To who?" the Mad Hatter asked.

"To Me!" the Hare replied.

"Oh you!" the Hatter responded.

"A very happy unbirthday!" the Hare sang. "To you!"

"Who me?"

"Yes you!"

"Oh me," the Hatter said as he accepted the tea.

"Let's all congratulate us with another cup of tea!" the Hare and Hatter poured each other some tea while they also pulled out a little tired out dormouse from an empty kettle. "A very, very happy unbirthday… toooooo, yoooooouuuu!"

"Okay, that was weird," Nina said. "But I don't see the pig around here, do you Skara?" She turned to Skara, who had frozen up at the sight of the tea party. "Skara? Hey, are you alright?" she asked while shaking her. "Skara?!"

This earned the attention of the Hatter and the Hare, who spotted the upset Skara while Nina tended to her. "Oh now, now, now, hold up!" the Hatter said while they rushed down the long, extended table to make it over to the two. "Now we didn't expect any guests."

"Look, we're sorry we intruded on your party, but we're looking for a pig-child," Nina explained while patting Skara's back. "And my friend here has frozen up… I-I don't know."

"Hmm, it appears that she has broken," the Hare noticed.

"Indeed! It looks like she has stopped altogether," the Hatter said while turning to the Hare. "Say, remember when we helped to fix that watch for the White Rabbit?"

"Oh yeah, maybe that's how we could fix her!" the Hare responded while placing Skara in a chair.

"W-Wait, are you guys medically inclined to help her?" Nina asked them.

"Don't worry, young lady, we are professionals!" the Mad Hatter said while he and the Hare looked down at Skara's face. "Hmm, what should we give her?"

"Some butter?" the Hare asked as he handed him a large stick of butter, which the Hatter slapped onto Skara's face.

"Hmm, not working yet…" the Hatter said.

"Hey, stop it-" Nina was pushed back by the Hatter.

"Tea?" the Hare suggested.

"Yes, pour her some tea," the Hatter said while pouring tea into Skara's mouth.

"Hey, cut it out-" Nina was stopped by the Hare.

"Sugar?" he suggested.

"Yes! Gonna need two spoons of sugar!" the Hatter replied while placing two spoons onto her ponytail. "Anything else?"

"Skara!" Nina shouted while trying to climb around the Hatter and the Hare to grab her. In the process she knocked over a tea kettle, which knocked out the Dormouse.

"Huh? What?" the Dormouse asked while looking up to Nina, his eyes widening. "CAT! CAT! CAT!"

"Oh no, now you've upset him!" the Hare cried out, chasing after the panicking Dormouse while Nina kicked the Hatter away from Skara.

"Hang on, Skara," Nina said as she picked her up, seeing that Skara was still catatonic. "Skara, are you okay?"

"Oh she will be, right after I pour some jam on her!" the Hatter said. "And afterward, why don't you stay for cake."

Skara's eyes dilated. "CAKE?! CAKE! I DON'T WANT TO BE CAKE!" Skara cried out as she pulled away from Nina's arms, freaking out and starting to wolf out. "WAAAARRR!"

"Good gracious!" the Hatter said as he and the Hare ducked down, chaos ensuing as Skara in her wolf form started rampaging, knocking the table over while spilling and breaking tea everywhere.

"Skara, stop!" Nina cried out as she grew into her full werecat form to grab Skara. She felt Skara struggling and crying while waving her paws around. She looked at the Hatter, the Hare, and the Dormouse. "Um… sorry about your tea party, we're just gonna go." she said while dragging Skara out.

Once they left, the Hatter spoke up. "Well that was a very unbirthday evening."

"Why yes," the Hatter replied while grabbing a plate and eating it. "But the tea party shall still commence!" he declared as they continued to have their tea party even with a turned over table.

Once Nina dragged Skara out, she held her in a hug. "Skara, calm down! Calm down, please!" she told her while Skara snarled. Nina shushed her in a quiet tone. "Please… this isn't you, Skara…"

After snarling and growling, Skara blinked and came back to, returning to normal. Skara teared up, while Nina returned to normal as well, looking concerned.

"Hey, are you alright?" Nina asked while Skara fell to her knees, crying. The werecat knelt over to pat her back.

"I-I'm sorry, it's just…" Skara stammered while crying. "That tea party just… set me off…"

"What do you mean?" Nina asked while letting Skara rest her head on her.

Skara took a few deep breaths before explaining. "Remember when I went out to look for Boscha that night?" Skara asked and Nina nodded. "We tracked her to the school and… the Inner Demon conjured up an illusion."

"The Inner Demon?" Nina asked with a worried look.

Skara nodded as she continued. "He was there at the school. And in the illusion I was at a tea party like that place, but Willow and Amity were the hat guy and hare, and Gus was the mouse in the tea kettle, then I was turned into a cake and they turned into monsters to eat me…"

Nina frowned. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"It got worse," Skara admitted while looking up at Nina. "I found myself tied to a stake before I witnessed dad and… then you getting burned alive, by Boscha and her mom, Nicole… and they were going to burn me alive next." She wiped her tears from her eyes. "Just coming here reminded me of that illusion… it felt so real… like a nightmare."

Nina pulled Skara into a hug, comforting her while Skara cried. "There, there, I'm still here, your dad's still here… no one's going to get burned alive," she reassured her. "You're okay."

Skara sniffed. "Thank you," she said. "And I am sorry that I am being a burden to you…"

"You're not a burden, Skara," Nina said while standing up. "Come on, let's go meet up with the others."

Skara nodded and Nina ended up carrying her in a piggy-back. As they headed back, they spotted LOWTH who had managed to catch the pig.

"We got the pig!" Tyrone declared while Beocrow held up Lewis the pig.

Tina noticed Skara on Nina's back. "What happened to her?"

"She got a little upset," Skara replied while walking past them. "Come on, we should get her cleaned up, and then head back to the Duchess's place."

Meanwhile, at the Queen of Heart's castle, up in a tower… Donna was making her break for it.

Tying the bed sheets and blankets into a makeshift rope, Donna thew it out a window, watching it fall down.

'Hopefully I don't have a hard fall,' she thought as she climbed out of the window using the rope.

"Trying to leave, are you?" asked a voice.

Donna was startled as she turned around to see a large, purple headed cat grinning at her. "Oh!" Donna almost let go of her rope, she was halfway to the bottom as she grabbed the sheets, only to have her slide down and let go. She looked down as she quickly fell, covering her face with her arms. But then, she stopped falling before she reached the ground and instead found herself levitating up in midair. Looking up, she saw that holding her ankle was the purple striped cat.

"Hmhmhm, you know, you reminded me of Alice," the Cheshire Cat states while holding onto Donna before letting her go, dropping her to the ground.

"Oof!" Donna grunted while looking up at the cat, who disappeared. "What's the deal with that cat?" she wondered out loud. "Whoever this Alice is… no matter," she said as she tried to sneak herself out of the grounds.

"Did you hear that?"

"We should go check, we don't want to lose our heads!"

Donna was silent, hearing the card soldiers coming. Wasting no time, she ran to try to find a place to hide.

"Halt!" the clover card soldiers declared while Donna spotted the hedge maze's entrance. She ran towards the maze and went in, trying to find a way of escape through it. However, she ended up coming across one dead end, then another. The Cheshire Cat reappeared in front of her.

"You!" Donna pointed at the cat.

"If you wish to find a way out, you can go that way," the Cheshire Cat said as he pointed to the left and Donna ran in that direction.

When she did, she found herself looking at another dead end. "Crap," she said while hearing the soldiers coming. She ran the other way while seeing the Cheshire Cat again.

"Sorry, but I believe it's that way!" He pointed to the right, which Donna ran down to, only to come across another dead end.

"Are you kidding me?!" Donna exclaimed while turning around to find the Cheshire Cat in front of her again.

"My mistake, I believe the exit's-" Donna just ran past before the Cheshire Cat could tell her. "Wait! Don't you want to know where the exit is?"

"You're just gonna give me the wrong direction again!" Donna told him off, while looking around and seeing a soldier spotting her.

"Halt!" he told, but she didn't listen and she instead dashed away. "Wait! Come back!"

Donna made a turn while the soldiers drew closer. Unfortunately, she then found herself at another dead end.

"Alright gymnastics… don't fail me now!" Donna declared while climbing up the hedges and flipping herself over it… causing her to land in the arms of the spade soldier. "Aw shit…"

Donna was back in her bedroom, her hands and legs now tied up as she laid in the bed. The window was now blocked by wooden planks.

"You're lucky you weren't caught by the Queen," one of the card soldiers said as he left. "Cause you would've lost your head for the escape attempt," he said before closing the door. She heard it lock from the outside.

Donna struggled with her bondage, trying to get loose. But the knots were properly tightened to the point where her fingers were tied as well. She groaned. "Well that's just great…" she said to herself.

"A little tied up, are we?" asked a voice.

She looked up and gasped, seeing the head of the Cheshire Cat in front of her. His whole body appeared sitting on her knees. "You! You got me caught!" she accused the cat.

"Oh? Are you blaming me when it was you who went the wrong way?" he asked with a chuckle while sliding himself from her knees down to her stomach. "But then again, you would've been caught anyway."

"Just who are you? Do you belong to the Queen?" she asked.

"The Queen? No, I'm just a cat that wanders wherever I please…" he said while getting close to her face, his tail brushing to the side of her pointy ears. "You're not human, are you?"

"I'm a witch," she responded.

"A witch, eh? I would've mistaken you for an elf," he admitted. "You know, I once knew a little witch, but she had round ears, and has a killer singing voice."

"Round ears… I only know one… was she human?" she inquired.

"Honestly, I don't know," he said while his body started disappearing. "There are some like her that look like humans, but aren't human-humans, hehehe…"

"Wait!" she cried out, but the Cheshire Cat was gone, only the sound of his laughter echoed… "Help me…" she said but the laughter was gone. Donna laid on her pillow, tears streaming from her eyes as she realized that no one was coming to help her. She was going to get married off to some skunk-rat prince, and she would never see her family or friends again…

When the team made it back to the Duchess's house, they saw a note on the front door. Veronica grabbed the note and her eyes widened in disbelief. "Are you kidding me?!"

"What?" Nina asked after setting Skara down.

"The Duchess along with her cook have already left for the wedding and she wants us to watch her son for her!" Veronica complained.

"Are you kidding me?!" Tyrone exclaimed.

"She told us to retrieve her son, and now we have to babysit him?" Tina asked in disbelief.

Skara looked at Nina, noticing her shaking. "Nina… are you okay?"

"Okay?" Nina muttered. "Of course I'm okay, why would I?" The look of distress on her face said otherwise as she walked past the group.

"Nina…?" Skara asked while looking worried.

"Everything's fine! I mean, we've been in this world for who knows how long, Donna could be married by now," she said while walking back and forth. "I mean, who am I kidding? Trying to find this damn Cheshire Cat that Luz knows, making us go on a wild pixie chase, then I made this adorable pig baby run away, we missed the Duchess and once again, I fucked it all up for all of us! Just like what my parents would expect me to do! GAAH!" She kicked a tree, which fell down causing some birds to fly away. She then kicked the fence and a rock, which caused some pain. "AAAH!" she cried while falling down, holding her foot. "Fuck me! GAH!" She then started to tear up. "I wanted to help save Donna, but now I have really fucked things over," she cried while in a fetal position. "Donna deserves better…"

Skara rushed over to comfort Nina, patting her on the back. The members of LOWTH looked at Nina, unsure how to feel as they saw the werecat break down. They looked at each other.

"You guys might as well say what you want to say about me," Nina told them. "I know that you've all heard of the bad stuff I've done, and whatever you want to say to me, just say it… I'm used to it now."

It was then that Beocrow walked up to Nina and Skara, sitting beside the werecat while holding the pig-baby. "You know… when me and Donna first met, she used to talk about you," he admitted, which got Nina's ears twitching. "She said you were her friend and she talked about you like you meant a lot to her."

"She… she did?" Nina asked him as Veronica walked over next.

"Yeah, and the rest of us have been wondering about you ever since you showed up at St. Epiderm," Veronica admitted. "And admittedly, we didn't know where we stood with you, especially from what we've heard. We thought that you would hurt Donna…"

"And we weren't sure what your intentions were for her when you insisted on coming with us, but now we've realized that you came here for the same reasons we did… you care for her, don't you?" Tina asked her. "Even though Donna… rejected you?"

Nina lowered her head. "I understand why she wouldn't want to be with me or even want to be friends with me, I'm not entitled to have her. I mean, after all the stuff I've done, why would she still want me in her life? Though that doesn't mean what she said to me while I was at my lowest didn't hurt…" She crossed her arms and frowned. "But even if she's in trouble, I can't just sit by and do nothing. Keeping her safe matters more than anything else."

"Well, at least you aren't willing to leave her, unlike those two pirates." Tyrone admitted, which got Nina curious.

"How did Donna end up associating with those two?" Nina questioned.

Veronica looked down. "It was during her first year at St. Epiderm… Donna met them and they got her into partying around. The parties she was taken to… involved drugs."

This shocked Nina, as well as Skara. "What? Donna was on… drugs?" Nina asked in disbelief.

"Donna became a drug-addict through those parties, and then one day at a party full of St. Epiderm students, those pirates gave her the drugs that caused her to have a stroke," Tina said. "And rather than stay and help, those pirates left her. She has become clean since then, but the thought that she could have died scared us."

"And that fear hasn't gone away," Tyrone admitted. "Even when she suggested we become superheroes to deal with the Tarot Guild, we were worried about her. But you know Donna when she gets focused on something."

"She's stubbornly determined," Beocrow said while Nina processed all of this.

"I… remember that I used to visit her during my first year at Glandus," Nina admitted. "But I stopped after I saw her in bed with you guys checking up on her. After that… I stayed away. Especially since you guys started hanging out with her more and I didn't think you would all like me very much…"

"So you just stopped visiting Donna?" Veronica asked. "Even though we don't hang out with Donna all the time?"

"I guess… I didn't want Donna to realize that she was better off with you guys instead of me," Nina admitted again. "And I was… afraid. I was afraid that Donna wasn't safe around me. I was afraid that I wasn't… good enough for Donna. And her rejection confirmed that. But… since then I have accepted that her rejecting me isn't the end of the world. I'm my own person outside of my crush on her, so for me… life still goes on… but that doesn't mean Donna still doesn't matter to me."

Veronica looked at Nina, seeing that the werecat did still care for Donna. Tina sensed the sincerity in Nina's words, Tyrone smiled, and Beocrow just had one question for the werecat.

"So… is it true that werecats kidnap their crushes?" he asked.

"Bailey!" Veronica scolded him. "Really? You have to ruin the moment!"

"Yeah! And that is such a stereotype!" Tyrone told him.

"What? I was curious?" Beocrow asked while Lewis the pig oinked.

"Well… actually that is true," Nina admitted. "And I used to fantasize about kidnapping Donna."

"Wait, what?!" Skara asked in shock.

"Oh, you don't know?" Nina told Skara. "We werecats have a tendency to kidnap our crushes. That's how my parents met and that Owl Lady mentioned she was kidnapped by a werecat at one point. Though I never acted on my fantasies about kidnapping Donna, I did once kidnap Eve, but I mean that girl was cute and just had this kidnappable vibe coming from her…"

Skara looked down, trying to process what she was hearing. "Oh my Titan…"

"Relax, it's not as bad as it sounds," Nina reassured her. "Though, unless they're into it… but I doubt Donna's into that shit." Her ears then picked up something. "Wait, do you hear… laughing?"

The others fell silent, realizing that they did hear laughter coming from around them… though they couldn't see where it was coming from.

"Oh you all gave me quite the chuckle," spoke the Cheshire Cat who made his appearance known to the others as he sat on a tree branch. "You Boiling Isles children are a riot."

"Wait… grinning cat…" Skara spoke up.

"Are you the Cheshire Cat?!" Nina asked him.

"Who else were you expecting, the Mad Hatter?" he asked them while his head floated down to them after his body disappeared. "So you all must be Luz Clawthorne's friends…"

"Yeah, we are," Beocrow confirmed. "I'm a Clawthorne as well and she said you could help us."

The Cheshire Cat chuckled. "Help you? Hmm, I don't know about that…"

"Can you at least help us find our friend Donna?" Veronica asked him. "Please, she has silver hair and we have to stop her from getting married to that Jackson of Hearts guy!"

"Wedding crashing? Now that's exciting!" the Cheshire Cat declared. "Though you'd have to be MAD to show up to the wedding of the Queen's son uninvited!"

"We don't care, Donna's safety is more important!" Nina declared. "And we don't have much time, so how do we get there?"

"Well, some would go this way," the Cat said while pointing to the left. "Some would go that way." He pointed right. "But for me, personally, I prefer the… short cut!"

He pulled the branch of a tree like a lever and the tree opened up like a door, revealing the castle of the Queen of Hearts in the distance, much to their shock.

"Whoa… thank you, Mr. Cheshire-" Skara looked back and saw that the Cheshire Cat had disappeared.

"Is that cat a ghost or something?" Tina asked.

"No time to wonder about that, let's go crash a wedding!" Nina said as she ran through the entrance, everyone else following her.

Wedding music was played by the frog footmen as the guests began to arrive for the outdoor wedding in the Queen's garden. Donna was shown standing at the back, wearing the red veil while still tied up, a gag in her mouth. Seeing awaiting her at the altar was Jackson, wearing a black suit with a red rose.

She looked around at the guests present. She saw the Duchess with her cook taking a seat. A sheep woman took hers, followed by Mr. Dodo and an anthropomorphic lizard named Bill who was decked out with a lot of medals on his person. Also showing up were the members of the Red Court and the White Court, which were led by a big-headed woman known as the Red Queen and a white-gowned pale woman with dark eye-shadow known as the White Queen. With them were their Red and White Kings, and their Knights. They greeted the Queen of Hearts.

"Such a lovely wedding, Drizella," the Red Queen complimented. "All red is good."

"Is the bride wearing white?" the White Queen asked.

"Oh thank you, Iracebeth of Crims, and no, Mirana of Marmoreal, the bride isn't wearing white," Drizella confirmed.

The White Rabbit blew his horn, getting everyone's attention. "And now, might everyone take your seats!" he declared. "It is now time for the wedding to begin! Let the bride-to-be come forward!"

The King of Hearts escorted Donna down the aisle while Donna looked around at the guests. Her eyes were dried from crying last night and she looked miserable and depressed. She saw the smiling Jackson with his mother next to him while she was escorted to the altar.

'This… this can't be happening,' Donna thought sadly. 'Am I really going to be married off and not see my family again? My friends? Nina… oh Titan, Nina.' She felt like she wanted to cry, tears starting to leak again as she thought of Nina. 'I never got to say I'm sorry…'

The guests assumed that Donna was crying out of happiness as Donna made it to the altar. They stand facing the White Rabbit, who holds up a book.

"We have gathered here today, on this joyous and wonderful day, in celebration of Prince Jackson of Hearts being wed to Ms. Donna Masterskull …"

Jackson smiled at Donna, who only looked down with a frown.

"Marriage is what brings two young lovers together, as a marriage is a promise and a dream that they both share," the White Rabbit continued. "Why, true love is very rare indeed, like the King found and married his Queen, who sired a… peculiar son, who has now found himself a peculiar and lovely wife…"

'A kidnapped wife,' Donna thought while looking around at the guests. 'Doesn't anyone realize that I'm a kidnapping victim?! This place is corrupt as Hell! It's… just like… no different from the Boiling Isles…'

"It is said from the scripture of-"

"Can we get on with it?" Queen Drizella demanded, startling the White Rabbit.

"Oh, w-w-why yes," the White Rabbit said as he proceeded. "The ring, please?"

Jackson grabbed the ring from the ring bearer frog boy and put one onto Donna's finger. He proceeded to put a second ring on himself. "Oh if only Eustace was here, he'd be best man… and Serpentina would be best lady… but we have to make due." Donna just glared at him with an appalled look.

"Now do you, Jackson, take this young girl as your lovely wedded wife?" the White Rabbit asked.

"I do," Jackson said with a nod.

"And do you, Donna, take his man as your husband-"

"She does," Jackson spoke for her, which made Donna look at him in anger.

"Now, before we officiate, are there any who object to this marriage?" the White Rabbit asked.

"Oh, I don't think anyone would dare object to this," Drizella said with a wave. "Proceed," she hissed under her breath.

The White Rabbit looked up to Donna, his eyes meeting hers. She saw pity in those eyes as he let out a sigh. "Then by the power invested in me by the Queen, I now pronounce you-"

"DONNA!"

Everyone was startled as they looked back to see someone emerging from the hedge maze. Donna's eyes widened as she saw Nina running in. Behind her was a murder of crows along with Skara, Ghostina, Minos and Florella flying with their staffs. "DONNA!" Nina shouted again.

Donna managed to shake her gag off her mouth. "NINA!"

"What is this?!" the Queen demanded, looking at her card soldiers. "DON'T JUST STAND THERE! STOP THEM!"

The card soldiers charged. Ghostina phases through a row of them, freezing them in ice. Florella used her plant magic to summon up large trees to grab the soldiers away, creating more chaos at the wedding. The guests ran off as there were roots sprouting out from below them. Everyone scattered.

Minos knocked over card guards as he saw two Knights, Red and White, coming after him with swords. He stomped on the ground, summoning ground pillars to launch the knights up to the sky. He punched one card soldier away from him before he saw walking chess piece soldiers running towards them. "Are those chess pieces?!"

"Yeah," Florella said as she kicked one pawn soldier away, while summoning vines to attack the card and bishop soldiers. "Looks like we got our work cut out!"

"Hey Tyrone," Ghostina said to him. "Watch this!" She bit on a cookie labeled 'Eat Me' and she proceeded to grow bigger in size.

Minos was shocked. "Tina! You're not tiny anymore!"

"Don't call me tiny," Ghostina replied while topping over the card and chess piece soldiers with the swat of her hand. "Call me… Giantina!"

The murder of crows formed into Beocrow as he landed on the table. He then spotted the Duchess, walked over to her, and handed her pig son back. "Here's your kid," he told her before punching one card soldier away. He saw one card soldier swing his ax at him, but Beocrow split into crows to dodge them before reforming and heading toward Donna, only to face off against an eye-patched man in red armor.

"Halt! As the Queen's Knave, I order you to stop!" the Knave declared.

"Hmm… nope!" he said as split up into a murder of crows, pecking at the Knave before transforming back, kicking him in the face.

Nina ran forward along with Skara, both of them knocking soldiers out of their way. They saw Donna trying to jump up and run, but she was grabbed by Jackson. This made Nina glare at him. "LET HER GO!"

"They're after my bride, mother!" Jackson said while pulling Donna away.

"No they won't!" Drizella declared, sending out more card soldiers to pile onto Nina and Skara.

The two lycan girls get piled on by the card soldiers, who buried the girls with their bodies. However, they were knocked away by Nina's full werecat form as she unleashed a growl along with Skara, who had wolfed out into her werewolf form.

"They're Beasts!" the Red Queen declared. "Send in the Jabberwock! The Bandersnatch!"

Coming into the yard were two creatures with red chess pieces commanding them. One was a large, spotted white bear-cat with long quills, big jaws with multiple rows of teeth, and large claws. It was the Bandersnatch. The other creature was the Jabberwock, a large dragon with dark wings, a large tail, and a long head with crooked teeth, piercing red eyes, long taloned hands and large feet with claws. Both creatures roared.

"I got this!" Giantina declared while Minos joined her.

"Yeah! Way ahead of ya!" He pulled out a bottle that said 'Drink Me' and drank from it, causing him to start to change size. "Minos is about to bring the pain!" he shouted… before realizing that he had shrunk down to six inches tall. "Oh crap!" he shouted as he dodged the scattering guests and soldiers. "Ah! Hey!"

The Dodo and Bill hid behind a knocked over table, the Dodo looked at Bill. "Alright, Bill my boy, it looks like it's your time to shine once again!"

"Do you think so, gov'ner?" Bill asked in his cockney accent.

"Yes, my boy! Why will you be even more famous!" Mr. Dodo told him.

"I will?" Bill asked.

"Yes, a golden opportunity beckons!" Mr. Dodo encouraged. "Now go settle these cretins!"

"Oi righty, then, gov'ner!" Bill the Lizard said as he rushed into action. He dodged the panicking guests as he made his way toward Giantina, intending to stop her. Yes, it was time for Bill to shine…

STOMP!

Giantina looked down, feeling that she stepped on something as she looked under her boot. She winced. "Oh… I'm so sorry, sir… are you okay?"

"Coulda… been… better…" Bill said while looking flatter than usual.

It was then that the Jabberwock tackled Giantina, causing her to fall. The dragon started attacking Tina, who dodged its jaws while she tried to pin the Jabberwock down.

Nina and Skara chased after Jackson while he was carrying Donna, but they were blocked by the Bandersnatch, who roared at the two. Nina roared back and punched the Bandersnatch in the nose, causing it to fall back and crash into a table, sending the wedding cake flying up into the sky and out of sight…

The White Rabbit looked around the chaos. "Now, everyone please calm down…" he tried to say, but nobody was paying attention to him, much to his frustration. His eyes went wide "Fuck this shit, I'm out!" he shouted while running away from the altar, deciding to flee the chaos.

The Queen, King, and Jackson tried to escape with Donna, but then they were blocked by a large bush summoned by Florella, who made her appearance known.

"Let go of Donna Masterskull!" she declared while summoning her vines.

But the Jabberwock also made himself known, breathing flames at the bush and burning it down, allowing the royal family to flee while Jabberwock shot fireballs at Florella, who flew up in the air with the Jabberwock flying after her.

"Hey!" Nina launched herself up, grabbing his tail and pulling the Jabberwock down away from Florella. The Jabberwock turned and glared at the werecat. "Come on, you're not the first lizard breath I have taken on!"

"So… I have met my greatest enemy… a little kitten!" he mocked with a gurgle in his voice as he stuck his forked tongue out. "How do you wish for your death to be?"

"Not on my knees," Nina retorted while glaring at the dragon.

"Then I'll eat you where you stand!" the Jabberwock declared as he snapped at her while Nina slashed at his tongue, cutting it off.

"Oops, got your tongue," Nina said with a smirk while the Jabberwock roared in anger.

Skara ran toward Donna, but the Bandersnatch stopped her in her tracks. It roared at her and prepared to pounce, but Beocrow intervened and knocked the Bandersnatch away.

"I got this guy!" Beocrow declared as he and the Bandersnatch faced off against each other.

Skara nodded and used her werewolf form to cut off the Hearts while they were trying to escape with Donna, shifting back to her witch form and summoning Jimmy to turn into a violin, sending lightning at their feet, making them back away. "Put the bride down!"

Jackson sighed as he set Donna down. "You know, I didn't feel like fighting… but you have forced my hand!" He held up his deck of cards and scattered them, causing them to fly around. They then started sticking all over his body, which surprised Donna and Skara as they were blinded by a bright, red flash of light.

Once the light died down, in Jackson's place was a red armored knight. His helmet had two black lens with a heart-shaped face-disk and black grills for the mouthpiece. He wore spiked shoulder pads as his heart-shaped chest armor is displayed with red armor plates all over the arms, torso, legs, and gauntlets with grieves. He was also holding up a sword with a heart-shaped helm.

"I only have to use this armor once in a while when things don't get in my way!" Jackson declared as he raised his sword to swipe at Skara, who dodged it. "And I will not have you get in the way of me not having to get a job!"

Skara jumped up as she cast lightning spells at Jackson, who deflected it with his sword. Then vines shot out from the ground, summoned by Florella, but Jackson swiped the vines away.

Giantina was trying to stand up while the card and chess soldiers were throwing rope to pin her down with. She got on her knees as she felt rope coming around her body, but she then blew frost from her breath, freezing the soldiers and the rope. She broke it off, freeing herself. It was then she spotted Minos growing back after eating a cookie.

"You alright?" Giantina asked him.

"Never drink from a bottle that says 'Drink Me'!" Minos declared before punching another chess soldier away from him.

Giantina saw Nina, Florella, Skara, and Beocrow struggling against their adversaries. "They need our help!" she declared while rushing over, only to feel the effects of the cookies wearing off. "Oh no, looks like I'm shrinking back!" she said, now back to regular Ghostina.

"Looks like those cookies only have a limited effect!" Minos said as he and Ghostina rushed over to help their friends. They spotted the Queen running with Donna on her shoulder.

Nina gripped her paws while taking on the Jabberwock. His tail knocks her back, sending her into the ground. The Jabberwock rushed over to snap at her, trying to bite her head off. But Nina jumped into the air, avoiding the jaws, and she took a swipe at the Jabberwock, clawing one of his eyes out.

"RAARRH!" the Jabberwock shouted as his claw rushed towards Nina and he took a swipe at her.

"GAH!" Nina cried out, a scratch mark appearing across her cheek and a piece of her left ear missing as pieces of her locks from her left side fell. She hit the ground again and as she got back up, she saw Skara and Florella having trouble against the newly armored Jackson. "Skara!" she shouted as she rushed over to them.

"Nina, forget about us! Get Donna!" Skara told her, while Nina stopped and saw the Queen running away with Donna.

The werecat glared as she began to chase after them. Joining her were Ghostina and Minos.

"Good that you guys are here, I got a plan," Nina told them.

"Plan? What kind of plan?" Minos told them.

"Sometimes Glandus has some benefits," she said as she ran alongside them. "Split up and encircle them, trap them in a circle of magic!"

Ghostina and Minos nodded as they went into separate directions.

As the Queen and King made their way to the exit, they were suddenly blocked by a wall popping up from the ground. They tried a different path, but a wall of ice shot up to cut them off. They saw Minos and Ghostina showing up, blocking their path. And finally Nina jumped down, getting in front of them.

"Drop her if you wish to keep your heads," Nina said as she bared her fangs and showed her claws.

"Better do as she says, she is unhinged," Ghostina told the Hearts.

"O-Okay, okay, please don't hurt us!" the King begged while Nina crawled around them, like a lion hungry for its prey. "Y-You want the bride? Here, take her! My sweet, please hand this girl to the beast."

"Oh yes, hand her back to the beast…" the Queen said while sending a glare. "AS IF!" she yelled, which sent Nina flying back, much to her surprise.

Ghostina and Minos hurried towards them, but the Queen grabbed Minos and threw him towards Ghostina, knocking the two back. The Queen looked red from anger while keeping the tied up Donna in her grip. "I WILL NOT LET YOU TAKE AWAY MY SON'S BRIDE!" she yelled, blowing them away through their wall.

Nina got up, shocked that this queen had a mighty roar like a tiger. "Fuck…" she said, her ears ringing. She saw Wolf-Skara and Florella rushing towards the Queen, who, after setting Donna down, launched herself at them. She grabbed Wolf-Skara by the tail and began swinging her around like a ragdoll. Florella tried to use her vines to pull Donna to safety, only to be hit by the Wolf-Skara who was thrown at her by the Queen.

Nina proceeded to get up, only to feel a blade near her neck.

"Don't move a muscle, Petit Minou," spoke the armored Jackson, who stepped around Nina with his blade close to her neck. "Well, well, well, where do you benefit from crashing into my party, you stupid animal?"

Nina glared at him. "Donna does not belong to you…"

"Oh? Is she yours?" Jackson asked while seeing mother throwing a rampaging fit as she ended up clobbering everyone who got close to her. "You've made my mother upset, you know? She's gonna have all of your heads for this…"

Nina just glared at him while Jackson smirked under his helmet, keeping his sword at her. "You know, I was going to make her dreams come true… picture this: a rustic hunting lodge with my latest kill roasting on the fire, my little silver haired wife, massaging my shoulders." Nina just gave him a look of disgust. "While the little ones play on the floor with the dogs… six or seven, handsome young men like me!" He looked at Nina and grinned. "I'm giving you one… one chance to just… walk away, and let me have this wedding… or else I will hang you up on my wall as my… hunting trophy."

Nina looked for the moment to strike. She snarled, hit the sword away from her, and pounced. She was still in her full werecat form as she bit his armor and slashed at his mask. Jackson tried to fight her off as she bit his arm, making him drop his sword.

"ACK!" he cried as he kicked her off of him. He winced as he saw the jaws had pierced through his armor to his arm. "You will pay for what you've done, you beast!" he declared while grabbing his sword, swinging at her but she dodged it. She swiped her claws and growled at him, slashing his armor and leaving a tear.

"You… you can tear my armor?!" he cried out in shock.

"That's not the only thing I could tear off!" she declared as she pounced at him again.

Donna had been set down while still tied up. She saw the chaos happening around her, noticing that a few of her friends were down. She didn't know what to do and was beginning to feel helpless…

Jackson's sword stretched out to take a stab at Nina, she growled in pain as the sword stabbed her shoulder. She endured the pain while using her paw to grab the ground and throw dirt at him, temporarily blinding him

Meanwhile, Beocrow had used his Beast-Keeping magic to tie up the Bandersnatch and was now dealing with the Jabberwock, managing to put it to sleep with his Beast-Keeping magic. Beocrow sighed in relief, wiping sweat from his forehead.

SWAT!

Beocrow was then hit from behind by the angry Queen of Hearts, making him crash through some now empty chairs. "ALL OF YOU SHALL HAVE YOUR HEADS OFF IMMEDIATELY!" she declared.

"A head off, you say?" the Cheshire Cat asked while appearing on the top of her crown. "Where are we headed?"

"WHAT?!" the Queen looked around as the Cheshire Cat teleported in front of her. "A CAT?!"

"Yes, and I must say, you brought some sweet tarts for this wedding," he said while eating the Queen's tarts right in front of her.

"THOSE ARE MY TARTS, YOU DAMN CAT!" she shouted while trying to punch the cat, who disappeared causing her to swing around herself.

"And have some cake with it too," he said while pointing up, causing the Queen to look up…

SPLAT!

The wedding cake finally came back down and landed right on her face. The Cheshire Cat laughed while the Queen looked even more mad. "Oh, aren't you a little… mad?"

"GAAAAAHHH!" the Queen shouted in anger while trying to get the Cheshire Cat, who just teleported around her.

Nina continued to fight Jackson, scratching up his armor. He responded by making a quick slash, hitting Nina's chest and causing blood to splatter.

"NINA!" Donna cried out, seeing Nina wounded. It caused her to remember the time when she had Nina in her arms, bleeding from a wound. She was hyperventilating as she looked around, seeing that her friends had fallen. Crowbar, Florella, Minos, Ghostina, and Skara were down while Nina still stood up to fight Jackson, despite her wound.

"Oh? Still up to lose more of your lives?" Jackson mocked her.

Nina held her fist up. "I'm not going to leave Donna behind… ever."

Donna was in tears. They were all here to save her and now they were getting themselves hurt… for her. She looked down with a worried look. She had to do something. She was a Healer, she could heal them up, but not while she was tied up. And without her keyblade… she was useless…

She was… the damsel in distress this time.

This was… just like her encounter with Lupe.

But there was still one thing Donna could do to help. One idea that she had. After all, she still had her voice. A golden light shine around her as she started to sing…

"Where have all the good witch gone, where are all the gods?" she sang as a light spread around her. "Where's the streetwise demones, to fight the rising odds?" Her eyes glowed brightly as her voice reached out to her friends.

"Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?" Florella and Skara slowly get up, along with Beocrow. "Late at night I toss and I turn and dream of what I need…"

Ghostina and Minos also got up while Nina felt the light from Donna's singing touch her. Suddenly, she felt more motivated, her strength increased, and she got ready to fight again…

"Why… why is she singing-" Jackson didn't get to finish as a fist punched into his helmeted face.

"Ooooooooohh I need a hero!"

Jackson was launched and slid across the ground from Nina's gorilla punch while the rest of LOWTH and Skara got up, reading to fight against the charging card soldiers and chess piece soldiers.

"I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night!" Donna sang. "They gotta be strong, and they gotta be fast, and they gotta be fresh from the fight!"

Ghostina brought out her spider Palisman and it shot ice-cold webs at the soldiers. Minos used his blue spiked turtle Palisman as its wings spread before it launched itself at the chess pieces and Knight as they saw it flying up above them before suddenly coming down and exploding, knocking them out.

"I need a hero!" Donna sang as she rose up on her knees. "I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light!"

Crowbar had Takai stand on his head while his crow-like body changed form around him. He had black wings for arms and large talons as he grabbed the card soldiers in stacks, folded them, and scattered them using his wings to blow them away.

"They gotta be sure, and it's gotta be soon, and they gotta be larger than life! Larger than life~!"

"I feel… boosted!" Skara declared, feeling her magic powering up her wolf form. When she saw the card soldiers coming at her, she unleashed a large howl. "OWOOO!" This sent out a wave that blew the card soldiers back.

"It's Donna! She's using… Bard magic!" Florella realized while ringing her bell-flower staff, which summoned more trees that grabbed the card soldiers.

Nina rushed in as she delivered kicks to Jackson, who held his card shield up to block the kicks. But her kicks were rapid, managing to break his shield as she kicked him far away.

"Somewhere after midnight, in my wildest fantasy," Donna continued to sing while her friends fought off the soldiers. "Somewhere just beyond my reach, there's someone reaching back for me!" She looked to Nina, who was still fighting against Jackson, who swung his sword at her.

Jackson stretched out his card sword to take another stab at Nina, which did pierce her in her shoulder. However, Nina didn't fall, she was determined as she grabbed the sword with her paw and broke it off, which shocked Jackson as she took the tip out of her and threw it away. It was then Jackson started throwing cards, which were razor sharp, at her.

"Racing on the thunder and rising with the heat! It's gonna take a superwitch to sweep me off my feet!" she sang while Nina launched herself towards Jackson. The cards being thrown managed to cut her a few times, but she ignored the cuts and got close enough to headbutt him on the helmet.

The Queen spotted Donna singing and realized what was going on.. "She's using her singing to… get them motivated?! SOMEONE STOP HER!"

"Aw shut your pie hole!" Minos shouted as he rushed towards her and shoved the rest of the 'Drink Me' bottle into the Queen's mouth while it was open, causing her to swallow it.

The Queen was shocked as she felt something changing within her. Her eyes bulged out while her head, arms, and legs started shaking and glitching out in a very cartoonish manner.

"Up where the mountains meet the heavens above! Out where the lightning splits the sea! I could swear that there's someone somewhere watching me!"

Crowbar saw more soldiers as he raised his wings, swinging his arms around as he created a wind to blow them over. Following up was Skara, who placed her paws on her feet and swung her hindlegs to kick the soldiers from her as they were knocked out. Ghostina used her spider Palisman to shoot out another web at one soldier, who looked disgusted before being knocked in the head by Florella's staff.

"Through the wind and the chill of the boiling rain! And the storm and the flood! I can feel their approach like the fire in my blood!"

"Like the fire in my blood! Like the fire in my blood! Like the fire in my blood! Like the fire in my… blood~!" LOWTH, Nina, and Skara sang together as they felt their power boosted from the bard magic.

Nina then launched her fist to hit Jackson in the chest, making cracks of his armor. She sent another punch that sent cracks through his helmet, followed by a slash across his helmet, breaking it as well as slashing him across his face.

"AAAH!" Jackson cried out, the scratch piercing his left eye before he then felt another powerful kick that shattered his armor made of cards, as well as tearing his suit to pieces.

"HERO!"

Jackson was launched to the ground. He looked up and tried to get up, but Nina stomped on his legs, breaking them. "AAAH! Please! Please, mon cheri, have mercy!" he begged.

"Mercy? Where I'm from, I was taught that mercy was for the weak. You don't deserve mercy from me…!"

"I-I-I'm sorry, okay! I-I'll do anything! ANYTHING!" he begged while Nina grabbed him by the shirt, raising him up close to her so he could see her glare as her claws popped out. "Have mercy…"

Nina wanted to slice this guy like a ribbon. He kidnapped and made Donna cry, which to her was an unforgivable act. She wanted him to rot in hell… but then she got a good look at his pathetic face, seeing him in tears while her expression softened.

"Stay away from Donna," she told him. "And if I see you in the Boiling Isles again, even catching your scent… I won't be this merciful."

Donna stopped singing as she saw Nina putting Jackson down. The prince looked scared, shivering while looking up to Nina. "Y-Y-Yes, o-o-of course, I won't bother her again! I won't set foot in the Isles again!"

"Good," Nina said as she turned around and began walking away from Jackson.

But Jackson saw his broken blade nearby in addition to Nina having her back turned. Thinking quickly, he grabbed the blade and went for the kill. "AS IF!"

CRACK!

A vine sprouted and hit Jackson between his legs, hard. He stopped in his tracks, his face looking pale. Tears streamed from his eyes as he felt something shattered and broken down there. He crouched over, holding where he was hit. The one who sent that vine attack was Florella.

"Don't mess with our feline friend, you son of a bitch," Florella declared while seeing Nina walking towards Donna.

"Nina, are you okay-oh!" Donna was suddenly picked up by Nina, who lifted her over her shoulder, making the silver haired girl blush. "N-Nina?!"

Nina just carried Donna while looking down at the crying prince of Hearts. "This ass is mine!" she declared while smacking Donna's rear.

"AH!" Donna cried out with a blush while Nina walked over to join Skara and LOWTH.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going with my future daughter-in-law!" cried out the Queen as they all turned to her. "Guards! Grab her back! Off with their heads!"

The Queen was shown making demands… but was about the size of a mouse right now. Her squeaky voice was very non-threatening. "What are you doing?! I said off with their heads!"

"I don't think you'll be giving any demands for a while, Drizella," spoke the Cheshire Cat from behind her. The Queen looked around and saw the large, grinning head as he licked his lips.

"AAAAH!" the Queen screamed, her eyes popping out before she ran off from the cat. The Cheshire Cat laughed as his head floated after her while trying to bite her, chasing her into the hedge maze and out of sight.

"… That is one bizarre cat," Minos said out loud.

Nina looked at the guests and soldiers, who all kept their distance, having given up trying to stop the witches. "Hey! Where's an exit around here?!" she shouted, causing them all to point. She, Skara, and LOWTH headed for the exit while Donna was still blushing from being carried like a sack of potatoes by Nina. But in secret, she was smiling…

Once they were gone, the King of Hearts rushed towards his son. "Oh, my dear boy, are you okay?" he asked.

"No father… no I am not…" Jackson replied with a high-pitched voice, still in pain.

And so, once they were far enough, the team found a safe spot in the forest where they could stop and take a moment. They used that moment to catch their breath, feeling tired from going through such great lengths to save Donna from a mad wedding. Both Skara and Nina were no longer in their werewolf and werecat forms.

"You know, this may be the most superhero-thing we've ever done," Tyrone admitted.

"Yeah, our friends will not believe what we had to go through," Veronica agreed.

"I'm just glad that Donna's safe," Skara said.

Tina nodded in agreement before she noticed that Nina was still holding Donna over her shoulder. "Uh, you think you can put her down now?"

"Huh? Oh! Oh, right, right." Nina said while setting Donna down. Beocrow helped untie her, finally freeing Donna from her bonds. The first thing she did was pull off her wedding ring and throw it away.

"Thanks guys, really," Donna said while her friends went up to embrace her.

"Are you okay, Donna? Did that Jackson hurt you?" Veronica asked while she and Donna hugged.

"I'm fine, thanks to you guys," Donna said as she went to hug Tina, then Tyrone. Finally she turned to Beocrow. "Come on, Bail," she said, offering a hug.

"You know I'm not a hugger," Beocrow said while Donna went to hug him anyway. He just patted her back. "But I'm glad that you're safe."

Donna nodded. "Wait, where are Eda and the others?" she asked, looking around. "Did they come with you?"

"Actually, no," Veronica explained. "They went after Mel to rescue Edric, King, and two other boys that she kidnapped. We decided to come after you instead."

"Oh, I understand," Donna said. "Well, thank you guys, for coming to get me." She turned to Skara and Nina. "And that goes to you two as well."

"No problem, Donna," Skara replied while Donna looked at Nina, who averted her gaze.

"Nina…" Donna stepped towards her. "Thank you, and-"

"Look, Donna, about that smack from earlier," Nina said with a blush. "It was… a heat of the moment kind of thing, you know? I mean, I'm sorry for smacking your butt like that. It was inappropriate and I understand if you're mad…"

"I don't care about that, though yeah it was kind of inappropriate," Donna said while hiding her blush. Then she took a deep breath, knowing what needed to be said. "Nina… I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

"Sorry? For what?" Nina asked her.

"For hurting you," Donna admitted. "I didn't know that you were hurting at the time when I rejected you until I heard what Emily did to you… and you did not deserve that, no matter what you did." She tightened her fists. "Titan… I hate myself for letting Emily get in my head when she told me about those things you did…"

"Wait, Emily?!" Nina suddenly shouted. "What do you mean you let Emily get in your head?"

Donna sighed while looking down in shame. "She… visited St. Epiderm as the Golden Guard and got me alone in a room with her, where she listed off all of the awful things you did during your time at Glandus…"

"That bitch!" Nina cursed. "I hope she's suffering in the Underworld for everything she did!" She then looked back at Donna. "And wait, you knew who she was, but you still let what she said get into your head?"

"I was hasty!" Donna admitted. "I should have let you give your side of the story, but I didn't think I could trust you. And I know I said some awful things that day-"

"Yeah, you could have definitely handled yourself better back there," Nina said while crossing her arms.

"But despite that, you still came to save me…" Donna continued.

Nina was quiet for a moment before slowly shaking her head. "Honestly, Donna, you can't just take back the things you've said to me," she said and Donna looked down, knowing that Nina was right. "Though you weren't completely wrong, I still needed you then and you… didn't even give me the time of the day. But of course I still came to save you. After all, I still remember the little girl who made a promise to me… even if you may no longer still be that little girl."

Donna looked up to her, remembering the promise they made to each other.

"And that promise still means something to me," Nina admitted. "I look out for you, and you look out for me. Nothing really bad can happen as long as we have each other. Though I will admit that I wasn't there for you when you had your drug issues."

"Oh… you… learned about that?" Donna asked her.

"Yeah, they explained to me about your past association with the pirate and sea-witch," Nina said, feeling guilty for not being there for Donna, since she had been busy getting experimented on and groomed by Sonya.

"And I wasn't there for you when you needed me the most," Donna acknowledged. "I turned my back on you, just as Eustace and Serpentina did… I'm no better than them."

"Hey, you're nowhere near as bad as those two jackasses," Nina tried to reassure her. "You didn't know the full story of what I was going through at the time… but we'll just have to work things out when we get back."

Donna nodded. "Of course, and thank you again for saving me," she said as she went in to hug Nina, who just offered her a hand shake.

"It's… a start," Nina responded as the two shook hands.

"Of course," Donna agreed, realizing that they couldn't just go back to how they were like as kids. Especially since they were no longer those kids. It is still too early for them to be friends again… or more than friends.

After Donna made sure to heal any injuries that her rescuers could show her, they began walking down a path together, heading in the direction of home. Donna walked next to Nina. "So you have a Palisman now," Donna noticed.

"Yeah," Nina said while petting Tugs, who was on her shoulder. "His name was Tugs. He was assigned to me as an emotional support animal."

Donna nodded. "You know, after saving me like that, maybe you can join LOWTH… if you want to, of course."

"Nah, I'm not really into the whole superhero gig thing," Nina said, waving if off. "Cheerleading's my new thing right now, something I want to focus on more… but if you guys ever need help, just give me a call and I can bring my sidekick along."

"Sidekick?" Skara asked, looking offended.

"But yeah, it could be nice to team up with Wonder Witch on occasion," Nina commented, which made Donna smile.

"Thank you!" Donna declared. "Titan, I've been called Burlesque Savior by the weirdos on the magiknet."

"Please, that doesn't fit you at all," Nina said. "Unless you do work at a burlesque bar I don't know about."

Donna simply hit Nina's arm lightly, causing the werecat to chuckle. Donna just gave a pout before something else came to her mind. "So… you and Lambi…"

"What about Lambi?" Nina asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Um, just wondering how you two… met," Donna replied, hiding her pout of jealousy.

"We met at the temple last Scumday," Nina revealed. "Her mom's a shaman and she helped me out since I was new to the temple service in Bonesborough. She's… nice, like when I'm with her, I just feel comfortable. I owed her for the temple service, so we went out to the Brawl together. Though I don't know if I would call it a good first date, considering what happened at the end of the Brawl…"

"Do you… plan on seeing her more?" Donna asked her.

"I hope so," Nina responded, much to Donna's disappointment. "I mean, I owe her a date that doesn't end in a riot. Hmm, I should give Lambi a call when we get home…"

"Actually, now that you brought it up…" Veronica spoke up. "How do we get home from here? Do we try to fly up the rabbit hole?"

"Maybe if we ask around…" Tina suggested.

"I don't think any of the locals around here would give directions that make sense," Tyrone said while Nina and Skara's ears picked up something.

"Wait," Skara said, halting. "Do you guys here that?"

"Hear what?" Donna asked while Nina kept on guard.

"Someone's out there… watching us," Nina answered while her eyes narrowed and looked around her.

Tina looked around and spotted the silhouette of a figure in the distance. She pointed out the figure. "Over there!" she said as they all turned to the figure, who was walking towards them slowly. This prompted them to be on guard.

"I don't know who that is, but we better be prepared…" Nina said while they held up their staffs.

The figure continued to slowly approach them. He was a tall, slender man with blue hair, dark skin, sunglasses, and a tight-fitted white suit. Behind him was a trail of cosmic splats. On his shoulder was a raven.

"There you are," the stranger said. "I've been looking for all of you. Do you all wish to go home now?"

They all looked confused by this. "Uh… yes?" Beocrow responded.

The stranger nodded. "Walk with me," he said to them.

"Okay, hold up, we don't know you," Nina pointed out "Who are you and why should we follow you?"

"I am but a traveler through this land, much like you, my feline friend," the stranger responded while turning to Nina. "Though unlike you, I know much more about Wonderland… and its nature."

"Um… just what is the deal around here?" Donna asked.

The stranger smiled. "Wonderland is a place of dreams and stories," he explained. "Many have dreamed of this place, have been inspired by it…"

"Wait, dreams?" Tyrone questioned. "But we're not asleep."

He laughed at this. "Of course you're not sleeping. But dreams can exist without sleeping, just as one may sleep without dreaming. Wonderland is both a dreamscape that can be accessed subconsciously and a real place that you can travel to physically. It exists outside of time and space, but can be visited from any realm as long as you are able to dream. And Wonderland is not the only place that exists like this. Neverland was another such place." He paused for a moment, looking sad before continuing. "Because of its nature, reality works… differently in Wonderland. As does time. In fact, once you arrive back home, barely any time would have passed in your world at all."

"Seriously? No wonder my biological clock is a little weirded out by this place," Nina said.

"So how do we get out of here?" Beocrow asked.

"There are several ways, but tell me… have any of you heard of the name Alice since arriving in Wonderland?" the stranger asked.

"Yeah… Alice is someone that apparently pissed off the Queen of Hearts," Donna replied. "Just who is she?"

"Long ago, Alice was a curious little girl who ended up following the White Rabbit to an entrance to Wonderland after day-dreaming about it," the stranger explained. "She accessed Wonderland while conscious, but she was able to leave Wonderland by waking herself up." As he explained, the splats he left out started to warp the environment around him. This surprised the group.

"What's… happening around here?" Skara asked, seeing the trees warmed into lines.

"You could say that things are starting to get a little… trippy, as you mortal children would say." he said while bending the environment on a whim. "I did not create this world, but I can't help but feel at home here… after all, I am the God of Sleep, the Lord of Dreams, and the King of Stories. I am… Morpheus."

The teens looked shocked before they disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving only Morpheus and his raven.

"Do you think the tale of these witchlings in Wonderland will be as famous as Alice's?" the raven asked its master.

"Hmm… probably not," Morpheus admitted. "But that does not mean this story was not without merit. Many good things can come of it. And of course, there are still many stories that have yet to be told…"

And so, Morpheus continued to walk with his raven.

"Donna, wake up!"

"Skara, Nina, are you two okay?"

The teens started to open their eyes while Nina shot up with a gasp. Skara rose up while rubbing her eyes as Donna, Beocrow, Tina, Veronica, and Tyrone also woke up. They found themselves back in the Isles, surrounded by a search party of scouts that was led by Calypso and Donna's moms.

"Mom!" Skara rose up and went to hug her mother.

"Moms!" Donna leapt up, now in her normal outfit, and ran towards her mothers.

"Donna, our baby girl!" Gladys cried, squeezing Donna as she hugged her. "Oh we've been so worried for you!"

"Whirlwind's also been worried for you as well," Diana said while Whirlwind flew up to Donna.

"Oh Whirlwind, you're okay!" Donna said while nuzzling her Palisman.

Nina smiled, glad to see Donna reunited with her family. Calypso walked over to her. "Nina." The werecat turned to her. "Are you alright?"

"Oh, uh, yeah," Nina responded. "We found Donna and that's what's important. Sorry that me and Skara snuck out…"

Calypso sighed. "I'm just glad you are all safe. I won't punish you or Skara, you were trying to do the right thing, after all. I just wish you had come to me first."

"The Emperor called you away after you dropped me and Lambi off," Nina pointed out. "We couldn't reach you."

"Fair enough," Calypso admitted. "And your collar?"

Nina looked down. "Uh, about that…"

"Skara turned it off, I know," Calypso revealed. "I told her earlier this week, since I trusted she would know when it was necessary to turn it off. She did good… as did you, Nina."

"Oh um… thanks, Calypso," Nina responded awkwardly.

"Are you ready to go home?" Calypso asked both girls.

Nina and Skara shared a look. "Yes, please," they both said.

After reunited with her moms, Donna turned to Nina, seeing her start to leave. "Nina… I'll see you around, right?"

Nina turned and nodded. "Sure thing, princess. Chat with ya later," she said as she walked away with Calypso while hanging her arm around Skara's shoulder.

Donna smiled while the other members of LOWTH walked over to her and her moms. "Alright, we'll contact your folks and you guys can spend the night at our place if you want."

"Thank you, Mrs. Masterskull," Veronica said with a nod.

Beocrow looked at Donna. "How you feeling now, Donna?"

Donna gave a sigh as she looked up at the night sky, thinking about everything that had just happened. "I think… I'm going to be okay."

One witch had managed to return home to her family… but there were others still lost.

Meanwhile, back in Wonderland, in the throne room of the Queen of Hearts, her son stood before her.

He looked nervous, now wearing an eyepatch and walking with a cane. "I-I'm so, so sorry, mother," he apologized, his mother now back to her normal height. "They took my bride and I know the wedding meant so much to you…"

"Oh my dear Jackson," Drizella spoke with disdain in her voice. Sitting beside her was her King. "I don't care about the wedding anymore, my Jack of Hearts… all I want… is revenge!"

"R-Revenge?" Jackson asked.

"I want revenge on those interlopers and the bride who ruined my joyous… I mean, your joyous day and made a mockery of the House of Hearts! And not just them! Those of… the Boiling Isles will pay for this!"

"Why yes, my Queen, they must pay dearly!" the King agreed.

The Queen of Hearts tried to cool down as she decided to call for someone. "Bring in my court wizard!"

Jackson moved to sit on the other side of his mother as coming into the throne room was a tall, slender man in a black mitre-hat with a red stripe. He wore a black robe with a white and gray checkerboard in the middle, a large red mantle around his neck, and he was holding a staff that resembled a snake.

"I am at your service, my Queen," the court magician and royal adviser said as he gave a bow to her in respect.

"I wish for you to entertain me," the Queen requested.

He looked up to her, revealing his dark-skinned face, his twisted black goatee, faint mustache, and gray eyeliner. He gave a humble smile. "Of course, Your Majesty."

And so Jafar obeyed his Queen's wishes, doing as she commanded…

And thus one part of the Underworld Arc ends… with the appearance of Jafar...

Well in this arc, our heroes travel to Wonderland, which is also known as Underland, which is part of the Underworld Arc We took liberties in making this version of Wonderland taking elements from several versions of it: the books, the animated movie, and even a bit from the Tim Burton movie.

Some of the songs you recognizes from the animated film are placed there by according to the appearances of the denizens of Wonderland. Such as:

-"The Prince of Hearts is Here" as a cover of "Paint The Roses Red"

-"The Caucus Race"

-"A Very Happy Unbirthday"

"I Need A Hero" by Bonnie Tyler is used as a cover song for the chapter, for Donna to sing that helps boost her friends with her singing bard magic. And yeah, I based on one fight sequence with the team battling against the soldiers during the song from the 1st opening of One Piece.

"The Wandering Way" is the song used a traveling montage, as it's from the LOTR: Rings of Power series.

Making the Drizella as the Queen of Hearts is another we've made for a while. To tie in Alice in Wonderland with Cinderella. Drizella's origins is inspired by a video Buck has seen titled "Who I Am● Villain Backstory MEP (Vol.1)" and the fact that Anastasia was the Red Queen in Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. Jafar's appearance is also a reference to both that show and admittedly, Care Bears in Wonderland. How he's back, will go unexplained for now…

Morpheus who made an appearance here, by appearance is based off of Lawrence Fishburne's two roles: Beyonder from Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, and Morpheus from The Matrix. The raven is also based off from The Sandman by Neil Gaiman.

The Duchess I'll admit is designed to as a reference to Duchess from Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. Her pig-baby, Lewis, is named after Lewis Carroll.

The Red Queen and White Queen that cameos are based off of the Tim Burton's versions of them in Alice in Wonderland.

One more thing, the "This ass is mine" moment is indeed a reference to Helluva Boss.

Now to answer reviews:

Alamout: Let's just say he grew a level of hatred to them…

Gamelover41592: You're welcome. ;)

BlueKnight-X2: You don't have to worry about that.

Moheart7: We will consider using your OCs. Thanks for offering.

Spantidem7: Maybe…

Crosshot: Well, since Cross is currently with the Emperor's Coven, he can't use a Palisman right now.

OMAC001: No prob.

Ultimate-drax: You could say Eda has been through Double-Hell.

Arsenal3: Honestly… Vaggie hasn't met Charlie yet at this point. And there's no way Gus could know Lucifer and Charlie.

Matteso585: 1) They won't. 2) It's still the weekend, so it won't be that long. 3) How can it be a rehash of the Boiling Isles side of the Human Realm arc when there are completely different events, characters, and even settings involved? Your question doesn't make any sense. 4) It's like you don't think we writers could come up with a solution for the characters to solve a problem, do you?

Thirteen-Seven: Looks like you got your answer.

Franco Almiron: 1) We'll see. 2) you'll find out.

RJWritingInk: Well, you know, it can be both for Firebee's reference. And I might make a map of the Boiling Isles for LC.

Shuffollower: For the Gates family question, you'll see. As for Wonderland… nah, the King is too in love with the Queen. Sense and logic don't make sense to these kinds of folks, especially from Wonderland. And yeah, Donna and Nina would decide to start things over after all what they've gone through.

Next time, we go back to Luz and friends as they walk down through Hell… wonder who could they meet? Stay tuned…

The Cheshire Cat floated into a hallway while wearing a red robe when he noticed who was in front of him. He paused.

"Oh? You're still here?" he asked you, the readers. "This is the end of the chapter. It's over… go home," he said while his body turned invisible, leaving nothing but a pair of eyes and his grin. "Thanks for reading…"