Wonderland

[closed for JadeKnight]

Chasity tiptoed through the Red Queen's dungeon. There was a great chance Alice was here. If Chasity could find her she could save Wonderland. As such, the White Queen was missing, the Red Queen was in control (again!), and Alice had came back to save them once more, but something stranged happened. It seemed Wonderland was tuned to Alice's mind and she was having nightmares. We could fix her; help Alice, but no one could find her. Chasity just had to find Alice and maybe they'll have a chance at saving her home.

Chasity heard footsteps and she immediately stopped moving and held her breath. She instantly poofed out of existence. Chasity was only a halfbreed and unlike her father, the Cheshire Cat, she couldn't just disappear at will or teleport where she needed.

The guards walked past and Chasity let out her breath. She slowly came back into existence. Chasity sighed and quickly made her way to the holding cell ... only to find it empty. Chasity felt her heart drop. Now what?! The sounds of people coming towards her alerted her she set off some sort of alarm. Chasity sucked in a deep breath and ran.

XXXX

Chasity had just made it home when she saw her father chained to a tree. Chasity screamed and ran to him trying to untie him. "Chasity, my dear sweet daughter." She tugged at the chains, but couldn't budge them.

"Dad please, bleep out. You can get out of this."

"I can't daughter. If I leave, teleport I won't have enough strength to come back to you. I'll lose my way and I might not come back." Her father blinked and slowly came back. "Now, listen to me. Alice has a son. You need to bring him to us. Alice is slowly killing us. She's eating up the strongest of us all. She's killing us. Get her son. Save us. Go! Before it's too late!"

"Father, I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know how?"

"You can do it. You have to. I can't hold on anymore. The more Alice eats, the stronger the Red Queen becomes. You can do it. Get her son, Get ...." Her father blinked out and the chains fell to the ground.

"Dad ..." Chasity turned in a circle. "DAD!" Chasity stared at where her father was last. "DAAAAAAAAAAD!"

Alice Lindell was a bit of a wild girl in the ten years after her adventures in Wonderland, often wishing she could return back there. However it seemed her dreams of ever returning were crushed when she found herself pregnant at the age of 18. A car accident claimed the life of her parents, sending her and her newborn son to live with her older sister. Having to raise a child, though not completely on her own, helped to settle Alice done to a more peaceful life. Life was only peaceful for Alice for a very short time after her son Josh was born.

Alice suddenly disappeared on Josh's fifth birthday. The police scoured everywhere she had been that day, but as impossible as it was, no clue to her disappearance was ever found. The police stopped looking after a year, but her case was marked as unsolved. Alice's sister adopted Josh as her own son, raising him as best as she could. Other than his mother's disappearance, life was dull and non-exciting for Josh. At least until his eighteenth birthday.

He began having cryptic images in his dreams, some scary enough to wake him in a cold sweat. By the time he was twenty three, the images had became full blown nightmare sequences. Bizarre torture scenes of anthromorphic beings, killings, sexual torture, and other unexplainable sequences would play through his mind. He also had dream-like images of a older blonde lady in the middle of darkness, flailing as she pleaded for help, help to stop the torture. The woman seemed familiar to him, but he couldn't quite place the reason for it.


Three days after his twenty-third birthday, Josh found himself laying in bed staring up at the ceiling. It wasn't so much that he was afraid to go to sleep, he just didn't want the nightmares to return. Two days had passed since the last time he had any nightmarish dream or sequence, making him count himself lucky. A soft breeze blew in through the open window of his bedroom, bringing in the scents of the coming fall. Sitting on the nightstand was a half-filled bottle of sleeping pills. He had tried the drugs for a while, but they only seemed to make things worse.

“Please let me get a nightmare-free sleep tonight.”

Josh whispered quietly to nobody, still looking up at the ceiling. Not really expecting an answer, he rolled over in the bed, pulling the covers tighter around him. He closed his eyes, slowly drifting off to sleep.

Chas hated this world. She had to hide her ears and tail and the rules were so completely different than they were back home. But for 3 months Chas had lived here; learning the rules and social etiquette. Oh she was still odd and most people just looked at her funny or ignored her. She didn't care after the 53rd boy born to an Alice who was born on the 16th day of April Chas had enough. If she didn't fear her world dying or her with it she would have just given up the search.

Here was the 54th one. Chas sighed she had had been to every country in this world looking for the boy and who knew Alice was such a common name or so many were born on the 16th day of April?! Her father said she could do it, but how?! Was there supposed to be an easier way?! Chas saw it was well past dark and if she had learned anything she would wait for daybreak and approach him. But Chas was tired, hungry, irritable, and didn't care. She used his fire escape to climb the building and she watched him to see if she could feel or get that gut feeling that he wasn't the one.

Chas stared at the man and almost screamed. She pulled out the picture of Alice and stared at the boy. They were pretty much the same age in this photo the guy laying in bed being a bit older, but they looked so similar. Chas held her breath and climbed through the open window. She just had to get a better look. Could her search finally be over?

Chas cocked her head to the side as she heard him beg for no more nightmares. That's when her nightmare began. She was getting weaker and even though her breath was still being held she could see her hands. Which meant he could see her. Oh shit!

"Don't freak out, don't freak!" Chas tried to diffuse the situation and in her panic her ears sprang free from her hair and her tail uncurled around her. "Okay, uh, is this your mother?!"

Chas thrust the image in his face hoping that distraction would work. She didn't want to meet the Poh Lease again. They were mean men. She was just glad she was able to disappear from their cage and continue her search.

It was the shift on the bed that had him waking up once more. When Cas had placed one of her hands on the bed so she could get a closer look at him, the matteress and sheet was pulled in her direction. He turned and sat up suddenly, blinking a few times to make sure he wasn't still dreaming. It had to be a dream he was still in, taking in the new intruder in his bedroom. She was just like one of those anthromorphic people in his nightmares. Now they were coming to him in his waking life.

At this point, he wasn't even sure freaking out would help him. He doubted his step-mother would even believe him in the morning that he was actually visited by one of his nightmares. He lifted a hand up for a moment, opening his mouth to speak. He stopped, closing his mouth as he droped his hand to his lap. His eyes looked from between the picture and Cas several times, his brain still trying to comprehend things. He opened his mouth again, finding his voice.

“What are you doing outside my nightmares? Don't tell me you are actually real. Are you real?”

His hand lifted from the bed, reaching towards her. His hands went to Cas's cheek as if to touch her. They stopped just short of her face before he suddenly pinched her cheek to confirm she was real.

He hadn't answered her question. He looked at the picture and the words out of his mouth weren't what cHas was expecting. She blinked and was very happy he wasn't screaming. It took her a moment to realize he thought he was dreaming or that she was a dream or ... she wasn't quite sure. She shrugged her shoulders at his response, but when he slowed reached out to her she thought he was just going to touch her. When he pinched her she shouted, "Ouch," and slapped his hand hard.

"That hurt. What the hell?!" Chas rubbed her cheek and angrily glared at the possible savior of Wonderland.

"Look, just tell me is this your mother? Is it her?" Chas hissed at the man while still shoving the picture in his face. She looked at the picture too and she blinked... "The eyes... you have her eyes. I ... I FOUND YOU!!" Chas couldn't believe it. Maybe she wanted it to be him so bad that she was lulling herself into believing it was him.

Chas pulled out a piece of chalk out of her pocket and drew a door on the wall. "Go on. Knock twice and turn the knob." Chas took in a deep breath. If this was the right one... if this was Alice's son then the chalk would become a real door and he would be somewhere in Wonderland. Oh please, let him be the one. Please, please, please.

The slap on his hand was enough to tell Josh he wasn't dreaming. He frowned as he shook his hand for a moment, frowning at her. He blinked for a moment at the picture was shoved into his face, barely registering what he was looking at. He honestly couldn't have told her what his mother currently looked like, since it had been so long since he had last saw her. He was going to answer Cas when she decided everything all on her own. He sighed and shook his head for a moment as she turned from him towards the wall.

“Do I get a say in anything?”

He raised an eyebrow for a moment as the stranger drew an outline of a door on the wall, telling him to open the door. He sighed for a moment, believing his worst nightmare was coming true. This was not how he wanted to wake up. Well, he wasn't going to get back to sleep at this rate. Climbing out of bed, he grabbed a pain of jeans, t-shirt, and socks before heading to the adjacent bathroom on his bedroom. Emerging fully dressed, he paused at the doorway, looking at Cas.

“Alright, I'll check the door, but I don't think it will work.”

He stopped in front of the door, hesitating for a moment. He was sure there had been some sort of mistake, but then he did want the nightmares to end. His hand knocked twice on the door and reached for the doorknob. He blinked for a moment as he found an actual doorknob beneath his touch.

“What the?”

Curious, he turned the doorknob, pulling it open. He gasped for air as he felt himself tugged in by a strong vortex of power, disappearing into the darkness.

Chas clapped her hands in glee. "It worked?" She stared at the doorway the boy had gone through. "IT WORKED!" Chas yelled loudly in total delight. She had found him. She had found him. Oh thank the heavens she had found him.

"Josh?" Chas turned hearing a woman's voice. Apparently, Chas's screamed had alarmed the lady. "You okay?" The voice was getting closer. Chas quickly went through the portal door and closed it so no one could follow. Her mission was complete. She found the boy and now he could save them.

Chass landed on her feet and twirled in glee. "I'm so happy I found you. Do you know how long I've been looking for you?" Chas fluffed her hair and her ears stood even more prominent out and her tail snaked around her leg. "A long, long time. Do you even know how many boys were born to a Alice on your birthday? Over 400! I was smart enough to narrow it down to one continent, but it still took forever to find you."

Chas looked up at her homeworld. The sky was black with grey swirls. It was getting worse, but Chas wasn't worried. She had found the savior. "It would have been easier if I knew they kept records of birth years. We don't here as no one really ages or dies, you already know, from your mother. Time works differently here. You could age in one moment and stay young in the next. It all depends...hey how old are you? You were born in ..." Chas tried to count on her fingers how many years he had been alive.

It was the eerie silence that alerted her that she was alone. Chas turned in a circle. "Uh ... dude... Crap I didn't get your name. Is it Josh? That lady called out Josh." Chas sighed. She had lost him again. It was entirely possible that the portal dropped him off somewhere completely different than her.

Chas threw back her head in annoyance and stared up at the night sky. "I lost the savior!"

Josh landed on his ass some distance from Chas, umphing softly. He found himself in a dark forest, beneath a dark sky. He barely had time to take in his surroundings when he heard a rising yell heading towards his direction, opposite from Chas's place.

"What th-"

It was have been an almost comical sight at what was running towards him, if it hadn't been for the moonlight shining off of a very scary looking raised axe. The wielder was dressed up in a full body red and white checkered suit, the number ten and a black club underneath it. The guy was pale, looking as if he hadn't been in the sun for a long time, skinny and tall. A red jester's hat sat on the top of his head. And was closing fast on Josh.

He cursed himself for a moment at not bringing anything but the clothes he wore, minus his shoes. He did a quick glance around him, but there was nothing to defend himself with. Just as the attacker reached him, Josh raised his arms up, closing his eyes as he wished for something to defend himself with.

He waited for the blow to come, but his arm was jarred by the impact of the axe against something on his arm. Opening his eyes, he saw the guy screaming and trying to break the black shield on his arm with his ax.

Wishing for something to strike back, he suddenly saw the surrounding shadows swirl around his right hand before forming themselves into a black dagger. With barely a thought, he thrust the dagger at the guy. The angle bit upwards, striking into his heart. The man stumbled backward a couple of steps before dropping dead.

"Whoa, did I just do that?"

Josh blinked a few times, dropping the dagger and shield. The instruments of death just dissolved back into the shadows as Josh sat there dumbfounded at what just happened.

Shiiiing!

Chas turned hearing the unusual sound. It sounds like metal against metal. She looked up into the sky as if the sound had come from there. First she lost the savior and now she was hearing things. Chas turned in a slow circle. Or did she hear things. What if it's the Queen's Army and what she heard was a knife being pulled from it's sheath? The Queen had slowly grown powerful since Alice left and it appeared she had lost her mind. Before the Queen would execute anyone stating off with their head, but her dear Husband would pardon the offenses. It was all ... a jest really. But something happened. The King of Hearts disappeared and everyone presumed he was dead. Now the Queen of Hearts, whom everyone now calls the Red Queen, was slowly killing off the citizens and growing more powerful. She had to be stopped, but only Alice could do that ... or her son.

Or she hoped.

The sound of a scream whipped Chas around and she started to run away from the sound. But then she remembered Josh. What if that was Josh screaming? Chas couldn't leave him. She had a sneaking suspicion that he wouldn't know her world anymore than she knew his. She couldn't leave. She had to make sure that wasn't Josh screaming. With a sudden jerk she turned and ran towards the noise hoping against everything it wasn't Josh or worse one of the Queen's Playing Cards.

Chas crouched through the brush as she got closer to where the sound had came from. There was no more noise though she thought she had heard something. She could see Josh sitting there over something. "Hey," she said softly before she came upon the scene. She stared at the Playing Card and a sense of dread washed over her.

"Hey, we have to leave before he recovers," Chas tugged on Josh's arm trying to get him to stand up. "Look we have to go before he realizes who you are." Chas stared into his face looking at the confusion etched there.

"I don't know if you heard me about time being different here in this world. I'm sure your mom explained these things. I'm not sure if she would have told you that the only way to truly kill someone in Wonderland is to cut off their head. Otherwise, we just get up."

Chas was now tugging frantically on his arm when the playing card sat up. "He's not one of us?" The card stared at Chas and then at the boy. Suddenly the card jumped to his feet. "His eyes. He has her eyes. He's the son of Alice! He must be killed!"

Chas's eyes went wide with horror, but the card turned on his heel and ran off into the distance. "I must tell the Queeeeeeeeeeeeeeee--"

"We have got to go now!"

Josh was in a daze for the entire little episode after Chas had found him. He wasn't sure if it was a dream or a living nightmare. First, he thought he killed someone. Second, he somehow managed to defend himself and create weapons just out of thin air.

He barely acknowledged Chas, just staring at the card when he suddenly jumped up as if nothing had happened. It took her shout that they needed to get out of there to wake him from his daze.

"Uh, yea, yea. You know this place better than me. Maybe some place with some fresh clothes."

Yea, going around in peed soaked pants wasn't how he had planned to start his day. Though the wetness didn't show up on his pants, he was quite sure she would smell it, looking as if she was more feline than human. He got up quickly, dusting himself off.

Chas stared at Alice's son. He seemed to be in some sort of weird state. She nodded her head and grabbed his hand. She started running towards her secret place. Actually, it was just her personal home which few people knew of. Everyone just assumed she lived with her dad since she spent so much time there, but since his disappearance she couldn't bear to go back. It was too much.

Chas twisted a knob on a gnarled tree and the door of the tree opened. She rushed through and shut the door. "We should be save here." She walked around to her bedroom and shuffled around before coming back with some clothes.

"When Alice left we were going to visit her in your world. I bought my dad these. We never went before things started to get funny here. Well, more weird than usual. My dad decided to look into a few things and ..." Chas trailed off. She thrust the clothes into Josh's arms.

"Bathrooms that way if you want to change." Chas went into the kitchen. She needed to do something anything. She wondered if the boy would mind the bright orange pants with the bright blue shirt and lime green jacket. She noticed that in his world people barely wore bright colors and if they did it seemed to match some other article of clothing or shoes. So bizarre..

He barely looked at the clothes that she had given him, taking a moment to thank her. He made his way to the bathroom, putting the clothes aside in a pile. He took a look at his own clothes, taking in the tatters from the scuffle. He sighed before taking off his clothes and dropping them in a pile.

"Well, it's time to see what sort of things I have to look forward to."

He picked up the jacket first, shivering at the ugliness. He tossed the jacket on the sink before picking up the pants. Where did she get this stuff? Having no choice, he pulled the pants on. However he decided not to wear the jacket, and walked out of the bathroom in only the pants. It was easy to tell that he worked out on a regular basis, a well-toned upper body.

"So you want to fill me in on what is going on? And where did you manage to get these ugly clothes?"

Chas made tea. She couldn't think of anything else to do. She suddenly got up and grabbed some soft baked chocolate cookies she got from the Mad Hatter. She had just reached up to put the rest of the box back when she heard his question. She turned and froze.

Oh damn! Look at his body! His chest looks so smooth and yet hard. I wonder what it would feel like to run my fingers up and down that body. Chas realized he was just staring at her and she was literally just staring at him. She blushed and the tips of her ears turned pink. She gave a small purr before cutting it off, finding that his kind didn't like the purr or acted weird when she did it.

"Uh, yes. The clothes were a gift from the Mad Hatter. He was a friend of your mother's .. Alice. What do you know about her? Like what did she tell you of this place? Did she tell you what happened and how to ... help us like she did last time?"

Chas walked to the table and put the plate between them. The teapot was already on a cooling rack on the table with sugar and milk. She grabbed a saucer and poured the cup almost full of milk and added just a splash of tea before picking it up and putting it to her lips. She drank and waited for him to answer her questions.

He gave a little smirk for a moment when he noticed how Chas stared at him. She wasn't the first to look at him like that, and he knew she wouldn't be the last. He raised an eyebrow for a moment hearing her purr for a moment before stopping. It would be something to talk to her about later.

He sat down across from her, laying his hands on the table.

"I'll have to thank the Mad Hatter from the clothes then."

He sighed for a moment as he tried to think of the best way to answer her questions.

"Well, I don't really know about her, other than what I was told by the rest of the family. She disappeared shortly after my fifth birthday, without a trace. She did tell me of her first adventure chasing the white rabbit several times as a bedtime story."

He picked up the teakettle and poured himself a cup of tea, sipping it before continuing.

"I wondered why she left us, and now I know."

As he spoke Chas daintily licked her cup of tea. She drank it like a cat would with her tongue flicking out to scoop up the tea. She didn't realize she was being more cat than human as she listened to him talk. There was a brief pause as he mentioned the Mad Hatter and the clothes. During the pause Chas' eyes flicked over the boy, no he was a man, once more. She felt the stirrings and was quite surprised. She never felt this way before. She mentally shook off the need to have him in her as he continued talking.

"So you were 5 when you last saw Alice...." Chas trailed off. Had it been that long. It only seemed like a few months here. She truly thought Alice would have told her son everything and he could save the day. That meant time had sped up for the human world while it crawled here in Wonderland.

"Okay, Josh, right? That's your name? I heard the lady ... you're girlfriend I think say it in the apartment I found you in. She said Josh."

Chas put down her tea which was really just milk and sat forward.

"I'm going to tell you everything I know. Alice arrives one day like usual I'm just a kit- err baby at this point." Chas was trying to make him feel comfortable though she completely forgotten her ears and tail were out. "My father and I were ... anyways. She goes off to explore like usual and then she doesn't come back. We thought she went home. Slowly Wonderland gets weird. We send people out to get your mother as she's the strongest, bravest, wisest woman we know. We figured its the Queen again, but we can't find her."


Chas sighed. How does she explain the weirdness that's happening when everything to him would be weird already? "I grow up and at first everything seemed normal. We didn't know in the far outreaches of Wonderland this," Chas stretches out her arms to encompass everything, "is happening. It wasn't until a few years ago things got worse. People are actually dying or disappearing. We think it's the queen, but we need Alice. No we need you!"

Chas stood up while leaning over the table. Her desperation and excitement getting the better of her. "The last words my father told me was 'Find Alice's son. He can save her. He can save us!' Josh, your mom is eating us alive and we need you to stop her. The red queen has her and is somehow using your mom to kill us all!"

He frowned for a moment at the mention of Chas calling his aunt his girlfriend. He was going to correct her, but she continued to talk. He hadn't heard anything after his mother left, so he was going to hear what she could tel him.

He really wasn't sure if everything she said was true. He was mostly watching her movements, studying her body. He did hear most of what she said. He had u dears told his mother was nice to everyone, not this evil creature she was describing.

"I'm not sure what you are expecting from me, I don't know about being a hero."

He shifted and stood up from the table, leaning close to her. His face was only a few inches from hers as he grinned.

"And that lady you heard was my aunt, not my girlfriend."

Chas knew she sounded crazy to human ears. In wonderland it made sense; perfect sense. She hoped he had enough of his mother in him to believe her. She stopped and waited. He spoke and Chas opened her mouth to respond about heros, but then he stood up and her mind went blank. She stared down his chest and his face was getting closer and closer. Her eyes widened in surprise.

Oh! Is he going to kis- why am I scared? Why am I excited?

Chas blinked slow. "Your aunt?" That didn't mean he didn't have a girlfriend. Just that the woman wasn't his girlfriend. Plus she shouldn't care if he had a girlfriend. Chas closed her eyes and sat back.

"Okay, so we'll teach you how to be a hero. Like we did your mom. We'll go to the Hatter. I think he's in hiding, but I know where he could be.We'll pass you off as his nephew since you're already wearing his style of clothing. Which means you should really put on the shirt and jacket."

Please!

He blinked a couple of times at her words and what she planned to do. The whole idea with being passed off as someone's nephew was fine. However it was the teaching him how to be a hero that kinda threw him for a few moments. How exactly did one get taught to be a hero? It was definiately something he thought would be interested to see.

He didn't move for several seconds after she finished speaking, just looked at her up close. The urge to kiss her was tempting, but he could just imagine the consequences. He didn't want her to get upset so soon after meeting him. After all, he wasn't exactly a pervert or the like.

"That sounds fine. I guess the sooner we go, the better."

He moved back off of the table carefully, picking up his tea at the same time. He finished the liquid off before setting the glassware down careful. He went back into the bathroom, grabbing the rest of the borrowed clothes. He pulled the shirt over his head as he walked out of the bathroom, leaving the shirt untucked.

"There are ugly clothes, but I think they will be fine for now. We'll have to hunt up soon new ones later."

Chas nodded as if deciding the future. In truth she hoped the Hatter could help them. She was pulling at straws, but what else could they do. He was the savior and she had done what was asked. Get the boy, save Wonderland. Now she wished she knew how.

When he moved she moved. She picked up her own cup of tea and suddenly found herself dying of thirst. This time she drank like a human and took a big gulp. She purred slightly and stopped again. That was very good milk.

Josh left and Chas cleaned up and put the dishes in the sink. She hoped they weren't gone long.

"Ugly? How are they ugly? They looked fine to me?"

Chas stared at the clothes in question. She started for the door as she listened to him justify why the clothes weren't prettier. Maybe he was into fashion or ... other guys. She smiled. That kinda made sense.

"Oh... uh also I'm going to have to get out of my disguise too." Chas meant that. She was still in disguise which meant she had to take off the human clothing. Pulled off the black wig showing her purple hair and her ears stuck out more. She pulled off the shirt and under neath it was like a black leotard that tucked into a black pair of pants and now her tail was fully out and free. She stared at him as she gauged his reaction.

He chuckled for a moment when she asked about the clothes, looking down at them himself.

"Yea, they are a bit ugly. This style was out of style when I was a kid. BUt then, this was probably around when my mother came here..."

He trailed off as Chas spoke about getting out of her own disguise. He was speechless as he watched her decide to strip in front of him, even if it wasn't completely. He wasn't self-concious of his body, but he had been around enough girls to know quite a few didn't like undressing in front of most guys.

It took him a moment to realize his mouth was open a bit in awe, quickly closing it. Though she probably wasn't very exotic in Wonderland, she was definately one to him. She was beautiful, even if she seemed to be a half-breed.

"Wow."

Chas was trying to understand if his mouth being open was a good or bad thing. She quirked one eyebrow up and he suddenly snapped his jaws together. She blushed and smiled when he said, 'Wpw.' It was something about the way he said it that made her think that wow had a lot more meaning then just wow.

Or maybe she was grasping at things that there weren't.

"Okay, let's go visit the Hatter. He'll know what to do."

Chas led him out the door and through the woods. She kept stopping and listening being able to listen for longer distances now that her ears weren't half covered. She frowned at the sky not liking the grayish black swirls. It was creepy and a little scary.

They didn't talk much and Chas felt some relief when they were eye sight of the Hatter's crazy long table. As they got closer Chas couldn't figure out what was wrong with the picture. Then she realized no one was there. No one was signing, or dancing, or napping at the table.

"Hello," Chas called gently hoping someone would be around.

Josh kept up with Chas as best he could as he was led through the forest. He was a little more cautious this time, keeping an eye on their surroundings. He didn't want to be attacked again like when they had arrived. Well, there was a chance of that happening, but he didn't want to be off-guard.

He wasn't sure what to say to her as they headed to the Mad Hatter's, so he stayed pretty quiet. When they arrived at the long table, he didn't see anyone else around. When she called out for anyone, he reached over and laid a hand lightly on her shoulder.

"I'm not sure it's safe right now. We better be careful."

He pointed at the table with his other hand, pointing out the blood splattered over the dishes, tablecloth, and chairs. The blood was dried, so it wasn't easy to tell when it had happened.

"Looks like someone got hurt, possibly more than one person. Do you know where the Hatter lives?"

Chas felt his hand on her shoulder and she turned to him with fright and tears threatening to spill. She nodded her head and pushed those tears down. Now was not the time to cry. She followed him as he pointed at the table showing the blood.

"Maybe it's tea....a very dark tea?"

Though Chas could tell it wasn't tea. Tea didn't congeal. She didn't even see the door mouse hiding under any of the dishes. Chas turned in a slow circle once then twice. This couldn't be happening.

"Huh, uh .. I think he lives in a small house not too far."

Chas went to the seat the Hatter usually sat in and looked between the trees. She didn't see his house and at first her heart skipped a beat and then she realized she was looking for the wrong sides. Wonderland was a mystery. You had to focus.

"There!" Chas pointed. "See the house between the trees. It looks like trees, but if you look closely you can just make out the outline of a house that has been decorated to blend into the forest. Some of the lines are slightly off if you turn just a little this way or that, but too much and the lines match again. See?"

He was quiet as he watched Chas take in the scene after looking back at him. He wasn't sure what he could do yet to comfort her, but he would figure that out in time.

His attention was drawn to Chas's pointing as she spoke with glee. He looked where she was pointing for several seconds.

"Wait...I can't see anything yet...Damn, I was never very good at these optical illusion picture puzzles..."

He frowned as he tried to look harder, squinting his eyes. However he soon smiled as he was able to make out the outline she had pointed out.

"I see now. Come on, let's go."

He reached down and took her hand in his as he began to run towards the house.

Chas watched as he tried to see the house and then his face lit up. Even through all this turmoil her mind couldn't only think, 'Wow.' She nodded with enthusiasm. They had a plan. If they had a plan she couldn't worry or become scared, because a plan was safe. You were doing something.

Chas nodded as he grabbed her hand and began running towards the house. Being cat she easily kept up with his pace, even though his stride was longer than hers.

As they approached the house they slowed down. When you're closer to the house it just seemed to appear out of nowhere. Chas knew many people walked right by it without realizing it. It was one of the best camouflage in Wonderland. Chas to keep looking at the lines of the house to ensure they didn't walk past it.

"Okay, we're here." Chas said, but her eyes were huge. The house was dark with not a single light inside. She couldn't remember when there wasn't some light on. Even if the hatter wasn't home the light was always on.