Chapter 4 Part 1

Old Friends And Dreams That Never End

Cheshire and his paws disappear as the Jabberwock takes me in his claws.

Coward.

I readjust as he gains speed.

"Wildcat you started too soon."

The chimera-dragon-thing speaks to me familiarly. 

"You were late."

"I am early compared to you. What warrants the type of bloodshed that stains your clothes, little slayer?"

His wings beat as air gathers around us.

"New Mission."

"From..?"

"I told you. I don't know."

"Fine, don't say it. What else do you need to do?"

"Defeat the White Queen."

"That's it?"

"Kill you."

"Not again."

Sassy Old Man.

"Seal Alice here."

"..."

I brace myself as I prepare for him to drop or kill me. I literally just announced that I'm going to seal his eternal enemy here. With him.

Possibly forever.

"For how long?"

"Hopefully one game."

"And without hope?"

"Maybe a few more or forever."

My ears pop as he roars loud and big.

I knew it.

"Calm down old man!"

"What did you just say?!"

I tense as he questions me with murder laced in his tone.

"Fucking relax ok. It's not what you think. If I can somehow seal her somewhere in here there would only be one game and it would end. No more Frabjous days."

Maybe. At this point, I'll say anything to get me outta his claws. He relaxes a bit and my sides ache from his bruising grip.

"No more Frabjous days?"

If that's what you need to hear. Sometimes even I can't believe the bullshit that comes out of my mouth.

"Yeah, I think so. If she keeps dreaming and never wakes up, time won't stop and start all the time and the game won't reset."

His chest rumbles.

"How will you seal her?"

"No idea but usually once I finish one task I gain a tool."

"Well, where is it?"

"I need to open the quest page and I need to do it while sitting. So-"

"As you wish."

And he drops me.

I'm falling through the air heading toward the ground, the branches, and my death. No!

"OLD MAN LIFT MY ASS UP RIGHT NOW!"

He roars in laughter as he dives down wind whistles in my ears as I fall at a considerable speed.

He grabs me with his tail and flips me in the air until I land on his back. I clench my fists promises of murder about to leave my mouth.

"You sadistic fuck!"

"You did not specify where you wanted to sit. I thought the trees looked nice and cozy."

"One day I will drink your blood and piss on your grave."

"What's a grave foul-mouthed one?"

"Your final resting place freak."

"I wish I could have a grave then. Please urinate on my final resting place and partake in the drinking of my blood."

"Just go kill some Hatters while I get the tool."

"Bossy as ever Phoebe."

"And you are still as mad as ever, old man."

He chuckles as he picks up speed heading back in the direction of the Hatters.

[The Queen's Quest]

(0/1) Defeat The White Queen(0/1) Kill the Jabberwocky (0/1) Seal Alice in Underland(50/50) Kill 50 Hatters

[You are the last Joker in the Red Queen's Deck. Obtain victory and prevail over the White Queen's army. Win or Die.]

[One prize ticket available.]

[Cash in?]

Yes.

A screen pops up in front of me. I mentally cash in the golden ticket into the slot in front of me.

It really is like a game.

A wheel appears a second later ready to be spun so I use my mind to pull down hard on the attached lever.

It spins as he swoops down, making me clutch at his scales once again and my legs clench down on his sides.

"Woman, are you trying to kill me again?"

"Are you trying to throw me off again? Slow down, what's the rush?"

He snorts, turning his head away from me as he dives into the already desolate forest. Those flowers that grumble and whisper. Are either whimpering or completely silent.

Cowards all of them.

[Congratulations: A-Class Prize Won!]

Nice, that'll be my third A-Class prize ever.

I reach into the screen and pull out a book.

[The Evil Queen's Grimoire]

[Learn?]

Yes.

The book in my hand suddenly crashed into my forehead.

The spine of it specifically before it disappeared into dark purple little lights and rushed towards me once again.

Everything's dark.

I'm suddenly not flying on Jabberwocky's back but in a dark space staring at my own reflection.

Or my clone.

You never know in your dreams. She's opening her mouth.

"What do you want?"

"Power."

Is that me speaking?

"What kind of power?"

"The power to control my dreams."

"Very well."

"What do you need?"

"The power to control my dreams."

The other me standing in front seemed to flinch at my answer.

"Do you need and want the same thing?"

"Yes."

"Very well."

"Can't give what you already have so you can take this instead."

She faded away into the darkness.

Purple smoke replaced her presence as it started creeping toward me reaching out.

"Careful."

What is this?

"Power."

Then the smoke struck out fast, enveloping my vision until it consumed me.

"Woman."

"Phoebe, wake up?"

"PHOEBE YOU BITCH OF THE SEAS WAKE UP!!!!"

"What?"

I never should've taught him curses.

I woke up rather abruptly on the ground.

But not on grass or dirt.

The literal ground is like a regular floor.

I shot up looking around instantly, spotting Jabberwock sitting on his butt a few meters away from me. His tail beat a rhythm on the floor anxiously as I tried to understand how in the hell I got here.

Wherever here is. I've never lost consciousness in a dream before.

"Where are we?"

His eyes betrayed his ill-at-ease state.

"That is a question I have been asking for quite some time. What have you done? Is this the tool?"

I looked around. It was a plain gothic bedroom and I could see a window to my right.

I got up on shaky legs and started walking towards it. 

"What happened?"

He stayed silent for a moment before dropping a bomb on me.

"You don't remember?"

That got my attention but I focused on my task of opening the window that had shutters, curtains, and a lock on it.

What the hell?

I have never seen this place before.

Not once. This is new. And new things don't usually happen here.

Luckily the thing the lock was hanging off of was pretty brittle and I broke it with a few jabs.

Once I pushed it open I was somewhat relieved and a little disappointed to find we were still in Underland.

The trees and their leaves were black as night. The sky was split into two different colors. Reddish orange and a sickeningly dark green.

But it was still Underland.

Same smell. With an added rotten eggness to it.

And the old man was still here and speaking of him.

"No. What did I miss?"

He kind of gulped before settling down until his entire big body was kind of covering the majority of the floor and his head resting on the bed.

"It's a long story."