Tune4Toons: Just to disclaim, I'll probably be taking a lot of shortcuts (we only get a five chapter limit after all), and I feel I can't do a true parodied version of Alice in Wonderland without copying too much of it, so I decided to do a bit more of a spin-off instead. (So think Pandora Hearts, Are You Alice?, Heart no Kuni no Alice, etc. :P) And man, I haven't done a fantasy piece in a while. EC, Pit, I hope you'll let me have that leeway.

This is my entry to EC's and PitFTW's Novelty Smasher Contest. Enjoy~

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✞ Monody ✞

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❀ Chapter 1 - Éveil ❀

A girl wakes up sprawled in the middle of a daisy field.

Her hands clutch the dirt beneath her fingers as a breeze runs through her chestnut hair and the flowers around her, but she swears she hears sounds of laughing children in the wind as well. The clear blue sky above stares down on her, making her feel small.

It's too bad, really. She can't even enjoy the view without wondering how she got here. It's a beautiful flower field though, she admits, so if she had been here before, remembering this place would've been easy. Even so, she would have at least brought a friend along as well.

Wait.

A friend.

No matter how long she sits there scrunching her brows, she can't imagine anybody in mind. Not a figure, not a face, not even someone's voice either. A mother, she must've had one. A father too, but she can't imagine who. How pitiful for her to be lost in a daze. Can't even recall something as simple as their names—

A name. Her name.

What exactly is her name?

A ball of fire blazes in the sky, but her body shivers from the chilling air. She feels her cheeks freeze up as she hugs herself, hands clutching her bare arms, and only then did she notice she has on a frilly pink dress, its skirt flowing down no lower than her knees. As cute as it is, it doesn't feel like hers, but it's not like she has anything else warmer to wear.

Maybe someone's looking for her, she tells herself. Someone who left her all alone here.

"Nana?"

Is that her name? A faint voice echoes from behind her, but she finds it too convenient. Probably a hallucination, she thinks. Perhaps she imagined this flower field too.

"Nana!"

She hears it again, this time stronger than the first. A glance over her shoulder, and her eyes meet those of a blond boy standing a few feet away. His green tunic reminds her of grass, but from under his matching hat, he has white rabbit ears flopping out. His stance so still, she assumes he's a spirit, but she doesn't know what else to think.

"Is that really you?" He takes slow steps closer, and soon he's a few centimetres in front of her. The boy's eyes soon widen and tear up before he collapses on his knees, grabbing her into a hug, burying his face into her shoulder. "What the hell, Nana? You're not supposed to be here! Why…?"

He clutches her tighter, and she feels his body tremble. Instead of wrapping her arms around him, they're left limp at her side hesitating to touch him, but she knows she has to ask.

"Who are you?"

It doesn't take long for the boy to tense up. He pulls himself off her and studies her face. She stares back, transfixed by both his long furry ears and the cloudy darkness in his eyes. An empty black, as if in a trance.

"What's going on? Where am I?"

"Somewhere I never thought you'd be…" His voice drifts as he nips his lip, but he then lines his gaze with hers. "But we're late."

"Late for what?" Soon she watches him stand up, and taking hold of her hand, he pulls her to her feet.

"Nana," he whispers, and she's left wondering where she's heard his voice before. "Are you ready for your trial?"

"Wait, my what—?"

"I'm sorry."

Before she can say anything, he shoves her as she slips off her feet. In two seconds, she'll fall on her back with a thud, flower petals around puffing into the air like a cloud from where she crashes. Two more seconds later, she'll yell at the boy and ask why the heck he did that.

Instead, those two seconds become five as she starts falling, and falling.

And she screams when she realises she isn't stopping, soon in an endless free fall surrounded by walls of white, gravity's hands wrapped around her in a bind. The boy looks down at her from above through a circular opening, a hole that was never there before, and his figure shrinks into a dot with the distance until she can't see him anymore.

Two more seconds and she plummets to the floor, too numb to feel the shock across her back or remember when the shrinking dot above her disappeared in the light.

Blink. The first thing she realises is that she doesn't recall waking up, but she mindlessly ambles around an endless room of white trying to find her way. However, the plane between floor and sky hides unseen, and she finds herself drowning in nothing but light. Nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. No directions or landmarks either; she could be walking in circles for all she knows.

This must be a dream, she tells herself; she must've passed out somewhere. But her name is Nana, isn't it?

Yes, that's right. She's starting to remember now.

The moment she glances up, the wall in front of her starts moving, and she stumbles back gasping. Like a ripple in a pool, she soon sees white cloth move and shake itself off—a person, Nana realises. Strands of auburn hair peek out from the figure's hood. Then with the wave of a hand, three weapons form out of specks along the floor: a sword, a gun, and a hammer.

"Will you take the blade?" the figure says. "No need to hear a thing. Give yourself peace with its silence and effortless swings."

It's a woman with a soothing voice, but Nana feels her throat clench as she forces out: "Who are you?"

"That is of no importance right now. Choose well, but hurry. Your time is short."

Nana tries to speak again, but is cut off before she can.

"Will you take the rifle? Spare yourself from being too close. Even a delicate finger serves as the trigger you need."

Words sound like wind to her ears, but blink and the woman's still there.

"Will you take the mallet? Gain back your freedom. Everything will be decided by your own strength, your own will."

Eyes flicker between the weapons on the floor. Soon asks: "What do I need one for?"

"Best protect yourself, dear." A smirk reveals itself from under the woman's hood. "You can only trust yourself, after all."

So how can she trust her, Nana wonders. The woman must know who she is—why she's here. This must be a dream; maybe she's supposed to play along. Without further thought, Nana reaches for the weapon closest to her, yet soon at the touch, it chills her fingers like ice.

Eyes close, and the woman whispers a message in her ear.
Eyes open, and the woman's no longer standing there.

"Now go. Repent for your sin."

And her eyes close once more.

Flutter awake, and the floor feels lumpy across her back. Mind still dizzy, but her vision starts to clear, beams of sunlight piercing both her view and the trees rustling above her.

She only rubs her eyes for a moment before they meet those of a pink ball hovering inches away from her face.

"You seem a bit lost, kid."

Gasping, Nana shoves herself back, wide-eyed as she stares at a pink ball with eyes as large as her hands. "Where did you come from?"

It starts giggling, voice echoing while the leaves rustle in the wind along with it. "I'm from here, but you're from there. You've been laying there for a while though. Glad to see you're finally awake."

Nana opens her mouth, but something taps her shoulder. She turns and sees the pink ball standing there—a swirl adorning its head—smirking as it carries a wooden mallet in its stubby arms.

But it was in front of me a second ago—! She glances back, but nothing's there. "How'd you—?"

"This is yours, is it not?"

It passes the mallet into Nana's hands and stares at it for a while. She hesitates, but then nods. There's a familiar touch from its smooth handle, its soft yet rough wood, but it doesn't let her remember anything before the daisy field. Perhaps the woman from earlier was a dream, that flower field and boy as well. Her memory's still hazy anyway.

"So where did you come from, foreigner?"

She hears its voice in the trees. Turn, and the pink ball is bouncing on a high branch, no longer standing on the ground like a second ago. "I don't know. I don't remember."

"What a shame. It's begun already."

"What's begun?"

"The game, sweetie. The Hunter and the Hunted. I've seen so many try and fail. It's unfortunate of you to be joining their numbers."

"Why me? I don't even remember anything. How I got here, if I'm from here, where I was going..."

It chuckles. "That won't matter anyway. The queen made sure your memory wouldn't be an issue to everything. All I can say is you've done something bad, and this entire game you're in is your trial. You will be called up for judgement based on how well you do and if you are worthy of getting your wish granted by the queen."

Nana tries to wrap her head around its explanation, but questions of "How?" and "Why?" and "What do I need a wish for?" crowd her mind and slip out of her mouth.

"You'll need to find the queen first. She has all the answers you need, and I bet she's your only key to getting your memories back."

She tenses up, and it smirks.

"That is what you want, isn't it? Your memories?"

For a moment, she glances down at the hammer she holds. Turning its handle, she finds a name engraved on its side: Nana Celia. Yet nothing else comes; no flash of surprise or realisation. No flash of memories either. She wants to know—no, she needs to know.

So she nods. "Yes, I do. Where can I find the queen?"

"In a castle full of gold where dreams come true, but it's not easy to gain passage to her doors though. Hunt down the Hatter and beat him. Then he'll offer your only way there." Soon it glances behind its shoulder, arm pointing in the same direction before Nana can say anything. "If you go down this road, you'll find a cottage built on top of a grand oak tree."

"And I'll find the Hatter there?"

"Yup, and the rest of your kind as well." Its grin grows wider, and she can't help but shudder. "You are one of them, aren't you?"

"One of who?" But the pink ball fades away before she finishes—like a blurring illusion, only leaving behind a projection of its wide grin within the trees. Soon a chuckle echoes before Nana hears its voice one last time.

"People, my dear. They're all madmen here."

Its presence now replaced by wind, Nana doesn't see the pink creature anymore, but there's something about the rest of the forest strikes her as off.

Around her, small creatures crawl along the forest floor as she walks through, gathering berries and nuts as if preparing for winter, but the pastel flowers call out to spring while the lush trees surrounding her smell like summer. It should be warm too with the blazing sun above her, though the chilling breeze says otherwise. It must be the dress, she thinks—no sleeves, above the knees.

She soon finds her feet stopping at the base of a tree trunk more than three times as wide as her height. Glance up, a cottage sits in between the thick branches like a club house. To think, this house is exactly where the pink ball said it would be.

But before Nana knew, one of the windows shatters and a green figure bursts through its cracks. Yet he's falling straight in her direction. She's about to scream, but he soon crashes into her, sending both of them tumbling across the dirt, thrashing across the floor until they stop rolling. Soon with grass in her mouth and her body sprawled on the ground stomach-first, Nana groans as she tries to push herself up.

What the hell was that? She holds the urge to yell it out. Dull sores throb throughout her sides, but something heavy on her back has her pinned down.

Rolling it off, soon she hears a thud and moans from behind. She stands up, clutching her arm as she turns. In front of her lays a boy clad in green on the ground with minor scratches on his face, but it's the rabbit ears she sees first all bent and twitchy.

"It's you," Nana says, and one of the boy's eyes peek open at her. "You're the one from before."

"Nana?" His voice is quiet, but he pulls himself up to his feet, soon smiling. "Thank goodness you're all right. For a second there, I thought I'd—"

But she shoves him back onto the ground before he finishes, and he lands with a thud. Just hearing him groan leaves her satisfied, but he glares at her.

"What was that for?"

"First you pushed me into a hole, and then you fall on top of me?" She then sticks her hammer at his neck. "Who are you?"

"Someone you can trust. Just let me help you, okay?"

"I don't know who you are or what I'm doing here, but I want some answers, so you better start talking."

"First of all," his voice raises, "you can't threaten me when you don't even know where you are. You don't know your way around here, and I'm the only one who can help you."

She scoffs. "Why are you helping me?"

Sighing, he scratches the back of his head. "Second of all, it's my job, so unless you decide to drive me away before you even start your trial, at least let me do what I'm supposed to do."

His unchanging expression makes it hard to tell if he's lying, not that she has another argument at this rate. Sucking in a breath, she hesitates for a moment, but slowly lowers her mallet down to her side. Then the boy pushes himself back up as he dusts off his clothes.

Her mind must have some memory or thought buried deep somewhere to convince her otherwise, but nothing comes and she sighs. There are too many questions she wants to ask him though. However, she doesn't know where to start, so she goes with the first thing that pops up.

"I heard there was a queen here who can help me, and finding the Hatter's the only way I can get to her."

He glances up at the cottage up in the grand tree. "Funny you should say that. I just went up to see him."

"Can you take me to him?"

"But you just woke up. It's really dangerous to go through the main passage right now anyway."

An eyebrow raised now, she tries to hide the disbelief in her voice, though fails. "You don't think I can handle myself? You told me this is supposed to be a trial before, didn't you?"

"I did, but..."

Nana begins approaching the tree before he says more. Under the cottage's platform, she spots a rope ladder hanging all the way down to the foot of the trunk. One hand grabs a hold—

"Wait!" he calls out from behind as he runs up to her. "Where are you going?"

"Up. The passage starts here, right? If you're not going to take me to him, I'll go myself."

"Can you just wait?"

He grabs her arm, but she swats it away. "Look, I don't know about you, but I have to find him. If you really are my friend, then you'll take me to him, right?"

She can hear a faint grumble come out of him before he takes a step back. "Fine. I'll take you, but don't say I didn't warn you."

Climbing to the top of the ladder, the dusty walls of the wooden cottage remain empty except for the windows—one of them shattered—and a door at the opposite end of it.

"It starts through the door," the boy tells her, but Nana finds herself second-guessing. Does she want to go through with it?

No, she shouldn't be hesitating right now. Priorities grow in her head, and she walks over to the door, pushing it open as she welcomes a flash of light before it forms into walls and a velvet carpet along the floor.

The smell of grass disappears only to be replaced by the scent of oil paints. A thin corridor stretches in front of Nana as her footsteps echo throughout its walls. She can't help but stare at the wallpaper however, though it's not the blood-maroon colour attracting her attention; it's the three upside down rows of white mice printed on its surface.

Then she watches as the boy walks past her before a thought crosses her mind. "You never told me your name."

He stops, glancing over his shoulder at her. "Right, I forgot. I'm Toon Link."

"And I'm—"

"Nana. I know." Toon Link smiles. "I bet you're not used to hearing it anymore. Takes time, but it'll soon be as natural as it was before."

"Like before…" The thought lingers in her head. If only she can remember what "before" was. As they continue walking down the hall, she soon notices paintings in golden frames along both sides of the passageway. Some are abstract blotches of paints, but the one of a swirled starry night catches her attention.

It's hanging upside down like the mice printed along the wallpaper.

Toon Link doesn't regard it though, Nana notices; he continues walking straight, both of his ears soon standing up. Then they find themselves at the door in the end of the hall in between two paintings of doors, but they're all hanging backwards too.

"Why's everything upside down?"

"Everyone always asks that the first time," she hears him mumble. "They're not though."

"Not what?"

"Upside down." Soon Toon Link stretches his hands above his head while smirking. "We are."

The moment the words left his mouth, Nana feels gravity shift from below to above. Her dress and hair drapes upwards. Then her feet float off the ground, sending her body flying to the ceiling until she crashes onto her back.

Groaning as she stands back up, the room spins around for a while as her vision clears up. Toon Link, on the other hand, manages to stay on his feet somehow. He walks towards her, holding out a hand while laughing.

Nana rolls her eyes. "You could've warned me ahead of time!" And she takes his hand as she's pulled up.

He lets out a cheeky grin. "I told you this place is dangerous."

"I thought you meant like monsters and stuff!"

The more Toon Link laughs, the more Nana can feel her nerves clench up in her head as she scowls. "You can't just assume things. There are monsters though."

"I don't believe you."

"Suit yourself."

Can this guy get any more irritating, she thinks to herself as she walks up to the door, but she lets out a sigh before turning the knob.

Toon Link's eyes soon widen. "Wait, not that one!"

Yet she already pulled the door back. It wasn't opened by much, but shadowy smoke spews through the cracks as a growl rumbles from the other side. She gasps. Toon Link then runs up and body slams the door shut.

Nana steps back. "What was that?"

"How about you use the other door?" he says as the door continues banging. "The one to our left."

She can hear the thumps and muffled growls coming from behind Toon Link, and she wonders about what else is hidden on the other side. He said the door to their left, and she glances at it for a moment, but—

"It's a painting." One of a door a little shorter than her. How was that going to help them?

"Just open it!"

Either way, she has no other guide to trust. Touching the painting's surface, her fingers wrapping around a real knob. One twist. One pull. And soon the painting swings open like an actual door.

Glancing back, Toon Link still has his back spread across the other door with a few thumps pushing him forward. However, the wood starts cracking, strands snapping with each thrash. Toon Link's eyes soon meet hers, and she knows they'll need to work fast.

"Ready?" Nana says. "One, two, three—"

But Toon Link sprints forward before she says three. The door bursts open, and Toon Link shoves Nana through the painting frame. Nana quickly slams the door behind her, holding onto the knob as something rams into it from the other side.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Toon Link holds onto the knob as well, and Nana can feel the handle jiggle with every thrash while her heart beats twice as fast. Thump. Thump. Thump. Her hands start shaking, but Toon Link holds them down. Firm grasp, yet a familiar gentle touch. Soon the thrashes soften into slower raps against the door.

Thump. Thump… She waits for the next pound against the door, but it never comes, only the sounds of her heart's beating in her ears. Toon Link releases his hands from hers before taking a step back and letting out a sigh. As for Nana, she doesn't know what to think. Or what to do. Or what else they might see.

"Glad that thing went away, right?" Toon Link says.

"What was that?"

"A shadow. It runs on doubt. Probably yours, you know."

"And what makes you so sure about that?"

Then he starts chuckling, and Nana can't help but scowl. "You and your questions. You haven't changed by much." And he glances away with a slight curl on his lip. "That's good."

Changed? A shame she can't remember otherwise. She sighs. He knows so much about her, but she can't think of a single trait of his herself. There are only the ones she learned from now: those smug know-it-all warnings he gives, those floppy rabbit ears that make it hard to take him seriously, those moments when he stares at the ground looking sad like he's thinking of something…

He knew her from before, she remembers, though she can't help but sigh at the thought.

"Can we start over?" Nana says as she holds out a hand, and Toon Link turns, staring at it. "As in really start over."

"What do you mean?"

"Like we're strangers. Though you're still a stranger to me to be honest."

She watches his gaze drop to the side—he's doing it again, her thoughts echo out. Eventually, he sighs before glancing up at her. "Sure, I'd like that."

Then she smiles. "My name's Nana Celia."

"And I'm Toon Link."

And she watches him take her hand before they shake on it.

"Nice to finally meet you."