Mah lovelies! MAN, I finally get some time to relax, and I figured I should start chipping away at my mound of fic requests. This story idea was sent to me quite a while ago by one of my most favorite readers! (None of you make that face at me. I love you all. But some of you talk to me more than others, so they get spoiled on Sachi lovin'!) She has been more than patient with me, because as you know, I get lost on the path of life a LOT. So, let's not make her wait any longer, shall we?!

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. I don't own Alice in Wonderland. I don't own the song. And I don't own your faces. BUT I WANT THEM ALLLLLLLL!

Dedication: Dedicated to Kira-Lime Orijima! You've been on my crazy bandwagon since WTCF, and your reviews always make me smile. This story is just for you. Flaunt it, girl! I love you bunches!

"Keep calm, and follow the white rabbit."

White Rabbit

(Jefferson Airplane)

[One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small. And the ones that mother gives you don't do anything at all. Go ask Alice, when she's ten feet tall.
And if you go chasing rabbits, and you know you're going to fall, Tell 'em a hookah smoking caterpillar has given you the call. To call Alice, when she was just small.]

Golden eyes opened wide, and then quickly closed again. The sun was hovering above, seeming to be much larger and brighter than usual. Hibiya turned his head to the side, and blinked erratically to help remove the white spots from his vision caused from staring directly into the sun. When his vision returned to normal, he was finally aware of his surroundings. He was lying on his back in the middle of a field of flowers. He was surrounded by odd plants he had never seen before, as well as many he had. The roses, chrysanthemums, tulips, daisies, carnations, sunflowers, and other various types grew from the ground as if it were a natural occurrence, although Hibiya was more than certain no other garden he had ever seen had roses and sunflowers side by side. He sat up quickly, trying to gather his bearings. Where on earth was he?

He tried to remember what he had been doing before he awoke here. Strange…he couldn't remember in the slightest. The last thing he could recall was a bright light, and then he was waking up here, oddly enough with another bright light. Everything here seemed to be so much more colorful. It was rather hard to describe. Imagine the swap from black and white television to Technicolor. Or, to be more modern, the switch to high definition television. Yes, that was more accurate. It was as though this field was high definition, and he was used to regular.

Either way, he very well couldn't lounge about all day. The best way to figure out where he was seemed to be exploring. As long as he paid attention to where he went, he shouldn't get lost. In theory, anyway. He stood up, and brushed his pants off as he looked around. The flowers seemed to all be facing him. How…absurd. They weren't a second ago. Were they…?

"Excuse me, sir," a small voice called out. "Might you please watch where you're going? We don't want to be trampled."

Startled, he looked for the source of the voice. He was in the field alone, right? Who would be talking to him? Perhaps they were far away. But wait, wasn't the voice coming from below?

"I'm sorry, but I can't see you," he said to the voice. "I will watch out for you if you tell me where you are."

"Down here!"

He looked at his feet, which were dangerously close to trampling a lily…which was staring up at him. He yelped with surprise, and jumped backwards.

"Oi! Watch out, you stupid giant! You'll kill us all!" another voice hissed. This one belonged to a rather cross looking carnation. Hibiya was suddenly very aware that every flower in the field was looking at him, and if he wasn't careful, he would kill them all.

"I'm so sorry!" he exclaimed, making sure to stay very still. "I don't…I mean, how am I to leave without harming you? I must travel so I can get home!"

"There's a small path to the right of you," a rose told him gently, waving her leaves around as if to tell the other plants to be quiet. "I'll direct you. The flowers will move accordingly so they don't get hurt."

He thanked her, and made sure to follow her directions precisely. Every step he made that was too close to a flower, to his surprise, they did indeed move. In all his days, Hibiya could never recall seeing a flower walk around, but here they were, taking steps to avoid getting walked on. The fact they could talk only furthered his disdain. Where was he?!

Finally, he stepped on the dirt path, and he was able to walk freely. He called his thanks to the flowers, who were singing a farewell song to him. Aside from the carnation, who was still eyeing him with contempt. He walked toward the forest, hoping to make contact with another person, who would hopefully believe his tale of walking, talking flowers. If someone had told him of such things, he wouldn't believe them, but he couldn't deny what he had seen with his own eyes. He looked up at every tree, as if to make sure they also weren't alive. Honestly, it wouldn't have surprised him.

"You lost?" someone asked. This voice was deep, and seemed to be coming from above him. He turned to find himself staring into bright magenta orbs, covered slightly by unruly golden locks. On top of the man's head was a prominent pair of white rabbit's ears, which seemed to be twitching. Hibiya gasped, and took a step back, which made the man grin at him deviously. "Are you okay, doll?"

"Doll?" Hibiya hissed. "That is not my name."

"Oh, well, pardon me. See, if you would tell me your name, this wouldn't happen, now would it? Or you can puff up and get mad like you're doing. Either way is fine with me."

"My name is Hibiya, and I am not puffing up, or whatever ridiculous thing you just said. I'm trying to find my way home. Do you have any idea where we are?" he asked the blonde hopefully.

"Aren't you going to ask my name? It's rude not to."

"Oh, right, sorry. You are?"

"I feel it's too late now. You should've asked before."

Hibiya's face flushed red with rage as he tried to form a logical response to voice his fury at the unknown fellow, but to his further embarrassment, the man began to laugh loudly.

"Oh, man! You're so pissed off! It's adorable! I'm Delic. You can calm down now, Chibiya."

"My name is-!"

"You can follow me, if you want to. I'm heading towards the palace to announce the stupid queen and king. You can ask them how to get home. I doubt they'll help you, but a pretty thing like you will get lost if you're alone. I can already tell your navigation skills are shit."

Hibiya glared up at him, and furiously stalked past him, making sure to knock his shoulder against Delic's. The blonde just laughed good-naturedly and trailed behind him, not saying a word. Finally, the raven grew tired of being followed, so he turned to tell the man to go away, only to find the magenta eyes fixated on his backside.

"What do you think you're doing?!" he cried, turning to face the imp. Delic arched a brow.

"Admiring the view?"

"No, no, no! You walk beside me! That behavior is horribly absurd!" Hibiya stammered, his face growing redder with each sentence. Delic grinned widely, and shrugged an arm around his shoulders, walking beside him like he asked.

"You're fucking adorable, Chibiya."

The raven merely hid his face behind his hands, and allowed himself to be led by the blonde. He found himself looking up at the man's ears. He had an indescribable urge to reach up and touch them, but he feared it would be rude. But wait, wasn't the man being rude to him?! He defiantly reached up to tug a silky white ear. As soon as his fingers made contact, Delic came to a sudden halt.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked, his voice taking on a husky tone. Hibiya felt as though he were on display when those smoldering pink orbs met his own.

"I-I was curious… I've never seen anyone with rabbit ears, and I…" he stammered. The blonde gently removed his hand from his ear, and held it in his own.

"Don't do that. I won't be able to control myself if you do."

The raven gave him a perplexed look, but the man never elaborated. Instead, they just continued walking, and Hibiya looked around in awe at the high-definition forest. It was peaceful, at least.

"DEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICCC!"

Both males stopped to observe as another raven ran towards them at full speed. Delic was tackled around the neck by the unknown man, and Hibiya backed away in fear of being next.

"Psyche, would you kindly not do that? I have company," the imp hissed. Psyche untangled himself and looked at Hibiya curiously. Stranger still, they shared the same face. Psyche's eyes were magenta like Delic's, but he was identical to Hibiya.

"Hello!" Psyche chirped, hugging him next. The blonde grinned at the face the golden eyed male was making. "Any friend of Delic's is a friend of mine!"

"I'm not really his friend," Hibiya defended. "He's taking me to the palace." Psyche's face fell at this news.

"The palace? Sakuraya-sama won't like that…"

"Who?"

"Our queen," another voice said. A blonde who was identical to Delic appeared, minus the rabbit ears. "He's not exactly the most welcoming fellow."

"Tsu-chan!" Psyche squealed, running to the other blonde. "This is Delic's friend!"

"I'm Tsugaru. It's a pleasure."

"H-Hibiya."

"Are you sure it's wise to take him to the palace, Delic? The king and queen don't take outsiders in. You know that."

"I'm going that way anyways. Besides, I found him. He's mine to keep now, yeah?"

"I'm not your property!" Hibiya snarled.

"Shush. I'm protecting you. I can call you what I like," Delic shrugged. And with that, Hibiya kicked him as hard as he could in the shin. "OW! What the hell!" Psyche was laughing so hard he almost fell over, and even gentle-mannered Tsugaru chuckled lightly. Delic was hopping on one foot as he glared at the raven, who was glaring right back.

"I may be an outsider, but I have manners! And your distasteful way of doing things is proving to be harder to bear than I thought! You won't even call me by my name!"

"Are you almost done bitching? We need to go," the blonde said as he straightened up, dodging another kick. He grabbed Hibiya's hand and led him forward.

"Please tell me you know what you're doing!" cried Psyche as they left. "You're headed right for Iza-nii's forest! He's worse than the queen!"

"That man's life is in your hands, Delic," Tsugaru said. Delic merely waved them away, and when Hibiya turned to view them, he found the forest seemed to have shifted. All the trees were angled differently, and the clones were nowhere to be seen.

"D-Delic…?"

A grunt was his response.

"Um…am I…in danger?"

"No. Nothing bad will happen to you."

"But how can you promise such a thing! Your friends are saying differently! And I've no idea where we are! And…and…this place is moving…" Delic turned to face him.

"Of course it's moving. The forest is a living, breathing thing. Would you stay in one place all the time? Trees are meant to move." He started pulling the smaller male forward again. "And as for everything else you said, I told you, I'm protecting you. I found you, and you're mine to protect. That's just how we do things here."

"B-But…won't helping me make you late?"

"Fuck time. I make my own schedule."

It was silent for a few minutes as the raven watched a tree in front of them move out of their way, as some of the other trees in the background swayed to an unknown rhythm. Finally, he looked up at the blonde.

"I'm sorry I kicked you."

Delic laughed loudly. "Seriously, Chibiya. You're too much."

They came to a fork in the trail. On one side, it was daylight, and on the other, it was nighttime. The sign said, "Either or, pick your fate. You have to choose, for you cannot go straight."

"What's that mean? Shouldn't we stay on the path where it's sunny?" Hibiya asked.

"Well," Delic shrugged, "would you rather meet a mad cat, or a mad hatter?"

"…Is there a path where no one is mad?"

"Silly Chibiya, of course not. Pick one."

"I-I suppose…I would rather meet a hatter…"

"Good choice," Delic said, pulling him towards the side the sun was shining. "Be careful though. He has a fucking short fuse."

They found themselves in another clearing, occupied by a ridiculously large wooden table. The chairs all had stuffed animals in them, and in front of each plushie was a cup of tea. In the head chair, there sat another male identical to Delic, who was wearing a bartender uniform with a large top hat. His mocha orbs looked up at them as they made their way forward, and he gave an animalistic smirk.

"Well, well, well. What brings you here, Delic?" he asked as he stood from his chair.

"Going to work. I'm guiding this little cutie to the palace." The hatter's eyes trailed down to Hibiya, who couldn't help but feel a little frightened.

"He looks like that leech," the hatter snarled.

"So do plenty of people you've met. Not all of them are alike, just as you and I aren't alike. We're not going to have another repeat of what happened to Psyche, are we?" Delic asked.

"W-What happened to Psyche?" Hibiya asked quietly.

"Not much," the hatter sighed. "I thought he was that louse for a second, so I threw a pot of tea at him. He dodged it, so no harm was done. I don't see what the big deal is."

"Shizuo, if he hadn't dodged it, he would've been severely hurt."

"Stop living in the past! None of that matters now! You both need to sit down for tea."

"Um, Delic has to go, and…"

"I said to sit."

Delic led him to an empty chair, but to his horror, they wouldn't be sitting together. He watched as the blonde traveled to the opposite side of the table, and took a seat in another empty chair. Hibiya considered moving one of the stuffed animals so they could sit together, but thought better of it when he thought of what Shizuo might do of he noticed. So begrudgingly, he sat alone, and waited to be served. Strangely, Shizuo wasn't moving.

"TSUKI!" he yelled loudly, making the raven jump. Another blonde ran out from behind the trees, holding a large pot of tea. This man had rabbit ears too, but they were the same color as his hair.

"S-S-Sorry! I was brewing this!" he yelped.

"Serve the guests."

"Really, I can do it myself-" Hibiya began, but was silenced by Delic talking over him.

"Long time, no see, Tsukilicious."

"Oh, h-hey, Delic…" Tsuki greeted, walking forward. He stumbled over his scarf, and almost dropped the pot of tea, but managed to straighten up before he fell. He seemed to be a hazard to himself.

"This is rather ridiculous. I can serve myself."

"What did you just say?" Shizuo asked suddenly, his gaze growing very attentive as he observed the raven.

"I said I can serve myself!"

"No, before that."

"…I said this is ridiculous!"

"RIDICULOUS!" yelled Shizuo, standing abruptly. The other two blondes followed his lead, and they ran around the table to other empty chairs. Hibiya sat in awe, not sure what he was supposed to do, before he felt himself being pulled up by Delic, who was pushing him forward.

"You said the secret word, babe," he laughed. "We have to swap seats every time."

"B-But that's even more ridiculous!"

"RIDICULOUS!"

And the entire charade repeated itself. Delic was laughing like a madman at the look of pure horror on Hibiya's face. He made a mental note not to use that word anymore, and he began thinking of synonyms for it.

"How are we to finish our tea if we keep moving around so abruptly?! It's…ludicrous!"

"Then I would suggest being served first. Tsuki!" Shizuo yelled. The other blonde ran towards Hibiya, and filled his cup with tea, before he ran to Delic and did the same. Finally, he sat in his own chair, and served himself, taking a long sip, and then wiping his mouth on his scarf. The raven made eye contact with Delic, and mouthed the word, "What". The white rabbit merely smiled.

"Who are you anyway?" Shizuo said suddenly, reaching up to scratch underneath his ridiculously large top hat.

"I'm Hibiya."

"Chibiya."

"Hibiya."

"I see. And you're an outsider?"

"Obviously," Tsuki said. He then sank into his scarf when Shizuo threw a spoon at him.

"When is your birthday, Hibiya?"

"W-What?"

"I said, when is your birthday?" the hatter asked boredly, spreading jam on bread. "It's important."

"I don't recall when it is. I seem to have forgotten quite a bit before I woke up here."

Shizuo looked at him thoughtfully.

"Then, could it perhaps be today?"

"I really don't think so."

"But if you don't remember, surely it could be any time. And since it could be any time, it could be now. And since it could be now, it would be sad if you didn't know. Still, it's no big deal if it is your birthday. If it wasn't, it would be a huge deal."

"…What?"

"We only celebrate un-birthdays!" Tsuki chirped. "Birthdays are too rare, so we decided to celebrate every other day. Too bad it's your birthday."

"But it's not my-"

"It's my un-birthday," Delic announced suddenly. "I forgot to say so."

"It's ours as well!" Tsuki said happily, motioning between himself and Shizuo. "This calls for a celebration!"

"We really must be going soon, Delic," Hibiya said.

"B-But we have to celebrate our un-birthdays! Otherwise they won't be merry!"

"Delic."

"Soon, soon," Delic said nonchalantly. "We have time."

"No, we don't! You're being ridiculous!"

"RIDICULOUS!"

"SON OF A BITCH!"

Finally, they made their way from the large tea party. Hibiya was witness to strange dancing, odd music, and Shizuo randomly throwing objects at each of them, and then acting as if he wasn't aware of it. He even thought he saw some of the stuffed animals dancing, but surely, he imagined that. He felt weary as they trailed forward, and the sky above was rapidly darkening. Perhaps if they had taken the other path, it would be morning now, and not night. For some reason, Hibiya felt rather wary of this place at night. He was frightened. So much so that he grabbed Delic's hand tightly, and refused to let go.

"Are you scared?" the blonde asked him.

"A little," he admitted. "I've never been fond of the dark. I…suppose that's rather childish, isn't it?"

"Chibiya," Delic laughed, squeezing his hand. "It's okay to be scared. It's okay to be childish. Life's too short to take everything so seriously."

Before Hibiya could respond, there was a light chuckle ahead, coming from nowhere. Delic snarled toward the source, and the raven found himself hiding behind his guide.

"Ahhh, Delic. We haven't met for some time, have we?" a smug sounding voice asked.

"There's a reason for that, you asshat," the blonde hissed. "Why are you way out here? Your side of the forest is over there."

A figure appeared on the tree branch in front of them, materializing from thin air. Hibiya yelped, and jumped backwards, supported only by Delic's hand over his. The figure laughed loudly, and the raven was able to make out his features. It was yet another male who shared his face, but something was…off about him. His eyes were devious, and carmine. On his head was a pair of cat ears, and behind him was a tail swaying back and forth. He grinned widely at Hibiya, his smile almost seeming too big for his face.

"Why, hello there," he chuckled. "Do you always fall over when you meet new people?"

"Fuck off, Izaya."

"That's not nice at all, Delic. Hibi-chan might receive the wrong impression of me."

"How do you know my name?" Hibiya asked, peeking out from behind Delic.

"I know many things. I also know you're looking to find a way home."

"Yes, I am! Do you know how I can get there?"

"Of course I do."

"…Can you tell me?"

"I can. But will I?"

"You don't need his help, Chibiya! You have me to guide you!" the blonde huffed. "Besides, he won't lead you where you need to go. Izaya likes to mess with people."

"Such a cruel lie!" Izaya feigned misery, and twirled dramatically on the branch, before flipping to land on his feet in front of the pair. He hugged Hibiya's waist, and leaned his head on his shoulder. Hibiya could feel the fuzziness from the ears. "I'm only interested in helping! You know I cannot deny someone who shares my face."

"Is there a shorter path to the castle?" Hibiya found himself asking. There was something about Izaya he couldn't deny, and he was steadily being drawn in. Delic's expression turned sour at the close proximity of the two.

"Ah, of course I can, my lovely human. Would you like me to lead you there?"

"No," the blonde said with finality. "He only knows shorter paths to the castle because he can travel through other dimensions. He'll leave you there, Chibiya."

Izaya pouted at the taller male with a small huff, but continued to drape himself over Hibiya, who found it impossible to push him off. While he was wary of this odd creature, he was still transfixed by those mischievous carmine orbs. Then, Delic grabbed his hand, and tugged him forward, away from Izaya. The odd feeling of complacency was immediately gone, and replaced with his usual wariness. The other raven's smile grew even wider, if that was possible.

"I see. You've called him as your own, huh, Delic?"

"Fuck off, Izaya."

"IZAYAAAAAAAAAAAA!" a roar was heard in the distance, and the blonde swooped Hibiya up just in time to dodge the oncoming missile that was steadily flattening everything in its path. Izaya faded away, and then reappeared on a different tree branch, his tail swaying back and forth with annoyance. Hibiya was able to make out the large wooden table, which was now crumbled to pieces. How strong was that hatter?!

"Ah, Shizu-chan. How lovely of you to join us," Izaya said pleasantly. He twirled off the branch to dodge another oncoming object, which turned out to be a small tree.

"Fuck, yeah, I'm flying!" Hibiya shook his head. There was no way the tree just said that.

"Why are you on this side, Louse! You were told to stay in the dark side of the forest!"

"And you always come attack me there anyway, so I decided to meet you here this time. Wasn't that nice of me, Shizu-chan? I came just to see you."

"Yeah, I'm thrilled about it."

"You said I'd only have to deal with one of them!" Hibiya cried, punching Delic lightly on the arm. "Where are we supposed to go now?!"

"Good question," the imp sighed, his magenta eyes scanning their surroundings for escape. More trees were thrown, all of them saying different things as they flew by. The most memorable of which was the large oak making gangster-sounding death threats."Maaaan, you best be glad I ain't in the mood to smack a hoe." The raven was certain he wasn't imagining things anymore.

Delic pulled him toward the edge of the woods, grumbling about stupid people. There were crashing sounds behind them, followed by crazy laughter, and then more shouts from Shizuo. Just like before, the forest rearranged itself, and left them behind. The next clearing they came to was lit up with an odd pink glow, and filled with animals Hibiya had never seen before, including a small creature that resembled a pawn from a chess board.

"We're nearing the palace now," Delic told him quietly. "Sorry you had to meet Izaya. I never planned on that."

"He didn't seem so bad," Hibiya replied.

"Yeah, he has that effect on people. Trust me, you don't want anything to do with him. Shizuo doesn't hate many people, so that should tell you something."

"Why does he hate Izaya?"

"I have no clue. I think it was because Izaya didn't follow the rules of the tea party or something. That whole thing is super important to him, you know. Tsuki, too. They have to have everything just right, otherwise it puts Shizuo in a rage, and Tsuki in panic mode."

More pawn creatures appeared, seemingly running from rooks and knights. Hibiya observed as a game of chess was played before his eyes, without any players. The pieces moved on their own. The black rook then turned around as a bishop moved diagonally toward it, taking it in the air and throwing it to the side. The two men watched the game quietly, each catching their breath.

"Tell me, Delic. Why are you so keep on helping me?" Hibiya asked.

"I'm a knight. It's my job to help those who can't help themselves."

"A knight? I never knew. But aren't you the queen's knight? Why would you help me?"

Delic gave him a crooked grin. "Consider me rogue, baby."

The white king was closing in on the black king on the playing board.

"I… I thank you, Delic… I don't know what I would do without you…"

Even closer. The black king was ruthlessly exposed.

"Don't thank me. I want to help. Besides, there's no guarantee you can even get home. If that's the case, I'd like you to be where I'm at. So, I guess you could say it's selfish of me to take you to the palace. I just want to know where you're going to be."

The white king's sword was raised. Both kings could only move one space at a time, but the rest of the pieces were fighting each other. This was a poorly played game, as both sides left their most important pieces vulnerable.

"Even so… I'm glad I met you here."

The black king was struck down on the field as Delic's lips found Hibiya's, coaxing them apart with his tongue.

Checkmate.

The pair emerged from the woods to walk on a golden path leading to a luxurious castle. The entire way was lined with rose bushes, all dripping red paint for some reason. Delic was whistling cheerfully as he led the raven, swinging their hands back and forth as they walked. The roses were complaining that it was too late for such nonsense.

"Is the queen scary?" Hibiya asked quietly, so as not to disturb the flowers.

"Nah. His little bodyguard is a little intimidating though. Don't worry, I'm with you."

Their steps were clicking on the ground loudly, each footfall sounding like a drum to Hibiya. Or perhaps that was his heart rate. Who was to be certain? They were intercepted with by a giant card. A three of hearts, to be exact. He stared at them.

"You're late, Delic. And who is this?"

"I'm whatever tense I choose to be. And he's mine, so don't worry about it."

Hibiya found he didn't care about being called "Delic's" anymore. It had quite a ring to it, he thought. They ventured into the castle grounds, which seemed to be set up like a maze. Every inch was lined with hedges, blocking the view of the castle. Delic navigated them through with expert precision, and once again, Hibiya was glad to have such a cunning guide. They saw a few more cards pass by, all carrying buckets of paint.

"What are they painting?" he asked Delic, who was looking at his watch.

"The roses. Sakuraya likes them red, but some idiot ordered white."

"Oh. Well, how bad can the punishment be?"

"Death."

Suddenly, Hibiya felt much more terrified at the thought of meeting this Sakuraya. Worse still, he didn't want Delic to be in trouble for bringing him along. They traveled inside to a grandly lit foyer, where three occupants stood. More clones, from the looks of them. Two shared Hibiya's face, and the other shared Delic's.

"Delic! You're late!" the one dressed in pink called. He stepped down from the pedestal.

"Yeah, yeah. Sorry, Sakuraya-sama. I was a little preoccupied."

The man's carnation pink eyes focused slowly on Hibiya.

"You've brought an outsider here?" he snarled.

"Yes, your majesty. But he shares your face. I thought you wouldn't mind."

"That damn Cheshire cat shares my face too, but you don't see me inviting him to my palace, do you?" Sakuraya said stiffly. "You! What's your name?"

"Hibiya, your majesty," the raven bowed.

"I don't sense anything off about him," a bored voice said. Hibiya looked up to see the other raven staring at him, blood eyes expressionless. "If he were like Izaya, I'd sense it."

"Very well, Roppi, I will trust your judgment," Sakuraya agreed, still eyeing both Delic and Hibiya with disdain. Then, he turned his head to the other man in the room. "Dearest love, might we begin the ceremony now?"

"Of course," the other blonde smiled. "Delic, you are to announce the queen."

"Yes, Shitsuo-sama." Hibiya followed him closely, and was led onto a balcony. Below, hundreds of different suited cards were looking above, and on a platform, there stood a man wearing a black hood. He was holding an axe.

"What is this ceremony?" the raven asked in a timid voice.

"A beheading ceremony. We're punishing the cards who painted the roses."

"B-But we just saw them! They've already been caught?"

"No, no. This is from a different time. You'll find that these cards are stupid. They repeat their mistakes over and over again. Sakuraya really gets off on killing them."

Hibiya remained quiet as Delic addressed the public. They all cheered at the announcement that the beheadings were about to begin, which made the pit in the raven's stomach seem to grow even deeper. He wouldn't be able to watch this. He knew he had to get on Sakuraya's good side in order to return home, but he was going to protest this atrocity. Seeming to sense his train of thought, Delic nudged him.

"Don't you dare."

"Yes, dear, don't you dare."

Hibiya jumped as he became aware of someone on his back. Delic's face paled.

"Izaya!"

The Cheshire cat was floating in midair, his arms wrapped around Hibiya's neck from behind. His face resembled a child's on Christmas morning.

"You can't be here! You know what will happen!"

"Oh, let him catch me. Who cares? I do not fear that ridiculous queen."

"RIDICULOUS!"

Shouts were heard from below as the platform was thrown, effectively pushing the massive wooden structure down over the executioner. Delic was rubbing his temples as Izaya laughed happily. The Mad Hatter then latched onto the gate beside the destroyed platform, and scaled the structure, before he hopped on the balcony.

"Oh, great. You're both here. How lovely," Delic said sarcastically. He turned to see Roppi watching the display, still looking bored as hell.

"This should be interesting. Where is your friend, Tsuki?" he asked Shizuo.

"In the crowd. Why?"

Without saying a word, Roppi jumped into the sea of cards, and disappeared into the void, presumably to find Tsuki. The next voice heard was a shrill scream.

"YOU!" Sakuraya shouted, pointing to Hibiya. "You led the Cheshire cat here?!"

"Wha- No! He followed me of his own free will!"

"OFF WITH THEIR HEADS! ALL OF THEM!"

The crowd cheered again.

"I'm afraid you'll find that a little hard, dearest," Izaya chuckled, pointing to the destroyed platform. "I'm afraid your executioner is crushed as well."

Sakuraya began to open and close his mouth as if he were at a loss for what to say, his face resembling a fish. Izaya sashayed over to him, placing his arms around his waist.

"There, there. It's not all bad. At least you still have this pretty little crown."

Sakuraya pushed him off in a fury, and grabbed the sword Roppi had left propped against the wall. He began swinging wildly, and shoved it right at Izaya, whose head seemed to be cut off from the impact. His body fell to the ground as his head landed beside it. Hibiya screamed, and started forward, but was held back by Delic. Suddenly, Izaya's body stood up, and began to throw his head in the air, and catch it as if it were a game.

"I'll fucking kill you!" Sakuraya screamed, lunging for him again. He was stopped by Shizuo, who threw him back into the wall.

"Actually, no. It's my job to kill the flea."

The tiny balcony was steadily becoming a battle field as the men squared up against each other. Hibiya backed into the railing, scared of being in such close proximity to so many questionable characters. He looked down to see Tsugaru and Psyche waving up at him cheerfully.

"Isn't there anyone normal here?!" he asked scathingly as he watched the cards begin to cheer.

"No, silly," Izaya laughed. "We're all mad here."

Hibiya clung to white rabbit as the others began to fight. Delic held him back just as closely, before he was shoved, pulling the raven with him. Both went careening over the rail, into the crowd below. The fall was treacherous. The balcony was much higher than previously anticipated. As they tumbled down, Hibiya screamed Delic's name as loud as he could, telling him he was scared. He opened his eyes to see magenta orbs focusing on him, a smile on the imp's face.

"I really do love you, Chibiya."

And everything seemed to light up again as he heard Izaya sing an unknown tune in the background. Just like before, all he knew was a bright light, and then darkness.

"Chibiya! Chibiya!"

"Wha-!"

The raven sat up abruptly, aware of everyone's eyes on him. He was sitting on the couch, Delic on one side, and Izaya on the other.

"Are you okay? You seemed to be having a weird dream," the blonde laughed.

"It… It was the strangest thing… You were a rabbit, Delic! And Izaya was a cat…and Shizuo was a crazy hatter…" Every pair of eyes on him seemed to be amused as he stammered off. "I…I guess it doesn't matter…"

"Sounds pretty crazy," Roppi huffed from his corner, looking up from his book. He was rested in Tsuki's lap.

"Yeah… Yeah, I guess it was."

"A rabbit, huh? You know what rabbits are known for, right?" Delic grinned mischievously. Hibiya rolled his eyes at the imp.

"Don't be ridiculous," he sighed. As soon as the word left his mouth, he looked up at Shizuo, who only stared at him blankly.

"What?" he snapped gruffly.

"Nothing. It's just…good to be back."

[When the men on the chessboard get up, and tell you where to go. And you've just had some kind of mushroom, and your mind is moving low. Go ask Alice. I think she'll know.
When logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead, and the white knight is talking backwards. And the red queen's off with her head. Remember what the dormouse said. "Feed your head! Feed your head"]

The End.

Sachi: Yayyyy! This was fun to write! I hope you enjoyed, Kira-Lime Orijima! I know it took a while. Sorry about that! Your author gets…distracted.

Shizuo: I liked it.

Izaya: I loved me in this story!

Hibiya: You love you no matter what.

Delic: I think we should've had a steamy scene.

Sachi: *sigggghhhhhhhhh* Review for love, my dears! Hope you all liked it! I don't know why, but I liked the thought of Delic being a white rabbit who didn't care about being late. It seemed to fit his character. The song is an oldie. Brownie points if you know it!