Fill in for Mad Hatter until I get around to drawing her^

May could see in Everest's eyes that she had convinced her to stay. She watched as Everest turned to the other "popular" kids and said,

"Can't have the fantastic four without the fourth person, can you?"

May sighed internally. She wished she could have been friends with the "jocks" and "populars." She loved her friends, she really did, but sometimes she wondered what it would be like to be friends with them. And besides, Everest was cute.

Everest looked back at May. "Alright. Explain now, please." she said in an exasperated tone.

May sat down.

"Y'all will wanna sit. This is gon' take a while." she said. (Its so weird putting my voice into words) Everest and the rest reluctantly sat in a circle around May.

May opened her mouth and began to explain.

"I had this dream last night, about Wonderland. I was the White Rabbit, Jackson was the Blue Caterpillar, Katherine was the Queen of Hearts, Everest was the Mad Hatter, and Michael was the Cheshire Cat. Wonderland was being destroyed by somethin' and we jumped through some sorta portal into "Alice-land," which I'm assuming is this world. I would have just dismissed it as a dream, except when I woke up this mornin', I found these pokin out of my head. We all have the same appearances as us in my dream, well we aren't wearing the clothes we were wearing but eh. Tamato-tomato. The point is, we are the only five Wonderlandians left. If my dream, and the weird déjà vu I've been getting is any indication."

May finished explaing and looked around. "Questions?" she asked.

Everest spoke up. "Yes actually, I have a few."

"Shoot." May said, and sat back.

"So first question, what exactly does this mean? Second, what déjà vu? And third, can I panic now?" Everest said calmly, ticking off her fingers as she listed each question.

May gave a small laugh. "Darlin' I have no clue what exactly it means, just that we have to figure out why now, after 14 years, we're becoming Wonderlandian again. The déjà vu, well, every time I think about Wonderland, I get some weird feeling, like I have repressed memories or somethin' of it. And yea you can panic, I mean, it's not very helpful but if you want, go right ahead."

May sighed internally. She just called Everest 'darlin'! Well, she did that with everyone, but what if she'd said it differently? Did Everest notice? God I sound like a lovesick teenager, she thought. She shook herself back into reality and listened in on the others talking.

"What should we do?" That was Katherine.

"Panic." Everest said.

Michael gave her a look. "No, we will not be panicking. We need to think logically."

"Mich, I hate to say it, but you're half invisible, how the hell can we keep logical?"

May stood up. "We're going to find a way to Wonderland." The four other people looked at her.

"How do we do that?" Jackson asked.

May gave him a grin that could have rivaled a sociopaths. "Why, darlin' I just happen to know a thing or two. And I know a few people as well."

\time skip brought to you by my stuffed animals/

May knocked on the professors door. They had left the high school and walked the short distance to the collage, where she knew an expert in mythology and all things magical.

"Come in!" called a melodic voice. May opened the door and walked into the room decorated to look like a Tim Burton movie.

A swivel chair spun around to reveal a thing woman, with blue hair and wide eyes petting a hamster.

She smiled at the teens and stood up. "May it has been far too long!"

May chuckled. "I know Cora, I know. But right now we need your help."

The woman, Cora, nodded. May pulled off her hoodie and Cora gasped.

"Oh my! I haven't seen anything like this in almost 15 years! How is this possible, Wonderland was destroyed!" Katherine, Everest, Jackson, and Michael gaped at her. May smirked.

"Told ya I knew someone." she said triumphantly. She glanced back at Cora.

"Where was the old portal to Wonderland?" May asked.

"Oh dear me. Am I interrupting something?" an unfamiliar voice said as they dropped from the ceiling.

The color drained out of Cora's face. "Maxlar how are you alive?" she breathed.

The man who stood before them wore a long coat and had an ever present side smirk. He wore black leather boots and had brown, curly hair. His hands fiddled with a key, and he had an air of importance around him. But the most shocking thing were his eyes. They were a deep purple, like grapes that had been soaking in a sunset sky for years.

Cora's expression hardened. She pulled a long, silver, spindle looking thing out of her pocket and pointed it at the man.

The man simply laughed. "Oh sweetie, that won't hurt me anymore. See I'm stronger now." He snapped his fingers and ropes grew out of the floor to tie up Cora. He turned to the May and the other four.

"Hello. I'm Maxlar. You may be wondering, 'How can I escape this?' Well today's your lucky day! I'm letting you five go free. Cora was the only one I wanted. In more ways than one." He said and winked. The door flew open.

"Shoo along now, this might get messy."

A wind pushed the five of them out of the professors house. May caught a glimpse of Cora as the door slammed. She was crying, and her blue hair hung down around her face.

"Cora!" May shouted and pounded on the door, trying to force it open. She heard a high pitched, blood curdling shriek from inside and then silence. There was a flash of purple light from behind the curtains and suddenly May stumbled through the door that was no longer locked.

Cora was hanging limply on the wall, impaled through the chest by the same spindle she'd pulled out. May ran up to her.

"Cora?!? Cora answer me!" she shouted. Cora barely lifted her head.

"Follow the rose." she whispered. "Follow the rose to the tree and you'll find Wonderland. And if you ever see Maxlar again, tell him to go to hell for me."

May nodded, tears streaming down her face.

"I will. Cora you were the best teacher I've ever had, and the best friend too. I'll always miss you."

Cora smiled faintly. "I'll be watching over you. And go get your girl. I don't want to see you throw away that possibility."

As Cora breathed her last breath, May whispered, "Goodbye, Coraline."

Cora fell limp against the wall and May took a deep breath, trying to stop her crying.

She wiped her face and turned to the other two girls and two males who were watching in shock.

"What are you staring at? We have to find a rose." May snapped. Katherine's eyes flickered between May and Cora.

"Was that the real Coraline? Like from the movie?" she asked.

May nodded. "I can explain that later. But right now, we have to find a rose. Let's get a move on."

The five teenagers left the house of Professor Coraline and stood looking at the front of it. May knelt down, pressed a hand to the earth, and said,

"Our Lord up above, I pray that Coraline's spirit reaches you safely. She had an adventures life, and I pray that she will be happy in heaven. Let her be at rest with you. Amen."

She stood up and took once last glance at the house. She pulled a necklace out that had two black buttons and a key on it.

"I'll make you proud." May whispered.

____________
Well that was an emotional rollercoaster. A few things.

Maxlar: all credit for his character goes to FeelzMaster my amazing friend, and demon author. He will be reappearing a few times throughout this, and I will be explaining the backstory between him and Cora.

Coraline: Yes this is the Tim Burton character from Tim Burton's Coraline. Tim Burton movies have always kinda been one of my unofficial fandoms, along with DC and Marvel. This is kinda how I envisioned her sequel, with her being grown up, and her past catching up- oops about to spoil stuff. Anyways, she's kinda an important figure in May's life and we'll be getting more into that later.

Until next time,

~Meep