Micah sweat dropped. "What was that about our comrades being visually-appealing...? And why must we save her? I'm more tempted to let the Queen have her!"

"Even so," Alice said, shrugging indifferently, "we're already going to the castle, aren't we? It might be troublesome, but saving the Dutchess probably wouldn't be out of our way."

"I still don't want to," Micah sighed. Then her attention drifted to the child she still held securely in her arms. Her cheeks flamed with anger. "And she left this kid with us! How irresponsible! What if we hadn't been here? What would have happened to this baby?"

Alice simply shrugged again, unsure of how to answer. "Another reason we should go," she reasoned at last. She peeked over at the child. "You wanna come with us to the castle?" she asked him. "To meet your mother?"

Surprisingly enough, the child nodded in response.

"Wow, he's intelligent," Micah noted with a decent amount of respect creeping into her voice. 

With the child now among their group, the two girls set out once more for the castle, still entirely lost. They came upon another forest and ventured into it, seemingly unafraid of possible dangers. 

Even so, they weren't seriously surprised when a voice, or rather, two similar voices drifted down from the trees.

"Two girls and a baby hoping to depose the Queen?"

"They either don't value their lives or are simple idiots. Don't you think so, Chesire A?"

Micah cocked her head tot he side, studying the identical boys settled high in a tree's tall branches. Ginger hair, fair skin, sly smiles. Exactly the same. They even wore the same odd pink and purple clothes and cat ears. She didn't particular want to, but Micah felt the need to ask their names.

"We are the famous Chesire Cat Doppelgangers!" they chorused. "We were orignally one cat, but we were divided into two exquisite beings by the Queen's curse!"

Full of themselves, aren't they? Micah's eye was set twitching again.

"We only played a light joke on her and dunked her pet elephant turtle into her favorite dish of mock turtle soup," the Chesire twins explained boredly. "We really don't like adults without a sense of humor."

Micah nearly sympathized with the Queen at this point, if this was how all her subjects acted round the clock. Why she ever thought to split these annoying cats into two was beyond her though. Wasn't this just double the insanity?

She disregarded the fact. recalling the Dutchess' words. They needed comrades did they? Well, seeing as how there were no better candidates... "Mind coming with us?" Micah asked reluctantly, interrupting the twins' newest conversation they'd struck up with Alice. "I mean, you have a grudge against the Queen, don't you? And we're planning on overthrowing her, so it would only be a help to you two to come with us."

The two shared a glance. "Well," Chesire A started, "we don't really have anything to do right now. But if we help the Queen, what're you gonna give us as a reward?"

"Gold? Jems? A fun new game?" Chesire B asked. "We don't work for free. That's something commoners would do."

Wondering where the remark about commoners had come from (they were cats, weren't they? What did the title commoner have to do with them), Micah offered, without missing a beat, "How about this Alice's virginity?"

Alice stiffened, before slowly turning a rather menacing glare on Micah, who smiled cheekily in response. 

"Nah, we're not interested," was the cats' reply, causing Micah to laugh out loud, while Alice slumped miserably. This was not how she'd intended her day to go...

Suddenly, a new voice broke in: "You dumb cats, don't make me laugh. To exort gifts from frail ladies, you're failures as gentlmen."

The group of five(?) spun around to see that a veritable banquet had been set up in the forest. Dozens of cups of tea, plates of finger foods, a load of china sitting unused... and two more strange figures. A young boy with gray rabbit ears, sitting calmly as he sipped his tea, and a tall blone with gorgeous violet ears, dressed in an over-large tophat. They looked harmless enough, but Micah had seen enough today already to suspect she shouldn't let her guard down.

"The Swindler and the May Hare!" the twins announced.

"Swindler?" Alice echoed, her head to one side. 

"He was jailed because he was indiscriminately using mysterious cheats at the Queen's cricket match," Chesire A explained.

"Didn't you get executed already?" Chesire B deadpanned.

"Of course not!" The Swindler made a dismissive gesture. "Something like breaking out of jail is a piece of cake for someone like me. Living a life on the run like that isn't too bad, but... What do you think, young ladies?" He looked expectantly at Alice and Micah. "If I can preserve you dignity and topple the Queen, would you promise to marry me?"

"Once again, I offer this Alice," Micah said, shoving Alice forward, nearly into the Swindler's arms. Realizing their close proximity, he blushed a faint red and backed away a few steps, much to Alice's delight.

While the Chesire Cats and the Swindler decided to whom the fair maiden Alice would be married if the Queen were to be toppled, the girls stood quietly, waiting for this mess of a conversation to end. That's when the blunt and rather annoying May Hare stood from his seat and, passing by the girls, made this remark: "....Ugly baby."

After a moment, the child in Micah's burst (a bit of an overstatement) into tears, and the girl rounded on the Hare angrily. She thumped him over the head, making him wince and cry out in pain. Seeing her fist raised for another blow, he cried out, "Ow! What was that for, you annoying girl?!"

"That," Micah bit out, "was for being an annoying bastard and making this kid cry! Have you no shame you little... you little.... Dammit! I can't think of anything that you deserved to be called that I can say in front of an infant!"

"You're already cursing," Chesire A pointed out cheekily.

Micah abruptly shut her mouth, cheeks colored an admittedly adorable red. She then scowled and shoved the May Hare off, much to his annoyance. Taking a deep breath, she recalled the boy she'd met in the first room she remembered entering. He'd slipped something into her pocket, saying she'd need it... Listening to the child's cries, she couldn't think of a more deserving time. "Alice," she said, "would you mind checking my pocket?"

The girl obeyed and pulled out a small package, tightly bound with velvet black ribbon. The girl pulled the ribbon loose and lifted the top. She offered the package to Micah, who smiled gratefully and picked out one of the cookies inside. How the boy knew she'd need these, she wasn't sure, but she didn't exactly question it when she handed the sweet to the young child.

His cries stopped almost immediately.

Micah was just about to breathe a sigh of relief (and hand the boy off to Alice so she could hunt down that uncouth Hare for a verbal bashing) when another annoying poof of smoke filled the air, and the weight in her arms grew immensely. She dropped the bundle with a squeak when she caught sight of the baby, now an over-six-foot boy who was completely--

"N-Naked!" Micah ducked behind Alice, trying to hide her blushing face and keep herself was seeing.... unnecessary things.

"Hm, you were right, Alice, it was a boy."

"Please don't tell me my only sort-of friend is a pervert," Micah mumbled under her breath.

"Ah, you can look now," Alice said, tapping Micah's shoulder. The girl blinked and peeked around Alice's side. Indeed, the boy was now fully clothed in something that looked like the twins' own design. She sighed quietly and stepped out into the open.

"Thank you, Go--" Micah was cut short as she felt two strong arms wrap around her waist and hug her tightly. She felt her face heat up. Of course, the boy (who still had the mind of a one-year-old child despite the body of a seventeen-year-old) would have an attachment to her. She looked down to see the boy (who she thought was rather handsome) and swallowed thickly. His arms were around her waist, his legs on either side of her, and his face nearly pressed to her chest.

Chesire B put it lightly when he said, "Dude, this is turning out to be a competition to win those Alices."

"You brat! Even if you're only a baby on the inside, I can't forgive such sexually harassing behavior..." The Swindler, who had already set his eyes on the girls and also considered himself a gentleman, was understandably upset by the boy's actions. "Alright then!" he declared. "This is a fight to the death with my manly pride on the line! The person who topples the Queen is a warrior and..."

Everyone turned to him expectantly, even Micah, who had given up on her efforts to have the boy release her. 

"Has the right to seize either Alice for himself!" the Swindler finished.

Micah pulled a blank, unamused look. "Do I look like some motionless trophy you can set on your mantel?" she deadpanned.

Alice nodded her agreement, looking none-too-pleased to have the Swindler and Chesire B's arms draped around her shoulders. Micah was still contending with the boy and now she had Chesire A to deal with as well, as he stood behind her, looking as determined as she'd yet to see him.

Micah sighed quietly to herself. Her opinion apparently didn't matter among these strange men. Perhaps she'd just deal with it until this asinine quest was complete. While she wouldn't describe any of these boys as a intellecutal monk, a wizard or a swordsman, they were visually-appealing, as much as it pained her to admit it. The Dutchess would be the only girl happy with having these men tag along...

As it happened, the Queen herself called for the rag-tag group to be summoned to her court. It wasn't a long trip, but with these boys, Micah was becoming more and more exhausted. The Swindler was simply annoying in her mind, even if his intentions seemed to be the purest of the group (possibly excluding Moriko, whom Micah had decided to call Mori for short, as he was a simple-minded child who probably wouldn't have such strange thoughts). 

The Chesire Twins, however, weren't awful, and she found she could put up with Chesire A, who made her laugh on their walk to the Queen's castle. And she had to admit, she rather liked Mori. He was quiet and nice, as far as she could tell, though he had the habit of clinging to her a bit. Currently, as they were all now standing before the Queen, he stood behind her with his hands resting on her shoulders. Whether he meant it that way or not, Micah felt a little comforted by his presence.

"So, I presume you had a reason for calling us here?" Micah spoke up, looking directly at the Queen, seated at her throne. She looked a little manish in Micah's eyes, but made a pretty girl all the same, with her long black hair and bright black eyes. Glasses sat perched on her nose, though to her, they looked more decorative than anything. Beside her stood someone Micah actually recognized.

"That's the White Rabbit I followed here," Micah mused, cocking her head to the side in thought. "But he seems different from before..."

"That bastard is a rabbit with a dual personality!" the Swindler warned her.

"Huh?"

"Don't be presumptuous, you stupid ignorant peons." A chill went down Micah's spine at his dark words. "If the Queen didn't stop me, I would have cut your f*cking throats already." He cast his head to the side, his face transformed in the cutest yet cruellest smile Micah had ever witnessed. "I absolutely loathe microbes like you."

Ah, not the White Rabbit. Black Rabbit.

Swallowing uncomfortably, Micah muttered to her companions, "Um, are we sure we aren't meant to topple this one? He seems a little more vicious than the Queen. I mean, she hasn't even said a word yet..."

As if on cue, the Queen chose then to explain herself.

"To answer the little Alice's question," she began, looking intently at Micah, who gulped, "I'll say this: I think you all have misconceptions on things... Executions or all other punishments. You should understand that all actions were taken for the good of the kingdom."

"Could you explain yourself, maybe?" Micah asked, a little too boldly for her companions' liking. Mori, for one, reached around and covered her mouth with his hand. She huffed indignantly, but made no move to throw him off.

"First," said the Queen, "regarding the curse of the Lobelia Forest. That was simply to reduce heating and lighting costs. That forest never had any natural sunlight. The only reason why there was ever any light in there is because there was an artificial sun installed, using taxpayer money."

Micah, unable to speak, pointed silently to the Chesire Cats.

"Ah yes, about those two. The elephant turtle he boiled alive was intended to be bred and used as a food source for the kingdom."

Her respect for Chesire A had dwindled, and he could feel his chances of having her even remotely liking him slipping away. Sighing silently, Micah made a "go on" gesture, then put up a convicing immitation of the Dutchess by clasping her hands together in a dramatic pose and letting a few forced tears slip down her cheeks.

The Queen smirked approvingly. "The Dutchess wasted ungodly quantities of paper by endlessly printing up unfounded rumors."

Lastly, Micah made a show of pointing at the blonde hatter, who flinched when put under the Queen's radar. 

"As far as the cricket match is concerned that the Mad Hatter over there ruined," she said, "if it had ended successfully, we would have had a chance to receive a large sum of aid loans from other countries."

Micah sweat dropped again. Everyone here (besides Mori, herself and Alice) had basically deserved punishment. Now maybe death was a bit harsh on her part, but Micah grudgingly had to admit the Queen had made the right call. She didn't like it, but she had to live with it. And as she was still unable to speak (Mori refused to move his hand) Alice put her thoughts into words. 

Sort of.

"Then perhaps..." she began.

"Yes," the Queen sighed, closing her eyes as she rested her chin on her palm. "Because of all the wasteful policies of the Red Queen.... our kingdom currently is in a terrible deficit. Even the reason why the castle is so dark is to reduce operational costs," she added, gesturing to the dim lighting of the room. 

Micah looked pointedly at the Hatter at this point, and he shied away from her, preferring to hide behind Alice. Even still, he felt anger boiling his blood and stepped forward a moment later to point accusingly at the Queen.

"That doesn't give you the right to execute anyone you like!!" he shouted. "Didn't you learn in kindergarten that it's wrong to kill other people?!"

He has a point, Micah thought, watching the Queen's reaction with interest. She felt like groaning at her response, though. Seems Micah's initial dislike of the Black Queen hadn't been wrong at all.

"First of all, I never attended kindergarten." Whatever grade you started in, they should have covered the basic principles of humanity! Micah though irritably. "And whatever it was, heating and lighting costs, military expenses, I reduced the cost of everything possible. The only thing left is... no choice but to reduce the human beings."

Micah finally pulled Mori's hand away. "Can I just say that I think I know a guy that would be perfect for you? I can't remember his name, but my God, you guys are nearly identical in thought!"

Her group sweat dropped in unison, and the Queen completely ignored her.

"Are all the guards gathered?" she inquired calmly. Just then, a group of heavily armed men burst into the room, completely surrounding the group. Micah backed into Mori nervously when a spear was shoved dangerously close to her exposed throat.

"Don't you think it's not a bad idea to provide executions as entertainment?" the Queen asked, casual as ever. "Your life would be used as a resource for your beloved kingdom."

"I don't even live here!" Micah shot back.

Again, she was ignored.

But it seemed she didn't need to be heard, because just at that moment, a bright and sudden flash of light lit up the dark and grim room of the castle, the light eminating from the Hatter's hands. 

"Mad Hatter?" Alice asked.

"You know why they call my tricks mysterious?" Hatter asked. "Although everyone concluded that it was a trick, no one was able to figure out the principles behind it. Because..." He drew his head up, palms head in front of his chest, mere inches apart. "There are no illusions or misdirections involved with this trick. Summon Gryphon!"

Micah couldn't hold back her groan of annoyance when Hatter's big trick turned out to be a large bird who spit fire and flew circles around the room, doing absolutely nothing. Its call was something akin to that of a rooster.

"Congrats, Hatter," she said saracastically. "You managed to summon a giant, fire-breathing rooster. The Queen must be shaking."

In fact, she was. Shaking with anger, as it were. Micah raised a brow as the Queen rose from her throne, brandishing some sort of sceptor that caused the girl's fight-or-flight response to kick in. The flight switch was very much flipped.

"Um, you guys, the fire-breathing rooster isn't going to help us very much, is it?" she asked timidly. 

Indeed it wasn't. And this question sent Alice into a muted frenzy, attempting to find something of use in her pockets. Her face brightened when her fingers brushed something soft, and she pulled out what appeared to be a mini version of the mysterious boy's cat puppet. 

"Where did you...?" Micah's question went unfinished as Alice cried out, holding the puppet out in front of her, "Go, Beelzenef!"

Micah would never be able to explain the thing that happened next. The puppet grew until it was a hundred times its original size and...

This is how the Black Queen and the castle disappeared without a trace.

"This story... was there ever any point to it?" Micah asked.

"I doubt it," Cheshire A replied, shrugging. "I think the author just wanted to have fun."

Some distant relative of the royal family named Mr. Nekozawa appeared and peace finally returned to the kingdom.

"Is that the mystery boy I met before all this insanity started?"

"Fufu... Greetings, Alice-san!"

"What the hell... Why are you suddenly good-looking without that cloak?!"

And thus...

"Alice will marry me!"

"Alice was the one who toppled the Queen, so we have rights to her too!"

"Uh, what are you talking about? Lemme in on it too!"

While the Chesire Cats and Hatter were fighting, no one seemed surprised to see the White Rabbit joining in, despite his major one-eighty concerning his attitude. The Hatter turned around, wanting to confront Alice, the one he'd chosen at least. "Right, Alice! Alice, who are you going to choose as..."

The four boys were confronted with the sight of Micah, sitting quietly against a tree, reading to her heart's content. She'd given up on the asinine argument long ago, realizing her words would be meaningless while they were so riled up. Alice had disappeared quite some time ago, and only Micah, and Mori who sat beside her, had noticed. 

Micah shut her book and looked up through hooded eyes. "She woke up," she said, in answer to the boys' unasked question. 

"Woke up?"

"Hmm." Micah set the book down beside her. "I don't have anyone at home to wake me, so I suppose I'm stuck here until my alarm goes off. Lucky me," she sighed. "It's always late, too..."

"This was all a dream?!"

"Of course." The ravenette frowned disapprovingly as she watched the boys. "The Host Club may be insane, but I don't quite think we've reached the point of Mad Hatter Syndrome."

"Mmm, if this is a dream..." Chesire A's lips turned up in a devious smirk. He walked up to Micah and crouched just in front of her, still smiling that crooked smile that had warned her in the beginning he wasn't one to trust. True, she had ignored the warning and come to like Kaoru (Chesire A) and Hikaru (Chesire B), but the smile still gave her goosebumps.

"What are you--"

Kaoru cut her off with a swift kiss on the cheek.

She froze, even as Tamaki (Mad Hatter/The Swindler) began to chase the boy around the forest, shouting how he was a dirty, shady twin and how he shouldn't be touching his precious daughter. Micah simply sat there in stunned silence.

Honey (White Rabbit) giggled, watching everything. He couldn't say he was surprised, even if this was a dream, and neither could Hikaru, who was also watching. He'd been teasing his brother enough about this very subject.

Micah was still frozen, no matter how much noise the Host Club King and his loyal subject made. That is, until she felt a different pair of lips press against her other cheek. She jumped, only to come face to face with Mori, the newest perpetrator.

This shocked Hikaru into silence (he'd been snickering at Micah's reaction) and set Honey giggling again. 

Micah, freed from her shocked silence by an even more shocked exclamation, was about to say something, anything, when--

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

A groant escaped her. How she loathed her alarm. Couldn't she have convinced herself to get the one that sang her favorite band's music when it was time to wake her up? Why had she gone with the dreadfully boring ordinary alarm?

Micah sighed as she rolled over onto her back. She stared passively at the ceiling for a moment, trying to recall the strange dream she'd been having. 

Blank. It was all a blank. 

Is my subconscious deciding to be a bastard again? she thought irately. She hated not being able to remember dreams. It infuriated her. She usually had interesting dreams, from the ones she could recall anyway. I think this one would take the cake though, if I remembered it.

With another sigh, Micah slid from her bed and shuffled from her room into the connecting bathroom. She nearly slipped on a wet patch on the tiled floor, but steadied herself by grabbing onto the sink at the last second. As she let out the breath she'd sucked in, she caught sigh of herself in the mirror.

She was blushing. Her cheeks were as crimson as her right eye. 

Maybe I don't want to remember that dream after all...