"I hate all of you! Every single one!" a girl shouted. She stamped her foot on the ground in anger and snarled. The girl growled lowly at her parents and siblings, wishing their demise. "you're such little goodie-goodies! If I had a knife I would slaughter you and butcher your meat!" she continued. Her parents stepped back slowly, fear pounding through them. The girl's brothers and sisters ran to their rooms in fear.
"Malice, please." her mother began. "understand our position on this, we can't afford a horse right now." the woman put her hands out in front of her like a shield. The girl, Malice, frowned deeply. She drew her hand back to strike her mother but stopped herself. Malice started to laugh in a sinister way, picturing the death and destruction of all that was good. Slowly, she padded across the linoleum tile of her kitchen.
"alright then, you can't afford a pony but you can afford this?" she picked her mothers wedding ring up and held it above the sink. Malice dangled it threateningly above the drain, a crooked grin enveloping her face. Her father put a hand out, trying desperately to stop her. Years ago he had spent thousands of dollars on the diamond encrusted gold circle. Malice knew how much of a source of pain and torture it would be for her parents, that was nearly the only thing holding them together. She cackled demonically and continued to dangle the valuable hunk of gold and stone above her sink.
"Malice please," her mother dropped to her knees. "Don't do this to me please!" she begged, putting her hands together. Malice grinned even wider, getting a sick satisfaction from it all. She loved the begging, the being treated like a goddess. An evil goddess of pain and destruction, one who cares about no one. Malice smiled before putting the ring in her palm. She marched slowly over to her nearly crying mother and opened her hand. Malice's mother looked up at her, tears in her eyes, and smiled gratefully. She reached a shaky hand out for the golden ring, brimming with thankfulness. Malice whipped her body around and threw the ring as hard as she could at the sink. She then bounded over and pressed the garbage disposal button. Her mother burst into tears and her father sprinted from the room. The sadistic child drank her mothers pain up like a camel after a long journey drank water. Malice silently strode from the room, a spring in her step. She was completely satisfied at that point, her revenge had been taken for her parents not buying her a pony. Malice was rotten all the way to the core, there was no love nor was there any feeling of compassion in her heart. She was a sadistic, masochistic, sociopathic, psychopathic, rotten, evil, girl. With no remorse what so ever, Malice pranced to her room. Years ago she had forced her parents to give her her own room which had aroused lots of problems. Her two brothers and two sisters now had to share a room. The girl quickly pulled off a pair of camouflage shorts and a gray tank top before redressing in an all white nightgown. It's lacy embrace held her softly as she danced to her MAC laptop. Malice sweetly pressed her lips upon it to give it a kiss. She opened the polished laptop, pressed the on button, and swooped over to her window. Malice slid it open to reveal New York City's manic lifestyle. Lights blurred and flickered through the screen, creating a beautiful painted feeling. Sounds of the huge city drifted in slowly like music from a gramophone. Malice calmly went back to her computer and sat down in her leather business chair. A light appeared at the bottom of the screen over the mail section. With surprise, she drew her mouse over it. A window snapped up, causing her screen to turn black. Malice began to jab at the screen, worried immensely. She soon became frustrated and kicked her desk. A skull popped up instantly on the blank screen. It was small, about the size of a child's fist, and bright purple. Blank, black, eyes stared at her, flames and flares of green coming off them. Malice scooted backwards slightly before leaning in closer. She cupped her hand over the mouse and scrolled the cursor over it. The insignia vanished abruptly but was instead replaced with a small message.
'Hello, Malice, I am Wolfe.' it read. 'I come to give you some news that may please or displease you. We will be meeting soon, very soon. Prepare all you may but nothing will prepare you for this more than being yourself. I come from a very... Unique place. One where sun doesn't shine and hearts no longer exist. You can bring them back though... To continue, you will be coming here sooner than later than later than sooner. Bonjour, dear Malice. Sincerely, Wolfe' Malice gasped after finishing the odd message. She skidded backwards in her chair and slammed the laptop shut. Malice sprinted across her room with it tucked in her arms and threw the computer into her closet. She dove into her purple and black striped bed, pulling the covers over her head. The girl then threw them off of herself. She was no wimp, a stupid prank email meant nothing to her. Malice laughed at her momentary fear, scoffing loudly. She slowly returned to a comfortable spot in her bed and closed her eyes blissfully. Malice drifted off into a cal sleep.
But the peaceful feeling did not last long as something began to poke her side.
"Hey there Malice, how are you doing?" a voice asked. Malice turned over and kicked her leg out angrily. The girl did not want to be waken up in the middle of the night for nothing. Her leg was grabbed swiftly before she was swung up in the air. Malice was thrown down to the floor with brutality and vigor. She slowly lifted her head up and glanced back, face dripping scarlet red blood. Thats when she saw, him. Tall, muscular, and adorned with an all black suit. The man's face was covered by a colorful cartoony cat mask which had black gems for eyes and pricked up ears. "it IS you! Oh yes! I get to watch Wolfe eat his words! Alright, come on then. Let's get you home." the man began to cackle maniacally before putting his hand out. Malice hauled herself up and leaned against the side of her bed. Blood dripped slowly out of her nose which had been broken by the man. She stared up at the creature blankly before reaching discreetly under her bed. Malice wrapped her fingers around the butt of a large pistol. She whipped it out and shot blindly. The girl slowly blinked her eyes open to reveal an empty room. Malice clawed her way to the window only to notice that the screen was gone. She peered out of it with wide eyes before passing out onto the ground.
CHAPTER TWO
COUNSELING
Malice was awoken by the sound of a siren blurring through the city. Dry, crusted, blood stuck to her face and was pooled on the floor. Malice Groaned and grunted as she pushed off the floor. With a great deal of effort, Malice prepared for the day ahead. She pulled some clothes over her head and guzzled down a bowl of cheerios. The girl pulled the door to her parents apartment penthouse open and stepped out onto the tile floor. Malice traveled with a bored expression on her face. She plodded about until reaching the damp pavement. New York City unfolded before her with it's huge skyscrapers and mountainous malls. Dry leaves crunched under her feet as she walked to school. It was fall and the leaves were beginning to change color. Malice clomped along, crunching and thumping, until she reached her small middle school. It was sandwiched in between to different strip malls and had few students. A few students approached Malice while others fled. One boy with a broken arm hid in a trashcan. Another student dove into a bush. Malice grinned to herself at the sight, drinking in the fear and pain. A laugh echoed through the crisp air. Malice slowly turned on her heels to see a rather robust girl pointing and laughing at her.
"That's right! Laughing at you, Malice!" she chimed. A boy slapped his hand over the girl's mouth.
"You have a death wish or something?!" he cried. Malice motioned for her friends to join her. The group closed in on the two, daggers in each of their eyes. The small population of people Malice actually accepted knew they were to follow her and kill all that opposed her. Malice led these few people onward, straight at the boisterous girl. Fear slowly appeared in her eyes, clouding them with realization. Malice snapped once, the sign to begin battle. The girl turned to speed away but was caught in the stony grip of a tall African American man. He pushed her toward Malice who intercepted the girl with precision and eagerness.
"Thanks, Rocky." she cooed. The rest of her friends came closer, hoping to watch their master destroy someone completely.
"Kill her, Malice. Kill her." Rocky narrowed his eyes. The girl within Malice's grip struggled intensely but Malice kept her steady.
"I'm just going to... Switchblade me." she held out a hand. An eager girl with short, sandy, hair handed the weapon to her. Malice flicked the weapon open with a laugh and began. She Slowly began to slice at the girls arms and legs, letting blood run on her hands. The girl fainted and Malice snapped once more. Her friends went to work, picking the child up, moving her into an alleyway, and cleaning the trail of blood away. As a final touch, Malice whacked the girl over the head with a plank. She snapped again and the group reassembled outside the school. A loud bell rang through their ears and cut the air like a knife. Malice coolly strode inside, group of muscular sociopaths following her closely. After that, everyone went their separate ways. They rattled their lockers and scurried to their classes while Malice stopped at a drinking fountain. She pressed two fingers against the button, activating a stream of water. Malice pressed her medium sized ruby red lips against the stream and gulped down the tasteless, odorless, nectar. As she turned to walk away she slammed into a large suited man. The colorful cat mask was still on his face, it's gem eyes staring Malice down. He grabbed her arm and swung her up onto his back.
"PIGGY BACK RIDE!" the man yelled. He took off down the hallway, taking down children like a linebacker. Teachers screeched at him as he barreled down the halls. Malice screamed along with them, beating her fists against his back. The man paid no heed to her efforts to stop him and carried on. He skidded to a stop outside her English class and pushed her foreword. Malice's English teacher, Mrs. Holmes, perked her head up and peered at the tall, suited, man behind Malice.
"Can I help you?" she asked, a quizzical expression on her face. the man cackled lowly which let Malice know something was about to happen. Something bad.
"Why yes you can! I need a tissue, can I have one?" the man piped. He bounced lightly on the balls of his feet, rearing with excitement. Mrs. Holmes nodded, unsure of his presence, and handed him a tissue. "Now listen up kiddies! This is how you injure someone with a mere tissue." he winked. The man grabbed Mrs. Holmes throat and began to shove the tissue in her mouth. She made horrible retching noises until the Kleenex was gone.
"did you kill her?!" a boy cried.
"alas, I have not. Pixel does not do such things! I'm just kidding, I do kill people. I'm Malice's best friend, ain't that right? I'm going to watch her for the day and see just how life is with little Malice here." the man chirped. Pixel, as he was called, grabbed Malice and held her hand up.
"Wow, they really must be friends... No one's ever touched Malice before..." someone in the back whispered. Pixel snapped his hand up and pointed at the girl who'd spoken.
"Why yes we are!" He exclaimed. Malice wanted to kill him, to rip him apart limb from limb. But there was something about the obviously crazy man, maybe it was the fact he'd just killed someone or maybe it was because he was kind of like her. Malice couldn't quite comprehend what the reason was, but she liked him. Pixel swung the girl onto his shoulders. "now go forth, mooncalves, and wreck your havoc!" He pumped a muscular fist into the air. The children remained motionless.
"Mrs. Holmes didn't say we could..." the same girl said. Pixel began to cackle, uncontrollably and without pause. Malice understood his reason for laughing. What kind of children would just say no to an opportunity to run wild? Pixel found the argument insane, absolutely crazy. He pointed at the dead body of the class's English teacher.
"Well she's dead now! Go on then, shoo." Pixel said. The children, fearing they'd be killed too, scurried out the door. After the last one ran off, Pixel lowered Malice off his shoulders. He calmly sat down before motioning toward Mrs. Holmes dead body. Malice stared blankly at it, confused. Pixel pushed her off the chair and then motioned again. This time, Malice sat down.
"So..." she trailed off.
"So, here's the deal. I'm Pixel, and I come from... A place. And I'm here to take you to that place." Pixel laughed. He slowly reached a hand out and stroked Malice's face. She didn't respond, at this point, everything was just too much. Malice stared at the two gem eyes on the man's mask as he caressed her cheek. Pixel tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. He withdrew his arm and scoffed.
"Hands off!" Malice growled. She couldn't stand people touching her hair.
"My dear Malice. You are such a deadly little girl. Now come on! I'll be happy to escort you back to your home." he cooed. Malice snarled and growled lowly, anger piercing through her deadly hazel eyes.
"What home? I don't want to go back to those terrible parents. How will I ever make it into the olympics without a horse?!" Malice shouted.
"I promise you two things, one, you'll get something much better than a horse. And two, I'm not taking you to that home." Pixel extended a hand. Malice didn't touch it, she feared the man was some kind of sex offender or rapist. However, his strangely alluring personality stopped her from asking many questions. She simple accepted the fact that he was there, she took his presence without strife. Malice slowly reached her own hand out to him, trembling with fear and excitement. Forgetting all about her previous doubts, she took his hand. Pixel wrapped his thin, cool, fingers around Malice's warm, scarred, hand. Then, he did what he always did. Pixel swung her up onto his back and went shooting down the hall. He again ran over children and hollered happily, glowing with joy. Malice let a small smile grace her lips as the man stepped on twelve year olds. She felt like she was riding a bulldozer, trampling things and squishing them under her feet. Malice had always wanted to ride a bulldozer. That or a tank of some sort. Pixel broke the front door down with ease, interrupting Malice's thoughts. He quickly dashed over to a small hole in the ground and pointed to it.
"Get in." Pixel ordered. Malice stared down at the cavernous hole and raised an eyebrow. She shied away an retreated to the now broken front door. Pixel appeared in front of her and with lighting like speed picked her back up. Malice started to pound violently on his back, seething with rage. She kicked him and punched him but nothing seemed to phase Pixel. The man peered down the hole and nodded to himself. He threw Malice inside it and then jumped in himself.
CHAPTER THREE
DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE, AGAIN.
Malice opened an eye fearfully to reveal a terrible scene. She was hurtling down a hole. But not just any hole. Blood dripped and splattered against the walls, the sounds of chainsaws and screaming woman screeched out from nowhere, and severed body parts hung down from the heavens. A decapitated head, which was tethered to the wall, swung slowly from side to side. Any normal person would have died of fright but Malice was different. She drank in the chaotic beauty of what appeared around her. Bouncing off mounds of dead bodies and smiling at shrunken heads, she was enjoying herself. Pixel was watching from above, a smile on his face. He knew that he'd found the right Malice. Partly because they'd killed all the others and accident and partly because he knew the real Malice. Pixel had been her best childhood friend. He had raised her. And he loved her. Like no other love that could be felt by any other heart. A deep compassion that only those who've gone down the rabbit hole know. He smiled under the huge mask and let out a happy yell. Malice grinned as she tumbled about, laughing and screaming with joy. She loved the gore and the blood like no one else. But her dreamy state of content was soon thwarted by her body slamming against a concrete floor. Splatters of blood dripped onto her and she slowly lifted herself up. Malice found herself in a small concrete room. There was one extremely large door which had a severed head on it. She pointed and laugh, giddy. However, Malice soon realized that she had to get out of the room some way. She was the size of a mouse compared to the door and there was nothing else in the room. That when Malice saw it. Nestled in the head's hair was a silver key. Malice shrugged. She sized up the door and then tackled it. Malice began her struggle as she clawed up the door. Using her long, sharp, acrylic, nails she managed to climb up the door. Malice reached the head with ease and gripped it's ear in one hand. She jumped onto it proudly. However, the ear fell off the head and Malice tumbled back down to where she'd started. Malice placed her hands on her hips and huffed. She kicked the ground in anger, grumbling under her breath. Suddenly, the ear which had fallen began to wriggle. It jumped about, up to the highest parts of the room. Malice grinned widely, she had a plan.
The ear was now flying around the room, bouncing and jumping from place to place. It soared past the door multiple times, giving Malice hope.
"over here!" she yelled. The ear stopped in it's tracks, pausing to float back down to the ground. It turned from one side to the other, as if looking for someone. Malice silently crept up upon it and tackled the chunk of cartilage. It flew into the air and burst through the cement roof of the room. Fragments of rock slammed against Malice and the ear. Blood dripped down Malice's face as she flew through the air. For the first time, she got a good look at where she was. Underneath her lay a place like no other. Rivers of blood and bone swayed in the moonlight, making their grotesque appearance seem almost poetic. Trees with leaves black as the night which surrounded her were swishing slightly in the warm breeze. The scent of sugar and gunpowder drifted through the air, a beautiful aroma to Malice. It seemed as though she was in her own personal wonderland. The gore, the blood, the death. It was all so smooth and glorious to her. As Malice flew through the air, clinging to the giant ear, she felt at peace. Completely content. However, questions still raced through her mind. Where was she? Was she dead? Who was Pixel? What was going on? Why was it her? As she pondered the possible answers to all the inquiries, Malice didn't realize the fact she was hurtling toward the ground. Smartly, she peered down. The impending death of her situation took it's toll. Malice quickly clawed her way up higher on the ear before steadying out in the air. Her descent was slowed slightly and as Malice impacted the ear took most of the damage. Before she could even throw herself off the cartilage, five hulking figures appeared out of the shadows. They seemed huge compared to Malice who was slowly preparing for battle. She reached into her pocket to grab one of her many concealed weapons but the only thing her fingers grasped was the soft fabric of her pocket. Malice began to panic immediately. She was okay with being taken from reality but when someone took her weapons, she had a problem. The first figure slowly reached down for her, a large circular shaped thing was acting as his head. Two points stuck out of it, becoming bigger as they reached the circular mask. Pixel. His hand closed around her torso, trapping everything under Malice's armpits. He lifted the girl up, allowing her to see the rest of the figures. One was a very short midget sized fox. It was black with streaks of blue and green traveling down it's back. Another was a very large spider with stripes of red on his thorax. The third was a fish like creature. It had scales and spikes coming out of it's back. The creature's face was covered by a large black gas mask and his skin was greenish blue with scars every so often. The final figure was by far the most interesting. It was a monumentally large wolf with bright red eyes that cut through the night like a knife. The wolf had alternating stripes of black and purple fur coating it's slim, lean, body. Instantly, Malice knew that was who Pixel had mentioned earlier. This must have been Wolfe.
"Hey Malice! Meet my friends here! The slimy one in the mask is Siren the fox is Slash the spider is Profit. I'm sure you know who the wolf is, right? The wolf is, well... Wolfe. To continue, welcome to Underland. Here, your goriest most deceitfully disgustingly crude fantasies can come true." Pixel cooed.
"What?!" Malice cried. She was as confused as anyone could be in that situation. Only minutes ago she'd been sitting in Mrs. Holmes class with blood under her fingernails. Now, she was in Underland.
"Underland, silly. It's the darker, better, chunk of Wonderland." Pixel remarked. He used a single finger to brush Malice's hair back. Pixel grinned at her tiny form, taking pleasure in her smallness. Malice would have broke his finger in half if she'd been larger. For the first time since she'd met him she wasn't enjoying his presence.
"Wonderland?!" Malice asked, desperate for answers that made a tiny bit of sense.
"Do you live under a rock?! Have you ever heard of the story Alice In Wonderland?!" Profit snarled. Malice drew back from within Pixel's hand. A speaking spider? That made even less sense than all this 'Wonderland' talk.
"Alice In Wonderland?" Malice raised an eyebrow. the group of odd creatures all sighed deeply before they began to grumble and curse at her. At the very back of the crowd, Wolfe stood alone. His coat of fur shone beautifully in the moonlight, much like a dream. Malice figured it probably was a dream. She had no idea what any of the animals were talking about and even less of an idea of what Underland was. As she stared off at Wolfe, he began to move toward the front. The others in the group bowed as he passed, ceasing their put-downs.
"Malice, do you remember anything from when you were very young?" he inquired calmly. A strong head shake came from Malice. "This is your home. You were born here Malice. You are the offspring of two of the most evil spirits in the world, the Queen of Hearts and The Knave of Hearts. Pixel raised you until you were four. We found a real human who looked exactly like you and switched you two. However, the real girl died. Anyway, you came from here, from Underland. And now, you are back."
"Why am I back?!" Malice grumbled. It all did make sense though, everything Wolfe had just said. That was the reason for her odd attraction to Pixel and the reason she had no memory of anything until she was six. Every piece of the puzzle suddenly clicked together. Why she was so cruel, so dark, why she hated her parents, why she was able to conquer easily, her narcissism and selfishness. And also why Underland looked vaguely familiar. It all made sense for the first time ever.
"Because, you have an important job to carry out. But first," Wolfe motioned to Pixel. The man pulled a sword from his suit and bowed down in front of Malice. He set it down near her tiny body before pulling out a small cake. Pixel shoved some into Malice's mouth and then drew it back. The girl chewed it slowly, gradually becoming taller and larger. In only a few seconds she was back to her normal height and size. Malice plucked the sword from his hands to inspect it. An odd dragon like creature was etched into it and some rune writing was also present. She disregarded that for the moment and swung it about. Malice instantly got a feel for it, taking to it with joy. She stopped it right in front of her face before bringing it down. "Defend yourself." Wolfe finished. He and the others disappeared in a puff of smoke. As the smoke resolved it revealed three giant men. One had his face covered by an iron mask and was dressed as a samurai. He was dual wielding two huge swords and had an assortment of throwing stars in his belt. The second was wearing a civil war uniform and was covered from head to toe in guns, ammo, and grenades. The this was by far the most threatening, though. He was hulking, metallic, robot. However, his form had a sickening human sleekness to it. He hand sharp, pointed, fingers and his legs were those of a human. Spikes slowly rose from his skin along with two large guns. They pricked out of his shoulders with a deadly gleam. Malice hunkered down, spacing out her feet, and grinned. She wriggled her fingers at the samurai, cackling. The hulking beast charged forewords, steam puffing out of his mask. It swung the swords around until he got them in sync. Malice waited and waited, silently plotting. At the last second, she slid across the slick ground, straight under the beast. Malice flipped her body around before pushing off. She grabbed the brightly colored kimono under the samurai's armor and clawed her way up it's back. Thinking quickly, the monster let himself fall backwards, hoping to crush Malice. However, the girl was already on his face, drawing her sword across the thin strip of neck which showed through. Malice flipped backwards off the giant samurai and landed on her feet with ease. A bright clapping broke through the night, acting as a signal for the civil war man to take charge. He struck first by throwing a grenade in Malice's direction. She grabbed it and chucked it back at the civil war man. He caught the grenade before hurling it at Malice for a second time. She dove out of the way, heart pulsing. Fragments exploded everywhere slicing at Malice's fleshy skin. Blood bubbled up out of fresh wounds on her body. Ignoring all pain and the fact she could barely hear, Malice pushed off the ground. Bullets showered her as she stood. Malice jumped into the air before extending her right leg. A bullet slammed into her right shoulder and exited elegantly. She didn't have time to scream or whine and simply slammed her foot into his head. The man fell backward onto the ground, Malice clinging to his jacket. She drew her sword back, despite the growing pain, and stabbed it into his eye. Two enemies lay dead, only one remained. Malice clutched her shoulder, expression becoming pained. Another set of claps burst through the air, sending the final one into action. Immediately, the guns began to fire. Malice jumped and weaves her way through the bursts of gunfire. She barely made it behind a tree in time. Malice then charged straight at the futuristic gun man. She jumped into the air, bullets flying past her and swung the sword down. Nothing happened. A loud clunking sound echoed out but nothing else. The armor must have been so tough she couldn't break through it with only a sword. Thinking quickly, she thundered off the beast. It followed in high pursuit, now firing mire bullets. It was a miracle that Malice was able to avoid his attempts. She jumped into the river of blood which swayed before her. The large, mechanical, enemy couldn't stop in time. It fell slowly into the scarlet liquid, just in time for Malice to climb out. The river zapped loudly as her final opposer was defeated. Dripping with blood, she leaned on the sword to steady herself.
Wolfe, Profit, Slash, Siren, and Pixel emerged from behind a desolated tree, those who could clap clapping. Pixel sprinted foreword, plucked Malice up, and set her on his shoulders. She put both arms up in a victorious pose only to slam her hand over the bullet wound.
"No! Malice!" Pixel cried. "are you hurt?!"
"Just a flesh wound..." she croaked.
"This must be good counseling you're much happier now than you were." Profit grumbled.
"I think it's just that... I'm home." Malice shrugged.
CHAPTER THREE
A PLAN
"Looks bad, looks bad." Slash nodded, staring at her shoulder. "Go to my home, go to my home."
"Does he repeat everything he says?" Malice grumbled. Pixel nodded along with Slash before picking the girl up again. He held her softly in his arms and began to run. The others followed closely as he sprinted across a savannah of black and white grass. Malice calmly looked up at the night sky above her. Instead of normal colored stars, they were bright red. Like specks of brown in someones green eyes. The moon itself was purple and black striped, much like Wolfe's back. As the group made progress through the wilderness, more and more trees appeared. Soon, they were in the midst of a thick forest. However, all of the trees were black with bright red, white, or purple trunks. A select few of the were sprouting odd looking blue fruits. Everyone came to an abrupt stop as they reached a hollowed out tree trunk. It was giant, the size of a large house, and had it's own roof. This must've been Slash's home. Pixel kicked the door down and threw Malice at a couch. She landed with a brutal thud, making her head throb. A searing pain cut through her as her shoulder hit the fabric. Pixel, realizing what he'd done, rushed over beside her.
"Malice I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to throw you!" he cried. The apology was so sincere Malice almost slapped him. She'd never really gotten a sincere apology before, it made her stomach churn deeply.
"Bander! In here!" Siren called, clapping twice. A large, tan and dark brown spotted, creature stomped into the room. It had sharp claws and piercing eyes. The beast stared straight at Malice before bowing. He nudged his nose against her arm before nearing her. Malice knew she should have been scared, she should have been terrified, but she wasn't. The animal was very familiar to her and she even reached her hand out to pet it. Soft yet matted fur brushed giants the girl's fingertips, giving her a feeling of comfort. She remembered the texture of it's fur fondly. Malice loved the creature in front of her now very deeply. Just like she loved Pixel and the others. She knew them all deep inside, but for some reason Malice only felt a connection with Pixel. Perhaps it was as Wolfe had said, he had raised her. Maybe the Bandersnatch had helped raise her somehow too, judging by how she felt about him. The beastly dog-like Bandersnatch dragged his tongue across her face. It was wet and sticky, leaving a foul smelling substance behind it. Malice didn't mind though, she scratched behind it's ears and giggled.
"When you two are done he should get to the evaporating!" cried Profit. The angsty spider crawled from the room and disappeared into the shadows. Malice sneered in Profit's general direction and flipped up her middle finger. She moved her gaze back to the Bandersnatch and realized Pixel was now on top of him. He waved ecstatically before hugging the beast. Malice smiled inwardly, she liked the madness of this place. Everyone seemed to be a little bit crazy and that was fun. For the first time since she was five, she felt at home. The Bandersnatch was like a dog, Wolfe was like her father, Siren was like her brother, and Pixel, well, Malice didn't know exactly where he fit in the family. The only two she didn't care much for were Profit and Slash. Slash repeated everything he said at least once and Profit got on Malice's nerves. Bandersnatch slowly nudged the girl's arm before licking it with his sticky tongue. It began to soothe the pain away until the wound was fully healed. The giant dog then curled up in a massive ball and went to sleep. Pixel suddenly jumped down and picked Malice up. He held her above his head proudly before running from the room. Pixel shoved Malice into a chair before seating himself. Of course, his idea of taking a seat was to spread his entire body out over the table and knock everything down. Malice giggled at his insanity. However, in a few seconds he was back off the table. A loud beep came from inside his mask. Instantly, the suit he wore began to deflate. It made a hideous hissing sound before falling to the ground. Pixel stripped it off his body to reveal the thin build of a muscular thirteen year old. His height was the same however his mass had decreased greatly. The cat mask still resided on his head Joyously, it's onyx eyes gleaming. Lanterns hung from the walls, illuminating the room.
"Your young?" Malice raised and eyebrow, staring at Pixel.
"No, I'm 330 days, seven hours, twenty seven minutes, and fifty nine seconds older than you." Pixel boasted. He left the room after that.
"Um... Okay. Have you always lived here? How did you take care of me when you weren't even a year old?" Malice inquired. she drummed her fingers against the wooden table in front of her.
"I was born looking and acting just like this! You see, I'm special. Everyone in Underland is special." Pixel retorted happily. Malice didnt quite know how to respond to his remark, so she remained silent. He marched back over to the table, now wearing a different ensemble. The boy was dressed in a traditional Victorian style outfit, waist coat and all. He'd changed his mask too, now it was a grinning skull mask with the same onyx eyes. It's mouth was stitched and the mask itself was white. The others soon joined them, everyone taking a seat around the table. Even the Bandersnatch came in, sitting obediently next to Malice. She pet his back slowly and scratched behind the beast's ears.
"I want out," Malice began.
"Leave here! You may not! Leave here you may not!" Slash cried.
"Hey! You don't own me..." she sneered, glaring at Slash so violently he backed away. A whimper echoed from the animal's mouth.
"Allow me to explain, Malice. Hundreds of thousands of years ago there was a little girl named Alice. She saw one of our enemies, the White Rabbit, and followed him. Alice fell down the rabbit hole and some events occurred. She left and returned to the world thinking it was all a dream. Years later she came back. Alice caused two very bad things. One, she sent the Queen Of Hearts and the Knave Of Hearts into exile. And two, she slayed the Jabberwocky." Wolfe paused.
"I care about this why?" Malice interrupted. Wolfe growled under his breath and returned.
"Those two gave birth to you. Without them or the Jabberwocky, Wonderland has fallen under rule of the White Queen. In every setting and every environment, there must be a struggle between good and evil, predator and prey, strong and weak, this is textbook stuff, Malice. It's simple. We have a desire to reestablish that necessary bond, to reestablish the Red Queen's rule." Wolfe finished. Malice found it surprising how quite all the creatures had fallen. Even the Bandersnatch was snoring soundlessly. Malice didn't care about what he'd just said though. All she cared about was getting her horse. She dreamed of the day she'd get her own gorgeous mare. People always said she had enough talent to make it in the olympics. Animals seemed to fall at her feet and beg to have her ride them like horses.
"No." Malice shrugged.
"Let me finish Malice." Wolfe snarled. "The way you'll start your new kingdom will be a challenge. What is never mentioned in history books is the lore and legend of... The Jabberwocky's rider. They are people who have hearts of pure evil. The prophecy has foretold you to be the next Jabberwocky rider."
"But it's dead." Malice huffed.
"which is why," the wolf rolled his eyes. "you're going to make a new one. Jabberwocky's are forged from the hands of master alchemists. People who can turn wood to gold and air to silver."
"Why do I have to do it and how am I going to do it?!" Malice shouted. She was fuming with anger. He had the audacity to tell her what she had to do? If Wolfe would just ask she'd be happy to be the most feared and powerful person in Wonderland.
"Because you're supposed to. At one point a girl named Malice, she'll redo what was done by Alice. Traveling alongside a masked man, they'll do what no one else can. A new kingdom will rise to power, in the girl's finest hour. She's definitely not what she seems, towards horses Malice beams. That's the prophecy written about you! And I'm the masked man!" Pixel cried, throwing his arms into the air.
"It's true, Pixel is right. You have to do it because it's been decided. You'll be able to reach your goal. You and Pixel are heading to the White Queen's castle to study and become part of her royal court." Wolfe grinned.
"how will this help?" Malice snapped.
"In the castle is an ancient book, it holds the recipe for a Jabberwocky. Only her court knows where the book is held and only you can take it from her. Your mission, in short, is to pretend to be on her side, get into her court, steal the book, make the Jabberwocky, and destroy the White Queen's kingdom. We can once again take control and rule Wonderland the way it was meant to be ruled."
"Malice, please." her mother began. "understand our position on this, we can't afford a horse right now." the woman put her hands out in front of her like a shield. The girl, Malice, frowned deeply. She drew her hand back to strike her mother but stopped herself. Malice started to laugh in a sinister way, picturing the death and destruction of all that was good. Slowly, she padded across the linoleum tile of her kitchen.
"alright then, you can't afford a pony but you can afford this?" she picked her mothers wedding ring up and held it above the sink. Malice dangled it threateningly above the drain, a crooked grin enveloping her face. Her father put a hand out, trying desperately to stop her. Years ago he had spent thousands of dollars on the diamond encrusted gold circle. Malice knew how much of a source of pain and torture it would be for her parents, that was nearly the only thing holding them together. She cackled demonically and continued to dangle the valuable hunk of gold and stone above her sink.
"Malice please," her mother dropped to her knees. "Don't do this to me please!" she begged, putting her hands together. Malice grinned even wider, getting a sick satisfaction from it all. She loved the begging, the being treated like a goddess. An evil goddess of pain and destruction, one who cares about no one. Malice smiled before putting the ring in her palm. She marched slowly over to her nearly crying mother and opened her hand. Malice's mother looked up at her, tears in her eyes, and smiled gratefully. She reached a shaky hand out for the golden ring, brimming with thankfulness. Malice whipped her body around and threw the ring as hard as she could at the sink. She then bounded over and pressed the garbage disposal button. Her mother burst into tears and her father sprinted from the room. The sadistic child drank her mothers pain up like a camel after a long journey drank water. Malice silently strode from the room, a spring in her step. She was completely satisfied at that point, her revenge had been taken for her parents not buying her a pony. Malice was rotten all the way to the core, there was no love nor was there any feeling of compassion in her heart. She was a sadistic, masochistic, sociopathic, psychopathic, rotten, evil, girl. With no remorse what so ever, Malice pranced to her room. Years ago she had forced her parents to give her her own room which had aroused lots of problems. Her two brothers and two sisters now had to share a room. The girl quickly pulled off a pair of camouflage shorts and a gray tank top before redressing in an all white nightgown. It's lacy embrace held her softly as she danced to her MAC laptop. Malice sweetly pressed her lips upon it to give it a kiss. She opened the polished laptop, pressed the on button, and swooped over to her window. Malice slid it open to reveal New York City's manic lifestyle. Lights blurred and flickered through the screen, creating a beautiful painted feeling. Sounds of the huge city drifted in slowly like music from a gramophone. Malice calmly went back to her computer and sat down in her leather business chair. A light appeared at the bottom of the screen over the mail section. With surprise, she drew her mouse over it. A window snapped up, causing her screen to turn black. Malice began to jab at the screen, worried immensely. She soon became frustrated and kicked her desk. A skull popped up instantly on the blank screen. It was small, about the size of a child's fist, and bright purple. Blank, black, eyes stared at her, flames and flares of green coming off them. Malice scooted backwards slightly before leaning in closer. She cupped her hand over the mouse and scrolled the cursor over it. The insignia vanished abruptly but was instead replaced with a small message.
'Hello, Malice, I am Wolfe.' it read. 'I come to give you some news that may please or displease you. We will be meeting soon, very soon. Prepare all you may but nothing will prepare you for this more than being yourself. I come from a very... Unique place. One where sun doesn't shine and hearts no longer exist. You can bring them back though... To continue, you will be coming here sooner than later than later than sooner. Bonjour, dear Malice. Sincerely, Wolfe' Malice gasped after finishing the odd message. She skidded backwards in her chair and slammed the laptop shut. Malice sprinted across her room with it tucked in her arms and threw the computer into her closet. She dove into her purple and black striped bed, pulling the covers over her head. The girl then threw them off of herself. She was no wimp, a stupid prank email meant nothing to her. Malice laughed at her momentary fear, scoffing loudly. She slowly returned to a comfortable spot in her bed and closed her eyes blissfully. Malice drifted off into a cal sleep.
But the peaceful feeling did not last long as something began to poke her side.
"Hey there Malice, how are you doing?" a voice asked. Malice turned over and kicked her leg out angrily. The girl did not want to be waken up in the middle of the night for nothing. Her leg was grabbed swiftly before she was swung up in the air. Malice was thrown down to the floor with brutality and vigor. She slowly lifted her head up and glanced back, face dripping scarlet red blood. Thats when she saw, him. Tall, muscular, and adorned with an all black suit. The man's face was covered by a colorful cartoony cat mask which had black gems for eyes and pricked up ears. "it IS you! Oh yes! I get to watch Wolfe eat his words! Alright, come on then. Let's get you home." the man began to cackle maniacally before putting his hand out. Malice hauled herself up and leaned against the side of her bed. Blood dripped slowly out of her nose which had been broken by the man. She stared up at the creature blankly before reaching discreetly under her bed. Malice wrapped her fingers around the butt of a large pistol. She whipped it out and shot blindly. The girl slowly blinked her eyes open to reveal an empty room. Malice clawed her way to the window only to notice that the screen was gone. She peered out of it with wide eyes before passing out onto the ground.
CHAPTER TWO
COUNSELING
Malice was awoken by the sound of a siren blurring through the city. Dry, crusted, blood stuck to her face and was pooled on the floor. Malice Groaned and grunted as she pushed off the floor. With a great deal of effort, Malice prepared for the day ahead. She pulled some clothes over her head and guzzled down a bowl of cheerios. The girl pulled the door to her parents apartment penthouse open and stepped out onto the tile floor. Malice traveled with a bored expression on her face. She plodded about until reaching the damp pavement. New York City unfolded before her with it's huge skyscrapers and mountainous malls. Dry leaves crunched under her feet as she walked to school. It was fall and the leaves were beginning to change color. Malice clomped along, crunching and thumping, until she reached her small middle school. It was sandwiched in between to different strip malls and had few students. A few students approached Malice while others fled. One boy with a broken arm hid in a trashcan. Another student dove into a bush. Malice grinned to herself at the sight, drinking in the fear and pain. A laugh echoed through the crisp air. Malice slowly turned on her heels to see a rather robust girl pointing and laughing at her.
"That's right! Laughing at you, Malice!" she chimed. A boy slapped his hand over the girl's mouth.
"You have a death wish or something?!" he cried. Malice motioned for her friends to join her. The group closed in on the two, daggers in each of their eyes. The small population of people Malice actually accepted knew they were to follow her and kill all that opposed her. Malice led these few people onward, straight at the boisterous girl. Fear slowly appeared in her eyes, clouding them with realization. Malice snapped once, the sign to begin battle. The girl turned to speed away but was caught in the stony grip of a tall African American man. He pushed her toward Malice who intercepted the girl with precision and eagerness.
"Thanks, Rocky." she cooed. The rest of her friends came closer, hoping to watch their master destroy someone completely.
"Kill her, Malice. Kill her." Rocky narrowed his eyes. The girl within Malice's grip struggled intensely but Malice kept her steady.
"I'm just going to... Switchblade me." she held out a hand. An eager girl with short, sandy, hair handed the weapon to her. Malice flicked the weapon open with a laugh and began. She Slowly began to slice at the girls arms and legs, letting blood run on her hands. The girl fainted and Malice snapped once more. Her friends went to work, picking the child up, moving her into an alleyway, and cleaning the trail of blood away. As a final touch, Malice whacked the girl over the head with a plank. She snapped again and the group reassembled outside the school. A loud bell rang through their ears and cut the air like a knife. Malice coolly strode inside, group of muscular sociopaths following her closely. After that, everyone went their separate ways. They rattled their lockers and scurried to their classes while Malice stopped at a drinking fountain. She pressed two fingers against the button, activating a stream of water. Malice pressed her medium sized ruby red lips against the stream and gulped down the tasteless, odorless, nectar. As she turned to walk away she slammed into a large suited man. The colorful cat mask was still on his face, it's gem eyes staring Malice down. He grabbed her arm and swung her up onto his back.
"PIGGY BACK RIDE!" the man yelled. He took off down the hallway, taking down children like a linebacker. Teachers screeched at him as he barreled down the halls. Malice screamed along with them, beating her fists against his back. The man paid no heed to her efforts to stop him and carried on. He skidded to a stop outside her English class and pushed her foreword. Malice's English teacher, Mrs. Holmes, perked her head up and peered at the tall, suited, man behind Malice.
"Can I help you?" she asked, a quizzical expression on her face. the man cackled lowly which let Malice know something was about to happen. Something bad.
"Why yes you can! I need a tissue, can I have one?" the man piped. He bounced lightly on the balls of his feet, rearing with excitement. Mrs. Holmes nodded, unsure of his presence, and handed him a tissue. "Now listen up kiddies! This is how you injure someone with a mere tissue." he winked. The man grabbed Mrs. Holmes throat and began to shove the tissue in her mouth. She made horrible retching noises until the Kleenex was gone.
"did you kill her?!" a boy cried.
"alas, I have not. Pixel does not do such things! I'm just kidding, I do kill people. I'm Malice's best friend, ain't that right? I'm going to watch her for the day and see just how life is with little Malice here." the man chirped. Pixel, as he was called, grabbed Malice and held her hand up.
"Wow, they really must be friends... No one's ever touched Malice before..." someone in the back whispered. Pixel snapped his hand up and pointed at the girl who'd spoken.
"Why yes we are!" He exclaimed. Malice wanted to kill him, to rip him apart limb from limb. But there was something about the obviously crazy man, maybe it was the fact he'd just killed someone or maybe it was because he was kind of like her. Malice couldn't quite comprehend what the reason was, but she liked him. Pixel swung the girl onto his shoulders. "now go forth, mooncalves, and wreck your havoc!" He pumped a muscular fist into the air. The children remained motionless.
"Mrs. Holmes didn't say we could..." the same girl said. Pixel began to cackle, uncontrollably and without pause. Malice understood his reason for laughing. What kind of children would just say no to an opportunity to run wild? Pixel found the argument insane, absolutely crazy. He pointed at the dead body of the class's English teacher.
"Well she's dead now! Go on then, shoo." Pixel said. The children, fearing they'd be killed too, scurried out the door. After the last one ran off, Pixel lowered Malice off his shoulders. He calmly sat down before motioning toward Mrs. Holmes dead body. Malice stared blankly at it, confused. Pixel pushed her off the chair and then motioned again. This time, Malice sat down.
"So..." she trailed off.
"So, here's the deal. I'm Pixel, and I come from... A place. And I'm here to take you to that place." Pixel laughed. He slowly reached a hand out and stroked Malice's face. She didn't respond, at this point, everything was just too much. Malice stared at the two gem eyes on the man's mask as he caressed her cheek. Pixel tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. He withdrew his arm and scoffed.
"Hands off!" Malice growled. She couldn't stand people touching her hair.
"My dear Malice. You are such a deadly little girl. Now come on! I'll be happy to escort you back to your home." he cooed. Malice snarled and growled lowly, anger piercing through her deadly hazel eyes.
"What home? I don't want to go back to those terrible parents. How will I ever make it into the olympics without a horse?!" Malice shouted.
"I promise you two things, one, you'll get something much better than a horse. And two, I'm not taking you to that home." Pixel extended a hand. Malice didn't touch it, she feared the man was some kind of sex offender or rapist. However, his strangely alluring personality stopped her from asking many questions. She simple accepted the fact that he was there, she took his presence without strife. Malice slowly reached her own hand out to him, trembling with fear and excitement. Forgetting all about her previous doubts, she took his hand. Pixel wrapped his thin, cool, fingers around Malice's warm, scarred, hand. Then, he did what he always did. Pixel swung her up onto his back and went shooting down the hall. He again ran over children and hollered happily, glowing with joy. Malice let a small smile grace her lips as the man stepped on twelve year olds. She felt like she was riding a bulldozer, trampling things and squishing them under her feet. Malice had always wanted to ride a bulldozer. That or a tank of some sort. Pixel broke the front door down with ease, interrupting Malice's thoughts. He quickly dashed over to a small hole in the ground and pointed to it.
"Get in." Pixel ordered. Malice stared down at the cavernous hole and raised an eyebrow. She shied away an retreated to the now broken front door. Pixel appeared in front of her and with lighting like speed picked her back up. Malice started to pound violently on his back, seething with rage. She kicked him and punched him but nothing seemed to phase Pixel. The man peered down the hole and nodded to himself. He threw Malice inside it and then jumped in himself.
CHAPTER THREE
DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE, AGAIN.
Malice opened an eye fearfully to reveal a terrible scene. She was hurtling down a hole. But not just any hole. Blood dripped and splattered against the walls, the sounds of chainsaws and screaming woman screeched out from nowhere, and severed body parts hung down from the heavens. A decapitated head, which was tethered to the wall, swung slowly from side to side. Any normal person would have died of fright but Malice was different. She drank in the chaotic beauty of what appeared around her. Bouncing off mounds of dead bodies and smiling at shrunken heads, she was enjoying herself. Pixel was watching from above, a smile on his face. He knew that he'd found the right Malice. Partly because they'd killed all the others and accident and partly because he knew the real Malice. Pixel had been her best childhood friend. He had raised her. And he loved her. Like no other love that could be felt by any other heart. A deep compassion that only those who've gone down the rabbit hole know. He smiled under the huge mask and let out a happy yell. Malice grinned as she tumbled about, laughing and screaming with joy. She loved the gore and the blood like no one else. But her dreamy state of content was soon thwarted by her body slamming against a concrete floor. Splatters of blood dripped onto her and she slowly lifted herself up. Malice found herself in a small concrete room. There was one extremely large door which had a severed head on it. She pointed and laugh, giddy. However, Malice soon realized that she had to get out of the room some way. She was the size of a mouse compared to the door and there was nothing else in the room. That when Malice saw it. Nestled in the head's hair was a silver key. Malice shrugged. She sized up the door and then tackled it. Malice began her struggle as she clawed up the door. Using her long, sharp, acrylic, nails she managed to climb up the door. Malice reached the head with ease and gripped it's ear in one hand. She jumped onto it proudly. However, the ear fell off the head and Malice tumbled back down to where she'd started. Malice placed her hands on her hips and huffed. She kicked the ground in anger, grumbling under her breath. Suddenly, the ear which had fallen began to wriggle. It jumped about, up to the highest parts of the room. Malice grinned widely, she had a plan.
The ear was now flying around the room, bouncing and jumping from place to place. It soared past the door multiple times, giving Malice hope.
"over here!" she yelled. The ear stopped in it's tracks, pausing to float back down to the ground. It turned from one side to the other, as if looking for someone. Malice silently crept up upon it and tackled the chunk of cartilage. It flew into the air and burst through the cement roof of the room. Fragments of rock slammed against Malice and the ear. Blood dripped down Malice's face as she flew through the air. For the first time, she got a good look at where she was. Underneath her lay a place like no other. Rivers of blood and bone swayed in the moonlight, making their grotesque appearance seem almost poetic. Trees with leaves black as the night which surrounded her were swishing slightly in the warm breeze. The scent of sugar and gunpowder drifted through the air, a beautiful aroma to Malice. It seemed as though she was in her own personal wonderland. The gore, the blood, the death. It was all so smooth and glorious to her. As Malice flew through the air, clinging to the giant ear, she felt at peace. Completely content. However, questions still raced through her mind. Where was she? Was she dead? Who was Pixel? What was going on? Why was it her? As she pondered the possible answers to all the inquiries, Malice didn't realize the fact she was hurtling toward the ground. Smartly, she peered down. The impending death of her situation took it's toll. Malice quickly clawed her way up higher on the ear before steadying out in the air. Her descent was slowed slightly and as Malice impacted the ear took most of the damage. Before she could even throw herself off the cartilage, five hulking figures appeared out of the shadows. They seemed huge compared to Malice who was slowly preparing for battle. She reached into her pocket to grab one of her many concealed weapons but the only thing her fingers grasped was the soft fabric of her pocket. Malice began to panic immediately. She was okay with being taken from reality but when someone took her weapons, she had a problem. The first figure slowly reached down for her, a large circular shaped thing was acting as his head. Two points stuck out of it, becoming bigger as they reached the circular mask. Pixel. His hand closed around her torso, trapping everything under Malice's armpits. He lifted the girl up, allowing her to see the rest of the figures. One was a very short midget sized fox. It was black with streaks of blue and green traveling down it's back. Another was a very large spider with stripes of red on his thorax. The third was a fish like creature. It had scales and spikes coming out of it's back. The creature's face was covered by a large black gas mask and his skin was greenish blue with scars every so often. The final figure was by far the most interesting. It was a monumentally large wolf with bright red eyes that cut through the night like a knife. The wolf had alternating stripes of black and purple fur coating it's slim, lean, body. Instantly, Malice knew that was who Pixel had mentioned earlier. This must have been Wolfe.
"Hey Malice! Meet my friends here! The slimy one in the mask is Siren the fox is Slash the spider is Profit. I'm sure you know who the wolf is, right? The wolf is, well... Wolfe. To continue, welcome to Underland. Here, your goriest most deceitfully disgustingly crude fantasies can come true." Pixel cooed.
"What?!" Malice cried. She was as confused as anyone could be in that situation. Only minutes ago she'd been sitting in Mrs. Holmes class with blood under her fingernails. Now, she was in Underland.
"Underland, silly. It's the darker, better, chunk of Wonderland." Pixel remarked. He used a single finger to brush Malice's hair back. Pixel grinned at her tiny form, taking pleasure in her smallness. Malice would have broke his finger in half if she'd been larger. For the first time since she'd met him she wasn't enjoying his presence.
"Wonderland?!" Malice asked, desperate for answers that made a tiny bit of sense.
"Do you live under a rock?! Have you ever heard of the story Alice In Wonderland?!" Profit snarled. Malice drew back from within Pixel's hand. A speaking spider? That made even less sense than all this 'Wonderland' talk.
"Alice In Wonderland?" Malice raised an eyebrow. the group of odd creatures all sighed deeply before they began to grumble and curse at her. At the very back of the crowd, Wolfe stood alone. His coat of fur shone beautifully in the moonlight, much like a dream. Malice figured it probably was a dream. She had no idea what any of the animals were talking about and even less of an idea of what Underland was. As she stared off at Wolfe, he began to move toward the front. The others in the group bowed as he passed, ceasing their put-downs.
"Malice, do you remember anything from when you were very young?" he inquired calmly. A strong head shake came from Malice. "This is your home. You were born here Malice. You are the offspring of two of the most evil spirits in the world, the Queen of Hearts and The Knave of Hearts. Pixel raised you until you were four. We found a real human who looked exactly like you and switched you two. However, the real girl died. Anyway, you came from here, from Underland. And now, you are back."
"Why am I back?!" Malice grumbled. It all did make sense though, everything Wolfe had just said. That was the reason for her odd attraction to Pixel and the reason she had no memory of anything until she was six. Every piece of the puzzle suddenly clicked together. Why she was so cruel, so dark, why she hated her parents, why she was able to conquer easily, her narcissism and selfishness. And also why Underland looked vaguely familiar. It all made sense for the first time ever.
"Because, you have an important job to carry out. But first," Wolfe motioned to Pixel. The man pulled a sword from his suit and bowed down in front of Malice. He set it down near her tiny body before pulling out a small cake. Pixel shoved some into Malice's mouth and then drew it back. The girl chewed it slowly, gradually becoming taller and larger. In only a few seconds she was back to her normal height and size. Malice plucked the sword from his hands to inspect it. An odd dragon like creature was etched into it and some rune writing was also present. She disregarded that for the moment and swung it about. Malice instantly got a feel for it, taking to it with joy. She stopped it right in front of her face before bringing it down. "Defend yourself." Wolfe finished. He and the others disappeared in a puff of smoke. As the smoke resolved it revealed three giant men. One had his face covered by an iron mask and was dressed as a samurai. He was dual wielding two huge swords and had an assortment of throwing stars in his belt. The second was wearing a civil war uniform and was covered from head to toe in guns, ammo, and grenades. The this was by far the most threatening, though. He was hulking, metallic, robot. However, his form had a sickening human sleekness to it. He hand sharp, pointed, fingers and his legs were those of a human. Spikes slowly rose from his skin along with two large guns. They pricked out of his shoulders with a deadly gleam. Malice hunkered down, spacing out her feet, and grinned. She wriggled her fingers at the samurai, cackling. The hulking beast charged forewords, steam puffing out of his mask. It swung the swords around until he got them in sync. Malice waited and waited, silently plotting. At the last second, she slid across the slick ground, straight under the beast. Malice flipped her body around before pushing off. She grabbed the brightly colored kimono under the samurai's armor and clawed her way up it's back. Thinking quickly, the monster let himself fall backwards, hoping to crush Malice. However, the girl was already on his face, drawing her sword across the thin strip of neck which showed through. Malice flipped backwards off the giant samurai and landed on her feet with ease. A bright clapping broke through the night, acting as a signal for the civil war man to take charge. He struck first by throwing a grenade in Malice's direction. She grabbed it and chucked it back at the civil war man. He caught the grenade before hurling it at Malice for a second time. She dove out of the way, heart pulsing. Fragments exploded everywhere slicing at Malice's fleshy skin. Blood bubbled up out of fresh wounds on her body. Ignoring all pain and the fact she could barely hear, Malice pushed off the ground. Bullets showered her as she stood. Malice jumped into the air before extending her right leg. A bullet slammed into her right shoulder and exited elegantly. She didn't have time to scream or whine and simply slammed her foot into his head. The man fell backward onto the ground, Malice clinging to his jacket. She drew her sword back, despite the growing pain, and stabbed it into his eye. Two enemies lay dead, only one remained. Malice clutched her shoulder, expression becoming pained. Another set of claps burst through the air, sending the final one into action. Immediately, the guns began to fire. Malice jumped and weaves her way through the bursts of gunfire. She barely made it behind a tree in time. Malice then charged straight at the futuristic gun man. She jumped into the air, bullets flying past her and swung the sword down. Nothing happened. A loud clunking sound echoed out but nothing else. The armor must have been so tough she couldn't break through it with only a sword. Thinking quickly, she thundered off the beast. It followed in high pursuit, now firing mire bullets. It was a miracle that Malice was able to avoid his attempts. She jumped into the river of blood which swayed before her. The large, mechanical, enemy couldn't stop in time. It fell slowly into the scarlet liquid, just in time for Malice to climb out. The river zapped loudly as her final opposer was defeated. Dripping with blood, she leaned on the sword to steady herself.
Wolfe, Profit, Slash, Siren, and Pixel emerged from behind a desolated tree, those who could clap clapping. Pixel sprinted foreword, plucked Malice up, and set her on his shoulders. She put both arms up in a victorious pose only to slam her hand over the bullet wound.
"No! Malice!" Pixel cried. "are you hurt?!"
"Just a flesh wound..." she croaked.
"This must be good counseling you're much happier now than you were." Profit grumbled.
"I think it's just that... I'm home." Malice shrugged.
CHAPTER THREE
A PLAN
"Looks bad, looks bad." Slash nodded, staring at her shoulder. "Go to my home, go to my home."
"Does he repeat everything he says?" Malice grumbled. Pixel nodded along with Slash before picking the girl up again. He held her softly in his arms and began to run. The others followed closely as he sprinted across a savannah of black and white grass. Malice calmly looked up at the night sky above her. Instead of normal colored stars, they were bright red. Like specks of brown in someones green eyes. The moon itself was purple and black striped, much like Wolfe's back. As the group made progress through the wilderness, more and more trees appeared. Soon, they were in the midst of a thick forest. However, all of the trees were black with bright red, white, or purple trunks. A select few of the were sprouting odd looking blue fruits. Everyone came to an abrupt stop as they reached a hollowed out tree trunk. It was giant, the size of a large house, and had it's own roof. This must've been Slash's home. Pixel kicked the door down and threw Malice at a couch. She landed with a brutal thud, making her head throb. A searing pain cut through her as her shoulder hit the fabric. Pixel, realizing what he'd done, rushed over beside her.
"Malice I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to throw you!" he cried. The apology was so sincere Malice almost slapped him. She'd never really gotten a sincere apology before, it made her stomach churn deeply.
"Bander! In here!" Siren called, clapping twice. A large, tan and dark brown spotted, creature stomped into the room. It had sharp claws and piercing eyes. The beast stared straight at Malice before bowing. He nudged his nose against her arm before nearing her. Malice knew she should have been scared, she should have been terrified, but she wasn't. The animal was very familiar to her and she even reached her hand out to pet it. Soft yet matted fur brushed giants the girl's fingertips, giving her a feeling of comfort. She remembered the texture of it's fur fondly. Malice loved the creature in front of her now very deeply. Just like she loved Pixel and the others. She knew them all deep inside, but for some reason Malice only felt a connection with Pixel. Perhaps it was as Wolfe had said, he had raised her. Maybe the Bandersnatch had helped raise her somehow too, judging by how she felt about him. The beastly dog-like Bandersnatch dragged his tongue across her face. It was wet and sticky, leaving a foul smelling substance behind it. Malice didn't mind though, she scratched behind it's ears and giggled.
"When you two are done he should get to the evaporating!" cried Profit. The angsty spider crawled from the room and disappeared into the shadows. Malice sneered in Profit's general direction and flipped up her middle finger. She moved her gaze back to the Bandersnatch and realized Pixel was now on top of him. He waved ecstatically before hugging the beast. Malice smiled inwardly, she liked the madness of this place. Everyone seemed to be a little bit crazy and that was fun. For the first time since she was five, she felt at home. The Bandersnatch was like a dog, Wolfe was like her father, Siren was like her brother, and Pixel, well, Malice didn't know exactly where he fit in the family. The only two she didn't care much for were Profit and Slash. Slash repeated everything he said at least once and Profit got on Malice's nerves. Bandersnatch slowly nudged the girl's arm before licking it with his sticky tongue. It began to soothe the pain away until the wound was fully healed. The giant dog then curled up in a massive ball and went to sleep. Pixel suddenly jumped down and picked Malice up. He held her above his head proudly before running from the room. Pixel shoved Malice into a chair before seating himself. Of course, his idea of taking a seat was to spread his entire body out over the table and knock everything down. Malice giggled at his insanity. However, in a few seconds he was back off the table. A loud beep came from inside his mask. Instantly, the suit he wore began to deflate. It made a hideous hissing sound before falling to the ground. Pixel stripped it off his body to reveal the thin build of a muscular thirteen year old. His height was the same however his mass had decreased greatly. The cat mask still resided on his head Joyously, it's onyx eyes gleaming. Lanterns hung from the walls, illuminating the room.
"Your young?" Malice raised and eyebrow, staring at Pixel.
"No, I'm 330 days, seven hours, twenty seven minutes, and fifty nine seconds older than you." Pixel boasted. He left the room after that.
"Um... Okay. Have you always lived here? How did you take care of me when you weren't even a year old?" Malice inquired. she drummed her fingers against the wooden table in front of her.
"I was born looking and acting just like this! You see, I'm special. Everyone in Underland is special." Pixel retorted happily. Malice didnt quite know how to respond to his remark, so she remained silent. He marched back over to the table, now wearing a different ensemble. The boy was dressed in a traditional Victorian style outfit, waist coat and all. He'd changed his mask too, now it was a grinning skull mask with the same onyx eyes. It's mouth was stitched and the mask itself was white. The others soon joined them, everyone taking a seat around the table. Even the Bandersnatch came in, sitting obediently next to Malice. She pet his back slowly and scratched behind the beast's ears.
"I want out," Malice began.
"Leave here! You may not! Leave here you may not!" Slash cried.
"Hey! You don't own me..." she sneered, glaring at Slash so violently he backed away. A whimper echoed from the animal's mouth.
"Allow me to explain, Malice. Hundreds of thousands of years ago there was a little girl named Alice. She saw one of our enemies, the White Rabbit, and followed him. Alice fell down the rabbit hole and some events occurred. She left and returned to the world thinking it was all a dream. Years later she came back. Alice caused two very bad things. One, she sent the Queen Of Hearts and the Knave Of Hearts into exile. And two, she slayed the Jabberwocky." Wolfe paused.
"I care about this why?" Malice interrupted. Wolfe growled under his breath and returned.
"Those two gave birth to you. Without them or the Jabberwocky, Wonderland has fallen under rule of the White Queen. In every setting and every environment, there must be a struggle between good and evil, predator and prey, strong and weak, this is textbook stuff, Malice. It's simple. We have a desire to reestablish that necessary bond, to reestablish the Red Queen's rule." Wolfe finished. Malice found it surprising how quite all the creatures had fallen. Even the Bandersnatch was snoring soundlessly. Malice didn't care about what he'd just said though. All she cared about was getting her horse. She dreamed of the day she'd get her own gorgeous mare. People always said she had enough talent to make it in the olympics. Animals seemed to fall at her feet and beg to have her ride them like horses.
"No." Malice shrugged.
"Let me finish Malice." Wolfe snarled. "The way you'll start your new kingdom will be a challenge. What is never mentioned in history books is the lore and legend of... The Jabberwocky's rider. They are people who have hearts of pure evil. The prophecy has foretold you to be the next Jabberwocky rider."
"But it's dead." Malice huffed.
"which is why," the wolf rolled his eyes. "you're going to make a new one. Jabberwocky's are forged from the hands of master alchemists. People who can turn wood to gold and air to silver."
"Why do I have to do it and how am I going to do it?!" Malice shouted. She was fuming with anger. He had the audacity to tell her what she had to do? If Wolfe would just ask she'd be happy to be the most feared and powerful person in Wonderland.
"Because you're supposed to. At one point a girl named Malice, she'll redo what was done by Alice. Traveling alongside a masked man, they'll do what no one else can. A new kingdom will rise to power, in the girl's finest hour. She's definitely not what she seems, towards horses Malice beams. That's the prophecy written about you! And I'm the masked man!" Pixel cried, throwing his arms into the air.
"It's true, Pixel is right. You have to do it because it's been decided. You'll be able to reach your goal. You and Pixel are heading to the White Queen's castle to study and become part of her royal court." Wolfe grinned.
"how will this help?" Malice snapped.
"In the castle is an ancient book, it holds the recipe for a Jabberwocky. Only her court knows where the book is held and only you can take it from her. Your mission, in short, is to pretend to be on her side, get into her court, steal the book, make the Jabberwocky, and destroy the White Queen's kingdom. We can once again take control and rule Wonderland the way it was meant to be ruled."
