Alice wandered through sooty streets with lost souls.
Men and a few women, selling wares or themselves. Services or servicing. The most dire of sick or old or young attempting to plead alms from passerby, though if they were fronts for more profitable beggars coercing them was anyone's guess.
Not many beggars here though. They aimed for higher quality areas.
Too rich and the law suddenly cared that you existed. Too poor, like these areas, and even the most faithful or charitable couldn't spare a farthing.
No, the ones aiming for charity had a narrow window finding those with hope for the future but not enough success for callousness towards their fellow man. It was a job in its own way, really.
Not here though.
These were the forgotten streets.
The streets that were not remembered, with people that no one felt comfortable remembering, and situations so dark and hopeless that the victims didn't even attempt to survive them.
The atmosphere felt damp, emotionally. Thick, oppressive, and restricting air flow. A weight of reality looking down upon your entire class, your level of existence, and deciding it was not worth the effort to finish stomping you out.
She walked lightly through these streets.
The feelings were familiar. Nostalgic.
This area was so poor, so lost, so far down the scale of reasonability… That even the sight of a young girl like Alice wasn't enough to motivate the scum drained down here into a casual murder, trafficking, or worse.
In some ways, this was the end of London. The end of civilization, in a small location.
In time, the natural defensive antibodies of society would scour this area clean. Crime would be temporarily devastated, as far more powerful thieves and killers and abusers idly reduced competition from places like this.
Or worse, people wanting to 'help' that would shower these lowest people with funds and food and warmth for a few glorious moments before reality stepped back in. Before the nice people wandered away, uncaring, and the vultures that followed would harvest the new crops.
Places like this, locations where humanity died and the world stopped, they always existed somewhere to some degree.
And, where one world ended, sometimes another one began.
It was the darkest alley, even here in a place that no one dared travel, where light was hesitant to shine. A stain beyond all stains, a location where murder was almost a breath of fresh air.
Alice walked in, worry free, as the individuals hunting her followed closely behind.
They weren't locals, not that Alice was aware of them. They came from far wealthier places, places where individuals were deeply mired in soul crushing debt. Places where the young and youthful were sold to 'escape' their circumstances.
Not from these streets. Not places like this, where poverty had lost meaning.
They had motivation, as they followed a young girl somehow untouched by the world to a degree.
They had goals, as they ignored the decaying social structures around them and walked without fear toward the dark path between buildings.
They had desires, sick as they were, as they internally cackled.
They knew this path, one that led to a dead end. They had hunted prey in this direction before, into this killing zone.
Though… Had it always been this Dark before?
A too thin girl who had barely touched upon womanhood walked into the endtimes alone.
Greedy eyes from scornful sinners turned the corner to follow her.
Unlike Alice, none of the others ever returned.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Alice blinked as the Darkness caved in around her.
And paused.
It felt like a hug.
She hummed. "Curiouser and curiouser."
A flicker of white movement… A memory more than an image…
A young woman followed the white rabbit.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Shadow blinked as something Ou͇̣͎͓͉͍̫t͈͔̯s̠̯i̯̣̫̠d͍e̖̠̯ tried to follow the Darkness into Wonderland.
That… That shouldn't happen.
It was like someone had sat down in a squishy chair, got a glass of wine and a good book, and then decided to take a quick nap inside the light from the table lamp.
Not under the glow, but… Actually submerge themselves within the concept itself. Within the idea of it.
It felt very odd.
A familiar source of Wonder walked easily through Shadow and the Land's Darkness. For it was hers, or it was currently a visitor of hers, and Shadow always loved new friends!
But the O͚u̡̥̞̬̥̠̕͜t̷̴̥̘s̵̳͕̻͖̳̩ͅi̧̙̱̤͙̣̰̱͜d͓͖̱͘ẹ̞̮́r҉̠͔̣̺̺͈ș̻̤̪͓̥̤͘͝ on the other hand…
Well, they just tasted D̪̦͈̺͚e͓͠l̪i̯̪͕̬͕͓̩͠c̬̼͔̞̗͈o̸̹̗̘̮͉u͍̼̣s͎̭̳͕!
Shadow's pink eyes began to rapidly glow.
Gem seemed to sigh, but she kept quiet because she was cool like that.
After all, these crawling
sinners/
intruders/
Snacks were NOT on the list!
C̡̛̼͍̳͉̭̠͇͇͘͜͜r̫̻͈̻̲̞̱̭̮̮͉͍̯̕͟ứ̸͚̣͓͙̹̙̳̤̜͎̬̤́͜ͅͅņ̴̛̰̣̗̣̟̤͉̦̫͎̬̫̰͔́ć̸͓͇̹͇͎̩̫̘̝̗̮͔̫̗̣̘̼̀͡͝h̴̸̯̝͔̗̣̙͕̗͖̬!
.
Uncountable jaws and maws and fanged holes throughout Wonderland couldn't help but S͉m̻͍̖͡i̻͘l̵̼̥̖̝͖̩̮e͙̫̻͙̬͘!
Please! More servings, if you would!
Oh, and the odd Wonder Domain Princess was over there talking to Cat and stuff, which was cool (You do you, Cat), and Shadow felt Gem urging him to go over and say hi and all that stuff…
But for the moment, Shadow was a bit busy. Om nom nom!
Something meaty and screaming was slowly being pulled deeper into Darkness.
Mmm. Memories! Background! Context!
His childlike glee suddenly began to subside… As he grew more familiar with these people. With their actions.
Context indeed.
One by one, odd shaped and mutilated pink eyes began to open from the Darkness.
Not here, not in Wonderland.
But along the Corridor of Darkness that a young girl with nearly no understanding had casually traversed.
Towards the physical world.
Gem would stay here, with the many Shadows that still absently chewed on the infections and damage and cripled memories and such.
She… She didn't need to see this.
Shadow observed the streets of London, 1875.
Unfortunately, for many people, he started in a very neglected street.
One where a girl and the Snacks that followed her had so recently vanished.
Despite the number of flavorful individuals Shadow found…
He was not amused.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Alice couldn't remember the last time she had smiled so wide, or felt so free!
Cat was a sour puss like always. "Please put me down, Alice."
Mangy old cat or no, she knew he was only objecting for his stubborn pride. "Some time later, perhaps." Her fingers carefully touched wounds that only recently seemed to be healing. "Do… Do they hurt?"
And Cat was gone, his casual smile from the nearby ledge wry. "When one's home is destroyed, one should care less about the splinters others suffer and the deadly wounds they gathered instead."
She rolled her eyes. "I would likely say 'yes' then." Her focus was… Unusually powerful today. "Today, I walked from waking to Wonder and I did so as naturally as I would scrub a window. What has happened?"
His amusement faded. "A damaged mind is dangerous, even more so when treatment must be underdone in unsanitary work environments."
The grinning feline didn't frown. "Had fate not shifted, I would have been forced to summon you with great care and a light guiding paw back to this Land. Too much unveiled, too many mysteries unwrapped, and all of Wonderland would have crumbled."
His eyes bore into her own. "All of us would have crumbled."
She felt cold. "I see."
Cat snorted. "I doubt that highly, the senses lie the most to us in the end. Even more than twisted memories can warp facts and betrayal."
He stretched out leisurely on the small ledge. "Thankfully, an impossible place for an impossible young woman attracted an impossible series of coincidences. And a visitor."
Alice tensed. "A visitor?"
Vague memories of filth, of ooze, of sludge… A swinging key, so familiar but forgotten, a taste of soot and fire and…
The Cheshire Cat chuckled, pulling her from her lost thoughts. "Yes, but no."
She didn't clench her jaw.
Yep, that was the Cheshire Cat in summary. "Could you please tell me more?"
The shifting creature nodded as he was elsewhere between every few words. "The visitor doesn't exist, not in the usual or unusual way of things. He was always here, always everywhere, for longer than anything could have been. But he wasn't always here yesterday. Just since today, when Darkness begat Darkness and a Heartless visitor began Devouring infections without Heart."
Alice felt a headache trying to come on. "I see you are up to fine form."
The chuckle came from the rocky walls, the bright green plants somehow a bit shifty as Cat seemed to swell with pride.
Slightly.
His form was still too skeletal, the wounds still a bit too raw… Less smoke and burns and ashes, but still marked by life and the cruel things they endured together.
It felt… Very good, to see him again.
Even if he was uncooperative, stubborn, and willful…
Well, basically a Cat.
Alice focused on her surroundings. And her memories of Wonderland. "It feels…" Less hot. Less oppressive. Less dire. Less overwhelming. Less stressful. Less fruitless. Less stifling. "Less."
The animal gave a nodding grin. "Indeed."
Alice touched something unseen, and heard something unfelt. "I've been… Everything was… It was so hard… The difference between my madness and my mind…"
Words from Darkness seemed to resonate, even though she could not hear them and her mind seemed to miss the process…
"I've been having these weird thoughts lately. Like, is any of this for real? Or not?"
The Cheshire Cat S̡̛͟ḿ͠į̨l̢͏͘e͜d̨͝. "It seems that sometimes, when you have lost everything, even the Darkness can be a guiding light."
Alice huffed, complex concerns and worries fading away as warm frustration and loving annoyance filled her again. "Oh, you're no use. Just… Take me to this so-called visitor."
How was it even POSSIBLE for someone to come to HER Wonderland? This was all in her mind, after all. She was likely in bed right now, after such an odd day of clarity and idle wandering.
The Cat's deep voice chuckled as gravel down a mountain. "Oh, you do not need to look for an Outsider. As I said: He was always here, as of yesterday."
His eyes locked with hers. "Turn to the Darkness, Alice."
His smile grew far too large for his face. "I hope you can dance."
She blinked at the missing animal and the soon to be missing smile. "I'm sorry… What?"
Dim laughter faded away.
Alice felt her shoulders slump.
An old friend or not, clear answers had never been Cat's forte.
She straightened up, strangely optimistic and energetic for some reason. "Well I suppose if I must find my own answers, I may as well embark on my first attempt!"
Now, turn to Darkness…
First: Decipher the clue!
It could be metaphorical, an emotional directive, a suggestion relating towards focusing on parts of her ignored, some sort of riddle or cryptic hint… Something to do with those blurred thoughts or…
She blinked as a shadow to one side suddenly opened a bright, happy pink eyeball.
Only one.
It was the size of her entire body.
They both stared at each other.
Some time passed.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Shadow was giggling inside.
Silly woman! You can't beat a staring contest with Shadow!
He had like, SO MANY eyes! And they were all made with Darkness, so he didn't need to blink or any of that stuff. Plus he was SUPER good at games, Gem said so, and this would be really easy to…
A distant C̸̭̟̝͇͚͚̙̯̬̀r̛͏̵̡͎̗̬̳̳̝͉̰͞u̴̷̡͕̱̱͍̟͇̹̩n͟͡҉̰̪͓͈͈̘̲̩̺͟c̷̨̧̺͈͙̘̻̹̹h̨̘͈̝̙͘͢͢ͅ made him flinch.
.
WHAT!? NO!
His legend! His record! All those years of training! The sacrifices made, the love lost, the friends abandoned! A career ruined in a moment of delicious distraction! WHY!?
Gem gently pointed out that he had never been in a staring contest before, but he was far too gone to handle any input right now.
Would his dreams to reach the olympics forever be a lost impossibility!? Had he crippled his own potential by carelessly dabbling in amature competition instead of diligently dedicating his life to proper routines and cautious muscle maintenance!?
Gem was feeling bemused for some reason, but woe was Shadow! Woe indeed!
Why hadn't the many Shadows exploring this new London location been more considerate of his own concerns and goals!? He was doing something IMPORTANT here!
The Wonder Domain Princess blinked at Shadow's sudden Heartless form that tumbled from the rest of the Darkness, slumped in complete failure and lost to the heavy blow suffered therein.
She hesitantly stepped forward. "H… Hello?"
His tiny form glanced up at her… And gave a weak wave.
Then crumbled down in abject failure.
Gem sighed as she sent a warm pulse patting his back.
She was cool like that.
The young woman blinked. "Right. Why wouldn't my Darkness be a tiny plush doll with bright pink eyes?" She straightened up. "My name is Alice Liddell. What is yours?"
Shadow blinked. Had he forgotten to introduce himself?
How rude of him!
With a sudden pep in his step, the tiny Heartless bounced up to his feet…
And began to get his
GROOVE ON!
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
Alice blinked as the tiny creature with bright pink eyes… Started to break out the rhythm into a very odd dance.
What?
Her eyes followed the tiny thing bump and dump, grind and slide, slip and sloop…
And where was the music coming from!?
Alice glanced to the nearest noises and saw dozens of tiny fanged mouths singing impossible notes. With pink teeth.
That… That was a bit unusual.
Surprisingly not the most disturbing or strange thing she's dreamed of in Wonderland, but it was up there.
Oh, he was going into some sort of final number!
She best focus, it would be rude to not pay attention to… Whatever this was.
From somewhere else entirely, the Cheshire Cat grinned as something very rare indeed appeared within Wonderland.
Alice was very close to smiling.
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
A street with lost souls began to grow even more empty.
Some were carefully cared for, by odd tentacles of Darkness. Moved to houses that suddenly had no owners, given funds from memories that no longer belonged to anyone living.
It was enough.
What little funds they normally survived on had never come from 'official' sources in the first place, and the bounty given to them was clutched tightly as they just accepted anything that was less terrible than the madness of before.
Others were finding odd notes. People who usually tried to help others day to day kept getting anonymous donations and hints and clues about dangerous plots and sneaky plans and former issues that had suddenly been resolved.
It was causing a bit of stir, to be honest. And concern. And rumors.
But for the rest… Well.
A number of people were starting to go missing.
Evidence was being provided that pointed towards other people who may also go missing.
Evidence that was inconvenient to people of power.
Evidence that would soon silently vanish as strong elites discovered uncomfortable things and decided to 'handle' the issue.
To cover things up, to let it slide.
It didn't matter that the scum that worked for them got offed by others of the same lifestyle. Such was life, or likely gang war related death in this case, and any related consequences was for other people. Not those on the top.
For a certain type of individual, it was a bit inconvenient and unfortunate that the hard evidence, manufactured or otherwise, was being so carefully collected and hidden and destroyed.
After all, it was really hard to detect a pattern when numerous people of the underworld began to vanish when all the people involved were paid to not investigate. Or worse, to push their own agendas instead.
To certain people, some minor amounts of filth had just been washed away by the unclean tides of the poor, infirm, and uneducated.
Nothing important. Just find new patsies and underlings, and move on.
This may be why it took so long for anyone to notice the first few powerful and wealthy people vanish.
After all, such individuals normally avoided others by habit. Had certain tastes and proclivities that were not publicly acceptable by the lower class slime they had to wade through. Going into private seclusion to enjoy themselves in a bit of Sin was just part of their routine, really.
Many would do it more often if it was less of a hassle to dispose of the bodies and handle the minutiae of a good evening.
So very few discovered that among the many disappearing people of London's back streets, a number of 'above the world' individuals vanished as well.
People who should never have visited those locations officially, who were visiting for unmentioned reasons for unacceptable purposes and technically 'Were never there' and so on and…
Well, it didn't matter now.
A street with lost souls was growing even more empty. And quiet.
Though if you listened closely, you might hear a soft C̜͈̺̤̻ṟ͞u̡̺̹͕̼̥̬n͚̩̘̰çh͎͉̟͍̹͕͜ḭn̛̟͍̭̳̠ͅg̭.̪̘͓̺̪
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
The Cheshire Cat interrupted the encore. "Time can fly Alice… And yours may fly away. Come, we have things we must do."
She blinked as she turned away from the dozen or so tiny black cuties that were doing some sort of
monster-like dance. "What do you mean?"
She was enjoying this… This whatever it was! She had enough chores and requirements in daily life, her slumber would not be so restricted.
The Cat gave her a wry grin. "There are things to do and places to do them within. While our new visitor may have drastically improved the situation and allowed you to visit far sooner and more literally than any plans called for, some tasks wait for no one."
Alice waved him away. "Well, they can wait for no one then. And I am also busy here enjoying this performance by…" Oh dear, what was his name!? "...This one."
The tiny dancing figures gave thumbs up without missing a beat.
It was truly relaxing.
Cat rolled his eyes. "You can't understand him, can you? Have you even been practicing your interpretive sandwich shuffle or testing your long distance painting marathons?"
She blinked. What?
He sighed. "Little Shadow Ofadam, she must be away. There is an individual, a taint to Wonderland, that she must confront."
Alice paused. That… That did sound important.
The so called Shadow (Wasn't the name a bit too much on the nose? Not that Darkness had a nose.) paused and waved their many arms at the animal.
He shook his head. "No. Too much is at stake. Memories stolen and hurt and dampened and trapped."
Yes. That sounded important indeed.
Especially now that she could think clearly, could feel the significance of this.
Shadow hesitated, looking longingly at Alice and then at the odd performance stage of Darkness he had created with decorative pink fangs and horns and claws.
The Cat sighed. "After Alice faces her inner demon, he will be taken off the 'Do Not Eat' list."
Alice blinked. The what now!?
Shadow froze. They all did. Even shade and Darkness from the surroundings stopped matching up with the materials they followed.
From the corner of her eye, her OWN Shadow suddenly twisted to join the rest.
Staring at the Cat.
Who gave a nod. "Yes, you may eat him. After Alice is done."
And Alice was suddenly being bustled and prodded and gently pushed in a direction while an army of odd tiny black creatures started a conga line dance on either side to guide her! "Oh my! Oh dear!"
She could hear that smug Cat chuckling behind her. "No! Go back to the Cheshire Cat, he hasn't explained anything yet! I don't understand what is going on here!"
What inner demon? What stolen memories?
Something deep inside her whispered.
Flames. A lamp. The screams of Wonderland. The abstract thought of mother and father, burning alive, begging them to escape. Trapped.
Her sister. Lizzie.
So untouched by the smoke and fire.
So still.
And… Something? Something… C̷͞ǫn̨c̨͜͏ea̶lę̀͘d̵…
She fought back the swirling and distracting fragments of memory. "At least tell me where we are going now!"
The nearest Shadow nodded rapidly… And they all began to dance harder!
Oh for goodness sake!
~~~Broken Adventure~~~
While Alice was
led/
dragged/
carried/
move FASTER dang it/
guided off towards an epic fight of self discovery and all that wonderful stuff, the Heartless filling London were feeling far less care free.
All were Shadow, of course. He was busy eating all the Snacks in Wonderland, after all, so it was obvious to send off other versions of himself to do all the busy work while he focused on the important part of the nom.
Had… Had life always been this hard for people?
The memories from the Darkness had been horrible stuff too, but most of it came from hard people in hard lives, from bloody battles and frantic crime fighting.
Not this… This passive decay and sadness and despair.
It felt heavy.
Shadow was also running into some issues. The duality of man as it were.
Men who did horrible acts against women, young boys, young girls, and even creatures and pets… Then happily wandered away home to be picture perfect people. With loving families and a pure faith and a kind smile.
Over and over again.
The pure filth, the slime that hurt others… Easy to handle. Delicious too!
These though?
More and more Shadows were testing things.
Trying to only chew the Darkness, like how they had saved No-Face.
But… That only worked if the person themself wasn't the SOURCE of the corruption. It wasn't them being tainted by Darkness, but their own skill and effort as they twisted pure Darkness into this sludge.
The memories didn't help clear things up either.
Many of these men (And a few women, but the casual sexism and abuse made them a far more rare issue apparently) had power.
Political power. Money. Social manipulation skills.
The law bent before them. Culture danced to their tune. Society accepted their whims as fate.
As a Shadow watched a man who was a leader of faith for his Church preparing to rape… Well.
C̝͇̲͢͢͠r̡̛̞͘u̙̗̤͠n҉̷͎̰̭̀c͔̳͈̠̺͍͘h̲͕.
A small shop owner who crippled people trapped in his basement for thrills.
C̬̟̥̟̱͙͉͉͟r̳̭̗̘u̴̗͚͚̼̬͔̬͉͍͞n̷̫̜̖͎͉͈̘͠c̤̺͓̜̗̘̼h͜҉̢̯̣̱̰ͅ.
This one collected fingers. That one stabbed strangers. These people just loved beating others, of any age or relation. Those few collected the victims of the other crimes and ensured they vanished, family included, if they risked exposing any powerful clients.
C̷͉̻̞̲͓͢r҉̼̝͎̲͚ù̥̹̥͔̖̻ņ̪̖̣̖̮̳̟̖͡c͓̬͇͖̜̻h̛͖̣̻
Shadow ignored the thieves. The low level abuse, which was actually considered romantic apparently. The casual insults and all the light stuff.
But even so, more and more people began to vanish from this corrupted segment of London.
He grew more cautious. All the Shadows did.
They would taste the Darkness within each delicious Snack, nibble at the Sin.
Hoping that there was some cause. Some sort of external force manipulating such terrible acts.
In a few cases, there were!
A few poor people struggling to survive, those being coerced or blackmailed or influenced.
Each one saved caused Shadow to feel a small warm pulse as he gnawed away the tainted Darkness that sludged each Heart.
But in far, FAR too many cases… The memories were worse than the acts being caught.
People in cages. Crippled. Abused.
Murder. Rape. Slaughter in the worst cases.
Incest, multiple generations deep, kept in breeding cells like prisons with killed decendents when they got 'too old' or had issues.
More and more people were being saved. Entire homes being 'donated' by very wealthy people who 'went off on extended holiday' and arranged expensive care to be granted, medical professionals acquired, and so on and so forth.
But the memories showed more that had been forgotten.
Well.
Not any longer.
It should be much simpler for consequences and evidence to see the light of day now that so many people have suddenly vanished away. So many crooked fingers gone, twisted grins missing, shady deals unwrot.
Thankfully, the farther away from this cancerous sore of London, the fewer people suddenly vanished.
Partially because sickness like this seems to search out friends and fellow conspirators, so it had gathered together like slime in a drain… But also because Shadow was getting tired.
All of them.
The ones who had seen the worst… The most vile situations…
Their eyes were flickering slightly. Maybe a tad less pink. A bit more yellow.
But not the innocent yellow of younger days.
More an insidious, poisonous yellow.
One of the consumed memories, from a fine upstanding wealthy gentleman who enjoyed forcing near dead animals to fight or starve, felt most poignant.
Just a small poem a monster had read and mocked with his friends.
{
By numbers here from shame or censure free… All crimes are safe, but hated poverty. This, only this, the rigid law pursues… This, only this, provokes the snarling muse.}
The Heartless with a Heart felt soiled by the world.
He felt the world was broken.
The temptation of familiar Apathy. The taint of beloved Hunger.
A flicker of yellow eyes.
And they all froze. Motionless.
A pink pulse of care. Of concern.
Right. They had Gem.
They had warm hugs and her support.
He didn't need to C̷҉̧̼͇ò͏̙̣̝͍̪̼ͅn҉̛̮̗̬̠̱͓̯͞ͅs̵̻̩͟͢ư̸͖̠̠̺͢m̶͕̗͓̙e̛͈̯ everything.
Just… Focus. Do what can be done right now.
Worry about the bigger issues later.
A sea of pink eyes fused with shadow throughout London,
And on a level unheard by ears and unfelt by humans, pink fangs in unseen spots began to G̺n̪͈̮̮̼̮̰͘a̠̪̹w̨͈̯̮̬̘̘͜ on the ambient clouds of D̺̜̙̟̣̘e̟̦͖̰̱s̯͔̗̞p̜͍͇̞a͚̤̹͖̟̳i̯̤̭͈͍̮r͇̬̞̠̙̟̱, C̹̟̼̣͉̭̫or̞̞̞͚͇̘̳ṟu̳͉͙̮̲͕͈p͍̺̳̬̩t͔̦i̺̳͔̖̮͍o̼̩̬̪̝̭ͅn̙̫͍̺̬̯̰, and A͈͍̮̟͖r̠̞r̖̖̮͕̫͙o͎̖̗̳̞̳̻g͚̻a͚̼̖̪̪̳̣n̟̮͇̝͎̝͖̯̤c͕͓̺̻e̖̲̙̲̺͎̣͎͔.
It would take time to affect the mentality of a city this way, but that was acceptable.
Change had to start somewhere, after all.
Without words, the other Shadows agreed.
That tonight, and for the nights going forward…
Certain acts were not to be tolerated.
Eyes were watching now.
People may no longer vanish as often… But a suddenly saved and shifted victim being taken away from their abuser while powerful people suddenly lost a few fingers or toes?
Well, it should make an impression.
