***

Lay sulked a bit as he wandered the forest, though he made sure to keep a lookout in case he spotted Jae. 

“Can you believe them? Treating me like some lost baby,” he pouted as he spoke to Tokki Tuzi. “I’m one of the eldest in the pack, you know,” he still grumbled, carefully walking up a slope that was riddled with boulders and roots from ancient trees. 

“I mean, I understand that I come over as being a bit blank, but that doesn’t mean I’m stupid- I know, I know, I’m sure that’s not what they mean either…Wait, aiyah, what am I doing?” Lay paused to shake his head and heaved a deep sigh. “I’m talking to a toy bunny!” he muttered, feeling slightly embarrassed. Maybe his brothers did have a point to be worried about him… 

“Ah, it’s okay, Lay. Just find Jae-yah and apologize later. They meant well, after all,” he nodded to himself, maneuvering over the unsteady ground. He carefully slid down the slope again, thinking that he managed decently. On firmer ground, Lay looked around and suddenly felt goosebumps ripple over his skin. 

His instincts kicked in when he smelled the sweet scent of jasmine floating gently in the air. “Jae-yah?” 

Lay scanned the area and jumped on top of a fallen tree branch to overlook the area. His head turned sharply when he heard a noise and thought for sure he saw something flash by amongst the trees. Without hesitating, Lay immediately followed. 

“Jae-yah?” he called out, hoping to find the girl, but instead, saw something flash by again. He ran after it, as fast as he could, only to suddenly stumble upon a clearing in the middle of the woods, a place which he had never seen before. 

“Omo, what’s this?” he mumbled, stepping carefully forward. “Jae-yah? Are you here? Everyone is looking for you, you know, come out, come out!” he called, but there came no response. 

Lay took a deep breath and walked towards the clearing, blinking his eyes as he took in the new environment. He thought for sure he had smelled Jae’s scent, but where was she? What was it that he saw? As he was still looking around, Lay bumped up against something and he turned around, lightly startled. He frowned at a most peculiar,  strange tree that had thin, wiry branches and oval-shaped fruit hanging from them. Eggs? Lay thought to himself. 

Driven by curiosity, he stepped closer towards it, reaching out towards one of the eggs to inspect it. He let his fingers slide over one of the eggs and carefully plucked it to get a closer look. He figured he could heal it later, though he had never seen a tree like this one before. 

“Oh, boy…You really shouldn’t have done that, tuo,” a small voice suddenly sounded, startling Lay. In response, he dropped the egg he had been holding and it fell on the ground. As he turned around to see where the voice was coming from, he didn’t notice how the egg that he had dropped sank into the earth beneath him. 

“H-hello?” Lay called out, but saw no one. The forest was eerily still at this point and Lay felt it. Something was wrong. He shook his head. “I should go back,” he decided, but as he took a step forward, the earth underneath him crumbled and faded away. 

Before Lay even realized what was going on, he disappeared into a black hole, the light disappearing from sight. 

Curioser and curioser…

Beware the Jabberwocky, my son…

How peculiar, how strange…

The Red Queen won’t like this…

An echo of voices rang through the air, and Lay slowly blinked his eyes open. His mind was still a daze, when from the chaos of all voices, they suddenly said as one: 

Retrieve the White Queen, or nevermore shall she be seen!

“W-what?” Lay mumbled, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as his sight sharpened and he took in the new environment. He saw that he was very much still in the forest, but something seemed different. The strange tree that sprouted eggs was gone, as was the clearing. The trees were bigger and taller here, weirder, too. The ground was soft as it was covered by a blanket of moss and grass, but Lay didn’t understand why there was a door right in front of him. 

“Aiyah, Lay…” he shook his head, rubbing his temple. “You really fell hard.” 

“Ha! Harder than you know, tuo!” a small voice called again, and this startled the teen. 

“Yah! Who’s there?!” he called out, quickly getting to his feet. 

The voice sighed in exasperation. “I told you that you shouldn’t have plucked the tree, tuo,” it spoke. “But did you listen? Of course not!” 

Lay frowned as he tried to determine where the voice came from, and it started to frighten him that he couldn’t see anyone. His survival instincts kicking in, he decided it would be best if he changed into a wolf. He took a deep breath and prepared for the transformation, shutting his eyes. However, when he opened them again, his point of view hadn’t changed. Lay’s heart raced when he looked down on his human limbs and he started to panic. Why can’t I change?!

“New world, new rules, tuo! Your magic won’t work here, but other magic will,” the tiny voice spoke, followed by a light giggle. 

“Hey, where are you? Who are you? Why are you hiding from me?” Lay called out, distraught at the things the little voice was telling him. 

“Questions, questions! So many questions! All of this confusion while the answer is right under your nose, tuo!” the little voice chirped in derision. 

Lay blinked and looked around, expecting to see the answer appearing in front of him. Instead, all he saw was the strange door that didn’t appear to have a function. “I…I don’t see you,” he said carefully. 

“Lower your gaze, tuo!” the voice said again in derision and this surprised him. Lay lowered his gaze and jumped back the moment he did so. He blinked his eyes rapidly, even rubbing them to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. 

“T-Tokki Tuzi?” he asked in a whisper, examining the white rabbit, which he had previously assumed was only a toy and nearly sank through his knees. 

“Yeah, about that, we should consider getting our heads together to come up with another name, tuo,” the plushie spoke, approaching him easily, though Lay still stepped back. “What are you still standing around for, tuo? Pick me up, already! You’re late!” the bunny demanded but Lay was still dazed. How? What? Why? He didn’t understand what was happening and still looked around just to make sure that no one was pranking him. Maybe it was Luhan controlling the toy, maybe the beagle brothers were up to this.

“Yah! Will you hurry, already? I said that you’re late! Doesn’t that mean anything to you, tuo?” Tokki Tuzi said, starting to climb up his pant leg. 

“Oh? B-but, I don’t understand,” Lay said, rubbing his head. “What am I late for?” 

The white rabbit shook its head and still attempted to climb up. When Lay realized what the creature tried to do, he gently picked him up and Tokki Tuzi made himself comfortable from there to move to his shoulder. 

“Tea time,” the bunny replied with a bite and then smacked him with a fluffy paw. “What do you think, tuo?!” 

“Tea time?” Lay repeated in confusion. “I don’t have time for tea! I have to find Jae-yah!” he protested. 

“You don’t understand sarcasm much, do you, tuo?” the white bunny scolded him and patted his cheek, pointing to the door. “Why do you think I keep telling you that you’re late? Hurry up! Go through the door, tuo!” 

“Oh? But- wait. What’s through the door? Is Jae-yah there? And, why do you keep calling me tuo?” Lay asked, but the bunny had no time for this. He pulled on Lay’s ear. 

“You. Are. Late! Go, tuo!” Tokki Tuzi scolded, and Lay finally obliged. Though he understood very little on what was going on at the moment, he steadily approached the door. It was just that, a door smack in the middle of a forest. He wasn’t even sure how it was able to hold itself up. Lay inspected it, but didn’t understand how it would make a difference if he stepped through it, or simply walked around it, since it didn’t seem to lead to anywhere. 

“Open the door already, tuo!” the bunny hopped impatiently on his shoulder and Lay blinked. 

“O-okay,” he grabbed the doorknob, but jumped back once more when he heard someone protest loudly. 

“OW! Who dares disrupt my peaceful sleep?!” a voice said and Lay’s eyes widened when he caught sight of a pair of eyes above the doorknob he had just twisted. The keyhole - its mouth - widened into a yawn before the doorknob glared at Lay and the boy could do little else but bow sincerely and apologize. 

“I’m sorry, Doorknob-nim! I-I didn’t know you where there,” he muttered, flustered. What’s going on? 

The doorknob gave Lay and the white bunny on his shoulder a lazy glare. “Ohhh, it’s you,” he yawned, rolling his eyes. 

“You know each other?” Lay asked Tokki Tuzi, who shook his head and facepalmed himself. 

“Endlessly witless and unassuming as usual, aren’t you?” The doorknob commented dryly before yawning again. “You know the drill,” he mused before falling back asleep. 

“Huh?” Lay exclaimed, looking at the white rabbit. “What just- eh?” 

“Will you wake up already? Look behind you, tuo!” Tokki Tuzi pointed behind him and when Lay turned around he saw a table that hadn’t been there before, along with a small bottle that fit nicely between his thumb and index finger. 

He squinted his eyes. “Drink me?” he questioned. “This seems very familiar…” he mused in suspicion, but was not allowed to ponder about it any further, as Tokki Tuzi tugged on his hair. 

“Drink it! How often do I have to tell you that you’re late, tuo?!” he said impatiently. Lay frowned in response. 

“You know, instead of telling me that I’m late, maybe you could try and explain to me what’s going on! Where are we? Who are you? What is all of this?” he retorted. 

“No time!” Tokki Tuzi exclaimed in frustration. 

“Retrieve the White Queen,” the doorknob suddenly interrupted, mumbling in his sleep. “Or nevermore shall she be seen…” 

Lay gasped softly as he heard those familiar words. “Wait! Are you talking about Jae-yah? Is she here?” he asked in concern, but the doorknob had already fallen back asleep. 

“Drink it, tuo,” Tokki Tuzi gestured at the tiny bottle in his hand. Lay looked at the drink and took a deep breath. 

“Well, I guess I’ll have to…” he looked at the white bunny, who had a vile of his own in his paws. “Ganbei,” he said before putting the bottle to his lips. 

It happened fast, though he wasn’t sure what had exactly happened. It started with a tingle in his fingers that spread out through his entire body. The jolts tickled his stomach and trailed his skin with goosebumps. By the time Lay had looked at his surrounding again, he dropped the bottle. 

His mouth agape, Lay saw how the trees had become taller, the sky further away and the door from before, towered over him like a skyscraper. He would have most likely freaked out on the spot, if it weren’t for Tokki Tuzi, tugging at him to keep him focused. 

“Hurry, tuo!” the white bunny warned him, jumping from his shoulders to get to a very narrow door that was etched in the bigger one. Had he shrunk? Or did the world become bigger? 

Lay felt around for his backpack straps, but noticed that his shoulders were bare. Well, perhaps that wasn’t entirely true. His regular clothes made way for a shiny, powder blue jacket and black pants. He briefly touched the black tank top and inspected the shiny black shoes on his feet. When Lay felt his hair, it seemed different, too.

“Hey, what the- oh? Tokki-nim?!” Lay quickly ran after the bunny when he saw him run off through the tiny door. Expecting to simply end up on the other side of it, Lay was completely taken aback when the forest had changed drastically. He looked up at trees made of silver and gold, of strange flowers with colorful faces and toadstools that were so high he could hardly see where they ended. Believing all of this to be some strange dream, Lay closed his eyes and tried to find a happy place in hopes that he would wake up soon. 

Instead, the boy found only Tokki Tuzi, tugging at his pant leg again. “You don’t have time, tuo,” he repeated, though this time, his voice was more gentle. The white bunny reached his paws towards Lay who picked him up whilst wearing a frown on his face. 

“This is all rather fantastical,” Lay murmured as he walked through the strange forest that he was sure he had seen before, once upon a dream. 

“Curioser and curioser, wouldn’t you say, tuo?” the bunny mused. 

Lay caught sight of a butterfly whose wings were made of golden pieces of toast and he nodded meekly. “I guess that’s a good way of saying it,” he murmured, rubbing his head to make sure that he wasn’t injured. 

“You don’t have a lot of time, tuo,” the bunny rabbit whispered into his ear, his thin whiskers tickling his skin so that it made Lay jolt. His neck had always been sensitive that way. 

“You keep telling me that, Tokki-nim, but I don’t understand what all the rushing is for? Is Jae-yah in trouble? Is that why I have to hurry?” Lay asked, carefully stepping over a bunch of sleeping flowers. It was a shame he didn’t have his phone with him. His brothers would never believe him when he told them about this place. 

Even the sky isn’t entirely right. Is this really a different kind of magical world? Lay looked at his hands. He still couldn’t change into a wolf. Did this mean that he couldn’t heal here either?

“Look around you, tuo,” Tokki Tuzi said and Lay complied. “Anything seem out of place?” 

Lay lifted his eyebrow at this. “Is that a trick question, Tokki-nim?” he retorted dryly. 

The bunny heaved a sigh. “It’s too quiet, tuo,” he said with a squeaky voice that was filled with frustration. “You may not understand much now, and by the blank look on your face I doubt you’ll be able to understand a whole lot more later-,”

“Hey!” Lay interrupted in protest. 

“But it’s important you find the White Queen. It’s a dangerous place you’ve entered. A place where nothing makes sense, where up is down and down is sideways and if you don’t watch your step you’ll be walking back instead of forward. This place is made for madness and chaos, where danger lurks around every corner,” Tokki Tuzi regaled, sending shivers up to Lay’s spine. 

“Then why did you bring me here if it’s so dangerous?” he whined in reply, rubbing his arms. “Where is ‘here’ anyway?” Lay asked, suddenly started to become worried that if he really did end up lost in a different world while looking for Jae, his brothers would never let him hear the end of it. He could already hear the beagle line giving him grief over it, could see the maknaes smirking at him. 

Aiyah, Lay-sshi, why do you always bring yourself into trouble? 

“You forgot, tuo?” Tokki Tuzi suddenly asked. 

“Forgot what?” Lay asked, sincerely concerned as he patted his pockets. 

The white bunny shook his head ruefully. “Your thoughts are so deep even you can’t reach all of them, can you, tuo?” he sighed. “This is Underland, of course! Ruled by the dreaded Red Queen! Where else could this place be, tuo?” 

“Wonderland?” Lay repeated rather absently as he scanned the area and came to a stop in front of a most ambiguous sign. He squinted his eyes as he read the names of the directions the fingers and arrows were pointing at. 

“Wonderland,” he mused again, though it didn’t ring a bell. “Wait, Tokki-nim, how is it possible to reach the same destination by different roads? Look, “Red Palace” is left, but “Red Palace” is also right? Are there two Red Palaces?” he asked out loud, his mind drifting off as he pondered about it. “Where is Jae-yah? Is she at the Red Palace?” 

“Well, at least you’re focused, tuo,” Tokki Tuzi remarked, rolling his eyes. “Sort of.”

Lay was interrupted in his thoughts when the wind picked up and carried with it a faint laughter that grew louder as the wind blew harder. The youth looked up at the sky, at the canopy of leaves, and perked up his ears when he realized that he recognized the laughter. 

“My, my, it seems like you’re standing in front of a dilemma, little one,” a purring voice stated, laughter ringing in the air. 

Lay jumped up and looked around in excitement. Had he not fallen into this strange world by himself after all? 

“Chen? Chen-ah, is that you?” he called out, noticing a strange figure sitting high upon a branch, a cat’s tail flickering from side to side. 

“Is it me? I wouldn’t know. Who is Chen, who is ah, who is you? I simply don’t have a clue,” the figure in the branch sang, warm, playful laughter ringing in the air. Lay, however, gasped softly to himself when he saw the figure turn around to reveal his face and Lay was unsure whether to laugh or not. 

There, dressed in a furry cat suit, including the ears, sat Chen, grinning widely at him. Even though everything about the person/cat?- Lay wasn’t even sure - shouted at him that this was Chen, a big part also said that it wasn’t. 

“You…you’re not Chen,” Lay stated rather than asked, stepping back when the cat stretched and bounced from the tree to land neatly on the ground. He brushed the side of his head with a big furry paw, the grin still plastered widely on his face. 

“Naturally,” he pointed out, approaching Lay. “I am the Chenshire Cat, of course! This I can say with utmost confidence. But who,” he purred, coiling his tail around Lay’s waist, “are you?” 

“I’m- I’m Lay,” Lay stammered, trying to escape from the Chenshire Cat’s frisky tail. 

“No, you’re not,” the Chenshire Cat prompted, poking Lay in the belly with his tail. He stared long and hard at the nervous teen now, up to the point that Lay could feel his whiskers tickle his face and smell the fish off his breath. Chenshire Cat started laughing loudly again, clapping his soft paws together as he figured something out. 

“Alayce!” Chenshire Cat exclaimed, purring in excitement. “Yes, that seems right! Alayce! You’ve returned!” Chenshire Cat cooed, pinching Lay’s cheeks. 

“Who’s Alayce?” Lay asked through squashed cheeks at Tokki Tuzi who only facepalmed himself. 

“We don’t have time for this, Cat!” the bunny scolded. “He has to find the White Queen!” 

Chenshire Cat gasped at this and finally released Lay. “The White Queen! How naughty,” the cat purred, his ear twitching, as the grin on his face grew. “How perilous and brave! Did you know she awaits for her knight as White as she, Alayce? In the place so red, so dreadfully red, the bloody Red Queen doth reign!” Chenshire Cat laughed his signature laughter but nothing he said made sense to Lay. 

Upon seeing the lost expression on the youth’s face, the Chenshire Cat smirked in mirth. “You’ve no idea where to look even though I just told you the answer,” he tsked, climbing back up into a nearby tree, floating easily up to a branch. 

“You know where I need to go?” asked Lay then, trying his best to keep up. 

“It’s that way,” Chenshire Cat pointed lazily towards the left with his tail, where the path led deeper into the forest. 

“Oh…thank you, Cat-nim,” Lay said with a bow. 

“Hurry, tuo,” said Tokki Tuzi. 

“Yes, I know, I know,” Lay mused, starting to walk.

“Keep your head, don’t lose it now,” Chenshire Cat purred before laughing again. Lay paused in his step and turned around to look at the cat, but all it did was wink at him. Lay nodded and with a tentative smile he turned back around to continue his journey. He didn’t hear that the Chenshire Cat still laughed to himself, slowly disappearing into thin air. 

“Oh my, I sent him left but was I right? Was I wrong? No, it was right,” a bright grin lingered in the air before the Chenshire Cat had vanished in full. 

“So I have to find Jae-yah in the Red Palace, right? That’s what Chenshire-nim told me…” Lay mused with Tokki Tuzi still perched on his shoulder. “What about this Red Queen he mentioned? Who is she?” he asked curiously, watching the white bunny rabbit. 

“The Red Queen is the ruler of this world. She’s known as the Queen of Hearts, and if you walk any slower she’ll know that you’re here and have both our heads, tuo!” the bunny thumped his foot impatiently on Lay. “You want to find the White Queen, don’t you, tuo?”

“Of course I do,” Lay told the bunny, pouting his lips a little as though the question alone had insulted him. 

“Well, you’ll need your head to look for her, so get going, tuo!” 

“You know, Tokki-nim, you should learn to relax and unwind, you’re too stressed. I don’t know much about toy bunnies, but I’m sure this isn’t healthy,” he said, moving to want to heal the little guy until he remembered that he couldn’t use his magic. Not here. Not in Wonderland. 

“Can I ask you something else, Tokki-nim?” Lay then wondered as they moved deeper into the forest. 

“What is it, tuo?” the creature asked, adjusting his green hat. 

“Why did Chenshire-nim call me Alayce? I told him that my name is Lay,” he questioned, looking into the distance as he pondered on it himself. 

“Is it, tuo? You’ve always been forgetful, haven’t you? Always in a daze, tuo,” Tokki Tuzzi mused, petting Lay’s cheek.

“I don’t see how that makes sense, Tokki-nim,” answered Lay. “Why would he call me-,” 

“Alayce? Is that you?” A loud voice, laced with a lisp, sounded. Lay felt his jaw drop to the floor again when he saw a large table set in the woods, decked with an array of teacups and teapots, tea trays and high-tea biscuits of all shapes and sizes. A peculiar clock stood behind the table, but the hands stood still at six o’clock. At the table, Lay saw to his surprise, a sleeping Xiumin, wearing mouse ears and donning a set of whiskers. Even though he couldn’t see it, he was sure that there was a mouse tail coming out of his hyung’s too. In addition, a teapot sat upon Xiumin’s head, but that did not seem to bother him. 

Lay took an instinctive step back upon seeing a ‘rabbid’-looking Kai, a set of wild, furry hare ears atop his head, a mad look in his eyes. He grinned maniacally, whilst holding a broken teacup in his trembling hands. Even though he looked so much like his younger brother, Lay could tell that this was most definitely not Kai- and if he was, I’d still find him scary…Xiumin-hyung looks cute though…

“Alayce! It really is you! Returned from the dead at last! Took you long enough, we’ve only been waiting since forever!” A young man with fiery red hair and odd eyes - one brown and one green - approached him with open arms. Even though the mad grin on his face gave him shivers, Lay couldn’t keep his eyes off the exceptional top hat Sehun wore. 

“Oh no, not them…” Tokki Tuzi murmured, jumping away in time when Sehun, who wasn’t really Sehun, enveloped Lay in a tight embrace, even going so far to lift him from the ground and spin him around.  

“Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!” the strange Sehun said, quickly putting Lay back down and straightening his clothes. “So, have you found out why flowers weep when it rains? You have the answer now, don’t you? Don’t play around, we don’t have time,” Sehun said, while Kai nodded maniacally behind him. 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah!” the youth said, but Lay had run out of words. Why did they look so crazed?

“Hm…he doesn’t, hrm, know…” Xiumin mumbled, though his eyes never opened and he was still slouched over the table. 

As Lay was trying to figure out what he meant, Sehun had already gasped out in horror. 

“Doesn’t know? He doesn’t-! Tell me it isn’t so, Alayce!” he grabbed Lay by the sleeve and shook him around. Lay swallowed and finally managed to find his voice back. 

“I’m sorry, I’m afraid I’m not the one you’re looking for. My name is Lay, not Alayce,” Lay tried to explain, but Sehun pouted and looked so disappointed that Lay nearly wanted to tell him that he was kidding and that he’d be Alayce if that was what he wanted. 

“That’s not right,” Sehun complained, sipping his bubble tea. 

“Maybe it’s because he took a left?” Kai mentioned but again, Lay was lost. 

“You don’t know who we are, Alayce?” Sehun asked, just to be sure, but Lay could only shake his head. 

“Oh, how dreadful,” Sehun commented ruefully. “We always have tea parties together. You’ve forgotten all of them?”

“He’s late, Hatter!” Tokki Tuzi then spoke up, climbing on the table and standing near a snoozing Xiumin. “We don’t have much time. He has to find the White Queen or else-,”

“She nevermore will be seen,” Sehun finished before the bunny could. His eyes shone at Lay and glistened with mystery. It was eerie seeing Sehun and Kai like this, but Lay couldn’t sense any real malice from them. They all just seemed a bit- mad. 

“Are you lost, Alayce?” Sehun asked, adjusting the big hat on top of his head. “Mustn’t lose your head, or the bloody Red Queen will claim it instead,” he mused, but all Lay really wanted was to get to the palace so he could find Jae. He was truly starting to believe that he was running out of time. Sehun suddenly his cheek with a trembling finger and it made Lay shiver. Why is he grinning like that? 

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking, my friend?” Sehun asked, but it wasn’t directed towards Lay. The latter startled upon hearing Kai break his teacup and started laughing like a maniac. 

“I believe I do, friend,” he laughed, stomping his feet and wrapping his arm around a sleeping Xiumin. “What about you, friend?” he asked, tugging gently on Xiumin’s mouse ears. 

“Hmhm…same,” he mused before snoring again. 

There was a dark look in Sehun’s eyes when he exchanged a glance with Kai, and Lay was feeling uneasy all over. What a strange world this is… How am I going to get myself and Jae-yah home? 

“We’ll help you, Alayce,” Sehun then mentioned. “You’ll have to follow us though.” 

“Where are you taking me? I have to go to the Red Palace,” Lay explained gently, since the last thing he wanted was to rub either of them the wrong way. 

“He’s eager to lose his head,” Kai retorted with a cackle. “Caterpillar,” he then said with Sehun clapping like a seal. 

“Oh yes! Yes, Caterpillar. He’ll help you remember, Alayce,” Sehun cooed, caressing Lay’s arm as he said so. 

Before he knew it, Lay was walking arm in arm between the Mad Hatter and the March Hare, while Tokki Tuzi was hitching a ride in the back with Dormouse Xiumin, as Sehun and Kai were dragging along their entire tea party on wheels so that Xiumin could continue sleeping and still come along for the journey. Any other person at this point would have most likely lost their minds already, but Lay didn’t feel that way. He was confused, and lost, sure, but most of all, he was intrigued. Curious. Not to mention that he still very much wanted to find Jae, if she got into this world the same way he did. The thought of her being in real danger only spurred him on to just go along with the madness and question it later. Once he had Jae safe in his arms, everything will be alright. Finding her was his first and only concern at the moment. 

“Um, Hatter-nim, Hare-nim, where are you taking us again?” Lay questioned, as they walked towards gigantic flowers and leaves that made up the forest. He started coughing when the air was filled with clouds of smoke in a variety of colors. 

“You’ll see, Alayce, you’ll see,” Sehun said. “He’s right there. Ask him how to find the White Queen, he’ll know the answers,” he explained but still remained perfectly vague. Kai was cackling and giggling again as he pointed out towards the same direction Sehun had before. Lay swallowed as he couldn’t see who was enshrouded by the rainbow-colored smoke and turned back to check with Tokki Tuzi. The white bunny nodded determinedly at him and this was enough for Lay to continue. 

“Go on, go on,” Kai pushed him forward and Lay complied. With small steps and his heart thumping in his chest, he looked upon the silhouette, shrouded in smoke and swallowed. He had never seen something or someone so big before. The silhouette could easily cast his shadow over him, so Lay naturally assumed that whomever he was approaching, was a giant. 

“E-excuse me? I was told to come see you,” he started politely, already bowing when he saw that the silhouette had turned towards him. He waited nervously as he saw the giant silhouette move amongst the smoke. 

“Alayce, is that you?” a big voice echoed and it made Lay feel two inches small. He looked behind him to see that Sehun, Kai and Xiumin had backed away significantly and only Tokki Tuzi was shaking his tiny fist in the air, shouting as loudly as he could; “Jiayou, tuo!” This made him stand his ground. 

The giant silhouette moved towards him, but Lay stood still. “Who dares disturb me?” the voice continued. “Is it you, Alayce?”

Lay swallowed again, his lips dry. “My name is Lay, sir,” he replied, but heard the faint protesting behind him. When he peeked over his shoulder, Sehun and Kai were shaking their heads frantically. 

“Lay? I do not know anyone named ‘Lay’,” the voice said, the silhouette growing as Lay could sense its anger. “I do not help strangers!” the voice boomed and Lay flinched. 

“That’s unfortunate and strange, sir,” he replied, shoulders hunched somewhat. “You know this Alayce?” he asked and the silhouette stood still, not revealing himself just yet. 

“Of course I know Alayce, he is a good friend of mine. If you are not Alayce, then I see no reason why I should leave you unpunished for disturbing me, stranger.” 

“But, was Alayce not a stranger one time as well? Perhaps, we could become friends too, sir,” Lay then retorted. “I don’t know what’s going on, to be honest, perhaps in this world I really am Alayce,” Lay continued shrugging his shoulders and looking up innocently at the frozen silhouette towering over him. 

“Well, well, well,” the voice mused. “The Alayce I know was as cunning as you- but far more dazed. Who knows, perhaps you are Alayce,” he pondered. “What is your business with me, Possible-Alayce?” 

Lay smiled softly at the little victory and cleared his throat. “I’m here to look for Jae- that is, the White Queen. I heard that you can help me with this?” He looked at the silhouette in anticipation, though his curiosity grew since he couldn’t see to whom he was speaking to. 

“You wish to find the White Queen?”

“Yes, please. I don’t have much time,” Lay replied. 

“You still haven’t found her?”

“Well- n-no, sir…”

Silence fell and Lay waited in suspense. He blinked upon hearing the silhouette mutter to himself, the smoke increasing in thickness. 

“Then- you must be Alayce!” he exclaimed and Lay took a step back upon seeing that the form in front of him was moving faster towards him and he was curious to see how the silhouette looked like. He must be huge! A giant, maybe! Oh, a giant would be helpful, all it takes is a few steps and then we’ll be at the Red Palace and I can find Jae-yah! Lay hoped enthusiastically, but as he raised his gaze up to the heavens, he frowned upon seeing that the silhouette diminished in size the moment it came closer. 

He didn’t know what to do or say when the shadow speedily shrunk down and through the colorful bursts of smoke emerged a caterpillar. Not just any kind of caterpillar, oh no, of course not! It was a smaller than usual D.O. in a black caterpillar suit that looked like he had rented one from the cheapest costume store. 

Lay bit the inside of his cheeks to prevent from laughing out loud, so he cleared his throat instead. “Uh- h-hello,” he bowed, doing his best to keep a straight face. “You’re the one who can help me get to the Red Palace?” 

“I can get you there,” Caterpillar D.O. replied, though he looked annoyed, to say the least. “Unless you continue to make fun of my size then you go and find your own way to get there!” Caterpillar D.O. raged, as though he could tell that Lay was holding in his laughter. Immediately, the teen shook his hands and his head to soothe the literally fuming creature. 

“I never said anything, Caterpillar-nim,” Lay quickly apologized, but the look D.O. gave him was enough to send the shivers up his spine. 

“You were thinking it, Alayce!” he accused. 

Omo, can he read minds like Lu-ge? Lay then thought anxiously though that thought made him wonder about the real Lu-ge back home. Would there be a different version of him here, as well? 

“What did Caterpillar say, Alayce? Will he help?” Sehun suddenly shouted from behind, which drew the attention of the smoking D.O., leading him to roll his eyes. 

“Still mixing with unpleasurable company I see, Alayce?” he disapproved, though Lay was still thinking about his choice of words. Even the words here didn’t seem entirely right. He could only smile, but was surprised when D.O. suddenly poked his finger into his dimple. 

“Hm,” he mused, still prodding at his face. “It feels like Alayce’s…but I can’t put my finger on it,” he poked and squished while Lay stood frozen. Finally, D.O. sighed. “Very well. It’ll have to do,” he mused. “If you wish to find the White Queen you have to travel to the Palace of Crimson,” he explained flatly. “I can take you there.”

“Can you really, Caterpillar?” Sehun and Kai had appeared at Lay’s side without the boy being aware that they had approached him. Tokki Tuzi jumped upon his shoulder while Xiumin had somehow managed to join them while still sleeping belly down on the ground, his arched up with his mouse tail swinging lazily from side to side. 

“Of course I can,” D.O. replied stoically, though he didn’t seem pleased that Sehun and the others apparently wanted to come along with him and Lay. 

“You sure? I mean, it’s not a small matter,” Kai retorted, a burst of crazy laughter escaping his mouth as Sehun smirked. 

“Indeed! This is not a tiny favor at all, dear friend!” he added, snorting, while Lay blankly looked at the two of them before looking at D.O. again. He stepped back when the smoke around D.O. had suddenly turned an angry red. 

“WHO ARE YOU CALLING SMALL AND TINY?!” he boomed, smoke engulfing them entirely. “I’LL SHOW YOU SMALL AND TINY!” he yelled and Lay closed his eyes when the smoke started to sting, but when he blinked his eyes open and coughed, waving the smoke away, he noticed that they weren’t in the forest anymore. 

“Look, tuo!” the white bunny on his shoulder cooed, pointing at a tall castle wall, that reached towards the sky. Lay could only imagine that behind it, was the Red Palace. Smiling, Lay turned around to thank D.O., but all he saw was the Caterpillar. 

“See? Told you I could do it,” D.O. smirked, but Lay couldn’t see Sehun, Kai nor Xiumin anywhere. 

“Yes, you did. Thank you for that, Caterpillar-nim, but where are Seh- I mean, the Mad Hatter and the March Hare? I don’t see the Dormouse anywhere either,” Lay asked carefully, afraid to evoke the wrath of D.O..

Lay stepped back instinctively when a large grin appeared on the caterpillar’s face. He held up his hand and lo behold, there stood a confused and dazed Sehun and Kai, Xiumin still sleeping in the other hand. 

“Who’s tiny and small now, hm?” he asked, but Lay only swallowed, slowly stepping away. 

“You won’t hurt them, will you?” he asked, just to be sure while he saw the tiny people shaking their fists at D.O. and cackling madly at the same time. 

“I haven’t decided yet. They might be useful. Didn’t you have more important things to worry about, Alayce? The Red Palace is through those gates. Don’t lose your head,” he told him, and Lay nodded. He’s been hearing that an awful lot lately. Why would he lose his head? He was often blank, sure, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t focused for the task at hand. 

“Thank you, everyone,” he said with a bow before running towards the gates as Tokki Tuzi told him to hurry once more. Lay couldn’t help but look behind him one more time, but saw that only smoke had remained. 

What a crazy day. I hope I’ll find Jae-yah soon, he thought to himself. But, he wasn’t that lucky just yet. After just having left his companions that looked so much like his brothers, another pair of familiar faces appeared before him. Lay was walking slowly onto the castle grounds, no guards in sight. He entered the beautiful green garden, its flowers - roses especially - brightening the environment with their lush, red color. However, it unnerved him somewhat to see that some of the flowers were dripping red liquid. They weren’t bleeding, where they? Lay felt his fingers twitch, resisting the urge to walk over to heal the plants, knowing that it wouldn’t do him much good here anyway. This was Wonderland, he had to remind himself, his magic didn’t work here. 

“Be careful, tuo, this isn’t friendly territory,” Tokki Tuzi whispered and Lay nodded. He carefully watched as loud voices filled the air and a pair of young men, wearing similar clothing, but looked nothing alike, were arguing, splattering red paint everywhere as they were in charged of painting every flower red in the majestic garden.

“Fire is obviously better than light!” the taller of the two argued. 

“Light is better than fire! What is fire without light?!” the shorter one argued. 

Lay stood frozen as he saw the two fighting, though he didn’t question the confusion or madness he saw in the scene before him. 

“That is ridiculous! Fire is light but much better! Everyone in Underland knows that!” the taller man pulled up his schoolboy shorts, smudging his pants with red paint. 

“How is fire better?” the shorter one said, adjusting the straps of his suspenders, more red paint dirtying his clothes. 

“Fire burns!”

“So does light!” 

“No, it doesn’t!”

“Yes, it does!”

“It doesn’t!”

“It does!” 

Lay shook his head when he kept switching his gaze between the two strange men. They were loud and their argument seemed completely useless. He sighed and stepped forward. 

“You shouldn’t meddle, tuo,” the white bunny whispered, keeping low. Lay ignored him and cleared his throat to catch the two men’s attention. 

“Excuse me, I’m sorry to disturb your conversation, but I’m looking for the Red Palace. Is this the garden?” he asked politely and found it nearly eerie when the two men turned their heads simultaneously towards him. In that instant, everything about their behavior changed. They straightened up together, arms crossed over their chest, a look of mockery and disdain on their faces as they looked at Lay. 

“Well, well, well, do my eyes see what yours see, Tweedle Dee?” the Chanyeol look-a-like grinned tauntingly while they both started circling around him. 

“I believe my eyes do see what yours see, Tweedle Dum! An intruder!” Baekhyun’s doppelgänger sang. 

“You know the Red Queen will have your head if she knows you’re here,” Chanyeol said. 

“Yep! Chop, chop, chop! Off with your head!” Baekhyun clapped. 

“I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m not here to see the Red Queen anyway. I’m looking for the White Queen,” Lay rather detested the mockery of the two strange men, but once he mentioned the White Queen, they both were silenced. 

“Did he just say what I thought he said, Tweedle Dum?”

“I think he did say what you just thought he said, Tweedle Dee, if I heard what he said you thought he said as well, that is,” Chanyeol replied and his confusing manner of speech was starting to confuse Lay. 

“If you heard what I thought he said what I thought, then I do believe that I heard what I thought he said correctly!” Baekhyun confirmed with a nod, the two of them looking at Lay in anticipation. 

“Can you say it again?” they asked in unison. 

Bedazzled by the two men, Lay shook his head to process what they told him. “Eh, I- well, I’m looking for the White Queen. I heard that she’s in the Red Palace,” he then repeated, though he started to regret asking these two clowns anything. 

“There! He said it again!” Baekhyun clasped his mouth. 

“He did!” Chanyeol confirmed, utterly shocked. “You’re not supposed to say those words in that combination! Why do you think we were ordered to paint anything here that isn’t red back to red?!” he asked. 

“You should leave! Look at the golden locks on his head! In a certain light, it looks whi-,” Chanyeol hurriedly clasped his hand over Baekhyun’s mouth, shushing him. 

“Don’t say that word! Or he’ll come!” he whispered. 

“He? Who’s he?” Lay asked curiously, but Chanyeol’s and Baekhyun’s expressions turned from shocked to fearful. Lay’s own ears started twitching at the sudden dark presence he felt behind him. His instincts were telling him to run, but he couldn’t move. 

“Uh-oh, too late,” Tweedle Chan and Tweedle Baek mused, holding onto each other as their gazes were fixed at the something standing behind Lay. 

“My, my,” a velvet voice sounded very close to Lay’s ear, a finger twirling into his hair. The touch made him shiver and he jumped out of the way. 

“Ow,” Lay protested, rubbing his head when the finger had snagged a strand of his hair and plucked it from his head. He gasped and stared with wide eyes at Luhan, dressed in black and red, his lips painted with a red heart, stretching as he smiled. 

Luhan looked at the strand of hair he had plucked from Lay’s head and brought it to his nose to smell it. “Hm, this scent is familiar,” he mused, but everything he did was freaking Lay out. Why is Lu-ge like this? He’s acting like a - creep…he thought as his expression fell. 

“Who amongst you mentioned the name of the color that is not to be named?” Luhan then asked, looking at Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum and Lay was surprised when they instantly pointed their fingers towards him. 

Luhan chuckled. “I see. And, who are you, stranger?” he asked, pulling out a knife from its sheathe, playing with it as he closed the distance between himself and Lay. 

“I’m Lay,” the teen answered steadily, though he kept an eye on the sharp knife in Luhan’s hands. 

“Lay?” Luhan repeated in a purr, moving forward to sniff at Lay, causing the boy to back away. “As in, Alayce?” he questioned, the look on his face different from before. 

I’m starting to grow really tired of people calling me Alayce…Lay thought to himself in frustration so he just said nothing and took a deep breath. 

“Alayce?” Luhan asked again, the creepy act from before having disappeared. He seemed sober now, more alarmed. He grabbed Lay by the arm, forcing him to look him in the eyes. “Are you Alayce?” 

“Do you see what I see, Tweedle Dum?” a soft voice whispered behind them. 

“I think I do see what you see, Tweedle Dee,” came the confirmation. 

“Can a Knave of Hearts have his heart moved if he doesn’t possess a heart to begin with?”

“That’s the question, that’s the riddle, is it not?”

Lay frowned at hearing the two clowns behind him and then managed to look Luhan in the eyes. “You’re the Knave of Hearts?” he asked and flinched when Luhan’s grip tightened around his arm. 

“That I am. And you, Alayce,” he nearly spat, “are my prisoner. Move!”