"You're right," Queen Alice said as she intently watched the mirror as it displayed the event from three days ago, displayed the boy and the girl's body entering into the Cave of Reflection. "They really do think they can retrieve the Vorpal Blade, don't they?"

"They will surely perish before they even reach the end of the labyrinth, my lady," the messenger said. "No soul who has ever tried to retrieve the Jabberwocky has ever made it out again, living or dead."

"No," Queen Alice agreed. She waved her hand, and the image within the glass vanished. "Keep your eyes on the cave. I doubt they will survive, but that's no reason to be careless. If by some chance of fate they exit in one piece, Vorpal Blade in hand-" The queen cut herself off. "Just watch the cave," she ordered.

"Yes, Your Majesty," the messenger replied as he bowed before leaving the room.

When she was alone, the queen walked to the middle of the room, sat on her throne, and began to stroke the crystal ball. "This can't be possible," she whispered. Turning to the glass prison, Queen Alice said to Rin, "I can't believe that brother of yours and his body stealing companion are so foolish. However, it's the same foolishness that might bring the end of me."

Rin said nothing. Instead she stated at the dumbstruck queen, unable to process the information herself. She may have not known anything about this Jabberwocky, but Rin could tell this creature was dangerous enough to have even Alice shaking in place.

Please be careful, Len Rin prayed. Please, please don't get yourself killed. And please, Miku, if that's you with my brother, take care of him. Please don't let him get hurt. I want to see him again, and I don't want it to be with us both as spirits.

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Miku and Len could both feel their heart rates increase as Oneself lead them to the Jabberwocky's lair. They were about to face the most powerful being in all of Wonderland, far more powerful than Queen Alice and all her armies; and if Miku misinterpreted the prophecy, then she had lead Len and herself, and indirectly Rin, to their doom.

Interpretation of the prophecy aside, Miku wasn't remotely sure that she and Len were supposed to be the heroes of Wonderland. Not that she doubted the Mad Hatter's and fairies' confidence in the teens being the ones, but Miku herself couldn't believe that she was someone who was supposed to be so strong. She had spent the last twenty-five years dead, and try as she might to hide it, there was no denying that she was out of practice when it came to living. She was a mix of sixteen-year-old mentality, forty-one chronology, and temporarily fourteen physically. How was she going to react to getting back to her own body and suddenly becoming a middle aged woman after being a teenager for so long?

"This is it," Oneself said as she stopped right in front of a set of large doors, pulling Miku out of her thoughts and back into reality.

The doors reached the ceiling, the height Miku estimated to be well over twenty feet. There were knots and gnarls all over the rotted wood, and rusted iron ran across the doors and twisted into eerie shapes. It appeared as if four evil eyes, near the top of the doors, stared at anyone who dare stood before the entrance. The doorknobs were so rusted that Miku feared that they would crumble to dust at her touch.

"Isn't this . . . a pleasant sight?" Len tried, but his attempt to lighten the mood, assuming that was what he was doing, fell flat.

"I really don't want to go in there," Miku shivered as she gave herself a tight hug.

"Isn't that supposed to be my line?" Len asked, but again his humor vanished into the air. Whatever it was Miku saw before he found her still had her shaken up. Len wanted to ask about it in hopes of talking would make Miku feel better, but Len knew that now was not the time. Now, they had to steel themselves and face Fear itself.

"Just going to tell you right now," Oneself said as she wrapped her eligent fingers around the knob, "that don't think because I lead you here we're suddenly friends or something. I will happily skin you alive if my master so pleases."

"Wouldn't expect any less from you," Miku replied as she pushed away whatever fear she possessed and stepped forward. She stopped, turned around to face Len, and said, "Remember, the Jabberwocky feeds off your fear. If you don't allow yourself to feel afraid, he can't hurt you." Len nodded in understanding. Oneself merely snorted. "What?" Miku cocked her head to the side in the direction of the strange girl.

"Don't underestimate my master," was all Oneself responded with. Having that said, Oneself pushed open the doors and strode inside, Miku and Len in tow.

"Look Len!" Miku gasped in excitement as she instinctively reached out for the blond and clutched his arm. "The Vorpal Blade!"

Len looked in the direction Miku's finger was pointing and saw what appeared to be a sword stuck in the middle of the room. The hilt was a dreary gray and wrapped in what appeared to be the skin of the Jabberwocky's enemies, and the black blade curved like a slithering snake. The sight made Len feel sick to his stomach, mostly sick out of fear. If that was what the blade itself looked like, Len wasn't ready to meet what kind of monster the blade concealed.

"So what do we do?" Len furrowed his brows as he started at the horrifying sword. "Just walk up and take it?"

"Oh, my dear boy," Oneself laughed. "You're so stupid."

"This is the part where she tries to skin us alive," Miku mumbled under her breath, and Len had the unfortunate luck of hearing what she said.

Raising her hands high, Oneself called, "Come, my brothers and sister in guarding our master. Let us show them that we won't be defeated. Rise: Experience, Paranoia, and Hatred. Rise and fight with me."

"Totally called it," Miku added.

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Miku scratched ferociously at the back of her hand. The sponge and hot water burned her red skin, but the club Miku tried so hard to remove was as green as ever. "Dammit!" she shouted when her attempt proved futile. She threw the sponge back into the sink and picked up a towel to dry her hands off. It had been two days since Miku discovered the Mark, and no matter what she did, nothing could dull it. The girl tried scrapping it off, scrubbing, and washing, but nothing effected the Mark.

Neither of the Kasane parents knew what to make of the Mark. Teto thought it was some sort of magic at play, as if Wonderland had accepted Miku as a part of its existence. As for Miku, she was not treating the new club on her skin lightly. Cheshire's warning bounced around inside of Miku's skull, and even if Miku didn't understand absolutely everything about the Mark, she knew it had to be removed as soon as possible.

"If you ever see any strange mark, any at all, come on to me. As long as you don't notice anything strange, you will be fine; but the moment you find a mark on the back of your hand, find me immediately."

Miku blinked as she remembered his words. Cheshire might be able to remove this. Without hesitating, Miku scribbled a note to let her adopted family know that she was going on a walk. They left that morning to help with the harvest, but Miku claimed illness as an excuse to stay behind. She knew she would have to tell the truth of her whereabouts when she returned, but at that moment all Miku cared about was removing the Mark.

Running out of the home with nothing but the clothes on her back and the shoes on her feet, Miku darted out of the village and into the forest she had met Cheshire in many months ago. Miku, panicked on finding Cheshire, did not pay attention where she was going. If she got lost, it would be her own fault, but finding the mysterious grinning cat was the only thing on her young mind.

"Cheshire?! Cheshire?!" Miku called again and again. Frantically she ran in search of the creature, not knowing if he was even in the area. "Cheshire?!"

The dark woods seemed to swallow Miku whole. The further she want, the deeper she traveled into the forest, the closer she was to the heart. Run, sweet girl a voice whispered, unheard. Come closer to me. Everyone who has met you loves you, and with your body as my own, everyone will love me, too.

When her tired limbs finally won out, Miku stopped running in favor of catching her breath. She doubled over, hands on her knees, and took deep, controlled breathes. It was a difficult task; he lungs wanted her to inhale as much oxygen as she could hold as quickly as she could breath. "Where is That Damned Cat?" Miku asked herself, using Cheshire's other name.

Suddenly she blacked out.

When her vision returned, she saw her slumped body on the ground, as if she was no longer in it.

"What the-" Miku began before she realized that she was being held back. She clawed at the arm pressed into her throat. When that failed, Miku slammed her heel onto the toes of the one choking her.

"OW!" the attacker screamed.

Miku broke away and spun around to see who was trying to hurt her. The guard Miku held instantly fell when she laid eyes on the figure before her. A small girl, about eight or nine, with waist length pale blonde hair and cornflower blue eyes. She wore a simple blue dress and a white apron wrapped around with white stockings and black shoes. A bow matching her dress pinned back her otherwise unruly locks. "You're a little girl," Miku whispered.

The comment led the little girl to screw up her face as she shouted through clenched teeth, "My name is Alice!"

Alice charged towards Miku, but the teen spun out of the way and wrapped her fingers around Alice's arms and pinned them behind her back. "What do you want with me?" Miku demanded.

Keeping her response simple, Alice said, "Your body." With that her form changed, and Miku was surprised to find herself holding a rag doll instead. The doll had an egg-shaped head; stitches across the arms, legs, and face; and two empty sockets for eyes.

"Uh?" Miku held the doll closer to examine it, but the doll, apparently an animate object, jumped free from Miku's grasp and jumped at her face. "Kya!" Miku screamed as she fell backwards. Now flat on her back, Miku tried to get back to her feet. Except now the doll had resumed shape of the little girl.

"It's not fair!" she shouted as she successfully kept Miku pinned to the ground. "I don't want to disappear, and you stupid humans don't have to depend on others to survive, to stay in this world. It's not fair!" Alice then pulled out a necklace from her apron pocket. "I really don't want to do this, Mikaera," Alice said as she pressed the glass orb against Miku's chest, "but if one of us has to cease to exist, it's going to be you."

The crystal ball glowed, and Miku felt fire burning through her clothes and searing her skin. "AAAHHHHH!" Miku cried. She couldn't fight. She couldn't defend herself. This little girl, Alice, was too strong. Whatever Alice was, Miku knew she wasn't human.

"Goodbye, Mikaera," Alice whispered, and a stray tear trickled down her pale cheek. "I'm truly sorry to do this to you."

The pain flared higher, and higher, and then . . . nothing.

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Oneself stood in the middle of the room, hands still held in the air. She laughed maliciously, her shoulders rising and falling with the sound. Dark figures began to take shape in the corners of the room. Within time, these shapes looked less like shadows and more like people.

A skinny boy who seemed to tremble over his own weight rose from the ground. His hair was what appeared to be a dirty blond, and his eyes were yellow like a dying sunflower. "I am Experience," he said in his weak and quivering voice. "I represent the fears that develop from traumas and past experiences." Looking Miku in the eyes, Experience said, "I was the one who made you relive your worst memories, Mikaera."

Len noticed how Miku visibly stiffened at the sound of the name. Mikaera? he wondered. Is Mikaera . . . Is Mikaera Miku's real name? It may have been just a name, but the way Miku reacted to being called by it told Len that there was far more to Miku's past then she had previously shared with him. Now that he thought about it, how well did he really know this mysterious girl?

"Why are you seeming so hostile?" another voice said. Miku and Len both looked in the direction as a girl rose from the shadows. Her hair was salt and pepper colored, and her eyes were the color of dried blood. "I am Paranoia," she introduced herself. "I am a fear brought on by mistrust of others and the feeling of someone always being out to get you." Paranoia hugged herself tighter and said, "I know my fears aren't as rational as Experience's, but they're still very powerful. So please, stop judging me."

"If you make Paranoia cry, I will kill you," said a voice that definitely belonged to a man. Reluctantly, Miku and Len spun around and saw a man who looked nearly identical to Paranoia, except where she cowered in on herself the same way Experience did, this man stood tall. His face was twisted into what the teens assumed was meant to be the cross between a smirk and a scowl. "I am Hatred," he introduced himself. "I represent the fear of others' jealousy and wrath. If I'm around, then it's safe to say that you're scared for a damn good reason."

"Lucky for me, most of my fears are relevant to just being paranoid," Len said, grateful that Paranoia didn't look like she wanted to kill him just for the fun of it.

"Let me guess," Miku said, narrowing her eyes at Oneself, "you represent the fear one has when he is scared of himself and terrified of what he is capable of becoming."

"That's exactly what I embody," Oneself smirked. "Why, you don't fear yourself at all, yet you absolutely nailed it."

"Only because before now I feared that I was a detestable creature by the way I took this girl's body," Miku said, and Len noticed that she was gritted her teeth and curling her fingers into fists. "Then a few days ago I realized that I was wrong: I have no reason to fear myself. My past, yes," she nodded her head in Experience's direction, "but never who I am."

"Touching," Oneself said with a bored expression, "but what about your little companion? Why, I can spend years feasting off of him his fear of himself is so strong." With a sickly sweet grin upon her face, Oneself asked, "We haven't told you about the vision he saw while you two were separated earlier, have we?"

"That can wait until later," Miku answered, a knot forming in her stomach about Len's possible hallucination. If Oneself could bring it up to Miku like that, Miku was sure that she was better off not knowing.

"That boy who you call your friend really is the monster he fears himself to be." The way Oneself giggled would make one think that she was talking about a crush. "In the master illusion I conjured up for him, he had to chose between saving you and saving his sister. Instead of trying to save both of you like he should, he didn't hesitate to have you killed so that he could have Rin back! For a moment I believed he had something against you that was how effortless it was for him to choose."

Len, shamefully, cast his gaze in Miku's direction. The girl kept her expression guarded, nothing in her posture or facial expressions giving away anything. He couldn't tell if she was afraid of him or disappointed in him. Just the sight of Miku remaining so expressionless made Len's heart sink to his stomach.

It was then he realized that he actually cared what Miku thought about him. They had only known each other for so long, but now Len was terrified that the friendship they had been building was collapsing to a tragic end. No more being partners. No more Miku teaching Len how to fight with a sword. No more nights under the stars together. No more enjoying the other's company. No more Miku. Just the mere thought of losing the girl as a friend was enough to depress Len's spirit. He couldn't explain it, but the last thing he wanted at that moment was to have Miku disappear from his life. It was then Len knew that he was willing to do whatever it took to save Rin and keep Miku alongside him. Though Rin was more important, Miku was by no means a causality.

"Do you honestly think I care about that?" Miku asked, finally reacting to what Oneself had told her. "Rin is his twin sister. I'm nothing more than a ghost he met barely two weeks ago. He did the right thing choosing his sister over me, and I could never hold it against him even if the event ever truly played through. I can tell that Rin means more to Len than his own life; I'm just something to keep around until we both get what we want back."

A lump formed in Len's throat. He had wanted to say so many things. "You are not nothing." "You are too self-sacrificing for your own good." "You aren't just something to keep around until I get Rin back; you're the reason I still have hope for this pathetic half life I'm living." As strongly as Len thought the words, he couldn't say them. He wanted so badly to let Miku know just how valuable she truly was, but his words wouldn't form on his lips. They were caught behind the growing lump he couldn't swallow.

"Ugh, that's not the reaction I was looking for," Oneself twisted her face in disappointment.

"I th-thought it wa-wa-was swee-eet," Paranoia stuttered, earning glare from Oneself so strong that it caused Paranoia to again retreat into the corner.

"Say what you will to turn me against Len," Miku challenged, her eyes firmly locked on Oneself's. "There's nothing you could ever say that would make me think I should have any worth in all this. We agreed to work together to get our heart's desires. Anything more is not in the lines of vision."

"Funny you should say that," said a voice so deep and strong that Miku and Len both visibly flinched. The same voice then laughed at their reactions.

"Len," Miku reached out and shook Len's shoulder, "look!"

Len did look, and what he found was a dark smoke emitting itself from the Vorpal Blade. Oneself smirked as she moved to stand alongside her fellow embodiments of fear. In that moment, Len knew what was happening. "The Jabberwocky," he whispered in horror.

The smoke swirled in a cyclone that was only as tall as they were. Soon the smoke began to solidify, and left in its place was what appeared to be a person. Skin like olives, hair the color of Paranoia's and Hate's fell unrestrained to the person's shoulders, and eyes like Oneself's and Experience's pierced into the blonde teens. The person wore leopard print pants, a black shirt that exposed the midsection, and a fluffy white jacket. The charcoal black lips parted into a smile before greeting with, "It's been centuries since I last had company."

"Wait . . . ," Len trailed off. "The Jabberwocky's a girl?!"

The master of fear sneered at Len's words. "Woman," she sternly corrected.

"Sorry," Len said, "but I was just expecting you to be a bit more, I don't know, scary."

"Disappointed, I see," the Jabberwocky mused as she cocked her head to the side. "Well, perhaps I can change that." Smoke again swallowed up the woman, and this time the tornado shaped spiral increased in size.

"Don't show fear," Miku warned Len as she stood close to him. "If you don't allow yourself to feel fear, she can't hurt you."

"I have my doubts about that," Len said as he spoke with trembling lips. When the smoke again turned solid, a large, ugly black dragon roared at the teens.

"Is THIS scary enough for you?!" the Jabberwocky said in a now deep, hellish voice.

"Yes!" Len squeaked against his will.

"Len!" Miku hissed, not pleased with the boy's weak will when it came to fear.

Monster Jabberwocky laughed a cruel, sick sound. Then again she was surrounded by smoke and she returned to her more human form. "That was fun," she said, "but I'd rather pick you both to pieces slowly. I want to savor each moment of your falling apart as you seep into the abyss of insanity."

"Suddenly I want her to be a horrifying dragon that can swallow me whole again," Len said, trying to steel himself but failing.

"Welcom to Wonderland," Miku responded, "where ugly dragons are preferred over women with bad fashion sense."

The Jabberwocky narrowed her eyes. "You're using humor to cover up your fear," she pointed out. "Nice try, but it won't work. This world may be called Wonderland, but I can assure you there's nothing wonderful about it. Wonderland may sound like a dream, but trust me when I tell you that it's nothing more than a nightmare. I mean, look at me; I'm you're greatest fear come to life. It will be nothing for me to destroy you."

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"Help! Someone, anyone, listen to me!" Miku shouted as she slammed her fists against the glass prison. "That's not me! I'm the real Miku, not the monster wearing my body!"

For the first week Miku tried to call out to her friends, family, and neighbors from the crystal ball Alice, now in Miku's body, wore around her neck. Alice didn't even try to pretend to be Miku; she simply jumped straight into being referred by her real name and receiving special treatment. Everyone, even Teto and her parents, thought Miku was going mad. Miku, the Miku trapped away so that she could neither be seen nor heard, begged for somebody to hear her, but it was no use. Only Alice could hear through the crystallized glass, and she held no interest in passing along Miku's message.

Two months later, Alice fled the village. "I hate this part," she said as she traveled through the night, rubbing her thumb across the ball in which she held Miku hostage.

"What are you going to do to me?" Miku asked in a whisper. She wasn't expecting a response, but Alice surprised her.

"I'm going to feed your soul to the Nightmare," Alice answered quietly. "It's the only way I'll be allowed to keep your young, beautiful body."

"What's wrong with yours?" Miku questioned.

Whatever gentleness Alice had just seconds ago, it was gone now. "I don't have a body, you idiot girl! I'm not meant to exist, and I need a body to keep from vanishing. If I take your body, your soul has to cease to exist. It's the only way to keep balance of life and existence in Wonderland."

Miku had so many more questions to ask, but she didn't voice them out of fear. All that ran through the greenette's mind was trying some way to escape from Alice. It was either that or disappear.

As Alice slept that night, Miku traveled around the ball shaped prison as she tried to find some means of escape. Nothing. The cell was sealed, and Miku discovered no means of breaking out.

"We will help you."

The voices caused Miku to tense. They sounded like whispers, whispers of those long since dead and turned to ash, speaking slowly and almost as if hissing. "Who-who's these?" she called out.

"Alice's previous victims," the voices, distinctly two of them, spoke in perfect unison. "There is a way out, but it will result in your spending the rest of your existence as a wandering ghost."

"I'll take it!" Miku said, jumping at the offer. She knew accepting help from mysterious voices was not deemed wise, but she had no other options. "What do I do?"

"Go downhill."

"Uh, I don't know how you expect me to do that," Miku said. "I can't exactly leave."

"Push the wall," the voices advised. "Roll downhill. At the bottom is the Plain Quartz. The quartz will sap the magic from the crystal, allowing you to be free."

Miku had her doubts, but it was all she had. "And what about you?" she asked the voices. "Will you be freed as well?"

"Worry not about us," they answered. "We are nothing but the memories of this cage's previous prisoners. All of who we were was sacrificed centuries ago."

"I'm sorry," Miku apologized. "I really wish there was something I could do."

"You can help us by escaping," the voices replied. "Without you, Alice can't keep the order of existence in balance. Alice will fade away, and never again will it hurt anyone."

"But what if Alice brings somebody else to use in my place?" Miku asked, worried. "I'm sure the things I can do as a ghost are limited, but is there anything I can do at all to stop her?"

"If it does bring another in your place, we will do everything we can to prepare them for what is to come. Meanwhile, you do what you can to find a way to prevent the sacrifice."

Nodding, Miku replied, "I understand. Thank you, those whose names I don't know." With that Miku turned around and began slamming herself into the glass wall. It took many tries, but finally the crystal ball lost its balance and began rolling to the rocks that would suck away its magic and thus free Miku.

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Rin, unsure what to make of the ending, asked, "Why would you show me all of your memories? Why not help me like you did Miku? Why allow me to remain trapped while give her an escape route?"

"What we did for Miku should not have been possible," they answered. "Alice was careless, and her first victim knew the area. Alice has been much more careful in its handling of you. There was nothing for us to do save for let you know all of our stories."

"Well they did nothing to help," Rin huffed.

"But you know Miku now," they replied. "Her story is a part of your memories, just as your own memories are becoming hers. If that is truly her using your body, then it would not be far fetched to assume she knows all of your secrets."

Instead of replying, Rin stood to her feet and said, "If you're done forcing yourselves onto me, I'm going to find a way out."

"There is none," the voices insisted. "If there was, we would have told you."

"Too bad I'm done listening to you," Rin sneered. "My baby brother has been out getting himself nearly killed for weeks now trying to save me, and I have done nothing to save myself. No more damsel in distress Rin. I'm getting out of here."

"And be a roaming ghost? Your brother and his companion are coming for you. If you must break free, time it when he's on his way. If not, you could spend years trying to find him again.

For a minute Rin considered the words. If she figured out a way to break free and escaped, how far would she go before Alice captured her again? Not to mention she had no idea where Len was. She could be running to him and completely pass him as he came this way for her.

"All right, Meiko, Kaito," Rin said, addressing each voice by name, "I'll hang around. Just no more focusing memories onto me, okay?"

They didn't answer.

Rin sat on the ground and tucked her knees to her chest. For weeks she had been wishing for the voices to leave her alone, and now they were. It was peaceful and quiet. Too quiet. The hours passed on too slowly now, too painfully.

Deciding she didn't like the silence as much as she thought she would, Rin almost asked the voices to come back.

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Without a second's hesitation, Miku drew her sword and readied herself for battle. "Come on, Len," Miku said, pointing the tip of her blade at the Jabberwocky's heart, "we can take them."

"There's five of them and only two of us!" Len exclaimed as he, too, pulled out his weapon. "No to mention one of them can turn into a freaking dragon if she wants to. We're way out matched!"

"Remember, the Jabberwocky can't hurt you if you don't feel fear," Miku said as her eyes narrowed at the creature.

"No," the Jabberwocky responded, "but my precious servants can."

Before Miku could react, Hatred threw himself at Miku and slammed her onto the ground, knocking the wind out of her. "Miku!" Len shouted, but just then Oneself came from behind and wrapped her arms around his throat.

"No point in trying to save the little ghost," Oneself whispered into Len's war as she hugged his neck tighter. "She will die, and then that sister of yours you love so much will follow."

"I won't let that happen," Len said through gritted teeth before he dropped his sword, wrapped his fingers around Oneself's arms, bent over quickly, and used the momentum to throw the girl off of him. Oneself crashed into Hatred, and they both fell over, Hatred releasing Miku in the process.

Miku scrambled to her feet and kept her eyes locked on the two Fears. "Thanks, Len," she said before she lunged at her opponents.

While Miku occupied the other two, Len cast his eyes on the remaining Fears and found them huddled in the corner. "Aren't you going to fight?" he asked.

"Paranoia and Experience weren't made for combat," the Jabberwocky sighed. "Whereas Hatred and Oneself can lead to violent outbursts, Paranoia and Experience are crippling fears. The damage they can do is purely internal."

"It's true," Experience said with a nod. "I know from the time Oneself attacked me that I'm hopeless in a fight." Paranoia cried as Hatred punched Miku in the face and buried her own face in her fellow Fear's shoulder. "Paranoia is just too scared something bad will happen if she joins in," Experience added.

"That makes things so much easier," Len said before turning around and charging into the dual Miku kept up. She was doing well for someone fighting against two opponents, but fatigue was beginning to show itself. "About damn time you showed up and gave me a hand," was how she greeted Len as he protected her from a kick by Oneself.

"Good news," Len replied, "it's just these two. The others won't fight for . . . personal reasons."

"Suits me fine," Miku said, sounding relieved, as she locked eyes with Hatred. Her shoulders were heaving, but neither he nor his blonde companion seemed the tiniest bit tired. Because they're not human. . . . There was only one way to defeat them, and all it took was Miku seeing a smirk on the Jabberwocky's face to figure it out. "Len," Miku ordered, "cover for me."

"What are you-" Len began but stopped to obey nonetheless. He slashed his sword at Hatred's chest when the Fear charged after Miku, and Oneself, either not realizing what Miku was doing or deeming Len to more valuable opponent, seized the opportunity to grab Len's arm and twist it behind his back. The teen cried out in pain as his sword dropped behind him.

Hatred strut forward, his chest wound closing and the blood drying the second it touched air, and punched Len under his jaw. "Stupid boy," he spat.

While this was happening, Miku closed the distance between the Jabberwocky and herself and stabbed the monster completely through. Miku walked away, letting go of her sword, and saw how deeply the blade sunk into the Jabberwocky's rib cage. The woman should have been bleeding, should have been screaming in pain, but instead she laughed. "Foolish mortal!" the Jabberwocky exclaimed. "Only the Vorpal Blade can do any damage to me." With that the Jabberwocky wrapped her fingers around the hilt of Miku's sword and pulled it out without so much as wincing. After throwing the object on the ground, she picked up Miku, carried her to an end of the room, and held the girl against the cave wall.

"Miku," Len breathed when he saw what happened to his companion. He tried to shake Oneself off, but he only managed to free his arm. Before Oneself could pin him down again, Len picked up a rock by his feet and flung it at the Jabberwocky, hitting her on the side of the head. Hatred then took hold of Len's free arm and yanked him downwards, and the other two Fears joined their companions in holding the blond teen down.

"You won't win," Miku said, trying her best to not feel fear. "Hope is stronger than you, and I have hope that Len and I will walk away from here with you as our reluctant ally."

"I will never help you," the Jabberwocky whispered. "I don't care about any of you."

"Because real monsters care about nobody but themselves," Miku replied bitterly before, perhaps in an act of feigned bravery, spat at the Jabberwocky's face. Whatever patience the Mast of Fear had before, it was gone now.

"That's enough!" the Jabberwocky hissed as she pushed Miku even further into the cave wall. The tiny girl whimpered in pain as the rocks dug into her spine and shoulders. "I will not be overcome by a body stealing ghost and a little kid. I will not! I'm going to enjoy killing you, Mikaera Langston. I'm really going to enjoy watching the life fade from those eyes as you and the body die for good." As if compelled, the Jabberwocky slammed Miku into the wall again, causing Miku to cry out.

"MIKU!" Len shouted as he tried to shake off the Four Fears, but it was no use. Combined, they were too strong for him, and there was nothing Len could do to save his only friend. "Miku," he said again, saying her name as an apology for being unable to help.

"Len," Miku quietly returned, her eyes locked with his. Tears were streaming down his face just as she was sure tears were pouring down her own. The fear leaked its way into her system, and that was all the Jabberwocky needed to take hold of the young girl. There was nothing Miku could do, and Len was unable to help her.

She didn't want to die. Miku didn't want to fade away from the world, but more than that, she didn't want to leave Len alone. Her death also meant Rin's, and with the hope of getting his twin sister back gone forever, Len would have nothing left. "Len," Miku choked his name again despite the pain in doing so. Len. Sweet, beautiful Len. You're too good, too pure for a twisted place like this.

As if hearing Miku's thoughts, which she probably did, the Jabberwocky grinned and leaned forward to whisper into Miku's ear. "It's a wonderful thing what you feel for that boy," she said the words sweetly, as if she meant them. She knew Miku's greatest fear, and she was going to savor tormenting Miku with it. "You have only known him for so long, yet your heart is in pain from the emotions you feel for him."

As hard as it was, Miku ripped her eyes away from Len's and met the Jabberwocky's. "Stop," she begged. "Please stop."

The Jabberwocky smirked. She had won; she had succeeded in breaking Miku. "You fear yourself developing feelings you shouldn't have, and not ever being able to have them makes the emotion so much harder to resist. You don't want to love him, but you do. You can't help it. His sister loves him with all her heart, and because of that you love him, too. The feelings are forcing themselves onto you, and soon you won't be able to tell hers from yours. By the time you get your body back, which odds are you won't, it will be too late. You will love him too much by then. In what way, I don't know, but if ends the way you're fearing, then death would be so much more desirable."

Gasping, Miku said through her broken, strained voice, "No, it's not Rin. It's me. I want to protect him. I want to save him. No price is too high to return to him what was taken. He's the only pure thing in this horrible world. He and Rin never should have come here. Len's my best friend, and I failed him."

For everything that was happening, Miku no longer felt anything. The pain, sadness, and fear had grown to be too much. Too much, in fact, that there was nothing left to feel. Her face was pale as that of a dead person, and her veins were easily visible through the translucent skin. Her lips quickly drained of their color. She was done. Miku, despite everything, had given in and allowed the Jabberwocky to use her fear as a way to drain away what was left of her existence.

"Miku, please listen to me!"

Slowly shifting her gaze, Miku made eye contact with Len. His voice, she noted, was going hoarse. For all Miku knew, Len could have been shouting at her to listen to him instead the whole time the Jabberwocky was whispering into her ear. "You're stronger than her," he shouted as loud as he could. "You're stronger than fear. Hope is stronger than fear, and you have more hope than anyone I have ever met. Please Miku, don't give up. You can't give up!"

"But she already has," the Jabberwocky said with a smile, saying the words for Miku.

A single tear sliding down her face, Miku looked Len in the eyes one last time. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "This is all my fault. I'm so, so sorry, Len." With that said, Miku closed her eyes and let her head fall. One final breath escaped her blue lips.

"Miku?" Len called. "Miku?! MIKU?!"

"Don't waste your breath," the Jabberwocky said. She lifted Miku away from the wall and unceremoniously tossed the small, sagging body to the ground. "She's dead, or is close to it. Scared to death, and you did nothing to stop it."

"Just like in your illusion," Oneself said. To Len's surprise, she wasn't laughing. Instead she sounded broken, as if a part of her really wanted to believe that hope truly is stronger than fear. "The girl died, and you did nothing to try to save her."

"No," Len said quietly. "No, she's not dead. Miku can't be dead. She said she would help me save Rin. She gave me her word! She's- She's-"

"Shut up," the Jabberwocky said, her golden eyes narrowed at Len.

It was only two words, but it was enough for something inside of Len to snap. "You," he sneered, venom dripping from the single syllable. With a newfound strength, Len shook the unsuspecting Fears off of him and shot to his feet. Before even the Jabberwocky herself could react, Len pulled the Vorpal Blade from its place in the stone flooring and charged the embodiment of fear.

"Oh!" the Jabberwocky cried in pain as the black sword sunk into her midsection, pierced through her back, and chipped the wall behind her. Len stood at the other end, eyes blazing an icy fire. The Jabberwocky never would have associated ice and fire like this, not until now. "Len Kagamine," she whispered his name. At that moment, she couldn't believe he was human. "You have overcome me," she said softly. Then she vanished into a cloud of smoke. The dark gray puff hovered around the blade before the black metal absorbed it in.

"Master!" Oneself cried. Len turned around just in time to see Oneself and the others turn into mist before fading away in thin air. He was alone, the threats were gone, but he felt no relief.

"Miku!" he cried as he dropped the Vorpal Blade and fell to his knees. He picked up his sister's lifeless body, brushed stray hair off her face, and cradled her close to his chest. "Miku. Rin." Len hugged the body tighter. "Could I lose them both right now? Close I lose them both? Have I already lost them?!" Len clung to the body as if it were a lifeline. "Miku, speak to me!" he demanded. "I can't lose Rin, and I sure as hell can't lose you either. Please come back to me. Please!"

No movement came from the tiny frame in his arms. The tears Len thought he already cried out streamed down his cheeks. He pulled away from the body and looked at the face. At least, he thought, that the expression was not screwed up in fear. Len brushed the bangs away before kissing the forehead. "Goodbye, Rin," he whispered, his lips still against the skin. "And goodbye, Miku. This wasn't your fault. I didn't save Rin the first time, and now I didn't save you and her when it mattered most. I'm sorry, Miku. And most of all, I'm sorry, Rin."

"Touching," a soft, cracking voice said, "but it's a little early for goodbyes, don't you think?"

Len snapped his head up and looked down at the girl in his arms. "Miku!" he cried, this time tears of joy. Green eyes met his blue ones. "I thought you and Rin were gone forever. I thought-" A sob cut him off. He buried his face into her chest and let the emotions out. "Seeing Rin's body lifeless again, I couldn't take it," he said so quietly Miku was sure he didn't intend for her to hear.

Weakly, Miku placed a hand on his head and began to run her fingers through his hair. "Didn't I tell you I'm not easy to kill?" she questioned, smile on her face.

"How did you not get scared scared to death?" Len asked. "I almost lost everything watching you fade away, and I don't know how that compares to the fear the Jabberwocky made you feel."

"It was horrible," Miku answered. "It was the worst fear I've ever experienced. I was ready to give in and let it all go. Then you picked me up. I couldn't be afraid after that; I couldn't let go. Yes, I was terrified at first, but it's hard to be scared when you're being held by somebody who makes you feel safe."

Len removed his face from her chest then. With how the tears were pouring from his eyes, Miku couldn't help but think of him as a little boy who had awoken from a nightmare. Not much of a stretch, Miku thought, since they were living in a nightmare worse than what their imaginations could ever concoct.

Running his fingers along her cheek, Len said, "I swear Miku, if I lose my sister because of you, I'm going to die and dedicate the rest of eternity finding you in the afterlife and making you wish you could die a second time." Len rest his forehead against hers. "Don't scare me like that ever again."

Selfish as it was, Miku didn't push Len away as he kept his face close to the one she borrowed. Perhaps Len needed to release his emotions as much as she needed to soak it all in. He saved her. Where Miku failed, Len slew the Jabberwocky. Now the most powerful creature in all of Wonderland was under their control, and it was all because of Len. She stroked Len's soft locks as he continued to cry until the relief was over, tears falling out of her own eyes. "Rin sure is lucky to have a brother who loves her so much," Miku whispered to herself. "I'm jealous."

"We need to go," Len sniffed minutes later, yet he made no effort to pull away from his sister's body.

"Let's rest first," Miku suggested, her fingers still tangled in Len's hair. When she felt the boy tense at the thought, Miku added, "The Jabberwocky is trapped inside her blade until we let her out; she can't hurt us, and with her locked away, nothing else in this cave can hurt us, either. We've been in here for a long time, and I'm exhausted. You are too, I'm sure. We should just rest here until we're ready to leave. We'll be safe."

For a full minute, Len didn't respond. Then he mumbled a "you're right," set Miku down, and lied beside her. "I want Rin," he whispered the confession, his voice soft and shattered. "I want Rin so much it really, really hurts. I want my twin sister right here, right now. I don't know how much longer I can take not having her by my side."

"Shhh," Miku soothed as she feathered the back of her fingers across Len's cheek. She repeated the motion twice before she resumed stroking his hair. "We have a weapon more powerful than anything Alice could ever possess. We have an army with Teto's people, and we have an alliance with the fairies. Len, you will get your sister back. I can't promise when because we shouldn't rush into this battle, but there's so little in the way now. Before you know it, you will have Rin again."

Len closed his eyes, not protesting to Miku's running her fingers through his hair. "What about you?" he whispered.

"I will get my body back," she replied.

"No," Len shook his head but didn't open his eyes. "I meant what will you do when all of this is over?"

"I don't know," Miku said so softly Len almost didn't catch the words. "It doesn't matter. Nobody needs me."

This time Len's eyelids did fly open. "I need you," he said.

"Not when you get Rin back you won't," Miku replied, pulling her hand away from Len. To her surprise, he caught it and pulled it close to his chest.

"I need you," he repeated firmly. "Yes, I need my sister back so badly that it kills me, but I will still need you when everything is done with. We've been through too much together to say goodbye. Especially now. How are either of us going to survive today unless we have each other to comfort? How are we going to survive tomorrow, and the next day, and so on not knowing if the other is okay because nothing but horrible things has come from our separations? I'm slowly losing my sanity, but having you with me is keeping me from submerging. How could you say that nobody needs you when it's so clear that besides Rin, there's no one else I need more?"

Allowing an escaped sob, Miku clutched the hand tightly and wrapped her other one around it. "Whatever happens," she said through her tears, "always know that I will always be with you. All I want is to protect you, and I will do everything I can to keep you safe."

"So will I," Len replied as he gave her hand a squeeze of reassurance. He snuggled close to Miku, and she in turn huddled close to him to keep warm in the cool cave. "You know, Rin will absolutely love you," he said before drifting off to sleep, his breathing the most even it's been since they first stepped foot on the mountain.

"Of course she will," Miku responded even though she knew Len couldn't hear her. "Rin loves you more than anything in the world." Brushing her lips against Len's forehead, Miku added, "And so do I."

Author's Note: Guess who finally got around to finishing this? Yeah, I know, I really do suck. Sorry!

As of right now, I don't know when I'll get around to writing and publishing the final installment to this mini trilogy. It's not a matter of if, but when. Take note on that. College has been majorly kicking my butt and leaving me little writing time, but I'm trying. I'm not giving up, guys. Quitting is not an option!

Lastly, I hope you all enjoyed this. It was fun to write, but the closer I got to the ending the more things twisted in ways I didn't plan. I love it when that happens in writing! This story was amazing to write, and my wish is the final Alice's Human Sacrifice fanfic will make this one seem dull in comparison because of how awesome its sequel is. :)

-Ray