Shinjiro in Wonderland

The Location of the Shadows

The book's pages flipped rapidly in front of Shinjiro's eyes. He took a step back and his eyes widened. "Show me the location of the shadows here in Wonderland," Alice said coming up beside him. The book flipped faster and landed on a page with glowing text. Shinjiro scanned the words. It read, "The shadows you see in our dear Wonderland are from the outside. They can only be defeated by beings known as personas. However, not every shadow can be defeated the same way. The shadow's lair is nestled in the Jabberwocky's domain. The Jabberwocky himself may have become possessed by the shadows, however. Saving him and destroying the portal where the shadows have emerged will be of great importance. Only the members of SEES can save us now."

Shinjiro took a step back and bumped into Junpei. "What's wrong man?" he asked him. Shinjiro had a pained look in his face, "The shadow's lair is in the Jabberwocky's domain, but he could have become a shadow by now. And we're the only ones who can save Wonderland. We have to find the others, or we'll most likely fail."

Junpei nodded and pulled out his cell phone. He punched a number in and let it ring. However, Junpei soon cursed and took the phone away from his ear. "No signal," he said.

"What made you think that would work?" Shinjiro sighed.

Junpei sighed as well, "I didn't think it would. I wanted it to though."

"Alice can you help us find our fellow SEES members?" Shinjiro asked.

Alice glanced his way, "Of course. This book can reveal their locations. Merely speak their names and ask where they are in Wonderland."

Shinjiro nodded then turned back to the book. "Can you reveal the location of our leader, Minato?"

The book's pages flipped backwards and landed on a page revealing an image of Minato and of a strange looking place. The place depicted was covered in stars, and a cat's grin and tail floated in the air. Shinjiro looked to Alice for help. "Oh that's saying he's in the Cheshire cat's lair." He nodded and then asked the book to find the location of Akihiko. An image of only a teacup with a dormouse resting inside showed. "That's obviously the dormouse's domain," Alice supplied. "Now where are Rei and Zen?" The book landed on a page that had only a picture of a lizard. This one was the most confusing. "Oh that's Bill the lizard. His lair's on the cliff's near the Duchess's house." Shinjiro nodded, "So who's the closest?"

Alice thought about it and he could see the gears in her mind working. "The dormouse is the closest. Then I'd say the Cheshire cat and lastly Bill the lizard."

Junpei came up to them and said, "Well then let's get going."

Alice nodded and they approached the door with the strange runes on it. It slid down and they entered the area with the caterpillar once more.

"I take it you found what you needed?" he asked.

"Yes, thank you for allowing us to use the book of Wonderland Revelations," Alice said.

The caterpillar chuckled, "No problem. Anything for you my dear."

Alice turned a slight red and looked down at her shoes. Junpei whispered into Shinjiro's ear, "Looks like Alice is pretty popular around here. You might have some competition."

Shinjiro frowned, was Alice interested in this guy? He certainly hoped not. He was half of a butterfly, wouldn't that be like bestiality in a sense? He shook his head, maybe that wasn't the right way to put it. Still he liked Alice and hoped their friendship would bloom into something more. Never before had he felt like this with anyone. It was strange and foreign to him.

"Shinji? Are you coming?" Junpei asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Oh right of course," he said laughing nervously.

Junpei grinned with a knowing look on his face. Shinjiro frowned at him, but followed Alice out of a door to the right of the caterpillar. Once outside, the three of them landed out of the bubble. "Lead the way Alice," Shinjiro said.

Alice nodded. "Getting to the dormouse's lair will require this," she said pulling a vial out of her dress's pocket. It was a vial of light blue liquid. "What is that?" Shinjiro asked.

"A shrinking potion," she said.

Junpei gulped glancing around, "There won't be any predators that will get us once we turn small will there?"

Alice looked at Junpei and said, "There might be, but they won't harm us."

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because I'm the princess of this land and if you're with me, no one will harm us. Unless they're a shadow that is," she clarified.

Junpei nodded and looked reassured. "Bottoms up," Alice said taking a small swig. She quickly handed it to Shinjiro and he did the same, before passing it to Junpei. Shinjiro watched in astonishment as Alice began to grow smaller and smaller until she was no longer visible. Then he felt his body shrinking as well. He looked up and saw everything growing in size. He eventually was the size of Alice and he didn't have to wait long until Junpei was the same size as they were. "Alright fellas, follow me," Alice said.

Shinjiro obliged, for even though she had said they would be safe, he didn't trust being this small would have many advantages. Alice surprised Shinjiro then by grabbing his right hand. He stared at her with a blush enveloping his face. She shared the same look on her face. "I just figured we shouldn't get separated." He nodded and then heard Junpei yell from afar. "Hey guys don't leave me behind!" They waited for him to catch up and Shinjiro stuck his hand out to him. Junpei hesitantly grabbed it, but once Shinjiro had told him why they were holding hands he understood. It would be bad if they were somehow separated from one another. They walked off into the distance to find the dormouse's lair with determination in their hearts.