Shinjiro in Wonderland

Game of Tag

Author's Note: Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait for this chapter. I hope you are enjoying this story. Leaving a vote or a comment would really make my day! :)

The sky had started to become tainted by swirls of purple. Stars soon appeared in the sky as well and before the comrades' eyes a crescent moon appeared. It wasn't a normal looking moon though. This moon was smirking at them as if were a mouth. "My, my who do we have here?" Shinjiro heard a silky smooth voice ask. A chubby purple and pink stripped cat appeared in the air then, holding its head in its hand.

"Aliccce," the cat purred.

Alice glanced at the cat and said smirking, "Yes?"

"What are you doing here?" it asked.

"Well as I'm sure you know Wonderland is falling into ruins. I'm here to get these fellows leader back. You do have him, don't you?" Alice questioned.

The cat nodded. "I do. But you'll have to play a game before you get him," it said smiling.

"Ugh, I forgot how much you love your games," Alice said rolling her eyes.

"What game are we playing?" Junpei asked a little too excitedly.

"It's called catch the shifter," the cat said changing into a man suddenly.

"And what are the rules?" Akihiko asked.

"The rules are simple. It's like a game of tag. But, you can only catch me if I am in my human form. If I am in my cat form it won't count even if you do manage to get me," the cat said smirking.

Shinjiro gaped at him. "How exactly are we supposed to catch you if you can change shape at will?" he asked.

The man smirked, "It's not that difficult. I will only be in my cat form for five minutes and my human form the same amount of time. But during the time I am a cat, I will be the one chasing you. If I manage to tag one of you, you lose. Have fun!"

With that he vanished into thin air. Alice gritted her teeth, "Damn you Cheshire! You picked one of your hardest games!"

Shinjiro looked at Alice then. "How can we beat him then?"

Alice let out a deep sigh, "Only by out smarting the trickster of course."

Junpei groaned, "This is gonna be a pain."

Alice nodded, "Yes but let me tell you how we can win."

Shinjiro was going to follow Alice's plan to the end. He knew it would work. She was not only cute but smart too. Shinjiro raced through the woods, looking around for the Cheshire cat. He spotted him then, running away at an unnatural speed. He was quick, quicker than Shinjiro thought he would be. Shinjiro then pulled out his evoker and pointed it at his head.

"Castor come!" he shouted.

Suddenly his persona appeared before him. "Castor, we are trying to tag that man," Shinjiro said pointing at the human running away.

Castor nodded, "I understand."

Shinjiro hopped onto his persona's steed and the two took off at an ungodly speed.

Meanwhile, Alice was racing towards the Cheshire cat as well. She was invisible at the moment, however. Becoming invisible was one of Alice's many powers. She could shrink at will and grow taller along with becoming invisible. Alice would make sure that she would be the one to catch that damn cat.

Alice got so close to the Cheshire cat that she could touch him. However, he looked in Alice's direction. What was going on? She was invisible! "I can smell you Alice dear," he said suddenly. Alice cursed. The Cheshire cat then took off at lightning speed. "Shinjiro I hope you can catch him..."

Shinjiro saw the Cheshire cat racing past him again. He raced towards him, getting close. The Cheshire cat skidded to a stop then. He changed forms and became a cat. Shinjiro cursed. He had to come up with an idea or he would be tagged. Just as the Cheshire cat was about to charge him, Shinjiro switched personas. He summoned Alexica. The Cheshire cat stopped and looked at the new persona. "What is that?" he questioned. Shinjiro chuckled, "Oh you'll see."

Shinjiro then screamed out, "ILLUSIONA!"

The landscape around the two changed then. It was the reality betwixt dream and nightmare. The Cheshire cat thought they had merely teleported somewhere in Wonderland. He raced towards Shinjiro but he had a plan. "ILLUSIONA!" he screamed with pure hatred. The Cheshire cat stopped in its tracks when it saw a mirror appear. The Cheshire cat tried to escape his reflection, but more mirrors continued to appear. He was trapped. The Cheshire cat changed forms then. Shinjiro smirked and walked up to him. The illusion faded and they were back in the woods. However, Shinjiro had tagged the Cheshire cat. "Tag you're it," he said smiling. The Cheshire cat cursed. "What was that?" "That? Just my new persona that the Hatter gave me," he said grinning. The Cheshire cat's eyes narrowed, "The Hatter eh? Damn him." Shinjiro laughed, "Give up cat. Where's our leader?"

The Cheshire cat sighed. "I'll take you to him."

"Everyone! The game's over! You guys won!" he cried out. Alice appeared behind one of the trees then, as well as Junpei and Akihiko. The crew followed after the Cheshire cat. It took a while, but finally they saw a cottage in the distance. "He's in there," the Cheshire cat said. He was about to leave, when Shinjiro grabbed him by the collar. "Hey, you can't leave yet," he said.

"Why not? I held my part of the bargain!" he cried out.

"I want to make sure you aren't lying," he said.

The Cheshire cat sighed, "Fine." He got free of Shinjiro's grip and headed toward the cottage. He opened the door and sure enough Minato was sitting by a fireplace looking through a book. When he heard the door open, he got up slowly.

"Hey guys," he said.

"Leader, do you know why we're here?" Shinjiro questioned.

He nodded, "Yes I know. We need to save Wonderland from the shadows."

"Correct. But we need to find Rei and Zen first," Shinjiro replied.

Minato nodded, "Of course. Where are they?"

"Some place with a guy named Bill the Lizard," Shinjiro said.

Minato gave him a blank look.

"Don't worry. I'm the princess of Wonderland, so I can take you guys there," Alice said grinning.

Minato looked at her and smiled, "You're Alice."

It was more of a statement than a question.

"Yes," she said.

Minato smiled, "You're different than I imagined."

Alice laughed, "So I've been told."

"Can I go now?" the Cheshire cat asked, becoming huffy.

Shinjiro nodded, "You're good to go."

With that the Cheshire cat flipped up into the air and vanished.

"OK guys we're off to Bill's lair!" Alice said.

The gang headed east to where Rei and Zen were.