Nocturnal Visitations Part 1:
(1911 A.D., The Pale Tower, Old Wonderland, the Realm of Ishrakie)
Disturbed by the muffled sounds of commotion, Alice rises from her bed and proceeds to the door, opening it slowly. Stepping out onto the spiral staircase, the now pronounced sound of ruckus activity is locatable. The sound seems to be coming from Ishrakie's room two floors up. Panicked with concern for Ishrakie, Alice bolts up the stairs as quickly as she can, throwing open the door to Ishrakie's room as her heart sinks and her concern spikes.
Upon opening the door to Ishrakie's room, the young girl is greeted by the panicked barking of orders and frantic motions as Cheshire as a strange-looking woman with a monkey tail and a doctor's coat zooms busily around a convulsing and screaming Ishrakie. Pinkish-white tears rain from Ishrakie's eyes as her body writhes in agony. Other individuals stand gathered around the room, including some soldiers. She recognizes their uniforms from her visit to the Council of Adam.
"SHE'S NOT STABILISING! OKSANA. WE ARE GOING TO LOSE HER!" Cheshire presses to the strange woman with the monkey tail.
"NOT ON MY FUCKING WATCH, WE'RE NOT! PREPARE THE INJECTION AT DOUBLE THE DOSAGE AND GET SOME SACRIFICES! I WANT LITTLE GIRLS FRESH AND READY TO THROW INTO THOSE BATTERY CHAMBERS DOWNSTAIRS IF WE NEED TO! WE NEED THEM YOUNG, HEALTHY AND FAST! MOVE IT!" Oksana orders to one of the nearby soldiers, who quickly disappears through a portal with some of his men to carry out her orders.
Alice recognizes one of the individuals to be Queen Ozma of Oz. Ozma is standing directly behind the headboard of Ishrakie's bed in some sort of intensely focused trance. Ozma frames Ishrakie's face with her hands, muttering endless streams of words that Alice does not understand. Strange waves of pale golden energy flow from Ozma's hands into the suffering goddess crying out before her. Sherlock stands nearby, observing the horrific scene playing out before him with a look of subtle fear suppressed by a smouldering 'I told you so and now we're doomed' expression on his face. Overwhelmed with concern for Ishrakie, Alice rushes toward the wailing goddess's bedside, forgetting any embarrassment at her own nakedness in the process, only to be intercepted by Dorothy Gale who had been sitting nearby.
"Alice, wait… Alice, please," Dorothy insists, stepping in front of the girl and pulling her into a gentle but restraining hug to halt Alice's advance.
"LET ME GO! PLEASE. I NEED TO GET HER!" Alice pleads desperately.
"Alice, there is nothing you can do for her... ALICE LISTEN! You need to let them work," Dorothy orders firmly.
"GET HER OUT OF HERE!" Cheshire shouts to Dorothy as he, Oksana and Ozma continue to tend frantically to Ishrakie. One of the soldiers from before emerges from a nearby portal and rushes over to Oksana.
"We have 2,500 girls of sacrificial age ready for insertion into the Tower's Power Chamber," reports the soldier as Ishrakie's wailing intensifies, causing the room to shake.
"GET THOSE GIRLS INSERTED INTO THE NETWORK NOW OR TONIGHT WILL BE THE END FOR ALL OF US!" Oksana shouts, causing the soldier to disappear back through the portal as fast as possible.
"No… no, please. SHE NEEDS ME!" Alice begs as Dorothy gets her into a firm and powerful arm-lock and proceeds to drag the golden-haired girl kicking and screaming out of the room. Once out of the room, the door vanishes behind them, sealing them out.
"WHY DID YOU DO THAT? LET ME BE WITH HER! PLEASE!" Alice screams, banging her fists against Dorothy's bosom. Dorothy embraces Alice lovingly in her arms as tears overtake the weeping lass.
"Shh… Shh… Shh. It's okay. It's okay," Dorothy coos, kissing Alice's forehead. After what seemed like an eternity of brutal gut-churning sobbing, the door to Ishrakie's room finally reappears as Cheshire emerges through it. He looks down at the two young girls, his eyes heavy with the burden drowning his heart.
"How is she?" Alice pleads desperately.
"She is very weak. Queen Ozma thinks she does not have much time left," Cheshire responds grimly.
"How long?" Dorothy asks solemnly.
"A month tops."
"No, no… that's not enough time. I'll fail her. It's not enough time. I'm not ready," Alice cries out as panic ravages her heart even worse.
"Queen Ozma will be staying here in order to aid Ishrakie, hopefully buying us enough time to finish your training."
"I'll stay too. I will stay and help with Alice's training. I will follow all the same training rules as she does and I will follow your training methods exactly, I swear," Dorothy declares to Cheshire before tightening her loving hold around Alice.
"Thank you, thank you so much. I'm so grateful," Alice weeps, her tears soaking Dorothy's bosom. Cheshire nods, exhausted.
"It's late. You two should head to bed, get some rest. This tower can provide you with a guest room, Dorothy…"
"No, please, I don't want to be alone," Alice interrupts, clinging to Dorothy even harder.
"Shh… shh it's okay," Dorothy coos to Alice.
"I will sleep with her while I am here," Dorothy continues, turning her attention to Cheshire.
"As you wish. Well, Ishrakie is in good hands with Queen Ozma here. Dorothy, take Alice back to bed. Training will resume bright and early tomorrow," Cheshire responds, gesturing for the two girls to head to bed. Dorothy picks up the distraught Alice into her arms and carries her bridal style back to her room. Once they reach the room, Dorothy carries Alice over to the bed and lays her down.
"She really is in good hands. Queen Ozma will do everything in her power to help Ishrakie," Dorothy presses as she places her backpack up on a nearby shelf.
"You know her so well, it seems," Alice mutters weakly.
"In many ways, Queen Ozma is to me what Ishrakie is to you. She mentors me, takes care of me and loves me so that when the time comes, I will be ready to do what I must. So that when the moment comes, I can stand my ground and hold the line when it matters most," Dorothy replies, turning her attention back to Alice.
"So what is with the nakedness?" Dorothy chuckles, as her eyes scan the resplendent form of the naked blond girl laid out on the bed before her with an amused smile.
"Oh, it's a rule of Cheshire's training, sorry," Alice answers with a half-hearted smile.
"Oh trust me, no need to apologise, but if it is a rule of your training, then it applies to me now, too," Dorothy grins playfully as she proceeds to cast off her clothes. She lets the soft pale light of the tower stone dance upon her perfectly toned naked body as she folds her clothes and places them on the shelf next to her backpack.
"Oh, wow… um okay, yeah of course," Alice stammers, nervously trying not to stare at the nude girl before her as her heart flutters. Wow… she really is very lovely, thinks Alice.
"It's okay to look, you know? We're both girls, and I am clearly not the modest type," Dorothy responds with a bemused smile as Alice shyly averts her gaze.
"So, how does this tower work? Do I just think about a second bed and it makes one or…" Dorothy starts as she looks around the room.
"No, I mean it's fine. My bed is big enough for both of us, right?" Alice interrupts meekly.
"Oh really, so that's how you want it?" Dorothy claps back with a grin as she walks over to the bed.
"I see that wicked gleam in your eyes, so don't get any funny ideas. I just don't want to be alone right now," Alice counters with mock scolding as she wags her finger at Dorothy. Dorothy rolls her eyes with a smirk before climbing into bed with Alice but keeping a respectful distance away from the blonde girl.
"Goodnight, my sweet Alice," Dorothy whispers tenderly as she claps her hands, causing the soft pale light of the tower to fade, casting the room in a soft, gentle darkness. Unsatisfied, she claps her hands again, causing a large window to appear in the wall, allowing the sterling light of the moon to saturate the room in its phantom glow.
"That's better," Dorothy chuckles to herself as she lays her head down on the wonderfully comfortable pillows and closes her eyes. A few moments pass by in silence.
"Don't take this the wrong way, but… could you hold me? Please," Alice whispers .
"It would be a pleasure," Dorothy coos back playfully as she slides over to Alice's side of the bed and wraps her arms around her, playing big spoon to Alice's little spoon.
"This okay?" Dorothy asks tenderly. Alice just nods, allowing the warmth of Dorothy's embrace to wash over her, pushing her from the waking world into the delicately churning sea of dreams.
"Sleep well, Alice. Your journey is far from over," Dorothy mutters as she places a tiny kiss upon the head of the sleeping girl in her arms before allowing sleep to take her as well.