Oncupone: A Twisted Fairytale

"Oh, yeah. Uh, makes sense," Rampion said, her cheeks reddened as she cast her gaze downward. Suddenly, she remembered why she had come to the clearing in the first place. She excused herself and ducked behind a large bush. She changed into the clothes she kept there - trousers and a loose fitting shirt - then rejoined the group.

"Wait, are you the Giant-Killer or the acrobat?" asks Onesie.

Jack grinned mysteriously and patted his satchel. "I can be both, I can be neither. Depends on the situation."

"Good. I thought it was you. One of the little pigs said you had something to tell me regarding Tooth Fairy sightings. Is that true?"

"Tooth Fairy, Tooth Fairy..." Jack pursed his lips. "Little woman, pink hair? Don't think so. Other than the fact that she's been really busy lately."

"Busy? What do you mean?"

"What with all the fighting going on," said Jack in an "obviously" voice. "People's teeth getting knocked out right and left. Woman's gonna go broke!"

"I've always wondered what she did with the teeth..."

"She builds a beautiful kingdom out of them," crooned a new voice. It sounded like that of a young child. "A palace, a garden, a forest - all out of glittering, pearly teeth."

A little girl clutching a stuffed rabbit had wandered into the clearing. She was a very lovely child - not a hair out of place, not a speck of dirt on her dress - but, still, there was something vaguely unsettling about her.

"By my fairy godmother..." Murmurs Onesie. "Alice."
He points his rifle at her.
"Don't even think about coming any closer."

A look of intense pouting overtook Alice's face. She clutched her stuffed rabbit tightly to her chest. "Use words, not guns," she said, in a mocking imitation of a grammar school teacher. She stuck her tongue out childishly, but did as Onesie said and stayed where she was.

"Alice...," Rampion said to herself, mulling the name over. Then she remembered. "The psycho kid?" she asked, eyes widening.

"I'm not 'psycho'," Alice protested haughtily, "I'm peculiar. Nothing more, nothing less; not the worst, not the best."

"After what you did to the Cheshire cat, I'm quite happy keeping hold of my gun," says Onesie. "And I thought gingerbread cottages were bad..."

"Chess deserved what he got," Alice said defensively, "He was a liar and traitor!"

"If he was a traitor," Rampion said, "Then what are you?"

"An opportunist," Alice said smugly.

"I read your report. For the record, I've never seen so much Emperor's New Clothes in one place at the same time."
Onesie cocks his rifle.
"If you even touch that cannon, even lay one finger on it, I'll blow your head off."
He raises the rifle and sights along it.
"Just so's you know, the Cheshire cat was a friend of mine. Touch the cannon, I beg you."

"Alright, alright, that's enough," said Scarlet, rising from checking the cannon's workings were still intact. "Alice... what do you want?"

"She's a psychopath," muttered Jack, toying with the handle of a knife he'd produced. "She doesn't want to do anything but kill us all."

"Hush, you."

(ah i need to find a place to jump back in -_-)

Alice stuck her tongue out at Jack, "Maybe wrong, maybe right. It might be day, it might be night."

Turning to Scarlet, she said ever-so-politely, "I just want to hide among you for a while. We're playing a grand game of hide-and-seek, you see. And no one would ever suspect me to be with you lot." Seeing the looks of suspicion on their faces, she added, "If we ever come close to being found, I'll run. I promise. Cross my heart and hope to die, if I should ever tell a lie." She smiled an adorable, yet slightly creepy smile.

"You've lied enoug times already, Alice," says Onesie. "I'd be happy to oblige."

Alice's eyes grew very wide indeed. "When have I ever lied?" she asked innocently. Before Onesie could even open his mouth, however, she continued, "Don't answer that! You'll probably say something dreadful and make me sound like a horrible monster. But I'm not the monster." Tears welled up in her eyes.

"Who is then?" Rampion asked. She did her best to remain skeptical, but it was hard to keep her heart from being softened by the little girl's tears. Then she reminded herself of how much killing Alice had had a direct hand in and the sympathy evaporated almost completely.

"I can't say the name," Alice said, tears all but disappearing, "That would be cheating."

"So you're going to make us guess, yes?"

"Ugh, I hate guessing," muttered Scarlet. "We technically can't turn her away, Onesie. She's a citizen looking for aid. But," she turned to Alice. "We can still take you into custody unless you tell us what we need to know. Your choice."

"There's no need for such drastic measures," Alice said, "You haven't even told me what it is you want to know." She held up Nivens by his ragged, floppy ears and smiled. "We're all ears. Ask away. We'll answer as best we can."