A human girl with short black hair opened her eyes, feeling her head spin. After she caught her bearings, she glanced at her surroundings.

She was inside a dark room, painted with glowing purple paint across the walls. The floor has a marble checkerboard pattern, like a dance floor inside a ballroom. On the walls across the purple paint were smiling mouths beneath large cat eyes, glowing green. Somehow those grinning cat faces looked haunting.

The girl, Abby, tried to move, but metal braces gripped her arms and legs on a chair. She also noticed she was wearing a blue dress with a white pinafore over her legs.

How odd.

She didn't remember dancing up as Alice before going out with her friends to Dream World. Did someone change her while she was unconscious?

A speaker screeched, scratching through her ears. When it stopped, a soft giggle echoed.

"Welcome, my new dear. Welcome to my Wonderland. Heeheehee." The voice sounded very malignant with a humorous sense.

Abby gulped. "Who’s there? Who are you?"

The voice clicked. "Ah ah ah. I can't tell you that. Not after you complete my trial."

Abby looked around again. "Where are my friends? Sammy and Jenna?"

"Oooooooooooh, I'm afraid none of them passed my test. You are now the last one."

"What? What did you do to them, freak!?"

"If you don't want to share their fate, then you must pass my trial."

Abby glared at the speaker. "What trial?"

"The wonderful adventure through Wonderland," the voice laughed. "You will be Alice, my Alice. All you have to do is follow the white rabbit through my amazing gauntlet. There will be puzzles and wonderful surprises. If you can solve them all, you will see another day. Heeheehee."

Abby closed her eyes, trying to remember how she ended up in this weird place. But her mind was pretty foggy. "Why are you doing this? Just let me go!"

"Oh, I can't do that," the voice clicked. "The game has already started, and it needs to finish. If you don't go, then I might need to kill you. Is that enough to motivate you?"

Abby's body shook. "O...Okay! I'll play your game! Please don't hurt me!"

The voice giggled. "That's the spirit!"

On the chair, the braces snapped open, releasing Abby. She rubbed her wrists as she stood up.

"I will guide you through my Wonderland," the voice explained. "The rules are simple. Follow the white rabbit through my contraptions. There will be rooms with different puzzles for you. If you can solve them, you will live. If not, you die. If you make it through the entire world, you will get a prize."

"What prize?"

The voice chuckled. "A special prize for the lucky winner. I can't say it because it will ruin the adventure. Just listen to my instructions, and you will have the chance to live. Understand?"

Abby cleared her throat. "Okay….."

"Good girl!"

On the wall, a hidden door slid open, revealing a dark passage to a metal door. Abby stepped through and pushed the metal door open.

She entered a square blue room with grass on the floor. On the blue ceiling, a yellow sphere bulb hung over Abby’s head, representing the sun.

Abby glanced around until she spotted a white apparition hopping toward a hole under a tree. It looked like a short bunny in a blue waistcoat, carrying a big golden pocket watch.

That must be the white rabbit! Abby raced after the holo projection and stopped when it jumped down the black hole. She looked down, only seeing darkness beneath the hole. It must be a very deep hole.

“You better hurry,” another speaker announced with the same sinister voice. “If you lose the white rabbit, death will catch up to you.”

Abby gulped and jumped down.

She screamed through the abyss, feeling the wind fly around her. She closed her eyes, hoping her body would land on something soft.

After a few seconds, her body hit a pillow pile at the bottom. She sighed, feeling fortunate she survived falling through a deep hole.

Ahead of her, the ghostly white rabbit hopped toward a pink door at the end of another dark passageway. It opened the door, hopping through before shutting it.

I must hurry! Abby rolled off the pillows and ran through the passage. Whatever the strange man said about death catching up to her, it could mean her captor might spring a trap on her if she didn’t move quickly. Poison gas, sawblades, laser cannon, or whatever it might be, Abby doesn't want to wait and find out.

She pulled the door open and found a white room with three doors, including the door she walked through behind her. Each door has a different color; red, blue, and green. The floor was pink, just like candy.

What is this? A funhouse? Abby thought.

In a corner, a speaker clicked with a chuckle. "Now you must choose carefully, my Alice. One door will lead you to the next room. The others will lead you to your doom."

Abby eyed each door, sweating as her body shook. "Which one? How can I tell?"

"Hehehehehehe! I can't tell you, but I will give you a hint. What is Alice's favorite color?"

Abby never read the book. She saw a play once at school with her class. The character never mentioned her favorite color.

"Tick-tock! Tick-tock! The rabbit is getting away. You better hurry," The voice chuckled.

Abby glared at the green door on the left side. I better hurry.

She approached the green door and pulled it open. On the other side was only darkness, glooming like a void.

This must be the way out! With her heart racing, Abby entered the dark room.

Once she stopped at the center, the door slammed shut, clicking. Abby gasped as she looked back. "The hell?"

Red skulls flashed everywhere and a speaker laughed.

"Oops! Wrong room," said the voice. "Bye-bye!"

From the corners, green gas hissed out, clouding around Abby. She coughed as the sulfur smell burned through her nose. Her eyes watered, and her skin felt like they were melting.

"Help!" She ran to the door and pounded on it. "Let me out!"

"You are not my Alice," the voice stated, clicking in disappointment. "But I will find another one. No matter how long it takes!"

Abby fell to the floor. Her life was choking away.

"No….." She raised her hand up and released her last breath.

*****

Rei screamed while clenching her hands on the metal bar. But it wasn’t a scream of terror. It was a scream of excitement.

Rally howled next to her with a metal bar around him too. Like her, he was definitely enjoying himself.

In space, they were flying through metal rings at the speed of light. They flew upward slowly and dashed down very fast. Turning and swirling all over the void of stars.

They flew over a moon and approached an orange planet. No cold air blew through Rei’s short orange hair, but the adrenaline rushed through her veins as her seat jolted during each turn.

While racing down, the view blurred into an orange blaze like a mist forming in the sky. Rei realized they were actually clouds until the barren landscape appeared. Sharp mountain ridges stretched all over the place. Although dull, the alien world looked very breathtaking.

After flying through the last ring, Rei and Rally reached a tall mountain with an open hangar in the middle. They entered the hangar chamber and slowly landed on a floating platform.

“Congratulations!” a male computer voice announced. “Welcome to Zoter!”

The screen turned black as darkness engulfed Rei and Rally. Their seat lowered and stopped with a hiss. The metal bars ascended and a hatch opened on the left near Rei.

She stepped out onto the metal platform, feeling wholesome although her arms and legs wobbled.

Rally came out next, doing his best not to fall on top of her. He rubbed his tail, waking it up since he sat against it inside the pod.

“Sesang-e! That was so awesome!” Rei exclaimed, raising her fists up. “That simulator felt so realistic!”

“It sure does,” Rally smiled, following Rei down the stairway from the ride’s platform.

Rei’s heart still pounded like a jackhammer. She felt like jumping back to the virtual simulator. Almost if there weren’t more rides she wanted to see.

By the time the pair reached the concrete ground, neo rays beamed through the night sky. The smell of cotton candy, popcorn, and hot fatty food filtered the air. Colorful bright rides could be seen everywhere while electronic pop music played from invisible speakers.

Rei and Rally approached the central plaza where a carousel spun, playing classic carnival music. Three cat children danced with a teddy bear mascot, who represented the theme park’s logo.

High above the entrance stood a sign with the teddy bear logo, titled, “Dreamland, where all your fantasies come true.”

After one month of bounty hunting, Rei and Rally finally went on their date as Rally promised. Crime still raged in the city, but the MCPD managed to summon plenty of officers to patrol the streets. New bounty hunters joined the force to earn the profitable rewards. It seemed like everyone enjoyed danger.

Since Rei heard about the Dreamland theme park, it was the first place she asked Rally to bring her to instead of a nightclub or a bar. Dreamland may look like only a place for kids, but plenty of adults shared their love around the park. Rei loved theme parks, even if they were built for children. She has a deep nostalgia for them since her parents used to take her to them when she was little.

“There is so much to do around here!” Rei shouted, glancing around. “Where should we got next?”

“Let’s get something to eat,” Rally suggested. “I think we missed our dinner time.”

Rei’s stomach rumbled. She hasn’t eaten lunch or a shack before Rally picked her up. She expected he would take her to a nice fancy buffet until the image of Dreamland popped inside her head. Once they arrived, all the available rides distracted her from her hunger. A girl needs to eat in order to have more fun.

Rei giggled while rubbing her belly below her pink crop top shirt. She also wore a purple leather jacket over her shirt to stay warm. “Yeah, I forgot I was starving. Where should we eat?”

"There is a food district at the other side of the plaza," said Rally, pointing his finger past the carousel. "They should have different grubs to find."

"Dalkomhan! Let's check it out!" Rei couldn't wait to fill up her stomach.

While walking, Rei noticed Rally's hand holding her right hand gently. She smirked at him as her cheeks blushed red.

She didn't mind him while her hand as he walked close to her. Couples usually do that, but Rally and she weren't a couple yet. However, holding hands could keep the perverts away from her as long as she stayed with Rally.

"So have you done any interesting cases last week?" Rei asked.

Rally shrugged. "I stopped a robbery and rescued a kid from a Humanimal trafficker. Nothing much since then. How about you?"

"Luna and I captured a female wrestler using muscle enhancing drugs at a match. She had to disguise herself as a wrestler to get close to our target."

"Really?" Rally rubbed his hand down his dog face. "Oh, man! I can't believe I missed that!"

"You like wrestling?"

"Only the ones with the hottest women!" Rally flashed his fangs in a grin.

Rei shrugged. "I don't think Luna would appreciate you watching her fight?"

"Why not?"

"Because she is a…" Rei widened as she stared past Rally. "Eomeo!"

"What? What is it?" Rally glanced around.

Rei rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Apparently, her cybernetic eyes weren't glitching. "Luna?"