DDBII -Short Story I (WIP)

# Side Story I

**Aeon In Wonderland**

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I opened my eyes to find myself standing alone in a vast, unknown realm.

The sky was a kaleidoscope of swirling purples and greens, and the ground beneath my feet shimmered like crystal, reflecting an endless orange and blue checkerboard of stars.

The extrasensory perceptions of my third eye were clouded by a strange, whimsical energy that hummed a jazzy tune.

Scents of candied meats and spiced fruit tickled my nose.

“This isn’t the Golden Sea Realm,” I muttered, trying to comprehend my surroundings.

“Correct!” A familiar voice chirped from nowhere and everywhere.

I turned to see a beautiful goddess balancing on the edge of a gigantic obsidian teacup.

It was Pandora, her usual celestial radiance twisted into something more flamboyant. She wore a suit of checkered fabric, a tilted top hat adorned with white phoenix feathers, and a grin too wide for her face.

I looked down at myself to see that I was dressed as a butler in a tailored black suit with white trim. Three black orchid flowers were smiling up at me from the lapel.

“Welcome back to Wonderland, handsome,” Pandora said, tipping her feathered hat. “For your first time, you’re terribly late!”

“For what?” I asked, looking up from my strange outfit.

“For tea, of course!” Pandora exclaimed, twirling a glowing celestial spoon. “But first, you’ll need to lose your way through the maze.”

Before I could ask what she meant, Pandora flicked her spoon and the world rippled. The landscape shifted around me until I was surrounded by towering, twisted hedges that reflected distorted images of a happy rainbow forest.

The hedges rustled, and I turned to see a white blur darting past me. Luna, dressed in a silver waistcoat and carrying an oversized opal pocket watch as large as her head, looked frantic as she scurried along.

Her fox ears and tails twitched vigorously. “Master’s late, master’s late!” Luna cried out. “Why is master just standing there? The Queen of Flames is expecting master!”

“Wait, Luna?” I blinked. “What is going on?”

“No time, too much time!” Luna snapped, grabbing my arm and pulling me through the maze. “If late, the Queen of Flames declares it treason, and master doesn’t want to see what happens to traitors in this realm.”

Very confused, I allowed myself to be led by her. The hedge walls blurred into unknown amused reflections watching us run.

When we finally broke through the maze, we entered a grand glade filled with flaming flowers.

At the center was Aria, the Queen of Flames. She wore a bone-white gown adorned with flaming red flowers while sitting on a throne made of feathered wings.

Her halo was styled into an elaborate crown while her solid flame harp rested beside her.

“You’re early,” Aria said rhythmically, her voice a pleasant song.

“Apologies, Your Majesty,” Luna stammered, bowing deeply. “Luna meant to be on time.”

Aria’s eyes narrowed, then widened when they landed on me. “My love.. You have finally returned.. But why did you ever leave in the first place?” Her song grew melancholic.

“I don’t know what’s happening,” I murmured. “I don’t even know where I am.”

“That’s no excuse,” Aria snapped, rising from her throne. Her harp vibrated, creating a haunting melody that made the air sad. “Do you know the punishment for abandoning Wonderland?”

“Punishment?” I frowned. “I don’t—”

“Off with his dreads!” Aria declared, raising her harp. “You made me do this.”

Before I could even react, a dark shadow darted between us.

“Not so fast, Your Majesty,” came a smooth calm voice.

Eve, clad in a sleek, flowing black gown stepped forward twirling her spear, Noctus lazily. “He’s under my protection.”

Aria raised an eyebrow. “Protection? From a who?”

“From stagnation,” Eve replied, stepping closer to me. “This realm is shirking while growing larger, and he’s the only one who can fix it.”

“Luna didn’t do it!” Luna shouted, clutching her pocket watch tightly. “Luna found it like that.”

Aria hesitated a moment, her gaze flicking between me, Luna, and Eve. Finally, she lowered her harp. “Very well. But you’re never allowed to leave me..”

We backed away and traveled through the glade.

We eventually stumbled into a clearing where a long, crooked table overflowing with mismatched teapots, plates, and a bizarre assortment of cakes balanced at impossible angles.

Sitting on a corner of the table was a round cat with glowing purple eyes.

“Rhea?” I asked, recognizing the purple-rimmed glasses.

She rolled and stretched lazily, her tail flicking a teacup. “Welcome, little brother Aeon. You’re just in time for tea.”

“We don’t have time for tea,” Eve said sharply.

“Nonsense,” Pandora chimed in, appearing out of nowhere. “There’s always time for tea!”

Luna checked her pocket watch and silently nodded to herself.

“Early and late, late and early!” Pandora exclaimed, tossing golden tea into the air and then catching it with her spoon. “Aeon, you’re right on time for tea and tales!”

“Tales of what?” I asked, desperately trying to follow what was happening.

“Why, tales of destiny, of course!” Pandora twirled her spoon, and it transformed into her glowing scepter, Lumina. “Here, have a cup!”

She poured starlight into an obsidian teacup. It jumped, sparkled, and sizzled while whispering secrets of the universe.

Eve sat, leaning back in a chair while balancing Noctus on one finger. “Don’t drink the tea,” she whispered. “It’s riddled with paradoxes.”

“But that’s the point! Isn’t it divine?” Pandora grinned, her wings fluttering behind her. “How else will he find his way through Wonderland?”

Rhea snorted like a piglet. “Beware. In Wonderland, tea parties often lead to trouble.”

Pandora clapped her hands, and the table groaned as it shifted into a massive chessboard.

The teacups and plates transformed into chess pieces, each one a still caricature of the Twilight Battle Maids and the Misfit Crafters.

“What now?” I sighed.

“You play,” Pandora said, mischievously. “An impossible game with impossible rules!”

“How do you play an impossible game?” I asked.

“It’s possible!” Luna shouted. “Probably!”

A soft, musical laugh echoed through the clearing. A pair of glowing, purple glasses appeared above us, followed by a wide grin.

Rhea perched atop a tree branch, her tail swaying lazily.

“You’re all playing the wrong game,” Rhea purred, her voice dripping with amusement. “The Queen’s glade isn’t for tea parties or probability.”

“What is it for, then?” I asked, knowing the answer was probably absurd.

Rhea disappeared, reappearing beside me. “Why, for the Rainbow Queen’s Trial, of course. And you, little brother Aeon, are the stellar witness.”

I was whisked away to a grand courtroom made of crystal and flame, where Aria sat atop a throne of flaming flowers and feathered wings.

Pandora and Eve were on either side of me while Luna paced behind us and Rhea lounged on the witness stand smirking.

The audience was filled with thousands of phase elementals that seemed to be frozen in place.

“Aeon, you stand accused of being too beautiful for the realm of Wonderland,” Aria declared, her harp glowing ominously. “How do you plead?”

“.. What?” I asked, somehow more confused than I was a few minutes ago.

“No excuses!” Aria’s voice rang out like a symphony. “You stole all of our hearts and we all love you!”

My brows furrowed. “Is that a bad thing or?”

Pandora leaned over and whispered, “Don’t worry, the trial’s just a formality.”

“It’s a casual thing,” Eve added.

The trial devolved into chaos as Pandora started juggling teacups of various sizes and colors, Eve challenged a jury of spiders to a duel, and Rhea turned into a cloud of sunshine, giggling uncontrollably.

Luna tried to restore order by shouting the infinite time, but it only made things worse.

“Enough!” I yelled. “Does anyone else hear that?”

In the background, echoing around us was a booming, boisterous laughter.

Pandora clapped. “Time someone said it!”

Eve twirled Noctus. “Through gravity and space.”

The courtroom dissolved into math equations, and the world around us faded.

I opened my eyes at a grand dinner table filled with half-eaten divine dishes.

Pandora, Eve, Rhea, Aria, and Luna were all waking up around the table while Ogun laughed hysterically.

Oya glared at him with a very disapproving squint as she created a small whirlwind to remove the cup of rum from my hands.

“I only had a sip?!” I exclaimed.

“Well, that was fun,” Pandora said. “Let’s never do it again.”

“Agreed,” Eve added.

“I didn’t even drink any,” Aria shook her head.

“More! More!” Luna laughed.

“The first time is always the best little brother. But now we can break out the hard stuff.” Ogun said grinning.

“No!” The table shouted in unison, excluding Luna.