Chapter 1 - Untitled

Paper!

Some things are just around the corner.



“He has to like this one,” Mechi sighed as she put her 13th comic book into the mail to send to that horrible publisher.

“He's already turned down all my others. He's sure to like this one.”

Mechi was a bland person, short and skinny. She had curly chestnut brown hair, always worn back in a low thick ponytail.

“If he likes this one, I'll finally be able to afford a different publisher instead of this old, rude, picky man!”

She slumped up the 102 steps to her small cramped apartment.



For the next three weeks she dashed hopefully down to her mailbox to find nothing but junk mail and bills. But on the 23rd day she opened her mailbox to find her wonderful comic book all marked up in that red pen she had seen, oh so many times. She screamed. She then noticed a thin package for her. She walked quietly upstairs, staring at the package, full of wonder.



When she was at her desk, she opened the package to find a piece of paper, with a note from her publisher. It read:

Try drawing a real comic on this.

From,

Donald Hatchet, Publisher

“Is this some kind of sick joke?” she fumed.

She then took that piece of paper and drew. All of her ideas and feelings flowed onto the paper. When she was done, she held it up to admire her work. It held a small girl in the left middle of the page. She had a bow on her head and huge bangs. She also had triangle pigtails. She was wearing a white uniform for some school and over the knee-high stockings with HUGE shoes. In the bizarre background there were staircases upside-down and sideways, cards and figures, hats and creatures. It all had an eerie feeling to it. Mechi signed her name.



That's when it happened. The things around her began to spin and change. Everything was moving, laughing at her. Then everything went black.



When Mechi opened her eyes she was in a world unlike her own It was her drawing, with everything she could imagine and more. Then running down one of the sideways stairs came an animal. She took a couple steps back, praying it wouldn't hurt her. She looked down and there was a white rabbit in a red suit about as tall as her knee, talking to her.

“Hello there little miss. Would you happen to know the way to Port Card Square?” the rabbit asked.

He looked up to Mechi with one beady eye, the other stitched shut. She shivered.

“No I don't. I don't even know where I am.” replied Mechi lamely.

“Oh well…you know I could show you around here,” he suggested.

“I'd like that, thank you.” Mechi confirmed, frightened.

And he pointed with his cane, “This way.”



He tipped his hat and he was off. He raced to a mirror staircase. “Hurry, we can't keep them waiting,” he called.

Mechi ran over to him and looked at herself in horror. She was her own cartoon! Too horrified to speak she followed him. After quite some time of switching staircases, going this way and that, and going sideways and upside down, they reached a door with no walls to hold it up. Mechi looked around the door only to see more stairs

”Where does this door lead?” asked Mechi impatiently.

“You'll see.”



He took out a large, thick, 6” key out of a small coat pocket.

“How…. what…. Huh?” The rabbit ignored her and opened the door.



It opened to a completely different place. They stepped into a huge courtroom.

“Well there you are Mechi. We've been waiting for you.”

She stared up to a large cat. He smiled down at her with sharp sparkling teeth. The cat had scars and stitches all over him. “And it just keeps on getting better,” she thought.

“Take a seat.” The cat snapped his fingers and a tall wooden chair came zooming up from behind and knocked her off her feet.

“Would you care to join us for a drink?” the cat smirked.

“Uh, what are you having?” questioned Mechi.

“Oh just tea,” the cat replied smugly.

“Well…alright.”



At the very moment she agreed, the room began to change. The longest table Mechi had ever seen came into view, coming at them going faster and faster. Right when it looked like it was going to hit her, it stopped. Mechi couldn't even see the end of the table. It looked as though it went on forever.

She took a sip of her tea and asked, “What are your names?”

“Us?” the rabbit piped.

“You want to know our names?”

“Yes,” Mechi said firmly.

“Well, if you must know…” the cat started, “My name is the Chess Cat, at your service...”

“…And the Time Rabbit,” the rabbit finished while taking out a large pocket watch.

“Why do you have such strange names?” Mechi asked rudely.

“Strange names? A strange name here would be, let's say…Bob or Joe or Kate and such.” The Time Rabbit chuckled.

“Oh,” Mechi said, puzzled.

“Mechi,” the Chess Cat said, changing the subject, “You know there are some people you should stay away from…”

”WHO?” Mechi gasped.

“Oh, just the Mad Hatchet,” the Chess cat grinned.

“Mad Hatchet?” Mechi wondered. She had heard that name before…

”Cat, don't scare the child with telling her about him!” the Time rabbit yelled as he pounded his dainty paw against the table.

“What does he do?” she whimpered.

“Oh, he can just appear out of the shadows and grab you, take you back to his lair and drive you insane,” the Chess Cat said, bored.

“Oh, dear,” the Time Rabbit gasped, wide eyed. “We're late!”



Both the Chess Cat and the Time Rabbit grabbed Mechi by the hand and ran. “Wh-where are we going?” yelled Mechi, trying to keep up with them.

“To the game.”



When they got to the top of the winding staircase, they stopped.

“Which would you prefer, an umbrella or balloon?” the Time Rabbit panted.

“Whatever for?” Mechi asked.

“To fly with, of course! Now which one?!” the rabbit yelled.

“Uh . . . umbrella” Mechi sighed.

The Chess Cat handed the rabbit and Mechi an umbrella each and took a balloon for himself.

“Are you ready?” the cat asked.

“Ready as I'll ever be,” Mechi replied.

“OK on 3. 1, 2, . . . 3!” The rabbit screamed and they jumped.



They floated down rather nicely, not falling fast, just floating. Mechi looked down and saw what looked like a tennis court, or a badminton court. She looked over to the cat and asked, “What is that down there?”

“Oh, that's where we are going,” the cat sighed.

“And, we're LATE!” The rabbit yelled.

“Why does he care so much?” Mechi asked.

“Oh, he doesn't care,” the cat grinned. “The queen does.”

“Queen?” Mechi wondered.

“Here we are, oh, and the game has already started. Rats!” The Time Rabbit sighed.

“Well, let's sit here,” the cat said as he pointed to 3 empty seats. Mechi sat down and watched. There was a large score board and it read:









“Oh,” Mechi mumbled as she looked down at the court. There on the left side, was the black team. The black queen was wearing a black cape and a crown, like the top of the queen in chess. It was the same with the king, though the king was much older than the queen. It was the very same for the white team.



It was the strangest game she had ever seen. There were red, yellow, and blue birds, catching the ball and changing it to different sizes and weights. A little before the game had finished, Mechi heard a chuckling behind her and turned around just in time to see the Mad Hatchet with his hands reaching for her coming closer and closer.



Suddenly, Mechi was falling, through a pipe, through clouds, and a chessboard. Then smiles and eyes were laughing at her. She landed on something hard and cold.



When Mechi woke, she was in a cell, with no walls, just bars. She looked above her and there was a metal swing. There was a door with a lock on it. She was in a birdcage!

Beside her was another cage with the Chess Cat trapped inside. He smiled helplessly at her.

“I never did get to finish that game of chess…” cried the Chess Cat.

“Is that what you live for cat? Chess?” yelled Mechi.

“Well no, not completely…”

“And how did you get those scars all over yourself?” Mechi blurted. If she didn't find out now, she never would.

“Oh these,” the cat pointed to a scar, “The queen did it-“

“The cat is wrong, don't listen to him!” Mechi swirled around to find the Time Rabbit behind her.

“The queen had nothing to do with it!” the rabbit screeched.

“Who are you kidding, bunny? Frankly I don't know why you bother to take her side anyway, after she stitched your eye shut…after what you saw.“

“DON'T REMIND ME!” the Time Rabbit yelped as though he stepped on a pin. “You two stop fighting! We have to get out of here!” Mechi yelled at the top of her lungs.

“Don't waste your breath.” The cat mouthed.

“Do you think either of you could open the cages?” ask Mechi.

“Well it just so happens, I do.” The rabbit smiled.



Everyone was silent as the Time Rabbit drew out a thin old rusty key. The rabbit grinned and opened his and Mechi's cage.

He jumped down and hollered, “Come on!”

Then, right before Mechi jumped, they heard footsteps coming closer…

“RUN! IT'S THE MAD HATCHET!” the rabbit yelped as he fled.

Mechi jumped to the cat's cage and tried to pick the lock.

“Stop!” the cat whispered.

He took out one thin claw and stuck it into the lock…CLUNK…

”Let's get out of here!” whimpered Mechi.

They jumped down from the cages onto the cold stone floor. They heard a rumbling and the stones lifted out of the ground.

The Chess Cat took out a balloon and called, “GRAB ON!”

Mechi hung onto his paw and they floated away.



They landed in a forest.

“Oh dear…its them” the cat gaped.

Two fat figures came bounding toward them.

“Hello there,” Dum De chirped.

“Would you like us to tell you a story?” chimed De Dum.

Without waiting for an answer, they chorused:



“Far away long ago,

There was a queen who we all know.

She was evil, she was mean,

She was the black-hearted queen.

The rabbit gasped as he saw

The queen laugh: `Oh, ha ha,

The king will die

And I shall lie,

Tell all that it was time

And I will say in rhyme,

He told me before he died

Not to flee or hide.

He wanted me to take the throne

So the kingdom would not be skin and bones!'

Then the rabbit made a noise

A horrible and ghastly noise.

`Come to me, my rabbit pet.

It's time to get

Your eye sewed shut.'

`But, but, but'

The rabbit gasped,

As the queen grasped

She took some string and a needle,

Rolled him over like a beetle

And took it to his eye.

It made him wail, it made him cry.

The cat heard him

And came to his whim.

But he came too late.

The rabbit looked at him with loath and hate.

Then the queen went after the cat.

She cut him and tore his hat

And just so he wouldn't die,

She slowly stitched up his sides.

But no matter how hard the queen tried.

The king could not, would not die.

And now you see,

The king still lives.

And now we

Have to leave.”



And they bounced away.

“Lets get out of here” the cat murmured.

And they fled. In the distance they could still hear De Dum and Dum De singing.



“We have to stop her…the queen.” Mechi told the cat when they stopped.

“Her castle is just around here.” He moved 2 bushes and, there was the grand castle.

They strode over to the pawn guards.

“We're here to see the royal queen,” the Chess Cat demanded.

“Your names?” one guard asked.

“Oh the Chess Cat and-“

“Come in, the queen wants to see you, cat,” The pawns opened two enormous doors with a creak.

They stepped in to an even bigger dark hallway.

“Oh my…” Mechi fumbled.

“You finally came you coward!”



The cat and Mechi stared up to the fat evil queen. She gazed down at them.

“I thought I'd never be able to torture you,” she cackled.

“You wouldn't dare…” The Chess Cat growled.

She grazed down the steps of the long wide staircase. The queen was level with Mechi now.

“Who are you?” the queen inspected.

“Mechi-“ she answered.

“Is this cat your friend?” The queen yelled.

“Well yes, but-“

“TAKE THEM TO THE DUNGEN!” the queen interrupted.

Guards instantly surrounded Mechi and the Chess Cat.

“NO, STOP!” a hoarse old voice strained.

“Who dares…! Oh dear…” the queen blurted.

“And what do you think you are doing?” the king uttered.

“Uh…well…I'm putting them in jail because-“ the queen started.

“Someone's going to jail, but it isn't them. You are!” the old man announced. “But…” the queen pleaded.

”NO,” the king yelled, “I'm sick and tired of you trying to kill me. Take her away!”

And the queen was gone.



“Here,” the king handed Mechi a piece of paper and left.

Am I really going home? Mechi wondered. She hugged the Chess Cat.

“Goodbye” she whispered.

“I can always go back to chess you know…Goodbye.”

Mechi drew herself as realistic as humanly possible in her apartment.

Mechi signed her name.



The things around her began to spin and change…



When she was back in her apartment. She saw it differently, boring, small, cramped, and dirty. She didn't want to live here. “What do I do now?” she wondered. She turned over and drew the same picture that she did the first time. Mechi signed her name and…

SHE WAS HOME!

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