Adventures in Wonderland Chapter 1

***Adventures in Wonderland Chapter 1: Follow the White Rabbit***is the first of six chapters of Sarah West's retelling of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, with a surprise at the end of each chapter from chapter one to chapter six, which is a bully from Recess getting punished for what they would do against the main protagonists.

## Characters and voices in appearance of Chapter 1

Sir Bartleby Montclair (main character)

Emiru Aisaki and Ruru Amour (duo from Hugtto Pretty Cure who follow Bartleby and a white rabbit)

White Rabbit (a panicked rabbit who's late for a party in Wonderland)

Koreo (a boy who got in trouble with Randall, Miss Finster, and Principal Prickly for tricking Bartleby into going down the rabbit hole)

Randall (a boy who tells Miss Finster on any bullies)

Miss Finster (a teacher who sends misbehaving kids to Principal Prickly's office)

Principal Prickly (Principal of 3rd Street School)

## Cast

Brian as Sir Bartleby Montclair

Eric as Randall Weems

Emma as Emiru Aisaki

Amy as Ruru Amour

Young Guy as White Rabbit

Joey as Koreo

Wiseguy as Miss Finster and Principal Prickly

## Transcript

(January 22, 2019)

(It's a warm, sunny morning. Emiru Aisaki, also known as Cure Macherie, meets her friend Ruru Amour, aka Cure Amour, in the back of Third Street Elementary School)

Emiru: Good morning, Ruru.

Ruru: Good morning, Emiru.

Emiru: Can you believe that our show's coming to an end soon?

Ruru: I know. It's totally unbelievable. Hugtto Pretty Cure's final episode is gonna air in Japan next Sunday. I bet our final battle's gonna be epic.

Emiru: I think so, too. Hopefully, we'll finally see Hugtan become Cure Tomorrow again. I've been waiting to see that happen ever since my debut on the show, I say.

Ruru: Me too. I'm excited to see that. The show sure had a good run while it lasted. It sure was fun kicking butt and fighting evil forces with Hana and her friends, wasn't it?

Emiru: It sure was. I've really enjoyed being a Pretty Cure during the show's run.

Ruru: Me too. Once the show is over, I hope the next Pretty Cure series does as well as Hugtto Pretty Cure.

Emiru: I hope so, too. Wait, what's the name of the next Pretty Cure series again?

Ruru: Star Twinkle Pretty Cure.

Emiru: Oh, yeah. That's right. Do you think we'll still be Pretty Cures even when our series ends?

Ruru: I'm sure we will, Emiru. The shows of the Pretty Cure franchise may last a few episodes, but no matter how much time has passed, we'll always be superpowered crime-fighting heroines forever.

Emiru: You're right, Ruru. We'll be Pretty Cures forever and ever, I say.

Ruru: Just like how we are friends forever and ever.

Emiru: Right. So, where are the other Hugtto Pretty Cure girls right now?

Ruru: Well, Hana told me that she and the other girls are checking out Third Street Elementary School to make sure that the bullies who pick on other kids get sent to Principal Prickly's office for their bad behavior.

Emiru: So are they a temporary safety patrol?

Ruru: That's right. Wanna come with me to help them out?

Emiru: Sure.

(The girls go into the building through the back doors to make their way to the playground. As they walk down the halls, Emiru strums her guitar and sings Friends With You with Ruru)

Emiru: I have so many things to say to you
Such as all the things I love about you
Tie our hearts together with a little ribbon
That lets you and I become friends

Your smile

Ruru: Your smile

Emiru: And tears

Ruru: And tears,
Squeezes something so deep inside

Both: Right there, where our hearts are shining bright

You and I may be a strange pair
As well as completely different people
But maybe if we hug our hearts together
Everything will be okay

Emiru: We'll forever be

Ruru: We'll forever be

Both: The best of friends
Whose hearts are tied together by a ribbon

(As they finish the song, they are just about to make their way to the playground, when they see Bartleby standing near the doors, looking puzzled)

Ruru: Hey, there's Sir Bartleby Montclair from Sonic Underground! What the heck is he doing here?

Emiru: I don't know, but I don't think it'll hurt to ask.

(Emiru walks up to Bartleby and taps him on the shoulder)

Emiru: Um, excuse me, but what are you doing here in Third Street Elementary School?

(Bartleby turns around and sees Emiru and Ruru)

Bartleby: Oh! Hello there, girls. You're Cure Macherie and Cure Amour from Hugtto Pretty Cure, right?

Emiru: That's right.

Ruru: Have you heard that our show's gonna come to an end soon?

Bartleby: Oh, yes, yes, I have heard. Is your last episode airing in Japan next Sunday?

Ruru: Yes. We're really excited for it.

Emiru: And after our show is done, Star Twinkle Pretty Cure will take its place.

Bartleby: My, my. You must be very busy girls, always fighting evil forces on a daily basis with your colorful magic superpowers. The Pretty Cure franchise just never seems to stop, does it?

Ruru: No way. Pretty Cure's a huge cash cow franchise. It's so popular in Japan, that Toei Animation just keeps making new additions to the series year after year. Like the image caption on our TV Tropes page says, we've been beating evil into the ground with rainbows and kicks since 2004.

Emiru: Hopefully, just like all the other Pretty Cure series, our series will end on a high note.

(As she says "on a high note", Emiru strums a high note on her guitar for emphasis. Bartleby chuckles at this)

Bartleby: Well, I hope things go well for your show's grand finale. Will there be some action and drama in it?

Emiru: To be honest, almost all Pretty Cure shows have action and drama in their final episodes, but Toei knows how to end them really well, I say.

Ruru: So, anyway, we were wondering what you're doing here.

Bartleby: Well, I've heard that some bullies in the school are planning to pull a prank on someone, so I have to go out to the playground and investigate.

Ruru: Big deal. Bullies here at Third Street School pull lots of pranks on the kids.

Emiru: What kind of prank is it?

Bartleby: The prank involves someone chasing a robot rabbit down a rabbit hole and then falling into it.

Ruru: Like Alice in Wonderland?

Bartleby: Exactly!

Emiru: Ooh, I've read Alice in Wonderland once. I have the book.

(Emiru holds up a copy of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland that she has in her backpack)

Emiru: See? I borrowed this book from the library last week, after I returned my copy of "Little Women".

Bartleby: Ah, "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"! That book is a timeless classic, written by a gentleman called Lewis Carroll. I've heard that since it's so popular, a lot of people have been trying to recreate different scenes from the book in order to maintain its classic appeal.

Emiru: They have?

Ruru: Well, no wonder the bullies want to pull a prank based on the scene where Alice chases the White Rabbit down the rabbit hole.

Bartleby: I don't think that hole the bullies have dug up will lead anyone to Wonderland, though. I'm worried that someone might fall into that hole and get hurt.

Ruru: Let's go out there and check it out.

(Bartleby, Emiru, and Ruru walk out into the playground, where they see the bullies setting up the trap)

Ruru: Look, there they are. One of them is digging up a fake rabbit hole and has something in his pocket. Now he's thrown it down the hole and shaping the hole to make it look like a rabbit made it.

Emiru: Hmm, I wonder what that thing that was in his pocket could be?

Bartleby: I'm not quite sure myself.

(They then see Koreo building a robot that resembles a white rabbit)

Koreo: Heh heh heh. If anyone sees this robot running down the blacktop and jump into that fake rabbit hole, they're gonna be such a sucker.

Emiru: It looks like one of the bullies has a few tricks up his sleeve, I say.

(As Bartleby watches the bullies at work, Emiru and Ruru look around to see if their friends are there)

Emiru: See anything, Ruru?

Ruru: I think I saw Hana over by the basketball court. It looks like she's cheering on the kids who are playing, I say.

Emiru: Um, isn't she supposed to be on the lookout for the bullies?

Ruru: Well, maybe she just decided to take a break and practice her cheerleading.

Emiru: I guess so. Where are Saaya and Homare?

Ruru: I don't know. They must be somewhere around here.

(The girls look around some more for Saaya and Homare. A few minutes later, just as they are about to catch a glimpse of their teammates, they see Koreo carrying the finished robot rabbit)

Emiru: Look, there's Koreo. It looks like his robot is complete, I say.

Ruru: What is he going to do with it?

Emiru: I think he's going to use it to make his prank work.

(It turns out, Emiru is right. Koreo makes sure no one is in sight, sets down the robot, and pulls out a remote control)

Koreo: Let's see if this robot rabbit really works.

(Koreo presses a button on the control pad, and the robot rabbit comes to life. It hops down the blacktop with a pocket watch in its hand)

Robot White Rabbit: I'm late! I'm late! I'm late for a very important date!

(Emiru and Ruru see the robot rabbit hop past them, and they run over to warn Bartleby, but then they see him chasing after it)

Emiru: Bartleby, where are you going?

Ruru: Why are you chasing that robot rabbit?

Bartleby: I can't help it! I was just so curious about where it came from, that I just have to follow it!

Emiru: Uh, I don't think...

(But before Emiru can warn Bartleby that it's a trick, he runs off. The girls watch as Bartleby chases after the rabbit. They curiously look at each other and decide to follow him)

Emiru: Well, Ruru, I guess we have no choice but to follow him.

Ruru: You're right, Emiru. Let's go!

(The robot rabbit hops over to the rabbit hole Koreo dug up and jumps right into it. Koreo, who is standing in front of the rabbit hole, is waiting for Bartleby. As Bartleby runs after the rabbit, Koreo sticks out one of his legs and trips Bartleby over, which makes Bartleby tumble into the hole)

Koreo: Har har! Have a nice "trip", you stupid mink!

Bartleby: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooo…

(Koreo runs off laughing. As this happens, Randall Weems sees what Koreo has done and runs off to tell Miss Finster, just as Emiru and Ruru arrive at the hole)

Emiru: Where did they go?

Ruru: I think they went down that fake rabbit hole.

(The two girls curiously peer down the rabbit hole, seeing something strange at the bottom)

Ruru: This hole must lead to a strange, magical land.

Emiru: Like in the book?

Ruru: Probably. It's kind of hard to tell since the hole is so deep.

Emiru: It does look like a long way down, doesn't it?

Ruru: It sure does. I sure hope Bartleby is okay, though.

Emiru: Think we should jump into the hole?

Ruru: I don't see why not. Come on, Emiru, let's go!

(Ruru takes Emiru by the hand and the two brave Pretty Cures jump into the hole. As the fall down the hole, they close their eyes, hold each others' hands, and spin around as they fall. This scene parallels Mirai and Riko's transformation sequences in Maho Tsukai Pretty Cure, except that Emiru and Ruru don't transform into their Pretty Cure selves as they fall. As the girls spin around on the way to the bottom of the hole, many different objects appear. First a grandfather clock, then some books, a mirror, a lamp, a chair, a painting, and a teapot. Finally, as they reach the bottom, Emiru and Ruru fly up and float down to the floor. They open their eyes and look around)

Ruru: That's weird. Somehow we must have ended up in this strange room.

Emiru: Wow, you were right, Ruru! We *did* end up in a strange, magical land, just like in the book!

Ruru: I know, but, where's Bartleby?

(Suddenly, they hear Bartleby groaning. They turn around and see Bartleby sitting on the floor, rubbing his head and looking dizzy. They walk over to him to make sure he's okay)

Bartleby: What happened? Where am I?

Emiru: Are you okay, Bart?

Bartleby: Oh! Did you and your friend follow me down that hole?

Ruru: Yes, we did.

(Emiru and Ruru help Bartleby up to his feet)

Ruru: Somehow, we're not at the playground anymore.

Emiru: We must be in Wonderland now, I say.

Bartleby: We are? Where did that rabbit go?

Emiru: Um, I don't know. You know it was just a little contraption that Koreo built, right?

Bartleby: Oh, that's right.

Ruru: I think it was luring you into the hole so you would end up getting lost in a strange world that you never seen before.

Bartleby: I think you're right, Ruru. How are we going to get out of here?

(The three of them look around the room to find a door. There are three doors, but two of them are normal sized and the third is very small)

Emiru: I think in order to enter Wonderland, we'll have to go through one of those doors.

Ruru: But which door should we go through?

(Bartleby chooses the first door, but there's a sign that says "Keep Out" on the front)

Bartleby: "Keep Out"? Oh, dear. That might not be a good sign.

(Ruru chooses the second door, but it's locked. Like the first door, there's a sign on the front of the second door. The sign says "Her Majesty has not invited you. You may keep your head")

Ruru: "Her Majesty has not invited you. You may keep your head". I have no idea what that even means.

(Emiru chooses the third door. She crouches down a little and sees that the door has a small keyhole in it)

Emiru: We should go through this door, I say.

Bartleby: But that door looks too small for us to fit through. How are we going to go through that door?

(Ruru notices a table next to the small door. On the table is a small key and a bottle of a strange liquid with a label that says "Drink Me")

Ruru: There's a key on that table. Maybe we can use that.

Emiru: And in order to go through the door, we'll need to drink some of that liquid, I say.

Bartleby: Will that really work?

Emiru: Of course it will, I say! If we drink it, we'll shrink to the size of a hamster, which will make us able to fit through the door.

Bartleby: Oh. Okay.

(Emiru and Bartleby both take a drink from the bottle, and they shrink to the size of the door. Ruru then picks up the key and unlocks the door. Because she's an android, Ruru does't need to drink from the bottle in order to shrink. Instead, she has some functions built into her arm. She presses a button on her wrist and shrinks down)

Bartleby: That stuff didn't taste very good, but I can't believe it actually worked.

Emiru: Well, now that we're small, we can fit through the door and enter Wonderland, I say!

Ruru: Come on, Bartleby, let's go!

(Emiru and Ruru hold hands and walk through the door, with Bartleby following them)

Bartleby: I hope this will be a safe journey.

(Meanwhile at Third Street school, Randall tells Miss Finster about what Koreo did to Bartleby)

Randall: Miss Finster! Miss Finster! Koreo tricked Sir Bartleby Montclair into going to Wonderland by building a robot rabbit that he followed down a fake rabbit hole! And from what I saw, these two girls from the Hugtto Pretty Cure anime followed him.

Miss Finster: Koreo, how dare you pull a prank on a Sonic Underground character like that?! You know that Bartleby is an innocent mink that hasn't done anything wrong. That's it, go to Principal Prickly's office, now!

(Miss Finster drags Koreo to Principal Prickly's office)

Principal Prickly: This is a serious situation. A very serious situation indeed. We don't ever pull Wonderland pranks on other people. You see pulling Wonderland pranks undermines authority. It demonstrates impertinence, disrespect, laziness. I have no choice but to give you detention level 3.

Koreo: Level 3? I wish you were dead!

Principal Prickly: Make that level 4! Are you ready to push me any further? And this means no Junk Food, no Computer, no playing outside, no friends, no video games, no TV, and no fun things of any kind until the time Bartleby, Emiru, and Ruru come home from Wonderland!

(To Be Continued...)