Disclaimer- All characters, except for Aain (who belongs to Morganna), and Wonderland belong to Lewis Carroll.

Hey, people! So, this story is actually from a Role Play done by myself (Eriol) and Morganna, which might explain any sort of choppiness, etc. There was one other person with us, but had to leave near the beginning, so the majority was written by Morganna and me. Nothing has been changed from the original except for some grammar, punctuation, etc. And no, we won't tell you who plays which character. ;-) We hope you enjoy it and thank you for reading! Reviews are very much appreciated!

FRAGILE WONDERLAND

INTRODUCTION

Years have passed from the days that Alice fell down the rabbit hole. Wonderland has become a wasteland with all hope and joy torn from it.

Jabberwock, the term used for the darkness that destroyed Wonderland.

Jabberwock is the darkness of human's thoughts and actions, and it has taken control of Wonderland by using the Queen of Hearts as its puppet. Because of the Jabberwock's hold on Wonderland, everyone lost something dear to them and now have human-like forms.

Aain, the newest person in Wonderland, has everyone's hopes on his shoulders. He gains friends and foes along the way, with every turn almost being his down fall. Will he save Wonderland or become lost in the darkness like everyone else?

CHAPTER 1

Simple things were perfect for the March Hare. He often just stared at his empty teacup, nothing coming out of his mouth. It was rare that he even muttered anything, and just like everyone else, he had changed. He didn't care about his friends, just lost in his own madness. His chocolate brown hair was messy, and his hair wanted cutting. Two thin brown hare ears twitched on the top of his head, they were mostly the only thing that moved on the March Hare. He was dressed in a simple dark blue shirt with short white sleeves, but his clothes were dirty.

-----------------------------------------------

The Cheshire Cat sulked among the trees. He was no longer up too his old tricks and his stripped fur had long since fallen out. His skin was leathery now and his teeth were just sharp. His feet padded softly against the dark forest path, heading nowhere in particular. Everywhere was the same after the Jabberwock took power as the Queen's puppet master. Cheshire was one of the few Wonderlanders who kept their true form, or something similar. A stirring was up and even this cat's insanity-driven mind knew it. A new hero might be on their way, and hopefully they could accomplish what Alice had only kept at bay.

-----------------------------------------------

Time had not been treating him well. And if you knew Time as well as he did, then you knew that things were bad. Before, Time had only stopped at 6:00. But now He was causing the Mad Hatter to waste away. He couldn't even remember how his hats had gone. They were just…not there anymore. And for some reason, his hands couldn't remember how they were supposed to be made. The special, oversized felt hat that he had once worn was gone, and now, without out, his head felt like it had been cut open. His once shining blonde curls were tangled and dirty. His waistcoat fell limp on his thin frame and the blouse underneath was smudged with the mud he had run through in order to escape the clutches of the Jabberwock, whatever it was. A fading red tie hung loosely from his neck. The Mad Hatter didn't care anymore. He didn't care about tea parties. He didn't care about singing. And he didn't care about why a raven was like a writing desk.

The Mad Hatter stood silently, staring at rows upon rows of….un-hats. He just stood there staring. And staring. And staring.

-----------------------------------------------

Aain felt like he was falling, but he was falling very slowly. Like floating down a river, but rivers don't have random items floating upward next to you. At least, maybe that was what things were like in this new world.

Aain has short, choppy blonde hair, his soft peach-skin seemed pale as he continued to fall. Aain's pale green eyes had a dull look to them, and always made Aain look bored. He was dressed in a pale blue shirt with a white pocket on the stomach area, his dark blue pants had holes and stains on them.

At last, he landed on brown grass with grace in his steps. Looking around, he could see an old forgotten table with broken tea cups on it. Aain paused, and looked around at the dead raven black trees around him. At least the table looked better then the creepy trees and dead grass.
So, Aain found himself staring at the insane person with hare ears on his head. Judging by his looks, he looked to be around sixteen. But he was dirty and looked barely alive.

"Hello?" Aain muttered, shaking March Hare's shoulder.

-----------------------------------------------

The Cheshire Cat looked up and sprang forward. Something had happened, he was sure of it... or at least what was left of his sanity was. He arrived at the March Hare's house, where the tea party had long ago stopped. He saw a blonde-ish youth.

"Alice?" he said out loud. He padded forward, hearing the boy call out to the Hare.

"Alice? I think I knew a Alice once...but my name is Aain," Aain told the Cheshire Cat. It seemed that the quiet March Hare wasn't going to talk to him or even show that he was near him.

The Cheshire Cat gave a sharp tooth filled smile at the boy.

"Another savior has arrived," spoke the cat, stalking up to the table. "Hare...Hare wake up you old bat!" Cheshire called out, nudging said person with one of his paws, his spiny tail whipping through the air. March Hare seemed to wake up at last, because he turned his head to search for something in the area.

"Where's...Hatter?" he mumbled, his voice weak from not using it. Aain was confused, but he sat down on one of the few unbroken chairs.

"Ahh, Hatter has gone Mad... Madder than before when he was just the Mad Hatter," Cheshire explained. "Come, Hare, let's go find him. Another savior has come. He'll help us beat the Jabberwock and the tea parties will be back, the darkness will die," the Cheshire explained in his half sane way. He turned to Aain.

"I'm the Cheshire Cat, your guide to 'Wonderland', you are here to help us," the cat said, giving a toothy grin, his tail swaying hypnotically.

"Wonderland? What's that?" Aain asked, tilting his head as pondered the Cheshire Cat's words. Alice used to talk about a land that she came across when she fell in a rabbit hole, but Aain never believed her. Aain should have listened to her, because there was no way of reaching her anymore.

"Wonderland is here and there, this and that," the cat said with a devious smile. "I'm sure many would have heard of here from Alice, ahh the sweet girl, I used to visit her in dreams," he said happily, padding over. He jumped into one of the chairs with grace, as he was a cat, and waited.

"She was fond of you, Cheshire Cat. At least I remember her making sure that she told the other kids what you looked like. She would describe you like an expert..," Aain muttered, now remembering bits and pieces of Alice and her story.

-----------------------------------------------

Something hit him. It was like a shock wave. As if a train had just broken through the barrier to his thoughts. He turned his head slowly to the window.

"Alice?"

The Mad Hatter took slow, deliberate steps out the door and into the garden. He shivered at the permanent cold of Wonderland and looked up into the sky for the first time in what seemed like ages.

"Twinkle twinkle little bat…" he sang to himself as he shuffled along into the woods. "How I wonder what you're at…."

The March Hare's home wasn't all that far, but with who knew what was out there, it seemed like miles.

"Up above the world you fly…" He approached the crossroads and stared down the path leading to nowhere. The Mad Hatter shivered again, but not from the cold. He hurried along the path he knew so well from the life that used to be, his bright eyes darting left and right, searching for nameless fears.

"Like a…tea…tray…in the sky…" He was amazed how much the March Hare's home had changed. The rabbit ear-shaped chimneys were falling apart and the fur-thatched roof was rotting. And the tea was gone. Something welled up inside the Mad Hatter. Something that he hadn't felt for a very, very long time.

"Where's the tea?" he croaked. His voice surprised him, but only because he hadn't used it in such a very long time.

"I told you butter wouldn't suit the works," he said, his voice getting louder and clearer with each word, yet still weak.

-----------------------------------------------

Cheshire smiled.

"I'm flattered she talked about me so much" he said with a catty smile. The cat turned towards the hatless Hatter, "Hatter, old friend, the time is near," he said jumping from the table.

"Grab your hats and cups, the Jabberwock falls" the Cheshire Cat said, circling the table. "Aain is the savior and will help us as Alice did. I do hope you paid attention, dear boy."

Aain nodded his head, taking in every word that came from Cheshire Cat's mouth. March Hare stared at Hatter, and he slowly moved out of his chair. His legs wobbled, weak and asleep for a few minutes. At last, he reached his old friend and hugged him.

"I..missed..you," he murmured weakly.

The Mad Hatter looked down at the March Hare and then at the empty cups and then back at his old friend. Then slowly, he laid his hands gently on the March Hare's back.

"I told you butter wouldn't suit the works," he said quietly.

"Sorry. It was the best butter...I guess…," March Hare said weakly, a thin smile forming on his lips. Aain was shocked, March Hare was cute when he smiled! Where in the world did that cute boy hide when Wonderland changed? The Mad Hatter's head snapped back up and stared intently at Aain.

"How can he save us?" he asked Cheshire with stunning clarity, without taking his eyes off Aain. "How can anyone save us? How can this boy save us now?"

Cheshire smiled.

"Ahh, but Hatter, he is Alice's replacement. She helped keep it at bay, but he can make it go away. Ahhh, too bad the Dormouse is missing," he said, ears flattening against his head. "You must hurry though, Hare and Hatter, the time of the Jabberwock is coming to a close." Cheshire stalked to one of the bushes.

"Now where are Alice's old 'toys', I wonder?" he said slyly before disappearing completely.

The Mad Hatter let go of the March Hare slowly and carefully before stalking over to Aain with a speed that was quite unlike the pace he had been keeping before.

"He doesn't look like much," he mused, tilting Aain's chin up and looking at him. "Alice was far prettier you know. Say, why is a raven like a writing desk?" he asked the boy.

"Edgar Poe wrote on both," Aain answered, not even having to think about the riddle. He remembered Alice asking that a long time ago, and no one could answer it but him. Alice didn't even say if he got it right, but it was a good guess. March Hare looked to his old friend, wondering if that was right. The poor hare never got the riddle right either. The Mad Hatter stared at Aain, his jaw dropped slightly. No one had ever given him an answer to the riddle before. Not even Alice. His hand slipped from Aain's face and back to his side as he stared. Then he promptly kicked Aain out of his chair.

"Wrong! You must be stupid to not know the answer to that one!"

March Hare seemed to be as shocked as Mad Hatter was, because he just watched as Aain fell out of his chair. The human just smirked, knowing that he had gotten the answer right. Maybe this was a rite of passage to be the savior of Wonderland. Oh well.

March Hare went into his house, and it nearly fell apart when he opened the door. He came back with a dusty box that rattled as March walked, he put down on the table.

"These…are Alice's Toys..," he murmured.

"Well, go on, open it up, you silly mammal," the Mad Hatter commanded, though not unkindly. "What toys could she possibly have? She wasn't very much fun, I recall. Mustn't have very many toys then." He glanced at Aain and stared at him for a few seconds.

"What are you doing down there?" Before Aain could reply, the Mad Hatter grabbed his arm and forced him upright. "I say, this is getting rather silly! Can't have you falling over all the time for the fun of it! Are you trying to save Wonderland or what?"

Aain opened the box, and he saw so many toys inside. Well, they weren't toys..they were more like fake weapons. He picked up a wooden sword that looked like it wouldn't even cut rice paper. So, he played with it and slashed at the air. At once, the fence around the house was cut in half, and March ducked to avoid the attack. The slash from the fake weapon left a tiny cut on March's left ear though.

"Owww...," March muttered, grabbing his poor hare ear and rubbing it to make it feel better.

"Oh, now look what you've done!" cried the Mad Hatter, shoving Aain unceremoniously out of the way. No special treatment for saviors, apparently. The Mad Hatter removed the March Hare's hands away with his left hand and took the injured ear with his right.

"A kiss to make it feel better," he said proudly and placed his lips upon the spot. "Now," he proclaimed after his ministrations were finished. "Let's see what else we've got here."

He rifled through the contents of the box and found a long jump rope. He eyed it warily before suddenly snapping it at one of the broken chairs. It stood still for a brief moment before exploding down the middle. "Interesting," was all he said. March Hare seemed to be happy, judging by the smile and blush on his face. He looked into the box and found a saved packet of tea that he had put up for some special day, he giggled and nearly hugged the tea packets.

"I found tea!" he said, showing Mad Hatter and Aain.

"What's so great about tea?" Aain muttered, dropping the wooden sword on the table and pulling out a packet of normal-looking cards, he threw one at nearby tree and the thin card sliced it in half, then came back to the deck.

"What?" the Mad Hatter gasped in disbelief. "What's-so-great-about-TEA???" Completely ignoring the fact that Aain was holding a pack of, apparently, viciously inclined deck of cards, the Mad Hatter grabbed at Aain's collar.

"How can you not know?? It's not possible, no. Of course, March Hare and I have known for quite some time now, so we don't expect you to fully appreciate the wonders that are tea. Yes, though it sounds rather profound and nonsensical now, you will understand it soon enough." He patted Aain on the head. "Now! Let's have some tea!"

In his delight, the Mad Hatter picked up the tea bag with the March Hare still attached to it and twirled around in little circles till he landed the March Hare in an unbroken chair.

"A toast to you, my furry friend, and to you, our new found savior!" said the Mad Hatter, taking a swig. Then he nearly spit it out. Nearly. Not decent, wasting good tea. He swallowed.

"Savior! That's right! We need to save Wonderland! And all this time you were thinking about tea!" he said, shaking a finger at the March Hare. "We must go! Finish your tea or you won't ever get any more!"

The Mad Hatter grabbed the March Hare by the ears and pulled him away from the table. "You! Savior! Lead the way!" he shouted, pointing to the woods. March Hare finished his tea in one gulp, and let the tea cup fall out of his hands and watched it break on the ground. Aain grabbed the wooden sword off the table and handed the cards and jump rope to March Hare and Mad Hatter.

"Here. You can learn to fight along the way, let's go," he said, his leader-side of himself taking over. I guess men just always had that part inside of them that was needed when they were saviors of some odd world where hares and mad hatter drank tea.

So, they were off to fight the Queen and save Wonderland.