Alice in Wonderland II:

The Rise of the Gray Empress

By: Alejandro Zielinski

Chapter 1

After seeing the 2010 movie Alice in Wonderland produced by Tim Burton, I decided to create a sequel for it. However, my brother beat me and produces his own version of a sequel. Well, I hope my version is even better than his. This version allows all the original characters of the 2010 movie and the new characters into my sequel. They are: Homburg the Pepper Cook played by Celia Irmie, Xalafa the Sheep voiced by CCH Pounder, Gowland the Duchess played by Joan Plowright, Bhaltair the Lion voiced by Hugo Weaving, Cabalina the Unicorn voiced by Natalie Portman, Justice Anders the Walrus voiced by Richard Griffiths, Julius Monrey the Carpenter played by Jim Carrey, Bill the Lizard voiced by Craig Ferguson, Pat the Guinea Pig voiced by Jonathan Pryce, Laith the Duck voiced by Ralph Fiennes, Dodge the Eaglet voiced by Emma Thompson, Rouicalk of Tenduc the Gray Empress of Spades played by Tilda Swinton, Nigulir of Tenducthe Emperor of Spades played by Ben Kingsley, Couderid the Wolf voiced by Nicholas Cage, the Oysters voiced by Thomas Sangster, Daniel Radcliffe, and Freddie Hillmore; Diklnit the Rat Catcher played by Alfred Molina, Kajore of Iplam the Black Queen played by Audrey Tautou, The Monsterous Crow voiced by Eddie Izzard, Archivus Stayne the King of Hearts played by Jon Vought, Vivaldi Stayne the Queen of Hearts played by Corinne Conley, and last but not least the Snark voiced by Ian McShane. A lot of cameos in this movie include Kathy Bates as Queen Victoria, Sir Sean Connery as Allen Quartermain (Alice's maternal grandfather), Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes, Kelsey Grammar as Ebenezer Scrooge, Taylor Kitsch as John Carter, Lynn Collins as Dejah Carter, Judi Dench as Lady Augusta Bracknell, Naseeruddin Shah as Captain Nemo, Jason Flemyng as Dr. Henry Jekyll and Mr. Edward Hyde, Peta Wilson as Wilhelmina Harker, Stuart Townsend as Dorian Gray, Shane West as Tom Sawyer, Tony Curran as Rodney Skinner, Steve Coogan as Phineas Fogg, Jackie Chan as Passepartout, Cécile de France as Monique La Roche; and Angela Lansbury as Lady Adelaide Stitch. Enjoy my sequel, Mr. Burton. It's even better than my brother.

LONDON, 1855

Five years before her father went to do his business venture; Alice Kingsleigh didn't want her father to leave. Day after day, she and her father played around and dreamed about adventure. One day, before Charles Kingsleigh went to go to China, he saw his family and friends waving him good-bye. But as he turned around, a small hand touched him. It was Alice. "Father", she said. "Can I come with you?" Charles sighed in sadness, "I'm afraid I can't let you do that. But I will always be there for you, I promise you that." As soon as she understands his words, she nodded and said good-bye. The ship departed along with Charles as he saw his family and friends until they were nothing but specks. Then, a mysterious fog appeared out of nowhere which confuses Charles. All of a sudden, a group of men in armor appeared in a soot- covered ship, attacked and killed the captain and his crew and apprehended Charles. One man in a dirty coat with a rat-catching gun appeared before him and said, "Well, well. What do we have here, boys? You'll be a very special gift to her. Burn the ship and take him away!" As the men grabbed him, one of the men burned the ship and the armored men disappeared along with Charles and their ship. All of England was in shock about Charles' disappearance. People searched for him for days but there was no trace of him. Soon they began to give up along with his family, but Alice knew that even if he disappeared, he will always be there for here.

LONDON 1895, one month later

A horse-drawn carriage rushed headlong down the road at a full rapid pace. Outside the carriage windows, the bordering areas of London proceeded rapidly. Inside the carriage, Alice Kingsleigh fiddled with her dress. She wished she could be out traveling to Shanghai to make her first Eastern accord as an apprentice to the company and thinking about her past memory visiting Underland to help overthrow the Red Queen, instead of being stuck here on her way to a dismal, bleak party with a lot of dull people. The little girl who remembered the day she visited Underland but didn't knew about it until one month ago grew into a beautiful woman and became an apprentice to her father's company. Beside her on the carriage seat, Helen Kingsleigh fussed with Alice's hair. Alice then asked to her mother, "Must we go?" Her mother responded firmly by saying "They will notice." Then, when her eyebrows moved in surprise she asked to Alice, "Where's your corset?" and when she lifted Alice's skirt above her ankles, she said, "And no stockings." "I'm against them," Alice said. "But you're not properly dressed." Helen pointed out. "Who's to say what's proper?" Alice said, with that impossible logic she'd kept from her father. "What if it was agreed that 'proper' was wearing a codfish on your head? Would you wear it?" Helen sighed. "Alice." "To me, a corset is like a codfish," Alice said. "Please, not today," said her mother. Alice sighed with frustration and turned to look out the window. "Father would have laughed," she muttered. In an instant, she felt guilt and turned back to see her mother's hurt face. "I'm sorry, Mother. I'm tired. I didn't well last night." Her mother patted her hand forgivingly. "Did you have that memory about this "Wonderland" you called again?" "I can't help it. It's always the same, ever since I remembered it on my last party. Do you think that's normal? Don't most people have imaginary places they believe are real?" "I don't know," Helen said vaguely. She removed a necklace from her own neck and tightens it around Alice's neck with her fingers. "There, you're beautiful." She patted her daughter's pale cheek gently. "Now, can you manage a smile?"

The horses slowed down as the carriage pulled up the long drive in front of the Ascot mansion. Alice's head felt in pain as she followed her mother to the gardens, where the party was in full swing. Ladies in summer style dresses swooped around beautiful flowers. In the near distance, small skiffs drifted lazily on a meandering river. Still, Alice missed Underland for it was the place she went when she was a child. She was distracted from the memory by her mother seizing her hand and took her rapidly to the Ascots. Alice fixed her unnatural smile on her face as she curtsied to her elegant hosts. "At last. We've thought you'd never arrive. Alice, Hamish is waiting to dance with you. Go," Lady Ascot burst out. Alice allowed herself to be shoved away and went to look for Hamish, who (unfortunately) changed very little in years as well and still believes he still has a chance to get Alice as his wife. Behind her, Lady Ascot lowered her voice as she turned to Helen. "You do realize it is well past four. Now everything will have to be rushed through," she scolded. Helen responded by saying "I'm sorry." "Oh, never mind!" Lady Ascot said abruptly and went off. Lord Ascot nodded down at Helen. "Forgive my wife. She's been planning this affair for the last twenty years. She did wanted Hamish to be married for the second time," he said in his stately baritone. Helen smiled back. She was used to Lady Ascot. "If only Charles were here," she said sadly. Lord Ascot gave a little bow to Helen. "My apologies, madam. I think of your husband often. He was a being of wisdom. We really do miss him a lot. I hope you don't think I am taking advantage of your misfortune," Lord Ascot seriously continued speaking. "Absolutely not," Helen replied while shaking her head. "I'm just pleased that Alice has helped become your apprentice to the company you purchased and she has hoped to go to Shanghai before we had to restart the marriage again." There was much more than she could say how much she missed Charles a lot, but expressing oneself in her own manner is not proper, so she must have her answers civilized. Lord Ascot allowed himself a little smile and said "I was a fool for not investing his adventure when I had the chance." Now, Helen began to do a real smile. "Charles though so, too," she replied. Elsewhere in the garden, Alice had been drawn into a dance with Hamish. They bowed and stepped and crossed along with other young people at the party until Alice felt ready to groan with boredom. "Hamish," she said, "Do you ever tire of quadrille?" "On the contrary," Hamish replied. "I find it rather invigorating." He was refined and arrogant, like his parents. Then, Hamish questioned to Alice "Do I amuse you as before?" "No," Alice said. "I had a vision of all the ladies in top hats and the men wearing bonnets." Hamish didn't even chuckle. "It would be nice if you keep your visions to yourself. When in doubt, remain silent." Alice had wished she had escaped to go back to Underland so she can stay. Then, Hamish said "Meet me at the gazebo, Alice". Alice knew this before. She realized quickly that Hamish wants to marry her again, only this time she must do it by force. Alice approached to Hamish at the gazebo with everyone watching her; and then Hamish said the same words as before "Alice Kingsleigh, will you be my wife?" But this time, things are about to change.

Before Alice responded, she heard a horse's cry and then everyone heard it. Before they know it, a group of 100 men in gray armor attacked the party and everyone panicked and screamed. Some of them were trying to escape while others were captured by the black armored men. "What are those people?" Lord Ascot said to his wife as he was trying to escape. "I do not know, but whoever they are, they're vicious!" said Lady Ascot as she was escaping as well. Alice's sister Margaret and her husband Lowell were trying to hide from them but the gray men found them and captured them. Faith and Fiona Chattaway were running away as well but two gray men apprehend as well. Alice's Aunt Imogene was sitting and still waiting for her love before one of the gray men hold her and she thought it was her fiancé. Hamish became so scared that he raced back to his home when one of the gray men captured him and Hamish started to cry. "My son!" Lady Ascot said as she saw Hamish apprehended. "I'm coming, Hamish!" she said as she raced back to get her son back but got apprehended as well. "My wife, no!" Lord Ascot said and raced back to get his family but like his family, he too was apprehended. "Alice, you must hide." Helen said as she and her daughter were running away from the gray men. Alice said "No, Mother. I'm not leaving you." "Just hide, Alice, so that way they won't find you." Helen said. Forced to accept it, Alice has no choice but to agree with her mother. So she and Helen separated, which Helen ended with the gray men capturing her and locking her up in a jail cart along with everyone in the party. Scared and frightened, Alice searched for a place to hide. Then, she thought of the one place no one will find her-Underland. "Good-bye, Mother. I will rescue you, I promise." Alice said as she went down into the rabbit hole…again. What she didn't know is that one of the men in gray armor saw her and got afraid.

Meanwhile, a man in a black coat and hat with a rat-catching gun and net checked on his men to see if everyone was captured by his men when... "Lord Diklnit!" said the scared man in gray armor. "What is it, wimpier?" said Diklnit the Rat Catcher. "Sir, a girl went down a rabbit hole before we captured them all" the man responded in fear. Those words made Diklnit so furious in fear that he slapped him painfully and made the knight whine in pain making all the knights notice hm. "YOU STUPID, STUPID IDIOT! How can you let this happen? Diklnit said in a rage. "You were supposed to catch all rats and count them to make sure that every last one are caught. You can't just be care free and ignore just one lousy rat! Am I right?" said Diklnit as he punched the man into the stomach and the armored men cheered. "Forgive me, my lord, but we will find the girl." said the quivering man. "Then move fast, you dimwitted knight." said Diklnit as he rode on his horse. "We must find the girl before she finds out we're following her. In the meantime, burn the house and take the prisoners to the palace." Helen's eyes widened with fear as she saw the burning of the Ascot family's manor inside the jail cart. As the prisoners scream for help, the carts began to move and the men began to leave the burning house. As they were moving to London, the men began to burn London's buildings with flaming arrows for amusement and many citizens start to panic. The police tried to stop them but the gray armored men killed some of them with the flaming arrows. As they approached the Thames River, Diklnit the Rat Catcher used some sort of amulet at the river. All of a sudden, the river began to open and reveal a roadway to Underland. As the men with the carts went down quickly, the police ordered them to stop but it was too late as the river began to close. That puzzled a lot of people. When Queen Victoria saw the group of men who disappeared in the Thames, she summoned one of her prime ministers and said "Contact Scotland Yard. I believe one of the kidnapped people was Lord Ascot. Ask them to check if the Ascots are all right." "Yes, Your Majesty" said the minister.

That was a great chapter. But the next one will be even better. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.