AN: Oh God. This is- Can it be? I think it is!
Dun dun dun! ROTG/AMR modern day AU! *collective groan of pain and despair*
I know, I know. ROTG AU's have been done to death already. So much so it's driving us all crazy, but really, when you think about it, is any ROTG crossover complete without an AU fic? I don't think so, and since nobody else is stepping up to the plate, I guess Scorpio will have to do the dirty work.
Hopefully, I will be able to make something original out of such an overused concept, but if not, at least this AU will have Alice in it!
Disclaimer: I don't own Rise of the Guardians or Alice: Madness Returns.
Alice's stomach churned unpleasantly for the umpteenth time when the airplane gave one final, nauseating lurch as it touched back down on solid ground again with a jarring thump that carelessly jostled the passengers within.
It was Alice's first time flying and it hadn't proved to be a very enjoyable experience, whatsoever.
Yes, the captivating sight of the glowing city lights far below them as they approached their destination had been dazzling and delightful to look at, but did she find it worth the ride? No, not at the moment. Her unsettled insides could be a decent testament to that.
The concept of flying wasn't really what bothered her though, surprisingly enough. The fear of heights wasn't her chosen phobia and she didn't really see any reason to fear them from her own personal standpoint (Although she could see how other people might find them terrifying).
No, it was the idea of being packed into such a small space with a large mass of complete strangers. Alice could easily handle flying through the air thousands of miles from the ground, but the people? Definitely not the most comfortable situation she's ever been in.
The rough turbulence the plane experienced almost every twenty minutes throughout the entire flight hadn't been very entertaining either, but at least it was finally over and Alice could allow the knots in her stomach to loosen up their sickening hold on her internal organs.
As the large airplane began to slowly inch itself across the runway and towards the brightly shining airport on the other side, a loud and slightly shrill chime echoed throughout the cabin of the plane and the overhead intercom buzzed with static, followed closely by the pilot's monotonous voice.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have just arrived at our destination for the evening. It is 2:45 in the AM with a chilly fifty-eight degrees Fahrenheit outside so make sure to bundle up tight. We thank you for flying United Airlines and hope you enjoyed your flight. We also welcome you warmly to the United States of America and wish you all a safe night."
The pilot's announcement was short and somewhat clipped, but Alice was willing to chalk it up to fatigue on the pilot's part. It was a rather long flight after all and he probably had worse jet-lag than anybody.
After the closing chime of the intercom faded out, the lights overhead flickered on and the seatbelt warning sign blinked off, which immediately caused the plane to erupt into a flurry of noise and movement as people began to rise from their seats to stretch and gather their belongings.
To protect what little remained of her personal space, Alice chose to stay seated until most of the other passengers exited the plane before she eventually followed suit. She didn't have enough fight in her to wrestle over elbow room with overweight men, and women with far too many children.
Alice was one of the last few people on the plane by the time she finally stood up to breathe life back into her stiff limbs. Once her joints were a little more loose and manageable, the dark-haired girl reached under the seat in front of hers and pulled out her worn, red pea coat and quickly slipped it on before moving out into the empty aisles to collect her bag from the overhead compartment.
The flight attendant by the door gave Alice a tired smile and bid her a goodnight which she returned politely as she stepped off the plane. From there, Alice moved idly through the motions. Absentmindedly following directory signs, presenting her passport when asked by airport officials, and quietly apologizing whenever she would occasionally bump into a stranger.
She wasn't so much as tired as she was emotionally drained. The past year and a half had been nothing short of absolute hell for Alice, filled with nothing but stress, fear, dread, hopelessness, and mind-numbing despair. At that point in time, the only thing that really kept Alice moving one foot in front of the other, was the blissful thought that she had left everything back in London when she, quite literally, fled the godforsaken city.
That, and the person undoubtedly waiting outside the airport terminal for her arrival. Her detached mood lightened considerably when she finally caught sight of him.
Just like he promised, Aster Bunnymund was standing right outside the entrance of the baggage claim area of the small airport.
Their eyes seemed to meet each others at the same time as Aster -or who was more commonly referred to by his nickname; Bunny- pushed off the wall he was leaning on, and moved to meet her halfway with a smothering hug which she gladly returned. Alice wasn't much of an affectionate person but she hasn't seen her closest friend, and former foster brother, in person since she was eleven and she was more than willing to push her personal space issues aside for him.
"Well it's about bloody time," Bunny laughed heartedly into the fabric of Alice's coat. The hug lasted a good five seconds until they pulled apart to take in each other's appearance.
Bunny was just barely pushing past twenty-four but he could easily be mistaken for someone older with the scruffy beard and ridiculous mutton-chop sideburns he always bore in the rare photographs he sent to her through the frequent letters they exchanged over the past year. He was also taller than Alice remembered him being, but perhaps that was because she herself was a little on the short side for someone her age. Despite those few new changes though, there was still a lot about Bunny that was exactly the same.
His hair was still the same shade of dark brown as she remembered and his eyes were still forest green (not that she expected those to change). His trademark, buck-toothed smile was still very much the same and still his most dominant feature. Alice always imagined that the over prominence of Bunny's two front teeth made him look quite silly as a child, but now that he was an adult, they only seemed to add more charm to his rough, authentic Aussie look that no doubt turned a few pretty heads his way when he walked down the street.
Of course Bunny's good looks were lost on Alice. She only saw him as her surrogate old brother whom she meet when she was eight in a foster home after a terrible house fire took the lives of her parents and older sister, Elizabeth. The fire happened a year earlier on a cold November night in which Alice had been the only survivor. Alive, but badly scarred and burnt, Alice spent a year in an infirmary where she was treated for her burns and severe mental trauma caused by the fire.
When Alice was released, she became even more reclusive than she was before her family's death. So reclusive in fact, that no orphanage could handle keeping her for more than a few weeks at a time. So for the next handful of months, she continued seeing a flurry of different doctors while being tossed around different orphanages all throughout Oxford before she was finally sent to live with a foster family in London where she met Aster for the first time.
Bunny had been born in Sydney, Australia where he spent a decent-sized chunk of his childhood, but after his own parent's death - and no other family to take him in - he was placed in an orphanage. He didn't stay very long though. After only a few weeks, Bunny easily slipped out the window of the bedroom he shared with nine other boys and took off into the night. Nobody even noticed he was gone until several weeks later.
Admittedly, Bunny was a bit of a wild child when he was younger, and not to mention a troublemaker. His parents owned a huge ranch when they were alive and Bunny spent almost all of his time outdoors, caring for the animals and learning to live off the land. When he became an orphan, he practically bounced from place to place. He would never stay in one orphanage or foster home for very long, regardless of how he was treated. He would stay maybe three months tops before taking off during the night, living on his own and relying solely on his instincts. It was only when he was running low on food and bridges to sleep under that he allowed the police, or other authority figures, to pick him up and place him in a home. They could never catch him otherwise, he was far too fast and clever for them.
Eventually, Bunny's near nomadic lifestyle lead him overseas to Europe where he found himself in jolly ol' London with no resources to live off. So just like many times before, he wandered around aimlessly, making sure to play the part of a helpless orphan perfectly, before he was picked up and placed with a foster family. He didn't remember much about the couple who owned the house, except that they had been very nice people, but not very interactive foster parents. They basically let the children under their care run free, which was one of the two reasons why he stayed with them so long.
The other reason had been because of Alice, the only other child living in the house with him.
At first, Bunny didn't even realize there was another kid living with them. The couple never said anything about her and she never showed herself to him. It was only when he started getting the feeling that someone was watching him that he finally noticed the little, dark-haired girl. She was like a bloody cat, hiding behind furniture and under beds where she would just sit and watch him with wide, green eyes. Bunny tried to ignore her in the beginning. He always stubbornly avoided making any personal connections with other people because of his constantly changing lifestyle and past hurts, but the girl's strange behavior eventually became so unnerving, he decided to try and initiate some sort of contact with her.
She completely blew him off when he first tried to talk to her, but she seemed to like following him around a lot during the rare days he spent lounging around the house. She never followed him outside though and he never actually got a good look at her until a few months after he first arrived because she was always hiding. It was around that time Bunny discovered the back story behind Alice and why there was always doctors coming in and out of the house. After that, he felt a bit of a kinship with the girl and he really started to try and coax her out of hiding. He eventually succeeded and they grew close. Their bond grew stronger the more Alice opened up. They even became inseparable at one point and Bunny didn't even realize he had spent almost four years with the same foster family.
But due to some unfortunate mishap between the married couple that Bunny and Alice stayed with, the pair were taken from their care. The whole ordeal wouldn't have been nearly as upsetting if the duo hadn't been separated and Bunny, despite his best efforts, lost track of Alice when he somehow found himself being sent back to Sydney.
That was when Alice had her relapse.
Her mental health took a complete nose dive and the trauma she experienced from the fire and her family's death returned tenfold. She spent days screaming and fighting anybody who came near her until the orphanage she was placed in had her institutionalized in Rutledge Asylum. After that, Alice fell into a catatonic state that took seven years and countless medications to bring her out of.
It was a long, agonizing road, but Alice miraculously pulled through. Her recovery came rather swift after that, something her doctors haven't been able to explain, and Alice was released into the care of Doctor Angus Bumby where she would be further treated, but free from the claustrophobic walls of the asylum that Alice called home for eight years.
And that's where the real trouble began, believe it or not.
But now, that was all behind her and Alice refused to think more of it.
The only thing that had gotten her through that long year of hell, were the letters she and Bunny exchanged when the ever-resourceful Aussie managed to track down Alice's location even though he lived all the way in the United States. Bunny was the one who convinced Alice to runaway from the nightmare that was her life in London and come start a new one in America. She had been extremely doubtful about following through with the idea at first - rightfully so might she add - but now that she was actually there, together again with him, she was glad she did.
A new start, he said. A second chance at a better life. It sounded rather whimsical but Alice couldn't deny she found it quite appealing, especially after what she went through back in London.
"Christ kid," Bunny smiled as he took in the girl he hasn't seen in eight years. She was no longer the little ankle biter he use to have imaginary tea parties with, that's for sure. When they last saw each other, Alice was just a scraggly half-pint of a child, but now, he barely even recognized the beautiful young lady standing in front of him. Her emerald, green eyes were still exactly the same though, too big for her face and naturally inquisitive. "Look at you. I haven't seen you in ages."
"I know," Alice smiled back. "I missed you so much."
"Same here," Bunny pulled her into another hug. When they pulled back and broke apart completely, Bunny let out an audible breath as silence fell over them, a slight awkwardness creeping in. "So, how was the flight?"
"Excruciating long, extremely stuffy, and far too boring," Alice replied melodramatically.
"Glad you had fun," Her friend teased before wrapping his arm around Alice's shoulders, and leading her over to the baggage claim.
The next twenty minutes were spent with idle chit-chat as they waited for Alice's bags. It seemed as if both of them were going out of their way to avoid the obvious elephant in the room. Admittedly, neither of them have been very confrontational people when it came to drama, but Bunny knew there was more to it than that.
He didn't know how sensitive Alice still was about this whole situation, so he decided to hold off on questions until Alice felt comfortable enough to confide in him. There was no point in pushing things. If he tried, Alice would undoubtedly turn to stone and that would get him nowhere. He wasn't too worried though. It was all in the past now and there was more than enough time for him to hear the whole story later.
When Alice's luggage finally came out, they gathered up what little she owned and moved to leave the airport.
"Go ahead, Bunny, I've got one more possession to collect," Alice told him somewhat cryptically while she rooted around in her satchel for her passport. Bunny gave her a suspicious look before she waved him away. "Well, go on. I'll be out in a moment."
He held his gaze a little longer before he turned away and made for the airport exit. Once the automatic sliding doors closed behind him, Alice walked over to the nearest airport employee she could see; a middle-aged man in a neon orange, safety vest, standing near a circuit box.
"Excuse me," Alice spoke up.
The man looked up from the wires he was fiddling with, and turned to the girl addressing him. "Yeah?"
"Could you possibly tell me where one would go if they needed to claim a pet?"
The worker blinked at her a few times - probably a bit thrown by her accent - before responding. "Oh yeah, sure. It's down that way somewhere. There should be a window with a sign. Ya can't miss it."
"Thank you very much," Alice said before bidding the man a goodnight.
True to the man's word, she easily found the mentioned window, and much to her delight, it was still open. Alice would've hated it if she had to come back tomorrow.
After a quick and polite interaction between her and the woman running the animal claim, Alice showed the woman her passport as proof of ownership and the woman left the window. She came back several minutes later with a small, gray animal carrier and Alice couldn't help but smile when she saw it.
Once the woman handed it over to her, the dark-haired girl held up the carrier and looked at the gray and black creature laying inside.
"Aww," Alice cooed gently. "Are you alright in there, love?"
The creature's golden eyes slowly opened and blinked lazily at Alice a couple times before closing again.
"I don't suppose you're flight was any more pleasant than mine," Alice commented dryly, more to herself than her furry companion as she grabbed the carrier by its handle and made her way to the airport exit.
Bunny was waiting just outside the doors with Alice's other luggage already loaded into his car. When he saw Alice come out of the airport with the carrier in her hand, his face curled up in clear disdain.
"What in the hell is that?" He asked with obvious distaste, pointing at the carrier. "That better not be what I think it is."
Alice let out an indignant huff before placing her free hand on her hip. "And what if it is? It's not like you're allergic to them or anything."
"Aw, come on, Alice! Are you kiddin' me?" Bunny practically whined. "You know I hate cats!"
"I know that, but what would you have me do? Abandon him on the cruel streets of London?"
"Yes!"
"Oh you are such a baby sometimes," Alice scolded before she moved to open up the back door of Bunny's car. She ignored his angry mumblings as she placed the carrier on top of the car and opened the cage door. She reached in and gently pulled out the gray and black tabby and cradled him in her arms before tossing the empty carrier into the back seat.
"I can't believe you brought your cat with you," Bunny shook his head as he opened the passenger door for Alice and closed it once she was inside.
"Well, that's where you were mistaken," She chided lightly, running a hand down her pet's soft back.
Suddenly too tired to put up more of a fight, Bunny just rolled his eyes and got into the driver's seat. "That thing better be house trained, and I swear to God Alice, if any of my furniture gets so much as a scratch on it, I'm going to be making myself a new fur hat."
"Don't worry, Bunny. He'll be on his best behavior," Alice promised before she held the cat out in front of her with her hands under his front legs. "Won't you, Cheshire?"
The tabby mewed quietly in response.
"Poor thing," Alice pouted, placing the exhausted cat back on her lap. "He still must be a bit tiddly from the sedatives."
"Good," Bunny remarked callously as he started the car. "Hopefully he'll sleep through the night and I won't have to deal with him."
"I doubted it," Alice said wistfully as her gaze fell on her window. It was too dark to see anything clearly, but she stared out the glass plane anyways. "I'm sure he'll be up and wandering about in a few hours."
"Oh joy."
Silence fell over the car and the only sounds in the car were the hum of the engine and faint static coming from the shoddy station his radio was set on. Bunny readjusted his rear-view mirror a couple times in a lousy attempt to distract himself from the thick silence while he occasionally threw a few cursory glances Alice's way.
Finally deciding he had enough silence, Bunny spoke up tentatively. "I got some good news for ya...I got a call from the Realtor yesterday. The sale went through and she said you'll be free to move in whenever you're ready. I've only got one thing I have to do tomorrow so we can go look at it then. It is a really nice house, Alice. It's a bit old and gloomy lookin' but it's a three-story Victorian with a gate and a big rose garden in the backyard. It's almost completely dead though since nobody's lived in the house for years, but I'll help you restore it, if you want..."
In lieu of a response, Alice just let out a low hum of acknowledgement.
When Alice's parents died, everything they owned went to Alice, leaving her with a sizable inheritance that would allow her to live rather comfortably for the rest of her life if she managed her finances responsibly. The Liddell's weren't a family of obscene wealth when they were alive, but they were well off. Alice's father had been a dean at Oxford University while her mother worked alongside him as a professor. When their oldest daughter, Elizabeth, turned eighteen, they made out a will and testament leaving everything to their two daughters in the unfortunate event that something were to happen to them, but since Alice's sister perished along with her parents in the fire, Alice was made sole beneficiary of the will.
Her inheritance paid for the house Bunny spoke about. Alice didn't get the chance to see any pictures of the structure before she wired the money to Bunny so he could handle the buying process while she worked on getting a Visa, but she didn't really care. Bunny told her it was a nice house and she took his word for it, and even if it wasn't, she wouldn't mind just as long as she had a place to live.
Bunny sighed heavily at Alice's aloof brush off.
"Look, Alice," Bunny started as he absentmindedly drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. "I know you're probably still shaken up about everything that's happened this past year, but just remember, it's all behind ya now. You're here with me, nice and safe. And once your old nanny's Visa comes through, you won't have to live in that big house alone...I still don't know why you insist on her coming to live with ya though."
"She took care of my sister and I when we were infants," Alice sighed while rubbing the thickening fog away from her vision. "She's the last living connection I have to my family and she's getting older. I won't allow her to spend one more year in that whorehouse while I live comfortably halfway across the world. And besides... it's no longer...safe for her there. Not since I left."
Another silence fell again for several, dismal minutes before Alice quietly spoke up again.
"What if he finds me, Bunny?"
"He's not going to find you, Alice," Bunny answered immediately as his grip on the wheel tightened and he gritted his teeth, the very thought of that sick and twisted man making his blood boil. "He's all the way back in London with the police out for his head. He'll be too busy hiding like the little rat he is to come lookin' for you."
Alice tore her gaze from the window and fixed Bunny with a hard, piercing stare. "But what if he does?"
The Aussie stayed silent while he stared vacantly out the windshield of the car as he picked his brain for an appropriate response that he hoped would calm all his friend's worries and help her let go of her many inhibitions. When he finally came up with something good enough, he took one of his hands off the wheel and reached over to grab Alice's. He squeezed it reassuringly.
"Then he'll have me to deal with."
Bunny's bold, green eyes shined with honest sincerity and an unspoken promise that wasn't lost on Alice as he took his eyes off the road ahead of them to look at her. He made sure that his gaze conveyed every comforting word he knew was bubbling somewhere in his head but wasn't quite able to grab a hold of before he gently dropped her hand and looked back at the road.
"Alright," Alice sighed after her friend released her hand and it fell back on the soft pelt of her sleeping cat.
She looked back at the window and watched with dull, forlorn eyes as a thin sheet of frost slowly crawled its way across the cold surface.
"If you say so, Bunny."
AN: Alright, that was the first chapter. If you loved it, please let me know! This is story I work on from time to time whenever I'm bored, or when I'm stuck on the next chapter of Winter Wonderland.
And just so you all know right off the bat, I'm going to try and make this story as realistic as possible so there won't be any trips to Wonderland for Alice. Although, there will be mentionings of her Wonderland and it's characters. I'll try and incorporate as many concepts as I can.
If I get a decent amount of reviews and support showing that people are interested in seeing more, than I'll make it a point to update regularly, but if not, updates will come whenever I get around to typing up a new chapter.
~Scorpiofreak~