Okay, so I started working on this story last year when Halloween first came to the Mad T Party in Disney California Adventure. For those of you who don't know, Mad T Party is a Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland inspired night time party that happens in Hollywood Backlot. It features the White Rabbit DJ. The House of Cards dance crew. Iracebeth, the aerial acrobatics of the red and white queens. And the Mad T Party band; over on the bass we have the March Hare, back on the keys it's Caterpillar, on guitar (ladies, you better watch out) it's Dormouse, holding it down on drums is the Cheshire Cat. Our host, the Mad Hatter, and the lovely Alice finish off the band as lead singers. You also might spot a few Tweedle Bouncers walking around. For Halloween, something gets into the tea, or so the story goes, and turns everyone into zombies. They drink their tea while singing "This Is Halloween" at the end of each set. And at the start of the next they're just a little bit spookier. This story was something I always wanted to continue but I got terrible writer's block. Finally, a year later, I have what I like. Here you go!
"What happened here?" Sora said as he stumbled down the rabbit hole. He looked down at his clothing, surprised to see that it had been changed. Instead of the usually bright outfit he wore, he saw dark colors, blacks and grays. His vision was slightly obscured by a bit of orange but he couldn't really tell what it was.
It seemed as though the rabbit hole itself had completely flipped itself upside down, but that would be normal for around here. There was no room, no doors, no bottle of potion to drink. Instead, the whole entity looked like clockwork-gears and such everywhere-and the whole thing was covered in cobwebs with some sort of mist steaming out of every corner.
He knew he had traveled to Wonderland. Or at least he thought he knew. The last time he came this way it was Wonderland. Now, nothing seemed familiar.
He walked cautiously through the rabbit hole, regretting the decision to come by himself. This was all so strange and unfamiliar.
"Buck up," a voice said. A moment later, Roxas walked out of Sora. As soon as he was clear of the other boy, his form changed. He no longer seemed translucent. He was completely opaque. And his attire seemed to match Sora's in theme.
"So Wonderland changed," Roxas sighed. "Does that really surprise you?"
Sora shrugged. "I suppose it doesn't. But Wonderland has always been bright and colorful. This looks more like Halloween Town."
Roxas rolled his eyes and walked on ahead of Sora. "Since when are you afraid of Halloween Town?"
"I'm not," Sora said defiantly, speeding up until he matched Roxas stride for stride. "But I just don't expect this to be here." They walked a little ways down through the rabbit hole and saw flickering candles on rusted green stands. The mist only seemed to be getting thicker as they went along; the walls of the rabbit hole were the only indication that they were still going in the same direction as when they started.
The two of them walked out and found themselves in a forest. Sora knew it had to be the lotus forest he'd been to before. But this seemed more like a real forest; the flowers were normal sized and there seemed to be no magic fruit in sight. The entire ground was covered in that same eerie mist that was in the rabbit hole. And the more the two boys walked the more lost they became. They wandered for what seemed like hours before they stumbled upon a burnt village.
Sora walked up to one of the buildings and crouched down in the rubble. "I wonder what happened here," he sighed. "Roxas, there's a doll here. This village was home to families."
"They're most likely dead by now," Roxas said truthfully. "Sora, this place looks like it's been scorched for years. Nobody's come back to claim anything." Roxas walked over to another pile of stuff and found one item among the others to seem a bit out of place. There, beneath a few badly burnt beams, was a top hat. But what was odd was the fact that it seemed generally untouched by the fires. It was bright green with a purple sash around it. It had a few pins sticking out of one side and a size card that read "10/6". Strewn across it were cobwebs like the ones that they had seen in the rabbit hole.
Roxas went to reach down and was stopped by a voice before he could reach it. "If you could be so kind as to not touch that," a man's voice said. Roxas looked up and at the place where the village met the forest, there was a beast of man. His face looked almost zombie like, his bright green eyes almost glowing against his pale complexion and dark outlines. His outfit was more fitted to the bright colors Sora was expecting but it held the same type of cobwebs that were on the hat. "One guess who this belongs to," Roxas smirked.
Sora saw the man as an opportunity to finally be released from disorientation. "Maybe you could help us," he said as the man came over and picked up the hat. "We seem to be lost. We were looking for Wonderland and somehow ended up here by mistake."
"You'll never get out by being lost," the man said. He set the hat above his bright orange hair. Sora noticed the intricacy of the man's outfit; the details and functionality of his belt, the colors of his jacket, the pattern of his scarf, the stripes of his pants; everything was so detailed and mysterious. "Tulgey Woods swallows those who get lost," he continued. "You could join me for a cup of tea if you wish to get out."
"A cup of tea?" Sora asked. "Are you that 'mad hatter' that Alice was talking about?"
His eyes lit up even more, the green turning colors, changing to a deeper green. "Alice talks about me?"
Roxas shrugged. "I've never met Alice and he hasn't seen her for over a year."
"It's been longer than a year here, Sora," he said, his eyes returning to the original green. "Yes, I know your name. Alice speaks of the time you rescued her and all of the other princesses."
Sora looked around again, the burnt building striking fear into him. "Mr. Hatter-"
"Mr. Hightopp," he was corrected.
Sora started again. "Mr. Hightopp, what happened to Wonderland? I remember colorful gardens and gigantic flowers."
The Hatter smirked. "The flowers are only small relative to your size. If you wish them to be larger then you must be smaller. And you really must be friends with Alice. She used to call this place 'Wonderland' as well. But you are mistaken, my dear child, for you are in the country of Underland. As for the bright colors, this mist rolled in a week ago. Since then, Underland hasn't been the same. Mallymkun swears he saw a skeleton walking around but this virus couldn't have gotten that far yet and I don't know any skeletons previous to this virus."
"The mist is a virus?!" Roxas shouted. "Why were we not told before?!"
"It is not harmful," the Hatter sighed. "It simply makes things…different around Underland. Come, have tea and I will explain everything. Alice is there waiting anyway." Sora and Roxas followed without question. It was better than being lost in the woods. They wandered for a ways and seemed like they weren't getting any closer to their destination. Eventually, off in the distance, Roxas saw a little windmill. In front of that structure stood a table with tea sets thrown everywhere. He remembered this place from his recon missions with the Organization. But he'd never been here when there were others around.
As they got closer, other forms were distinguishable. There was a younger, blond, male slouched onto the table, seeming to be asleep. There was a man with large, furry, teal ears and literally glowing purple and green eyes. The last one caught Sora's eye: a woman with bleach blonde hair, pink and blue streaks through it, and a blue, steam-punk style dress. Her hair was tattered about, her skin was just a tad darker but held the same dark circles and cuts along which his did. She looked almost undead.
She looked up, her head cocked unnaturally to the side. She smiled and sneered, "Sora, just in time for a cup of tea."
"Alice?" he asked incredulously. "Is that really you? B-But, you were a little girl the last time I was here. How have you grown up so fast?"
"Time is no one's friend," the furry eared man hissed. "He finds it fun to speed things along and slow things down as he chooses. He's only gotten worse with the virus."
"Leave Time alone," the blond sighed, not bothering to open his eyes. "He does what he wants. We can't change that."
"So, what happened here in Underland?" Sora asked, sitting down at one of the stools. "Mr. Hightopp said that the virus rolled in and changed everything."
"'Mr. Hightopp'?" Alice laughed, almost evilly. "Did he really ask you to call him that? His name is Tarrant. Yes, Tarrant Hightopp, the Mad Hatter of Underland. And here we have Thackery Earwicket, the March Hare. And Mallymkun Loir, the Dormouse. I believe you met Cheshire Cat last time you were here. But he's been in and out lately. Evaporation skills and mist seem to go hand in hand."
"The mist came in with the nasty bunch in town square," the March Hare said. "And when you hear their song, the virus progresses even faster within you. It's merely here to make things spooky."
"Everything's extra spoopy," Mallymkun smiled, still not moving. He started to hum a bit before opening his mouth and singing. "This is Halloween, this is Halloween. Pumpkins scream in the dead of night."
"Not that song!" Tarrant hissed, throwing a tea cup onto Mally's head and shattering it.
Sora looked over to Roxas, appalled by the violent turn.
"I know that song," Roxas whispered to his counterpart. "Jack used to hum it all the time."
Sora's eyes lit up. He turned to Alice, still not really believing it was the same girl. "Alice, could you show us the way to the town square? We want to see this 'nasty bunch'."
She smiled wickedly, her head rolling back. "I suppose I could. It would be nice to hear that song again."
"I believe you will find that Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum have become quite useful to them," a voice said from inside of the mist. A few moments later, the Cheshire Cat appeared, though he was blue rather than pink and his smile seemed sharper than before.
"Cat," Mallymkun hissed, finally lifting his head. He opened his eyes and narrowed them towards the new addition. Within a few seconds, the Dormouse was lunging over the table, trying to practically bite off the cat's arm.
"Enough!" Tarrant screamed, throwing another tea cup.
"That is porcelain!" the March Hare squealed back, throwing sugar cubes.
More treats and utensils flew back and forth every which way. There was biting everywhere and no one seemed to be getting along. What had been undead a few moments ago had just turned into a battlefield. Alice stood up calmly and walked straight through it, over to Sora. Though everything was flying every which way, her movements never led her through the cross fire.
"Come, Sora and friend," she sighed. "I will lead you to the town."
They walked for a ways, practically going in circles before they finally found their way. Just as Sora had expected, there was a skeleton right in the center, overlooking the new decorations with pride. When he heard the footsteps approaching he turned. His boney face lit up when he saw someone familiar.
"Sora! It's so good to see you!" he said, walking over to them, a big smile on his face.
"Jack? What are you doing here in Underland? I thought you lived in Halloween Town."
"Oh, I do," he smiled. "You see, I got a call from my friend Time who told me that he decided that it was that time of year here in Underland. A few Looking Glasses later and here I am, helping to make this the most horrible Halloween Underland has ever seen!"
"And the mist?" Roxas asked, folding his arms across his chest.
"Oh, that wasn't me," Jack said defensively. "After we had set up the square and started playing our music, the mist rolled in on its own. I has helped make the rest of the land just as terrifying."
"Jack," Alice hissed. "Do you think perhaps the Mad T Party could play a few songs at the party tonight?"
Jack thought about it, scratching his chin. "I don't see why not," he decided.
Alice smiled, rivaling the Cheshire Cat. "Perfect. Underland needs a little bit more Mundane music."
By this point, it seemed the rest of the tea party had finished their quarrel as they all walked into the square. Though the Dormouse hadn't walked so much and was slung over the March Hare's shoulders.
"We're here," the hare jeered, dumping the mouse of unceremoniously.
Mallymkun glared at him from his new spot on the ground. "Not fair, 'Chadas," he sighed.
"I carried your ass here. Dumping it thereafter is my prerogative."
"I am immune to your big words," the Dormouse huffed.
"Tarrant," Alice squealed, bounding over to the Hatter. "Jack said we could play tonight in the square."
Tarrant's eyes glowed brighter and he turned his gaze toward Sora. "Prepare yourselves," he sneered at him and Roxas. "You're in for a Mad ride tonight."