It had been quite awhile since that battle with Alice. It seemed as though everything would be fixed, as the Hatter has been very much alive since Alice had killed him, but something still wasn't quite right. Hatter just couldn't put his finger on it. Perhaps it was the fact that he was still a clockwork machine and still had an obsession with time. Walking through his domain, the Hatter tried to figure out why. That girl could never get over her tragedy, could she? It was always one problem after another. Always in fear, she was. Perhaps although the problem has been solved, things could never be the same again. Maybe this could be the dawn of a new era? A new beginning? A better start? However, something still felt wrong to the Hatter. He wished he could figure it out.
If he couldn't have things back to the way they were and be happy again, he might as well go back to his machinery. He went to what he'd call his 'Tea Lair' and pulled a switch to turn on one of his giant teapot machines. There was a loud buzzing sound, indicating that his tea was being made, but then nothing happened. He pulled the switch again to try getting it to work. Instead of tea, there came more odd sounds from the machine. "Come on...Come on..." He pulled the switch again and again until the machine finally sparked and shut down completely. "Tcchh! What's going on here?" The Hatter went further into his domain to look at the other machines. He tried his automaton producing machine, his mechanical arms, his stationary robots, and all other kinds of machinery he had in his domain. None of them worked for him. "What in the name of- Gaaah!" he mumbled to himself as another one of his inventions blew smoke in his face. The Hatter sighed and moved on.
As the Hatter walked through the halls of his domain, couldn't help but feel like he was forgetting about something. What could he have forgotten about? He remembered where everything in his domain was located and how to work it, if it was working, anyway. Whatever it was, it couldn't matter now. His main concern at the moment was getting his machines fixed. He headed towards his lab to get himself tools to fix them all and came to a stop at the door. Rather suspicious that every single one of his precious machines suddenly stopped working on him, wasn't it? "I do wonder why...Ah, it doesn't matter right now. I'll fix them, then solve the mystery!" he thought to himself. Just as he reached for the door of his lab, he felt something grip on the gear that was sticking out of his back. He looked behind himself to see a rather familiar yet unfamiliar animal, who was just tall enough the reach the gear in his back, gripping on the gear and grinning up at the him.
"Hello, Hatter."
It was just then that the Hatter remembered just what he was forgetting. He raised an eyebrow at the Dormouse. It puzzled him how the mouse had managed to get up on his own and how his appearance had changed so drastically. His legs were replaced with wheels and one of his eyelids were held open. The mouse's eyes were also mismatched. How very odd. "Dormy? But...How? What? I-" The Dormouse, still gripping on Hatter's gear, chuckled at Hatter's sputtering. "Why, I couldn't possibly have stayed strapped to that table for very long. I wouldn't be able to carry on the plan that way, wouldn't you agree?" Just as Hatter was about to question the Dormouse, he felt a hard metallic object impact his chest, pushing him back and making him tumble over the Dormouse. As he fell on the hard floor, he looked up to see another one of his old friends.
"Your end is nigh, Hatter."
The March Hare pointed his newly acquired blade arm at the Hatter's neck. The Hare's appearance had also changed drastically, more drastically than the Dormouse's change in appearance. He was taller, had his legs replaced with springs and metal, and now sported a sharp clock hand that replaced his left arm. This also puzzled Hatter, though not as much as the fact that his old friend seemed to want to kill him. He breathed heavily as the Hare's blade arm came closer to his neck.
"What do you want from me?"
"We want our revenge...and your domain."
Hatter started crawling back, the Hare following him, his blade still pointed at Hatter's neck, and the Dormouse following close behind. If the Hatter had a heart, it would surely be beating at an irregular pace. Never in a million years would he suspect that he'd be under attack by his erstwhile friends. Never would he have taken the thought of them turning the tables on him seriously, and yet here he was, on his rear, helplessly crawling back to keep from being stabbed by the March Hare.
"Please, can't we settle this over a cup of tea? A fine Darjeeling, perhaps? Huh?"
"It's no longer tea time, silly Hatter." the Dormouse sneered.
"But we don't need to fight. W-we're friends!"
"Not anymore." growled the March Hare.
The Hatter tried to get up, as he knew they were approaching an open area, but as he did so, the March Hare began to beat him with his blade arm. Even with so many hits to the face from the hard, metal clock hand, Hatter kept trying to plead his case, even if he himself couldn't understand what he was saying. The March Hare had to refrain from slitting the Hatter's throat or stabbing him, as he wanted Hatter alive. As Hatter fell back onto the floor, he felt something grip the gear in his back once again. A mechanical arm lifted him into the air, making him squirm and kick his legs. "Arrggh! Put me down this instant! This is unacceptable!" the Hatter screamed. The arm moved him back, further away from the Dormouse and the March Hare and into a more open room with more mechanical arms and a rubbish chute. The March Hare and Dormouse followed were the mechanical arm took Hatter, the Dormouse placing himself behind a control panel and the March Hare standing in front of where Hatter was being held. The Hatter continued to kick and argue and plead his case, getting nothing but the Dormouse's chuckling in return. The Hatter looked at the March Hare with fake sorrowful eyes.
"Marchie, why?"
"You know why, you idiot." the Hare growled. "You went and wrecked our bodies for the fun of it. I hope you're happy." The Hare turned his head to the Dormouse. "Do it."
The Dormouse put his hand on a lever and pulled it. One mechanical arm reached for the Hatter's left arm and pulled it off. Another mechanical arm did the same to the Hatter's right arm. Both arms went limp and were dropped near the Dormouse.
"Does this look familiar, Hatter?" asked the March Hare. "One might call it mutilation."
A bigger mechanical arm grabbed onto one of the Hatter's legs and pulled the entire lower part of his body off. His legs went limp as they were dropped in front of the March Hare. Finally, the mechanical arm that was holding the Hatter by his back gear lowered him to meet the March Hare's eyes. The Hare knocked the Hatter's black and white checkered hat off his head with his blade arm, then pulled his head off of his torso. As Hare held Hatter's head in his one organic arm, the Hatter's torso was dropped into the rubbish chute. The Hatter, or what was left of him, looked into the Hare's angry eyes.
"You...You've got some kind of nerve to pull me apart in my own domain."
"It's no longer your domain. It's ours." scoffed Hare.
The March Hare walked closer to the rubbish chute, Hatter's head still in his hand. Once he got close enough to it, he took one last look at what was left of Hatter. "Goodbye, Hatter." With that, he dropped the head in the hole leading to the horrid Lost and Found. As he fell, Hatter could hear the Dormouse's laughter and some talk about a train and taking down the Mock Turtle. He couldn't understand it all, though. Finally, he landed on the dirty floor of the Lost and Found with a splash of filthy water. He felt the trash he was laying next to and the dirt he was laying on top of. He had never felt more disgusting. He tried wiggling around only to find that, being only a head, he couldn't move at all. At least if his head was still attached to his torso, he have some mobility in his neck, but he was left completely useless. He let out a moan in agony. The Hatter never thought he'd be so helpless. All he could do now was close his eyes and hope for a miracle to happen.