Hatter and Alice in: Race for the Black Rose
By Ldynwaiting
Chapter Two
Alice was just about to start supper when the door to her apartment suddenly slammed open. A panting Hatter flew in, tightly clutching a paper scroll in his hands. "Alice," he shouted, "We need to get out o' here, now."
"Why?" she gasped. "What's wrong Hatter?"
"Suits," was his one word reply. It was all that Alice needed to hear. She didn't hesitate one second to follow Hatter out of her apartment. He led her straight up the stairs that led to the roof.
"Why aren't we using the elevator?" she panted as they raced up the stairs.
"To risky," Hatter briskly replied. "I already got an escape plan."
As they neared the roof Alice heard the echo of something hard slamming into a door. She knew immediately it was her door. Coming to the roof, Alice followed Hatter towards the east side of the building. Hatter pulled off a dusty canvas exposing a large ladder. He flung it over the roof. It landed on the roof to the building next door.
Receiving a quizzical look from Alice he explained. "I learned long ago to keep all exits open, even when there weren't any. After you." He motioned for her to go first. Jumping on the roofs edge she quickly scrambled down the ladder. Hatter was seconds behind her. It took them minutes to find the roofs exit door. Sprinting down the stairs Hatter led her to a door that opened to a back alley.
"We have to get to this place," he told her. Opening a paper scroll, he showed her an address written on the yellowed paper. As she read the address she was shocked to find words begin to appear under the address.
"Tell the scrounger to get his feet in gear, they're coming fast."
Showing the scroll to Hatter his dimpled grin happily appeared. "I'll explain that later, once we get to this address."
Safely reaching Alice's car, she quickly drove them to the address written on the scroll. Alice didn't know what happened on the roof after she left, but in a way she was thankful. For she saw a familiar twinkle in Hatter's eyes. She didn't realized just how much she missed it, until it was no longer there. She wasn't sure how much danger they were in, but she deeply wished that it would last a bit longer, just to see that smile again.
It didn't take them long to reach the address on the scroll. They stopped in front of a dark building surrounded by a large wire-hurricane fence. A sign posted on the fence read, "Condemned". Looking around she saw that most of the buildings in the neighborhood were either piles of rubble or close to being one. The whole area was in a state of reflux, old homes torn down to make way for shiny new condos.
"This way," Hatter urged her. He saw a break in the fence that surrounded the house they needed to get into. Running to it, he held it open for Alice to get through. Squeezing his way past the broken fence he grabbed Alice's hand and pulled her to the three story building. Coming to a rotted door it was easy for him to kick it open. As they entered the building Alice began to cough. Dust covered everything. With no electricity, the building was shrouded in darkness. Panting, Hatter glanced at the scroll. "Well, we're here, now wot?" he asked the scroll.
Alice would have thought he was insane, if she hadn't seen the writing appear on the scroll before. Sure enough, he received an answer.
"Duh! You go up the stairs, scrounger…third floor. Find the room with the temporary floor."
"Stairs," Hatter said. "You see any, Alice?"
Scanning the floor, Alice was able to make out the bottom of a stair case. Rushing to it, she placed her foot on the bottom stair. She gasped in shock, as her foot went right through the rotted wood.
"Great, how do we get up that, float?"
Hatter winked at her, "You can't see the forest if the trees are in the way."
"Excuse me?"
"This way," Hatter said. He carefully placed his foot on the front edge of the step. Standing on the vertical part of the stairs, it was able to support his weight. "Just keep clear o' the flat part and we should be okay."
Tip toeing up the stairs they quickly managed to reach the third floor without falling through to the bottom. They then searched every room. Moonlight streamed through each room from broken windows. Some rooms had huge holes in their walls, letting in the elements. With the condition it was in, Hatter was shocked that the building was still standing. Coming to a room at the far end, he opened the door. Stepping in he quickly realized that this had to be the room they were looking for. The holes that he saw in the walls were now scattered on the floor of the room.
Hatter became alarmed when he heard a banging coming from somewhere in the building. "They found us," he softly cursed, their pursuers were in the building.
"This can't be it." Alice whispered, afraid that a loud voice might bring the floor down. "Hatter, we'll have to come back later. They found us, we need to find another way out of here." Hatter was about to agree with her, until something moved at the far side of the room. He saw a dusty blanket draped over something large that hung on the wall. The night breeze blew at the blanket, it waved at Hatter, as if to invite him to tea.
A strong breeze suddenly whipped into the room. Whirling around, it pulled the blanket from the wall, exposing something that Hatter only dreamed of ever seeing.
"Pinch me and call me late for supper, that can't be wot I think it is." Taking a step forward, he reached out his hand. "I thought they were all gone…destroyed."
"What is it, Hatter?" Alice asked. She saw him staring at a large ornate mirror hanging on the opposite wall. Around its wooden frame were carvings of rabbits, mice, flamingos, hearts, spades, diamonds and clubs.
"It's a Lookin' Glass," Hatter joyfully said. "A real, live marvelous, wonderful Lookin' Glass."
"Like the one that brought you here?"
"No!" Hatter laughed. "That one was created by the Queen of Hearts. This one, it's an original. Not powered by some bloody ring. This is one o' the first Lookin' Glasses used by the founders o' Wonderland."
Hearing a shout from below Alice's fears grew stronger. "Can it get us to your home, and away from whoever's following us?"
Hatter closed his eyes in ecstasy, "Oh yes, Alice. Anywhere we want to go." He carefully began to study the floor. "We need to find a way to get over there before those Suits catch up."
A small smile blossomed as Hatter heard a scream and thud. "Score one for the building." Studying the floor he could see that it was dotted with holes. Looking down through one of the holes he saw bigger holes on the floor below. One false step and they would be finding themselves in the basement, with the building covering them.
"Salvation or prison," Hatter mumbled.
"What's that?" Alice asked him.
"Somethin' I heard, that this place could be my salvation or prison." Grinning widely at her he said, "Let's hope fo' the latter."
Carefully he took a step forward. The floor creaked but it managed to stay firm. "So far, so good," he whispered. Taking another step, Alice shrieked, grabbing him she pulled him back just as the floor board he was stepping on collapsed under his weight. Nodding his thanks, he angrily shook his head. This wasn't going very well, he was about to walk back to the entrance door when Alice let out another scream of alarm. The floor in front of the door splintered and cracked. It fell in a cloud of dust. Now they were trapped. No way back, and no way forward.
Facing the mirror, Hatter stared at it. Concentrating he saw something that caught his eye. Looking back, he checked to see if he saw right. Glancing back at the mirror it confirmed what he thought. "Look Alice," he pointed to the mirror.
At first Alice saw only the reflection of themselves in the room cast in the dirty mirror. Then, at the entrance door she saw a tiny bit of light. Looking back she saw no light in the doorway.
"It's the genuine article," Hatter said. "We can get into Wonderland if we step through."
Alice grabbed Hatters arm as she heard a moaning below them. "I don't think this floor is going to hold us much longer."
"Right," Hatter said, with a nod of his head. Hearing another scream he realized that it was closer than the last one. It was only a matter of time before the Suits caught up with them. Looking deep into Alice's eyes, he asked her, "Do you trust me?"
"Hatter, you know I do."
Tightly grasping her hand, and taking in a deep breath he said, "Just keep thinkin' o' Wonderland. Now then, as one o' your favorite songs says, let's get this party started."
Alice couldn't believe that Hatter was running not away from the mirror but towards it. They leap-frogged from one piece of floor to another, until he yelled, "JUMP!" They reached the edge of a gapping hole just in front of the mirror. Alice could hear the floor behind her collapsing. Holding his hand tightly, she planted her foot on the edge of the floor, and leaped forward. They flew towards the mirror.
"Wonderland, wonderland," she repeated as she closed her eyes. She braced herself for a collision with the glass, but it did not happen. She was surprised to experience not the disorienting feeling she felt when using the Red Queen's mirror, but coldness enwrapping her. The chill lasted a few seconds, and then her feet hit solid ground. Opening her eyes she found that they were standing in the same room. The floor was still riddled with holes, but it was intact.
Releasing Hatter's hand, a frown curved Alice's lips. "It didn't work."
Scanning the room, a smile large enough for his lone dimple to appear graced Hatter's face. "Oh yes it did Alice, look." He pointed towards the windows in the room. At first Alice didn't know what he was pointing at, until she remembered that the windows were left of the mirror, he was pointing at the right.
"The room, it's a…" Alice said.
"…mirror image," Hatter finished for her. "That's how the Lookin' Glass works, Alice. My world is a mirror image of yours."
Facing the mirror Hatter looked into Alice's world. He saw two men run into the room, and promptly fall through what was left of the floor. Two other Suits appeared. Remaining in the doorway, they carefully searched the room for any sign of Alice or Hatter. Grabbing a dusty sheet, Hatter quickly covered the mirror.
He patted his hands of the dust. "Best not to let them know where we are,"
Alice pointed to the only door in the room. "Is Wonderland out there?"
Praying that the answer was yes, Hatter slowly began to make his way to the door that led out of the room. Here the floor seemed to be much sturdier than the one in Alice's world. In fact, it appeared as if the holes were not created by age, but were hand made. Coming to the door, he poked his head out. Grinning widely he stepped through the door. Alice at his heels, they walked into what appeared to be a very large and empty factory. Glancing back they saw the wooden door to the room sitting in the center of a solid brick wall.
"Hatter, look," Alice gasped.
Looking down, Hatter saw that he was dressed in the same clothes he wore when he first met Alice. Talking his hat off, he saw a familiar friend. He hugged the straw hat to his chest. Flipping it several times in the air, he patted it on his head. Letting his head drop back, he took in a deep breath. "Yesss," he sighed, "That's Wonderland, wot a wonderful smell."
Quickly walking to one of the huge windows that encompassed an entire wall, Hatter used the sleeve to his leather jacket to clean away years of grime that accumulated on the glass. Looking out he saw a familiar sight.
"It's day light here, that's a good thin'." Hatter squinted from the brightness of the sun. "Now then, we need to know exactly where we are." Squinting, his head moved back and forth as he tried to figure their location.
"Not sure, but I think we're in an older part o' the city."
"Hatter, now that we're sure we're in Wonderland, can you please explain to me what happened on that roof in my world? Maybe that has an answer." Alice nodded her head to the scroll Hatter had tucked into one of his jacket pockets.
Pulling it out, Hatter rolled the scroll open. The address was no longer there, in fact the entire scroll was now blank.
"Cayto, if you can hear me, tell me why I'm standin' in an empty factory with Suits after my backside."
A lone line appeared on the scroll. Leaning over, Alice read what it said out loud, "Simple, you must win the race for the Black Rose."
"Black Rose, what's that?" Alice asked Hatter. Rolling the scroll up, Hatter tucked it back into his jacket. Searching for an exit he saw a metal door on the far side of the room.
"The Black Rose is a bedtime story that's told to rich kids who want to be King," Hatter began to explain, as he walked towards the metal door. Alice quick stepped to follow him. "Oh, you mean it's a fairy tale, like Sleeping Beauty?"
Hatter stopped so fast Alice slammed into him. Turning around, he seriously looked deep into her eyes. "No Alice. This one is real. Everyone knows of the Black Rose, a jewel so powerful that anyone who possesses it can use it to rule Wonderland."
"Okay, and according to the magic scroll, you're suppose to find it?"
"Are you kiddin', that's like askin' me to find my missin' socks after wash day…impossible."
"Then once again I ask, what are we doing here?"
Reaching the metal door, Hatter tried to tug it open. "That's," he grunted. "Wot I am goin' to try and find out."
After a few tugs an ear splitting screeching sound of metal on stone echoed in the large room. The metal door cut into the floor as Hatter jerked it open. Managing to get it open large enough for them to squeeze through, he wormed his way through the small opening. It took them over half an hour to find the entrance to the building. Once they exited, Alice's old fears returned, as she found they were standing on the edge of a dirt walkway just inches from a vertical drop so high it took her breath away.
"Honestly," she panted. "What's wrong with the ground for a city, the ground is a nice place. It's all safe and…um, groundy."
Hatter didn't hear her, he was concentrating on where exactly they were. Looking up at the building they just exited a knowing smile crossed his face. "By plum, it's the old Register," he softly said. "Seen pictures of it, Dodo told me this place was where Wonderlanders used to go to your world. But he said it was burnt to the ground, just before the Red Queen came into power. They had to destroy the Lookin' Glass before she could use it to get more Oysters….sorry, I mean your people."
He gave her a pained look, Alice gently touched his hand. "It's all right, keep going." Nodding his head, he resumed what he was saying. "With the Lookin' glass destroyed the Red Queen searched for another way to your world. Unfortunately, she found out that the Ring of Wonderland was powerful enough to create a lookin' glass of her own. She was able to use it to kidnap people from your world and brin' them to ours."
Alice looked up at the large building. "If that's the case, then why is it here?"
"Don't know, but I'm glad it is. It helped us get to secretly get back to Wonderland. Let's go, we need to find out wot part of the city we're in."
As they began to walk away from the building they realized just how no one knew that the Register was still standing. It was Hatter that first noticed that the building was gone. Looking back, he saw what appeared to be a burned out shell of the building. Stepping closer, the burnt building was gone, replaced by the old but still standing Register.
"Some sort o' trickery afoot," Hatter said.
"I bet Charlie would know how it's done," Alice said.
"Charlie!" Hatter said, with a snap of his fingers. 'First thin' we need to do is find him, he'll tell us wot's been happenin' in Wonderland since we left."
He hurried down the broken path. "C'mon Alice, we have to find out where we are, then we need to see what Charlie's been up to."
"Hatter, you've been gone from Wonderland for three months. He may not be here."
"Wot makes you say that?" Hatter asked her.
"I was on your world for three days, yet when I returned my mother said I was only gone one hour."
Tipping his hat back on his head, Hatter grinned knowingly at her. "Alice, the mirror can send you back to any time. Jack Heart sent you back to an hour after you left, so no one would know you were gone. That's how I was able to find you. I went through to arrive minutes before you came back."
"Oh," Alice softly said. It took her a few seconds before she finally realized what Hatter said. Grinning widely she said, "C'mon Hatter, we need to find..." "
"CHARLIE," they both said.
Talking her hand they hurried away from the Register. Walking past a dying bush neither one saw the large moustache that was sitting on a branch. Fluttering down the path, Cayto suddenly appeared.
"Hurry scrounger, your destiny awaits, as well as your lady loves." Whirling a cane in his hand, he casually walked down the road, slowly melting away until just the spinning cane remained.
