Author's Note: Same idea, new scene! I might skip around a bit in the order, I want to get some things sorted out ;) I love Hatter's logic (or lack there of) it's just too much fun! Thanks to all my reviewers. You're all so pretty and clever….


Hatter

"I Acted Impetuously"


Lying to Alice hadn't won me anything, I didn't like being mistrusted, it's too easy to give someone a reason to actually not trust you when they don't trust to begin with. I have trust issues. I thought at the time there was a surefire way to amend this. I would get her boyfriend back. But she wouldn't even have a chance of finding him if she wasn't willing to give up something…

"She can pay you. But I want my usual cut up front." I said, I would still have to make her believe that I was in this for a material reason.

"Pay me? Pay me with what?" I slipped behind the oyster, remembering her ring. Jewels were always valuable in Wonderland.

"Show him the rock Alice" I never looked away from Dodo, I didn't trust him more than I trusted Ratty, especially with something as precious as an un-altered (and pretty) oyster.

"What?"

"The ring on your finger."

"Wha-? That is off limits" Off limits? Another thing she had to learn, nothing was "off limits" in this world. I marked that on my "To Inform the Oyster Of" list.

"It's all you have Alice." If she really wanted this boy back she was going to have to sacrifice. Unfortunately in that moment I turned my attention away from Dodo, he moved in.

"No." Before I could stop him Dodo grabbed her clean, pearlescent arm, one of the two arms that had somehow brought her to me.

"That's not possible." Dodo's expression worried me. What if I had just offered him something innumerably valuable? Alice stole back her arm, protecting the circle of metal and rock that wrapped around her delicate finger.

"Where did you get it?"

"It's none of your business. It's not for sale." The pale brunette clearly one-upped me in the bravery department.

"Where did you get it?" I was taken aback by his furry, if I had been able to I would've swooped the oyster up and carried her out of there, this whole situation was getting uncomfortable.

"W-what is it?" The suspense was killing me, Dodo knew something that I obviously didn't and that was dangerous.

"Your oyster is wearing the stone of Wonderland." Now I was in for it. The long haul. The mad idea of quickly finding the Jake guy and escorting Alice back to her safe little world was officially dead.

"That's impossible…" I turned on Alice, almost immediately regretting the position this put me in. It was bad enough that Dodo was herding her into a corner, but now I looked like his accomplice.

"I'm never wrong." The black leather clad mad man said with a disturbing glint in his eyes. I had to know, he could very well be wrong, it all depended on where the blasted thing came from.

"Where did you get it Alice?" I said.

"Jack gave it to me." Then Alice's glare was directed at me. She glared at me. Actually glared! Such a rush of emotion, for the first time she was actually afraid and it was because of me!

"Jack?" I wanted him to let it go, just to drop it now. It wasn't worth it.

"Jack Chase. The guy we're looking for." We would not be looking for anybody by the looks of things.

"Well where did he get it?" This madness had to end at some point.

"I don't know!"

"Give it to me!"

"No!" I looked between Alice and Dodo, astonished at her resolve.

"Take her out." Then he just walked away. Letting the poor Pricilla do his dirty work. This was way too far, even for Dodo. I had promised myself I would get Alice back home safely, boyfriend or not. I couldn't just stand by and let her get shot.

"Are you crazy?" Yes, Alice. Everyone is. Number five on the "To Inform the Oyster Of" list.

"Stop! Just…wait." I held out a hand to stop Pricilla from firing, standing between Alice and Pricilla's gun. Her face changed when I blocked Alice, I knew she couldn't shoot me.

"You're in way over your head Hatter." Dodo yelled from a safe distance.

"Just give me one second to talk to her. Ok?" Talk… not on their lives. If my request was granted (not even a chance) we would've dashed, leaning on the fact that Pricilla couldn't aim. But no, Dodo pulled out a smaller gun and stalked closer. Pricilla hadn't the nerve to shoot me, but Dodo did.

"It controls the looking glass. You know that." I heard Alice's surprised utterance behind me. Two guns and two defenseless mortals, someone was going down and by that point I realized what would have to happen. Better me than her.

"Calm down. Put the gun away, I'm sure we can all get what we want here." It was poppycock, but what else could I say?

"Look no one is getting this ring" I gazed back at Alice, then down towards Dodo's gun. A gun that was pointed dead at my chest. I wanted to say something, but nothing came out.

"I've been waiting years for a break like this and now it falls into our laps."

"Stop waving that thing around. You're scaring everyone!" Well, at least he was scaring me. With another stolen glance at Alice I saw her arms raised, if we got out of this and Dodo hadn't killed me first, she would.

"If we can return the oysters back to their world maybe we can save ours." He didn't seem to realize how impossible that plan was, or maybe he was just too intoxicated by the idea to admit it.

"Just put the gun down!"
"Think about it, the Queen reduced to mopping floors. It'll be just like the old days. Justice. Reason. And the rule of law." Reason was the last thing on Dodo's mind as he jabbed the gun at me.

"Stop this!" I grabbed it, hoping to pull it away from him, but it only made him pull the trigger. At such close range there was no chance he would miss me. The ballistic vest absorbed the bullet but none of its energy. The last thing I heard before I blacked out was the pretty oyster's voice.

"Hatter!"

*****

"…ticket out of here." I winked open an eye just as Alice attacked Dodo. Out came my gun. I had tried to play nice, but getting shot is certainly a reason for fighting back. One into the roof just to scare them, it worked so I jumped off the pile of books and turned the barrel towards Dodo.

"Leave her alone or believe me the next one will be aimed at your head!" The vest may have saved my worthless little life, but it was sure going to leave a bruise.

"Look, Hatter this is a game changer." I momentarily aimed it at Pricilla, just to get her to lower the pesky gun. It worked; she was sent scurrying off like she actually believed I would shoot her. "I'll give you three times your price. Five. Ten. You name it." No, I wouldn't deal with people who hauled out the guns at the drop of a hat.

"Back off!"

"If you let her leave with the ring I'll have every member of the resistance hunting you down. You'll be dead before tea time."

"And that's the thanks I get? For keeping you bums fed and watered all these years." I lowered the gun a bit, just for a second, and he took advantage. He wrenched my favorite arm in a direction it was never meant to go, bringing me to my knees he was able to slip by and chase after Alice. I charged after him into the hall. Without the gun all I could do was to tackle him from behind.

"Hatter!" I stopped for a tick at hearing my name again, my name never sounded as good as it did just then. I hated sending her off but it was the only choice. I couldn't get Dodo away from her any other way, she'd have to continue on her own.

"Hit the blue button!" It only took a second to yell the instructions, but a second was too long. Dodo tossed me into the wall with a strength I didn't think he possessed.

"Go Alice, hurry up and push the blue button!" What in the world was she sticking around for? I flung Dodo into a column and threw him a fight ending punch. He ducked like lightening. I was too predictable. "Lucky." I would've cracked his skull.

He had the upper hand now. He knocked the air out of me and kneed me in the face, in seconds he was above me. I knew I had lost when my hat fluttered away. There was no recovering once the hat was gone.

Dodo had me, he would've beaten me to death right there if it hadn't been for Alice. In a flash of red, maroon, and light blue Dodo was reeling backwards. I protected the hat, soon it would be safely back atop my mound of untamed hair where it belonged, but before it could get there Alice grabbed me.

"Come on Hatter." The girl was dragging me towards the bus-lift. A girl. Dragging me. She was a strange one….

"How did you do that?" And more to the point, I thought. Why? Without answering she hauled me into the bus and pressed the blue button. The bus rocked gently as it ascended.

"How bad is it?" Time for quick decisions, I chose to play it up. Maybe she wouldn't notice the ballistics vest… but no. Alice took initiative, pulling down my silk shirt and finding the bullet-proof contraption. "Body armor?" Great, I had her for a minute. I carefully opened one eye, afraid of her reaction. "You're not even wounded!" Not entirely true, I did just get punched in the face a few times and getting shot really does hurt! "You lied to me!" Ha, of all the things I lied about she had to point out this one.

"I was tying to help ya'!"

"By selling my ring?"

"I didn't know it was the Stone of Wonderland did I?"

"Well you could have asked me before bringing me here."

"You wouldn't have come."

"You're damn right I would, he almost killed me!"

"Yeah, well, he actually shot me, so…"

"No. You." She stomped a boot, radiating such anger that she couldn't even get words out. "Tell me the truth. What's the Stone of Wonderland?" I decided this was a fine time to tell the truth for once.

He couldn't lie to her anymore.


Author's Note: About the body armor, I have never been shot (with or without body armor) but I figured "Hey… I wonder what it's like to be shot." (Note: the ONLY reason I wondered this was so that I write this… just so we're clear lol!) So… I looked up how effective that stuff was and that was what it came up with. It deforms the bullet and stops it from penetrating but of course it doesn't thwart the bullet's energy. So, logically Hatter would have a bruise right? Tada! Tiny bit of research=Amazement.