Warning! Cuss words/ bad language may appear in this chapter

Madd Hatter entered one of the many rooms of his home. He walked to a small table in the very center of the room and sat down behind it. As soon as he touched the seat, the room began to shimmer and glow. The plain wooden walls and floors transformed into a dark room. Hatter smiled and snapped his fingers. Out of the darkness, a circle of candles lit one after the other. After the candles were all lit, the room's new contents could be seen.

The walls had been replaced with thick, black curtains and a coarse rug was laid out on the floor. A curtain of beads replaced the door and fireplace that was burning; more beads and talismans hung from the ceiling.

Soon afterwards, his bright tail coat was replaced by an embroidered robe and white gloves. Golden bangles adorned his wrists and ankles while thin chains hung loosely from his neck. His white, ruffled shirt vanished, leaving his chest bare and lean muscles in plain sight. His pressed pants had been switched with plain cotton shorts. The black shoes he wore disappeared and left him barefooted. And most importantly, his top hat had turned into a small turban.

As soon as his transformation was complete, Hatter unwrapped the bottom half of his turban, took it off, and dug deep inside for a crystal ball. After a bit of fumbling and groping, he pulled out a tiny black marble. Happy with his find, he gently placed it on the table and re-wrapped his turban. When he reached for the marble again, it had become a smoky crystal the size of a bowling ball.

Hatter rubbed his hands together and said, "Now, let's see how our good friends are, shall we?"

By placing both hands onto the sphere, an image appeared. When Hatter peered inside, a bright light flashed from the center and blinded his eyes. He had to blink several times before he could peer into the crystal ball again.

"Damn it," he muttered. "I forgot how bright the stupid snow could be."

Once he regained his eyesight, Hatter surveyed the image inside, and what he saw brought him great pleasure.

Bunny was getting up and sprinting towards Jack, who was lying on the ground.

. . . . . . . . . .

"Jack!" Bunny sprang up and ran over to the younger Guardian. He knelt down beside him and turned him onto his back. His eyes ran over Jack's wound. What he saw caused his heart to clench with rage and fear. The bullet wound had left a black mark on Jack's stomach, and it gave off an eerie glow.

"Jack!" Bunny yelled. "Jack, can you hear me!? Jack!"

The younger Guardian didn't respond to Bunny's pleading cries. "Jack! Hey, Jack! You're okay mate. You're okay right? C'mon ya little-"

Knock, knock.

The sudden knocking startled Hatter and his eyes grew wide. Without thinking, Hatter let go of the crystal ball, causing the image to blow away. He growled and clenched his hands.

"Scared because of a knock on the door frame?" A mocking voice slid between the hanging decorations towards Hatter. He instantly recognized the speaker. Unfortunately, she had an annoying voice that often gave him headaches for days on.

"You don't have to worry. It's just good old me." A young woman in her early twenties walked into the room.

Hatter put on a disgustingly delighted smile on his face. "Keera. Why are you here? I thought I told everyone to leave me alone for a few days."

The woman plastered a false smile onto her pale skin.

"I heard, but you know me. I choose to ignore stuff like that."

"I repeat myself. Why. are. you. here."

Keera strutted over to the table and put on a sarcastic smile, "Oh, you know. I just wanted to ask a few questions."

In a blink of an eye, Hatter leaped out of his chair as the top half was blown away.

Keera moved her smoking fist back down to her side. "Nice doge," she smirked.

Hatter jumped to the other side of the room and tension filled the air. Keera glared at Hatter as he amusingly looked at her. A dangerous look came into both spirits' eyes.

"Hey Keera, did anyone ever tell you that you look like Cat woman?"

A spark flashed from Keera's eyes as she growled, "Hey Hatter, did anyone tell you that this is my motorcycle suit?"

Hatter smirked and he replied,"Then why'd you include the stilettos?"

With a genuine smile, Hatter looked on as Keera's hands had begun to twitch. Keera lifted her head to face Hatter. After a rattling breath, her eyes started to change from blue-grey, to olive, to dark goldenrod, to burnt orange, and finally became a dark rosewood.

Her hair started to fly up as a strong, decaying breeze blew around her. As the wind blew further up her body, Keera's lime-colored hair slowly turned into a bright coral.

After she had transformed, the wind flew about the room, blowing all of the candles out. The only light that could be seen were the moonbeams struggling to get through the dark curtain.

Even with the blazing eyes and rushing wind, Hatter stayed calm.

"Don't you dare to mock me, little boy. You may be older than me but I'm still-"

"I'll repeat myself yet again. Why are you here."

"Why? You're asking me why?" Keera clenched the top of her hair and grit her teeth. "Fine, then! If you're stupid enough not to see it, I'll tell you." The wind grew stronger as she continued.

"Hatter," she said in a low voice. "You took some of my power from my energy reserves, right?"

"So what?"

Keera's voice rose to a loud shriek as she restrained herself from charging at the boy. "My precious power is only to be used by me! How dare you take some of my energy! Who did you give it to!?"

Hatter looked innocently at the younger woman. "I don't know what you're talking about," he shrugged. He cleared his throat and twiddled his thumbs.

Keera looked at Hatter, surprise written all over her face. After a few seconds, she held her sides as she gasped with laughter.

"Oh, so you don't know what I'm talking about. Of course you don't." She immediately straightened up and looked down at Hatter. "Don't give me shit!" she spat. "I know you have no use for it. Even if you had used it, I would be able to sense the energy trail on you. And guess what. You don't have them! So, I'll ask you one more time. Who. did. you. give. it. to?!"

A new voice spoke up from behind her and replied in a gentle purr. "I'm afraid he gave it to me."

Yay! Another cliffhanger!

Also, for those confused about the younger woman part, Hatter is older than Keera by years, not by looks

Also, thank you person who left a review for chapter two. You're the first one to leave one and it made me so happy