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I don't own the Hunger Games, nor do I own Alice in Wonderland

Tick Tock

The smell of sweets began to permeate in the air as the trio neared. With a purr, and a nudge against Prim's shoulder, Buttercup floated away towards the man at the head of the table. He was opposite the two girls, with shaggy blond hair that fell in mussed tufts around his eyes. There was a top hat that sat on the crown of his head, made out of random patches and mixed patterns. The Cheshire Cat started talking to the man in a low whisper, and the girls turned their attention to the only other person in the small area.

Murmurs fell from his lips as he munched on sugar cubes, adding spoonful after spoonful of the sweet powder to his already lumpy tea.

"The White Queen should be happy with these," a manic laugh crept from his throat, suddenly abandoning the tea and grabbing a white quill. He dipped it in ink and started to scrawl something along the golden skin of his arm. His crimson red hair tickled the tops of his shoulders, and over his forehead. Framing his teal eyes in scarlet, intensifying the already piercing orbs.

"Tick tock," he mumbled, chuckling softly to himself as his brows furrowed. He dropped the quill and glanced at the sugar bowl again, turning it upside down to inspect its emptiness. "Tick tock, Real Alice, you must be careful. Don't lose your head to paint her ugly roses red. We're very late for an important date."

He cackled again and lifted the sugar-lump tea to his lips and took a drink, completely ignorant to the new comers staring at him.

Prim's small hand clutched Katniss' tightly, and the elder sister could feel her shivering. The blonde was determined to keep ahold of her sister, wide blue eyes glued to the peculiar man, who was still muttering and drinking wet sugar.

"What's wrong with him Katniss?" The 14 year old asked softly, tugging a little on the older one's hand.

"Don't you know?" said a deep and low voice beside them. Their heads turned in unison and the other man was standing there, the Cheshire Cat floating beside him. He swept down into a bow, clutching his patchwork hat between slender fingers, before straightening and replacing the object back on his head.

His hair was sticking in wild tufts, lying over his forehead and into his eyes, mixing with long, pale lashes. The flaxen strands framed his luminescent orbs; they were bigger than the sun, and much brighter. His eyes were dappled with gleaming flecks of lightning and blue ice. They swirled almost daringly, a deranged glint flickering underneath the dancing colors.

The peculiar eyes scanned over the girls, looking down at them from his taller frame. A grin captured his face. "I am the Hatter, and I would like to cordially and officially welcome you to the wonderful world of Underland," his teeth flashed ivory from behind his full lips. "You should know, we're all mad here."

Katniss watched him evenly, "You're not, are you?"

His smile almost turned wicked. "I just hide it better than most."

The redhead by the table laughed manically at the blond's words, falling from his chair onto the ground, clutching his stomach as he giggled.

The Hatter turned and motioned to the other man, "Come here please," it took another few seconds of laughter before the redhead could bring himself from the grass. "This," the Hatter wrapped an arm around the golden man's shoulders. "Is the March Hare. Loyal, lovely, and mad, desperately in love with confection sugar."

The Hare took each girl's hand, kissing them with surprisingly soft lips. "Welcome Real Alice, Fake Alice." His mouth twisted in happiness. "Fake Alice, Real Alice, whichever you may be." He started to hop from foot to foot excitedly. Katniss tucked her hand into the folds of her skirts, uncomfortable in their situation. "You were almost late, I almost lost my head. But now-now we are safe. You can defeat the Mutts and restore Un-"

"March Hare," the Hatter turned his iridescent eyes on the crimson haired man. His face fell and with another teal eyed look, he walked back to the table. Mumbling about a gorgeous woman dressed in white crystal, and how everything would be fine now that Real Alice was home.

"Don't mind him," Buttercup said softly. "He's mad as a hatter."

Both the blond and the cat started to chuckle at the joke. The Hatter reached for Prim's hand, taking it in his larger one before reaching for Katniss' who avoided the contact. "Come, Real Alice, Fake Alice. Why not sit and have some tea. It's wonderful, really. We have as many sugar cubes as you can stir in. March Hare has been able to melt 42 into a cup once, but it was basically mush.

"The Tweedles should be here by tomorrow, and then we only wait for the Dormouse to come with us to find Caterpillar. He'll help us decipher who is the Real Alice. From there we will go to the White Quee-

He was walking them to the head of the table as Prim took in the white tables with wide eyes. She interrupted him with a blush on her cheeks. "Are these cakes edible?" she asked in her high voice. "I'm kind of hungry." She said softly.

Hatter nodded furiously, the hat on his head trembling dangerously. "Oh, yes, they are quite edible. I made them myself. They're the finest in all of Underland. Feel free to take one, please tell me what you think."

He allowed them to stop, as the young girl reached for a pastry. She took them all in, admiring the pink frosting and the bright green flowers on sugar cookies. They matched the rainbowed assortment of teapots, from yellows to purples. They reminded Katniss of the bakeries back in Panem. She used to press her face against the glass when she went for walks with her father. He would buy her a strawberry pastry and hold her small hand in his warm one, before telling her a story of brightly colored cakes he had eaten in Wonderland.

Prim had a crystal blue cupcake in her fingers, lifting it to her mouth to take a bite when Katniss couldn't take it anymore. She stepped forward and slapped the cake from her hands.

"Don't eat that Primrose! You don't know what it's made out of." The March Hare and the Cheshire Cat fell silent, their teacups rattling softly against their matching saucers, watching the exchange. The girl swiveled to glare at the Hatter.

"Listen to me, you pompous lunatic, we aren't Alice, neither of us are Alice. Real Alice, Fake Alice, none of it. My name is Katniss Everdeen and this is nothing but a dream, there is no such thing as Underland, or Wonderland for that matter. We're from Panem. I was being proposed to this morning from my friend, I fell into a hole and got hurt. I'm unconscious right now, and none of this is real!"

The Hatter watched her with glittering eyes. "I assure you, my dear, that this is quite real."

"No!" She screeched, pointing at the March Hare. "He's insane, there's a speaking cat. And you, a man named Hatter who bakes pastries. You're all mad, this place is ridiculous." She ignored the indignant look Buttercup threw her direction.

She wasn't sure what she expected from her outburst. But it definitely wasn't laughter.

They were all doubled over, cackling at her speech. "My dear, dear girl." The Hatter laughed, white teeth flitting into view again. Prim's blue eyes swiveled through everyone, unnerved at the manic smiles and giggles. "My name isn't Hatter, just like his isn't really the March Hare." He choked the words out, laughter still stuck in his throat. "They're merely titles; does he look like a rabbit to you?"

That started the redhead chuckling again, falling from his chair once more. The tea on the table shuddered at the sudden movement, tinkling glass echoed around the clearing.

Primrose shook her head as Katniss watched dumbfounded.

"Precisely, they're titles. Just like Real Alice is a title for one of you." He flourished another bow, the tails of his coat flapping slightly with the movement. "My name, dear girl, is Peeta Mellark, and that lunatic laughing on the ground is Finnick Odair, otherwise known as the March Hare."

Katniss felt tears tugging at the back of her eyes, a lump forming in her throat. She felt lost, and confused, and incredibly irritated. She would take Gale's proposal over this almost any day; it was infinitely easier to deal with. Her frustration was hitting an all-time high as she stared at the curious man in front of her, trying to grasp the psychosis exiting his lips.

"Does that clear everything up?" Peeta asked, grinning.

The dark haired girl glared at him. "Come on, Prim we have to go." Kat reached for her sister's hand, but Prim looked at her defiantly.

"We don't know where we are, Katniss. They do."

She felt betrayal well in her chest and she let her hand fall back into her dirtied skirts. "Fine then, have fun at the physco's Never-ending Tea Party." She turned then and ran off into the now dim forest of blues and purples.

She felt her heart thudding painfully and heard steps coming after her. But they weren't the faint, soft steps of her sister. They were heavier, but graceful, not cracking a twig, unlike her high heeled feet which seemed to break every branch underfoot.

"Wait, dear girl you cannot run through the Red King's forest at night," it was Peeta's deep voice. "It's dangerous."

"What do I care?" Katniss hissed back, "This is just a crazy dream!"

She tripped over a tightly bound group of flowers, who hissed at her and called her names. "Ms. Everdeen, you must understand," Peeta came to her and hushed the flowers as he kneeled and rested a hand on her shoulder. "This world is quite real."

The girl was about to open her mouth to oppose him, but he suddenly pushed her against the ground, pinning her there with his larger body, while hissing at her to stay silent. She obeyed, iron eyes the size of saucers.

She could hear snuffling and rustling in the grass nearby. Peeta's incandescent eyes searched through the weeds around them. "Peeta-"

"Please be quiet," he whispered, breathe fanning over her face. She could smell the sweetness of his breath, mixed with some sort of mint that must have been in the tea he was drinking before they arrived.

The rustling stopped and Katniss held her breath, heart pounding against her ribs. She swallowed around the lump still in her throat. She was afraid, and it upset her. She hated being afraid. Peeta pulled a knife from the internal pocket of his jacket, and Katniss couldn't help but gasp. He glared at her and with another heartbeat a raging ball of fur entered into Katniss' vision and attacked the blond.

She heard him grunt with the blunt force of the animal's attack as he was forced off of her. She couldn't see very well in the dim light, but she saw fur prickling on edge, the tails of the Hatter's coat flailing as he wrestled with whatever was attacking him.

Snarls and rustles emitted from the attacker and defender. And after what seemed like forever, he stepped back over to her, dragging the hide of an animal. It was bloody and tattered, with wiry black hair.

"Wh-what is it?" Katniss asked softly, grey eyes widening as she noticed the gash on his thigh. He limped closer before collapsing beside her.

Pain twisted through his face, and his eyes closed tightly, wrinkling pale skin as his brows furrowed deep into his forehead. "It was one of the Red King's Mutts. They patrol his forest at night, but this one," he nodded towards the dead animal. "It was just a baby." He grunted again as he ripped the fabric from the gash. "Shit," he mumbled, trying to use the dirtied fabric to staunch the flow of red.

"Here," Katniss grabbed his knife and cut some of her skirts, taking from underneath so they were cleaner. "You have to press it against your skin like this," she took the bundle of fabrics and twisted it a little, pain flitted through him again, and she murmured an apology. "Otherwise you'll bleed to death."

The man was quiet for a moment, watching her with brilliant, swirling azure eyes. "Thank you," he sighed, leaning against the trunk of a tree that was closest to them.

"The Mutts," the dark haired woman started, voice shaking slightly as she applied pressure to his leg. "Are they natural here, or…?"

The blond shook his head. "Not even close. The Mockingjay was originally one of the Red King's experiments, but it went wrong. They sang instead of screamed the way he wanted them to. He left them to die but they lived." His eyes rested in the distance, brow still knitted together. "The Red King kidnapped the Larkspur. He was on our side for as long as I can remember, but they stole him when he was testing out a golden coil to electrocute an entire lake."

"Why is he working for the Red King if he was kidnapped, most people refuse in that situation."

"You misunderstand, Ms. Everdeen. The Red King is not one to play games with. He rules the situation or you're immediately dead. Larkspur wanted to come back to the White Rabbit, and thusly, has been forced to create mutated monsters, the Mutts."

Katniss let out a breath, feeling her heart pound all over again. Everything felt so real.

"Do you believe this place is genuine yet?"

She grinned at that, he seemed to be the determined type. "No… yes?" she shook her head, waist long brown hair rustling in the grass. "I still don't know."

Quickly and without her consent, Peeta leaned up to her and let his lips graze hers. His fingers feathered along her jaw line, and Katniss jumped, hand releasing the fabrics that were resting against his thigh. He cringed and pulled away.

"I-I'm sorry," she tried to replace the make-shift bandage. "Wh-why did you do that?"

He chuckled, patchwork hat tilting dangerously again. "Once upon a time I came to this world, and I couldn't decipher what was real or what wasn't… I almost went mad, but a girl who came here with me, her name was Rue. They thought she was Real Alice… but she wasn't. She kissed me when I didn't know what was real, and the feeling told me all I needed to know."

The blood flow was starting to lessen, and Katniss cut out another layer of fabric from under her dress. She bandaged his leg, glancing at him during the process. "What did it tell you?"

He grinned at her, noting the way her olive skin looked in the dim, crepuscular light. "I realized that if I felt something, then wherever I was, it was real. It's not about where you come from or where you go, it's the fact that you're alive and experiencing it."

Katniss contemplated his words as she helped him onto his feet, and they turned back for the Tea Party. He wasn't as heavy as she thought a 6 foot male would be. "That was my first kiss." She whispered, straining her ears to listen to the flowers.

"All the more reason to take it to heart."

Katniss watched him out of the corner of her eye, unsure why she felt her heart flutter. "Did you love her?" she asked softly.

"Rue?" the girl nodded. His jaw worked when he stepped wrong on his leg, causing pain to shoot up through his muscles and into his chest. "Maybe. It doesn't matter now though, she's dead. The Red Queen beheaded Rue before she went missing. To paint her roses red."