Author's Note: Deepest apologies to all of the readers of this story. It's nearly been half a year again since I posted a chapter. I have been busy doing the work for my final year in university so I had to put the fanfic at the back of my to-do list. However, I've finished university now it means I can dedicate more time to writing this story. Thank you for you patience and enjoy this new chapter. Also, American McGee plans approaching EA to make a possible third Alice game called Alice Otherlands, or a game based on the Land of Oz, involving steampunk and zombies.
Chapter 4: The Infernal Train
When Alice finally snapped back into the world, her head and joints were throbbing. Her head was spinning and her vision was blurred. The world swirled around her eyes like a recently finished painting had a bucket of water chucked over it. Her hearing was equally muffled, but she could hint faint noises of moving machinery nearby. Her head was telling her to get up, and she was willing to comply as soon as her senses registered she was awake. Plus, standing up too quickly could lead to motion sickness. As her vision began to clear, Alice saw her faithful Vorpal Blade laid by her right hand, the Pepper Grinder and Clockwork Bomb lying nearby. Alice flexed her right-hand fingers and had them crawl across the cold plated floor to grab the handle of the Vorpal Blade and brought it to her side. She was about to do the same thing to grab her other weapons, when she saw something moving a short distance away from her. Something huge.
Withdrawing her hand and lying as still as a statue, Alice partially closed her eyes to look like she was still unconscious. She could see through her half-closed eyes to see the giant creature stalk its way over to her body and sniff her with a huge, black wet nose. It was a dog's nose. Then a bark came. Alice decided to put on a brave face and opened her eyes, looking straight up at this new creature. It was huge in size, about the size of an elephant. It had head of a bulldog and the body of a bear, sporting silvery-white fur marked with black spots, and a long tail resembling that of a lizard.
Alice noticed parts of the dog creature were replaced with clockwork and mechanical enhancements, reminding her of the terrible things the Mad Hatter had done during her last visit to Wonderland. Its paws were encased in mechanical contraptions, with long bronze drills acting as claws. A form of spindly bronze armour had been placed onto its back, running along its spine. The creature looked at Alice with lonely eyes. Alice rolled onto her back and slowly got to her feet, briefly feeling a little dizzy, and then looked up at the dog creature. Since it hadn't bitten her head off yet, she assumed it was tame in some nature. It was at then that Alice noticed it had a large, long chained wrapped around a neck collar, and attached to a crooked, poorly constructed doghouse. Above the doghouse was a sign reading "Beware of the Bandersnatch".
Alice raised her eyebrows in surprise. This creature was the Bandersnatch she had heard about it a couple of times from her friends as a child. They said the Bandersnatch was ferocious beast that ate everything that moved. And yet here, it was like a giant, tamed guard dog. The Bandersnatch stepped away from Alice and lay down outside the doghouse, looking absolutely miserable. As a child, Alice had been quite scared of dogs, particularly the large ones who looked like their faces had been slammed repeatedly into a brick wall. That fear had driven her to get her beloved Dinah as a cat. Her thoughts briefly led her away to a few months ago, when Dinah died of old age and was buried somewhere in the large garden Lorina and Raoul had behind their mansion. Alice shook the memories from her head and looked up at the Bandersnatch. Leaving the Vorpal Blade on the floor, Alice walked up to the Bandersnatch and managed to reach up and rubbed its nose gently. The Bandersnatch reacted warmly, fidgeting on the floor. Something told Alice the poor beast hadn't received much affection.
"You poor dog," said Alice. "I don't know if I'll be of any help to you."
The Bandersnatch let out a disappointed growl and sunk its head into its arms. Alice put a hand to her chin in thought, examining the huge chain. There was little possibility that any of her weapons could destroy it. Her Vorpal Blade could dent it but it was likely it would snap in two before the chain. The Pepper Grinder was good for making holes in things, but trying to accurately shatter the chain links would be like trying to draw a picture with a blade of grass. However, the Clockwork Bomb caused Alice to beam.
Picking up her weapons and loading her knife and Pepper Grinder into her apron, Alice picked up the Clockwork Bomb and walked to the Bandersnatch. The dog got to its feet as Alice ran her hand along the length of the chain and then placed the bomb on top of the midsection of the chain. Placing the button on top of the bomb, Alice stepped away and motioned for the Bandersnatch to take cover. The Bandersnatch raised its left paw, covering its face. The bomb ticked down for ten seconds and then exploded, successfully sending parts of the chain links flying away, and freeing the Bandersnatch. Alice saw the Clockwork Bomb's replacement sat where the previously had detonated, and picked it up and placed it into her apron.
She turned to the Bandersnatch who look absolutely elated to be free, and it flexed its neck and shoulder muscles. It let out a loud barked and promptly licked Alice's face with a long purple tongue. Alice recoiled, grimacing slightly at the wet feel of the tongue but managed to smile.
"Looks like I have a new pet," she said to herself. "Lorina would probably faint."
Alice turned her attention to look down the hallway that stood before her, leading to another room bathed in a fiery orange glow. Glancing at the Bandersnatch, Alice began walking towards the doorway. The Bandersnatch watched her go and then began to follow after her.
As she walked, she saw a tattered looking poster nailed into the left-side wall. She stopped to examine it. It was stylised like some of industrial revolution posters she had seen scattered in the market streets and displayed in shop windows. Huge words at the bottom said "Your New Leaders" and two pictures of two wild-eyed looking creatures displayed above them. Alice immediately recognised them as the Mad Hatter's old friend, the March Hare and the Dormouse. The March Hare had a frazzled appearance with one of his eyes enhanced with what looked like a telescopic lens, and frighteningly-looking dental mouthpiece built into his mouth. The Dormouse looked barely awake, but a pair of metal tweezers was at work keeping his eyes open. He also had a silver bell attached to his head. Clearly their time as the Hatter's guinea pigs had left a mark.
Alice frowned at the words at the top of the poster, encouraging whoever read it to "embrace industry and efficiency". Alice didn't buy it for a second. She knew all too well that the industrial revolution was bringing all kinds of misery to London. The big wigs who ran the factories, with their top hats and sideburns, proclaimed the conditions were the building blocks to great change, but their words made Alice's blood boil.
How could they possibly justify using children as workers? Alice had spent her childhood in a catatonic state in Rutledge Asylum, but a couple of visits to factory near the orphanage had given her enough of an impression to last a lifetime. If there was a hell on earth, that damn factory was it. And now the March Hare and Dormouse had one right in her Wonderland. No wonder the Hatter was so mad. She wondered for a moment where he was. Maybe having fun destroying those huge Ruins. The Bandersnatch nudged Alice from behind, and looked down towards the room, which was tinted with an orange glow. Alice immediately guessed it was another giant tea-making work floor like the one she had ventured into before.
Alice pulled out the Pepper Grinder, with her hands perched on the rotary handle and underside of the weapon, just in case she was set upon by any crazed teapots or Madcaps. The door was big enough for both Alice and the Bandersnatch to walk through, entering onto a large walkway overlooking another work floor with complex contraptions forming boiling hot tea and placing them into large rotating teacups. Alice walked over to the railing, feeling the immense heat of the hot tea. She watched as the freshly boiled tea was rotated in the giant tea cups and drained down a long open pipe, which vanished into a large piping system along the far wall.
"What in the world are they using all this tea for?" asked Alice aloud.
Alice leaned against the railing in thought. The Hatter had said something big was being constructed in that huge building in the middle of the factory, so the tea was likely being transported to over there. And she suspected there was no coincidence that the Ruin had appeared whilst she was in the factory, just as it was likely no coincidence they materialised when she was looking for answers upon her arrival in Wonderland. The dots were beginning to line up. Whatever was happening behind the scenes, Alice intended to find whoever or whatever the cause was, and give them a good thrashing. And that would be before introducing them to the sharp end of the Vorpal Blade.
A loud squeaking noise struck Alice's ears, causing her to cover them with her free hand and her shoulder. The Bandersnatch whimpered at the noise. Alice spotted what looked like a large hearing horn built into the near wall. A high-pitched, twitchy voice with a sound of unhinged madness to it spoke up.
"A good worker is a live worker. Free to live and work. A bad worker is a dead worker, and vice versa. Don't be a bad worker. Bad workers are slaves, and dead. Payday for good workers is postponed indefinitely, and payday for bad workers is cancelled!"
The owner of the voice bellowed out an insane laugh, and then followed with a rather familiar yawn. Alice knew that voice anywhere. But the factory was huge, and the Dormouse could be on the other side spouting out what she assumed was his interpretation of keeping up morale with the workers. The only way to get his attention would be to put a halt in the assembly line.
Lifting up the Pepper Grinder, Alice cranked the handle and fired a round of flaming projectiles into one of the giant teacups, causing it to shift slightly on its axis and within a moment, the giant cup tumbled off the assembly line and crashed to the floor, spilling boiling hot tea across the floor with a loud hiss. Alice stepped back from the rail as the whole work floor grinded loudly, screeching unseen gears together. The Bandersnatch growled behind Alice, and glancing to look at the giant dog, she saw it was looking up at the metal rafters. Alice looked up and saw a dozen or so the spindly legged teacup automatons crawled down from the rafters. While most went down to deal with the mess she had made, several of Eyepots crawled across the walkway to meet her.
Alice opened fire with the Pepper Grinder, unleashing a volley of flaming pepper on the Eyepots. Most shots just bounced off the Eyepots' armour, but some managed pierce one of the automatons' glass eyes, causing it to blindly stumble about until it took a wrong turn and fell over the railing, crushing several of the other Eyepots below. Alice ran sideways, firing the Pepper Grinder again, managing to take out more of the Eyepots. She glanced to her left as three more clambered up over the rail. She was being quickly outnumbered.
The Bandersnatch lunged forward, tackling one of the Eyepots to the floor and gnawing away at its body as best as it could before tossing it over the railing. Another took a stabbing swipe at it from behind, but the Bandersnatch swung its huge tail, smashing the Eyepot hard into the wall, causing its eye and several of its joints to fall apart. More Eyepots charged at the Bandersnatch, but Alice mowed them down with another round from the Pepper Grinder. She then resorted to continuously cranking the weapon's lever until it started to churn, running out of energy. Putting it away, a thought sprung in Alice's mind and she gently pulled out the Clockwork Bomb and dropped it onto the floor.
To her surprise, the Eyepots all stopped attacking and crowded around the rabbit-shaped explosive as it did a little jig on the spot. Alice took a step back as the bomb exploded, blowing up all of the Eyepots, mostly to smithereens or knocking them over the railings into the tea below. The remains twitched on the floor before falling still. The Clockwork Bomb's replacement stood where the previous had exploded. Alice smiled to herself and picked up the bomb, placing it back in her apron. After checking on the Bandersnatch, who had gained little injuries, Alice peered over the railings, seeing the Eyepots were busy fixing the mess she had caused and none were paying attention to her. Now was the perfect time to move on.
Her thoughts were disrupted by what sounded like a squeaky wheel. It reminded her of a vague memory. Of the old gardener at her family home, Mr. Holloway, and his squeaky wheelbarrow. Whenever she went out into the garden, she would wave to him and he would wave back. He was also the first person to find her after her first visit to Wonderland, along with Lizzie. She could not remember what had happened to Mr. Holloway, but he was quite old, so perhaps he had died during her time in the asylum. Alice quickly ended her walk down memory lane when images of the halls of Rutledge began surfacing in her mind.
The squeaky wheel was getting louder, meaning whatever was the owner of it, was getting closer. Alice joined the Bandersnatch as the owner of the squeaky wheel made their entrance through a set of double doors at the end of the walkway.
"Honestly, how hard is it to run an extremely complex system?" shouted the Dormouse's high-pitched voice as he rolled into the room, completely ignoring or just not seeing Alice, as he made his way along another walkway to a set of levers. Pulling one down, the Eyepots all stopped moving below, and started to all crawl at a slower pace, under some sort of unified control.
Alice watched as the Dormouse pulled and pushed some more levers and slowly walked along the walkway towards him, followed by the Bandersnatch. Her eyes never left Dormy as he grumbled to himself, yawning once or twice too. As she drew closer to him, she got a better look at his body. The most notable feature were the large wheels in place of the Dormouse's hind legs. She could see machinery had been built into his lower body to make up for the damage done when the Mad Hatter had experimented on him. Much of the fur from his back was gone, revealing bare, reddened skin below, with signs of needlework done to keep it together, though the exposed machinery proved this to be an unsuccessful venture.
A clockwork motor was poking out of the mouse's back, accompanied by a slowly rotating key, making the Dormouse look like a life-sized wind-up toy. The mouse's long tail was now made up of flesh and metal tubes. Attached to the end of a circular caw, stained with blood. Dormy wore a tattered waistcoat which was patterned with blue and white square, and his forelegs and paws remained untouched by any mechanical devices. Attached to the top of his head was a device, with a pair of tweezers attached to each end, keeping Dormy's eyes open. He had bent and misshaped whiskers, and a silver bell attached to his head. Alice watched as he reversed away from the levers, and pushed himself back, raising himself up so he was at full height.
"This is so exhausting. How does Marchy expect me to run this whole place when the Eyepots keep malfunctioning. And what's going on? All of this mess. Who is responsible for the disruption to our progress?" he muttered to himself.
"Hello, Dormouse," said Alice. She tried not to laugh as she saw the Dormouse nearly spring out of his wheels and spin a circle, his fur and whiskers standing on end. He turned to face Dorothy with terrified eyes.
"A-Alice?" he whimpered. "You're here?"
"But of course," said Alice with a smile. "I'd catch up, but you're damaging my Wonderland. And building something that will destroy it. I want to know what it is, and why."
She took a step towards the Dormouse, but he rolled backwards. She knew he would make a break for it and drew her Vorpal Blade. The Dormouse was clearly terrified out of his mind, but it didn't stop him from putting on a brave face.
"You are unwelcome here, Alice," said the Dormouse, folding his arms. "Wonderland is about to go under some splendid changes. All of the unhinged elements of madness will be paved over, replaced with focused, one-track industrial prowess. And your presence will only hinder the progress of change."
"I liked it better when you were asleep in the teapot," said Alice, taking a step forward. The Dormouse spun his wheels and raced away towards a large iron door he had presumably emerged from. He was quicker than Alice, and was at the door before she even broke into a run.
"Silly girl!" shrieked the Dormouse. "Some like it hot, but no one likes it this hot!"
Alice barely had time to skid to a halt, seeing something above her. A large cauldron filled with boiling hot tea can she could have easily mistook for volcanic lava hung above her on a rail. Alice raced for the door, as the cauldron tipped itself over, and a waterfall of burning hell came down on her. With a split second to spare, Alice threw herself to the floor and rolled out of the way as the tea burned and melted its way through the floor, leaving a gaping hole in the walkway.
Seeing the door ahead, Alice scrambled to her feet and went to open it, only for a howl from behind to get her attention. Alice turned, seeing the Bandersnatch left on the collapsing walkway. Looking up to the rafters, Alice saw an army of Eyepots crawling down to once again cause another fight. Alice glanced back and forth between the door and the Bandersnatch. She had two choices and one of them was squashing the other, even if it made her heart hurt. She gave an apologetic look to the bulldog-headed creature. Though it was unable to talk, Alice was sure that the calm look on its face indicated that it understood. Lumbering around, the Bandersnatch let out a roar and lunged at the Eyepots as they sprung down. Alice turned away, pulled down the door's handle and ventured inside.
Ahead of her was a quiet hallway made of metal plates. Quickly hurrying down it, Alice opened the door ahead and found herself in a large circular room. It was dark and dingy, but Alice was more drawn to the countless amounts of turning gears covering the walls, being run by spinning giant hamster wheels. Running on the wheels were countless dodos, blue-feathered birds resembling a cross between giant pigeons, swans, and ostriches. Most were running non-stop, and looked in immense pain due to their squinted eyes and the fact that their feet were bleeding. They were the lucky ones. Other dodos had been completely stripped of their feathers and wings, mechanical devices had been built into their bodies, with a helmet screwed into their head, at the cost of their eyesight. And all those dodos did was run, and run, and run. Likely until they died.
Other dodos, as of yet not doomed to running forever, were trapped and suspended in giant birdcages which slowly swayed back and forth from chains attached to the ceiling. A large sign hung above a door opposite from Alice, titled "The Dodo Miserarium". This room was truly a place of suffering indeed. It reminded Alice of the wretched conditions of the local factory Alice had spent some time working at. They used children for manual labour, with little food, rest or assistance. Alice herself had gained some aches and pains and still felt a twinge in her right shoulder every now and again from carrying heavy machinery parts. And the factory's owners would stride through the work floor in their stupid top hats and suits, claiming everything is for progress and the bettering of humanity. Ironic considering what they were doing to their workers.
Alice's eyes were drawn to a circular booth in the middle of the room. She saw the frantic-looking Dormouse talking to someone, who was pushing levers with a single arm. The Dormouse looked up, spotting Alice, and let out a squeak. Alice titled her head to get a look at the second person. She did not have to wait long as the form of the March Hare appeared. He was brown-furred and his body was amended with mechanical limbs and pieces. He was missing his left arm, replaced with a large clock hand, and his legs were reinforced with coiled springs and extra extensions. He wore a magnifying glass in front of his right eye, making it look like he was wearing a monocle, and a crooked set of dental braces protruded out of his mouth. He stepped fully into view and made eye contact with Alice. His eyes were weary but also filled with a look of determined madness in them.
"It's been a long time, lass," said the March Hare in a thick Scottish accent. "But I can't let ya stop our progress. We're too close to completion now."
"And I won't let you destroy Wonderland," replied Alice. "What has gotten into your minds to make you want to build a weapon of churning fire and destruction?"
"Whispers in the dark," said the Dormouse through an excited squeal. "They soothed us of our madness and pain. Do you know how hard it's been trying to survive when your half mouse, half machine?"
"At first we rejected the changes the Hatter had done to our bodies, but when the voices began speaking, we realised we had become better. Superior. And Wonderland had to become the same, so we began building the train," explained the March Hare.
"But why a train? Looking Glass Line is fine on its own," said Alice.
"Out with the old, in with the new," said the March Hare. "It's for the sake of progress, Alice. Ya mind like a bag of crazed screaming cats. It needs to be disciplined and put into an orderly production line. Refined with all the loose bits left behind. Forgotten."
"So much madness, so many unwanted, unneeded memories," said the Dormouse. "The Hatter was unneeded too, so we dismantled him. He wanted to stay in his own madhouse. No sense of need for change. No imagination. All he wanted was to stay the same and drink tea."
"But I thought you enjoyed the tea parties?" asked Alice.
"Stuff the tea!" shouted the Dormouse. "I never want to be shoved into a teapot again as long as I live!"
"Thank goodness that won't be for much longer!" bellowed a voice from above. Alice looked up as the Mad Hatter came crashing through a small glass dome at the top of the room, landing beside Alice. Alice could not help but smirk, particularly when there was a shrilled cry from the Dormouse. "Are you well, Alice?"
"Now that you're here," said Alice, craning her neck to look up at the Hatter. "Did you win?"
"Silly girl, of course I did," said the Mad Hatter, twirling his cane. "Now it is time to string up this hare and mouse. To take out the garbage. To cook the goose. To—"
"You're doing it again, Hatter!" shouted Alice.
"Quite right," said the Mad Hatter.
"You'll never stop us, silly Hatter and Alice," said the Dormouse.
"Indeed. Our train is nearly finished and when it hits the tracks, nothin' will be able to stop it!" cried the March Hare proudly. "Nothin' can stop the march of progress."
"You can take your damn progress and shove it up the Dormouse's rear for all I care," said Alice. "How exactly is the suffering of these poor birds improving your stupid progress."
"These fine feathered friends are the perfect work force," said the March Hare. "They're obedient, easy to adapt, hardworking, they never once complain or beg for extra wages!"
"And they don't want tea every five blumin seconds," added the Dormouse, spitting onto the floor in disgust.
"You have lost your mind, Dormy," said the Mad Hatter. "What is life without tea?"
"Better," said the Dormouse coldly. "And it's better without you."
"Enough talk!" cried Alice suddenly, whipping out the Pepper Grinder and opening fire on the two mammals. The March Hare and Dormouse ducked as the blasts of exploding pepper struck the booth, obliterating the levers and control panels. The March Hare leapt up in shock.
"No! Look what you've done!" he cried. All around the room, the dodos began to either quicken or slow their pace. Some collapsed in their wheels, others fell out and then fell to their doom. The perfectly timed system was falling apart. "Keep it together you blitherin' idiots!"
"Looks like your progress is about to come to a grinding halt!" laughed Alice with a victorious grin.
"No matter, we still have our failsafe," said the Dormouse. Alice's smile faded.
"What's a failsafe?" she asked the Mad Hatter.
"Normally it is a way to safely turn off a machine if it is faulty to avoid hurting people," the Mad Hatter explained.
"Our failsafe works differently," said the Dormouse. "Even if this place stops working, we can easily activate the train from its docking station."
"Let's get out of here," said the March Hare, hitting a surviving button on the control panel, causing a bridge to extend out from the booth to the other door. Alice watched as the March Hare and Dormouse raced across it and through the other door.
"Hold on Alice!" cried the Mad Hatter, grabbing Alice and in one leap, sprung to the booth. He placed Alice on the floor and they ran across the bridge. Alice took a brief glance look back at the dodos. She was leaving behind a lot of people in her pursuit. As her father would have said, sometimes people get left behind.
They ran into a room with an arched roof with an enormous vault-like door at the opposite end. Above the door was a sign reading "Assemblage of Destruction". She glimpsed the March Hare and Dormouse vanishing inside the door, closing it behind them. Sealing it shut. Alice came to a stop, hearing the chilling noise of the train from behind the door. Although something in her head was telling her to not go on, she knew she had to. She had to see this train.
"Courage, Alice. I'll get this door open!" said the Mad Hatter, running to the door and attempted to wrench the door open with his cane. Alice sighed and walked over to the Hatter's side.
Looking about for another potential entryway, Alice felt a small breeze blowing around her feet. She was drawn to a large air vent at the bottom of the wall, big enough for someone to crawl through. Alice knelt down beside the vent's grating and peered through it, seeing it led to the other side of the door.
"Perfect," she said, catching the Mad Hatter's attention. Pulling out the Clockwork Bomb, Alice placed it in front of the grate and stepped back. The bomb exploded, blowing away the grate, before the clockwork rabbit reappeared once again. With a smile, Alice placed the bomb back in her apron and turned to the Mad Hatter. "Shall we?"
"Is that vent big enough for you to fit into?" asked the Mad Hatter.
"Of course. I thought you would have more trouble," said Alice.
"Don't be absurd. I am more flexible than I look," said the Mad Hatter, and proceeded to clamber into the vent. He fitted in quite easily, though he paused for a moment to wrench the gear in his back into the hole. Alice followed, pausing halfway to let the Hatter smash his way out of the grate at the other end. She reached the other end and got to her feet.
The two looked up in awe at the enormous domed building they were in. Countless gears and chains were built across the ceiling, and a large hole in the floor indicated there were more levels down below. A large set of doors were built at one end of the room. Running all around the room were railways, intersecting one another, and a larger set leading right out of the building.
"So where is the train?" asked Alice.
"We shall tear this place apart, scrap the train and destroy those defilers!" cried the Mad Hatter, not noticing a chained meat hook descending down from above. Sneaking up on him, the meat hook was swung, grabbing the Mad Hatter by the gear and hoisted him up into the air. "Hey, what's the meaning of this? Put me down you vile behemoths!"
"Hatter!" shouted Alice, pulling out her Vorpal Blade. She could only watch as the Mad Hatter was hoisted high into the air and out of sight, screaming all the way.
"You'll never stop us, silly Alice," said the Dormouse from somewhere within the room. "The train is finished and ready to go."
"You wretched miseries. I saved your life and then you show your gratitude by trying to destroy my Wonderland," snapped Alice. "I'll try to stop you until my last breath."
"If that's what you want! Battle time, missy!" cried the Dormouse.
The whole room suddenly shook violently, knocking Alice off her feet. A large pair of chains began to rise up, pulling something large and heavy up through the hole in the floor. Alice stood up just in time to see the enormous mechanical machine rise up in front of her. Attached to the bottom of the machine was a circular steel platform, which fitted perfectly into the floor, hiding the hole. The machine was covered in copper plating, with the March Hare and Dormouse visible in booths built into its shoulder. Attached to its two arms were weapons – an enormous spinning drill, and a large hammer.
"Forget the past! The damage is done!" cackled the Dormouse, lost in his own insanity.
"Let the madness begin and resume the folly," said the March Hare.
Alice prepared herself, waiting for the first attack. She soon lowered her defences when the machine's left arm, with the hammer attached, slowly jutted forward, creaking and groaning as it moved upward, ready for an attack. Alice raised an unimpressed eyebrow. Something told her that this was going to be a relatively short battle.
The machine's large hammer slammed down on the floor a few feet from Alice, causing her to flinch slightly, but stand her ground. Looking down at her knife, Alice nodded to herself and traded it for the Pepper Grinder. Charging up the weapon, Alice opened fire upon the machine. Most of the ammunition bounced harmlessly off the machine's reinforced torso, but some shot through the right arm, dislodging parts of the joints keeping it attached to the rest of the body.
"Is that the best you've got, Alice?" cackled the Dormouse. "Surely after slaying the Jabberwock and the Queen, you'd be better than this."
"Initiate manoeuvrability!" shouted the March Hare, pulling on a lever.
Alice watched as the machine rolled forward on wheels large enough to carry it, but not built for speed. Alice merely stepped backwards as the machine rolled after her at a snail's pace, firing another round of pepper at the machine. She tried firing in one spot on the machine's torso, but the bullets just bounced off. Noticing something, Alice narrowed her eyes, seeing parts of the metal where she had fired at was slightly singing. The bullets were working, but it would take too long to pierce the armour. A devious smile formed on Alice's face and she aimed the Pepper Grinder up at the see-through shield covering the Dormouse's control booth. The Dormouse's ears dropped as Alice opened fire on the booth, allowing herself to laugh maniacally.
The booth's shield was riddled with bullet holes, but by the time Alice stopped firing, she realised something was not right. The Dormouse was looking down at her with a smug smile, but not one bullet had struck him, instead become stuck in the glass.
"How?" cried Alice.
"A little invention of ours," said the Dormouse proudly. "Bulletproof glass."
"Bulletproof glass?" repeated Alice, looking particularly confused. "Ridiculous."
"Impressive, isn't it, lassie," said the March Hare. "Ya didn't think we'd let ourselves be left so vulnerable? Not, let's be having ya!"
The March Hare pulled one of the levers in his booth, causing the drill on the right arm to begin spinning. Alice took a few steps back, but the machine rolled on after her. Alice looked to her left, seeing a door nearby labelled "Patents and Prototypes". With little hope in the Vorpal Blade doing damage, and the Pepper Grinder doing barely any, Alice decided to not risk using the Clockwork Bomb. She needed a new weapon and that door was her key to it. She darted for the door, slowing down to aim the Pepper Grinder properly and blew the locks off the door.
"No, don't go in there!" cried the Dormouse.
Alice threw the door open and slammed it shut behind her. The room reminded her of the work shed of the gardener from her family home, with two large sets of shelves filling up both sides, leaving a small path down the middle of the room. Alice's mind was racing. She probably only had a good thirty-to-forty seconds before the machine reached the door, and it was likely the plan of its drivers to block the door, so she could not escape. She needed a weapon and fast. She walked halfway up the aisle, noting everything was well organized and labelled with five-digit numbers.
The shelves with lined with all sorts of weapons and items. There were a large amount of swords, firearms, sticks of dynamite, all sorts of medieval equipment, and everyday items. The largest items were placed in crates on the lowest shelf. Alice got glimpses at some particular odd looking weapons – a strange looking beetle with a clockwork key in its back, a set of umbrellas with retractable blades, a strange, deformed cupcake with Alice realised was staring at her with sunken eyes and was waving a broken fork at her, a large snail with gears and a pair of industrial smoke towers protruding from its shell, a broken pocketwatch which Alice noted as looking oddly familiar, and an equally familiar looking jack-in-the-box toy. There was a china teacup with a large chained wrapped around it, what looked like a magic wand, a very bizarre-looking firearm shaped like an ugly baby with a crank on the back, a metal cube with a pink heart painted on it, several miniguns, and a few giant sized mousetraps. Alice turned, hearing the creaking moments of the machine approaching.
She looked about but could not make up her mind. Making a split second decision, Alice closed her eyes, spun twice and pointed in a random direction. Alice opened her eyes, seeing her finger had landed on a large black teapot with a slight green tint to it. The teapot had a unique design to it, with an ornate handle, with metal rings wrapped around it, and a small attachment to the back of the lid. The funnel and spout were larger than usual, and a large clock face was built on both sides of the pot. Alice picked up the teapot in both hands, finding it a bit heavy. There was a label attached to the teapot, with the inscription "The Mad Hatter Manufacturing Inc.'s Teapot Cannon. Throw an instant tea party. It will be a blast!" Alice lifted the lid of the teapot, seeing a strange looking circular object inside it, resembling a grenade. She took the grenade out and examined it, seeing there was looked like the contents of a teabag in it. Placing it back inside, Alice turned the label over, seeing that there was another inscription, reading "Clock face pressure meter, shoot out the tea grenades when ready."
Alice smiled to herself. She had found her weapon.
…
The machine rolled towards the door, just a few feet away when Alice charged out, armed with the Teapot Cannon. Following the instructions on the label, Alice made a guess and spun the teapot's clock hands anti-clockwise. The clock began counting forwards second by seconds. Alice grabbed a hold of the teapot's handle with one hand and the side with the others, only to remove it when she felt the surface growing increasingly hot. She replaced her hand on the base, where it was slightly cooler. As the clock ticked down, the teapot began to shake and boil, steam coming out of the spout and closed lid. She glanced up, seeing the panicked expressions of the March Hare and Dormouse. The Dormouse pulled on a lever, and the hammer arm rose to strike down at Alice. Alice looked down at the clock, seeing there were ten seconds to go. She flipped up the lid using the attachment on the back, and raised the teapot up. The clock reached zero, just as the machine's hammer came down.
Alice was blown backwards off her feet as the tea grenade inside exploded out of the lid, flying upwards at a high angle and smashed into the elbow joint of the hammer arm. The arm was all but blown apart, covered in sizzling green-coloured tea. Alice watched as the hammer and arm pieces clattered to the floor, the tea soaking into it and began dissolving the metal like acid. Alice heard a clunk in the teapot and looked into it, seeing a new tea grenade had appeared. Alice grinned, loving the gift of unlimited ammo she had in her dreamland. Getting to her feet, Alice faced the damaged machine and could not but help smirk at seeing the Dormouse freaking out in his booth. She glanced at the March Hare, who looked like someone had just smacked him across the face with a heavy, leather-bound book. Alice reset the clock and aimed the teapot again, this time straight at the Dormouse's booth.
"Oh, cheese and crackers! Reverse, reverse!" screamed the Dormouse, now helpless.
"Hold your horses, this bucket of bolts is hard to steer!" roared the March Hare back.
The March Hare pulled the levers in booth, causing the machine to roll backwards in a futile attempt to escape Alice. Alice waited for a few seconds, following after the machine, until the Teapot Cannon's clock reached zero and fired a second round at the machine. The Dormouse let out a high-pitched squeak as the tea grenade detonated upon impact with his booth, melting the bulletproof glass and blasting the booth to smithereens. Alice leapt backwards as the machine was dealt another blow, taking a large chunk out of the left-hand side of the torso. The March Hare was thrown sideways in his own booth.
Alice watched as the Dormouse's body sailed through the air and landed a few yards away. The mouse rolled about and writhed in pain as the tea covering his body began to sizzle and eat away at it.
"No, not tea! It burns! My eyes!" wailed the Dormouse, unable to sit up as the tea was melting his wheels. Alice watched in morbid silence as the Dormouse continued to scream, before falling still and silent.
Alice turned her attention to the March Hare, who sat up in his booth and saw what had become of his friends. The hare's face darkened and he looked at Alice with furious eyes. If looks could kill.
"You'll pay for this, you wee cretin!" shouted the March Hare, pulling all of his levers down. Alice had barely enough time to react as the drill on the remaining arm suddenly shot forwards on an extendable appendage. Alice threw herself to the floor, dropping the Teapot Cannon.
Alice got to her feet, but had to force herself backwards onto her back as the drill came at her again. She pulled her body away and got to her feet, running a few feet away. She pulled out the Pepper Grinder and opened fire on the drill arm's joints. The shots struck the shoulder joint dead on, loosening it slightly. The machine rolled towards Alice, the drill spinning. She fired again, but the March Hare moved the drill to block the ammunition. Alice backed away as the machine towered over her. It was to close for her to fire at properly.
"End of the line, Alice!" shouted the March Hare, readying to push the levers again to extend the drill.
Alice looked up at the enormous machine as it came to a rest in front of her. It was then that she noticed the giant teapot falling out of the sky. The teapot crashed onto the top of the machine, cracking the armour, before falling off and rolling away. Alice ran around the machine, grabbing the Teapot Cannon. The Mad Hatter leapt down from above and joined her. He noticed the teapot in her hands.
"Ah, so that's where it went," he said proudly. "Use it well, Alice."
"I plan to!" cried Alice, and fired the Teapot Cannon. The tea grenade smashed straight through the machine's armour, and the entire thing went up in an explosion of fire, metal and tea. The March Hare screamed as he was consumed by fire. Alice and the Mad Hatter watched as the machine's remains caved in until the whole contraption was nothing more than an oozing pool of burning liquid metal.
"Good riddance," said the Mad Hatter. "They deserved to die!"
"Now, what about that train?" said Alice, looking about for the locomotive of destruction she had heard so much about.
The sound of agonised gasps caught Alice's attention. She looked about the flaming wreckage of the machine, and spotted the charred form of the March Hare slowly crawling his way across the floor. Parts of his mechanical limbs hung from his body, the hare dragging them across the floor. Alice move to follow the March Hare, but she was stopped by a paw grabbing her hand. She looked down, seeing the Cheshire Cat sitting beside her. He shook his head.
"Why not? I hate to say, but he could use some mercy," said Alice.
"Nonsense. Let him suffer!" said the Mad Hatter.
The March Hare crawled his way across the room towards the set of doors. Managing to heave himself up onto his surviving leg, the March Hare raised a hand to a lever on the doors.
"The train is coming…" said the March Hare, and with the last of his strength and breath, he pulled the lever down.
The March Hare went limp and collapsed to the floor. A loud, chilling screech of a train whistle came from behind the two doors. Alice felt her hair stand on end. She felt scared. Downright terrified. She ran across the room to the doors. The whole room began to shake as another train whistle followed. Beneath the doors, Alice could see a bright orange light forming in the room beyond. A third whistle came, and the doors were suddenly blown open. Alice looked up in horror, seeing a brilliant but hellish fiery spotlight in the smoky darkness. The whole room was bathed in the orange fires of the train. It was like hell itself was coming out of the door. The Mad Hatter ran over, grabbing Alice and pulling her away as the doors were blown off their hinges and the terrifying form of the Infernal Train rocketed out of the doors.
Alice looked up at the Infernal Train in both terror and awe. It was an enormous gothic monstrosity, made from pitch black alloys and every nook and cranny glowed orange and red, like it was made out of fire. The train engine was enormous, barely scraping the roof with its turrets. Built to resemble a hellish cathedral on wheels, the engine had an enormous front grill that could bulldoze entire cities. The orange spotlights churn out flames and resembled an enormous stain glass window. The engine's turret churned out fire and a long trail of black smoke. Alice watched as the train charged right out of the building, dragging what seemed like an endless number of carriages, each equally monstrous, resembling fiery gothic buildings with spires and nightmarish imagery on the sides. The whole room shook violently as the train smashed its way out into the factory on a railway. Parts of the building began caving in.
"We were too late!" cried the Cheshire Cat angrily.
"That train is going to destroy all of Wonderland if we don't stop it," said Alice desperately, leaping back as parts of the ceiling came crashing down just feet away. She fell to the floor, dropping the Teapot Cannon. The floor cracked and split apart. Alice glanced the Teapot Cannon teetering on the edge before it fell through the damaged floor and vanished.
Around her, the whole building, and maybe even the whole factory, was falling apart. Huge gears, piping, enormous teacups, and other pieces of machinery smashed through the walls, ceiling and floor. Huge pipes bursts and began flooding part of the room with the deadly boiling tea. Alice looked about in horror. She watched as the Mad Hatter walked over to the March Hare, picking him up and then moving to the Dormouse's remains, dropping the hare beside it.
"The poor guests! All I wanted was another tea party!" he cried, cradling his dead friends in his arms.
"Hatter, please help me. We've got to stop that train!" shouted Alice, leaping backwards as a large girder fell from the ceiling, missing her by inches. The Cheshire Cat dodged it too, vanishing into thin air. Before he vanished, Alice saw the cat give her a particularly grim look.
"Nonsense, Alice. You were ignorant to not notice what was happening here," snapped the Mad Hatter. "You'll get no help from me."
"Hatter!" screamed Alice. She quickly grew furious, wishing that the Mad Hatter would join his dead friends. She soon regretted that though when a huge piece of machinery entered the room through the ceiling, catching the Hatter and partially crushing his body. Alice immediately reacted and attempted to run to his aid, but another piece of the ceiling fell, knocking her down and pinning her legs. She tried to budge it, but it would not move.
"Hatter, please help!" she cried, slowly beginning to panic. She looked as a pool of tea was seeping its way towards her. She knew she could not use any of her weapons because she would be harmed.
"Remember, Alice, this your dream world. You'll just wake up again in that harsh, terrible beast you call reality," said the Mad Hatter, seemingly unfazed by the fact that half of his body was crushed. "But if you want a silly new lead then go find Mock Turtle. He was the conductor of the Looking Glass Line!"
The Mad Hatter raised a hand to his hat and lowered it so it covered his eyes.
"Alice, what have you?" he asked, just as giant teapot exploded its way through a wall behind the Mad Hatter, landing on and crushing him, the March Hare and what remained of the Dormouse. Together in death.
Alice could only stare in shock at the spot where her friend had died. Her chest tightened from guilt, surpassing and suppressing the anger and panic. She frowned, trying to understand the words. The words that the White Rabbit and the Jabberwock and the Duchess' Cook had all said to her. What had she done wrong? She had let the March Hare and the Dormouse build that Infernal Train, and yet she somehow did not know it was happening? Why didn't the Cheshire Cat tell her? But was there something else to this. The March Hare and Dormouse said they had heard voices whispering to them. Telling them to build the train and destroy Wonderland. Were they just insane? No, that could not be it. Someone must have told them to do it. Someone lurking in the darkest part of Alice's mind. Alice went to let out a frustrated scream, only to swallow a mouthful of tea which burnt her tongue and throat.
Before Alice knew it, she was submerged in tea as the whole room flooded. The world around her turned a murky brown, and it was boiling. Alice writhed in pain, trying to swim upwards, but the girder still held her under. She quickly grew desperate. Pulling out the Vorpal Blade, Alice tried to wedge the blade under the girder to lift it, but the heavy piece of metal would not budge. Alice then tried to scream, only to realise she was underwater, allowing more tea to enter her mouth, burning it, her tongue, throat, and she could feel her lungs burning. Alice grimaced, closing her eyes to withstand the pain. Opening her eyes, Alice found the tea had turned a murky black, and a dozen or so eyeless faces were staring at her. From all around her. Alice panicked even more, terrified out of her mind. She felt herself become lightheaded and closed her eyes, believing that would at least make the hundreds of faces go away.
As Alice began to give up hope, she failed to notice a pair of heavyset arms breaking the surface of the water and reaching down to grab her arm. To Alice's surprise, with one tug, she was free of the girder, which had miraculously vanished, and she was pulled upwards towards the world above. Alice knew one thing. She was getting a second chance.
…
