Alice and What Came After: Between the Glass

Disclaimer: I don't own anything rights related to Alice—it belongs to those fine folks at SyFy and Nick Willing. Rex, Sid, Nancy, Helen and other things/people of that nature belong to ITV/Impossible Pictures and I'm just borrowing. Sarah, Connor, and Chase are my own creations.

Chapter Three: Seeing Double

Connor found Ratty and Dormouse, or at least what was left of them, on his way out of the tea shop. In the barn around the corner, the two men were lying dead. Judging by the stench and decay, they'd only been dead a few days.

Murdered.

Connor was sick just outside the barn, vomiting until his stomach was beyond empty. He'd never seen a dead body before—especially not of someone he knew. He'd gotten to know his father's old friends rather well over the past five years. They used to just be characters in a story until he actually met them.

Now they were gone.

He wiped his mouth, grateful for the bottle of water Sarah had snuck into the side pocket of his backpack.

Sarah? Hello?

Still nothing. He couldn't get even the slightest emotion from her.

So much for a vacation… this is the last time I listen to you…

*~*~*~*~*~*

The ride in the SUV with Helen was short. Once the vehicle stopped, Helen brought out a gun. She cocked it, aiming it at Sarah's head. "Try to run and I'll shoot you," the strange woman warned.

Sarah climbed out of the car, the gun barrel pressed into her back as Helen propelled her into a building. Alarms went off all around them, but none of the commotion seemed to bother Helen Cutter. In fact, she seemed to relish it as they made their way down a long corridor and into a circular room.

The room, which appeared to be in the center of the strange building, was full of people, desks and technological equipment. At one end, there was a computer station with several monitors hooked together. At another was a boxy workstation where a man with dark hair stood. His back was to her, but she could see the fedora on his head as his fingers worked across the glass top. He wore a waistcoat over his bright red shirt. She couldn't help but smile at that.

"Connor!" Sarah called, wanting to run to him, but knowing she couldn't.

He spun around and her heart sank.

His brown eyes looked at her in confusion then at Helen.

"Smart girl," Helen cooed, pressing the gun against Sarah's head. "Isn't she, Connor? I wouldn't expect anything else from your daughter."

This man, this Connor, glared at Helen. "I don't have a daughter."

"Don't lie to me. I've been to the future. I've seen your little family. Would you like to know their names?"

"What do you want, Helen?"

"You know what, Connor."

"You already destroyed the artifact. What more could you want?"

Helen sighed. "Stupid, stupid boy. I want you to stop what you're doing. I want you to destroy that board over there or I kill her. It's that simple."

*~*~*~*~*~*

Bloody fucking Wonderland…

Hatter kicked a rock as he made his way across a field. The grass was tall, almost up to his knees, and most certainly hiding some creepy critters. But he didn't care. All he wanted to do right now was find out what went wrong and where the hell his children were.

Never shoulda come back here…

He cursed himself for insisting that Connor and Sarah learn about Wonderland. For giving them dreams of a magical place that had lost its magic long ago.

This was his fault. If anything happened to them, he would never forgive himself.

Hatter skirted the edge of a forest. Just beyond it was a small lake with a dock. If luck was on his side, there would be a boat waiting there. He could take that boat directly to the Looking Glass hall.

If not, then he'd have to take the more dangerous route—through the forest of the Jabberwock.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"This is between you and me… leave her out of this," this other Connor, a mirror image of her father and brother, insisted.

"Oh, no, I couldn't. Where would the fun be in that?"

Sarah tried not to struggle. Helen seemed a bit trigger-happy.

"Just let the girl go, Helen."

"The 'girl', Connor? Are you afraid to call her what she is—your daughter?"

Connor looked at Sarah, his face sad. "You're crazy, Helen. My daughter's only two."

Helen laughed. "She likes to meddle in time, just like her father. Just like Nick. I wonder what would happen if I killed her…"

That name got him riled up. It took two people—a woman with dark hair and tan skin and a man in all black—to keep him from attacking Helen. It was clear that both of them shared his contempt for Helen.

Sarah fell to her knees, Helen pressing the gun to her head. "I am going to count to five, Connor. If you don't destroy that board by five, I'm going to put a bullet in her head."

His friends let him go. "Helen—"

"1…"

The other Connor looked at his friends, then at Sarah.

"2…"

She closed her eyes for a moment. I should've stayed in the tunnel… I should've stayed home…

"3…"

There was a loud crashing sound. Sarah's eyes flew open.

"4…"

Connor had what looked like a crowbar in his hand. He brought it down over and over again on the glass surface of the boxy machine. Sparks flew into the air.

"5…"

The lights flickered as the power surged.

Sarah rolled to her side immediately. She heard a bullet thud into the floor, most likely where she'd been a moment earlier, and jumped to her feet.

A hand grabbed hers. She could feel fabric—like gloves—and heat. "C'mon, run…" the voice said, the lights flashing again.

The other Connor had her hand. He sounded just like her brother. Their father's accent was the thickest, but Connor's was a bit more mild, more American at times, like this man. The similarities were startling.

Sarah ran with him, flying through the double doors. Footsteps followed them as he led the way through the labyrinth of the labs. He didn't stop running until after they were in what looked like a workout room, complete with lockers, and weights.

Once she was in the room, he shut and barricaded the door.

"Who are you?" Sarah asked.

He looked up at her with her own brown eyes and her brother's face. "Connor Temple. You?"

She held out her hand to shake. "Sarah Hatter."

He shook it, wincing a bit at the touch.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine."

She sniffed the air. "You don't smell that? Something's burning… oh…"

Sarah looked down at his hands, understanding a bit of his sacrifice now. In order to help her, Connor had burned his hands. The crowbar acted as a conductor, carrying the electricity and sparks up to his hands. The metal bar burned through his gloves, burning his skin.

"It's nothing," he insisted, pulling his hand away.

"Can you get your gloves off? The sooner it's cleaned—"

"It's nothing. Really."

Sarah sighed. She knew that tone of voice all too well.

"Look, could you just tell me what you're doing here?" Connor asked.

"I don't know. Really, I don't. Helen dragged me from… the future I guess. She mentioned Predators…"

"How did you get to the future? Was it an anomaly?"

Sarah shook her head. "No. I was going through a mirror—"

"A mirror?"

"It's a one-way mirror. It goes to Wonderland—to my dad's shop. There's a mirror there. You just step through one side and out the other."

"Just like an anomaly."

"No… it's a mirror," Sarah insisted. "A mirror. A Looking Glass."

Connor sighed. "Look, I don't know what you're on about but the only way to the future is through an anomaly. As for this Wonderland stuff… that's a book and a movie. It's not real. You're as crazy as Helen…"

"I'm not crazy. Besides… why do you look like my dad and brother?"

"What?"

"You look just like my dad… only younger. And my brother."

"Your dad?"

"David… David Hatter."

"Hatter? Like the Mad Hatter?"

Sarah nodded. "A distant relative. My mum's maiden name is Hamilton. She's a descendant of Alice Liddell."

"Just like the books…"

"Yes! Because Wonderland is real. And I need to get there. I have to find my brother…"

"Your brother? Who looks like me?" Connor said, still looking confused.

"I know this sounds crazy, but you could be his double. Or my father's."

"A doppelganger?"

"I dunno. Maybe."

Connor cleared his throat. "Do you, uh, have a picture?"

Sarah nodded. "On my phone… there's pictures of all of us. But it's broken—I crushed it when I fell between the Glass."

"Between?"

"I was stepping between New York and Wonderland when I fell straight down. I ended up in this… future with Helen. I don't know how."

"So you did fall through an anomaly."

"No! Yes! I don't know!"

He raised his hands. "Okay, just calm down…"

"I am calm!" Sarah hissed.

Connor winced. "Just maybe a bit more?"

She rolled her eyes. "Look, can you help me or not?"

"Maybe. I'm not sure."

Sarah plopped down on the floor, her face in her hands. "This is a bloody disaster…"

Connor crouched down beside her. "Sarah, right? I'm gonna do whatever I can to get you home. Okay? I promise."

She looked up, tears in her eyes. "You do?"

"Yeah. I will get you home somehow."

"Thank you."

*~*~*~*~*~*

Connor Hatter traipsed across Wonderland, wishing Sarah was with him. She knew the land much better than he did. She could've gotten them basically anywhere in Wonderland with little difficulty.

Not Connor. There weren't exactly maps to study and he didn't travel there often.

With a sigh, he changed course again. There was no way he'd find the Looking Glass Hall. His best bet was to go straight to the castle. He could get there without too much trouble. He sort of remembered how to get there.

If not, perhaps he'd run into a Wonderlander who did know which direction to go in.

C'mon, Sarah… hang in there…

Author's Notes:

Okay this is the second version of this chapter. Helen's demands and Sarah's escape from her were very different between the two. (Helen wanted Connor to bring Stephen back—alive)

I wasn't intending on this to crossover with "Primeval" but it has, just for a few more chapters. It was a necessary evil to explain the Looking Glass—it'll make more sense in the next chapter, I swear.

Anyways, please review!