Author's Note: I know, I know, I'm taking forever! And to boot, I've slacked on answering reviewers. But look, here's a new chapter. Isn't it shiny?

As I wrote chapter 3, I realized that the story was growing way beyond the scope of what I originally anticipated. Unlike Some Sort Of Fairytale, Heavy is going to be much longer. I'm actually very excited about this little development since it means I get to play with the characters about, both mine and those introduced in the show. With that said, updates will be every 1 – 2 weeks, consistently until we reach journey's end.

So, apologies for the delays, hope you like and…yeah. Have fun!

Chapter 4: The Pieces Don't Fit Anymore

Hatter wonders if this is normal, this consciousness of his own mental demise. He knows that this is wrong, that he is wrong and doesn't have the power to change that.

Meeting Alice, as much as he treasures it, is the source of this very peculiar madness.

He hadn't thought on it before, never had a reason to but the more he thinks about it, the clearer it becomes.

He's always been his own man and has never, in his adult life, had to answer for the things he's done. He's always pegged himself a conman with a heart of gold but rationalizing never has and never will make what he's done one hundred percent right. And try as he might, he cannot deny shirking his responsibilities. He's lived a wonderfully carefree life, with only his own well being under his charge when everything in his upbringing says that he should be the one protecting the things around him.

His father, rest his soul, was a man of honor and integrity and Hatter knows that seeing Underland in this state would absolutely break his heart.

And that, he supposes, is the crux of the matter. What has he done to stop this? What has he given to the resistance but snippets valuable enough to keep him in good graces but small enough to keep him off of the Queen's radar? And while he sat, safe and mildly content, so many, many lives have suffered.

He remembers his father, a giant to his seven-year-old stature. He remembers the first time he'd notice the Bloodlines. He remembers the pride in his father's eyes and the grave words he'd spoken that day.

Hatter shudders, a dark chill running down his spine as he ponders the things that make him a man. He shakes his head, trying to clear the fog that seems to have settled there but try as he might, he cannot shake the gray clouds that cover the images before him.

"Da! Look!" A young Hatter waves his arm excitedly. His long sleeve is rolled up to his shoulder and even in the dim light of the cabin, he can make out the first few lines of the symbol.

The smile on the elder Hatter's face doesn't quite reach his eyes, but David takes no notice of this as he throws himself into his father's lap.

"What does it say?"

"Look closely. What do you see?"

The boy contorts, turning his body one way and then the other, and squints until his eyes hurt from the strain, but finally, he can just make out the complete outline under his skin.
"I think it says... Strength?"

"Very good, David. This symbol is unique to only you. It will grant you immeasurable strength, but only in this arm." He taps it gently.

"Well that doesn't seem very helpful. "

"It requires a conscious decision, one that must be weighed carefully. Should you attack a man with all your strength, it will be fatal. It is a burden you must carry, along with these words. Listen closely my son, for I can only tell you this once."

He pulls his son close, chin tucked against his head as he lowers his voice and David wonders who he thinks might be listening.

"Underland is a place of great enchantment. And as we watch over her, she will watch over us. There are dark times coming. We are the protectors, the warriors, the knights. We are unsung heroes and so we shall always be. Forever will we be protector of the rightful heirs to the thrown of Underland. But know this. Should the time come when Underland is at its darkest, when the very sky and soil weep from her losses, a woman will come by the name of Alice."

"The Alice?" David asks excitedly.

"No, my child. Alice of Legend has paid her dues to Underland and carried out the rest of her life in the other world. No, this will be a new Alice and only one with such a name will save Underland. Should she come, David, you must protect her with your life."

"How will I know it's her?"

A rare smile graces his father's face.

"Oh my child, you will know. There will be such a fluttering in your chest, like a thousands butterflies. And she will infuriate you like no other. And despite the odds, despite the distance, she will find you. Underland herself will deliver her into your very hands."

The elder Hatter sighs so deeply the young boy sinks into him. His father holds him closer for one long moment before he pulls away to look him in the eye.

"You know what it is we carry, David. There are others, others with magics you cannot fathom. While you dream of the Creatures of Mythos, and fear the dreaded Jabberwok, they conjured evils that cannot be put into words. They can weave such magic as to make a man forget himself. Know the sound of your clock and you can never be fooled. But I warn you David. Should you ever come across such magic, you must run."

The words all but freeze young Hatter in his place. His father, not a small man by any means, nor one to be trifled with has never backed down from anything. To hear him speak with pure fear...the young boy cannot begin to imagine what lies ahead.

"How can I win against something so strong?" He shivers trying his best to imagine himself a full grown man facing down an unseen evil.

"Alice."

"Alice?" He repeats it doubtfully. A girl was supposed to save him? He didn't think a girl was much stronger than his father and as David looks up, he can see his father's concern etched into his face as deeply as the telltale signs of age.

"She will be your guide, your compass. And if you are lost, she will find you. There are those who would tear your mind apart to glimpse at what lies within. They know things, dreadful, horrible things and if they get their hands on the Library, it is the end of Underland. When you lose faith, seek Alice, and she will be your anchor. She and she alone may know your past as she will share so much of your future."

David nods solemnly and leans into his father once again. When he speaks, his voice is thick with emotion.

"Though I pray these times never come," He squeezes his son against his chest and chokes back the tightness in his throat, "I can feel it closing in each day."

Knowing what he does, it's no wonder his mind is in such a state of disarray. Alice, ihis/i Alice, had come to him, just as his father said she would. And the darkest times in Underland had fallen upon them not long after the former King's demise and everything is as his father had predicted it would come to pass. And yet the role Hatter was to play had come and gone, blazed by in a blink of an eye.

Hours have gone and his heart only grows heavier with each thought, with each revelation. He rests his forehead on the aged wood of the massive tea table. He doesn't dare close his eyes because he knows there's nothing there that he wants to see. So he stares straight into the creases and crevices, wonders what hides in there and if he could ever fit.