Oh my goodness, finally! I feel like I've been working on this chapter forever. I was originally going to finish it over the weekend but then I had the random compulsion to finish all of Full Metal Alchemist (the manga) because I heard it was ending in two months. Thank goodness I finished it yesterday because the new chapter was released today and it was awesome! But, sadly, that is not why we are here. We are here because LS just finished chapter seven and it's eight pages long. Yeah, have fun reading this one. Once again, reviews are STRONGLY encouraged, constructive criticism is appreciated and enjoy.

I have a feeling you are all going to like this chapter.


Lessons From the Mock Turtle

"Pardon me," Alice remarked to the Dodo with his cane in hand as he lead her down the many white halls to where ever it was they were going. She had never been in this part of the vast castle. "But what is a Mock Turtle?"

"A Mock Turtle is the thing Mock Turtle soup is made of," the Dodo replied simply as his body moved from side to side with each passing step.

"I don't believe I've ever had Mock Turtle soup," Alice responded.

"Well you really must try some one day," the Dodo remarked. Shortly after this statement, he stopped short to turn towards Alice. "Don't mention the soup to the Mock Turtle though," the Dodo cautioned, whispering as though the Mock Turtle may be lurking close by before continuing forward.

It was not long before Alice began to hear a faint sound. At first, she could not quite place what the odd sound was. The closer the two came to the mysterious noise, the louder it became. Alice eventually came to realize the sound was horrible sobbing. What sort of creature could be crying so loudly in the White Queen's palace she wondered? Perhaps it was someone who knew the perils the country of Underland was currently facing.

"He's at it again the poor fellow," the Dodo remarked, mostly to himself. The uncontrollable sobbing was growing unusually loud and Alice deduced they were coming close to the source of the wailing. However, Alice was not expecting the Dodo to stop directly in front of the door from which the sobbing appeared to be coming from. Awkwardly with one of his wings, the Dodo opened the door to which the wailing increased to an excruciating level.

At first, Alice was not entirely sure what she was looking at. She was certain they were in some sort of study as the room was decorated with maps and pictures that appeared to portray events in Underland history. In the center of the room was a creature who possessed the body of a turtle but the head of what appeared to be some foreign creature that Alice could not identify. Tears fell from the odd animal's eyes, adding to the small puddle that had begun to form on the floor.

"Settle down old fellow," the Dodo attempted to soothe as he stepped forward. However, the Mock Turtle continued to sob. Alice felt sorry for the poor thing as she came closer. The Dodo, on the other hand, appeared to be slightly irritated. This was to be expected however as the Mock Turtle appeared to never stop wailing. "See here, you've been ordered to teach Alice some history."

"The Alice?" the Mock Turtle inquired between sobs, looking at Alice to confirm this information. Well, she possessed blond hair like last time however she seemed to be much older. Either way, it was an order (no doubt given by the White Queen herself) that must be followed. "Once...I was a real turtle, living at the shores of the Crimson Sea!" And here, the Mock Turtle stopped to continue wailing about what he had lost during his lifetime. Oh how he missed being a turtle!

"Not your history," the Dodo remarked, attempting to place a wing on his head in agitation. "The history of Underland." Here, the Dodo gave Alice an apologetic look as the Mock Turtle was clearly very mad and troubled. However, Alice was not bothered by the Mock Turtle's wailing...yet.

"Well...if you say so. Sit down child and listen to all that I have to say," the Mock Turtle instructed. Alice gazed around the area for a chair of some sort. When she could not find one within range, she ultimately found a seat on the floor, a good distance away from the small pool of tears. She felt as though she were a child listening to a story rather than learning a country's history due to her new position on the floor.

"And now Alice, I must leave," the Dodo stated once he could see that Alice was settled. Alice merely nodded before he left to search for something that would hopefully bring back Alice's memories.

"Now, where do we begin?" the Mock Turtle inquired after the Dodo had departed, mostly to himself, trying desperately to fight back more incoming tears.

"Why don't we start with the Oraculum?" Alice suggested, feeling as though that was the most important thing to be learned given the current circumstances. She only hoped the Mock Turtle did not ask her why she had chosen such a subject as Alice was not entirely sure whether or not the Mock Turtle was aware of the White Queen's disappearance. Considering the Mock Turtle had trouble containing his emotions, Alice did not plan on revealing any such information.

"Oh the Oraculum!" the Mock Turtle cried. "It is such a terrible thing at times: it was how I found out one day I would no longer be a turtle!" And here, the Mock Turtle began to sob uncontrollably.

"There, there it's all right," Alice found herself saying in an effort to comfort the once-turtle. However, this did little and Alice was forced to wait patiently for the Mock Turtle to somewhat compose himself.

"The Oraculum...tells the events of everyday...but can change depending on the decisions citizens make..." the Mock Turtle eventually managed to say through some sniffling. "Which is why everyday has its own name. Shunder was the first morning the sun rose in Underland. Then there's Keltikidik, the day that celebrated the White Queen: everyone wore only white, drank only milk, and could only tell white lies."

"Tarrant mentioned something about Tearty day where everyone drinks tea all day long. Is there a special event everyday?" Alice inquired.

"No, not everyday. Why, on Gleb the sky rained fish for no apparent reason. It's not always a planned occasion," the Mock Turtle explained. "Oh Gleb day! Some of my friends were forced to see their kin falling from the sky for no apparent reason," the Mock Turtle added, beginning to sob. This time, Alice traveled within her own thoughts as the Mock Turtle cried for a bit.

"But if the Oraculum tells everything that is going to happen, no one would be learning anything through the decisions they're making," Alice pointed out. After all, seeing the outcomes of decisions is how people learn lessons. If they were relying on an Oraculum, then they weren't really learning anything at all.

"I suppose so..." the Mock Turtle replied. "Let's move on," he added as though he had become uninterested in the current subject and was ready to move on to something new which was odd since normally someone else had to move the conversation along for the Mock Turtle rather than him being the one to do it. "What else shall we discuss?"

"What is the history of the Red Queen taking control of Underland?" Alice inquired. "I don't believe I've ever heard the full story even though I was involved in the final battle."

"Well...let's see. On Faldinal Day, Absolem—you know Absolem?" the Mock Turtle inquired.

"Yes, I remember him," Alice replied. She did not dare to mention he had become a butterfly for fear the Mock Turtle would begin to cry once more.

"Faldinal Day is the day Absolem ordered the forging of the Vorpal Sword. Then there's Harunvendush Day..." the Mock Turtle forced himself to suppress more sobs at the mention of Harunvendush Day. Such a gloomy day it was! "Then Shatterky was when the White Queen was banished followed by Fustilug where the Red Queen enslaved animals working in her palace and forced them to become furniture and such. I am so lucky to have escaped to Marmoreal!" The Mock Turtle sobbed a little bit.

"And what are the days in which I was here?" Alice inquired, no longer becoming interested in the subject at hand. The names were dreadfully confusing yet oddly she felt the need to ask about more names. Perhaps one would click.

"Well...there's Gribling Day, the day you returned to Underland. Quillian was the day after you returned. And then there's Frabjous Day, the day you defeated the Jabberwock." Alice recalled the constant mentioning of Frabjous Day. How could she forget it when everyone was practically shoving the day down her throat?

"What about the days after Quillian but before Frabjous Day? I was here for five days I believe," Alice inquired, having to think about it for a moment.

"I can't remember..." the Mock Turtle replied. "Let's talk about something else."

"What does Underland look like?" Alice inquired. It seemed rather odd that through all the traveling she had done, she had no idea what this mysterious country looked like.

"A map of Underland is right over there," the Mock Turtle answered, pointing to one of the maps. Alice gazed over the picture of Underland's layout. It took her a few moments to locate where they were: the large picture of a castle in the lower right near the label "Marmoreal". Her eyes attempted to travel backwards in hopes of retracing her steps however they ended up becoming distracted by a sliver of land that appeared to be separated by mountains entitled "Outland". Was that not where Stayne had escaped from?

"What sort of place is Outland?" Alice asked as she continued to stare at that particular region. Hearing her question, the Mock Turtle slowly began to cry.

"The Outlands are so rich in culture!" he exclaimed. "Oh there are so many good things about that place: ancient stories and languages. Why, the Outlands' language, Outlandish, was used as a code amongst the Underland Underground Resistance. Downal wyth Bluddy Behg Hid!" he continued wildly, nearly falling to the floor at his last statement as tears streamed down his eyes. Alice found it odd to place someone so dangerous in a place so "rich in culture".

"What sort of stories are from there?" Alice pressed, wondering if there were any useful stories.

"The only one I am aware of is the one describing your victory on Frabjous Day. Unfortunately, I wasn't born there so I don't know enough about it. But if you ask anyone from Witzend, they're sure to know a great deal." Alice gazed back at the map as an aid to locate Witzend. Not surprisingly, it was located next to the Outlands. "Serene Chessur is from there along with Thackery the cook (who happens to make a very delicious soup but whenever I inquire as to what it is made of, no one tells me), and Tarrant Hightop. Though, anyone from the resistance can speak Outlandish." A spark filled Alice's mind upon learning a good deal of her friends could tell her about the stories of the Outlands and almost everyone she knew could probably speak Outlandish.

"Can you speak it?" Alice asked.

"Of course I can," the Mock Turtle stated proudly, his tears drying away.

"Can you teach me?" Alice further inquired.

"I can try to. It's very difficult and you certainly won't learn it all in one session," the Mock Turtle explained. He then walked over towards a desk with various books piling about. The Mock Turtle was forced to hold in his tears as much as possible until he was able to locate the necessary book. Once he had found it, he brought it to Alice for her to examine. "We'll start here."

And so the day progressed with lessons on Outlandish. However, there were many interruptions due to the Mock Turtle's sobbing and the occasional diversion of other important subjects. Alice found Outlandish nearly going in one ear and out the other. As the Mock Turtle had said, there simply was not enough time to learn all of the language. Not to mention, the language appeared to be complete nonsense with hardly any patterns (or at the very least, Alice could not figure out the patterns). It came to the point where Alice was wondering if anyone would rescue her from these lessons or if the Mock Turtle would finally announce the day's teachings were over.

Finally, Alice heard the doors open and immediately turned around to find Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum walking in with bowls of soup.

"We're 'ere to bring Alice some supper," one of the Tweedles, the one on the right, announced.

"There's some 'ere for you too," the other finished, motioning to the Mock Turtle.

"Don't give 'em 'hat," the first Tweedle whispered to the other. "Do you know what's in 'hat?" He quickly looked at Alice and the Mock Turtle to see if they had heard. However, they were merely staring at the two, wondering just what was going on.

"Why 'ot?" the other inquired.

"It's 'ock Turtle soup you twit," the first Tweedle replied harshly. It was not long before the two twins were beginning to direct small jabs at one another, spilling bits of the soup on the floor.

"Thank you," Alice remarked, hoping to get the two's attention before her dinner was completely on the floor. Luckily, they immediately stopped and brought the soup to both Alice and the Mock Turtle.

"Oh yeah and they 'aid you could stop your lessons once you finish eatin'," the Tweedle on the right stated. Alice was glad to hear this as she took a sip of her soup. She had never tasted anything like this before and she found it to be quite delicious.

"And we just wanted to say thank you for lettin' us come wit' you tomorrow," the other Tweedle said, trying to be careful not to mention anything important in front of the Mock Turtle. However, the Mock Turtle was much too busy sobbing into his soup.

" Yeah. No one really takes us seriously," the first Tweedle mentioned. It seemed no one acknowledged them as adults despite their contributions to Underland. What must they do to prove themselves?

"You're welcome," Alice replied.

"Well, we 'ave to go help prepare. Goodbye Alice," the other Tweedle stated, leaving Alice alone with the Mock Turtle to eat while the two went to continue preparing.

Once Alice finished her supper of Mock Turtle soup, she parted ways with her temporary teacher and proceeded to find Tarrant. Although she had only been in Underland for a short amount of time, she still felt closest to Tarrant for some reason. There was something comforting about his presence, something she could not quite place.

However, rather than locating Tarrant, Alice managed to find herself in a corridor that seemed oddly familiar. Becoming side-tracked, Alice drifted down a few familiar halls and towards the location of a balcony. It was not just any balcony; it was the balcony, the one from her dreams or, rather, her memories. Nostalgia swept over her as her hands lightly rested on the ledge overlooking the Underland scenery. While she was a little surprised to find it was already dark outside, it only added to the memory locked deep inside her. She allowed her mind to wonder off as if it were attempting to find the key to the missing memories.

"There you are Alice," a voice from behind startled her. She turned to find Nivens hopping towards her. "I've been looking for you. The preparations are nearly complete: we should be able to depart tomorrow," he informed, now sitting next to her, looking as though he were about to quiver. Alice merely nodded as she wasn't entirely sure what to say. "I hope your lessons went well."

"They were interesting," Alice answered. Nivens shifted a bit uneasily however Alice had a feeling it was not the lessons that were troubling him. "What's wrong Nivens?" Alice inquired.

"It's—it's just—I don't know why I bothered volunteering. When it was decided I was to go and search for you last time…I didn't even want to go," he confessed, his paws once again being pressed against one another as though he was nervous to even admit it.

"Why?" Alice inquired gently.

"I—I—I was afraid," Nivens added sadly, his beady eyes looking away from her as though ashamed to admit such a thing.

"You are rather squeamish." Alice admitted, recalling him fainting at one point, causing Nivens' ears to droop slightly. "But you know something? The fact you volunteered despite your fear shows you have true courage Nivens."

"You think so?" Nivens inquired, perking up a bit at the hopeful evaluation.

"I know so," Alice replied confidently, smiling. Nivens did not say anything right away; instead, he tried to soak in what Alice was telling him. He, Nivens McTwisp, possessed true courage? It seemed like a silly idea yet for some reason he could not help but to believe Alice.

"Thank you Alice," he said finally.

"You're welcome Nivens," Alice replied, causing Nivens to smile as he now had more confidence inside him. He then took out his pocket watch from inside his coat. His eyes widened at the sight of the time.

"Oh dear, it's much later than I thought it was," Nivens said as he placed his watch in back within his coat pocket. "I must be going now Alice or I'll be terribly late."

"I understand," Alice replied. Before Alice had anytime to ask Nivens where Tarrant might be, the White Rabbit was gone. She stood there for a moment, not entirely sure what she should do. Should she wait here or search for Tarrant? Nivens had said they were still preparing so perhaps Tarrant was still busy. Alice sighed before turning towards the Underland scenery again. It felt nice she was able to help Nivens and the Tweedles. Yet, it was also rather frightening she possessed so much influence on people who were jumbled memories to her. The country of Underland appeared to depend on her with the Oraculum and the White Queen gone. What would happen to this place once she left? Or, rather, if she left.

"They've got to learn not to depend on one person or thing," Alice thought. "Besides, I can't stay here; I'm supposed to be in China." China was beginning to seem like the faint, unreal land now. However, it was a place she must return to. She still had things to do in her own world and family that was waiting for her. Plus, who would watch her dear sister's chauvinistic husband? And who would make sure her father's company was living up to her father's high expectations of endless possibilities? "No, I can't stay here."

Yet, the thoughts of leaving Underland caused Alice to feel uneasy as well, as though she were meant to be here. And, for some reason, she felt as though that missing piece inside of her was closer than ever before.

OoOoOo

"I thought I'd find you here," Tarrant called from behind her after all the preparations had been made. By this time, it was very late at night to the point where a part of him was surprised Alice had not gone off to bed and instead chose to remain outside. Within seconds, he was beside her along the balcony. The sense of nostalgia was quickly filling Alice once more; however, she did not know why. They did not say anything for some time as though words were unnecessary as they both gazed out at the scenery.

"You want to hear a funny story?" Tarrant inquired. "It was at this very balcony where you told me all of this was nothing but your dream," he said, pushing down on the balcony as he mentioned it. "And once you woke up, I'd disappear. But see, you never considered that perhaps this is my dream and when I wake up you'll go out. Bang! Like a candle." Alice could not help but to laugh at his story and his logic.

"I'm sorry I thought you were a dream," she responded once her laughing had ceased. She must have been rather rude, accusing him of being nothing but a dream.

"It's alright," Tarrant replied, the event now being long in the past. "...Alice?" he inquired, his voice softer than before.

"Yes?"

"Do you remember what I told you just before you left Underland?" he asked hopefully. Alice shook her head in dismay: there were still no memories of Tarrant in her mind for some reason. "I see..." he replied, a hint of disappointment in his voice. There was a brief moment of silence between the two and Alice was surprised Tarrant's jacket did not change color. "Well hopefully now you will." With this, he raised a bottle of foreign liquid and gave it a jingle, a smile forming on his lips. Alice gazed at the mysterious potion with fascination before gingerly taking it from him. This was it, the key to her memories. She slowly opened the bottle as if afraid she would break the glass. Without hesitation, Alice took a sip.

A rush of images encompassed her mind within the blink of an eye yet it felt like an eternity. But suddenly everything was clear. "It was you...all this time..." were the first thoughts that occurred to Alice as memories continued to fly pass her vision. The empty balcony, the empty conversations, the empty feelings that went with those memories, all were now complete. Memories were filled and others were added including the very last thing that had been said to her before departing Underland. "Fairfarren Alice." The missing piece she had been searching for had been found. And the one who filled all the emptiness was now standing directly in front of her, worrying as to whether or not the potion had worked and if she was all right.

"Tarrant..."


All those days the Mock Turtle is talking about come from the Visual Guide. I swear, I made sure EVERY single one was mentioned. There is more Outlandish to come but I wanted to get the days out of the way because well...how the heck would you start a conversation involving Gleb day? Really...

The Mock Turtle's personality is pretty close to the book since the original script did just mention him and did not have him as a character. I believe some of the dialogue he says and the dialogue about him is from the book as well. For instance, "it's the thing Mock Turtle soup is made of" is in the book...I'm almost positive.

Chessur, Thackery, and Tarrant are from Witzend. It's true. I swear.

I never liked the idea of the Oraculum and you can clearly see that in this chapter. Also, the Mock Turtle wanting to move the conversation to a different topic is exactly when plot holes come into play in the movie/guide. They never mention what the other days are called that Alice is there. And I wasn't going to make up names.

The character arcs of the Tweedles and Nivens are of my own invention based on what I noticed in the movie since the visual guide doesn't really give them a potential arc to go through. And I want as many characters are possible to have their own little arcs. So these are just introducing their arcs...

Tarrant's remark about Alice going out like a candle is from the book.

Again, the movie uses made up words but never gives a definition to them. He says "Fairfarren" to her but what does it mean? I want an EXACT translation when those two are talking to one another. Explain movie, explain!

Woot, Alice got her memories back =D.