Well, this chapter took a lot longer than expected, I'm terribly sorry, oh dear and wonderful readers. I'm not sure what's going on with the chapter titles lately, I think they're getting progressively worse. Other than that, I haven't any particular notes on this chapter that I can think of, so go ahead and enjoy, feedback is awesome, and hopefully I'll have another chapter for you guys soon :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Vergil, or Devil May Cry. Yet.

Vergil's Adventures In Underland - The Hatter, The Hare & The Half-Demon.

Two stale scones and ten cups of warm, tea-flavoured sugar later, Vergil had forgotten what actual tea tasted like. He also wondered if he could ever get his tastebuds back after that last, particularly sweet, cup of tea. Vergil hated sweet things.

Malice certainly didn't seem to mind them. In fact, it seemed the obscene amounts of sugar that the Hatter placed in her cup weren't quite enough for the girl. The half-demon sincerely hoped she didn't end up on a sugar high.

"More tea, Mr. Vergil?" The Hatter eyed him sceptically as he spotted the empty cup. Hatter did not approve of empty cups.

"No, I've had quite enough of your sugar. I think it's about time you told me how to get out of here, don't you?" The clatter of cups, the Hare's incessant chatter, even the Doremouse's snores all fell silent, Malice's shining eyes flickering from the Hatter to the half-demon and back again.

"Is it not good enough for you, eh? Big, aristocratic monster, too good for our little tea party, for our little world?!" The Hatter slammed his skeletal fists down on the makeshift table, sending chinaware smashing to the ground. "Are you too sane for our madness, is that it? You think you're a scapegoat, the only sane one here, but look at you! Even through the darkness surrounding us, anyone could tell you're off your rocker, you've lost your marbles, if you even had any to begin with! The only difference between you and the rest of us is a sea of denial, you're nothing but a-"

"Hatter!" Malice intervened, placing her hand on her friend's arm. "Hatter, stop this, now!"

"Why should I? He'll probably just kill us in our sleep! I've seen the way he looks at you, he thinks we don't notice, but we do. I notice, Mr. Vergil!" he hissed.

"I assure you, when I intend to kill you, I'll make sure you're awake," Vergil sneered, somehow managing to look down on the Hatter despite the very distinct height difference.

"Vergil!"

"Oh, it's honour amongst monsters now, is that it? Making sure we're awake to see how honourable a devil you are?" Hatter taunted.

"Oh, it's not a matter of honour, it's simply a desire to see my victims suffer. It's not as enjoyable if you're sleeping."

"That's enough! This is ridiculous, Hatter, just drop it!" Malice snapped, waving her cup at the man. "Vergil, I hardly think threats and insults are going to help you get out of here." The half-demon said nothing, glaring intently at the Hatter. "Hatter, you and I both know he's the only hope we have right now. Who knows when somebody else will come along? He's the only chance we have, you need to help him. Help all of us." The Hatter sighed, tiny flakes of flesh falling from his face.

"I know that. I know," he muttered. "You two should get some rest. We will begin tomorrow."

"Begin what, exactly?" Vergil asked skeptically.

"Preparations for war."


Malice couldn't sleep. She was thinking too much. She had finally seen the Hatter again, finally had the chance to make amends, to fix things, and it had been nothing like she'd imagined. Like she'd hoped for. She had hoped that she would arrive and he would tell her how much he had missed her, how he had worried, that she was forgiven. That her failure was forgiven. That she hadn't doomed everyone in Underland to a life of pain, madness and suffering. That it wasn't her fault the Blue Queen was dead. It was only after she had seen him again that she realised how naïve that hope was. How childish. Crazy, like everyone else in Underland.

The Hatter had been in love with the Blue Queen, Malice had known that from the moment they met. He had remained her loyal servant, even after the madness had begun to spread. Even when the madness had infested his heart, turned it black, he refused to stop fighting for his queen. But Malice had ruined everything. She let the Queen die. Let the terror and disease infest the land. The madness had spread like wildfire, nothing was spared, but the Hatter... He had recieved the worst by far.

"Evening, Malice." The girl rolled onto her side to face the half-demon as he approached.

"Why are you awake?" she asked.

"Same reason you are, I expect," he quipped as he lay on the grass beside her, his usually slicked hair fanning out behind his head like a silvery halo. "That, and I don't trust your demented associates not to pour more sugar down my throat while I sleep."

"Oh, I'm sure they'd wait until you were awake, Vergil. Y'know, to see you suffer." Vergil glanced at the girl from the corner of his eye. She didn't look at him, staring at the sky, but her jaw was set.

"It wasn't a threat, exactly. I was merely stating fact."

"Because making people suffer is enjoyable, right?"

"I only kill people that get in my way," Vergil frowned.

"Hey, don't worry about it, I've made everybody here suffer, it's not like I can judge, right?" Malice sighed. "Vergil... what do you think about when you want to distract yourself?"

"Distract myself from what?"

"Bad thoughts, I suppose. When all the the darkness won't go away," Malice clarified.

"... I think about power. How I'm going to get it, and use it to better myself, to defeat all of my enemies."

"Oh. Do they not count as bad thoughts?"

"No. They're logical thoughts. Necessary. I need that power."

"I see."

"... What do you think about then? To distract yourself?" Vergil sighed, wondering why he was even humouring the girl.

"I like to make up stories about people in the sky," she grinned, pointing at the stars. "That's Herman, he's very much in love with Elizabeth over there. Unfortunately for him though, Lizzie doesn't really swing his way, and is far more interested in Joanna. She's that really shiny one over there. Isn't she pretty?" Vergil blinked incredulously at the girl, shaking his head.

"I do believe I now understand why you said you were insane," he stated. "And to think, I considered you to be normal."

"Would you like me as much if I was normal?"

"That implies that I like you now," Vergil said, raising an eyebrow at Malice. She smirked at him, digging him in the ribs with her elbow.

"You can only deny my charms for so long, y'know."

"Yes, well, even with all that 'charm' just oozing out of you, I think I can deny you a little longer."


Vergil lay awake hours later, staring at the night sky for lack of something better to do. Malice was curled up on the grass beside him, twitching and grimacing in her sleep. Vergil had once again found himself covering her with his coat.

"It's not that I like you," he defended himself to her, despite the fact that she was dead to the world. "It's just that your clothes are ridiculous and I don't need you dying of hypothermia."

"She ran away you know," the March Hare called from the trees nearby, his black eyes glistening in the moonlight. "Left us all to bloody die out there. We were fighting so she could have the chance to kill the Red Queen. But she just ran away." Vergil rolled his eyes.

"So I've been told. Did you have a point?"

"All of this is her fault. The Hatter told us she was our saviour, and she was going to swoop in and kill the Queen. He promised us that we'd never end up like this. It's her fault. Stupid little girl, didn't even have the courage to stick around. She's the reason that we aren't even human anymore. And then there's the Hatter himself. He put his trust in the coward, and now he's paying the price. He was there when the madness struck, it hit 'im smack in the, and now he barely has one, it's just rotting off, piece by piece."

"This is a very interesting story really," Vergil said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "But this has nothing to do with me."

"I just figured you ought to know you're putting your trust in the wrong traitor. You don't want to end up like the Hatter. Wouldn't want that pretty face rotting off," the Hare all but hissed.

"I'm not putting my trust in anyone, or thing, but myself," Vergil sneered.

"You keep telling yourself that, demon. Even when she's stabbed you through the chest," the Hare declared ominously, drifting back into the trees with a flick of his ears.

"Stabbed through the chest? Well, doesn't that seem familiar," Vergil muttered, staring down at Malice. The girl shifted in her sleep, pulling his coat tighter around her shoulders. A picture of innocence, her brow furrowing just slightly, lip quivering like a child's. Every bone in Vergil's body screamed at him not to trust anybody, not to trust her. He just wasn't sure he was listening.

To Be Continued...