Madness and Unbearable Pain

**Tarrant**

"Well?"

"Well, what, madman?"

"What do you want? We're back in this tiny room, I'm tied to this chair again, I'm completely at your mercy, and I'm still at the top of your grudge list for some reason. Don't you ever tire of the same old thing?" He scowled at me, but remained silent. There was a long moment where nor I, Riplure, Alice, or Richards uttered a word and it was painfully quiet. I started to tremble with the awkward silence. "God! Will someone say something?" I screeched. I felt Riplure kick my shins, and I yelped. He grinned and finally began talking, but his voice was like a snake's, so it wasn't what I had in mind.

"I've been thinking,-" I cut him off quickly

"Now there's a shock!" I broke out in laughter. I couldn't help but play my madly mad Hatter act while I was afraid or in mild pain. He kicked me again so I tried to laugh harder as I held back a scream.

" If you really are from the place where Alice says you are, I want some kind of proof. Tell me how you get to this world of yours." I shivered.

"No. I don't want you goin' in and kidnappin' my friends fer your malicious methods! Ha! Two more M words!"

"Shut up! Richards, hand me my shock probe." Alice's eyes widened from the seat directly across from me. She was almost close enough for me to reach out my foot and make contact with hers, but my feet were strapped down.

"No!" She interrupted in the middle of the handoff. Riplure turned and looked at her.

"Alice, be glad that's all I'm doing. Look at him! He's positively off his rocker! And you too! I never said you were allowed back in the lunch hall either! You have both disappointed me greatly." Suddenly, I burst out laughing.

"The Queen of Hearts she made some tarts all on a summer's day;
The Knave of Hearts he stole the tarts and took them clean away!
The King of Hearts called for the tarts and beat the Knave full sore
The Knave of Hearts brought back the tarts and vowed he'd steal no more!"

I chuckled at the confused/scared/shocked/creeped out look on his face as he pointed at me to prove his point. I opened my mouth for another verse, but something else came out instead.

"DOWN WIF THE BLUDDY BRUDLAN MENAL INSTITUT FER AH INSANE!" It took me a moment to remember that that was the name of the prison I was locked in. "Well, haven't said anything like that in a long time. Not sense I was nearly executed." I continued to talk to myself about things that made no sense while the other three persons in the room watched me. Richards coughed, which startled me out of my musings. "Ah! Where in the bluddy world did ye' come frum?" I joked, but I got the feeling Riplure didn't get it.

"My point exactly. Now, I want to know how your 'world' works. What's it called?" He twirled the instrument of torture in his hand in a threatening way.

"Underland." Alice told him. He grimaced in a disgusted way.

"Why is it called that?"

"Because it's underneath our world." I had never considered why it was called Underland, but that couldn't possibly be the reason.

"Who is the ruler?" He challenged.

"The white queen Mirana of Mamorial. Tarrant's her royal Hatter, aren't you Hatter?" I nodded encouragingly. Richards looked impressed, and Riplure also looked impressed, but with a sarcastic air.

"Really? Interesting. Well, the next question will be for him then. What is the queen like?" I though for a moment, it was hard to describe someone to someone else who had never met that someone.

"Mirana is a kind queen... He has taken an oath to never harm another human being, and she is very innocent. Even in times of distress, she is good at keeping a clear head and she doesn't let much worry her. She has this odd thing she does though, she always holds her hands up on either side of her head. I'd show you how but I'm strapped in." Alice giggled and I hoped it was from the vision of me pretending to be Mirana, and not my pathetic attempt to get free.

"Nice try. You're smarter than I thought, but I'm still much smarter." We'll see about that. "Who else is in this beautiful world of sunshine and happiness?" I laughed, if he thought or world was filled with happiness, he should have seen it before Alice killed the Jabberwocky.

" Is nut a wurld o' sunshine an' 'appiness. It used ta be a dark an forbiddin' place. Where ya c'uld ba killed fer tryin' ta feed yer family. It ain't always a nice place, le's jus' get 'at strait!" I growled in my Scottish brogue. He nodded worriedly.

"Understood. Alice, other than Mr. Darkness over here, who else lives in 'Underland' as you called it?" I huffed. I wasn't Mr. Darkness, I was just offended that he would be so careless as to say my home had always been a wonderful place, while my family had been killed by a horrible creature several years back.

"Many animals, like Mictwisp, The March Hare, Mally, Bandy, Bayrard, and Cheshire cat. that's just a few of them. There are some humans too like the Queen, the Tweedles, Stayne who you remind me very much of, and Iracabeth. Hatter is one of the humans too."

"If you say so." I heard Richards murmur. I shot him a glance. Traitor I thought.

"Well, sounds exciting. I'd love to visit-"

"Ye Naut welcome in Underlan'!" I shouted. He stabbed me quickly with his shock probe and continued his conversation.

" As I was saying, I'd love to visit but I don't know how to get there."

"Like I said, Ye' ain't welcome there!" Unless you would like to join Iracabeth and Stayne, then I suppose you could stay for a little while. He shocked me again.

"Anyways, how do you think I could get to this world of yours?" My eyes widened.

" Don't tell 'em Alice! Please! If 'e finds us, e'll kill imprison us all!" More pain! I pleaded at her with my eyes. She looked at Riplure and glared.

"I'll never tell you. I'm not going to let you attack the poor, innocent citizens of Underland and treat them like this." Riplure sighed and shook his head. Well done Alice!

"Poor citizens? What about him? He's a citizen is he not, and look at what I'm about to do to him." Then, he shocked me full force, all five notches, the whole cake of it. I clenched my fists on the arms of the chair and dug my nails into it. I know I let go a scream of pain, but I couldn't hear it over the buzzing in my head. It felt like I was on fire, like how my family must have felt when they, died, only mine was lasting, they had been incinerated in the blink of an eye. It lasted what seemed like forever, but it only could have been about five-seconds at the most. I could feel my system shutting down, my heart rate slowing, and my breathing becoming labored. My eyes were clenched shut, my knuckles where white, and my whole body was tense.

"Alice!" I managed to squeak. I heard Alice scream something before the pain stopped and I blacked out.

**Alice**

"STOP! PLEASE!" I screamed, Finally Riplure pulled away and Tarrant collapsed. He went completely limp and my heart raced . "No. No. Please no." Then I saw the slow rise and fall of Tarrant's chest. He was still alive, but barely. "Hatter? Hatter are you alright?" He didn't respond, and I could just see past his crazy orange hair, that his eyes were gently closed. He was alive, but he had passed out.

"Well, that's more like it. that usually happens at around 4 volts. I've never actually tried five before. Nice to know that it can't kill him. Richards, try to revive him." Riplure said mostly to himself, as he kicked Hatter's foot with his toe.

"You monster! How could you?" Richards walked over and began to pull him up, I saw his face in the same way it had been last night, when he had been sleeping. The poor thing, he had been hurt real bad.

"It's strictly business sweetheart. I hope from now on, you'll do as I ask. Richards, what's taking so long?" He turned back to the doctor.

"He's out cold sir, he most likely won't wake until much later." I felt so bad.

"Look what you've done Alice." Riplure sneered " You've caused your friend so much pain, where all you had to do was do as I asked, and you would have both been let go. It's all your falt." I sat there in shock, he was right, it was all my fault. If I hadn't been so stubborn- "Take that thing away, Back to her cell, but first I think Miss Kingsley here needs to think about what she's done."

A worker was called in and Hatter's straps were taken off. He feel face first onto the floor with an audible thud. That was when the first tear fell, and many other followed as my dear friend was carried away, and they continued as Riplure slammed the door behind him, and I was left alone to think about how it was really my fault Hatter was in pain.

It's all my fault, it was my fault that he was captured by red knights, it was my fault he was almost beheaded, it was my fault that you left him to come and get himself locked up here, and it's my fault he's in the state he's in now. It's all because of me. Every little bit of it. I wouldn't blame him if he never forgave me, if he just left without me and left me here. I deserve to be locked up in this place forever, not him. He's done so much for me, and this is how I repay him, I nearly get him killed time and time again. I cried and cried for hours at least, before Richards came in and unstrapped me. He was murmuring to himself at first, then he started to try to cheer me up.

"Poor girl, you look broken in a million pieces. Your friend is waiting for you, he's in your cell still sleeping, but he woke p once and started screaming your name out like a little lost child. He's forgiven you you know, he told me so. Don't be discouraged, he'll be better by tomorrow, I gave him some good medicine too. Come on, let's go see him."He helped me up, and we both slowly walked down the hallway.

When He opened the door to my cell, I ran in and knelt by the bed where Hatter was gently laid out in the position you would put someone in if they were inside a coffin. It made him look dead, but due to the gentle rise and fall of his chest, I knew he wasn't. I laid my head "Hatter, I'm so sorry, this is all my fault. I should be the one passed out on the bed from incredible pain, you've done nothing wrong, in fact you've only done right. I am so sorry. I wish you could forgive me. Richards came up behind me, but I didn't care, I was too busy burying my face in the crook of my friends arm.

"If it's any consultation-"He began, but I didn't want him to finish.

"Not now. This isn't a good time for your fancy talk." We were both quiet for a while.

"I see." He turned to walk away, but then, I remembered something.

"Wait! Dr. Richards, do you think you cold do me one big favor?"He stopped and smiled the same way you would expect a nice old man to smile.

"Of corse."

:( :) :( :) :( :)

I no my chapters are short, and it took me longer to write this one than usual, but I was also starting another story called Blood And Water, I also had a ski meet and my friend came over and she hates AiW all together. That's one reason she's crazy. Anyways, that might be how often my stories are updated from now on. Sorry for leaving you at a cliff with Hatter's health. (I hope he doesn't die! wink wink). Here's your chaprterly question(s)/task(s):

1) Task: GO READ BLOOD AND WATER! Pretty please with a cherry on top? And I'd also love a review.

2) Question: what is the best kind of pie?

3) Question: don't Hatter and Alice make a perfect pairing? Would you like that?

4) Task: look up Ballad of Mona Lisa by: Panic! At The Disco