Bonus Features: Deleted Scene #1
AN: What was Hatter up to while Alice was being tortured by the Doctors? Trust me, he was having just as bad a time of it as she was! Here's a chapter I wanted to write but didn't include in the main story because I wanted to keep it consistently from Alice's POV. Enjoy!
*o*o*o*
Hatter made his way through the club – his club! – in a state of dazed happiness. When he'd left Wonderland to go after Alice, he'd never expected to come back. Yet here he was, and with a hero's welcome as well. It was surreal and strange, but he couldn't stop grinning. It was as if his past misdeeds had all been forgiven, and he could start fresh.
Alice was making her way around the club as well. Hatter cast her occasional glances, and was filled to bursting with pride at the sight of her. Wonderland had never been her home, she had no ties here, but still she greeted complete strangers with a smile and a friendly word.
Hatter never failed to be amazed by his Alice. She'd taken care of him when he was mad with Homesickness, found a way to bring him back to Wonderland regardless of the risk, and had even punched the King of Hearts to defend his honor. She was one of a kind and he'd never been so grateful to have her in his life.
"Quite the to-do you've got going on here," a bubbly female voice said.
"Carlotta St. Delaware, as I live and breathe." Hatter exchanged cheek kisses with one of his prettier acquaintances and former drinking buddy. Her hair was still a mass of flaming red curls, her green eyes still sparkling with mischief. He'd lusted after her once upon a time, but now she was just another pretty girl; he already had the woman he wanted.
"You've done well for yourself, Hatter." Carlotta tipped her glass at him before draining her bright blue beverage.
"Blind chance, if you'd believe it."
"Knowing you? Yeah, I can believe it!" They shared a chuckle, remembering old times. Carlotta had been able to drink just about anyone, including Hatter, under the table. Not to mention being particularly skilled at cards. In short, she'd been Hatter's kind of girl. At least back then.
Carlotta fluttered her lashes at him. "So, where's this amazing Oyster everyone's talking about?"
Hatter stiffened. He didn't like anyone calling Alice an Oyster; it was a word they used between themselves. And he wasn't sure he wanted Alice meeting Carlotta. She had jealous tendencies at times, and he knew she'd judge her appearance against Carlotta's and find herself lacking; Alice still had some self-image issues.
"Her name is Alice, and we're to be married. So watch that viper tongue of yours, Carlotta."
The red-head merely grinned. Hatter sighed, and cast an eye over the room looking for Alice. He didn't see her right away, and wondered if she'd gone back to the apartment.
"I'll go collect her, Carlotta. Back in a minute." Hatter went to the bar. "Stork, have you seen Alice?"
"Made her a Jollyberry, and she headed off that way," Stork said, pointing. "She stopped to talk to someone, a woman. Then it got busy. I don't know where she went after that."
Hatter started to feel a prickle of anxiety. He felt sure Alice wouldn't have just left without telling him. Still, the crowd was pretty big and she might be sitting down. He started to move away from the bar, but Stork grabbed his arm.
"I just remembered. Someone came to get a drink for Alice. A Sunrise Surprise."
"What did this someone look like?"
Stork thought a moment. "Woman. Glasses. Too much lipstick."
"Thanks."
By Hatter's count, Alice had gone through three drinks. He knew she wasn't much of a drinker – she didn't like losing control – but perhaps she had gotten caught up in the moment. Likely she'd gone up the apartment to be sick, Hatter postulated with a rueful grin. Well, he'd just nip up there and see if she was alright.
Hatter let Dormie know where he was going, then went up the stairs and through the apartment door. "Alice? You okay, love?"
It didn't take long to determine that Alice wasn't there, sick or otherwise. Now all of Hatter's senses went on alert. He tore back down the stairs and into the club. He looked through the crowd again and still failed to find Alice. Something like panic must have shown on his face, because Sandro was soon by his side.
"Is there a problem?" he asked, his voice pitched low so only Hatter could hear.
"I can't find Alice," Hatter said. He didn't like how the words sounded out loud; they made his heart race.
"I believe I saw her go outside," Sandro said.
Hatter turned and headed for the porch, telling himself that she was out getting some air and he was foolish to be so worried. But he hadn't gotten as far as he did selling Tea without honing his instincts, and right now those instincts were flashing him a warning sign.
Sure enough, Alice wasn't on the porch. Hatter clenched his fists and tried to see through the darkness. Where the hell had she got to?
"There's a glass here," Sandro said. He plucked a half-full glass off the steps and handed it to Hatter. From the color, it looked like a Sunrise Surprise, the drink Stork had made for Alice. Hatter's hand tightened on it, cracking the glass. And then he saw the hat, a small white blob out on the pavement bridge.
Hatter thrust the glass back at Sandro and took off at a run. The fedora lay upside down near the edge of the pavement, and he dropped to his knees next to it. It felt like everything inside of him had turned to stone.
"Alice!" he screamed. "Alice!"
His cries brought Sandro running, followed closely behind by the Suits and Dormie.
"Hatter?" Dormie wrung his hands. "What's the matter?"
He didn't want to say it, didn't want to make it real. "I think…she fell…Alice!"
Sandro immediately turned to one of the Suits. "Get to the Palace and notify the King at once! The rest of us will look for Alice."
Hatter paid them little attention. He clutched the hat in his hand, berating himself for having left Alice alone for even a second. He'd been wrong after all – his misdeeds hadn't been forgiven; they'd now been repaid, and at a horrible cost.
"You don't know she fell," Sandro said. Hatter just shook his head. She wasn't out strolling the ledges, not in the dark. Not alone.
The sound of Dormie gagging and spitting pierced his bubble of agony. He looked up at his business associate, who was holding Alice's drink in his hands.
"What's wrong with you?" Sandro asked Dormie.
"This drink. It's been tampered with, Hatter."
Hatter took a moment to process that information. He knew what the implications were. Someone had put something in Alice's drink, drugged her with something. So she would walk off the ledge?
"Sir!" One of the Suits called from the darkness beyond.
"What is it?" Sandro called back.
"Drag marks, leading off down this ledge about fifty feet. Indications thereafter are that whoever was being dragged was then carried. By at least two people. We lose the tracks another hundred paces beyond that. There are ladders here, going up and down."
The stone inside Hatter began to melt into liquid fire, burning him from the inside out and making his stomach clench painfully. Someone had drugged his Alice and dragged her away. To kill her? Torture her? Demand some sort of ransom? Hatter couldn't begin to guess, but he was damn well going to find out.
Hatter tossed Alice's hat to Dormie and set off into the dark to follow the trail the Suits had found. Sandro was close on his heels.
"Where are you going?"
"To find Alice." Hatter kept his eyes down, trying to see what the Suits had seen. He was no tracker, that much was apparent, and the darkness didn't help matters. He tried not to think of Alice, defenseless and scared.
"Go back to the club. Question everyone, see if they know who Alice was last seen with," Sandro ordered the Suits. "Wait there for word from the King. I will accompany Hatter."
The Suits nodded and one handed Sandro his light. They pointed out the drag marks and indicated the direction to go.
"You don't have to come," Hatter said.
"I don't want anyone hurting her either," Sandro replied. He passed Hatter the light, and Hatter gave him a nod. Together they followed the tracks, noting when the drag marks stopped and when it seemed an extra set of footprints began. The people making the footprints had to have been carrying something heavy to have left a discernable trail through the stiff grass.
Hatter was seething with anger, his teeth clenched so tightly together he was surprised they didn't crack. But underneath it was fear, a cold and biting fear that he would never see Alice again. Someone had taken her from him, against her will. All while he'd been making small talk with Carlotta St. Delaware, of all people. And so there was guilt as well. He felt sick.
"The tracks stop here," Sandro noted. As the Suits had indicated, there were ladders here, one up and one down.
"I'll go up. You go down. If you find anything…"
"I'll yell," Sandro assured him. Hatter tossed him the light and made his way up in the dark. He wondered how the kidnappers had handled Alice on the ladder, then decided he didn't want to think too much about that after all. He just climbed until he reached the next ledge, and wished he could see in the dark.
There was no sign of Alice up there, but he walked a ways anyhow just to be sure. His gut told him he wasn't going to find her, not in the dark, but he didn't know if he could wait till sunrise. What if Alice didn't have that much time?
"Nothing!" Sandro called from two ledges down. Hatter growled and slammed his fist into the wall, sending splinters of wood flying in all directions. Whoever had planned this had done it right – wait for there to be a crowd of people so you don't stand out to anyone, and wait for dark so you're harder to follow. The whole thing smacked of a professionalism that filled Hatter with dread.
He and Sandro met up and went back to the club, walking in silence because Hatter was incapable of talking. He couldn't stop the parade of horrible images that were marching through his head; they were all too reminiscent of the visions he'd had in the Truth Room. Heading back to the club now seemed like an admission of failure, and he didn't want to fail Alice. Not after everything she'd done for him, everything she meant to him.
"Your Highness." Sandro bowed deeply when they returned to the club and found Jack waiting with a large group of Suits and Spades, all of them armed.
"Did you find any sign of her?" Jack asked.
"There were some tracks, but the kidnappers either traveled the ladders or found alternate transportation along the ledges. Hatter and I continued looking, but the trail grew cold."
Hatter looked around the club, which was now empty. Stork stood behind the bar, cleaning glasses, and Dormie dozed in one of the booths. Presumably the Suits had interviewed everyone and let them go.
"At first light we shall fan out and pick up Alice's trail," Jack said. "We will find her, Hatter. This I promise you."
"Because you care for her so damn much?" Hatter snapped. He wanted to hurt someone, lash out, and Jack was as good as anyone. As always, the King remained unflappable.
"Who could have done this?" Jack asked him. "I'm sure you have some idea."
"I don't know," Hatter said in a voice that was more a growl. "I made my share of enemies on both sides over the years. Including you."
The Suits shifted behind Jack, but he held up a hand to calm them.
"It's true. I once viewed you as an enemy, and I made some poor decisions because of it. But I would never do this to Alice."
"It was planned very well," Sandro put in. Hatter knew it was a diversion, to keep him from attacking the King.
"Yeah," Hatter said. He forced himself to calm down, forced himself to think. "Snatching her at night gives them a right good head start. We're losing time."
"We can do nothing in the dark, Hatter." Jack sat down at one of the tables. "I suggest you get some rest. Dawn will be here soon and you'll need a clear head."
Hatter bit back the snarky reply he had on the tip of his tongue and instead just turned and walked away. He went upstairs to the apartment and stood for the longest time just inside the door. He'd lived alone for so many years, but now he almost couldn't face the empty rooms. Alice hadn't just become a part of his life, she was his life. Whoever had taken her would pay. Dearly.
Certain he wouldn't be able to sleep, Hatter nonetheless went into the bedroom and stretched out on his side of the bed. Where was Alice tonight? Was she safe? Was she hurting? Hatter turned his face into her pillow, breathed in her scent, and forcibly cleared his mind. Jack was right. He needed to be ready in the morning, and he needed to keep positive. He would find Alice. Just as he always had. No other scenario was acceptable.
It was almost another hour before Hatter finally dozed off, Alice's pillow clasped to his chest.
*o*o*o*
The sky was just starting to lighten when Hatter, Jack, Sandro, and the Suits took to the ledges to find Alice. They went in pairs as a safety measure, though Jack as the King had four Suits with him. Sandro had mapped out a plan, and suggested they use the club as a base, and keep all communications going through there. He'd also volunteered to partner with Hatter.
"We'll find her," Sandro said as they started off.
"Right," Hatter agreed. His sleep had been plagued with bad dreams, but he'd brewed some extra strong tea that morning to keep of the fatigue.
They followed the same path as the night before, only when they got to the ladders they kept going forward. Hatter had suggested that the ladders might be a decoy, to throw them off the trail. Sandro had agreed that it sounded plausible, so now they just had to hope it paid off.
As the sun got higher in the sky, more people appeared on the ledges going about their daily business. Hatter and Sandro stopped to question all of them. Most seemed intimidated by the Ten of Clubs, but were willing to talk with a Hero of Wonderland. Many seemed sincerely dismayed that something had happened to the Alice of Legend, and some even volunteered to join the search.
"Things have changed," Hatter remarked. "People here were never so friendly."
"You're the one to thank for that," Sandro replied. "You and Alice."
Hatter was heartened by this outpouring of assistance and sympathy. Surely with so many people on their side they could find Alice. Again, he tried to think of the person who had taken her away. Had malice been behind it, or was it out of some twisted kind of affection? After all, she was The Alice.
By mid-morning they were still at it, with no leads to go on. Hatter was quickly losing his optimism. And then he and Sandro came across an old woman who was standing outside a door, smoking.
"Excuse me, m'am," Sandro said politely. "Can you help us?"
"You selling something?" the old woman rasped.
"We're looking for someone. Alice, the Hero of Wonderland, was kidnapped last night."
"Alice? The Alice?" The old woman stubbed out her cigarette and peered at Hatter. "You the Hatter?"
"Yeah."
"Hmmm." The old woman closed her eyes. "There was some noise late last night, another ledge up from here."
"What kind of noise?" Hatter asked eagerly. The old woman opened her eyes and gave him a pitying look.
"Screaming. Lots of screaming."
Whatever else the old woman had to say, Hatter didn't hear it. He just stood there as Sandro finished the interview. Lots of screaming. Someone was hurting his Alice.
"Hatter? Hatter!" Sandro shook his shoulder. "Let's get moving!"
Hatter followed along behind, trying to remember how to breathe. His Alice had been screaming, loud enough to hear a ledge below. She never showed weakness; what the hell were they doing to her to make her scream?
"Hatter, you need to focus." Sandro waited for a reply, but got only a nod. He sighed.
They walked until they came to a ladder, and climbed up the next ledge.
"We should split up," Sandro suggested. "You go left, I'll go right. We'll meet back here."
"Right." Hatter took off, walking very quickly. His section stretched on straight, while Sandro's went round a corner. Hatter hadn't gone too far when he heard Sandro call his name. Alice! Had he found Alice?
Hatter ran back down the ledge and around the corner. Alice! She was there, behind Sandro. At first glance she seemed unharmed, but when he got closer he could see that her eyes were unfocused. Her dress was torn and dirty, and there were scratch marks on her face.
And before he could get to her, he saw her put a foot over the edge and start to sway. Hatter put on speed, blowing right past Sandro.
"Alice!" He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back towards the wall. He hugged her to him, his heart pounding, but she struggled against him. Was she trying to kill herself?
"I have to get to the Tea Shop," she said. She sounded desperate, and her voice was too thick; she sounded like she was half asleep.
"It's me, love. It's Hatter." What had they done to her? Why didn't she know him? He turned Alice to face him and saw that she was crying.
"Hatter's gone. He's dead and left me. He's a dream."
She was Mad. Hatter's heart was breaking. Something awful had been done to his Alice and now she was Mad. He looked over at Sandro, helpless.
"She's been dosed. Look at her arm." Sandro pointed.
Hatter looked, and saw the bruising there. Alice had been dosed with Tea, and clearly against her will. There had never been a time that Hatter had felt more rage, or more fear.
"I have to get to the Tea Shop!" Alice screamed, still fighting against Hatter. "Please. He'll help me."
Hatter felt so useless. He knew he had to get her to the Hospital of Dreams; that was the only place that could help her. Alice wanted to go to the Tea Shop, and he wondered if it was because she thought she'd find him there, even though she thought he was dead. He had to get her moving, and if that was the way to do it he would.
"I'll take you, Alice. I'll take you there."
Fear won out over anger. Alice had been given Tea. He had no idea what that would do to an Oyster; possibly no-one knew. He couldn't bear to see her like this. Hatter took her hand and led her carefully along the ledge. She followed docilely, like a small child. His strong Alice, the Alice that could take down a grown man with one flip, was gone.
They hadn't gone more than ten feet when Alice stopped walking.
"Hatter!" she cried and fell to her knees in the grass. "Don't leave me. Please don't leave me. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'll try harder this time, just please don't go."
Hatter knelt down and pulled her into his arms, his throat constricting. How could she think he'd leave her? She sounded terrified, and he rubbed her back to comfort her.
"Hatter?" she whispered, sounding confused. Hatter hugged her tighter.
"I've got you, love. I've got you, Alice." His voice broke and he had to swallow his tears. "I'll never let you go."
Alice seemed to relax fractionally in his arms, and then she stiffened, cried out and pushed him away. Hatter rocked back, and watched as Alice scuttled against the wall. Her face was ashen and pinched, and she was making an awful mewling noise.
"Alice? What's wrong?"
Alice rubbed her hand on her chest, and seemed to be having trouble breathing. Hatter began to panic, more so when she finally did manage to get a word out.
"…hurts…"
And then her eyes rolled up in her head and she started to slump over.
"Alice!" Hatter was instantly by her side, cradling her. "We need to get her to the Hospital. Now!"
Sandro nodded. He contacted the others on the communication device that was normally used to call for Scarabs, requesting immediate transportation to the Hospital of Dreams. Hatter gathered Alice in his arms, laying kisses on her eyes, her cheeks, anywhere he could reach.
"I've got you, Alice. I've got you, love." He buried his face in her hair and started to cry.