AN: Alright, alright people! Last Jack in Wonderland chapter! And I just realized something when I was looking over my outline for Winter Wonderland. As of last chapter, if I follow exactly what I have written down, we only have about TEN more chapters to go before this story is complete! Feel free to start counting them down, but my outline is still pretty vague, so the chapter count will be, more or less, thirty-four chapters.
And also, is anyone else's option bar on the Edit Document different? Because mine is. It looks like they're trying something new, but there's no more spell check. I don't like it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Rise of the Guardians or Alice: Madness Returns.
Chills come racing down my spine
Like a storm on my skin
With shaking hands
I'll guide your sweet soul into mine
Until I feel you within
Temple of Thought ~ Poets of the Fall
From the Red Kingdom, they went down. Down into the bottomless drop that all of Wonderland seemed to be precariously hanging over.
It was dead quiet when they touched ground in the foggy, barren wasteland of the Wonderland Graveyard. Jack hadn't said more than ten words since they departed from the Red Kingdom dungeon, leaving behind a frozen solid Night Ruin. If Alice had noticed his sudden silence and withdrawal, she didn't call attention to it. She was either too dead-set on reaching their destination to focus on anything except the path in front of her, or she just didn't care. The latter seemed more likely. Alice was just too observant, too accustomed to her unpredictable world, to not pick up on every little cue around her.
Her strides were brisk and confident, her posture and sharp eyes determined. Jack could tell the Red Queen's hideout was the very last place Alice wanted to be and he felt somewhat guilty about unintentionally forcing her into a corner earlier, but the guilt immediately gave way to the possibility of his friends and the children being in danger. That was what he was most concerned about. He wasn't completely on board with yet another detour, especially since he had no idea what was waiting for them at the other end.
Whoever, or whatever, the real Red Queen was, Alice would suck it up and endure being in her presence long enough to gain the information they needed if it meant they could avoid a potentially fatal disaster. Wouldn't she?
He certainly hoped so.
When they finally arrived at the fleshy, pulsating cave mouth that was so typically their destination, Jack let out a loud groan. It was just like any other cave mouth, carved deep within the grey, barren earth of the foggy Wonderland graveyard, except it was, quite literally, a cave mouth - with broken, yellow teeth, gums and everything! The walls were covered in thick, bodily tissue that dripped foul, red liquid like rainwater down towards the squishy ground that looked like - but what Jack prayed wasn't - a giant tongue.
Jack twisted up his nose in disgust as the lovely smell of gore and bodily fluids wafted out from deep inside the bowels of the cave. He and Alice stood at the entrance side by side, staring into the darkness.
"Have I mentioned before how much I hate this plan?"
"Yes, you did," She nodded. "Have I mentioned before that you can leave whenever you wish?"
"Yes, you did."
"Good. Now that we've eradicated all possible misunderstandings, we can move on more smoothly."
Alice strode forward and pushed past the threshold of the cave mouth. It wasn't until she realized Jack wasn't following her that she stopped and turned back around. She fixed the Winter spirit still standing stationary just outside the cave mouth with a cool stare, waiting calmly for him to do something, say something.
"I don't completely trust that you'll come back to the pole if I leave you alone."
Jack wasn't entirely sure where that had come from, or why he decided to voice it out loud, but he did know that he was torn between choices. He wanted to go back to the workshop and make sure it was still standing, and make sure his friends were okay, and that the children still believed, but he didn't want to leave Alice behind either. The very thought made his stomach churn unpleasantly. He wouldn't feel right about leaving Alice to face the Red Queen by herself. In his surprisingly extensive experience, anything with tentacles growing out of it was definitely something you shouldn't leave a friend alone with.
And yes, Jack did make the connection between the tentacle that had dragged him into Wonderland and the red flesh that grew along the cave walls like moss.
"Forgive me if I don't stop and attempt to reassure you, Frost, but we're about to descend into a rather dark crevice of my Wonderland and confront a hulking mass of evil that has plagued me ever since I can remember, and if it's all the same to you, I'd rather not get ripped apart in the process."
He rolled his eyes at her pessimistic comment and muttered under his breath. "Have a little fun, won't cha?" He almost took a step back when Alice turned her head around to look at him with a cocked eyebrow. "Sorry," He mumbled, slightly embarrassed that she had heard him. "That's sort of my new mantra. It's kind of like "have a little faith", but with...you know."
"Have a little fun?" She echoed disbelievingly. "I know your centers mean a lot to you guardians, but honestly, is that your answer for everything?"
"No, not everything," He replied almost flippantly as his hands wrung themselves nervously against his staff. "But you'd be surprised at what kind of sticky situations I've gotten myself, and others, out of because of it."
Alice only let out a dubious "hmph" before looking forward again.
It was silent for a few blissful seconds as they started walking again. They crossed the cave's threshold like they were being eaten by the literal cave mouth and stepped down fully into the slimy cave. A whole symphony of wet noises echoed around them then, making Jack shudder in disgust. He felt like he was in one of those scary Alien movies that always gave Jamie nightmares with the slimy walls and saliva-like goo dripping down from the ceiling.
Even more disturbing, there were also giant eyeballs littered throughout the cave - with red, heart-shaped pupils that stared the two spirits down as they walked further into the cave. However, they all seemed to be following Alice only, so that made Jack feel a little better; although, not by much.
"This is so gross," Jack groaned at the sickening sounds their feet were making against the fleshy ground. "For once, I'm glad I'm wearing shoes. But why do my clothes keep changing? Is there, like, a feature or something I can turn off to make it stop doing that? And why didn't your clothes change?"
After throwing a quick glance back at the Winter spirit, Alice wouldn't necessarily agree that his clothing had changed. His royal suit was exactly the same as it was in the Red kingdom, only now the crimson red coloring had bled from the fine fabric of the jacket, leaving it a pristine white instead. She was still in her own royal suit though.
"Just be grateful you weren't put in a jester's costume," Alice replied irritably as she watched her feet. They were making their way down further into the Red Queen's hideaway on a slope, and the wet, fleshy ground made it difficult to keep a steady foothold. "Though it would've been far more fitting in my opinion."
"Pfft, yeah, that'll do wonders for my image," Jack muttered sarcastically, now watching his own footing more carefully too after almost slipping and falling on his ass. He made sure to tell Baby Tooth to stick close to him, which she gladly obeyed as she clung desperately to his shoulder. Out of all the places they've been to in Wonderland, this sickly, living cave had to be the absolute worst.
As a tiny fairy that deals heavily with the human mouth, tooth hygiene, and the various fluids involved with it all, Baby Tooth was used to seeing some pretty gross things when it came to the human body, but this was just ridiculous. It felt as if they were swallowed by a giant and they were now taking a hike through its stomach. Baby Tooth pinched the base of her beak tightly to try and block out the horrible, stinging smell that drifted up from the pool of bubbling, green stomach acid below them. A guttural rumble shivered through the tunnel, the slick fluids that oozed from the walls and ceiling seemed to cling to their boots as they stepped through the passage. A foul stench still wafted through the air, stronger now. Jack tried not to pay too close attention to the vacant eyes as they followed them through the fleshy environment.
"It's not like the mere sight of me doesn't strike fear into people's hearts like you do," He continued to say as he jumped from platform to platform over the stomach acid, right behind Alice.
"Oh I do not!" Alice turned around and snapped at him before turning back. "And besides, if it truly bothers you that much, you can always change your appearance if you want to look more intimidating."
He let out a loud snort. "Oh yeah, and how would I do that? Shave part of my head, piece my lip, and give myself a Mohawk? Wear a spiked dog collar around my neck? Get my arms covered in tattoos like North? Yeah, that'll do wonders."
"It was just a suggestion," She sighed while sidestepping a giant, blinking eyeball protruding from the ground. "And I wouldn't get any tattoos if I were you. They'll be bloody eyesores against your pale skin, regardless of the image. And not to mention, the pain certainly isn't worth it, in my opinion."
"Oh, like you would know," Jack scoffed.
There were few beats of telling silence until-
"Wait...do you have a tattoo?"
Alice's head whipped around to stare at him. "What?" She said in slight disbelief before letting out an uneasy laugh, quickly turning her head forward again when Jack fell in step next to her. She stubbornly kept her eyes ahead even as Jack tilted his head and gave her a scrutinizing look. "Of course not. I was merely speaking in a general sense."
Jack's jaw dropped when she avoided eye connect. "Oh...my...God, you totally do!"
"Don't be ridiculous! I do not!"
"Yes you do," He smiled, poking teasingly at her arm. "Why the heck do you have a tattoo?"
She slapped his hand away and let out a sigh. With the way Frost was now smiling at her with giddy curiosity, she knew there was no point in denying it further. "Oh alright! Yes, I have one. I got it when I was still human. There was a rather talented tattoo artist offering sailors his services in my nanny's bar...and I had a few extra pounds on me. It was a very brief, fleeting moment of social youth rebellion and pigheaded ignorance, and that is all I have to say on the matter!"
Jack snickered. "Naughty girl. Does Bunny know?"
"Of course he doesn't," She huffed. "But I hardly see why it would matter otherwise. It's not like it's anything sordid."
"Where is it?"
"Somewhere you will never see I can assure you, so never you mind, Frost."
"Ha! That means you have it somewhere embarrassing!"
Alice let out a groan.
Good lord, he was getting bolder.
Jack laughed as Baby Tooth hovered by his head, hiding her tiny smile behind her hands. Alice let out another frustrated sigh as she resisted the urge to kick away one of the little, pink tongues that crawled along the ground like slugs. Jack shook his head and snickered before opening his mouth to apologize when he realized Alice was giving him one of her death glares, but before he could get anything out, a booming voice suddenly sounded out overhead.
'How dare you return to my court! Have you not done enough damage already!?'
It was two-toned and ominous - primarily a sharp, female voice, projecting rage and harsh authority while the undertones of another, more out-of-sync voice, echoed closely behind.
"Was that her?" Jack asked, looking up.
Alice looked towards the path ahead, determined. "Yes."
'Go away immediately! The feline vermin lies! There is nothing for you here!'
The voice hissed at them from all directions as they traveled further. Jack tried to track it, but it reverberated all around them and bounced off every wall, making it impossible for him to tell where exactly it was coming from. He stole several glances at Alice when the voice grew deeper and more commanding, laying down warning after warning as Alice ignored each one without a single hitch in her step. Jack followed a few paces behind her, not feeling nearly as focused and confident as his companion. They were practically inside a monster's belly. New rule of thumb - he didn't want to be picking fights with something that could digest them.
'Heed now! This is your last warning! Any closer and you shall be beheaded, trespassers!'
It was then that Jack decided to speak up, throw in his two cents about combing a minefield with a hammer, but Alice wasn't hearing any of it. While she continued on her sudden war path with Jack trailing less enthusiastically behind her, neither spirit noticed the bright red tentacle that slowly emerged from the shadows and inched its way across the fleshy ground. It wasn't until the Winter spirit felt the disturbing sensation of having several pairs of eyes beating down on his back, that he realized something was now severely amiss.
He looked around the new chamber they had just entered to see dozens of blinking eyeballs covering the walls. They looked down at him and Alice just like before, but now it seemed they were more focused on Jack instead of Alice.
"Hey, are those eyes looking at me now?"
He looked directly into the shifting, heart-shaped pupil of one of the nearby eyes. It stared back at him just as blatantly until it blinked once and narrowed, almost as if it was trying to glare at him. Then, as Jack started to shift uncomfortably under the eyeball's gaze, he felt that familiar wet, goosebump-invoking sensation, curl around the bare flesh of his ankle again.
His eyes widened in dread as he looked down to see another tentacle wrapping itself slowly around his leg, just like back in the Pole.
"Oh crap-"
It grew taut and unrelenting in less than second, making the Winter spirit curse loudly before he found his world pivoting backwards harshly when the tentacle yanked on his leg and sent him falling to the fleshy ground with a loud splat. He barely had the time to shoot a panicked look towards Alice and cry out before the tentacle yanked on his leg once again and started dragging him along the ground. The last thing he heard and saw before he was pulled into a nearby wall and sucked into the red tissue, was Baby Tooth chirping shrilly in horror and Alice watching him get dragged away. From there, the trip was more disorienting than his first one into Wonderland.
The red tentacle dragged him straight through fleshy walls, puddles of unknown gunk, and all sort of other foulness. With the hand that wasn't clutching his staff, Jack tried to grab on to something, anything that would help him fight against the appendage's crushing grip, but snagging a good handful of the red, bodily tissue around him was more difficult than balancing on a patch of flawless ice in stiletto heels (not that he's ever tried). The tentacle picked up speed and started dragging him faster. He wanted off this crazy ride! He could barely comprehend anything that was going on with his surroundings. He was dragged through more walls and crevices made up of warm, wet flesh (Gross!) until he was suddenly pulled into the open and able to breathe again. The charm of the new space was short-lived though when pain radiated up his back while he was pulled down a flight of fleshy stairs.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow," He chanted repeatedly as the back of his head bounced off each step. The squishy tissue not at all cushioning the impacts.
He was then dragged down a long walkway while still on his back. He was able to look up and see that he was now in a very large chamber. He was also able to see a glimpse of a large mosaic window at the very top of the chamber ceiling, depicting a picture of a golden crown with a heart inside of it, before the tentacle suddenly yanked him off his back and pulled him up into the air. It had him dangling there by his ankle like a fish on a hook. He struggled to get free, but every time he tried to reach up and pry the tentacle from his ankle, or aim his staff and freeze it, the tentacle would jostle him hard, throwing his mind off track and causing his brain to rattle around in his skull.
After the tentacle rearranged his brain three more times, Jack let out a defeated sigh and went limp in the tentacle's hold. It was only when he finally stopped struggling that he realized he wasn't hanging around the chamber alone. He could practically feel someone burning a hole in the back of his head with their eyes.
"Trespasser!" That ominous, two-toned voice bellowed loudly behind him.
Jack had to angle himself awkwardly to look behind him, and when he did, he was met with a pair of upside-down, furious, emerald-green eyes that were set inside a heart-shaped face with grey skin, small features, and short black hair. His blue eyes trailed curiously over the woman-child's face before looking down at her elaborate gown that was made up of brilliant reds, blacks, and golds. She had large, fleshless hands that tightly gripped a golden scepter and all the red tissue of the underground hideaway seemed to sprout from underneath the creature's gown. However, it wasn't until Jack caught sight of the red and gold crown floating above her dark head like a grey storm cloud that he realized who he was staring at.
The Red Queen.
The tentacle whipped him around to fully face the woman-child sitting atop the spiked throne before shaking him violently again like a goldfish in a plastic bag. She stared intensely at him, scrutinizing him, as she slowly pulled him closer to her throne.
"Who are you, Stranger?" She asked curiously, giving him a suspicious look while reaching out and poking him sharply in the stomach with her heart-shaped scepter. "Your face is unfamiliar."
"Hey, cut it out," Jack snapped, slapping the scepter away.
He barely resisted the urge to make a snide comment on how her face was too familiar. Through the tentacles and the deathly pale complexion, the Red Queen bore a rather striking resemblance to Alice. There were obvious differences through features and proportions alone, but the eyes were exactly the same. The same piercing, green eyes that always seemed to be looking right through you, and not at you. Stripping you down and leaving you completely bare.
She shook him again.
"Put me down!" Jack demanded as his vision blurred and doubled. Oh God, he was going to be sick if she kept that up.
Surprisingly enough though, she complied. After a few more seconds of intense scrutiny, Jack let out another startled yelp when the red tentacle around his ankle suddenly loosened, releasing the Winter spirit from its crushing grip and dropping him unceremoniously to the ground with a loud thud.
"Renounce your purpose then, Stranger!" The Queen bellowed loudly as she banged her scepter against the arm of her makeshift throne. "NOW! Before I grow impatient!"
"Well," Jack started slowly as he picked himself of the slimy ground with groan. He looked up at the queen's scowling face briefly before looking back down for his staff. "I really don't think I'm the right person to ask. You should've claw-machined Alice down here instead of me. She's the one who seems to think that something bad was taken from her Wonderland. The Cheshire Cat told us to come here. I really don't know-"
A shrill gasp from the creature sitting atop the throne effectively cut Jack off as she looked at him with wide, shocked eyes before they narrowed into a deadly glare.
He said that wretched girl's name! It was true then, her many eyes didn't deceive her! He was affiliated with her!
"Trickery!" She hissed hatefully at him. "Now I see who you are! Your guise has failed, vermin! I know exactly who you are!"
He blinked at her. "You do?"
"Your skin's absence of pigmentation, your infuriating insolence, and your utter lack of respect and decorum in the presence of a reigning royal does more than give your identity away!"
"It does?"
"Yes! You must be that wicked girl's White Knight! Her queen slayer!"
"I am?"
"You're here on your final mission! You're here to finish what she started! You're here to kill me, aren't you!? I can see your colors fool! The white! The dreaded white!"
"Wait, what?"
"She can't do it herself, not as long as I share her loved one's likeness, but she's clearly not above sending her favored knight to do her dirty work!"
"I'm lost now."
"You're here to kill me!"
"Okay, I think there's been a serious misunderstanding here-"
"SILENCE!" She screamed, making the ground tissue quiver and Jack's ears hurt. "You made a mistake by coming here, White Knight! Count yourself fortunate that my executioner is still indisposed. However, I am still perfectly capable of exterminating a little insect like you!"
Another tentacle shot out from behind the queen's throne, flying towards Jack in a red blur and snagging him tightly around the waist. He immediately started to struggle again as he was hoisted high into the air before he had a chance to grab his staff.
"Hey! Let me go you disgusting-elck!"
The air flow to his lungs was abruptly cut off when the tentacle tightened its grip into an unforgiving hold, pressing down mercilessly on Jack's stomach and ribs with a crushing pressure, choking the fight right out of him.
"I shall squish you like a bug," The queen declared almost gleefully with a nasty smirk. "It only seems fitting."
"Forget you, ugly hag!" Jack threw back hatefully as he continued to struggle, ever the stubborn rebel.
It was then, as more tentacles slithered from the darkness of the queen's chamber and made their way towards the squirming Winter spirit, that puffs of smoke and fire suddenly sailed past Jack and hit the Red Queen square in the face. She howled out in pain and rage as her arms came up to block her face from the sudden assault that left the air around them simmering with the strong scent of pepper. Jack coughed hard and shut his burning eyes as a cloud of spice wafted towards him and he accidentally inhaled a large mouthful. The tentacle around his waist loosened though, allowing Jack's scrawny frame to slip through. He landed on the ground again with a grunt and immediately reached for his staff - but only to find a pair of booted feet standing where his staff used to be.
He looked up and instantly felt relieved when he saw Alice standing there, holding out his staff for him to take.
"Come," She said, tugging on his hoodie sleeve as he climbed back on to his feet. "This was a waste, coming here. We don't have time to fight her."
Jack didn't say anything as he looked in between his companion and the furious royal, who was still trying to rub the stinging pepper from her eyes. He nodded in agreement and moved towards the exit of the queen's chamber without sparing a single glance backwards. He was so ready to ditch this freakshow. Alice, however, made the mistake of looking back as she moved to follow Frost. When she did, she stopped dead in her tracks and let out a gasp when she caught sight of what one of the Red Queen's tentacles held in its grip. Her eyes lit up recognition as the object called to her like a shining lighthouse on a foggy sea night.
Above the queen's throne, wrapped tightly in red muscle, was a familiar piece of jagged wood with a gem of brilliant gold.
"The Jabberwock's Eye Staff!" She cried out, pointing towards the powerful instrument.
Jack stopped. "The what's what staff?"
The tentacle holding the staff seemed to have a personality of its own, waving it tauntingly in the air even as the Red Queen still sat distracted on her throne. Ignoring Jack's protests, Alice spun on her heel and broke out into a mad dash back in the other direction, towards the Red Queen.
"Hey! Alice! What are you doing!?" Jack called after her, panicked. "I thought we were leaving!"
"We will!" Alice threw back as she ran, finally understanding why the Cheshire Cat sent them to the Red Queen's hideaway. "We need that staff!"
"Why!?"
"I haven't got the slightest clue, but if the Red Queen has it, then we need it!"
It wasn't exactly a concrete reason for once again spearheading into danger without a plausible explanation, but they were in Wonderland, when was there ever a plausible explanation for anything? Speaking strictly from past experiences was the only thing she could go on.
Alice's sights were now set entirely on the Jabberwock's Eye Staff. So much so, she allowed herself to become blind to her surroundings, leaving only Jack to see the large tentacle now making its way towards Alice from behind.
"Alice look out!"
Before she could turn and react, the tentacle wrapped tightly around her narrow waist from behind and slithered over her chest and shoulders like a deadly snake until it wrapped around her neck. Alice made a choking noise as it hoisted her up into the air. She dropped her Vorpal blade out of reflex and reached up with both hands to pull at the appendage squeezing her throat.
Jack was back at the base of the Red Queen's throne in an instant, his staff raised and glowing threateningly as he aimed it straight at the glaring queen. Alice hung above their hands with her legs kicking in protest and her gloved fingers crawling frantically at the hard muscle slowly suffocating her. His eyes flickered back and forth between the two females, taking in every single detail he could and keeping his guard up so the queen's lurking tentacles couldn't do the same to him.
"Throw down your weapon, White Knight," The monarch hissed dangerously in warning. "Or else I'll snap your queen's pretty little neck."
Jack didn't respond as he held his glare and continued to aim the crook of his staff at her.
The queen's own eyes narrowed at his blatant disobedience. As a show of how serious she was, the tentacle around Alice's neck and waist tightened mercilessly, causing the suspended woman to let out another strangled gasp as her struggles increased and she desperately fought for air.
"Okay, okay, okay!" Jack cried out, dropping his resolve before there could be a sickening snap. The blue glow in his staff immediately faded and he dropped his defensive stance. He reached out a hand in surrender. "You win! I'll put it down. Just please stop hurting her!"
The queen's smirk deepened and her cold, green eyes lit up with delight at her victory, but Alice only renewed her struggles as she choked out a broken up protest between labored gasps. There was no way she was going to just hang around and watch Frost hand over his weapon. As soon as he did, they would both be dead. The Red Queen wasn't going to pass up a golden opportunity to finally destroy Alice and reclaim her title as queen of Wonderland, especially since her survival was no longer directly linked to Alice's. The horrid creature was baiting Frost with her safety, and being the soft-hearted, wonderfully compassionate spirit that he really was, Alice knew it was going to work like a charm.
"Don't you dare, Frost! S-she'll kill us both! Hit...her! Don't fall...for the sa-same trick...twice!"
"I'm not falling for anything," He promised her.
He looked up into her eyes with one of his cocky smiles on his pale face before bringing his hand up to his mouth and letting out a loud whistle from between his fingers.
Baby Tooth rose from her hiding spot near the entrance of the chamber with her head held high and her tiny fists on her hips, like a conquering superhero ready to come and save the day. She let out a determined chirp, puffing out her feathered chest fiercely before flying towards the queen's throne, weaving through and dodging the many tentacles that tried to grab her (As if they were any match for a tooth fairy's speed! Ha!) until she was able to buzz right up to the demon queen's face. The Red Queen's eyes widened and crossed as she looked down the bridge of her nose at the colorful fairy hovering inches from her face. She scowled at the tiny creature and raised a hand to flick her away like a lowly pest, but before she could get close, Baby Tooth rudely stuck her tongue out at the queen and poked her harshly in the eye with her long beak.
The queen's reaction was immediate. She let out another furious scream as pain erupted in her skull and she raised her hands to clutch at her face. Baby Tooth dodged her big hands and dashed back towards Jack, swiftly hiding behind his shoulder.
Jack made his move then. With as much wind as he could gather up in a few quick swipes of his arms, the Winter spirit launched himself high up into the air. He held his glowing staff behind his head, his arms cocked backwards with the rest of his body poised and ready to let go of the large build up of energy boiling in his core. He held the stance for a few, fleeting seconds, taking his aim, before bringing down the crooked staff like a hammer and letting out an involuntary shout as a powerful blast of frozen lightening rocketed out of the crook. The ice blast tore past the tentacles that crossed its path, freezing them effortlessly, and continued on its way until it hit the raging Red Queen. The underground chamber rocked from the sheer impact of the attack, causing the red flesh to shudder.
The Red Queen was screaming louder than a banshee now. She thrashed in pain from both her bleeding eye, and the patch of spiked ice that slammed against her torso. The ice spread from there, rapidly moving across her wicked body and encasing her in ice. It twisted and crackled as it climbed, her tentacles thrashing and shriveling against the harsh cold, unable to handle the rapidly declining temperature. It easily fell victim to the threat of hypothermia, causing the flesh to blacken and blister. The tentacle holding the Jabberwock's Eye Staff soon shriveled away into nothing along with the others and the jagged piece of wood fell to the ground.
The queen struggled against it while her remaining tentacles waved wildly in the air, not knowing how to react as the queen commanded them to in her mad panic. Jack barely gave her a second glance when he landed back on the ground. She had fallen victim to his ice and he made sure it wouldn't stop until it covered every inch of her.
His eyes zeroed back in on Alice, who was now hanging completely limp in the tentacle's hold. Her arms hung by her sides and her legs were motionless. His heart plummeted into the pit of his stomach at the sight of Alice hanging there.
"No!"
He quickly took aim again and fired off another ice blast, smaller and thinner this time. It sliced clean through the tentacle holding Alice, immediately releasing her and letting her body fall to the ground. The severed tentacle wiggled like a worm, blood and goop dripping from its clipped end before withering into a gray crust and dissolving into little flakes.
Jack ran over to Alice, dodging a few stray tentacles that weren't converging around their queen. She was coughing now, struggling to relearn how to breathe after being jolted back into consciousness when she hit the hard ground.
"Are you okay?" He asked when he fell to his knees next to her.
She could only nod as she rubbed gingerly at her bruising throat. Jack gnawed on his bottom lip in worry. He reached out to run his fingers over the purple flesh of her neck, but she pushed his hand away and moved to stand on her feet. Although, she was only upright long enough to walk over and pick up the Jabberwock's Eye Staff before the ground underneath them shook violently again and she lost her balance. Jack grimaced when she landed on her backside with a frustrated moan. He looked towards the Red Queen's throne again. Her screams had stopped and she was reduced to nothing more than an ugly, monstrous ice sculpture. All threats from her were now averted.
However, the ice from his blast continued to spread far beyond the queen's throne. It had done exactly what Jack wanted it to do, but he had failed to remember that the entire cave was past of the Red Queen. The ice crawled its way along the red flesh covering the walls and froze the remainder of the queen's tentacles. The structure rumbled again, like an earthquake, causing parts of it to rip and break down.
Alice slowly lowered herself to lay on the ground, still feeling dizzy and disorientated from being strangled while Jack looked at the collapsing chamber around them. The red flesh near the entrance of the chamber shuddered and curled into itself, closing off the exit. He let out a small huff and sat back down next to Alice, who pulled the Jabberwock's Eye Staff to rest safely across her middle.
"Well, I hope that chunk of wood was worth going back for because we're screwed."
Alice rolled her eyes at his negativity as she reached up to rub her sore throat again. "What happened to your unwavering optimism, Frost? Don't worry. Cheshire should be arriving with back up any moment now."
"Oh, so our survival now depends on whether that fleabag is feeling gracious enough to lend a helping paw? That's comforting."
Alice didn't reply. She only closed her eyes and laid back as a loud cracking noise sounded above them, signifying that the mosaic skylight was going to break.
A large shadow then passed over the cave top, steadily growing smaller until something suddenly smashed through the colorful glass. Jack quickly looked away as shards of glass rained down on them and a large blur of black and white landed heavily on top of the Red Queen's frozen throne. Jack looked up again once the glass stopped falling and stared at the convenient newcomer.
There, crouching over the top of the queen's head, was a giant, green-skinned man, with big ears, an ugly overbite, and a huge, bulbous nose. He stood tall with long limbs, cladded in a white straitjacket, black trousers, and shiny dress shoes. Parts of his body were made out of metal and wood along with a rusted cog sticking out of his back. He also wore a tall, black-and-white checkerboard top hat that was covered in alchemy symbols and splattered with drops of blood.
"Ha! There you are!" The green man shouted in a high, nasally voice. He pointed a long, black cane with a white teapot at the end in their direction and let out a long string of ramblings and noises. "Misfits! Your seats at my table have gone empty for too long! A pointless waste of printed stationary, scented inks, and culinary goods! The cakes go uneaten and the tea grows cold! Oh the tea grows cold!"
"Oi, this guy again," Jack muttered with a roll of his eyes, recognizing the mad man's voice. Now that he could finally put an ugly face to the angry voice that screamed at him through an intercom, he figured this must've been the Mad Hatter.
Hatter muttered under his breath as his left eye twitched rapidly. The chamber continued to collapse around them, making Jack flinch every time a piece of rock fell too close to their barely-standing platform. The green man pulled himself out of his mad ramblings and looked at his surroundings, his entire head now twitching as his eyes scanned the chamber. He then looked towards where Jack was kneeling next to Alice.
"This hovel is crumbling and you just lay about like a pair of slithering slugs?" He banged the butt of his scepter against the Red Queen's frozen head. "That is no way to depart from a party!" He reached out with a giant hand and plucked Alice from Jack's side as if she was nothing more than a little doll. The dark-haired woman didn't struggle in the man's surprisingly gentle grasp, but Jack wasn't so compliant.
"Hey!" He snapped, fixing the green man with an almost territorial glare, even as the rumbling chamber started to sink. "Give her back!"
The green man ignored him as he tossed Alice over his shoulder and reached out to pick Jack up by his black hood. The Winter spirit struggled, of course, but the green man paid him no mind as he crouched down low to the ground and pushed off, launching himself into the air with a triumphant shout. He sailed upwards, back through the broken mosaic skylight, and out into open space of the Wonderland Graveyard.
The ride was bumpy and unpleasant. It wasn't much more than a swirl of depressing colors for Jack as he swung back and forth in the Mad Hatter's grasp, but he knew they were finally free from the Red Queen's sinking hideway. The fresh air was more than enough for him to feel relaxed and at ease, despite being manhandled for the hundredth time that day.
Once the Mad Hatter hopped, skipped, and landed a safe distance from the sinking hideaway, Alice moved down from his back while Jack was, yet again, dropped unceremoniously to the ground with a thud. She easily stepped around him and made her way up to a high ledge that overlooked the catastrophic scene, where she was greeted by the grinning Cheshire Cat.
"I thought you could use a little assistance. Wasn't that nice of me?"
She stepped around him too, ignoring him.
"Maddening!" Hatter proclaimed loudly as he shook a fist at the collapsing ruins while cursing its existence. "How rude must one be!? To skip out on tea time for a mere bit of pointless carnage! Robbing me of my guests! You pettifogging old witch! I cherish the day you finally melt into a slopping pile of mutt vomit!"
Alice watched the Red Queen's hideaway continue to collapse with a blank face while Hatter ranted insanely to himself in the background and the Cheshire Cat watched him with an amused grin. Jack walked up behind her while straightening out his royal suit. He gave her an uncertain frown as he stood next to her. The hideaway below them caved in with a dull rumble that vibrated under their feet.
"Is she...you know?" He spoke up. "Dead?"
"I doubt it," She replied dryly while still clutching the Jabberwock's Eyestaff in her hand. "No matter how much harm I do to her, or how powerless she becomes, she always seems to bounce right back. Ever resilient."
When the last of the underground hideaway finally sunk, Alice turned her back on the ruins and looked down at the weapon in her hands. The Eye Staff was crooked and bent, being made only from wood, almost like Jack's own staff. The wood formed a hook with a glowing gem set within it; the Jabberwock's missing eye. It was a hulking orb of precious ember, glowing deeply from within the very center with no pupil to obstruct its hypnotic beauty.
"What does that do?" Jack asked.
"Hopefully what we'll need it to," She replied, making the staff disappear in a wisp of blue smoke, storing it away for when she was ready to use it. She then stepped down from the ledge and beckoned Jack to follow her. "Come. It's time we finally leave."
Jack let out a relieved laugh before hopping down and running after her. "Finally! Let's blow this taco stand!"
"What the bloody hell is a taco?"
~O~
As soon as the traveling trio stumbled through the large mirror in Alice's guestroom, finally back inside the warm atmosphere of Santoff Claussen, Jack quickly climbed to his bare feet.
He picked up his staff from the hardwood floor and grabbed Alice's hand, taking her along with him before she could protest. He pulled her from her room and whisked them both down the many hallways of North's domain. He didn't let go of Alice's hand until they reached the main fireplace of the bustling workshop. He didn't even stop to acknowledge Phil when they breezed past him on the ground floor.
The usually busy area was almost completely barren of spirits. North, Sandy, and Bunnymund were nowhere to be seen. Tooth was the only one around from what Jack could see. She sat atop a nearby table with her fairies, and a few of North's yetis. gathered around her. The fairy queen sat with her small feet hanging over the side of the table and her elbows propped up on her thighs while she cradled her face and frazzled crest in her hands.
Jack felt his heart drop when he saw the way her feathered shoulders shook as she cried silently into her hands. Her little fairies hovered around her crest, gently prodding their queen with their beaks in concern. One of the yetis standing near her even reached out and softly patted her on the back in a small attempt to console her. The Winter spirit felt guilt eat away at his insides when he realized his friend must be grieving over her missing fairy, who had been sucked into some unknown realm that completely cut off her connection to her. The mother fairy must've ran herself ragged worrying about her little Baby Tooth.
"Tooth?" He called out tentatively just as Baby Tooth wormed her way out of his blue hoodie pocket.
Tooth's head snapped up at the sound of Jack's voice and the tiny, joyful chirps of her fairy. Her beautiful violet eyes landed on the trio and she gasped loudly when Baby Tooth soared over to her mother. The fairy queen let out a tearful laugh as she reached out with both hands to receive her fairy.
"Baby Tooth!" She cried, cupping the fairy in her hands and gently rubbing her thumb against Baby Tooth's crest while the little fairy nuzzled against her palm. "You're back!"
"Of course," Jack said with a half-hearted smirk. "I always bring her back, don't I?"
Tooth looked up in his direction again with a smile and jumped down from the table. She ran over to him and pulled him into a tight hug. "Jack! Alice! You all came back!"
Jack only chuckled softly as he returned her hug with the arm that wasn't holding his staff. "I'm sorry for letting this happen to Baby Tooth," He mumbled against her shoulder. "Stubborn feather ball wouldn't let go of me."
"Of course she wouldn't," Tooth laughed with another tearful smile before pulling away from Jack. She reached up to wipe her eyes with the back of her hand. She then looked towards her daughter-self as the little fairy reunited with a small cluster of her sisters. "Don't worry. She's going to get a stern talking to later about all that."
"Go easy on her, eh? She was actually a big help for us."
"Well, don't let her know that. It'll give her a decent argument."
Jack looked down at the fairy as they smiled at each other, both happy that everybody returned safely from Wonderland. They stood like that for a few moments while Alice shifted awkwardly in the background until Jack's smile slowly faded away and his brow furrowed when he suddenly realized something very odd.
"Tooth...why are you standing on the ground?"
Tooth blinked at him for a second before her eyes widened and she remember that she wasn't hovering. She looked down at her grounded feet as she opened and closed her mouth, her eyes watering anew and her throat tightening with her sudden inability to speak. Everything that happened while Jack and Alice were gone came rushing back and it left her feeling devastated all over again.
"What's wrong?" Jack asked, watching as raw emotion overtook the fairy queen once again.
Tears streamed down from her amethyst eyes as her gaze shifted towards Alice and her chest started to heave. "Oh Alice! I am so sorry! Everything happened so fast, I didn't have any time to react!"
"Hey, hey, hey," Jack chanted softly, resting a cool hand on the panicked fairy's shoulder while Alice only stared curiously at her. "Calm down, Tooth. What are you talking about? What happened so fast?"
"Where are the other guardians?" Alice asked.
Tooth shook her head and turned away from the two spirits, holding her hand against her mouth to keep back her sobs. Jack stared at his distraught friend, confused and concerned, before his eyes trailed down to her folded wings and he noticed two of them were heavily bandaged near the base.
"Tooth! What happened to your wings!?"
She didn't respond as she continued to turn away from Jack every time he tried to maneuver himself in front of her. There was something seriously wrong with his usually cheerful friend and he hated seeing her so upset. It just wasn't natural. She shook her head back and forth repeatedly, refusing to speak until she was able to handle herself without completely breaking down. That self control never came back to her though. Every time she tried, her strong heart and steel core would break further with the memory of her failure.
Jack reached out another hand to rest on her heaving shoulder. "Tooth-"
"Jack! Alice!"
North's loud voice suddenly sounded out behind them as a series of pounding footsteps came running up the nearby fixed staircase. The Russian came bursting into view seconds later with his eyes wide and his dual swords drawn. A group of armed yetis followed closely behind him, exhausted and out of breath from trying to keep up with their energetic leader. A cruising Sandman arrived considerably slower, unable to keep up with any of them. The Christmas spirit dropped his swords to the floor when he saw that his yetis spoke the truth; Jack and Alice had indeed returned from Wonderland.
His eyes immediately scanned the two spirits up and down, checking for injuries. "We thought you were lost!"
"Nah, just extremely misguided," Jack remarked, sending Alice a smirk, which she returned with an eye rolling.
"What is this?" North asked when he saw the thick bruise around Alice's neck. He reached out and gently gripped Alice's chin with one of his large hands. He lifted it up to get a better look at the harsh, purple marking while noting with satisfaction that the young woman didn't immediately pull or slap his hand away. "What did this to you?"
"It doesn't matter," Alice said, gently pushing away his hand after a few moments.
"North, what the heck is going on?" Jack asked. "What happened to Tooth? Why is she having an emotional break down? I brought Baby Tooth back, safe and sound."
The Russian's bushy brow furrowed as he looked in between Jack and the broken Tooth Fairy standing near the main fireplace. The Sandman floated next to her, gently patting her on the shoulder. The golden spirit then looked towards North with a somber expression. An unspoken conversation seemed to pass between the leader and eldest spirit before Sandy nodded his head, letting the bigger spirit know that he should tell them what happened. They were going to figure it out soon anyways once they realized their numbers were short and they weren't being chewed out for leaving the workshop during a crisis again.
"It happened while you were away," North finally said, his tone thick with regret. "It came in through darkness, attacked when we were separated. We tried to fight back...to stop it from stealing him, but it happened too fast."
Jack shook his head, completely lost. "What are you talking about?"
Alice stepped forward then, her eyes trailing along the room and all its inhabitants one last time before realizing what was missing. She looked at North with panicked eyes, her breathing hitching in her throat as she stared at the Russian.
"Where is Bunny?"
They all looked to North, for both guidance and an explanation. The Russian felt his stomach churn unpleasantly at his sudden popularity. He knew this was now one of those rare instances where he hated being leader of the guardians. It always had to be him who was the bearer of bad news, wasn't it? And this was most certainly bad news. Very bad news.
He let out a defeated sigh before reaching into his heavy coat and pulling out a worn and ragged stuffed rabbit with singed ears, a little polka dot vest, and a missing button eye. Alice let out a horrified gasp, recognizing the old toy immediately. The Russian held it out to her with a grim expression, delivering the wordless message that the wicked, black-eyed beast gave to him before fading away into the shadows with a motionless pooka trapped in its clutches.
"Bunny's been taken."
AN: Dun, dun, duuuunn! Bunny's been kidnapped! Quick! Someone send out a Pooka Alert!
And I don't care what anybody says, the Red Queen resembles Lizzie! I know there's debate between her being a young Alice, her being Lizzie, or a combination of both, but I like the idea of Lizzie better!
And since this is the season for giving, if I get fifteen or more chapters by New Years (bringing it up to 530), I'll post another chapter. I know that may seem like a lot, but I know I have more than fifteen readers out there(hopefully!), so if you want to have another chapter to read on New Years Day, just leave me a review. Simple as that. Anonymous reviews are welcomed!
IMPORTANT: As a sort of happy two-year anniversary/early Merry Christmas present, I wrote a brand new ROTG/AMR one-shot! I worked super hard on this one and I would really appreciate it if I could get some more feedback on it! Thanks!
~Scorpiofreak~