D.- For the lovely CelticBriarRose, who is anxious for Hatter to get to Alice. We're well on our way here, only 3 more chapters to go before the sequel, which I regret to say has me stuck on chapter two, when Robert Arrives. That man is screwing up my vibeā¦.Anyway, I hope to find some inspiration for it really soon and that I will be getting some serious writing done. In the meantime, let's watch Hatter get one big step closer to his Alice.
Hatter is escorted back towards the Looking Glass and when Robert sees him and notices the missing briefcase, he casts a worried glance around for the Minister of Clubs. Hatter waves him to silence as he listens to the operative explain how the mirror works. Hatter interrupts gently.
"I know you've been told to brief me, but here's the thing. I'm going to the other side to stay with an oyster, as in permanently. She'll know more than I could ever need to, so I only need the brief overview. How do I get from where I land to where she lives? Where do I get the papers the prince told me to pick up? When will I get there?" Hatter looks up into the agent's considerably less bored face. "You know, the important stuff." The agent shrugs and motions for him to follow but Robert calls out, halting their progress.
"Wait! You're going over after Alice? Are you sure you want to give this world up?" Hatter smiles, tips his hat forward a bit and grins.
"Oh yeah, I'm sure. Your daughter is absolutely worth it." He claps Robert on the arm. "The king says if you're ready, you can travel with me." Robert looks frightened and casts a glance at the people around him.
"I could go, I really want to go, see my Carol again, but what if she's changed, or moved on?" He takes a deep breath. "Besides, I should stay and assist in cleaning up the mess I made. I will follow along when this is cleared up." Hatter accepts his promise and makes one of his own.
"I'll look after them for you, until you get back. I suspect I'll have my hands full with Alice alone, so don't take too long, for the sake of my sanity." Robert laughs, a full, booming laugh. Hatter nods his head in a 'goodbye for now' gesture and follows the agent down the stairs two levels to the training area. There he is given the basic presentation. There world uses things called "Dollars" instead of trade. He is shown American currency, a quick explanation of each piece, from the penny to the hundred dollar bill. He is shown pictures of transportation, from subways to airplanes. He is also shown pictures of emergency services personnel and their vehicles. He sees pictures of all of these elements combined, depicting life in Alice's world. The colors blur a little and seem to have been moving very fast. Hatter watches the pictures until the slides ended. The man bids him stand and escorts him to the forgers. There they ask him for a name that he will be comfortable answering to. He tries Hatter but they explain that he needs at least two names and that Hatter means something different in the other world. At a loss, Hatter looks to the agent that had been helping him. The man tilts his head and blurts out:
"David Sparrow." The forgers nod and imput this name into the ID, laminating it. They explain all the documents and pictures. The purpose of the documents is completely lost on him, but they make sure to impress that his 'wallet' and his 'ID' are very important. He is to keep them in his possession at all time, because people there need them for a lot of things. They also include, inside the wallet, an 'address' to the Prince's apartment, as well as the Lady Alice's address. Tucking the 'wallet' into his pants pocket he feels his hat lift off of his head.
"Oi! What the-" The agent puts the hat on the table.
"People don't wear hats like that in the oyster world. We do have a small collection of hats here if you are set on having a hat with you. They are all top of the line and in style in their world." Hatter looks at his trusted porkpie and he reaches for the velvet coat. The man stops him again. "If you like, we can leave the coat with the Duchess. She'll be sure to take care of it until you return." Hatter looks up at him in shock.
"People don't wear coats either there?" The man picks up the jacket and Hatter grabs it from his hands. "This belongs to the oyster, I mean to return it." The man looks at him oddly, but lets him take the jacket with him to pick out a new hat. The man leads the way and Hatter scoops his hat up and tucks it into the sleeve of her coat while he has his back turned. Hatter looks over the hats and pulls up a black fedora. It is too sombre for him to really like it, but it is the least terrible among their hats. Setting it on his head, holding the package of papers and the coat to his breast, he breathes out a small. "I'm ready." The man nods and escorts him back up to the Hall. He is told to sit and wait his turn, that once the last oyster has been sent home, he will be next.
Hatter looks around the Hall, counting the number of oysters. Seeing only three more, he takes a deep breath. He fidgets and twists the coat in his hand. He looks around and spots someone in shining white armor walk into the room.
"Charlie?" He calls out and watches as the man makes his way over to him.
"Harbinger? What are you doing here?" Hatter smiles and takes the ridiculous hat off, setting in in his already full lap.
"I'm going to go to Alice, Charlie. I've been cleared to go, given some of the paper they use for buying things and I'm going to step through the Looking Glass when all the oysters are gone." Charlie smiles.
"The Lady Alice will be most pleased. I wish you the very best and hope you will deign to visit as often as you can." Hatter claps a hand on his shoulder, thinking it may be impossible to visit if Jack shuts down the Looking Glass. He thinks of a more suitable topic.
"What are you going to do now that the great rising of the knights is over?" Charlie beams with pride.
"I am going to head an agency that will begin training young knights. The Prince himself has asked me personally to oversee their training." Hatter looks suitably impressed and an idea comes to him. He pulls out his keys and the piece of folded paper that had Alice's dress on it. He scribbles down the 5 digit code to his apartment, explains the idea of Charlie taking over the tea shop and converting it to a training facility. He would have a proper shelter and the building would not sit empty in his wake. He also writes down the name and address of his partner Dormie, so that the prince can find him and buy him out of his half of the building. He marks the key to his office with a star and hands him the bundle as Robert calls his name. It is finally Hatter's turn to cross the mirror. His nerves tingle and his belly is doing flippy things, just like Alice did to Dodo. He hugs Charlie quickly before stepping back completely.
"Wish me luck Charlie." With that, Hatter puts on his new hat, folds Alice's coat over his arm, and then steps up to the mirror. He double checks that he has his 'wallet', the keys to Jack's flat, his dollars and the coat. He feels for the two boxes and his hat inside the purple coat and grips his package of papers. When he steps forward, Robert smiles at him, making a goodbye gesture and the technician asks him to step up to the mirror. He barely hears the command to "Breathe." when he is pushed in. He feels like he is falling as the bright colors flow by him. He clutches the items to his breast as he falls, breathing in a small amount of air, perfumed by the purple coat. He closes his eyes as he smells his Alice and then he hits ground.
