Title: Illusions & Destinies

Rating: R for the most part, M for select chapters

Author's Note: I think my brain was fried thanks to the past few weeks. But, on the positive, I'm finally FINALLY starting to get to the last pages of layout notes I did when I started this story. So close!

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Kings and Queens

With her arm wrapped around Hatter's waist, Alice couldn't be bothered to pay much attention to her surroundings as they were led back to the jail. It all seemed a blur to her anyway and it wasn't anything that she hadn't seen before. The weight on her side occupied her concentration. Hatter leaned heavily into her, his chin just brushing her neck and Alice squeezed her fingers against his hip when he stumbled hard. The guards staggered around them in loose formation said nothing but kept them moving. Alice reached up and smoothed her other hand down Hatter's cheek and wondered at how they'd come to this again.

"This feels like déjà vu," she whispered and he grunted. "Except nothing's on fire."

"Nothing yet anyway," Hatter answered and Alice leaned close as she tucked both arms around him when Hatter stumbled again. It almost felt... forced, the way he was walking and she started to worry that he really was hurt.

"Where are the others?" she whispered. Hatter shook his head, giving her an admonishing look and Alice sighed. "Sorry."

The Suits said nothing to them as they unlocked the set of doors leading to the jail. The guards within all snapped to attention and eyed them with more than a little curiosity as Alice supported Hatter as best as she could. His body slipped into her shoulder a bit harder and she shut her eyes when she felt him tremble. His head drooped miserably as the Suits turned around.

One forcibly tightened the shackles on Hatter's wrists and looked him over closely. "Wonderland, I thought you'd be a lot more threatening. The stories about you said you'd be... scary," he muttered in confusion and Alice jerked Hatter away from him at the speculative look. Hatter wasn't responsive even to her possessive hold and Alice had the sudden deep wish to be alone with him.

"Put them in the cell the Oyster was in before."

"Should we separate them?" another guard asked.

"Queen won't like us putting either one in with the old Duchess," the first speculated and Alice tightened her arm around Hatter's shoulders protectively, something that wasn't lost on any of the Suits surrounding them. "And something tells me that we're not about to separate them without a good fight. Remember, we're not to injure the Oyster. He's nothing but a pile of fried meat anyway."

"Get them in the cell. Queen's put in orders that we're to line the walls and get ready for a counter blow."

They were shoved into the same jail cell Alice had been in before, and Hatter fell to his stomach onto the blanket left over. He shuddered and his eyes closed wearily, the angle awkward for how he was lying flat on his front. Alice glared at the Suits as she was pushed in and the door slammed behind her with a booming clang. They backed away before she could do much more than kick the heavy metal bars in frustration.

Across the way, she saw Amelia leaning against the wall, her bright blue eyes fixed on them as she nervously fidgeted with her hair.

Hatter groaned and rolled over, flexing his arms to ease the pain it caused to be lying on a pair of handcuffs. His hat toppled from his head and rolled to the side but he didn't react. Alice knelt down beside him and behind her the door's extra locks were thrown over quickly. When she looked over her shoulder, the guards were hushed and pressed close together. They were speaking lowly to one another, the warnings from before keeping them from revealing too much and Alice could only hear snatches of information that meant almost nothing to her. Hatter didn't move and kept his eyes closed, his breathing evening out.

Slowly, the Suits left one by one, leaving orders for the few remaining, and another door was locked loudly. It was an ominous sound, booming through the iron metal cells and even without looking around Alice immediately felt caged and a little claustrophobic. Now that Hatter was beside her, she should have felt safer but instead she somehow knew that things could become much worse.

"Is he okay?" Amelia called out lowly.

"I don't know," Alice answered without looking around. Amelia could just glimpse Alice's dark head and it was clear that the other woman had no intention of paying attention to anyone but Hatter. Heaving a sigh, Amelia gathered her sparse skirts around herself and took a seat on the cot.

"Oh, Hatter," Alice murmured as she swept her hand through his hair. Lowering herself a little, she brushed her lips over his but had no response. It was as if all the fight and bluster had left him and she knew that the guards were thinking he was weakened. A thought she was having herself now too. Hatter appeared to have fallen unconscious and she lifted the hem of his shirt to check the spot where he'd been tasered. The black and blue bruise looked sore and she gently touched it to be sure that nothing had broken the skin.

"You can be move your hands a bit lower," Hatter said suddenly. His eyes snapped open and Alice yelped, falling back onto her buttocks. He rolled to his side and groaned as he lifted his legs up and then shifted around on his hips to pull his legs through the circle of his arms. The shackles confined him for only a moment longer as he fished a tiny pin from his pocket, one so small that it would be missed by any of the searching Suits. He bit off the end and quickly wiggled it into the clasp of the manacle, and the metal cuffs fell to the ground with a clatter. He rubbed at his wrists, checked the bruised skin, and then rolled over to his stomach.

Gaping at him, Alice could only sit and watch as he quickly pulled himself up into a crouch. After retrieving his hat, he almost seemed to bounce against the door, peering through the slat in the middle, before he looked back at her.

There was no sign of the wounded man from only moments before.

There was no hint of pain in how he moved, his eyes almost completely unclouded, and the grin he gave her was the cocky norm he usually wore. He even started shifting his shoulders around in some odd little dance. Instantly, the tension that had been swarming her insides released in a flutter and Alice pressed her hand to her mouth to stop the frustrated sound threatening to rip from her throat.

Instantly, he was contrite and by her side, smoothing back her hair and checking to be sure she wasn't hurt. "Shh," Hatter whispered. Alice pushed herself against him and felt his arms wrap tightly around her shoulders. But she was oddly still, as if her thoughts began centre themselves again around the strength she had within.

"I had thought..."

"I wasn't about to leave you here alone," his voice was kept low to keep from alerting the guards just outside. "I couldn't. Rather would lose the war than lose you."

"You're risking what we've done," she murmured against his jacket. Hatter chuckled and patted her head.

"Such little faith," he said and Alice shook her head, sniffing fiercely. The unbearable tension of the past hours, not to mention a rage of hormones still threatening to make her into a watering pot, was starting to wear on her. She sat back and shook her head again to try to clear it.

"What good is it going to do any of us if we're stuck in a jail cell?" she pointed out, gesturing around the tiny space. Hatter shifted his shoulders again and she poked at him. "Can you not fidget like you're a child?"

Hatter's eyebrows rose at her bitchy tone. "A simple thank you would suffice."

"When I know what I'm thanking you for, I'm sure I will," she said and she stood up. Her blue eyes were icy but clear. Hatter's eyes glinted appreciatively at her renewed fire and he knew he had his fighter back.

"That's my girl."

She rolled her eyes and he dusted his hands off on his knees. "Well, enough with the melodrama, wouldn't you say?"

He moved his shoulders yet again and Alice sighed. "What is going on? There was no way your mother or Pidge would let you out of their sight, and no way Abel would risk his leader for the sake of me, so how did you pull this off?"

"Pidge is self-sufficient and my mother was annoyingly supportive. And you'd be amazed at how insufficient the Queen's security is when she doesn't know what to look for."

"I don't understand."

"I didn't like this, Alice," Hatter murmured and his shoulders sagged. Like flipping a switch something changed inside of him, something that darkened his eyes with annoyance and anger. Suddenly Hatter's eyes flickered up to the left and he twitched his head. Staring at him, Alice could see nothing. Hatter's head twitched again as if someone had breathed into his ear and finally he threw his hands up into the air.

"Enough!" he snapped and he grabbed at the air and threw something imaginary away from him. Alice pushed back against the wall away from his crouch to get away from his flailing arm. The smell of wet fur and smoke was sudden and intrusive and she coughed as Hatter recoiled as well. A sneezing fit caught her and she had to bend over to relieve the sudden congestion in her nose and chest. It was almost like an allergy, she thought, though she had none.

"I don't think I smell that bad," Chesh's voice filtered down to her and she lifted her head to see the Cheshire's head floating around her. The tabby face was split in half by his grin and Alice stared in wonder.

"Chesh, you... he brought you?" she whispered.

"He was the only good choice." Hatter glared at the cat's head from where he was sitting against the wall. "Which really doesn't say much for our choice of friends, does it?"

"If you keep flirting with me, Hatter," Chesh's head rolled toward him, "I'm going to think that you secretly like me."

Hatter snorted and rolled his eyes at the Cheshire. "He volunteered, Alice."

Alice looked at the cat again and there was almost sheepish expression on his furry face. "I owed it to you. It was my fault you were kidnapped in the first place. I only followed so far before she turned me back."

"Which is neither here nor there," Hatter interrupted before Alice could ask any questions. "We don't have much time."

"I think I'm still stuck on the idea that you and Chesh worked together without killing each other. Bravo," she drawled.

"You're impressed. I was rather unimpressed by his brilliant idea myself. Still, it was better than the alternative," Chesh countered.

"Wait, so this was your master plan?" Alice demanded in a hushed voice. "You would get yourself caught, risking everything, so that you could do what?"

"So we could do what we do best. Bring things down from within. There was no way to get into this place using a full-on attack, you know, but this was the perfect solution," Hatter nodded around and swiped his hand over his mouth. "We just have to get out of here. The locks on the door might be a problem. How many guards are out there?"

"Six or eight at the most right now, if they've separated like I heard them discuss. Two on Amelia's side, two on mine for sure." Alice shook her head. "I haven't been here that long."

Hatter made a face. "So we go with the old classic, sick prisoner routine, and filch the keys. I can play madness I guess…"

He was starting to ramble but before Alice could respond, Chesh gave an irritated growl. "For Wonderland's sake."

He disappeared in the next instant in a flicker of smoke and they both looked around.

"Something I said?" Hatter asked innocently but his grin belied that. He looked as if he knew exactly what irritating Chesh would do. Alice looked at him suspiciously until there was a loud bang and then the meaty sound of flesh hitting flesh. Someone gasped and another cried out but was silenced just as quickly. After a few more loud bangs and cries, there was nothing but silence until their cell door rolled back open with a whir of locks and weights.

A rumpled looking Chesh, back in his human form, gave them both a once-over as he leaned against the door frame. He studied his bloodied hands curiously.

"What is my tally for saving lives again?" he asked as Hatter and Alice moved to the door. Hatter gave him a pat-slap on the cheek and grinned at the Cheshire's obvious pain at the gesture.

"Still ain't high enough. Work on it, Cat." He looked out the hall where the guards were lying in unconscious heaps. At least, Hatter thought they were just unconscious. "Could have been a bit neater, mind you."

"Everyone's a critic," Chesh growled and he dusted off his sleeves. "My only good shirt and it's bloodstained already."

Alice shook her head and quickly went to Amelia's cell. The lock was a complex combination and weight system and she looked over it. Inside the cell, Amelia picked herself up from her cot and quickly came to the door.

"What are you doing?" she hissed. Alice smiled.

"We're getting you out," she answered as the two men began to quibble about how to open the door. Amelia put her hand over Alice's through the cell bars.

"This place is crawling with mercenaries and Suits, Alice, even if you get me out, we don't have much chance." Amelia sounded so forlorn that Alice gave her hand a hard squeeze.

"None of that. I'm sure Hatter has a plan," she leaned over. "Right, Hatter?"

He was struggling to force the one lock upward but he heard her. "A plan? Oh, yeah. Right. A brilliant one."

Alice turned a smile back to Amelia as if to say 'See?'

The former Queen gave her a look that didn't have that much confidence.

Chesh muttered something when Hatter slammed his right fist into one of the control panels to try to force it open. "Really, brute force? That is so refined," he mocked and Hatter eyed him and swung the panel door open. Flipping the green switch, he smiled at the Cheshire as the door clanged open and the two women stared at the opening in wonder. Amelia and Alice stared at one another and for a moment forgot all their past awkwardness as they hugged in an almost frantically happy way.

"You were saying?" Hatter asked and Chesh sniffed importantly, looking away.

"Still could have been done with more eloquence."

"Eloquence gets people killed," Hatter countered and he leaned against the door, " 'Ello, Amelia."

He jerked up right when she grabbed him into a hug that was as tight as the one she'd given Alice.

"I'd heard so many stories but never thought I'd be so happy to see you alive, Hatter."

Hatter made an oof sound as she squeezed too tight on his still sore ribs. He patted her shoulder awkwardly. "Good to see you too. You didn't mind having to wait this long?"

"You are cutting it close," Amelia admitted as she pulled back. "Few more hours and my head would be off."

"Be a shame that. Jack was attached to it, as I remember," Hatter said with a wink and she smiled. Chesh's head turned slightly to keep an eye out for trouble while Hatter and Alice learned from Amelia that somewhere in the building was her son. His attention wasn't on this blonde woman who'd technically been his 'mistress' for almost a year; he couldn't care less about some little Heart whelp. Another Heart in the world was just another problem for his self-preservation.

But what he was hearing had his attention.

Chesh's eyes roamed over the smooth ceiling in thought as the footsteps he could hear started to become louder and louder. There was not much place to hide for the others but he could move quickly and hide easier than they could. Flexing his fingers at his side, he rolled his eyes over to Alice and Hatter. Amelia was trying to explain to them the various levels where she thought the boy might be kept and Chesh cleared his throat.

Alice caught the look he gave them first. "What is it?"

"Sounds like movement. Can't be sure how many." He yanked the door closed again, just far enough to keep from tripping the lock system again, and waved his hand. Instantly, his form started to evaporate down to his cat shape and they stared at the re-formed tabby. Chesh pounced over to the wall just beside the door and huddled into a tiny feline ball that would be missed by any quick looks.

Hatter glared at him and then waved his hand to warn Alice as the doors hissed open that led to the jail cells. They all crouched down against the wall closest to the door and Alice moved in front of Amelia, her fists clenched for a fight. Chesh simply folded his legs under himself like a sphinx and watched them.

Someone paused outside the cell door, and there was a soft intake of breath when they realized that the other cell was swung open. Then Amelia's door clanked open again and a guard walked in, his head bowed to let himself get through the lower overhang. Hatter balanced on the balls of his feet and quickly launched himself at the guard, his fist connecting with his stomach. The guard staggered and then countered with a blow towards Hatter's head. Alice and Amelia both jerked out of the way when they went toppling into the cell, kept close to hidden by the dim light. The guard was fighting harder than the other Suits might have and Hatter's lip split under the force of one of his blows.

Muttering about being too slow, Hatter let his right hand crack hard in a slap against the man's face, cracking the executioner's mask he wore, and it sent him sprawling to his knees. Hatter yanked the guard close by his collar and Chesh suddenly transformed back to his original shape behind the guard, anchoring his arm around the guard's neck. There was a flash of silver as he pulled out a small knife.

"Hatter, Chesh! Stop!" Amelia's voice was low compared to their noisy scuffle but the command in her voice was unmistakable. Both men stopped and looked at her, seeing an almost frantic desperation in her eyes and Hatter looked back at the guard. Chesh met his eyes over the man's shoulder and gave him a look that warned him not to show weakness.

"Please," Amelia begged, her eyes on Hatter's face while she took a step closer to them. Alice looked between them all, her brow furrowed as she looked at the guard still gasping in the men's grip. He wasn't fighting anymore and actually seemed to be willing to surrender.

"Hatter," she said and she gave a signal with her hand. Hatter sighed and looked at Chesh again.

"Drop it, Chesh," he ordered and together they both let the man go. Chesh gave a disgusted grunt and twirled the knife in his hand as he watched the Executioner.

He stumbled back against the wall, outnumbered and yet there was a way he leaned against the wall that reminded Hatter of a wounded animal still ready to fight. It was a familiar pose to Hatter and he backed off further, waving his hand at Chesh.

The Cheshire sighed. "I had hoped for one good fight today where I get to kill someone," he grumbled as he sheathed the knife.

"Give it a few hours," Hatter answered and he looked at Amelia. "What's this about then?"

She looked at him with clear, unblinking eyes that unsettled him a little. "Because he's been protecting me all this time," she said and then looked back at the Executioner. He had slid to his buttocks and his head was lowered. Whether it was from defeat or pain, none of them could tell. Amelia took a single step closer. "Stand."

He did it slowly, using the wall as a poor brace to force himself up, but his head didn't lift.

"He's also been hiding something from me all this time, and if I hadn't been so wrapped up in keeping my head, I would have seen it long before," Amelia finished, her eyes hard and cold.

The Executioner sighed. "How long have you known for?"

"I entertained a few fantasies," she admitted, "but it wasn't till you let me kiss you that I really knew."

"I did it for you," he lifted his hand to his face and slowly undid the clasp that held his mask on so tightly, "it was safer this way. For all of us, until I was ready."

He lifted his head free of the mask and let it clatter to the floor at his feet. The ceramic and material shattered on the second bounce but no one looked at the mess it created. No one dared to breathe for a moment. Not when the dead King of Wonderland was staring at them all with an apologetic smile. Hatter raised his hand and opened his mouth to speak and then shut it again. He gave a shrug when Alice looked at him, her own shock obvious, and he pushed his hat up a bit with a finger.

"I kinda had a wager on this with someone," he said. He tapped his temple meaningfully and Alice pursed her lips. The only person who didn't seem to care was Chesh, but he rarely cared about much beyond his own survival. She turned her attention to the tall man still standing before them.

She wasn't sure what to do or think. A part of her wanted to hug her friend and another part, a bit more cynical, wanted to give him a good slap. Unable to come to a decision, she simply put her hands on her hips and stared at him.

Jack had changed and it wasn't just a physical change from what Alice could see. In some ways, he was familiar but the past months hadn't been kind. He was gaunt, even more than Hatter was now, and his hair was dyed dark, the way it'd been when she had first met him, but now there were tiny streaks of grey interwoven within the dark brown. Lines were now etched at the corner of his eyes and mouth from stress and deep purple circles made his blue eyes even darker.

His face though had suffered a blow to its regal handsomeness. Scars had been burned on the left side of his face from the corner of his eye down his jaw and just touching both his nose and collarbone. With the shadows of the mask, it would have been hidden from plain sight. He'd wince now and then from the pain it clearly still caused him and even with her shock and delight at seeing him alive, Alice felt a strange pity. He caught the look and stared at her.

When she looked in his eyes and saw how... hardened he appeared, she wondered if that goodness within her friend had suffered with the outside. It reminded her, in a lesser way, of Hatter during his recovery; there was a just less desperate air around Jack. He seemed more resigned to what was happening and Alice didn't like that compared to how he used to be so commanding. But he'd protected Amelia and obviously had had a plan, so maybe the man who'd been just and fair wasn't gone. Just badly bruised. Alice almost felt like praying for that and her eyes darted to Amelia.

Amelia stared at her lost husband with an odd expression. He met her eyes and their gazes locked.

Taking another step forward, she reached out and slapped him hard on his unburned cheek. It made his head ricochet to the side.

"You bastard!" she whispered, hurt and grief making her voice tremble. "You utter bastard for doing this to me and William. For letting Wonderland go through this."

Jack shut his eyes and turned his head back to her. A flaming red hand-print almost matched the pale red scar tissue on his other cheek but he didn't seem to have felt it. She slapped him again before Alice could grab her arm to stop her, and then her hand dropped to her side and she took a shaky breath.

"I mourned you," Amelia finished. "Every minute I mourned you and you were here the entire time."

"I was trying to protect you, 'lia. You and our son," Jack answered and he reached out towards her. The way he used his pet name for her seemed to strike a chord and he nearly touched her before she recovered. She recoiled a few steps, her normally clear eyes clouded by indecision. Jack let his hands fall to his side. "It was one of the only ways."

"You could have told me," she whispered. She almost seemed to withdraw deeper into herself and without looking at him, she went to sit on her low cot. Jack sighed and looked at Hatter and Alice.

"Hi."

Some sort of feminine sympathy with Amelia had Alice crossing her arms over her chest and trying hard to look fierce. Hatter though extended his hand. "Jackie-boy, I hate to say it but you've looked better," he greeted and Jack took his hand, wincing when Hatter squeezed it harder than he should have. It was an unspoken punishment for what he'd done and Jack removed his hand gingerly, shaking it. He received the message loud and clear, and he nodded his head.

"So have you," he said, giving Hatter a pointed look at his own war-battered figure.

"Just trying to give me-self some flair," Hatter retorted with a wink. "Makes me look dashing, you know."

"Still flirting," Chesh muttered and he leaned close to Alice. "Really. Alice, you should worry about him. He might be deceiving you in more ways than you know."

She glared at him over her shoulder and he grinned at her.

"Travelling with the Cheshire now. Gods, Wonderland has become strange indeed." Jack looked at Alice and saw the questions and anger brewing. "You can yell at me later but right now, I need to get you all out of here."

"Damn right I'm going to yell at you later." She threw her hands up in the air. "What is with you men?"

"I can get us to a safe room. It's one of the abandoned wings, an old interrogation room. But we need to go now," Jack said and he looked at Amelia. She was sitting staring at her hands in her lap, her head bowed. There was a stubborn set in her shoulders and Jack moved between Hatter and Alice to go to her. She didn't lift her chin and he knelt down in front of her.

Hesitantly, he reached out and put his hand on her folded ones. "Amelia. Look at me."

She turned her head a little to the side but refused to look up.

Behind Jack, Chesh muttered in Hatter's ear that they didn't have time for this. Hatter didn't turn around and simply elbowed the Cheshire hard enough in the ribs that the thin man started coughing.

Jack didn't look away from his wife's face and she missed the almost hungry expression he wore as he took her in without the impediment of the mask.

"I've only done what I had to and I have tried to protect you as best as I can. I can't ask for your forgiveness for not coming to you sooner, Amelia, but for our son's sake, I need you with me." Jack touched her cheek and her head lifted a bit. "I need you, Amelia."

She sniffed and bit into her lower lip as she stared into his eyes.

Watching them, Alice saw just how much that they still loved each other in just that look and she looked at Hatter. His attention wasn't on the Royal Couple but on the wall instead and she smiled at his attempt at discretion. Hatter caught the look and rolled his eyes at her.

Jack's attention was riveted on his wife. "Please, 'Lia. You can slap me all you like when we're done this but I won't leave you here."

Amelia took a deep breath and cleared her throat. With a suddenness that made the others jump, she launched herself into his arms. Jack rocked back on his heels and her mouth met his as he surged upward against her embrace. Tangling her fingers in his hair, Amelia squeezed herself tightly against his body and trembled as his lips parted hers. It was a rough, bruising kiss that told her that he'd longed for her as deeply as she had grieved his loss. The rough edge of scars on the left side of his mouth felt wonderfully real and when his hands brushed over her face, she broke the kiss and hugged him tightly.

"I missed you," she whispered against his neck and Jack stroked her hair, shutting his eyes.

"I never left you," he answered and when she pulled back, he smiled at her. "Your own personal ghost."

She smiled back and the almost automatic transformation it gave her once wane face was a sight Jack took a moment to absorb.

Chesh discreetly cleared his throat. "I hate to interrupt this love-in, but we need to get out of here before the guards finally clue in that something has happened."

The room Jack led them to, using a series of back passages and hidden doors, was long abandoned and from the long wooden rack in the middle of the room, its use in interrogation had been years ago. The floors were scrubbed clean but there was an odd feeling of death in the room that made Alice uncomfortable. She gave the torture rack wide berth and leaned against a clean wall instead. In contradiction to Alice's distasteful look, Hatter hopped up onto the flat rack and sat, looking expectantly at Jack as the other man checked the doorways.

"Well, I don't know about you all but I think I'd like a good story. Usually it's me that has some explaining to do, but Jack is up for it this time. It's kind of a novel thing for me, someone else on the hot seat and all," he said. Jack turned and walked back to the side table that still held some rusted torture instruments.

"I'm the only one that finds it morbid that we're in here?" Alice muttered to Amelia as they stood at the wall. The blonde smirked at her.

"I find it ironic, actually." Her attention went back to her husband. He was clearly not happy about telling them what happened and she expected him to only give them the barest facts.

"The explosion that destroyed the ferry killed all of my men and left only Toby Mouse & I alive. Though I took the brunt of the injury." Jack gestured to his scarred face and winced when he accidently brushed one of the raised ridges. "If it wasn't for Toby, I'd have been dead and for a month, I wished I was. They were able to find a doctor willing to treat me though his methods were a bit... primitive. Toby and his family kept me hidden when I was bedridden. By the time I'd regained enough strength to come back, it was clear that things were spiralling out of control."

Alice shifted on her feet. "You still had supporters though."

"And my son was taken. I did what I thought was right at the time, buying some time so I could find who took my son without them killing him in a panic. Of course, by the time I found out who was responsible, my mother's plan was in play and my wife was in danger now." Jack looked at Hatter. "And you know as well as I do that when your enemies have too many trumps at their disposal that sometimes you have to try something different."

"Not sure my plan would have been getting employed as an Executioner, but not bad," Hatter admitted.

"That was not easy. Luckily, Toby knew a forger who gave me a new identity. Enough to clear me and have the Suits not bat an eye at my insistence to become an Executioner."

Hatter chewed that over. "But some of the things that have happened here. The way the Suits were disorganized, the way the Trial was prolonged. You had something to do with that. You knew that the Drawling Master was making a play, didn't you?"

"When the Stone of Wonderland was taken, yes. That simply confirmed it. It wasn't hard for me to figure out, especially when out of nowhere my wife was suddenly given a lawyer who was very good at stalling things and who also mapped the interior of this palace, I'm sure. I caught him how many times and it was hard to find all the excuses I could to make sure he was kept from being discovered."

Chesh ran his hands over the walls, calculating in his head the distance from here to the ballroom and only half-paying attention to what was being said. He didn't care for anyone's life story when right now all he could see was the potential for a very very big trap.

Hatter, glancing at Chesh, noticed his pacing and clicked his tongue. He wanted to distract Alice from it and he leaned over to her. "It's quite ingenious really. Being an Executioner, he could keep an eye on everything, plan, and protect Amelia from any harm by overzealous Suits."

"Yes, well, as always, Hatter, your kudos are so appreciated. Weren't you supposed to be mad and dead? In either order?" the King asked.

"I have this pesky habit of recovering," Hatter answered. He nodded at Alice. "I had reason to."

"Well, I'm glad to see somethings never change." Jack looked at Alice. "When are you due?"

She blinked. With her heavier clothing, she should have been well covered.

"It would take a blind man or Hatter not to notice it right away. I'd congratulate you with all sort of affection but a child during War is bound to be tricky."

Something in his cynical tone made Alice and Hatter look at each other. It was, Alice knew, the very thing she'd noticed about Jack from the beginning. He'd always been cold but now he almost seemed chipped from ice. Hatter saw it as well and shook his head to warn her to keep quiet this time. Alice looked back at Jack and chewed on her lower lip in thought.

Jack went over to Amelia and she stared up at him. "We'll have to talk when this is over."

"They have our son," she murmured and he nodded.

"I know. We'll get him out." Jack touched her shoulder and then looked at Hatter. "I can sneak you through one of the passages. If your little army is still waiting, you can plan another route."

"It's not a bad idea," Alice said.

"We can't leave," Hatter interjected, giving his lover a scolding look that made her almost stick her tongue back out at him. "I have to end this."

"Suicide missions don't suit you, Hatter," Jack said with a shake of his head. "This place is crawling with more enemies than you know, especially since Dodo paired up with my mother."

"Speaking of which," Chesh turned, "how exactly did that happen?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, considering how much they despised each other for decades. Something's not right and I doubt they know if they can actually trust each other." Jack shook his head and looked at Hatter. "Why can't you leave?"

"Alice's mother's been taken. And they have some conduit formula. Something's going to happen and I didn't spend two hours memorizing Pardenlace's blueprints just for fun."

"You think they're doing it here?" Jack asked, frowning and gesturing around. "I know this place in and out, and there's been nothing on the upper levels where everyone lives. The rest is underwater and condemned."

"If Dodo has a hand in this, I doubt it is that simple."

"Just what exactly are you hoping to accomplish with wandering around the Palace?" Jack asked.

Alice shook her head. "I need to find my mom. She's been through enough here and I know that they aren't going to just be content with experimenting."

"She's not in the Palace, Alice."

"It's not just her mother. I can't leave without fulfilling my promise." Hatter pushed his hat back a bit and he caught Chesh's eye. The cat-eyed gaze was a bit too knowing and he looked away. Alice watched them and then looked at Jack and for a second, there was a bright gleam to his eye.

Jack sighed. "Just like old times. Might as well bring down the House of Cards while we're here, hmm?"

Dodo stood at the railing of the Great Library's lowest level. He dangled the necklace from one hand, letting the chain run through his fingers, and watched the light of the lanterns dance over the charms. He'd run the ring through the necklace chain as well to keep it safe and when it joined the others it only made the other charms gleam even brighter. Impossibly bright; it was as if all of the charms were a matched set.

"So just what was it that the Hatters were hiding?" Dodo murmured, and he rolled the charms back around in his palm. A brass key, a broken tiny pocket-watch and an old empty locket, now joined by the ring; none if it seemed to make much sense to him. But he supposed that he didn't need to know what they represented and it seemed pointless to waste time guessing. They'd figured out the odd scripture of a formula book and the bits of information to get the right amount of ice and fire, and then Hatter's typically scattered instructions had furthered their study. Selena's haphazard note from Hatter's torture was the anchor for the conduit formula, Dodo was sure of it.

"Thrice charms of an Oyster past, the Stone of Souls long dead, and a sacrifice of utter freedom. Combined in quicksilver and burnt in lightening."

Dodo read the note again and looked at the charms. "So these should be the charms. The ring is the Stone of course. Then we come to the sacrifice of utter freedom." Dodo turned slowly and looked at the woman seated and chained to a table. "I do believe that that is where you come in, my good woman."

Carol looked at him from her weary eyes and didn't answer.

Dodo looked back down at the massive vats that had been constructed out of the old ones that had stood in the South. Transporting them had been difficult but worth it. Now they gleamed with new life.

And blood. The sides still ran with it, and a copper stench that was not from metal filled the air.

He'd been through 50 Wonderlanders of various ages and races before it slowly sunk in that it was the wrong type of person. It was his own good fortune that the Sparrow had delivered and that the Oyster had come so easily. It almost made his remarkably bad luck about Hatter's apparent resurrection a little easier to bear.

"It won't matter," he muttered to himself. "Despite what she thinks. This will end how I want it to end."

He yanked the necklace back up and put it around his neck.

What he missed was a slender woman walking around the catwalk just behind him and when he turned to walk down to give orders to the scientists, he moved right through her. It gave him a moment's pause as a cold shiver went through him and then he dismissed it just as quickly.

She watched him move and smiled coldly. "You have no idea," she whispered and she heard a soft gasp. Turning her black and white face she saw that Carol was staring at her from her seat. Unda smiled viciously. "So, you've finally started to wake up, Oyster. It's about time. Your daughter is going to need you."

She flickered out, leaving a stunned Carol wondering if she'd gone insane at the sight of such a strange ghost