The news of the alliance quickly spread throughout the Imagineer force, despite their isolated hiding places. One factor, Hatter and March, who possessed an almost uncanny ability of rooting them out, distributed the word with the seen but not written message that the enemy's most fearsome generals were switching sides. The other, the Hare and Rabbit families, some of the best runners and messengers in the family, who could deliver a message with 90 certainty, layered on the fact that they needed to prepare quickly.

The force tripled from the thousand five hundred to four thousand, volunteers encouraged by the news.

Meanwhile, Jabberwocky called in his regiments posted throughout Wonderland, preparing for Bandersnatch's promised assault. He conducted inspections every day. He had no less than a thousand soldiers.

As soon as the Bandersnatch made his way back to the Shadowland capitol, he mustered the promised army of five thousand in little less than a day. As a military nation, many more volunteered, but Bander kept his word.

Only five thousand Shadowlanders joined the campaign.

Chesapeake and Lyona waited by the border wall with their small detachment of soldiers. The Bandersnatch said to give him a week, and a week passed.

Now, they waited.

Chesapeake shivered as a low moaning wind picked up around them, "You think he'll come?"

Pulling her dark cloak around herself, Lyona murmured, "I hope so, because I have no idea how to lay a siege."

"We could-"

A dull roar echoed out of the Shadowlands, and the Wonderlanders fell silent.

Lyona muttered, "I don't think we have to worry about him not coming."

Prancing over the hill, the Bandersnatch appeared rather terrifying in his polished black armor and bright red plumed helmet. In his hand he held a long glaive, brought expertly up in a salute. He trotted forward, his war horse snorting in trepidation.

The, the first lines of the Shadowlander army appeared, a long line of silhouettes ranging across the crest of the hill. They stopped for a moment, before advancing. The first line moved forward, revealing the second line behind it, and then the third line behind that one. The Shadowland soldiers marched in perfect unison, spears over their shoulders in exact imitation of one another. Their armor flashed in the dull sun's light.

As Bander jumped his horse over the wall, Lyona and Chesapeake gawked as more lines of expertly trained troops came forward. Noticing the governor's awed stares, he smiled, "Five thousand soldiers in a hundred lines. Behind them are the siege weapons."

The first line reached the wall and, pausing for a moment, hefted their spears up and brought the butts of the poles down into the base of the wall. The already crumbling wall tumbled, leaving the path free. The line resumed their marching, the first fifty crossed into Wonderland.

Frightened, the Imagineer's horses backed away, steely-eyed and stiff.

Bander watched until the fifteenth line had passed through before turning to the governors with a small smirk on his face, "Your troops are ready?"

"We can have them ready by tomorrow." chorused the governors.

Smirking, Bander nodded, "Good."

The next day, the capitol lay surrounded. Jabberwocky stared glumly out at the distant black corps of the Shadowland army, intermingling with the white of the Imagineer's rebel force. Sighing, he turned away and glanced up and down the wall's walkway, gazing at the black cards who shivered at attention.

They knew the number they faced outnumbered theirs immensely.

"Sir! A rider!"

Jabberwock switched his grotesque yellow eyes to the main road, where a Shadowlander bearing the colors, a black-bordered red rectangle with an embroidered 'x' between two stars, came trotting down the street. On either side, fearful Wonderlanders peered out of their windows fearfully at this dark rider.

Reaching the gate, the Shadowlander unrolled a parchment and began reading in husky Wonderlandish: "The terms of surrender to the King Jabberwock from the Prince Bandersnatch and the allied Imagineer generals: One, Jabberwock must return to the Shadowlands and accept his crown." He coughed, rolled it up, and waited for an answer.

Jabberwock peered over and snarled, "No!"

Frowning, the messenger turned his horse around and raced back for his army's camp.

"What do you mean 'evacuate' the townspeople'?" Bander's eyes glittered dangerously, "A siege's a siege. You don't evacuate a town for a siege!"

Chesapeake and Lyona pleaded, "We'll have our men do it! Just give us a few hours to do it!"

"Fine! Do what you will!" retorted Bander hotly. Turning, he grabbed Hatter and pulled him away before growling, "Where is your rabbit friend? I need some amusement. His ears are fun to look at."

"He's not a rabbit." mumbled Hatter. At Bander's stony glare, he sighed and cupped his hands around his mouth, "MARCH!"
"Yes…?" came a sullen voice from behind them.

Hatter and Bander whirled around to see March standing in dark black armor, the armor that Bander had so graciously provided for his son and his son's friend. The helmet was stuffed over his ears, making him more unnoticeable, and Shadowlanders milled around him, cheering at this odd general.

March hurried forward, agitated, "Hatter, make them stop! They won't stop touching me!"

Bander snapped harshly at the Shadowlanders, who instantly fled back to their posts. Immediately, he spun, grabbed March's helmet, and yanked it off. As soon as he saw the ears, he prodded them with a smile playing out across his face, "We don't have animal-people in the Shadowlands, I must confess. You are very amusing to watch. I've been really wanting to know what these feel like… They're soft."

March slumped, sullen, "I've been touched and goaded by those blasted soldiers all day. Been offered carrots and apples and who-knows-what! I'm not a pet."

Bander continued watching March's ears like a parakeet enthralled with its own reflection, "But you're so odd! I need to bring some of you back for the menagerie!"

"…Thank you for telling me that! I'm going to end up in a cage being gawked at, aren't I?" muttered March sourly.

Hatter tugged at Bander's sleeve, "Papa, you have to go start the war, remember?"

"Oh, yes…" Bandersnatch stepped away from March hastily and brushed himself off, "Yes, the war. They'll have assembled the graaffs by now."

"Graaffs?"

A sly smile snuck slowly onto his father's face, "The pride of the siege, you'll see."

For the next three hours, Chesapeake and Lyona led the evacuation process, and they finally finished with close to a thousand refugees. Now, they watched curiously as the Shadowlanders assembled great wooden beams, ropes, and cogs together, trying to ignore the curious others trying to touch their fur.

Flinching as a Shadowlander ran his fingers through her mane, Chesapeake gritted, "So, Bander, what are those?"

Bander pulled a rope tight, locked a beam into place, and kicked a gear loose. Surveying the cumbersome contraption, he grinned, "You'll see…" He turned to Hatter and smiled, "Come here."
Hatter licked his lips and approached, fingering his top hat quietly, "Yes?"

"This is a graaff, our best siege weapon."

"It looks like a pile of wood."

Frowning, Bander directed an order to his soldiers, "Bring the shot."
The troops nodded, saluted, and turned away.

As they waited, Lyona pulled her golden tail out of a Shadowlander's grasp and "So… what does it do?"

Bander's smile scared the Wonderlanders, especially March, who sat with his ears hidden beneath his helmet. Glaring at the Shadowlander general, he growled, "Something horrible, huh?"

"Oh, no, no, no!" reassured the Bandersnatch, "With these, we can fight from a long ways off, even farther than arrows. And- Ah! Here they are!"

The Shadowlanders were back, lugging a heavy square of rock between them, shifting it up to a large curved bowl connected to a straining beam restrained by a series of pulleys and ropes.

"What's that for? You think you really can lob a bliddy huge rock like that that far?" scoffed March.

Ignoring March, Bander motioned to one of his soldiers, who handed him a telescope. He slid it open and brought it up to his eye. His voice serious, he muttered darkly in Shadowlander, "Imagine, take the lever."

Hatter glanced up, startled, as one of the soldiers motioned to the lever, "Me?"

"Yes."

Hesitant, Hatter put on his hat and took the lever.

Bander peered through his spyglass and smiled grimly, "All the others are ready. At my mark, pull the lever." He leveled a hand up, standing motionless as he surveyed the fortress, "Five degrees."

The graaff groaned as Shadowlanders tightened the ropes.

Silence for a moment, and then Bander dropped his arm.

Hatter yanked the lever back.

With a loud –WHOOMPH!-, the graaff's center beam snapped up, hurling the rock high and far. The Wonderlanders gawked as the Shadowlanders cheered, all except for Bander, who sighted the rock as it smashed down into a house, "We need another three degrees."

Howling with joy, the Shadowlanders pulled the beam down in newly invigorated energy, excitedly chattering as they secured the ropes. Four scrambled up with another boulder to hurl.

The bombardment continued till half-evening, when the Shadowlander army relented to have a break for supper. Pitching dark red tents, they retreated to their rations. In the commander's tent, a great crimson long tent emblazoned with the 'x' and stars of the Shadowlands, the Bandersnatch raised his cup cheerfully, "To a successful first day."

Hatter, March, Chesapeake, and Lyona muttered, "To a successful first day."

"Cheers!"

Everyone took a sip of their red wine, the Bandersnatch the only one to drain him in a long gulp. Setting his glass down, Hatter glared sullenly at the plates of salad and fruit set in the middle of the table. Bander noticed and chuckled, "Still not hungry, Imagine?"

"I don't like vegetables and fruits…"

Pausing, Bander glanced him over before biting his lip, "You're addicted to blood. You'll have to stay off the meat for a while. Start with an apple."

"I'd rather eat nothing…"

"No, you have to eat something. And you others? What are you waiting for? Eat!"

March pulled a plate towards himself, delighted at the prospect of salad. Lyona and Chesapeake took theirs politely with a 'Thank you'. Grabbing an apple from one of the remaining plates, Bander shined it with the edge of his sleeve and tossed it to Hatter, "Here you are."

Hatter caught it and set it on the table, "No, thank you."

Bander's face grew angry. He turned to look at Sal behind him, "Sal? Do you want something?" At the bodyguard's nod, Bander tossed him an apple, which the boy bit happily into, and turned back to Hatter, "I want you to eat it."
Nodding in agreement, March said around his mouthful, "Listen to him, Hats. I don't want you to have an insanity attack."

"He's going to have one soon, rabbit, if you haven't noticed."

Everybody froze, except for Hatter, who muttered glumly, "How do you know that, Papa?"

"The twitch. You've been flinching since this morning. There's your eye too. I've noticed it changing for no reason, and you didn't notice apparently. And the hunger I know you have; enough to make anyone irritable."
"I can hold it…"

"No, you can't." Standing slowly, the Bandersnatch fingered his fork, "You need to get rid of it."

"Get rid of-"

With a quick motion, Bander stabbed Hatter in the shoulder with the three prongs of the fork.

Snapping, Hatter lunged at him, shadowlander eye black as his mind rent into madness. Bander grabbed him and grappled as his insane son tried to overpower him. As Sal stepped forward with his sword, he growled, "Sal! Stay out of this!"

Hatter lurched forward, and both disappeared outside with wild yowls of anger.

Leaping up, everybody rushed out to follow them.

Shadowlanders emerged for their tents, sword drawn, as Imagineers stared in horrified confusion as the Mad Hatter and the Bandersnatch traded blows.

"Do not interfere!" yelled Bander as he threw Hatter into a tent, "This is my battle!"
Hatter staggered up, snarling, both eyes burning furiously. Charging forward, he struck his father head-along… to his horrible disadvantage. Bander still towered over him, a muscle-ridden, trained general who far exceeded the assassin.

Using Hatter's own momentum against him, Bander hefted him up and over using his arms, throwing him into the midst of the Imagineers.

Hatter crashed down onto Hubble, who dodged the wrong way. Groaning, Hubble stiffened as Hatter sat up atop of him, nostrils flaring. His hungry eyes settled on the terrified Imagineer's face, and his snarl turned to a ghastly smile.

Hartland swung out his foot and kicked Hatter off Hubble before the assassin could realize his demented desires.

Hatter rolled with the kick, growling as he straightened. Eyes glazed, he set them once again on a smirking Bandersnatch, recognizing him as the primary offender. He bared his teeth and leapt forward.

Dodging Hatter's clawing swipe, Bander grabbed him by his shoulders and kneed him harshly in the stomach. He followed it up by tossing his son across the small clearing to crash into another tent.

A few moments passed, no movement from the debris of the tent.

Bander's look of calm excitement disappeared into fearful worry. Stepping forward, he tugged at the tent's sheet, "Imagine?"

The next instant, Bander fell back with Hatter on top of him, howling angrily. Crashing down, the Shadowlander brought up an arm to protect his throat as Hatter snapped his teeth.

Hatter clamped down onto his father's proffered arm, teeth slicing through the cloth and deep into the flesh.

Grimacing, Bander rolled so that Hatter lay pinned under him, forearm still trapped in Hatter's mouth.

Hatter tried to dislodge his teeth to get another bite in, but Bandersnatch pressed down, foiling the effort as he snarled in the Shadowland language, "You like blood so much? Have your fill of mine!" Hatter sucked at his father's skin, the black blood sliding down his throat. His rage began to fade and he started to bite deeper, eager to get more of the blood. Cursing, Bander glared at the nearest Shadowlander, "He's got my artery! I'll be blood-starved in a couple of minutes. Bring me something to eat. Now!"

The Shadowlander ran to obey, bringing back a bowl of apples to set next to his general.

Bander snatched one up and wolfed it down, core and all. He would need to keep eating to replace blood as Hatter sucked it out of him. Carefully, he shifted off of Hatter to sit down next to his son. Hatter sat up, clutching the arm from which he so eagerly guzzled down the blood. Sighing, Bander started on another apple, arm held straight out.

Horrified, disgusted, Chesapeake stammered, "You're- you're- you're not going to stop him?"

"Why should I? I can't die in this land. Besides, I don't think he'll be letting go anytime soon."
Lyona stuttered, "B-b-b-but you'll run out of b-b-blood!"

Waving a half-eaten apple at her, Bander replied, "That's what these are for."
Finally, March just gaped in awe, "You're just calm after all of this?"

"It's normal."

"Your kin sucking the blood out of you?"

"Well, no, but- I NEED MORE FOOD!" Bander shouted the last part in Shadowlander. Shadowlanders scrambled to comply, chattering excitedly.

Twenty minutes passed before Hatter stumbled back to sanity. Stiffening, he slowly slid his teeth out of his father's arm. He stared at the bloody spit surrounding the bite wound before shuddering violently, "I'm-I'm sorry!" He brought up his arm up, thinking of wiping the blood staining his maw off.

Bander slapped his arm down, "Don't use your shirt! Here, I have a handkerchief somewhere." Rooting through his pant's pocket, he withdrew a long white cloth and handed it to Hatter.

Hatter smushed it against his face guiltily, "Thank you…."

Bander extracted another cloth from his pocket and wrapped his wound with a faint smile playing on his dark lips, "Say nothing. My pleasure."

A small burp issued from Hatter's mouth, and he blushed such a deep color that he appeared rather maroon, "D-d-did I hurt anyone?"

"No. You almost got an Imagineer, but you came after me instead."

Hatter sighed, "Thank goodness… Last time, I nearly killed Alice."
Noting the extra guilty and self-loathing edge in his voice, Bander thumped him on the back heartily, "You like this Alice girl, don't you?"

"Yes… she's the most beautiful thing in the world…"

"Wouldn't agree with you there, but she is cute."

Hatter peered at him suspiciously, "I like her."

"Love her, you mean."

Blushing a brighter red, Hatter turned away and muttered, "Yes…"

Bander grinned broadly and triumphantly ruffled Hatter's hair, "Ah… little Imagine is growing up!"

Hatter glared at him, "Don't joke around with my love!"

"Sure, sure… Just invite me to the wedding."

"Wedding?"

"You're going to marry her, no?"

Hatter shuddered, "I… I have to ask her first, and then only if she says 'Yes'."

Bander smiled faintly, eyes soft as they regarded his son, "She will… It might take a whole lot longer, but she will…"

The next morning, some Shadowlanders advanced into the town, leaving the graaffs behind to continue the bombardment. They seized the homes of the evacuated Wonderlanders, using them as shelter. They numbered five hundred in all. With them came a hundred Imagineers. Jabberwocky, furious at this blatant show of confidence, ordered a charge. Mounting their horses, the black cards double-checked their weapons. With three hundred in their force, they planned for a quick strike and a rapid retreat. Jabberwocky appraised them for a short moment, terrifying in his armor, before nodding to the guards manning the gate, "Open it." Under him, his horse-fly stallion whickered.

Grimly saluting, the two obeyed.

As soon as the gates opened wide, the offensive force rushed through, roaring out a battle cry that shook the very air, Jabberwock voicing his furious rage along with his underlings. What followed was chaos. At the sight of the horrific force bearing down on them, the Shadowlanders leapt forward, prepared to meet honorable death in battle. They only needed to take as many of the enemy as possible with them to the grave. The Imagineers stood with them.

The two forces engaged. Sweeping out with his glaive and murdering a Shadowlander, Jabberwocky rode through the people with no regard to his well-being. On his mind floated the scent of revenge and anger. He had his daughter to protect!

His horse fell, stabbed to the heart. Leaping free, he threw down his long weapon and replaced it with the saber. He plowed forward, hacking as he went. With horses aiding their cause, his troops actually began pushing back their allied enemy.

Sensing hope, Jabberwock roared, "KILL THEM!"

Hartland raced forward at his post, cutting a horse's legs out from under it to get at the rider. The black card fended him off expertly for a few moments before a Shadowlander crushed the man's head from behind with a mace and howled in battle-induced excitement.

The hope now lay dead, and the Shadowlanders and Imagineers retorted to this assault by advancing slowly and steadily forward.

"Sir!" a black card captain cried, fighting his way towards Jabberwocky, who stood fighting two of his countrymen off, "Our force is dying!"

Jabberwock stabbed the Shadowlander to his right and ripped the other's jugular open with a swipe of his claws. As both fell, he spun and yelled, "Retreat! Get back to the castle!"

The black cards surged back, along with Jabberwocky, to the castle and safety.

The Bandersnatch sipped at his wine, furious, "How many lost?"

Saluting, Hartland replied, "Seventy four of yours, sir. Twenty nine of ours."

Bander mulled over the numbers before growling, "We must give them decent burials." He took another sip, grimaced, and poured the rest of the liquor onto the grass.

"Sir?"

"Yes?"

"Your men… killed all the prisoners."

Bander glanced up calmly, "Yes? They should have. What about it?"

Chesapeake jerked up from her post at the table, "We don't kill prisoners!"

"We do."

"We're in Wonderland, Bander! We don't kill prisoners here!"

Bander's eye twitched, "Fine, Unicorn. I'll tell my men." Turning away, he threw the goblet down and growled, "Where is my son?"

Lyona purred, "He's with March manning the what-ever-it's-called."

"The graaff?"

"Yes, that thing."