Jack awoke still lying in the middle of the woods by the old hanging tree. His aunt could have chosen to do away with him, but she left him intact. He supposed she felt the real threat was the legendary trio he practically helped hand over to the Queen of Souls. The skies finally lightened up, no darker than a typical evening now. It was most likely due to Catherine unleashing the most dangerous ruler Wonderland had ever seen, his own mother only second to her.

From the distance he could hear leaves rustling. Someone was approaching. It sounded like horses. Jack was quick to stand, giving himself a head rush. He leaned against the tree to keep himself balanced.

"Your majesty!" Charlie shouted with vigor. The horses skidded to a halt.

Hatter eyed him and the cut noose suspiciously. "Tell me you didn't."

"Do you truly think I'd be foolish enough to do such a thing?" Jack shot back. Before he could step any closer, he took notice of Alice sitting behind the former con man appearing to be in one piece. "Alice?"

Clenching his jaw at the softening tone Jack used when speaking her name, Hatter willed himself to not let the bubbling jealousy get the best of him. Besides, the current King of Hearts was married to the Duchess, and it was clear they eventually grew to love one another. But, despite that, it bothered Hatter that Jack would most likely always carry a torch for Alice.

"Jack?" she greeted him with hesitance.

He approached them, looking up at the girl who turned his proposal down…twice. "Are you alright? What did she do to you?"

"I'm perfectly fine," she replied. "Well, except for the whole missing memories thing, but they've been coming back piece by piece." His look of concern had her elaborating a little more. "I was being drugged in the asylum. I thought it was the pills, but turns out it was the water."

"…Right." It was all Jack could muster.

Hatter impatiently tapped his fingers against his leg. He cleared his throat. "We best be gettin' out of here while it's still light enough to see."

"She's been released," Charlie spoke up, fear plain on his face. "The Queen of Souls…she's heading for the palace."

Jack appeared unsettled. "It's true. Catherine Thorpe"—he pointedly looked at Alice—"your 'therapist,' freed her from her imprisonment here."

"What else aren't you telling us?" Hatter asked, clearly not willing to let Jack off easy.

"Her real name is Catherine Heart. She's my mother's sister."

It was a quiet ride through the woods, only Hatter and Alice exchanging words every now and then. No one knew how long it had been, but it was clearly daylight outside of the Wastelands as they finally found the exit up ahead. For whatever reason, they were no longer being held prisoner here. It was a relief to be getting out.

The wind raged once more making it difficult to keep upright. The sound of wood snapping alerted Alice. She turned back to see the trees lifting their roots, using their branches as makeshift arms. "We need to go faster!" she shouted. Hatter glanced briefly behind. Some of the trees were trying to grab for them while others were bending forward over the path closing it off behind them.

Charlie and Hatter had the horses speed up, the exit so close, they could smell the fresh Wonderland air. Alice held on tight. A scream reverberated through the woods. The Queen of Souls was coming upon them. The spindly shadows she commanded were now following after them. One caught up, latching onto Hatter's wrist.

"Hatter!" Alice tried to pull his arm free. She looked ahead. Almost there. A snarling growl introduced the appearance of a beast with a long neck and snapping jaws. It was incredibly fast, keeping up with them. Unhinging its jaw, it snapped its teeth at the shadow, devouring it, and freeing Hatter's wrist. "What," she breathed heavily, "was that?"

"A Bandersnatch," Hatter answered. "It's a shadow-eater." Before he could explain further, he had to get Guinevere to speed up more just as Ophelia kicked it into gear. Their opening was quickly closing up due to the hedges lining the path. Knowing what they'd have to do, he warned Alice. "Hold on!"

Alice closed her eyes just as the horses jumped over the tall hedge blocking them. Once outside of the Wastelands, they skidded to a stop, noticing a couple of scarabs ready to be boarded. Duchess was waiting for them.

"When you didn't return as soon as I expected, I knew exactly where you went," she explained. "Come aboard, all of you. There's room for the horses on the other one."

Jack explained that they needed to get to the palace as soon as possible. If not, who knew what kind of damage could be done.

The skies were growing dark by the time they returned to the palace. Despite the head start, the Queen of Souls didn't appear to have played her hand yet. Jack let out a sigh of temporary relief.

"We need to rally together," he told them as they walked into the palace. "Alice, Hatter, stay here with Duchess. Charlie, you're with me."

The knight bowed his head. "An excellent idea, Your Majesty."

Alice looked between them. "Wait, where are you two going?"

Charlie smiled at her warmly. "Do not fret, Alice, we are merely going to recruit our usual players in this mad chess game."

"Caterpillar? Dodo?" Hatter asked. He received a nod in response. "Well, good. While you're at it, try to get that bloody feline to cooperate, yeah?"

Jack shook his head. "That cat is unreliable. I've only ever seen him once. He's more or less a legend in this world, or as some believe, an ancient Wonderland god. He's too elusive."

He kissed Duchess before parting with Charlie, leaving her with his ex-girlfriend and her…Hatter.

Catherine Heart admired the storm brewing in the skies. She glanced to her left at the shadowy figure, the key to her destiny. "Won't be long now; we both shall have our thrones."

"Yessss," the shadowy monarch hissed. "We shall." She cackled as the world darkened around them. The Queen of Souls threw her head back, practically howling with laughter. Naïve fool, she thought.

From afar, thunder crackled, echoing across the land like an omen. The Wonderlandians had no clue just what was around the corner. Some may be running scared, locking themselves away until the danger has passed. Others were oblivious, sleeping soundly on their last night of freedom. The worst was yet to come.

Author's Note: I'M BACK! I'm so sorry it's been so long. I've been really focusing on my mental health for the past few months. Psychological trauma can really eff you up. And who knew it would be Syfy Alice that pulled me out of my depression enough to want to write again? I am going to try to keep up with this regularly, because this deserves a proper ending!