Faith took out the knife and made to stab him, getting it over with quickly, but he blocked it weakly, using his cane. He looked around, eyes unfocused. She shoved him down, intending to disarm him, when his head hit the ground with a sickening crack. Then he looked up at her, focusing unsteady eyes. "Ah, Faith... you're here. But where is Hare? And Dormy?"
Faith jumped back, confused. "What are you trying to pull on me now?" she hissed, suspicious, backing away. His clear, puzzled eyes looked at her.
"You look quite different, Faith. So does Wonderland. I guess my memory's not what it used to be, eh? Is there any tea, by chance?"
"Only acidic," she said, backing up.
"Oh. But why would anyone spoil good tea like that?" He gasped as a wave of pain hit him, and uneasily, Faith moved him into a slightly less uncomfortable position.
"You don't trust me," he said, looking at her. She shook her head, and the corner of his mouth cracked into a smile, even as a bit of blood dribbled out. "Don't worry, you don't need to. But... I'm free."
She stared at him. "Free?"
He nodded and smiled. "Two things that you must promise me to do and to answer." She paused.
"I'll hear them, but I can't guarantee that I'll do what you ask."
"Why is a raven like a writing desk?"
She groaned. "Just like you, Hatter. Riddles with no answers. What's the second?" This is really rather bizarre, she thought.
"What have I done?"
"Come again?" She wasn't quite sure what he meant by that. He stared into her face and she realised. "Oh. Er... I think you're better off not knowing, Hatter." He shook his head.
"What have I done to Wonderland?"
She sighed. "Too much," she said quietly, and began explaining everything he'd done, from the kidnapping of the Gryphon to the killing of Dormy and the funhouse, the automatons... but she left out the trophy room. It was too disgusting for her to say, and she got the feeling that he'd heard enough. He groaned, and she wasn't sure if it was in pain or not. She wasn't even sure if he was really himself again, or if he was just pulling something. His next request put her doubts to rest.
"Kill me."
"What?"
"Kill me. There's too much that I've done, too much pain I've caused... too much pain I'm in." He chuckled slightly, and gagged as yet another wave of pain hit. "These wounds... they're not fatal but they hurt. What time is it?"
She was about to tell him that his clock was broken, but she glanced at her watch and told him the time instead.
"Hm. After you kill me, there's something else I want you to do."
"What?"
"Ride up the pendulum of the big clock. There's something up there I want you to have." She nodded. "Now, kill me."
"I can't," she whispered. "I'd cause the death of another friend, and everyone uses the death of my family against me, anyway."
"Then it will be our- your secret. Because if you don't kill me," and he grabbed her hand with the knife clenched in it. "I will."
Faith gasped, and felt herself start crying. "No... Hatter, you've got to live now. Hatter, I've got almost no friends here, I need you."
"But Faith... think of all I've done. I cannot live with it."
"Hatter, please," she pleaded. "We know that you weren't... that it wasn't you. Please, Hatter, you've got to try to live. Your wounds aren't fatal, you said that yourself. They're not."
"Faith... even in Wonderland, things don't work like that... especially not now. I cannot face the others."
"Please Hatter... no," Faith begged, choking on her tears.
"I've decided, Faith. Please."
"Then you do it," she said, drawing away. The knife clattered to the ground, and she grasped his hand. "I'm sorry Hatter, I've failed you, but I can't kill you now, you're a friend now; I can't kill you."
He sighed. "Then hand me that teacup." She complied, letting go of his hand. "Turn away. Go into the clock tower." Once again she complied. And endless assortment of watches was inside, but she rode the pendulum up until she reached a room at the top of the clock tower. In a glass case, there was a watch. The case was labelled 'Dead Time Watch.' She took it, knowing somehow that Hatter meant for her to have that. On her way down, she saw a small, hidden entryway, and leapt inside. The blade of the eye scythe was there. She figured that he'd hidden it sometime after he'd gone mad.
On the way back down, it fully hit her as to what she was going to see. She was going to see one of her friends; one of her former best friends, dead. She didn't think she could handle it. She imagined him, cold and clammy and dead and she sank down slowly. "No... god, no," she groaned, and started shivering. Over and over again, and she couldn't stop, she couldn't breathe... she couldn't see or hear and she started crying. She'd helped kill her friend, and she had no way to deny that. She clutched her stomach, which felt as though she'd just eaten broken glass.
Several times the pendulum went up and down, up and down, and Faith stayed where she was, unable to even consider moving. Eventually she stood, and fell off (she couldn't muster the energy to jump).
Hatter was dead, a broken teacup by his side. Faith shuddered and turned away, thinking of the fight... of the plea. She hadn't been in Wonderland long enough for something like that... she wasn't sure if it was a step towards sanity or a step back from it.
But he was dead now, and she had to figure out what the hell to do next. She exited the arena, teetering slightly, and made her way back to the hallway with the red carpet and mirrors on the walls.
She called Jeremy, but he had no idea what to do next. He suggested she get out of Hatter's castle before Maggot got back, though. Believing that to be an excellent idea, she agreed and, after about a half hour of looking, found the front doors and exited. But after that... no idea.
She looked around and wandered a bit, but all she found were little men with pitchforks that kept trying to poke her bum, and she finally had enough and let the lightning demon (she seemed to get that one a lot) deal with them. But they were weak, and it was happy for that. But she was still clueless, and still feeling awfully ill, and she made her way back to the front gates.
"Gryphon!" she finally yelled, hoping he could hear her. No. Five, ten, fifteen minutes and he didn't come. "Cat!"
Many miles away, Cat stirred. He could swear that he heard his summons...
"Cat!"
He looked over, his ears perking. He was positive of it now. He vanished, elated.
Faith had just about lost hope that he could hear her when he appeared and launched himself at her, pinning her to the ground. Did she imagine the warm, sandpapery tongue scraping up her cheek? "Faith!" he exclaimed, almost ecstatic, it seemed.
Things had become worse since she left. The Queen's armies had been relatively low profile, but they were gathering and building in strength. They were training harder-even the clubs weren't quite so inept, though they were still everything but competent.
She shuddered, thinking of how the spades, or even the hearts would be. She'd never met a heart guard, she reflected, but all accounts of them from others had been terrified.
"You must face the Hatter," Cat said.
"He's dead," was the reply. "He's out there, in the arena." Cat looked positively shocked.
"Dead? My, my, we've been a fast one." He seemed happy, though. She sighed, remembering Hatter's last words to her... asking her to kill him. She couldn't. Did that make her a failure somehow, or had she done the right thing? Personally, she didn't believe in sin; the morality of it wasn't a huge issue. But... Hatter was dead, and it was mostly because of her. It wouldn't be a big deal if he was still evil. But he'd died good; at least she was pretty sure he had.
"What is this?" she asked, holding up the watch. He inspected it delightedly. And she watched him. He was thinner than ever before, and unsteadier.
"This watch can stop time... for a time, in any case. Time will move on, as will those caught in its flow... unless, of course, they are dead." He grinned at her.
"What do I do now? I don't really want Maggot to find me here."
Cat nodded. "Ordinarily, I would have Gryphon take you to the Land of Fire and Brimstone..."
"I sent him to warn the chess pieces of a plot that Maggot and Hatter concocted for destroying them."
"You HAVE been a fast one." He grinned, wider than she had thought possible. "Then I must take you."
She nodded. "I'd rather not go on foot, if it's all the same to you."
"On foot wasn't what I had in mind. It would be far too difficult and take much too long."
"My thoughts exactly. So... where is it?"
"Farther than you have come, but not as far as you need to go."
She rolled her eyes and waited expectantly for him to do something. He held out his forelegs and she hugged him. Then they vanished.
Faith jumped back, confused. "What are you trying to pull on me now?" she hissed, suspicious, backing away. His clear, puzzled eyes looked at her.
"You look quite different, Faith. So does Wonderland. I guess my memory's not what it used to be, eh? Is there any tea, by chance?"
"Only acidic," she said, backing up.
"Oh. But why would anyone spoil good tea like that?" He gasped as a wave of pain hit him, and uneasily, Faith moved him into a slightly less uncomfortable position.
"You don't trust me," he said, looking at her. She shook her head, and the corner of his mouth cracked into a smile, even as a bit of blood dribbled out. "Don't worry, you don't need to. But... I'm free."
She stared at him. "Free?"
He nodded and smiled. "Two things that you must promise me to do and to answer." She paused.
"I'll hear them, but I can't guarantee that I'll do what you ask."
"Why is a raven like a writing desk?"
She groaned. "Just like you, Hatter. Riddles with no answers. What's the second?" This is really rather bizarre, she thought.
"What have I done?"
"Come again?" She wasn't quite sure what he meant by that. He stared into her face and she realised. "Oh. Er... I think you're better off not knowing, Hatter." He shook his head.
"What have I done to Wonderland?"
She sighed. "Too much," she said quietly, and began explaining everything he'd done, from the kidnapping of the Gryphon to the killing of Dormy and the funhouse, the automatons... but she left out the trophy room. It was too disgusting for her to say, and she got the feeling that he'd heard enough. He groaned, and she wasn't sure if it was in pain or not. She wasn't even sure if he was really himself again, or if he was just pulling something. His next request put her doubts to rest.
"Kill me."
"What?"
"Kill me. There's too much that I've done, too much pain I've caused... too much pain I'm in." He chuckled slightly, and gagged as yet another wave of pain hit. "These wounds... they're not fatal but they hurt. What time is it?"
She was about to tell him that his clock was broken, but she glanced at her watch and told him the time instead.
"Hm. After you kill me, there's something else I want you to do."
"What?"
"Ride up the pendulum of the big clock. There's something up there I want you to have." She nodded. "Now, kill me."
"I can't," she whispered. "I'd cause the death of another friend, and everyone uses the death of my family against me, anyway."
"Then it will be our- your secret. Because if you don't kill me," and he grabbed her hand with the knife clenched in it. "I will."
Faith gasped, and felt herself start crying. "No... Hatter, you've got to live now. Hatter, I've got almost no friends here, I need you."
"But Faith... think of all I've done. I cannot live with it."
"Hatter, please," she pleaded. "We know that you weren't... that it wasn't you. Please, Hatter, you've got to try to live. Your wounds aren't fatal, you said that yourself. They're not."
"Faith... even in Wonderland, things don't work like that... especially not now. I cannot face the others."
"Please Hatter... no," Faith begged, choking on her tears.
"I've decided, Faith. Please."
"Then you do it," she said, drawing away. The knife clattered to the ground, and she grasped his hand. "I'm sorry Hatter, I've failed you, but I can't kill you now, you're a friend now; I can't kill you."
He sighed. "Then hand me that teacup." She complied, letting go of his hand. "Turn away. Go into the clock tower." Once again she complied. And endless assortment of watches was inside, but she rode the pendulum up until she reached a room at the top of the clock tower. In a glass case, there was a watch. The case was labelled 'Dead Time Watch.' She took it, knowing somehow that Hatter meant for her to have that. On her way down, she saw a small, hidden entryway, and leapt inside. The blade of the eye scythe was there. She figured that he'd hidden it sometime after he'd gone mad.
On the way back down, it fully hit her as to what she was going to see. She was going to see one of her friends; one of her former best friends, dead. She didn't think she could handle it. She imagined him, cold and clammy and dead and she sank down slowly. "No... god, no," she groaned, and started shivering. Over and over again, and she couldn't stop, she couldn't breathe... she couldn't see or hear and she started crying. She'd helped kill her friend, and she had no way to deny that. She clutched her stomach, which felt as though she'd just eaten broken glass.
Several times the pendulum went up and down, up and down, and Faith stayed where she was, unable to even consider moving. Eventually she stood, and fell off (she couldn't muster the energy to jump).
Hatter was dead, a broken teacup by his side. Faith shuddered and turned away, thinking of the fight... of the plea. She hadn't been in Wonderland long enough for something like that... she wasn't sure if it was a step towards sanity or a step back from it.
But he was dead now, and she had to figure out what the hell to do next. She exited the arena, teetering slightly, and made her way back to the hallway with the red carpet and mirrors on the walls.
She called Jeremy, but he had no idea what to do next. He suggested she get out of Hatter's castle before Maggot got back, though. Believing that to be an excellent idea, she agreed and, after about a half hour of looking, found the front doors and exited. But after that... no idea.
She looked around and wandered a bit, but all she found were little men with pitchforks that kept trying to poke her bum, and she finally had enough and let the lightning demon (she seemed to get that one a lot) deal with them. But they were weak, and it was happy for that. But she was still clueless, and still feeling awfully ill, and she made her way back to the front gates.
"Gryphon!" she finally yelled, hoping he could hear her. No. Five, ten, fifteen minutes and he didn't come. "Cat!"
Many miles away, Cat stirred. He could swear that he heard his summons...
"Cat!"
He looked over, his ears perking. He was positive of it now. He vanished, elated.
Faith had just about lost hope that he could hear her when he appeared and launched himself at her, pinning her to the ground. Did she imagine the warm, sandpapery tongue scraping up her cheek? "Faith!" he exclaimed, almost ecstatic, it seemed.
Things had become worse since she left. The Queen's armies had been relatively low profile, but they were gathering and building in strength. They were training harder-even the clubs weren't quite so inept, though they were still everything but competent.
She shuddered, thinking of how the spades, or even the hearts would be. She'd never met a heart guard, she reflected, but all accounts of them from others had been terrified.
"You must face the Hatter," Cat said.
"He's dead," was the reply. "He's out there, in the arena." Cat looked positively shocked.
"Dead? My, my, we've been a fast one." He seemed happy, though. She sighed, remembering Hatter's last words to her... asking her to kill him. She couldn't. Did that make her a failure somehow, or had she done the right thing? Personally, she didn't believe in sin; the morality of it wasn't a huge issue. But... Hatter was dead, and it was mostly because of her. It wouldn't be a big deal if he was still evil. But he'd died good; at least she was pretty sure he had.
"What is this?" she asked, holding up the watch. He inspected it delightedly. And she watched him. He was thinner than ever before, and unsteadier.
"This watch can stop time... for a time, in any case. Time will move on, as will those caught in its flow... unless, of course, they are dead." He grinned at her.
"What do I do now? I don't really want Maggot to find me here."
Cat nodded. "Ordinarily, I would have Gryphon take you to the Land of Fire and Brimstone..."
"I sent him to warn the chess pieces of a plot that Maggot and Hatter concocted for destroying them."
"You HAVE been a fast one." He grinned, wider than she had thought possible. "Then I must take you."
She nodded. "I'd rather not go on foot, if it's all the same to you."
"On foot wasn't what I had in mind. It would be far too difficult and take much too long."
"My thoughts exactly. So... where is it?"
"Farther than you have come, but not as far as you need to go."
She rolled her eyes and waited expectantly for him to do something. He held out his forelegs and she hugged him. Then they vanished.