A/N: Okay there's not a great deal of alteration in the chapter - I've just polished it up slightly. Oh, and warnings for use of the f-word and female dogs. Enjoy!

Chapter 6 - Fixations on Inertia

Run rabbit, run rabbit, run, run, run

Here comes the hunter with her gun, gun, gun

She won't get by without his rabbit pie

So run rabbit, run rabbit, run, run, run

The white rabbit moved into the room, not hopping, Mouse noticed, but walking in measured, slightly bouncing steps, as she had noticed Hare doing. The rabbit wrinkled his nose, like a snob who has noticed an under-class citizen at a party where they were not invited.

"So," He sneered, staring at Mouse like an exhibit in a museum. She stared back as best as she could, but the red-rimed gaze was quite disconcerting. "It's come down to this, has it. You honestly think that I wouldn't, more to the point, that her majesty wouldn't notice ironsider scum like this using MY portals?"

Cat stepped up to the rabbit, looking openly as scornful as a true feline facing a bunny that had had the idiocy and audacity to stand its ground, and not go running away.

"You have," He said, speaking in clipped tones, a barely restrained anger lying just under the surface of the words, "A lot of guts coming here, bunny-boy. I don't know who you think owns the keys to the kingdom round here, but it isn't you," he grabbed the rabbit by the neck, "and it sure as hell isn't your so-called queen."

He growled low in his throat, making sure the albino knew how badly he had pissed him off.

The rabbit spluttered, pawing at the claws around his neck. "Y-you c-can't do anything to me. Her majesty has the Ace of spades, and you know you can't put THAT in jeopardy."

CC made a disgusted noise, and shoved the now-smirking rabbit out the door, slamming it in his face.

Mouse came forward and put a hand onto the soft fur CC's back, resisting the urge to stroke it, just as he was shrinking back to his more ordinary size.

"What was all that about? What did he mean by the ace of spades?"

Cat jumped onto one of the dilapidated armchairs, and didn't answer, apparently having become absorbed with the state of his fur.

After a while, when Mouse made no move to go away, he sighed and said, "I'll try and put this in a way you can understand more clearly. Do you know what happens to a battery when the charger is destroyed? When the battery runs out, and there's no place to get more energy…"

"The battery goes flat." Mouse finished, cottoning on finally. "The Ace of spades is your main card. It's your charger. Destroy that, and you die."

"Correction, kitten." Replied the Cat. "I am the Ace of spades. Rip it up, and I don't just die – I cease to exist. Caput. They'll be no record of me, here or in your world. Even the spades will be replaced by some other symbol, by some other idiotic name."

Mouse winced at the Cat's desolate tone, and snapped, striding across to the chair, and picking the creature up by the scuff without any thought to dignity or pride.

"Now look here," She said, shaking him like a kitten. He let her as well, too astonished to react. "I don't know what happened to you, or why you pulled me into this fucking mess in the first place, nor do I greatly care. But I know you, and that's why you will NOT give up, you will NOT use that tone, and" she added, to everyone now, "You will ALL HELP ME TO BEAT THIS BITCH NOW!"

With that, she stormed out into the tulgy wood, without waiting for and answer, and leaving a stunned silence in her wake.

After a moment, hatter spoke. "Well, she's not Alice, that's for sure."

Wordlessly, Hare began to gather knives from the kitchen.

696

Mouse marched through the wood, crashing through indignant undergrowth, and ignoring the signs inscribed with such cheerful slogans as: "GO BACK", "YOU ARE HERE, ONLY IDIOTS GO HERE" and "CASTLE AHEAD – PLEASE AVOID" – far too absorbed in her own thoughts to do anything but let her feet take her where they seemed to know to go.

Stupid cat, she fumed silently Stupid Hare, stupid everyone…

A twig snapped up ahead, jerking her out of her thoughts. She almost laughed out loud when she saw who it was.

Here, bunny, bunny, bunny…

She was feeling better already, and white fur gloves would warm her hands nicely. Mouse lunged at the rabbit before he could even blink, and grabbed him around the neck. She snarled, "Ironsider scum, Huh? Ironsider scum? Well I'll show you what this ironsider can do, you mewling, treacherous white lab rat!" She grinned madly, unconsciously mimicking CC in the golden age of wonderland.

She was so intent on twisting the white rabbit's head from his neck, that she didn't notice the card guards that crept up behind her and knocked her out cold.

A/N: you've heard the jingle, you should know what to do,

I've written, you've read, now read and review!

(Please)