Disclaimer: I do not own American McGee's Alice (EA) or Doctor Who (BBC)
Chapter 13: End of the Nightmare
"It's not over yet."
As Alice spoke those words, her friends reluctantly agreed.
"That was the Serpent's most desperate attempt thus far." groaned the Pigeon, fighting through the pain of its wounds. "Even though we thwarted it, it knows what worked and what didn't work. It's only a matter of time before it tries again."
"Unless we get to the Origin first." piped up the White Queen. "Everyone will be safe there!"
"But we don't know how we're going to get there! And we need to know it fast!" said the White Rabbit with a shiver. "What are we going to do, Alice?"
The Meta-Essence from her defeated copy still flowed through Alice, as did her strength...but paradoxically, her body refused to obey her commands while it healed itself.
"Hate to say it," she groaned, "but I think I need more time to heal."
The Rabbit looked at his watch. Its hands were spinning like a top. "We don't have more time!" it said frantically. "And if you don't have the strength to carry us, or the awareness to watch us..."
"Don't panic!" yelled the White Queen. "Butterfly will take care of that."
Everyone turned to the Butterfly, chugging from a large flagon of nectar. Before they could ask any question, the prescient insect spoke:
"Ofcourse, 'sstolensofar,theingredientsforagetting-small-elixirwillsoonberevealedforustomakeuseofwithallhaste!"
The Butterfly began flapping its wings, stirring up the acid pool below the rope floor. By the time anyone could make any sense of what he said in his nectar-induced mania, the wind pulled four sparkling items from below:
"Mushrooms...poppies...sugared spice drops! He's going to shrink us all!"
"Indeed, Turtle. What better way to lighten the burden on Alice?" purred the Cheshire Cat. "She already has more than enough."
Using the Duchess' soup pot as a mixing container, the Butterfly concocted the shrinking mixture with considerable haste. Alice waited until it was done to try moving again, at which point she finally succeeded.
"Good. Butterfly, whenever you're ready, you may-"
"Wait, Alice!" exclaimed the White Knight. Alice turned to her wounded comrade-in-arms, and he continued: "I noticed that the Torch Gnomes couldn't salvage your wings."
"No. All the gifts left by the Jabberwock and its spawn are gone."
The White Knight winced in pain, but did so with a smile. "The Mara will surely attempt to bar your access to the Origin at every turn. The loss of those wings could complicate your ability to slip past its defenses...unless you were given an alternative."
"What would you suggest?" she asked, noting none of her characteristic sarcasm in the question – she honestly expected a useful answer.
And the Knight provided one. "Just remember to point the nozzle away from you," he said.
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The first thing that burst out of the giant snake's hide was the Vorpal Blade, followed by a shower of blood. The serpent twisted and writhed in pain as the blade sawed back and forth, widening the opening.
A new serpent materialized out of the air, and hissed at the opening in anger as a whole chunk of meat was carved out of its companion's side.
Out of that opening crawled a bloodstained Alice, carrying three things: the Vorpal Blade in her right hand, a large woolen bag looped around her shoulder, and a pair of oversize bellows (labeled Squeeze Me) strapped to her back, with a string connected to it in her left hand.
Your resistance ends here, Alice!
Alice did not respond. Instead, she pulled at the string in her left hand, and squeezed the bellows. She shot upwards like a rocket, out of the snake's reach.
She soared over the realm of Queensland, mysteriously decayed once more.
'Looks like the Red Queen isn't even pretending to be the Mara's friend anymore,' Alice thought as she looked over the grey landscape.
As the last ounces of air were expelled from the bellows, Alice reached the apex of her flight. She slowed down, and began to descend once more.
A snake waited to arrest her fall with open jaws, but that did not happen; Alice used her dress as a parachute instead. And while she floated down slowly, the bellows slowly reopened.
The instant they stopped expanding, Alice angled herself forward, and squeezed them again. Once again they propelled her through the sky, leaving angered snakes in her wake.
"Ok, now which way to the Origin?" she asked the woolen bag around her shoulder.
From within, the faint voice of the Cheshire Cat replied: "Fly perpendicular to the orbit of Wonderland around it, towards where the Mara's power is strongest. That's where it will concentrate its power: barring your way to the one place it cannot control."
"Understood." said a stern-voiced Alice, as she angled herself even higher.
You will never reach it! I will blind your way to the path, and keep you trapped in the endless cycle of suffering!
At the Mara's words, the clouds dispersed to reveal a seemingly infinite number of snakes slithering through the sky. The very next instant, they all turned towards Alice and lunged for her.
Alice wasn't scared in the slightest. "More snakes? That's your best move, Mara? I'm not impressed." She merely gripped the Vorpal Blade tighter, and counted the seconds until her enemies got close.
Microseconds before the snakes could bite her, she twirled around in midair. Slice after slice, the snakes were carved to bloody ribbons by the Vorpal Blade's glittering dance.
Instead of celebrating, however, Alice steeled herself for the Mara's next move. She scanned all around her, above as well as below.
It was below where the Mara struck from next. As she looked at the carved snakes behind her, she saw their blood turn into the black ooze known as Ruin! The toxic essence of non-existence shot up at her in scores of black tendrils, eager to snatch at her feet.
Her movement limited by the bellows, Alice released them so she could flip around and slash at the Ruin just before it could reach her. This cost her her forward momentum, however, and once again she floated on the parachute of her dress.
There is no escape!
A violent storm whipped up all of a sudden, throwing Alice through the sky out of her control. She was able to quickly regain control...but no sooner did she, than she noticed something was missing.
"Oh no!" she shouted as she saw the woolen bag plummeting downwards, back into the disintegrating landscape of Queensland.
Alice angled herself downwards and squeezed the bellows, eager to save her friends.
Despair shall consume you!
A snake formed below her, ready to swallow both Alice and the bag containing her friends.
"If you're going to do something, do it now!" Alice called out, apparently to no one in particular.
It's over, Ali-
The Mara was interrupted as its snake exploded from within, torn apart by bright red tentacles.
No!
The Red Queen floated upwards, looking like a young girl with an octopus for legs, buoyed by bulbous flotation sacs. She snatched both the bag and Alice from their free-fall.
"Thank you!" exclaimed Alice.
"Don't thank me just yet!" snarled the Queen. "The Mara will not relent until we are beyond its reach!"
Alice nodded, and squeezed the bellows again. The combined upward thrust of the bellows and the Queen's flotation sacs sent them farther up into the sky than Alice had ever gone before.
Soon, looking down allowed her to see the whole of Queensland. Sure enough, without its tentacled ruler it rapidly fell apart.
"A shame it had to come to this," said Alice.
"You don't understand," said the Queen, "I don't grieve for my realm. I will rebuild when I can rule without being a simple puppet of the Mara."
Alice nodded, but around halfway through she stopped listening. Instead, she focused intently on the remains of Queensland, as they transformed into formless floating shapes made out of rock, flesh, and formless negative thoughts. Shapes which then started moving in a strange direction.
"Are they..." she said under her breath, to which the Red Queen responded: "Yes. They're in orbit around the Origin."
"Then that means..."
Alice looked at the shapes, then all around her. All around them floated snakes of every size and shape, all serpentine projections of the Mara's negative influence. Alice had seen so many of them this day, but not like this: Now, she saw the flow of negative energy that fed into their perverse creation. And she saw where it was concentrated.
"There! That's where the Origin has to be!"
With renewed purpose, Alice and the Queen soared off towards the thickest cloud of snakes, Vorpal Blade and spine-covered tentacles at the ready.
As they pulled themselves closer to the snake cloud, the air became thicker and thicker. So thick that the clouds became solid enough to stand on, or block the path of the careening duo. They sliced their way through several clouds before the bellows ran out of energy, and they alighted on one in order to replenish it.
That's when the Mara Struck. More snakes than Alice had seen thus far surged towards them at once. The Red Queen restrained them with her tentacles while Alice sliced them apart. Thus, not even one snake got close enough to sink their fangs into any victims.
This will never end! You will tire, you will surrender, you will-
"Shut up!" barked the Queen as she forced one snake to bite down on another.
What a nuisance you've proven to be. Let your own aspects be your undoing!
Three more snakes slithered through the air towards the battling pair...and on the way, they grew limbs, wings, fur, mechanical parts...they became the Jabberwock, JubJub Bird, and Bandersnatch!
"You don't deserve to live!" snarled the fake Bandersnatch.
"You bring nothing but misery to the world!" bellowed the fake Jabberwock.
"No future! No hope!" screeched the fake JubJub Bird.
Alice gripped the Vorpal Blade tight, remembering her previous encounters with the Mara's copies of her darkest mental aspects, and determined to not have those experiences repeated.
"NOW!" shouted the Red Queen...
...and at her command, the real Jabberwock, JubJub Bird, and Bandersnatch appeared, leaping at their duplicates with great ferocity.
Alice chuckled, and made ready to assist her strange friends...when she saw more snakes pull from the great mass above her and lunge towards her, leaving a gap in the cloud of negativity.
Through that gap, she saw a small, wooden door. It was white, with floral-patterned glass sections, surrounded by a pink wooden frame. The word LIDDELL was written on the frame.
"The Origin." she whispered in understanding.
The snakes that formed the great mass charged at her, hissing and dripping venom, but quickly found themselves impaled by red tentacles.
"Go!" snarled the Red Queen, as she threw the wool bag back to Alice. "Clear the path! We'll follow you when you get there!"
With a smile, Alice looped the bag around her shoulder, aimed herself at the little door, and squeezed the bellows.
The door was a lot farther than it seemed, and the Mara's snakes made the journey seem longer – they shrank themselves as Alice approached, so it always seemed like they were right in front of her, ready to strike. And strike they did, but Alice always dodged just in time.
Nothing they did slowed her down. Even when the bellows ran out of propelling air, Alice used her enemies to keep her momentum: She ran along their serpentine bodies, dragging the Vorpal Blade along their scales as she did.
In no time at all, she found herself at a glittering barrier, beyond which lay not even a hint of scales, fangs, or eyes. There was only the door.
Alice stepped towards the barrier, Vorpal Blade in hand, knowing what she must do...and she hesitated, and turned around.
"Red Queen! Jabberwock! JubJub Bird! Bandersnatch! Where are you?"
"Go on, Alice! You'll be safe in the Origin!" came a distant reply.
"But what about you?"
"Don't dawdle, Alice! You don't need us! You hate us!"
"You're still a part of me! I won't leave you!"
The Mara's snakes sensed her hesitation and lunged for her. She dodged, and sliced, but she did not move any closer to the Origin.
At length, her monstrous former foes finally came into view. Alice held forth the woolen bag, and opened it slightly. A stream of purple mist escaped and wrapped itself around the Red Queen and her monsters. In an instant, they shrank down into specks, and the bag sucked them in.
You won't let them go. Even though they are my connection to you.
"You would never understand, Mara." said Alice, as she finally turned towards the barrier.
Oh, but I do. You want to accept every part of yourself, good and bad. Let me help.
Alice raised the Vorpal Blade, ready to pierce the barrier, when it suddenly moved further away! It disappeared into a dark void.
'No,' Alice quickly realized, 'I'm moving further away from it.' Undaunted, Alice ran towards her goal.
As she ran, the ground changed from air to wood. The surroundings changed from snakes to walls. A ceiling stretched overhead, illuminated by soft gas lamps.
Alice continued, focused on her goal...but slowed, as she noticed the changes. "What sort of last, desperate gamble is this, Mara?"
You want to go to the Origin. And so you are.
Alice thought about his words. And as a door appeared in front of her, she steeled herself for what might be on the other side.
She gingerly reached for the handle...
...and it opened on its own! Not even a second later, a tall, lanky man came through the doorway and shoved aside!
"Get out of my way!" he exclaimed in his slimy voice.
But it wasn't his attitude that surprised Alice, nor his sudden appearance. No, what really got Alice was the fact that she knew his name: Angus Bumby.
"No, no no no NO!" she exclaimed in a mixture of frustration and fear. She entered the doorway, knowing full well what she would find.
Beyond the doorway was the Liddell library. And already, a flickering light appeared in the corner.
The place where your life began. The place where you began to learn the truth of the world. Where you learned life is suffering, and no one can be trusted. The place that defined what it meant to be Alice Liddell.
The fire spread in an instant, surrounding Alice in scalding heat. She held the wool bag closer to her heart in an attempt to shield it from the flames.
Voices rose out of the inferno:
"Fire, Alice, Fire!"
"Save yourself! Wake up, Lizzie! Lizzie, open the door!"
"The key, Lizzie! Unlock the door! You'll burn!"
"Mama...Papa...Lizzie..." Alice said with a halting voice.
The ones you couldn't protect. The ones who first learned that Alice is not a hero. She's just a sad little girl lost in her fantasies, who can do nothing to ease the world's suffering, nor escape her own.
Timbers from the ceiling cracked and fell around her, creating a burning cage. Alice curled up to protect her friends, but all that did was show her the flames were getting even closer.
This is where you were born, Alice. In suffering.
Tears streamed down Alice's face. Her mind raced for an answer, any kind of response that would pull her out of her most irresistible memories of despair, and found none.
Her mother's distant voice rose again: "Help us Alice! Save us, Alice! Don't leave us alone, Alice! Don't abandon us, Alice! Stay with us!"
"I'm sorry..."
…...
…...
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Against all odds, the Mara's horde had failed to break in to the drawing room where Alice rested in meditation. Richard, Vastra, Jenny, and so many policemen were exhausted, battered, and scarred, but their efforts showed in the slowing attacks of their enemies.
Richard was the first to notice, as less of the horde crawled up to the window he was guarding. "We're doing it!" he exclaimed. "It's working!"
"What's working?" asked a policeman through clenched teeth.
"Even the Mara's seemingly limitless energy cannot propel the human body past its limits," replied Vastra, forcing a smile. "And it seems that energy is far from limitless, since it's cut off from its primary host-"
"AAIIEAGH!"
The scream was quickly followed by the crash of breaking glass, and the thump of a toppling chair. Everyone instantly realized the source.
"Alice!" exclaimed Richard, as he rushed over to her prone form.
"Fire, Fire!" she shouted as she rolled back and forth, in a seeming attempt to smother flames that weren't even there. All it accomplished was embedding tiny shards of broken glass into her clothes and skin.
Richard grasped her, in an attempt to stop her from hurting herself. It took all his effort to stop her from creating even more gashes and bloodstains. She couldn't recognize it as an attempt to help, and she batted her arms at her would-be savior.
Richard grasped her right arm to hold her still, and struggled for a minute until she went limp. Only then did he grasp the true gravity of the situation.
Alice had thrown herself out of the circle of mirrors.
The snake tattoo on her right arm burst from her skin in a shower of blood, and lunged for Richard. As he struggled to keep it from biting him, it grew perceptibly bigger...and bigger!
"Help! Vastra! The Mara!" shouted Richard as the green-and-yellow snake became too big and strong for him to keep holding on.
The Mara's new physical form slithered into the center of the room, and raised itself to look at Vastra, Jenny and the policemen who barred the door. Once it grew tall enough to rear up to human height, it opened its mouth and hissed.
The policemen were the first to quiver and kneel.
"Don't fear it!" yelled Vastra. "That's what it wants! Clear your minds and-"
Vastra's words were interrupted as a patch on the snake's underbelly imperceptibly changed shape. It looked like a simple patch of white scales...
...but to Vastra, it looked like the moon. The moon which, millions of years ago, her Silurian bretheren mistook for a runaway planetoid that would collide with the earth and destroy it. The reason her people hid themselves away beneath the earth. The reason everyone she knew from her previous life no longer existed.
That patch of scales carried with it memories of fear, of loss, of anger...Vastra succumbed to the Mara in an instant.
"Madame-" Jenny cried out in fear, before the Mara got her as well.
Trails of red energy flowed from everyone in the room, feeding the Mara with negativity. Making it grow once again. Its voice echoed around everyone's mind as it cackled its triumph
At last! I take root, and I shall grow! I shall spread! I shall consume all that is! The SuMaran Empire will be reborn on Earth!
Though only three of those present knew what that term was, everyone knew what it meant. Madness, chaos, depravity and despair would reign over their lives henceforth; and there was nothing they could do to prevent it, nor to bring the slightest amount of hope into their future. They were so paralyzed with fear, they could not even speak a word of protest.
The Mara's snake form grew as big the room around it, and still it kept growing.
Rejoice, humanity! Your destiny has arrived! Henceforth your lives exist to contribute to my greatness!
"I beg to differ, Serpent!"
What?
The Mara turned towards the source of the voice. Its unwilling supplicants turned as well.
And they saw Alice, standing in defiance.
You? How? How do you resist my power?
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"I'm sorry..."
Alice curled up even tighter. The fire closed in around her. Her parents' death screams and pleas for mercy echoed through the inferno, almost drowning out the sounds of destruction.
"I couldn't save you..."
Loosened by the fire, a beam fell down from the ceiling, towards Alice...
….and the instant before it reached her, she slashed it with the Vorpal Blade. Cleft in two, it fell to both sides of her as she stood back up.
"...But I can save your memory."
Alice held the Vorpal Blade high above her. The light from the fire glittered off the polished metal, reflecting a rainbow onto the carnage of the past.
The fire, the room, and everything else started glittering in turn.
"I will never forget you. I will never forget the pain of losing you. I will never forget the emptiness I had known without you. But most importantly, I will never forget the happy times we shared while I still knew you. Everything about you shall be a part of me forever. This I swear."
As she spoke, shafts of rainbow light connected the fire around her to the Vorpal Blade. The fire leapt towards the shafts, and disappeared into them. As did the burning wreckage around her.
"Thank you, Alice..." came a soft voice in reply, as the fire around her coalesced...
...into a single, house-shaped glass memory that hovered above her.
Alice grasped the memory with her free hand, and pulled it close to her breast. The last of her tears fell onto it, and the memory shone brilliantly in response.
She smiled, and then looked around her. With the disappearance of the fire, once again she was surrounded by a featureless void...
...save for the door to the Origin, sitting there in an inviting way.
Alice approached it, and this time it did not shrink away. She touched the Vorpal Blade to the barrier in front of it, and it fell away into mist.
"Come with me, friends. Family. Everyone. We'll be safe here."
She sheathed the Vorpal Blade, reached out for the handle, and turned it.
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"It's easy. I reached my center. I put myself far beyond your reach. "
But I trapped you in your most painful memories! You could never escape them alone!
"Funny thing about my mind, Mara. As long as I have Wonderland, I am never alone."
The Mara hissed in frustration.
Oh well. It doesn't matter now. You may have awakened from my nightmare, but you can do nothing to prevent my ascension! I've won! I manifest in the physical world, and the sight of my image alone shall bring me enough power that no one shall resist me! Not even you!
Alice smirked. "Once again, you understand so little about what you can't control."
Like what?
The Mara's question was posed in a daring manner, attempting to call out Alice's bluff...but she answered.
"For instance, who says I'm awake?"
Confused at Alice's statement, the Mara looked at her again, and so did its supplicants.
And as they looked, Alice's appearance spontaneously changed from her waking clothes to her Wonderland outfit.
A chorus of confused voices arose from the Mara's supplicants. "...What?" "...How did she...?" "No way!"
Richard, caught even more off-guard by Alice's unearthly beauty, added to the chorus by saying: "I must be dreaming!"
Alice responded: "That's because you are. You all are!"
What? Impossible!
The Mara looked around, as did everyone else. To their surprise, their surroundings had changed as well.
Gone was the ruined Hargreaves drawing room, and its limited space. Gone were the shattered furniture and mirrors. In their place was a vast stone amphitheatre, illuminated by grand windows but otherwise cut off from the rest of the world.
On the floor of this great coliseum were Alice, the Mara's serpentine apparition, and everyone currently touched by the influence of the Mara, regardless of whether they were inside the house or not.
Weakly, Madame Vastra stated: "You...you pulled everyone...into a shared dream! While we were still awake!"
Alice nodded. "Everyone I infected with the Mara by touch, creating a connection to the Dark Places of the Inside. This very power was the reason the Mara targeted me in the first place, and now I'm using it against it."
"But how?" said a voice from the assembled crowd. "How will it help against that?"
"How? By doing this, I'm focusing the Mara's energy away from the physical world. Preventing it from gaining any more sources of negative energy. And gathering all its victims together, so we can all resist it together."
Resist me? Me! Impossible! My power lies in nightmares, in the nameless fears which plague the subconscious mind! I am the fears men dare not acknowledge, and thus cannot resist!
At that exclamation, the Mara intensified its vampiric draining of its victims' psyches. The trails of negative energy thickened into solid red bands, wrapping themselves around the Mara and making it grow even larger and scarier.
While everyone else cowered, Alice scoffed. "A bigger snake? That's it? After spending the better part of a day doing nothing but fight snakes, they no longer frighten me!"
But they are a different story, are they not?
"Not really." said Alice as she defiantly marched towards the Mara. "Each of them has the power to resist you deep within them. To separate themselves from their fears and regrets, and approach their troubles with a calm and clear mind."
You're wrong, Alice! If they could, I wouldn't have gotten to them in the first place! They didn't resist me, they called to me for help! The pressures of simply living in this world drained their strength, and they needed me! I am a part of them, and they are a part of me!
"That's another advantage of fighting in the dream world. Here, where wishes are true, they can find the strength that life denied them. They won't need you anymore then."
Around the two, the Mara's victims heard her words. They sensed the hope within her words, but filtered through a layer of skepticism. With a burst of flame from its fangs, the Mara gave voice to that doubt:
It will only be a false strength, fading as soon as they wake up! And they will wake up, to find even more unconquerable hardship, more fuel for their despair!
"If that is the truth, then prove it, Mara!" shouted Alice, as she stood directly in front of the fanged visage of her enemy. "Show me why they have no hope, why they can only look forward to despair!"
Then, she turned around to the prone, trembling form of Richard Hargreaves. "Show me how you convinced Richard of this so-called 'truth' of life."
Gladly.
Richard's body was picked up by an invisible force, wrapped in bands of negative energy, and brought before Alice. Instantly she noticed the patches of snake skin on his own, the blood dripping from his mouth, and the faint serpentine eyes.
"...Alice..." he groaned.
"You were able to resist this monster up until now. There's nothing to say you can't shake him off just as easily."
Oh yes there is! Because even if you win, even if he does shrug me off, he has nothing to look forward to! His life is practically over!
"You're wrong!" exclaimed Alice.
His parents hate him with all their hearts, and will disinherit him at the earliest opportunity. His chosen path as an inventor has brought him nothing but failure after failure, and soon he will be out on the street without a penny to his name. You dragged him into this horrifying venture, where the fate of the world is at stake, and he could do nothing to contribute in any meaningful way. Still he tried, and failed once again, and all to win your love. Love, which he knows you may never give, knowing so much hurt as you do. And even if you do, he knows he doesn't deserve it!
The Mara pulled Richard closer to its serpentine body.
He has nothing to look forward to except a life spent cold and alone, with no one but himself to blame for his troubles. There is no escape from his pit of despair.
"...save yourself, Alice..." whispered Richard.
For a brief moment, Alice was overwhelmed at the scale of Richard's troubles. She even briefly wondered if helping him was even possible.
But only for a brief moment.
"There is an escape from your despair, Richard." she said as she walked towards him. "There is a life waiting for you outside, and it's worth living. Don't listen to the Mara's lies."
She grabbed his hand, and pulled with all her might, preventing the Mara from pulling him any closer.
"...But...it's the truth...my parents do hate me..."
"No they don't! They love you. They want what's best for you. They honestly believe that your passion for invention, and your friendship with commoners, are bad for you. If you...if we proved them wrong, the conflict would go away in a snap!"
"...my inventions...none of them brought me success..."
"Have you forgotten that one-man-band machine? It did exactly what you said it would do, and more! The potential is there, the problem is that you haven't found something the world wants yet. Thousands of inventors the world over created hundreds of things that never sold, until they found the one thing that made them famous! You just have to keep trying!"
"I could do nothing...when the world was in danger..."
"Without you, I would have given up long ago! You let me know that people were still willing to view me as a friend, rather than an enemy. You helped pull me out of my pit of despair, now I'm returning the favor!"
"...I did it for your love...but you don't want love...and I don't deserve it..."
"Why would you ever think you don't deserve love? You're handsome, you're kind, you're intelligent, you're honest, you're courageous, you've a drive to right the wrongs of the world; any woman would be lucky to have you!"
Alice paused to catch her breath. She had to be absolutely sure. If she told a lie, then everything she said, all her help would have been for naught...
Then she remembered the remainder of Dr. Wilson's letter:
In addition, I highly encourage you to continue seeking out confidantes you can call upon for aid, as you have done with me. Dodgson alone may not be enough – Heaven knows I would never have gotten where I am without the assistance of my teachers, my colleagues, and even my patients. While the vast majority of your history has been abuse from others, remember that dark impulses do not control the human spirit. If you can turn your pain into a desire to help others suffering similar misfortune, then so can other people. I'd start by looking in the ranks of those people for friends, who can be united in common purpose.
This Richard fellow you described in your postscript sounds like such a person. In fact, with the glowing terms you used to describe a complete stranger, I would say he made quite an impression upon you. And I have no doubt you have made a similar impression upon him. Though you have expressed disinterest in romantic pursuits, I implore you to not give up on love entirely. There is more than one kind of love, after all, and love of all kinds holds our society together.
Love others, so that you may receive love. Love yourself, so you may draw strength from all of your wonderful aspects. But above all, Alice, I implore you to never lose faith. Your goal is attainable, one way or another, with or without help.
Yours in confidence,
Dr. Hieronymous Q. Wilson.
She grasped Richard's hand even tighter.
"Yes, I have been hurt in the past. Yes, it's made me scared of getting too close to people. My old self would have judged you too good to be true. My old self was alone; alone with no one but my thoughts, and my worries. The more I assumed the worst of others, the more I assumed the worst of myself. And the more I thought myself a danger to myself and those around me, the truer it became. That's likely what drew the Mara to me in the first place."
"I don't want that to happen again. The risk is great, but if it means I can know happiness and family once again, it's a risk I'm willing to take. I'm willing to see if you're as good as you seem. I'm willing to admit...that I might love you too."
As she spoke those words, the bands of negative energy that coiled around Richard loosened ever so slightly. Richard started to smile...but it only lasted a few seconds. The Mara hissed, and the negativity tightened its grip again.
"...there's still...too much risk..." he moaned. "...one mistake...and it will all come crashing down...I'm still afraid..."
"I know, Richard," said Alice, "Relationships, and inventions, aren't built overnight. There are pitfalls, there are obstacles, and they are scary. But you have to ask yourself: what would hurt more, failing after giving it everything you have and more, or giving up having never even tried?"
Time seemed to stand still, as Alice pulled against the Mara's grasp with all her strength, though she knew only Richard could set himself free. Richard's eyes closed, and she couldn't tell what he was thinking.
Then, finally, he said: "You're right. After all, trial and error is what invention is all about!"
No sooner did he say those words than cracks appeared in his skin, as well as the bands of negative energy binding him to the Mara. He grasped Alice's hand, and together, they pulled him free, leaving nothing in the Mara's grasp but a Richard-shaped husk of snakeskin. The real Richard fell on top of Alice with a thump.
No! Impossible!
Neither Alice nor Richard responded to the Mara's exclamation. Instead, the first thing they noticed was the awkwardness of their position. They pulled themselves up onto their feet, blushing all the while.
Once they were upright again, Richard was the first to speak: "Thank you, Alice."
Alice smiled in response. "Simply returning the favor."
Then, the two finally turned to look at the angered Mara.
"So, what's the next step in dealing with this problem?" asked Richard, with a surprisingly confident tone in his voice.
"I was actually thinking I'd leave this one to you for a change." said Alice, to Richard's surprise. She continued: "After all, you are an inventor."
At that word, the wheels in his brain started turning. And, at the speed of thought, something clicked. "I see. Well, since we're in a dream-world, how about I dream up something...like this!"
Richard leaned down and brushed at the floor, pulling a panel of wood aside. He reached into a recess, grasped a long wooden pole, and pulled it like a lever.
A larger section of the floor burst open, and out popped a large vanity set, complete with a multi-faceted mirror that folded out like a set of cabinet doors. The Mara recoiled at the sight of the mirrors, much to the satisfaction of Alice and Richard.
"What do you think?" said Richard with a manic grin, as he began describing his invention: "It folds into the floor when not in use, leaving space for so many other things! Plus, it can hold a much larger mirror than a typical set of vanity furniture!"
"I think it's lovely, Richard." said Alice, "and it's just what we need! Mirrors will force the Mara to feed on itself, and banish it to the Dark Places of the Inside once again!"
You fools! It has to be a circle of mirrors to work against me! Besides, that so-called 'invention' is barely practical! You're deluding yourself if you believe anyone will want something so superfluous!
"Oh, but I know at least a hundred people will want at least one of these right now. In fact, you're looking at them!" laughed Richard.
As Richard spoke, a series of similar-looking levers suddenly appeared next to each and every one of the Mara's victims, scattered throughout the coliseum of Alice's shared dream. Many of them regarded them with cautious curiosity, noting Alice's words about mirrors being the scary monster's weakness. A few even began to reach for the levers.
No! Stop! Do not touch those levers! You are my servants, bound to me by the weakness in your hearts! I am your strength!
"No, it's not!" exclaimed Alice. "Whatever struggles life brought you, that drew you into the Mara's clutches, you can find the strength within you to carry on! You got along just fine without the Mara before, you can do so again! Just do what Richard and I did: ask yourselves what fear, doubt, and pain binds you to the Mara! Confront that dark side of yourself, and embrace it or move past it, whatever it takes to find peace within yourselves!"
"If you need help, call out!" added Richard. "You don't need to suffer in silence! I know you may prefer to pretend that nothing is wrong for respectability's sake, that looking good might be more important than actually being good, but that's not how it works! A problem ignored is a problem magnified! Examine the problem, and find a solution!"
"We won't think any less of you for what you reveal, just as long as you don't think any less of yourselves! If we can admit our faults, and move past them, then so can you!"
Ignore them! Your pain is inescapable! Pain and fear define your world! I define your existence! I am the Mara, I am your absolute ruler! Obey!
…...
…...
"...There's no sense crying over mistakes I made. The people still love the opera, and I can make it worth loving again. I can try again. Giving up will only hurt the people I love." Trenton Haymitch mumbled to himself.
…...
"Envying those richer than me, and looking down on those less fortunate than me, only hurt myself and everyone around me. Can I be satisfied with what I have..?" Toby Russell asked himself.
…...
"I caused so much suffering because I felt inadequate." sobbed Cardin Varnham. "But if I loved myself as I am, and treated others with that same love...wouldn't that be better?"
…...
"I can't change the past. But I can learn from it. I can certainly learn better ways to raise my children than acting as if danger was around every corner." moaned George Renfrew.
…...
"There are better ways to honor my husband's memory than forcing my romantic notions on my son. He has his own life ahead of him." mumbled Winifred Hargreaves with a smile.
…...
"There are better ways to show my love for my son than by controlling his life, and making him think of me as oppressive." Thomas Hargreaves told himself.
…...
"He's his own man now, and as long as we love each other, things will find a way to work out." said Meredith Hargreaves.
…...
"Alice...come what may, I have done my part to make up for my mistakes. I should forgive myself and move on." whispered Charles Dodgson.
…...
"My old life is gone, but my new one is just beginning. And I have Jenny to guide me through the hardest of times." said Vastra.
…...
"I keep telling myself I am nothing without Madame Vastra, but that's wrong. Her love for me is proof enough." said Jenny.
…...
…...
One by one, those afflicted by the Mara's corruption stood up, seeing their inner demons for what they are.
No! Stop! You cannot resist me! You will not!
The Mara's words, echoing through the minds of everyone who saw it, were all but ignored. In desperation, the giant snake changed the color of its scales to form a variety of images. Images that suggested money, love, respect, power, loss, fear, despair...but none of them produced any reaction.
This cannot be! I am the Mara! I turn the wheels of time! I am strife! I am misery! I am temptation incarnate!
"And we are not tempted anymore." declared Alice.
At that word, everyone reached down to the floor, and found the lever closest to them. They pulled, and a hundred more vanity sets appeared out of the ground. Their mirrors unfolded, right in the face of the Mara. Its negative energy was reflected back on itself, rooting it in place.
"Yes! Now push! Form a circle!" yelled Alice as she produced her own set.
Everyone pushed their vanity sets towards the Mara. The giant snake writhed, and hissed in a manner resembling screaming.
Smaller negative-energy-tendrils reached out, desperately trying to slow the advancing crowd. They dragged at their feet, pulled at their backs, tugged at their clothes; all to no avail.
One by one, the vanity sets slotted themselves into a massive circle around the Mara. The mirrors visibly enlarged as they stopped, cutting off any possible route of escape for their prisoner.
Those who knew the Mara for what it truly was got to the center first, and slotted in their mirrors. Those who merely saw it as their dark side followed shortly. Last to go were the ones who missed the Mara guiding their actions, although they knew it was wrong.
Finally, once she was sure everyone was free, Alice sealed the last gap.
RREEEEAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHRRRRRRAAAAAIIIIIGGGGGHHH...
Pulled apart and pulled inwards at the same time, the Mara distorted itself into horrible and painful directions...
…...before it finally disintegrated in a burst of light.
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
At that instant, Alice woke up.
Groaning, she pulled herself off the floor, pausing to pull out a few glass shards embedded in her waking clothes. She surveyed the scene in awe at the chaos...
...adding a smirk of triumph when she saw a scorch mark in the middle of the floor. All that was left of the Mara that had caused her so much grief these past months.
All around her were stunned, dazed, sleeping and entranced figures that quickly began to stir. Seeing them brought her a sense of satisfaction she hadn't known in a long time.
One in particular, however, was of keen interest.
"Alice!" moaned Richard as he stumbled towards her. "Alice, you did it!"
"No...we did it. All of us, together..." said Alice...
...as her legs failed her, and she fell right into Richard's arms.
"Alice, are you OK?" he asked, to which she responded:
"Yes...just exhausted. Must have projected myself into too many minds at once. Clearly, it was worth it."
"Don't rest on your laurels just yet," spoke an authoritative Madame Vastra. "The Mara may be banished once again, but the damage it dealt still remains. We have some cleanup to attend to, as well as futures to plan for."
Alice and Richard nodded in agreement, as they tried (and failed) to pull each other off the ground.
"Oof, you really are exhausted...but aside from that, how are you feeling?"
"...More...together...than I've felt in the last twenty years. For once in my life, all of my thoughts and feelings are in harmony...and I plan to enjoy it for as long as I can."
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Deep within the recesses of Alice's mind, Wonderland was rebuilding itself. Energy and life returned to the scattered realms, but the process was far from complete.
Alice waited within the Origin, safe along with her friends. They rested within the safest place imaginable: within the book that was written by Alice's dreams.
The book was secure within the shelves of small books and toys Alice held most dear, tucked away in the corner of her bedroom.:
The Liddell family nursery from so many years ago.
Her seven-year-old self danced and frolicked through fields of imaginary flowers, and her smile made the room a thousand times brighter.
"Alice? Is everything alright in there?" called a familiar voice.
"Yes, Mama! Come and play!"
The door opened, and in stepped Arthur, Lydia, and Elizabeth Liddell. All happy, and ready to dance with her.
She knew this wouldn't last. She knew that soon she would have to leave her refuge and return to the world where pain was possible, and not all stories had a happy ending.
But moments, and memories, like these would make that world so much more livable.
And everyone lived happily ever after.
THE END!
….yeah, I know that's not enough of an ending. So stay tuned later this week for the epilogue!