A/N: So... This is awkward.

I'm really sorry, guys, I never meant to leave this for so long. I've told a couple of you who messaged me directly, but I've had a really rough year. For those of you who didn't know, I have a very severe form of bipolar and my medication stopped working. Anyone with depression can tell you that finding new medications is a months-long game of trial-and-error. It's not been fun and I've literally written next to nothing in a year (anything I've posted was written before). I'm finally up and functional again, so I'm going to try and write more, but please keep in mind I'm still working and going to school full-time.

Thank you to everyone for being so immensely patient and hanging in there. Updates might be slow in coming, but I promise that this story is not abandoned and it will be finished. Eventually.

NOTE: I've done a great deal of editing to the story in the last few weeks. For the most part, it was cosmetic, but there has been a change to the last chapter. If you don't want to go back and read, all you need to know is that Charlie and Rory are sticking with the group. Everything else is basically the same.


Interlude

The Lion paced back and forth in his greenhouse courtyard, wringing his hands behind his back. All around him were the sounds of motion as servants and guards worked to clear debris and cart away the injured. The signs of destruction were visible everywhere, from collapsed furniture to crumbling walls. Even his little sanctuary had not been spared; two of the walls were shattered, glimmering shards of glass sprinkled all over the stone floor, and a corner of the foliage was trampled into mud.

A flicker of movement drew the Lion's gaze up as his captain of the guard emerged through the shrubbery. The young man looked drawn, his uniform spattered with dust and blood, and one sleeve was torn away to make a bandage around his forearm. He stopped at the edge of the private clearing and bowed respectfully. "Your majesty."

"Report," the Lion demanded.

Captain Hawke stood to attention. "The Bandersnatch has been dispatched. The majority of the damage to the castle was contained to the eastern side, with severe structural damage to the menagerie and surrounding areas. Current count shows at least nine deaths and twenty-two injured, but there are still more rooms to clear and the number is expected to go up."

The prince bared his teeth, growling. "And our – guests?"

Captain Hawke flexed his hands at his sides. "They are still currently unaccounted for. We have attempted to send men after them but it has been difficult. The majority of our stables have been emptied. A small group of soldiers have taken the remaining horses out on a patrol search, but as we are uncertain which way they went-"

"Yes, I understand," the Lion snapped, cutting across him with an angry hand motion. His blood was burning through his veins like fire as he thought about it. That worthless Hatter and his band of misfits had gotten away from him and destroyed his home in the process. "The Lizard?"

"Also unaccounted for," Hawke said, "but three servants from the stables have reported seeing him there with the others."

The prince snarled. "He helped them escape." It was the only explanation that made sense – how else would the Bandersnatch have escaped from its cage unless it had been set free? – but having his suspicions confirmed made his stomach roil. "When I find that traitorous reptile I will have him fed to a nest of Gnashbrights."

"Our men have been ordered to apprehend them alive," the captain said.

"No." A surge of vicious rage brought a smile to his face and the Lion dragged a hand back through his sweat-stiff hair. "The Hatter, yes. And the Lizard, if possible. If they cannot be captured and contained, do not hesitate to eliminate them."

Captain Hawke nodded. "The others? Alice-of-Legend and her knights?"

"Kill them all," the Lion said. "And if you can, make sure the Hatter sees you do it."

The captain's jaw clenched but he nodded. "Understood, sir." He bowed again and then turned on his heel and marched away.

The Lion dragged his hands down his face irritably. All of that work – planting spies in his sister's ranks, raiding her fortress, tracking down the Hatter – and he hadn't even managed to get the information he needed. He had really thought he'd finally tipped the scales in his favour this time, but they were back to the same place they'd been for the last century; a stalemate.

There was the faintest thump behind him and then suddenly a sharp, searing pain exploded through his chest. His shout caught in his throat as blood bubbled up into his mouth. The Lion glanced down and saw a narrow silver point protruding through the left side of his ribcage. The point retracted and the Lion staggered around to face his attacker.

"Hello, brother dear," the Unicorn said, grinning. She twirled her favoured dagger, still coated in his blood, between her fingers. "Miss me?"

The Lion's legs wavered underneath him and he fell to his knees. He gagged and spat out a mouthful of blood to clear his airway. "Was that really necessary?" he asked, scowling up at her.

The Unicorn shrugged. "It made me feel better."

"Good for you." He spat again and probed the hole in his chest experimentally. A slow stream of blood soaked into his shirt and, inside the hole, he could see the still-pulsing muscle of his heart. He grimaced. "I really liked this shirt."

"And I really liked my fortress," the Unicorn responded wryly. "Although," she paused to look up at the jagged remains of the broken windows jutting down from the ceiling like fangs, "I feel like there's a delicious sort of irony in this. Did I hear something about your pet Bander getting out to play?"

"What do you want, sister?" the Lion asked, waspish. The itch had already picked up in his chest, telling him that the wound was beginning to repair itself, but it still hurt in the meantime. "You didn't come all this way just to waste your time putting holes in me."

"Of course not," she agreed. She pulled a handkerchief from her bustier and began cleaning off her dagger. "That was just a bonus. No, I had come to take back what you stole from me, but I see that you've misplaced him."

The Lion managed to get to his feet again, pulling himself up with a nearby tangle of vines. The world was swaying slightly but he didn't like being on a lower level than his sister; no reason to give her more of an advantage, even if there was nothing she could really do. "Technically, I didn't steal him. He'd already escaped. I just happened to find him after the fact. And aren't we getting a little too old to be fighting over who touched whose toys?"

"Then stop touching my toys," the Unicorn said and smirked dangerously. The prince rolled his eyes. "So, it seems that we're back to square one. I'm going to go find the Hatter and break this damned cycle. If you know what's good for you, you'll stay out of my way."

"And here I was going to say the same thing. Just like old times then," the Lion responded. He drew the gun from the waist of his trousers and fired. Gore spattered across the greenery as he emptied the clip, bullets tearing holes through her head, neck, and chest. The Unicorn crumpled backwards from the force just as Captain Hawke burst into the clearing, gun at the ready.

"Your majesty?" the captain asked, glancing from the prince's bloodstained tunic to the immobile princess.

"Captain, have your men escort my sister to her usual accommodations," the Lion said. He stepped forward to tower over his sister's crumpled body. She wasn't moving - most likely one of the bullets in her neck had damaged her spine - but she was still conscious. The left side of her jaw had been shattered so she simply glared up at him furiously. "She'll want to be comfortable while she recovers."

The captain whistled and, a moment later, three of his men came into the clearing. They picked up the Unicorn's mangled body, ignoring her choked growls. The Lion grinned as he palmed her dropped dagger. "May the best man win," he said and plunged the dagger into her stomach. He nodded to the guards and they carried her off in the direction of the dungeons.

"Should I fetch the doctor?" Captain Hawke asked, eyeing the bloody hole in the prince's chest uncertainly.

"No, I will be fine shortly," the Lion said. "Have your men prepare to leave immediately. If we hurry we can get at least a day's lead on my sister. It's time we end this."