Chapter Five:

Emblym jabbed at Hatter, who parried and stepped back. Then, he sidestepped and lunged. Emblym twisted at the last second, but he managed to hit her arm. "Watch your opponent's movements," Hatter instructed. "Follow how they move, it'll hint their next move."

Emblym nodded, and stood straight. "Go." Emblym jabbed again, and Hatter twisted and lunged. This time, Emblym dropped, letting his weapon swing over her harmlessly. Then, she swiped at his legs, and he fell. Emblym stood up grinning.

"Good job," he praised. "Nice technique."

"Thanks," Emblym smirked, helping him to his feet. Hatter undid the magic around their swords turning it back to it's original cardboard. "I think I've mastered sword fighting, for the most part. Don't see why I'll need it if my primary weapon is a small knife, but..."

"I was going to explain that next week," Hatter sighed. "But I guess I'll do it now. Your knife is magic, like my hat. While my hat can bring the things I think of out -- within reason -- yours can change into different weapons."

Emblym furrowed her brow, "What?"

"While every change is unique to the owner, it remembers its past shapes and sometimes. So, for example, if one of the former red-humans were exceptionally good with a rapier, your knife will remember that and could turn into a rapier as well."

"Well, how will I know what it can and can't turn into?" Emblym asked.

"Trial and error," Hatter shrugged. "See what works, see what doesn't. You are already good with your knife, so I would stick to that."

"What other weapons has the red-humans used?"

"Well," Hatter said, thinking. "The one before you used a switchblade. And I know a few used it as an axe. Then, there's the rapier, sword, spear. It really varies from person to person."

Emblym nodded. "So, how do I do it?"

"I do not know," Hatter laughed, and Emblym narrowed her eyes.

"What?"

"In order to change the shape of your weapon, you'll need to consult with the other Red-Humans. I cannot tell you because I am not a Red-Human."

"They don't usually like talking," Emblym frowned. "In fact, they are usually screaming." It was true, and they were screaming at her at that moment. They were high on the adrenline from Emblym spar with Hatter and still hadn't began to calm down. It was quite annoying, actually.

"Try," Hatter shrugged. "I can't help you." Then, He turned to leave, and Emblym glared.

"What am I supposed to do then?!" Emblym demanded.

"Listen to the voices," Hatter replied, "They're there for a reason. You're on dishes when you finish." And with that, Hatter disappeared.

Emblym sighed, closing her eyes. She could hear the voices still screaming in her head. Emblym sighed, this wasn't going to work at all. They never listened to what she had to say, and when she did talk, they just gave her a headache.

"What are you doing?" A voice asked in barely above a whisper behind her. Emblym snapped around, her knife in hand to the intruder. It was TweedleDee, he was staring at her. Emblym noticed the bags under his eyes, and the way he squinted when he looked at her.

"Training," Emblym replied slowly, not wanting to turn her back to the strange man. She didn't exactly trust him. She didn't trust anyone, actually.

"To--To change your knife?" Emblym nodded.

"Yeah..." She murmured. Then she looked back at her knife, focusing on it.

"It's not gonna work," T-Dee said, and Emblym glared, annoyed.

"It will if you let me concentrate," Emblym grumbled.

"No, it won't."

"Why?" Emblym snapped, aggravated. "Why won't it work, then? Since you seem to know so much about everything."

"I do," T-Dee said, puffing his chest out. "And I know it won't work because Hatter has the barrier still up. No magic stronger than his is allowed while you're inside it's magic."

"If it won't work, then why would he even have me train for it?" Emblym asked. "That makes no sense."

"To show you who's more powerful," He replied triumphantly. "As long as you're under his control, you'll be nothing more than his flying monkey."

Emblym glared at him, "You must have a death wish, speaking like that," she growled. "I'm nobody's monkey."

"Then prove it," he challenged. "Step out of the barrier. Show him you're more powerful, and maybe he'll let you run the show. Or, stay here, be his little pet. See how far you go on his leash. You know after you kill the Queen, he's gonna get rid of you, right?"

Emblym glared, "You're lying."

"Nobody likes the Queens, and with you still alive, you'll have her spirit in you, and they'll want to kill you for it."

"There isn't even a way out of the barrier," Emblym scoffed. "You're lying."

"Use your knife. Think as if you're cutting down a concrete wall. Then, you'll be able to be release, and you'll actually be shown the full potential of your abilities." Emblym narrowed her eyes at him. "Stay here if you want, I don't care. It's your pride at stake. You're the one being treated like a slave, working chores he's perfectly capable of doing, and then he holds out on you when you train. He's holding you back, but you can solve that, you can leave. And then show who holds the full power in our little group."

"I'm nobody's slave," Emblym growled raising her knife, her eyes full of rage. TweedleDee's eyes brightened, full of maddening happiness. That is, until Emblym slashed her blade against his stomach.

TweedleDee stepped back, wide-eyed as blood gushed out of his chest. "I don't know what you're trying to do, but you can stop it there," Emblym growled. "You're a liar, Hatter would never do that."

"He is the liar here," T-Dee gasped, "Did you really believe that once you kill the Queen, those voices will just disappear?" TweedleDee gave a wet, blood filled laugh. "He lied to you, they all did! He's using you to kill the Queen and take over the Wonderland himself! You're--You're just a pawn, and nothing more!" Blood trailed down his round chin as he gave a wicked smile.

"I'll kill you!" Emblym hissed, knife raised, but TweedleDee snapped his fingers and disappeared. Emblym stood in the open field, confused and enraged. He ran away, Emblym realized, that bastard.

Emblym tried to focus back on her training, but her mind kept going back to what T-Dee said. That, and the fact that he riled the voices up and now they were especially bloodthirsty.

Emblym tried to focus for another thirty minutes, unsuccessfully, and then decided to head back to the house. She could talk to him about what happened with TweedleDee.

Emblym walked back to the house in silence, rubbing her temples from the arise of the throbbing migraine the voices were giving her.

When Emblym arrived at the house, everyone was in chaos. Hatter was shouting from the kitchen, she heard something fall and break. Then came more shouting, along with a few shouts of surprise. "You finally decidded to show?" Cheshire spoke, a hint of anger shining in his tone.

"What do you mean?" Emblym asked, confused. "What's going on? I just cleaned that living room!"

"Emblym! Get in here!!" Hatter screamed from the kitchen. "Now!"

Emblym looked to Cheshire, who was gone, then sighed, going to Hatter. TweedleDee was on the table, that was cleared off. He was without his shirt, and there were bandages on his stomach. He moaned at her presence, trying to turn away.

Hatter, on the other hand, was as red as his wild hair, his green eyes shining with rage. Dormouse and Bayard stood around TweedleDee, but shot her spiteful glances. "You stabbed TweedleDee?!" He growled.

"Yes, he--" Emblym began, but T-Dee cut her off.

"Oh, don't blame her," He said with a grunt. "She was agitated when I tried to talk to her and lashed out. It's no wonder, with all those voices in her head." He groaned, bringing a hand to the wound.

"Don't touch it, it could get infected," Dormouse scolded lightly.

Hatter grabbed Emblym's wrist, snapping the bracelet on immediately. Emblym yanked her arm away, "What's this for?!"

"For nearly killing T-Dee. I think it's a fair punishment."

"I didn't...--Okay, did, but there was a reason, he--"

"I don't want to hear your excuse," Hatter growled. "There's no reason for you to attack one of us!"

"Listen to me!" Emblym snapped.

"Calm down," Hatter said testily. "I don't want to have to fight you."

"Don't tell me to calm down, damn it!" Emblym shouted, shaking with anger. The voices began to scream, demanding blood to be spilt. "This is his fault! I didn't do anything! He--He--"

Hatter reached into his hat and threw a strange powder at her. Emblym stepped back and coughed, squinting her eyes. She realized that she was in a dark room, with no windows or doors. As her eyes adjusted, she realized it was her bedroom.

Emblym screamed, picking up the closest thing to her, which was a book, and throwing it against the wall. The voices chanted inside her, acting with her rage. Emblym continued to scream, tearing her bed to shreds with her hands, throwing her lamp against the wall. She threw books, ripped the wallpaper, pulled down the curtains where the windows should have been.

Finally, Emblym tired and sat on her bed. She breathes heavily for several minutes before tears began to run down her cheeks. They were treating her like she was crazy, and she wasn't. She wasn't crazy. This wasn't fair. That stupid egg-bastard set her up! He made her angry!

Emblym screamed, but her voice choked and turned into sobs. She wasn't crazy, it was the voices! She wasn't--She wasn't crazy!

Why won't anyone believe her...?

•️️️️•

Emblym stared at her ruined bed for hours, suffering silently with her voices. Then, Hatter appeared in her room. He snapped his fingers and suddenly, the room was illuminated.

Emblym took a second for her eyes to adjust, but she didn't look at him. "Emblym?" Hatter spoke gently, pulling up a chair to sit in front of her. "Do you care to explain what happened?"

"No," she grumbled. "You won't listen to me anyway."

"I'm sorry for not listening to you earlier," He apologized. "The situation was tense, and..." He sighed, "I could have handles that better."

Emblym turned away from the man, looking at the damaged wall. Wallpaper hung limply in most areas, some were just completely clear and laid on the floor, discarded. "Emblym, please. I know you didn't just attack him for a reason and leave him like that. Did he do something? Did something happen?"

Emblym stayed silent for several more minutes. "He said... You were using me."

"What do you mean?"

"That after I killed the Queen, you'd have no use for me, and you'd kill me. That way, the Queens would stay dead."

"I would never do that," he said immediately. "Emblym, you had a choice to come here, and you still do. If you want to leave, you can. You don't have to do this. You're... Just a kid, after all. This is a lot of pressure."

"I'm nineteen," Emblym deadpanned.

"Compared to me, that is merely a toddler," Hatter laughed and Emblym smiled a little.

"He also said that you lied when you said the voice would go away if I killed her," she chuckled. "I honestly don't even know why I got angry, looking back on it. That was so silly." Emblym turned to Hatter, smiling, but Hatter was pale.

Emblym's smile fell, "He was lying, right?" She asked hesitantly. "You said... You and Cheshire said the voices would go away."

"Of course he's lying, love," Hatter smiled, but Emblym saw through it immediately.

"Don't lie!" She snapped, "Tell me the truth! Will the voices go away?! Tell me!"

Hatter looked down, and sighed, "Emblym, I am so sorry," he murmured. "I truly am. I... I didn't know Cheshire told you that until you came and--" Emblym launched herself at Hatter, fists beating his chest. Hatter but the floor with a thud, and grunted, when he did, but Emblym didn't care.

"You lied!!" Emblym scream, tears furiously falling down her face. "You told me they would leave!! You lied! I--I thought... I want them gone! And you lied to me! You--You--" Emblym broke into sobs, weakly hitting his chest. "You lied to me...!" She cried.

"I am so sorry," Hatter said softly. "I am," He reached a hand to touch her, but Emblym swatted it away.

"Get away from me!" She screeched, "Leave me alone!!" She felt her arm burn as she unconsciously tried to bring her knife to her.

"Emblym, please, let me explain--"

"Get away!!" She screamed, but this wasn't out of anger. She could feel the voices churning inside her, the taste of the lack of blood increased tenfold. Emblym screamed again, falling to her knees, holding her head. "Stop it!" She gasped.

'OFF WITH HIS HEAD! TAKE HIS HEAD! OFF WITH HIS HEAD!!' The voices screamed.

"Stop, please," she gasped.

"Emblym, you need to control them," Hatter spoke. "Stay calm, they'll--"

"Leave!!" Emblym screamed, her voice accompanied by the hundreds of voices. "Leave me alone!! Get away from me!" Emblym felt something crack and looked down, her bracelet, the one that kept her knife away, was weakening.

Suddenly, it exploded into shards as her bloody weapon formed in her hands. But, this time, it wasn't a knife. It was a huge axe.

Hatter paled, "Emblym, please, calm down. I need you to calm down."

"You lied to me!" The voices screamed. "You sent us to hell!! Off with your head!!" The axe rose in the air and quickly fell down, but Hatter moved. The axe went through the bedroom wall, but didn't stop there. It cut through the wall and formed a new exit, one that definitely shouldn't be there.

Emblym stared at it, confused. "You broke the barrier," Hatter spoke, winded. "Get away, Emblym! Don't go out there!"

Emblym suddenly remembered what she was doing and glared at Hatter. Then, she turned and jumped through the rip in reality.

Emblym was on a dirty, pavement road. Behind her, she could see her bedroom, and the air around it looked like cracked, as if ready to shatter at any second.

Emblym turned, deciding to stop wasting time, and ran away from the house, leaving Hatter's pleas for her to stop in the dust.

•️️️️•

"Sir!" A woman shouted, running down the hall after her boss, careful not to let the several papers that she held loose. "We've received readings similar to the one with the New Mexico incident." The man turned, his single eye narrowing.

"Where?"

"Foote, Kansas, sir," the woman handed him one of her papers. "Here's a satellite image of the area twenty-four hours before," she gave him a picture of an empty dirty road, with a sunny background. "Here's the image of what it looked like when the readings spiked."

The picture was the same, except now there seemed to be a huge gash in the sunny field, which exposed a view of what looked like a messy bedroom, and the blurred image of a man's face. A girl was running down the road, carrying an oversized axe that was nearly her size.

"What does it look like now?" The man asked. The woman shuffled through a few papers before giving him another satellite image of what apparently was the same road. However, now a huge house stood beside it along with a barn, a stable, a fenced off area for sheep, and a henhouse.

"When did these readings come in?" The man demanded.

"Three hours ago, sir."

"And I'm just hearing of it now?" He grumbled.

"I apologize sir, things got a but hectic while we were taking note of everything, sir."

"I want a team sent down there, and take Agent Coulson. Being them back alive, do not shoot to kill. I need the girl, and whomever else you can bring."

"Yessir," the woman saluted. "If you don't mind me asking, sir, who is that man?"

The man held his head, but glared at the rememberance of the man. "He's someone who would see the world burn in order to get what he wants. Now go, send the team out as soon as posible."

"Yes, Director Fury," the woman said, then turned and ran away with her new orders.

Fury looked back at the picture with the man in it, Hatter, was what he called himself and glared. Hatter was going to burn, and he was going to be the one to push him into the flames.