SUMMARY: As mankind forgets their hopes and dreams, Wonderland plummets into a darkness which consumes not only the land, but its people too. Little does Alice know that her world is tied to the fate of the world she only read about in childrens books, until she is met by an ethereal creature who takes her into what's left of the world of Wonderland. There was an Alice who saved wonderland once before…will this Alice be able to do the same?

Pairing: Hatter X Alice

Rated T for Language, Action, and Suggestive themes.

DISCLAIMER: Don't own, don't sue…these are naught but creations of two minds combined, inspired by the brilliance of many minds…I'll let you figure that one out.

WARNING: Don't steal. I know where you live.

AKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Inspired by SyFy's Alice, and 1980's film, The Neverending Story…with some twists of our own of course *mwahahaha* BRILLIANT!

Planned by my Elder sister, Written by yours truly.

1

"Let me fall. Let me climb. Theres a moment where fear and dreams must collide. Someone I am Is waiting for my courage…the one I want, the one I will become will catch me…"

~ "Let Me Fall", Cirque du Soleil, QUIDAM

Madness…

If there were a single word to describe it, that would be it…Madness…although, Madness was simply an understatement. She could not think of another word to describe it…so she stuck with the closest one, however far from it it may be.

She diddnt know where she was, how she got there, or why she was there, nor did she know what was going on and why…all she knew was madness…and something else. Fear…a crippling fear that engulfed her body and mind, ridding her of any and all forms of clear thought. She acted solely on instinct…

Run…that's what she had to do…Run. Her mind told her so, and so she ran. She couldn't see where she was going. It was dark. She could see shadows from her surroundings. Her mind told her they were trees.

She was in the woods.

But which woods? And where? Who cares. Run.

The sky was blood red…the clouds circling above her were black as night…no light pierced through the tops of the trees…

There was only one thing guiding her. A companion, running alongside her…or behind her rather, weapon in hand, but he was no danger to her. In fact, he was protecting her…running behind her to shield her from whatever dangers may try to catch her unaware.

Knowing he was there is what kept her from losing herself to the madness around her, the only thing keeping her somewhat right minded.

Every once in a while, she would glance over her shoulder, just to make sure he was still there. She couldn't see his face in the darkness, but she could see his shadow, and that was all she needed to see.

The ground suddenly shook beneath their feet. They lost their footing and fell hard on what felt like grass. He was the first to stand, taking her by the arms and quickly helping her back onto her feet just before another tremor shook the earth around them. This time, they braced themselves. He held her tightly from behind and pressed himself against the trunk of a tree, digging his heels into the ground for balance.

"Its getting closer" She heard him say, "We have to keep running…we cant stop now…" His voice was weak…strained…clearly, he was very ill. Pressed firmly against him, she could feel his chest rise and fall with heavy heaves. Every now and again she would hear him wheeze. He was shivering.

"You cant keep running like this," She told him, feeling his heart race at a most unhealthy speed, "You'll die."

She heard him grunt, felt his grip loosen before finally letting go, "I'll be fine. I made it this far. Lets go. We aint got much time…Its almost here…and you n-need…t-to-" He hacked and she heard the thud of his body hitting the ground.

She opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out.

She fell to her knees, hands searching desperately for him, but he was not there…all she could feel was grass.

Hot tears fell down her face as fear gripped her once more.

The blood red sky above her suddenly went black…

"NO!!" She shot up in bed, dripping wet with sweat, heart pounding like mad. She gripped at her shirt over her chest, wincing as the muscles in that arm ached violently. She pulled her shirt down over her shoulder…it was bruised and…were those grass marks?

This was just too weird…

She buried her face in her hands. This dream..this same dream…its been haunting her for months…what does it mean? And why is it so real? Why can she feel pain in this dream and not in any other?

She rubbed her arms…she could still feel the tight, protective hold of the man in her dream, and in a way, he was glad she could. She diddnt know who this man was…she could never see his face, nor could she recall a name. She only knew the weak sound of his voice and the way he made her feel safe…She couldn't even recall what his form looked like…

Many a time she had gone to speak so people she believed could interpret her dreams…but each time she was turned away, as though her dream cannot and will not be defined. She ran her fingers through her soaking wet hair and stared longingly out the window…

There was no moon out tonight…She sighed and curled back up in her bed, hugging herself once more. The feeling was still there…And it was soothing enough to her to draw her back into a most needed sleep.

Madness…if there was a single word to describe it, that would be it…Madness…