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Chapter 2: Stay with Me

Alice didn't think she could live without him. Not now that she had gotten to know him, and wow, kissed him. It had almost happened before, when she was in the woods with him, but feeling his lips against hers... wow. It was everything she thought it'd be and so much more. She clasped and unclasped her hands as she waited for his answer. That answer would either heal her heart or break it, and he seemed to know this, as he took in a deep breath before he spoke.

"No," He said quickly. "I missed you too much."

"But you said..."

"Jack doesn't think there should be a link between our worlds anymore. You've seen what happened..." His voice trailed off as if the memory was too hard to think about. His world, his Wonderland in total chaos. Good people reduced to seeking shelter in the library. He himself a double agent...

"And what about you?"She whispered.

He cleared his throat, trying to erase those bad memories. It was time to start anew, and it was something he had been thinking about ever since she was ripped from him and thrown back through the Looking Glass. But would she want him? "I... I was wondering if... if you'd like me to stay here... with you."

A smile as bright as the rising sun crossed across Alice's face. "And do pizza?"

"And many other things," He whispered.

There was a split second pause before Alice threw herself into him again, knocking him back into the couch cushions. He laughed at her reaction. No girl had ever gone through so much with him. Frankly, he had never given them the chance before. Sure, they were good for a night or a weekend, but he'd dispose of them easily, and hadn't felt anything for them at all. That was until Alice came along. What was it about her that kept him under her spell? He was sure that if he lived a million years, he would never be able to answer that question, and so he held her tightly.

"Of course I want you to stay!" She screamed. She straddled him, and snuggled deep into his chest. He smelled like the woods, a piney, minty smell. How could he expect anything different, after all they had been through? He looked after her, protected her... She reacher her arms up and circled them around his neck, and leaned down to kiss him again. She smiled when his hands went to her waist.

**

Dodo knew that Hatter had gone back through the Looking Glass. His contacts in the king's court had confirmed that. Just who the hell did Hatter think he was, getting permissions others did not? Dodo would love to travel to that world, and bring it to its knees just as those... oysters had done to his not long ago. He'd make them feel how he felt, begging for morsels of food...

But no.

The stupid king thought that they should shut the Looking Glass down. What an idiot. Seemed like everyone in the Heart family was brain dead. Didn't he see the potential with it?

Dodo had other plans.

He wouldn't bring the oysters back here, they had gone down that road before. No. He'd send his agents there. They'd swarm that world like cockroaches slowly at first, and then before the oysters even knew what was happening, Dodo would be in power, and they would be begging for mercy. He'd enslave them, learn their way of life, and take every last drop, every ounce of dignity they ever had. Those that still fought against him would be slaughtered. That revenge would be so very sweet, and he, Dodo would be the commander of the Looking Glass, master of the Stone of Wonderland...

But there would be those that would oppose him.

Hatter, for one. He loved the damn oyster, and he would fight to the death to protect her. Well, so be it. Hatter had gotten on his last nerve for far too long. One thing was certain though, where Hatter was, the ring was sure to be. And how Dodo would love to watch that bitchy brunette kneel before him.

The Hearts would try and stop him too, and so be it. He'd take down half of Wonderland to get his revenge.