Sorry again for the terrible lateness! *ducks not to be hit by a flying tea cup* But! The school is almost finished, I'll have more time to write and post, the fourth chapter is already Work in Progress.

Did you notice the change in the title? Cool uh? (no, not really). I'm working on The Otherworlds Chronicles III where you'll find a surprising crossover... enough of this, let's go on with our story.

Chapter 3 – Blue Paper Hat

The meeting took place in the gardens of Marmoreal on a wonderful sunny day.

The White Queen was running the best she could manage without tripping on her dress along the intricate garden paths that ran between her cherry trees, which were starting to lose their flowers. Hopping behind her, McTwisp carrying some Oracolum-like rolls of old yellowed paper while she had her arms full of other similar stuff herself.

When the couple arrived everyone already sat at a round stone table; Mirana set there everything she had been holding and a white thing rolled along the table stopping right in front of Mally, who found herself face to face with a mannequin head. She yelled jumping back right at the center of the table, buried in a massive bunch of little fallen pink flowers.

Alice took the head rolling and upsetting it to read what was written on its scalp: Futterwacken, Horunvendush Day, Tea, Alice, Hats,… : "What strange version of Othello is this?"

Mirana took a seat sighing as Thackery amused himself by unrolling the parchments: "Those are old studies I never meant to exhume another time"

Tean unrolled a random parchment reading the title out loud: "'Peculiar Mercury Effects Upon Human Mind'? Now that's utterly creepy…" she said peering down farther at the text.

Mirana nodded in agreement: "I started them when the Hatter first got down the hill after your departure on the Frabjous Day, Alice" she gestured at the Champion to get her attention "Then you came back and he was fixed, so I put them away hoping not to need them again" she shook her head looking down slightly.

At this Mally lifted her hat pin sword leaning on it like it was a simple walking cane: "I don' think tha's the matter with teh Hatta"

"Or the matter of the Hatter" Tweedle Dee pointed out, gesturing with a feather pen and receiving an elbow in his side from his brother who added: "The former"

"No, the letter!" Tweedle Dum shrugged lifting his eyes up to the sky.

The White Queen rolled her eyes waving a hand and glaring at the twins: "Tweedles!"

They nodded but continued: "He's Mad!"

The Bandersnatch, annoyed by their nonsense, roared so loud that McTwisp was sent flying right into Thackery and the girls' hair went free.

"Oh, botherations Bandy!" yelled the red trying to put her massive mane back together.

Once the order was reestablished, Bayard took the word: "What Mally was referring to, was what happened in the woods a few days ago"

"What happened in the woods?" Alice asked frantically.

The Bloodhound continued: "There was a great storm: we ventured out in the Tugley Woods to investigate. The Hatter was perfectly 'hatterish', he even took a stick-"

"Ugh, teh see if there was somethin' underneath it!" Mally hurried to say.

The dog suddenly stopped waving his tail from side to side and cleared his throat: "Precisely. Until he found that," he talked slowly, carefully articulating every word "That blue paper hat somehow put him in mind his family's tragedy, slayed by the Jabberwocky on Horunvendush Day many years ago…"

"And he's just not himself anymore" whimpered Mally.

Tean had stopped browsing through the yellowish rolls of paper, slumping back on her stone stool. Some long buried memory raised from the back of her mind bringing hot tears to her eyes. Thoughts that had gone forgotten made her heart beat fast and kept words from exiting her lips.

He could have become a talented hatter. A pity he was that stubborn.

Don't speak of him in the past.

Even if he still breathes, he'll never be the same again! You have always been the strong twin!

Means that didn't change me?

Sergeant. Sergeant of Cavalry Tean Paula Hightopp Five.

"Sergeant?"

"Tean, is anything wrong?" Alice shook her shoulders lightly, her sister-in-law's eyes had gone a sick yellow-blue.

"…never the same… strong twin… sergeant!"

Alice frowned: "Tean wake up!"

The red shook her head, eyes again bright green, noticing everyone's attention had turned on her. She hid her embarrassing flushed face in her hands and blinked hard to push tears back. Her fingers travelled against her cheeks to pull her hair behind her ears, gaze still low; what would they have thought about her? What did that memory mean? First things first….

"A-a blue paper hat, you said?" she stuttered.

"All buttonly 'nd feathery!" Thackery said excitedly.

Mirana quirked and eyebrow at the woman she had in front, Alice shifted her gaze between the Queen and Tean and couldn't help but think that something was being kept from her: "Would you please care to explain yourselves?"

The soldier joined her hand in her lap and nodded: "Tarrant once told me something about that hat, Father had to do with it too but neither of them ever told me the whole story. Of one thing I'm sure: it was the motivation of the constant tension between them. We were so young, but from the day that hat appeared, Tarrant and Father have always been one against the other"

Alice let her eyes wander down to her curled hands leaned on the table, tears of rage and worry threatening to fall. She lifted her eyes for a brief moment to the sky above: "Why won't he talk to me?" she asked with a tight throat that held burning sobs back.

"O-oh dear," muttered McTwisp hopping near to her and hugging her arm and cuddling his fluffy head against it for comfort "There, don't leave yourself down like this"

"Yes, Champion Alice never gives up!" Mally added stepping closer.

Tean stood, took a clean handkerchief form her pocket and came to kneel beside Alice. Confused by her best friend's behavior, she closed a hand around her clenched ones and lifted her chin with the other: "My brother," she started to wipe tears the Champion hadn't noticed had fallen "Is a proud lad. And won't ask anybody for help until he has nothing else left to do." She sighed dropping her hand from her sister-in-law's face and looking in her eyes: "And he's stubborn. As a mule!" she smiled.

Alice smiled too, giggled even, picturing the long eared equine wearing her husband's hat.

Right then, just on a branch of the cherry tree that stood proudly behind the round table and extended its canopy above the scene, a bluish fog came together to form a grinning feline. Chessur stretched and yawned, waving gracefully his tail while paying attention at the last bits of Tean's speech. "Seems to be a hard family business…" he purred.

"Chess!" Mirana hissed.

But the cat continued: "I'd suggest Tean to go to see the Hatter, since she is part of his family. Maybe she could help us save him" he leaned his round face on his paws.

"Sound fair" the Tweedles said in a chorus.

The White Queen gestured towards the red: "If anything could bring the Hatter back, it would be seeing you again".

Tean stood looking at Alice, who returned the look: "Give a try, bring him back to me…".

She pressed her lips together and lowered her head in a single sharp nod, before venturing along the thin path that brought to the Hightopps' house, a hand squeezing Alice's shoulder, the other clenching the hilt of her sword in anxiety.

I'd like to thank all my followers for this story for their endless patience: Akumu Kagami, CharZLover, Girl-of-100-fandoms, Piplup13, SUZITROUBLE, ScorpioQueen96, The Daughter of santan, catlover123456789, cshreiber, ebj23, , pand Bunny 2.0, professor river yui potter, .5682, saashi samy, scaryanny, youngauron.

I hope this chapter was worth waiting, R&R, I accept critics too.