Desclaimer: This chapter is the most similar to the original film so far, but I DON'T OWN the Hatter, NOR ATtLG. I only OWN Tean.

Chapter 4 – A Family Business

Tean ran up the steps that brought her a few inches away from the front door, losing her eye focus a bit in the colors of the glass. She knocked loudly and waited.

"Goh away! Don't come in" he rang form inside.

She rolled her eyes: "Hatter it's me: Tean"

Sound of unlocking locks followed then the Hatter peered suspiciously out of the barely opened door.

She gasped at his sight, finally understanding Alice's worries: his vibrant red hair now tamed and pressed against his head, bright and glowing eyes now dull and darkened. No tool of his beloved trade to decorate his attire, a gray and black suit, so boring and terribly different compared to the usual mismatched choice of clothing that characterized her brother.

Her name whispered by his lips awakened her and she found herself held in his arms: "You are here!". She did her best to shake herself and hugged him back until he pulled away sharply, still holding her upper arms: "You are you, aren't you Feather?". With that his gloved hands were her face, Tean winced at the unfamiliar touch of smooth fabric on her cheeks; they travelled farther down, on her shoulders and arms then spun her around.

"Tarrant, it's me" she murmured finding her throat tight.

"Good" the Hatter looked around suspiciously as if he was afraid that someone was spying over them, then started to pull her inside "You're the only one…".

As Tean was hidden inside his hall he fretted to close the door again. The house seemed to be the same as always, everything at its place at first sight. Just… that annoying mercury scent… it wasn't so sickening the first time she had been there.

Tean turned to face her twin, noticing that his eyes were shining as he approached at her. "Tare?" she whispered laying a hand on his cheek and savoring its warmth. The Hatter's eyes flashed green for a moment before they closed and he breathed deeply. She smiled and brushed a curly ginger strand from his brow: "What's up with you Tarrant? You have been worrying heavens out of everyone lately…"

He blinked, eyes his usual green. That's a step forward, Tean thought: "You have always been my favorite sibling, and the most sympathetic one of all towards me for the matter… and that's how I know you'll believe me"

"What should I believe?" she urged on.

"It' our family, Feather" he stepped away gesturing for her to follow and vanished into his workshop.

"Our family?"

"Yes! Our family: lost for many years" as he spoke he never stopped looking at the big family portrait that hung above his work table. It showed the whole Hightopp clan: Tarrant and herself were standing side by side on the extreme right with their father Zanik. Beside him, in the middle of the picture stood their mother Tyva, who had a column with a top over it in front of her, where the Hightopp name was gracefully carved. In front of the twins sat their aunt Fiona who held their youngest sister Jeanette on her lap, at the time she must have been no older than a year or so. At Tyva's left stood aunt Fiona's son, Allen and sat in front of him their older brother Ernan who had an arm around their younger sister Caileen.

"Or so I thought", Tean was snapped out of her contemplating trance by her twin crossing her way to delicately pick a small thing out of a little glass box: "Look! I found this!". He was holding out the paper blue hat they were all talking about, high enough for her to see it clearly: "It's the first hat I've ever made! I thought it was thrown away long, long ago. It was impossible for it to be here and yet… here it is" he paused to look closely at the hat: "And if this hat survived, our family must have too!".

Tean lifted her fingers as if to touch it, but he retrieved it jealously: "Hatt-"

"I thought I wasn't worth of the Hightopp name…" he threw a distant gaze at the picture, turned away from it and slowly made his way out of the room "Very serious man, my father…"

"Yes, I… I recall" Tean said, standing still in front of the frame, merely following him with her eyes.

The Hatter went on rambling: "We had a terrible fight. I never said I was sorry when I had the chance…. But this means I can make things right!"

Caught by surprise by his statement, she turned towards him. She swallowed hard: how to tell him how things worked gently? They had been through this so many times in the past… this matter would hurt him just as much as she was hurting now, hearing such ingenuous hopes. She thought that after all the time, the events that had passed he had finally given up, accepting that they were the only remaining Hightopps. His wedding with Alice, their son had only made things better: he had had back the family that had left him so long ago. Why was he letting himself get lost over again because of a little hat?

She shook her head: "Tarrant…" she went closer to him, she could almost feel him trembling with hope, "You see, our family…". She wasn't able to continue anymore: her voice choked in her throat, every word burning as it came out.

He looked at her in the eyes and frowned sadly: "You… do believe me, don't you Tean? Feather?", he pressed the hat against his chest.

"I desperately want to… but…" it was nothing but a whisper, how much was she hoping that he hadn't heard her? Unfortunately he did, shaking his head he stumbled backwards. She saw color drain from his face, some strands of his hair whitened as he heavily fell sat upon the nearest chair. "Tarrant?!" she followed his falling by holding his arm tight, she ended up on her knees in front of him: "You are not well! God, look at you! Is there anything we can do?" she put a reassuring hand on his knee.

He seemed to be deeply lost in thought, his index casually tapping his closed lips: "Of course…" his green eyes still held that light that she didn't like: lost, unfocused, confused, dreaming. "My Alice could bring my family back to me" there he was, choking on his own words as if Madness was struggling against Sanity to let them out.

Tean was close to tears now: did he even listen to what he was saying?!

"B-but Tarrant… the thing is… our family died. Long ago… don't you remember? All those years we spent together as the last ones of the Hightopp Clan?" She felt a tear roll along her face: "As much as I would love to see them one last time too, Tare… no one can bring them back."

He leaned closer, playing his last ace: "No one but her… I know she can, she will save them, she-"

"No!" Tarrant was taken aback by her sudden outburst "I'm so sorry… It is…", what she was going to say was absolutely against Underland's rules but- "It's impossible".

A dangerous frown crossed his features, his eyes rolled back in his head and when he opened them a second later they were as white as the strands in his hair, his brow furrowed. Tean shrank in fear and disbelief as she saw all of his anger turn against her and instantly realized with horror that her hand was wrapped around the hilt of her sword in defense.

"Yeh are not yeh!" he gripped her upper arm with crushing strength and forced her to stand along with him: he did not release his grip on her when he felt her wince in pain, did not stop when he heard her stumble behind him as he dragged her violently out of the door, did not listen when she called his name, begged him to calm down. All he heard himself say, engulfed by the Madness' fog, was a snap he would have later regretted: "I don't know who you are! You are not my twin, not my sister! All I need is my Alice… my Alice will believe me!"

He slammed the door in her face, not caring if she started banging it with her punches or shoulder, whatever, she would hurt later, not him. He did not open the door, not even after he heard her start sobbing. He felt lightheaded: he blindly searched for a support and found his desk. He found it hard to breath and had to stop for a few seconds before stumbling forward, towards the living room. He leaned against the wall, slid down and sat on the floor, a hand searching in his pocket until it fund the hat: he stared at it for a moment before he pressed it against his chest, just above his heart and started to sob himself.

Sorry if the lenght of the chapter isn't Worth the waiting, I promise I'll be quicker with the next chapters. Obv, reviews make me work even quicker!

Little answer to the question you might have asked yourselves while reading: what's this 'Feather' thing? I thought of a nickname that Tarrant could have used when the were children, I haven't figured out a possible one for him (I think that simply 'Hatter' is still the best choice) but if you want to suggest something, write the nickname in a review :-))!