So, how about that Hatter folks? Hope you had a good holiday, for those of you who had a holiday, whichever holiday you had.
Alice came to an abrupt halt a few feet from the door, not because of anything Hatter said or did, but because her knees locked and refused to let her go further. The doorway did not, as she assumed, lead out onto another of those narrow walkways - which she could have handled with acceptable levels of nausea and cold sweating. Instead, it opened out onto… nothing. A whole lot of nothing.
"I'll go first," the man told her, grabbing onto a railing set into the wall aside the door and turning to face back into the room. He stepped down into empty space and she could hear the muted metallic sound of his boot finding purchase on what had to be the rung of a ladder dropping away from his door. Yeah, he was going first, because he didn't have a choice. Alice was not about to - "Come on, then," he called, disappearing from view.
Okay, so maybe she was going to. Okay, Alice, you're okay. Just… keep your eyes to yourself. She turned back to face the room, edging her way to the door. Her hands were slick with sweat and shaky when she gripped the iron railing so hard her knuckles turned white and cracked. It was a ladder, that's all, no different than the one she climbed to get into the attic at home. If it could hold Hatter's weight, her smaller frame would be no problem. Alright. She stepped down, keeping her eyes shut tight so there was no temptation to look down. Her descent was a bit slow, but steady. When she heard the thud of Hatter's boots on the "ground", she relaxed a little, knowing she was not far from the bottom.
He spoke from below her, sounding quizzically amused. "You've got shorts on under your dress?"
"What?" she squawked, eyes popping open to glare down at him. Her mouth opened to berate him for being so pervy, but her gaze saw passed him, down and down and down, and what came out was a strangled cry of fear. Her head swam for a moment and her body gave a jerk of shock, nearly causing her to lose her grip.
"Whoa!" Strong hands gripped her waist, steadying her on the ladder, then lifting her to the relative safety of the earthen catwalk. "Careful!" Hatter admonished. "You're an oyster, not a flamingo."
"You looked up my dress, you ass!"
He had the nerve to smirk down at her. "Sorry." Again, didn't sound sorry at all. "Just your bad luck I don't own any trousers that'd fit you."
Angry at her own fear and his part in her near miss, she shoved at his chest. Pushing him away took away her only secure handhold and her arm flew back, searching out the ladder. Her wrist cracked against the iron painfully, but she ignored it, gripping the metal and pressing herself against the wall like she wanted to become a part of it.
"What's the matter?" His head tilted to the side just a touch, eyes narrowed in question. Alice swallowed hard, though her throat was tight and her mouth dry.
Despite being as transparent as plastic wrap, she shook her head and tried to force lightness into her voice. "Just… got a thing about heights is all. Why couldn't you guys build the city on the ground?" She closed her eyes and took deep breaths, trying to get herself back under control.
"Look at me," he said. She shook her head, holding up a hand as if to ask for a moment. When he spoke again, his voice was markedly softer, even gentle. "Alice, look at me."
She did. She couldn't help herself. Those dark eyes looked straight into hers, concerned and - shockingly - patient. He lifted his hand, palm up, and waited. He didn't push, didn't try to bluster through her fear, just waited. Her hand was still shaking when she pulled it from the iron railing and placed it in his. She was self-conscious about the sweat on her palm when she found his hand dry, and warm, and holding hers with firm sureness.
"Don't look down," he ordered, still in that same gentle tone. "Just keep your eyes on me. Okay?"
She licked her lips, mouth not quite so dry now. "Okay."
"Okay," he repeated. Then, amazingly, Hatter started walking backwards. For a moment her heart skipped a beat. He wouldn't be able to see where he was going, he could step right off the edge! But his free hand skimmed along the wall and his step never erred; his deep, steady gaze not flickering away from hers for even an instant.
Not long after, he turned them down one of those alleys that ran between the buildings and blocked her view of the drop off. His expression instantly switched to a playful smile and he swung his free arm out grandly. Humming some unfamiliar tune, he stepped into her, lifting the hand he held, then slipped under her arm and spun her away again. The impromptu dance confused her and when she didn't join in, he gave up with a shrug, releasing her hand now that they were safely away from any open air ledges.
Their progress was slowed by collapsed buildings, various flotsam and jetsam, ad a number of places where shrubs and brush had overgrown between the edifices. She had the nagging suspicion he had changed their route of travel specifically so it would keep them off any catwalks. The consideration in that gesture was touching. She couldn't remember a time when someone, other than her mother, had taken such care in regards to her phobia. Of course, it could just be that he didn't want to deal with her freaking out over it and figured this was the lesser of two evils.
He had been keeping a couple yards ahead of her as they went. Hatter wasn't overly tall, but the man was all legs and his long stride far outmatched hers. Now, he stopped and waited for her to catch up. When Alice reached him, he took hold of her hand without a word and she knew they were heading back out into the open air. She would have told him she was fine now, thank you, but to be honest, she liked having some kind of lifeline to hold onto. Even if it was a conman from the era of disco she'd just met. She was even more grateful for his hold when she saw that this ledge was about half the width of any of the others she'd trekked along in the city.
This side of this building reminded her of a cheap motel, with matching green doors set into the wall at regular intervals. Hatter stopped at one, seemingly at random and knocked. A viewing slot slid open and he peered inside.
"I'm returning a library book. It's a work of Edwin and Morcar," he told whoever was behind the door. Oh boy, secret codes.
"How does the little crocodile improve his shining tail?" the doorman asked. Alice's lips formed a little smile. Ooh! I know that one!
"He pours water of the Nile on every golden scale," Hatter responded quickly, sounding a bit impatient. Alice was a bit impatient herself, wanting to get off the too narrow ledging. The slot slid shut again and she could hear several locks being thrown. Finally the door opened and Hatter pulled her inside. Into a… bus? It looked like a bus.
"Come on, be quick," the doorman ordered. He looked to be about seventy years old, with a long, thin face. He wore a brown coat and field service cap (the kind that resembled paper hats worn by old time fast food employees). The old man got behind the wheel - so, yeah, it was definitely a bus - and pulled a lever that closed the door again, locks automatically sliding into place once more.
"Hello, Duck," Hatter greeted him. He moved Alice around to a seat near the door, but before she could sit, Duck pressed something on the crazily modified dashboard and the bus dropped sharply. Hatter released her hand as she fell into the seat, catching the hand rails to keep himself steady. She looked up at him with sharp question, what the Hell? and he gave her a reassuring little smile coupled with a quiet, "It's alright."
She wasn't worried about that, though the thing did shake considerably and was loud as a train, but she accepted the gesture. The descent lasted several minutes, obviously the best place for a secret Resistance hide out was far below the rest of the populace. Eventually, a low, warm light flooded the bus, casting Alice's shadow on the far side. She turned to look out the window behind her and saw what looked like the grand entrance to an old hotel or maybe an opera house; all done in gold, crimson, and ivory; velvet, brass, gilt and baroque embellishments. The bus stopped and she moved to stand, but Hatter's, "Wait." gave her pause. Without warning the bus dropped another couple feet and reverberated with a gunshot like bang! Her guide chuckled and gave her a shrug, motioning for her to precede him out the door.
For a moment she thought how polite that was, but the thought was squashed under the much heavier one of "gun!". A woman about Duck's age stood just at the bottom of the bus's stairs pointing a sawed off, double-barrel shotgun directly at Alice's head. She tried to step back, but ended up pushing against Hatter, who was not moving. She looked back at him, fear and question in her eyes, and saw that Duck had a 9mm pistol pressed into the crook of the younger man's neck. Hatter did not look as terrified as she felt. Hell, he didn't look scared at all - he looked irritated.
"Out," the woman ordered. Alice lifted her hands reflexively - not because the old lady had told her to, but because it was a natural response after years of movie watching. Someone points a gun at you, you reach for the sky. She carefully went down the steps without lowering her hand to the railing, worried with each step she would lose her balance and fall, startling the woman into blowing her head off. That would ruin Hatter's silk shirt, that's for sure.
"Why don't we just put these things away?" He coaxed the two gun wielding senior citizens. "Come on, Owl, you know me well enough."
"We have our orders," was Duck's reply. The old woman - Owl- motioned Alice back towards a small balcony overlooking the lower floor of the lobby and she went obediently. Hatter joined her, hands raised as well, and when he turned back to face their captors, she followed suit.
"Keep that right hand where we can see it," the lady said in a deep Scottish brogue. Hatter sighed, still irritated. He lifted his right hand higher, opening and closing his fingers.
"It's just flesh and blood," he told her.
"Right," Owl scoffed. Alice was struck and how odd it was to see a tiny old lady - wearing a floral print dress that belonged on a fifties house wife, hair pulled back with a ridiculously large bow on her head - waving a shotgun around. For a moment, Alice didn't know if she was also meant to keep her right hand where they could see it. But then, the woman said, "We've all seen what you can do with that sledgehammer."
Hatter huffed and Alice wondered what the Hell that was all about. "Did you like the box of comfits I brought you last week?" he asked of the pair. "The cured meats? And the cheese?"
The old man and woman shared a look and Duck answered, "They're all gone."
Hatter nodded, tsking through his teeth. "Well, if you don't treat me with a little respect," he paused for effect. "You won't get another crumb."
The two hesitated barely a moment before lowering their weapons contritely. "Sorry, Hatter." Owl hugged her gun to her chest like a bouquet. She turned, heading off down the side of the upper floor. "Everyone's a little jumpy."
He lowered his arms, laying a hand on the small of Alice's back and guiding her passed Duck to follow. "Everyone's always a little jumpy," he commented. It took the girl a few steps to finally lower her own arms. Once she did, Hatter's hand slid away from her.
"Where are we?"
"The Great Library," he answered, his tone slightly hushed as if in deference, appropriate for a library. "There's five thousand years of history hidden here. Art, literature, law. Rescued by the Resistance when the Queen of Hearts seized power." But that was over a hundred and fifty years ago, wasn't it? "She'd like nothing more than to see this burnt to nothing'." Not the same Queen, surely. He motioned over the side of the carved ivory railing and Alice stopped, looking over the side. The shock of what she was seeing completely washed out any sense of vertigo. It was not like any library she had ever seen. Yes, there were books. Literally, mountains of them, piled all over like a landscape. And people, dozens of them camped out among the books.
"Who are they?" she asked, but thought she already knew. Hatter moved to stand beside her, leaning on the railing somberly.
"Refugees. Those who don't fit into the Queen's world. We give them shelter and try to feed them the best we can, but it is dangerous. If the Queen ever found out, they wouldn't stand a chance."
"Why would she want to destroy all of this?" Even as she asked it, she knew totalitarian rulers didn't need a reason to burn the past. Nothing mattered but what they wanted, what they created, what they deemed to be true.
"Wisdom is her biggest threat. She keeps people obedient with violence, then coddles 'em with a quick fix. They drink their tea and laugh and smile and forget they live in a cage made of fear and decorated with lies."
Her image of Hatter up to this point was completely blown. So, his persona, his working in the Tea Shop was all just a cover for this.
"Come on, Hatter. Don't dawdle," Owl called nervously. "You know Dodo doesn't take kindly to being made to wait."
"And he already doesn't like you," Duck added. Hatter sighed, rolling his eyes. Standing straight again, he motioned Alice forward and the group made their way down the lobby.
They entered an office that was stacked with books and lined with ivy that grew up the walls and across the ceiling. A large painting of a medieval castle dominated one wall, a forest scene another. Duck waited at the door and Owl stood by an ivy-covered column a few feet from a large desk of rich, dark wood that was littered with more books. It was this desk that Alice and Hatter stood before, side by side like kids in the principal's office. And it was behind this desk that Dodo himself sat, shrouded in shadows. He was in his late forties at least, with short, dark, curly hair that had started to grey and a mustache and goatee to match. The long, black leather duster he wore did nothing to hide his slightly rotund figure and gave Alice the impression of a British military villain out of some war film.
When he spoke, his voice only reaffirmed that impression. "What do you want, Hatter?"
Hatter ignored the disdain in the older man's tone. "I've got an oyster here who managed to break out of the Scarab. She's looking to find her boyfriend, a Jack Chance."
"Chase," Alice corrected. She didn't want to make Hatter look bad in front of what was obviously a higher ranking member of the Resistance, but didn't have a choice. "His name is Jack Chase."
"She needs help," he went on. "I thought of you Dodo.
"Really?" Dodo asked, standing and coming out from dark and into the light cast by a couple sconces in the room. His voice was so heavy with derision towards Hatter, Alice was surprised it wasn't dripping from his lips. "And why would I want to help your oyster, when you know that bringing her here puts us all at risk?"
The young man at her side scoffed softly. "Oh, please. I've spent years smuggling more dangerous things than this down here." As much as she hated being talked about like she wasn't in the room and even more being referred to as "this", Alice kept her mouth shut, letting them have their pissing contest.
Dodo's thin lips formed a scornful smile as he stepped closer to the focus of his invective. "You know what rankles most about blood-sucking carpetbaggers like you, Hatter?" He paused as though the question was not rhetorical. "Your gall. While we risk our lives trying to bring freedom to ungrateful leeches like you, you swan about-" arms lifting, fingers rolling in a display of mocked carelessness "-living the good life."
"Stop your crowing," Hatter snapped. By the quiet anger Alice could hear in his voice, Dodo must have hit a nerve. "You know I'm on your side."
The older man just looked at him with contempt and went back to his desk. "I'm sure you say that to all your enemies."
This, apparently, was too much for Hatter. "I do what's necessary. I kiss what butts need kissin' so that your machine stays oiled," he protested, quietly fuming. Dodo opened his mouth to say something, something that would undoubtedly push Hatter into losing his temper altogether. The older man obviously wanted that to happen, probably to have an excuse for not helping them. Duck was right, he really didn't like Hatter. Alice interceded.
"Look, if he's not going to help me, I'll find someone else," she told Hatter, giving the impression she was ready to walk right out of the room. She had no where else to go that she knew of, but she was pretty sure the bluff would break up their hate party.
Dodo chuckled. "Headstrong, isn't she?" he asked Hatter, smiling condescendingly.
"Can you help me get Jack out of the casino?" Her question was more of a challenge.
Dodo did not rise to the occasion. "I don't see how."
"The Resistance has contacts inside the casino, right?" Hatter pointed out. The older man looked away evasively.
"No comment." Which, of course, meant yes.
"Use them to find her guy," Hatter told him. Then added, unexpectedly. "She can pay you." Alice was shocked he would lie flat out like that about something like this, but kept it out of her expression as best she could. "But I want my usual cut, upfront."
So, what, he was going to get Dodo to pay him an advance on something she was supposed to pay the Resistance in the future, knowing full well she had nothing to pay them with? So maybe the sleazy persona wasn't all an act. Sure Dodo was an asshole, but the money - or whatever they used in Wonderland - wouldn't be his; it would be coming out of the Resistance's coffers.
The older man now looked intrigued by the prospect of payment. "Pay me? Pay me with what?" His use of "me" instead of "us" made Alice second guess her assumption that payment rendered to the Resistance would go to those people huddled amongst the books. It also shed a different glow on Dodo's hatred of Hatter and his "living the good life".
Hatter moved behind her and, now on her left, tugged the velvet sleeve of his coat she wore. "Show him the rock, Alice."
Her head snapped around to face him. "What?" She didn't have anything. He knew that.
"The ring on your finger." The ring on her finger, Jack's ring. Not a chance in Hell.
"No, I can't - that is off limits," she protested. Great, so Hatter had thought she could pay. He just hadn't told her. He turned to her now, taking his eyes off Dodo for the first time since they entered the room.
"It's all you have, Alice," he insisted, trying to convince her. She would not be convinced, however.
"No," she hissed firmly. If it had been her own ring, she would have given it up in a heartbeat. But it was Jack's. And it had something to do with why he was kidnapped by the white haired man. She had to hang onto it.
She was so focused on Hatter that the swish of leather barely registered before Dodo had grabbed her hand and lifted it for inspection. He stared at the ring and stared some more. When Alice tried to pull away, he looked up at her, eyes wide and bright with shock.
"It's not possible," he whispered hoarsely. His feverish expression disturbed her and she yanked her hand from his grasp, stepping back. "Where did you get it?" the man demanded.
"It's not for sale," she told him, earning herself his fury.
"Where did you get it?" he barked the question, stepping towards her. She backed off more, fear bubbling up in her chest. Duck and Owl both jumped, startled by the near shout.
Obviously shaken by the man's strange shift in behavior, Hatter stumbled over his next question. "Wh-what is it?"
Dodo snatch up her hand again in a vice-like grip, lifting it to show the younger man. "Your oyster is wearing the Stone of Wonderland." His voice had raised now, filled with some fire that was not all anger. Hatter looked at the ring, shaking his head.
"That's impossible," he protested weakly.
"I'm never wrong," Dodo countered, dropping her hand again and focusing on her face. Hatter, too, had turned to fully face her and, with booth men looming over her, Alice's bubbling fear turned into a violent boil. She stepped back and they advanced.
"Where did you get it, Alice?" Hatter demanded. She was too afraid to lie.
"Jack gave it to me."
"Jack?" Dodo snapped.
"Jack Chase, my boyfriend?" It was the first time she'd ever used those words together, despite how intimate and close their relationship was. How odd, she'd only said it like that because that was how Hatter had put it when telling Dodo of her plight earlier. "The one I need your help to find?"
Her voice was shaking almost as much as her hands as the two men kept coming at her. "Where did he get it?" Dodo continued to badger her.
"I don't know!" she insisted. That's not true, he had said it was a family heirloom, but she couldn't think with them bearing down on her like this.
"Give it to me!" Dodo shouted the command.
Alice shouted right back, her voice a trill of fear and panic. "No!"
Without hesitation, the man spun away, stalking back to his desk. "Take her out!" he ordered Owl as he passed the old woman. She immediately lifted her gun, aimed right at Alice's chest. The girl's heart stopped and maybe Owl wouldn't have to shoot her because she would die right there from the fear alone. Then Hatter slid in front of her, putting himself between her and the old woman's shaking shotgun. Alice instantly forgave him for being underhanded in their dealings, her heart in her throat now that he was in harm's way.
"Stop!" he told the lady, holding up a hand to stay her. "Just wait."
"You're in way over your head, Hatter," Dodo told the younger man. He picked up something from his desk.
"Just give me one second to talk to her, okay?"
That something turned out to be a .38 revolver. He cocked the hammer back and a wash of cold swept over the room. Owl's shaking ceased and Alice was certain Duck had stopped breathing altogether. Hatter's form stiffened in front of her and it became obvious that where he hadn't thought Owl would take a shot at him, there was no doubt when it came to Dodo.
"It controls the Looking Glass," the older man said as though it were all the justification he needed. "You know that."
Hatter looked to Owl and Duck and found them to be of no help, both frozen where they stood. He tried to diffuse the situation again. "Calm down," he'd forced his voice to a calmer, more reasonable tone. "Put the gun away. I'm sure we can all get what we want here."
The way Dodo's eyes had glazed over told Alice that nothing Hatter said would be able to reach the man. The revolver turned towards her and again Hatter put himself between her and the threat, stepping back when the other man advanced. His hand was extended back to herd the girl as he moved, keeping her behind him and safe.
"We've been waiting for years for a break like this and now it falls into our laps!" Dodo practically hissed.
"Stop waving that thing around. You're scaring everyone," Hatter insisted, raising his voice as if he were trying to be heard over whatever was now guiding Dodo.
"If we can return the oysters back to their world, maybe we can save ours." He didn't even seem to hear the younger man at this point. Hatter let his hand drop from Alice and stepped slowly to the side. For a horrible instant, she thought he might have been won over, but Dodo moved with him as if pulled by an invisible string.
"Just put the gun down!" the younger man commanded, voice growing ever louder and more desperate.
"Think about it. The Queen reduced to mopping floors!" Dodo rasped. His eyes were impossible wide now, manic and wild. "It'll be just like the old days. Justice, reason, and the rule of law!"
"Stop this!" Hatter shouted. Now that he was no longer in front of Alice, he made his move, grabbing the barrel of Dodo's revolver and trying to pull it away. Alice shrieked as the gun went off, point blank at Hatter's chest. The impact blew him backwards, over a pile of books in the corner. It was something out of a movie, real gunshots don't do that. But, that was in her world and this was Wonderland. She could only imagine what kind of damage a gun like that could do to her body.
"You've shot Hatter!" Owl cried in shock, clutching her gun to her chest, eyes round as saucers. Duck was frozen in place, staring at the place where Hatter was sprawled.
The shot had apparently broken whatever spell Dodo had been under, but he was completely unaffected by what he'd done. "We don't need him anymore," he told the others. "The ring is our ticket out of here."
"Bastard!" Alice shouted. He'd killed a man, killed Hatter, over a ring. A ring! Fury and fear pushed her to action and she lunged. His focus was on the fallen Tea Shop owner, so she had the element of surprise. She caught his arm and brought it down as her knee came up, the impact jarring the gun from his hand. Her elbow went up and back, aiming for his nose, but instead hit his chin. Dodo reeled back, but only for a moment. As Alice turned towards him, her left hand flat for a palm strike, he caught the neck of her borrowed coat and yanked her back and down. He dropped to his knees, bringing her hard to the floor and curling large hands around her throat with crushing force, intent on strangling the life out of her.
She was maneuvering her legs under her attacker's chest to kick him back when another shot rang out. Dodo jumped back and away from her, leaving Alice to gasp for air. It wasn't a shotgun, so it had to be Duck, but Alice was greeted with yet another shock as she struggled to sit up. Hatter was fighting his way back to his feet, a small, silver semiautomatic pistol in his grasp. The gun was in his right hand, his left was pressed against his upper chest. The wound was higher than Alice had thought, high enough to miss any important organs, thank God.
"Leave her alone," he ordered, moving to stand beside her. "Or, believe me, the next one will be aimed at your head!" He had no free hands, so she got herself up off the ground. Dodo rose up on his knees, then to his feet.
"Hatter," Alice found herself saying with nothing to follow his name. She almost laid a hand on his arm, but didn't dare. He sidestepped, nudging her towards the door.
"Go. Go," he commanded and she obeyed, backing towards the open doorway. Duck had dropped his pistol and stood, mouth agape in shock and terror. Owl had pointed her gun at Hatter once more but it was shaking so hard, she was more likely to blow a hole in the ceiling than the man.
"Look, Hatter, this is a game changer. I'll give you three times your price," Dodo tried to coax, as though he hadn't just tried to kill the younger man. As Hatter backed Alice towards the door, the crazed man advanced. When that didn't make them stop retreating, Dodo tried again. "Five. Ten. You name it!"
Hatter stepped forward, pushing the gun directly into the other man's face. "Back off!" Owl had had enough. She clutched the gun to her chest again and scurried away, hiding down behind the desk.
Dodo snarled. "If you let her leave with the ring, I'll have every member of the Resistance hunting you down."
"Alice, get to the bus," her protector ordered.
"But-"
"Now!" She took off down the lobby. She did not want to leave him there, had no idea where to go or what to do once she got out of the building again, but had to have faith that he knew what he was doing.
Halfway to her escape, Alice heard someone coming up behind her. Those footfalls were too heavy to be Hatter's. She looked back and, sure enough, Dodo was bearing down on her like a Mack truck. What had happened to Hatter? She pushed herself as hard as she could, but her fall and swim and the cold had sapped most of her strength and Alice knew it was very possible he would catch her before she even reached the bus.
She heard Dodo fall, which was a stroke of luck. Maybe it would give her the seconds she needed. In the bus, she slid behind the wheel and found about a million buttons and switches and levers. How the Hell was she supposed to make it work? Since she was fucked anyway, she just started trying everything. She managed to turn the lights in the bus off and on - two different buttons -, start the wipers, and turn on the radio. Over the tinny, calliope music that filled the vehicle, she heard a shout that wasn't Dodo.
"Hit the blue button!"
She looked up in time to see Hatter being shoved against the wall.
"Hatter!"
"Hurry up, Alice!" he shouted, shoving Dodo off of him. "Push the blue button!" He pinned the bigger man against a carved column and drew his fist back. Dodo ducked and the punch missed and Hatter's hand struck the marble column instead. Instead of breaking his hand, his hand broke the column. Even from where she was, Alice could see the cracks snake up the pillar, bits of stone falling to the carpet.
"Holy shit," she breathed, eyes wide. Unfortunately, as the damage was done to the building and not his opponent, Hatter lost his advantage. Dodo gripped his shoulders and lifted a knee to the younger man's gut, then another to his head that sent the ridiculous hat flying off. Knowing she was still the main target, Alice almost did as he said and escaped. But when the older man kneeled over Hatter and, right hand safely immobilized, started punching him in the face, she couldn't do it.
If he was using his fists, then Dodo didn't have his gun. That meant with the two of them against him, they had the advantage. She bolted from the cab, throwing a knee into the bastard's face when he looked up. She felt his nose crack against her knee cap. Good. As he reeled back, her too large boot shot out, striking him full force in the chest and knocking him back and off the other man. As Dodo, rolled to his stomach, Alice crouched, putting her hands under Hatter's arms and pulling him upright. He got his feet under him and stood, taking in the sight of Dodo on hands and knees and bleeding profusely.
"How did you do that?" he asked, sounding bewildered. She didn't answer, dragging him to the bus. Inside, he fell to the floor, half propped up against the seat she had been sitting in on the ride down. Alice slapped the blue button and the vehicle jerked to life, rattling up towards the entrance again. Just under the loud clanking of the machine, she could hear Dodo's roar of outrage.
The girl dropped to her knees, straddling Hatter's legs. He was panting heavily and grunting in pain, skin shining with sweat. She struggled with his tie before giving up on it and just shoving the thing up out of her way.
"How bad is it?" She didn't want to know anymore than she wanted to see the bullet wound, but she needed to find out how serious the injury was. He flinched away from her, head arched back against the seat, eyes squeezed shut. Oh God, oh God, oh… what? She'd pulled his shirt open, the buttons sliding obediently through their eyelets, and found not blood and gore, but an expanse of black fabric. Barely an inch from the edge of the vest, she saw the metallic gleam of the bullet stuck in the material - Kevlar. "Body armor?"
Relief flooded Alice, making her knees so weak she couldn't get up off him if she tried. She touched the bullet, as if to prove to herself it was really there. Lifting the edge of the vest carefully, she saw a dark bruise spreading across his creamy skin. She looked to his face to find him peeking at her out of one eye. "You're not shot?"
"Not exactly." He smiled up at her. After everything he had just put her through, the son of a bitch had the balls to smile at her!
"You asshole!" the girl half shouted, incensed. She moved to get up, but her tired, wobbly legs were not cooperating. "What were you thinking?"
"Hey, I was trying to help you," he protested.
"Well, you suck at helping," she snapped at him with a scowl. "Helping doesn't involve trying to sell people's stuff out from under them."
"Well, I didn't know it was the Stone of Wonderland, did I?" That was his defense?
"If you had told me what you were planning from the start, we wouldn't be in this mess!"
"If I had, you wouldn't have come." That much was true. Even though the ring wasn't hers to give, if it hadn't been tied to Jack's being taken by the White Rabbit, she might have used it to barter help in his rescue. But it was, so that was out of the question from the start.
"And we'd have been better for it!" she pointed out. "He tried to kill me!"
Hatter scoffed, pulling his shirt aside as though she couldn't already see. "Yeah, well, he actually shot me!"
He had. Hatter had stepped in front of a bullet. To protect her. That realization jolted Alice into silence. He saw the change in her face and his own expression softened. Her voice was quiet when she asked, "Are you okay?"
He nodded. "Yeah." He grunted, squirming a bit to work himself more upright, sitting on the floor with his back against the seat, Alice sitting lightly on his legs. "I'm fine. Are you okay?"
Now, it was her turn to nod, though nodding hurt, as her neck was a little tender from Dodo's strangulation attempt. Hatter seemed to read her mind, chocolate eyes flicking down to her throat and darkening as they had back at the tea shop. His hands came up, fingers lightly brushing against her skin. "It's bruising," he informed her, a soft undercurrent of anger in his voice. "I'm sorry, Alice."
"I'll live," she assured him, gently pulling his hands away from her neck. Not that his touch had made her feel uncomfortable, but.. Well, he just shouldn't be touching her like that. She barely knew him. His gaze lifted, but not to her eyes, to her mouth.
"How did that happen?" She didn't need him to clarify, it was obvious what he meant.
"When Jack was kidnapped. The man with the white hair had a cane-" The girl had intended to say more, about how the top had popped off and hit her, but his eyes snapped up to hers and were almost black with fury. It was too intense for her to handle, so she quickly changed the subject. "Tell me about the Stone of Wonderland. What is it? Why does Dodo want it so bad?"
It took the man a moment to let go of the previous topic, but he finally spoke. "It's a big deal." He relaxed against the seat a bit more and Alice could almost feel the tension draining out of him. "It was mined by the ancient knights to power the Looking Glass - the door that connects your world to ours."
"Ancient knights?"
"They were wiped out long ago by the queen," he went on. "She took the Looking Glass and the Stone. Now she uses them to steal people from your world."
"Why?"
"The Tea Shop." When Alice just looked at him blankly, Hatter explained. "You remember what I said about a quick fix? In the casino, the Queen's scientists extract the emotions from oysters. They bottle 'em and sell 'em; instant gratification for the masses. Keeps everyone in line."
"How do you extract an emotion?"
Hatter chuckled, incredulously. "I don't know. I'm not a scientist."
Oh, right. Duh. "So, they just keep them there, stealing their emotions? What, until they die?" His silence was her answer. "I have to get Jack out of there."
"Speaking of which, how did Jack get ahold of the Stone, anyway?"
Alice blinked. He'd told her it was a family heirloom, but that was obviously not true if it was the Stone of Wonderland. She straightened her spine. "I don't know." It was true, she didn't know where he'd gotten it, only that he hadn't told her the truth about such and she wasn't about to tell Hatter her lover had lied to her. Again, she barely knew him.
And yet, here she was, sitting on his legs. Crap. She planted a hand on the seat beside his shoulder, using it to aide her in rising. Her legs felt like rubber, so she immediately plopped herself down in the seat across from him. His eyes flickered over her bare knees and she blushed, scooting down the bench so she wasn't directly in front of him anymore.
So, Jack's ring was the Stone of Wonderland. That explained why the White Rabbit had taken him, why Mr. Sinister had been so eager to get it. How had Jack gotten it? Apparently, it wasn't common knowledge that the ring was no longer in the Queen's possession. Of course, a powerful monarch would not want the commoners to know she had lost the key to their "quick fix". That thought lead to another and another and then her eyes snapped back to Hatter as the bus came to a stop at the top of the shaft.
"If the Queen controls the Looking Glass and the Looking Glass is the only way back to my world, how was the Resistance supposed to get me and Jack home?" She asked him, eyes narrowed suspiciously. He had just pulled himself up off the floor and was starting to button his shirt closed again. He paused, but didn't answer. She saw his shoulders hunch slightly as he kept his gaze averted, focusing on the buttons.
"You bastard." He looked up, about to defend himself when she yanked the lever to open the door and stormed down the steps.
"Oi!" Hatter hurried after her. Almost oblivious to the sheer drop, Alice moved angrily down the catwalk and back between the buildings, having no idea where she was going, only that it was away from him. "Alice!"
"You lied to me!" she shouted at him over her shoulder, not even looking back. "You knew there was no way the Resistance could get me home. You were going to use me as a pay day and then leave me there!"
"Wait, alright?" he beseeched her, but Alice was having none of it. She went through a breezeway and turned left to find an oak tree at least three feet wide at the trunk beyond which was nothingness. She tripped over one of the thick roots at the base of the tree and nearly fell.
"Whoa!" the girl grabbed onto the trunk for support and pulled her eyes back from the edge.
"Where do you think you're going?" Hatter asked of her as she edged her way around the trunk towards the open walkway beside it.
"I don't know. Anywhere but here." Yes, it sounded petulant and childish, but she was pissed, dammit. And in need of new allies.
"There are no 'anywhere's in this town," he protested, coming around the tree after her. "If someone sees you-"
"This is a nightmare!" shouted at the world in general, moving further away from him. "This place." She slapped both hands against the tree as if it were the plant's fault. "You people! God damn it!" She huffed, slumping back against the bark, frustrated and lost.
"Listen, calm down. I'm gonna try and get you home, okay?"
Alice glared at him in angry disbelief. "Oh, really?" She started around the tree again, making this her second time around in a circle.
"Yes, really," Hatter moved to follow her, but found it easier to just go the opposite way and cut her off. "I could-" She turned and went the other way and again he moved to cut her off. "Could you just keep still?"
Glare still in place, Alice's voice dripped contempt. "And what's in it for you? Let me guess, you want your usual cut, upfront?"
His lips pursed in irritation that she'd thrown his own words back at him so poignantly. "I don't blame you for being angry," he insisted. "I acted… impetuously."
He really had the nerve to try and minimize what he'd pulled? Dodo was right, he had a lot of gall. She corrected him sharply. "No, selfishly. You acted selfishly."
"Whatever word you want to use," he conceded. "Let me make it up to you." Unmoved, the girl started to turn away again, but he caught her arm. "Alice, this is a dangerous place. You're gonna need help. It's just plain bad luck I'm the only choice you've got."
Damn him. Alice hated it when people acted like assholes and then expected you to listen to them two minutes later. She hated it even more when they were right. She glowered at the man before her, knowing she had no other option than to accept his offer.
"Don't lie to me again," she ordered, as serious as she had ever been in her life. He nodded, making a little X over his heart with one finger.
"Promise." He was obviously trying to look and sound sincere, but it did nothing to help her trust him.
"So, now what, oh fearless leader?" she snarked, crossing her arms.
"First, we go back to the Tea Shop, regroup, and plan our next move," he told her. Reasonable enough. Fine. She motioned him on and, when she started back the way they had come, followed after him. She didn't trust Hatter as far as she could throw him, at this point, but he was all she had to pin her hopes to.
So, what do you think? No, seriously, what do you think? When you guys don't review, I get paranoid that no one's reading. -puppy eyes-