Countdown to the finale! This is the first of the last four chapters! I apologize firstly to anyone who thinks this story is a bit rushed, and thank everyone who has been reading.

As usual, QuinRose is the owner of Heart. I do not have the money or the legal know-how to gain the rights. This is probably best.

Ch. 7 Opening Night [Backstage Stories]

It was finally opening night. After weeks of preparation and exasperation, the debut of the Wonderland Theatre Company's first production, Hamlet, was set to go.

…In 30 minutes.

"Master Airay, we've been through this. You cannot take the boa on stage with you."

"Then how will the audience know that it's me?"

"They aren't supposed to. You're supposed to convince them that you are Horatio, not Boris."

"I still think it's ridiculous that I can't wear the boa. It's like a part of me."

"I still think the cat ears are a dead giveaway."

"But if we don't match, people might be able to tell us apart."

"Yes, boys, that's the point."

"No fair!"

"It's fun to keep 'em guessing!"

"Do not struggle, Masters Tweedle and Tweedle! And get on your damn costumes!"

"Don't curse at us! We are innocent children with virgin ears!"

"Innocent children don't understand what having 'virgin ears' means. So quit dawdling and get changed."

"Are you certain you don't need another violinist?"

The conductor to the pit orchestra shook his head firmly 'no.' "We have all the parts covered, and you already have a job to do on stage."

Gowland whipped out a double bass.

"Can't do harm with more bass," he said with a radiant smile.

"Mr. Gowland, please return backstage."

Alice wandered toward the changing area, only to be blocked by a mob of faceless female workers, some stage crew and others extras, oohing and ahhing at something. Alice jumped in the air and caught a brief glimpse of Julius and Blood beyond the crowd.

"Excuse me," Alice said, pushing her way through the crowd. She'd already changed into her costume and needed to get a few last minute touches on makeup and last moment repairs on props.

She stopped short of Blood and Julius, on the edge of the crowd, and realized why there was a gaggle of giggling women in the changing area.

They looked good.

Blood had brushed in streaks of gray powder into his hair to show his character Claudius' age, but it made him seem more distinguished. His costume, black with accents of gold and royal purple, was well-cut and flattering.

Julius also wore black and had all his hair pulled back. Gone were the usual clock accessories; instead he only wore a crucifix around his neck and no other adornment at all. The simplicity of the costume made him look slightly mysterious. It was also well-made and flattering.

For a moment Alice stared, her face warm, too proud to admit her admiration for their looks. Turning to the women she said, "All the fangirls need to return to their places. We start in fifteen minutes!"

Grumbling ensued, Alice catching a few snide comments like "selfish", "keeping the good ones for herself" and some, less flattering names. Nonetheless, back to work they went.

"You came. On time, amazingly."

"Would you expect any less from a performer of my status?"

"We would."

Joker and Vivaldi stood in a dark corner of the stage, Vivaldi already in costume, Joker holding a small headset in his hands and a clipboard with stage instructions and entry cues. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bag and handed it to Vivaldi.

"We assume everything is prepared as planned?"

"I held up my end of the deal, now it's you and the other dimwits' turn."

Vivaldi pocketed the small bag and glared at Joker. "When this is over you'd better relocate your little freak show elsewhere or we will-"

Joker had already turned and began to walk away, but in his dramatic contempt had overlooked the pile of coiled rope and sandbags, and tripped magnificently into the curtain, falling off the stage and landing with his butt in the air. The audience had begun to laugh at his antics, but upon being threatened to be flayed alive til nothing was left, abruptly stopped. Vivaldi suppressed a small giggle as she walked backstage.

"Wow! Look at the size of that crowd!" Dee said, he and his brother peeking through the curtain. "Must be over 500 people!"

Elliot and Ace peeked through. Elliot paled slightly and muttered, "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."

"You're not getting cold feet, are ya?" Dee asked.

"My feet are very warm," Elliot replied, not immediately understanding. When he turned back to the crowd Dee and Dum ran off and returned with a bucket of ice. Tapping Elliot on the shoulder, they announced to the hare, "Ice for your cold feet!"

Finally understanding: "You little brats!"

The twins scampered off, laughing their heads off.

"Everyone is here, correct?"

"Yessir!"

"Good. And where is Alice?"

"Checking on the lighting."

"Perfect."

All the Role Holders (Peter too) were standing, cramped in a closet, nearly nose-to-nose with each other in the small space. Oddly enough, it was Ace who was leading the meeting along.

"Gentlemen—" the Queen cleared her throat loudly, "—and her Majesty, we are all here tonight because we have a very important task to complete during this play. First off, it must go well, for everyone's sake and pride, but especially for Alice."

Much nodding.

"And secondly, we must ensure that the ending goes as planned."

"Right!"

"Does everyone know the plan?"

Much nodding of heads.

"Are you ready to go out there and wow our crowd?"

Much nodding of heads.

The door to the closet opened and Alice stood outside the door, staring for a moment until frowning in frustration and saying, "What are you all doing in here?" Seeing the white rabbit she made an annoyed, get-out-of-here face. "Peter, the hell?"

"Sorry, I'm leaving." Peter left.

"We go on in five minutes! You, Joker-what happened to your face?-never mind, go announce the play to the crowd!"

Joker pushed his way out as everyone else scrambled out of the tiny space, straightening out their costumes and smoothing away wrinkles in the fabric.

"Everyone ready?" Alice said cheerfully, clearly excited to finally put the show on.

The twins went up and hugged their big sister and replied, "Any time!"

"Oh, and guys, remember." Everyone leaned in as Alice stared seriously at all of them.

"In the final act, you can't actually try to kill each other. Got it?"

Virtual cookies for all my readers! I would give you real ones, but they still haven't perfected molecular deconstruction and reconstruction through new media (damn you Willy Wonka for not being real!) So yes, this was funnier in my mind. Then again, so are a lot of things. I realize also that Joker is a bit out of character (aren't they all) but his involvement should increase, as well as Peter's.