AN: Finally an update! Once again, I must apologize for my tardiness! Late for tea again, aren't I? Well, since it's been such a long wait, I'm going to present you all; who have been religiously reviewing and reading, a longer chapter than usual!

A little gift for you team Hatter readers! Though it does end slightly angsty!

Reviews keep me updating! (:

"You were about to tell me something yesterday, Chessur, what was it.. the bad news?" Alice pushed Chessur's arm off, and Tarrant heaved a sigh.

Chessur's face turned solemn.

"The white queen… She's been beheaded."

Alice heart sunk.

Chessur watched her with large disenchanted eyes, his mouth in a tight lipped frown. He ran a hand down his golden blonde locks nervously, shaking his head.

"We have to rethink our plan of thwarting the red queen without the white queen's help now, Alice." He murmured to her gently, grabbing a hold of her hand and squeezing it delicately.

The girl gripped the Cheshire cat's hand tightly, as if it was her only lifeline. Her eyes locked onto Chessur's kind green ones and oh, she never realized how beautiful those shocking green pools were before.

On her left, Tarrant let out a rather loud cough.

"Excuse me, if I might interrupt this charming eye-staring competition, may I suggest we all start doing something productive?" The Hatter stood up, his eyes narrowed.

Alice glared at him coldly, "Well, I'm sorry, Tarrant," she hissed coldly, "I don't have the emotional capacity of a zombie, so I can't think as well as you do after Chessur dropped the bombshell."

Tarrant's eyes widened in surprise, and was stunned speechless for a moment before regaining his arrogant glint.

"Are you calling me a zombie? I have you know, I do have emotions, what you call them – "

"What can we give the queen so that she'll leave Underland alone?" Alice ignored the Hatter, turning to Chessur, who was grinning wickedly.

"I do not know," Chessur admitted, his grin fading away, "I do not want to know either."

"But I might." Came a voice from the corner of the living room.

The three of them whipped their heads to the direction of the noise. Looking tired, but albeit more rested than before, was the White rabbit, his eyes filled with some sort of pained expression as he hopped over to Alice.

"She knows that you're here now, and she knows about what the Caterpillar prophesized." Nivens sighed, glancing sadly at Alice, "She wants you dead."

"More specifically," The Hatter whispered suddenly, his voice low and dangerous, "She wants your head, Alice."

Nivens nodded slowly, exhaling out a sigh.

"I overheard the guards. The red queen wants you, at the moment, alive, so she can behead you once you're in the castle."

He shared an odd look with Chessur.

"And she'll have the Jabberwock beside her, in case anything goes wrong."

At the word Jabberwock, the Hatter gasped audibly, his face contorted into fear and anguish.

Alice looked perplexed.

"Jabberwock?" She inquired, tilting her head curiously.

"The thing is," Tarrant spoke up suddenly, his voice shaking, "She wants Alice, apparently alive, so we have to take this chance to beat the Red Queen at her own game."

Everyone glanced expectantly at him.

"If she wants Alice, we'll give her Alice."

At that moment, Chessur pounced onto the Hatter, pulling the latter's red hair harshly as he shrieked in amusement and pain.

"You – Little – Backstabbing – MONSTER –" Chessur hissed between clawing at the Hatter.

"I HAVEN'T FINISHED!" Tarrant growled, under the heap of messy hands and legs, "I HAVEN'T FINISHED MY PLAN AND YOU'RE ATTACKING ME FOR NO REASON! GET OFF ME YOU CRETIN!"

"DON'T YOU LIE!" Chessur was straddling the Hatter, both hands on Tarrant's neck, gripping it tightly, "YOU WERE GOING TO PUT ALICE UP TO THE QUEEN LIKE A PIG FOR SLAUGHTER."

"NO – I – WASN'T – YOU – STUPID – CAT!" Tarrant screeched, choking as he tried to shake Chessur off.

"Hey morning guys – OH MY LORD." The March Hare was standing at the bottom of the stairs, eyes fixated on the two wrestlers on the floor.

He glanced back up at Alice, who was shaking his head in irritation. "Are they… making love?" He whispered, loud enough for them all to hear.

At that, both Chessur and Tarrant practically jumped off each other, either shouting verbal abuse at the Hare or denying they were gay.

Alice found herself bursting into laughter as she watched the Hare frown in befuddlement.

"Did I ruin something?" He asked casually, walking over to Alice, shrugging at the two, who were glaring daggers at each other.

"Oh, Hare, how I love your sweet humour." She giggled, giving him a small hug.

The March Hare cocked his head, "Humour? I was telling a joke?" He muttered to no one in particular.

Nivens's eyes glimmered with tears of laughter as he went over to pat Thackeray on the back mischievously, "Oh my friend, you have the ability to get rid of all kinds of tension." He grinned.

"Right back down to serious matters," Tarrant coughed loudly, drawing their attention, as he dusted himself while glaring pointedly at Chessur, "As I was saying –"

"As you were trying to KILL Alice…" Chessur sniffed, cutting in quickly, adjusting his shirt, frowning.

Alice shot Chessur a look. Really now Chess, she nodded at him meaningfully to just let the Hatter continue his head, let's just see what Tarrant has to say. The cat stuck out his tongue at the Hatter (Who rolled his eyes and went, "Real mature, Chessur.") but raised a hand and flicked lazily as to allow the Hatter to continue.

"We can infiltrate her castle." Tarrant declared, grinning proudly from ear to ear at himself, "Since she doesn't want Alice dead yet, I could pretend to have backstabbed you all (Chessur's eyes narrowed at that) hand over Alice," He motioned towards the blonde girl, ", and having the trust back from the red queen, I could potentially catch her off-guard and kill her!"

"That sounds fine and dandy." Chessur spat out spitefully, "What if the red queen decides not to trust you and kill the both of you? Didn't you remember what the chess knight said about the Queen wanting you dead?"

There was a long pregnant pause.

Alice rubbed her temples in frustration. What was she going to do now? Everything wasn't going according to plan… in fact the plan wasn't exactly fool-proof to begin with! There were so many questions running through her head, why did they depend so much on the white queen if her army couldn't defeat the red queen before? What did Alice have to do with the equation?

She let out a sigh of annoyance and started pacing up and down the room. Why her? What could she possibly do to save Underland? What did she have that the rest didn't? What did the red queen do to overthrow the white queen in the first place? She glanced up at Tarrant, who was eyeing her with watchful green eyes.

"I have a lot of questions." Alice told him quietly, "If you really want me to think of something that will save us all, you have to tell me everything that happened, from the start to the end. And I want the honest truth."

Nivens nodded in agreement. "Very well, though I do have some missing pieces on what happened and why… you will not like what happened, but here goes…" He made his way to a wooden old chair and sat upon it, his eyes suddenly bright with pain and anger.

"It all began only a few months back," Nivens began, his pink nose twitching slightly, "I used to work for the white queen as her page," His eyes darted to Alice, than at Chessur, who frowned slightly. "One day, while I was watering the gardens of the white palace, I glanced up to the sky to find it turning blood red, as it is now," He gestured at the window quickly, shaking his head.

"At first I thought of it as nothing until I heard the roar of the Jabberwock." Nivens shuddered as if remembering the moment, his eyes wide in fear, "I thought to myself, it was impossible because the brave white knight slaughtered the beast a long time ago, until I saw a group of white knights leaving the castle grounds, carrying an unconscious white queen."

He paused for a moment, closing his eyes tightly.

"Not far behind them was the red queen, holding on the white queen's crown, laughing maniacally with the full figure of the Jabberwock beside her, hissing and very much alive." He shivered. "At that moment, I rushed out as quickly as I could, to find Absolem."

"He bumped on me on the way, asking for directions, and I was about to tease him when he told me what had happened of the castle." Chessur spoke up, "We both went to find Absolem, who told us that you were to save Underland, and right after that he got killed."

"Hence, we went to get you." Nivens nodded, opening his eyes again, "But once again, there are missing parts to the story…" he turned to Hatter now, his mouth in a frown, "I assume, Clock- I mean Tarrant, you should know? Considering you to be one of the first slaves of the red queen?"

The Hatter glanced at Alice with wide terrified eyes as he shrugged, looking bored.

"Tarrant?" Alice questioned, fixing him with a rather stern glare.

"You're all going to hate me for this." The Hatter muttered.

"Oh, I already hate you enough." Chessur snorted, rolling his eyes, "I don't think a little more hate will hurt."

The Hatter ignored the cat. "Can we speak in private, Alice?" He turned to glance at the hard wood floor.

"I don't see the point; I will tell them what happened in any case." Alice blinked, puzzled, "But I guess if you'd prefer." She gestured to the stairs, "Come along then."

Tarrant followed her, his shoulders drooping and head tilted to the floor. Chessur made a move to follow, but Alice raised a hand.

"I'll be fine, Chessur."

"And I'll be waiting outside just in case he tries to murder you."

Once both Tarrant and Alice were settled in the room, the Hatter on the bed, and Alice seated beside him, Tarrant glanced coldly at Alice.

"Must you tell them? I am already wanted from the red queen, and probably after this, not even you will trust me."

Alice shook her head, "I promise I won't be so harsh on you. And yes, I have to tell them, they deserve to know."

Tarrant's heart sunk.

"Fine then." He tried to sound nonchalant. "I was the red queen's first victim, therefore my role of her most trusted and faithful servant, until now." He shrugged at that because continuing, "She found a gas that pollutes the mind with insanity." He snorted, "But she has a limited quantity, so she has to pick her victims carefully."

He motioned to himself, "Ta-da, first victim, I should be proud. Guess she sensed a lot of evil within me." He glanced at Alice, who was now looking at him with slight caution. "At first she tried to make more of these insanity gas but we ran out of ingredient from a specific plant, the petals of a red rose and the blood of the truly innocent."

"She was angry. Furious, in fact, but I helped her overcome the situation at hand by suggesting reviving the Jabberwock with a new mechanical heart." Tarrant voice dropped slightly lower, his eyes darkening.

"She was pleased, oh yes; she named me her most trusted servant, and overthrew the white queen with the help of the dragon, now half made of gears and unable to feel pain – practically invincible."

He glanced at Alice who had a stunned look on her face.

"So… so that means… You're the reason…"

"I'm sorry." Tarrant sighed, eyes filled with pain and suffering.

"You were polluted by insanity… it's not entirely your fault." Alice sounded distant, her eyes clouded over.

Tarrant made a grab for her hand, his heart thudding painfully in his chest. "I know, I know I'm wrong, you saved me. Look! It's a miracle that I'm not crazy anymore and that I might be in lo –"

"Wait!" Alice's eyes suddenly brightened up, her grip on Tarrant's hand tightened. "Absolem said I would rid this plague of insanity. You were doused with insanity until you met me… and now you're not anymore." She blinked, realization dawning on her.

"In fact all of you… After meeting me, you're all not as crazed as when I first met you, even though Chessur and the rest aren't polluted with this insanity. Absolem is right. I rid the insanity. All I need to do is to find a way to use this against the red queen!" She grinned, showing off her white teeth.

Tarrant eyed their entwined hands, feeling slightly flustered. He was on the verge of admitting my feelings… (UGH!) for Alice? He glanced at her, annoyed that she wasn't looking at him, and in fact was busy ranting on and on about defeating the queen.

It was true, the Hatter frowned inwardly at himself, and he was indeed becoming soft. In fact, he had no intention of killing Alice anymore, moreover wanting to do nothing more than to kiss her soft lips. Oh god, don't tell me I love her? No. No. No.

But her eyes. He moved closer, observing the twinkle in Alice's blue eyes, as she seemed to be oblivious, muttering about a way to kill the Jabberwock, oh really who cares. Her eyes were beautiful, so innocent, so filled with determination and life.

No wait. What am I doing? Stop it. You're not even supposed to have emotions!

"TARRANT!" Alice snapped her free fingers at him, her brows narrowed, "Are you listening?"

Tarrant blinked, slightly confused. "Oh, yes, what?" He scratched his hair, face flushing.

"You made the Jabberwock. You should know how to defeat it! An off button somewhere? Or perhaps –"

"AN OFF BUTTON?" All thoughts of how pretty Alice's dirty blonde curly locks and how sweet her smile was vanished at once.

"I am a mad genius. WHY, PRAY TELL ME WHY, WOULD I MAKE IT SO EASY TO DESTROY THE JABBERWOCK?" He roared, an angry vein appearing on his forehead. "AN OFF SWITCH? REALLY?" He snorted, frowning angrily.

Alice rolled her eyes, "Well then, anything? I do not believe the Jabberwock is undefeatable. Afterall you and your huge ego created him in a way, and I doubt you would make him actually invincible…"

At this Tarrant fumed, furious. "Excuse me, young lady, but –" he paused for a moment, Alice's words sinking in, "You have a point."

He locked his green eyes with Alice's blue eyes.

"I might have a clue… as to making the Jabberwock handicapped." He found himself inching forward to Alice, a grin spreading onto his pale face.

"Your eyes are really nice." He found himself blurting out.

What? Really?

Alice looked perplexed and bemused. "That's the first nice thing you've said to me today." She smiled pleasantly.

He moved closer, smiling. Why, dear lady, those eyes are mesmerising.

"H-hatter?" Alice's face turned red, but she showed no signs of backing away.

"You know I'm sorry for what happened." He found himself saying. Wait. Did he just apologize? "I know you're not going to trust me anymore, am I right?"

"Oh Tarrant." Alice's sighed, her warm breath near the Hatter's cheek, "If I didn't trust you, I would not have entered this room alone with you."

She closed her eyes, inhaling deeply. "Even after what you've said, I don't want to lose you as a friend."

A friend?

Friend?

Tarrant felt his skin prick with anger, while his heart plunged down deeper into the depths of the abyss.

"A friend?" He choked out, eyes wide as he moved back slightly.

Alice's eyes shot open, frowning. "Why? Don't you want to be friends instead of peaceful allies?"

Peaceful allies?

Tarrant found his heart shattering.

"Friends," he repeated voice harsher than he wanted it to sound.

Alice's gaze softened. "You've changed so much since I last saw you. Albeit a little more insane than usual, but…" She rested a hand on his cheek, "You're still the same delightful Hatter who brought me for tea."

Tarrant pulled Alice's hand away. Please, don't, Alice.

"The Cheshire cat." His voice hoarse, thick with emotion and he waved his hands trying to indictate Chessur, "That cat is trying to get you to notice him."

"I know. Silly isn't he? I already like him as a cat."

Something snapped within the Hatter.

He stood up, glaring icily at Alice. "You must be really oblivious or just plain dumb." He growled, shaking his head. "You're basking in the attention he's giving you."

Alice was speechless for a moment before her face formed an annoyed tight lipped frown. "What's the matter with you? One moment you're being nice and the next you're being mean!" She stood up too, glaring coldly, pushing the Hatter's shoulder harshly.

"You're crazy!" She hissed, storming to the door.

Tarrant made a desperate grab for her wrist. "I am crazy!" He snarled, pulling her back. "I don't know what's happening to me, because I think I am crazy for you!"

With that, he pressed a kiss onto Alice's cheek.

Alice froze. Her eyes widening in shock and she let out a gasp. She pulled away, blinking in surprise

"Wait." Tarrant spoke first, "I didn't mean that –"

He looked just as confused as her.

Didn't mean that? Alice blinked, suddenly tears in her eyes, and rushed out, only to bump onto Chessur, whose eyes widened at her teary eyes.

"TARRANT." He roared.

"Forget it, Chessur." Alice sniffed, pressing her face onto Chessur's shoulder. "Let's just go downstairs, please?"

Chessur, still glaring at Tarrant, led Alice down the stairs.

This was going to take a while to fix.