Shivering, the midnight black beast pawed nervously at the ground as the Hatter came near, smelling the dangerous bloody smell of a seasoned killer, a predator. A large horse-fly, it knew it could rear back and kick this perilous person down. But the steady, cold pressure above its crystalline veined wings reminded it that, if it even stepped wrong, it'd be dead in a moment. Its black withers coursed with sweat as it whickered at the assassin.

Hatter saluted at the dark figure astride the horse-fly, grimacing under his visor, "Afternoon, sire. It's… nice to see you…"

Gripping his reins with metal claws, Jabberwocky hissed a disgusted greeting. He wore a metal half-helmet, with a long bony plume of some bird. Below the slitted visor, a night-sky black chin and mouth split apart to show pure white points. Below a chain-armored neck, a breastplate of welded bones protected a very, very thin chest. Chain links covered his lower abdomen. Long armored pants crooked against the horse-fly's heaving sides to end at nail-spiked metal boots. A long red cloak added the only bright color to the whole ensemble. Jabberwocky switched his glare to March and growled, "So… while I'm coming to get Alice, you up and let her escape?"

Moaning, March began to stir as a black card doctor hurried besides him. March slapped the doctor's hand away weakly, but the doctor persisted, shoving a red pill towards March's mouth.

March snapped forward, suddenly furious, and his teeth closed around the pill…

And the doctor's fingers.

Ignoring the doctor's yells of pain, Hatter slowly responded, " Cheshire brought 20 Imagineers. We killed 9, but then, then Cheshire bonked March out and-"

Jabberwock interrupted, directing a snarl to March, "Let him go, March! Doctors are hard to come by!"

Spitefully spitting out the doctor's fingers, March crossed his arms as the doctor wheeled back, cradling his bleeding hand, "Than train more in the lower ranks and leave the high numbers to be soldiers!"

"I need no help directing my army, March, by you no more. If you can barely direct yourselves, why would I take your advice? I'd rather it be from the Mock Turtle or the Gryphon."

March stumbled up, and, glancing once more at the moaning black card, staggered over to salute his liege. Ears perking, he whined, "But they'd just have them sit down and play chess all day! Or recite poems to each other over tea!" Seeing his master's hand tighten round the rein, he quickly added, "If tea were legal, sir."

Jabberwocky spurned his charger forward, paused, then turned to his 2 top assassins, "I'll give you half of my regiment, and you will hunt down and capture this Alice girl for me. You leave tomorrow." He turned, "Oh… and let the soldiers bury the dead. I don't want you drunk off blood when you leave."

Frowning, Hatter dropped his hand and grumbled under his breath as March's ears sagged in dismay.

"And, on second thought, don't kill any of my soldiers."

"But… sir… not even one?"

"Hatter, what you do with Cheshire and his rebels, I don't care. Roast them, spear them, boil the till they burst, whatever. But leave my soldiers in one piece. And Alice too. Don't go pulling off this 'it's just an arm or a leg' garbage."

March huffed and crossed his arms, "Guess teatime's cancelled for the morrow."

Groaning, Hatter tipped his hat in disappointment, "A missed teatime's a tragedy."

"Your heads separated from your shoulders will be an even greater one if you don't bring Alice back to me alive!"

"Yes, sir…"

The clank of shovels digging into the ground broke the following silence.