Alice sat cross-legged, part of the small circle of rebel cards playing, of all things, cards. Hubble slapped down his hand of paper dejectedly, "Why am I always the first one out?"

The others laughed, and one snorted, amused, "You know what you have to do, sir. You get the traps."

Hubble staggered up with a sigh, "Fine, fine…"

Leaping up, Alice clapped, "Can I come?"

"Uh… sure… whatever…"

"Ah darn! Nothing!" Hubble crossed his arms in frustration as he looked at the noose trap on the ground. Sighing, he turned to Alice, who was in the bushes, "Might as well go-" He stopped, tensing as he heard voices. Sprinting to the bushes, he pushed Alice down into the underbrush, following her with a hiss to 'Be quiet!'

Seconds later, March and Hatter staggered into the clearing, or, more particularly, March walked as Hatter weakly leaned on his shoulder.

"Darn it, Hats! You've gone and made yourself sick again!" March's voice was tinged with annoyance.

Moaning, Hatter hiccupped and pushed March away, weak, "Let me be, March. Set up camp and I'll be there when I feel better." He stumbled forward, clutching his abdomen in pain.

"Are you sure, Hatter? You don't look so-"

Hatter stepped into the trap and was instantly dangling upside down by his foot. Already feeling horrible and now subject to reversed gravity, Hatter began to vomit.

The semi-liquid and semi-sold mess splashed down on the ground, a crimson and black grotesque retching.

March stepped back in disgust, "Stupid hunter! But it's still your fault! You had to eat all of her! The bones, the flesh, you even ate the darn wool!"

At the word 'wool', Alice and Hubble stiffened. Alice's eyes grew wide, and she breathed softly, "No…"

Hatter hung there, trying to wipe away the throw-up on his helmet and reaching vainly for his fallen top hat, "Just… let me down…. you freak!" Obviously, he was hurting.

Sighing, March drew his sharp cleavers, "Cheeky bugger you! It's your own darn fau-"

He never got to finish the sentence, for, out of thin air, Cheshire leapt out and tackled the upright assassin. March crashed down, the large tiger snarling angrily but smiling on top of him, "Well, well, March. Looks like your partner's tied up and can't help you."

Struggling, March hissed furiously, "Darn it, Cheshire! Why'd you bliddy attack me? I've done nothing!"

"But the person you're hunting is but twenty feet away! Alice? Hubble?"

Alice and the card captain stood and hurried over, anxiously glancing at the two disabled killers.

Hatter scowled at Alice, yellow eye narrowing from their upside-down position, "Hello… Alice."

Hubble glared at him, angry, "You don't talk to her, you monster!"

"About that…" said Cheshire, eyes glittering like diamonds and claws digging into March, earning a flinch of pain from his captured victim, "I wouldn't mind letting you two live, but I know you'll come back, and I don't want that."

Hubble drew his sword, "They don't deserve to live! They killed too many!"

Eye rolling wildly from side to side, March once again tried escape, but Cheshire held him down. Finally, he sighed and growled, "Your terms?"

Cheshire pondered then said slowly, "One: you come along as prisoners to our headquarters to await trial. Two: you do not hurt Alice under any circumstance. Three: you-"

There was a crack in the bushes, and Hubble instantly crashed forward to leap upon the intruder. After a second of a brief scuffle, he stood and held up a teenage boy dressed in black card armor, who yelled at the top of his lungs, "Let me go! Let me go!"

March stretched his head back and frowned, "Sylvantes? What are you doing here?"

Hands scrambling at Hubble's arm, Sylvantes growled, "I followed you, sirs, because I thought that's what I'm supposed to do!"

Hands waving towards the ground, Hatter snarled, "Then why didn't you bring the rest of the regiment?"

"I didn't know!"

Cheshire was tired of the conversation. Hissing, he huffed, "Deal or not, you two? Do you swear not to hurt Alice till your trial?"

March gnashed his teeth in frustration, "Hats? Are you okay with-"

"JUST DO IT! I'd rather live!"

Sighing, March relaxed under Cheshire's paws, "We swear."

Cheshire smiled widely, "Hubble, get some extra rope."

"Can't we just kill them? The trial won't be much-"

Glaring at Hubble, Cheshire hissed, "Listen, Hubble. I play fair! When you're in command, you can do what you want, but when I'm here, they get fair rights!"

Hubble rolled his eyes in frustration, sheathed his sword, and unrolled his rope from his waist. Cheshire made way as Hubble tied a length of rope round March's legs, just enough so he could walk but not run. Next, he tied March's wrists together. He tied Sylvantes up afterwards.

"Darn rebels! I hope you drop dead!" Explosive expletives came forth from the fifer's mouth.

Throwing the boy down, Hubble snorted in disbelief, "How indoctrinated these children have become! Can you believe it, Ches?"

Cheshire stepped away from March, who sat up with a moan and tested his restraints with a sigh. The purple feline narrowed his eyes, "Jabberwocky wants his slaves loyal to him and him alone!"
Moaning, Hatter pleaded, "Please! Get me down!"

Hubble drew his sword once more and chopped down the rope. Hatter crashed down to the ground, yelling as his spine snapped against a rock. Jumping on him instantly, Hubble roped him up with a growl.

Alice's eyes widened, "What are you going to do now?"

Cheshire smiled grimly, " Alice, welcome our newest group members."

"No, no, no, no, and no!" The six card was having a fit, stomping angrily away from Cheshire, Alice, Hubble, and the three prisoners, "We are not taking those maniacs! Please! Tell me we are not taking them!"

Hubble shoved March, Hatter, and Sylvantes down by the campfire, scowling, "I don't want to either, but Cheshire said so. We're taking them for trial at HQ."

Sylvantes hissed as a few curses, frantically tugging at his bindings.

Sulking, March stared into the fire, the flames glinting a bit off his helmet. Hatter fidgeted under the stares of the rebel cards, and then slowly turned to Alice, "Hey… Alice… can you take off my helmet? It reeks."

Instantly, Hubble was up and bristling, "You better not try anything, you freak! And, Alice," He glanced at her, "you don't need to do a thing he says!"

Alice went over anyways, meekly complying. Under the disapproving eyes of Hubble, she hooked her fingers on the leather latches that kept his metal mouth visor in place. Tugging at it, she heard Hatter growl, "Careful…"

The metal halves of the mouth guard parted, sliding off of Hatter's lower face. A slight thin chin exposed itself, placed under thin pale lips. There was no sight of stubble, Hatter being very clean-shaven.

March, however, jerked up, angry. Seeing Alice dropping Hatter's visor to the ground, March hissed, "Hats! What are you doing?"

Hatter shook his head, trying to dislodge the mangy cloth strips. As the cloth slid down over his eyes, he paused in his blindness, "I want to take my-"

"You're bliddy acknowledging that you respect them!"

Hatter brought his hands up and tore the bandages from his eyes, revealing a normal beautiful green left eye under precisely placed arched eyebrows. Taking his top hat off, he dusted black hair free of white cloth strips with a sigh, "I do respect them, March. Cheshire's a great fighter; this card captain, "He motioned at Hubble while dusting off his hat, "very justice-minded, albeit a bit hasty to give a verdict; and Alice is just…" His shadowlander eye turned to a colorless white and he coughed, "Also, my helmet smells of vomit. I need to clean it."

Hubble stared at Hatter's hands, "How-how-"

Sarcastically holding his hands up, Hatter huffed, "Oh. Was I supposed to keep the rope on?" He let his hands fall and spat into the fire, "Don't worry. I keep my promises."

Sylvantes muttered darkly, "And he could kill you all if he wanted to if it hadn't been for that cursed oath!"
March was angry too, but for a different reason, "Well, I'm not taking my helmet for anyone! I don't respect anyone but you and the old Jabber!" Glancing down at his tied hands, he twisted his wrists till they slipped out of the rope. He grumpily crossed his arms.

"Put those back on!" Hubble barked, eyeing the rope.

Hatter glared at him and narrowed his eyes, "I said 'Don't worry', you moron. We took an oath, except for Sylvantes, and we uphold our promises." Standing up, he unclasped his breastplate and gauntlets, taking them off to reveal a loose white long-sleeved shirt. He threw them down and slid off his metal armored skirt to reveal he was wearing but brown cotton breaches underneath. Scowling, he let those drop too, "Happy now?" He sat down, morbidly grim.

Cheshire nodded and, glancing at Hubble, said, "That's fine. And, Hubble? Let him be."

Dropping down to a cross-legged sit, Hubble sheathed his sword with a hate tinged frown.

The clearing was silent for a while, Alice taking a seat by Hubble quietly. The other cards kept glaring at the prisoners, worried about the assassins and their unbound hands.

March worked his feet free of the ropes and staggered up with a muttered curse. Slowly, he shuffled over to White Rabbit, who stiffened, and sat down. March leaned over and quietly whispered, so low that no one could hear him.

White Rabbit hesitated, then responded in a same concealed whisper.

Glaring at the two long-eared people, Hubble inquired crossly, "What are you talking about?"

March eyed him in annoyance, "I'm asking cousin here about the family. So shut up."

"Oh… just asking White there how Gramps would taste?" Eyes glittering, Hubble narrowed his eyes.

March leapt up, furious, "Take that back!"

Hubble stood up too, leveling to the challenge, and snarled, "Why? You were going to eat White, your own cousin! And I know you've eaten your brother even!"

Hissing, March reached down for his cleavers, but his hands drew empty air. He growled when he remembered that Hubble had stowed his and Hatter's weapons away. Angry and frustrated, he rasped, "Are you looking for a fight, soldier? I'll gladly kill you!"

Cheshire leapt between them, fur on end, and spat, "Stop it, you two! March, you're under oath, remember! And, Hubble! Don't go picking a fight with someone like him!"

The two enemies shot one last hate-filled look at one another and sat down moodily. Alice watched them in silent awe and wonder. These two vastly different people, filled to the brim with unbelievable and wonderful thoughts and power…

How could they be even real?
She felt someone sit next to her and glanced over to see Hatter sitting sullenly by her. His scarred right eye had returned to a putrid gold with a catty slit pupil. He stared forward at the flames, but Alice saw that his eye rolled to regard her secretly. Hubble watched the murderer silently, alert for any danger. Leaning forward, Alice picked a piece of wood up off the ground and tossed it into the fire, earning a few sparks. As she leaned back, she noticed Hatter's lips parting in a morbid smile. His teeth were sharpened to points.

Alice swallowed a small ball of fear and ventured, "What's wrong with your eye?"

Pupil dilating to a needle of black, Hatter slowly rotated to face her, "It's not my eye. It's some else's."

"A-a transplant?"

"Sure… whatever you want to call it…"

"Oh…"

March's ears perked up, and he spat on the ground, "Transplant? You've got to be kidding me, Hats! Jabberwocky bloody ripped out your eye!"

Hatter glowered at March, "I'm just putting it in simple terms."

Smirking, Hubble crossed his arms without a word.

Hatter saw the amused sneer and hissed, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing."

Frowning, Hatter dug a carved metal block out of his pant's pocket and toyed with it. He muttered grimly, "You don't trust me."

Hubble scowled, "Why should I?"

Sliding a hand over Alice's shoulder, Hatter tossed his metal block up and down, grinning, "Well, it'll make this trip a whole lot easier. And, besides," he pushed a hidden button on the block and a blade whipped out. Before Hubble or any of the others could react, Hatter held it up to Alice's throat, eyes glinting, "I've got Alice."

Hubble stared at the knife, not daring to move in fear that any action would sentence Alice to death.

Cheshire leapt up, hissing.

Feeling Alice's tender pulse under his fingers in one hand, and the cold hard knife in the other, Hatter narrowed his eyes, "Now look. If I want to, I could gut Alice here and now." He drew back the knife, folding the blade back in, "But I don't. Why? 'Cause I made a promise!"

Hubble leapt up, livid, "Don't ever do that again, you freak!"

Hatter regarded him calmly, still toying with the disguised knife, "I wasn't really going to kill her."

"But you threatened her! Come here, Alice!" Hubble yanked a stunned Alice up and away.

Smirking amusedly, Hatter glanced at a bristling Cheshire, "Settle down, kitty. The oath was not to hurt her. I didn't break it!"

"So you didn't." Cheshire sulked and laid back down.

The clearing descended once more into silence, then White stood with a sigh, "I'll go ahead and alert the governors of the trial." Waving, he ran off into the trees.