Title: Arýza
Rated for:Language, mentions of abuse, sex, insanity - This chapter rated M
Genre:Angst, Hurt, Adventure, Suspense
Fandom/Universe: America McGee's Alice / Supernatural
Characters: Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester and OC's.
Pairings: Dean/OC, OC/Hatter, OC/Cheshire Cat
Spoilers/Warning: I hadn't decided what season I wanted the boys to be in but now I'm going with S4 and the Winchesters are trying to keep the seals from breaking. Arýza will play a part in this and of course the fic is all AU. I'm not following any of the set rules for Supernatural or American McGee's Alice.
Disclaimer:Supernatural and all related characters are copyright Eric Kripke, Kripke Enterprises & The CW Network. Alice belongs to American McGee, EA and Rogue Entertainment. No infringement intended.
Summary: There is a purpose and a reason for everything…She was never just a girl, not when the angels watched over her and Underland was in her blood.
Status: In-progress
Ω
Slowly, that's how she wakes. One sense at a time, listening to her surroundings and the quiet murmur and buzz of animals. She tests her body, shifting each limb until she is sure they work properly; no pain and no aches. She draws in a deep breath, blinks and focuses on what she can see though at first it makes no sense.
'Where are they? What happened to my house?'
Arýza sits up, looks around at the forest without recognition. For one, the trees all look warped, twisted unnaturally and their leaves are gray and brittle looking. She shifts, wincing at the sharp poke of a twig-
"My…clothes…" she looks at herself. The dress- the one she has no memory of ever buying let alone putting on- is blue, some shade of blue and soft. "What…" it's not the only thing that is changed; her feet are encased in tall black leather boots. Arýza plucks the twig out of her lace stockings carefully, admires the soft feel of the threads a little surprised to find they only reach to her thighs and still confused about how she ended up…
'Where? What is this place?'
She stands, fingers gliding over the soft leather jacket, enjoying the feel of it and trying to look around while not tripping over. Through the trees she sees a shadow and stops. She has no idea where she is let alone if it's safe.
'I can't just stand around.'
Of course not which is why Arýza trails the shadow, quietly and quickly, trying to get closer. She can hear him muttering but not what he's saying.
It is a he, has to be because of the top hat-
"Top hat?" Arýza frowns; she's close enough to get a good look now only something snags her foot. "Aah!" she grabs at the tree, hand curled around the branch only it snaps, the wood turning to dust in her palm and the ground gives way too. She's rolling down a steep embankment, sharp little stones and sticks poke and jab at her until she comes to rest in a puddle of water deep enough to cover her head.
"Shit!" Arýza gasps a breath, spitting out water and wiping the leaves off her face as she sits up. She's dripping and scowling at the puddle-
"You're all wet aren't you?"
Arýza scrambles to her feet almost falling back into the puddle while the top hat figure doesn't move.
"I…I'm…"
"All wet. Yes." He nods, visible only from the swaying of the top hat. "You won't get dry standing in the pond you know."
"Pond?" Arýza echoes and looks around only to see it wasn't a puddle- 'Wait a minute. This…it was a puddle! I know it was.'
"You don't know as much as you think you know, not when there isn't anything to know. You know?"
Arýza blinks. He makes no sense and yet it sounds reasonable enough and that makes her feel much more confused.
"Come." He steps out of the shadows and Arýza is taken aback by his appearance. From head to toe, this stranger is dressed in old Victorian attire. His coat is a dark wine color and his white shirt is stiff, the ruffled neck spilling over his waistcoat- a mesmerizing pattern of colors, to his black trousers and black tall boots. It's the top hat Arýza can't tear her eyes from, the 10/6 card tucked into the lavender band-
"Ten shillings, six pence or half a guinea."
He smiles at her, hand outstretched.
"Hatter, pleased to make your acquaintance Miss…"
"Arýza." She replies and takes his proffered hand. It's a good thing too because on the first step she almost lands back in the water. "Sorry…"
"Nonsense." Hatter replies, flicks a few strands of inky hair out of her face and tilts his head slightly. She's suddenly very aware of how close he's holding her and that she must be soaking his clothes-
"They will dry."
Arýza can't help but stare at him; she's at a loss for words because the stranger strongly reminds her of someone only she can't remember who or where or even how it's possible. She studies his features, latches onto the scar above his left eyebrow and is distracted by the mesmerizing shine of his blue-green eyes. He's pale and that makes his lips stand out even more-
"Uh…where…? I don't…" she can't seem to form a single sentence and doesn't like the breathy sound of her own voice but the stranger- 'Hatter. His name is Hatter.'
"Where are you?" Hatter questions, arching an eyebrow. "A better question would be where you're not. Because you aren't knee deep in the pond and you aren't where you were before you were here so." He smiles, a bright flash of even white teeth and Arýza blinks. He's spoken nonsense again and yet its normal enough…
"My tortured girl," Hatter says drawing her into his side and starting to walk down the grassy path weaving between the trees. "Welcome to Underland."
Ω
"What the hell happened?" Dean is demanding answers from the angel who stands impassively, blue eyes on the mirror that isn't what it seems. "Cas!" Dean yells again and yanks on the trench coat. "What happened to Rýza?"
Castiel is silent, blue eyes on Michael's vessel and feels the need to tell him where the girl has been sent and has to clamp down on those 'human' emotions. For now he has done all he can.
"You damned feathered fuck!" Dean yells at the empty room. He turns to the mirror, hands in fists and Sam jumps in the way.
"Wait!" he holds his brother by his jacket, hazel eyes wide."Dean, what are you going to do?"
Dean has no clue, he just can't let this be the end, can't just let Arýza disappear into a mirror because the angels say so. He shoves against Sam, wants to smash his fist on the fucking glass more- almost as bad as he wants her back and it's the truth he saw in her eyes that eats at him.
'She gave up.'
"Listen!" Sam shoves him, little brother makes him back up a step and Dean stares up at him. "Just listen… we don't know where she is or what this thing is." He looks at the mirror, feels a slight shiver run down his spine and forces the image of Arýza disappearing out of his mind for the moment. "We should think our next step through, before we start…jumping into mirrors." Because he thinks the figure was familiar- felt it, and Sam has a bad feeling about this. He stares at the mirror again, wondering about the faded image behind the red figure- a forest…but nothing like he's ever seen before, even in dreams. Huge wispy trees, a sky- dark and thunderous and below a riot of colors- it makes no sense.
"Funny," Dean glares, green eyes on the mirror and not seeing anything funny of their situation. "Jumping wasn't exactly what I had in mind."
Sam isn't amused, knows his brother is only a breath away from doing something stupid and thinks that maybe, just this once Dean has allowed himself to care about someone else outside of their little family. Sam lets go of the jacket, draws in a breath and turns to the mirror. It has no place in the abandoned house, no reason it should have survived the fire if it had been there since then.
Somehow, neither brother believes the mirror has escaped vandalism the past five years- five years since the fire took Arýza's family. Less than that since she's been on the run- hiding…
'She's been out there, alone four years. Just her…' the green eyes harden to agates. He told her she was brave, more than she thought herself to be and he isn't going to give up on her.
Ω
Shadows flit from leaves to shrubs and flowers. She is almost positive they've spoken, can't quite make out the soft whispers at her back. When she looks there is nothing unusual-
"They're curious." Hatter's eyes sparkle, blue-green jewels in the dark and his face is pale as the moon above.
"Why?" Arýza hopes the riddles will begin to make more sense. She hopes the riddles stop and somehow knows they won't- it's not how it's done in Underland and that knowledge both comforts and worries her.
"Why… they're chattering of the Alice-not-Alice." Hatter's smile grows wide- painfully so but he seems unaware. "Has she come to Underland for good? Burning with excitement!" and Hatter does a little jig around Arýza as they continue through the woods. He suddenly takes her arm and makes to walk around something with Arýza in tow only she doesn't see anything in the path- its clear, no obstructions at all and frowns.
"We mustn't be late." Hatter chides and pulls her along- around the harmless patch of grass he has avoided. The more they walk- deeper into Underland the less Arýza can remember of where she was… She looks about, brow furrowed at the unfamiliar familiarity of her surroundings.
Hatter keeps a firm grip- can't allow his Un-Alice to wander off, not in Underland. He steals another glance at her- just one more shadow though her eyes catch glimmers of moonlight to flash silver. His grip tightens automatically, instinctual response to the rush of anger that washes through him.
Arýza flinches at the pain, small hand grasping at Hatter's wrist-
"Careful here." A half gloved finger points to her feet and Arýza looks down. She gasps in shock, instinctively draws a pace back from the bottomless hole- one step, just one is all it would take and Arýza would be lost, sucked into the earth…
"You'd find it terribly inconvenient." Hatter points out, head tilted slightly. "Climbing out."
"Climb…?" Arýza echoes, brow furrowed. "There's no way to-."
"I do suppose you could jump." Hatter eyes her up and down, jeweled gaze lingering over her lace clad legs. "Can you?" he demands and just as quickly he surveys the dark woods. "Come along, my dear."
Hatter switches from curiosity to careless indifference easily, as if there were no memory of his previous query and now he's pulling her along once more.
"Hatter, I -. What-?" she looks over her shoulder, to the dirt and grass pushed up around the bottomless dark hole- a furry head is poking out of it, the flash of eyes looking their way before they disappear once again.
"What?" Arýza is confused- there had been no bottom to that pit… "It was wider." She is sure of it. "How did we get around?" she tugs on Hatter's sleeve and digs her heels in refusing to take another step.
"Around?" Hatter turns in place, a soft giggle accompanying the ridiculous movement and the color of his eyes swirls like a dizzying kaleidoscope. "Where around? To what-."
"Stop." Arýza begs, hands clutching at her temples. "Please, stop…"
Hatter's smile is once more in place. She sees the flash of silver in the dark, just a flicker behind Hatter that forms into a large shape- too fast and Arýza can't be sure it was ever there only it happens again. She begins to question what it could be, small hand reaching to point past Hatter's shoulder, drawing his attention when he yells. His pale face twists in pain as he is pulled towards the darkness beyond the trees.
"Hatter!" her own frightened voice calling to her companion.
The figure materializes- a young man dressed in dark gray, bare arms sporting a shimmering brand on each shoulder-
"Fancy you."
His voice- its deep, has a cool quality to the sound and her gaze is drawn to his face- just as pale as Hatter's but with a decidedly cerulean tint. His eyes are strange, a rainbow of silver, charcoal, blue and violet that swirl together and separate into rings. The iris is slit- lavender and silver…
"Welcome to Underland." His grin is secretive and wide, just a tad mocking. He turns away so quickly Arýza isn't sure he's even real. His arm is raised and the clang of metal echoes like a cathedral bell. Arýza drags in a breath, backs up horrified as Hatter clashes with this stranger. The ring of metal is loud, she can feel it in her bones, feels its sting and Hatter yells.
She watches as the shadow pounces, claws sharp and Arýza finds herself moving towards them. She can see this, all of it almost playing out like a movie and her hand grasps at the descending blade. He looks over his shoulder at her, the grin wide and feral, even white teeth bared and a swatch of dark blue-black hair falls over his brow.
Cheshire's surprised to see her move so quickly. His grin doesn't falter and he leaps out of Hatter's reach, rainbow eyes focused on Arýza. She steps past Hatter, her stance an exact mimic of his own half crouch. He can see the hesitation, the doubt ghost over her expression and he lunges towards her intent on side stepping and catching Hatter.
He expected some opposition, thought she might question him and when Arýza moves inside his attack forcingCheshireto withdraw he snarls at her. She matches him move for move, a mirror image while Hatter stands back and gloats. It's the only distraction he gives her; confident in the familiar dance only Arýza breaks from the pattern. Her hand snakes out, open palm striking his 's breath puffs out- surprise in the rainbow eyes and Arýza takes the blade from his slack hand. She doesn't even think, her arm keeps moving, aching over her head and plunging down. She feels the metal slide into muscle and tissue, bounce on bone and twist in her grasp-
Cheshire's smile never leaves his face, the rainbow eyes just a little wider in shock and surprise as he falls to his knees in front of her. The pain is fleeting- just one more life but he is so proud. She can see it, the gleam in his eyes and the smile while she drags in a breath and steps back.
Arýza shakes her head, eyes never leaving the fading figure as it dissipates. She can still feel it, feel the knife in her hand as it sliced through him…
"What have I done?" her soft whisper is horrified. Hatter's smile is gloating and wide as he steps behind Arýza and wraps his arms around her trembling frame. He holds her asCheshirefinally blows away and they stand in the moonlit woods of Underland.
"Anywhere." He murmurs over her head to the empty spot where his Un-Alice has killed the Cat she would follow blindly through Underland.
Ω
Bobby sits in the chair; his coffee has long since gone cold as he studies the mirror. He's dug up squat- no makers mark to search so he sits there pondering what the next step will be. He doesn't understand what the connection is between Arýza, the mirror and the Winchesters but he knows there is one. The angels have too much of an interest in a runaway girl with a tragic past to just chuck it aside.
"Fresh coffee." Sam offers, holding out the steaming mug and Bobby trades him for the cold one. They've put the seals on hold for now; Dean wants nothing to do with the angels and their orders. Bobby wonders how much longer they'll allow him to sulk but the boy has reason. Hell, even Bobby wonders what is so all damn important the girl was sucked into the mirror for-
"She never said anything?" Bobby asks yet again because Arýza had to know something and Sam shakes his head 'No'. He's told the hunter over and over again Arýza never said a word before she disappeared. Not to him and Dean isn't up to talking and plainly told Sam to 'fuck off'- not in those words but the tone was there.
They transported the mirror to Bobby's, Dean wouldn't leave it there and Sam agrees it made sense. The damn thing is heavy, hard to maneuver through boarded exits and not once did any of the neighbors come out to see what the ruckus was about. He scowls at the floor, to think it had been the same way the night her house caught fire, when her family needed help…
"Don't know where else to look." Bobby sighs, a tired hand wiping his face. "I've been through all the mirror lore I can find and then some." He grunts, bleary eyes on the mirror resting against the wall of his living room. "Aint nothing there on this." His chin just towards the glass, the image reflected back at him, almost mocking him.
Sam leans forward in his chair, hands dangling over his legs. He is certain that if Arýza spoke of her family- ever mentioned anything… she would have told Dean.
'And why? Just because they slept together?'
He scowls, sees her again in his mind. So small- delicate and fragile dwarfed by his brother but even in that glimpse before Sam turned his face away… he can't deny there was a tenderness in Dean's touch as he held Arýza to him.
Sam draws a cleansing breath and reaches for his Dad's journal. They've looked everywhere else, all of Bobby's books and then some. All they are certain of is that the mirror is part of the family's legacy. How it ever got shipped fromEnglandto theUS… they can't find any records and Sam has the niggling suspicion the mirror had angelic help in getting across the ocean.
All Castiel would say is that Arýza had to be whole and going home would do that for her. And now Arýza is gone and they have no idea how to help her. They don't know what kind of help she needs…
"He still out there?" Bobby nods towards the back door.
"Yeah." Sam assures, his brother hasn't moved from the swing since he took his bottle out at dusk. The cold eventually brings him in but Sam still casts a worried look towards the kitchen and the man sitting outside in the dark. He doesn't voice his concern, doesn't have to because Bobby feels it too. There's something deeper at work, something they don't know about aside from the fact it won't be good.
They all wait for the other shoe to drop.
Ω
It's the same table and broken saucers with a hundred different teapots scattered on the lace cloth. Only for an instant, then the image fades. It's a twisted version of shiny red and black teacups, saucers and pots in varying styles. The never ending table is draped in a silvery silk cloth and Hatter pulls out the fancy ebony wood chair for Arýza to sit in. She blinks, unmoving and stares at the ornate carvings- hearts and clovers and clubs with vines… there's a sword etched into the black leather; nothing changes.
"Let's have tea." Hatter glides over, a firm grip on Arýza's elbow and she moves. She can't resist and the soft clump of her boots is muffled by the grass.
'Grass?'
Hatter sits her down and Arýza's wandering gaze returns to the table. She blinks and yet it's still a table but she can't forget what she's done-
"Rosemary, cinnamon, apple, sugar, lemongrass, wheat grass…" Hatter chatters with a shrug and smile as the tea pours on its own. "One lump of two? Cream?" he questions while two sugar squares jump into her cup and a dash of cream splashes in. Her eyes wander towards him as he drinks from the shiny red cup. She doesn't like it and sets her own tea aside, eyes wandering over the endless empty table…
"Is there no one else?"
Hatter's cup shatters and tea falls in glimmering drops that turn to dust only to blow away and the saucer is tossed over his shoulder.
"Of course." Hatter smiles, a quick flash of even white teeth and it's gone. "More tea?" he asks then claps his hands and there's a new teacup in front of him. "One lump or two?"
Arýza frowns, looks down and sees the black cup, a curl of steam wafting up. She's suddenly cold, aware of her damp clothes…
Hatter fakes indifference though he's watching her intently from the rim of his cup. Her hands slowly curl around the tea…
"I'll take you anywhere." Hatter murmurs under his breath, eye shinning feverishly while Arýza takes comfort in the warmth of the tea.
He's waited too long, been patient enough and though it isn't Alice, theAliceof old, this one is here-present, in the flesh and tortured too.
"Hatter?" Arýza sets the half empty cup aside, her silvery-green eyes flicking over the table yet again before settling on him. "I'm cold." She was shivering before, still shivers though now it isn't only for her damp clothes…
For a moment Hatter wants nothing more than to ease her beautiful as it was and show it to her-
"More tea?" the cup and saucer in his hands crumble and he picks up two more. He clinks those together and Arýza flinches when they shatter. He hasn't stopped smiling. He hasn't said anything other than his nonsensical nonsense. His blue-green eyes shine brighter.
"Do you like hats? Everyone likes hats." Hatter says and picks up a tea pot. "You should have one." He starts to serve them some more only to stand. He lets go and the pot crashes onto the table. It cracks, rolls on its side and spills. Arýza jumps in her seat, eyes glued to the spreading stain on the cloth. Hatter is there, behind her chair. "Oh yes," he murmurs, his fingers run through her damp hair, gently tracing her skull, face bent close. "Yes, yes, just right…" he draws her up suddenly and Arýza has trouble focusing; the stain has spread, become a pond right there on the table. There's a teacup, its rim chipped, floating in the center…
"Is that real?" Arýza questions as Hatter turns her around. She's confused- more than she had been at the start and how long has she been in Underland? How much time has passed since she's… since she…
"Of course it is." He forces her eyes to his, makes her focus only on him, she doesn't need to remember anything else in Underland.
Arýza feels strange, more so than before and blinks trying to make her brain function properly, only its Hatter and the mesmerizing swirl of his blue-green eyes.
"…like jewels…" she murmurs, reaching her hand to his face.
Hatter doesn't stop her, holds as still as a statue. He needs to feel her touch and when he does it isn't the same.
"Not myAlice." He mutters again and sighs, almost closing his eyes when she outlines his face. Her small hand; the warmth of a human touch…
Arýza's fingers tentatively trace over his cheek and down to glide over his mouth, so red it can't be real and yet it all feels so…tangible.
"…I know you…?" she's hesitant, not sure but she has the feeling- a sense of déjà vu when she saw Hatter standing at the edge of her puddle–pond. It was the same sense of recognition with the man in black- 'Cat.'
"No!" Hatter snarls and his grip is painful. Arýza is all too aware of the table digging painfully into her back- of where he has her, the sharp planes of his hips pressing against hers…
"He tried to kill me." He says each word distinctly, quietly, teeth clenched and his eyes shine more green than blue.
It's true. Arýza saw it herself, came to Hatter's defense in that meadow-
"Yes." Hatter's grip slowly eases. "You did, my tortured girl." His smile returns and still it doesn't reach his eyes.
"I did…" Arýza echoes, brow furrowing slightly. Everything around them shifts and fades and blinking doesn't help at all. The world tilts and the ghost of phantom hands grip painfully at her arms and slide down to her wrists then are gone.
"Anywhere," Hatter murmurs. Arýza blinks; eyes truly open and finds herself resting on the table. There's teacups and saucers and pots scattered around her. She's fully aware of his touch and his hands reaching under the blue ocean but there isn't any concern, no feeling at all- its Hatter... The top hat tilts dangerously, its 10/6 card; 'Ten shillings, one six pence or half a guinea.' The price for a hat…
"I'll take you anywhere." Hatter says again, his voice sharp. The top hat falls, glides onto the table to land in the pond where it crushes the tea cup. His dark hair falls over his forehead, gets in his eyes and she brushes it back with a small hand. It's the gentle touch that makes him pause; hesitate in the path he's set on -
"Anywhere." He repeats in a harsh tone. His eyes shine bright green again and the blue skirt of her dress is bunched around her waist.
She rests her hands on his shoulders, feels the soft fabric of his coat under her palms, absently exploring the texture... Arýza notices the stormy sky overhead and the moon shining between the clouds. She feels the icy touch of his hand and there's an instant of alarm, when silk blows away and the cold brushes over bare skin and is immediately replaced with a sharp thrust. Her fingers clench in the material, digging into his shoulders as his clamp on her thigh.
"Anywhere..." Hatter says in her ear, ignoring the soft gasp of breath caught in her throat. He can take her anywhere and does, will do so anytime andCheshirehas no say. Hatter grins, his laughter bubbling up but gloating can wait until after, when he's had his fill of her warmth.
"Anywhere." Arýza echoes breathlessly. The tinkling of shattering cups is a faint echo in her ears; she is numb to anything but Hatter. All she sees is the bright green shine of his eyes. All she feels is the icy touch of his mouth pressed over hers, the sweet taste of his tongue in her mouth and uncomfortable mass inside her.
Hatter bites on her lip, hears the whimper of pain and the coppery taste of blood disappears in the red of his lips. All sound is magnified; the scrape of the heavy table with each thrust of his hips, her soft moans and breathless incoherent words-
"…No…" "…please…" and the hesitant "…stop…" that ends in a sighed pant, half questioning and unsure. Arýza clings to him but Hatter knows deep down it isn't he that she is begging, pulling deeper to the fire he is chasing.
His face swims above her, swirling green eyes, huge in the pale face only there's a bright flush to Hatter's cheeks. She takes the pain as her due, offers a faint passive protest and shifts for their mutual benefit. It's the filling sensation, of somehow belonging; being part of something and that is confusing. It isn't right and she doesn't know how to change anything.
Anger bubbles up and Hatter envelopes Arýza, the silk cloth clumps around her shape as he draws her to the edge. A hand tangles in the dark waves of her hair, insistent and demanding. The threads of her thigh stockings catch on his coat button, the delicate pattern torn. The storm builds up, fed from them to tear at Hatter's lonely tea party.
There is nothing outside of the frame, the portrait of a Mad Hatter, trousers around his ankles while his un-Alice is spread under him…
Ω
AN: check out deanstheman - Two Guys, A Girl, and a Ticket to Hell you wont be sorry.