Nearly half the day had been wasted before any sort of obstacle was encountered. Now however, the moldy wagon was found parked in front of mammoth steel gates, which stood firmly behind a stubborn dog, who was apparently in charge of who passed. Damian had been arguing with the guard for the past ten minutes, trying unsuccessfully to persuade him into letting them pass. Alice was being of no help however, glued to her seat in the foul- odor cart as she carved her name into the dry wood. Evidently, she was enjoying his frustration. After spending at least a good hour bickering with him on their way here, it was a nice change to sit back and watch him go.

"It's completely unacceptable, no one of your class is permitted entrance," the haughty mutt barked, baring pointed teeth.

"Of /my/ class? And what would that be?" Damian questioned, outraged.

"The Queen ordered-"

"And you work happily for the Queen!"

"I've no choice-"

"You do you half-wit!" Damian said crossly, throwing his hands up in frustration. "She-" he jabbed a finger at Alice, who merely grinned as she stabbed at the wood, making a crude dot for the 'i'. "Alice is on her way to dispose of the Queen!"

"Lies," the hound replied unconvincingly.

"Do you know anything?" the blonde cried incredulously. "The prophecy stated-"

"I don't care what it says!" the dog snarled. "I don't believe in that rubbish. No one can destroy the Queen, she is an invincible power and you must learn to accept it."

"Fool, you stupid-"

"Throwing insults don't help any," the guard replied abruptly.

"There surely is another way around, isn't there?" Alice decided to speak up, as she finished etching in the 'e'.

"Not anymore," the hound answered. "The Queen received news that some girl is on her way to destroy Wonderland and has thus commanded all pathways be sealed. She's sent her /best/ guards on duty, and I don't intend to let her down," he boasted, wagging a shaggy tail.

"But- that's Alice- that's the girl right there you nit!" Damian cried in disbelief.

"And how would I know you're not lying?"

"Imbecile," Alice grunted, finally growing bored of the squabble. "How would you know if I wasn't?"

"I wouldn't. Now if you'd turn around and leave, it would be much appreciated," the dog said sternly, waving a dismissive paw.

"Fine, have it your way," Alice replied indifferently. "Damian, can we go now? You've wasted plenty of time I think."

With a sour expression plastered to his face, the blonde turned to the cart, glaring disapprovingly at the 15 year old. Defeated however, he clambered inside, muttering a chain of inaudible words all the while.

"You should know, I am against the Queen," the guard attempted to assure. "I'll have you know, the Queen gave clear orders to kill this girl if she ever came by." Damian shot a dirty look. "But of course, you cannot fool me. There's no way that imposter is her, this girl that the Queen seems to fear."

"Quite clever you are, dog," Alice snickered, tracing a thin finger over the jagged letters of her name.
"As if he was any threat," the 18 year old grunted, steering the horse towards the direction they had come.

"Maybe so, but I'd rather not get into any sort of scuffle if it could be avoided," Alice said simply, retracting her hand.

"Wimp."

With an angry snort, the horse began trotting down the earthen path, and minutes later the unyielding gates disappeared as they curved around the mountain path.

"Those damn gnomes. I knew something like this would happen. Idiots. I should have the lot of them shot," the Lost keeper fumed, slamming his fist into his palm.

"Oh come off it, there has to be another way around," Alice attempted to reason.

"I'm sorry, how long has it been since you've last been here?" Damian scowled, oceanic optics catching emerald ones. Eyebrows drawn together, she stared right back at him, attempting to keep a cool expression. She failed however, lower lip giving way to a small quiver. Immediately, the femme dropped her gaze to the floor, hoping he hadn't noticed. But unfortunately for her, he had. And he found her reaction to be quite a surprise.

"No sniddy remark?" he questioned, raising a golden eyebrow.

"Shut up," the 15 year old replied, jaw clenched.

"You realize we've got quite an adventure ahead of us, don't you?"

"Most unfortunate." Alice's gaze remained glued to the floor, trying hard to concentrate on the sounds of horse hoofs against stone. "Damn cat."

"Well things would be a lot easier if you'd tell me more about yourself, you know," the blonde replied, trying to get the girl to talk.

"What d'you need to know for?" she asked stubbornly.

"Well let's see here…because you were such a bloody coward, I got called here instead and I haven't been allowed back since. What would you make of that?" her blue-eyed companion snapped, patience already drained.

Alice didn't answer at first. She wasn't one to open up to people, and rarely ever let anyone in on her more private thoughts. Dr. Stanpole had been an exception however, which was reason as to why she held him so dear. He was more than a friend, someone she could always depend on. He had yet to let her down, and refused to give up on her, unlike like so many others. Despite how difficult she could sometimes be, he would remain patient and understanding, never wanting to force her into giving information she was not yet ready to divulge. He had never so much raised an angry voice at her, and treated her with exceptional care. In short, he treated her like his own child, if not far better. She had developed a strong attachment to him, and the idea of Wonderland being so cruel as to slaughter someone as precious as him was preposterous. She loved him dearly, and it stung to imaging losing him.

"Alice?" Damian's words sliced through her thoughts, and she finally mumbled a few clumsy words. "Well that means a whole lot," the blonde remarked sarcastically.

"I wanted to came back before you know. But I couldn't. Wonderland would not have it as much as I pleaded," Alice said slowly, dark hair swinging in and out of her face as the wagon continued to rock through the valley.

"Yeah? Wonderland would not have you?" he inquired, wearing a dubious look.

"This was before the fire…when my parents were still alive..." Her voice trailed off, as she tried to recall her previous adventures to Wonderland. "They told me I was to old, I no longer belonged. Maturity. I had reached maturity, and was no longer welcomed," the words rolled distastefully off her tongue.

"I hadn't cared much at first…in fact, I found it quite pleasing when they told me…" There was a soft plop, followed by heavy sucking sounds as they dragged through fresh mud. With a loud snort, the agitated horse gave a hard tug, yanking the cart out of the thick muck, and continued on. "But then my parents…they…started arguing. A lot. All the time. To the point where it was sickening. As much as it bothered me, I never said anything about it. But then when my grandmother died, everything became such a mess and suddenly my parents were filing for divorce." A hollowed expression carved on her face, she continued, nestling her chin between her bent knees. "That's when I really wanted to go back. Get away from it all. But they wouldn't have me…begging and pleading day and night, but they never swayed. It was infuriating. 'Your far to old!'" she mocked, in a sudden high-pitched tone. " 'You're no longer a child Alice! Grow up, you don't belong here anymore!'" A twisted smile formed as she ran her finger across the flecks of mud that stained her weathered boots. "I started to blame my parents for it…they wanted me to grow up. Stop being so childish. Learn to accept responsibility…that crap. And when I did 'grow up', they had to go on and complicate everything. And then I couldn't go back…and it…" she stopped, feeling she had said plenty. "Is that good enough for you?" she asked sarcastically, head still bent.

"Not a very convincing story-" Damian brought two fingers under her chin, tilting her head so her eyes met with his. "-But I suppose it'll do," he said, giving a wisp of a grin.

"Good to know you're satisfied," she muttered, crinkling her nose in response to his smile.

"Would it kill you to try and act a little more pleasant?" the blonde remarked, rolling his eyes. When she merely frowned, he placed two fingers against each corner of her lips, pushing a ridiculous smile onto her face.

"What for?" the femme grunted, smacking away Damian's hand. "Not as though I'm trying to make any friends here," she reminded, tucking a lengthy strand of hair behind her ear.

"Well would it hurt if you did?" Damian asked, leaning back against the splintering wagon wall.

"Everyone I love die violently; unnaturally. Already I may very well lose Henry, and I don't want to stand for anymore of it," she replied coldly, snapping around to face the rocky scenery. Descending from the mountaintop, there was only a sea of dirt and debris bordering each side of the wagon. A little way down however, the tips of two giant stacks of boulders could be seen poking out from the ground. It was a curious sight, as though someone had attempted constructing some sort of monument, but grew bored and abandoned it. Now however, Alice began to wonder if the gates were originally meant to have been built there.

"You know…if you'd make the right friends, you could /possibly/ save Henry sooner…"

Shooting a glance back at him, Alice raised a questioning eyebrow. "What are you suggesting?"

"Nothing," the 18 year old shrugged, seemingly changing his mind about the matter.

"What is it?" she pressed, casting a suspicious look.

"Nothing, it was meaningless." Alice was agitated now, crossing her arms firmly across her chest. "I'm telling you, it was nothing."

"Fine, be like that you prat," she hissed, whirling back around.

"Did anyone ever tell you how pretty you are?"

"Shove it, suck up."

Damian grinned, finding her reaction quite amusing. "I think this adventure might be actually be some fun…"

Silence thus pursued between the two as the wagon creaked on through the rocky terrain. They were nearing the piled boulders, which towered above the small wagon, threatening to fall if intimidated. But remaining fixed on the road, they were to expect a peaceful passage. However, as they were about to pass, a shot of white suddenly streaked in front of the cart, more than startling the horse.

"What the-"

With an earsplitting shriek, the horse swerved around, jerking so violently, that the wagon swung clean off the ground, and slammed into the giant pillar of rocks.

"Stop you!" The terrified creature failed to listen, rearing up on its hind legs with another shuddering cry. Alice and Damian were thrown forcefully out of the cart, striking the ground with a hard thump. Pounding the earth with a powerful blow, the horse suddenly darted forward, throwing up chunks of earth, which rained over the sprawled teens. Weathered wagon flailing wildly behind, their means of transportation vanished in the distance.

"Oi…" with a small groan, the 15 year old rolled up against the mountain wall, examining her bruised arm, which had turned an aching blue color.

"That good for nothing, chicken blooded, sorry excuse for a horse…" Damian had managed to a stand, brushing away the mud that clung onto him. "You alright there?" he questioned, taking notice of Alice's injury.

Before she could answer, the white rabbit suddenly cut her off. Apparently, he had been the ball of white that had dashed by. "Must we dawdle any longer?" He snapped, seemingly to have failed to notice the commotion. He was busy consulting his pocket watch, clicking his tongue in disapproving manner. "Constantly dilly-dallying, becoming habitually late, aren't we? Have you not heard of punctuality being a virtue?" The hare criticized, wet nose twitching madly as he thumped over to the femme.

"Dolt, what was that?" she hissed, dropping her arm onto her lap. "You could have gotten us killed! Have you no-"

"Tick tock, time is wasting. We mustn't squander it on talks of coulds and woulds," the rabbit obnoxiously interrupted, pointing a finger at the bottom of the mass of boulders opposite to them. Seated between the jumble of cracks and fragments of rocks was a small hole, lying inconspicuously in its place.

"What's there?" Damian asked, wiping muddy hands onto his pants.

"Caterpillar is there," the rabbit answered, facing the blonde. "Get going." With that he sprung forward, somehow managing to shrink to the size of a gnat as he scurried into the hole.

"In there?" Alice frowned, grasping the wall as she pulled up to her feet. "So where were you taking me?"

The 18 year old shrugged, scratching the back of his head. "Guess he moved again. He's constantly on and about you know, hiding from the Queen and all," he explained, pulling open his leather sack. "At any rate, it's all the better for us," he said, digging through the bag. Apparently there was a lot of stuff in there; he began grabbing out handfuls of peculiar items, none of which he seemed to want. As he drew another handful, however, Alice caught sight of a more interesting object. It was a necklace, one that looked similar to her mothers. A tight thread was tied to a small orb, one about the size of a pearl. It was deep shade of blue, with swirls of colors swimming inside, yet it emitted a soft azure hue as well.

"What is that?" she questioned, suddenly filled with an aching desire to snatch it. It was a strange feeling; other than it somewhat resembled her mothers necklace, she saw no real significance of it, yet for some reason she desperately wanted it. It was almost frightful; she had never craved for something so badly.

"Nothing," Damian muttered, hastily stuffing it into his sack.

"What is it?" she pressed, annoyed by his response. "I don't think it'd hurt to say!" she huffed, realizing he wasn't going to explain.

"Let's just stay focused, ok?" the Lost keeper snapped, finally locating what it was he wanted. "Right, so. These are shrinking mushrooms," he informed, holding out two brightly colored mushrooms. "It'll take you down to rabbits size in no time," he said, forcing one of the funguses into the femme's hand.

"Everything always has to be so complicated…" she was repulsed by the mushroom, catching a whiff of its dung scent. "Couldn't have been slightly more appetizing, could it?"

"Just stuff it," the blonde replied, rolling his eyes as he crammed his mushroom into his mouth. Instantly, he began shrinking dramatically in size until he was down to the size of an ant.

With a frustrated sigh, Alice mimicked the 18 year old, and moments later, she had fallen to his size. "Truly revolting, I must say," she complained, holding out her tongue, which reeked heavily of the foul taste.

"Well you know, not always rainbows and butterflies," Damian chuckled, tracing the rabbit's steps to the small hole.

"Well aware of that," Alice replied in annoyance, trailing after her companion.

0o-- --o0 0o-- --o0 0o-- --o0

Author's note: Right so, a bit of a slow chapter, but there were a few things I wanted in there. Anyhow, we're heading onto Caterpillar's scene, which should be up fairly soon. I hope to get a lot more explaining done there, but the explanations probably won't follow the game's story very well. I think. I have never played the game, only a small section from the demo. I've never read any of the books either, and I've only seen a small portion of the Disney movie…which really doesn't help any. xD If it bothers anyone, I apologize, but I'll try my best to make it work. So, just a little heads up there for you all.