Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

Author's Note: So Alice is back in her Wonderland! We get to see the Mad Tea Party and Hatter again in this chapter, so I hope you enjoy it! Thank you all so much for your kind reviews, your faves, and your alerts!

-Chapter 3-

Wonderland

Despite having had several experiences with both pishalver and upelkuchen, Alice was still quite unused to the feeling of shrinking and growing, especially when she was struggling around with trying to grow back into her dress so she wouldn't be stuck in her under things for longer than strictly necessary. She could already hear the whispers of the flowers as they gossiped about Underland's Champion going about clothed in a very improper way.

By the time she'd finally managed to wiggle her way back into her dress properly, she felt the need to drop down on the steps and rest for a while. Though stretching out on the stone wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world, it gave her a chance to regain her energy and put her arm over her eyes for a while. The excitement of being back in Underland and working out how she was going to get through the door and then back to her normal size had lessened the ache in her head for a while, but now it was hurting again, but not as badly as before…

After resting for a while, Alice pushed to her feet and took off. She'd been to Underland twice before, so by then she should know her way around, but she figured she'd still get lost. But she was determined to find her way, and find it soon.

Once she reached the cover of the trees, the glow of the sun was lessened, which offered relief for her head. Relaxing a bit, she meandered her way along, looking for familiar landmarks that would help guide her to her destination. There were still gaps in her memory, and most of that was in directions, unfortunately. Never before had she wished to see Chess more.

A quick glance around left her empty-handed. No mist, no eyes, and no grin - no Chessur. With or without him, though, Alice was determined to find her way to the Mad Tea Party and Hatter, even if it took her all day and half the night. (Not that she knew for sure how far into the day it was, because Time moved differently in Underland, so for all she knew, it was less than an hour from nightfall.)

Alice stopped and rested twice. She was expecting to feel more tired than she was, but oddly enough, she was actually feeling stronger the longer she walked. The throbbing anguish in her head was easing away, now more of an irritation than an actual pain. It made no sense, but she wondered if Underland's strange atmosphere had anything to do with it.

Leaning back against a tree, Alice closed her eyes and let out her breath. She had no idea where in Underland she was, but she hoped she was close. Now that she was back, her stomach was fluttering and her mind was spinning. She had missed all her friends in Underland (once she remembered them), but she had missed none of them as much as she did Hatter. The thought of seeing him again made her excited and nervous all at once.

What is that?

Opening her eyes, Alice leaned forward and cocked her head to the side. Very soft, distant sounds were reaching her ears from somewhere. She'd heard that sound somewhere before…

The phonograph!

Scrambling to her feet and ignoring the little twinge her head gave, Alice hitched up her skirts and ran toward the sound. A smile burst to life on her lips, and she inwardly chanted, I've almost made it, I'm almost there, Hatter, I'm coming…

Now she was sure that she was approaching the tea party, because she could hear voices and the rattle of cutlery, plus the scratchy music from the phonograph, as she got closer. Despite wanting to speed up, she slowed down as she got closer. Though she was quite happy to be back in Underland, she wasn't sure what her reception would be. Would they be overjoyed or angry to see her? She had promised to be back soon, but she was sure more time had passed in Underland than in London.

For a while she stayed concealed in the trees and spied on the tea party, trying to judge the moods of the attendees.

Mallymkun was sitting on her usual stool, dunking bits of scone in her tea before eating them. She was laughing uproariously at Thackery, who was sitting across from her. The March Hare was juggling teapots and cups, chuckling at his own cleverness. At the end of the table closest to Alice sat Chessur, who was slumped over his teacup with his head resting on one paw. From what she could tell from his back and the way his tail drooped, he was bored, but then again, not much could entertain the Cat.

At last she allowed her eyes to drift to the opposite end of the table. Hatter sat quietly, not taking part in the frivolities of his friends. He was staring into his own cup, Hat tilted back a bit on his head, his clothes looking almost as drab as when she'd first seen him the last time she'd been in Underland.

Get out there, Alice. This isn't going to do any good if you don't just stand up and go out there. Swallowing hard, she left the shelter of the trees and crept forward, half-hoping they'd notice her soon, and half-hoping they wouldn't.

Predictably, Thackery was the first to observe her approach. His teacups and pots fell and shattered as he stared openly at her, ears twitching as he started vibrating in his chair. He sputtered wordlessly, drawing Mally's attention. She turned from her scone and tea, her small dark eyes widening a bit when she spotted Alice.

This caught Chess's attention. He turned, uninterested smile widening in delight when he caught sight of her. "The Alice!" he greeted.

A wordless growl from the other end of the table drew the three tea-takers' and Alice's attention. She looked toward Hatter, who was glaring at her from beneath his hat brim, his eyes yellow with anger. "A' leas' ye ha' th' courtesy tae be your proper size this time," he snarled at her. "Come tae torture mae again, eh?"

Mally delicately cleared her throat. "She's really 'ere this time, Hatta'," she said softly.

The hot glare was transferred from Alice to Mally. For a moment Hatter regarded his friend in icy silence. Then he stood, marching around the table much as he had to yell at Chessur, who was actually looking interested in the proceedings and quite unlikely to vanish as he usually did at any sign of confrontation.

Alice fought the urge to take a step back at his approach, for in truth she wasn't afraid of Hatter, and never would be. But he did make quite the intimidating picture striding towards her like that, his eyes yellow and ringed with black, his face set in icy fury, his battered hands clenched into fists at his sides.

He stopped right in front of her, his Hat adding additional height to his already impressive figure. He towered over her, glaring right into her eyes. Alice calmly met his gaze, not flinching when his hand shot up next to her face, but hesitated a few inches from her skin. For the first time a flicker of uncertainty showed on his face, though his eyes didn't lighten in color.

Not even Thackery said anything, though he was shuddering so hard the tables rattled slightly. Mally and Chessur were just watching with wide eyes and bated breath, anxious to see what was going to happen next. They knew what Alice didn't, that their friend had become quite mad and unpredictable as of late.

Moving very slowly, so she wouldn't startle him, Alice reached up and took Hatter's hand in her own. He inhaled sharply at the contact, the darkness instantly fading from his skin, the yellow from his eyes. Emboldened by this good sign, she tugged until his palm, covered with a fingerless glove, was resting against her cheek, his fingers just barely touching her hair.

"Alice…" The slight lisping sound at the end of her name indicated his nervousness, the little bit of him that still seemed to fear that she wasn't real.

She had practiced a hundred things to say when she finally came face-to-face with Hatter again, but, ironically enough, the one thing she hadn't thought of was what left her mouth. "Hatter, have you any idea why a raven is like a writing desk?" It seemed like a horribly cliché thing for her to say, but at the same time, she knew it was right the moment she saw his reaction.

A wide grin split Hatter's face, revealing the gap between his top front teeth. Shifting his grip on her hand so his fingers were twined with hers, he tugged her after him toward the tea table. One swipe of his free hand knocked aside the books that had been perched there as a booster - undoubtedly he'd been expecting her to be smaller when she finally returned. He guided her to her seat before going to his own, never once removing his glowing green eyes from her face.

The mood at the table palpably lightened. Thackery giggled and tossed a cup at her, which she (by some miracle) managed to catch. Immediately Hatter reached out and filled it with tea, and Alice didn't care that it was cold when she sipped it. It was tea from the Mad Tea Party, and that's all that mattered to her.

"Alice, luv," Chess drawled from the other end of the table. "How've you been?"

She paused, cup halfway to her lips for another sip. It was only then that she realized her headache had completely vanished, gone as if it had never existed. She was so surprised at that insight that she nearly dropped her teacup onto her lap. "I - much better," she finally managed to stammer out.

Hatter latched on to that immediately. "'Much better'?" he inquired anxiously. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing now," Alice replied. "It was the strangest thing. I had a headache when I left for China, but I just thought it was stress. Ah - China is a place in Otherland. I think you would like it," she said to Hatter, "you and Thackery both. There's all sorts of lovely teas there. Anyway, once I arrived, my headaches kept getting worse and worse. It eventually became so horrible that I couldn't stand light or loud noises. When I returned to London, the doctor couldn't figure out what was the matter with me." She looked down into her teacup, tracing the rim of it for a long moment before continuing. "I came back here to see you all one last time before I - well, at the time, I thought I was going to - I didn't think I would…" She trailed off and swallowed hard, gaining enough courage to lift her head again.

The reactions of her companions were not what she had expected. They were all staring at her, openmouthed, even Chessur. Shock seemed to be the prevailing emotion for all of them, though Hatter's seemed to be tempered by a strange understanding.

Chess's eyes were the first to shift away from her. He looked straight at Hatter and said, "Well, it would seem you're not the only one, then, Tarrant."

Hatter lifted his hand, touching his temple with two fingers. "It is gone," he said in a marveling tone. "Gone, as if it were never there…"

This time it was Alice's turn to stare. "Wait - you had a headache as well?"

"'Orrible, it was," Mally interjected.

"His only relief was to lose himself to the Madness," Chessur tacked on.

Tarrant briefly glared at the two before turning back to Alice. "Aye. It started out slowly, just a bit of an ache at the end of the day. Eventually it got so bad, it was just like you said. The White Queen made me stop making hats - thought that was what made me - well." He shook his head. "But it's gone now, completely."

Thackery banged his spoon on the table to get everyone's attention. "Something strange is going on - better go see the White Queen." Without looking, he reached into the teapot next to him and held up his pocket watch, which oddly still didn't look the worse for the wear after being soaked in tea for so long. "Tick-tick."

Startling slightly, Hatter reached for his own watch. He squinted at it for a moment. "So you're right, old friend." Pocketing it again, he stared morosely at his teacup. "Shame to waste good tea, though."

Chess cleared his throat. "The fact that you both had such bad headaches at the same time, not to mention the fact that they both vanished at the same time, means they're connected somehow," he said. His grin widened that impossible bit more (though Alice had learned that there was not much that was impossible in Underland, if there were anything). Then, as he vanished into wispy grey smoke, he drawled, "Quite the connection."

"We'll all go," Mally said, looking irritated. She glared at Tarrant. "An' this time, if'n ye don' go, Ah'll poke ye so hard yer grandchildren'll feel it."

Hatter's cheeks darkened slightly, and Alice realized he was blushing. "Aye, we'll go." He jumped up so fast he nearly upset the first table in line. Bowing slightly to Alice, he held out his hand to help her stand. "Forgive me if I don't offer you a ride on my Hat this time, but being your right-proper Alice-size, I don't think you'll fit."

Chuckling slightly, Alice accepted his hand and stood. "It's quite all right. I think I'd like to walk this time, if you don't mind."

Mally's eyes brightened. "Does this mean Ah ge' tae ri'?" she asked hopefully.

Without hesitation Hatter swept off his Hat and held it out, and a moment later the Dormouse was settled happily on the brim. Alice missed the look of triumph the little white creature shot in her direction.

Thackery stuffed a couple of scones into inside pockets of his coat, snatched up his pocket watch and spoon, and then hopped off his chair. "Sugar Marmoreal!" he declared.

Alice barely smiled at the Hare's strange words. As she walked silently next to Tarrant, with Mally riding on his Hat brim and Thackery hopping along ahead of them, she couldn't get her mind off of the fact that Hatter, too, had been afflicted with a headache. And, more than that, one exactly like hers. And hadn't she noticed that her own had been getting better once she got to Underland?

But what if it wasn't Underland itself? her inner voice whispered. After all, Hatter had the headache, too. If Underland had properties that takes care of those sorts of things, it seems extremely unlikely that he'd suffer from it, too. So what if it was your proximity to each other that made your headaches vanish?

The heat rushed straight up her neck and into her cheeks at that thought. It was an absolutely ridiculous assumption, and yet…

…And yet, could she really rule anything out in Underland? Especially since the idea of it wasn't so awful, even if it was a tad embarrassing?

She just hoped that once they reached Marmoreal, the White Queen would have the answers they were seeking.

~To Be Continued~

The plot thickens... I had a great time writing this chapter, so I hope you all enjoyed it! Thanks for reading, and the next one should be up within the next couple of days!