The Vale of Tears. Not too dissimilar to before, but there were some key differences.
The influence of the Infernal Train could still be felt, despite its destruction. The landscape was scarred, with large ravines opening up where flat ground once had been, jagged cliffs caused by the train's wrath, crumbling statues, and the dominoes, marbles, and other massive trinkets were somehow more haphazardly strewn around. It seemed to be healing, thankfully. New trees had sprung up, the ones scorched were usually rolled to the side and out of the way. Flora grew nearly out of control, and new rivers had formed. Though damaged, Wonderland seemed to be safe. It was reassuring enough to at least give her a level head.
"Back so soon, Alice?" A suave voice greeted her from behind. That blasted cat. "It wasn't my intention. I was only going to return once that hideous thing was dead. What gives, cat? Is something amiss?" Alice responded.
"You tell me! For once, the future of Wonderland is not entirely at stake. Though the Ruin continues to haunt this place, it is not nearly enough to jeopardize much of anything." The Cheshire Cat explained.
"Interesting."
"Indeed. Would you happen to be here for the clean-up?" The Cat asked. Though it was probably something she'd have to do at some point, Alice had bigger things to take care of. With that being said… she didn't exactly know what to say. With such strange happenings, it was a matter of comprehending the matter. Converting scattered thoughts to complete sentences was the easy part! There was too much to say, and it all sounded ridiculous.
"Some other time, Cat. I believe this is a different matter altogether." Alice noted, and after a brief pause of contemplation, she spoke up again. "Do you know of any new arrivals to Wonderland?"
"Between the destruction of the Train and your own arrival here today, I cannot say I have. Why do you ask?"
"Hmm… now that's odd! I could have sworn…" Alice finally knew what to say, though saying the words out loud made her not want to let them out. Who could believe her? She sounded mad! Though it was a thought she went through, as… Well, it was par for the course, especially here. "I could have sworn somebody was pulled through here. It's the only explanation I can think of!"
"Pulled? Alice, that's preposterous. Madness does not draw or pull people inward voluntarily. It's a place one falls into. You of all people should know that."
"That I do, Cat! I just have no other reasonable explanation for it. If you insist that I am Wonderland's only beloved guest, however, then I do not know what to tell you. Unless…" Alice trailed off, heading down a recently beaten path to parse another theory together. Or, rather, make an attempt to do so. There wasn't an easy way for Alice to jump from floating domino to floating domino to bouncy mushroom AND think about some alternative theory all at the same time. It was hard to not get lost within the beauty of the surrounding landscape, despite the waning disarray.
That being said, Alice's efforts weren't entirely fruitless. Now that she thought about it, the method that Levy either got forced into or evoked himself was unlike any way she had seen before. Most alternative ideas were highly unlikely, but one stood out over the rest. It was still shaky, but it was… something. Something that still made a lick of sense, sounded mad, and felt more plausible all at the same time. She made her way to a clearing, and allowed the Cheshire Cat to reappear and hear her out.
"Perhaps I was only half-true, Cat." Alice explained. "What I saw could hardly be believed as a product of Wonderland! But-"
"And the Ruin isn't?" The Cheshire Cat interrupted her. How rude! But he did bring up a point that momentarily dissuaded Alice. Presences that were more malicious weren't exactly uncommon here in Wonderland. The destruction left in the wake of Alice's previous adventures left plenty of prime examples to choose from. It wasn't the point, however, and a counterpoint sprung from the flurry. "That's not what I am trying to get at. What I mean is that… would there be a possibility that it wasn't Wonderland's doing?"
The Cheshire Cat's grin got a little less wide for a moment, before returning back to its usual state. "A land somewhere else?" he responded.
"Correct."
The Cheshire Cat purred out loud, though it was less out of general contentment and more due to the boldness of such a thing. "Staggering… but not surprising. In such a situation, then, I have no words of wisdom. None that directly apply to the situation, anyways. Perhaps the Hatter would be of use."
"The Hatter?!" Alice was skeptical. "I saw him get crushed!"
"Did your act of killing him stop him from coming back the first time around?"
"I- well, no. Brutalized, but not out."
"Then I do not see why you would think such a thing, Alice. You should know where to go by now. And a quick aside… turn around." The cat faded into nothingness. Alice heeded his advice.
Oh, great. How fantastic… not.
A sizable puddle of black sludge had pooled on the opposite side of the clearing. From it, two insidious ruins pulled themselves out and screamed. Unpleasant and not to be trifled with, but nothing that Alice could take care of.
The Vorpal Blade was right where she remembered it. Running directly towards one of the ruins, she struck it across its body three separate times before dashing out of the way of its charging attack. The second one had already begun to do the same thing, its arm raised to take a quick slash at her. Quickly and casually, Alice pulled out the teapot cannon from her previous adventure, and caused the ruin to take an entire grenade directly at its face. The blast finished off the first ruin, and pushed Alice back closer to the leftmost wall. No matter. One final slash did it in. Were one to prompt Alice about the encounter before, she would have been appalled. Now, it was second nature to her, helped by the Cheshire Cat's words of these damn things finally starting to disappear entirely. So far the Ruins had the odds stacked against them. Alice was sure it would remain this way.
Alice stood, anticipating some other onslaught of enemies. None showed themselves. Perfect! Onwards she went!
She loathed the idea of taking one of the cable cars again. Cable cars were supposed to run on… well, cables, but the last one she took didn't for some reason. Right through the wall. Highly inefficient, especially for a place such as the factory. Thankfully, she didn't have to! A heartwarming sight lay in front of her, after crossing a few perilous ravines and squeezing past a fallen tree and massive boulder.
Yet another clearing, but this time was different! There were real, actual individuals here at this time. People that Alice could recognize came from all corners of Wonderland! The commotion was not out of terror, but out of leisure, and all of it could only mean one thing; the Looking Glass Line was in business. The amount of people teetered on the line between a gathering and a crowd, but that only served to let Alice waltz in between everyone and up to the front. She waited for a time, and sure enough, a train pulled in. It never could hold a candle to the might and opposing nature of the Infernal Train, but the familiar face made such standards irrelevant.
"Oh, Alice!" The Mock Turtle waited for the train to fully stop, before clambering out the window of the train. "Good news, and many thanks all around! Back from the slump, and then some. I've become not only a stationmaster, you see, but the sole conductor! The owner of the whole railway system! Tough times, but ones to be grateful for!
"Excellent news, conductor!" Alice eyed the entire train, or what she could see, anyways. Its cargo and passenger cars extended as far as the eye could see. Were rhyme, reason, or the
laws of physics not ignored on a daily basis in these parts, the train likely would have burst before it could even dream of leaving the station. "In a single file line, everybody!" The Mock Turtle called out, which the crowd did accordingly. "Hand in your tickets before stepping aboard!"
The line began to move forward. Alice stood by the Mock Turtle as he processed all of these tickets, supplying him with a bit of small talk, notwithstanding the term 'small' being used loosely in this particular situation.
"What brings you here?" The Mock Turtle asked. He was definitely overworked, but lacked any sort of stress, and had grown to be quite the multi-tasker.
"I have a few inquiries for the Hatter."
"You do?" He asked as he gazed at Alice for but a moment, before handing off the ticket in his hands in exchange for the next one. "You are in luck. His domain did not know our infrastructure until as of late! If there is a domain under all that scrap, that is."
Good news all around. Alice was curious about something. That statement doesn't really narrow it down, but something more innocuous than the slight emergency had graced Alice's mind. Inconsequential enough to have answered right then and there.
"I could have sworn the trains on the Looking Glass Line were much larger."
"It's fear, Alice." The Mock Turtle's tone deepened in solemnity. "The hellish Train struck fear into us all. Time will heal, but as you see, not everyone is ready. This arrangement will have to do for now…"
Alice nodded. "I see."
Contrary to the general population's attitude towards riding trains again, the ones who were here had all boarded. "Ah! Brilliant! Come come, Alice!" He said as he clambered on. Alice was just about to join him, but just as she took a step, the train shook. Impacted by something. The passengers screamed, and Alice turned to face the culprit.
A singular, still menacing Ruin. Bigger than the two that came before, but one that Alice did not fear. The same could not be said for the conductor.
"No! No! Oh dear, oh dear, I'm not prepared to leave this mortal coil!" he cowered.
"Calm yourself, Conductor, this is nothing. Keep the train stopped, if you would!" Alice stepped forward out of the shade of the railway station to face the abomination head-on.
The ruin threw pieces of itself at Alice. In the face of danger, she was forced to stand her ground and deflect the fireballs back. The train station, and the Looking Glass Line by assumption, was already beginning to recover from its destruction. Anyone could tell that fire would only serve to reverse the process. The monster recoiled from the impact, seemingly falling for the same tricks that fooled each and every ruin that came before it. Alice ran in for a few slices at its three faces, before falling back and peppering it from a safer distance. Quite literally! A predictable run forward followed suit. Alice made sure it would charge away from the station once again, for the same reason as the first attack. The Ruin repeated this action twice, second verse same as the first, and Alice danced around its attacks with grace. Maybe it was due to confidence, experience, or this singular Ruin being nothing compared to the horrors she had gone through, but Alice was making this look criminally easy.
In the end, the Ruin fell, and Alice was unscathed.
She returned to the train station. Most of everyone on board was too shaken up to say anything, but a few of them lightly clapped. A stunning, if concerningly life-threatening, performance.
"That could not have been closer! Saved us once again!" The Mock Turtle exclaimed.
"Absolutely, Conductor. That could not have been closer." Alice responded with a smirk. It was a repeat of what he had said, except in a completely different matter. The outcome was never really in doubt. Alice no longer held fear in fighting those things. Now, it was just a matter of getting out of here.
"Shall we, Conductor?" Alice stepped aboard.
"We shall."
The engine roared to life. Smoke billowed out from the smokestack, and the train lurched forward. It slowly accelerated, before reaching top speeds. Alice joined the Mock Turtle in the front, watching from the window as the floating islands of the Vale of Tears began to draw further and further into the distance.
Good news all around.