Hey, world, how's it hangin'? :) Chapter Ten, a chapter I've been dying to write for quite a while now (so I hope it comes out alright!), is finally right below these (and some more) lines! CHECK IT.

Disclaimer: And I still own nothing of AiW.

Inspirational Song: "Audience of One" - Rise Against

. . . .

Alice twiddled her thumbs nervously as she gazed into Hatter's golden eyes. His anger of her leaving for the Otherworld without him had long burnt out, but the sadness that had replaced it was not much better. Alice didn't know where his hat was, but it was not on his person, which worried her. She didn't dare ask about its location in fear of the response it would bring about.

His eyes were deeper than the seas. "Be careful," he lisped to her.

Alice took his hands in hers and swayed them back and forth. "You know I will, but I'll really be fine. It's you I'm worried about." A frown appeared above her eyes. "You be careful, and I shall be careful, too."

"Aye," he replied. His eyes darkened. "It's the wait that'll be killing me, Alice. I know very well how you are capable of handling yourself." His face wore a sad smile. "You don't know how long it'll seem to me, you being up there. It could very well be months before I see you again."

Alice placed a finger over his mouth, shushing him. "You know I'll hurry as much as I am able. Chessur won't let me sit for even a single break," she reminded him.

All she earned was an irritable grunt from him.

She curled a piece of his fiery hair around her finger. "Make sure to make lots of hats for me," she teased, but it was more than that. The hat-making would keep both his mind and hands busy and unaware of worries.

He smiled softly. "Of course," he said softly. Alice leaned forward and gave him a tight hug around the middle. A thimble-capped finger lifted her chin up to meet Hatter's face, which granted her with a long, soft kiss. She sighed and let go.

"Walk me to the Front Gate?" He nodded and walked with her, hand-in-hand.

They'd only been right around the corner from the Main Hall, so they just turned around once and strode forward. It was only noon and the sun hung high in the sky, making the pink leaves of the trees shimmer. The pearly arches bordering the walkway before the stone path shone. The White Queen stood gracefully beside the formerly frumious Bandersnatch. Chessur floated besides Mirana and was seemingly staring off into space.

Hatter cleared his throat as they approached. Chess met his eyes and shivered before looking away. Alice's confused gaze met Hatter's, but he only shook his head slightly at her.

She began to ask Hatter why Chessur seemed so timid to him, but was politely interrupted.

"Alice," Mirana's angelic voice rang. She stepped forward and grasped Alice's hand with both of her own. "Are you ready?"

She nodded bravely. "Yes."

"Erm, excuse me, Your Majesty," Hatter said quickly. "But could I borrow Chess for a moment?"

Mirana's eyebrows rose. "By all means, of course." She waved her hand daintily towards one side of the white pathway. A determined-looking Hatter and nervous-looking Chessur floated through an archway and into the gardens.

Mirana's attention was brought back to Alice. "Now," she began, "to review what we've already discussed."

Alice nodded and stood up straighter. "All in all, to not draw attention to myself, to hurry, and to not be recognized by anyone I know."

Mirana nodded. "We do not know how long you have been missing up there. For all we do know, it could have been years." Alice gulped. "If that were the case, an incredibly-youthful-looking Alice would certainly startle some of the ones you were formerly familiar with."

She pulled a long, white cloak out from behind her. She handed it to Alice with a motherly smile. Alice studied the fabric, noting its softness and strength. She gazed up at Mirana curiously.

"To cover your signature outfit of blue," she explained.

Alice looked down and blushed. Her hair was up and she was wearing a very dull dress, so as to fit in with the Otherworlders' clothing and appearance, but had foolishly forgotten the whole color concept. It wasn't like she was the only lady to ever wear blue up there, but it was true that she had been the one to wear it most. Any apparent attribute to her true identity could lead to the foil of their plan of finding Stayne. It was a simple thing to overlook.

She swept the cloak over her shoulders and found that it had a hood. She'd pull it on once she entered the Otherworld. "Thank you," she told Mirana.

"It was no trouble, dear." Mirana smiled. "Remember, although it is fairly important that you locate and bring back Ilosovic, you must also appear to be casual to the locals. If unwanted eyes are drawn, some might get suspicious and ask questions. I'm sure that you and Chessur are more than capable of handling that situation, but it would be easier to simply avoid it. If you cannot, have Chess handle most of the conversation. And make it rather short, for the person cannot see your face."

Alice absorbed all this information easily. Most of the instructions were relatively straight forward, despite the obvious effort of having to find and capture the Knave of Hearts. That would be a bit more of a complicated task.

Hatter reappeared, swerved around Alice, and quickly looked away. She couldn't see his face; his back was to her. His hat now sat atop his head. Alice inwardly winced. She hoped she wouldn't be gone for too long.

The next person to step through the archway and out of the gardens was certainly able to startle her. He looked like the typical London business man!

His dark brown hair was tousled and his eyes dark. His pink lips held a permanent smirk. He was tall, lean, and dressed in a white shirt with a tan vest. His pants matched the brown buttons on the vest and the ascot was a pale yellow. He stuffed his muscular hands into his pockets and leaned back on his heels, looking amused at Alice's reaction. She quickly recovered and clasped her hands behind her back.

"You look riveting, Chess, but I much prefer you as a cat."

For a moment, confusion inhabited his eyes, but it was quickly washed away with a smile. "I'd say the same." Alice's jaw dropped. The voice was not that of Chessur's, but of a completely unfamiliar one's. It was of average tone, but seemed light and care-free.

"I agree with Alice," Mirana added. "You make a positively dashing gentleman." Chessur smiled at her and turned back to Alice.

"Well, er, good work," she said awkwardly. He was rather handsome-looking at the moment. . . for a cat. She looked away from him and to Hatter, whose back was still facing her. She shook her head wearily and addressed Mirana. "Shall we leave now?"

She nodded. "The time has come to depart." Her eyes warmed. "Be careful, Alice. I do hope to see you soon."

Alice nodded with a smile as Chess and her began to settle on Bandy. Chessur leaped up first, surprisingly comfortable in this form. He held a hand out to her for assistance. She made to grasp it, but then hesitated. She looked back over her shoulder at Hatter, whose shoulders were tense and his head hung low. He was now facing her, but she couldn't see his face in the hat's shadow that covered his expression. She bit her lip, still with her hand in mid-air, reaching out to Chessur's outstretched hand.

She abruptly pulled her hand back.

Why the hell not.

She whirled around, sprinted a few feet, and leaped into Hatter's arms, entangling her hands with fistfuls of his hair. She pressed her lips against his and could feel his mouth open in shock. Needless to say, she took advantage of the opportunity, and Hatter soon responded. He wrapped his arms around her waist excitedly. Their lips moved in unison, barely taking the time to breathe. Hatter grasped the back of her neck and pulled her even closer. The world revolved around them for a moment.

Alice sighed in contentment and regretfully released her hold. Hatter's eyes were closed tightly, but his smile was wide and mystified. He looked a bit dreamy at the moment. Alice smiled victoriously and passed up Mirana, whose eyebrows had risen up to her hairline. "Well," was all she said. Her smile was small and shy, but also bright. Her cheeks were a tad red, as well.

Alice climbed on Bandy with no assistance of Chessur's and settled in comfortably in front of him. She noted that his fists were angrily clutching tufts of the Bandersnatch's hair. Bandy looked up and glared at Chess. He let go stubbornly and Bandy went on to thrust his tongue up his left nostril. Alice grimaced and Bandy looked forward again.

"Ride, Bandy," she whispered into the beast's ear. He shot off immediately. Chessur's stiff arms flew about her waist. She looked back to see him pale.

"Good luck, you two!" Mirana called.

Alice looked back. Mirana was waving to her. "We will see you as soon as we can!"

Her eyes moved curiously to Hatter, whose arm was waving stiffly and slowly in the air. Alice sighed. She'd manage to get to him even sooner.

. . . . .

They didn't speak much on the ride. Perhaps they were both lost in thought of their mission, or perhaps they weren't thinking about anything of that sort at all. Alice had trouble keeping her mind off her tingling lips and the heat on the back of her neck from where Hatter had grasped her.

"We will be there shortly," Chessur said quietly, calmly. Alice looked back and nodded at him, to show that she had heard. When she looked back at the view in front of her, she frowned. Despite the fact that he was in a completely different body, Chess had been acting very unlike himself ever since he switched forms. She didn't think it was because of the actual switching of forms, for he had done these types of things multiple times before. Despite his constant drifting and vanishing as a cat, he seemed very uncomfortable with riding on Bandy at such a speed. She couldn't place her finger on it, but something didn't seem right about this whole situation.

The trees had slowly been getting more and more distant from each other for quite a while now, but now they died away completely. They found themselves in the midst of the Mushroom Forest. Alice looked up confusedly to see an immensely large group of red and orange butterflies collecting above them. It had to be the size of a small cloud. The butterflies moved with them, following each and every turn they took. Alice saw no harm in this and let them be.

Although Alice couldn't see them, she knew Sir Lawrence and his fellow Guards were watching. They were currently on post and protecting the Door from any passers-by. She was sure a certain Knave had to do with the task, as well.

Bandy came to an abrupt halt. Chessur slid off his back immediately and placed his hands on his knees, taking in and letting out deep breaths. Alice landed gracefully beside him and rubbed soothing circles into his back. "It'll wear off soon," she told him. "It did for Hatter."

Alice frowned at her mention of Hatter, and Chessur noticed. He smiled gently at her, straightening up. "It'll be alright," he said in that strange tone. "I promise."

Alice didn't like that mischievous gleam in his eyes. "And how do you know that?"

"Trust me." He grinned.

Alice's brow furrowed. "Chessur. . . " she said suspecting-like. "Is there something you're not telling me?" she asked slowly.

The man merely smiled again, causing Alice to peer at him from the corners of her eyes.

And before she knew it, she was floating in mid-air. She winced and started thrashing about, before a loud voice called out to her.

"Stay still, Miss Alice! Or else you'll just make it harder for them!"

Alice opened her eyes and looked around her. The thousands of sunset-colored butterflies were lifting her and Chessur up into the air. She looked down to see the ground sitting already far below her. She could only just make out the pink hair of Sir Lawrence sticking out of the forest's edge. After he'd made sure she wasn't waving frantically about anymore, he retreated back into line with his hidden troops.

Alice looked up and gasped. There was the Door. Chessur was already to it and was able to grab hold of the handle, turn it, and pull it open. She could see a fair portion of the Round Hall within. Chess looked back at her, grinned, and jumped in. He poked his head back out and held the door open for her.

She was now level with the Door, but was confused as to what to do next. How does one jump off of no flat surface, let alone any surface at all? It ended up with Alice leaning forward slightly from her middle and Chessur dragging the rest of her forward by hand. The door slammed shut behind them, closing off the majority of their light source.

Alice looked around. Everything was precisely as she had last seen it, although that seemed to her so long ago. It was truthfully only over a month and a half.

Chessur walked to the center of the room, placed his hands on his hips, and looked at Alice. "What do you suppose we do?"

I have no idea, why in Underland are you asking me? But of course, she did not say this. She bit her lip and pondered their situation for a while.

It was a good five minutes before Alice came up with a likely hypothesis. If Wonderland worked in strange ways, and it certainly did, then this idea was sure to work.

"What if. . . " Alice said slowly. "What if. . we do the whole process of getting into Wonderland. . . backwards?"

Chessur blinked at her.

"Think about it," she said excitedly. "We could begin by standing on her heads, that'll be the trickiest part, I'm assuming, and perhaps the Rabbit Hole will work for us. It could take us back up to the top, to London. After all, all transportation systems are able to backtrack their steps. Why should this one be any different? If any one should, it'd be this one! It's Wonderland."

Chessur simply looked at her for a moment again before doing anything. What he diddo was completely and utterly unexpected.

He held her face in his hands and kissed her hard on the lips.

Alice abruptly pushed on his chest, breaking contact. She took several steps backward. Her eyes had to be as wide as saucers. Chessur's eyes looked hungry, his fists repeatedly closing and opening.

"Oh, Chess. . ." she said awkwardly. "Erm, I'm with Hatter, and I don't think. . ."

She was caught off guard once again as Chessur began to laugh vigorously. He clutched his sides, hooting with the upmost glee.

Alice's eyes narrowed. She was horribly confused just at the moment. "Really, what it so funny? I believe I've missed the joke!"

His laughter died off immediately at Alice's sharp tone, but his smile remained. "Alice, I'm not Chess! I'm Hatter!"

Alice didn't know how to react. "Wh-what?"

Chess, or Hatter, the-the man took her hands gently. His tone had turned soft. "It's Tarrant, Alice," he said softly. "I sort of. . . persuaded Chess with guilt into working with my plan."

"Your. . . plan." It came out like a question.

The male nodded. "I'd taken a potion I had to snag from the White Queen's cabinets, so I could look like an Otherworlder. I trust myself well enough to keep my emotions in check. Of course, I'll let her know as soon as we get back about the potion," he added quickly.

"So. . . Chessur is. . . ?"

"Currently in Marmoreal, looking exactly like me, in my form." His eyes narrowed dangerously. "I didn' appreciate tha' kiss, lassie."

Alice's jaw dropped. "Hatter!" she gasped. "I completely made out with Chessur!" Blush immediately sprang to her cheeks as she thought about how she had pressed her body in so close to him. "I kissed Chessur! And he responded so well!"

Hatter's eyes widened and he took a step back.

Alice pulled on his hand. "No, no! What I meant was, he responded to me, so I had no doubt it was you-how was I know to doubt at all? How could I have anticipated this-"

"How could you not have?" Hatter asked her. At Alice's confused expression, he explained. "Do you really think," he said almost painfully, "that I would ever let you out of my sight again, with you up in the Otherworld, without me?" He shook his head side to side slowly, keeping his eyes on hers. "Aye alrea'y did that'. I don' plan on doin' it again."

Alice embraced him tightly. "I'm sorry. For everything," she whispered.

He rubbed circles into her back, just as she had done for him. "It's alright. . . It's okay. . . "

After they had finally pulled themselves together, the two experimented with Alice's idea. Hatter was completely able to stand on his head all on his own, but Alice had to prop herself up against a wall. It was tricky work, but in the end, they succeeded. Alice felt herself shooting up the Rabbit Hole again before she knew it.

. . . . .

Rachel: I apologize sooooo much for it being so long! I had no idea it'd be that extensive.

Insanity: And there was no other place to split it properly. It had to be done.

Rachel: And it was. So. Thank you for taking the (rather large) amount of time to read this.

Insanity: And good day.