Sorry 'bout the bit of a wait I left you all with! It's finals week. Need I say more? Nah, these aren't the words you care for.

Disclaimer: I own absolutely nada of Alice in Wonderland.

Inspirational Song: "Unity" – Shinedown (Also known as this young author's favorite song.)

. . . . .

Earlier, it had begun to drizzle. Now? It was a complete downpour.

The stormy winds and strikes of lightning had kept up, as well. The rain pelted down onto the Checkerboard Field at an extreme angle due to its force. The sky was pitch black, never before a hue so dark in the Underland sky. Dull, red wisps of clouds could be seen off in the distance near the mountains. They traveled fast. Thunder shook the land so powerfully that the rocks and pebbles below the White Army's feet shivered and shot. Lightning struck again, gleaming off the only essence of pure color within miles. The White Army stood apart from the scenery, huddling together for reassurance on the Battlefield. Yes, their heads were held high, but if you looked a bit lower, you could see each troop's hands knotting together restlessly.

Each and every soldier loyal to the Queen stood on that field. The White Castle was completely bare but for the children and their guardians. Many cries could be heard from the castle as they marched away. Several of their mothers and fathers had left to fight. The children's protectors would keep them all together, secluded and safe. It was only the matter of their parents that stood on the field now, peeking side-long glances at the dismal environment around them.

Standing at the front of this anxious army stood the only man with his eyes set on the horizon with not a trembling nervousness, but an eagerness to begin battle and quench the only being daring enough to threaten his Queen. His soaking wet, but bright nonetheless, bubblegum pink hair was still a beacon of color in all the surrounding darkness.

Beside Sir Lawrence, and sitting upon her most faithful horse, was the Queen herself. It was only because nothing was impossible in Underland that she seemed even paler than usual. Her hair fell around her face, lips parted slightly and eyes wide open in a paralyzing fear. She'd taken an excessive amount of her potion before leaving the White Castle. Now would be the worst time for an episode.

Now would also be an excellent time for her Champion to finally arrive.

Her Majesty had assumed that Alice would arrive with the Cheshire Cat, yet he was seen to her right floating above the heads of Tweedledee and Tweedledum. (Truthfully, the Queen was not sure of their presence in this battle, but they were stubborn and persistent on fighting, as always. She would not order them to do otherwise.)

At last, Alice arrived at the frontline of the White Army. She was red-faced, panting, and dripping wet like the rest of the soldiers. Both the Vorpal Sword and her armor gleamed in the darkness. She mouthed a quick apology to the Mirana before going to stand on the side of Sir Lawrence. Mirana merely smiled with a sigh of relief.

Alice turned away to give the same to apology to Sir Lawrence and flinched. He graced her with a greeting glare. She opened her mouth. "I am so, terribly-"

"I thought you wanted this," he interrupted. Raindrops pelted down and slid off his cheeks. "You wanted this battle. I thought you were fed up with Stayne? Fed up with others' choices steering you in wrong directions?" His voice was hard, his eyes piercing.

Alice was momentarily surprised. She'd never thought he'd collected that much from her. Had she said that to him? "Well, yes. But-"

"Then, as Champion of Underland, you should have been here. Why weren't you?"

Suddenly, she was angry. Her broiling blood began to pump harder. She imagined all the water in her hair turning to steam. How dare he mention how fed up she was with others' choices steering her around while he was doing the very same? "I was trying to tell you that, you see." She lifted her chin. "I was searching for the Bandersnatch."

He raised a single, pink brow. "And?"

"Well, obviously I did not find him!"

He grinned. "You're getting angry. That is good."

That caught her off guard. "Well-yes. Wait, come again?

He leaned down closer to her ear so that he didn't have to shout over the thunder. "You'll need that adrenaline, Miss Alice. I can assure you of that." He leaned back again to meet her curious gaze with his significantly less hardened one. "Are you sure you are prepared? As much as I may try to, I will not be able to cover both yours and Her Majesty's backs."

Alice's anger flared up again. "I won't be needing that, Sir Lawrence."

He nodded. "Granted. Now, if only you had found that beast of yours."

Alice's cheeks reddened. "Yes, if only. . ." It was true; she had searched for the Bandersnatch. That was simply not the whole truth. She'd probably spent a whole total of sixty seconds searching for him. Then, her mind turned to Hatter.

She had to find him. All she kept thinking about was how Hatter had been taken captive by the Red Queen the last time they'd been preparing for war. Hatter had been the key, the bait, to lure Alice into battling with Hamish. By the time Hatter had finally reached the Battlefield, he was beaten and battered to a bloody mess.

She had to find him.

And she failed to.

Nearly each and every door in the castle had been wrenched open by Alice, only to have it be slammed closed again. It'd been a tad awkward when she'd opened the door to see all the sniffling children, being given only small comfort by the chosen guardians. Although, they did seem to cheer up a bit when they saw their Queen's Champion. They cheered for her and wished her good luck. The adults there simply seemed confused as to why she was still there in the castle.

As much as she wanted, or needed is more like it, to see Hatter, she did not wish to see him at the Battlefield. If he didn't show up, it would mean he was safe. Or so she would tell herself over and over, since it seemed that Hatter would not be showing himself today.

She sighed. Somehow, she didn't think things would be that simple. Or easy. That didn't seem to happen in Wonderland.

Suddenly, Sir Lawrence's hand was on her back and his lips at her ear. "Prepare yourself, Miss Alice," he said sternly. She nodded quickly and unsheathed her Vorpal Sword. The sound of it normally pierced the winds, but now it couldn't be heard. She raised the blade into the air, signaling for the troops behind her to do so as Sir Lawrence called for them to ready themselves.

Like the wave of white armor they were, swords were unsheathed one by one beginning from where Alice Kingsley stood. The movement of it spread out over the course of hundreds of bodies decked out in white. It was a beautiful sight in all the darkness. It was as if a blanket sewn out of metals had been been tossed into the air. It was pure perfection compared to what they all gaped at marching to them from over the horizon.

It looked exactly like a painting. A cruel, garish, wince-worthy painting. Blurs of reds and browns mixed together with the bombarding rain. The sight only became more gruesome as the blurs neared and became clearer.

When she had seen these troops before, she'd been dazing in and out of consciousness in Hatter's arms on the Bandersnatch. She hadn't gotten a single, good look at them. She wished she didn't have to now.

Lightning flashed near the center of the field, allowing more illumination. Alice gasped at what she saw there.

They were foul, large, stinking, slimy, revolting-looking creatures. The rain made their sights no prettier. Alice spotted one that looked like a man with hair all along his arms and legs, but his skin was completely orange. Another looked more like a vulture weighing itself down from all its own slime. There was a beast crawling forward on all fours, claws digging into the ground. Alice cringed. These were not the beings from nightmares. These were what the nightmares came from.

And there, in the center of it all, was Stayne Ilosovic, striding towards them like he'd already won and was accepting his prize. His sneer was so vast Alice saw it from where she was standing. He looked dirtier, grungier, and bigger than before. His leather gloves were looking worn. A vision of those gloves wrapped around Hatter's throat made her chest burn. Alice gulped hungrily. She wanted to run to him. She wanted to sprint forward with her sword extended out in front of her until it was lodged in the center of Stayne's chest, just like one had been inside his Queen's.

"Hold strong, Miss Alice," Sir Lawrence encouraged her.

She nodded, taking a deep breath. "At least there don't seem to be as many as we had predicted."

Sir Lawrence took that into consideration. "Yes, that is strange. . ."

Alice snorted, eyes finally tearing away from the oncoming sight to Sir Lawrence. She could feel the trembles of the army increase behind her. "Strange, possibly, but I for one, am not questioning it." She vaguely recalled her first battle here and how thankful she had been to have Hatter by her side to help her. Things had been so different then. She was still glad to have Sir Lawrence with her. She would rather have kept Hatter away from this.

"Something is wrong," Sir Lawrence said more strongly now. He looked at her, grabbing at his sword. "This is hardly a third of what we were expecting." He strode over to Mirana. "Something is wrong!"

At that moment, the world exploded on both sides. The second Stayne set foot on the Checkerboard Field, they'd began to run for them. More and more monsters erupted from either side of the White Army from behind the large boulders. They'd all been sitting right there with the enemy this whole time! The troops huddled together even more, nearly suffocating those in the center. These warriors were both large and revolting. A brave few dashed out from the crowd with swords raised. One bellowed a magnificent battle cry.

The other two thirds of Stayne's army completely passed up Mirana's troops. Alice watched numbly, as if everyone around her were simply putting on a play. They circled behind her fellow soldiers and sprinted on towards the White Castle. The very same castle full of practically no one but the children and elderly.

It was by far the foulest act of dishonor that any general could commit.

Sir Lawrence had warned them of these brutish mutts. They had not known. They couldn't have predicted it. Who could have?

Sir Lawrence grabbed Alice by her shoulders. His wet face was all she could see. "You need to lead the Queen to safety!" he barked. An enormous roar of thunder shook the land. "There is a room for her in the castle that is completely hidden on any maps! Take her there! She knows the way!"

"You want me to take her to the castle?" she asked, incredulous.

"Where else would you plan on taking her?" he shouted. He gave her no time for an answer. He shoved Alice over besides the Queen's horse. Mirana was staring open-mouthed at the destruction around her. The original front-line was almost to them and the other two thirds of the army were already so close to Marmoreal.

Alice's eyes found Stayne standing still in the center of the battlefield. With his height and all the movement surrounding him, he stood out like the sun would in this storm. The red clouds were far behind him. He was staring at her with the most malicious grin on his face. It was a dare. One gloved hand slowly reached out to her. With a single finger, he motioned for her to come to him. Alice's nostrils flared.

"Not now, Miss Alice!" Sir Lawrence reclaimed her attention. She looked at him, eyes begging for him to understand her mission. She had a job to do. As if he could read her mind, he said, "Later, I promise you that. I'll take care of him for now. Right now, your job is to take the Queen you have sworn to protect to safety!"

Adrenaline and logic kicked in. It was true. Mirana was in immediate danger and Alice was furthering that danger by staying here. Alice took control of Mirana's steed by grasping the reins and speeding off into the colossal chaos of White soldiers and demons. The frontline of Stayne's troops had finally reached the White Army. Sir Lawrence shouted for less than a third of the army to stay and hold the first group back and for everyone else to head back to the castle to fight and defend their home.

The battle had begun.

. . . . .

xX-HATTER'S POV-Xx

Hatter, Mallymkun, and Thackery watched the battle commence from behind the ruined stairs that Alice had once ran up to finish off the Jabberwocky. They'd just watched the hidden monsters take off for Marmoreal. Mallymkun clung onto the cloth on his hat, forcing herself to remain where she was. Thackery stooped next to Hatter, holding his ears down so they wouldn't be spotted.

"I can't wait much longer, 'Atta! We ought to be in there already!" Mallymkun squealed again.

Hatter shushed her. He fought the temptation, as well. Somewhere in there was Alice. And although she would never admit it, she would need his help, surely. "We can't just run in there, Mally. Most of those scuts are still near this side trying to fight their way through." They'd let the Bandersnatch go off on its own to cause chaos and destruction. They might as well have just written down their location in the Oraculum if they thought they could've stayed on it.

Mallymkun and the March Hare had been completely disgusted by the sights of the shukm. Hatter had already seen the troops before, but that didn't relieve him any of the disgust he felt. They were unlike anything in Underland. They were so rank they could smell them from here.

"Ah ha! There!" Thackery cried. Hatter and Mallymkun shushed him simultaneously. "There she is," he whispered, pointing forward.

Hatter forgot to breathe for a moment. He could see Alice quickly running in the opposite direction, but he had just caught enough of a glimpse of her sprinting through the mass of hostility. She was fine and uninjured. More than that, she was glorious. Her bright, cascading hair fell onto her shining armor in waves. When lightning flashed, Alice became a spectacle of light. She looked the true Champion of Underland. She was in her element.

She was leading the Queen to safety, he could tell. The reins of her horse were grasped firmly in Alice's hands. Hatter recalled a moment when he had been in Alice's exact position and everything had gone horribly, terribly wrong. Because of what he had failed to do, he ended up being the end of the Hightopp name.

He felt his eyes burn red. Alice would not be put into that position.

"Mallymkun," he said. "Plan."

She looked down into his eyes curiously and gulped. She feared for what would become of Hatter if the madness took over and caused him to go raging onto the battlefield. She thought hard and fast, looking around for any signs of clues. She searched the ground, she searched the surrounding rocks, and finally she searched the sky.

"There! Ezel!" she shouted. Hatter looked up. Three JubJub Birds were circling above, waiting for their time to act. Well, it was just about time.

Hatter raised a brow, his eyes cooling. "What do you expect we do with them?"

"We fly them, 'course!" Hatter still stared at her. "Kind of. It's more than anything you came up with with!" She crossed her little arms and grumbled. "Which was nothing, by the way."

She still stared up at the birds, formulating a plan. Her beady eyes narrowed in concentration before finally settling on the only idea that would come to mind. She unsheathed her pin.

"You can't fly what is dead, Mally," Hatter said matter-of-factly.

"Just watch, 'Atta." She leapt off Hatter's hat and scurried up the stairs. No one would notice the little Dormouse, clothing and pin or not. She couldn't travel as quickly as she wanted in fear that the winds would throw her down. She kept close to the stone of the stairs.

Finally, she reached a sufficient height. She chose one of the three birds to target. The one with the smaller wings would do nicely. Mallymkun pulled her arm back to steady her arm, held her pin there for a moment to breathe in once deeply, and then launched it into the sky.

"Yes!" The pin lodged itself into the shoulder of the JubJub Bird. It shrieked once, but it was not a fatal wound. The bird descended from the sky faster than Mally thought it would. She quickly jumped up from the stairs and let the wind take her. Normally, she would not have made the jump, but now she had no problem. She landed roughly on the JubJub Bird's back. It hardly felt her weight.

Now here was unmarked territory for Mallymkun. Never before had she actually flown a JubJub Bird.

She wrapped both her paws around her pin and pulled it free with a grunt. She experimentally stuck the bird on its left. As Mallymkun had hoped, the bird lurched right. She grinned. This beast could be steered. JubJub Birds were not particularly known for their brains, after all.

She aimed the bird back down to the open-mouthed Hatter and March Hare and had it hover there. She could tell the bird was growing feistier. They had to hurry.

"Grab onto its legs and 'ang there!" she yelled through the wind and rain. "You'll need to keep us 'ere on the ground, 'Atta!"

Hatter shook his head disbelievingly. "Only you could tame that beast, dear Dormouse." (Mallymkun knew for a fact it was not tamed, but didn't say otherwise due to pride and a fear of jinxing herself.) Hatter grabbed hold of the March Hare and situated him on his back before stepping forward hesitatingly to the Bird. It tried to bite him, but Mallymkun gave it a sharp prick to the neck. It growled menacingly, but stayed still and tense. Hatter grabbed its legs, eyes locked onto its long, sharp claws. He was truly getting tired of having to deal with these horrid animals.

"Now what?" the March Hare yelped from behind Hatter's ears. A few of Stayne's troops had spotted them and were peering at them curiously. The three of them sure didn't look like warriors. They looked and felt utterly ridiculous and nonthreatening. Still, they had to hurry.

A strike of lightning suddenly blinded the trio. It had felt too close. Hatter heard some rumbling and slowly looked up. The uppermost part of the staircase had been struck. "Oh, that's not good. . ."

The debris was now falling down to where they stood.

"FLY!" Hatter shouted.

Mallymkun looked up and yelped. She jammed the pin into the bird and it took off with a start. They missed the boulders by an inch, Thackery feeling the gust of wind on his furry, little tail. Hatter's feet were dangling and thrashing in the air ten feet off the ground. The March Hare was nearly choking him, but not much could be done about that now. Mallymkun was attempting, and failing, to lower the bird back down to the ground. They kept making sharp turns, nearly hitting a blackened tree at one point.

More and more soldiers of both sides were watching them now. They stood still, not quite sure what to make of the situation. Never before had the sight been seen that a Dormouse would be flying a JubJub Bird that was carrying a Mad Hatter with the March Hare on his back through stormy winds during a war.

"Mally, do something!" Hatter yelled.

"Don't ya think I'm trying?" she screamed. They were right above the battle now. Finally, Mally succumbed to just jabbing the thing in the wing. It fell drastically. Hatter found that he was staring at his knees in free-fall.

"Catch us, 'Atta!" she yelled.

Hatter looked down just in time to plant his feet on the ground, but the JubJub Bird wasn't done yet. Hatter found himself dragging his feet against the ground, weaving around and through each and every fighter they passed by. The JubJub Bird was pulling them through the fight. Hatter ducked once to avoid being slammed by a bludgeon. He heard the March Hare's intake of breath as his paws tightened even more around his neck. Hatter took notice of the frumious Sir Lawrence battling a panting Stayne before the scene was quickly lost from view. He had to dodge another fist and screamed a quick warning to the Hare. It had barely missed him.

"What should I do?" he heard Mally yell.

Hatter thought hard, looking around for an answer. "We-should, well-" Suddenly, a spark of light caught his attention. Hatter's eyes narrowed. Alice was in trouble and they were passing her up. He could see her pale as the monsters began to enclose her and the Queen. Mirana was taking deep breaths over and over. Alice began to lift her sword.

"Steer orgal, Mally! Now!" Trusting his instincts, Mallymkun took a sharp turn left. Immediately, she saw the problem. Alice was being cornered.

They were in and out in a flash. Alice didn't even spot them. She turned her back on her enemies for a moment (which Hatter would lecture her on later) to say something to Mirana. It was in that moment that the JubJub Bird flew over all their heads and Hatter swung his legs up to kick each and every beast to the ground. Hard.

By the time Alice turned back around, they were gone. Mirana had spotted them, though. Her dark eyes were locked on the spectacle, wide with astonishment, as they flew off. Alice simply looked down at all the monsters groaning and rolling around at her feet with a baffled expression on her face.

"Why haven't we gone back?" Hatter yelled.

"The real fight is over at the castle!" Mally replied. "Alice can take care of 'erself, 'Atta! She'll be fine!"

Hatter knew in his gut it was right to move on. His heart, however, was still over by the Champion as they skidded on towards Marmoreal.

They made a turn and found it in view. What they saw made all three of them gasp. Both armies had reached the castle. They could already see the fires and hears the children's screams.

. . . . .

Insanity: No, NO! Not the children! ANYTHING but the children!

Rachel: If you love children, please leave us a Review. Or we may do something. . . Quite drastic.

Insanity: NOT THE CHILDREN!

Rachel: Overkill. Serious. Overkill.

~ But seriously, thanks for reading, everyone! ~