8.

Alice was ready to bite her own tongue off in that moment when the doors were thrown open with the force of a hurricane behind them.

The Cheshire Cat swore and removed himself from her, standing up and fixing his pants, his eyes on his enemy. . .The Mad Hatter.

Alice tried to cover herself, but it hurt to even move. She wanted nothing more than a giant hole to open beneath her and swallow her. She didn't want him to see her like this.

"Alice." the Mad Hatter murmured, looking at her. He was covered in blood, not a single spot of his own skin visible beneath all that red. But to Alice, he looked like an angel.

"K…." She tried.

The Cheshire Cat jumped, claws extended at the Mad Hatter.

The two of them came together like titans clashing. They were evenly matched in strength. And the Cheshire Cat's nails were as tough as steel.

"K…K-" Alice tried again. She forced herself to sit up, despite her bodies protests. "Kill him!" She screamed. "Kill him Mad Hatter!"

The Mad Hatter got a twisted grin on his face and his eyes began to glow red. "As my love commands of me, so shall I do."

The Cheshire Cat snarled in the Mad Hatters face and shoved a clawed hand into the Mad Hatters side.

That didn't slow the Mad Hatter down in the least bit.

He took the chance to draw a blade from his belt and ram it through the Cheshire Cat's gut.

The blade sank in easily like a hot knife through butter, and blood poured from around the blade. The Mad Hatter took another blade and shoved it in between the Cheshire Cat's ribs, not stabbing the heart however.

The Cheshire Cat's hand fell limply to his side and he fell to his knees, kneeling before the Mad Hatter.

"You have many sins." the Mad Hatter told him. "I ignored them for so long though, because you were my friend. I changed but I didn't think that we would grow so far apart. However, as I changed, so did you. And despite my many sins, you are worse. You drug out Alice's step-mother from her dream world and brought her into ours. You killed her and put her in my garden, then tried to convince Alice that I did it. And that is one of the cleaner of your sins."

Alice put a shaking hand over her mouth.

"You have long been killing and placing the blame on me." The Mad Hatter continued. "And now you will die."

"If you kill me, all I have done will be undone in this world. That means that when that drunk driver rounds the corner, Alice will die, and so will everyone. Will you take that chance?" The Cheshire Cat hissed out, laughing.

The Mad Hatter paused and looked at Alice.

"He has to die." Alice said firmly.

The Mad Hatter grinned at the Cheshire Cat and said, "Then I pass judgment on everyone. No one is without sin."

The Mad Hatter shoved a blade right between the eyes of the Cheshire Cat, and relished in watching the light leave his eyes.

The entire building shook, proving that the Cheshire Cat had been right in his statement.

The Mad Hatter stumbled over to Alice and held her close to himself.

"No matter where you are, I'll find you." He murmured in her ear.

Alice felt hot tears slide down her face.

"I love you." She choked out.

"I know." He replied, smiling into her hair.

Author's Note: It's over. . .NOT. Sorry, had to do it.

Continuation:

Alice opened her eyes and found herself crossing the street.

Instantly, she stopped and turned around, standing safely on the street corner.

A car came around the corner and swerved horribly, the driver obviously drunk. When he car had safely passed, Alice walked across the street and continued on her way home.

Through her head, images played of Wonderland that horrified her partly, especially toward the end. Still though, there was an overwhelming sadness, like she was missing something very important. Her heart ached and she rubbed it, as if it would help.

Alice.

Alice turned around quickly, thinking that someone had called her name. No one was there though.

She sighed and turned, stopping when she caught her reflection in a window of a store. She looked tired, which was to be expected for how much work she did, and how little sleep she got. She needed a life.

She walked on, and turned the corner, almost home.

Alice.

She stopped again and massaged her temples, trying to block out that dark seductive voice.

She walked on and pulled out her keys. Quickly, she unlocked the door and went inside, re-locking it behind her. She threw down her things and kicked off her shoes. She peeled her clothes off and threw them on the floor as she made her way to the bathroom, ready to take a nice long hot relaxing bath before she went to sleep.

Alice.

Alice glanced up into the mirror and gasped when she seen a man standing behind her. Not just any man, but the Hatter.

His hand landed softly on her reflections shoulder.

She touched her own shoulder and felt nothing.

Alice, will you come back to me? Will you come back to Wonderland to be with me forever? To be my wife?

Alice smiled bitterly at the mirror. "I need to grow up and get some sleep. Hot men don't come to you in your dreams, or come out of your head from your little day dreams and ask for forever."

The Hatter dropped his hand from her reflections shoulder and looked sad.

You will not come back to Wonderland? Things are better. The Cheshire Cat is gone for good.

Alice shook her head and turned her back to the mirror, deciding against a bath. She shut off the bathroom light and climbed into her bed. She closed her eyes and took deep breathes, letting them out slowly.

Her body began to relax.

Then I'll come to you.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Alice groaned when she heard knocking on her door the next day.

She pulled herself up out of her bed and pulled on her tattered bathrobe and answered the door.

Her landlord stared at her with an upset expression.

"Alice, I just wanted to tell you that the apartment complex has been bought out and that you should maybe consider finding a new place to live. Chances are, the new owner is going to evict everyone and tear the entire place down and sale the land for more prophet."

Alice gaped at the old woman, "But, I don't have that kind of money to just afford a new apartment!"

The older woman reached out and patted Alice on the shoulder.

"I'm sorry dear." She said, "I'm afraid I must get back to the office and wait for the new owner to arrive. He'll be giving me my pink slip, no doubt."

Alice closed the door and felt tears stinging her eyes.

In times like this, she would have let herself escape to Wonderland, but she quickly stopped herself.

'Grow up.' She reminded herself mentally.

She went into the bathroom and took a quick shower, washing her hair and shaving her legs and arm pits. She got out and towel dried her hair before brushing it, planning on letting it dry and do its own thing. . .Strangely, it was longer than it had been yesterday. How was it possible for her hair to grow so fast?

She pulled on some clothes and walked out of her apartment with car keys in hand, planning on driving around, doing just as the old woman told her too. . .Look for a new place to live. Hell, maybe a new town or state would be a good idea. Then she could just start fresh.

"This would be Alice!" the Land lady said from behind Alice.

Alice stopped and turned around, gaping when she seen the tall man standing behind the older woman.

The man before her was the Hatter.

"It's nice to meet you Alice. My name is Michael. I've just bought these apartments." He said, smiling at her, and holding out a hand. "Of course, you already knew all of that, right?"

The land lady looked between them, confused.

Alice stared at the hand and said, "I always called you Hatter."

"Most people call me the Mad Hatter now." He replied, his eyes turning a deep blue.

Alice swallowed past the lump in her throat. "You really came from Won. . .You really came all the way here, just to be with me?"

"No matter where you are, I'll find you." He told her.

Alice flung herself into his arms, feeling like the biggest idiot in the world. She gave up eternity because she was being stupid and pig-headed. But he was still here, with her, because he wanted it to be so.

In her ear, in a dark seductive tone, he whispered, "You're a virgin. . .again."

Alice groaned then out right laughed.

She was okay with all of it.

She was happy, and in love.

Author's Note: Okay. . .That's the end. . .maybe. I really had so much more planned, but it's all been quiet in my head for a while since I've been working on something else. . I may do a sequel, it just all depends. Hope I didn't disappoint you guys.

And, if a sequel does happen, I'll let you guys know. . .