Alice and What Came After: Between the Glass
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to the SyFy production of Alice or to the ITV/Impossible Pictures production of Primeval.
Chapter Twenty-nine: Destroying Damon
A ball of light glowed in Connor's lab. The young man stood beside it, device in hand.
"Oh, good, you got it workin'," Hatter said, entering the lab with Jessica's help.
"I think it's the right location. I haven't checked yet."
"I'll check."
Hatter stepped through the anomaly with the ease of an experienced traveler. He was usually the one sliding through the rips in time. He never minded.
A few glances around confirmed the changed Wonderland he'd experienced. He stood in the abandoned Looking Glass hall, surrounded by dust and broken glass. He stepped toward the door in order to look outside at the smoldering ruins of one village to the side.
This was the changed Wonderland he'd stepped into with Alice. This was the world where Jessica lived.
With a sigh, he stepped back into the ARC. "Great job, Conn. Really."
The young man lit up. "So I guess this is good-bye?"
"'Fraid so."
Connor gave him a big hug. "I'll miss you, Daddy Hatter… Uncle Hatter… whatever…"
He smiled. "I'll miss you, too, Conn."
On the other side of the Glass, the standoff in Damon's throne room continued.
Connor was beaten and bloody—Sarah could tell that much from across the room. However, her brother kept his head up. He didn't look defeated, even with the knife to his throat. They both knew Damon would slit this throat without hesitation.
Sarah?
It took a lot of restraint to keep from running to her brother when she heard his voice. Their connection was back online.
Conn? You okay?
Been better. You?
Hanging in there. Chase came back.
I see.
What are you doing here pissing Damon off?
I'm doing what you would do…
She rolled her eyes. I wouldn't have a knife to my throat, little bro.
That wasn't the plan.
Then what is the plan?
Umm, I don't really have one?
Sarah tried not sigh. Getting angry with Connor wasn't going to save his neck. Reasoning with Damon was. If Damon could be reasoned with.
"Oi! Over here!" she called.
Damon shifted a bit, dragging Connor with him. Blood spotted her brother's neck. The knife had nicked the skin.
"You… little… whore…." Damon spat, his voice filled with more venom than she'd ever heard before.
"Permission to move, Your Majesty?"
"Permission granted—just for you, sweet cheeks. Come here…"
Sarah stepped toward him. "I want you to let my brother go."
"No, I don't think so… Jessica."
"A trade then. Me for him."
He snorted. "As if I would trade a real, flesh-and-blood human for a ghost?"
"I'm not a ghost, Damon. You failed. You never killed me. I healed. I'm better than I was. I'm stronger. I'm strong enough to kill you."
He laughed, taking a step back with Connor. "You, you pathetic little half-breed, kill me, the King of Wonderland? I doubt it."
She took a deep breath. "Let my brother go."
"No. I think I'll just kill him."
The knife pressed into Connor's throat.
Sarah evened the odds. She pulled out her gun, aiming it at Damon's head. "If you even try, I'll have a bullet in your brain."
Damon regarded her with a smirk, as if she were a worthy opponent.
"Go ahead. Shoot."
She clicked off the safety. No one else dared move.
"I'm going to count to three and you're going to let my brother go. I don't care if you take me instead, but you're going to let him go."
"One half-breed is as good as another…"
She stepped closer. "Let him go first."
"Closer, you little bitch."
They were just a few inches apart. She could touch Connor if she wanted.
"Put the gun down."
She did. "Let him go."
Damon gave Connor a shove, knocking him down to the ground as he reached for Sarah. She twisted his knife arm, forcing him to drop the blade.
As Damon reached for her throat, she elbowed him in the stomach. They grappled, each fighting for leverage over the other, until they ended up on the ground. He smacked her across the face several times, causing her lip to bleed.
By that time, everyone else had leapt into action.
His hands grabbed her throat, choking her. Sarah thrashed, but his hand was replaced with a sharp blade.
"You're dead, bitch. You're dead!"
The knife slashed across her neck.
Sarah fell to her knees when he released her, her hand touching the deep cut. Blood poured from the slice. She tried not to choke or cough despite the urges. She just clamped a hand down.
Connor wrapped his scarf around her neck, helping to stop the blood. "Don't talk, don't talk," he insisted.
"Don't touch her," Chase hissed.
It was brother versus brother again.
Chase knew Damon's moves. As soon as Sarah went down and Connor went to her side, he went after his brother. Damon still had the knife, wet with Sarah's blood, in his hand.
Instead of stabbing his target, the blade ended up in Chase's chest.
"Get out of my way!" Damon yelled.
"No… she's… you don't get to hurt her…"
The knife hit him again, this time in the stomach. "Let me through… brother. Traitor…"
"No."
Chase tightened his grip on Sarah's gun. He pressed it against Damon's temple.
"Oh, so you finally got some balls…"
"I won't let you kill her…" Chase swore, trying to ignore the pain and blood loss. "I won't…"
"Then I'll kill you and her."
He pulled the trigger.
When Hatter and Jessica arrived, the throne room was a mess. Blood and brain matter covered the actual throne. There were bodies everywhere and discarded weapons.
In the middle of all the chaos, Sarah lay on a stretcher. Her neck was covered in bandages. Connor stood with her, holding her hand tightly. Another Connor—the one who had traveled to the ARC with his daughter—stood with Alice a foot away.
Damon's body lay on the floor. His head was gone.
Not far from him, Chase was on a stretcher. A sheet had been pulled over his body. The young man he'd come to consider a son was dead.
"Dad!" Connor cried, leaving Sarah to hug him.
His youngest, the non-violent one in the family, was covered in blood. He also had a few battle scars. "What happened?"
"Later… You okay?"
"Fine, Conn. What's wrong with your sister?"
"Her throat was slashed. It's been stitched up. She's unconscious from the painkillers."
Hatter nodded. "Alice, oh, Alice…"
He felt her tears on his cheek. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, breathing in her scent. She smelled like home.
"Alice…"
"Hatter… oh, God I was… never, never do that again!"
"I won't. I promise…"
Her lips met his. He melted a little. It had been a long separation for him. He hadn't realized how long it had been until he had Alice in his arms.
"Alice…"
Connor Temple stood off to the side. He'd met Kyle, Sarah's brother's counterpart in this alternate version of Wonderland, as well as Jessica. He even met a second Chase. The first one, the Chase that Sarah loved, lay dead underneath a sheet.
As the chaos of battle settled, he started to work with the anomaly opener. Since there were two Wonderlands and a malfunctioning mirror, he had a lot of work to do. Jessica, Kyle, and the second Chase would remain. The only problem would be getting the Hatters back to their Wonderland,
New York should be easy, but fixing two sets of Looking Glasses would be a pain.
But he could do it. He would do it and go home to his ARC where Abby and his daughter were waiting for him.
Helen Cutter watched her plans fall apart at the seams.
But that didn't matter. Connor Temple and his daughter were still there and still alive. With the girl in a hospital wing, it would be easy to slip her a little bit extra of a drug and watch her die. Temple would be more difficult, but she could handle it. She had to.
Author's Notes:
Okay, one more chapter and then the happily ever-afters in the epilogue!
