Alice and Mallymkun had not made it far from Marmoreal when Chess decided to make his appearance.

"Why is it zee Alice, and a wee warrior?" inquired the floating toothy grin.

"Hello Chess."

"Oh Alice," a giggle, "how positively wonder to have you back." The cat vaporized then reappeared lolling over the Bandersnatch's head in a slow, lazy spin. "Off to find your Hatter then?"

"He's not her Hatter!" protested Mallymkun, adding a few more unsavory words under her breath, something about airhead cats and where they could disappear to.

Alice, however, found she was not particularly inclined to disagree with Chess.

"Where have you been Chess?"

"Oh you know, everywhere in particular."

The little mouse snorted angrily, "and nowhere being helpful."

"Mally you wound me, " Chess clutched his chest and vaporized half of it as if to prove his statement. "I followed dear Hatter for half as long as I could stand him." The cat sighed, "but it is terribly tiresome to deal with him as he is. All the moping and the ranting, monstrously unpleasant."

"So you have no idea where along LandEnd he might be?" asked Mally.

Chess just grinned.

"Useless cat."

"He did not say that he did," mused Alice, "but he did not say that he did not. "

Laughter tickled Alice's shoulders as Chess reappeared curled round them, "so I did not, clever Alice." A puff and he was in front of them once more, "Very well I'll take you to him, or at least where he should be."


The journey was relatively quick considering Chess was leading; how the Bandersnatch always knew where the senseless cat was about to reappear Alice could not figure out, but she was thankful he could. Normally Chess was highly amusing at best and only slightly irritating at worst, but this was not normally – she had a Hatter to find. Her Hatter.

"Why are you doing this?"

Alice looked at the cat carefully; his interruption had eerily impeccable timing. What was he up to? "As you said, to find Hatter and help him if he needs it."

Chess's trademark Cheshire grin flipped upside down then the rest of his body followed, "no that is the What of what you are doing. What I asked is the Why – a substantially more interesting question I'll have you know." The cat flopped onto his back, still moving just ahead of the Bandersnatch's leaping run. "You've only just arrived," a lone paw ghosted along the bandages near her neck, "and a bit worse for wear at that. No need to rush off so suddenly ." He gave her an entirely too smug and knowing grin, "Unless…"

Alice glanced at him sharply then turned away raising her chin slightly, Ignoring him, capital and all. Did she know why? – hmph. Of course she knew. That day she had slain the Jabberwocky and left Underland and declared she would sail to China, that day that should have been full of new and incessant thoughts was instead filled with remembering how much her heart clenched when the words "Fairfarren Alice" were whispered into her ears. Her sister noticed as much and remarked, "Why Alice if I did not know any better I would say you're lovesick and pining for someone." Margret had then laughed and walked off. Alice, for the sake of seeing where the joke might take her, agreed with Margret, thinking: well there's no hope for it then, I'm in love and pining for Hatter.

Oh.

The Truth, as it often is when uttered without the intent to be truthful, demanded all of her attention.

I am in love with Hatter.

Alice spent the next four years desperately trying to ignore that fact.

Not that she was running from it or anything, but she was succinctly aware that if she stopped to catch her breath she would turn around and throw herself right back down that rabbit hole; and, she could not do that, not then. If nothing else the fact that she had told him she had unfinished business above kept Alice on course when she was most miserable, she could not go back if there had been no reason for her leaving in the first place. So she had fulfilled her father's wish, charted the last uncharitable route worth charting, and then it was back to the rabbit hole. Only, the hole was not there. Which made sense if she considered her first trip to Underland, then Wonderland, had not been through a hole on Ascot's ground. And why would the entrance to Underland stay put if everything else about it was anything but constant? After that Alice had gone into such a melancholy state that Margret and Ascot had practically thrown her on the next boat to China in attempts to raise her spirits. All the distractions of China, though, could not keep Alice from realizing she had no way to keep her promise to the one she loved.

Thank goodness she went and got herself stabbed.

"Ugh, melancholy musings put me in such a mood, I almost don't feel like leading," Chess complained, halting just at the edge of the forest they had been running, or rather galumphing, through.

The sight of the Bandersnatch and his odd crew drew the attention of nearby flowers, who immediately started their commentary even before Alice could irritably ask Chess to lead more and infer less.

"Maybe they're here to stop the incessant racket."

"Oh that would be lovely wouldn't it Lily darling."

"Quite so Marigold, quite so."

Curiosity, as it was wont to do, got the best of Chess. "What racket might that be oh petal –y gossips?"

"They've been going at it since yesterday and while a good tumble now and then is entertaining you'd think they'd have the decency to not carry on the fight overnight."

Lily harrumphed in agreement, adding, "I placed my bet on the Hatter, what with his sword and all."

Marigold nodded, as much as a flower can, "indeed, but I suppose well aimed words can wound a rage that is built on misery."

Lily giggled, "Why Marigold, that was awfully insightful of you."

"Wasn't it? I am rather proud of myself."

"Rude of them not to stay long enough to hear it."

"Quite so Lily, quite so."

Both flowers glared disapprovingly at the shrinking form of the Bandersnatch and his riders, who had taken off before the "ter" in "Hatter" had ended.


LandEnd was, somewhat unexpectedly all things in Underland considered, as its name implied. Grassy plains with a smattering of gnarled trees teetered off into a cliff edge, though resilient pieces of land jutted out and floated nearby. Every so often a loud cracking sound signaled surrender and said pieces of land dropped below the cliff.

The Hatter was not hard to spot, they heard his rage, oppressive rage that almost turned the air around him as burnt orange as his eyes, yards before they ever saw him. His fiery hair seemed longer, but Alice could attribute that to how it stood on end as he yelled angrily, hopelessly, in Outlandish at his foes. The Red ex-Queen and her ex-loyal Knave, still connected by Mirana's binding, were slowly edging Hatter towards the cliff's edge, their final push held off only by his blade.

The Bandersnatch slowed, well aware his gigantic form would not help by rushing headlong into such a precarious situation, but Alice and Mallymkun showed no such inclination towards loss of momentum and they leaped off him and ran towards the cliff without a second thought. Alice, by virtue of longer legs, reached the combatants first. She immediately threw herself at Iracebeth, grabbing the short woman by the shoulders in an attempt to drag her away from Hatter. "HATTER!"

Perhaps it was that she was blocked by Iracebeth's giant mass of head and hair, or perhaps Hatter was too far gone for just one scream to reach him, either way he did not even so much as flinch at Alice's call. All his attention was on the Knave who snarled and moved forward, "that's right, she up and left you. What could you mean to her? A mad man. Why your heart was easier to slay than the Jabberwocky and probably afforded her a lot more pleasure."

Alice's protest was lost under the stream of unintelligible curses Hatter spat back at Stayne so she changed her tactic, sinking her nails in hard as she clutched at the Knave's forearm, using it to propel her in front of him. "TARRANT HIGHTOPP LOOK AT ME!"

"Alice?"

For a brief second she saw the comforting glimmer of emerald underneath heated orange.

That second was all Stayne and Iracebeth needed.

Down went Hatter, incredulity still stamped across his face.

Alice heard someone scream "NO" and realized about halfway through the thirty-second "o" that it was her. Then several things happened at once. Mallymkun appeared on the Red ex-Queen's shoulder, hatpin shoved against her jugular. The Bandersnatch followed behind the mouse, standing so that he securely blocked any escape from the edge and Chess materialized over the edge, chortling, "oh that's not so good."

Alice rounded on the captives, "what have you done!"

"Oh he's fine from the fall. Nothing you can do though," Iracebeth laughed with more than her usual amount of malice. "He's gone over the deep end. Off he went. Wheeee. All the way to the bottom. No way up from there."

"I can handle his madness."

Mallymkun sighed, "no he went off the literal Deep End." She pointed halfheartedly to a nearby that had "Danger: Deep End" scrawled across in rather hasty letters. The double e's changed into a toothy grin, "doesn't necessarily mean he's not gone off the mental one too."

Both mouse and woman chose to ignore Chess.

"Mally, can you and Bandersnatch handle these two?"

The Bandersnatch growled in confirmation as the mouse nodded. "Won't be a problem, but Alice what are you – oh blast it all!"

Alice too, had fallen (or, more accurately, thrown herself most adamantly) off the Deep End.


Sorry – daily updates a bit tricky during the school week, but every other day should be doable yes? Yes.

Finally a Hatter spotting! A very brief one true, but we'll be seeing a lot more of him after this. Also, Alice's understandable annoyance with Chess aside, I do love that cat. If they ever make a Cheshire Cat plushie I am so owning five. Possibly six.

Also I edited this chapter while pondering sleep, so I may have missed things, if you find anything, slay away! And as always much love to the readers and reviewers both, you guys make my day!

Cheers,

Savi