Wondrous Nightmares
by Bloodysword99
Recommended song: Mayday Parade- Ghost
Fanart: Me and Boogeyman (see in profile)
Sorry for my lateness, writer's block is a real bitch. So I made the chapter looooooooooonger.
ENJOY!
Read and Review.
ARCH 2:
Memento Furor
(meaning Remember Madness in Latin.)
Chapter 11: Show for the Guilty and the Denying
"Oww!" The Mock-Turtle cried when he received a smack on the head from the Nightmare King.
"Stick to trains, you whelp! You're an ill captain!" Pitch raged hitting the hybrid's head again; only harder. The Mock-Turtle should could himself lucky. The Boogeyman was in a merciful mood. He could have used his scythe to chop him for soup!
"Pitch, it's no use." Alice called while staring at their surroundings of the shipwreck. The Boogeyman doesn't normally acknowledge orders but she was right. Scolding the Mock turtle would be a waste of time and time was a luxury they can't afford to lose. So, Pitch gave up after one last smack and brushed the anger off. And upon seeing Alice, she had changed her wardrobe. The Boogeyman almost gave away a smile. He remembered when she was a little girl; she would tell him about her fascination for the sea. About how the little Liddell wanted to see mermaids and fish-folk. Once, Pitch and Alice would play by the Wonderland sea-shores and the girl would pretend to be a mermaid using fine turquoise silk and sea-shells that the Fish-people of the Deluded Depths had given to her.
"Alright, Turtle. What can you tell us? If memory serves me right, you were station master of the Looking Glass Line. And you better not lie." Alice said as she turned to the Hybrid and Pitch dropped his nostalgic smile before she could catch him.
"Well…"
If you get past all the rambling about some nitwits, an Aunt that the Turtle never had, everything was a bloody disaster and being ship-less, Pitch managed to piece together that the Mock Turtle was fired from his job as Train Master because Wonderland was under 'new management' and ended up an illegible captain of a sea-vessel. The Boogeyman admitted Turtle wasn't the best at his job but with him on the Looking-Glass line; it was, at the very least, peaceful. Irritating but peaceful. Unlike the new train and its criminal engineer, Turtle and the Looking Glass aren't a threat to Wonderland life. Pitch would rather have a spineless wimp and his crappy train than this destruction.
"Let's change the subject. We avoid speaking about the thing that isn't supposed to be spoken." The Turtle said.
"Something useful about this god-forsaken-train would be very much appreciated, Admiral." Pitch replied.
"You. Both of you. You don't respect the suffering of others." The Hybrid muttered and the Boogeyman merely rolled his eyes of how melodramatic Turtle was. He just lost his rickety old ship. So what?
"We're sorry, Admiral. Really. We just want to know." Alice spoke sympathetically but the Mock-Turtle didn't give a damn.
"The only thing you need to know is we escaped from its corruption. You should could yourselves lucky."
"I don't want to escape. I want to end it. Please." Alice declared.
Pitch stared at the girl; thinking all the times she tried to stay ignorant from her self-destruction. Wonderland was already crumbling from the inside and still refused to see it until recently. Pitch admitted he didn't notice it at first but he gradually suspected. He should have known after a year of not going back to Wonderland since the Asylum, her fantasy world would decay. But then again, all children need to grow up and leave their fantasy world behind at some point. Alice was already 19 years old. She shouldn't be able to be in her wonderland if it weren't for her strong belief. If it weren't for that, Pitch would be invisible to her. Pitch would be—
"Speaking of shows!" Turtle soundly gasped; catching Pitch's attention.
"We weren't." Alice replied.
"You should see the Carpenter!" the Hybrid pulled out two tickets to the Carpenter's theatre show.
It was a tempting offer; Pitch thought. Looking past his crazy 'artistic' antics, Carpenter had what most of Deluded Depth residence don't. A brain. They were all fish-beings after all. By evolution and genetics, they had no brains. Or spines. Or opposable thumbs. The list goes on. At least, Carpenter wasn't an idiot. Well, not that much of an idiot, to ignore what was happening to Wonderland. So, Pitch tapped Alice's shoulder.
"I think we don't have a choice, Alice. It would be wise to take the tickets. And the Carpenter is a greedy fellow. He'll charge us an entrance fee in his theatre without those." Pitch advised. And it was true; Carpenter is a greedy little punk. Claimed once, that money makes his art possible.
"Very well." Alice sighed, furrowed her eyebrows and took the tickets. "I guess we have little leads as it is."
'Alice, listen to me. You have to be strong. You have to be brave. Hold on to me and don't let go! Look away from them, Alice! Alice! Get your filthy hands away from her! ALICE! ALICE!'
"ALICE!"
The girl whipped her head to Pitch's call and before she could respond she was violently yanked away. After a hard fall to the ground, she realized the Boogeyman had saved her from a painful and gruesome death. The spiked clams were a trap! How stupid she was! She completely forgotten these clams were evil and if you stay too long in their mouths you get impaled with their poisonous needles.
"What in the name of all Nightmares were you thinking!? Those crustaceans are dangerous! If the spikes don't kill you, the venom will!"
She shook her head not from the fall but from disbelief. Her head throbbed. That memory she found in the clam trap. Another memory of Pitch…What did that mean? I-It wasn't hers…No, it had to be hers. In confusion, she held her head and tried to stop her tears. The young Liddell kept herself from breaking but thinking back on the Pitch memory made her weak. It made her stomach do flips and made her eyes water.
"…Alice?"
It felt familiar yet completely alien to her! She recognized Pitch but the people around her were a blur of black and blood. Figures circled her vision holding needles, drills, rusty scalpels, electrocution devices and scissors but they couldn't get any closer because Pitch stood between them and herself. She shivered in the corner watching the Boogeyman summon all of his shadows and try to prevent them from reaching her. But his attack couldn't penetrate them, Pitch couldn't hurt them or even wound them, they just kept coming for Alice. And she was so scared. In the Boogeyman's final resort to save her, he kneeled to Alice, wrapped his shadows around the girl's body and tried to ensure her; telling her to look away. He said everything would be fine. Be brave. Be strong. That whatever happens don't let go.
Pitch tried to protect her yet they came for her anyway. Alice saw how desperate Pitch's embrace was. He had tried to keep her in his arms as long as he could when the dark figures were trying to take her away. She clawed her grip on the Boogeyman until they managed to break her grasp from him. She cried! She yelled! She struggled! She screamed! She bled!
"Alice!" She turned to the worried Boogeyman.
"What did you see?" He asked and Alice had to laugh. She knew he would catch on. It just surprised her it took this long.
"…Nothing. Just a memory of my mother scolding me." She lied and Pitch saw through it but he let it slip by…for now.
"Why hello! Hello! Welcome, Nightmare King and his little princess Alice!" The Carpenter greeted them as they entered the theatre.
Pitch rolled his eyes the moment he saw the crazy artisan. He never did change. In fact, this place hadn't changed either. The place was still a mess, the red curtains still needed a good laundry, and the floor boards creaked like a defective rocking chair.
"Still a crazy twat, I see." The Boogeyman spats pompously and the Carpenter took it as a compliment.
"Why of course! What would I have become without my artistic genius?"
So, Twat in his dictionary is a term of being an artisan. Pitch needed to review his insult then.
"Enough chit chat! My pregnant show is about to pop! And you're just the people I want on the job." The Carpenter had a bad habit of doing things at the last minute. Plus, he doesn't hire the right people for the right job. For example, giving a former child lunatic and a bed-creature to fix a prestigious wonderland play was a terrible choice of crew but it's what he's got. After the carpenter gave his instructions, Alice and Pitch divided the work. She'll wake the Clam dancers while the Boogeyman will try to get the script from the Writer. Agreeing to meet up with the un-musical fishes after, they parted.
"Well if it isn't the Boogeyman. Care fer a drink? I think hav' sum in layin' aroun' here!"
The Writer was a man—or rather—an octopus who was capable of being civil unlike most of Wonderland folk. He was dignified, educated and has good taste for literature and fine wine. But despite the Writer's calibre, he was an awful drunk. Once, he didn't even know he had been drinking his own ink until Pitch had pointed out to him. Sad really. The Writer, due his intoxication, had failed to pass his script in many occasions. So, this wasn't the first. He liked to explore various unnecessary ending with his script. Some plots that were even more twisted than the Hatter's brain. Rest his soul.
"No thank you, my cephalopod friend." Pitch said raising his hand.
"Ya neva' change, dubh dorch. Always with the fancy words! I bet ya still loom over the wee lass like a shadow." The writer laughed as he portrayed Alice as the 'wee lass'. His Scottish Gaelic is as smooth and as comical as ever. And dubh dorch is a literal translation meaning Pitch Black. The Writer never got around with his English name.
"I don't loom over her, Writer. And you know better than I do what kind of trouble she gets in. Someone has to watch her. It can't certainly be you." Pitch had made his point and the Writer chuckled.
"Got that right! I got me own problems to worry 'bout." He yelled before tapping the numerous pages on his desk. "Ya see this here, dubh dorch. Evera' single one of these are nothin' but chac! I'll neva get it done!" The Writer wasn't a very confident, well, writer. It wasn't bad. It was different and strange but not bad.
"First of all, you had too much to drink. Second, it's the alcohol talking. And third, Carpenter won't help us if we can't have the script. Unless you stop cussing and start writing…" Pitch tried to reason with him slowly trying to avoid anything foolish. By this time, when the Writer was this drunk, he would drag Pitch into of his games and—
"O'right! O'right but ya gotta beat me first!"
Too late. The Boogeyman dragged his hand over his face tiringly after realizing there was no other way in convincing the Writer to do his work.
"What kind of game are we talking about?"
The Cephalopod grinned at him.
"Don't tell me you're hiding in the wine, again? We've been through this, Writer. It's unsanitary, a waste of a perfectly good bottle and—"
"Actually, it not me ya need to find in the bottle!" The octopus pointed out and Pitch raised a hairless eyebrow in confusion and suspicion. "I hid 3 gifts fer ya."
"Gifts?"
"Ai! Gifts! Somethin' ya can use! Now get yer arse up! Ya got lots and lots of bottles ta go through!" His tentacles pointed at the hundreds of bottles scattered all over the sea floor. Pitch half grunted and squeaked at his misfortune. He hoped these presents are worth it.
After smashing 20 bottles, he finally found the first item.
"This is…" Pitch observed photograph carefully. It was taken from the Liddell library using her father's camera. It was purely by accident when Alice took this picture. She thought Pitch would appear on the paper and she could keep it as a memento but he couldn't be seen. Just an empty space and roaring fire. Pitch told her to throw it away but the little Liddell wanted to keep it. She claimed if she squinted hard enough she could see the light of the Boogeyman's eyes and the outline of his shadow. But in truth there was really nothing.
'Look, Boogeyman, it's you!'
Alice chirped as she presented the newly developed photograph to Pitch.
'Don't be ridiculous, child. It's just a blob of shadow. As you might know, I do not appear on camera.' He said before handing back the photo.
It was true. Even if he had stood with Alice at the time the photograph was taken, he wouldn't be seen. No amount of human ingenuity could capture an image of the Nightmare King. Pitch already explained that to Alice yet the girl was too stubborn.
'But it's you! If I squint enough, I can see your eyes! See!' Oh how relentless she was.
Pitch Black merely rolled his eyes and agreed for the argument's sake. Yet despite the annoyance, it made him feel happy knowing someone could perceive his cursed invisible existence.
She giggled while writing something on the photograph with his father's damaged fountain pen causing the messy splattered letters.
'Me & the Boogeyman'
He just had to smile.
But wait, as he recalled this picture was taken…
It suddenly dawned on Pitch. He realized this photograph was taken the night of the Fire. He completely forgot to check if the grate was dead that night. He took Alice upstairs too busy to mind it. Also, before they went up Alice threw a log at the extinguished fire place. He wasn't certain if the grate was truly put out. If it wasn't, the fire may have started like that…
"No, it couldn't be." Pitch knew Alice was innocent in this. She did not start the Fire. The Boogeyman glared at the photograph carefully; trying to recall the events yet nothing rose to significance.
"That's the good thin' 'bout kids, dubh dorch, they see wat others don't." The Octopus said when he swam by.
"Ya gotta start lookin' harder."
"Yer ma friend, dubh dorch. So, I'm warnin' ya! Carpenter's nails ain't screwed right, well, not as screwed like before!" Pitch recalled what the Writer said before leaving with the finished script. After tracking down all 3 gifts, the octopus finished his piece, as agreed. It took no less than a minute to gather all the scripts and finalizing them. The Boogeyman had the suspicion the Writer was already done with it prior to their game but Pitch didn't want to waste any more of his precious time punishing him. He grunted at the thought while staring at the items he won in the Writer's game. An old photograph of the Liddell library, a sand-less hourglass and a fountain pen, it wasn't exactly useful things but it could be something significant relating Alice's broken past. He knew what the photograph meant but he wasn't sure of pen and hourglass.
His train of thoughts were ceased by shriek of pure and utter musical horror. The Boogeyman practically shuddered at the sound. Getting to the bottom of the noise, he shifted into his shadow form and glided through the sea caverns and landed at the source.
"Uhg! What is that inhumane screech?" Pitch yelled at the little Liddell who was seemingly helping a not-so-musical bottle fish. Bah! Pitch snarled when the fish attempted to sing her reply. Damn, if the Carpenter was going to put on a show, he would at least hire the proper talent. Even with Alice's help, this fish couldn't sing to save its scales.
"Forgive the Boogeyman, he's a bit…sensitive." The girl said to the obviously hurt Wonderland fish.
Pitch was a man of art, believe it or not. He absolutely loved theatre and this was embarrassing.
"Stop! Just Stop!" Pitch stepped in and teleported to Alice's side. Trying his best to whisper to her, he said.
"Is there another option, please? I can't take much more of this."
Within a few hours, they managed to fix the corrupted musical instruments and the fish-bottle was convinced she had her notes in order; which it wasn't. Both Alice and Pitch made their way back to theatre in silence; trying to avoid questions and emotionally scarring conversation. Alice wasn't exactly fit to express her emotion after her years in an asylum and Pitch was practically been a bed creäture even longer so neither of them were fit for any sentiments but they knew they can't avoid it forever.
"Pitch…?" Alice called.
"I've been finding bits and pieces of my memories. It might take a while to pull myself together."
"We will get all of this sorted, Alice. As soon as we cleanse this corruption, you'll be back to normal." Pitch reassured.
"Funny, I was never comfortable among the norm."
He snickered at her come back before he noticed the girl had stopped in her tracks. Pitch noted the curiosity sparkling in her eyes as she was observing something from a distance. The Boogeyman tried to fallow her gaze but saw nothing out of the ordinary, in context to Wonderland's ordinary. Nothing seemed suspicious.
"Alice?"
"Why don't you go ahead, Pitch? I have a few…things I need to do." The girl didn't wait his reply and just dashed away to another coral path.
The Boogeyman didn't sense any danger so he let her be and proceeded to the theatre.
"You truly believe that Alice is innocent?" the crazy carpenter suddenly blurted when he was setting the stage for the show tonight. Pitch, who was sitting on one of the benches, seemed to mind his own fucking business, snarled at him for even daring such a question. While the Boogeyman sneered, Carpenter frowned; perplexed.
"I know what I saw, Carpenter. She did not start the fire!" He testified knowing full-well the crazy twat understood but the Carpenter merely shrugged his comment as he pulled the red velvety curtains into place before replying.
"Hmmm, certainly, don't doubt your eyes, Boogeyman but you forget she is far from innocent. Not a child, anymore." He then jumps off the stage and stood tall before the grey gentleman like making a statement of his own.
"She is the judge, jury and executioner. Only she can justify, verify and penalize what she had done or thought had done or possibly done. We are but pawns and bystanders in this game of truth and fibs." He verbalized darkly before leering his sick eyes on the Nightmare King. "But you are not just an audience, are you, Pitch?"
He gave this glint in his eyes; an all-knowing look. Carpenter kept a secret. One he'd die to hide. But Pitch could tell this much. He studies the look in his face and Carpenter had one thing on his mind. Suspicion towards the Boogeyman's resolve. The 'you're-wrong-and-I-am-right' look.
"I know what I saw. She is not guilty of anything." Pitch stood by his words; clenching his fist tighter in agonizing denial. He knew the truth and he will prove it!
'Are you sleepy, Alice?'
'One more story, please?'
In the Liddell library, Pitch was seated on a warm velvety arms chair with Alice safely in his embrace. He leaned further back into the chair, cradled the sleepy child and patted her think black locks; making sure both of them were comfortable. As the fireplace almost deemed from defused ember, the Boogeyman curved a relaxed smile and spotted at the clock. Almost 11 o'clock, it was past her bed time already. If it weren't for Alice's demand for stories, he would have taken her upstairs sooner but even if he tried Pitch would fail. You could say he was powerless against her.
'I've already told you so much. I even told you the tale about the putrid Guardians and their leader, the Man in moon!' Pitch hated talking about his enemies but Alice was a demanding brat.
'Does Jack Frost really nip your nose? Tell me…' Yet she yawned.
'Off to bed, young lady.'
'I added a log to the fire…place…' She trailed off sluggishly.
The Boogeyman smiled tentatively before carrying the girl as he stood from the chair. With Dinah fallowing close behind, Pitch glanced at the supposedly dead fireplace before heading upstairs; Alice half-asleep in his arms and a stuffed rabbit.
'We were the last ones in the library, the night of the fire. The log I added to the grate was dead when Pitch carried me upstairs to bed with Dinah. If it wasn't, I may be responsible for my family's deaths!'
Alice opened her eyes after she went through the door memory. She replayed that scene over and over until she broke down on her knees. Horrifying denial reflected on her face as she cradles it in her trembling hands.
"No." She said in a slow painful mantra.
Was she really the cause of the Fire? All this time, she was the criminal who killed her family?
"LADIES AND GENTLEMAN! WELCOME TO THE SHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!"
The carpenter announced enthusiastically and the fish crowd went wild with anticipation. The show began with the oyster dancers performing in sync as the riling water-creatures cheered. And, Alice and Pitch sat at the front row, awkwardly watching the show. Despite having the best seat of the house, they didn't seem interested in the bizarre theatrics. Too distracted, Both of them were daunted at the face of a possible reality of the Fire. Alice's guilty thoughts circled her damaged and weak mind while Pitch shunned the very thought. The Boogeyman refused to believe any of it, not at least knowing the whole truth.
"Alice…" Pitch attempted to console but they both jolted with a large Walrus crashing down on the stage crushing the main oyster star dancer mercilessly. They all screamed and gawked at the big blubber wearing a skeleton mask and a cloak that was too small for his big fat ass holding a tiny scythe; well it was more of a sickle in the Walrus' flipper but none the less dangerously sharp.
"That's quite enough of that I think! Enough preliminaries! This is the show you've been waiting for, proves I'm without prejudice and a fine sense of humour. " It said.
The theatre was suddenly very dark and ominous. The joyous mood was completely gone when the Walrus started his terrifying number.
"This life is full of random death and heaps of grief and shame. So if you assumed accident you want someone to blame. Fire plagues and strange disease Ground or murdered or if you please. A long fall the basement stairs, no one expect it and no one cares. I often must work very hard, sweat roll down my skin. I then must rest and the eating can begin."
"Time to eat! Death is the ultimate equalizer! All have the right to be eaten!" The Walrus declared as he scarfed down his first victim, eating them mercilessly.
Pitch laughed hysterically. This was Carpenter's best show yet! As the fish crowd stood to escape the terror, Pitch stood for a completely different reason. He applauded the Walrus's performance as it's consumed more and more clam dancers. Such dark artistry! A masterpiece!
"Bravo! Bravo!" The Boogeyman cheered in amusement while Alice glared at him. He noticed her hard gaze and coughed awkwardly before pulling himself together.
"Get in line creatures! Don't push! All will be served—so to speak." The Carpenter told the panicked fish people and Alice retaliated while pointing her finger at him.
"Wicked thing feasting while wonderland is destroyed!"
"I am not enemy you seek, Alice, I tried to hide this bit of Wonderland from that beast, appeasement is never clean. We must all play our assigned roles!"
"Are you pawn or a queen? An idiot or a practiced Fool? However this turns out consider the prospects that you have been misled, Alice! Then, ask by whom!"
The theatre started to rattle and shake. Pieces of wood and debris fell from the ceiling like a massive earth quick just hit or a metal monstrosity approaching fast.
"What is that vile thing? Where did come from!?" Pitch demanded trying to protect Alice from the panicking fish crowd and all the debris. It soon dawned on them, the internal train was making it's entrance and it was very angry.
"It arrived when you arrived! When you came to Wonderland, you have set in motion! Both of you are the affirmation of our destruction!" The Carpenter blamed.
"Affirmation?" Alice cried; outraged of such an accusation. Did that mean when they returned here, it meant the inevitable annihilation of Wonderland?
"It's more horrible than you can ever imagine! A DEATH OF A DREAM! THE ULTIMATE HARBINGER OF NIGHTMARES! You, Boogeyman, will be overthrown! Your reign as Nightmare King will be over!" He pointed at the Nightmare King who was stunned by everything that was going on but he managed a wide-eyed glare towards the crazy Carpenter. Pitch was the only one who could bring hurt to dreams! No one would dare steal his title! The Boogeyman tried to express his outrage yet the infernal train was closing on them and soon will crash into the theatre. So he stood his ground and secures Alice's safety behind him.
"Caterpillar may know how!"
The carpenter stood between them and the upcoming train; his last resort to stop it from reaching their supposed saviours. Pitch protected Alice when the monstrosity ripped through the theatre; they saw nothing but fire before complete darkness.
"Boogeyman. Boogeyman. Wake up!"
It hadn't been long since she woke up from Wonderland. They were still in the back alley where she and Pitch crashed after the Mangled Mermaid was burnt down. She recalled something as she tried to wake the exhausted unconscious Boogeyman. It was so strange how they arrived to Wonderland in the first place. Normally, it was Alice who would fall into Wonderland but this time Pitch was the first. After he'd rescued her from the blazing whore house, the Boogeyman was too fatigued; more tired than the little Liddell. So fatigued, He fell into limbo and a few minutes the weary Alice fallowed.
And for some abnormal reason, Alice feared the worse. She shook Pitch harder and demanded him to open his eyes.
"Pitch, wake up! Pitch!" She grasped both his broad bony shoulder and shook him again. Agitated when the Boogeyman was unresponsive, she bawled out curses and even slapped him. It was then after her anger, fear rose. The fear of loss. A fear of death. The terror she had once felt when she had lost everything. That broken feeling; when you realize all you know was destroyed; it's what she was feeling right at this very moment. Pitch was the only one she had now, the only one close to family. And if she'd had lost him, she wouldn't know what to do. Tears seeped from her terrified green eyes, she roared her panic.
"WAKE UP!"
A fear that strong, it could fuel any malicious monster but it was Alice's fear that made it so urgent to the Nightmare King. And her fear woke the Boogeyman slowly. The little Liddell was about to combust in both anger and relief. Without even a word, she ruthlessly slapped the half-awake Pitch.
"Ow! What are—"
"Don't you dare do that! Ever! You inconsiderate bastard! Even if you are the Nightmare King, I will still hurt you!"
Even though Pitch was alive and awake, her mind continued to race with fear and adrenaline. And the Nightmare King could only gawk at her rage before she finally calmed down with a nice slow deep breath and sitting down next to the awkward Pitch. They searched an eerie silence in that dirty alley way. For the first and only time, it was a serene moment between both parties. She stared at the smoggy skies of the sad and foul world she currently lived; she wished she could return back to the innocent paradise she once believed existed.
"Justice or Vengeance?" Pitch asked her; breaking the tranquillity.
She contemplated on his words; not taking her eyes away from the sky. She was too tired to have faith in anything, except the Nightmare King. Alice Liddell wasn't the naïve girl she once was. So, wearily yet exasperated, she answered.
"No, Boogeyman, not justice. Justice failed me for the past 11 years. I'm tired of waiting for it and I'm sick of its pathetic reasons. Vengeance is more my taste. Unlike Justice, it can sate me."
The Nightmare King agreed with her. Justice had too little to provide for them. It was limited and it's punishment isn't enough to sate the hunger of the people who had been wronged. But vengeance, sweet and intoxicating vengeance, could deliver what justice couldn't. Death and penance! Satisfaction! That dark fulfilling feeling when the sinned have been dealt with. Yes, vengeance is what they craved. What Pitch and Alice preferred. It might be a malicious decision but the criminal deserves it. Painful, horrific and merciless vengeance.
"Whoever did this, I swear, on my parent's grave, I'll impale them." Alice said darkly and looking down at her hands as if she planning the brutal murder already.
"That make 2 of us, girl. I'm not comfortable with someone stealing my job. I am the one and true Nightmare King."
With their last resolve, they sat there in alleyway taking a moment of peace; envisioning the havoc they'll cause to the criminal who dare challenge her and Pitch.