Part III:

The Act of Bravery

Chapter 22

Art of War, Alice?

He could taste victory in his mouth as they stood huddled below him. His once was lover was cleaned up quite nicely, too bad it was a waste of time to put her back together because they all were going to die by his hand. The first… would be that Damn Hatter… His teeth gritted with the fact that his once was friend betrayed him for a compulsive, over controlling freak named Nicolas. When Hatter ran to that White Queen's side after the death of her 'one' true love and left him in a heap of trouble with the Queen he had fallen in love with, Ragnarok wanted nothing more than to use Hatter's face as a mop. They've been friends since they were just children and now here they were standing on either side of the battlefield, one of them preparing to die. This time… this time, Ragnarok wasn't going to be left behind again.

"A tea party?"

"Why of course, Ragnarok! What's wrong with a little tea party?"

"But… we're boys… Boys don't have tea parties we practice fighting or learning magic…" Little Ragnarok said as he looked at his tiny best friend, Hatter, who was sitting at the decorated table happily pouring tea in his cup, a tray of cookies in front of him. Ragnarok couldn't believe his best friend was so… so… girly. Hatter only looked at him and smiled, his green eyes twinkling.

"You always told me I was as mad as a Hatter. Cheshire agrees with you but hasn't anyone ever told you that it's not just me who is the mad one here? In reality, we're all mad in some odd way but being mad isn't a crime or a disease, only the few can accept who you truly are and that Ragnarok is why we're friends. We're both as mad as Hatters and that my friend makes our friendship unbreakable."

"Dammit…" Ragnarok said pushing that memory out of his head. The vile made a soft thud inside his jacket as he moved his arm, the horse staring at him waiting for orders. He didn't understand, nobody did, not even Hatter.

"You're an incredible lover, Ragnarok." The Queen of Spades cooed as she looked at him, her smile curling into her seductive look. He sat there on the foot of the bed looking at the door as he tried to block out her words. That's all she was to him, some stupid toy that she played with when her husband was ignoring her. He loved her and begged her to run away with him but she declined each time because her greed was over controlling. He was disgusted with himself that he let her seduce him again and again and let her leave scars on his heart, scars that would never be repaired. He just wanted to be love… He picked himself up and kissed her passionately, her kiss showing no sign of love. He pulled back and looked at her.

"I love you, Anne." Ragnarok replied. She smirked and started to laugh as he looked at her confused.

"Oh Ragnarok… I can never love a man. Men are so stupid and so… lusty… they only want sex and more sex and never once use their brains to think for themselves. All you are is my toy, you will never find love, Ragnarok. If only someone loved your imperfection and your true self, Ragnarok." The Queen sneered as she took a sip of her wine. His heart shattered into a million pieces. He couldn't think because he was truly broken and when one of his group members walked in to say the King was on his way up Ragnarok's feelings turned to pure anger as he grabbed the dagger from his holder and made sure her husband saw him there, naked with his wife. It happened so quickly and the king didn't even breathe a word before the dagger was stuck in his chest. His wife stared at Ragnarok as her husband fell to the floor lifeless.

"You… why?" Anne asked as Ragnarok turned to look at her, his fiery orange and red hair masking his real self. She saw a hint of weakness in his red eyes and laughed at him. "What can I say? You're a dead man already walking. If only someone loved you." Her eyes glinted with seduction. He looked up at her and gave her a cruel smile, the dagger in his hand placed at her neck.

"Actually my dear, I don't need love. I just need fear and power." He slit her throat and left the unhappy couple for the maid to find as the castle was up in arms and searching for his cult. His group split up after that and Ragnarok slipped away to Wonderland with a new plan. He changed his hair to silver and his eyes to green. He seduced the Red Queen and cursed her sister's son to never love again. Something he could never seem to do again.

The horse bumped him on his side and pulled him out from his flashback.

"Go get them." Ragnarok ordered and the horse took off towards them.

The Fairy Queen was the first to throw a spell at the beast, his powers weakened only for a minute but it was enough for Sebastian and Aaron to start the three part spell. Aaron stepped forward raising his hands to the shadow beast.

"Doluceina." Aaron cried as the horse froze. The others panicked as a large hole behind the horse shaped and shifted made from darkness and death. The underworld…

"Aaron!" Mary Beth cried out to him as the hole began to take away the horse.

"NO! Alamore!" Ragnarok screamed as he threw his hat at Aaron, the brim hitting his neck and freezing him. Ragnarok smiled wickedly. "Cecity." The hat followed his spell and shoved the frozen Aaron to the ground, the Underworld passage slowly taking him in. Sebastian saw the horse vanish within the Underworld and snapped his gloved fingers.

"Goulding." Sebastian snarled and the gateway slammed closed and exploded into yucky black goop leaving the frozen Aaron on the ground covered in the black liquid. Ragnarok screamed in anger as he commanded the hat back to him. This was all wrong… but… he had one trick up his sleeve. He pulled out the vile and poured the small little gold blob into his palm.

"Let's see what it's like to lose your other half…" Ragnarok sneered and crushed the blob in his palm. The potion turned into a thousand sparkles and he blew them over towards Alice.

"ALICE!" Sebastian gasped as held onto her, the whirlwind of sparkles surrounding them as they both vanished into thin air…

Alice coughed and noticed she was in the garden of Prince Charles' or Aaron's mansion. She heard a groan next to her and saw Sebastian next to her rubbing his head and opening one eye.

"Where are we?" Sebastian moaned.

"Alice?" Someone called out. "Alice! Alice where are you?" Alice gasped and picked herself and Sebastian up from the ground and dusted the dirt off as her mother turned the corner and saw them.

"Alice dear! You were gone for almost an hour. Prince Charles are you alright? You're bleeding and your hair is as black as soot!" Alice's mother cried as she looked at Sebastian's shoulder, his jacket ripped and a small gash spread across his shoulder blade. Sebastian looked over at her with shock eyes. They looked over at the rabbit hole by the tree and saw the dirt floor about six feet below the grass floor. "What's the matter you two?"

"We can't go back…" Sebastian said to Alice.

"He trapped us here…" Alice said to him as she looked back at him.