Chapter 3

Meanwhile, the young Mad Hatter found himself exploring around a room with what appears to be a swimming pool. He didn't find it odd while walking around the edge.

"This place is almost as mad as the Queen of Hearts herself," Hatty remarked, searching for the missing pets. "Still, I can't give up finding Spade, Dorothy, and Echo. I'm sure Scarecrow and Techno-Tune are having better luck than I am. Most likely somewhere safe from that unexpected jump."

Around saying that, his crystal staff glowed blue. The young Hatter decided to use it as his flashlight.

The rooms were massive and he was getting more curious as he kept exploring, seeing rooms that were massive and fit for a palace. "Could we possibly be in a palace?" He asked himself, looking at the décor. "Well, the décor is tasteful, but not extravagant like you'd find in a palace. Maybe this is a museum?"

He looked closer at one of the intricate vases nearby and shook his head. "No, too modern to be in a museum," he said. "But definitely not from around here. Maybe we landed in a collector's home or a upper class home, one that throws splendid parties."

He kept looking around and it didn't take long for the young Hatter to hear something. He had the feeling of being watched.

"Curioser and curiouser," The young Hatter muttered, soon seeing his breath visible as he found himself back in the pool room. "And so is that."

He then saw the water in the pool start to freeze up instantly. The sound of ice forming. The young boy held his staff bravely that made his crystal glow green, being ready for what was coming and causing the sudden change of temperature.

"Well, well...who might this intruder be?" A haunting voice asked.

The young Hatter turned his head to see the source. It looked like a cloaked being in blue with glowing green eyes that seemed unnatural. To say the boy was scared would be a lie. He just stared in curiosity while titling his head slightly.

Big Chill was surprised the boy wasn't already running and stayed quiet, wondering what the boy would do.

"...So, let me guess. You're either just some guy in a dark blue cloak going all Mr. Freeze here or not human at all with ice abilities trying to scare me off," the young boy replied, not fazed at all.

Big Chill unfolded his wings, thinking that would be enough to scare the intruder, but the boy's next words caught him off guard.

"Butterfly wings?" Hatty replied, seeing this creature is definitely not human. "I don't suppose you're the Blue Caterpillar all grown up into a Cryokinetic Moth?"

Big Chill was now confused. "No," he replied. "Are you truly that fearless that you stand before me so boldly?"

Almost anyone who had first met Big Chill was terrified of him, whether it was because of his phantom-like appearance, his green eyes, or the fact that he was not human.

"I'm more curious rather than scared, to be honest," the young Hatter shrugged, folding his arms after putting his staff away in his jacket pocket. "Not only that, I was raised by a group of mentally insane people where anything insane is completely sane. Speaking of which, you wouldn't happen to have come across a friend of mine, have you? She's about small-medium in size, covered in red hair, and has very unique eyes."

"No, I haven't," Big Chill replied, now curious himself. "So, you're not scared of me and you are simply deeming what you see as completely normal. Am I correct?"

"Basically, yeah," Hatter replied. "Did you know that moths represent change, transformation, and growth? Lots of cultures see moths as symbols of death and believe they bring messages from the afterlife. Others believe that moths symbolize an individual's intuition and encourage them to trust their inner wisdom."

Seeing the big moth staring at the boy perplexed, the young Hatter responded again. "I study a lot of psychology and enjoy learning about different meanings behind everything."

"Hmm," Big Chill said, rather impressed. "So, then, how did you get here?" He asked.

"Long story. To shorten it, my friends and I were trying to teleport to this party we had plans for, but I believe we accidentally ended up somewhere else here separately...at least, that's my theory," The young Hatter explained, rubbing his neck. "I think we also lost our box carrying the cake when coming here."

"I see," Big Chill replied, before looking curious. "I have a few more questions for you, then."

"Yeah...I feel like I said too much where I might have to pass on that and need to go find my missing friends," Hatter said, already turning around and walking to the exit.

"Oh, no, you don't," Big Chill said, flying in front of him. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way, kid. Take your pick."

The young Hatter took a few steps back. Seeing that this Moth creature isn't going to let him go, he gave a friendly smile where he decided to do the one thing that came to mind without warning...turn around and run fast.

But it seemed the creature was prepared for that and jumped up, grabbing him. "Gotcha!" Big Chill said, before quickly tying the young man up to keep him from going anywhere.

"I probably should have seen this coming," Hatter responded, sighing gently. "Worth a try."

Big Chill chuckled. "Let's see...what to do with you?" He hummed before getting a sneaky idea and wiggling his fingers into Hatter's neck playfully.

"AAAHHH! Hehehe, Hey!" Hatter nearly screamed from the icy touch, a few chuckles coming out. "Your fingers are cold!"

"And you're ticklish," Big Chill said, smiling. "Let's see how long it takes for you to talk. I'm willing to bet not very long at all."

With that, the alien began playfully poking and wiggling his fingers into Hatter's sides, underarms, and stomach.

"Heheheheheehahahahahahaha! Stop that!" Hatter exclaimed, his laughter rising and body wiggling around to either get himself free or get the poking fingers away from touching his sensitive spots.

Big Chill was amused. "Tickle, tickle, tickle," he cooed at the trapped teen, pulling his hands away and wiggling his fingers teasingly at the teen, seeing the boy try to roll away, but the alien caught him and took off his shoes, going for the boy's feet and tickling them.

Hatter kept laughing. His thoughts were growing fearful to the point where they were manifested to the staff still in his possession. The crystal was flickering on and off until becoming a static yellow.

"What is that?" The alien asked, curious as he continued to tickle the young man.

"NO! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, DON'T TOUCH THAHAHAHAT!" Hatter exclaimed in laughter, trying to warn his attacker.

However, the young boy was too late. When Big Chill tapped a finger on the crystal, it shocked and blasted the giant moth back away from the tied up boy. Not to mention the yellow crystal started creating something huge that Big Chill was too familiar with.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Big Chill screamed.

Anybody want to take a guess as to what the crystal created? :)

Please leave Redbat132 and myself a review, but no flames!

GoldGuardian2418