Alice in Wonderland IC [Irell Starling and Zitacamron95]

[Irell Starling]

Martius stared at the empty space that had been, only seconds before, occupied by Alexander. The Hare eyed Ethan wearily. ”I wonder what the Hatter has on him? He’s never mentioned it before. Maybe it’s a recent thing.” In truth, Martius felt a just a little betrayed.

The plasma lamps in the hallway up ahead flickered on, casting the all metal interior in a greenish glow. Looking behind him warily, Martius headed deeper into the dungeons corridors. Monitors outside the door displayed the inner contents and as they passed door after door, the Hare gazed into each. ”Blast it! She’s not in this one either!” Martius unbuttoned the top of his black collared shirt. ”What if the Queen locked her up somewhere else? We could be risking our necks for nothing.”

The next monitored showed an empty cell, and the next one, and the next one. The group continued through the maze-like passageways as a growing sense of urgency increased. ”Who knows when we’ll be discovered? What if we get caught? What if Cheshire betrays us. He probably betrayed her, that’s why the girl’s stuck here in the first place.” The Hare could feel the walls of the dungeon closing in on him. ”Maybe we should just go,” he pleaded to the Hatter, ”We tried. Let’s just go.”

---

Her room was dark now. It had been for a few hours. Jack had snuck down to see her, to apologize, or so he said. After the apology didn’t work Jack tried to reassure her by telling her that her death would be quick. Finally, when he found she was past consoling, he told her to rest, and turned off the lights. And it was dark. So unbelievably dark. But the hard metallic floor that bit into her shoulder and hip were a constant reminder of her situation, even without light. Water puddled on her hand as the distant footsteps sounded.

”Is it that time already? I’m really going to die, aren’t I?”

[Zitacamron95]

"It is time to get some new friends, this one is very much a coward." Alexander mumbled as he stood behind the two, still invisible. He had taken care of all the guards past this point, but he wasn't stupid. He would stay invisible, say no names and make sure that these two don't fail. The Cheshire Cat was in no way on their side of this matter, but he was in no way on The Queen's side or Alice's side either. He was on his own, and that usually meant which ever side would ensure him safety after it was all over and done with. He made sure that his life wasn't ever taken, but after what had happened a while ago, he barely had a choice anymore.

Ethan carefully continued to step forward as he looked around and tried to see if there was anyone who was missed. He suddenly stopped when he was sure he had found the right cell. He had ignored the talk of both his friend and Alexander, trying to concentrate on what he was doing. He looked at the cell door and looked at the lock before taking his hat off and taking out what looked like a plastic card. He swiped it through the lock, that had been a number pad and a key card swipe. The card hacked into the system and unlocked the door in an instant. He then put the card back into his hat and put the hat back on his head.

Alexander pushed passed the Hatter and went into the room, he disabled the camera immediatly before revealing himself and looking at the girl on the ground. "Well, deary, it looks like you got yourself into a bit of trouble," Alexander smiled softly, that irish accent of his really coming out as he spoke to the young girl.

Ethan rolled his eyes, "There's no time for conversation, we got to get her out then find her a way back home. The Queen will be notified of this by morning and will make sure she finds out where she is. If that happens it's all over for all of us."

[Irell Starling]

”Call me a coward all you want, “ Martius snapped at the disembodied voice behind him, ”but I’m not the invisible one.” The Hare waited anxiously as Ethan fiddled with the lock and when then as Alexander pushed his way inside.

”Mr. Cat!” Alice said looking up through puffy eyes, her surprise evident. ”You’re rescuing me?” As she stood up and straitened, it was obvious that her skin had taken on a pale, feverish look. ”You’re so kind.” Quickly, she walked over to Alexander and hugged him before noticing the others. ”Mr. Hatter, Mr. Leveret, you’re here too?”

”Yes,” Martuis said, annoyed by Alice’s reaction, ”and before you go thanking him, please note that he’s only here because he was practically blackmailed.”

Alice steeped back from Alexander, a questioning look on her face. She looked down at the floor, a little ashamed of her assumption. That was always like her, allowing her mind indulge in fantasies. Her parents would blame the types of books she chose to read. ”Well, it was very…good of you to come either way.”

Ethan spoke up then, reminding them all of the consequences of delay. The three men headed back the way they came and Alice followed behind them as quickly as she could. The shoes she had been gifted from a pair of twins (since she had been ripped from her dorm in only stockings) were a few sizes small and they cramped her feet. It also didn’t help that she still had blisters from walking in them all of yesterday. Still, Alice didn’t want to cause any more of problems for the trio so she kept the pain to herself.

”That’s why I tried to speak with the Queen Red earlier,” Alice added in the awkward silence, feeling she owed them some explanation, ”to go home, I mean. She can be quite… unreasonable. It’s not my fault that I’m here you know. It’s not like I volunteered. I tried to ask Jack first, but he said the device he used somehow broke and the Queen refused to give him another one. So I figured, I’d ask her.”

”This is why people in the past all died,” Martius muttered grumpily, the talk about Jack doing nothing to improve his current mood, ”they all made such stupid decisions.”

[Zitacamron95]

Alexander looked around the dungeons all the cameras had somehow been damaged before they had come in and the alarm system had been disabled. To The Cheshire Cat this was nothing more than a midnight stroll now, not that he had much to worry about if something were to go wrong anyways. He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked behind the two guys that were leading the way. His mind on other things now, mostly trying to think up what he was going to do when he was back home. He was certain he wouldn't be given much time at home, he'd be hearing about this event and forced to go look for the escaped girl.

"Well, deary, the way you're making it sound, it's exactly your fault. I warned you not to mess with The Queen of Hearts, and you go to ask her about something she had banned. One of the major things she hates is being told what to do or for her to make exceptions to her rules. Even your time period you should have known never to trust or expect anything reasonable out of a monarch." Alexander shrugged after Martius made his comment about how people in the past all died. Though, Alexander could have pointed out just the same that everyone in the past died because it was an inevitable thing that could not be avoided.

Once they were finally out of the dungeons and on their way to the forest, the sun was starting to peek up from the horizon. It would have been a beautiful sight if it wasn't for the fact that the four had just commited a criminal act and would likely be scentenced to death if it was ever found out. Alexander decided to break the silence, "What are we going to do with the girl? She won't be able to be seen, she'll be wanted." Alexander really could care less about what would happen to her, all he cared about was the fact that he couldn't exactly be the one hiding her with the queen all upset and looking for Alice.

"She'll stay at my house, I'll camp out on my front lawn," Ethan sighed, "It's a better option than sending her home with a backstabber."

"Ethan, you know very well that I am not a backstabber. Besides, I wasn't suggesting myself, I have quite a bit to handle back home as it is. The Queen will be calling me in to help find this girl as soon as they notice," The Cheshire Cat huffed.

"Another good reason, once I get a chance I'll head into town pick up some new clothes for Miss Alice, and some other things to change her physical features. Nobody will regonize her, so she'll be safe for a while," Ethan replied, "It's a good enough plan for now."

[Irell Starling]

”I’m just glad she won’t be my problem.” Martius added. He was under enough scrutiny as it was lately without having the added bonus of harboring a fugitive. ”Although I don’t much like the idea of you keeping her, Ethan but I suppose if we hand her over to Alexander we might as well have not gotten her out in the first place.” The March Hare looked at his companion wearily. ”I’ll come by later this afternoon but I can barely keep my eyes open now.” Conscience freed and guilt assuaged, Martius disappeared through the trees in the direction of his apartment.

Chapter 3
Your Hair wants Cutting

Alice hung back as the Hare disappeared into the woods. She had never felt more drained in her entire life. In the past twenty-four hours she had been kid-napped, abandoned, held on trial, imprisoned, and, the latest and perhaps cruelest, treated like an unwanted and unintelligent pest. The worst blow, however were the words spoken by Alexander. No matter what he said, she knew deep down it wasn’t her fault. Or so she had hoped. Alice had simply grown tired of the time, and the crazy people with their crazy ideas and customs. She just wanted to go home and she hadn’t had another option.

Out of sheer desperation Alice clicked her heals together. Nothing happened.

Feeling a bit dejected, she walked over next to Ethan. ”Thank you Mr. Hatter for taking me in. It’s very generous and…um... very brave of you.” She wanted to eye the Cheshire Cat with anger or even indifference but instead she just looked hurt and disappointed. ”But you really don’t have to sleep outside. I’ll sleep wherever. I don’t want to be a problem.” While she was glad Ethan at least appeared to want her, Alice couldn’t help but wish another member of the group would be picking out her clothing. The Hatter may not have any weird animal parts attached to his body, but he was by far the oddest of the three.

[Zitacamron95]

Ethan waved goodbye to Martius as they walked the trail of the forest, coming upon the Hatter's house. Ethan looked at Alice for a moment, "No, you shall sleep inside, what sense would it make for you to be sleeping in my front lawn when you are a guest?" Hatter didn't really feel like bringing up the fact that Alice was also being looked for and it wouldn't make too much sense for her to be out in his front lawn while he's sleeping in his house. They'd find the girl first before they found him, besides Ethan was quite certain that he wouldn't be doing much sleeping. He would be up half the time trying to make sure that nobody came near his house.

"Well, I best be getting home, so good morning both of you and have a pleasent day." Alexander sighed as he started to head through the trees to get to his own house. He really didn't want to leave Alice in the hands of the hatter, but he supposed out of the three, Ethan was her best chance of survival for now. Alexander wasn't going to take in a fugitive anyways, that always led to a painful mess, especially for him. He would never do such a thing against the queen and shouldn't have done something like he had just done for Ethan, but he did owe Ethan quite a lot at the moment, and it was hard to see when that debt would be repaid.

"Alright, just go ahead inside, as soon as you are in, just lock the door, I'm the only one that has a key. The bed is right there, and it's the only thing you are allowed to touch." Ethan instructed as he took his hat off. "Go get some rest, I'll wake you when I come back from getting you clothes." Ethan looked around for a moment and figured he had a good amount of time before he would have to actually worry about The Queen's army. He knew he would be one of the first people checked out, but they never dared to go anywhere near his home. He slaughtered anyone that came near and wasn't welcome.

[Irell Starling]

Jack, in a white suit with a white tie and white hair crowed with a pair of white rabbit ears, scampered down the dungeon corridor. All of his attention was focused on the vintage Rolex, Omega Flightmaster, and the Trophy (a rare watch recalled sometime in the early twenty-first century due to radioactive contamination) strapped to his wrist. The clocks all showed 7 on-the-dot as the Rabbit stopped in front of Alice’s cell door. Jack felt a giddy sense of pleasure at the synchrony.

”Wake up, love.” Jack said tapping lightly, ”I hope you had a nice nap. I told you it would do you some good and I’m sure you’re feeling all the better for it.” In truth, Jack felt a little bad for the girl. She was a sweet thing, and she had even kept her promise to not tell the Queen who was responsible for bringing her here. Nevertheless, the sooner the girl was gone, the sooner everyone’s lives could get back to normal and the Rabbit’s mistake would be lost to the sands of time.

Jack waited for a few seconds but when Alice didn’t respond he added, ”Come, come you can’t be too upset. We all die eventually and as far as types of deaths go decapitation isn’t so bad. It’ll be painful for sure but it will be quick.”

She still didn’t reply and the Rabbit was growing quickly impatient. Jack looked over at the monitor and found the cell’s camera wasn’t working. Annoyed at the amount of incompetence he had to deal with, the rabbit reached into his left pocket and found the magnetic card. With a quick swipe he opened the door and looked inside.

As Jack eyes darted around the room, his skin grew paler than usual. ”Oh, she won’t be very happy about this. Not very happy at all.”

----

Alice tried to smile at the Hatter. Not quite sure what to say, she spoke a quite ”Thank you,” and then added, ”Please be careful.”, before going inside his house.

The décor of the room inside caught her off guard so much that she almost forgot to close, not to mention lock the door behind her. She had expected the interior of Ethan’s home to look, well, gaudy but instead it was quite tasteful with just a touch of luxury.

Alice walked around, examining the rooms decorations, careful not to touch anything like Ethan had warned her. She paused in front of a long mirror, surprised at her own dishevelment. Her dress was dirty and crumbled and her waist long, blonde hair was completely frazzled. Looking at her face, Alice was not shocked to see dark circles forming around her eyes. Feeling too tired and still a little hurt, Alice decided she would fix herself later.

As she turned towards the Hatter’s bed, set in the middle of the room, Alice spotted a small framed picture on a nearby night stand. Forgetting the rules momentarily, she walked over to it and picked it up. Inside it featured a younger Hatter, still wearing the same silly hat, and a newer March Hare who looked genuinely happy and well put together. Between them stood s frail looking girl with adorable mouse ears, beaming up at the camera. Alice turned the picture around and read the writing through frame’s clear back. ’Ethan, Martius, and Emily.’ Carefully, she put the picture back, trying to make sure it was in the same place.

Alice eyed the bed again warily. It looked soft and welcoming. She debated silently for a few minutes whether she should really sleep on the bed or a nearby chair, and then whether she should sleep in her dirty clothes. Eventually she made the decision and slipped out of just her shoes and between silky sheets. The smell on the pillow and blankets was different but comforting and Alice had the fleeting though that the Hatter might also smell that way before she was out.

[Zitacamron95]

Sophia was getting herself ready for her appearance for the morning death sentence. She had slept quite well, and unlike any normal day, she was actually quite happy that morning. She was looking forward to getting rid of the annoying girl that had visited her earlier, and seeing the girl die was a bonus. She may never be able to figure out how the girl got to Wonderland, but she was going to ensure that this was the only time it happened and she cared less now about who had brought her to this world. It was giving her a pleasent day, so she wasn't going to figure out what wasn't even going to investigate who had done such a trecherous thing.

While she was looking at herself in the mirror and fixing her hair just right, a hesitant guard knocked on her door. "Come in," She sang. The guard walked up and whispered something in her ear. What she had heard angered her quickly, "What?!" She turned only to smash the mirror she was holding into the guard's face and knocking him clean unconcious. She marched out of her room, her eyes burning with fury. "I want her found! Now!"

Sophia found her way to the throne room where she made a very important call to one of the few she trusted to help her find the run away girl. Once The Queen got her hands on this girl, she would never see the light of day again.

----
The Hatter didn't plan to sleep at all, he had a lot to do already, so instead he decided to go into town and get a few things they would need. He made sure to bring his sword only for protection and headed into town. He stopped first at the clothing store to pick up a new dress for Alice, he was quite good at estimating measurements without actually measuring the girl. He then got a cloak to go over top of the dress and to hide the girl's face when needed. Ethan purchased the clothes, though he got some questioning stares from the clerks at the shop, gladly they had no idea who he was otherwise he would have had to come up with quite a good explination for this one.

After stopping at the clothing store he went to a small shop he enjoyed visiting ever now and then for food. It wasn't owned by anyone the Hatter actually knew though, but they all seemed to know him quite well. The shop owner was there with a grin on his face when Ethan walked in. "Good morning, Hat! What can I get for you?"

"Coffee...and sandwhiches. Two of each." Ethan muttered.

"Anything specific for what you want on the sandwhiches?" The owner questioned.

Ethan looked at the man in desperation, "Food."

After his little exploration around town he headed back home, with everything he needed. He opened the door to his house and sat the stuff for Alice on the chair and the food on the bed side table before leaving the house once again and locking the door behind him.

[Irell Starling]

Martius opened the back door that led from his apartment to the restaurant. He had slept through the morning and now it was earlier afternoon. With any luck his business would be busy with the usual lunch crowd.

As he opened the door, the sound of silence greeted him. The place looked as empty as it had the night before with exception of a lone man dressed in white munching on a piece of carrot cake.

”Where is everyone?” Martius growled.

Jack just shrugged and continued to take bites of the dessert. ”I told them to take the day off. And I got hungry while waiting for you. Tell me, are you sleeping in because you were running around late last night or from yet another overdose?”

”What is this about, Jack?”

Without warning, the White Rabbit stood up and charged at the Hare. Grabbing onto Martius’s ears, Jack jerked the other man’s head down in a painful angle. ”You listen to me and you listen to me good!” Jack hissed, ”When we catch that stupid girl, and we will catch her, anyone involved her in anyway will share her sentence. And believe me, Martius, I’ll see to it personally that she ends up as dead as a dormouse.”

----

Alice stretched and snuggled down further into her blankets. Not satisfied, with the warmth she reached for the thick blanket she always kept at the foot of her bed. When feeling for the blanket didn’t work alone, she was finally forced to open her eyes and remember where she really was.

Alice sat up in bed and looked around. ”Hello?” she called, ”Mr. Hatter?” There wasn’t any response so she figured he hadn’t yet returned until she spotted the packages on the overstuffed chair in the corner.

Her body protested as she rolled out of bed and headed over to inspect the packages. The first package she opened was a small white rectangular box. Inside was sandwich of some sort that she hungrily consumed. Next she opened a box made her eyes water. Inside, a pair of metal shear glittered up at her. ”Remember Alice, Mr. Hatter is just trying to help you.” she thought, trying to reassure herself, ” I suppose it’s better my hair than my head.”Bravely, gripping her hair in one hand at the back of her neck, Alice quickly hacked off her locks. Trying not to cry even more, she placed the hair in a trash pile.

The next box she chose was odd-shaped and contained only a small black bottle. When she inspected it, she found two tiny words engraved into the glass. ”Drink Me.” Alice uncorked the top and sniffed the liquid inside cautiously. A chemical odor greeted her nose. Cautiously, only taking a few sips at first, Alice downed the bottle. When nothing happened other than the acrid taste in her mouth, she continued onto the final two packages.

”Oh, these are beautiful,” Alice said aloud as she slipped into the dress and cloak Ethan had picked out for her. Both had matching violet and forest green patterns in solid blocks with intricate gold trim. For what she could tell, they seemed to fit her perfectly but when Alice went to check herself in the mirror she began to scream and cry hysterically. Her now shoulder length hair was slowly starting to turn a cornflower blue, starting from the roots, working outwards and her irises were beginning to take on the hue as well.

[Zitacamron95]

The Red Queen irritatedly tapped her fingers on the armrest of her throne, she was not happy with these results. The whole dungeon was guarded and nobody should have been able to get in without the alarm turning on or the camera capturing them. The guards had all been taken care of in the neatest way, which made Sophia suspicious about what was going on. She had a good idea of who was involved in helping the girl break out and she was sure that someone helped her. There was no way that weak and powerless girl could have ever broken out alone. She must have had help from somewhere by someone, and she was almost certain who that someone was.

Suddenly, Alexander walked into the throne room, the guards hadn't even tried to stop him. He looked as if he hadn't gotten any sleep, which was normal for the Cheshire Cat there were nights he would stay up to work on a project or for some other reason. He didn't even try to make himself look nice in front of The Queen. Alexander still kneeled down and looked up at Sophia with tired eyes, "You wanted to see me, my Queen?" Even Alexander's words seemed to come out of his mouth tiredly and his usual irish accent seemed to be thicker. The poor cat looked as if he was just about to fall asleep right on the ground.

"The girl has escaped," The Queen sneered, "I want you to go looking for her at the Hatter's house."

Alexander nodded, "Right away, my queen." He slowly got off the ground and headed back to the forest, he figured that he wouldn't be expected back for a while and though he was going to go to Ethan's house he wasn't going to be there searching for the girl.

----
Ethan heard Alice scream and quickly ran into the house to see what was going on. He had expected someone to be there attacking the girl or something, but nothing was happening, so the attack position he had been in was relaxed as he looked at the girl who was staring at herself in the mirror. The Hatter sighed tiredly, "Alice, it would be quite helpful if you would only scream and cry if there was actually someone here trying to do harm to you. It saves me a lot of effort," Ethan sighed as he looked at the girl who looked like a different person now.

Before the Hatter could compliment the girl on her new look, he could feel a presence behind him. Ethan quickly turned around to attack, but his sword blade was caught in Alexander's hand that started to bleed because of such a reaction. "Please, Ethan, I'm not here to fight or take the girl. The Queen told me to search for Alice, but I'm just going to tell her the truth...that I didn't find anyone looking like the girl at the Hatter's house. Now, she expects me to be gone for a while so I'm begging you, let me sleep in your kitchen," Alexander expalined.

"Why should I allow you to do such a thing?" Ethan questioned.

"Because, Queen Sophia is going to have me running around all day looking for Alice and I'm tired and need just a few hours of rest, or I'll die of exhaustion. My debt will only become greater, Hatter," Alexander begged, "Please just a few hours."

"Fine," Ethan sighed, "but stay in the kitchen I don't want cat hair all over."

Alexander walked into the house and paused for a moment as he looked at Alice giving his average charming smile which would have been better if he wasn't so tired. "You look positively beautiful, deary," And with that The Cheshire Cat with his now bleeding hand walked to the kitchen.