Clocks

The maddening sound of the clock vibrated through out the room, adding to the already hollow sound of the evening. the eerie glow of darkness melted against the walls ever so softly giving off the façade of gentile peace.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

A man in the middle of the Spartan room exhaled, starring at a large looking glass, peering into an almost soulless reflection. The hatter sat on his throne, staring. For how long was really anybodies guess. he slightly moved his dark orange eyes to see his beloved hat within his peripheral at his feet. My oldest friend. He thought fondly as he spared a rare moment to pick it up from the retched ground, for it was no place for a hat.

His rough callused hands smoothed over the velvet top. So many joyous memories he had created with his hat. Soft material casted him into a state of nostalgia, remembering all the good times he had in the old wonderland. Days spent laughing and smiling with his friends who have become his family. And the tea parties! Oh, how lovely they were. No matter how mad and scatter brained the hatter was, he always found time for tea, for at that time he and time were still on good terms. Those were the days his dearest friend, the white queen, ruled over wonderland, where hardship was non exsistant to those pure of heart. But those days were gone.

Hatters face frowned slightly, his thought turning darker. Now wonderland was dying. Decaying into a hellish wasteland, all at the hands of one woman. The red queen. Just the mere thought of that heart obsessed bitch made the hatter's eyes begin to glow orange, a common phenomena during the hatters various mood changes. Ever since she stole the power of the kingdoms things have never been the same. No, thing became a nightmare, beyond what any one could have imagined. People began to die by the thousands due to famine in the west, in the north countless more passed due to illness. The red queen destroyed the balance within the economy, taxing those who could not afford and giving to those who had too much. Very early people opposed her rule, but were quickly disposed of. Sometimes she would round them up by the masses and put on public executions to set examples out of them. Not long after she established a secret police acting as eyes around the kingdoms. They monitored the people closely censoring what was deemed unfit. Those who dare utter a bad word about the queen or her rule was executed immediately. Wonderland now lived in fear and devastation, a life no one new how to live.

Hatter placed his hat back on his head. He still remembered when the red queen came into power. Ironically it was the most beautiful day of the summer. It had just so happened to be the un-birthday of he and all his friends. The white queen had insisted on throwing the party in the royal garden and who was the hatter to decline his queen's wish? All of their friends gathered chess, march, dormie, the tweedles, Mr. white and the dodo bird. It was a rather lovely party until the sound of un-expected horse hooves was heard. The knave of the red queens court strolled in covered in the blood of the guards. The red queen strolled in once a path was clear and so casually sat at the foot of the table not uttering a word, only a smirk gracing her lips. With a speed unknown to their eyes the knave, with one quick swoop, swiftly decapitated the white queen with his blood soaked sword. Her head tumbled from her shoulders and gently into the lap of the fear stricken hatter. This was the first time hatter had ever experienced death up close and it mortified him to no end, but what sickened him he most was how beautiful his best friend looked even in death, serene and peaceful. As the red queen cackled and every one fled the hatter remained glued to his seat cradling the head of his queen. The final thread of sanity snapped sending him into a sea of dark madness. The queen left him there to sob not before calling him a mad fool. This deed was not about to go unpunished. As he curled around the dead body of his friend he planned his revenge.

The new found madness caused a change within him he never anticipated, granting him powers beyond imagination, yet causing a psychosis worse than his original. He craved blood, death, destruction, and revenge. He knew he have them soon.

After days of lies and pride slashing ass kissing he got the red queen to agree to a tea party in her honor celebrating the new supreme monarch of wonderland. All of the queen's royal court was invited and one by one they took their seats enjoying the lovely festivities the hatter had to offer. Once the hatter was sure of success he raised his cup for a toast. "To the red queen! May this day haunt you for the rest of your life." The audience was confused, but before they could even question his choice of words, the hatter activated the secret mechanisms in the chairs binding the guest's wrists and ankles to the legs and arm rests. Panic spread amongst the party while the hatter savored their screams like fine aged scotch.

The red queen desperately called out for her guards; little did she know the hatter had taken them out long before, propping up their corpses by skewering them with metal rods, displaying them for false comfort. With out further delay, Hatter with drew his knives and swords and began his un-merciful slaughter. The high of murder flowed through him as he drank the screams and pleas of his victims. At last his blood lust was met, yet hardly satisfied. He wanted more, craved more, he needed to feel more blood on his skin, more screams in the air, more entrails on display to him like lustful whores craving the oh so prominent aura of pure pungent power.

He had finished off the guest before approaching the sobbing red queen. Her fear mixed with shed tears and urine made his lust flare adding more to his already high stupor. He stalked toward her slowly with his hands behind his back as she quaked at the monster before her. The fear only escalated when he smiled a smile that resembled one of that damn disappearing cat. He with drew his arms, causing the queen to scream as he held the almost unrecognizable head of the knave by its hair and plopped it right on her lap face down on her crotch. He smeared the excess of the knave's blood on the red queen's face and gripped her roughly by the chin. "Now now. Why so scared? I thought you liked the color red? I sure do now. I knew you would love the surprise I had for you. Now your whole court is your favorite color." He whispered before breaking out into a maniacal laugh releasing the red queen

The next day, The Mad Hatter was wanted for mass murder and hatter couldn't help but roll his eyes at the irony. Nonetheless their was a warrant for his immediate arrest, but every guard she sent for him always came back in butchered bloody pieces with a thank you note and a slice of tea cake. When she tried to send battalions after him they were met with mass devices of death that killed most of them instantly, the rest he saved for his own personal fun. After the tea party he realized he had unleashed within him self a monster that could only be satisfied with blood and chaos, stragglers were needed to quell the monster.

When word of "The Mad Tea Party" spread the people f wonderland started to feel hope. Rebellions started to break out freely, but they knew they needed leadership. They figured who better than the Mad Hatter to lead them to a victory much needed. Hatter was hesitant at first, since the party he had reclused him self in fear of hurting his friends, confiding only to chess, the one friend who had the ability to make a fast escape if needed. It was chess, how ever, who convinced him to take on the responsibility, it was what the white queen would have wanted. After only a while he realized that the rebellion was slowly loosing and his new found powers of insanity could only get him so far, they needed more. He frequently visited the caterpillar for her wisdom but never getting the answer that he needed. "Ask a different question" she said atop of her mushroom. "I have asked every possible question there is on the matter." Hatter said in desperation. "Then ask a different question." She spoke irritably taking a drag from her hookah. The voices in hatters head screamed for more blood while others wailed for justice, some mourned the eminent defeat of wonderland. Hatter had to rest beneath the mushroom for a desperate attempt to clear his mind. "Where is my salvation?" he whispered trying to calm the voices with promises he wasn't that sure he could keep "Where or who?" she replied aloofly blowing smoke out of her nostrils. "Both" the hatter said rubbing his face in anguish. "Yours or wonderlands?" she asked almost enjoying the turmoil of the man beneath her mushroom. "Damn it woman, both!" he growled standing fully, emitting waves of intimidation people have been known to cower before. "Your power doesn't scare me, my mad friend, so cut it out." She lightly scolded blowing smoke in his face. The hatter sighed. "I apologize." The caterpillar chuckled. "the whom of which is your salvation is also the salvation of wonderland. The answer of where has been in front of you all along, mad man. It lies beyond the looking glass" with that she conjured her smoke around her, disappearing.

Honestly, hatter had no idea what to do with the answer he had gotten, or what it meant for that matter. He trudged his way back home and searched for the white queen's looking glass. It was as tall as he with a white gold frame around it. He propped it in the middle of his personal sitting room and just stared. Days upon days he did this for hours at a time with no results. That is until today.

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"Hatter, how long have you been staring at this blasted piece of glass?" the sound of chess's voice broke the deafening silence in the room. The hatter looked on to his shoulder to see the head of his friend smiling up at him then lazily looked back. Chess analyzed his good friend, worried about his well being. His usual wavy long orange and red hair was now tied back in a poorly made braid that was coming undone. His cloths were wrinkled and disheveled, not to mention quite rancid smelling. His normally dark circles under his eyes looked even darker against his strikingly pale skin. "Hatter?" no response. "Aleck!" Chess called out Hatter's christened name. Hatter was shook out of his lethargic stupor and was met with a now full body Cheshire. "My apologies, the voices are quite rowdy today." He chuckled a bit. Chess's grin faltered a bit. "Aleck when was the last time you've slept?" he inquired. "When was the last time I killed?" he countered. "three days ago" Chess sighed. The Hatter nodded referring that to be his answer. "Hatter this is un-acceptable, you must o and get some rest immediately" Chess nagged but the Hatter ignored him.

"I thought I made it clear to every one that I was not to be bothered-"

"That was yesterday afternoon and you have not left this room since. I swear this is the longest you've stared at this mirror yet."

"And I will continue to do so!" Hatter huffed keeping his attention on the looking glass. "You never did reveal as to why you're so adamant about the glass all of a sudden" Chess spoke with an unspoken curiosity. He did have a point, it had been about few weeks since the Hatter's new obsession came about and this was the longest he had spent in this room with it. The Hatter sighed "I do believe I did, the looking glass holds the key to wonderla-"

"There's another reason Aleck and you're not telling me. What I want to know is why have you chosen now to stare at it the longest" Chess cut off. "Today is the day." He answered simply. "And who told you this nonsense?"

"The trees"

"Hatter the trees have not spoken in twenty years"

"they spoke to me!" Hatter snapped clearly on edge from lack of sleep.

Before Chess could say anything else, both started to hear a humming noise fill the room. They both turned to see the mirror start to glow emiting the din. The glass's surface began to twist and shape forming images that were quite strange. It was an image of a young woman dressed in trousers and a blouse adorned with a neck tie and a vest, very strange indeed. "Well, well another Lander again this should be interesting wouldn't you say Hatter…Hatter?"

She looked absolutely stunning, so very unique, unlike what other women looked like. The Hatter was completely transfixed. She was round and thick in her thighs and back side as well a bit im the arms and mid section, yet slender in her neck, wrists and hands. Her breasts seemed relatively for a girl her size but it strangely added to her appeal. She looked so soft and squishy perfect for late night or early morning cuddling. She was absolutely stunning with a caramel brown color, completely alien to what he had ever seen before. Her lips were plump and full, sending all sorts of wanton ideas to his mind. Her eyes were also strange as well, they were a dark brown fixed into a shape that very much resembled a cat. Hatter then expected a voice to start mimicking that of a cat, then another mimicking the sounds of animalistic love making, but they never came. Hatter paused for a moment, the voices were gone.

"The voices, they're gone." He whispered still looking at the girl in the mirror "Behold, ye see before ye thy savior of wonderland, slayer of thy red queen and bringer of new times. I show thee the Alice." The looking glass decreed. Both the Hatter's and Chess's attention snapped into focus. "The realAlice?" Chess asked. "Aye, she be the one, the wielder of the vorpal, warrior of wonderland, the Alice." The mirrors glow begun to fade and the image disappearing, the voices returning. The Hatter groaned, getting up from his chair. "Alert every one of this, I'm going to get this-"

"Oh, no you wont," Chess blocked his way. "You are in no way shape or form ready to gather this girl. You look an absolute mess, also it has been three days since you've satisfied and of your blood lust and your exausted. Your danger waiting to happen." He reasoned. Hatter started to growl "I don't think you heard me, the voices in my head left for a brief moment when she appeared and for once in 89 years I actually had some peace. I am going to retrieve her now." He tried to move but was blocked once more. "I did hear you friend, and I am very intrigued by this discovery but you at your present state is a potential danger to her and there is a possibility you will scare her off."

"And what makes you think this?"

"I have already told you why you're a danger to her and your present appearance is not a sight to behold. And that might be a bit of an issue." Chess glanced down at his trousers and so did the Hatter to see a rather un welcomed inconvenience. "Ill have Mr. white get her first thing in the morning. You on the other hand will o get some rest and take a damn shower!"