A/N: Well, thanks to the encouragement of QuicksilverWitch, I have decided to give this story a go. Amazingly enough, this one will actually be a multi-chapter story. That's right folks, you heard right! It's not a drabble! And that's not all! I'll actually be trying to work quickly on this story! Anywho, I hope that all you crazy kids enjoy this!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Nothin'. Natta. Zip. Bupkiss. Satisfied?

"…What is it?" Alice inquired, staring at the vial the White Queen was holding out to her. The vial was filled with a murky purple liquid that almost seemed to bubble within its confines.

"The blood of a Jabberwocky," the White Queen explained in her airy voice.

As she took it reluctantly into her palm, Alice murmured, "Will it… take me home?"

"If that is what you wish," the Queen responded, a slight smirk set on her pale face.

Gazing down at the small bottle, Alice felt her brows crease as she attempted to make her decision. Home meant safety. Home was reason. Home was where everything made sense. She would never need to pick up a sword ever again. She would never need to know the similarities between a raven and a writing desk. Queens wouldn't shout, "Off with head". Animals wouldn't talk, flowers would be faceless, and cats would simply purr instead of grin. Everything would make sense once again. With those thoughts in mind, Alice slowly began uncork the delicate vial.

But suddenly, she felt someone breathe by her ear. "… You could stay," the Mad Hatter offered, green eyes silently pleading for her to stay.

Those small words slowly forced her to rethink her previous thoughts. Where would be the fun if animals couldn't talk? Where would be the adventure? What if she actually wanted to find the answer to the Hatter's riddle? Back home, everyone and everything was sensible. They wouldn't know imagination if it bit them, save for her father. To be perfectly honest, Alice was sick of sensibility by now. Back home, she was ridiculed for her daydreams. In England, people looked down on her for not doing silly things, like not wearing a corset. Did she really want to go back there? The answer made itself known to her in an instant.

"What a wonderful idea," she said, smiling brightly at the Mad Hatter. "What a crazy, mad, wonderful idea." Would it really be so horrible to stay with this man? With these people who had accepted her far more easily than her own family? She could grow quite used to living in Wonderland, or rather Underland. But then, a pang suddenly hit Alice as she realized something else. "But…there are some things I need to do, and some questions I need to answer."

At those words, it almost seemed as if the mad gleam in the Hatter's eyes had dimmed just the slightest bit. Laying a pale hand on her armor-clad shoulder, he murmured sadly, "You won't forget us?"

"Of course not." And with that, she tipped back her head and swallowed the liquid in one gulp. Taking what she believed would be the last look at her dear friend, Alice attempted to focus on the Hatter as her vision grew blurry. The Hatter's glowing eyes seemed to spin faster and faster until Alice was forced to close her eyes for fear of getting sick. Eventually, the spinning ceased and she flicked her eyes open.

Strangely enough however, the environment didn't seem to have changed at all. The same dark, gloomy sky was looming overhead, and no vegetation could be seen. Funny, last she remembered it had been a beautiful, sunny day at Lord Ascot's home. This was quite peculiar indeed...

"And since when did you show up? Really, it's quite rude to show up now that the battle's already won," she heard familiar voice mutter in irritation.

Eyes flying open in shock, Alice looked toward the source of that Scottish accent. "Hatter, how did… you… get… here?"

"What do you mean 'how did I get here'?! I've always been here!" he roared. "You're the one who suddenly appeared, you bloody mirror!"

"Mirror?" Rubbing her eyes, Alice was positive she was dreaming again. Why in the world was the Hatter's voice coming out of her body? Perhaps she hit her head on her way out of the rabbit hole? However, when she moved her hands away from her eyes, it took everything she had not to start screaming. Her hands were now deathly white and were covered with eerily familiar bandages. Bandages that the Mad Hatter had usually worn about his hands. Instantly she touched her head and felt the wild curls against her hands.

"Hatter," she said faintly. Apparently she had still retained her own voice. "There's… something wrong with your hair…"

"Whatever to you mean? It's still the same as it's always… been," he protested as he touched the hair that had once belonged to Alice. A look of shock passing across his features, the Mad Hatter shot his now light blue eyes over to his former body. "Alice?"

The White Queen, who had previously been standing in absolute shock, now covered her face with her hands. "This isn't good. Not good at all."

"I couldn't agree with you more Your Highness. Honestly Alice, how in the world could you move about so easily wearing this heavy load?" the Hatter said, moving his armored arms about awkwardly. "I simply don't see how you did it. And how in the world can you stand not wearing a hat? Goodness, it feels strange!"

A/N: Next chapter! Explanations and missing hats! Yeah, that couldn't possibly go wrong.