Chapter 2:

Dawn just shrugged slightly. "I can still hear you two..." she said calmly. She never looked up from what she was doing, and it would make you wonder if she knew where she was going, though she stepped over mushrooms and branches with ease.

"I'd watch where you're going little girl... wouldn't want you to trip..." a voice said in a sing-song way from in the leafless tree nearby. All you could see in the tree however was a wide smile that didn't have an owner, or a body.

Dawn looked up with an unamused look. "Cheshire..."

Hatter and the white Rabbit both looked up at the cat's grin and the Hatter waved in a lazy salute. "Good morrow, cat! What riddle have you for us today?" he asked playfully, laughing lightly. "This is Dawn, a friend of Alice's descendant. Unfortunately, Alyssa couldn't be here."

The Cat seemed to weigh a possibility on his paws, ones that they couldn't see, then the smile dissapear. His whole body appeared floating by Dawn's head. "None that entice my brain today I'm afraid... I had one for Alyssa... but it won't suite this girl..." he said with a bored tone, pawing at Dawn's ponytail.

Dawn sighed and started digging through her leather jacket's pockets, looking for something. "Where is it..." she mumbled.

The White Rabbit eyed Dawn for a second, raising an eyebrow. "Where's what?" he asked suspiciously, adjusting his tiny glasses on his nose, one ear flicking in annoyance. "Something that could help you?"

Dawn took out a little plastic pouch from her pocket and poured the contents out into her hand. "Want some catnip?" she grinned.

The cat automatically dissapeared before he could smell it and appeared far away from the group. "My, that is quite the nasty trick!"

Hatter eyed the contents in her palm, stroking his chin in thought as he frowned at it. "Either you randomly carry catnip with you all the time... or you've already figured out the trick of Wonderland." he chuckled and looked up at her with a raised eyebrow. "Which is it?"

"It was for my cat." Dawn shrugged. "My mom asked me to pick some up for him to refill his cat toys since he ripped them apart last night and emptyed them. He was rolling around for hours." she said, then grinned. "It was quite funny."

Hatter frowned and tilted his head, standing up straight and looking back at the White Rabbit called Auggie. "I do believe I just over-estimated her." he said and frowned. "Perhaps it was too soon?"

"It's always too soon, Hatter." Auggie frowned, adjusting his hat around his ears. "Anyways, Mr. Cheshire, we're looking for the Tweedle Brothers. Have you seen come this way?"

"When you see one, you see the other... but no, I haven't seen either... Perhaps you should look that way?" he said, pointing his tail in a westardly direction.

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Don't bother trying to figure something out on which you know nothing of." she warned the Hatter. "Things aren't, or are, as they appear.

The Hatter grinned at Dawn as she said this, tilting his head so his hat fell off and landed in his palm. "Yes.. I agree. You seem very at home here, Dawn. I'm glad to see that." He then twisted his cap on his finger until it seemed to get bigger and bigger. "Auggie, I'm going to see the caterpillar. Please keep Dawn company until I return."

The White Rabbit blinked at Hatter and watched him for a moment wide-eyed like a scared rabbit in headlights. "W-what?! You've got to be kidding! Please tell me you're kidding! No!" he insisted, taking a step forward.

The Hatter grinned at Auggie and shrugged, then tossed the hat up in the air. As it would come down on his head, it was bigger than before, clearly, and simply swallowed him up. The last things to disappear were his red boots. Now there was only the hat where he once stood.

Auggie went to the hat instantly and growled, picking it up and peering inside it, holding the brim delicately between his thumb and forefinger like it was infected or disgusting. "GET BACK HERE, YOU LOON!" he demanded, growling into the hat's innards. He sighed after a minute of no response and threw the hat to the ground angrily. "Bastard."

Dawn picked up the hat and shrugged. "Maybe I should read more of the book before we head on. Besides, I'm sure the Tweedle brothers will find us before we find them anyways." She said and put the hat on her head.

Auggie frowned at Dawn and folded his arms over his chest, huffing angrily. "I'm not just going to sit here while you read your days away. We're very late to see the queen! She insisted on seeing you as soon as you got here! Now let's go!" he said with a childish stamp of his foot.

Dawn looked up. "Wooooah rabbit boy, I'm not going to the Queen yet. You're out of your mind if you think I'm going there." she said with a slight tone. "... hey, do you want to hear the riddle I have in store?"

"Do you think I'm daft?!" Auggie growled, stamping his foot again and crossing his arms. "I'm not as stupid as the others as to be swayed by a simple riddle! There's a reason why I'm the messenger of Wonderland, you know!" he said irritably and looked away with a huff. "I get no respect around here, and it's because I'm small, I get that." he growled.

Dawn chuckled. "I didn't mean it in a bad way Rabbit. It's something you won't be able to say. A tongue twister." she said. "The twins won't be able to say it, because they're always messing eachother up. Wanna hear it?"

The Rabbit looked over his shoulder at Dawn and frowned with a furrowed brow, his arms still crossed and his ears limp with agitation. "Fine." he grumbled and turned to face her with his hands on his hips. "What is it?"

Dawn closed her eyes and smiled. "What to do to die today a minute or two 'till two? Something distinctly hard to say and harder still to do. At twenty to two we'll beat a tatu a ratta tatatta tatatta tatoo, and the dragon will come when he hears the drum at a minute or two 'till two today, at a minute or two 'till two." she said perfectly, as if she practiced it for years.

The Rabbit watched her with a few concentrated blinks as he listened, his arms still crossed. He humphed when she finished and put his hands on his hips instead. "That's nothing. I can say that with ease." he bragged, turning his nose upwards.

"Then do it." Dawn smirked, just staring at him.

The Rabbit looked at Dawn with a raised eyebrow, one ear twitching a little, and he scoffed. He cleared his throat, put his hands on his hips and hummed before opening his mouth. "What to do to die today, a minute or two 'til two? Something distinctly hard to say and harder still to do. At twenty to two, we'll beat a tatu a ratta tatatta tatatta tatoo, and the dragon will come when he hears the drum, at a minute or two 'til two t-today, at a minute or two 'til two." He nodded firmly at the end of it and smirked at Dawn. "See?"

Dawn chuckled. "You messed up at the end. I caught that." she said and started her reading again.

The Rabbit blinked at her and gaped, then shook his head with a growl and stamped his foot again. "I did not! How dare you say such a thing!" he said and huffed. "Tongue twisters are my specialty! I never mess up!"

"You stuttered on the last today." she said, not looking up from the book. The hat was warm on her head. She usually didn't like to wear them, but she liked the Hatter's.

"I did not!" Auggie insisted further, frowning at her. "Your selective hearing is faulty!" he growled. He sniffed and pulled off the tiny glasses from his nose, wiping them clean on his coat before turning and stomping off down the road. "I'm going to see the Red Queen now!"

Dawn shrugged. "Suite yourself, just watch what you say. I wouldn't want you to lose your temper in front of her when you're so heated up." she said as she continued reading. Instead of standing, she sat down on a nearby rock. The cat had dissapeared a long while ago, but she wondered where he went off to.

"Even being headless would be a better retreat from you!" Auggie huffed with a sniff. "I thought you'd be different... But no! You humans are all the same. Even Alice... UGH! Just wait there for Hatter to come back!" With that, the White Rabbit disappeared over the hill in the road and was gone.

Dawn looked up to watch him leave then grumbled softly. She felt bad for making him cry. Even if he were to deny it, she could tell he was. She shut the book with a loud snap after a while and got up, walking over the hill to try and find the rabbit. As she looked over the hill, she could see for miles. The hill took a hard right, and then went down at a steep 90 degree angle. As she went to take the corner, she slipped and started tumbling down. It felt like the first time she fell down the rabbit hole. Finally she landed on a mushroom that immediately turned to a rainbow powder. Dawn grumbled and stood up, dusting herself off. All she wanted to do was to apologise to the rabbit and already she was lost. "Fuck...." she grumbled, then decided to start walking down the only path she could see through this field of multi colored mushrooms, as tall as trees.

There was a soft rustling among the mushrooms. A honking sound. Then silence. Every step Dawn took, there was another rustling sound, followed by a loud honk.

Dawn stopped, then looked around. "... who's there?" she called out, looking a little angry. "Hatter, if that's you you won't get this hat back!" she yelled, referring to the hat she was still wearing on her head.

A few more rustling steps... then another loud honk. It was.. bird-like. A few smaller mushrooms shifted and cracked by weight, then stilled again. Then the sound of running feet. Either running towards Dawn or away from her was something to speculate on.

Dawn listened closely as she heard the footsteps, and thinking it was the rabbit, glared at the bird thing. "Okay, listen here you oversized KFC tool. You better tell me where the Rabbit went, or I will seriously make you into chicken nuggets." she growled, fists clenched. She was really pissed now because she was lost, and because she had mushroom dust in her nose, so it was making her eyes watery and blurry.

There was another loud honking noise as the bird-like creature stepped from the shadows. It was massive compared to normal birds. It looked like a flamingo in the body-shape... but it's feather colours looked like a cross between a peacock and an emu. It tilted its head at her and studied her with a big brown eye, then honked at her again, nudging her with his down-turned beak roughly.

Dawn stumbled from him nudging her. "What the hell?!" she growled. "What are you doing dude? Don't push me!" she yelled at it. "Where. Is. The. Rabbit?!"

The bird took a step back when she yelled at him, then he let out a just-as-loud honk right in her face. He fluttered his feathers and ran in a circle, then honked at her again. He tilted his head at her and then made a quacking sound that sounded similar to a laugh.

Dawn groaned. "Jesus... you're worse than the kids down the street... you don't know a word of what I'm saying..." she sighed. She started bouncing in place, making rabbit ears with her hands. "Have You Seen The Rabbit?!" She pronounced out.

The bird tilted his head at her again and twitched a little as he watched her, then fluttered his wings and pointed. "Yeah, he went that way." he said and then laughed again. "You look silly."

Dawn twitched. "Asshole! You could talk this whole time?!" she yelled. She shook her head. "Auuugh I can't even argue!" she said and started running to find the rabbit. She wasn't getting enough time to read the book, she just just kind of wanted to experience it for herself.

The bird watched her for a second, then laughed and turned, running after her. "Are we playing a game?" he asked and dipped his head, his strong neck sliding between her legs and lifting her clean off the ground at break-neck speed.

Dawn yelped and flailed. "Woah man! I'm just looking for the rabbit!" she yelled. She hated heights, so being picked up was freaking her out. She gripped on tightly, geeking out.

"I know where he is! I know, I know!" the bird honked, his head down as he ran so she could hang on better. "Just don't fall off! You won't bounce so well!" he laughed.

Dawn held on, and her hands were shaking out of fear. "You better not drop me!" she yelled, the fear showing clearly in her voice. Her knuckles were white and her face had visibly paled.

The Dodo honked again and he fluttered his wings, then skid to a stop at the top of another hill. He smiled and looked back at her, tilting his head. "Nice hat! Who are you?" he asked with a smile.

As the Dodo stopped, the hat on Dawn's head flew off, seemingly caught by the breeze. But once it landed on the dirt, shoes poked out from underneath it. It stretched to produce the Hatter and he blinked at Dawn and the Dodo not too far ahead of them, then promptly jogged to her side. "My my! You make friends fast!" he chuckled, running up to the Dodo's side and offering a hand to help her down. But when he saw her pale face, he gaped. "Are you sickly..?"

Dawn was shaking, and took Hatter's hands and got down, her knees wobbly. "Dawn. And no, not sick... just petrified of heights..." she said in a shaky voice, just glad to be on solid ground again.

Hatter blinked at her and pulled her into a hug, smiling down at her and stroking her hair. "Well... No worries now." he whispered. "Thank you for taking good care of my hat. I was afraid of where it would end up. Last time I left it with the March Hare and it somehow ended up in a giant venus flytrap... Took me hours to get that plant to let me go!" he laughed.

Dawn blushed brightly. "Y-yeah, I can imagine. Can we go find the rabbit now?" she asked, feeling just the slightest bit akward. "I kind of teased him, and he got upset and ran off... I feel really bad and want to apologise to him. He stuttereed on a word in my complicated tongue twister for the twins."

The Hatter and the Dodo both stopped all movements and looked at Dawn with a gape. They exchanged glances and Hatter shook his head with a rub of his eyes. "I don't think you understand... Auggie NEVER stutters on a tongue twister. He either does it, or he doesn't." he said and sighed. "I can see why he would be upset. Hatter nodded after a moment and released Dawn, looking at the Dodo and waving. "Lead us to the Rabbit. But ONLY lead." he laughed, holding up a finger. "We'll fix this."

The Dodo nodded and turned, fluttering his feathers and holding his head high, leading them on. "This way!"

Dawn nodded and followed after the Dodo. "It was only one of the last words, and it was small. I feel bad for teasing him... at least I guess pointing it out was teasing..." she sighed. "What to do to die today a minute or two 'till two? Something distinctly hard to say and harder still to do. At twenty to two we'll beat a tatu a ratta tatatta tatatta tatoo and the dragon will come when he hears the drum at a minute or two 'till two today at a minute or two 'till two." she recited, then shrugged. "I had a stuttering problem when I was a child, so I was forced to do tongue twisters until I didn't stutter."

Hatter smiled at Dawn a little crookedly and nodded in understanding. "Then perhaps you and Auggie have more in common than you think." he winked. He looked ahead again and sighed as he watched the Dodo. "Rabbit was great friends with Alice... He loved her, I believe."

Dawn shrugged. "I wouldn't be so sure... he claimed all humans were the same when he ran off..." she looked down at the ground sadly. "I feel so bad about it now..."

"He never said that when Alice was here." Hatter said, somewhat sadly. "He only started saying that after she left. Maybe... Maybe he feels abandoned by her? Like a child without his mother?" He shrugged and smiled at Dawn. "But he's a strong lad and he'll grow out of it. He was doing well until the Red Queen demanded he go find her heir. I'm sure he was very disappointed to know he had to bring you."

Dawn nodded. "Yeah... everyone is probably dissapointed... but hey, I am all you've got." she said calmly. "And I don't think Alice meant to abandon him... she had things she had to do in our world... and she must've gotten too caught up. Besides, Alyssa wouldn't have been able to handle this... I know her too well. She was always expecting the rabbit to show up for her, and I always thought she'd be okay... After experiencing it for myself, I know she would've gone home." Dawn sighed softly. "At least she was saved the trip." she said. She hadn't told the Hatter what had happened, and didn't think it was a good idea just yet.

The Hatter nodded and sighed a little, smiling at her. "Yes, you're all we've got." he laughed. "Listen... how about I buy you some time? You can stay with the Hare and I at our tea house for the night. I'll go see the Queen and see if we can get your appointment moved to tomorrow. Give you some time to sink this in... and read a little bit more."

Dawn shrugged. "I've kind of given up on reading.... I mean, Alice made it through okay without a book to help her... I think I can too." she said. "But I will take you up on the offer to skip out on the Queen for today... I want to make sure things are okay with Bunny boy first."

Hatter nodded and looked around, smiling at their surroundings. "We're getting close." he said softly. "Dodo, hunker down." he instructed and the bird listened and lowered his head.

Dawn looked around. The mushrooms have now spread out, and are mostly just multicolored and smaller than before. Dawn also noticed flowers and other plants, and wondered if they would start talking and singing like they did in the movie. This, however, she was not looking forward to, because some of the flowers would send out insults. Luckily, Dawn had her lighter in her hand, which was in her pocket. She was ready for it.

Hatter looked around and smiled with a whistful sigh at the colours of the flowers and mushrooms. "The flowers are asleep early today." he whispered, looking at Dawn with a finger to his lips. "The Rabbit is nearby then. He loves to sleep among slumbering flowers."

Dawn nodded and walked carefully and silently. She was relieved that they were asleep. It meant she wouldn't have to burn any flowers today. She was looking carefully for the rabbit.

Hatter smiled at Dawn a little, then looked around as well and he gasped when he saw a figure in the middle of a small circle of flowers. He waved for Dawn to look and put his finger to his lips again, waving for her to follow, stepping carefully to the edge of the flowers.

Sure enough, there in the middle of the flowers, was the White Rabbit Auggie, his hat and glasses set aside and his ears flopping over among his brown hair, his face looking peaceful. But despite his peaceful face, his eyes were lined with red and puffy cheeks, showing that he'd been crying at least a little. Even the tip of his nose was a little red. He stirred in his sleep a little and mumbled something incoherent, then started to snore lightly.

Dawn walked carefully and looked over at him and noticed his cheeks and nose. She remained quiet, but walked over and kneeled down next to him, shaking his shoulder very gently to wake him up. "...Rabbit?"

Auggie shifted and whimpered from the break in his sleep, burying his face down against the dirt at first, then slowly sniffling and looking up at Dawn. He gazed up at her groggily, then wiped his eye with a fist and his groggy gaze looked more like a dazed glare. "What do you want?" he grumbled.

"To apologise." Dawn said softly, not wanting to wake up the flowers. "I'm sorry for teasing you Auggie." she said, that being the first time she said his name.

Auggie blinked at Dawn for a moment, as if blinking the sleep from his eyes, then he shifted and sat up on his knees, watching her more seriously. Without his hat and glasses, he looked like every other normal, short kid. Except with rabbit ears. He pouted at Dawn for a minute. "Really?"

Dawn nodded. "Really. I shouldn't have teased you like that. I'm really sorry." she said, then bowed her head. "The only reason why I'm good at tongue twisters is because my mom made me practice them everyday, because I had a stuttering problem when I was a child." she said. "My mom was always trying to make me perfect." she snorted. "Look how well that turned out." she said, referring to her smoking habit and her all black attire.

Auggie tilted his head at Dawn at her words, blinking in disbelief. "Wow.." he whispered and shook his head. "The Red Queen forced me to not stutter anymore too... said it made her kingdom look back every time I did. Now I'm the best Tongue Twister Master in the kingdom!" he smiled. "Even better than Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum!"

Dawn chuckled. "I could tell. It took me years just to get the riddle right, and you got it on the first shot." she smiled. "And as for the Red Queen, well, we'll just have to take care of her." she said with a slightly more evil looking grin. "Maybe we'll cut her tongue so she has a stutter?"

Auggie's ears perked at her words and he looked at the Hatter with a blink of surprise. "C-can we do that to her?"

"I don't know." Hatter said softly with a reassuring smile. "But it's worth a shot. Lord knows the Queen deserves whatever she gets." he chuckled. "Come, Auggie. We're going back to my house now."

Dawn stood up and held her hand out to the Rabbit. "One thing you'll learn about me... I'm stubborn as hell, and in my universe, anything is possible." she said with a smile.

Auggie looked at Dawn, then at Hatter, then back at Dawn and nodded, grabbing his glasses and gently placing them on his nose, then grabbed his hat and put his ears very carefully through the holes in the brim, before taking Dawn's hand and standing with her help. He smiled at them, then nodded and fell into a hug against Dawn, his arms wrapped around her waist.

Dawn blushed lightly and suddenly felt like an older sister, something she hadn't felt since Alyssa's death. Dawn patted Auggie's hat and smiled slightly. She heard someone clear their throat and Dawn's head snapped to the right to see a rose starting to wake up. It was just like in the movie, the rose taking on the face of an older woman. "You children are quite noisy... run along if you may." she said, shooing them away with a leaf. The other flowers started to wake up as well, stretching out their petals and shaking out their leaves.

"Apologies, ma'am!" Hatter said formally, bowing at the waist and tipping his hat to her before wrapping an arm around Dawn's waist and ushering both ehr and Auggie out of the flowers and back onto the path. The Dodo was still waiting for them and he bent down, letting Auggie climb up onto his back and running ahead. Hatter lingered behind to walk beside Dawn with a pleased smile on his face.

Dawn sighed softly, feeling a lot better now that she apologised. "I'm glad that went well... didn't have to make incense of those flowers..." she muttered. She couldn't help but notice the differences between the book in her world and the actual characters. As she watched Auggie with the Dodo, it contradicted everything she ever knew about Wonderland.

"It's strange, isn't it? To think that this world and the book Alice created for yours are two very different places." Hatter mentioned, as if he'd been reading her mind, or at least sharing the same thought. He tucked his hands into his pants pockets and shrugged, tilting his head at her. "The entertainment value of your world is most strange... Alice had no choice but to manipulate the characters she knew into characters more believeable of a fairy-tale world." he sighed. "So Auggie stayed a rabbit... the Dodo was true to his name.. and so many other details were left unmentioned, like some dirty secret." he sighed.

Dawn looked over and looked at him with a curious expression. "Now that you mention it, Auggie's name was never mentioned in Alice's original book..." she said, looking up at the sky. "Tell me, what did she not say about you, hmm? Something I should know perhaps? Like your name?" she asked, looking back at him.

"While it was not mentioned in the book, it's not something she wanted to remain a secret." Hatter chuckled and smiled. "My name is Tanner. Tanner the Mad Hatter." He tipped his hat in greeting, then chuckled. "No... but there were other things that she wanted to keep to herself.. Things that are in that book," he said with a motion to the book she was holding. "Perhaps you should try to find the time to read it? Not for lessons on Wonderland... but for entertainment?"

Dawn shrugged. "Sounds like a plan." she said. "I don't sleep much, so that's probably what I'll to tonight." she said and put her hands in her pockets. She pulled out the pack of cigarettes and with a sigh, tossed them aside. "Now's a better time to quit that any other..."

"Now that sounds like a plan." Tanner smiled at her. "Good girl." He patted her head teasingly, then chuckled and put his hands back in his pockets. "Tomorrow, we'll go see the red queen... perhaps try to figure out why you're here."

Dawn rolled her eyes. "What are you, my father?" she said teasingly, then laughed lightly. She looked ahead, but the Dodo and Auggie had gone too far to see. "Where did they go...?"

"They're just up ahead." Tanner nodded at her and smiled. "Don't worry. They wouldn't leave us behind. Dodo is the only one who knows his way around this mushroom forest. Him and the Cheshire cat anyways... but the cat wouldn't help us, really. He'd just give us riddles."

Dawn nodded and let out a sigh of relief. "I'm more worried about Auggie than us. I know I can take care of myself. I'm not so sure about you though... you look like the type that might need some saving." she winked.

"Like the damsel in distress in most fairy tales, yes, you are right about that." Tanner laughed, shaking his head with a playful bat of his eyelashes. He waved a hand at her in a girly fashion and started to sway his hips as he walked. "I'm so glad you're here to save me, dear prince!"

Dawn found herself laughing. "Oh quite. I'm sure Chesire would come to the rescue as well." she laughed out loud. "You remind me of my friend Tony when you act like that I so hope you know." she said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh posh!" Tanner said, waving his hand at her flippantly and smiling at her. "I'm one of a kind!" He did a talk-to-the-hand-type gesture and swayed his hips a little more before doing a twirl and taking Dawn's hand, kissing the back of it with a gentlemanly bow. "Of course, I would LOVE to be the prince to save you, if you're ever in need of my assistance." he smirked. "Or are you one of those girls who thinks they can always handle the situation?"

Dawn found herself blushing again. "Nope. I can save myself." she said. "I always have, probably always will, but in this world, who knows, so keep your eyes open." she said. "And you're right, you sure are one of a kind."

Tanner winked at her and released her hand, standing upright again with a smile. He turned and walked on, humming pleasantly, his hands folded behind his back now. "Thank you." he nodded.

Dawn chuckled. "Yeah, sure." she said and walked next to him. She jumped slightly as she heard what sounded like a screech coming from under her foot. Some fuzzy creature that looked like a rainbow dust bunny rolled away and seemed to be squeaking furiously. "What the fuck is that?!"

Tanner blinked and looked in the direction of the rainbow dustbunny and he smiled at it, then gave a shrug. "Well I don't know! Why don't you go ask? It seems to me you owe it an apology as well!" he laughed and shook his head, looking back at her.

Dawn shook her head. "I wish I could fly so I wouldn't step on anything." she grumbled, instantly in a bad mood again. The dust bunny dissapeared into a small mushroom patch.

Tanner tilted his head at her and sighed, moving to her and slipping behind her, hugging her from behind. He nuzzled her neck, rubbing her shoulders. "Just relax. Of course, you can't wish to fly if you were just spazzing over riding the Dodo's back." he chuckled. "Did you not just mention that you're afraid of heights?"

Dawn stopped to think about that. "I'd just keep my eyes closed." she shrugged simply and sighed. She closed her eyes and sighed softly. "I hate being so...... hmm, what's the word.... oblivious to those around me?"

"What better a way to be oblivious to those around you than to have your eyes closed?" Tanner asked and laughed. "You confuse me, Dawn! Honestly! You say one thing and mean another, than say something different when confronted!"

Dawn shrugged. "Confusion just makes your brain work harder to understand it, so technically, being confused is healthy for you." she countered.

Tanner's laughs stopped rather abruptly and he looked at Dawn with a perplexed blink. "Well..." he started, then stopped and stroked his chin with a contemplative, "Hmmm..." He then laughed slightly and rubbed the back of his neck. "A formidable arguement!"

Dawn chuckled. "Yeah, I'm just that awesome." she nodded and walked ahead. She picked a shroom and when it turned to a sparkley gold dust, she threw it into the air and watched it rain gold. She smiled, but then yelped as it actuallly started to rain.

"Oh, look what you've done!" Tanner laughed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and leading her away, running towards where his house just suddenly appeared. If she'd been paying attention, it would have looked like they were walking in circles, and on this pass, the house appeared where there was usually just a mushroom.

Dawn looked so confused. "Where'd that come from?!" she exclaimed.

"It's always been there!" Hatter laughed, shaking his head at her. "You're so crazy, Dawn, I swear!" He smirked at her and led her up the path to the doorway, opening it and allowing her in. "March Hare! We're home! Auggie? Dodo? Are you in here?"

There was no answer, but there was a note in a broken teacup from the March Hare, saying that he was currently off cooking for the Red Queen, a most unfortunate thing. Where Dodo and Auggie were, Dawn couldn't see. "Nice decor." she commented.

Tanner looked around at the ripped wallpaper and stained floors, then chuckled and shrugged, moving to clean a window with his armsleeve. "It's home." he said softly and wiped until the weak sunlight reigned in through the rain. "Let me show you to your room."

Dawn nodded and smiled. She was already planning in her head to clean up a bit, being the neat freak she was and all. Dawn took her hair out from the ponytail as she followed Tanner, shaking out her long hair. "Ugh... so hard to manage... but I can't bring myself to cut it..."

Tanner laughed at her briefly, then shifted behind her after removing his own hat, leaving it on a table in the main room. His hair was straight and sleek, black like raven feathers and hung around his face limply, heavy from the rain. He moved behind her, his fingers easily moving through her hair. "Allow me." he said softly and as quickly as he'd said that, he was braiding her hair back and away from her face.

Dawn blushed brightly, but smiled through it. "Thanks... I always have trouble with it. Usually my mom does this for me, because she liked the way it waves out when I wake up." she rolled her eyes. "My hair is naturally straight, and my mom hates it.

"I couldn't for the life of me understand why." Tanner laughed slightly as he finished the braid and tied it off with a piece of string. "Your hair is beautiful. Your mother should appreciate you for who you are and what you have." He then released the braid and walked back around Dawn to smile at her, then motioned for her to follow him. "Here... this is the guest bedroom. You may stay in here." He led her to the small bedroom in the back of the house where there was a single tiny window and a soft-looking bed. It was cleaner than other rooms in the house, and the wallpaper wasn't coming off. "No one ever comes in here."

Dawn smiled and chuckled. "It's cute." she said and sat on the bed. "And as for my mom, asking her to appreciate me for me is asking a lot."

Tanner tilted his head at her, leaning against the door frame with a small smile and shook his head. "It shouldn't have to be." he whispered and smiled. "Read some. Relax. I'll make us some dinner. If you want to bathe, the wash room is just down the hall... There should be water in the tub already, but if you need more water, just ask."

Dawn nodded and smiled. "Thank you Tanner." she said sincerely.

Tanner nodded at her and stood away from the door frame, his arms still folded as he moved into the kitchen. Having guests like Dawn honestly made him wonder sometimes... His name "Mad Hatter" wasn't as correct as it used to be. He wasn't so MAD at times. He grabbed an apron that was pink and frilly and had Kiss the Cook written across the chest, and pulled it on over his head, tying it around his back. He then began to cook a stew for them, something hot to eat on a cold and rainy night.

Dawn took off her shoes and laid back in the bed, pulling the covers over herself. She pulled out Alice's book and started reading, hoping for an answer.

After a while, the stew was finished, Tanner having made a lovely beef stew with vegetables and sliced bread, and he carried a tray of it along with a glass of cold water to the guest bedroom. He knocked a couple times lightly, then peeked in. "Are you descent? I have food." he smiled.

Dawn looked up from her reading. "... I'm fine, don't worry." she chuckled. "You could've just called me down, instead of bringing me stuff." she smiled and sat up.

"Yes, well. I didn't want to interrupt your reading." Tanner said with a motion to the book. "It's a terrible thing to do." He set the tray down on the bed and smiled at her warmly. "If you need anything else, just ask." he said and ruffled his apron before turning to go again. "I'll be right downstairs."

Dawn couldn't help but laugh lightly. "Okay, I will." she smiled. "And if you want to join me up here, you can." she commented. "The choice is yours." she shrugged slightly, a smile still on her face.

Hatter watched her for a second, blushing a little and smiling. "It would be an honour, my dear. But I have work of my own to do. I hope you can get comfortable on your own." he smiled and nodded with a bow of his head, moving out of the room and closing the door behind him.

Dawn nodded and took a bit of stew. It was good, she had to admit to herself, surprised. With the stuff next to her, she continued reading the book, curious more about the caterpillar than anything. What she read startled her. The caterpillar was a bad guy for real? The real Alice had written that though she was blinded at first, the caterpillar's riddles were meant to make her stray from her path, and he was working for the Queen.
Dawn finished up her stew and instead of being lazy, brought the empty dishes down to the kitchen. She looked around. "Auggie? Tanner?" she called out. She hadn't seen Auggie for a while and she was starting to worry. Plus, she wanted to talk to them about the caterpillar.

There was a small crash and a laugh from the next room. A few playing cards tumbled out from the doorway of the study and Auggie's voice could be heard. "Again! Again! That one was almost as tall as the last!" he laughed, clapping. He wasn't wearing his gloves, waistcoat or glasses anymore, and he was barefooted. He ran around the room, moving to grab up the playing cards and tumbled out into the hall in front of Dawn, grabbing them up from the floor before he looked up at her. He smiled widely. "Dawn! We're building house of cards!"

Dawn smiled and chuckled lightly. "May I watch?" she asked him. Almost immediately, she forgot about the caterpillar for the time being. Such is the power of kids. She always forgot what she was doing when kids were involved.

Auggie nodded excitedly and turned, running back into the room and handing the cards to Tanner, who was in the process of juggling a handful of cards already. As Auggie tossed them into the loop, Tanner laughed. He was juggling the cards like they were weights, flipping through the air in a circle above his head, but without moving his hands, which stayed palm-up in front of him, elbows at his sides. He smiled as the loop of juggled cards got bigger and bigger, then he sent them flying towards the foundation of a new house of cards, watching them stack.

Dawn sat against the western wall and watched the magical feat. She suddenly remembered what she came in for. "Tanner... tell me more about the Caterpillar. Is he still working for the Queen?" she asked in a completely serious tone. She remembered that he had gone to see the Caterpillar, and was suddenly worried and confused. Was Tanner working for the Queen as well?

"Oh, he's trying to quit." Tanner laughed, cards flying around him as they added to the foundation of the house one by one, and he looked at Dawn with a smile. "Smoking that is. He asked for my help to drop the houka." he chuckled. "I was just checking up on him. As for working for the Red Queen... he keeps me out of trouble as long as I keep him off the black path." he winked. "Why do you ask?"

"It was in Alice's book." Dawn said. She had left it in the room and sighed softly, standing up. "She wrote that he worked for the Queen, and that he wasn't so great." she shrugged. "So I wanted to know." she brushed herself off.

Tanner smiled at her and nodded. "Understandable, my dear." he said and looked back at the house of cards. It was growing taller and taller by the second. And even as it seemed to touch the roof, it continued to grow. There were lifesize doorways and windows in it, one of which Auggie was eagerly running through, exploring the inside of the card house like a child in a treehouse. "Please, go inside." he smiled at Dawn and nodded at the house.

"Yeah, Dawn! Come inside!" Auggie said excitedly, running out and grabbing her hand before pulling her through the first doorway. As they entered the first doorway, all of the cards seemed to blend together in a molding of red, black and white. The numbers disappeared and the pathway in front of them seemed to stretch into a tunnel.

Dawn stumbled forward a bit, then straightened herself out and looked around. "... this has got to be the wierdest thing I have ever seen..." she muttered. She squinted her eyes to see the end of the tunnel, but to no avail.

Slowly, as the house of cards was completed more and more, the tunnel began to light up with scenes, doorways leading to different places. At the very end of the tunnel was an open doorway with what looked like a fresh green valley and a lake, open blue skies and plenty of trees for shade, bearing fruits for snacking on. Tanner was suddenly by their sides and he grinned at them. "What a playhouse, hm?" he asked Dawn and grinned as Auggie ran off for the doorway at the end of the tunnel. "Shall we?"

Dawn jumped when he suddenly appeared, but chuckled. "Sure, looks like a fun time." she said, walking slowly, looking through the many different doorways. She closed her eyes as she felt the heat on her face from the sun shining bright, and it made her want a cigarette for some reason.

"It may be raining in our world... but that doesn't mean it's raining everywhere." Tanner chimed with a chuckle, stepping into the warm sun and smiling as the tall grass swayed at their legs. He watched Auggie suddenly strip out of his clothes down to his boxers and was jumping into the lake like a toddler at play, splashing around.

Dawn shook her head and chuckled lightly. She didn't really like swimming so she was planning to just sit under the big tree she saw. She didn't mind, since it was cooler in the shade anyways. She sat down and watched Auggie, kind of like a mother would, but with a smile. As she pondered about Wonderland, she looked up at Tanner. "You going to go in as well?" she asked.


Tanner chuckled and shook his head. "No. Water isn't my thing." he said with a matter-of-fact look at Dawn. He smiled as he watched Auggie, admiring his play as well, standing under the shade of the tree with his hands in his pockets. He tilted his head and looked up at the tree, but as he did, his hat fell off his head and landed in Dawn's lap.

Dawn chuckled, examining it. "You dropped this." she said with a grin. "It's got a lot of secrets in it, as what the book said." she shrugged and put it on her head with a dumb little grin. She never looked good in hats, and the ponytail didn't help at all.

Tanner looked down at her with a wide smile and he shrugged. "It does hold plenty of secrets. Sometimes it has a mind of its own." he chuckled. "But it looks good on you. You look like a ringmaster in a circus." he nodded with a wide smile. "But take it off and think of something you'd like to have, then reach inside."

Dawn furrowed her eyebrows up at him. "Legit? That's all you have to do?" she asked, taking off the hat and looking inside it. That confused her so much. How did it work out? What were the sciences? Alyssa had always been the imaginative one, not Dawn.

"Yes, but be careful. You have to be specific, otherwise it'll get silly on you." Tanner laughed, moving to sit beside her. "Here." He took his hat back from her and put it in his lap with the rim up, then grabbed her hand. "Think of... a candy. Any candy." he whispered.

Dawn blinked. "I was just going to think of my sunglasses from home... the ones I always wear..." she said and smiled. "Besides, I'm not much of a candy person."

"Sunglasses? Strange name for an item... but very well. Think of that." Tanner nodded and led her hand into the hat, smiling at her. "Think hard, then feel around. You might have to dive a little... perhaps dig."

Dawn chuckled. "Right." she sighed and closed her eyes, reaching in. She visualized them just sitting on her desk, where she had left them. They were bright purple and very sleek looking. It took a few minutes, but she finally felt something jump up into her hand, and she pulled it out. It wasn't her sunglasses, but her mom's kitten Toby. "... what the hell?!"

Tanner blinked at the kitten and tilted his head. "My goodness!" he laughed and took the kitten from her. "This means you weren't thinking so much of the sunglasses. Either that, or they aren't where you thought you left them." he said and stroked the kitten's ears. "Try again. Then we can put this little fellow back."

"Knowing him, he was trying to eat the glasses... Mom probably didn't feed him again." Dawn said with a sigh. "His name is Toby." she said, reaching back into the hat. This time, after a few more minutes, she got the glasses. "... do we have to put him back?"

Tanner smiled at Dawn, looking down at Toby and raising his eyebrows. "We don't have to." he whispered and smiled at her again, offering her the kitten. "But it would be right if we did. Think of how your mother would feel if he wasn't there."

Dawn held Toby in her arms, snorting. "She wouldn't notice. I'm the one who takes care of him." she said, putting on her glasses with a stupid grin.

Tanner shrugged and smiled. "Suit yourself. Though perhaps your mother would notice if she couldn't find him and she might feel terrible that she lost the cat that YOU have affections for. Especially if she notices that you too are missing." he said and leaned closer to her, narrowing his eyes at his own reflection in her sunglasses. He then reached forward and snatched them off her face, holding them up to the light to see better. "So these are... 'sunglasses'?"

Dawn looked surprised. "Well... yeah... have you never seen them before?" she asked, confused. She put Toby down on the grass to let him run around, but he just curled up and fell asleep, like he was before on her desk.

Tanner chuckled a little and shook his head. "No... how queer." he whispered. "I'm assuming they're some alternative creation of facial glasses, like the ones Auggie wears, but these are so... bulky compared to his." he mumbled, turning them this way and that with a frown of concentration. "And these are so... dark. How do you see out of them?"

"Try them on." Dawn said. "They're meant to block the sun from hitting your eyes. It's safety stuff." she chuckled. "They're actually lighter than they look." she said.

"Safety? From what?" Tanner laughed, shaking his head. But he shrugged and slid them onto his face awkwardly, letting them sit on his ears and the bridge of his nose. He then looked at Dawn and smiled. "How do I look?" he asked and chuckled. Actually with his shaggy black hair and pale complexion, he looked almost modern. Like he would fit in well with her world.

Dawn gave him a thumbs up with a grin. "Quite spiffy. And it makes sure the sun's rays don't damage your eyes, goofball." she said with a light laugh. She looked to the pond to make sure Auggie was okay.

"Well that's no problem. If I was worried about the sun damaging my eyeballs, I'd just close my eyes!" Tanner laughed, shaking his head as he pulled off the sunglasses and offered them back to her, replacing his hat on his head now. He looked towards the pond as well and smiled as Auggie chased some fish around, and he sighed. "He really misses her."

Dawn put on the glasses and blinked. "Huh?"

Tanner shrugged a little and watched Auggie still, a small frown on his face. "You can't tell just by looking at his body language... but he really misses Alice. She was the only one who gave him any sort of time of day, aside from myself. They had so many adventures together..." he whispered. "As I'm sure you'll find if you continue reading." He nodded at her book with a crooked smile, but even his smile was a little sad. "She was a wonderful person." He looked back at Auggie and sighed again.

Dawn nodded. "If she was anything like Alyssa, I'd believe it." she said. "Sorry I'm not what you guys expected..." she said with a hint of sadness. She felt bad about what happened to her friend, and also felt bad that Auggie and Tanner got stuck with her.

Tanner smiled at her a little and shook his head. "It's not your fault you ended up here, Dawn. I'm sure we're not what you expected either, hm?" he asked and laughed. "Expectations are over-rated." He shrugged and scooted closer to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling off his hat, setting it aside. "Let me ask you this: do I look like the traditional Mad Hatter from your world's books? Especially when I don't wear my hat? Am I what you expected?"

Dawn smiled. "Nope. You're described as a psycho old man." she chuckled. "And you're right, expectations really are overrated." she said.

Tanner laughed and nodded in agreement, giving her a one-armed hug, nuzzling her a little. "See? Told you." he chuckled. He sighed and leaned back against the tree, lounging back rather comfortably and yawning. "I'm still a little offended that she described me as some psycho old man... After all, we were the same age when she came here." he laughed.

Dawn blushed lightly. "Yeah..." she said. She sighed. "I'm just irritated with the fact that most of the stuff she wrote in the book in my world was a lie." she said. "Everyone there is fooled... hell, even Alyssa was." she hugged her knees.

"It was for the good of both worlds, to be sure." Tanner nodded matter-of-factly. "If she had written every fact for what it was, our world would be in danger of people trying to take advantage of it. Just the same, people from this world would probably want to escape to yours... neither worlds would ever be the same again." he shrugged. "Besides, I don't think the girls from your world would be able to resist me." he winked, folding his hands behind his head.

Dawn laughed. "You're probably right. In my world, you'd be considered very attractice... to both girls and guys." she said with a grin. "Who knows... you might've been raped by now."

Tanner blinked and tilted his head at her with a deep blush. "You think so? Hm. I don't know whether to be flattered or frightened.." he whispered and laughed with an awkward rub of his neck. "Thanks..? Although, it wouldn't be nearly as bad if I had been raped by you. But then again, it wouldn't be rape." he shrugged and winked.

Dawn chuckled. "Nah, I'm not that kind of girl, though everyone else likes to think otherwise." she smiled. "No one in my world believes that I'm still a virgin." she admitted, and shrugged.

Tanner laughed and nodded in agreement. "I wouldn't have pegged you for one at first glance. But now that I've gotten to know you a little and your personality, I can definitely see it." he smiled.

Dawn smiled. "That's another thing about people in my world. They judge before they think." she said with a soft sigh. "It's quite the problem." she saaid and stretched.

Tanner watched her with a tilt to his head and his chin in his palm, before chuckling and nodding. "We have that same problem here too... only perhaps not as frequently." he whispered and looked back out at Auggie with a small frown.

"Not as extreme either, unless you count the wicked red witch." Dawn smiled. "Don't worry.. I'll take her down, whether I have to light her on fire, or just take her crown." she shrugged. "Whichever seems like more fun."

"Try not to underestimate the Red Queen, Dawn... she grows in power more and more every day." Tanner explained with a serious face. "And dress size." He laughed and shook his head, looking up as Auggie came running up, panting from the water and dripping from head to toe.

"The fish are swimming away..." Auggie said sadly and somewhat worriedly, looking between them both. "They wouldn't tell me why."

Dawn rolled her eyes, then looked at Auggie. "Something is coming perhaps?" she question, standing up. She looked at the fields, looking for any sign of movements. Maybe her mom's self defense karate classes would come in handy after all?

Tanner frowned and stood up as well, looking around slowly as he replaced his hat on his head. He hugged Auggie close to him and narrowed his eyes, then gasped when he saw a flock of birds suddenly flying over, all of them obviously spooked.

Dawn watched, then sighed. "Great... either of you know how to put up a fight?" she asked. She saw something moving up ahead in the fields, what looked like cards. At least those were real.

"We only know how to elude, dear Dawn. Not fight." Tanner frowned, hugging Auggie closer. He then grabbed Dawn's arm. "Head back to the doorway. We can avoid them yet." He turned and Auggie clambered up onto Tanner's back, clinging to him as he knelt and swooped up Tony and pulled Dawn along towards the doorway that had been opened through the house of cards.

Dawn ran quickly, but looked back. The card soilders were running after them, but they weren't really running, they were just clambering over eachother as they were basically trying to race eachother.

Tanner pulled Dawn through the doorway and as they reached it, pushing Tony into her arms and letting Auggie jump from his back into the room of his house. Before the card soldiers could make it through the doorway, he turned and threw a kick at the house of cards they'd built, effectively closing the door and keeping them on the other side. He sighed and watched the rest of the cards flutter and float to the floor, then looked at Auggie and Dawn. "Well.. that'll stop them for a little while."

Dawn nodded slightly. "What should we do now?" she asked, stroking Tony's fur gently, since he was so startled from being picked up like that in his sleep.

Tanner shook his head, taking off his hat and dusting it off a little before replacing it. "We may have to seek asylum elsewhere.." he said sadly, looking around his house. With a wave of his hands, the cards picked themselves up and stacked themselves into twenty neat piles of fifty-two cards each. He then looked at Dawn and Auggie. "Auggie, get dressed."

Auggie nodded with a serious face and turned, disappearing down the hall and into another room. Only seconds later, he returned with his usual waistcoat and trousers on, his shoes tight on his feet and his hat on his head, tucking his pocket watch away. "We must hurry." he said seriously. "That won't keep them at bay for long."

Dawn nodded. She grabbed the book from where she had left it, and since that was all she had besides Toby, she was ready to go. "Wait, what about Dodo?"

"Dodo never sticks around the same place for long. He's probably already long gone." Auggie explained with a shrug and a small smile. "He'll stay out of trouble. He may be a little loopy, but even he knows when it's time to turn tail." he said, pointing at his own fluffy tail as he turned to head out.

Tanner nodded in agreement, though his face was serious. "Where shall we go, though, Auggie? The hare is at the Red Queen's castle... so he's already a prisoner of hers for the time being... at least he's safe from these goons." he grumbled. "But where will we go?"

Dawn thought. "Where do you think would be the safest place?" she said, then remembered something in Alice's book. She whipped it out and started reading. "..... Forest of Shadows, where the Pool of Tears is...." she said and looked up. "Alice wrote that it was the only place Redd wouldn't go, because she's afraid of the dark." she said with a little bit of a grin. "The card soilders have trouble navigating the forest, since the trees despise them." she nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

Tanner seemed to think about it for a moment, then smiled and nodded. "Camping? Sounds good to me." he chuckled, tapping the top of his hat. It would provide everything they needed. He offered his arm to Dawn. "To the Pool of Tears then?"

Dawn smiled and took his arm. "Sounds like a pretty good plan to me, but first I need something that Alice said was necesarry so the trees won't attack us." she said. "It's odd, but apparently it works." she said and walked over to Tanner's closet. She looked around a bit, then reached in and started feeling. Sure enough, her hand came across it, an invisible umbrella. She pulled it out and opened it up, pointing it at Tanner. To him, she had dissapeared.

"Ah! My invisible umbrella! Poor thing hasn't seen the light of day since Alice was here.." Tanner smiled and moved forward, his hand finding the umbrella easily and he brushed it off. Once behind the umbrella himself, he could see Dawn again. "Good plan." he smiled at her.

"Thank Alice." Dawn smiled. "Her and the book." she said. "It's so the trees won't see us I guess, and when we step over their roots, it'll feel like an oversized bug to them."

Tanner nodded in understanding and wrapped his hands around Dawn's on the umbrella's handle, smiling as he closed it and tucked it under his arm. "Very well! Let's be off! Auggie! Lock the front door!" he chimed. Auggie chimed back and ran back into the room once it was done, smiling at them both and waiting for something to happen.

Dawn blushed lightly and smiled, walking slightly ahead. She didn't have her gaurd up, thinking the card soilders were far away. However, every time something chirped, squacked, or moved, she'd look in that direction, making her look paranoid. She yelped as a hedgehog crawled near her foot. If she hadn't seen it in time, she probably would've kicked it, but luckily, she just jumped. "Jesus!" she yelled out.

Tanner laughed a little at Dawn as she jumped at the hedgehog and he simply tipped his hat to the creature in greeting before walking alongside her. "A little jumpy, aren't you?" he laughed teasingly and Auggie, who was on her other side simply smiled up at her.

Dawn looked at him with a slack jaw, completely surprised. "Well no duh I'm jumpy! Did you see how fast those card soilders moved?! I'm not getting caught, that's for damn sure." she said and shook her head. "No way in hell."

"No, you won't get caught." Tanner chuckled, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and hugging her closer, as if comforting her. "We closed the door on those card soldiers in that other world. It'll take them hours to find another way around." he smiled. "They'll have to travel by foot, after all. And even if the Red Queen sends out more soldiers, they won't know where to look for us without that first group's report." he chuckled. "So in other words, we have a good few hours lead on them all. By the time they figure everything out, we'll be safe in the Forest of Shadows, lounging beside the Pool of Tears."

Dawn nodded. "Right." she said. She knew the Pool of Tears was her only other way home, but she wasn't planning to take it, not yet at least. She let out a soft sigh and took out the book. She flipped through and started reading about the Red Queen. "Hm... she has to have some kind of weakness.."

"Yes, her massive ego." Tanner laughed.

"Oh her massive butt." Auggie shrugged and they both burst into laughter. Auggie then started to sing a little chant, Tanner joining in loudly. "Down with the queen! The woman all in red! The day we all cheer for her is the day she loses her head! OFF WITH HER HEAD! Off with her head! There'll be heaven on Earth when the Red Queen is dead!" they sang, laughing more.

Dawn chuckled lightly. She was feeling a little cranky herself, since she pretty much quit smoking cold turkey. Dawn thought. "Hmmm... that would make a pair of my skinny jeans her worst enemy I guess..." she said more to herself. She heard a meow from next to her and picked up Tony, since he was tired of walking.

Tanner and Auggie laughed lightly as Tanner began to dance a little as he walked and Auggie bounced around. He then brought himself to her side and took her arm with his hand, smiling up at her. "You have a cute kitty."

Dawn looked down at him and smiled. "Yeah, he's pretty cute... except when he's chewing up my pillows." she said. "I'm sure my mom doesn't miss either of us right now." she shrugged. In fact, her mother was probably already drunk off her dry martinis.