The sound of the gears and pistons at work were annoying, but it didnโt seem to disturb the dormouse much, he was almost falling asleep above one of the levers of the big machine. His eyelids became heavy and he gave a lazy sigh, then closed his eyes for a moment and almost fell asleep until-
The heavy steps of the thin metal legs of an eyepot echoed in the room, one of his guards came running, it seemed to be very nervous.ย โWhat I told you about interrupting me when Im trying to sleep?!โย The eyepot moved from side to side, trying to tell him something, clearly it could not since it couldnโt speak. The rodent stood up straight and began to move to leave the room.
What surprised him is to see the other guards equally nervous. โWhat the hell is going on here?"ย He grunted and moved to one of the rooms, there were large screens showing what some selected eyepots viewed, in the end this system would be useful after all.ย Some of the screens didnโt work, which seemed strange, the system was new, right?ย He hit the control panel trying to make those screens work but didnโt work.ย He looked at the other screens and everything seemed normal, some eyepots were even olazing, he would take care of them later.
A sudden movement of one of the camerasgot his attention, he could see something or โsomeoneโ, long black hair, blue dressโฆ Was she?ย โโฆAliceโ
What was the reason of her visit? The dormouse think for a moment. Ah yes, the train.ย The train the dollmaker told them to build in return of helping them getting their revenge on Hatter, supposedly it was going to help Alice forget the past that tormented her, or so he said.ย The mouse believed in his words, and went to work as soon as he could. Maybe Alice was here to thank hare and him. Yes, thatโs it!
The Dormouse activated a lever that opened a small door and let out some kind of microphone, he hit to test if it worked. The speakers activated and he approached the microphone.ย โAlice, what a surprise to see you! I hope you like our work! Come in, come in,ย Itโs cold outside.โ
It took Alice only a brief second to realise who it was that was addressing her. The voice was far too nasal, high pitched and squeaky to be the hatters and there were only two other creatures in this realm that would be lurking about. Alice exhaled sharply while crossing her arms over her chest. Her dress waved as a breeze caught the fabric. Despite the heavy machinery, steam and iron clad structures Hatters realm seemed uncharacteristicallyย cold and uninviting. Alice observed the small microphone with a sceptic expression. She didnโt trust anything in the Hatterโs realm. Not since last time she visited him where he had played with some cruel and barbaric experiments on the Dormouse and March hare. Not to mention the battle she ended up having to go through. However, she kept a respectable distance from the odd contraption before she finally rose her voice.
ย ย ย -โDormouse, I am on the look for Hatter. Where has he gone to? Is he not taking in guests these days or have he simply just gone missing? I have some very important matters to discuss with him and it can only be too slow before I get to addressย him.โ
Alice replied in her usual harsh and direct tone of voice. It often came off as being crude and too direct to most people. She wasnโt one to sugar coat anything in her life. No one had done it to her and only by being direct and honest could people know where they had one. Her voice echoed off the metallic surroundings with a dull ring. Various industrial like chimneys spewed thick snakes of tar like smog up into the grey skies. Wonderland was not itself anymore. This needed to stop. NOW!
ย ย ย -โI am not a woman of patience. I need to see him as soon as I can. Itโs a matter of life and death!โ