Once Upon a Time 1. Chapter 1

Jefferson shook the trembling girl quickly, repeating his words a bit slower so they would sink in. "It is very important you remember what I'm telling you. Find…"

The girl nodded her head in understanding and swallowed, shaking the shock from her face. "Find Mr. Gold," she said. "And tell him….Regina locked me up." Even though her memories were gone, and she did not know the name she spoke was the very one of the woman—the only woman outside the staff that came to see her—who leered at her with an evil smirk of triumph, she spat out her name with a hint of disgust.

"Good." Jefferson nodded and handed her the 'borrowed' nurse's coat. "He'll protect you." He helped her slip the coat on and led her through the door. After seeing that the only one down there was the sweeping man in blue coveralls, he herded her towards the back exit. He got to the steps and pointed. "That will lead you outside. Go!"

"Wait!" The girl looked at him, her eyes incredulous. "And where am I supposed to find this Mr. Gold? I can't even remember what outside looks like!"

As an afterthought, Jefferson pulled out a folded piece of paper from his back pocket. "I've mapped it out for you. Just follow the directions, and move quickly." He placed it into her palm and ushered her forward. "Go, now!" He watched her race up the stairs, and made sure she was able to exit before he turned away to head down another hallway. "One down…" he muttered. With his pace steady yet swift, he came before his destination. The name plate beside the door was coated in dust and cobwebs; the only thing clean was the doorknob, used only to allow her leave for the restroom. He paused with the key above the knob; she had been in there just as long as the other girl, if not longer. He wasn't sure about it anymore, time didn't make sense here until Emma had arrived. With a small shake of his shoulders he jammed the key in and swung the door open.

She was sitting in the corner, her pillow case laying across her lap in torn and knotted shreds. She looked up from tying a knot and stared at him. Her dark hair hung around her shoulders like a blanket, her eyes large and green in confusion as her tiny mouth tightened up as if she were keeping her voice locked. She, like the other girl, simply stood to her feet and waited. Her eye twitched suspiciously as he took a step toward her.

He outstretched his hand for her. "Come on," he said, his voice a little softer this time.

She moved faster than the other girl, and slapped her hand into his without much hesitation. "You're taking me out of here?" she whispered, her words coming out more as a statement than a question. When he just nodded back at her and tugged her forward towards the door, she quickly moved behind him.

He ran with her down the hall, making his way towards the door the first girl went through. In the back of his mind he heard the faint slapping of the girl's feet against the cold concrete. Shit, she didn't even have any shoes. They broke through the door and he squinted at the light before him. He turned and saw the girl blocking her face. Even though the sun was behind the clouds, it was much brighter than any light she had seen in the last who knew how many years. He tugged at her arm. "This way," he urged.

The girl darted a quick look backwards towards the asylum before sucking in a breath and following after him, his fist still holding a tight clutch over her hand. She hardly noticed the sharp stings the broken twigs and rocks beneath her feet caused her. Her eyes narrowed onto Jefferson's mode of transportation. A matte black motorcycle that seemed to have seen better days. As they reached the bike, he helped her mount it and reached behind her to open up the compartment to pull out a helmet. He placed it upon her head, snapped down the visor to shield her face, and gunned the engine. He snapped on his own helmet and sped off.

**xXx**

When they approached his manor he helped her off, wincing as he noticed the cuts and bruises already forming around her feet from the escape. He ushered her through the front door and into the living room. He watched as she eyed everything around her. It was then he noticed she still held something in her hand, her pillowcase which she had destroyed. When she turned to the side he saw she had knotted it into the shape of a rabbit.

She then turned those big green eyes at him. "Why have you brought me here?"

Jefferson crossed over towards the kitchen. "Would you care for some tea?" he called out to her. "Or something to eat? I'm sure you're starving, and those meals you've been eating at the hospital can hardly be called food." Without waiting for an answer, he already started heating the water and prepared a plate of biscuits and cheeses.

When he returned, she was sitting on the couch, picking at her knotted cloth rabbit's ears and glancing around. He set the tray of tea and food before her, waving his hand for her to start.

She simply looked down at the teapot and teacups, her thin brow arching as she looked up at him through her inky black hair. "I only take tea with friends," she stated firmly.

Jefferson lowered himself into the easy chair across from her. "We were friends," he said lowly, watching as she straightened up to look at him fully. "A long time ago."

"Oh, is that so? Then why don't I remember you?"

Jefferson smiled and nodded, gesturing back to the tea set. "Please, have something to eat. It won't do me any good for you to die of starvation." When she didn't move, he sighed and leaned forward to pour himself a cup. "It's not going to hurt you to have some tea." After pouring his own cup, he poured one for her. Then, after a brief thought, he grabbed a biscuit.

She narrowed her eyes but took the warm cup with one hand. "So," she started. "I'm only good to you alive." She took a sip and inwardly shivered as the hot liquid made its way down her throat. "What use do I have for you?"

Jefferson leaned backwards into his seat and absently placed his feet upon the coffee table. "You are capable of becoming a powerful ally. We have a history, you and I, a tumultuous one at best…but still, a history."

The girl tilted her head and set the cup down. "What history do you speak of? I have not seen you before this day. You wear the same scrubs as the hospital staff, yet you have never been one of the very few who would come to my cell."

"There is a woman," Jefferson said. "A very powerful, evil, manipulative woman, who—in a way—is responsible for your being locked up. I have helped her in the past believing she would help me in return, but…" He was a fool. He shook his head with a sorrowful and maddening laugh and then downed his cup. "She has crossed me for the last time. I released another like you, and I hope she and her companion will also become an ally against this woman. I cannot go against her directly, but you, you can."

Her green eyes narrowed even more with suspicion. "How?" she demanded.

"You, unlike me, have nothing to lose."

She smirked sardonically and then ran her tongue over her teeth as she realized it. "That's why you broke me out, isn't it?" she whispered. "You claim we were friends once, so because of this 'history' you think I'll be part of this…alliance?"

Jefferson smiled and stood to his feet. "I'm hoping." He nodded his head and held out a hand for her. "Come, why don't you get cleaned up and we'll talk some more afterwards? I'm sure you'll have more questions….not all of which I'll be able to answer, but I'll do my best."

With a scoff she stood to her feet as well and swiped her hands down the front of her hospital gown. "Right. Forgive me if I don't seem too trusting of you. I've noticed that following strange people can often lead to even stranger places." She glanced around to the luxurious walls surrounding her. "But I suppose the view is much better this time around than in that cell. Well then, old friend, what am I to call you?"

"Jefferson," he answered. "My name is Jefferson, Miss Liddell."

Her green eyes flashed with a hint of menace at the sound of her last name from this stranger's mouth. "Alice," she said through clenched teeth. "My name is Alice."

**xXx**

**A/N: **First chapter! And I didn't put it in the crossover section because it's mostly in 'Once Upon a Time' setting and not 'American McGee's.' I just borrowed Alice for it. But if it's better off in that section then I'll change it.

_Once Upon a Time _and characters belong to abc and respected writers.

_Alice Liddell_ belongs to American McGee, Spicy Horse, EA…and whatever else.


	2. Chapter 2

_In Fairy Tale Land_

There he sat, still stitching and cutting and measuring. His fingers were thick and damn near impenetrable due to the numerous scars from his constant stabbing with needles or snips from shears. To the side of him was his most recent pile of blood-stained fabric swatches and nearly finished hats that he deemed unworthy or unusable—or better yet, without magic…with a hint of blood. He didn't know how long he had been in this large room, filled wall to wall with fabrics and brims and patterns for hats. Any hat he had finished he had either thrown aside or shred to pieces out of rage.

The Red Queen's demands were outlandish, and had little to no chance of being met. The hat was not made by him after all; it simply chose him as a temporary host home. The hat made its own rules, and followed none.

And now that very hat was the beginning of his madness…that, and the unconditional love for his daughter. She deserved the best, whether she wanted it or not. The magic the hat brought was seductive, he found himself craving it more than he craved the sustenance of food when he first found it. Then its power seduced another, and he found himself doing the evil Queen Regina's bidding because of it…used the hat for powers that should not had been taken lightly. He followed Regina's orders because she gave him something in return that was equally seductive as the hat's power—riches.

But then his darling wife died, and when he realized his daughter would need him more than ever, he turned his back on the hat, locking it inside a proper box and storing it high above Grace's reach. He abandoned the Queen and hid himself and Grace within the woods for their own safety, scourging the woods for mushrooms to sell. It wasn't as glamorous as the life Regina had given him prior, but it made him happy. He lost his wife because of his greed, he wouldn't lose his child. He learned a bit too late that the magic of Wonderland was not worth him losing a loved one.

That damned hat. It was his undoing. Its rules forbade him from leaving, along with Regina's treachery. And there he sat, in that large room filled with cloth and construction pieces, feverously snipping and sewing and tossing. The one he was currently working on was complete, and with a high pitched giggle he placed it upon his head and clapped. "It is finished!" he cheered, standing from his stool and turning on his heels. And as suddenly as it had appeared, his mad merriment descended into a disheartened frown and he ripped the hat from his head. "And it is shit!" He stomped on the failed article like a child throwing a tantrum. "No!" he cried. "No, no, no!" Another failure, another piece of shit ruined hat to add to the many piles. He would never get out of her…never! He wasn't even sure why he even bothered anymore. His Grace…he'd never see her smiling face, never tuck her in bed again, never see her grow up…

"Halt!"

Jefferson paused in mid-kick to the hat. What was that? He moved towards the only window he had in his room and stuck his head out. A card guard was in the garden below, his double ended-axe raised high in the air. Jefferson pushed himself through the window more. Who would dare enter the Red Queen's garden this time? His wide eyes quickly skimmed over the maze of perfectly manicured bushes, and then he saw her.

She was a vision. A dark-haired beauty small and dainty-like. She stood her ground against the card guard, holding something—was it a knife?—close to her body. The blue of her dress stood out against the reds and greens of the foliage of the maze, her white ruffled apron lightly splattered with red. She dodged the card guard's assault and ran up behind him, kicking out a foot into the middle of his back, sending him stumbling into the carnivorous plants that hid within the leafy walls. Another card guard rushed at her, his blade pointed straight for her middle as he screamed out some sort of war cry. The girl twirled so majestically, as if in a dance, and evaded his attack. She slashed forward with the blade in her hand, slicing the guard's arm. When he dropped his weapon in surprise, she moved the blade's position in her fist stabbed backward, the knife sticking into his gut. After a little twist, she yanked the blade out and shoved the guard away with her foot, rolling him into the same direction as the first guard.

She placed her hands on her hips, almost haughtily, and tilted her head to the side as she watched the vines wrap around the guard, tightening and squeezing and silencing his desperate screams. Then the girl looked down and took notice of the fallen double ended axe. For someone so petite, she picked it up with ease and swung it around as if it were a weapon she had used on a daily basis. Good timing too, for two more guards turned the corner, their shock apparent upon their grayish faces.

"Intruder!" One yelled, pointing at her with such unnecessary vigor that Jefferson scoffed and hoped the girl would get rid of him first. As if mirroring his thoughts, the girl aimed her focus at the highly observant guard and ran straight towards him. He swung his axe downward as the other guard sailed his spear into the air at her. She swung the flat end of the axe at the spear, knocking it against the spear's handle and shattering it into splintered rain. With such poise and delicacy she seemed to tiptoe onto the thick handle of the guard's axe, and with lightning fast malice, she heaved her axe down, thudding the blade straight into his skull. Holding her axe's base for balance, she swung her legs in an arc and smacked the second guard in the face with the heels of her boots. When he fell to the ground she reared back and grasped the knife she had placed down earlier, slamming the blade into his throat. When he stopped twitching and the gurgling blood from his mouth had ceased, she stood up and lowered herself into a crouch, pushing the bodies into the hedges. She used the greenery around her as if they were her very own garbage disposal.

She glanced at her surroundings quickly, and when she noticed she was alone, she wiped the blade clean with her apron and then lifted the hem of her dress to expose a holster for the blade.

Jefferson hadn't realized his mouth was so agape until a small droplet of spittle emerged at the corner. He hastily swiped it away and watched the girl cautiously make her way through the maze. She was magnificent. She was alluring and dangerous and swift and merciless towards the Red Queen's idiotic guards. She was…an outsider.

At the revelation, Jefferson fell back from the window. The hat. It somehow found a new owner. Jefferson lowered himself to his knees and crawled up to the window, peeking over the edge of the sill. He had to get out of this room. He had to find that girl. Scratch that, he had to find that girl before anyone else did. Because her presence meant one thing and one thing only: The doorway was open.


	3. Chapter 3

_In Storybrooke_

After cleaning herself up, Alice found herself rummaging through a large armoire that Jefferson had briefly mentioned had a spare change of clothes for her. She tugged on the long-sleeved black and gray sweater that came down past her hips. She picked up the buckled knee-high boot that was strewn against the door of the closet and studied it. It seemed…almost familiar. With a shrug she pulled the boot and its twin on over her black leggings and faced the mirror that was nailed to the inside door of the armoire, ignoring the creepy fact that the items fit her perfectly.

She definitely wasn't too sure about this Jefferson fellow, but he had broken her out of that damned cell. That cell… Alice tucked a fallen lock of dark hair behind her ear and stared into her reflection. It had been so long since she had seen herself, she had almost forgotten what she had looked like. She leaned forward and tapped the mirror with her nail, arching a brow at the cool, smooth surface, and the clacking noise her nail made against it.

Alice didn't like this mirror. It wasn't that she didn't like what she saw…it was more so the fact that she didn't like the feelings it brought out of her. She couldn't describe it, couldn't explain it, but the sight of her in this mirror unnerved her. The ornate and detailed wrought iron that framed the mirror seemed less like decoration and more like a prison to her, trapping her image and existence inside. It was as if part of her was ensnared in this glassy, polished, identical world. And try as she might, she couldn't get in and her reflection couldn't get out. She pushed her palm against the surface, her lips curling up in frustration—whether at the mirror or herself, she couldn't tell—when she discovered again that it was solid, and therefor impenetrable.

With a rocking step backward, she shook her head and cradled her forehead within her fingertips. Did she just try to walk through a mirror? A tearful laugh bubbled through her lips and she looked back at the image standing before her. "No wonder I was locked up in that cell," she muttered, her green eyes blaring straight forward.

The more she stared at the girl before her, the more anger it rose inside her. She felt the rage within the deep pit of her stomach, boiling and rising and begging to be released. Her chest rose and fell with her ragged breaths and she felt her heart pound behind her ribs like a thundering beast. "Out…" she whispered. "Out…get out…" Whether she made the command to herself or her reflection, she wasn't quite sure. She clenched her teeth and balled up her fists. Her reflection, perfectly framed inside the pretty iron border…it was mocking her. No matter how far she would go, there was always something…somewhere…that had her trapped.

No longer able to stand it, she gripped her fingers around the iron frame. The nails acted more as leverage for the mirror to hang on, and she tried to loosen it from its post, but the iron frame made it too heavy for her to lift off completely. With a broken cry she pounded her fist against the mirror, the action rippling her reflection. As the tears burned down her face, she reached deep inside the wardrobe and pulled out an umbrella that rested in the corner. With her teeth bared in a raging grin and her hair falling in strands before her face, she turned the umbrella around so that the handle faced outward, and she swung it forward like a bat, smashing it straight into the mirror. She cried out swears and curses as she repeatedly slammed the umbrella against the offending reflection, her assaulting movements coming harder and faster as she shattered the mirror over and over.

**xxx**

Jefferson heard her outbreak from his seat downstairs. He closed his eyes as he listened to her scream, listened to the shards fall down to the ground like sharp, glittering, rain. He wasn't entirely sure why he put her in the only room upstairs with a mirror inside. Even the bathroom was without one despite its large and grandeur size. He opened his eyes and stared straight out to the coffee table sitting in front of him. His gaze landed on the teacup she had left there. The tea inside was beyond cold now, the liquid filling the cup nearly to the top still. She hardly drank any, save for that one sip, and now it was sitting there before him, almost mocking him with a repetition of her sharp words, _"I only take tea with friends."_

* * *

_In Fairy Tale Land_

Which way did she go? Jefferson had turned away from the window to grab the hat he had just violently discarded and yank it down upon his head, and now looking out the opening he couldn't see the girl. "No!" he hissed, practically shoving his body halfway through the small window. His eyes rapidly darted around, looking for that bright blue piece of fabric to jump out at him. After a moment of searching, he saw a flash of blue dart from the maze, she was heading deeper into the maze of shrubs, trying to find the way out. He made a quick mental note of where she was and turned back to his sewing table. He grabbed a long sheet of fabric and twisted it, knotting it up with other yards of cloth. He worked quickly, stealing quick glances out the window to keep tabs of her movement.

When he believed it long enough to make it to the ground, he tied it off around the posts of his working table and flung the remainder of the cloth out the window. Knowing that she was armed, he encased his cutting shears and gingerly placed them into his boot. He glanced outwards again, wondering if the girl had taken out all of the guards from down below. Who knew how many she had encountered before then? Seeing his way out, he squeezed his frame through the window and carefully started to climb down.

It wasn't until he reached past midway that he realized he had grossly miscalculated the length of the fabric. He was running out of his makeshift rope and there was still about an eight foot drop beneath him. "Shit," he muttered, attempting to undo a knot above his head with one hand, hoping to add some length. But it wasn't meant to be, and his grip was lost and he fell the remaining distance. He collided to the ground with a hearty smack and another swear. With a grumble, he stood to his feet and dusted himself off. Then he ran off in the same direction as the girl.

He knew this maze, he had mentally solved it dozens of times whenever he would stare at it from his window during his quick, short breaks. Remembering where he last saw her, he easily slipped through the maze to track her down.

It wasn't long before he found her; she was furiously stomping through the maze, frustration apparent through her body language. "Excuse me madame," Jefferson called out.

She whirled around, immediately reaching for her knife. He placed both hands up in the universal 'I mean no harm' pose and gently bowed his head. Her eyes were large and almond shape, the vast green of them practically glowing in comparison to the pale pallor of her skin. Beneath those large eyes were shadows, a haunting bruise of pain…or lack of sleep, he couldn't yet tell. She was tiny, much shorter than women he had seen back home despite looking like a grown woman. Her lips were parted in bated breath as she waited for him to continue.

Jefferson slowly took a step forward. "I've noticed you are stuck in the maze," he said. "I know the way out."

The girl narrowed her eyes but moved her hand away from the knife. "Who are you," she whispered. "And how is it that you know the way out?"

He looked over his shoulder and motioned for her to follow. "I think that it'd be better if we continue this conversation _outside_ of the Red Queen's land. I saw the way you handled her incompetent guards, but still, I'd rather be outside of this damned maze than be found by them…it'd only slow us down." His smile grew when she took a step towards him and agreed. "My name is Jefferson, Miss…?"

"Alice," she said finally. "My name is Alice Liddell."

"Alice," he repeated, her name hissing out of his lips so smoothly. "Wonderful." Then, he gently patted her back and led her away.

Their time in the maze was awkward at first, neither sure of who the other was or exactly what they were doing in the maze to begin with. After a few moments of deafening silence, Alice started. "You said you saw me with the guards. How?"

Jefferson cautiously glanced up at the towers beyond the maze. "I was in the castle."

Alice followed his gaze and made a face when she saw the sickly white structure. "If you could see me…can anyone else see us?"

"If they had we would have been apprehended by now. Or at the very least, we would have heard the clanking of the guards running after us."

"Yes," Alice said. "They're not very knowledgeable on how to sneak up on people." After a grunt from Jefferson to show he agreed, it fell silent between them again. It wasn't until they finally reached the end of the maze that words were spoken once more.

Jefferson outstretched his arms to signify the exit. "And here we are! The maze's exit. I do so hope you enjoyed the little tour."

Alice let out a small laugh and turned to look at the Red Queen's land now that it was behind them. "What were you doing in that tower? And why did you help me?"

"I'd been imprisoned by the Red Queen," he told her simply. "And when I saw that there was someone who could actually stand up to her guards on her own turf, I was mesmerized. I couldn't let you be trapped in her maze; I had to help you get out."

"For someone who was imprisoned you sure escaped quickly," she noted.

Jefferson shrugged. "Shows what a flawed security system she has, no?" He gestured for her to walk off the path and sat beneath the shade of a large mushroom. "So, Alice," he said, watching her as she sat down in front of him. "Exactly what were you doing in the Red Queen's land?"

Alice shrugged and tucked her legs beneath her, absentmindedly brushing the back of her fingers down the length of her blood-stained apron. As if just now noticing the state of her apron, she picked at one of the spots of blood that was now drying to a deep reddish-brown color. "I know nothing of this Red Queen you keep speaking of, or her land. I just followed the cat down the hole and it brought me here."

Jefferson cocked his head to the side. "A…cat?" He had never heard of a cat leading someone to Wonderland. Had the magic changed? Well, it was magic after all…unpredictable and following no one's rules but its own. It was controlled by no one, and instead was the creature doing the controlling. "What did this cat look like?"

"Frightful," Alice shrugged. "Not like any cat I have ever seen. It was larger than a normal cat, yet smaller than a dog. It was so skinny, as if it had been malnourished for quite some time…but it was quick and spry like a normal and healthy creature."

"I see," Jefferson said, even though he didn't.

But Alice didn't hear him and continued on. "I thought life would be different after…everything," she murmured. "You would assume that it would be, anyway. After all, one would think that after ten years in the asylum would cure me but…here I am in another hallucination."

His ears perked up at the sudden turn the conversation was heading into, and Jefferson was not able to conceal his shock at her words. "A…a hallucination?" he whispered.

Alice hardly noticed his disbelief. "Of course," she said simply. "My hallucinations started after I awoke from comatose state I fell into after my family's murder. I suffered these hallucinations for…perhaps a year? And then…gone. I was done with them. They had left me, and I was able to start my life over again. Yet…" She vaguely gestured around her with a flick of her wrists.

She thought this was all a hallucination? Jefferson wasn't sure whether to applaud his luck of feel sorry for the damn girl. He listened to her go on about the hallucinations she'd had before in the asylum, giving him details about the sickening 'treatments' she received because of them. Leeches, laudanum, torture…the poor waif before him had them all on nearly a daily routine.

"What if it's not a hallucination?" he found himself saying. When she looked him in the eyes he gave a wild grin. "Say you're not mad, Alice. Say you are possibly…dreaming?"

"A dream?"

"It could be possible. I have had very vivid dreams before."

Alice shook her head and waved her hands before her. "No, it couldn't possibly. We've been talking and walking for what seems hours. I feel as if I would have awoken by now."

"Silly girl," Jefferson chided. "Time means nothing in dreams. Why else do you only remember the last moment of your dream before you awaken? How many other…worlds, you could say…do you think you have already crossed within your slumber? When I dream, I have many hundreds of visions in what could only be one night."

Alice narrowed her eyes as she took in his proposition. "Suppose you're right," she said. "Well then, I am tired of talking about myself. I've done enough of it in the asylum and when I'm awake, I'd prefer not to do it in my dreams as well. Tell me your story," she insisted. "Tell me why you were imprisoned in that tower."

Jefferson gave her a brief summary of his maddening tale. He told her how he had been tricked by an old business partner into bringing them both into Wonderland, how they had freed her father from the Red Queen's vault. He told her how the old business partner abandoned him, turned him over to the Red Queen so she and her father could escape—purposefully he left out the rule of the hat and its doorway—and he had been a prisoner in the Red Queen's tower ever since.

"How awful," Alice finally whispered, she had been stark still while he revealed his story, her eyes wide and mouth parted as she intensely listened.

"That wasn't the worst of it," he forlornly muttered. "Outside of this world is my daughter. She's alone. I left her, promising I'd be home for tea. She's waiting for me and I can't ever leave." He stared out at the grass that was spread out between them. He could see his Grace now, sitting alone at her little table with the ragged makeshift rabbit he created for her…alone with her old tea set and no one to take tea with.

Alice sighed and flopped down onto her side, propping herself up with her elbow as she reached out and plucked a frayed strand that stood out against his jacket cuff. "This is by far the most intricate dream I've had," she said, almost to herself. "Well, since this is my dream, I suppose I can make the rules. So then…" She looked up at him and gave a delicate smile at the sight of the crumpled hat that sat upon his head. "…Hatter," she said, pointing to his hat when he frowned in question. "…what has to be done to get you to your daughter in time for tea?"

Jefferson gave her an odd smile that bared his teeth. "Whatever it takes, Miss Liddell."


	4. Chapter 4

_'Once Upon a Time' and characters still belong to its creators/writers and abc._

_Alice Liddell still belong to American McGee, Spicy Horse, etc...and if you hadn't noticed, this is American McGee's Alice, not the Disney one...she's a much more darker and twisted version. =)_

_Enjoy!_

_In Storybrooke_

The sight of her put him in an awkward position. Inside he could feel his heart wrenching at the sight of her, crumpled down to the ground with her sobbing face in her hands, surrounded by the ruins and debris of what was left of the mirror she had heatedly assaulted. His gaze drifted up to the remains hanging against the armoire door. All that lingered was the ornate iron frame, dangling on its nails empty and hollow.

Much like the girl sitting before it.

He wasn't entirely sure of how to approach her; part him wanted to drop to his knees and wrap his arm around her like the little fragile bird she was, while the other part of him wanted to yank her to her feet and slap her back to her senses. Instead, he quietly took a step forward so as not to startle her. He lowered down to one knee, kneeling down but still a few feet from her. He opened his mouth to speak but licked his lips first. "Miss…Miss Liddell?" he whispered.

She shot her head up with a hiss of a gasp, turning her head to glance at him over her shoulder. Her green eyes caught the light of the chandelier above, her eyes shining dangerously like sharp splintered glass. For a moment a fire raged behind the embers of green, but it was gone before Jefferson could make any sense of it. As if remembering what she had just done, she looked at the ground sheepishly. "I'm sorry about your mirror," she said softly. "I don't know what's come over me."

Jefferson stood to his feet and held out a hand for her. "I understand," he assured her. "I'm not a fan of mirrors myself. Hardly any rooms have one in this house."

"I can't explain it," Alice continued. "But for some strange reason I can't look at a mirror—no matter how big or small or how pretty—without feeling like I'm trapped inside of it." She was too busy looking down, assessing the damage she had caused, to notice the small gulp Jefferson took. After taking in the sight of her carnage, she looked him dead in the eye. "Silly, isn't it?"

Jefferson felt his throat tighten. "No…" he managed to utter out. "Not at all. Some Native American tribes today refuse to have their photographs taken in fear that their soul will be trapped in the photo."

"Yes, but that is a tribe with their holy beliefs and not one single girl and her curiously odd disdain for mirrors."

He simply shrugged and pulled her up by her arms. "Just trying to make you feel better."

"I appreciate the attempt."

He started to lead her back downstairs, completely ignoring the mess she had left. When she reached the bottom steps she began to look around his empty house. Even though it was large and had—as far as she could tell—every room furnished, there was no sign of anyone else living in there with him. She looked at a solitary rocking chair set up against a corner in the foyer, small and clearly not intended for an adult, and in its seat sat a large stuffed animal. She drifted from his lead and stood before the toy. It was a large, white rabbit, looking rather dashing in its coat vest and a gilt pocket watch stitched onto the front pocket.

Jefferson watched as she gingerly picked it up and held it up to her eye level. He hated that creature. Its sole purpose was to mock him, an ever-lasting reminder of what could not be his. Regina saw to that herself.

Alice carefully set the plush animal back into its seat, giving a tender twist upon its nose. "And where is the child, Jefferson?"

He looked at her from his post at the bottom of the staircase. "There is none," he answered coldly.

"Hmm…" She turned away from the animal and swept past him to enter the other room. "Curiouser and curiouser," was all she said in return.

* * *

_In Fairy Tale Land_

As they walked through the giant mushrooms, Jefferson insisted they stay off the path to avoid the Red Queen's minions, he fidgeted with his fingers and plucked at ripped and torn gloves he wore. "So, tell me Alice," he began. "Tell me about how you came to be here? I must know."

Alice was waving her blade in an arc by her side, carelessly slicing through the large blades of grass that nearly reached her middle. "Oh must you?" she countered. "Well…I was running errands for this old wet nurse who used to 'treat' me back at Rutledge—the asylum—and, truth be told, I get distracted quite easily. I saw this strange cat off to the side, and it was _smiling_ at me. I mean…actually _grinning._ After it had caught my attention, it turned around and simply walked away, glancing back at me one time as if inviting me to follow. So follow I did. It brought me to nearly the outskirts of town, where there were trees and greenery. I ducked behind this tree with large and twisted roots, and when I got closer I saw that there was a hole beneath them. But it was the strangest thing," she whispered, her face twisting in frustration as she tried to remember. "It wasn't just a hole right there in the ground, I could see the bottom of it…and it was laid out tile, as if it were a room. And then…well, I fell!"

He listened as she recounted her journey, and he marveled at the fact that she had landed in the very same room he encountered each time, a room filled with many doors and many windows, each one leading somewhere else. But what he didn't understand was which world she herself came from. Her manner of dress was absolutely nothing like anything he had ever seen, not even in Wonderland. She spoke of creations and inventions he had never even dreamed of. She spoke of machines that ran on tracks, and lamps that filled the streets to light the way for night life, and buildings that reached the clouds and were not even called castles.

She truly was from another world. It made him wonder about all the other worlds that existed. He rubbed his chin as he thought, and eventually came to the conclusion that every door inside the hat had its own portal in its own world. Her world had a hole in the ground led by a mysterious cat while he had a magical hat. "Curiouser and curiouser," he murmured.

"What?" Alice looked at him with one thin brow arched.

"Oh nothing," he said quickly. "When you came into this world, what did you come out of?"

"A mirror," she answered. "Just a plain mirror." She stopped and pointed to the right of them. "That mirror over there."

He followed the direction of her finger and felt his heart skip a beat. There it was…his exit. It stood there, practically floating in the grass, its glossy plane smooth and absolutely wondrous. "T-That mirror?" he asked, practically choking on his words in order to conceal his excitement.

Alice nodded simply as if it were nothing. Oh how wrong she was. "I know, silly, isn't it? Is it mad that I pray for a better hallucination?"

Jefferson found himself wandering over to it, his head nearly lolling back as his feet all but trampled over themselves. "It's not silly at all!" he cried. "Haven't you ever looked at a mirror and thought to yourself how wonderful it would be if just on the other side was a whole different world?"

With a shrug, Alice followed his clumsy lead. "I suppose." When they reached the bottom of the hill that the mirror sat upon, she glanced around apathetically. "I guess this dream isn't so bad," she admitted. "It's definitely more colorful and eventful than London."

"And to think, you would never have to go back to that drab London ever again if you stayed here!" Jefferson began to walk up the hill as if in a trance. There it was. He was so near! A few more steps and he could sink his fingers through the glass as if it were liquid. He looked back over his shoulder too see Alice wiping her finger over the glistening dew that rested upon a large mushroom. He stopped in his tracks. To the left of him: freedom, his Grace, his sanity. To the right: a young woman as mad as he, so close to being tricked and locked within this world, just as he was. He'd be no better than the Queen.

His thoughts were broken by the metallic clanking and ringing off in the distance, heavy footsteps thundered not far behind. His eyes bulged as he realized the Red Queen's guards had found them. "No!" he whispered.

Alice wiped her now wet hand on her apron, slowly looking into the guard's direction, her movements were slow and casual, as if they hadn't bothered her in the least and she just took notice of their existence. "Well," she purred. "Another fun-filled activity is in order. What do you say, Hatter? Care to join me?" She turned her head towards him, a menacing yet playful grin on her lips. When she saw that he stood there with his hand reaching for the mirror while still watching the guards, she frowned and faced him. "Hatter? What are you—?"

"Halt!"

"Oh, bleeding hell!" she snarled, whirling around to glance at the guards that rushed towards her. There were much more than there were before, close to twenty this time. Her eyes widened and she let out a swear. "Hatter! What are you doing?!"

"I'm sorry Alice!" he shouted. "But…my Grace, she needs me!"

One guard was faster than the others, and he raced at her with his spear aimed straight. Because she was so busy yelling at Jefferson, she dodged a moment too late, the tip of the spear grazing her flesh. She toppled backwards a few steps, slashing her knife forward with her other arm. She regained her footing and lowered to the ground, whipping out a foot to knock the card guard off his feet. She stabbed downward once into his middle, twisting the blade in a circle to bleed him out. As he screamed she looked down at her arm, her eyes wide in horror at the sight of her flesh ripped open and the red streaming down. "It's…it's not a dream," she breathed. "It's not a dream!" She turned her fury onto Jefferson. "Hatter!" she shrieked. "What have you done?!"

He was halfway through the mirror now, stepping in backward so his torso and face stuck out. "I have to!" he cried, his face pained as he watched her fight off the guards like a rabid animal.

She shoved one away from her with the heel of her boot, forcing him to knock into the men behind him and causing them to fall backwards like dominoes. "You despicable bastard!" she howled, turning around to confront him. There was blood streaked across her face thanks to the spurt from the vein in a guard's neck, her hair hung in twisted coils around her back, drenched in red. She clutched the knife in her fist and bared her teeth. "Hatter!"

His face twisted in agony as she watched her try to run up the hill, only to be caught around the ankle by one of the guards' hand. "I'm sorry…" he sobbed. "My daughter…" And with a final hang of his head, he vanished behind the mirror.


	5. Chapter 5

_'Once upon a Time' and characters belong to abc and respected writers/creators._

_Alice Liddell belongs to American McGee, Spicy Horse, etc..._

_In Storybrooke_

Jefferson watched as she calmly sank back down onto his plush sofa. She moved with such fluidity and refinement, she could hardly be seen as a young woman who just thrashed a mirror into oblivion. Despite her calm and her state of repose, her eyes burned with such a heated ferocity that Jefferson remained in the threshold of the living room and just watched her.

She turned just her head ever so slightly, angled it towards him, and cocked it to the side when she watched him watch her. "I said I was sorry," she said.

Her sudden words snapped him out of his trance. "Um…what?"

"The mirror," she reminded him. "Are you angry with me?"

"Oh. That."

She nodded her head once, her brows twisting in a frown. "Yes. That."

Jefferson moved away from the threshold and came to sit before her. "A mirror is nothing for me to get upset about."

Alice leaned back into the sofa, crossing her arms over her middle as she stared at him. "So…Jefferson…" She said his name in such a manner that sent the small hairs on the back of his neck stand at attention. "What's your story? Such a large house for a man living by himself."

He shrugged, his elbows balancing on his knees as he leaned forward to look at her. "Not originally my house. It came with an…agreement gone wrong and I got stuck with it."

Alice frowned again and looked around to the walls with the custom molding along the edges and the luxurious unlit marble fireplace with a matching mantle above it. "Right. Poor thing, you got such a short end of the stick."

Jefferson's upper lip twitched in a barely audible snarl. "It's pointless having a large house with no one to share it with," he snapped bitterly.

"Ah. This is true." Alice clasped her hands together and crossed her legs and looked directly at him. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you," she said quietly. She waited for him to meet her eyes before continuing. "How did you know I was in there? The asylum," she added when his face didn't show any recollection of her words.

"To be honest, I've known you were in there for a small while now," he admitted. "But I never had a way of getting you out."

"Until today," she said.

He nodded. "Until today."

She blinked. "And what made today any different from any other day?"

He had expected her questions; he even had a whole spiel mentally written down and was prepared to recite them perfectly for her, but the look in her eyes, the coldness behind them laced with the fiery embers of anger, they stilled him into complete and utter silence. The words that did manage to tumble from his lips made little to no sense at all, they could hardly be described as words in the first place.

"What am I to you exactly?" she probed. "You said we were friends once, explain, please."

Jefferson opened his mouth to speak, but the sharp knock against his front door stole his words. He turned his head towards the direction of the unexpected tapping. The scar that wrapped around his throat stood out to Alice's sight and she sucked in a breath of near horror. "I…um, the door…" He stood to his feet and absently brushed at the front of his pants. He wasn't entirely sure of who would be at his door, and he quietly slid open the small drawer in the end table that rested against the wall. As he expected, there was still a gun nestled safely beneath some random pieces of paper. Acknowledging the weapon with a slight grin, he went to the door.

When he pulled back the door, it took all his inner strength not to let his jaw drop. However, he couldn't help his eyes widening a bit. His unannounced guest just grinned at him, showing just a hint of the gleaming gold tooth that resided in his bottom jaw. Jefferson swallowed and stammered out what he hoped was a welcoming hello. His nerves calmed a bit when he saw the petite brunette just barely behind Gold, her giant blue eyes sending him warm smiles.

"Jefferson," Gold said. "You, my boy, are a very hard man to find."

"Thank you," he responded, ducking his head briefly and swinging his arm out to allow them entrance. "What can I do for you, Mr. Gold?"

Gold smiled and moved around him to stand in the foyer, his hand gripping the detailed handle of his cane. "It seems to me that you are a man with intentions that aren't entirely clear."

Jefferson cocked his head, inwardly thinking that Gold was a very similar man…but of course he would never admit that to the man before him. "I don't know what you mean."

"You released Belle," Gold said, gesturing towards her with an affectionate nod. "And gave her very specific instructions to find me and tell me exactly who had her locked up. While I thank you for that, I must ask…what is your intention? You clearly have something against Regina—I personally cannot blame you for that—and believe I can do something about it."

"She's betrayed me," Jefferson simply answered. "More than once. I want to go home but she won't let me. I want to return to my daughter."

Belle made a sound of empathy. "Oh, you poor man," she whispered. "That evil woman separated you from your own child?"

Jefferson frowned and turned towards her, his finger pointing to her for no apparent reason. "Wait…you know who she is now?"

Belle nodded, her own brows returning a frown to him, and she looked over towards Gold. "Well...yes. Doesn't everyone know who she is now? Don't you?" she asked Jefferson.

A wash of dread washed over him and he pulled his fingers back into a tight fist. "You're telling me…" he gasped. "That…that _everyone _now re…" He swallowed and clamped his jaw shut and spun around to see Alice standing behind him, her mouth curved into a maddening grin that bared her teeth.

She reeled back a fist and shot it forward, knocking him straight in the jaw and driving him down to the ground. She loomed over him with that frenzied grin still on her face. "Remembers," she finished.

* * *

_In Fairy Tale Land_

Jefferson stumbled out of the mirror, nearly landing on his face. He readied himself and turned back, glancing through the mirror to the girl he left behind. She had taken out most of the guards now, a few staying back in stupefied fear. His throat jerked as he saw the blood that ran down her arms, the rips and tears in her dress and the ragged skin beneath.

She stumbled towards the mirror, a new weapon in her hand. She had apparently wrenched it from one of the guards' hands, a large and heavy mallet. Despite its large size she held it skillfully and walked with it in her grasp with ease. Her lips were up in a scowl and her eyes blazed wildly. She let out a howling scream before raising the weapon backwards and slamming it down against the mirror's pane. She reared back and attacked again, yelling and shouting obscenities along with his name.

He took a step back and watched as she destroyed the mirror, her image behind it cracked and shattered. Behind one shard he could see a guard coming up towards her, but she chucked the weapon his way, slamming it into his chest and then taking off.

Jefferson hadn't realized he was panting in fear until a lock of wavy hair fell before his lips and flew in and out in rhythm with his gasping breath. He calmed his breathing and turned away. "There's nothing I can do," he said to himself. "I had to do it. I had to do it. I _had_ to do it!" He stumbled his way through the exit, its vortex embracing him and pulling him out.

It was the second time his landing would not be considered graceful. This time he landed on his side, his weight nearly crushing his elbow. He shouted out at the ache the fall brought him and he grunted as he tried to stand. His hand slapped against the black marble of the floor he came upon and he managed to get up to his knees before hearing the distinct sounds of swords unsheathing. He slowly raised his head and immediately closed his eyes as he realized where he was. "Shit," he muttered. His eyes burned with stinging tears that threated to spill, and his throat grew tight as he tried to keep from sobbing.

The guards in all black gripped him by his arms and forced him to stand. One approached and locked shackles around his wrist, then signaled for the other guards to take him away. Jefferson slumped in their grip as they dragged him away, defeated, broken. He watched the hat he had fallen out of grow smaller and smaller as he was lugged down the seemingly endless hallway.

He ignored her haughty laughter as he was all but thrown down at her feet. "Did you forget I had your hat in my possession?" Regina laughed, pushing him onto his back with the ball of her pointed boot. "Well, I'm glad you're here, Jefferson, I needed someone new to torture."

"I gave you what you wanted," he gasped, his mouth twisting into a pained snarl when she moved her boot to press against the base of his throat. "I took you there, you freed your father…let me return to Grace."

"_You_ were the one who left her," Regina snapped.

"And I came back for her!" His eyes flared up at hers with defiance and anger, his face nearly turning red because of the pressure of her boot.

Regina's eyes widened a bit and she let off some pressure. "True, you did…" She fully pulled back her boot and nodded at the guard to help him to his feet. She circled him as he tried to stand, her thoughts calculating and deliberating.

"So…let me go," Jefferson begged.

Regina stopped, her painted mouth pursed in thought. She turned her head towards him and then a cool smile broke onto her face. "How did you get out, Jefferson? I had the hat since then, and no one else has gone in. How is it that you are standing before me now?" When he didn't answer immediately she nodded at the guard behind him, who in turn smacked Jefferson in the back of the knee, forcing him to buckle back down to the ground. "You were the one who told me that the only way in or out is if the same number of persons enters and/or exits." She bent over so her wickedly beautiful face was level with his. "Who is the other person?"

"There is no other person," he said. He moved back away from her as far as he possible could. "Theirs is no…other person," he repeated, his voice breaking in shattered pants.

Regina narrowed her eyes and slowly stood up straight. "Right," she murmured. Then, she looked up at the guards and jerked her head to the side. "Lock him up until he decides to finally answer me."

"No, no!" Jefferson squirmed in their grip but was quickly over taken. "Regina! I gave you what you wanted—we had a deal! Please!" he begged. He yelled and screamed, yelled obscenities and empty threats even when they closed the door in his face.

After his yelling had died down, he collapsed down into the corner of his cell. How could he admit to her that he had done precisely the same thing she had done to him to a completely innocent girl he had never before met? As he slowly thumped his head against the door he couldn't decide which instance was worse.


	6. Chapter 6

_Once Upon a Time and characters belong to their respective writers and abc.  
Alice Liddell belongs to American McGee, Spicy Horse, EA etc..._

_In Storybrooke_

Jefferson gaped up at the petite woman who had hit him with enough force to knock him onto his ass. His breathing came out in short, hard, pants as he watched her loom over him. Her grin slowly melted into a silent snarl. When she made no move to attack him again, he slowly stood to his feet. His eyes darted behind her to where Gold stood with Belle half behind his shoulder. Gold's eyes were narrowed as he watched the scene before him, a small smirk caught between curiosity and amusement played on his lips.

Alice relaxed her stance and crossed her arms over her breasts. "Hello, Hatter," she said in a light and airy voice that did not match the sternness of her face.

"Alice," he breathed. "You…you remember who I am? And…what I did…" he muttered the last part. His mind raced with thoughts and emotions that flew by so quickly he couldn't really pinpoint exactly what he felt. When had her memory kicked in?_ Why_ had—no…_HOW _had it returned? "I understand no apology will ever make it right, Alice…but I did it—"

"To find your daughter," Alice said mockingly. "Yes, I remember the story you gave me. And albeit heinous, I can't say that your actions are fully without merit. But…you must understand why I'm still cross with you."

"Alice…"

"And where is this precious daughter, Hatter?" Alice held out her hands and twisted left and right at her waist as if searching for her. When obviously no daughter was to be seen, she turned back to Jefferson with simulated surprise. "No child?"

"Alice…" he began again.

She waved away any words he might have had with a frenzied wave of her hands. "No!" she snapped, her voice suddenly cracking as her throat threatened to close with tears. "No. You had me _trapped_…in Wonderland! All for your own selfish, _righteous_ desires of course…but _then—_"She held one finger in the air as her eyes flashed and her nostrils flared. "—You locked me up in some asylum beneath a hospital in _this_ world!" Alice took a step towards him and jabbed her finger into his chest, making him back up against the wall. "Having me trapped in one world not enough for you, _Hatter?_"

Belle watched the scene unfold before her, unsure of exactly how to feel. She focused on the young woman before her, and her breath hitched as a wave of recognition washed over her. "Alice?" she whispered. "Is that you?"

Alice lifted her burning gaze from Jefferson. Her eyes softened to a tiny smile and she let out a small breath of acknowledgement. "You," she whispered. "You were let out as well?" Then her smile vanished and she turned back at Jefferson who had now brought himself up to his feet. "_That's_ why!" she hissed. "That's why you didn't come for me until today? Because you were there for her?" Tears brimmed her eyes and threatened to fall, but she willed them to stay put. "You only came for me because you were already there for her…and the time seemed convenient!"

Jefferson shook his head and tried to hold out a hand for her. "No, no Alice…that's not true."

She stepped back from him. "Then why didn't you come for me before? I was in there for twenty-eight years!"

"I fucking got you out of Wonderland!" Jefferson roared, the sudden ferocity of his outburst forcing Alice to snap her mouth shut and just stare at him. With a groan he rubbed his temple and leaned against the wall. "I broke the hat's rule," he muttered. "For you. So you could live."

* * *

_In Fairy Tale Land_

It had been weeks since Jefferson had fallen into Regina's prison. For the first week she would come to his cell once a day and just stand on the other side of the barred door, her beautiful red lips up in a twisted smirk as she awaited his answer on how he escaped Wonderland.

"Really, it's such a simple question, Jefferson," she would say. "I simply don't understand why you won't answer me." She leaned forward a bit closer, wrapping her slim fingers around one bar. "Tell me how you escaped, and I'll return you to your daughter. You've been gone nearly a year, Jefferson, I know she misses you terribly."

Jefferson moved his head ever so slightly. "A year?" he whispered. "Has it really been that long?"

"Nearly," Regina repeated. "Not quite. So tell me…how did you get out?"

Instead of answering he just lowered his head into his hands, ignoring every question and every threat. Inwardly he begged Grace for forgiveness, for he couldn't return to her just yet…not when he had condemned another woman to death because of that damned hat and its magic. When he would refuse to answer her, Regina would send in her minions to bind him down, and flog him until his skin bled. Yet even with her abuse and torture, he refused her an answer.

Soon her daily visits scattered to every other day, to three times a week, until finally it dwindled down to just one visit if even at all.

He wasn't the only one she would come to visit, he would hear her traipse to another cell further down from his, and he would hear her arrogant voice conversing with a female. He couldn't tell what they would argue about, but it always ended with Regina slamming the cell door shut and storming off.

Then that fateful day arrived—her last visit in this world. She arrived to his cell and yanked open the door. When he turned his head to her he frowned in confusion. She was dressed in another elaborate and glamorous dress, and she was pulling on her gloves as if in a hurry.

"Why, Regina," he said, his voice hoarse and jeering. "Finally you have decided to grace me with your lovely presence. To what do I owe the honor?"

Her lips coiled up in a scowl as she made one final tug on her glove. "I have more important matters to attend to than you for today," she snapped. "I just came to inform you that I am enacting the most powerful curse this world has ever seen. Finally the last piece of the puzzle has been put into place and the curse can begin."

His frown deepened and he slowly stood to his feet. "A curse? What for?"

"It doesn't concern you," she told him. "We will be taken to a world where there will be no happy endings other than my own. _Everything _here will be depleted. Any life you had hoped to have with your cherished daughter is now _gone._" She grinned at the turmoil that writhed upon his face. "Your Grace? She will remember _nothing_. She will walk right by you and know nothing of who you are or what you are to her. You will be just another face in the crowd to her." Regina took a step closer to her and stabbed a finger into his chest. "But _you, _Jefferson? You will have the privilege of remembering _everything._" She chuckled when his jaw dropped open and his eyes widened. "And there won't be one damned thing you can do about it." With a menacing laugh she shoved him away and exited the cell.

"No!" Jefferson shouted. "_NO! _You can't! Regina!" He lunged at her, only to fall through the black mist she left behind. Her taunting laughter loomed around him, pounding within his head and wrapping around him like snakes. With a broken wail he slammed his fist into the ground.

His assault came to a pause when he felt the stone floor rattle beneath him. Thunder crashed and boomed outside the castle, and he lifted himself onto his feet to reach the window. "What in the…" His breath caught in his throat as the dark clouds encircled the palace, lighting exploding within it like a beating pulse. The floor continued to shake violently, nearly knocking him back off his feet. The walls soon joined with the vicious rattling, pieces of it crumbling off like pebbles. Jefferson swore and ran down the hall. The guards were gone; he presumed they went off with Regina to wherever it was she went.

He wasn't sure where he was even running to, he didn't even know the way out of her domain. He had been to her palace before, sure, but he had never been locking in the dungeon before. Out of a pure guess he assumed he was in the bottom of the palace, and searched desperately for a staircase leading up. When he found one he scrambled his way up, tripping a few times over his feet and sloppy footing. He burst through to a landing that seemed familiar and frantically headed towards what he had hoped was a hallway leading to an exiting door. When he reached the end of the hall and it was nothing but a solid wall covered with rattling sconces and tapestries. He punched the wall in despair and swore at the top of his lungs.

The castle was disintegrating, the walls crumbling down more like sand rather than pebbles now. Jefferson's pounds violent pounds against the wall slowed down to tired and defeated thumps that just slid down the length. It was over, her curse was fast approaching, and her castle was the first to go with it. He turned to face the impending dark clouds with a sad half smile. She had won…for the time being, she was the victor. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, gripping tightly at the roots as he awaited the curse to envelope him. With a pained groan he glanced over to the side, his eyes widening as they landed upon the open door across from him. It was the same room he had stumbled into when he fell from the hat. He hurried into it and out of habit he turned the lock behind him.

His hat was perched upon a scrolled mantle as if it were some trophy. Jefferson picked it up gingerly between his fingers and flipped it over so he could look deep into it. "Alice…" he breathed. She was still in there. What would happen to her? This world will vanish, Regina had said…but somehow taken into another one where memories would be erased but people here would continue living there. He swallowed a lump that formed in his throat. But what about the people trapped in a world within a world?

In desperation he fisted the hat's brim and crouched down. "Alice," he whispered again, screwing his eyes tight as he tried to picture her face. He saw her large green eyes, widened by shock and a sheen of wetness over them in near heartache. Her long black hair clung to her body in stains of red, her tiny mouth open in an earth-shattering cry.

Jefferson squeezed his eyes even tighter as he inwardly wished to see her again. It was bad enough he tricked the girl, he couldn't let her be lost in a void between worlds because of this curse. His eyes shot open as he felt the material beneath his fingers grow warm.

"What's happening?" The hat glowed beneath his touch, jumping and shaking in his grasp. "Alice?" he breathed. The thought that sprang to his mind seemed mad, even to him. He shoved his hand down into the hat, sucking in a sharp breath as his hand sank in deep as if there were no bottom. He couldn't tell if it was in his head or if it came from the hat, but he swore he heard her raspy voice. Inside the hat he wiggled his hand, his breath coming out in pants as he felt a small breeze kiss his flesh.

The portal? It had opened?

"Alice?" he said. "Alice!" The door behind him burst open, splintering into large wooden stakes that crashed into the walls. Around him debris from the decaying castle began to swirl, encircling him like a cyclone. He glanced over his shoulder to watch the castle fragments fly around him. He was about to rise to his feet when a hand firmly clamped onto his wrist. He shot back towards the hat, his eyes wide as sweat began to brim his brow. The grasp around his wrist tightened and he fought with all his might to pull back. "Come on…come on!" he grunted. He pulled back far enough to see the hand he was hauling out. His eyes bulged at the sight of it. With another low grunt he pulled further, his breath coming faster from the strain of his muscles and the display of the deep cuts and scratches along the length of her arm.

He had her in his grip, he had her. He kept his grip on her as the ominous clouds enveloped him.


	7. Chapter 7

_Once Upon a Time and characters belong to abc & respected writers/creators._

_Alice Liddell belongs to American McGee, Spicy Horse, EA etc._

**A/N: On a totally random note, the husband and I have decided to go as American McGee's Alice & Once Upon a Time's Jefferson for Denver's Comic Con next year. Yay! I was very surprised he mentioned it because he doesn't know I've written this. The conversation was: "Hey, I'm thinking about going as American McGee's Alice next year." And he said, "Cool. I'll go as Jefferson." Anyways, I was excited…onward!**

* * *

When the dust settled and the clouds began to fade into nothing but mere mist, Jefferson lifted his head and gaped at the world around him. Surrounding him were tall trees and shrubbery of all sizes. "Nothing has changed," he whispered. He simply was now outside rather than inside Regina's palace. "Where has she sent me?" Me? No…us!

He looked down to the form that remained in his arms. Her head had fallen back, exposing her elegantly long and pale throat. His heart lurched for a moment and he instinctively felt for a pulse. When he felt the tiny thump beat against the pads of his fingertips, he released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. Carefully he stood to his feet, taking her up further into his arms. Back in their world, he hadn't pulled her fully out when the curse devoured them, he was eternally grateful that in this world, it was all of her and not just her gashed up arm. He had to take her somewhere, somewhere he could get her wounds tended to.

Jefferson minded his footing as he walked through this forest he had landed in. Her dark hair spilled over his arm and glinted beneath the sun's rays. He was so shocked yet relieved she hadn't yet awakened from his jarring movements and heavy footsteps. It was a blessing really, he couldn't even begin to imagine what he would say to her if she had happened to wake up in his arms. He finally reached what he could only guess was the end of the woods, and when he saw the building ahead he nearly dropped down to his knees in wonder.

The structure stood tall and looming, hardly any windows at all against its faces. It was high and domineering like a palace yet was so plain and simple looking. As he came closer he noticed it was not made of brick or wood or marble, but some kind of concoction that made it hard and study like marble, but not as smooth and instead rough and gritty. "What is this?"

A small noise coming from the building caught his attention and he lifted his head. With Alice still in his clutches, he headed towards the sound. As he came around the corner of the building he realized the noises were voices. He came across a door that looked unlike any other he had ever seen. It was smooth and cool to the touch. It was opened just barely a crack, and he nudged it open with his shoulder to make his way in.

The hallway he found himself in was narrow, he glanced back at the metal stair case he had just came down and swallowed. This place…it seemed to be a chamber of sorts but made with materials he didn't recognize, or materials that were not usually readily available for such large amounts as in a building. "What is this place?" Jefferson whispered to himself. He clutched Alice to him tighter and wandered down another corridor. He came across doors sporadically spaced out, and he squinted in wonder as he came across one with a small window in it. He peered in through the small space and gasped when he saw that there was a figure in there. A person, he couldn't tell the gender because they were huddled up against the corner, was sitting on a cot with their feet stretched out in front of them. So these doors led to rooms, they were small and very plain and probably not the most comfortable…but they were indeed rooms.

Jefferson backed away and searched for a room that was unoccupied. He came across one with the door wide open and no one inside. It was dark, no light within, not even from the tiny slant of a window that was stationed near the ceiling. The only light that crept into the room was from one of the lights from the hallway…but that wasn't saying much. He set Alice upon the cot and smoothed the hair from her face.

At his touch she started to stir. He hissed in a scared breath as she began to open her eyes. She groaned a bit, tried to sit up but he kept her down and told her to remain calm so he could clean and dress her wounds.

"What…what's going on?" she whispered. "Who are you?" She strained her eyes and felt with her fingertips to find his face. "I can barely see you," she said. Her fingers brushed over his cheeks, causing him to clamp his mouth shut and swallow the lump that had risen in his throat. One hand sank beneath the long thick curls upon his head that were matted with sweat while the other roamed over his chin. Her breath came faster in almost a near panic. "Who _are_ you?" she repeated.

She didn't remember him. The curse had affected her as well…and as Regina had sworn, he'd be the one to remember everything. "A friend," he said. He removed her hands from and felt around her arms, inwardly swearing when she winced at his touch upon her wounds. "Stay here, Alice," he told her, gently cupping her hands beneath his. "I'll be right back. I just need to find something for your wounds and then we'll figure out where to go from here."

"No!" she cried, wrapping her grip back around his neck. "Please," she begged, her voice pitch nearly shrill with panic. "Please don't leave me here!"

When he gently pulled her hands from him the flesh of her fingertips brushed over the raised meat of the scar that wrapped around his throat. Her breath hitched and she felt around more. "What…what is this?"

Jefferson completely removed her hands from him and placed them over her chest. "Alice," he repeated. "Please, just stay here. I'll return in a moment, but first I have to figure out where we are." He heard her make a small noise of protest and he gently pressed her down. "I will come back for you," he told her. "Just stay here."

He closed the door behind him as made a mental note of the number that hung against the wall by the room's door. "Ten-oh-six," he reminded himself as he made his way through the halls. He came across many rooms similar to the one he put Alice in, not all of them were filled of course, but when he peeked through the windows on some he would see someone huddled in the corner like the first room he had come across. "Are they ill?" he quietly wondered. So, it seemed to be some kind of hospice or shelter for the wounded. Wonderful, he had brought her to the right place.

The more he wandered through the halls the more he became confused. He originally had one thought in his head, but it soon became flooded with several others. He suddenly found himself in a room where five minutes ago he wouldn't have recognized a thing, but now the objects before him were familiar and their purpose clear. When he originally was looking for cloth and a bucket of water to use to cleanse her wounds, he found himself reaching into the medicine cabinet and pulling out the correct antiseptic, gauze, and bandages anyone in the modern world would have instinctively searched for. With the items in hand he paused for a moment, squeezing his eyes shut tightly and shaking his head, as if trying to awake from a dream. "Wait a minute," he whispered. "How do I know what these are?" He whirled around and gaped at the walls around him. Crisp and white and stifling, just like any other nurse's office. But then, he had never seen one before…how did he know what it was and what to look for? The objects around him were the same. At first glance he could instantly name what they were and what their use was…but if he thought about it a moment longer he couldn't remember how or when he knew that.

Jefferson glanced down at the items in his arms and gaped at the words that stood out to him. "Hydrogen peroxide? Neosporin?" For a brief moment they sounded like spells…but a small voice that sounded very much like his own buzzed and instantly he knew what they were for. "What is going on?"

The medicine and gauze fell from his arms as he grasped his pounding head. How did he know what these things were when he only just came across them a minute ago? How was he even able to pronounce them correctly? The actions of him in Regina's castle swirled in his brain, still fresh and daunting as it had only happened no less than perhaps an hour ago…but with the room he was in now with its alien yet so suddenly familiar appearance and instant knowledge of everything that filled said room, the instances in Regina's castle felt as if it had happened centuries ago.

A pained wail escaped Jefferson's lips and he stumbled backward into the desk. His head was pulsing, feeling so thick and full as if it would burst. "The curse," he choked out. "She said I'd remember everything." He tried to compose himself as he gathered up the items. "And now she has me remembering everything for this world." He clutched the items to his chest and hurried out the door.

He heard her scream before he reached the hallway. "Alice…shit!" He dropped everything and ran towards her room. When he reached the hallway where her room resided, he carefully poked his head around the corner. He felt the blood drain from his face as he saw a figure standing in front of her door. She had her arms crossed over her breasts and stood with her spine straight and tall as an arrow. Even with her back towards him he knew her. She could cut her hair and change her clothing, but she still emanated the same raw power and energy that was Regina.

Jefferson kept his back against the wall, and inwardly swore as he tried to figure out his next move. He glanced up and noticed the big round security mirror hanging on the corner, aiming straight down so the hallway and all its guests were in view. He swallowed and stayed close to the wall, periodically glancing left and right to see if any more orderlies were coming.

"Well?" Regina snapped. "Who is she?"

"I haven't the faintest idea," said the head nurse, running a finger over the large flip of a curl that sprouted from her scalp. "We had left this door open for the scheduled routine cleaning and when we approached we saw that it was closed. When we unlocked the door we found her and she began screaming and attacking."

Regina turned her head back towards the room. "Is she secured?" she asked one of the orderlies.

"Yes, Madam Mayor."

With a prim nod, she entered the room. Alice was bound in a strait-jacket and was plopped down in a metal chair as if she were a prisoner in an interrogation. She was whimpering in fear and kept avoiding Regina's scrutinizing stare.

Regina gently moved a strand of black hair from Alice's face and forced her to look at her. "What is your name?" she asked, her voice soft yet commanding.

With a shuddering cry Alice pulled her chin from Regina's fingertips. "Alice," she whispered.

"What are you doing here Alice? How did you get in?"

"I…I don't know. I just woke up and I was here," she answered, pushing herself back into the metal chair as far as she could so as to put as much distance between her and the woman as possible. "Please, I don't even know where I am!"

Regina took note of the blue dress she wore, the small spots of red that seeped through the white sleeves of the strait-jacket, the tears in her black and white striped stockings, and the ripped buckles of her boots. "Alice, has someone attacked you?"

Alice just shook her head and cringed further back into the chair. "I don't know!" she cried, her voice bubbling in near hysteria. "I can't remember!" She struggled against her restraints, causing her to rock back and forth in her seat. When Regina stepped back away from her, Alice broke away from the chair and sprang to her feet. Even with her arms bound, she swung her arms to the side, slamming Regina back with her elbow. She maneuvered between the two orderlies, swinging out her feet into their shins and kneecaps to knock them down, and broke out into the hallway.

The head nurse gasped and reached for her walkie-talkie to call for backup. With a growl Alice thrust herself forward, slamming her shoulder into the nurse's middle and smacking her into the wall. As the nurse collapsed to the ground, her mouth open in gaping breaths from the wind knocked out of her, Alice hastily made her way down the hallway.

Jefferson saw her and came around the corner. The blasted girl—she was going the wrong way! "Alice!" he shouted.

She stopped dead in her tracks and whirled around.

But the two orderlies emerged from her room and tackled her down before she could even catch a glimpse of the man who had called her name. Jefferson winced, a voice inside yelling at him to go forward and help her, but there he remained, hiding behind the corner and watching as they pinned her down. One clamped a chubby hand over her shrieking mouth as the other prepped a sedative.

Regina finally came out of the room, her hand holding the jaw that had the unfortunate luck of colliding with Alice's elbow. She came around the screaming girl, circling her as she watched as the man ripped away part of her dress to reveal an open canvas of skin before stabbing in the needle. Regina panted from the adrenaline and rubbed her jaw with the back of her hand.

The sedative ran its course, the rabid screams that came from Alice's lips slowly died down into desperate pleads and whimpers, her thrashing legs curled up beneath her in submit, she became nothing but a puddle of defeat.

"What shall we do with her?" asked the head nurse, gently sweeping aside Alice's hair from the girl's face.

Regina straightened her blouse and simply looked at the nurse. "Put her back in the room. Until we find out who she is and what she's doing here, we'll have to keep her here for safe-keeping. We know her first name so she's not entirely a Jane Doe, but I will personally ask around if anyone is missing an Alice in their family." She nodded to the orderlies. "Put her on the bed, we'll have some nurses come in to clean her up in a moment."

Jefferson swore beneath his breath and made his way back to the office. He rushed through the file cabinets to search for a patient record sheet and hastily filled it out.

_Name: Alice Liddell_

_Age: 19_

_Family: Deceased_

_History: Post traumatic stress disorder due to family's unsolved murder. Suffers survivor's guilt, leading up to extreme self-loathing and suicidal tendencies. Has made a breakthrough in the past._

He wrote in what he could and slipped it into a manila folder labeled with the room number 10-06 and left it atop the filing cabinet. He grabbed a men's scrubs uniform from the closet and quickly buttoned it over his clothes. With quick looks out the door and down the hallways to the corner security mirrors, he broke through and escaped the asylum. His heart bled as he thought of Alice practically bound and gagged in yet another mental ward, but things were different now. This world was completely different.

He had to leave her there for now…and come up with a way to get her out another day.


	8. Chapter 8

_Once Upon a Time and characters belong to respected writers & abc._

_Alice Liddell belongs to American McGee._

* * *

_Storybrooke: Present Day_

Alice stood before him, her fists clenched in tight knots stationed at her sides. As he conveyed the details of that fateful day just over twenty-eight years ago, she felt her body go still, her blood drained and the world around her came to a pause as she relived it. Of course she remembered that day, she may not have remembered every detail but of course she remembered. But him? He had every detail every minute aspect perfectly and painfully memorized. The way his voice carried into her, it was steady and calm, but was filled with such a stinging heaviness that it appeared he had relived that day over and over in the deep abyss that was his mind.

Jefferson just sat on the couch as he recalled the events. No, 'sat' doesn't quite cover it…he slouched, his legs splayed out before him and his spine curved in such a way that Alice wanted to smack him with a switch and go on about posture and nonsense like her nanny used to. His head seemed to slouch too, his chin nearly meeting his chest and making it seem as if he had lost his head again and it was just resting on his chest instead of being connected to that stump of a neck.

He finished his tale with a 'and here we are' sort of flip of his hands and sank even lower into the couch.

"That was _you?_" Alice whispered, finally finding her voice. It came out in a shaking breath, her eyes stinging with tears as she realized that the man who she had thought was her savior in the asylum and the man who trapped her in a world she didn't understand were one in the same. "The man who said he'd come back for me? That was _you?_" Tears began to well up from her eyes and she hastily swiped them away. "When you didn't come back I thought I had just dreamed you up."

"I tried to," Jefferson said. "But every time I thought I was close, Regina had something blocking the way. I'm still not sure if she knew of our connection, but I didn't want to risk it. But I also had my daughter to think about, and, forgive me, but my priority was and always will be to her." He looked away when he said it and began to sit up straight. "I had known Rumplestiltskin in the past and I had heard rumors of the woman he had fallen in love with. Regina had once bragged about 'taking care of it' when it came to the girl. Of course I had assumed the worst. But after years of being the only one in this world who remembered our previous lives, I began to map out nearly who everyone was. I had been in the asylum before, in the guise of a male nurse, but I was never able to get into the hallway of the cells. Mostly I was in the offices. I took notes of every patient in there and when I came across a Jane Doe with a severe case of amnesia, I dug even further and after a while I put two and two together…that she was Rumplestiltskin's Belle."

Alice turned to look at Belle and gave her a soft smile. "So…that was your name."

Belle returned the smile sadly and stepped forward, her hand gently reaching Alice's. "She didn't care enough to give me a life."

"I didn't know what it was when I brought you there," Jefferson said. "The modern world memories didn't kick in fast enough. By the time I realized what it was you were already taken down by the orderlies. I thought it was a hospital. I just wanted to treat your wounds before taking you home."

Alice looked at him with an arched brow. "Home?"

Jefferson nodded and gestured around him. "I didn't know I had this yet, but the plan was that if the curse affected you and you had no memories, I was going to bring you here and give you new ones. I wanted you to have a life of your own choosing. But…things didn't exactly go according to plan. Regina didn't want anyone to have a happy ending, and until Emma go here, that's exactly what had happened."

"_Who_ is Regina?" Alice demanded. All three of them obviously had previous contact with this damn woman but she didn't know the slightest of who she was. Sure, she had heard the name before, but what good was a name if you couldn't put a person to it?

"You've met her before," Jefferson said. "The woman who questioned you the first night. Not the nurse," he added when she opened her mouth to speak. "The other woman. The one with black hair and that cruel smile."

"I only saw her that one time," Alice breathed. "She said she would personally try to find my family…but I never saw her again. She made sweet promises but she haunted my dreams." Alice rubbed her forehead as she thought. "So…she is this evil queen you speak of?"

"Yes," Belle nodded, grasping Alice's fingers within her own. "She is the reason for everyone's misery."

Alice gave a tiny squeeze back and looked down at their entwined fingers. "And now you want her dead, Hatter," she muttered. "And you thought I could help you with that?"

"I have seen your rage," Jefferson murmured. "It was what drew me to you in the first place. How you took out the Queen of Hearts' guards…it was mesmerizing. You handled the weapons so skillfully, moved as if you were liquid…you're a killer, Alice, and a good one."

Belle gripped Alice's hand and stepped in front of her defensively. "How dare you!" she snapped. "You've no right to call her such things! She is _not_ a killer; you _will _take back your words, sir."

"Actually…" Alice whispered, gently moving Belle aside and shooting her a thankful smile. "I am."

"But—"

"I've killed. On several occasions, really. Even before I met him. I had these hallucinations…I was taken to this other world similar to his Wonderland…but darker and twisted. It was kill or be killed there. When I was in his Wonderland, I thought it was the same rules."

Belle shook her head. "But those were hallucinations."

"Were they?" Alice laughed and shook her head, taking her hand away from Belle's. "I thought his Wonderland was a hallucination—which it _clearly _was not—so what's to say that my Wonderland wasn't as well? The deaths I had caused there have just as much a chance to be real. Then…there's my family's murder. Back in my world there were countless speculations that I myself had been the cause."

Belle waved her words away with her hands and huffed. "Still, you cannot possibly be expected to _kill_ this woman. You are _not_ in either Wonderland now, Alice, you don't have to kill. _No one_ has to," she urged, her eyes straying to the man who remained on the other side of the room. Her lip twitched in a playful scowl when he simply raised his brows in feigned innocence at her accusation. "It's not like it's all you know," she said to Alice. "You only did that in your Wonderlands, not real life."

"But…revenge against the Queen must be taken," Jefferson insisted. "If we don't then you do understand that other people in this town will have the same rage within them to take it upon themselves to do so."

"The town itself will fall into a bit of chaos for a while now," Mr. Gold stated, stepping away from his leaning spot against the wall. "Everyone now has their memories returned and now every person has their dual lives to deal with. Revenge must be sought out, I agree, but right now it might be best to let the chips fall as they may. You are now free," Gold added. "The curse is broken and we are all now free to do as we wish."

Alice nodded, nearly forgetting that the man was even in the room he was so damned quiet. "So then," she sighed. "What happens now?"

"Now? Now we do whatever we can." Gold came up around Belle, placing his free hand at the bend of her waist. "Like I said, things will be out of sorts for a while, chaos will run its course before it calms."

Belle looked over to the smaller girl. "What is it _you_ want to do, Alice?"

"I think," she started. She pursed her lips as she thought. For once she was able to make a decision on her own. Her whole life she had been told on how to act, how to dress, what and when to eat, and whether or not she was sane. Even after being deemed sane enough to leave her ten year stay at the Rutledge Asylum, she was still ordered to constantly check in and was immediately entered into the care of Angus Bumby—her therapist—and was molded into a sort of live in nanny to the other children in his estate that he treated. Not once was she ever asked to make a decision on her own about her life. It was daunting. "I think I'd like to take a walk," was all that came out.

Gold raised a brow and simply blinked. "Well…I was expecting more an answer than that."

Belle nudged him with her elbow and looked over to Alice with a warm smile. "Why don't you come back with us? You could even room with us, if you'd like?" She looked over to Gold when she felt him stiffen. "Just until she decides what to do? You can't expect her to stay here?"

Again, people started talking about what was best for her…right in front of her. They weren't exactly _deciding_ anything for her, but since she didn't make a definite verdict, it seemed they would reach one for her eventually.

Jefferson stood up from the couch with such a lavish movement, it caught everyone's attention. "Alice, you are free to go wherever you want and do whatever you want. All I ask is that you take some things with you. You have nothing in this world, at least let me give you that much."

Alice looked him up and down, her stare blank and unreadable. But after a moment she placed her hands on her hips and tilted her head to the side. "Very well. I suppose it doesn't do me any favors to run out of here with no other clothes on my back."

"I'll get them for you." He departed the room and made his way up the stairs in the foyer.

"At least let us drive you back into town," Belle suggested.

Alice shook her head. "No, no," she said. "Even after all that time in my asylums, I…need some time to myself. As mad as that sounds…"

"It's understandable." Gold fished inside his breast pocket and produced a small card between his fingers. "The number and address to the pawn shop I own," he explained. "If you need anything, or want to speak to Belle, you can reach her here."

Alice tucked the card into her back pocket and nodded. "Of course."

Jefferson returned with a filled knapsack in his hand. He dropped it to Alice's feet like an offering and stepped back so he was nearly at the couch again. "I am sorry for everything I've done to you," he said, avoiding her piercing stare. "I know there's nothing I can do to right it and I know you've no reason to help me—"

"Go find your daughter, Hatter," Alice cut in, reaching down for the bag. "Since everyone's memories are returned, hers should be as well and she's probably out there looking for you. Don't be cowardly and run away. You've gone through all this trouble and nothing to show for it. Even though you are not my favorite person in this world…or the other one…no child should be without her family." She lowered her eyed and looped the knapsack's straps around her shoulders. "And if you do ever come up with an attack plan against your queen, feel free to call upon me. But until then, Hatter, I think it's best if you and I didn't speak."

"You would help him?" Gold asked. "Even after everything you would help him exact his revenge?"

Alice gave him a toothy grin. "I have a thing against queens." Without looking at Jefferson, she brushed past Gold and Belle and made her way through the front door. Belle followed after and closed the door behind her.

Gold watched the two girls exit and slowly turned his head towards Jefferson, who was now leaning against the edge of the couch with his arms crossed over his chest. "Thank you," he said. "For giving me back my Belle."

Jefferson gave a small shrug. "Had I known you had your memories this whole time, I might have brought her to you sooner. Though, I can't believe you would have been all too grateful with her not knowing who in the hell you were. I know I wouldn't have. But I knew you would want Regina dead after finding out what she had done."

"Oh yeah," Gold agreed, his lips turned up in a snarl. "I plan to have it taken care of."

"What a monster you created," Jefferson said, his eyes gleaming with that mischievous glint and his voice laced with teasing malevolence.

Gold returned his own wicked smile and waved his hand with flourish. "Only with your aide," he countered. "And it seems you have created your own little mad monster."

"She was mad to begin with," Jefferson snapped, his jaw setting in offense. "I was blind with the need to see my Grace again to see what I was doing to that poor innocent waif." His face relaxed and he cocked his head. "You of all people, Rumplestiltskin, would understand that."

Gold's smile widened, the golden tooth catching the light. "Of course, which is reason why I am the last person to ever pass judgment on you." He gave a slight bow and turned towards the girl. "I will tell you this, anything the girl asks for, I will make sure she receives it. She will be taken care of in this world, I'll see to it myself, and I'm sure Belle will as well."

Jefferson followed him to the door, watched him make his way down the front steps to meet up with Belle, who was holding Alice's hands and whispering to her. When Gold approached them, Belle detached herself from Alice and buckled herself into the car. She looked out the window to Jefferson and gave him a smile so warm and kind he found himself smiling back and giving her a little wave.

Alice was saying something to Mr. Gold as she walked aside his car, but Jefferson could make out what. She grinned to the older man and turned down the road. With a small glance over her shoulder, she gave a Jefferson a small nod. "Find your daughter, Hatter," she ordered once again.

Jefferson could only raise his arm in a farewell wave to her. He watched her walk down the edge of the road, watched as Mr. Gold's Cadillac slowly roamed past her, watched her until she disappeared from his sight. "I will," he finally said.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Sorry for the long break in between! This chapter (and maybe the next one also) is more focused on Alice than Jefferson, hope everyone's ok with that.**

_Once Upon a Time & characters belong to abc and their respected writers.  
Alice Liddell belongs to American McGee, Spicy Horse, EA etc._

* * *

___Storybrooke Present Day..._

Belle trotted along the side walk, her arms filled with paper bags stuffed with cleaning solutions and supplies. Rumplestiltskin had offered to just hire a cleaning crew to prepare the library, but she insisted on doing it herself. As she passed an alley a sharp noise caught her attention. She paused and looked down the alley, her eyes narrowing. With a quick glance around her, she cautiously stepped in. The alley wasn't quite empty, it had a few trash barrels scattered about and some discarded papers along the floor. "Hello?"

A head popped up from behind a barrel and Belle stepped backward, her breath caught in her throat. But when the revelation of the owner of the face registered, she let out a relieved sigh and waited for her heart to beat normally again.

"Sorry," Alice said between bites of the chocolate chip muffin she held in her hand. "Didn't mean to scare you."

Belle simply smiled and nodded. "Alice, what are you doing back there?"

"I wanted to eat in peace Lizzie!"

Belle and Alice both clamped their lips shut and an awkward silence swelled between them. Alice tossed the remains of the muffin into the trash and brushed her hands against her pants. She ran her tongue over her teeth and took a deep breath. "I mean Belle," she whispered. "I wanted to eat in peace. Belle."

Belle rearranged the bags in her grip and motioned with her head. "Come on, come with me. I'm sure you need to eat more than just one muffin."

Alice came around the trash and grabbed a bag from her. "Where are you going?"

"The library. It's been closed down and now I'm going to open it back up. However, it is in dire need of some cleaning." Belle glanced at Alice and noticed she was wearing the same outfit she had last seen her in. "Alice? It's been two weeks since I've seen you. Where have you been staying?"

Alice simply kept a steady pace with her walk and shrugged her small shoulders. "The only place I can call home here."

It was enough to stop Belle in her tracks. Her jaw dropped open and she looked at Alice in horror when she just stood there. "The _asylum_?" she gasped. "You went back to the asylum?"

Suddenly Alice seemed to cave into herself. Her shoulders hunched while her head lowered and her arms tightened around the bag. "Well…yes," she answered sheepishly. "I don't know anywhere else to go here. And I've been in an asylum practically my whole life…it was nothing."

"Yes but you don't _need_ to go back there!" Belle ran her fingers through her hair and furiously shook her head. "No. No, it's been decided. We are going to drop these off at the library and you, little one, are coming home with me."

* * *

_28 years prior…_

The heavy cell door opened, the hinges creaking and squawking. The orderlies stepped through, their large bodies filling the frame. "Come now, Alice," one said. "It's supper time." The second orderly came forward and gripped her around her bicep and tugged her from her seat on the cot.

Alice was all but dragged from her room. She kept her mouth shut and her eyes glued to the floor. It had been two weeks since she had been locked up in her. Two weeks since that man said he'd come back for her, two weeks since she heard him call her name before being tackled by these confounded bastards that were now leading her down this dreary hallway.

That black haired woman also had yet to come back. Perhaps she was still searching for her remaining family? If she even had one, that is. She couldn't remember. She couldn't remember anything from before two weeks ago. The nurse with the exaggerated curls mentioned something about a family she once had. Apparently it was written on her records that she had had one once but they were killed in a tragic fire. No one knew how long ago or where this so-called fire had occurred, but according to that piece of paper it was the cause for her madness.

The large men brought her to yet another drab room. Usually they would bring her supper by just opening the door to her cell, setting it on the floor, and locking it back up. However, this morning she was told she was behaving very well and was allowed to leave her cell for the cafeteria rather than only the toilet. The man still had his grip around her upper arm and dragged her along to a table where one young woman sat by herself. He roughly plopped her down onto the bench and not-so-tenderly patted her on the back, causing her to hunch over. "There you are, Alice," he sneered. "A whole table just for the two who don't know who they are. You're supper will arrive momentarily."

Alice kept her shoulders hunched, her head nearly lowered as she stared at the table's surface. Across from her was a woman maybe a few years older than herself. Alice slowly looked up at her, both of their stances rigid and unsure. The other woman stared at her, her head pulled back, leaning away from the table as she stared.

Alice glanced away to scan the room. There were hardly any other patients in this cafeteria. It was empty, just a smidgen over desolate. In every corner was a large orderly with his arms crossed over his broad chest and his glaring eyes watching every minute detail. Alice swallowed and turned back to the other girl. "You…" she started. "You don't know who you are either?"

Her stance relaxed a bit but her blue eyes were still untrusting and wide with paranoia. "I don't even have a name," she whispered. "On my papers it says 'Jane Doe' but they just call me ten-six-four." When Alice cocked her head in confusion, she clarified, "My room number."

"You have no name?" Alice repeated. It was awful. She had at least had one. It might not be her name, she couldn't remember, but that man had said 'Alice' when he held her with no hesitation. And he screamed it when he saw only her back, so…that _had_ to be her name, right?

A few days passed, and during supper time the two young women sat together, hardly speaking. They just sat at the table picking at the slop of gruel the asylum workers attempted to call 'food.' Even though they didn't talk much, to anyone in the asylum or even to each other, they formed a sort of bond. When Alice was brought in by the orderlies, the blue-eyed woman was at the table waiting for her. It also became very obvious to everyone who worked there and to the other few patients, how protective they were of each other.

Since there were so few patients, the asylum hadn't bothered to separate sexes during meal times other than males were on one side of the room while females were on the other. But one day, one man crossed the invisible threshold and violently grabbed Alice's arm. Before the orderlies and nurses could react, the other woman picked up her bowl and crashed it down upon his head. It knocked him off his balance and his grip loosened on Alice. While Alice fell to the ground in shock, the other woman reeled back a fist and sent it straight into the man's face.

She was taken down by the orderlies in a manner of seconds, and Alice didn't see her for a week. After that, Alice ate alone in the cafeteria, but she wasn't bothered by any of the men.

"What do you _think_ your name is?" Alice asked one day.

The other woman paused in her stirring of the gruel and looked at her. Her brows frowned for a moment as she thought. "I honestly don't know," she admitted. "I don't know who I am, how old I am, or even where I came from…it's hard to try and figure one out." A tiny smile came to her chapped lips. "What name do _you_ think I look like?"

Alice looked at her and studied her face. "I don't know why…" she whispered. "But for some reason I want to call you…Lizzie."

"Lizzie?"

Alice blushed and shook her head. "I'm sorry! Is that a dumb name?"

"No! Not at all!" She glanced down and smiled, with a tiny laugh she gently gnawed on her bottom lip. "No, no I like it. Lizzie. It's a good name."

* * *

_Storybrooke Present Day…_

Belle rummaged through her closet and pulled out a few articles of clothing for Alice to try on. She hoisted them in her arms and plopped them down on the living room floor in front of the younger girl. "Take your pick!" she said brightly. "You need something to change into after a shower."

"I've been showering at the asylum. The water's still on there," Alice said as she leaned forward to skim through the clothes. She grabbed the first two articles that were black and pulled them from the pile. As she stood she glanced around her at Belle's little apartment. "Where's Rum…ple…stick…" She shook her head and didn't even bother to remember how to say it. "Mr. Gold?"

Belle's smile withered and she chewed her bottom lip. "We're uh…not together at the moment."

Alice arched a brow and frowned. "What happened? You two were all rainbows and butterflies last I saw you."

The mental image of Rumplestiltskin surrounded with rainbows and butterflies made Belle giggle and she covered her lips with the back of her hand. "We're trying to sort things out," she said. "He has a lot of personal things he needs to work out and I need to be on my own for a while."

Alice simply nodded and started to make her way towards the bathroom.

"Wait." Belle came up behind her. "What are you going to do?" she asked. "I can't have you going back to the asylum once you're cleaned up."

Alice turned to face her and pressed her lips together. "I don't know," she answered. "The asylum is and has been my home for the majority of my life. It's not like I can go back to Jefferson…I can't see him right now."

Belle gently touched her shoulder and smiled at her. "Then I shall have you stay with me," she stated.

"Here?" Alice's green eyes immediately shot towards the couch. It did seem a hell of a lot more comfortable than that damn cot she'd been curled up on. "I don't know…I wouldn't want to impose."

"You wouldn't be!" Belle insisted. Her eyes widened in excitement and seemed to sparkle more so than usual at her sudden idea. "You could even help me out in the library! I have a lot of work ahead of me in order to get it ready for its grand re-opening."

Alice crinkled her nose. "Books? You like books."

Belle laughed. "I _love_ them," she said.

A sad smile came across Alice's lips and she blinked to keep any tears at bay. "Now I know why I named you Lizzie," she whispered. "Back in London, in my time, I had an older sister. She was eleven years older than I, so the things we'd do together weren't always exactly what we wanted. While I wanted to play dolls she wanted to curl up and read." Alice let out a laugh as she remembered. "She used to take me to the park with all these books with her. She tried to make me read them with her, tried to teach me all the things she was learning so I could become as smart as her. But what seven year old wants to read books while in a park while there are fields to run in and trees to climb? But despite our differences…she was so protective of me, always watched out for me and always was there when I needed her."

Belle softly took Alice's hand in hers. "You named me Lizzie because I remind you of your sister?"

Alice lifted her shoulders. "I didn't know who Lizzie was in the asylum. But it makes sense." She winced and cringed away. "Do you think me weird now?"

"Not at all!" Belle hauled her in for an embrace and squeezed her tightly. "I'm honored to remind you of such a remarkable woman from your past." She pulled away and brushed a strand of hair from Alice's face. "You and I are alone in this world in the sense that we didn't grow with it. Everyone else got to experience everything, have memories false or not, and create new ones with the false. But you and I? We had nothing. In the asylum we had each other and that is not going to change now that we're out. Do you understand?"

Alice nodded, thanked her, and headed into the shower.


	10. Chapter 10

_London 1875_

The pocket watch swung in front of her eyes, side to side, slow and steady. She was supposed to fall under the spell, succumb to the hypnosis, but the only thing she was falling into was boredom. She noticed the intricate etchings in the gold metal, the soft ticks of the little hand counting time, the small crack in the clock's face that showed its travel through age.

"Now…_focus,_ Alice," the man before her urged in a soft voice. "You are floating…weightless…"

Alice sighed but went along with it. She felt her breath slow, heard her heart thud softly in the back of her mind, her eyelids felt heavy as she watched the swinging pocket watch. Images flashed through her mind like photographs. She saw herself in the park with Lizzie, dangling from a tree branch while her sister read and chided her for tearing her stockings. She saw her parents sitting before the fire place in the drawing room, mother enjoying herself a cup of tea while father smoked his pipe and fiddled with his papers.

Then came brief flashes of the night of the fire. Dinah, her cat, screeched and slid through the bedroom window, glancing back at Alice with glowing yellow eyes as if to say, 'follow me.' She felt the heat of the flames even though they weren't near her door. Almost softly she could hear her parents screaming, shrieking in agony while she escaped through the window out of harm's way.

Alice screamed and smacked the swinging pocket watch away from her. Realizing her sudden outburst, she clamped her fingers over her eyes and rubbed. "Oh…I'm sorry," she whispered. "Sorry…"

Dr. Bumby sighed in frustration but tucked the pocket watch into his breast pocket. "You have made an improvement from the last session," he said simply, turning away to gather a pot of tea. "What did you see this time?"

"Nothing different," Alice muttered. "Just a centaur setting my house ablaze." She stood to her feet and swiped at the ruffled apron she wore. "I thought I was done with these hallucinations," she moaned. "Why am I still having them?"

"Memory is a curse more often than a blessing," Bumby told her.

Alice arched a thin brow at him and watched as he poured himself a cup. "You think the centaur setting my house on fire is a memory? Doctor, even I find that mad."

Bumby gave her a small chuckle and wagged a finger at her. "No, not the centaur. The fire, your family dying, _those_ are memories, Alice. Those actually happened. There was no centaur, _that_ is your hallucination. Your Wonderland while in Rutledge, that is your hallucination." He sat back in his chair and took a sip from his cup. "I know we've only been trying this hypnotherapy for a few weeks, but I'd like to keep trying, Alice."

"Yes, of course, doctor," Alice grumbled in defeat. "Whatever you think is best."

"Sometimes repressing one's memories _are_ what is best," Bumby insisted. "Some memories are good while others simply bring us anguish and misery, and at times it is best to simply _forget it._ Lock it away in the back corners of your mind and let go, live life. The cost of forgetting is high."

Alice had made her way to window while the good doctor spoke, her green eyes focusing on the other orphaned children playing in the courtyard. She had heard of some of them forgetting their pasts and starting anew, and it made sense for her to do the same, but for some reason she would not let go of the pain her memories caused her, or her gentle hallucinations of her Wonderland. Something deep inside her fought tooth and nail for her to try to remember everything. Her mind and memories were a puzzle, the pieces scattered about in places she couldn't find. Some she knew were right in front of her, but cobwebs of uncertainty concealed the truth from her.

"Would you care for some tea before our session is over, Alice?" Bumby asked, his bony fingers setting down an already filled cup.

Alice turned to face him, her eyes widening as she saw a ghostly image flashing on top of him. It was Bumby, but his eyes were deep black holes and dangling from his mouth was a sickening oily and black tongue. Wrapped around his fingers were strings attached to the tea cup like a marionette, and sprouting from his back were two long doll arms.

Yet, as soon as the image appeared, it vanished. Alice shook her head at the offer. "I only take tea with friends," she stated.

Bumby looked from her to the cup with an emotion Alice couldn't quite place, and she quickly regretted her words in case they had angered him. "Very well," Bumby said. "Then let us cut this session short, shall we?" He sat back into his chair and adjusted his glasses. "Now, before our next session, I need you to grab those pills from me from the high street chemist. And tell Charlie I will see him now. Good day, Alice."

Alice retreated from the room. Her emotions were caught in a struggle between fear at being dismissed for offending him, and relief from getting out of that room. She found Charlie with a few other boys, building up blocks and then knocking it down in gales of laughter.

"Oh look," one of the boys said with a sneer. "It's Alice, doctor's favorite."

"Already?" another one giggled. "The little hand on the clock hasn't reached the six yet. Did he finish too quickly this time?"

"Do your knees hurt?"

Alice grabbed one by the ear and twisted it. These children ranged from ages eight to eleven, yet their minds were tainted and foul nearly as bad as the pimps that would roam the street looking for new 'merchandise.' "That's enough out of you," Alice snarled as she roughly shoved the boy down upon the other two. She looked to the fourth boy, Charlie, who hadn't said a word since she approached. "I'm running an errand for Dr. Bumby," she told him. "So your session for the day will begin a tad earlier than normal. Now, go see him."

Charlie obediently jumped up. "It's my turn to forget now, Alice!" he said excitedly as he ran down the hall.

* * *

_Storybrooke Present Day_

Alice was doodling on some sketch paper she had found when the knock came at her door. Not one for expecting many visitors, she frowned and shoved the paper and pencil from her. The knocking became louder and more insistent.

"Alright, alright!" Alice groaned. She pulled herself from her chair and pulled open the door. The face greeting her winced when she hissed in anger. "_You!_"

She readied to slam the door but Jefferson held up his hands, smacking them against the wood and pushing it forward. "Wait!" he yelled, grunting as they both began a war of shoving the door against each other. "Alice, stop! Please, listen to me!"

Alice curled her lips in a snarl but stepped aside, her face offering no sympathy as Jefferson fell flat on his face from still pushing. A tiny smile formed as she watched him grumble in pain and pull himself to his feet. "What are you doing here, _Hatter?_"

Jefferson stood and briefly limped to lean against the counter. "Mr. Gold sent me," he said.

Alice closed the door behind her and cocked her head at him. "Mr. Gold?" she huffed. "Really. And what does Mr. Gold want with me?"

"He wants you to watch over Belle while he's gone." He massaged his palm while he spoke.

"Gone?"

"He's leaving town," Jefferson said. "Going on his own little adventure with the savior."

Alice narrowed her eyes as she tried to understand. "Alright, but why would I need to watch over Belle? She's a grown woman she can take care of herself. I highly doubt she needs a caretaker while her lover is out of town."

Jefferson shrugged his shoulders and pursed his lips, raised his brows and widened his eyes as he made a gesture with his hands. "Well…that's the thing. She was in an accident…"

Alice immediately turned and grabbed her coat. "Tell me on the way there."

"As you know this town is under a curse. We cannot leave, we cannot cross the border or else we revert back to our cursed selves and forget _everything_," Jefferson told her as they exited her apartment. "Mr. Gold found a way to leave without forgetting but right now it only works on him. And since the savior is not from our town, she can leave with him."

"Where is he going?"

"To find his son."

Alice glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes. "Do these town inhabitants have a habit of losing their children or is it just you two?"

Jefferson chewed the inside of his cheek and rolled his eyes at her stinging remark. "_Anyways_…Belle was in an accident and fell over the town border."

Alice stopped in her tracks. "So she doesn't know who she is?"

"No. She's back to her old life as an occupant of Storybrooke's mental asylum. And since Gold doesn't trust the Charming family, he'd rather have _you_ watch over her. After all, _you_ are the only one who knows who she is…in a manner of speaking."

* * *

Belle mockingly laughed and threw her hands up in the air. "And I suppose you think me crazy as well," she accused.

Greg shook his head. "No! No, I don't…because I saw it too."

Belle's brows knitted together as she stared at the man sitting in front of her. She had only been in the hospital for about a day, and this man she had never seen before was the first one to say he actually believed her.

Quick footsteps came into her room and Belle drew her eyes to the heavily breathing young woman who hung onto the door frame Her blue eyes widened and she opened her mouth in an excited cry. "Alice!" she wailed.

"Lizzie!" Alice stepped forward but stopped abruptly when she took notice of the man sitting on Belle's bed. Her stance changed to near threatening and the man looked as if he would piss himself. "_Who_ are you?" Alice demanded.

While Greg stammered, Belle waved her hands. "Alice, Alice it's alright! This is Greg, he's a patient here."

Alice looked back at Belle. "A patient?" she asked, then shook her shoulders. "Or…a _patient._"

"The regular kind," Belle answered. "He was driving the car during the accident."

Alice sucked in a breath as she remembered Jefferson telling her about someone from the human world—_her _world—literally crashing into town. "Right. Well, Greg, you can leave now." She hiked her thumb towards the door and moved aside for him to leave. She watched him get up from the bed and cast a worried glance to Belle before he exited. Alice let out a breath and set down a bag before she sat down beside Belle. "How're you feeling?" she asked gently.

Belle's eyes began to water. "Everyone here treats me like I'm nuts!" she cried. "But I _know_ what I saw!"

Alice held up her hands and tried to calm her down. "Shh….it's ok! I'm sure you know what you saw, Lizzie, but _I _don't. I wasn't there. So…what _did_ happen?"

"I…I'm not sure. One minute I'm being released from the asylum by that man…"

"Jefferson."

"Yes! That was his name. He told me to find Mr. Gold…and I found him…we went for a drive…and then, the next thing I know I'm in the street bleeding, there's a car accident and Mr. Gold is standing above me…with…_fire_ in his hands!"

Alice nodded as she listened to Belle speak.

Belle ran her fingers through her hair and sniffled. "I try to tell people that, but they just call me 'Belle' and load me up on sedatives. They won't _listen_ to me!"

"They drug you?" When Belle nodded Alice sighed and reached behind her to pick up the bag she had set down. "Put these on," she said. "We're leaving."

Belle opened the bag and looked at the clothes inside. "What…are these mine?"

"Yes. I grabbed them from our apartment for you before I came here."

"What? 'Our' apartment?"

Alice nodded and began to pull out the clothes for her. "Yes. After Jefferson set you free, he came for me. You and I, we lived together for a little while. You had your own apartment and you let me stay there…just until I got my bearings. I still had my key, so I grabbed some clothes for you on my way here."

Belle frowned. "What? We lived…wait a minute…" She looked at the clothes and took a shirt into her hands. "A woman came to me today and said that we were friends and had been for a while…how much time happened between us getting out of the hospital and my accident?"

Alice took a breath and pressed her lips together. "It's been…several weeks. A little over two months, maybe? I haven't really kept track of time."

"Two _months?_" Belle gasped. "Why don't I remember any of this?"

"I don't know…but we'll figure this out, Lizzie. Now, get dressed."

"But, they wouldn't let me leave."

Alice got up and moved her hair over her shoulder. "Are you in pain right now?"

"Well…no."

"Anything broken?" Alice asked.

"No."

"Are you pregnant?"

"No!"

Alice shrugged. "Then I see no reason for you to stay here." She closed the door and kept her back turned to give Belle privacy while she dressed.

"So…where are we going?" Belle asked as she pulled on a simple black ankle-length skirt.

"You could stay at my place," Alice said. "Just until we get things figured out."

"You keep saying that," Belle sighed. "What things need to be figured out?"

Alice shrugged. "Not sure, but we'll figure that out too when we get to it. All I know is that you've spent enough time in this damned hospital, and it's high time you get out of it. Done?" Alice turned and helped Belle into her jacket.

The door opened and Alice glanced over her shoulder to see a nurse with a cart. The nurse gasped and paused at the threshold. "Oh! I didn't realize she was having company."

Belle took one look at the nurse and instantly stiffened. Alice saw the fear and rage in her eyes and tried to hold onto her as Belle tried to wriggle away. "That's her," she breathed. "She's the one who always comes in a sedates me. She puts it in the food too. She thinks I'm crazy!" she hissed.

Alice looked back at the nurse and watched her as she began to prepare a plate for Belle. "I'm afraid you'll have to come back later," the nurse said. "It's time for her to eat."

"Actually," Alice snapped. "She's not going to be staying here any longer. I'm taking her home."

The nurse looked up from the food and scoffed. "That's up to the doctors, not you," she said haughtily before tending back to the food.

Alice gently pushed Belle from her and gave her an assuring nod. "Just a minute." She walked over to the nurse and stood on the other side of the food cart. "Enough of this," she muttered in voice low enough where only the nurse could hear. "This…_pretending_ that you're a real nurse. You and I both know that you no longer have any power over either of us."

"She has reverted to her cursed self," the nurse responded. "She must be treated."

"By constant sedation? You _do _know who she is, don't you? And I'm sure you're well aware of what will happen to you when Rumplestiltskin—the man who is _madly_ in love with her—finds out that you're idea of 'treating' her for the past twenty-eight years and for the time he's out of town, is by _drugging_ her." Alice grinned as the nurse looked up at her with wide eyes and audible swallow. "The only thing wrong with her is that she doesn't know who she is and everyone around her is lying. When she gets her memories back or when Rumplestiltskin returns, whichever comes first, he will not be pleased in the least with the way his beloved is being treated in his absence."

The nurse shook her head so hard the large curls atop her head bounced. "I'm…I'm just a nurse," she said.

"No you're not," Alice said between clenched teeth. "You're a prison warden. Now, step aside. We're leaving."

"I can't!"

Alice sighed and shook her head. "Don't make me hurt you," she groaned. When the nurse tried to step around her towards Belle, Alice gripped the edges of the cart and flipped it over, crashing the food onto the ground and splattering it against the nurse. "Stay away from her!"

The nurse screamed and threatened to call security.

"And what are you going to tell them?" Alice shouted, lunging at her and shoving her against the wall. "You are keeping her hostage here yet _again_. You knowingly held her here for _twenty-eight_ years, you can't have her anymore." Alice released the nurse and grabbed Belle's hand. "Let's go."

"Can…can you really do that?" Belle asked as Alice led her out of the hospital.

"She can't do anything, Lizzie," Alice told her.

"So…we're going back to your place then?"

"Unless you want to go to yours? I still have a key to the place."

Belle shook her head and swiped the hair that blew into her face. "Actually, I was wondering if maybe we could get something to eat? That girl who came to see me earlier mentioned a diner called Grannies and said that I always had pancakes and ice tea and…well, that sounds absolutely divine right now."

Alice smiled. "Of course. Grannies it is."


End file.

Once Upon a Time, Drama, Suspense