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Description
"Do you know what the next flavor is, number 10?" The man asked the suit who stood opposite him.

"I think the queen said something about 'pure conscience" or something like that." The suit said. He handed the man a clipboard. He signed it, and handed it back. "The boxes of teas are being unloaded at dock 4." The suit said.

"Dock 4? But that's halfway across the city!" The man protested.

The suit shrugged. "Sorry Hatter, that was the only open dock." He bowed his head slightly, and left.

Hatter grumbled something incoherent for a few minutes, and hit a buzzer on his desk.

"Yes?" Came a squeaky voice.

"The new teas are coming in to dock 4. Get someone on it. 200 crates are coming in, so make sure they can handle it."

"Yes, Hatter." Came the voice.

I don't get paid enough for this. He thought. I hope the resistance doesn't want any of these teas. The Suits will be keeping tabs on the new flavors for awhile. The resistance usually wanted some of the teas to experiment with.

Dodo had said something about wanting to reverse the process, and return the siphoned emotions to their oysters, or something like that. He sighed.

The rush hour was going to begin soon, and money would be pouring in. He walked across the lush, green grass that carpeted the floor of his office, and sat behind his desk. He spent the next few hours trying to figure out how much money he could sneak out to the resistance without being caught by the suits. (Math was never his forte.) He sighed and rubbed his temples. Today was not a good day.

Dodo had yelled at him early that morning for not getting the new shipment in on time, and wouldn't accept the fact that all of the ports were being used up by the Scarabs. For some reason, they brought more Oysters than usual through the looking glass the previous day. He shook his head. That had nothing to do with it. Besides, Dodo would have to be content with the money, teas and supplies that Hatter would send him that night, and that would be the end of that.

There was a soft knock. Hatter rubbed his eyes quickly, and stood, shuffling the figures under some other bits of parchment on his desk.

"Come." He called. He walked around in front of his desk, and leaned against the edge nonchalantly.

The door swung open and a filthy, disgusting, ratty looking man shuffled through the door.

Great. Hatter thought. He's back…

"Hello, Ratty." Hatter said. "What brings you to my shop today?" The door swung shut and the man's pungent odor began to permeate the room. Hatter wrinkled his nose in distaste.

"Girl you should see." The man said in broken English.

"Oh?" Hatter asked, feigning interest. He inspected his nails.

"Oyster." The man said. Hatter's head snapped up. "Needs help."

"What the ruddy hell did you bring her in here for?" Hatter asked, his voice tight with shock and anger.

"Needs help." The man repeated.

"Alright." Hatter said. "Where is she?" He craned his neck to see around the ratty man.

"Downstairs." Ratty said. He pointed at the floor.

"Bring her up then." Hatter said. The man shuffled out the way he had come.

Hatter sat down in a large white chair to the left of his desk, sinking into the soft cushion. He turned his back on the door.

Hmmm… A girl? He thought to himself. What help does she think she can get from me? He thought for a few more minutes. She must want to contact the resistance.

He heard the door open, and two pairs of footsteps crossed the room. One was a heavy, clunking, uneven gait. Ratty. Hatter thought. The other was light, and somewhat unsure. Who are you? He wondered.

"Would you like a cup of tea?" Hatter asked her, his back still to the door.

"No thank you." She said. Her voice was strong, but somewhat confused. She paused for a moment. "Who are you?"

Hatter let his chair swivel so that he was facing her. "A friend." He paused. "I hope." He took in her appearance. Opposite him stood an average-looking girl. She had long dark hair that clung to her face, and dark eyes. She wore a blue denim dress, the soaked fabric clung to her body, and her hair dripped occasionally on the floor. She had a red bandanna tied around her right forearm that Ratty was beginning to remove. "I run the tea shop." He said.

When he had the bandanna off, Ratty pointed to her arm. "See?" He asked. The girl jerked her arm away, glancing between Ratty and Hatter.

Hatter stood, and walked in front of his desk, turning his back on Ratty and the girl. "How did you break out of the Scarab?" He asked.

"What, the beetle thing?" She asked.

"Eh." He agreed.

"I used my hairpin and-"

"Fell." Hatter commented, turning to take in her wet appearance once more. He sat on the edge of his desk.

"As you can see, I'm drenched." The girl replied, a slight note of sarcasm in her voice. Hatter nodded, looking her up and down. Ok, so she wasn't average looking, but she wasn't the prettiest girl he had ever seen. She had a nice figure, judging by the way that her dress clung to her curves like that. "Look, this place," She began. "Where- what is it?" She sounded slightly exasperated.

"Oh." He pointed his fingers upward to indicate the surrounding area.
"Wonderland." He replied.

"That's a story in a kid's book." She said. She looked at him like he had two heads.

Hatter was shocked. "Does this look like a kid's story to you?" He asked her.

She thought for a second. "No."

"It's changed a lot since then." He said. He pushed himself off the desk, and began
walking towards her.

"Oh, so you're saying that it was real?" She asked. She clearly didn't believe him.

He pulled a magnifying glass out of his pocket, and pointed at her with it. "You oysters don't know how to find us, so- Excuse me," He took her arm, and began to look at it with the magnifying glass. "You tell yourselves that we don't exist." The green mark was clearly imprinted on her arm. Hatter was, by now, familiar enough with the swirls of the pattern that he could spot this mark a mile off. "An quite frankly, we'd like to keep it that way." He glanced at Ratty, and then the girl.

"Why am I an oyster?' She asked, jerking her arm back. "Wha- this?" She indicated the green mark on her arm.

"That's not gonna come off." He said. She looked at him, then down at the green mark, then up at him again. "Sorry." He said, his face cracking into a grin. She stared at him. He lost his smile. "Only people from your world turn green when burnt by the light." He said. "It's the Suit's way of branding their catch." He turned from her. "And they call you oysters," He indicated her over his shoulder. "Because of the shiny little pearls," He put the magnifying glass down on the desk. "That you all carry inside."

"What do you mean 'pearls'?" She asked, her voice slightly scared, and confused.

"She's Alice." Ratty finally spoke up. Hatter had forgotten he was there. Ratty turned to the girl. "T-tell him who you are." He said.

"Wow…" Hatter said, looking from the girl to Ratty and back. "Really?' He asked, mock wonder permeating his voice. He's heard too many rumors circulating through the Resistance to believe that this scrawny little girl was the Alice. He circled around her. "Oooohhhh!" He joked, trying to sound spooky like a ghost. He laughed. He came to a stop by Ratty. He wrinkled his nose in disgust as the man's odor assailed him again.

He clapped his arm around Ratty's shoulders. "Ratty here thinks you're Alice." Hatter said. "Of legend." His smile faded from his face.

The girl thought for a moment, a bewildered look on her face. "Who?" She asked.

Hatter looked Ratty over for a moment and dropped his arm. "The last um…" He glanced at his palm, and tried to rub the dirt off his fingertips. "The last time a girl called Alice came here," He circled behind her again. "From your world," He stopped in front of her, only a few inches from her face. "She brought down the whole house of cards. Oh yeah." He nodded knowingly. "Made quite an impression. Although it was a hundred and fifty years ago." He rounded on Ratty. "It can't be the same girl." He said. He glanced at Alice. "Oysters don't even live that long." He said.

"I still want a good price." Ratty said.

"Wait a minute!" Alice interrupted. "I'm not for sale!" Hatter held up a finger to silence her. Hatter stared at Ratty for a moment, and then turning back towards his desk, he glanced at Alice and rolled his eyes at Ratty's request.
He took a few steps and heard the heavy, uneven steps behind him. "Not on the grass!" He commanded. The footsteps stopped. Hatter stopped in front of a cabinet filled with glass beakers that contained liquids of various colors.

He considered each one, and picked up a blue one. He turned back to look at Ratty, and shook his head. He put the blue one back and grabbed a pink one instead. "Here we are." He said, turning back to face Alice and Ratty.

"Hmm." He said, turning on the floor man routine. "Pink nectar." He said after a moment, holding it up in his right hand. "Filled with the thrill of human excitement. Fifty oysters were drained of every. Last. Drop. Of hullaballoo so that you, Ratty, can taste what it feels like to win, just once." Ratty reached out to take the bottle, but Hatter snatched it back. "Warning." He said. "Don't take it on an empty stomach, and only one tiny little drop at a time, otherwise, the experience might burst your shriveled up little heart." He said. "Got it?"

"Got it." Ratty said, eagerly.

"Good. Go." He held the bottle out to Ratty, who snatched it from his hand, and raced out the door. Hatter sniffed his hand. He wrinkled his nose. "He really smells." Hatter said, looking up at Alice.

Description
"Do you know what the next flavor is, number 10?" The man asked the suit who stood opposite him.

"I think the queen said something about 'pure conscience" or something like that." The suit said. He handed the man a clipboard. He signed it, and handed it back. "The boxes of teas are being unloaded at dock 4." The suit said.

"Dock 4? But that's halfway across the city!" The man protested.

The suit shrugged. "Sorry Hatter, that was the only open dock." He bowed his head slightly, and left.

Hatter grumbled something incoherent for a few minutes, and hit a buzzer on his desk.

"Yes?" Came a squeaky voice.

"The new teas are coming in to dock 4. Get someone on it. 200 crates are coming in, so make sure they can handle it."

"Yes, Hatter." Came the voice.

I don't get paid enough for this. He thought. I hope the resistance doesn't want any of these teas. The Suits will be keeping tabs on the new flavors for awhile. The resistance usually wanted some of the teas to experiment with.

Dodo had said something about wanting to reverse the process, and return the siphoned emotions to their oysters, or something like that. He sighed.

The rush hour was going to begin soon, and money would be pouring in. He walked across the lush, green grass that carpeted the floor of his office, and sat behind his desk. He spent the next few hours trying to figure out how much money he could sneak out to the resistance without being caught by the suits. (Math was never his forte.) He sighed and rubbed his temples. Today was not a good day.

Dodo had yelled at him early that morning for not getting the new shipment in on time, and wouldn't accept the fact that all of the ports were being used up by the Scarabs. For some reason, they brought more Oysters than usual through the looking glass the previous day. He shook his head. That had nothing to do with it. Besides, Dodo would have to be content with the money, teas and supplies that Hatter would send him that night, and that would be the end of that.

There was a soft knock. Hatter rubbed his eyes quickly, and stood, shuffling the figures under some other bits of parchment on his desk.

"Come." He called. He walked around in front of his desk, and leaned against the edge nonchalantly.

The door swung open and a filthy, disgusting, ratty looking man shuffled through the door.

Great. Hatter thought. He's back…

"Hello, Ratty." Hatter said. "What brings you to my shop today?" The door swung shut and the man's pungent odor began to permeate the room. Hatter wrinkled his nose in distaste.

"Girl you should see." The man said in broken English.

"Oh?" Hatter asked, feigning interest. He inspected his nails.

"Oyster." The man said. Hatter's head snapped up. "Needs help."

"What the ruddy hell did you bring her in here for?" Hatter asked, his voice tight with shock and anger.

"Needs help." The man repeated.

"Alright." Hatter said. "Where is she?" He craned his neck to see around the ratty man.

"Downstairs." Ratty said. He pointed at the floor.

"Bring her up then." Hatter said. The man shuffled out the way he had come.

Hatter sat down in a large white chair to the left of his desk, sinking into the soft cushion. He turned his back on the door.

Hmmm… A girl? He thought to himself. What help does she think she can get from me? He thought for a few more minutes. She must want to contact the resistance.

He heard the door open, and two pairs of footsteps crossed the room. One was a heavy, clunking, uneven gait. Ratty. Hatter thought. The other was light, and somewhat unsure. Who are you? He wondered.

"Would you like a cup of tea?" Hatter asked her, his back still to the door.

"No thank you." She said. Her voice was strong, but somewhat confused. She paused for a moment. "Who are you?"

Hatter let his chair swivel so that he was facing her. "A friend." He paused. "I hope." He took in her appearance. Opposite him stood an average-looking girl. She had long dark hair that clung to her face, and dark eyes. She wore a blue denim dress, the soaked fabric clung to her body, and her hair dripped occasionally on the floor. She had a red bandanna tied around her right forearm that Ratty was beginning to remove. "I run the tea shop." He said.

When he had the bandanna off, Ratty pointed to her arm. "See?" He asked. The girl jerked her arm away, glancing between Ratty and Hatter.

Hatter stood, and walked in front of his desk, turning his back on Ratty and the girl. "How did you break out of the Scarab?" He asked.

"What, the beetle thing?" She asked.

"Eh." He agreed.

"I used my hairpin and-"

"Fell." Hatter commented, turning to take in her wet appearance once more. He sat on the edge of his desk.

"As you can see, I'm drenched." The girl replied, a slight note of sarcasm in her voice. Hatter nodded, looking her up and down. Ok, so she wasn't average looking, but she wasn't the prettiest girl he had ever seen. She had a nice figure, judging by the way that her dress clung to her curves like that. "Look, this place," She began. "Where- what is it?" She sounded slightly exasperated.

"Oh." He pointed his fingers upward to indicate the surrounding area.
"Wonderland." He replied.

"That's a story in a kid's book." She said. She looked at him like he had two heads.

Hatter was shocked. "Does this look like a kid's story to you?" He asked her.

She thought for a second. "No."

"It's changed a lot since then." He said. He pushed himself off the desk, and began
walking towards her.

"Oh, so you're saying that it was real?" She asked. She clearly didn't believe him.

He pulled a magnifying glass out of his pocket, and pointed at her with it. "You oysters don't know how to find us, so- Excuse me," He took her arm, and began to look at it with the magnifying glass. "You tell yourselves that we don't exist." The green mark was clearly imprinted on her arm. Hatter was, by now, familiar enough with the swirls of the pattern that he could spot this mark a mile off. "An quite frankly, we'd like to keep it that way." He glanced at Ratty, and then the girl.

"Why am I an oyster?' She asked, jerking her arm back. "Wha- this?" She indicated the green mark on her arm.

"That's not gonna come off." He said. She looked at him, then down at the green mark, then up at him again. "Sorry." He said, his face cracking into a grin. She stared at him. He lost his smile. "Only people from your world turn green when burnt by the light." He said. "It's the Suit's way of branding their catch." He turned from her. "And they call you oysters," He indicated her over his shoulder. "Because of the shiny little pearls," He put the magnifying glass down on the desk. "That you all carry inside."

"What do you mean 'pearls'?" She asked, her voice slightly scared, and confused.

"She's Alice." Ratty finally spoke up. Hatter had forgotten he was there. Ratty turned to the girl. "T-tell him who you are." He said.

"Wow…" Hatter said, looking from the girl to Ratty and back. "Really?' He asked, mock wonder permeating his voice. He's heard too many rumors circulating through the Resistance to believe that this scrawny little girl was the Alice. He circled around her. "Oooohhhh!" He joked, trying to sound spooky like a ghost. He laughed. He came to a stop by Ratty. He wrinkled his nose in disgust as the man's odor assailed him again.

He clapped his arm around Ratty's shoulders. "Ratty here thinks you're Alice." Hatter said. "Of legend." His smile faded from his face.

The girl thought for a moment, a bewildered look on her face. "Who?" She asked.

Hatter looked Ratty over for a moment and dropped his arm. "The last um…" He glanced at his palm, and tried to rub the dirt off his fingertips. "The last time a girl called Alice came here," He circled behind her again. "From your world," He stopped in front of her, only a few inches from her face. "She brought down the whole house of cards. Oh yeah." He nodded knowingly. "Made quite an impression. Although it was a hundred and fifty years ago." He rounded on Ratty. "It can't be the same girl." He said. He glanced at Alice. "Oysters don't even live that long." He said.

"I still want a good price." Ratty said.

"Wait a minute!" Alice interrupted. "I'm not for sale!" Hatter held up a finger to silence her. Hatter stared at Ratty for a moment, and then turning back towards his desk, he glanced at Alice and rolled his eyes at Ratty's request.
He took a few steps and heard the heavy, uneven steps behind him. "Not on the grass!" He commanded. The footsteps stopped. Hatter stopped in front of a cabinet filled with glass beakers that contained liquids of various colors.

He considered each one, and picked up a blue one. He turned back to look at Ratty, and shook his head. He put the blue one back and grabbed a pink one instead. "Here we are." He said, turning back to face Alice and Ratty.

"Hmm." He said, turning on the floor man routine. "Pink nectar." He said after a moment, holding it up in his right hand. "Filled with the thrill of human excitement. Fifty oysters were drained of every. Last. Drop. Of hullaballoo so that you, Ratty, can taste what it feels like to win, just once." Ratty reached out to take the bottle, but Hatter snatched it back. "Warning." He said. "Don't take it on an empty stomach, and only one tiny little drop at a time, otherwise, the experience might burst your shriveled up little heart." He said. "Got it?"

"Got it." Ratty said, eagerly.

"Good. Go." He held the bottle out to Ratty, who snatched it from his hand, and raced out the door. Hatter sniffed his hand. He wrinkled his nose. "He really smells." Hatter said, looking up at Alice.