Disclaimer: I own neither the characters nor the setting.

Oyster City: Through the Looking-Glass, and What Hatter Found There.

Hatter stood speechless as Alice was pulled up to the Mirror and positioned in front of it. His mouth moved a few times but no sounds came out as he simply watched helplessly. And then she was gone. Several seconds passed as he just stared and then, as if with a great effort, which in truth it was, he turned on his heel and started towards the doors. Why'd I tell her to go? Foolish thing that was. Course she is Jack's girl after all. 'Cept she didn't stay for him either….

As he reached the doors, Hatter did an abrupt face and started walking back towards the Looking-Glass and Jack Heart, unconsciously twirling his hat in his fingers. Jack saw him coming and turned to face him, his hands calmly folded behind his back and his face solemn. Or was it simply passive? Does he know something? Now you're just being paranoid Hatter...

"Er, Jack….Prince Jack, Prince Heart, Pr-"

"Yes Hatter?" There almost seemed to be a glimmer of mischief in the Prince's eye, with a dash of envy if one was looking.

"I was just wonderin', you an' Alice….."

"Hatter, how long was Alice in Wonderland with you?"

"What? With me specifically, or in generically?" Hatter was a bit confused by where this might be headed.

"Either, both. Just how long was she here?"

"Five days-ish, give or take a sunrise."

"And how long do you think she and I were dating on the other side?" Hatter fought down a surge of jealousy and the urge to give the Prince his right hook. This did not go unnoticed by Jack, who unfolded his hands and held them up in front of him in a gesture of peace. "Here me out Hatter, how long?"

"Months?"

"Several in fact, yes. Yet in all that time, I don't think we ever connected the way you and she have in just a few days. She told me earlier that she'd changed. I think the reality is that you simply brought the true her to the surface. She turned me down by the way, but I don't think she'd give you the same answer."

Hatter sighed and stared at the mirror. "Sorry mate, you're bit off there. She already did."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Did she? Strange, I thought I heard her offer and you refuse….twice." Hatter stared down to his left as he thought for second before looking back at the prince. He opened his mouth, closed it slightly, paused and then pointed towards the Looking-Glass. "Er, Mind of I use your Mirror?"

Jack smiled halfheartedly and waved a hand towards the podium where the Looking-Glass stood. Hatter barely waited, striding over to it and bounding up the steps by missing them completely. "Don't forget about the Time cha-" Jack stopped in mid-sentence as Hatter walked into his reflection and vanished. "Good luck, to both of you." Shaking his head, Jack turned back to the remaining Oysters who had to be sent through.

The tunnel swirled around him as Hatter fell upwards. It was a disconcerting feeling - As if one were standing still, moving forwards and moving back all at the same time. He wondered briefly what would happen if the Looking-Glass shut down while he was in the tunnel and then decided that that was a dangerous train of thought and pushed it away.

Then, despite the intermediary time spent in the tunnel, Hatter found himself exiting the other end with the same momentum and in the same position with which he'd entered. The other side was dark and had a not so pleasant scent. As he stepped forward, he stumbled over something on the ground before him. He caught himself and hopped over it. Righting his hat to keep it from tipping off, he glanced down at the ground behind him. "Alice?" Hatter crouched down by her side, brushing a lock of hair from her face. She was alive, but unconscious. He moved to shake her awake, and then stopped himself. What if Jack was wrong? Or worse, what if he was right? Hatter had been someone in Wonderland, but he was a nobody here. Not like Jack. "Since when did I get self-depreciatin'?" Pushing the feeling aside, he gripped her by the shoulders and gently rocked her back and forth. Alice took a sharp intake of breath and groaned slightly. Hatter stopped and took his hands away. He knew nothing about Oyster Anatomy but it sounded like she'd gotten hurt when she landed.

"Right, Plan B then." Hatter stood up and looked around his surroundings. The building looked a great deal like the under-city, disused and unfinished. He walked quickly towards what he thought was the exit, found it was a dead end and tried again. This time he found himself outside in an alley, tall buildings to either side. "That's a lot of ants…." Hatter stared at the cars passing by the mouth of the alley. He jogged down and out onto the street. The city he found himself in seemed at once more foreign and more insane than anything in Wonderland. "Oy, not quite what I expected." It was dark and yet at the same time brilliantly lit. There weren't many people out - Hatter didn't know what time it was, but he was fairly sure it was late. He glanced down the street searching for whatever passed as a Spade in this world. There were flashing blue lights some distance down the street and that seemed a good place to start.

He started down the street at a brisk pace, gaining lingering stares from the few people out at this time of night. It was rather apparent that his choice of clothing was not 'normal' here. He pulled his hat off his head and held it behind his back in an attempt to not stand out as much as he already did. Beside the Ant with the flashing blue lights, two men wearing dark uniforms with funny hats and light sticks were questioning a man who looked not dissimilar to Ratty. "Must be a lot o' Ratties in this city." As he approached the Suits, they turned his way, shining their light sticks on Hatter.

"Need some help?" The nearest called, raising the light stick higher. Hatter held his free hand up in front of his face to help block some of the light. "Look, there's been an accident, back thataways. There's a girl in that building there – I think she's 'urt." One of Suits motioned the rat-alike to move along.

"Lead the way."

Hatter quickly led them back the way he'd come, hoping Alice was still alright. He stopped just outside and pointed in. "Through there, in front o' the big mirror." One of the suits moved into the room while the other paused outside with Hatter. "How'd you find her? What's your name?" He had taken out a small black notepad and pen. Somewhere inside Hatter could here the other one calling out.

"Err, I'm a worker, construction tha' is. Just 'appened by and saw her enter. "

"And your name?" The Suit prompted.

"Hatter."

"Hatter?" Now he looked skeptical.

"Yeah, uh…" He had to think quickly. "David Hatter." He'd had a pet dove-turtle with that name once.

The Suit nodded as if the name was important and wrote it down on his pad. "You'll be needed for questioning." Hatter fought down a slight surge of panic. He doubted being interrogated would go well for anyone. From within the building the other Suit called out, "She's over here!" The one with Hatter held up a hand to him in a gesture to stay and then hurried inside; speaking into a black box which Hatter assumed was some kind of communication device. "We need an Ambulance at 42….." The rest faded from hearing. He debated staying for a moment before scrunching up his nose and hurrying away from the building – I'll be back Alice, I promise. But first I gotta blend in a bit more, yea? As he walked down the sidewalk, Hatter suddenly became aware that he was still holding the coat she'd given back; he'd placed his hat in the same hand without even noticing.

He tried to remember exactly what he knew about Alice's world, and found that much of it had decided to flee his mind at this particular moment. "Right…first things first…need a place to stay." Hatter looked around trying to find a Laylow or a Bed & Room. For several blocks he saw nothing that resembled either. Finally he came across a building across the street from a park which called itself a Hostel. Right, that's the oyster version of Laylow. As he started towards the door, he stopped. "Salted Fish and Pig's Wings! I'll need oyster money." He, like most from Wonderland, found the pieces of paper which oysters traded to one another for goods to be a very curious oddity. It was really quite silly when you thought about it – the paper wasn't actually worth anything after all. Much better to trade in kind – goods of equal value or Tea. Course Tea was likely going to lose its value as an economic staple without the Hearts Casino running anymore.

Shaking himself out of his reverie and thankful that it was so late there was no one around to pay him any mind, he moved over to one side of the Entrance and stopped to think. Where am I gonna get Oyster money? What do you need to do to earn it? Wait! Ratty! Hatter hurriedly searched his pockets, triumphantly pulling out a crumpled 20 a few moments later. Ratty had turned it over to him when he'd first come to Hatter about Alice, but that had been almost a week ago and Hatter had completely forgot about it. He wasn't sure how much it was worth – how far did 20 get you? 20 nights at a Laylow? 20 loaves of bread? 20 cabbages? It wasn't a very precise piece of paper. Only one way to find out. Hatter palmed the bill and skipped up the steps and through the door to the Hostel.

The room beyond was long but small, with what looked to be an eatery at one end. A counter stood nearby the door with a weary and bored looking young man seated behind it. His head perked up a bit at Hatters Entrance, and Hatter could practically feel the man's eyes looking him up and down. "You here for a bed?"

"Yep, just looking for a place to stay." Hatter moved over to the counter trying not to seem out of place.

"Alright, it's going to be 15 bucks and I'm going to need to see some ID." Hatter frowned, was that the name of the paper, a buck? He could've sworn it was called something else….A dalor or something. Regardless, it was the only paper money he had, so he would have to chance it. He placed the piece of paper on the counter and slid it towards the man. "'ow about you keep the 'ole thing and we don't worry about any IDs?"

The man behind the counter rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders. "What the hell, I still need your name though." He took the bill and waited.

"Hatt- Err, that is, David Hatter." The other man wrote it down and opened a drawer and pulled out a key which he handed across to Hatter. "Okay, it's the first room on the right when you reach the third can take any empty bed. Stairs are through there."

"Right, Thanks." Hatter followed the directions and found himself in a small room overlooking the street. There were three sets of bunk beds lining the walls, and he found that four beds were already taken. Dropping down on one near the window, Hatter set his hat onto the mattress beside him as he stared upwards through the dusty glass into the night sky above. Moonlight filtered down on his face and he stared at the full form of the moon some time as he tried to recall the details associated with it. Full moon is 5 times give or take, Waxing slows, waning speeds. New moon is inverse of full…. Hatter drifted off to sleep still trying to remember the Lunacy Equation and its affect on the Looking-Glass.