Mr. Leviticus "Mad" Hatter's Story

"LEVITICUS!!"
A man burst into a room cast in shadows, the only light eminating from a dim lamp on a empty desk. The man sitting at that desk was a peculiar sight to behold indeed. Dressed in a multicolored dress suit and a tall top hat, the man at the desk grinned lazily, sipping m a small cup on a saucer. "Ah, Francis!," replied the man at the desk, "How pleasant of you to drop by."
Francis stood at 6feet tall and glowered,"I'm tired of working here taking care of your freaks. I want a pay raise or I'm walking."
The mad hatter just stared at Francis, then smiled. "My, my, my. Francis. How do you suspect to walk out if you don't have the function of your legs?"
"Wha-", but that was all the further he got because in a blur of motion the mad hatter stuck him in the groin and as Francis keeled over, he struck him in the face. The man toppled over with a loud thud, and Leviticus walked back over to his tea, taking a small sip.
"Get back to work, imbecile," he snarled. Francis staggered up groaning, "yes, sir." The hatter smiled and concentrated on his tea, and the darkness.

The Hatter was sitting in his penthouse in the inner city, twirling a gun around his finger nonchalantly. It was a revolver, made with the finest craftsmanship, made specially for himself. The barrel was abnormally long, and the chamber held 9 bullets instead of the customary 6. He lazily flicked it in a front twirl, and then backwards, waiting for his....ASSOCIATES to arrive. After about two hours, the elevator rang, and three large blockheaded men came in with looks of discomfort-and maybe a touch of fear as well.
The Hatter clicked his tongue disapprovingly, wagging his long index finger side to side, "You're all late."
The man in the center cleared his throat, speaking hoarsely, " Our apologies, sir. We were held up at the arena. It won't happen again."
The Hatter smiled reassuringly, and repliedd silkily," I know it won't." He stopped twirling his gun, and pulled the trigger. The man in the center flew back and landed with a sickening thud on the marble floor, a puddle of blood building beneath him. His two associates stared at his lifeless body in complete shock, and turned back quickly to see the Hatter, Cooly reserved with a bright smile that didn't reach his cold, menacing eyes.
"Now gentleman, what was it you wanted to tell me?"
The man to the left stuttered,"S-s-s-scarlets dead. We don't know why, we just know that one detective Rose and some guy named Terrence Wolf are investigating."
A dark look passes over the Hatters face. Scarlets dead? An instant later the look was gone, replaced with a stony mask.
"Did you say... Terrence WOLF?" The man nodded slowly, eyes centered on the barrel of the gun. The Hatter smiled with real pleasure. My, my, the big bad wolf.... What an excellent edition he would make to my show, he thought.
"Clean him up," he snapped at the two men," I want that body disposed of, leave no evidence." The men quickly set to work, while Leviticus gazed out his wall window, lost in thought.

The hatter was strolling down the street, whistling tunelessy, oblivious to the stares his bizarre outfit affronted him. He tipped his hat to anyone he saw who were open with their stares a little more than they would thought. His pocket vibrated, and he pulled out his phone.
"Leviticus Hatter, at you're service." He said airily.
He listened to the caller, nodding. "So, they've arrived at her apartment?" He asked. Some more nodding, and his lips twisted into a sadistic grin. "Excellent. Let them have their little chat, and when they are finished, I want you to... PERSUADE either party to join me for a cup of tea. Use force if only it is necessary. " He closed his phone, laughing loudly, like a madman.

Rose nodded her head and walked up towards the apartment door. At first she knocked on it and stood there in silence before knocking once more. "Mary, if you're in there please answer the door!" Rose shouted through the closed door. She could feel eyes glued to herself and Terrence but she tried her best to keep with what she was doing. The brunette looked towards Terrence and stated, "I don't think she's home. I don't hear any sort of movement inside."

The Hatter arrived at blood street, too far for the Wolf duo to see him, but close enough for him to see them and his two henchmen. He cocked his head to the side strangely, a crooked grin upon his face. "Don't You worry Terrence," he purred," you'll make an extravagant edition to my show indeed." He chuckled drily. He sat himself upon a mail box and waited.

High above the ground and quickly approaching the city was a brightly colored bird flapping it's wings at a steady pace. She glided over the city searching the ground for a dark figure but to no avail, the little bird went to Belle's apartment but no one was there, she went to the park bench but it was occupied by a sleeping dwarf. She was starting to wonder if the witch had tricked her because she wasn't seeing any thorns of any sort but just when she thought this that's when she saw it. Flying low in the sky she got a close up view of the enormous tangles of brown thorns of which twisted themselves throughout the city scaling up buildings and winding down almost every major road. Scarlet was impressed, she had never seen such mastery in all of her days the technique was flawless every detail so thought out, this was true villainy and she loved it. When she was finally done admiring the handy work satisfied with what she had gotten certain that the royal guard would be plenty busy trying to get rid of the mess, she decided to make her way over to Mary's house but along the way she saw a familiar face and decided to stop landing on the shoulder of none other than the mad hatter himself chirping in his ear.

The Hatter Sat there with his head bowed and his eyes closed, but his smiled widely when the bird landed on his shoulder.
"Well well well, if it isn't the magnificent, the glorious, the beautiful Scarlet Phoenix." He looked at her from the edge of his vision, "my my, Scarlet, you've lost a phenomenal amount of weight... And height." He laughed hysterically, once finished asking her, "to what do I owe the pleasure of your company darling?"

Scarlet chuckled at his joke and chirping in his ear knowing that he would understand her, "hello, love," she spoke in a chiming song, "I couldn't help but notice you standing here, and I just came to say hello." She didn't want to change back into a human though it wouldn't be the first time he had seen her body, she didn't exactly want to expose herself in public especially since she peeked over Hatters shoulder and saw Mary's house just down the way.
"What are you up to," she chirped in a knowing way, she couldn't help but falling back into old ways of flirting with her old companion and wondered why she even left it was so long ago that she couldn't even remember and decided to forget about it, thinking that if she had forgotten about it than it wasn't important. She thought that maybe it might have had something to do with her wanting to go to Paris instead of staying in London but she wasn't quite sure and now it didn't even matter, right now she was trying to clear someones name and hoped that Mary was not his target because if she was Mary was doomed. She knew that when the Hatter wanted something he got it and if he wanted Mary for some reason then that would mean that the Hatter and herself were at war. She chose her words carefully, "what are you here for?" she asked simply watching the scene that was going on down the street getting a better view when she jumped down to his knee ready to fly in at a moments notice, the pendant still clutched in her right claw.

Thoughts floated through her mind about secrets she had learned about Hatters circus and she wanted to voice them but she just let them sit there in her head. Two of his men were moles one working for the royal guard and the other for a competing business man that Hatter and double crossed, she knew that he needed to lower the doses of the Hyde elixir on the rabbit for one of his acts or it might get loose and cause sever damage to his business. I was a habit of hers to distribute information that with out her would never be heard but right now she pushed these to the back of her mind trying to focus her attention on the group and noticing two men, who she recognized, sitting on a bench across the street.

The Hatter smiled innocently.
"Oh nothing of great importance. I just wished for my fellow associates to convince master Wolf to consider joining my.... extravaganza." An eager glint crossed his face but disappeared as quickly as it appeared.
"Also, if I could have a word with miss Mary about some interesting rumors floating around town, that would be exceptional." He pulled his pocket watch from his coat and frowned.
"Things down there seem to be taking a rather long time. Perhaps I should speed things up a bit..."

Belle stood there in shock when she found Little Red and Wolf working together, it's not everyday you see sworn enemies working this close, but then again there are things left untold, maybe their story wasn't over. The brunette slid her hands into her leather jacket pockets as she listened to Mary speaking with the surprising duo. She knew she had to go back home, but there was no way she was going to walk this late at night that far, it would take her a couple hours to get back home so she just stood there and looked towards Little Red. The female cleared her throat and spoke, "Rose, when you're finished here, would you mind giving me a ride back to my apartment?"

---

Rose stood there awestruck when she noticed Belle on the back of Mary's motorbike, she never thought Belle would be the type to even climb onto one of those contraptions. But then again there is a lot that she didn't know about most of the civilians in this town. She hoped that Belle hadn't been working with Mary, that would change Belle's life forever along with her reputation if she was caught for it. Rose quickly turned towards Terrence and cleared her throat, "We should probably leave her be for the night, let her calm down. We could always try to speak with her tomorrow, unless you know of a way to get her to talk tonight." After Rose was finished speaking she heard Belle's soft voice chime in. Rose smiled and nodded her head, "Of course I'll give you a ride and I'd like to ask you some questions as well Belle, on the way back to your apartment."

This entire time she could still feel eyes glued to the small group and she noticed that Hatter had been standing off in the distance, trying to keep hidden. Even though Rose hadn't been in her fairy tale world anymore, her senses were still pretty powerful so it wasn't hard for her to pick up on that. At that moment she thought to herself, 'Does Terrence even know about me being a wolf?' The brunette shook those thoughts from her head and whispered over towards Terrence. "Terrence, we have psychotic company...Hatter is watching us and I believe that those two guys may be working for him."

Terrence nodded. "I know Rose, I've had my eye on them since we got out of the car."
He growled, with an inhuman strain to it. He put his hand around his pendant and considered ripping it off. He felt a sudden urge to protect the ladies. He could feel his bones trembling in excitement for a possible confrontation. Before he did anything the wind changed direction, blowing the scent of another wolf into his nostrils. He wheeled around instinctively, and the scent was coming off Rose. His eyes widened. "Rose??..." He heard movement, and turned around to see the two men stand up and start walking toward them.

Belle quickly ran behind Wolf and Little Red when she noticed the two men making their way over towards them. Even though Belle was very caring and protective when she needed to be, those two men scared the shit out of her. She was wondering why they had been watching them, even though she hadn't been in the yard long she had a feeling they've been sitting there the entire time Terrence and Rose had been at Mary's house.

---

Rose's eyes widened when she heard the way Terrence had spoken to her, something was most definitely on his mind. But before she was able to ask about it she began hearing rustling noises, she quickly glanced away from Terrence and glued her golden hues upon the two men who seemed to be making their way over towards them. She smirked a bit when Belle hid behind Terrence and herself but kept quiet. The female tensed up, ready to fight if need be, after all she wasn't sure why they had been doing what they were. If they were planning on harming anyone they had another thing coming.

Scarlet flew up to hatters shoulder chirping into his ear, "you better make your move quick or something is bound to happen," she teased knowing that he loved a good show but also understanding that time was a factor. She was fully prepared to stand by and let anything happen she was a neutral party after all what did she care, her only interests now were to keep the events unfolding. Who knows, she thought, maybe something actually interesting might happen. Scarlet had to remind herself to keep out of events like these and to remain invisible, as long as no one mentioned her name she would be fine.
Meanwhile back in the city the tangle of vines reached to an enormous magnitude, cars were stopped in the rode, people could hardly walk down the street without getting themselves stuck or entangled or worse. And though no one knew it, the mirrors were now all connected an open passage of portals for anyone who touched the cool surface of glass. Lastly the pendant stuck in a golden birds claws was now glowing slightly and what looked like the eye of a dragon seemed to be looking out through the stone, watching. Waiting.

The hatter nodded his head. He pulled out his walkie talkie and spoke to his two men, who each had earphones.
"Now boys. Let the games begin."
He started giggling hysterically, and he stood up. "Time to get this show on the road." He started walking toward the three slowly twirling his hands in the air like he was the master of an orchestra.

The two men walked in front of the three, blocking their path.
"What do you want?" Terrence snarled, the nails on his hands lengthening to become razor sharp claws.
The two men managed to look offended. "Why sir," the one on the left spoke, "we only meant to enjoy this nice, quiet evening. Our boss, however, would like to have a word with you."
"Who the hell are you two?" Terrence growled.
"Ah," the right said with some satisfaction," finally, an appropriate question. I'm Dum," he nods his head to his associate, " and he's Dee."
At that moment there was clapping, and Terrence turned to see the Hatter slowly walk towards them, his head down so his hat obscured his face and twirling his hands like a maestro. He turned to Rose and Belle, his eyes pupils dilated to slits, his teeth growing into fangs. "This may get ugly." He told them.

Belle grasped onto Rose's arm, digging her nails into her thick skin as she was nervous and scared about what was going on. The brunette closed her eyes once she noticed Terrence bringing out the wolf in him. It was a horrid scene. Of course back in the fairy tale world she had fallen in love with a beast, but she still feared the beast when she first saw him, just as she does when she noticed Terrence changing.

---

Rose was shocked to find that Belle had grabbed onto her arm the way she had, but chuckled at the men's words. This man really is dumb, she thought to herself but kept a blank expression. When she noticed Terrence had pulled out his fangs and claws, she knew something was going to happen and she wasn't just going to sit back and allow for Terrence to do it all by himself. Now was the time when everyone here would find out who she truly is and be sure of it.

The female brought out her wolf claws, fangs, and her pupils became dilated into slits as well. If something was going to happen, she'd try her best to protect Belle, Terrence, and Bloody Mary who had been inside this entire time.

Terrence looked at Rose, noticing her change.
"I thought so," he spoke softly, completely different from his current imposing change, "afterwards, you and I need to talk."
he looked at belle and saw the fear in her eyes. "don't worry, nothing will happen to you. I'm sorry your gonna have to see me like this." he turned to the Hatter, who stood there with a blissful, but sly, smile.
"What ever you have to say, I don't want to hear it."
Terrence tore off his pendant, allowing his true form to be unleashed. His shirt stretched out as his bones and flesh began to bulge and grow. Fur sprouted from his body, and his face, his nose and jaw elongating into a snout filled with long, serrated fangs. His arms and legs grew twice as long, muscles bulging. A tail was seen sprouting, standing on end with warning. In a deep, gutteral voice he snarled, "LEAVE."

Belle's eyes widened even bigger and she let go of Rose when she saw she was one as well. She backed away a couple steps and froze, seeing Terrence's true form. She couldn't believe back in the fairy tale world Rose was having to deal with him. She didn't see how she could have done it.

---

Rose nodded her head at Terrence's words, already knowing she would have to talk with him before he said anything but kept her eyes locked on Hatter, glaring at him with a hateful look. She wasn't going to transform into her full wolf form unless she had to. So she kept her eyes open for any sign that she'd have to do so.

The Hatter, rather than being intimidated by the two wolves, clapped his hands in delight. "Ah!," he exclaimed," you're even more glorious than I previously imagined!" He adjusted his top hat, and gave them his most welcoming smile. " I do apologize if my associates were a bit...hard on the ears," he said with a sorrow filled expression. "I only wished to make Mr Terrence Wolf here an offer of a lifetime! I'm sure you've heard the magnificent show I am so fortunate as to have in my possession. I wished to make you an offer. Why work as a temporary thug for a bar and an construction worker, when you could work alongside me, a humble business man. You're pay would be extravagant, I assure you!" He smiled and laughed hysterically, before laying his multicolored eyes on them once more. "So mr wolf... What do you say?"

Rose stood there listening to every word Hatter said to Terrence. She hoped he wouldn't accept the offer, worried that this may be a trap of some kind. But if he did it was his decision, not her own but she would stick by him through it if anything came up. After all, she was helping her with this case so why not help out a fellow detective when the time comes, if the time comes. She had never spoken to or dealt with the Hatter face to face, but everything she heard around town about him was completely true, he was a mad man.