Hatter's Revenge (rewriting - read at own risk)

Ch. 31: The Game Reset

Mad found himself blinking in a pale light. He looked around, taking in the empty field and endless sky. A soft breeze rustled through pale gold grass that came up just to Mad's knees.

"I was surprised too. No bright light or tunnel or whatever they tell ya," Gene's voice said.

Mad frowned, turning. No. Not Gene's voice.

Gene.

Gene walked toward him, hands in the pockets of a grey day suit, hat at an angle over his eyes. When he got close enough, he shook Mad's hand and said, "Been a while cowboy."

Mad looked around again, watching as the gold turned to silver the closer the grass got to the sky at the horizon. He shook his head. "I'm dead."

It wasn't a question.

He looked at Gene who shrugged. "You feel dead Mad?"

Mad flexed his fingers. "Not particularly. Is it supposed to feel like anything?"

Gene paused, considering, watching the long grass move in golden waves around them.

"Light," he finally answered. "You feel light. On the inside. You're not worried or upset or angry. You're not happy or excited or anything. You're just light. Free and easy."

Gene looked at Mad then. "You feel light Mad?"

Mad closed his eyes and thought for a moment before he realized that he didn't.

He didn't feel light.

He felt heavy. Like invisible strings were trying to pull him down through the earth under his feet.

He opened his eyes to find Gene watching him with that cocky smile. He clapped Mad on the shoulder and said, "It was good to see ya buddy. But you got someone waitin' for ya back there."

Gene laughed a little sadly and said, "Stay where you are Mad. There's nothing to go back to anymore. Those two need you and you need them more than you'll ever know. Don't ruin a good thing."

Mad looked out toward the horizon, then turned to tell Gene to wait.

But Gene was gone.

                                                               ~~~

Mad was almost surprised when he opened his eyes. His chest felt heavy and his fingers were stiff. He was terribly sore and horribly tired for having just woken up.

Mad turned his head, puzzled by the dark stone of the walls around him. He tried to sit up, found out that was a bad idea and lay back down, trying to figure out what had happened.

He remembered most of it. His execution. Rakta dying. Tamsus dying. The Queen.

Chants of 'Long live King Killian' flooding through an open window and the look of astonishment on Killian's face when he'd heard it.

Vaguely he recalled what had to have been a dream.

A door creaked and he turned his head, only to find a figure flying at him from across the room. Mad flinched, lifting his arms to ward off an attack then frowned when none came.

He looked up then to find a furious Alice glaring down at him and a shiver of worry crawled up his spine. Her hands balled into fists and she was perilously close to angry tears when she said, "How dare you! You horrible, horrible man. How dare you make us worry like that! Why do you think you can just do that Madison? Why?!"

Mad blinked, then looked back toward the door when a dry voice said, "Alice, I'm sure if Mad had had a choice, he would have elected not to get shot. It wasn't to spite you."