Bargaining - Hatter’s Domain
Contents
Characters
- Alice
- Mad Hatter
Alchemy and Planet
- Mercury
Theme
- The Brain
- Messages
- Travel
- The Inner Compass
Concept
Bargaining is the third stage of PTSD Alice confronts and is contained within The Hatter and his domain. Hatter knows his time is up, that the Queen of Hearts wants him dead, and his area’s defenses are on full alert. Alice sneaks and battles her way through the gauntlet in order to reach Hatter and deliver the “gift.”
Hatter wishes for things to return to normal - back to the way they were. He wants to undo all the things which led to this point and blames himself for all that’s gone wrong. He would accept death - but the Queen’s gift ensures that he can never die and that he will live in eternal torment. He knows because he built it as a torture device for her enemies.
Alice pleads with him to accept the gift and return with her (she wants Rabbit back) but…
He spends his days working on a (mad) plan to put Wonderland right again. “All the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t … but I can!” Hatter can’t finish his work until certain (elements, emotions?) are collected. And he’s plagued by a certain gremlin - he’s convinced it was Alice he saw but now that she’s here and offering to help that theory no longer makes sense.
Alice retrieves the Inner Compass (filled with mercury?) Not only will it guide her to the Red Queen but can also point Alice towards the Elemental Emotions (Emolants, Elotions) required for Hatter’s plan to restore Wonderland.
(Each new Element and Emotion acquired, including the ones acquired up to this point, are used to unlock dresses, weapons, and skills. As she progresses, Alice is growing in skill and competence).
