AnaBeth's Next Adventure In Underland

Chapter 4: Chronosphere

Time's castle is unique to put it mildly. It has a gothic feel to it, but at the same time the whole castle being made from metal and crystal makes it seem futuristic. The entire place is different shades of black and that's it. In this entire place, inside of the clock, has only one color, which of course is black. Unfortunately, when I walk a couple more steps I realize that there is an abyss around the entire building, but the miles long abyss isn't a normal or usual kind. The entire abyss is built to be a giant clock with working mechanics as well, which could make a path for us.

"Well, Alice," I call out to her, while still looking at the giant clock abyss as the second-hand swings by with a loud swoosh, "How are we going to reach the castle? Wait! Let me rephrase that question. How am I going to be able to reach the castle in my condition?"

Alice looks like she is in deep thought as she starts to pace back 'n forth for a minute. Suddenly she stops and a smile crosses her face, while she rushes over to me. Gently taking my hands, she leads me over to the very edge of solid ground, while the second-hand passes by us yet again.

"When the second-hand passes again, we are going to jump and land on that minute-hand below us. I want you to make sure that when you jump you don't hurt your stomach. Okay? Just focus on protecting those two in your stomach," she says to me in a reassuring way, and I nod my head. Closing my eyes, I breathe in and out, while at the same time praying to any god that is listening to protect my twins.

"Okay, on the count of three we'll jump," Alice says to me, and I open my eyes. Preparing for the jump, I faintly hear my adopted sister counting '1,2,3' and we both jump off the cliff as the second-hand passes us. Somehow, I miss landing on the minute-hand, but luckily, I grasp the metal platform with my hands. A shriek escapes my lips as I continue to dangle from the minute-hand and I look around to see Alice getting up onto the platform.

"ALICE!" I yell her name, and she looks at me with wide eyes as I realize that my hands are slipping. No! I got to keep holding on until Alice helps me up. Quickly, she rushes towards me and pulls me up from my current position. We stay crouched on the platform as the second-hand passes over us. Once the hand passes, Alice rushes on ahead, while I carefully walk towards the castle. By the time, I get to the entrance of the castle, the second-hand already passed over me about five times.

The inside of the castle is a lot like the outside. Meaning that the walls are made up of a smooth metal, but it looks like a black gem. Unfortunately, it took so long for me to enter the castle that now I can't even see my sister, which is understandable considering that this is a huge building. Deciding that I should start walking, I stroll through the long hallway until I hear a peculiar sound. Turning to my left, I catch a glimpse of something as it goes down another hallway. Raising an eyebrow, I change paths so I can follow whatever that was.

Going through many different hallways, I end up arriving in a large room that has a large clock in it. My eyes widen when I step more into the room. Never would I have imagined something as grand as this. Well, what should I expect when this is the home of Time himself, of course he is going to have a huge clock.

Tearing my eyes away from the clock, I look around the gigantic room to find the person I was following. Unfortunately, there isn't anyone else in the room besides me, which only leads me to scratch the back of my head in confusion. What the hell is going on?

"Um? Alice? Where are you?" I call out, but no one answers back. Twiddling my thumbs, I walk around the room, and finally decide to sit on the ground because my babies are starting to fuss around. Shushing them gently, I rub my stomach in slow circles as I continue to glance around the room, while hoping that Alice will come to me soon. Thankfully, someone was listening to my wishing, because my sister comes sneaking into the room and jumps slightly when she realizes that she is not alone. When she sees that it is just me, she smiles in relief before rushing towards me.

"AnaBeth! Are you, all right?" she asks me and my answer is a simple nod. She helps me stand up and I continue to rub my stomach as a gesture for my babies to calm down.

"Did you find Time, Alice?" I ask as I start to walk toward the huge clock again. Alice starts to explain her conversation with Time and how he wouldn't help Alice with my husband. Depression creeps its way into my mind as I start to think about all the negative futures that can happen without the help of Time. The sad and hopeless thoughts instantly disappear from my mind when I hear what my sister says next.

"Then as Time was dismissing me, I saw the Red Queen enter the castle," Alice says, and I whirl around to see my sister with a panicked look on my face. I thought that Iracebeth was exiled by the White Queen. No one was supposed to even look at the Red Queen, but apparently Time didn't get that memo. Wait! If the Red Queen saw Alice here then we are defiantly dead. As if reading my thoughts, Alice grabs my hand that isn't rubbing my stomach and gives it a reassuring squeeze, "Don't worry, AnaBeth. She didn't even see me, because I ducked behind a pillar before she even came through the door."

"Wouldn't Time inform Iracebeth that you are here?" I ask, and she shrugs her shoulders while pulling me to the door that is right underneath the giant clock. How did I not notice this door before?!? Sighing, I walk through the door and look all around at the gears and cogs working inside the clock.

Looking around in fascination, I fail to notice a ball like object in the center of the room. This specific object seems to be very important, because there is a glowing light coming from the floor to the object. My sister hurries over to the ball object and ushers me over.

"What is this, Alice?" I ask with awe in my voice. Continuing to rub my stomach, I watch as she picks it up and the entire clock stops for a short second before hesitantly starting again.

"This, sister, is called the Chronosphere, and this will take us back in time to help the Hatter," Alice says to me, and grabs my hand while walking us to the center of the room. I am almost jumping in excitement, because we are so close to helping my husband.

A shout makes both of us turn toward the balcony and I notice that the Red Queen along with a man with black hair and suit, who must be Time, is looking down at us. Quickly, Alice rolls the Chronosphere across the floor and it expands to a giant ball with ship like controls. Stepping into the ball, Alice takes the wheel while I start pulling down a chord and pressing buttons. The ball lifts off the ground and electricity surges around the metal structure. As we are zooming forward, I realize that we are heading straight towards the two people that only one of them is telling us to stop, while the other looks ready to chop off our heads. Right as they duck down, Alice gets control of the ball and we head straight into a portal that the electricity created.

Please, Tarrant Hightopp, hold on for a little bit longer! We are so close to finding out what happen to your family and maybe even saving them! Please! For our children! Hold on a little bit longer!