Button Eyes, Clock Hearts

Cold Fun

They weren't sure where exactly they were supposed to go. Knowing there hadn't been any doors close by made the task the more tedious. They took a deep breath, the smell of dust and ashes filling Joker's nostrils, plants around dry and sickly. There was no wind, no nothing. Deafening silence that somehow unnerved the redheads. All the arrows were pointing to the same direction, the wood rotten and metal rusted, a sinking feeling filled their clocks.

Yet, they found it, a circus, abandoned. No people, ripped up, nobody taking care of it. A dilapidated version of their own. Funny how this was their worst fear, the one that they avoided in favor of feeling high, above all, knowing the secrets Wonderland had to hold. It was their home, the one gifted after they had been free from the real world. Joker couldn't believe how the memory of the Jabberwocky had vanished so easily. Their sister was the most important thing for them, they would kill themselves for her. Both got in, but they stopped on their tracks, falling, falling everything. Bird cages of different sizes. Dolls broken and beaten, with parts replaced.

"Benjamin, it would be good if were separate now. I'll head to search for the eye," said William, jester, to his counterpart.

"Fine" William nodded to Benjamin, rushing to the end and entering the backstage.

Benjamin held his whip tightly, listening carefully, waiting. But there was no fake version of him. There wasn't anything. He took a Deep breath, trying his best not to drown in hopelessness. Then it hit him, the smell of humidity, strange how the air had changed so drastically. From dry and dusty to humid. His sister always had loved water, implementing those tricks to the circus and torture to the prison. Temperature dropping slowly, and a slight noise made the redhead turn towards the stage. Suddenly a spotlight was turned on.

"Welcome, welcome! Do not be shy! Look at the dear Jabberwocky in her beautiful aquatic act. Sinking and sinking till the ice makes her its prey!"

Benjamin could see the center of the stage there was a pool of water and hanging from the ceiling was a beautiful golden birdcage, well crafted. Inside, the jabberwocky tied up and gagged. Back to back, where their visible eye was supposed to be, there was nothing but a black button. Slowly, the birdcage was being lowered towards the pool. The Jabberwocky let out a pleading whimper to no one, not yet aware that her brother was there.

Benjamin ran towards the cages, jumping on each and swinging on them, using his whip as an anchor to be able to reach the catwalks. It didn't take him long to find a rigging next to the pulley that was lowing the birdcage. Benjamin drew his dagger, cutting the rope with one downward cut. Using his whip, he pulled the Jabberwocky up. Once he opened the cage with one of his master keys, Benjamin freed his sister. Hugging both her bodies, the Jabberwocky did the same.

"Do you remember, when we were little, you said: if you feel you're sinking, I will jump right over into freezing water for you?" asked Benjamin letting them go and ripping their gags and ropes.

"Although time may take us into different places, I will still be patient with you." Recited the Jabberwocky getting up and helping Benjamin to his feet. "The memory of you saying that is still fresh."

"Yea better believe it and don't forget. Let's leave this shithole"

And so the three did.

Meanwhile, William wasn't having the best luck. He had barely entered the jabberwocky's bedroom. It was dark and gloomy, the decorations on the wall were painted with Blood, poison vials were on the desk, and multiple weapons were on the walls. Everything was scraped, missing maintenance. Nothing like what he was used to seeing his sister have. She was known to be very meticulous, cleaning after herself all the time. She was the responsible one to leave everything pristine and scolding him if he did not do the same. in which many exotic musical instruments are displayed. Suddenly the ceiling collapsed, filling the room with water. Falling, falling, he felt as if he was suspended in air. The water couldn't drown him, he could breathe. William looked all over, the room having vanished and leaving only an underwater museum of objects.

"Memories, memories, those precious things. Can you decipher and find where their eyes might be?"

William did not care about anything the witch said. If he recalled everything it would be a blessing, if he didn't all he needed was to keep his sister safe. His gaze stopped at a piano placed in the center of the room. A pair of flutes, violin, guitar also were there. Waiting. Who could play these? Joker closed his eye, and reopened it, watching as red sparks surrounded them and soon started to play. Yet, their owners were present, like ghostly figures. Juliet at the piano, the Jabberwocky at the flutes, the violin being played nicely by Gowland and the guitar by the Cheshire Cat. Joker watched fascinated as they all smiled, such a familiar scene, but not one he remembered. Why couldn't he? The key to this must be to find out the past of Gowland. He tried to get close, but everyone started to vanish, including the instruments. Puzzled he kept on going, passing through a worm hole.

Next room that received him was filled with statues, ceramics and paintings. He knew how much she loved all the different cultures. Mainly the Greeks and romans, and those times the circus in the upper world would pass through one of these places, he would steal something just for her. He got close to one of the paintings, depicting him and his sister, but, here they standing side by side. They had both eyes and hair down, dressed elegantly, the way they used to be before the circus. Playing together happily with dolls and books surrounding them inside a room. They were just one person, without another body, locked in a pretty room. Middle class, or so William recalled, they lived with their nanny. But as red sparks moved through the painting the door that once was closed burst open, stealing the children and taking them away, leaving the canvas vacant.

He rushed towards the other objects, seeing in Greek pottery a version of him and his sister in that style, both splitting in two revealing their counter parts. Yet, all of them only had one eye. The amphora twirled and twirled violently while William looked away. Too much to see, but there was no sign of the eyes he searched for. A tapestry showing a circus of human versions of the Wonderland residents looking miserable, and then with a swish it was colorful and alive, everyone in their Wonderland attire. A mosaic was right next to it, him and his sister standing there, a flash making them split, and another causing them to turn into dragon-like creatures. Each one with writing of an element, joker-jester fire, joker-warden air, Jabberwocky-jester-water, Jabberwocky-warden earth. He felt himself get trapped in a carriage, tied up with belts, with speed he felt the water vanish and the air hit his wet self.

Then it all stopped, an ordered room, with voodoo dolls and poison vials in pristine order. Candles with carvings of runes and sigils illuminated the place. William smiled, this was more like his dear sister. The secrets of them had been refreshed in his memory, and it might be time for him to talk to her to regain control of the powers they forgot they had or how they used them before. It took him a surprising amount of time to notice that next to the vials there were ruby earrings glimmering under the candlelight.

"I'm proud of her. She had better hobbies than us" mused William as he observed one of the Blood paintings.

"Stop fucking stalling." Yelled Benjamin through the mask making William laugh slightly as he grabbed the earrings.

"No need to worry, I found it"

"About fucking time, you found me!" the warden jabberwocky, Yvette, yelled from one of the earrings.

"Meet us at the mansion brother dear!" Added the jester, Brianna.

The four were together now, each one with the opposite gender at their right. Silently all of them deciding to walk to the mansion. Not wishing to be discovered if they said as much as a word.