35M3R4LD4: An Asunderland Tale

7H3 1NFR4C710N

"Come on in, trinket," beckoned one of the doctors, Dr. M. Hatter, called to 35M3R4LD4.

She obeyed impassively, neither looking forward to the appointment nor looking afraid. Through the corner of her impressively bright-green eyes, she saw the cat, CH€§h1r-Ķ@, standing nearby along with RA3317. Probably waiting for me to act up, 35M3R4LD4 thought, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. While RA3317 might not like going after rebellious patients, the cat for sure seemed to enjoy the chase, just like the 84Nd3R5N47CH and the J483RWOCK seemed to enjoy hunting rogue patients down.

"Sit here, dear," gestured Dr. Hatter, his posh English accent sounding both endearing and unnerving simultaneously. He always seemed to switch moods quickly, but today he seemed to be cool-headed. He swiveled a lean-back chair toward her direction, and she took it silently and sat down. "Now," he said, sitting in his own chair and pressed his hands together and looking at the girl in a knowing way. "Why are you here today?"

35M3R4LD4 bit back a sigh. "Violation number zero-zero-three-one-zero of the C0MP45510N infraction," she informed him in the monotone voice of a person who has said that one too many times.

"Ah, so the usual," he nodded knowingly. "Who was it toward this time?"

"T1NK83LL," she responded dejectedly, still seeing the look of pain on the poor fairy's face in her mind's eye. "The drugs had a weird side effect on her so I attempted to assist her through it."

"I see," Hatter hummed, scribbling something down on a clipboard. "And this assistance you offered her - what did that consist of?"

The small implanted chip in her neck stung a little, reminding 35M3R4LD4 who was in charge here and what could happen if she got caught lying. "I gave her a small drink to help her sleep - so she could avoid feeling the pain the drugs were giving her," she replied, sighing.

"Hmm, I can see how that counts as a C0MP45510N infraction," Dr. Hatter nodded, the corner of his mouth turned up slightly in the smallest of smirks. "You remember the consequence of such an infraction, dearie?"

"Yes, sir, I do."

"Good," Dr. Hatter pulled out a drawer, reached in, and pulled out a large syringe. "Then there shouldn't be any further problem after I give you a stronger medication to encourage you to refrain from committing another such infraction again."

At the sight of the needle, 35M3R4LD4 instinctively pushed herself further into the back of the chair. Through the corner of her eye she saw the cat and the rabbit tense up, ready to spring into action if she stepped out of line. She saw RA3317 finger their pocket watch, which she knew, from experience, that it was a tool of hypnosis.

"35M3RALD4," Dr. Hatter's voice had a more colder tone to it this time. She winced. "Need I remind you what B0ØG13M4N will do if we had to send you to him for behavior that doesn't fit protocol?"

She shivered. Pitch Black, commonly called the Boogieman - or B0ØG13M4N - was one of the scientists in the Rabbit Hole who often used patients in need of reconditioning to experiment his new, twisted ideas on them.

Dr. Hatter looked at her with an intense gaze and held up the syringe. "35M3R4LD4?"

She sighed. "Just so it," she said, resigning to the fact she'll have to lose some of her memories again, which was a common side effect of the drug that was contained in the syringe.

Hatter beckoned to CH€§h1r-Ķ@, who came over to hold 35M3R4LD4 down as he prepared the syringe. She winced as he all but plunged the needle into her arm and squeezed the liquid into her body. He pulled it out and put some gauze over the area to prevent any potential bleeding. Almost immediately, 35M3R4LD4 could feel the drug kick in. Everything felt a little distant and sluggish, and the panic she felt at the realization her memories were slipping away subsided almost immediately. Soon, she could barely remember why she was in the chair in the first place.

Hatter rolled back over to where she was sitting, and ran through the routine check-list - if one was the answer the questions correctly, it would tell help him see if the drug had worked. "If you see a violation of zero-four-eight-one, code word 35C4P3-3, what do you do?"

The answer naturally came out of her without hesitation. "Report it to one of the MECHA's or R37R13V3R's to be taken care of," she responded.

"Good," Hatter scribbled something down on his clipboard. "What is your main purpose in The Rabbit Hole?" he asked next.

"To advocate for volunteers for the program, to create PR0P4G4ND4, and to calm other patients if they become difficult," she replied automatically.

"Good, good," he said again, spent a little more time scribbling, and then gestured to RA3317. "Take 35M3R4LD4 back to her cell, please. CH€§h1r-Ķ@, send in the next patient."

RA3317 assisted her out of the chair, and escorted her back to her cell block. 35M3R4LD4 collapsed onto her small cot as soon as the cell door was locked behind her.

"Tough appointment?" asked the prisoner from the cell across the aisle - serial number M-4-L. "What was it this time?" Before 35M3R4LD4 could answer the question, M4L realized what she had said. "Whoops - sorry! I forgot that you can't remember after a reconditioning appointment." When she didn't get any sort of a response from her neighbor, she said softly but hopefully, "make them pay?"

35M3R4LD4 smiled a little. "And bring the rain," she finished their little catch phrase in a tired, but slightly triumphant tone.

"You remembered," said M4L, relieved. "I was a little worried there. Seems like every time you go back in for reconditioning, you remember less and less."

"It starts to take a toll, yes," 3M53R4LD4 nodded, smiling lopsidedly. "But how can I forget our pact to storm the place and leave?"

There was a little knock from the cell next door. The little muffled voice of M1CH43L-D, a young boy, was heard through the wall. "Are you okay, Esmie?" he asked, using the nickname he dubbed her since he was brought to The Rabbit Hole.

"I am... okay," she replied, pressing herself against the wall so he could hear her a little bit better. "How was meeting with Professor Wicked?" she asked, referring to the scientist who everyone in the facility called the 'Evil Queen'.

"She's a mean lady who's off her cracker," he responded, bitterly - but his little lisp took the sting out of it and made the sentence sound absolutely adorable. "She poked and prodded me - she can't decide what I could be used for here." A little bit of fear crept into the boy's voice. "I hope she won't decommission me if she can't find a use for me."

35M3R4LD4 wished she could pull him into her arms and hold him tightly. "I'm sure she won't," she replied reassuringly, but was given a little sting by the chip in her neck for the soft, compassionate tone she used.

Right. If she wanted to avoid seeing Hatter for a while, she would need to keep her actions in check.

CH€§h1r-Ķ@ stalked down the hallway, banging her little club onto the doors of each cell. "Enough chit-chat," she hissed, glaring at everyone and tossing her pink hair behind her back. "Time to shut down for the night."

"Esmie?" asked M1CH43L softly after the cat was gone and the lights were killed.

"Yes?"

"I'm scared."

"Just... try and get some sleep. Things should be better in the morning," she replied, lying. When there was no response from the little lad, she, too tried to get comfortable in the cot and get some sleep. But it was difficult to - she felt this overwhelming urge to try and regain the memories she lost from the drug she was given, but no matter how hard she tried to concentrate, nothing was happening. She remembered from somewhere that objects from a persons past sometimes triggered memories to come flooding back, so she decided that, in the morning, she would try and rummage around the facility for anything that she used to own. And maybe...

...just maybe...

She could remember again.