There they were in the distance, approaching closer by the minutes. What could be made up at the current was the bright glow of their eyes. Their synchronized marches that shook the earth stopped when they exited the Tulgey Wood and into the marsh. It was a squadron—no, an army of flat, limbed robots carrying sharp lances with them. They moved at the same pace, not one lagging or moving in advance as if they were all a singular organism. Only that they weren’t.

Rocket held his ground. His bazooka was blankly at aim in front of him. He had no specific target except that it should be the army but how could he target an army? Unless he had a much larger gun or a ship, ideally, there was no way what’s about to come could be ended with one shot.

They approach much closer now. Their legs sunk deep into the mires but were hardly snared. Their movement, still, was of perfect synchrony. Rocket let loose one projectile into the sky, its trajectory aiming for the first line of cards. He succeeded in breaking a small radius which was about three to six card soldiers with one shot but the numbers were barely touched.

The cards kept marching and behind them followed more from the Tulgey Wood. Rocket muttered a curse and randomly fired to the air. The army of cards was his canvas but his damages were but dots. Nevertheless he kept on firing.

For each exploding projectile, card soldiers fell but hardly stopped. The robots showed no hesitation and kept on marching, walking on and over their fallen comrades. Their movement was constant and hardly aggressive which favored Rocket currently however he wouldn’t be so lenient if the soldiers come in pointblank range. Slowly though, it was happening.

The steps before the card army close in on Rocket could be counted by the hands and the raccoon had to take one step for every shot he took. He backtracked a few times as he pulled the trigger until he was specifically targeting the cards which came too near.

Rocket was drawn back to the swamp but he kept on fighting. He bombarded the area with bullets and blasts, battle-crying as he did so but he could only stop so many. He grew tired while the robots just kept on coming. One card soldier approached Rocket too close and the raccoon had to force his strength to lift his weapon up and shoot the enemy. Another one came in thereafter and once again, Rocket fired.

When the third soldier approached, Rocket thought he’d finally go through a spear but the card soldier simply marched past him… as did the others that came after it. Rocket looked behind him—to the soldiers that walked past and then back in front of him—to the soldiers that were just approaching.

Why weren’t they attacking?

They just marched. And Rocket had to get out of the way lest he be walked all over on by the docile army. He climbed a tree’s trunk midway to observe the enemy units.

For minutes, the march kept on and from Rocket’s point of view, the red soldiers looked like a wave of rubies passing by. Not long after that, the battalion stopped. They were still but the sound of marching kept on. The group past Rocket’s tree didn’t stop… only those behind it.

Now that was suspicious, Rocket thought. He climbed down the tree and began to inspect, walking over to one of the card soldiers. Fine material, Rocket noticed but lame designs. He stared at the soldier, its eyes still glowed which meant it was active. And yet it was immobile.

He tapped the flat exterior of the robot and that’s when its head turned down on him. The other soldiers’ heads turned to Rocket in successive waves—one line of cards after the other until their focus was solely on the raccoon.

This is bad, Rocket thought. He took a few steps back. The card soldier nearest to him gripped its lance and thrusted forward. Rocket fell back, his rump thudding against the soft ground. Half of the spear was eaten by the mire and the card soldier struggled to retrieve its weapon. Rocket hurried back to his feet as the other soldiers were now aiming for him.

He only thanked God that all the soldiers were short ranged… he thought too soon.

A projectile was shot. It didn’t hit him but it brushed past his fur, making it stand up from the current. An electrical shot, Rocket knew. He searched for the source of it and found card soldiers wielding guns not far behind the ones wielding lances. His luck ran out when the first battalion ignored him. This was his fight.

Rocket retreated back to the trees, using them as shields for the long ranged ones. He was already exhausted from earlier and he didn’t know how much stamina he had left to keep on fighting. As much as the situation allowed it, he didn’t waste much energy on the cards that were short-ranged. He focused all his energy on the real threats which were the long ranged ones.

The forest, dead quiet the whole time, was suddenly singing the melody of zapping guns and exploding projectiles. It was one vs an army and even though Rocket could outsmart the bots, their number was his disadvantage.

Rocket kept falling back until eventually he was surrounded. There were no more trees that could shield him. The soldiers were around him, leaving no area he could escape to.

This is it, Rocket thought, death by idiots. It hit his pride more that he would be killed by stupid robots. What a humiliating way to go.

The army closed in by marches and Rocket kept fighting till he could no longer breathe… but he was rescued.

From the sky rained arrows.

It hit the soldiers nearest to Rocket. The arrows were dull or the soldiers were much harder. The projectiles that did successfully land on the cards were deflected, except for the ones that hit a joint or the eyepieces.

Three waves of arrows rained and after that, a faint battle-cry resonated inside the forest. The clanging of metal against metal added to the cacophony as did the sound of livewires spurring out of life. The wind blew strong, shaking the leaves to applaud Rocket’s savior. Figures midair was in the distance and quickly came warriors swinging on vines with clubs and maces.

They swept down, bashing cards on the head. The numbers were now reduced. Rocket watched as the red soldiers fell and sink into the mud. Their numbers, which he hasn’t scathed, dwindled rapidly.

From one of the vine-swingers, rode down the bloodhound from earlier. He stood beside Rocket, his face neutrally calm.

“With or without weapons, we will fight,” the bloodhound said.

Rocket wiped off the amazement in his face and smirked, calibrating his weapon. “What took you so long to come up with that?”

The bloodhound shrugged and behind him, he took out a small gun. “I’m not letting the last of my pups die in the hands of Alice. Whoever you’re tryna’ protect, protect him.”

“That’s what I’m doing,” Rocket smiled.

Together, they joined the fray.

***

Mallymkun had no idea where to go. He didn’t know about the laboratory Mirana stole from Alice. It took him quite some time before he finally asked Baeley where they should go.

“Uhm,” he coughed sheepishly. “You wouldn’t happen to know where the laboratory is, would you?”

Baeley seemed to have been in a trance had he jutted up slightly when Mallymkun asked him. “It’s more of a factory actually,” he said.

“Factory?” Mallymkun repeated. “So you do know where it is?”

“Certainly,” Baeley said proudly and then his tone lowered a bit, “I’m one of the warriors that fought to invade it…”

Mallymkun scurried to the control panel of the ship and searched for the navigation map. “Your sacrifices will play a big role in this war,” he said as he looked for the map. The dormouse wasn’t convinced that the ship was of current galactic technology. It seemed old or was just really crappy. Considering that it came from Rocket, he expected that it would be much more convenient to use. That or the raccoon rented the ship from a cheap dealer. Rocket did seem a bit stingy.

Mallymkun ran over a radar that flickered and he guessed, though he was not very sure of it, that it was the map. Perhaps this is it, he thought as he pressed his foot on the damaged glass. The map flickered, displaying their coordinates before shutting off completely.

“Work!” the dormouse yelled and jumped on the map. The radar blinked and then finally ceased to function. Mallymkun groaned.

“Perhaps I could be of assistance,” Baeley said.

Mallymkun stood back and waited for the bloodhound to fix the map but Baeley didn’t even get up from where he sat.

Mallymkun coughed to get Baeley’s attention. “You were gonna fix it?”

“Oh no,” Baeley replied. “I meant veer the ship closer to the ground. I know the lands.”

“Right…” Mallymkun trailed off. He scuttled back to the seat too big for him and began pushing levers with all his might. He jumped back to the control panel, adjusted a few settings and then he was at the veering stick of the ship.

Baeley watched with amazement as the small mouse operated the controls much larger than the mouse’s size. Baeley didn’t even understand how the ship worked. It’s his first time riding one and he only knew one other dog familiar with this level of technology—his father, Bayard. There were memories of him along with his brothers and sisters, pleading for their father to tell them about the life in space. They were curious about what it was like living outside a planet. Bayard always seemed to have kept to himself, only mentioning the good times.

Baeley and his siblings dreamed of riding a ship or shooting with laser guns but they all knew it wouldn’t be possible. At such young ages, they were already aware that they were prisoners of this planet but they grew up dreaming. They trained under Bayard with what material they had in hopes that one day, a rebellion might happen and they would be ready.

Mirana’s proposal was what they thought would be Alice’s downfall so they fought and they won…or so as the white queen declared. Alice simply named the event Horunvendush day. Now, however, was different. It’s the Frabjous day.

“Baeley…” Mallymkun alerted the dreaming bloodhound. “We’re below the clouds… where to?”

Baeley shook his head and peered outside the ship. “Just head straight… we’ll see a small dome—grey in color—that’s the surface of the factory.”

Mallymkun nodded and increased the speed they were going. He observed Baeley thereafter. “What seems to be bothering you?” the dormouse asked.

Baeley simply looked at the dormouse.

“I don’t mean to intrude but you could tell me if something ails you,” Mallymkun said.

Baeley smiled wryly, just stretching the corners of his mouth to rise. “It’s my first time riding a ship…” he said quietly. “My siblings and I thought this was a dream we could never achieve… I wish they were here.”

Mallymkun scurried to Baeley’s seat. He placed his small hand on Baeley’s arm and caressed him. “Would you like to give this ship a go?”

Baeley’s eyes widened. “I-I can’t…” he stuttered. “I don’t know how…”

Mallymkun chuckled. “It’s easy. I’ll teach you.”

Baeley was about to stand up but Mallymkun stopped him, saying, he needn’t leave his seat to pilot the ship.

“Before I give the controls to you, there are a few things you need to know,” Mallymkun said.

Baeley swallowed. He felt nervous and excited but more on the excited part.

Mallymkun continued, “First you have to know that everything you need to control the ship is all in hands’ reach…” he paused and then corrected himself, “Your hands’ reach.”

Baeley observed the armrests of his seat and just realized that various controls were there.

“Some ships, like this one,” Mallymkun jumped to the control panel, “has this old stuff—they’re just adjustments and maps. It’s not really necessary anymore. I have a strong hunch this unit is a rental.” He commented. “Anyway, slip your left hand into that round thing on your armrest.”

Baeley followed.

“You’ll grip a vertical rod inside,” Mallymkun said, “That’s how you veer the ship. And on your right armrest, is a thrust-lever. It controls the speed of the ship.”

Baeley placed his right hand on the lever and waited for Mallymkun’s instructions but none more came. “Is that all?” Baeley asked.

“That’s all you need to know if you want to fly a ship,” Mallymkun said.

“What about these other controls?”

“More complicated,” Mallymkun said the moment Baeley finished. “The left armrest is more on controlling the ship and the right armrest has weapon features.”

“This ship has weapons?” Baeley exclaimed. “How do I use them?”

“Not for a beginner,” Mallymkun replied and before Baeley could protest, he added. “You’re still not controlling the ship, Baeley.”

Baeley became quiet. He took a few deep breaths. “Alright… I’m ready.”

Mallymkun went back to the first seat. “I trust you, Baeley,” he said and then pushed the lever that transferred the controls to the second pilot.

The whole ship shuddered and the warriors riding behind were startled.

When the controls were transferred to Baeley, he felt the whole ship become him. From the ship’s pointed nose to its tail, he suddenly felt connected to it. He gripped his left hand and slowly tilted the vertical rod left. With just a subtle tilt, the whole ship veered left gently.

Mallymkun watched Baeley with caution, stationing at the lever that transferred the controls so that he would be able to salvage them should the situation require it.

Before Baeley even realized it, he was already smiling wildly. “This is none other than I’ve ever experienced before!” he shouted.

“Focus, Baeley,” Mallymkun said just to be safe.

Baeley experimented, veering the ship left and right. The sensation of riding it was ecstatic and he wondered if this was what it was like to live in space. His father must have enjoyed himself extremely.

“We’re losing speed,” Mallymkun said. “You have to keep pushing the thrust-lever minimally to maintain our speed.”

Baeley noticed that the thrust-lever kept pulling back down when he wasn’t pushing it. Out of curiosity, he pushed the lever fully on top and the ship dashed with amazing speed.

Inertia pulled him back against the backrest of his ship and it threw the little dormouse on his own seat.

“Reduce speed! Too much thrust!” Mallymkun yelled.

Baeley’s reaction time was delayed of instant change and he wasn’t able to reduce speed immediately. They fly swiftly in the air and Baeley’s attention was in front of him to the obstacles. They were at level with the hills and plateaus and without Mallymkun veering the ship. It was likely that they crash into one of it.

“How do I make the ship go up?” Baeley yelled.

“Lift the vertical rod up!” Mallymkun shouted back but it was too late. They were in the range of the towering plateaus.

Baeley swallowed all the fear and doubts he had of controlling the ship. He focused on what’s ahead and began evading the structures that would lead to their gruesome demise. Twin plateaus were ahead and the only way past it was between it.

Baeley breathed and estimated his turn. Not too close and not too far, he turned the vertical rod horizontally and the ship tilted a hundred and eighty degrees, going through the plateaus. Baeley was relieved but it wasn’t over yet.

They were in the gorge—the valley of stone towers which meant if he doesn’t find a chance to rise above it, he’ll have to go all the way through it. The spaces become much narrower and Baeley had to be keen with the speed they were going at.

For every approaching plateau, Baeley steered the ship with nothing but reflex and instinct guiding him. He was able to evade but not perfectly. One plateau grazed the side of the ship, slightly changing their course but Baeley won control back easily. He didn’t find a chance to go above the stone towers but he succeeded in going through it.

He reduced their speed to a smooth glide in the air.

“How was that?” he said excitedly, the wag of his tail, restrained by his sit on the seat.

“I knew I could trust you,” Mallymkun raised a quivering thumbs-up.

The excitement on Baeley’s face vanished when he realized they were above the Crims palace… rather, the ruins of it.

“Mallymkun,” Baeley said. “What happened to Crims palace?” he asked, “Did Alice destroy it?”

Mallymkun wobbly jumped to the control panel and walked to the glass where he saw the red queen’s palace, fragile and crumbling. “Tarrant…” Mallymkun said under his breath, “Chess!” he exclaimed.

Baeley was confused.

“The palace is still standing, Tarrant was right, Chess might be alive,” the dormouse became hysterical but he stopped himself. He had a mission of his own and he knew that he couldn’t leave it to Baeley alone. Baeley and the Tweedles need him. Although he wanted to confirm if his friends were alright, he couldn’t risk their chance on this war. “You know the way to the factory…” he trailed off, “Take us there, Baeley.”

“We went past it,” Baeley said, “But I know a shortcut in the Tulgey Wood—past the marsh.”

As Baeley turned the ship around, Mallymkun could only look and hope that his friends were okay. He’s already worried enough for the queens.

***

Baeley noticed something below them as he flew the ship to the factory. It was a line of red soldiers. It was war so it was nothing to be surprised about but he was surprised at the direction the card soldiers marched.

“Mallymkun,” Baeley said. “Do you have a way to contact your friends in the factory?”

Mallymkun nodded to disagree. “Why?”

“Look below.”

The dormouse scurried to the glass pane and noticed an army go the same way they were headed and then he saw the dome structure Baeley described earlier. He estimated their odds. If they continued to the lab, they would have the weapons but they would also be cornered. If they don’t, they’ll have no weapons and the Tweedles might die.

“Are you aware of the situation?” Mallymkun asked.

Baeley swallowed, “I am…I await your decision.”

Mallymkun thought for a while. “I can’t risk the warriors…”

“Mallymkun,” Baeley said. “Whatever your decision will be, I will follow it but let me just say that these warriors with us all came to risk their lives for this war. We will fight to the end.”

“You’re very noble as your warriors are,” Mallymkun said. “I think I may have a plan. We go to the factory.”