It was now or never. Xandra and her team worked busier than bees at spring time. The two weeks were spent recalculating, recalibrating and rechecking every tiny detail for any deviation that could affect their outcome. They were taking no chances. Xandra's days were early mornings and late nights. She survived on caffeine and roughly 4 hours of sleep. She only saw glimpses of her friends during that time.

"Xandra you look like hell!" Claret walked up and stared straight at her.

"Wouldn't you? Tomorrow is the big day."

"No! I wouldn't. I would do my work right and my simulation would work. If you get all worked up, you get you nowhere."

"Don't be mean!" Elvira came in behind Claret and sat next to Xandra, "I hope it works. Can you imagine going to Wonderland?" she said turning to Claret.

Xandra slowly sipped her coffee thinking. She had not told the others about her meeting with Ms. Hue.

"Tomorrow is a big day. Can't wait to see what happens." Cad's voice brought her out of her thoughts.

"Whether it works of not, tomorrow changes everything," Xandra stood to leave, "Wish me luck!" She waved at them and headed back to work.

That night Xandra went to bed early, hoping to get some extra sleep, but sleep would not come.

First, it was too hot and then too cold. Next, she felt thirsty. Finally, she fell asleep at about 1 am.

"Xandra. Xandra. Good luck for tomorrow."

Xandra woke startled but there was no one there. The clock blinked 'Four hours till next alarm'. She gulped down some water and slide back under her comforter. As she drifted off, she thought of the mirror and it appeared in front of her. She gently placed her palm on it and the glass vibrated. Little waves drifted to the edge. Her reflection distorted.

Xandra stepped back to look at herself but the waves kept moving. Then a stern voice came through the ripples

"I don't know. I thought you would." replied a gentle voice.

"Off with her head!"

Xandra could not move. She held her breath and wondered what would happen next. A pair of shoes filled with white socks followed by a blue frock worn by a golden hair girl stepped out through the mirror.

"Alice?" whispered Xandra.

"Were you expecting someone else, maybe the Rabbit or the March Hare?" she asked.

"No. I meant is it really you?"

"The me, I am right now. Do you think you could hide me? I don't want to go back. The Red Queen is so loud." Alice darted around the room searching for a place to hide.

CLANG! CRASH!

Xandra turned towards the noise coming from the mirror. The glass was still. Xandra turned to Alice but she was gone.

"There's nowhere to hide. Where could she go?" Xandra looked everywhere but there was no trace of Alice. So she settled on the bed and before she knew it she fell asleep.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Xandra sat up and the events of the night drifted in her mind.

"That's not possible! The mirror is in the Lab! The stress is getting to me."

Armed with a cup of coffee, Xandra hurried to the lab. She made it on time, everything is ready.

Xandra stood in front of the 3 holographic displays each showing the mirror from a different angles. Her team members were seated in front of different consoles monitoring the temperature, the light and other sensors. Xandra gave a nod. One of the techs gently placed the shard in the empty crevice of the mirror and stepped out of the room.

This was it, the moment of truth. With a held breath,

"Three, Two, One, Now!"

On Xandra's command, a high intensity laser beam was fired at the mirror.

"Ma'am, it's working, the temperature is rising. The glass is melting" came a voice from the corner.

"Keep an eye on it! We don't want to overheat it. Ok. Start reducing the temperature."

Minutes passed like hours. The glass started to cool and merge together.

"It's done ma'am, the shard, it's a part of the mirror"

Everyone in the room gave a sigh of relief. Nothing had burst or shattered. The mirror was whole again.

"Let's go to phase two. Is the glass cooled?"

"Yes, ma'am"

"Are we getting a reflection?"

"Er, Um,"

"Don't take all day. Send in the light."

"The light is reflecting back, ma'am, like... a normal mirror."

The team was in the lab the whole day and most of the night. They gave up early morning the next day.