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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟑𝟎
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑 𝐁𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄

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When they finally arrived at their destination, the heroes quickly got off the magic carpet and rushed toward the White Rabbit's house. Indigo pounded on the door as hard as she could before it swung open to reveal Percy and his wife. The couple instantly led them into their home before Alice and Kaden carefully laid Cyrus on the floor.

"What do you need?" Mrs. Rabbit asked while walking across the room to stand next to her husband, "I've got willow root, hot towels. I used the sap to close up the wound-"

"I don't need anything," Amara announced without taking her eyes off her son.

An irritated look instantly appeared on the gray rabbit's face as she stared at the raven-haired woman. "Look, lady, I've been doing this a long time. My mom taught me. Her mom taught her. I-"

Mrs. Rabbit cut herself off when she saw Amara forming a ball of light in her hands. Everyone watched in awe as she moved the light through the air before letting it fall into Cyrus' open mouth. It then traveled throughout his body until it came out of his wound, causing Indigo to cringe. Not even a second after that passed when the former genie's wound closed and his fingers began to close around Alice's hand. The next thing everyone knew, Cyrus took a deep breath before his body relaxed.

A large smile formed on Alice's face as she looked over at Amara. "It just occurred to me that I haven't properly introduced myself. I'm Alice. And this is Indigo and Kaden."

"Amara," the raven-haired woman responded before her attention moved back to the man lying in front of her, "I'm Cyrus' mother."

The smile on Alice's face did nothing but grow as she stared at the woman sitting next to her. "I know who you are."

Indigo was distracted from the rest of their conversation by the sound of shuffling. When she looked in the direction of the noise, she found Kaden making his way out of the Rabbit's house. Confusion began to flow through her veins as she followed the Scarlet boy outside. As soon as they made it into the clearing, the Lark girl reached out and grabbed Kaden's wrist, forcing him to stop in his tracks before he turned to face her. The look on his face made Indigo's heart shatter into a million pieces.

The Lark girl had never seen Kaden look so broken before, not even when he was the Red Queen's prisoner. But she understood why he felt that way. Both his parents were gone and he lost his younger sister years ago. At least when Anastasia had his heart, he knew both Indigo and Will were alive. Now one of the last people left in the world that the Scarlet boy could call family and he was trapped with a madman...and not the good kind.

A small smile appeared on Indigo's face before she moved her hand to interlock her fingers with his. The two of them stared at each other in silence for what felt like an eternity until the Spade finally broke it. "We're gonna get Will back. You know that, right?"

Kaden's desperate expression didn't fade as he carefully tightened his grip around Indigo's hand. Despite wanting to hide all of his feelings, tears began to build up in the Scarlet boy's eyes. "I wanna believe that, Didi. I really do. But this is Jafar we're talking about. What if he already did something to Will?"

"Then we'll just have to rescue him like we always do," Indigo responded while trying her best to ignore the fear building up inside her, "and we'll do it together."

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After deciding the best way to save Wonderland and Will was to split up, Cyrus went with his mother to return the water to the Well of Wonders. While they did that, Indigo and Kaden went with Alice to gather as many soldiers as they could to take down Jafar. It didn't take long for them to find a group of allies thanks to the White Rabbit, who had already been spreading the word of their cause. As soon as they finished armoring themselves and collecting their swords, the group of heroes began to journey through the dark forest.

No one said a word as they followed Indigo throughout the Wonderlandian woods. Her senses were on high alert as her eyes scanned over the darkness that surrounded them. She only forced them to stop once when she felt an ominous presence, but that soon faded. It wasn't long before they found themselves in a small clearing, where they decided to take a short break.

"Uh, the men are nervous," Percy announced after taking his place next to Indigo, Kaden, and Alice.

"And the rabbits?" Indigo questioned, not taking her eyes off of her furry friend as she unconsciously leaned closer to Kaden.

"Wishing they made armor in my size," the White Rabbit responded while gesturing to the dress suit he was wearing.

"How about you scout the path ahead and I'll speak to the men?" Alice suggested, earning a small nod from Percy before he turned and walked further down the trail.

Once he was out of sight, Kaden helped Alice climb onto a tree stump before the three of them turned to face the crowd. Indigo's eyes studied each and every one of them, knowing that none of them truly had the power to take on Jafar.

"Everyone, please, listen to me," the Kingsleigh woman called out, drawing everyone's attention to her before she continued speaking, "Jafar's palace lies just beyond these trees. What comes next is difficult. I won't lie to you. It will be dangerous. Anyone who's afraid has every right to leave now, and I encourage you to do so. Because what's at stake is too important to leave in the hands of those who are unsure. You must be resolute. You must be brave. You must be strong. For tonight, we don't just fight for ourselves. We fight for the ones that are waiting for us to come home when it's all over. We fight for the ones that we love. We fight for our home. We fight for Wonderland!"

Cheers immediately erupted from the crowd as soon as Alice finished speaking. Indigo couldn't help but smile at the determined crowd before she looked up at Kaden, who was already grinning down at her. They both knew that defeating Jafar was a long shot and something they never thought they would accomplish. But now, after listening to their allies' cheers, they were starting to believe that they actually stood a chance.

Once their followers calmed and were ready to continue, Indigo resumed leading them toward their destination. They didn't make it very far when the ominous feeling the Lark girl previously felt returned, making her look over at Kaden. It didn't help when she found him looking around with his sword unsheathed. Before Indigo had a chance to speak, a man came out of nowhere and began attacking her. Indigo had just enough time to raise her shield to block the stranger's attack as she fell to the ground.

Panic coursed through the Lark girl's veins when she heard people screaming. Indigo managed to turn her head a bit to see more men coming out of the shadows and attacking their allies. Despite wanting to help them, the curly-haired girl couldn't find it within her to move as the man continued to slam his sword against her shield. That was until she heard a very familiar voice calling out for help. When Indigo looked in the direction of the sound, she found Kaden surrounded by three men.

A sudden wave of confidence washed over the Lark girl as a ball of energy formed in her hands. Her attention soon turned back to the man above her and waited until his sword was in the air. It wasn't long after that when she tossed her shield aside and shot a beam of blue energy at his chest, sending him flying across the clearing. Her breathing quickened as she turned to face Kaden's attackers. Just as she was about to use her magic to get them away from the Scarlet boy, a wave of pain shot through her. The magic faded from her hands as she looked down to find a sword coming out of her lower stomach. Indigo just stared at it until the attacker removed it from her body, causing her to fall to the forest floor. The last thing she heard before the world faded into darkness was Kaden screaming her name.

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When Indigo finally came around from her forced slumber, she found herself tied to a chair in the Red Queen's throne room. The pain in her side was far less than before but it was still there. When she looked down, she found a bandage that was stained red wrapped around her stomach. It wasn't long after that when she remembered everything that happened, causing her head to snap up. Will stood in front of her, trapped in a magical barrier as he stared at her with concern in his eyes. Next to her, Kaden and Alice were in the same predicament as the Lark girl.

But what really made Indigo's blood cold was seeing Anastasia alive and well sitting on the couch across the room from her. And the worst part was...she was kissing Jafar. It didn't take long for the sorcerer to notice Indigo awake, especially when she was staring at him with a grimace on her face.

That made a smirk appear on his lips as he stood up and walked towards her. Jafar looked down at her in silence for a moment before placing one hand on the arm of the chair she was tied to. Before Indigo could comprehend what was happening, Jafar placed his other hand on her wound and applied pressure to it. The Lark girl did her best to fight against the pain until it became too much to bear. Tears began to form in Indigo's eyes before she let out a loud scream. The smirk on Jafar's face did nothing but grow as her allies' shouts for him to stop mixed with Indigo's cries. It wasn't long after that when the sorcerer removed his hand and took a step back. "Just checking to see if it still hurt. Must be extremely uncomfortable for you."

"Oh no. Not at all," Indigo responded through her labored breaths as she watched Jafar walk back toward Anastasia, "I can give you a matching one if you'd like."

"I see you're still annoying as ever," Anastasia muttered under her breath before taking a sip of her drink while the sorcerer sat down next to her.

"And I see you're still making terrible decisions," the Lark girl retaliated before a wave of realization washed over her and she turned her attention toward Will, "how is she alive?"

"Jafar brought her back," the Knave responded after turning his back to the Red Queen to meet his allies' gazes, "she's under the impression that they're in love."

"That's disgusting," Kaden declared as the grimace returned to Indigo's face.

"Now, Alice, if you don't mind," Jafar called out, drawing the heroes' attention back to him before he placed one last kiss on Anastasia's lips and got to his feet. All eyes were on him as he walked across the room until he was standing in front of the Kingsleigh woman. "Can you please tell us where to find Amara?"

A smirk instantly appeared on the blonde woman's lips before she let out a small laugh. "You expect me to help you?"

"Tell me, Alice. Do you know what the laws of magic are? The things that can never be done?" the sorcerer questioned as he took a step closer to the woman tied to the chair.

The Kingsleigh woman hesitated for a moment as she stared at Jafar before opening her mouth to respond. "You can't bring back the dead."

"Check," the raven-haired man muttered under his breath as he paced in front of his enemies.

Alice couldn't help but look over at Anastasia, who had an uncomfortable look on her face. "You can't make someone fall in love."

"Check," Jafar said, only to receive silence in response from the curious adventurer. That caused him to stop pacing before he looked over at her with a hint of curiosity in his eyes. "And the third?"

While Alice tried to think of an answer, Indigo was taken back to one of the few magic lessons she had with Rafi in Atlantis. It was one of the earliest ones, where he was teaching her the basics. He didn't teach her much at the time, but Rafi did teach her what she could and couldn't do. So when Alice still didn't respond, Indigo did without thinking. "You can't change the past."

Jafar couldn't help but look over at the young girl with a hint of shock in his eyes. However, his emotions quickly vanished as he stood up to his full height. "That's right. You can't change the past...well, until now. That's right. I can reach back into what should be immovable, beautiful memories, and twist them."

The smirk on the sorcerer's face did nothing but grow when he saw the shocked expressions on the heroes' faces. It wasn't long after that when Jafar knelt back down to be at eye level with Alice. "Let's see. What shall I change? What means the most to you? That's right, Alice. I'm gonna see to it that you never met Cyrus."

The Kingsleigh woman let out a gasp, causing a wave of confidence to wash over Jafar. After staring at Alice for another moment, the vizier began walking around the room while keeping his eyes glued to her. "Which means you'll never have come to Wonderland. You'll never have met your true love. You'll be back in that awful place...England. You'll be back to being an ignored, unloved, and lonely little girl."

"That's enough, Jafar," Indigo declared, drawing everyone's attention to her before she continued speaking, "you and I both know that your threats aren't gonna get you anywhere. She's not gonna give in."

"You're right. Alice is strong...but not you. You will be far easier to break. I know you are well aware of what my magic could do before my newfound power. Now I can do more than make you forget. I can stop you from meeting the Scarlet brothers. Not only will you not have your precious knight, but you will also lose the Knave," the sorcerer responded as he began circling around the Lark girl like a predator with its prey. It wasn't long after that when Jafar knelt in front of Indigo and ripped the pendant Kaden gave her off her neck. "You've already experienced what it's like to have loved and lost. Prepare yourself for a new heartbreak. The worst kind. To have never loved at all."

The Lark girl continued to glare at the man in front of her as he swung her necklace in front of her face. Unknown to Jafar, Indigo found a new energy within herself, an energy that she had been using to heal her wound. The silence that surrounded them only lasted for a moment longer before the sorcerer decided to break it. "It doesn't have to be this way. Amara is the one I want. You were simply a means to an end. All you have to do is tell me where she is, and everything you and Kaden have fought for lives on. But make me wait any longer, and it will all vanish."

"It's over, Indie. Tell him," Will muttered under his breath, drawing the girl's attention to him before the Knave let out a long sigh, "save yourself."

"You should listen to your friend. There's no sense in fighting a battle you can't win," Jafar stated as he turned his back to Indigo and walked toward the table on the other side of the room. The Lark girl used that as an opportunity to look over at Kaden, who was already staring back at her with determination in his eyes. That was all it took for a wave of courage to wash over Indigo, but there was still something missing. Her attention was soon drawn back to Jafar when he continued speaking. "All you can do now is to keep from losing the ones who matter the most to you."

Indigo just stared at Jafar for a second longer before she looked down at the floor. A million thoughts swam through her head, only for them to vanish when a familiar voice greeted her ears. "You're stronger than you think, Iggie. It's time for you to show this maniac what you're truly made of."

Jefferson's voice made the courage within Indigo grow, igniting a fire she didn't know she had. It wasn't long after that when she slowly looked back up to meet Jafar's gaze. "Go ahead. Change the past."

"After all this, I would have thought the Scarlet brothers meant more to you than that," Jafar responded with a hint of curiosity in his eyes, unsure of what to make of the girl in front of him.

"They mean everything to me. I wouldn't be who I am today without either of them," Indigo declared while looking over at Kaden and Will, only to find them staring back at her with mixed emotions in their eyes. The Lark girl forced herself to swallow the lump in her throat before she looked back over at Jafar.

"Then perhaps you're underestimating my power," the sorcerer responded without even attempting to hide the anger in his voice.

"No. You're underestimating mine," Indigo responded before her hands began to emit energy so bright it forced everyone to look away. When her magic vanished, so did her wound and the ropes that bound her to the chair. It wasn't long after that when the Lark girl was standing in front of her Jafar with determination in her eyes. "The love that Kaden and I have is more powerful than all the magic in the world. And the bond that Will and I share is an unstoppable force. Sure, your magic may be able to defeat mine. But no matter what you do to me, you can't change the fact that you will never feel true love for yourself or have someone you trust with your life."

Jafar just stared at the girl with an unreadable look on his face, ignoring the fact that energy was radiating off her hands as she continued to stand free in front of him. That lasted for another moment before the sorcerer gestured over to Anastasia. "And her? What would you call that?"

Indigo studied the woman in red for a moment before her attention moved to Will. Her heart broke when she found him staring at Anastasia with a longing look in his eyes. But that only added to the determination running through her veins. "You might be able to make her think she loves you, but her heart truly belongs to another. I'd call it an illusion. It's a lie. Just like your army. All you have are parlor tricks. Spells that will never match up to the real thing."

"Enough!" Jafar exclaimed while throwing his hands out in front of him, making Indigo's magic fade and her body become as still as a statue. The sorcerer just stared at the girl for a moment before sitting back down next to Anastasia.

"She's right, Jafar," Alice declared, drawing the man's attention to her before he continued speaking, "go ahead. Do what you want to us. All the magic in the world can never make you feel what any of us have felt. Real love, true love, cannot be destroyed. That is why you, Jafar, will never win."

"Excuse me," a new voice said, drawing everyone's attention toward the source of the sound to find two men standing in the entryway of the throne room, "a soldier, sire, with news of Amara."

"She entered a pair of red doors," the soldier explained without a hint of emotion in his voice, "an hour's ride due east of here."

"I see. Was she alone?" Jafar questioned as he got to his feet and walked across the room to stand in front of his men.

"No. A young man was with her."

"Then why didn't you bring him here, as I asked?" the sorcerer asked, slightly irritated by his follower's decisions.

"The sorceress, she made every-" The soldier's answer was cut off by Jafar waving his hand through the air, taking the man's life with his magic and sending him to the floor.

"It is so hard to resurrect good help these days," Jafar announced after letting out a sigh and moving to stand behind Alice's chair, "now, before I do something infinitely more painful to all of you...tell me of these two red doors. Where is Amara headed?"

When the sorcerer was greeted by nothing but silence from all the heroes, he let out another long sigh before turning to face Anastasia. "Come here, my darling."

A large smile instantly appeared on the woman in red's face as she got to her feet and walked toward Jafar. She instantly took his hand into hers before he pulled her as close to him as possible. The two of them just stared at each other until the vizier opened his mouth to speak. "All of these people think your love is an illusion, a lie."

"Nonsense," Anastasia whispered just loud enough for them to hear as she looked at them with disdain in her eyes.

"I couldn't agree more," Jafar responded, drawing the blonde woman's attention back to him before a smile appeared on his face, "now, show them what true love and devotion really mean, and tell me where these red doors lead."

"No, please. He'll kill them," Alice begged, no longer bothering to hide the tears in her eyes.

"Don't tell him, Ana," Will pleaded, hoping there was still a small piece left of the woman he loved. However, when Anastasia looked back at him with a smirk on her face, that hope vanished.

The Red Queen stared at her former lover for a long moment before her attention returned to the man standing in front of her. "To the Well of Wonders."

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