Guest hit the moss-covered ground with a startled gasp.

Above her, the rabbit hole had already begun to close.

"...That's not good."

The twisted woods of Wonderland stretched endlessly around her. Flowers turned their heads to watch.

"Late," one tulip whispered.

"Lost," sighed another.

"Someone's waiting," giggled the roses.

Guest's stomach tightened.

A slow clap echoed through the trees.

"Marvelous!" came a delighted voice. "The trick worked after all."

She turned.

Leaning lazily against an enormous mushroom stood Max Hatter.

His emerald eyes gleamed with unmistakable delight beneath a crooked top hat.

"You..." Guest breathed.

He tipped his hat.

"Me."

"You planned this?"

"I adore plans." He tilted his head. "Especially the ones that shouldn't exist."

Guest looked toward the sealed rabbit hole.

"You trapped me here."

"Oh, trapped is such a gloomy word."

He wandered closer with an odd, bouncing gait, smiling as though he'd just won the greatest game imaginable.

"I prefer... invited."

"I didn't choose this."

"No," he agreed cheerfully. "You didn't."

His grin widened.

"I did."

Guest's expression hardened.

"That's not funny."

"No." His voice softened. "It's dreadful."

He stopped a respectful distance away, though his attention never left her.

"The first day I saw Alice Kingsley's daughter at Auradon Prep..." He laughed quietly. "The clocks all pointed different directions."

"Max..."

"I thought perhaps I was imagining you."

"You need to help me get home."

"Hm."

He looked up as though consulting the clouds.

"Complicated."

"You know the way."

"I know many ways."

"Then show me."

He smiled, but there was something uneasy beneath the madness.

"I spent ages wondering how Wonderland could keep someone like you."

Guest frowned.

"So I... nudged fate."

Silence.

"You brought me here because you wanted me here?"

His expression brightened.

"I've never been very good at wanting sensible things."

The flowers fell silent.

Even Wonderland seemed to hold its breath.

Guest met his eyes.

"Max... this isn't love."

For the first time, his smile faltered.

"It's not?"

"No."

She took a careful step back.

"If you care about someone, you don't take away their choice."

The words lingered between them.

Max stared at the ground for a long moment, as though trying to solve a riddle he'd never considered.

"...Choice," he repeated quietly.

Then he looked back up.

Still strange.

Still wonderfully, impossibly mad.

But thoughtful.

"Perhaps," he admitted, "I've mistaken a cage for a teacup."

Guest held out her hand.

"If you really want me to stay in your life..."

A pause.

"...then help me leave."

Max looked at her hand, then at the sealed rabbit hole overhead.

Finally, with an exaggerated sigh, he reached into his coat and produced a tiny silver key.

"Well," he muttered, "this is a catastrophically disappointing ending to my original plan."

He placed the key in her hand.

"But..."

A crooked smile returned.

"I suppose I'd rather be invited to tea... than drink it alone."