At the other end of the old shack was another lot separated by a fence. At first, Rocket mistook it as another entrance to the Tulgey Wood because of the mist all around but he quickly realized that the greyish clouds weren’t mist. It was smoke. He couldn’t point out what the smell was like but it was certainly not something that irritated his sensitive nose. So far, he liked the scent.

He walked behind Tweedle Dum and on their very front walked Tweedle Dee. Many times, Rocket asked where they were going but his question was just met with silence. Eventually though, they arrived at the smokiest area where visibility was much lower compared to the Tulgey Wood at night.

The smoke parted and revealed a small figure of a worm sitting on top of a mushroom. He held a pipe in his hand connected by a long tube that connected on a small bottle which shape resembled like that of a potion container.

He looked at Rocket without much interest however when Tweedle Dee whispered something, the caterpillar became much more interested.

“Come forth,” the caterpillar said.

It was peculiar having something this small talk to him but then again, this place called Wonderland was the most peculiar of them all. Rocket accepted the fact that he would, time and time again, encounter much weirder things than what had preceded.

“So the last time wasn’t successful, either,” Absolem remarked and pulled in a deep breath with the pipe inside his mouth. He blew the smoke on Rocket.

Rocket waved the smoke off his face. “Watch where you blow that thing,” he coughed. “And what do you mean last time?”

“Tweedles…” Absolem called.

Tweedle Dum, the taleteller of the past stepped up first. “Your presence here isn’t the first time. What is happening right now had already happened in the past.”

Rocket’s fur bristled outward and he felt the sudden urge to protest but he gave Tweedle Dum a chance to explain much further.

“There was originally one universe back then however when the infinity stones were shattered, different realities were created hence the multiverse.”

“Hold up,” Rocket pushed his hands in front of him, “How many times has this been happening?”

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“Only Alice knows,” Tweedle Dum replied, “When the infinity stones were shattered, she managed to get one fragment of the time gem. We are in another universe yet we are still beyond it. Between two universes, we exist in the middle and it is made possible by that infinity stone.”

Tweedle Dee joined in the conversation, first time Rocket heard him speak. “Since the time gem is but a small fragment of what it once was, it isn’t perfect. Its power is still immeasurable but incomplete. The loop Alice had created could be stopped.”

Tweedle Dum replaced, “And there is only a very small chance.”

Rocket massaged his temples, trying to understand what was going on. It couldn’t be that this had already happened and then again it could be since they were speaking of time.

“You never left your original universe,” Tweedle Dum said, “You are still there and then you are here.”

Tweedle Dee added, “Alice will be defeated as she had always been but after victory, you reign without the infinity stone in hand, this will happen again. You will be wiped out from all of their memories except mine and everything will repeat.”

“When will everything be reset?” Rocket asked.

“After the Frabjous day,” the caterpillar answered.

“When the hell is that?” Rocket bombarded them with questions but the trio calmed Rocket, reassuring him that he will reign victorious as he had in the past.

“You cannot change what Alice wrote,” Tweedle Dum said, “You will defeat her no matter what you do.”

Rocket paced back and forth, “If everything is reset and it goes in her favor, then she isn’t really defeated.” Rocket stopped and then turned to look at the taleteller of the future—Tweedle Dee. “What happens to the smug cat? To Cheshire?”

“He will detonate, vaporizing Salazen Grum with him but Alice won’t be there.” Tweedle Dee continued, “You have loved countless times and this will be the first time I’m going to say this: don’t love him. If this time, you manage to retrieve the infinity stone and break the loop, you won’t see each other. Unlike you, we only exist in this past. You exist in the present while at the same time you exist with us. Your consciousness is just focusing here.”

Rocket didn’t fully grasp the concept but he got the idea. It worked like a dream somehow and he’s still with Groot and the others—sleeping but if this had happened multiple times before, then if he fails to retrieve the infinity stone, this would be repeated again without his awareness. After understanding that much, his primary worries wasn’t retrieving the infinity stone… it was still saving Cheshire.

“You promised me a vehicle if I came with you,” Rocket’s tone was low, “Where is it?”

“If you go now, this might end up differently than the previous happenings. You could die before you defeat Alice.” Tweedle Dee convinced.

Rocket remained unfazed. “Keep your word. Give it to me!”

Tweedle Dee opened his mouth to protest but was stopped by Tweedle Dum. “Let’s just do as he says, brother. If he’s going out of bounds unlike in the past then this might mean he will be able to stop this loop this time.”

“Make haste,” the caterpillar bade, “The Cheshire cat detonates at the Quillian day and that’s today.”

“Aye, Absolem,” the Tweedles replied in unison.