Alice: Madness Returns

Alice: Madness Returns is the sequel to the third person action-adventure game American McGee's Alice. Developed by the independent studio Spicy Horse and published by EA in 2011. Alice: Madness Returns follows Alice Liddell, a girl suffering from trauma caused by the death of her family in a fire. Alice was discharged from a psychiatric clinic and now lives in an orphanage for mentally traumatized orphans under the care of Dr. Angus Bumby. To get rid of the trauma and learn the truth about her past, she once again falls into Wonderland, where a new evil force has corrupted it.

Alice

My Wonderland is shattered. It's dead to me.
Another day, a different dream perhaps.
Is it mad to pray for better hallucinations?
I know what's real!
I know I'm guilty of something, but punishment hardly ever suits the victims of a crime.
Who set that bloody train in motion? Where has it come from?
You've used me and abused me, but you will not destroy me!
It's not a dream. It's a...memory. And it makes me sick!
Wonderland has become quite strange. How is one to find her way?
This is good for me. I'm not insane! I didn't kill my family. I am fine. I'm not mad. I am innocent, I mean, not guilty!
I've not come back here looking for a fight.
I want to forget! Who would choose to be alone, imprisoned by their broken memories? [bitter]
I know their pain. I would assist. But is sanity required for the job?
Blasted Cat!
My head's exploded and there's a steam hammer in my chest!
My memories make me vomit.
Fire! I'm in Hell!

Cheshire Cat

Puurrfect. When you're not on edge, you're taking up too much space.
Threats, promises and good intentions don't amount to action.
Every picture tells a story. Sometimes we don't like the ending. Sometimes we don't understand it.
Ah, Alice. We can't go home again. No surprise, really. Only a very few find the way, and most of them don't recognize it when they do. Delusions, too, die hard with memory. Only the savage regard the endurance of pain as the measure of worth. Forgetting pain is convenient, remembering it: agonizing. But recovering the truth is worth the suffering. And our Wonderland, though damaged, is safe in memory... for now.
Abandon that hope! A new law reigns in this wonderland Alice, it's very rough justice all around. We're at risk here. You, be on your guard.
A secret is only a secret when it is unspoken to another.
Different denotes neither bad nor good, but it certainly means not the same.
Only the insane equate pain with success.
Only fools believe that suffering is just wages for being different.
Every adventure requires a first step. Trite, but true, even here.
The uninformed must improve their deficit, or die.
Only a few find the way, some don't recognize it when they do - some... don't ever want to.
Haste makes waste, so I rarely hurry. But if a ferret were about to dart up my dress, I'd run.
A reflection sometimes exposes more reality than the object it echoes.
When the remarkable becomes bizarre, reason turns rancid.
To the royal guards of this realm, we are all victims in-waiting.
The dimensions of this desolate track are unknown to all but the inhabitants.
Steps to enlightenment brighten the way; but the steps are steep. Take them one at a time.

Mad Hatter

The world is upside-down, Alice. Inmates run the asylum - no offence - and worst of all... I'm left tea-less!
The law is just... Just a whisper away. A way home to wonder. Wonder who... Who knows how to measure rules... With a ruler... Cruel rules.
The insolence, the arrogance the execrable table manners! They are destroyers of Wonderland! Defilers! Denuders! Derangers! Delightful...
There's no time for... Whatever it is you want to talk about! It's time for tea!
Everything's a nail, is it, Miss Hammerhead? First it was your search, freighted with fear and fragmented memories. Now it's the train! Never time for tea. While your brain's on holiday, we're ruined! Now we're all mad here and that's a good excuse for going to hell in a teapot, but not for forgetting what your senses saw.
Forgetting's just forgetting, except when it's not. Then they call it something else. I'd like to forget what you did. I've tried, but I can't.

The Queen of Hearts

A good guest does not overstay, a perfect guest stays home!
The train is trying to destroy all evidence of your past and especially the fire. Now, who would want that? Who benefits from your madness?
There is no method in this madness!
Authority must be obeyed, or it must be overthrown!
What you claim not to know is merely what you've denied. You've recaptured your vagrant memories. What are you doing with them?
You shouldn't ask questions you know the answer to, it's not polite.
Make your survival mean something, or we are all doomed!
I may survive here, but you're finished!
You don't know your own mind!

Dr Bumby

Memory is a curse more often than a blessing.
The cost of forgetting is high.
The past must be paid for.
A flower's purpose is simple and immutable. Human purpose is fickle because it is a slave to memory. Memories must be strictly managed, Alice. Unproductive ones must be eliminated.

Other

Nurse Witless: Still a mess, no surprise. Her kin roasted like chestnuts right before her eyes. Ten years in Rutledge Asylum wasted everyone's time! Dr Bumby won't do better. Still hauling out her questions: the fire, her memory. I deserve consideration, don't I? Who found her her new clothes? Who got her a place at Bumby's? Where she'd be without me? On the street, selling her backside! Likes my pigeons, though. She's doled out the odd pound or two. But I know what's worth more than that! Kept her secret, haven't I? Heard her say 'All died on my account, I couldn't save you!' I've told her my silence is for sale, cheap! I'm a good sort, really, not like her nanny, that uppity whore! Or that lawyer fellow Radcliffe [who] took her stupid rabbit! Need money... warned her I'd tell the coppers if she didn't make a 'donation' to my upkeep. She yells and goes off her head. Days she can't remember her name, what I heard.

Dr Bumby: Come, Alice, am I not to be as much honoured and obeyed as the Queen? Is that asking too much? I want what she wanted. Give yourself over to that: trade the tentacles for the train. It's altogether a better ride. It's that or back to Rutledge!

Nurse Witless: Never a kind word or reward for services rendered! Don't I deserve a bit of luck? Don't piss on what's right and owing to me, I say! Brought you out of the asylum, now you'll go back of your own accord!

Nanny: I told your mother, dear. You're a distant and stubborn child, too content in her own world. Young women need to leave their wonderlands. The real world is not so 'wonderful'. You'll need to grow up. Perhaps some more time in 'care'?

Radcliffe: You look decent enough. But appearances deceive: I know you for an unstable and violent person! I can't say I'm surprised you've been incarcerated in the asylum again. A long stay under supervision would serve you right!

Dr. Wilson: "Flight or Fight" implies a permanent choice. But "flight" often just means putting the fight off to another day. Choose your battles wisely, Alice.

Walrus' Poem:

Sword and crown are worthless here,

I invite everyone to dance

Labourers, lawyers, church and gown all make their little prance.

This life is full of random death

And heaps of grief and shame,

So few are soothed by 'accident'

You want someone to blame.

Fire, plague or strange disease,

Drowned, murdered or, if you please,

A long fall down the basement stairs

None are expected, no one cares.

I often must work very hard

Sweat running down my skin,

After the dance I then must rest

And the eating can begin.

Dialogue

Alice: At least the place I've landed is somewhat familiar

Cheshire Cat: [Suddenly materializing] About time, too, Alice.

Alice: Blasted cat! Don't try to bully me. I'm very much on edge!

Cheshire Cat: Purrfect. When you're not on edge, you're taking up too much space.

Alice: You are no help at all!

Cheshire Cat: But you know I can be.

Alice: I'll frighten myself when necessary, thanks very much. I was hoping to escape all that!

Cheshire Cat: Abandon that hope! A new law reigns in this Wonderland, Alice, it's very rough justice all round. We're at risk here. You, be on your guard!

Duchess: Ah it's you again, Alice. You may approach.

Alice: Why would I do that? You want to eat me!

Duchess: Yes, well you taught me manners and I've lost my taste for mad women; strictly a porcine diet for me. Everything is better with bacon, don't you agree? Of course you do. Now, there are pig snots scattered about. I heard a few behind the house; go fetch them for me. But take care of the pests that block your way. Pepper them up if they do. They need spice and you're just the dish -- ehm -- girl to season them for me. You'll find that grinder serviceable.

Alice: Why not season your own pig parts?

Duchess: Matters of priorities! My Alabaster skin needs protection from the disgusting creatures running amok amidst the environs. But one gets peckish! Look, all you have to do is listen for the oink, then shoot the snout! You may like the results. I certainly will.

Alice: The Hatter's Domain, almost as I remember it!

Cheshire Cat: Appearances, as you know better than most, can be deceiving, Alice. Much has changed since your last visit.

Alice: Dr Bumby says change is 'constructive', that 'different' is good.

Cheshire Cat: Different denotes neither 'bad' nor 'good', but it certainly means not the same. Find the Hatter, Alice. He knows more about 'different' than you.

Alice: But does he know more about the difference between bad and good?

Cheshire Cat: [noticing the Bolterflies attacking] Making friends, Alice? You're as randomly lethal and entirely confused as you ever were.

Alice: I've managed without you so far, Cat. Return to whatever hovel's home to you, I'll call if I need you.

Cheshire Cat: Predictably rash. It's not a question of 'if', Alice, it's when. Now hold on, and as they say, shut up. [he disappears]

Alice: So typical.

Mock Turtle: You'd better come aboard, Alice. We're doomed, of course!

Alice: What? There's no hope, then?

Mock Turtle: Oh, there's an infinite amount of hope, but not for us!

Mock Turtle: Confounded beasts, they want my ship!

Alice: I think you're more to their taste.

Mock Turtle: [outraged] Never! We're almost relatives!

Alice: You're related to soup, Admiral.

Alice: My god, you're not an impresario, you're a killer! The mastermind of a criminal enterprise.

Carpenter: This world is not so either/or, Alice.

Alice: And I've done your bidding!

Carpenter: You did a few errands, got your hands dirty. Big deal. The show distrac-ulates the crowd. A shame you'll miss it. You need to deal with these sailors. It's your time.

Walrus: Time? Time? The time has come to talk of ships and, and, and vegetables and royalty and, and, and, whether pigs have wings...and so on.

Carpenter: Enough of that, Walrus. You start wailing about there being too much sand on the beach, and I'll have your blubber for breakfast.

Alice: Shame on you Carpenter. You made a promise!

Carpenter: I had no choice. One can't always do as one would like. I would have thought you'd know that by now.

Caterpillar: A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step!

Alice: A single step off London Bridge could end my journey...

Caterpillar: Failure as your epitaph? I'd hoped you were more courageous!

Alice: I've come all this way to find a simulacrum?!

Caterpillar: If I had the time, I'd detail how often you prefer dealing with illusions rather than the real thing. Problems you refuse to deal with don't exist! You deny reality!

Alice: That's not right! I know what's real!

Caterpillar: No! You allow others to tell you what isn't real.

Alice: My memories are shattered! This wicked train has ruined nearly all I can recall and Wonderland will perish completely as I lose my mind. So much has changed... I can't help Wonderland if I can't help myself!

Caterpillar: Much has changed, but you've got it backwards: save Wonderland and you may save yourself! The Carpenter was on to something, but he was hiding from the real. Your goal is to accept it!

Alice: Where should I go, then? What should I do?

Caterpillar: The Queen must be served, Alice. The Queen, in all her guises, must always be served.

Alice: How can she stem this growing corruption or assist my search? What does she know that I don't?

Caterpillar: She is someone you once knew and loved. Time changes us all.

Alice: Not all change is good!

Caterpillar: Remember that when you find the Queen!

Cheshire Cat: Back to admire your handiwork? Returning to the scene of the crime?

Alice: It had to be done, Cat, you said so yourself! 'You and this Red Queen cannot both survive. She is a cancer in your body. Excise her or perish!'

Cheshire Cat: Well, she was the face of evil in the heart of darkness...

Alice: She didn't treat you too well last time, lost your head as I recall!

Cheshire Cat: She was completely deranged. You picked up her crown, but now you've put it down. You must speak to her; what's left of her, anyway.

Alice: The Red Kingdom's in ruins, but you're no better off!

White King: When you defeated her, I tried to reclaim the castle, but I was set upon by her monstrosities. The malignant royal bitch still reigns.

Alice: I'm here to petition her. I must get inside.

White King: The only way in is through me. Sacrifices must be made.

Alice: Those who say so usually mean 'they should be made by others'.

White King: Cynicism is a disease! It can be cured. Once inside, beware of the outsized killer who patrols her domain. Never confront him; he is invincible. Now cut me loose: I'll show you the meaning of 'sacrifice'!

Alice: [to the Queen] I was expecting someone else!

Queen of Hearts: You don't know your own mind!

Alice: It's nearly a complete stranger!

Queen of Hearts: What you claim not to know is merely what you've denied. You've recaptured your vagrant memories: what are you doing with them?! You once rejected my attempts to control our lives forcefully, but now you've allowed another to succeed in my role!

Alice: I won't miss your tentacles.

Queen of Hearts: [infuriated] You'd prefer the hot stinking breath and unyielding attentions of a potent, unreasoning, unfeeling hellraiser?! I don't think so!

Alice: Can you give me more than a warning? Caterpillar said you might help!

Queen of Hearts: I'd need a better reason to respond than what's currently on offer!

Alice: If you don't, we're all doomed!

Queen of Hearts: Not doomed. Forgotten! I may survive here, but you're finished! You see the pattern of destruction, I know you do! The train is trying to destroy all evidence of your past and especially the fire. Now, who would want that? Who benefits from your madness?!

Alice: The destruction of Wonderland... is the destruction of me?!

Queen of Hearts: Indeed! And vice versa!

Alice: I've set it in motion, I can derail it. This is good for me! I'm not insane! I didn't kill my family. I am fine. I'm not mad, I'm innocent - I mean, not guilty! [sees the tentacles wrapping around her] What's happening, what are you doing?!

Queen of Hearts: The train must be stopped, but there's more to do. Your view conceals a tragedy. The whole truth you 'claim' to seek eludes you because you won't look at what's around you! [swallows Alice; Inside Alice's memories] There is no method in this madness!

Dr Wilson: My professional opinion? Madness is often a treatable disease, though perhaps not in this case.

Queen of Hearts: Authority must be obeyed, or it must be overthrown!

Nurse Witless: 'Cruel to be kind', that's my technique as they say, but she's as mad as a hatter, poor dearie!

Dr Bumby: Worst is over, and over, and over. Forget it, Alice - forget it!

Insane Child: The unstable are more than merely mad: they have 'other parts'. The Dollmaker will deprive them of what remains of their deranged souls. They need care!

Alice: I know their pain. I would assist, but is sanity required for the job?

Insane Child: A limited quantity. You're not mad enough to be rejected. You're like them, of them in a way, but not them. I should say 'not us', for I'm them, but you are on your way. The way is clearly marked.

Alice: I believe I know that way and I'd rather not travel further along it.

Alice: My Lizzie... What is this train's destination?

Queen of Hearts: Madness and Destruction. You shouldn't ask the questions you know the answers to, it's not polite. And that noise wasn't Lizzie talking in her sleep.

Alice: Oh no... Poor Lizzie!

Queen of Hearts: And there are no centaurs in Oxford. Make your survival mean something or we are all doomed!

Caterpillar: Come to receive your punishment then?

Alice: I know I'm guilty of something, but punishment never suits the victims of the crime.

Caterpillar: Abuse is a crime the strong visit on the weak, and you're right, abusers are insufficiently punished for the damage they do. Those who witness abuse without seeking retribution for the harmed pay a penalty. Your own pain mitigates your failure to act earlier, but you may not yet have paid enough for witnessing the pain of others...

Alice: Is there really so little hope?

Cheshire Cat: There is even less. And if fear paralyzes you... we're lost.

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Alice: Madness Returns