Wonderland

Lyra stared out her Floor to ceiling window. A smile growing across her face as she clutched one of her many knifes tightly in her right hand. Blood all over her face, clothes, and hands. it was time for new butlers and the old needed to be taken care of properly. The floor was cover in dead bodies. she hummed a sweet tune as she stepped over the bodies to get to her closet so she could change. when she was in a fresh pair of clothes she called for her new Maid lily. when the maid arrived she instantly broke into a cold sweet. "HaHaHaHa, we were playing a game and they lost." Lyra said, wiping the blood off her knife and putting it back in it place, third draw from the bottom of the dresser were she kept all her knifes. "i want you to take these to Crys, she been low on food for while." lily nodded and was about to call more servants for help when Lyra stopped her. "oh no, i want your to take them their yourself, and when you finish, i want to stay there, for Crys asked for 50 bodies and this just a mere 49." Lily nodded as fear crossed her face. when lily dragged the first body out of the room her butler David walked in. "Ma'am, we've just heard word that some residents are going to revolt against you and your friends." David said bluntly. Lyra clapped her hands together with joy. "oh what fun, a knew game to play." she shooed him away as she sat down on her throne. Her castle over looked all of the tea gardens. "Ma'am, we have today menu ready." her Maid Miranda said. "Ah good, lets hear it." Miranda cleared her throat before speaking, "Blueberry Tea with rat poison clearly disguised as sugar and Honey cakes poisoned with ....." Lyra cut her off. "don't poison the honey cake today, i feel like giving me guest a chance at living." Miranda quickly nodded and walked out of the room to tell the chef. Lyra sat alone in her throne room thinking of the game she was going to play, replying the words David had said over and over. it made her Giggle, she simply loved games.

Crys lay up in the tree branches, her right leg swinging lightly as she blended in with the thick blackness around her. She was the queen of Nightmare Forest, a place where people would come and die, whether it be by her hand or by the shadows' hands. The shadows enjoyed playing tricks on people, and messing with heads, true, but she also enjoyed being able to laugh as the worst fears took form.

Still, she was lonely these days. She missed being hurt before killing.

She watched as Lyra's 'gifts' to her were deposited, one by one. She counted in her head, coming up at forty-nine, just under the amount she had asked for. She pouted lightly before counting the maid. Hahaha! Fifty, perfect.

"Dinner!" She called to her shadows, which swooped in and began devouring the bodies. Oh, how she enjoyed the scent of blood in the air. She quickly grabbed the live maid and dragged her off, toward the lake hidden in the forest. "Oh, what fun we'll have! Now tell me, will you make me bleed? The shadows quite like it when I offer my own blood for them. Would you help?" Not giving the maid the chance to answer, she dragged her to the edge of the lake, where the torture between the two of them could be heard from even Lyra's tea party.

The Hall was deathly silent as the knights stood in rapt attention, lined up and down on each wall facing one another. Though all wore heavy plate mail lined with crimson, and cloaks of the same colour, each one bore a single item that distinguished themselves from the rest--a specific mark of achievement, a prize from the Hunt. One wore a face-plate helmet made of the skull of a beast with huge antlers; another had strapped to their back a great sword that had clearly been carved from the bones of a massive creature--still another had adorned his or her armour at the shoulders, elbow joints, and knee plates with spines and spikes, similarly, taken from the many deadly beasts of the Badlands during a Hunt, or perhaps over the course of many. Each one of the Red Knights wore something that displayed their achievements in the Hunt--all but the one who was now walking down the hall, between the rows of Knights.

Her armour bore none of the extravagant warrior-marks that the other Knights took pride in--she needed no such boastful identification to make herself known. She was not a Red Knight; she was the Red Knight, Bellatrix, ruler of the Badlands and the Order of the Red Knights. She wore far less armour plates than her Knights, and wore a simple helmet, adorned at each side with Valkyrie wings, that covered all but the lower half of her face--which displayed haughty, high, prominent cheekbones and pale lips that expressed neither smile nor frown; they remained level, showing no indication of Bellatrix's thoughts. A claymore of such length it looked as if the strongest of the other Knights would stagger under the weight of it was strapped to her back--and yet she walked quite naturally. The Knights made no movement as their leader walked between their ranks, made no noise, remained still as statues. She walked down the length of the wide, expansive Hall, reaching the huge doors that were now wide open. Outside the doors revealed a vast network of workers toiling in the unforgiving heat of the Badlands--little more than slaves used to build weapons of war and bloodshed for the Red Knights. Bellatrix stopped there at the threshold of the doors, and silently looked over the outskirts of the Castle. The Castle--really, more of a fortress than a seat of 'government'--and its outlying areas was really the only region over which Bellatrix exercised her authority. She did not truly regard herself as the 'leader', in a political sense, of the Badlands, and saw it not as a country but as a huge hunting ground--nevertheless, the borders of the Badlands were to be respected. Those who ventured into the territory quickly found themselves being the prey in the Hunts of the Red Knights. Admittedly, Bellatrix thought as she looked over the desert landscape that stretched out before her. It is a welcome change to hunt humans rather than beasts, though they provide little more entertainment. They all fall all too easily.

Though perhaps that would change. Bellatrix had heard rumours lately--not that the Red Knight, leaving her castle only to lead the Hunt, was particularly privy to what went on in the outside world, even amongst her 'fellow' Dark Alices--but she had heard them nonetheless. Strange visitors sighted in Wonderland--very unusual visitors. She knew nothing more, no details in particular, but it already piqued the interest of the Red Knight. She had grown weary of hunting beasts and wandering denizens of Wonderland. Perhaps, just maybe, these new visitors would be...interesting. Perhaps she would go to see if the other Dark Alices knew anything of these newcomers. But after the Hunt.

Suddenly, the Red Knight raised a gauntlet-clad hand into the air, signalling the Knights behind her as she began to walk down the steps that led from the Castle to the wasteland. Immediately, they filed after her in a two rows, marching after their leader without the slightest step out of formation. Not far below, their beasts of burden were being prepared to bear the hunters to set off across the barren wasteland for another Hunt.

Wonderland, a place, Kit had been told that was once a joy to live in, with mischievous little creatures all living together and playing tricks on one another. Now however, it was quite different. Rabbit, Kit always called him Rabbit, he knew his real name was Darrek, he'd been told a thousand times but seriously, the guy had rabbit ears, so he called him Rabbit.

Anyway, Rabbit had told him what he knew when he arrived in Wonderland, (his entrance into which had been less than graceful, chasing that little bastard who had tried to roll him and falling down a manhole in the middle of High Street. But he never hit the bottom, he kept falling and falling and falling....Then the psycho had appeared.) and now Kit spent most of his time trying to stay alive. EVERYTHING (and this was not a gross overstatement) was out to kill him. Even the trees if you went to the wrong areas. But he wasn't without a means to defend himself.

Ducking down behind the tree stump, he slowly counted to five, staring intently at the palm of his left hand. Slowly, a flame flickered into life and settled in the center of his hand. With a little thought and movement of his right hand over the flame it lengthened into a sharp looking lance. Counting to five again, he wrapped his hand around the flames that didn't seem to burn him, and quickly stood up, the creature that was chasing him getting closer and closer to his hiding place.

It was a flower. Albeit a rather large, almost child size flower, but a flower none the less. With an adorable little face. Kit steadied his feet and took aim at the adorable child sized flower creature, screaming at it at the top of his lungs.

"Goddamit just DIE you son of a bitch!"

The flower stopped as it saw the lance in Kit's hands, it's expression going from adorable, to full on Exorcist. The mouth opened to reveal tiny sharp dagger like teeth and it let out a high pitched screech that rattled through Kit's brain, almost causing him to drop the lance. He kept his resolve however and threw the lance with near perfect accuracy and watched it fly towards the flower...

Closer....closer....closer....

A second high pitched shriek confirmed that he had hit home, the flower staggered backwards as the lance began to lose form and fire engulfed the entire creature. It began to flail about, recommencing it's run at Kit. Kit cut short his victory dance and started to run again. He couldn't believe the damn thing had followed him this far out of Mushroom City. He was almost back to his hiding place near the Rabbit Hole.

Glancing back, he came to a stop as the flower fell to the ground, writhing as the last of the flames did their work. As they vanished and the creature lay still, Kit felt an overwhelming sense of fatigue and hunger, as he always did after using the fire. Nudging the remains of the flower with his foot to confirm it was dead, he turned in the direction of his home and began to drag himself their quickly, lest any other of Wonderland's creatures decide to try and make him their lunch.

Lyra sipped from her nonpoisonous cup of tea as she starred at her first guest, ginning. "please have some cakes and tea." she said teasingly. She grinned wildly as she watched the little creature put what seemed to be sugar in its cup and grab a honey cake off one of the many platters. but it only ate the cake before grabbing another a guzzling it down. Lyra frowned, this was no fun, no one was dying. She quickly went to her second option, a riddle. "If a knife can't pierce through sheets, can it pierce through skin?" She said smiling. "yes" the creature replied softly. Lyra was getting angry, she always played fair and this thing was getting everything right so far. not to long after Lyra had tried everything, the creature stood up. "Lyra, I'm done playing games." It said as it removed it mask, revealing the face of her mother. "please come home and away from this place, we miss you." Her mother said. Lyra over flowed with rage as she let out one of famous screams. Bellatrix had even said that she had heard it one time while one one of her many hunts. Horrible memory's flashed before Lyra's eyes as she grabbed the two knifes in front of her and threw them at the woman that had given birth to her. They easily jammed themselves into the woman shoulders. "Miranda!" Lyra screamed. when the servant appeared by her side, she gave strict commands. "I want you to take this Bitch to Elysium, I'm sure he'll enjoy chasing a fresh kill around his never ending maze, and take this map with you so you can make your way back." After handing Miranda the map she, stormed off to her room. Miranda and David were the only servants she would never harm or even be mean too. they new her past and she trusted them. they had their own rooms that where designed to their likings and she made sure they were well feed and healthy. Why was she so nice to them. they were as twisted as she was and would never try to revolt. After she changed into some beige skinny pants, a white, button down, Blood stained T-shirt with puffy sleeves, and Knee high black boots, she filled her belt full of knifes before she started to head out for another one of her famous killing sprees, it was the only thing that calmed her down.

By the Rabbit Hole

The wind blew through the area, scattering the weak copper smell of blood through the air. Here, at the Rabbit Hole, a young boy stood leaning against a leafless tree that bent away from his touch. “Curse that stupid White Rabbit,” this boy grumbled, blue eyes glowering at the lifeless body at his feet. “He just doesn’t know when to give up.”

The boy was called Edward, and he had his role in Wonderland. He was Tweedle Dee, and he had his claim on the territory of the Rabbit Hole. Once upon a time, it belonged to the White Rabbit which he spoke of, but that was before the war of madness had started.

In Edward’s hands was a rather strange scythe, the metal blade a lustrous blue dulled from the slickness of the crimson liquid that stained it. In simpler terms, it was smeared with blood – no wonder, as the boy swung the scythe back and forth like a pendulum, with each stroke deepening the cut at the corpse’s neck. A recent kill meant the blood had yet to dry, and each stroke dyed the blade a deeper shade of red. The fourteen-year-old boy seemed to show little remorse.

“I’m sorry if it hurt, but I told you to stay still,” he murmured quietly as the wind picked up once more. As if stirred by the breeze, the grass by his feet came to life to feed upon the corpse. Edward watched as the fronds twisted around the severed limbs, wrapping them into the earth to feed upon. The corpse was completely entwined in the grass, and completely hidden from view.

Some weeds began to climb up the scythe to reach the blood dripping off the blade and soaking Edward’s hands. Grimacing, the boy spun the weapon with a clever flick of the wrist, killing the offensive weeds. “You have enough nourishment there,” he said, carelessly sweeping his black hair from his eyes. The blood on his hands streaked his face with red. “That White Rabbit just doesn’t learn. One after another, we don’t need any more Alices…” Edward said, mumbling his thoughts out loud.

To make matters worse, he had let one get away earlier. The Rabbit had done it again and smuggled a new Alice past him, and Edward would never forgive himself if something else had gotten to it first.

… when did he become so twisted? He couldn’t quite recall.

Just then, Edward stopped. He suddenly released the scythe, letting it dissipate into thin air, and brought his hands to his face. They reeked of blood. The blood coating his hands was slick, and seemed to seep into his skin. Edward was surprised that his hands weren’t already dyed red. He felt his thoughts clear, his conscience of old returning. He sickened himself… what was he doi –

Edward’s jumbled thoughts ordered themselves when he felt a familiar sensation – someone was coming closer to his territory. It wasn’t a presence he recognized… or perhaps vaguely, he did. If it wasn’t one of his allies or enemies, it could only be…

“An Alice,” he whispered, the madness returning to him. He would be the first to see it, the first to harm it.

He would be the first to kill it.

Scraping the blood from his hands upon the bark of the sickly tree, he began to make his way towards the presence, unable to keep the glee from his expression. Tainted innocence shone in his blue eyes as twisted thoughts contaminated his mind. He briefly checked over his attire – the blue button-down coat was dark enough to hide the spatters of blood from his victim. He could always find an excuse for the blood coating his shoes. Smiling, even humming a tune, Edward ran off to find the intruder.

He would be the first to kill it.

Jonathan ~

He sat calmly in what could only be described as his cave. The outside was hardly safe anymore, and he found the quiet calm of his home much better than the busy and murderous inhabitants that resided in the rest of this damned place. Jonathan quietly sipped his tea, as he heard a scream in the distance. Lyra was upset again.

Getting up from his chair, he put the tea on his table as he walked over to secure the door. No doubt the madwoman was out on her usual killing spree in no time, and it was best to be safe. Even with new Alice's arriving every day - much thanks to the White Rabbit - the Dark Alice's still ruled the land. Hopefully something would happen soon.

"I need a clean cup," he murmured, throwing away his tea.


Elysium ~

Making a map of the maze was one of the better practical jokes Elysium had thought up, seeing as the maze was ever changing according to his mind and ideas. The map gave people a false sense of safety, and lured others into unsafe places. He let Miranda enter and exit the maze without trouble, no need to give away the game too soon. But it seemed she had left something in the maze, and Elysiums curiosity was peaked.

From the outside, the maze seemed like nothing more than an seemingly endless structure of brick walls, twisting and turning in random directions as far as the eye could see. Elysium had spent years attuning the maze to his mind, and the rules were set. Nobody left the maze, unless he wanted them to - and many could be kept there for years before he would allow them to die. Of course, there were more to it than brick walls that could easily be torn down or rebuilt, but surprisingly enough there were few who lived to see the deeper parts of it.

A dragon-like creature spread it wings and soared above the maze. The creatures within recognized their master and left him be as he landed on one of the walls above Lyra's mother. He jumped down and changed his form, treading lightly on the dirty ground, arms folded on his back, as he walked over.

"You're hurt," he pointed out. The person had a wound to each shoulder, most likely from a couple of Lyra's knives. Hurt people died quicker, he seemed to remember. He crouched down by her and looked more closely at her wounds.

"What," he wondered, "what are we going to do with you, then?"

"Papa?" A young girl whispered as she crouched over something, her expression twisted, like she was in pain. "Papa, why is it dying?" the girl continued, poking at a small bluejay who was breathing heavily with a twig. Its small body was moving rapidly, thick crimson blood pouring from a small puncture wound across its chest. The man standing above the girl shook his head, rubbing his gruff, black beard which was greying.

"I do not know, a cat probably got a hold of it." his deep voice rung out as he held a hand towards his daughter to help her to her feet. The girl scrunched up her nose, "I don't like cats then," she replied, dropping the tiny stick, taking her father's hand and standing.
"It's their nature, instinct, you can't hate them for that." the man chuckled as they began walking down a small dirt path towards their home. The thin, black haired girl's face had become a bit grim. "But I can, Papa.."



Artemis's nose had scrunched a bit, just like when she was younger, as she remembered the time finding that bird, she was ten years old, and somehow the picture of that wimpy bird's almost lifeless body had stuck with her. She gazed back down at the long, deep cut on the upper part of her right arm, close to being on her shoulder. She had a run in with some cat-like creature which towered over her in size with multiple rows of sharp teeth and piercing red eyes. Its paws had been the size of a medium sized boulder. Somehow Art managed to scamper up a dying tree and shoot it a few times with tungsten made arrows with icy tips. Not before she received the now searing cut she was binding with a thick, white cloth. Her bow lay to her right, the quiver which her arrows were kept still slung upon her back. "Damn this place," she whispered, looking up and glaring at the vast nothing-ness.

She was currently in some forest, sitting against a tree. It was not completely dark there, nor that "scary" but she planned to leave as soon as she could. Reaching up she finished tying off the binding which was harder than it looked with one hand, yet as she did something was felt crawling up around her right ankle. The first thing Artemis thought was 'Snake!', but no, that would have been too simple. With the quick snap of her head to the right her icy blue eyes spotted a thick, black tree root wrapping around her ankle, tightening its grip. With a exhale of extremely cold air which seeped past her pale pink lips slowly, she reached back, snaggng an arrow. In the same fluid movement she brougt it up and then back down, jamming it deep into the wood of this.. This tree?!

The thing seemed to hiss,a weird screeching sound, but continue to tighten, causing Art to start losing feeling in that leg. When that happened she stood awkwardly, jerking forward, trying to get out of the thing's grasp, yet no prevail. "Let. Me. Go!" she snapped, little particles of ice forming at her fingertips as she yanked her leg forward again, but everytime the root just crawled further and further up her leg. In swift movement Artemis reached down and grasped the thick wood between both hands. As her skin made contact with the rough material ice began dancing down the root, slowly freezing it until it wasn't able to move at all.
With a sigh of relief she snapped her other leg forward, kicking the ice hard, causing to to shatter and fall to the ground, sounding like glass. Shuddering she bent down, scooping up her bow, then the arrow she used to stab the thing, placing back in the quiver on her back. 'Time to move before something else happens,' she thought sarcastically, moving forward swiftly and silently.

She seemed to remember this route. Was it the way she came when first "falling into" Wonderland? Maybe she went the opposite direction, but came this way none-the-less. With a shrug she walked over, gripping her carefully made bow in her right hand tightly. As she moved the air got a bit hotter causing her eyes to narrow beneath her leather cloak's hood. She wore her armor for the time be, a bulky piece which concealed any part of her looks. The way she liked it. How the way the air changed so drastically piqued her interest. Fire? She didn't like fire. With a snort Artemis pushed forward to go.. "Investigate."

Kit had slowed down to a stop, about ten minutes from his hideout near the Rabbit Hole. That goddamn Rabbit Hole. He'd found this small cave, not too small that his head brushed the top, but small enough to not attract attention from something a lot bigger than he was. Whenever he entered, he shivered, swallowing all of his fear before heading into the darkness. Small places, tight places, anything with a low roof and with no clear exit made him very nervous.

Stretching out on the dry grass, his mind slipped back to being ten years old, when his fear of small spaces had manifested itself. Getting stuck down a well for eighteen hours would do that to a person. To cap it off, his father had blamed him for wandering off in the first place and getting stuck down there. His father wasn't exactly the paternal type, his experiments got more love than Kit did.

The wind changed suddenly, knocking Kit out of his reverie. He glanced around the plains, pushing himself up to a seated position. He kept his eyes on the cluster of trees that marked the entrance to Wonderland. The wind brought with it the smell of blood. Just a faint tinge of copper in the air, but if you have survived this long in Wonderland, you get to know that scent very well. Getting to his feet, he found himself still slightly unsteady. He hadn't eaten yet, and had used probably more energy than was necessary to dispatch of the creepy daisy. Patting his belt, he pulled out half of an old candy bar, covered in fluff and lint from the bottom of one of the pockets. Beggars couldn't be choosers. He wolfed the fluffy candy bar down, starting to break into a jog again as he did. To the right of the tree line was a group of hills. If he could get to the hills, maybe everything would be okay and he could get to the cave without a fight.

The smell of blood got stronger on the wind and he began to doubt it. Still running, he rubbed his fingertips together lightly, creating a small flame and held it loosely in his left palm, letting it bounce around as he ran. No sense in being unprepared.

By the Rabbit Hole

Edward paused in his walk, taking a moment to survey the change in environment. A flame’s aura? Not a natural one, as those would never be modest enough to stay small. An Alice with abilities? “Not surprising. All of us are rather strange,” Edward mumbled. In his case, he hadn’t aged for a while, although he lost track of exactly how long – perhaps a few months, perhaps a few years. Time was unimportant in Wonderland, contrary to what the White Rabbit thought… even more so when all the Alices were so different in apparent age. Some, such as Elysium of the mazes, didn’t even divulge such information.

With a sigh, Edward continued walking, his blood thirst dwindling slightly as more rational thoughts came his way. Conflict – darkness and innocence, madness and sanity, going back and forth between them was never very fun.

The others had no problem with it – Lyra was a good example. He had heard her scream from the Rabbit Hole, which was a far ways off from her manor. Edward hoped that the new Alice wouldn’t fall victim to her during her killing spree. A scream from her mansion usually meant many deaths, and one rather satisfied Cheshire Cat.

Unlike some of the other Dark Alices, Edward didn’t particularly live in luxury. He just lingered by his post at the Rabbit Hole, sleeping under the dying trees. Although there was no fruit or edible animals, food was no problem – Wonderland had no end of tea, scones, and miniature sandwiches.

Thanks to that, he also had a bunch in storage. With a little concentration, a cup of tea manifested itself in his hand. His other ability was that he had connection to a room, which he always had access to. He could take from that room, and store things at will, although not that many others knew where in Wonderland that room was located. A safe place, Edward thought to himself as he sipped the tea.

Upon tasting it, he made a face. “Ick,” he muttered before dropping the cup. The fragile object shattered at his feet upon striking the hard soil. There was really little he hated more than cold tea. Then a thought struck him. He had never really wondered since no one survived very long, but seeing as there was very little food one could eat without consequence out in the natural world of Wonderland, most new Alices were likely to starve – unless they could find one of the other residents that is.

Or they could always try one of those poisonous mushrooms, though the hallucinations were never very pleasant.

“I wouldn’t want this Alice to die of starvation,” the boy mumbled before quickening his pace. Edward enjoyed being first, and not even nature would take the first kill away from him if he could help it. “Alice, where are you?” he called as he continued his search. He was getting close and he knew it. He kept on the most innocent expression he could manage – he didn’t want to scare this Alice off.

After all, Edward would be doing it a favor. Better death at his hands than Lyra’s or the others’.

Artemis had sped up, her walking now a brisk jog. She dodged various small bushes which looked dead just like the looming trees. Creeping around one particularly large tree with long, hanging branches like that of a weeping willow, she twisted around, her back slamming against its trunk. In the distance, coming closer was a tall figure, and when Art squinted, her vision becoming a bit blurry, it doing this at all the wrong times, she spotted a small flame. It was centered in this person's, maybe thing's, palm. Watching it move as this..Guy, perhaps, moved she narrowed her eyes. Reaching back silently Artemis grabbed an arrow, running a hand across it, two of the three fine points freezing over in ice. She placed the arrow in the bow, gripping the string a bit hard as she pulled it back. Friend or foe? Everyone here was a foe, in Art's opinion.

In a quick decision, she let the arrow go. It was previously aimed at the guy's head, but in a simple move of her wrist she aimed for the ground which was right in front of the moving figure. The arrow sliced through the air swiftly, like a knife moving through hot butter, jamming itself into the ground a few feet from the guy. With a satisfied smirk which was covered by the shadows of her hood, Art stepped out from in under the tree, watching this person carefully, reaching back for another arrow.

As she done this her attention was drawn to another figure, a smaller one which was moving towards the figure she previously "shot" at. With the gentle clench of her jaw her blue eyes seemed to burn brighter. Was he the enemy also? This particular "person" had a innocent expression, yet Artemis learned to not trust innocence. Actually.. She remembered him!! When she first came down the rabbit hole that boy was standing there with a scythe! He tried killing her!! Placing another arrow in her bow, Art pulled it back with a strong right arm, the small muscles she had bunching beneath her armor. What to do?

There was another thing about Wonderland. Voices coming from nowhere. Maybe they were the voices in your head? Maybe it was the voice of something trying to murder you. Probably the second thing. Kit was getting ready to break out into a faster run towards the cave when something came whistling past his head. Saying his final prayers now, he began to come to terms with the fact that he was more than likely a gonner. The arrow embedded itself about two feet in front of him, causing him to come to a grinding halt. The flame he'd been carrying in his palm disappearing as his concentration broke and he span around looking for the arrow wielding culprit, cursing rather loudly.

"Jesus saint of all the bloody CHRISTS! Who the bloody hell just shot at me?"

Granted, yelling at the person...thing...whatever had just shot at him was probably the worse thing one could do in the given circumstances. His eyes were drawn to the tree line and the cloaked figure standing there holding the bow, that was now pointed at something else. He pointed an accusatory finger.

"You!! You with the bow and the cloak! Y'nearly killed me!" He pointed to the arrow in the ground and then back to the stranger. "That there! Nearly in my head!!" Kit wasn't exactly the most articulate after a near death experience.

"I've had enough of this bullshit, I've had it up to here-" He pointed to the very top of his head. "With all the crap this world is throwing at me. Giant man eating baby faced flowers, psychopaths with bows and...."

He stopped, realizing that the bow was pointed at something else and not himself. Turning, he saw another figure advancing towards them, a young boy with a very innocent expression. He was in the middle of both of these people, not an enviable position. Rubbing his fingertips together again, a new flame sprang to life and hovered above his palm. The new question was, which one was going to try and kill him first?

By the Rabbit Hole

Edward had just spotted the Alice when he felt a different, more ominous presence. The danger was confirmed when he saw an arrow embed itself just a few feet from the Alice! The nerve – someone had nearly gotten to it first!

Flicking his gaze towards the source of the arrow, he saw a distant figure in the shade of a tree. Vaguely familiar… vaguely – an Alice! One that had gotten away! Edward scowled and glowered in its direction. It would spoil everything at this rate!... but no matter. That other rogue Alice wasn’t his focus right now.

Running towards the first Alice, the guy, he hastily called out, “It’s not safe here! You have to run!” The arrow at the Alice’s feet only emphasized truth in Edward’s words. If all went well, the Alice would trust him and put out his flame, and Edward would be able to spare both Alices the torment of the other Dark Alices.

Although the archer Alice didn’t concern Edward in the least, the location in which all this was taking place did. It was no longer his territory – he could no longer sense the presence of intruders, but Edward couldn’t help but feel that there were other threats about. No matter.

First, this Alice.

A kettle was warming up nicely on the stove, as the March Hare rested peacfully among the many books and papers that flooded his house to the brim. He'd pushed a large pile of important papers to the ground in order to sit down in one of the more comfortable chairs, where he'd almost fallen asleep. There were many minutes until the kettle would be ready. He sighed tiredly and sank deeper into the chair, wondering if he could simply disappear into it.

"Jesus saint of all the bloody CHRISTS! Who the bloody hell just shot at me?"

Jonathan was brought out of his train of thought as someone screamed - presumably at someone else - not far away from his door. Listening intently for more, he still startled when the second shout came, knocking the tea down on the floor from his lap. He made his way into the kitchen and picked up a large, black, frying pan from one of the closets. Slowly opening the several locks on his door, he then opened it slightly, peering out.

"Who's out there?" he growled. "If this is one of you sadistic psychopaths roaming my turf, I'll give you a piece of my frying pan as a souvenir! I swear by the heavens above, I'll roast the lot of you for my breakfast before I let you kill anything outside my very home!"

Artemis listened to the first figure with the little fire ability go on and on, only merely amused. She kept her gaze on the younger boy however, teeth gritted in a bit of anger. She kept the arrow poised, steady in her bow, a icy cold feel settling over her body, fingers actually freezing over some. Every time she would exhale a fine puff of "smoke" would slip past he lips, as if she was in negative degree temperatures. Movement.

As the younger figure began running towards the one she previously shot at, she let the arrow go. As she did however, the cut she had received earlier began to burn, causing a muscle spasm in her right arm. With a small gasp her direction in aim, which was the boy's chest changed and the arrow was then aimed for his feet. It shot through the air the same moment Art dropped her bow, grabbing her right arm. She hated showing weakness in front of her "opponents", but this pain was absolutely unbearable.

She tried blocking out the hazy pain, understanding what this "Evil boy" was trying to do.. Trick the other figure. Artemis gazed at fire boy beneath her hood. Friend. She decided quickly, and with her left hand scooped up her bow and began running towards him, flicking that same hand in the same motion. When this was done a small, three feet at the most, icy wall shot across the way, blocking the boy's path to the other guy. "Run now!" she snapped in a harsh tone, not knowing if this wall would stop the "predator" at all. With that she moved, grabbing the arrow she shot at the guy she was helping. They needed to do something!

A young teenage boy running at him from the north, telling him it wasn't safe. Biting back a jibe, he held his tongue as the second unknown figure loosed another arrow that seemed to change direction in mid air? Was gravity now playing tricks on them? Keeping both feet firmly planted on the ground lest he start to float away, he watched as the second, bow wielding person began to run at him, flicking their hand out before them.

The air got cold. Uncomfortably so for one like Kit. He liked things to be toasty warm. The molecules in the air shifted, the temperature dropping even more as she got closer. Snapping his fingers over the flame, he took it's warmth back into him as a wall made of ice appeared between him and the younger teenager. The archer snatched up their arrow from the ground before Kit's feet and looked to him.

"Run now!

Kit blinked as the archer ran. She was a she? Damn leather armor hid everything. He watched as she began to sprint off quickly, looking back to the figure behind the short ice wall. When in doubt go with the person who can fight best. It had worked for him at school and he prayed it would work now. Kicking up dust, he took off after the archer, catching up to her quickly.

"Caves. Follow me."

He said simply, veering to the right of the tree line as he ran. They'd make it to the cave, everything would be alright once they made it to the cave, he kept lying to himself. Still running, his chest heaving with the effort (goddamn being out of shape, he really needed to work on that) the first of the caves appeared before them. He began to head for his...wait, did that cave have a front door?!

Lyra ran with a grin on her face, she wasn't barely finished killing. The wind wiped through her hair wildly, as she spotted Johnathan's house up ahead. She grinned as she approached his door, pounding hardly on it, locked as always. "Johnathan, won 't you let me in, i want to show you my new knifes?" she said, stabbing one though the door. She leaned against it, smearing blood all over it with her blood soaked shirt, as she spotted another creature cross her path. "I'll have to talk to you later Johnathan, a fresh kill as crossed my path." she grabbed her knife from the door and started chasing the small thing. She chased it all the way to the nightmare forest, where she finally caught it and slit its throat. "sorry crys, but this one ran." she mumbled to herself as she spotted a young woman in a cloak leaning against a tree. Lyra grinned wildly, it had to be one of the many alices the white rabbit was sneaking in. she walked up to the woman and bowed, with a knife against her chest and another in her extended hand. "My name is Lyra, may i ask what you are doing here, Ma'am." She said grinning and standing up straight. "you mustn't be playing in cry's forest, you will surely die." she starred at the icy bows that were slung over the woman's shoulder. "or maybe I'm wrong, would you like to come over to my castle for cakes and UN-poisoned tea." She wanted to make sure this Alice was well fed and healthy. Lyra wanted to have a challenge while playing the game the white rabbit had started. she extended her hand and waited to see if the woman would take it or try to kill her. she had a plan for if the woman did strike at her, Lyra always had a plan. she was going to run, run like she was scared for her life, before she claimed a tree and hid among the thick branches before she called on David to come and save her, no one could kill David, for he was already dead, immortal i guess you could say, she really had no idea what he was, only that he was dead and still living.

By the March Hare’s Dwelling

Edward couldn’t hold back a grin at a familiar voice. Oh, the March Hare – Jonathan never failed to amuse amuse… Souvenirs were always a good thing. However, when someone else makes off with his target, that was never entertaining.

To make matters worse, the two Alices were making towards the March Hare’s lair. “Tch,” Edward spat as he weighed his options. If he attacked them now, they were sure to never approach him again… although the archer might come to kill him and that could be interesting. Calling on his ability, Edward summoned a gun of the same azure hue as his scythe, and shot at the wall of ice. Reinforced bullets, forged of malice and a good dose of insanity, sped towards the frozen blockade.

After a few shots, it shattered, but by that time Edward knew it was too late. The two had reached the house, and The March Hare had the advantage in his own turf. Edward knew better than to face him on his own – or not. In her usual manner, out of nowhere, Lyra of the Tea Gardens burst into the scene. From her wild expression and blood-spattered clothes, Edward could tell her hunt had been a success.

Now it was really too late. Edward had hoped to spare those two Alices the tortures they’d endure in her hands, but it was far too late. An invitation for tea from Lyra was nearly almost fatal in the most painful of ways, no matter what she said. He sent the girl a bitter look, trying to figure out what his next move should be. He could always continue his facade, in the end sparing them the torment – but then Lyra was sure to be angry at him. That would mean being shunned from both sides of the war, and no one would want that fate.

Or perhaps she’d understand that it was his form of fun. Gun still in hand, the boy began to walk towards the chaos – knowing the March Hare, he would be close to locking up and cowering in the corner, meaning he wouldn’t blow Edward’s cover. These two Alices were so troublesome, complicating simple matters for him. To confront or not confront? To salvage or to leave alone? Everything was going mad.

Then again, that went for most things in Wonderland.

Artemis had continued to run like her life depended on it, in which this case it did. Her heart was pounding loudly in her ears, yet she didn't even break a sweat from running, she ran almost every day. She kept her right arm press close to her stomach, the white cloth which she used to bind the cut was soaked in her own crimson, red blood. 'In through your nose, out through your mouth,' she told herself, glancing at fire boy when he caught up and spoke. "Caves," she repeated in a almost breathy voice, tugging her hood down a little more to cover her face as she followed after him. Art kept her bow clutched in her left, and when she saw the front of a cave with a.. Door? She thought they were safe..That is..

Out of nowhere a girl jumped out in front of her and bowed. Artemis almost ran into the girl, but having pretty fast relaxes she stopped just in time. She gazed at the fire guy, motioning for him to go on, even though she figured since he was running like his ass was on fire(heh), he probably wouldn't even stop to spare a glance. This girl.. This bloody girl introduced herself as Lyra. For some reason, fear did not show in Art's blue eyes, only the faint curiosity. She was then told she shouldn't be "playing" in "Cry's" forest. Playing? Is that what running for your life was called here? She narrowed her eyes when offered cakes and..UN-poisoned tea? Was the rest of the tea poisoned? She wouldn't doubt it.

"As much as I would love to, Lyra," Artemis began in a monotone, not introducing herself. "I have somewhere I need to be." she lied, flicking the wrist of her right hand. In that notion ice began to creep across the ground and up the bloodied person's legs, hopefully to keep her frozen in place. "So, if you'll excuse me." she said, then with a jolt of energy slipped past the girl and took off running towards the door which was slightly cracked.. With many locks. A bloody girl with knives and a deranged young boy with a gun behind her, it was the best time to improvise.

Getting to the door she threw her right leg upwards, her foot slamming against the center of it. Since the door had been already cracked, someone standing behind it, it opened a little more with a hard 'bang' With that Art slipped inside, eyeing the ..person? with a frying pan, "Sorry," she apologized awkwardly, waiting for fire boy to get in before she shut the door back.

((This post should really come after Timothy's but because I saved it in the wrong place, yeah, just go with it and read his first then mine xD))

Kit dove through the door that the archer was kindly holding up for him. Another man stood inside the cave, holding a frying pan with a stern expression on his face. He looked as the archer propped the door back into the gap. He turned back to the frying-pan man, shrugging apologetically.

"My bloody door!

"Ummm yeah....Sorry about the door."

He looked from the archer, to the frying pan man, to the cave they were currently stood in, seconds seeming like an eternity before the frying pan man spoke again.

"If you want to keep your limbs, I suggest you come with me.The Mad Hatter's afoot, and there ain't nothing that's gonna stop her from breaking that door down if she really wants to come in."

Mad Hatter? Was that the one who had threatened the archer with the knife seconds before? He was meeting so many more new people in the past three minutes than he had in the three days he'd been in Wonderland. He followed after the frying pan man, being ushered into a hatch next to the fireplace with the archer. He froze instantly.

The hatch revealed a dirt tunnel with no light and a remarkably low ceiling. He began to stammer, trying to decide which was a worse fate, the tunnel or the knife wielding psycho approaching from outside. He chose the tunnel. Swallowing heavily, he held his breath and walked into the hatch, closing his eyes the second that frying pan man closed the door.

The door was already cracked, but he could work with that. He'd thought he heard the sound of Edward further down, but there was no way of telling this distance, unless the boy had been screaming on the top of his lungs. A little after his own outburst, there was the sound of a small struggle, and several pairs of feet running towards the caves. There was little hope that the Alices had survived Edward's demented mind, but what little chance they had ought to be taken advantage of.

Jonathan moved away from the door and over to the fireplace at the edge of his small abode. He removed a large blanket from a chair, and then threw the mentioned furniture away as well. There were little signs of a hatch, which he searched and found with his fingernails, before prying it slightly open. He'd heard Lyra around earlier - if she truly was around, then they'd need an escape route.

He'd picked up the frying pan again and was on his way towards the door when the crack was enlargened, as a person came crashing through it, making sure her friend was through before she put it back up.

"My bloody door," the March Hare practically squeaked in an upset voice. His facial expression quickly changed, however, as he noticed the people standing in his entrance. Their faces were new, and there were very few Dark Alice's coming to town these days.

"If you want to keep your limbs, I suggest you come with me," he said. "The Mad Hatter's afoot, and there ain't nothing that's gonna stop her from breaking that door down if she really wants to come in."

Aradia lay in hiding under the bushes next to the gates of Wonderland, hiding from those whom would kill her and destroy the gate. She was smart, after all, she was referred to as Grandmother Rose from time to time. Still, thanks to the White Rabbit of the past, she had been blessed with a young woman's appearance once more. She lay hiding, secretly protecting those flowers who didn't have legs like hers to run. She felt terrible for them, seeing as most of them had been around during the good times, without fear.

Still, she lay hiding, as a knife almost connected with her leg. So Lyra was on a killing spree again? That was never good, but she seemed to leave quickly. That made Aradia breathe easily as she herself drew a knife from her garter belt for protection. Now all she had to do was wait for Darrek to come with an Alice and have her let them through.

Meanwhile, Crys was licking her wounds by the lake, which was now stained red. She had such fun with Lily! Oh, such fun! She laughed madly, hearing the shadows off on their hunt. So there were Alices that were being stupid enough to wander in, how charming. She finished cleaning herself and blended into the shadows, softly crawling with ease into the darkness. She needed to go thank Lyra, after all. She made her way out of her land and into Lyra's, being greeted rather warmly by Lyra's oldest butler and maid.

She sat at the tea table, having a plate given to her of poison-free food and drink. She smirked. It seemed that she could always count on Lyra's hospitality when she needed to eat. Her wounds had already healed, some unknown force causing it, as she sat in her chair, clean of any sign that she had just commited murder and torment of the highest degrees.

Lyra smiled wildly at the ice that was keeping her leg frozen to the ground, She called for David and he was there in a matter of seconds. He sighed as he looked at her leg. "i seem to have gotten myself stuck David." she said, laughing. David quickly got her freed for the ice and she ran in the direction she saw the Icy woman run. When she lost all sign of the woman she scanned her area until she saw that Johnathan's door had been kicked down and propped back up. she quickly ran inside but only saw Johnathan sitting at his table. She sighed, "i could of sworn i saw them come through here." she said, sitting across from Johnathan and propping her feet on the chair next to her. "i can show my new knife." she said as she pulled and knife with a golden handle off her belt, and threw it on the table. it was new so she didn't care that much for it like she did her others. "isn't it pretty?" she said grinning. she stood up and walked over to him. he was taller than her but she didn't care. "i want you to have it, other wise we wouldn't be having a fair game when it starts." she said hugging him. When she pulled away she saw that she left a blood stain on his clothing. it made her laugh before she walked out the door, or doorway. David informed her that Crys was visiting. she quickly ran back to her house, changed and greeted crys outside at one of her many tea tables. "its nice to see you again crys." she said grinning widely. "i hope Lily didn't cause you to much trouble." she said as she sat down.

[double posted sorry]

"Oh Darling, if anything, Lily made a fun sacrifice to the pond. She actually tried to kill me and escape! It was such fun, getting to scratch her with branches. She was simply amazing, how much of a fighter she was." Crys sighed at the memory. Perhaps that's why she was never loved, she was just so... damn creepy would be the right phrase for it. Her twisted smile lit back up. "You really must send me more like her. It feeds my masochism. I also heard about your killing spree, the shadows are so happy right now! Even little Gretel seems happy!" The girl named her shadows.

Anyone on the outside now knows she's nuts. Not like she cared.