Isaiah "Grey" Gris's Story

Moonlight followed them as they ran. Suddenly, the Duchess stopped, followed by Destra. "Ouch!" Moonlight ran straight into him. "I'm sorry-" Her words broke off as she stared at the gigantic white wall rising up menacingly before them. "What - is that bone?" The sudden realisation dawned on Moonlight. As she prepared to run off back where they had come from, she distinctly heard a thundering behind them. The army was coming.

Moonlight ducked as a projectile sailed over her head. It came so close, she could feel the wind blow her hair around. The Duchess took off again, and the twins followed. Taken by surprise, Moonlight followed them, zigzagging in crazy circles to avoid the projectiles being launched at them.

Just then, an even scarier sight appeared. A large dragon-like form slithered forward. Yes, slithered. There was no absolute way to describe it, but the one thing Moonlight could identify was that this was bad news. Fear struck her hard, and she staggered slightly to wrap her mind around the fact that they would be fighting this... this... monster.

Moonlight grabbed for the person nearest to her, who turned out to be Sinistra. "Sinistra, you... you can't be serious. How are we going to..." She couldn't even finish her sentence. The only response she got was the twins tightening their grasps on their weapons. All she had was a tiny little rapier. How could it do anything to help the rest?

A boy walked towards them. The white side makes you taller and the blue side makes you smaller. The boy looked dazed. What's going on? Moonlight gazed at him intently. "Um... I think we have to... fight... defeat..." Again, her voice was raspy and soft, barely heard above the marching of the army. Moonlight tried to clear her throat, but it just made it worse. "Destra..." She appealed to Destra, hoping he would understand. "I... can't..."

(PM me if I didn't respond to something, considering my situation, I highly predict I haven't responded to everything I needed to..)

Absolem raised an eyebrow, it seriously took the cat that long to figure out Duchess's intentions? He tried to not pay mind to the cat's slow deduction process, so he merely glanced to Rhia, then back at the livingroom, "We haven't time, I cannot leave her to surrender to the Jabberwocky, we cannot afford to let that parasite grow any stronger than it already has." Absolem grabbed a few herbal mixtures for headaches, knowing he'd need them in just a few mere moments, "Regardless, we're in this fight no matter what, she's lured it to my location, if those flowers die, we're sitting ducks. I find it better to be on her side, than fighting every man for himself, no? It's common sense, for once, no time for riddles. This is much too serious.." Absolem was once again pale, but mostly due to his rushing, grabbing matches, candles, and containers for the herbal mixtures, each floating around him as he began his idea. I can't let them know I'm unsure we'll make it through this. Look reassuring, look self-assured..

"Put the barrier back? I shall not." Absolem rubbed his temples, staring firmly at the cat, "When the Jabberwocky reaches the flowers, regardless of the barrier, the house will be revealed, if the flowers die, so does the barrier, at least if we're all together we stand a fighting chance." he spat back, "Use your head, I know you're more clever than that." Absolem moved from the room, walking out and almost not even paying a single bit of mind to those around him, "It's a bit of a situation at the moment. Hide yourself, or at least arm yourself.. when the barrier goes down.. I've got a plan, but this is going to be very painful for the both of us, far more than you can imagine." Absolem mumbled to Grey, not standing by a single second longer. He flung the door to his home open before floating up atop of his abode, sitting on the large mushroom. He squinted his eyes, trying to locate the Duchess. If Jabberwocky killed the flowers, this would become a bit difficult, but he tried his best to send her a message through the flowers. -The house isn't very far.. I see you've run into trouble however..when it kills those flowers my home will be vulnerable. I am going to keep it hidden as long as I can, but as you know my contractor and myself will pay a dire price for me using my abilities to cloak the entire structure.- Absolem began preparing himself, rubbing his temples nervously. He'd never attempted to control the barrier on his own, he wasn't even sure if it would work, but he knew if it did, they had at most, ten minutes before he or Grey would be rendered unconcious if not both.

He began drinking one of the mixtures, letting everything land around him, the candles lighting themselves, almost instantly emitting a calming arouma around the house. He took a deep inhale, a faint white smoke rapidly coating the area, but not near enough to hinder one's sight. He finally located Duchess, hoping the flowers got the message before they were destroyed by the Jabberwocky. Though, it did have to find out which flowers controlled the barrier, and around Absolem's house was surrounded by poisonous mushrooms, snapping shrooms and giant venus fly traps. His 'garden' was not a playground by far. Especially the backyard. Absolem had a habit of collecting beautiful things, but his destructive collection was far more massive. His entire backyard was a death trap waiting to happen. He knew it would possibly only pose a distraction, but if needed, he assumed it would at least bide them some time and distance between the groups and the infection taunting them.

"Heh.. Grey was right about the mushroom.." He mumbled to himself. He couldn't help but be amused.

----



Rhia tensed when she heard Absolem's thoughts. He isn't sure that we're going to survive this? How unsure is he..? She tried to pry furthur into the mint haired man's mind, but he seemed to be avoiding exact answers, even in his mind. No time for riddles? You've caught on to my ability, you're blocking solid answers from me as much as you can, even if I tell Cheshire, it's not like this information is really going to help.. It'll only panic her more. The blue haired girl finished her soup quickly standing up and wiping her mouth, "I guess we're in for a fight?" she asked tilting her head curiously. How..was this going to work? Neither her nor Grey knew anything offensive yet. They'd never really practiced their abilities. What were the weaknesses of the creatures tamed by the Jabberwocky? She shivered at the idea.

She turned to face Cheshire, shaking her head, "He isn't lying. I saw it in his head." she mumbled under her breath softly, "Like a motion picture.. If what he has planned works, he's going to be in a world of pain.." she ran a hand through her hair, looking at the ground, shivering a bit. Whatever she'd seen, it obviously had her very frightened. She didn't even have the control to hide the fear from her Chain, which she normally would have at least attempted, "What can me and Grey do? We won't feel satisfied just sitting here or running..." She whispered at Cheshire, this time pleadingly, "We're here for a reason, and right now I feel pretty useless to this point." She admitted, although it stung her pride for a moment, " Just tell us what to do and I'm sure he'll agree with me, we'll gladly do it to help." She blinked over at the human male afterwards, as if looking for his approval, "Besides, I need to be there just in case he passes out, right?" she grinned at Cheshire, "We want to help protect Wonderland too."

Cheshire

She paused, mouth gaping, for a short moment, completely dumbfounded by the man's stupidity. Having the barrier up was one of their very few advantages. If, by some miracle, Jabberwockey didn't see their location they could have the element of surprise on their side. When the Jabberwocky reaches the flowers, regardless of the barrier, the house will be revealed, if the flowers die, so does the barrier.. She could feel herself twitching upon his explanation. Though, as much as she wanted to sink her claws into the man's flesh, she chose instead to let her emotions play out upon her. "What's the use of a barrier if one can see through it after a certain point?!" She growled, patches of skin changing fluidly in waves of multi-hued fur to flesh and back again. Her eyes, which blazed greens, blues and yellows continuously with the change, latched upon the man as he paced. She wasn't a fool. She'd take her anger out on the Beast and then once that was taken care of, if they survived, well she and Absolem would have some..quality time together, but seeing as Caterpillar was making himself useful, she sneered and turned, grumbling aloud, "Are all men this stupid?" Her change-tantrum stopped short when she met her contractor's gaze. She felt her cheeks flush and suddenly found herself worrying what her contractor was thinking. She pulled her arms across her chest and gazed down at the girl, now completely 'normal'. Her ears perked and her tail thrashed about behind her as she listened to the girl talk. A wry grin stretched her lips as she took in Rhia's words. She has a point. Everyone's going to need to play a part to survive this. She offered the girl a cynical smile, acknowledging her statement. "I'll hold you to that."

Seeing as time was running short, she pulled Rhia with her and followed the Caterpillar. She stopped before exiting the house and looked over the poor, groggy boy. Poor sod, she thought, feeling a twang of pity for the child. Prob'ly'll never even make it to puberty.. "Come," she mumbled, grabbing him as well, "I'd keep with your Chain, boy. Don't let him leave you behind." She dragged them both towards the door before fading herself and the contractors upon the mushroom roof. She stopped behind Absolem, pausing to see the situation further ahead. "Here's your contractor. Make some use of him if you can," After Grey previous 'episode' she wasn't convinced the child would be much help. It would take a lot from him for her to think otherwise, but that wasn't her problem. She had Rhia afterall and hopefully the girl would stay true to her word.

Seeing Jabberwockey's bone fence and his terrible titans a ways off she shivers. Things were ugly. Very ugly. Though despite the almost certain death, and/or corruption, they all were heading towards, she was excited to feel that familiar itch in her fingers. Before, it was just her and the Plague, this time around she would have reinforcements. "I hope you're not waiting for that thing to come to you," Her anticipation was growing ever so steadily seeing as one of Jabberwockey's Beasts launched itself towards their direction, it's horrible roar grating within Cheshire's ears. "I doubt that'd be wise." Her fingers were now growing and hardening, becoming the knife-like weapons she used before. She stepped back and twisted upon herself and before anyone had time to exhale she was once again a monstrous tiger-beast. She dug her claws into the Mushroom and licked over her rows of jagged teeth. Satisfied, she grinned, revealing her shark-toothed-mouth in an awful smile. "I apologize ahead of time, Abs," she growled, stepping towards Rhia, "But I assure you it will be worth the pain," She wouldn't face Jabberwockey and his minions personally. The effort she was putting out already had her body burning, but pain could be dealt with. "I know a way to help. It'd be best if you followed." She began to back away, nodding at Rhia to get upon her back. All the while her smile was growing, especially when the roof beneath them began to shudder. "And you better be quick."

Her shortcut to the Patch was a ways off, but at least she was capable of travel now. It wouldn't take long to reach it in her current form, she just hoped Absolem wouldn't continue the idiot-streak he seemed to be having and would follow her. Taking things one-versus-one was stupid. Everyone needed to get together and as much as she'd love to leave Duchess and her friends to fend for themselves as punishment for bringing the army to them, she wouldn't let Jabberwockey take on more Chains. Her claws were itching and she giggled at the transformation she held inside. Oh yes, she cooed as if answering it's stirs, We'll have fun this time around.

Isaiah "Grey" Gris

Grey looked around nervously as Cheshire led him to Absolem. Rhia was right, they needed to help in any way they could but how much use was he going to be? He didn't even have a weapon, unless his tarot cards worked in more mysterious ways than he could imagine. Smiling he lost himself amongst thoughts of throwing the cards like shuriken.

"Like that would ever happen," thought Grey to himself.

Still, it was worth a try, even if it was only to pass the time untill someone found a use for him. Picking a card at random he looked for a target and settled on a mushroom a short distance away. Sighing he filcked the card from his hand experimentally and watched in amazement as it flew towards the mushroom and struck it with a thud.

"That is so awesome!" he said excitedly, "But now I've lost a card."

He was about to go get it when the card shimmered and disappeared from view, reappearing at the top of his deck.

"Well, at least I'm armed now,I still don't know how much help I'll be though." he thought.

Everyone seemed preoccupied with something in the distance and from the sounds of it, there were people in trouble. As he looked at the giant bone wall in the distance anxiety began to well up within him, he hated the thought of being unable to help.

"Absolem, why are we just sitting here? Can't we do anything to help?" he asked, wringing his hands frantically.

Pacing to and fro he flicked a card into the air, watching it spin around before catching it again between two fingers. He felt so useless, there was no way he could help Absolem and there was no way he could help the people in trouble. If only there was some way he could carry everyone away from danger. Frustrated he looked at the card in his hand. Slowly an idea came to him, his eyes widening.

"Please please work," her whispered, rushing outside.

The card he held was the Chariot. His ability had worked with the Ace of Wands, perhaps it would work with this one too.

"Come on," he muttered, focusing all his concentration on the card.

Slowly a glow formed around the card and then disappeared in the blink of an eye. Before him stood some form of armoured vehicle big enough to hold him, Absolem, Cheshire, Rhia and several other people, he couldn't see how one was meant to drive it though, perhaps it was automatic? He'd cross that bridges when he came to it, for now the only important thing was that he had a way to help everyone escape.

"Absolem!" he called out, "I think I can get everyone out of here."

The wall of bone would prove a problem, he'd just have to hope that the people on the other side would be able to get past it before the vehicle disappeared again. Who knew how badly it would effect him this time?


Duchess Sophie

The Duchess blinked at the Jabberwocky as the blades fly past her face and crossed her arms, as if to show that she wasn't impressed. Inside she was terrified, she had no idea whether she could make it out of this but she was determined to do everything in her power so that at least Belca, Moonlight and her son could get away.

"Pig woman?!" she cried out in disgust, "What a terribly rude way to greet someone. You dissappear for all these years, never write and then come back calling me Pig Woman. The nerve. Do you know what I think? I think if you could have 'ended' me in an instant then you would have done so by now."

This was a risky tactic but it was the only one she could use. If she acted as if she was more powerful than the Jabberwocky then perhaps it would believe her, that or make it angry. An furious Jabberwocky wouldn't be ideal but it was something she could work with. Angry enemies made mistakes.

"Look at you, needing an entire army just to lead me to you, am I too much of a woman for you to handle?" she continued.

While she spoke her eyes were taking in every detail of her surroundings trying to work a way out of the situation.

"And you," said the Duchess, angrilly addressing what had once been the Dormouse, "Give it a rest, nobody cares. You're starting to tick me off."

An idea began to form in her mind as she looked at the wall. It was made of bone and far too tall to climb over but that didn't mean she couldn't go through it, after all, bones did have a tendancy to break, all they neded was enough impact.

"Unfortunately I have no idea about you ability," she whispered to Belca, "But now would be an excellent time for it to manifest. Get ready to run."

Everybody was in exactly the right position, she was between Destra and the wall, that was the most important part.

"Destra, when I say so I need you to send as many birds as you can as fast as you can hurtling towards the wall," she whispered, "Sinistra, I need you, Belca and Moonlight and France to hold off everything while I focus."

She was going to have to move soon, the Jabberwocky certainly wouldn't wait for long. She'd just have to hope they could outrun it for as long as it took to reach help.

"This is all Cheshire's fault," she muttered, "If I ever see that cat again I'm going to punch it in the face."

It was now or never. She just prayed that luck would be on her side.

"Now!" she shouted.


Sinistra/Tweedle Dee & Destra/Tweedle Dum

Destra, looked at the Duchess from the corner of his eye. She had to be crazy, there was a huge risk that the birds would hit her too, not to mention that expecting him to do something so terrifying was a lot to ask.

The twins looked at each other and knew that if they wanted any chance of escape then they'd have to do as the Duchess asked, no matter how much it scared them.

Without warning the Duchess shouted out and Destra turned to face the wall, focusing on creating the biggest barage of birds he could handle without fainting from fear. As each bird passed by the Duchess's head it was transformed into a giant cannonball which slammed into the bone wall with great force, smashing things into pieces.

"So that was her plan," thought Sinistra as he turned his attention to keeping the army at bay, "She plans to create a hole in the wall for us to get through."

More determined than ever he ignored his fear and began to send birds of his own towards the army as well as launching stones at it with his catapault. He'd just have to hope that anything that got close would be taken care of by Belca, Moonlight and the Duchess's boy, hadn't she refered to him as France?

Finally the hole seemed to be big enough because the next thing the twins knew they were all runnig towards it. As they was about to pass through the gap in the wall, Sinistra and Destra felt compelled to look at the sky. Doing so almost made them shriek in horror. Gliding just above the top of the wall was the Crow, the one that always seemed to be hunting them. Terrified they continued to run but not before they saw it dive into the masses of the Jabberwocky's army, tearing through minion after minion. White light began to shoot out from the giant bird untill soon it was nothing but a ball of pure white light. As it faded a little a girl was revealed, a white aura surrounding her. Time seemed to slow as she turned to watch the twins run off. With a smile she turned back to face the horde, attacking violently.

Somewhere in the distance the twins suddenly look at each other, almost stopping.

"Did you feel that?" asked Sinistra.

There was no way they could mistake that prescence. All along, the Crow had been the Rattle.

Destra looked back sadly and then continued to run, speaking only one word, "Raven."

Cheshire

For some reason Rhia always had a way of surprising the cat. This was good because it kept her on her toes and relayed information she seemed to overlook. The girl was right. It was because of the Caterpillar that they all had a chance to regroup. If not for his Mushroom Sanctuary Cheshire and the others most likely would still be pathetically wondering amidst corruption. She had time to heal somewhat and she owed him her thanks. Though, due to random bursts of dread, excitement and fury, she decided it could wait. She was erratic, at least she knew that. Some things were just better left alone for a time.

She wasn't exactly thrilled knowing Absolem left the boy behind. Though he wasn't her child she couldn't keep the creeping twinge of uncertainty towards Absolem's decision. She supposed Caterpillar figured he would be safer in the background, but she just couldn't stomach not keeping a contractor near, especially with Jabberwockey present. She found herself holding to the uncertain brushes and pats given by Rhia. She knew the child was trying to comfort her, but all she could do was meet the girl's uncertainty with an awkwardness of her own. Relationships, friendships or otherwise, were still a struggle. So much had taken place within such a short amount of time and it left the cat bewildered. However, it was a Change she was willing to die for. She growled to Grey as the girl climbed upon her back and as Absolem followed suit. The boy's sudden creation was a surprise, but she wouldn't be bought by false hope. "I'd get off the roof, boy, unless you want to face the Beast. Keep hidden. When you see an opening take your..contraption and get us." She turned to the Caterpillar barely meeting the man's gaze as the tremors rocked his house further until a mass of roots expelled it from the ground. "Keep it hidden if you can. We'll make our own army." She told him, trying to fight her guilt about taking things into her own hands. The threat of Corruption had been too real, thus whatever she claimed would become reborn. Absolem's Mushroom was just one more sacrifice that would be taken to stop Jabberwockey, but it would be awesome.

She thanked her transformation gifts as the girl clung tighter to her fur. True, there wasn't exactly anything else to hold on to, and she'd be damned if she were to be saddled like domestic livestock, but Rhia's grip was tight. She couldn't imagine carting the child around as anything other than her current form. Already the strain of holding her weight was tiring her. Her body was screaming as she propelled the two of them forward. She wouldn't dare transform again. She was lucky she healed somewhat before turning. She could have very well reopened her wounds or made them worse. She stopped and paused for a breathe, explosions in the distance catching her attention. She looked to Absolem and saw his manic grin. Bandersnatch She smirked back before taking off once more, fueled by the revelation. Duchess had her hands busy, but help was coming.

She leapt through the shortcut, landing closer to the battle field. The Beast seemed to be preoccupied which was great for her. She took the time to drag her claws into the surrounding fauna, feeling her Change stir and rush out. She couldn't transform, but that didn't mean she could have others do it for her. She grinned, feeling the tickle of life over each creature and plant she claimed. She never turned so many at once, so she wasn't sure how it would work out, but just knowing the battalion of changelings both frightened and enthused her. Never had she had her Change spread so thin, but feeling so much life was like a new high.
She cackled leaping here and there watching mushrooms and plants expel them selves from the earth. Roots becoming tendrils, thrusting themselves forward and throwing whatever object they could at the enemy. Their soft flesh hardened as they twisted more within themselves, sometimes wrapping others within their writhing forms, becoming larger, meaner. The small fires provided by the unseen assailants proved useful as some stampeded through the blaze, covering themselves in flames, fueled by the venom each creature held. They would continue the attack on the Generals whilst Jabberwockey was preoccupied. Minions were easily taken out, either by fire, being crushed or absorbed by the still warping beings. Hopefully, this would provide enough distraction to help Duchess and her crew escape. If not well, there was always the lumbering, invisible mushroom house, on it's way.

Isaiah "Grey" Gris

For the first time Grey could see the people he was trying to help, two girls, three boys, two of which were twins and a very large lady who was growing larger still. The group had run into a massive beast but the woman was soon the same size.

"Well now, I guess one side really does make you larger," he muttered, climbing down from the roof at Cheshire's request.

Both Cheshire and Absolem seemed to be kind of snappy at the moment but he couldn't really blame them, he himself was feeling stressed at the thought of people being in trouble and he didn't even know them, he couldn't imagine what it would feel like if he actually knew the eople he was trying to save.

Watching Cheshire and Rhia ride off he walked to the armoured vehicle to await the signal. Hopping inside he took note that there was no steering wheel.

"Well that's going to provided a problem, I'm just going to have to hope it will move when it needs too," he thought to himself.

Carefully making sure his hair was all tied back he set to watching for an opening. The truth was, he needed everyone together if they were all going to get away.

With nothing to do but watch and wait his mind turned to Absolem. The man had seemed distracted and had been rubbing his temples a lot. All Grey wanted to do was go to the man and tell him that everything was going to be ok, that at the very least he was not alone.

But Absolem had told him to stay here, hidden and that was what he was going to do. Absolem was trusting him to get everyone away safely and Grey intended to do everything in his power to make that happen.

Isaiah "Grey" Gris

Grey had been watching the group of people get closer when the pain began. At first it was barely noticeable but then it grew. Clutching his head he looked in the direction Absolem had gone, his vision blurring. If he was feeling this much pain then what was Absolem feeling? The man wouldn't even be able to walk.

"I have to help him," said Grey in a pained whisper.

But that was the problem, if he went to go help Absolem now, there would be nobody to help the approaching group. Breathing deeply he reached a decision. He'd just have to hope that the vehicle would move fast enough.

"Go!" he thought, gesturing forward wildly.

To his amazement the vehicle started moving forward towards the group of people and at a pleasingly fast pace. Very soon he had reached the group. He spared a moment to take in the appearence of the red haired twins and their two companions but then he felt more pain coming from Absolem.

"Get in quickly and don't say a word," he hissed at the group.

Making sure that everyone was inside he got the vehicle moving again, this time in the direction of Absolem. It took a while but eventually he saw the man's form slumped on the ground, his fingers intwined tightly in his mint coloured hair.

As the vehicle drew closer, Grey leapt from the moving vehicle, not caring if he got hurt, all that mattered was that he got to Absolem. Bruised and battered from his tumble out of the car he limped as fast as he could towards the man.

"Absolem," he called out, his voice breaking a little, "Absolem."

Could he even hear him? The pain was a lot for Grey to handle but knowing that Absolem was going through even more almost made him cry. Was there even anything he could do to help the man? Desperately he gripped Absolem's hands the way he'd done the first time, willing for everything to be ok, hoping that his presence there would help even in the slightest because at least Absolem would then know that he wasn't alone.

"Please hold on Absolem, please be ok, just a little longer, everyone needs you," he said.

Surely this was going to kill Absolem? He was trying to accomplish a task alone that normally took the strength of who knew how many flowers. Had everybody not been relying on the man Grey would have made him stop instantly. Not knowing what else to do he wrapped his arms around the mans waist and buried his head in his chest, needing to believe that at least it would give Absolem some comfort.


Sinistra/Tweedle Dee & Destra/Tweedle Dum

Wordlessly they had been following the Duchess's son when seemingly out of nowhere some sort of vehicle had appeared in front of them, operated by yet another girl.

"No wait, that's no girl, it's a boy," thought Destra.

Sinistra and Destra had shared a brief look before following the boy's instructions and piling everyone inside. Each twin had a multitude of questions they wanted to ask the boy but he seemed distracted and considering that he was the one in control of the vehicle they thought it best to wait.

Some things seemed to be certain though, the boy was most likely another candidate but who he was contracted to remained to be seen. Having said that, neither twin had been aware that there were male candidates in the game.

Their train of thought was disrupted by the boy throwing himself out of the vehicle. Destra watched in alarm as the boy rolled away while Sinistra panicked as the vehicle kept moving at speed towards a group of trees. Had this all been a trap?

"Umm...I think we have a problem," said Destra.

Ivory it has a familiar ring to it, doesn't it?

Ivory wasn’t exactly assured as to her location. Honestly, she didn’t know where she was at all. In fact, the last thing she could summon up from her memory was Rabbit doing something with the clocks. She was in the woodlands when she stirred, her skull ringing painfully. She looked around, but at first her sight was blurry and everything looked mushed together in an array of color and disfigured shape. She knew she was in the woods however based off the surrounding sounds and the way the earth felt underneath her hands. She wasn’t aware of what she was intended to do with herself and she was left questioning how she got here in the first place. This is not Rabbit’s house.. What happened to me? Not to mention what happened to Rabbit?! They hadn’t even been properly contracted yet.. She shook her head, she didn’t have time to sort this out, Wonderland was a dangerous place. She was torn from her thoughts when she instinctively scrambled to her feet when she saw a plant move, feeling herself begin to tremble in fright. She wasn’t the bravest of the humans, that much was for sure. Being abandoned wasn’t improving her uneasiness either. Ivory ran the instant the plant shifted again, screaming out in terror.

She was darting between foliage, over Wonderland wildlife, doing her best to not step on anything. Even a mouse could prove fatal in a place such as this! She was pretty agile, evading the trees well considering the momentum she obtained from the downward dash. Her usual skill at sprinting like this normally wasn’t proficient, so she was merely waiting to crash into someone or something. Half of the girl wanted to find someone, yet then again, half of her did not. She found a group, well sort of. She heard them, so she hid behind a group of trees. There was a green haired male clutching his head and a blue haired girl..boy? Uhm, she wasn’t sure trying to help him somehow and a slightly intimidating girl near both of them, barking angrily. She clutched the tree nervously. She wasn’t sure she wanted to show herself, but she needed to make herself known soon. She then noticed another group approach a blonde girl..boy? Why are so many of them confusing about their gender!? She noticed more people in what looked to be a carriage or chariot. She moved from her tree, closer towards the people in the chariot, peeking from behind it to get a better look. There was a set of twins, a girl, and a boy. Who were they? More Wonderland inhabitants? Contractors? She wanted to make herself known, but she felt her fingers tremble against the bark of the tree. She was… scared. She wouldn’t have been, had she been with Rabbit, but she was on her own again. She quickly hid behind the tree again when she realized they’d possibly see her. She was really pale and in all white clothing with long white hair. She stuck out against the dark colors like a sore thumb. She turned her back to them leaning on the tree, drumming her fingers quietly on the bark in attempt to concentrate and comfort herself as she tried to come to a conclusion on how to act. Violent or safe, you’ve got to decide quickly Ivory! If I show myself..will they kill me?

Cheshire

The roots had lashed out just as planned, trapping the Dog-Beast within a living web. Cheshire's toothed grin split across her face and she let loose a growl of pleasure. It was working! The roots were strong, numerous and large. The few unlucky vines torn by the Beast were quickly replaced and set forth towards immoblizing the infected creature within a root-cocoon. Seeing her foe struggle, Cheshire dared herself closer, hopping a few meters ahead, just enough so she could get her message across to the Duchess. She roared, her sound echoing in the air, bringing with it handfuls of leaves, stones and flowers. They whipped and thrashed frantically through the wind before finally sorting themselves out into a spelled message: Get over here, woman! She wasn't aware of the other General's exact locations, but the fact that they had fled and she had her plant-army surrounding, she was very confident..that and she was anxious to gather the Chains and Contractors together. She left the floating message to disperse and guide the Duchess towards the group. She watched for a moment, enjoying the Beast's struggle then as if it's body was under too much pressure, it died. She wasn't sure whether to be overjoyed at the defeat or wary. It all seemed too easy.

Slowly, she crept back towards the others, her gaze remaining upon the blackened corpse, her eyes furrowing as the body seemingly drifts away. Her uneasiness began to spread as not only the Dog-Beast turned to ash, but as everything else did too. All around her, the infected creatures were blowing away, creating a rather confusingly, peaceful victory; but was it truly a victory? The sky was darkening with the ashes of the infected and though she couldn't see it, she could feel what everything Jaberwockey had kept living within an infectious Hell was now dead. She collapsed, her claws helpless digging into the earth, not only out of the sudden shock of so much death, but of the overwhelming sadness which came with it. She gasped, unable to bring forth the anguish she suddenly felt. Though no longer imprisoned within their own bodies, all those which had hope of freedom once the Plague was destroyed had perished and now what was left of Wonderland was becoming a much darker place, in both the literal and spiritual sense. The Plague still lived. This was no victory.

With what little strength she had left, she slowly stood and stumbled back towards the others. Her vision blurred as she swayed in her steps, almost stopping a few times as not to tread on the ash. However seeing as it was a wasted effort, she trudged solemnly, almost lethargically back to the group. They were still there, Rhia, Absolem, now Grey. They all looked worse for wear, but that was something she had quickly become used to. She stopped, her unseeing eyes locking upon the girl before looking down to the blanketed earth. "Be careful where you step," She spoke monotonously, "The dead coat the floor.."