Down the Rabbit-Hole

♠ The 'Queen' of Spades ♠

Fiore suppressed a frown at Aria's sudden, impulsive words.

Human beings ... always saying things they didn't mean ... making promises they couldn't keep
....

Everyone said they would be there, and everyone left him alone at the end. His own parents, siblings, friends ... everyone faded away with time.

Fiore was not about to make the same mistake of believing in a hollow promise again.

Outside, though, he showed no signs of his inner storm, smiling at the girl and using his gentlest tone.

"Thank you."

How old was he...? The question was, again, too closely related to the life he had chosen to leave behind. He couldn't answer it. He wasn't fully ready to remember the heartache his past seemed to be made up of yet.

Not now, not ever.

"Wonderland does not really have the conventional sense of time as in your world." he replied, "We Chains don't age, and neither do we die of natural causes. The only reason a Chain ages is if there is some change of the flow of energy inside Wonderland that inspires, requires or otherwise forces them to change."





As the Duchess grabbed her hand and began running, Belca elicited a low growl in the back of her throat. She knew the other woman was doing it for their own good but really, being dragged around like this, like a rag doll was simply humiliating. However, she didn't try to protest. After all, the Duchess' house had just been razed to the ground, she felt like the other deserved a break.

Duchess Sophie

The Duchess was no fool, anyone could see that the army was trying to shepherd them somewhere, the problem was that she couldn't do much about it except keep running. She looked at Belca, raising an eyebrow as the girl growled at her.

"Really Belca, now is not the time to pretend you're a wild animal," she said, letting go of her hand.

The girl certainly was peculiar but this was a rather stressful situation, perhaps this was how she dealt with it. The same way the Duchess was doing everything she could not to think of the cook or the pigs and momeraths or her home. No, grieving could wait until later. Right now she had to focus on making sure there was a later in which she could grieve.

Things definitely were looking grim though, even if they got to Absolem's house there was no guarantee they'd be able to fight off the approaching armies. Before Cheshire had left her house he'd mentioned returning to his contractor who she supposed was with Absolem, perhaps the cat was still there now, that would certainly help even out the odds in a battle but the cat's injuries had been pretty bad and there was no way they could be fully healed.

"What to do," she mused, as if trying to decided which type of icing to make for a cake, "I wonder if Cheshire could help us get away with one of it's shortcuts."

The cat had always had a mysterious way of getting about the place.

"By the gods!" exclaimed the Duchess, coming to a halt.

They had reached a dead end, the Duchess and her group were now exactly where the Jabberwocky wanted them to be. Before them rose a wall made out of bone, there was no way past it. If she looked carefully she could see the spiderpots that had destroyed her home. There was no way this was what the army had been herding the group towards, the spiderpots were clearly meant to drive them further in the desired direction. The Duchess was sure that at the end of the road, the Jabberwocky itself would be waiting.

"What an honnor it is to have the beast itself come to meet me," she said, taking off again so she wouldn't be hit by the spiderpots projectiles.

If the Jabberwocky wanted a fight then she'd give it one to remember, she no longer had a choice in the matter. There was no way she could defeat the Jabberwocky, not without the Vorpal Blade but perhaps there would be some small chance to escape. It was only the faintest glimmer of hope but it was all she had.

As the Jabberwocky came into view she slowed down and walked forward confidently. She would show the plague just how dangerous cornered animals could be.


Sinistra/Tweedle Dee & Destra/Tweedle Dum

The twins followed the Duchess, making sure to avoid any projectiles launched by the spiderpots.

Destra's eyes widened when he caught sight of the Jabberwocky. Nothing scared him more than the Crow but this came as a close second.

"We can't give up," said Sinistra, struggling to ignore the dread that was rising in his stomach.

Weapons of bone hovered around the Jabberwocky, each looking more deadly than the last. This would be a tough fight and neither twin was sure if they could win, not that they would ever admit it of course. In synchronity they looked at Moonlight and then at the Duchess before firmly grasping their weapons and preparing for battle.


Isaiah "Grey" Gris

Grey stared at the mushroom. Absolem was being enigmatic again, even in his dreams that hadn't changed, the man cleared lived, breathed and spoke in riddles.

"Everything just turns out to be a mystery, doesn't it?" Grey muttered, examining the mushroom, "The mushroom, the dream, this entire situation is all a huge puzzle."

He was certain that the mushroom wasn't poisonous, it just didn't have a dangerous vibe about it but all that told him was that he could eat it. Gazing at the colours he tried to search for some clue.

"White is such an expansive colour," he thought, "It just seems so vast, as if it can go on forever and ever while blue seems to compress everything. It's a colour of sadness and what other feeling would make you feel small?"

That had to be it. White would make him grow and blue would make him shrink, still, he didn't feel like testing them out. He was quite happy with his height. That's when he noticed Absolem was gone. He'd been so focused on the mushroom that he hadn't seen the man leave.

He woke slowly, rubbing his eyes. Something felt off about the air, it was almost like a feeling of menace was polluting it. Silently he got up and walked over to the man. The feeling of tension in the air was making him nervous.

"The white side makes you taller and the blue side makes you smaller," he said quietly, gently grabbing onto the mans shirt.
He was sure something serious was going on, he didn't need the cards to tell him that trouble was on the way. He kicked himself for not waking up sooner, perhaps if he'd noticed Absolem had disappeared earlier then he'd know what was happening.

"What's going on?" he asked.

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..."

Aria nodded as she listen to him, "Huh, that's interesting." Looking back ahead she saw the spring and did her best to contain herself. Aria had the urge to strip of her clothing and just jump in to enjoy the water, but with Fiore next to her, Aria kept her pace. "So if I just back track will I still get lost or should I be fine?" Aria didn't want him to have to sit around and wait somewhere just because there is a chance she could end up lost. The feeling of having to depend on someone else was going to drive Aria mad since she was use to doing things on her own. Walking up to the spring she pulled her shoes off along with her socks and dipped her feet in the water, "It feels wonderful."


OOC: Sorry internet went screwy!

♠ The 'Queen' of Spades ♠

Fiore suppressed a frown at Aria's sudden, impulsive words.

He could already tell the sheer thought of relying on someone else's help for something as simple as getting back was weighing down on her. Or was it just because she didn't feel comfortable with him ... ?

"Just follow the stone path. As long as you don't step outside you should be fine. And I mean that : Don't step outside the path no matter what. Things aren't quite right in Wonderland these days. Even though the Chess Board is essentially a separate entity, it's still a part of Wonderland. If the worlds start overlapping for some reason, this world, too, will get distorted. But the stone path is protected by ancient magic and safe." he replied, setting the kimono and tall stack of towels down by the spring. "I will be going on ahead of you, then. Enjoy your bath and remember not to stray from the road."

At least, he hoped so. So far, the path had always been safe, because it was the same path he had followed when he first fell into Wonderland, crafted by both him and his sister. Their combined power should be enough to keep it safe from distortion. However, times were changing.........

Fiore looked up at the slowly darkening sky, feeling the slight tinge of chill int he air and frowned. There was no doubt that something was going on in Wonderland. Even the Chess Board, distant and removed, was being affected by it.

'What are you planning, sister?'



Belca just heaved a sigh of relief as her hand was let go. She didn't mind being called a wild animal .. well, she did, but just a little bit. She had always known she was crude and very un-ladylike, saying what she wanted how she wanted when she wanted. It didn't bother her as much as it used to.

'Are we really on the right path ...?'

She had a really, really bad feeling about this whole thing. It wasn't really because of a particular reason, but the stench seemed to be growing worse as they ran blindly in a direction that was supposed to take them to safety. That couldn't be right, could it ...? And then there was the nagging feeling of unease that she couldn't quite place .....

She had been spacing out, as she found out when she barely stopped herself from colliding into a wall made of ...... bones?

Belca groaned. Really? Why couldn't she just have stayed up wherever she was actually from? Whatever happened there it couldn't have been worse than this! Or even in that strange watery hall, even that was surely better than this.

"What an honnor it is to have the beast itself come to meet me,"

That's it. The Duchess was officially crazy. Or maybe just in shock.

Her blood froze when they reached the ..... Thing they were obviously being herded towards all along.

So this was Jabberwocky?

Not only was the stench of decay overwhelmingly unbearable, but the sight alone .... slimy, was the only word that came to her mind.

Gagging slightly, she looked back towards the three Chains accompanying them. Were they serious? Fighting that? Was it even possible to damage it, far less kill it?

A boy came stumbling from somewhere, and Belca grimaced, feeling sorry for him. Poor guy just had to run in to this, didn't he?

He must have terrible luck.

But the other Contractor, Moonlight seemed to be taking care of him, so she concentrated on other matters.

Gesturing desperately to the Duchess while trying to look not quite so desperate, she was suddenly reminded of what the Duchess had said, making her grit her teeth.

The Jabberwocky didn't kill people, it corrupted them and used them as its puppets.

Like Hell was she going to be used as a puppet for anyone. She would rather die than that.

Her grip on the katana grew stronger and more determined as she moved to stand just to one side of the Duchess, far enough to not hinder her while close enough to watch for any sudden strikes from the Jabberwocky.

I guess there really is no getting out of it, huh.

"Duchess, this might be a good time to tell me whether or not you know exactly when my 'power' from the Contract is going to emerge, and what it might be. Before, you know, we all die a horrible death at this Thing's hands ... err, whatever it has instead of hands."

Blockade

As the group came to the end of their escape; the bone wall a clear dead-end, and there was the puppet master.

Jabberwocky stood before those gathered, a swirling chaos of bone-based weapons coalescing about it's form..with a motion or a word the swirling mass would rip through those before it, shredding flesh and spreading corruption. But there was a pause. The beast did not kill them, it held back it's power, hollow skull-eyes looking at the Duchess and her group without emotion. While the woman moved closer, her pace slowed now, the army of the beast closed from behind. Titan, Doormouse and Tibbs spread in three directions, with the Spiderpots and the smaller beasts ranged between. Escape would prove difficult.

A hand raises, Jabberwocky allowing several blades to slice past the sides of Duchess' head. It's voice, when it comes, sounds as if several were talking at once, "Far enough Ṗ̴̷̛̯̹͙̹͔͇̘̫͕̠͓̾̇̽̒̋ͪ̾̈́͆̈͊̚͝ͅI̸̮̙̱̼͇͚̤̘͚̪̮͎͈͈̳͇̮̗͑̽̓ͮ͊͊̇͐́G̴̷̴̴̺̜̦͈̖̲͉͕͔͙̩̫͈̳ͭͣ̌̈́͆̐̔̑̌̐̇̌͋͋̃̚͟ͅ-̸̡̡̲̟͇͖͕̥̤̖̝̬̘̤͑ͪ̒̑̋̒̉̃̀͊͆̌͂ͫ̌ͯͨ̚͝͝Ẁͧ͋̇̈͊̒̋̉̏̃̐ͣ̐͌̃ͯ̀҉̨̱̲̗̤͇͕̞̲̦̰͢Ơ̶̫̲̜͎̗̫̹̣̗̞̎̋ͯͦ͋̃̄ͥ̽̏ͪ̚͝M̧̳͇̩̰̫͙͇̙̃̑̓ͥ̈́̿ͧ̀̄̈̏ͩ̍ͦ͐̆͗̃Aͥͥ̈̓ͪ̃̄̋̄͂̉ͥ̿͌̄̀͏̱̝̼̘̜̜͓͓̟ͅN̸̶̷̵̢̫͖̬̭͖̬̺͊̅ͫͥ̓̂ͅ. Explain to me why I should not simply end you and those you care for this instant."

Tibbs' growl sounds, it's eyes catching sight of the Caterpillar's revealed home, massive fangs expose themselves as the mighty beast lets a bass rumble echo from it's throat. Jabberwocky can see through the beast's eyes, and motions with it's head for the canine monster to go check things out. A single leap clears the wall, the group and lands the horror poised in the middle of a flower patch. Corruption and rot spreads from it's feet's landing spots, rippling outward in waves. Taint would spread in the beast's wake. It was almost time for Tibbs to awaken fully. As the levels of essence rise in the thralled Chains they undergo changes...until they awaken as fully formed avatars.

With Tibbs gone the gathered now had a slightly better chance for escape...though where they would go was of some debate. Already the lands they had fled through were warping and rotting from the gathering of Jabberwocky's forces. To return there would be foolish, they would simply be in this same predicament again. The only way out was through. But that would mean passing the beast, it's wall...and Tibbs. Things looked bleak.

The weeping screeches of Doormouse sound across the clearing, grating on the nerves of those gathered, each sob and wail stabbing into ears and minds. Not all corruption was physical. Soon the gathered group would be cringing from the sounds, holding their ears as the volume seems to rise...each sob and wet snuffle meant for them alone. Twitches would be the first sign, then head aches...building until one felt the world's pressure weighing down in painful throbs. The final symptom would be nose bleeds, as Doormouse's strange voice tore away at the sanity and minds of those gathered. Despair would rip their minds to bloody tatters. This would take time, hours..days maybe..but Jabberwocky had plenty of time- Duchess and her group were not leaving soon.

(OOC NOTE: Gonna ignore the stuff about Grey wandering in, as I am unsure if the author even HAD the boy join the group- not that he could have...the wall and all.)

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."

"I'm sure it would." Belca mumbled to herself. Taking the situation in consideration, it would be even better if her power had something to do with miracles, because they sure as hell needed one right now to survive.

Their miracle came in the form of large barrels rolling down. appearing suddenly and explosively.

Coughing thanks to the smoke, Belca dodged falling debris .. or, more accurately, sprays of blood and other ... body parts she didn't want to particularly think about, looking for the Duchess.

As it cleared, she spotted the others.
"Hey, you all alright?" she called, rather unnecessarily she supposed, because if the Jabberwocky had been driven off, that as more than worth a few scratches and wounds.

"My Master relays apologies for leaving without propper farewells, I am to address this."


She gulped, damn that Jabberwocky, and damn that Queen of Hearts.

"Its fine, its a dream, you'll wake up." she tried to convince herself. Only problem being, it wasn't really working near as well as it used to be, now that she was coming to accept the fact that she only escaped into the typical 'this is all a dream' logic only when she didn't like the reality facing her.

"You know, I'm pretty sure we don't really mind if you go ahead and follow him, no need for fancy farewells. They're kinda dull anyway." she piped up, trying to distract the Thing while she mentally assessed its weaknesses, searching for an opening.

♠ The 'Queen' of Spades ♠

Fiore picked up some peaches and put it into his basket. He had to go out to collect something for their meal - he was a vegetarian living almost entirely on fruit, and he hoped Aria wouldn't mind terribly, because they literally had nothing else except trees and tree spirits and the Five Chains on the Chess Board. Not that he was complaining, he had meant it to be that way.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something swirl, before starting to take a vaguely humanoid shape.
"Allista?" he called out, recognising the whirl of red petals as one of his favourite tree spirits.

'The beginning of the end draws near.' Allista communicated non-verbally, through telepathy, making him frown.. Even though she could hear and see and sense, she couldn't speak. 'Jabberwocky is free.'

His violet eyes hardened into cool amethysts. "Is my sister behind this?"

'That I do not know, my Lord. As you are aware, we hold no sway over the forest surrounding Jabberwock's pit. He was spotted in Wonder Land by several of my Brothers and Sisters, but no definite information could be gained, for not many lived to tell a detailed account of his advance.'

Of course, the Beast spread filth and corruption to everything around it, and that included trees.

"Has anyone made a move yet?"

'Neither the Queen nor your Sister seem to be interested in direct confrontation. The Jabberwocky was last seen amssing a large troop, marching towards the Caterpillar's Shroom Garden. There have been reports of the Duchess' home being razed to the ground, but I fear we could not find anyone to confirm them.'

"That just proves it then, doesn't it? I suppose all our contacts in those parts have ceased communicating?" Millace straightened, dusting his kimono, before turning homewards.

"Tell me everything you managed to salvage, Allista."

'It is largely conjecture at this point, Your Highness, but it would appear the Jabberwocky is gathering an army in which he desires to incorporate all the Chains.'

That would mean danger for his beloved Chess Board as well. No matter how far removed it was from Wonder Land proper, if Wonder Land was destroyed under Jabberwocky's corruption, the Chess Board would inevitably be affected too.

Fiore increased his pace. He had to get to Aria and make sure she was safe.

He was just a bit too late.

"What do you think you are doing here?" he snapped, feeling the presence even before it came into his sight.





[size=145][font=monotype corsiva]Manifesting in a spray of her characteristic red mist, Alice bent over Fiore's bed, examining the girl sleeping peacefully, unaware of her presence.

'She looks so weak .... I must say I'm disappointed in you, brother. But then, its not like you had a choice, did you? Isolating yourself like that....'

She turned as her Little Brother burst in through the door, obviously he had been anticipating some kind of attack or distortion already.

"You wound me, brother. Could I not have come to see you?"

-6

Aria was looking around and noticed that she was in a dojo with people. Looking down she saw that she was wearing normal clothes but the person across from her was in a man with a karate uniform on. Aria saw that he had a black belt and had a feeling she was in for a fight by the stance he was in. Narrowing her eyes Aria got into a similar stance and without hesitation the man charged at her. Blocking his first punch wasn't the issue, his knee meeting her side and sending her to the right was. Landing Aria shook her head and stood back up turning to face the man. Glaring Aria was the one to make the next move by waiting till the last second then with all her force round house kicked him. Watching him fly across the room Aria ran towards him, refusing to let him have a chance to catch his breath. Grabbing him by the front of his uniform Aria threw him through the wall that lead to outside and followed suit. Seeing him standing up with a smirk Aria knew something bad was going to happen. Taking the same stance she did before Aria was about to attack until she saw his hands form fire balls. Magic!!! Cursing Aria dodged the first fire ball only to have the second hit her on the chest. Hissing in pain Aria forced herself to keep moving and ran into the woods trying to escape the man.

After running for what seemed like forever Aria hid behind a tree to catch her breath. She could feel her lungs burning and tried to calm down before the man found her.Hearing the leaves crunch under the mans feet Aria bit her lip and began to fiddle with her bracelet. I can't let him find me. I can't let him win! Looking around she was trying to find a way to hide without being heard when the smell of lavender and roses drifted across the air. Inhaling deeply Aria smiled and followed the scent into a small garden where a bow with arrows laid on a rock. Walking over she picked the bow and arrows up Aria saw her hand where Fiore made the contract glow making the bow pulse. "Wow..." The weapon stopped pulsing but Aria could still feel power coursing through it. Turning around she saw the man waiting for her. Smirking Aria raised the bow and placed the arrow in its proper spot, "For some reason I know I won't miss." Taking a deep breath she pulled the arrow back and let it go. The arrow flew across the clearing and hit the man's chest piercing the heart. The man let out a scream and released one more fire ball. Aria felt the fire hit her chest once more and screamed.



Aria sat up with a hiss and grabbed her chest. Taking the time to calm down she looked down at her chest, "That felt so real..." Turning she stifled the gasp as she saw a girl and Fiore in the room, "Umm...what's going on?"

Duchess Sophie

The Duchess came to a stop as she heard the voice of Tibbs and rolled her eyes, she'd had enough, the Jabberwocky and its crew had all gone off somewhere but clearly something had been left behind just for her, but this time she felt she had a genuine chance, after all, there was only one of it and three of them, six if you counted Belca, Moonlight and her son. Of course, she hadn't seen it yet.

"Bloody hell," she swore, "Why won't you just go away and leave me alone. I think it's charming that the Jabberwocky put all this effort into persuing me but you can just go back and tell him that I'm not interes..."

Her words came to a halt as she turned around and saw the face of the creature before her. The thing was huge but that wasn't what had stopped her. It was as if it's eyes embodied everything that she feared, a fear that she hadn't even realised she'd had. The fear that made her stay at home writing all the time. She was afraid to be outside, all the vast open space and all the people out there that could be anywhere and you'd never find them. Just the thought terrified her, almost paralysing her. It was then that the first waves of dispair began to assult her heart. She no longer had a home to go back to, a place where she could be safe.

She could feel tears building up and quickly looked away, somehow the creature had known what even she hadn't but there was no way she was going to let herself cry infront of the disgusting thing. She turned her gaze to Belca, intending to apologise and explain that she couldn't fight this thing but then stopped, her mind racing.

So what if she didn't have a home anymore? It could always be rebuilt. Belca didn't have her memories but she wasn't breaking down and crying, no, the girl was strong and determined, not to mention stubborn and unbearably rude but the point was that she wasn't letting anything stop her. Looking around at the other members of the group she felt herself gain more and more control over her fear and it was being replaced by something else. Anger. She was out in the big bad world now and nothing was hurting her, the place was vast and no doubt there were people out there that she'd never find but that was the way of things.

"Belca, you are never to speak in the manner in which I'm about to," she said sweetly, glaring at Tibbs, "I'm about to tear this F***ing thing apart and it's not going to be pretty."

The Tibbs monster was big but she had her ability, she could become as large as it was even if it was just for a little while simply by believing it to be so.

Slowly she began to walk towards it and with each step she grew larger and larger untill she was of the same size. Gripping her croquet mallet she stood before the creature, ready to fight. She was determined to not slip up, her focus would be absolute and she'd take this thing down.

"Shall we begin?" she asked, smiling darkly.

Without warning she swung the mallet towards the thing's head withenough force to crack a skull or at least knock something out. Perhaps she'd get lucky and end this with her first strike but chances were it would take a little more than that.


Sinistra/Tweedle Dee & Destra/Tweedle Dum

Both twins gazed up in horror at the creature, both saw its face as a different kind of bird, constantly metamorphasizing into some new kind of bird. Turning to face each other they locked hands and ran to hide behind a tree. There was no way they could fight something like this, using their power took all their self control as it was

Perhaps in a few moments they'd be able to assist the Duchess by supplying a stream of projectiles but for now they were helpless, the Duchess was on her own though it looked like she had things under control. She looked furious.

"Moonlight, Belca...France?" called Destra, "it might be safer for you to come back here with us. Things are going to get ugly."

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.

Tibbs caught the mallet by it's head, the ease by which the monster did this would quickly show it's speed and power. It was getting boosted- The fear caused by it's form, the left over fear of the Jabberwocky, any extra fear seeping from the chains..it all fed into Tibbs. Feeling Destra and Sinestra's terror added enough of a boost to let the beast dig it's talons into the hammer and squeeze, forming small cracks along the surface. With a sudden movement Tibbs wrenched at the hammer, seeking to rip it from Duchess' grip- or if that failed and she kept a grip, her mass would be jerked closer, as the monster raises it's left leg in a sudden knee strike. The right leg would add force, as the being springs forward with a savage push- turning the knee strike into a flying knee strike.

Should Duchess not release the weapon she would take the knee to the chest, smashing her backwards and damaging her chest. Even should she release however she would still need to evade the knee's path, or take damage(Lesser based on distance). Tibbs retained it's grip on the mallet's head, as with the knee's launch it spreads it's arms back slightly- setting up it's next action based on Duchess' counter, and adding force to the jerk against her grip.

The more fear that saturated the air, the more power the monster had. The more power the monster had, the more fear it could create. Tibbs was setting up a terrible cycle. Already the group's terror had caused the monster to swell with energy, a vibrating glow coalescing about Tibb's mass. As the fear build the glow will thicken, forming a thin barrier of force- thick enough to absorb the brunt of most attacks, while slowing projectiles and robbing them of inertia. Not a perfect shield by any means, but one that would grow stronger over time.

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The clan continued it's harassment of Jabberwocky, whooping and carrying on as the beast raged. They avoided it's strikes, making distractions for one another to draw it's attention constantly astray. Knowing their guns would be of little help against something this powerful the kept them slung, the barrels though...they might sting a bit. Having planned this strike out and setting traps through the woods, the cloaked creatures begin herding the Jabberwocky through a clearing..one laced with buried barrels.

With no trees left to hide in, or use as cover, the Bandersnatch males had no choice but to reveal themselves as the darted across the clearing, avoiding memorized earthen lumps- to help confuse the Jabberwocky they had dug up the clearing fully and made a whole bunch of false lumps; only they knew which were explosive, and which were not.

As expected, some were hurt, two were killed..Jabberwocky's rage let it sling those bone spears pretty hard- those hurt would be treated as best they could, and observed for corruption, those slain would be burned in a moment, as soon as the monster triggers the trap. Luckily most make it to the far side, moving as fast as they can, and blend into the trees once again...much to the monster's frustration.

Then the beast stepped on the wrong spot.

Flamed bloomed up suddenly, coating the monster in a burning sheet. The sudden blast of heat and pain cause the monster to stumble to the left, an onto another blasting cap. The screech of pain splits the air like a thunderclap, as a third barrel blasts from the first two's shockwaves. Soon all the buried barrels are kicking off, waves and waves of fire pelting the monster. The smoke is so thick that it blots out the sky over the area, visible for miles. Jabberwocky was out of the fight for a bit.

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Gina screamed, the flames had gotten through the black coating of Jabberwocky some, burning her face and chest. She had no idea what was going on, only that she was in so much pain! Thinking fast, and acting on instinct, she pulled power from her pain and allowed her gift to flow over her and Jabberwocky. Instantly she and the monster were covered in a black cocoon, sealing out the heat and flames. They were still hurt, and would take time to heal, but they were safe now.

The monster was so angry, Gina understood, because those odd lizard looking guys had tricked it. They didn't run like everyone else, they stood and fought- or they played tricks. The Bandersnatch were a solitary race, they must have felt dire need to come to the aid of the others- they must have seen the potential the Jabberwocky had this time. They would be a foe worth watching.

Moonlight stood rooted to the ground as the battle raged around her. The swirling mist that made up the Jabberwocky frustrated and worried her. Moonlight hated anything she couldn't quite grasp - the Jabberwocky was the insubstantial, yet dangerous thing that, in her mind, was the most frightful. How were they to fight something that wasn't even material?

Moonlight backed off and plucked at Destra's sleeve. She couldn't understand why they chose to ignore her. "Please," she whispered, "help me. I can't stay here, I won't!" Slowly, her voice rose in pitch. "Don't ignore me, I can't be here, it's too much!" Sinking to the ground, she covered her face and wept. Though it was cowardly, while the Duchess and the rest were fighting, but she couldn't help it. The fear was too much, the battlefield too terrifying.

Duchess Sophie

The Duchess glared at the creature as it plucked that mallet from her hand only to widen her eyes again in surprised as she was forced to lean back as fast and low as she could in an amazing feat of flexibility to narrowly avoid the thing's flying knee strike. Her head almost toughed the ground and as the thing passed over her she snapped her leg up to kick it in the back. One couldn't tell how effective this move would be or if it would even connect, given her position it was hard to control aim accurately.

"So, do you have a name?" she asked, turning round as she straightened up into a pose she called the scarecrow, "I'd at least like to know who I'm fighting."

There was something off about the creature, she could almost see some sort of glow wavering around its form, almost like it was building up power. An idea began to form in her head as she spared a glance at the rest of her group. She recalled how scared she had been when she had first looked into her opponent's face and now seeing how the twins cowered behind a tree, too afraid to help, what if their fear was what fed the beast, the thing that made it strong.

"Destra, give me one of your knives and then get everyone out of here," she called out, concentrating on the beast again, "Try and find Absolem."

Once she caught the knife it would be enlarged just like she was. After she was armed she'd leap towards her opponent and attempt a flying roundhouse kick to it's face and then thrust up with the knife when she landed. Chances were that the thing would block her thrust but perhaps it would distract the beast, in any case it would give her the chance to work out if sending the group away had weakened it in any way. One thing was certain though.

She needed to end this soon.


Sinistra/Tweedle Dee & Destra/Teedle Dum

Destra was terrified but he obeyed the Duchess, throwing the knife to her as fast as he could before turning to look at Moonlight who was plucking at his sleeve. The girl was just as terrified as he was, if not more so. The Duchess had asked them all to leave and considering what she was fighting, he didn't need to be asked twice.

"Everything is going to be ok Moonlight," he said as calmly as he could manage, taking the girl's hand gently, "But right now we all need to get out of here."

With that he pulled Moonlight to her feet and dragged her after him as he ran off, his fear giving him speed. Sinistra soon followed, leading France by the hand and hoping that Belca would follow.

She couldn't help snorting at the Duchess' words. Never to speak that way? Oh, the poor woman hadn't heard her speak yet. The term 'a sailor's mouth' was probably invented [i]for[/i] Belca.

Belca had followed the others behind the tree, but only because the Duchess had said so. She still believed that somehow the Duchess could defeat this little welcoming party Jabberwocky had left behind for them, and they would possibly only get in her way even more.

And suddenly she was a child again, hands clapped over her ears, trembling as a female voice screamed at her, telling her just how much of a bother she was, had always been.

"Always getting in everyone's way, a right little bundle of joy, you are. Why can't you do us all a favour and just get lost somewhere?" It snarled, the words winding around her like thorny vines, cutting and slicing.

Words like a thorny vine......

Watching the mallet be ripped off the Duchess' hands, Belca gritted her teeth, darting anxious glances at Sinistra and Destra, wishing they would just join the fray already. But she still couldn't work up the courage to jump in where she might be unwanted.

The little shapeless mass, indistinguishable from a heap of clothes, sobbed pitifully in the corner of her dark room. WHy didn't anybody want her?

Maybe, just maybe, it would be better if she did go away, if she just .... disappeared...

Belca scowled. To be regaining parts of her memory, bad, horrible parts that she must have wanted to forget anyway, and that too at a time like this, what perfect timing.

Hearing the Duchess shout, she sprang up, already running towards the other woman. She would never admit it, but even though their interactions had been short, and they had next to nothing in common whatsoever, Belca was beginning to feel fond of the other. She sounded so much like the mother she either - judging by the little bits of memory she had managed to recover - never had or couldn't remember.

It wasn't that she wasn't afraid of the Beast, she was, but she knew that simply cowering in one's boots wouldn't achieve anything. If they didn't fight, they would be killed whether or not they were afraid or not. Besides, what she felt towards Jabberwocky and its minions was more of a repulsion than fear. Closer to utter hatred and disgust, but not complete, overwhelming fear, though fear did make up a part of it. She might be reckless at times, but she wasn't stupid.

♠ The 'Queen' of Spades ♠

Fiore's eyes narrowed, not looking away from his Sister .... Alice. She had ceased being his sister years ago, around the time he had come here.

"As if you would come by for that. Surely you have had time for sisterly visits and would have utilized it had you wanted to before."

Hearing Aria's voice, his mouth narrowed to a line. This was the worst timing for her to be waking up. Alice wasn't known for her gentleness or subtlety, and Fiore was powerless to stop her if she decided to do something to Aria - for absolutely no other purpose than to demonstrate that she could, and keep the other Chains under her thumb with the fear that knowledge would produce.

However, when he turned to the girl, his lips were smiling. Not his eyes though, they were frozen and cold.

"Would you be so kind as to step outside for a moment, Aria? We have certain matters to discuss."[/size]



A flicker of irritation played over Alice's face before she carefully arranged them into a sweet smile again,catching Aria's arm.
"Stay." she breathed, before turning to Fiore, "How rude of you, little brother. You hurt me."

Pausing for a moment, she offered them her most dazzling smile, though she knew it would probably be a lost cause on Fiore. The girl, on the other hand....... she looked smart, but innocent, untouched by Wonderlandian politics and therefore an easy person to bend to her will. Stubborn, but with the right words, she could be directed to what Alice wanted.

"The Jabberwocky's returned. With your handy little purification power, you might want to go visit Wonderland and see the state of things for yourself. Now, how about we put all these Politics aside? How is your stay in Wonderland going, Aria, was it? I hope you're enjoying yourself?" she smiled, ignoring Fiore, who looked like he was fuming on the inside but was perfectly arranged on the outside.

Still clinging to Destra, Moonlight listened to his words. Somehow, they calmed her, and she took Destra's hand. Running like the wind, she tried to forget the Jabberwocky. Think only of home... Think only of home.

Dust and sound.

Tibbs let itself lunge forward, the knee passing over the Duchess' form...but the bent knee held a special trick.

Duchess bent backwards, her dodge perfect for the attack she knew of, but leaving her vulnerable to the one she never saw coming. The bent leg snaps down, a combination step/stomp, driving the heel down towards the hyper-extended abdomen. The slight impact, her kick snapping up and striking it's lower back, would simply serve to aid the beast's move- the push would aid Tibbs as it would push him slightly from the impact, the stepping/stomping foot pushed that much harder. The end result would drop Tibbs down onto Duchess' mass- the stepping foot impacting and carrying the weight of Tibbs mass down onto the Duchess driving her painfully to the ground and pining her under the monster's foot.

Should she find a way to escape, as unlikely as it may be, she would still have a massive taloned foot driving down towards her abdomen and torso, the claws potentially ripping her clothes and flesh, depending on her evasive route. Her actions would decide her own fate, but there was only a split second to choose- Infection by the talon's slash, or crushing impact possibly breaking bones or driving her air out from her lungs.

Her question unasked, her actions interrupted, Duchess needed to recover- if she manages to evade the strike, before she could ask her questions or tell the Twins to flee. The fear still fed the beast, making it faster and stronger...it's actions coming in a blur of pure speed. The timing of the chain of events would flow like lightning- The knee sailing over the dodging Duchess, turning into an extending step/stomp that would drive the weight of the beast down and onto the bent form, as the Duchess' own kick would bump into it's back. In the blink of an eye Tibbs had carried it's offensive through, it's mind working through possible actions faster than one could blink.

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Burnt leaves, scorched trees...melted sand. The clearing was a holocaust. Blast craters, scattered shards of blackness...and a twisted thing in it's center. The Jabberwocky stood, a black shriveled thing, arms extended head tilted back in a grimace of pain and fear. The monster was frozen in a pose of agony, to the eyes of the Bandersnatch Clan the beast was done. One, a younger member stalked to the edge of the clearing, raising it's rifle.

"Looks to be dead, wuzn da tough." He calls out, taking aim.

"C'askn, you git 'way now, hear?!" another calls out, moving towards the youth. One step too late, as a shot sounds, shattering most of the Jabberwocky's form into ash- ash that mixes with the melted sand, leaving behind a smaller form, that shaped like a small girl. She stood, arms wrapped about herself sobbing softly.

"Woah! Hold yer fire! Idgit, you done it now...da hell is goin on? Who is she?" the elder calls out, motioning a few of the others to join him, moving into the clearing. "Easy youngin, none of us is gonna hurt ya."

Gina stood, her dress filthy and torn, her body bloody and covered in ash, but otherwise unharmed. Her sobs continue, eyes closed with her small fists clenched at her sides. She said nothing, just cried softly. The clan moved closer, stepping around some of the still hot pools of melted sand- most of it already cooling from the addition of the smothering ash. A few members remained waiting at the edge, among them the clan's leader- Rhylea, though not the eldest of the tribe he had shown suspiring mastery in combat. His instincts were respected, and his word taken seriously...right now he had a bad feeling.

"Something is wrong. Something don't add up, this..girl. Where did she come from?" his head was running at it's best, but it wasn't quite quick enough to avoid the shit storm on the way. "Hey, maybe we sh-"

The rest is lost in the sound of breaking glass- and moments later, screams.

The sand had melted, forming large pools of molten glass- the heat from the blasts and resulting fire easily reaching the sand's melting point, while the rain of ash served to smother out the glass' heat. The ash mixing with the liquid as it cooled. The resulting black glass sat in sheets and spatters, until the clan moved into position. SHattering upward, the shards ripping through flesh muscle and bone with ease...but rather than falling back down afterwards it gathers, swirling like a cloud of death. The surviving clan members could only watch in horror as the cloud slashes through the air towards them.

"RUN YOU FOOLS! To the trees!" Rhylea calls, shoving a few members towards the forest. Those who entered the clearing were out of reach, and out of time..the cloud descending upon them like an upside-down blender. Blood and flesh scatter as five members are turned into pulp. Rhy manages to save seven of his brothers, though two more will likely perish before the day is out. They scatter, blending in with the trees as they can, the sound of laughter sounding behind them in booms.

Gina stands, untouched by the deadly swarm, her sobs ended, a smile on her face. "I did like you said, how did I do?"

Jabberwocky, in it's new form chuckles softly, a few shards caressing along the girl's cheek, "You did Pͪ̋͜Ȩ͂͑͋̐ͮ̐R̆ͪFÈC̆̉ͭ̈́ͦ́͝T̾̅͐ͦ̐̕." it whispers in her head. SHe grins wider, the skin of her lips splitting once more to create a mad smile of black gums and sharp teeth. Eyes of pure blackness. She was one with the beast now. "Now, let's go P̍̊͛ͦ̎͛͌͌̿͛ͬ̔͟͞҉̝͎͖̘̤̫L̷̢̞̲̩̰̹ͦͨ̏̽̏ͯ͂͆͛̾̎̈̓̕͟Ą̸͎̦̩̲͉̜̦͉̞͕̥̟͓͔̜̝̜̋ͯͯ̍͗ͥ̾͋͘͘͡Y̨̫̮̘̱̘̞͍ͧͨͦ̏ͬ̓̄ͥ̄́͂̚̕ͅ." Together they exit the clearing, following the trail left by the fleeing Bandersnatch Clan..towards the rest of the Wonderlanders. Things were going to be messy.

Duchess Sophie

As soon as the Duchess flexed out of the way of the creatures attack she saw her mistake. She had foolishly left herself open to an attack that could end the fight and to make matters worse, she was shrinking. It appeared that her time of being a giant had come to an end. By the time the creatures attack landed she would be her regular size again and would end up crushed.

"I'm sorry Belca," she murmured, resigning herself to her fate.

As her opponent's foot descended she felt herself sent flying out of the way at the last minute with enough force to crash into a tree a short distance from the fight, knocking the breath out of her.

Disoriented, the Duchess picked herself up and tried to focus even though her vision was swimming. With a gasp she gazed at the scene before her.
It had been Belca that had pushed her out of the way, adrenaline giving her the strength she needed for the task and it was Belca that was now in the place that she herself would have been in had the girl not intervened.

As the Duchess looked at Belca's lifeless body a cold numbness washed over her. The girl had been rude and didn't seem to understand the concept of respect or manners but the Duchess had still liked her. Somehow Belca had made her feel like a mother in ways that her son never had.

"Why?" she whispered, wincing from all the newly forming bruises, "She didn't deserve to die and I had so much to teach her."

Fiercely she glared at the creature, her numbness giving way to a blazing fury.

"Monster!" shouted the Duchess, preparing to attack again.

She was hurt and it would be a while before she could make herself large again but that didn't mean that her ability was completely useless, there were still plenty of things she could do, all it took was a little imagination.

As fast as she could manage she picked up a handful of dirt and threw it into the air, concentrating on making it into a shower of flaming arrows to hail down on her enemy. As unlikely as this assault was to kill the thing she hoped it would hurt the creature in some way and slow it down long enough for her to put some distance between her and it. She'd need the space for what she had in mind. One thing was for certain, she couldn't leave without Belca.

Sparing a second to check on the twins she saw that they had left even without her having the chance to tell them to do so.

"Good," thought the Duchess, "It wouldn't do to have them around for the finale."


Sinistra/Tweedle Dee & Destra/Tweedle Dum

Sinistra and Destra felt wretched for leaving the Duchess behind but they both knew they'd only be a hinderence to her if they'd stayed behind, especially in their current state. The group was too fixated on running to speak and both of the twins knew they had to find Absolem. There was a problem though, neither twin had ever been to Absolem's house before. The Caterpillar had never gone out of his way to invite the two so they'd simply not bothered but now it was proving to be a difficulty. They really had no choice but to keep moving forward and hope that they were going in the right direction.

Suddenly Destra felt a tug on his hand. Looking down he saw the Duchess's son, France, running along beside him and pointing a little to the left of where they were heading. Confusion gave way to understanding as Destra realised what the boy meant. The Duchess knew where Absolem's house was and obviously her son had been with her when she'd been there. He mentally kicked himself for not thinking of that sooner. Now they wouldn't have to run blindly.

"Just a little further Moonlight," said Sinistra, working it out at almost exactly the same time as his brother, "We should be there soon."

Moonlight gasped for breath as they ran. The little boy directed them away from their original path, but the twins seemed to understand what they were doing. "Okay, this better be helpful," she said. Stumbling, she nearly fell, but pulled herself up again. "Sorry for that," she apologised, "I'm just really clumsy in the worst of times."

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.

Beginning of the end.

Tibbs felt the ground shake, but was unable to see anything wrong, so as the roots snapped out they caught the huge beast unawares. Struggle. Fight. Thrash. Fail. The monster was caught tight in the constricting bands, no matter how it struggled, no matter how many roots it snapped, there were far too many. The monster was pissed. Bellowing it's anger, as the flaming arrows plunked off of it's hide- a few finding purchase in it's skin, but not enough to do more than further anger the monster. This was going wrong, and fast.

But that was fine.

A whisper pulled at Tibbs, it spoke slow and softly, letting him know he was a good boy. Things were fine. It was a familiar voice.

"Rest. It's all ok. We will take it from here. Sleep now." the voice said, Tibbs' motions slowing, it's struggles stopping. The beast was still, and relaxed, and it's eyes cleared. For just a moment it was a dog again, it's mind that of a simple hound. It had no idea what was going on...then it exploded into ash.

Tibbs' death was so sudden, the roots still held a rough shape of the beast's mass for a moment, as the ash fell away into the wind. It was not the only surprise.

Suddenly, without warning, the rest of the Jabberwocky's forces meet the same fate...all exploding into a dense cloud of ash. If seen from high above, say from a mile or two up, one would see similar events happening all over Wonderland. Some unexplained force was causing all of the infected areas to disintegrate into ash. The trees of the infected forests, the random animals filled with darkness, even the Generals in the Jabberwocky's army- Cook, Doormouse and the others, all poofing into ash...and blowing away.

What those on the ground could see however was the effects- Tons of ash were filling the sky. The sun was eclipsed, the moon blotted out. Not a star would be seen. Wonderland had been cast in darkness. The how and the why were less important than the effect, soon the days would be cold and the nights colder..the remaining vegetation would die, animals would starve...an endless winter, with ash instead of snow.

But what had happened?
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Jabberwocky halted, it's glass form whirling in a death dance over one of the fallen Bandersnatch clan members, the others had escaped into the forest. Chasing them would be pointless. Instead the being would make inquires, information would be gleaned from this wounded specimen. A single shard of black glass slides into the Bandersnatch's wound, drawing forth a scream.

"Glad I have your A̴̴̬̮̪̰͓T̡̕͏̴̲̰̠̮̦͇̗̹̜̰̟̼͉̼̝̱̘͜ͅT̨̛̪̭͕͕́̀E̸̡̯̱̘̥͔̞͡N̷̢̦̖͉͇̖̫̗͚͙̮̠͎̣̯͍͟T̡̕͝͏̭̪͈͔̞͡I̷̷͉̫̲̬̤̮͈̪͎̪̖͘͘͢O̶̡̢̮̼̟͎̮͖̟͖̟͈̝͔͍̩͎̘̥̕͝ͅͅṆ̣͈̖̦͍͇̘̹̪̖͕̺̹͟͜͡ I have some questions. Answer them and you die. Failure will be W͏̸͇̩͉͔̠̬̘̭̘͢O̸̺̬̰̮̫̹̲̖̣̩͍̟͘͜R̸͏̛̭̻͉͖̘͔͕͠S̴̰̝̲͚̻͖̼̟̬͢E̡̥͍͍̫̣̩̗͈̞̰͡." the being spoke in the sound of scattering leaves.

Gina's giggles bubble over, as the girl watches, playing with a small fragment of the glass. She felt odd, no longer a single entity with the Jabberwocky, but she could feel the being's essence flow through her still. They were one, even separated. She leaned on a tree, listening to the Bandersnatch babble answers to her friend's questions. It seemed the clan knew how to fight the infection...flames would purge the taint from Wonderland. Jabberwocky's defeat was at hand. Already news was racing to the survivors in the form of the clan's leader. Together they would burn away the plague.

"Hmm. Can't let that happen. You think by striping me of my army you D̳͙͓̟̲̭̼̻͚͟͠E̡̱͉̼̬̜͕̱̺̝̥̯̩͈͖̯͈͝͠͠ͅC̷̢͙͙̗̰̘̖̮̗̕L͢͠҉̨̯͎̰̪̜͇̩Ą̪͉̦͔̝͍̟̰̳̜̖̗̟͞W̖͈̺͎̼̳͓̥͎̜͎͓̯͎͡ me? You think you win when I stand alone? I will show you despair...by granting your wish. Behold. I stand A̢̪̗͍̪͓̝͔̤̙͔̹̹̺͚ͬ͑̉͛͛̓͛ͩ̈̉͊ͯͭ̐ͮL̄̓̓ͣ͐ͨͭ̽̐ͮ̓͏͍̥͕͍̞̬̙̠̞̭͓̠̤͉̼̣͕͟O̶̹̘͇̦̰͉̜ͧͤ͌̽͑̒ͫ̑̃̋̔͛ͨͩ̔͋̀Nͬ̔̍͗̿̏̓̽̍͌ͦ̐̓ͦͩ͒́͏̞̲̺̞̣̥͓̭̖̰̳͇̬̮̜͚̮͇Ȩ̶̧̭͔̮̗͕ͪ̄̐ͩ̌͋͛͆ͩ̊̃̈́!"

The final word marked the end of the war.

That single spoken word did what the assembled forces could not- it halted the plague. It also stole the sun, the moon and the sky. In one instant the war was over...and a new one began. The sky was lost- Birds died in droves, falling to the ground in piles. The ash was pervasive. No matter what one did...it was always there. A reminder...Wonderlan was a wasteland in the making.

That day Jabberwocky robbed Alice of her power...Wonderland was hers....but where the ash fell it muted her. The red mist could not leave the protection of the castle. It was the only place left untouched. It would be the only place the survivors could go...

And time would pass....until the war began again.

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Jabberwocky and Gina ended the life of the Bandersnatch, then set off, towards The Pit. The sole survivors of Jabberwocky's army, the trio of guards posted there waited guidance, they were of a different strain than the newer infection, they had been spared instant death. They would be hard at work by the time the duo arrived- Already the foundations of a castle were taking shape, a black tower of obsidian blocks. Whispers of Charm Tower would circulate, it's odd name without explanation. Dark beings were sighted there, figures cloaked in shadows, working day and night to place stone and lay mortar.

The Vorpal Blade would be kept safe...it's unknown power held in check by the tower's foundations. To kill Jabberwocky one would need to defeat the tower. A daunting task.


Wonderland would wither. Wonderland would die. Time was limited...but the survivors would need every second to build a force. Jabberwocky needed to die if there was a chance of restoring Wonderland. An army would be needed. Alliances would be needed. But would it all be enough?

Time would also let Jabberwocky prepare for the eventual battle- though denied it's plauge army..the being was not without tricks. The ash granted the being an unknown edge, would Jabberwocky still retain a form of control over the ash? Only time would tell. With Tibbs and the rest removed from the picture the survivors would quickly discover a power void...with the Jabberwocky removed from the picture...what would happen to the alliances gained thus far? Would they stay united enough to stand together against the comming storm?

Time passes.

Water sleeps, but Enemy never rests.