Feeling Inadi move her hand up, she turned to look at him just as his lips landed on the back of her hand. Breath catching and heartbeat stopping, she froze up and reddened as she felt all hot and flustered for a brief period. That was the first time she'd ever received a kiss from him and it felt way different from when she had kissed Harper or Haku. A burning sensation was sizzling on her hand. He continued to reassure her of the situation, even about getting all their stolen quest items back. Jasper nodded with her eyes on the opening door with her cheeks as red as tomatoes.

A familiar looking fellow wearing a pink apron that closely resembled the styles of dresses that Martini was into, appeared from the door with a plate of cookies. Rainbowzilla seemed to have found new interest in the platter of treats he was holding and scurried off from Luke to to Sacha. She remembered him quite easily. It was the guy she victimized with the drunk sludge. Ace's comment about poisoned food seemed to offend him, but he attempted at convincing them that they were completely safe by eating one. Since the little dino had been consuming them without any side effects, she already knew that they must be harmless. Suddenly, a brazen, pink-haired girl came stomping out, snatching the cookie offering followed by a snarly remark. It was the one who usually lugged around a pipe if she recalled correctly. Numair strolled on in as well and she couldn't believe one of their own had joined the bandits. It was rather upsetting.

Toby on the other hand, seeming to know nothing of their quote on quote 'enemies', just walked right up to Gary with an attitude about the whole cookie-platter incident, demanding that he get one. Jasper scratched the side of her forehead as she tensed up. At any moment, that crazy chick could whip out her pipe and bash him across the head like she did Haku a while back. at the mentioned of Mr.cuddles, she knew that it would receive a reaction from Inadi who felt a strong relation with the baker. In a calm, but stern manner, he stepped forward as if to command attention and cut to the chase. They were here to discuss and there was no use in dilly-dallying around. He wanted to go in and get things settled. Sometimes he came out a bit harsh and cold, but she knew he meant well and that was demeanor.

Slipping beside Toby, she patted the boy's head and nabbed a cookie off the platter. "Here you go bud." In some ways, the boy's childish attitude warmed her and presented her with an opportunity to care for her to care for a friend. even more, she felt like an older sister to him and she liked that. Jasper, shrugged at Gary who just noticed what she had done. She made sure to remember to wipe her feet once they were let in. whoever C was, she sure didn't want to make her mad. By the way they spoke of her, she was probably the head of the household.

Nympha bounced around happily when Sacha appeared at the door. The little spell weaver dashed over to his side and reached out for his arm only to stop herself. Did he just invite them into the house for cookies? Her cheeks turned a deep red. She'd definitely love to have tea with Sachi. If only they could be alone together. Bashfully the little Nobody tuck her hands behind her back and twisted back and forth. She scrapped at the ground with the tip of her shoe.

"Errr...he... HELLO SACHA!"

She smiled a little, but it wasn't noticeable as she had kept her head down. Strands of pink hair tumbled over her forehead to form a curtain. Nympha cursed softly as she tried to look for her hairclip.

The little self-proclaimed witch reached out to pick up her missing clip when the circular slammed into her face. She reeled backwards and landed squarely on her butt. The poor thing didn't even realized she had crushed Gargar's dying flowers. She buried her face in her tiny hands as tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes. Nympha backed away in a crab like fashion using one hand and both feet when a familiar pole appeared in her face. There were loads of nasty memories attached to it.

Gary said “You! Whatcha doing here!? After you messed up my plants!”

"I...I...." Nympha spoke from behind her hands.

Giving up, she got up and ran squealing towards Sacha. "Sachi! Gargar is bullying me!"

The pink haired girl promptly hid behind her cute neighbor and buried her face in his clothes. She rubbed her face against the material while inhaling deeply. She wished desperately that the turtle dragon would come and eat Gary. Somehow she doubted the beast would. Gargar would whack it with her mean pole if it dared get too close.



A loud squealing caused Ran to panic. What was that silly witch up to this time? The man broke into a slow jog till he was able to stop slightly behind Inadi. He continued wheezing raggedly as he doubled over and pressed his right hand against his aching left side. Gobbling candy bars! He regretted allowing his gym membership to lapse two years ago. One day he is going to have a heart attack right here in Nowhere. With the alcohol bubbliness fizzing away, he was feeling worst than he did before.

Ran clutched his aching side as he wheezed. His whole face was a tad paler and very blotchy. He needed to lean against something before he collapsed. The exhausted man reached out for the neighboring tree trunk, only to find it disappearing as soon as he touched it. The human yelped as he tumbled headlong into a bush with strange heart shaped leaves. He rolled out of it. Fish and tacos! Those leaves better not be poison ivy!

To save face he sat crossed legged on the ground and pretended to huff. The whole thing would have been far more convincing if he wasn't panting nonstop. "W-wh-what's the pl..."

"...plan, guys?"

"Poisoned?" Luke couldn't help but take offense for his roommate. "I'll have you know, Sacha's the best baker the dark side has to offer. If you don't want any cookies then Gargar can eat them all." He ignored her diaper comment and shared a secretive look with their guests. The boy cupped his hands around his mouth, then spoke in a voice that could hardly be considered quiet. "She eats a lot, don't tell Gargar, but she's starting to get a little fat." The entire thing had been whispered, but anyone who wasn't deaf would have heard the young man loud and clear. "Anyways, you don't have to eat, but Sacha spent a long time cooking...the least you could do is be a little polite."

Sheesh, had the humans always been this hostile? Uh...to be honest, he didn't really remember.

The redhead with the baseball cap looked serious and a few of the humans were talking amongst themselves in quiet voices. Maybe they were grumpy because they were hungry. Jasper and Toby made their way towards Gary and Nympha began causing another one of her scenes. That witch was such a handful, and he understood why C didn't want her around the property. "Ey, Inadi, right? You guys can go inside and say hello to everyone, but we're eating outside." He jabbed a finger in the human's direction. "C doesn't want anyone spilling soda on the carpets. Those things are freaking hard to clean—oh hey, Mr. Cuddles, someone was looking for you!" Luke's serious expression instantly shifted into an excited one, and he waved cheerily at the eight foot tall bear.





Harper placed a hand on Inadi's shoulder. It really was true, Mr. Cuddles was walking through the doors with a tray of cupcakes and there was no mistaking it was him. "Sorry," he had mumbled sympathetically before his grip on his bag tightened. Ace was right, they'd have to be ready for anything, and if these hooded criminals had a giant bear on their side, then they'd need to be ready to fight or run. They couldn't walk away from this party without the stolen items. He shot a glance at his friends and noticed that Lesley and Leila weren't too far behind.

Riley was also nearby, she was standing not too far from the others. A look of disbelief was plastered to her face, and she shot Inadi a sympathetic look before offering Ran a hand. "Hey, Mr. Cuddles." There was no mistaking the betrayal in her voice, but she wasn't about to flip out on the baker. "Those cupcakes look really good, it's been a long time since we've last met, huh? Then again, I guess time doesn't really matter here. Hey, if you don't mind me asking, what are you doing with them?"



"Inadi!" The bear lit up, nearly dropping his tray of cupcakes in the process. "I'm glad you and your friends made it to the party, I hope you don't think wrongly of me. I promise you," he placed the desserts on the giant table outside. "I'm only trying to help you and..." the bear's voice softened. "Whatever has been said of me isn't true." He turned to the hooded figures and placed a giant paw on Sacha's head. "They're good people, and they're just like you."

Harper's eyebrows had furrowed in irritation, but he didn't say anything about the time Gary had hit Haku in the head with a pole, about the time one of them had nearly drowned him, and about the time they stole the witch's heart.

Mr. Cuddles walked up to Inadi with open arms, hoping that the human would hug back. "Nothing is what it seems to be."

"I guess," Riley stated from beside Lesley and Leila, "I never thought you were a traitor." There was no hiding the hurt look on Mr. Cuddle's face. The giant bear lowered his arms and looked down at his feet. He couldn't bear to think of his assistant hating him.

Meanwhile, Rainbowzilla had scurried up on the chairs and was already burying his fangs in one of the jelly filled donuts. "EH...I suggest you humans grab a seat," Luke glared at the baby lizard before turning to look at Nympha. "Stop whining and just sit down! C's not going to be happy to see you again—ah, Gargar, it looks like she sat on your flowers. Anyways, the party is just about to get started!"

Not long after, several nobodies began exiting the house, each with some sort of delicacy balanced on a tray. They were a colorful bunch, but what struck everyone the most wasn't the food, but who the nobodies were. They were all familiar faces and Harper took a step back, unsure about what he was supposed to feel.



Othello, Marina, Ise, and another Nobody Harper couldn't recognize. He felt his stomach sink and he frowned. He didn't understand what was happening, or why Nobodies that had tried to help them in the past were here with these criminals.

"Toby, Ran!" Ise set a plate of pizza on the table before she gave them a smile and a wave. Cobalt peeked out from behind her and before Toby or Ran could say anything, the baby dragon was running around them and drowning the duo in slobbery kisses. "It's nice to see you here." Despite the cheer in her voice, Ise spoke warily, she wasn't sure how all the humans would react to this.

Marina was waving cheerfully at Jasper and Froggy had popped up beside Ace to pull her into a hug. "Where's Leon?" He asked with a soft smile and he wondered why the atmosphere suddenly felt a 100 times more heavy.

Harper waved weakly at Marina then looked at his fellow humans with wide-eyes. "What on earth is going on..."

"C! It's about time, we're all starving." He was cut off by Luke's yell and his eyes landed on the figure that had exited the hobbit hole.



"Welcome to the tea party."

It was the girl that had tried to drown him in the cave. Harper clenched his hands into fists while the nobodies began taking their seats. By now, the table was filled with all sorts of food. There was a golden brown turkey surrounded by brownies and pizza with fries scattered around it.

"So!" Luke slung an arm around Sacha's neck and grinned, "you're probably wondering why you're here, right?"

C made her way towards the table and out of the blue stated, "we're asking you to join us."

Harper gaped, "what?"

The stoic girl before him merely nodded her head. "We're asking you to join our group."

All the nobodies around the table nodded their head, but Riley, she laughed. "Wow, you guys really are crazy."

Ace rolled her eyes as they scolded her and accused her of being rude. She crossed her arms and grumbled more so under her breath. "Last I recall, you all are the ones trying to kill." She wouldn't be swayed so easily. Though.... once Toby decided to beg for a cookie she shook her head. "How unprofessional Toby. Don't stoop so low, begging to that short girl. She's a jerk anyway..." Jasper came to the rescue and calmed the childish teen down with a cookie. Without that pole of hers, she didn't have to worry about being attacked. "Tch, no need to be upset Gary. After all, I think he's right. Maybe you could lose a few pounds."

A bear came into view. Mr. Cuddles? Had she met the bear before? Maybe. Maybe it was one of her early scattered adventures when she got lost in Nowhere with Foggy. Either way, it sounded like some of them were quite unhappy about seeing the bear there. Ace's mind wandered. 'I've never fought a bear before...List of crazy things to do...number five.' She decided that thinking of a fight was too early in the situation. They did pass the test on poisoning people's food. She supposed they could get another chance.

Ace walked over to the tables, wanting to find a good seat. Before she could do that, she noticed not only Froggy, but the little girly from the lake! "Hey! Harper, Jasper it's..." Oh did she forget her name? "Marina! And Froggy! I haven't seen you in forever!" Ace was pulled into a hug by the Nobody and she patted his head. With the question, she sighed softly and gave a more calmed smile. "Leon...He's not with us anymore. But, he's in a place where he'll be happy for ages." She hoped that would suffice the Nobody so she wouldn't have to explain it all. No one ever wanted to think of deaths.

She was pulled into a seat right next to Froggy, with Marina across from her. After her moment of greeting she looked between the two. "So why are you two with these guys? I thought you guys were the good guys!"

The one named 'C' entered and Ace immediately narrowed her eyes. She tried to kill Harper. She was no one to befriend. At this point, as much as she hated to admit, there was no one to trust but the group. Hopefully none of them would get too comfortable around them. There was a chance bonds would be broken....

Ace skeptically decided to grab one of the cookies, after Froggy offered one. Before it even reached her mouth, she stopped and let out a short laugh. "Crazy!? They're down right insane!" Ace tossed the cookie back on the table and looked at each of the hooded figures. Her expression was of disbelief, though she did look humored. Her fingers laced together and she rested her head on top of her head. "You convince by your presence.... And your presence has caused nothing besides being a pain in our-....butts. You yourself have tried to kill one of us. And short stuff over there is pole crazy. How are we suppose to believe you won't try to kill us and steal all our things...like how you stole our other stuff."

She laughed and picked up a cookie, taking a bite. "Hmph, good baking skills though." She pointed out, directing that statement to Sacha. Ace never gave a direct yes or no answer, in fact, she merely just wanted them to prove their worth.

Observing Nympha's reaction to Sacha in mere amusement, she could relate to her feelings. The blush on her cheeks and how she rushed to his side once danger presented itself. The little witch seemed to be well acquainted with the people of this household and it made her to think that this was even more set up than she had thought. The summoning of the turtle dragon in order to speed up the process in having them run in a frenzy towards the destination and also plotting for the guides to be held back by the beast in order to make them even more vulnerable. Things were getting quite fishy indeed, but she willed herself from expressing any suspicion.

Meanwhile, a wheezing and strained inhale and exhale of air demanded her attention as old Ran caught up. Patting his back softly, she wished she could offer him some water since he was out of breath, but that would have to wait. "Plan? Why, were going to sit down and have some tea with them," she replied as Mr.Cuddles appeared from inside the home. She eyed Inadi with anticipation and made sure to be a good mediator in case he freaked out or something. Riley was the first to throw down the cold fish at the bear's feet and she couldn't help but wince. When the giant teddy stated that the hooded figures were harmless she couldn't stop herself from snorting. "Good people. Yeah, sure. Good people who steal and attack their own kind..." she muttered to herself in criticism.

Suddenly, more Nobodies burst from within the home and all held faces she recognized from past quests and events. Now things were really getting confusing. More food was set down on the table, and Jasper mindlessly poured a glass of liquid and gave it to the panting Ran with a puzzled, far-away look on her face as she tried to grasp a handle on the situation. The question about Leon popped up and she felt her stomach churn. Luckily, the so called 'C' finally showed up and interrupted her thoughts from possibly giving her an emotional moment right there and then.

Once everyone settled in around the table, she would normally have a healthy appetite for sweets, but at that very instant, she just felt like throwing up. When C spoke up about asking them to join their group for whatever cause they had, she clenched her fist at the sheer stupidity of the offer. Ace was the first to question them and she jumped right in. "Well, first of all, can you clarify what exactly you're trying to invite us to? What is the purpose of this little clan of yours anyway?" She interrogated them bluntly, suppressing impending irritation that was trying to invade her tone. The worst thing that could happen is for someone to make a remark rude enough to set off a war around the dinner table.

SUSPENSE!

(double post)

The weird boy with the wavy hair actually called her a fatso! The nerve! Well, so did Luke, but hey! Gary bared her teeth and twirled her pole up, then brought it down first on Toby’s head and then on her comrade’s. She ignored the red-haired girl; her attention by then was now spent on the audacity of these boys to actually call her ‘chubby’. The two of ‘em deserved that whack! Well, they weren’t going to have a concussion but that should sting for a while. Ignoring the fact that one of the other humans already nabbed a cookie off her, the girl pushed the plate into Toby’s hands with a snarl. “Shove it all down your pie hole, then!” She snapped halfheartedly and crossed her arms over her chest with a huff. After a moment she cast her bright green gaze on the boy, and then grumbled in a low volume that only Toby could have heard, “Sorry. It’s a reflex.”

Numair had advanced to the front of the group so that he could keep Gary from hitting other people. “Sorry ‘bout that, she’s got a temper,” He smiled tersely at the boy whom their “pink-haired hobbit” attacked but shook his head at Luke, “you kinda deserved that though. You know she hates it when we mention her weight.” The surfer sighed and ran his hand through his bleached white hair, his gaze running over what few of the humans he knew.

Nympha wasn’t getting out of this easily, no no. The nerve of that witch, hiding behind her best friend! “Oi, if you think I don’t know you got a big fat crush on my Sacchin, you’re wrong! Paws off, greasy! He gots someone hot! Like sun hot! I bet if you met that person you’d melt like butter on a hot summer day!” Gary jeered towards the nobody’s direction, glaring at whatever snatches of Nympha she could see from behind Sacha’s figure. However, like how she dealt with Toby earlier, Gary didn’t seem to have any real ‘heat’ to her words and held her ground beside Numair.

Anyway, Mr. Cuddles himself even walked out of the hole and started up a conversation with the humans. It ended pretty badly though, with the poor bear looking really down when his hug got rejected. “He-ey now, why the long face, Mr. Cuddles?” Numair interjected quickly as he skidded in front of Inadi in order to put some distance between the baker and his previous assistant. Great, things were about to get ugly. The human took the tray of cupcakes from Mr. Cuddles, handed it off to Sacha, and then proceeded to give poor Mr. Cuddles a well-deserved (and slightly awkward) hug. “T-there you go! Free hugs for everyone! Just tell me if you need more hugs, okay!?” Numair laughed and was promptly pushed away by Gary. C had walked out and it was now time for everyone to take their seats.

Of couuurse, the humans just couldn’t shut up and enjoy the food!

Some of them launched into questions right away, and when it was clear that none of the nobodies were going to answer (and neither were the Hooded Figures, seeing that Gary and Luke were already eating), Numair stood up and planted his hands on the table. As if people already had trouble noticing him, the tall and handsome human drew more attention to himself with this action… while the sounds of chewing, courtesy of Luke and Gary, filled the air.

" You yourself have tried to kill one of us. And short stuff over there is pole crazy. How are we suppose to believe you won't try to kill us and steal all our things...like how you stole our other stuff."

“We’re talking about the cave, goop-in-my-face incident, right? They didn’t really succeed, you know, in the killing thing. Mainly because that wasn’t what they were trying to do...? C and the others just wanted the Living List. None of you wanted to give it to them. Shit happened. Grudges. Gary hitting some philosophy-blithering dude with her pole. Sacha getting drunk on cave moss. Graaah. To be fair, one of you did try to behead one of us. She actually drew blood too. I’d say we’re quits,” Numair replied in a light and humorous tone, nodding towards Sacha as if to emphasize his point. The surfer straightened up and sat down, crossing one leg over the other as he retained eye contact with whoever looked at him. “And we- er, they- already stole your stuff, so we can’t argue about that now, can we?” He added in an even gentler tone of voice.

"Well, first of all, can you clarify what exactly you're trying to invite us to? What is the purpose of this little clan of yours anyway?"

“She doesn’t have a clan back home? Why doesn’t she know?” Gary interrupted after raising her hand.

Numair suppressed a nervous smile and gestured at the girl to calm down. She was getting hyperactive again. With a meaningful glance aimed at Sacha to make sure the pink-haired hobbit doesn’t ingest too much sugar, the surfer glanced at the girl who gave out that question and answered her, “Well, C already said it. We want you to join this merry band of misfits. Literally. We’re basically the weird people in this weird world. Um.” He paused and blushed. Explaining was never his good suit. “We’re trying to get the items in the List so we can get home. That's the top priority,” The surfer concluded softly.

Looking back at Ran falling over and try to play it cool by crossing his legs didn't fool Inadi at all. Letting Jasper and the rest of the group lead the way inside he went back and picked the man up with a quick pull of his sleeve. Looking back at the bush he rolled out of he couldn't help but chuckle to himself. “If you start to itch make sure you get some kind of lotion or something on you quick. Ivy is never a fun experience. Trust me on that,” He joked as he led himself and Ran into the room with the other Nobodies. “And to answer your question, the plan is to watch and wait. Hopefully they leave themselves open for an opportunity to get our things back.” Inadi whispered back to him as they both ended up inside the cabin.

When the hooded figure known as Luke got his attention to eat outside he took that as his cue toe enter. Walking in and listening to the still arguing Nobodies about the group's initial fear of trying out the treats allowed him to pick up a seat near the table and waited for the events to really kick off. And kick off they did, at least in his head. As soon as he did he saw Mr. Cuddles walk out from the back of the cabin. A scowl appeared on Inadi's face to hide the hurt he had in his heart. Harper placed a hand on his shoulder and Inadi returned the gesture with a nod. “I figured as much.” He whispered back to the boy as he waited for the bear to state his case. Riley seemed just as hurt as he did, though she made it far more obvious than him. The bear dropped the cakes on the table in a rush, and one almost bounced out of the tray and onto the carpet. Looking up at Mr. Cuddles, Inadi forced a smile on his face. “Seems you still get too excited as usual. You always seemed to drop at least one or two of those things on the floor when someone ordered a dozen.” He joked as he pointed in the direction of the cupcakes.

When the bear threw his arms out for a hug, didn't move from his seat. The harsh words from Riley that made him walk away made Inadi disappointed. Not in the girl, but in himself. He had to agree and realized that many memories he had with the bear had to be brought into question now. Looking over to Riley, Lesley and Leila, Inadi could only shrug to them. “Traitors are usually the ones you least expect them to be. That's kinda the point of treachery.” He said, sending those verbal daggers in the direction of Mr. Cuddles, though he never looked him in the eye when he spoke.

Other Nobodies arrived and Inadi couldn't help but think he wasn't the only one who was going to end up being hurt by the end of this little meet and greet. So many of their former allies showed up that he had only heard about from the others and now they were revealed to be assisting the bastards in the hoods. Made him wonder what else was being hidden underneath their very noses over the last few months.

Finally the leader of the group arrived at the head of the table. Inadi recognized her immediately and gripped his spear tight. They continued trying to play coy and it only increased the annoyance in his mind. Then the question arose. And Inadi couldn't help himself. His laugh joined Riley, though his was more of a deep throated chuckled as he hid his face in his hand, his glasses shifting in the process. Looking over to Riley he shrugged at her. “And to think we thought this would be a serious sit down. In the end I suppose it was worth a good hike and nothing more.” He joked with Riley, his mood becoming far more enjoyable over the good humor he was just given.

The idea of joining them never even once crossed his mind, and their reason to ask made him even more apparent of their true purpose. They wanted to go home just like the group did and they were going to use the list for themselves. “So you bring us all the way out here to ask us to help you in a cause we are almost done with ourselves because you want the same thing we do. In that case this meeting wasn't made out of sheer curiosity,” Inadi said as he stood and looked over to Luke and the woman at the head of the table. “It was made out of desperation because you know you are going to lose.” He said as his smile disappeared and a serious look showed. Turning his head to Mr. Cuddles and the other Nobodies made his head shake.

Quickly pulling out a piece of paper, Inadi threw the newspaper headline on the cupcakes and stood as still as the trees did outside. “Was I just a way for you to get the Queen off your trail? Or was I just a way for you to get information about the list back to these guys so they could try to cut us off and beat us to the punch?” Inadi asked while his eyes began landing on the other Nobodies in the room. They all probably had done something similar to that. He and the rest of the humans trusted these people at one point, and here they were dining with the ones who had tried to kill them before. Some even making the food. Looking back up at Mr. Cuddles, Inadi slowly slid back into his chair with a smirk on his face. “Whatever the case is, let's just say I'm done feeding you information bear. You've been caught reaching into the cookie jar one too many a time there Yogi.” Inadi jabbed as he went back to staring at the deserts in front of him, each one making him more upset than the next.

Looking back to Riley again he shrugged. “Do you think we give them a little more time to plead their case or should we go help Japhet take out that stupid turtle dragon that brought us here. I think Kain wants to get into a little bit of a fight,” Inadi joked as he laughed to himself. Turning his head to Harper he smiled at the boy sitting next to him. “Though to be fair it might just be me.” A big toothy grin showed up on his face after that. Inside, Inadi wanted nothing more than to just tear the room apart with his frustration. He wanted out before he did something stupid that put the group in danger, and he did not want to start something they were not prepared for. Jasper's uneasiness coming back into his mind, he waited for Harper to continue the discussions. He just hoped they weren't for too much longer.

Toby kept his palm open, his arm as stiff as steel as he awaited his cookie, when a whistle caused his ears to perk.

Inadi said
I'm sure we will be getting all the food we could want once we sit down and start the talking. No need to act like a spoiled children in front of the hosts after all.

"She's the one being mean!" To his dismay Ace chimed in as well.

Ace said
How unprofessional Toby. Don't stoop so low, begging to that short girl. She's a jerk anyway...

"I'm not even begging, I just said please! You kinda sound like a jerk right now y'know" The boy frowned, and lowered his arm. It was about more than the treats. Gary didn't have to storm out all of a sudden all high and mighty snatching the cookies from Sacha, as well as Rainbowzilla! He couldn't just let that kinda behavior slide. Toby was about to go off on a rant when he felt a gentle pat on the head. To his delight it was Jasper, offering him a cookie. He gave the girl a big smile, glad to see someone wasn't being rude. His irritation evaporated and with pleasure he chomped into the cookie, then suddenly....

thwack!

"AH! GEEZ! That hurts y'know!"

Toby reeled forward, his cookie fell to the ground as he gripped his head in pain. It was like getting hit in the head with a plastic baseball bat. The boy's head shot upwards, glaring at Gary with anger in his eyes. He was about to retaliate when she suddenly smacked Luke on the head as well. Even though his noggin stung he couldn't help but laugh at the sight of somebody else getting hit in the head. Suddenly Gary shoved the platter of cookies into his arms and made a rather rude remark, which was strange because, well, she just handed him a darn plate of cookies which was exactly what he wanted. Even so he couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt. You shouldn't call people fatso's, even if they steal cookies from dragons.

"It's okay," He said with a slight grin in regards to her apology. One hand rubbed the side of his head while the other held the platter. The boy nodded towards Numair who apologized on behalf of Gary. "Nah, it's fine. Sometimes you need a smack in the head." Now with a platter of cookies in his possession the hyperactive blonde was eager to share with his friends, who he thought really deserved a treat since they just barely escaped the turtle dragon. He turned to see Inadi pulling a not so good looking Niran up from the ground, and walked happily towards the latter.

"Hey pal, we made it to the tea party!" He declared with happiness and began to pull on Niran's arm, guiding him towards the table. "Sit with me please, it's time to eat. Oh, and here, have a cookie" The boy wouldn't take no for an answer, and practically shoved a cookie in Niran's face. By now he was starving and wouldn't dare eat without Ran by his side, especially now since he looked a little down in the dumps for some reason, "We're gonna have to ask that Sacha person if there's any coffee, if not then maybe soda will have to do for now.....what, oh! No WAY!"

Ise said
Toby, Ran! It's nice to see you here.

"ISE!" Toby placed the platter of cookies on the table and immediately sprinted towards the dragon rider, tackling her into a hug. "It's so nice to see you! It's been like a kazillion months!" He released her from his bear hug and stepped back to admire the sight of his friend, too thrilled to even question what she was doing with the hooded figures. He was only glad she was here. "Awe, man! If only I could've found you earlier, we needed your help you should've seen it! We were walking in like-this weird dark forest and a pink haired girl showed up...oh, it's actually her over there! She showed up and started screaming and stuff and then a giant turtle dragon appeared and was kicking everyone's butt and- oh" The boy was talking at ninety miles an hour but came to a quick stop as he recalled watching a soldier get crushed by a tree.

"Anyways, ITS SO GOOD TO SEE YOU! Now we get to have that buffet you promised us remember! Ah I can't wait to tell you what me and Ace and Riley and Ran Ran did today it was so cool!" Toby stepped back for a moment, as to let Ise and Ran greet eachother. In the meantime he pulled Cobalt into a hug as well. "Hey pal, you're getting big! You're still going to be a giant ball of cuteness though, I don't care how scary anyone thinks ya are y'know. Little colby!"

With haste Toby ushered both Ran and Ise to the table to take their seats with him, pulling on both of their sleeves. Although, even if they chose not to sit beside him he wouldn't mind. Food was the top priority at the moment, and Toby was the first to pile a plate full of food and dive into the turkey first thing. And boy was it marvelous! Absolutely everything he was hoping for. Eating at the castle was always a treat, but for some reason their food was a little tastier. The boy watched in delight as everyone began to take their seats except for a few of his friends, which was a little odd. He was sure they had to be just as hungry as he was.

C said
Welcome to the tea party.

Toby smiled, watching with curiosity as C moved about. Swallowing a piece of turkey, he felt parched and poured himself a cup of....something, and began to chug it down. As he did so Luke and C brought up the fact that they wanted the humans to join their group. The boys attention wasn't completely focused on the conversation, but the strange look on Harpers face made him grin. He wasn't all too sure what to make of it and bit into another piece of turkey. Riley called them crazy, causing him to slightly chuckle as he chewed on his food. He assumed she was playing around.

Then Ace called them insane. Toby's eyes laid on her as she began to speak about being a pain in the butt and used the word kill more times than he liked. His radiant smiled diminished into a curious grin as to what was going on. Was....this some kind of inside joke? He looked around the table, observing the nobodies, then began to cut a piece of turkey with a fork and knife. A hint of confusion lingered in his eyes.

Then Jasper jumped in, asking questions in a blunt voice. Maybe she's feeling anxious or something he thought, and grabbed another piece of the five start turkey. He could probably eat at least 3/4's of the thing at the moment. Then his eyes laid on who he was hoping was the cook. "Hey Sacha," Toby said, hoping he'd gotten the right nobody. "Thanks a bunches for the food! I was really hungry. This is like, the best turkey i've ever had." He turned to face the rest of the nobodies who had brought food. "You guys too! Thank you!" His radiant smile returned. However, it wouldn't stay for long. Numair began speaking to both Ace and Jasper in somewhat of an upset tone. It was hard not to listen to him since he was so darn tall. What he was talking about also sounded a little...grim. To top it all off he mentioned going home, causing Toby's smile to vanish instantly. What kind of tea party was this?

The boy began cutting another piece of turkey and plopped it into his mouth once more, trying to continue his meal. He considered maybe sparking up a conversation with one of the strangers to keep his mind occupied, when Inadi finally began to speak up. As much as Toby wanted to ignore it, his tone was excruciatingly disrespectful. What was meant to be a nice get together felt hostile for no reason whatsoever. A bunch of their friends were here, as well as some nice nobodies. They were supposed to be enjoying a nice break after such a long trip, but that was ruined now. Inadi continued to admonish the nobodies, saying they were going to lose and what not. Going home wasn't supposed to be some kind of competition. Even as he sat back down, he wouldn't bother to make a plate or even thank the nobodies for feeding them, and instead continued to berate Mr. Cuddles who already looked hurt. The nerve!

Inadi said
Do you think we give them a little more time to plead their case or should we go help Japhet take out that stupid turtle dragon that brought us here. I think Kain wants to get into a little bit of a fight

Toby swallowed his food, tightening his grip on the fork and knife as he sat in irritation.

Inadi said
Though to be fair it might just be me.

"Okay." The boy slammed his silverware onto the table. "WHAT is your PROBLEM!?" His glare focused intently on Inadi, who seemed to be acting the most ill-mannered out of the rest of his friends. Toby ran a hand through his hair in frustration, their behavior was absolutely unnecessary. He had never seen the humans act so disrespectful. "These guys are giving us free food, they're being so nice and kind to us and you're talking about fighting?!" He scoffed. "You're acting kind of like a dirtbag right now. Treat people how you want to be treated. Even if they did do some sour stuff in the past at least they're here now trying to make up for it and stuff, the least you could do is meet em halfway and be a little nice y'know! You didn't even listen to what they had to say!" Toby placed his elbow on the table, leaning his head against his hand as he caressed his hair. It was something the boy did when he was genuinely upset or angry. His gaze remained briefly on Inadi before his eyes stared down at the table as he sat quietly.

Leila found herself increasingly not certain what to do as conflict and tension escalated in the scene. Several times she winced at the phrases being tossed around in their conversation, prepared for punches to start to be thrown after the end of every sentence.

The worst part was that she had absolutely no clue what was going on. Truth be told, she never did - not a chance in this land that supplied limitless quantities of madness and irrationality - yet this scenario was only too puzzling.

She almost felt that feeling return for a moment. That feeling she would feel long ago whenever she walked into a place with too many people, or onto the bustling streets. The feeling when everything to do she could conceive of was wrong in at least one way.

Should she try to stop them before things spiral out of control? Were[i] things going to spiral out of control? She wouldn’t have the courage either. Even if she did stop them - for what will it be? Just...just [i]what is all this?

As Ace Jasper and Inadi were deep involved in debate with the others at the table, Leila sunk as far back into her seat as possible, nervously sipping on her glass of...some kind of beverage. The stress of the atmosphere was upsetting and she wondered if it would be okay to leave for a while - that they just encountered a humongous life-devouring monster would serve as an acceptable excuse -

“...Gary hitting some philosophy-blithering dude[i] with her pole -”

And then that sentence landed and it was enough for Leila’s just barely controlled emotions to decide that it had gone that bit too far. A twitch was visible in her expressions, which now shifted from one of slight discomfort to a stressful glare of anger of which all she could do was to direct it at the tablecloth in front of her. She felt her hands start shivering.

She took a few deep breaths to regain her calm. [i]It won’t make anything better was the reason her rationality used to push the growling anger back into somewhere hidden - still the unsettlement on her now paler than usual face was unmistakable.

Inadi kept rambling on with aggressive responses at the Hooded Figures, as well as the few familiar nobodies she also recognized. Their presence caused much of the conflict and confusion she was experiencing - and Inadi’s hostile remarks weren’t making it better for her.

“Inadi wait -”

She started off with a voice to faint to have the request have any effect on the currently heated discussion, but something else carried out the task of interrupting Inadi.

"WHAT is your PROBLEM!? These guys are giving us free food, they're being so nice and kind to us and you're talking about fighting?!...”

Leila sat dead still throughout the course of Toby’s speech. She comprehended where he stood, but in a way it was also almost painful to listen to, these words coming from someone who hasn’t been there at Yonder, on the Star Fisher, or at the Stone of Sacrifice…

...her sight wandered and stopped upon the figure of the dark skinned man at the other side of the table. Leila didn’t remember clearly enough to be completely certain at first, but once he spoke there was no mistaking it: Numair Wason, aboard the Star Fisher - now standing beside the ones who assaulted them, potentially with the intention of killing, left them without aid in the aftermath of the battle with the witch…and now inviting them to join them.

Leila was too used to pictures coming together when she thought hard enough about them.

This picture didn’t come together.

”...You didn't even listen to what they had to say!”
Toby concluded with a huff, and the whole scene turned into a stalemate after that. Toby staring at the table after glaring at Inadi, and the others similarly seemingly having words upon their throats that were not uttered, out of various reasons.

“If all the items on the List are collected.” She asked, speaking slowly:

“...who gets to go home?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Ran grinned as cheerfully as possible while Jasper patted his back. He resisted the urge to tease the girl a little. It was tempting though giving how she was blushing earlier. Before he knew it, the rest had entered the house, so only Inadi was left outside with him. The older human continued sitting on the ground. He was so jelly donut tired!

He groaned a little as Inadi pulled his sleeve, but he got up anyway. He grinned. “Lotion would be great. Not sure there is any here.”

The older of the two lapsed into silence and merely nodded in response to Inadi’s comment that they should wait and observe. The two men continued walking quietly till they entered the place. Immediately, Inadi was greeted by Mr. Cuddles, so Ran took the time to observe the rest of the guests quietly. Upon recognizing a familiar face, he grinned and waved. He was about to greet Ise, when Jasper approached him with a cup of water in hand. He beamed and turned to face the pale-skinned human instead.

“Thanks, Jasper!”

Whoomp!

A huge black whirlwind knocked him off his feet and the glass flew out of his hand. He sucked in his breath and closed his eyes when he saw the mouth opening. A papery tongue ran up and down his cheek making Ran burst out laughing. Grateful for the distraction the illustrator cracked his eyes open and began stroking the not so tiny baby dragon.

“Nice to see you too Ise. You too, Cobalt!”

He allowed the baby dragon began nibbled his ear playfully. “Colby! You’ve grown so much.”

Suddenly, Inadi began shouting, and the black baby dragon whined loudly in response. All the tension in the room was stressing it out. Ran cuddled Cobalt’s head while whistling softly, but the dragonet continued threshing around. He raked his brains for a solution.

“Ise!”

He gasped as he remembered some of the things he learned back in Aven. Ran quickly grabbed Cobalt’s snout, and he pulled it down till the baby was looking him in the eye. He continued staring into the dragon’s black ones till finally Cobalt lowered his head and curled up on the ground. He stepped to one side, so Ise could attend to the baby.

Ran waited for several moments as he continued stroking Cobalt’s forearm. Seeing that no one was speaking up after Lelia asked her question, he decided to say something. He hoped someone else will take over from there. “I know a lot of you don’t sound too happy to be here... for good reasons.”

He broke off and looked at Inadi in particular. His reddened a little. He wished someone – like Riley or Ace or even Harper – would speak. He shifted his weight to his other foot then continued speaking. He hoped he wasn’t upsetting the rest. “But Toby’s right, guys. I think we need to give them a chance to answer our questions, right Lelia?”

He cleared his throat and tried to laugh a little in an attempt to ease the tension. “I mean. I don’t know about you guys, but I trust Ise. She always has a good reason for doing things. So… err… so let’s hear them out? Peace ya?”

Sacha was about to admonish Gary for taking all the cookies, but a certain witch attaching herself to his shirt distracted from that train of thought. He had tried explaining to the girl that he already had someone when they had first met, but to no avail. Nowadays he just tried to avoid mentioning her little crush on him, treating her as if a little sister. Not that she seemed to notice.

"Gary, put away the pole. Fighting is strictly forbidden at tea parties, you know that." He gently admonished his friend. "I'll help you with the garden later, alright?"

His platter of cookies had been passed around, with a few humans at least trying to polite. Like the blond boy- he seemed earnest enough, but perhaps he was just really hungry. The others, however, were still very much cautious. It wasn't like they didn't have the right to be cautious- the hooded figures were rather weary of what the humans would try to do, and yet they were just being downright rude and hostile. How could they act like that to Mr. Cuddles? The poor bear hadn't done anything wrong, and yet the man with glasses and the dangerous looking spear was spouting downright hurtful things on purpose.

Before he had a chance to go and give the guy a polite piece of his mind at his rudeness, everyone was quickly ushered to their seats. Unfortunately the situation was tense as ever, especially that they had been joined by the other Nobodies that had been helping set up. No doubt the hummons were still trying to grasp the situation and understand the situation. He dutifully pushed a plate of cakes away from Gary to avoid her from eating too many sweets. It would serve no good to have a hyper Gary on their hands while they discussed.

"Thanks a bunches for the food! I was really hungry. This is like, the best turkey i've ever had."

Sacha blinked, a small but very pleased smile forming on his face. It was good that someone was enjoying this tea party, he had worked very hard on making it just perfect for everyone. He lifted a plate of finger sandwiches, offering them to the hungry boy. "We grow our herbs in the garden. Vegetables too, so I promise they're fresh. And unpoisoned." He frowned in the direction of the red-headed girl again.

As he had thought, C's words caused quite a bit of an uproar, once again the loudest being the guy with the spear. Luckily others were at least willing to listen.

"Fighting is forbidden at tea parties," He spoke up, voice soft but firm. "And we'll all be going home. All of us. We'd be working together so we can do it faster." His eyes are sincere, before a worried look flashes across his face. "And there's no time. For some of you. It depends on the person, but-" He shook his head, trying to figure out to rephrase what he wanted to say. "Your memories are fading, aren't they? How many faces and names can you still remember? It happens at different rates, but they'll disappear." He glances at the rest of the hooded figures. "That's why we need to team up. Before you forget everything, because when you do-" He stops, looking to C as if gauging how much they should tell the humans at this point.

"That's actually a pretty good question." Froggy gave Ace a hesitant smile, but it disappeared the moment she mentioned Leon. He nodded in understanding and didn't ask any more questions about the boy. "It's a really long story...but you have to hear it." He shot a glance at the hooded figures, wondering how much he could say. "It's really complicated and it kind of involves you."

Marina's eyes were focused on her feet. "It involves all of you. They tracked each of us down, told us it would be the only way to save everyone."

"I didn't believe them at first," it was Froggy speaking once again. "I mean, they're kind of um, wanted criminals."

Othello raised a glass of melted caramels, "and their story was one whale of tale, not exactly believable." The sky pirate beamed at the humans. "Plus, they kind of have a few screws lose...kind of like your friend, erm, Mado, right? Oh, no offense, guys!" He stuffed his mouth full pastries. "Thish ish real good shtuff." He swallowed it all in one go then gave Sacha a thumbs up. "Speaking of Mado... "

Ise shot Othello a glare and he quieted down. The table was anything but pleasant, and while the hooded figures spoke, the humans also spoke amongst themselves, some even going as far as to insult the hooded figures.

Thankfully Gary was kept busy by food and Numair did his best to explain things in a civilized manner. However, the more people spoke the more unruly things became. Soon, the boy with the spear was insulting them and things started getting a little unruly.

"WHAT is your PROBLEM!?"

A blonde boy joined the fray and the only adult in the group decided to back him up.

Ise turned to Ran and Toby with a grateful smile, "thanks you two." It really was good to see them again. The dragon rider in training missed their enthusiasm, so when Toby began telling her a kajillion things at once and when Ran started playing with Cobalt, she couldn't help but laugh. It was a shame their reunion had to be under these circumstances. Cobalt gave the duo a thankful look and Ise nodded, "it's really good to see you again. This might sound strange, but what they have to say is important."

“We’re trying to get the items in the List so we can get home. That's the top priority,”

"And we'll all be going home. All of us. We'd be working together so we can do it faster."





"No offense," Harper couldn't help but agree with Inadi. He wasn't as harsh, but the look on his face showed he didn't trust the hooded figures either. "But why do you suddenly want to help us? Last time you hit one of our friends on the head and tried to take the list." His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "if you really wanted to help us, couldn't you have told us from the beginning?" Despite his irritated expression, his voice was soft. Harper's eyes landed on Numair and he sighed, he remembered him from the Starfisher, but didn't understand how their fellow human had gotten here. Well, if they didn't hurt Numair then maybe they weren't really hardcore criminals. "Then again," he sighed at how confusing these people were, "you also saved us from the witch. Why did you do that?"

Lesley pursed his lips and frowned. He didn't want to disagree with Numair. Oh lordie, that man was a heart stopper. "Hey cutie," he gave Numair a wink. "We're a little confused right now, but we don't want to fight, so if you could just clear it all up?"

"Your memories are fading, aren't they?"

Riley stared at him. That part was true, so at least she could say they weren't full of crap. She didn't know how much time had passed, but ever since she stepped on the train things like dates and faces started to blur. It was getting worse, and now memories would skirt out of reach and out of nowhere a wall would pop up, and she'd draw blanks. Riley found herself forgetting things like a classmate's name, a friend's favorite book, and the place where her grandparents lived. "They are." She gave Sacha a long look and leaned forward, eyes filled with curiosity. "Are...are your memories gone?"





Luke popped a grape into his mouth then shrugged. He didn't remember much, but at this point it no longer bothered him.

C caught Sacha glancing at her and she nodded her head. They had to tell this batch before it was too late. "If you forget everything then you won't be able to leave." She stared at the humans one by one before focusing on Inadi. Her expression was blank, but if one listened close enough they'd detect a hint of annoyance in her voice. "If you forget everything you'll turn into a bunny guard."

"We've seen it happen a few times before," Luke sighed.

Harper wasn't sure he believed them. "That's impossible."

"Impossible?" Luke was grinning from ear to ear. "Oh! Oh! You should meet Penelope Waterdale, she's this hugeeee fish that lives on Pastel mountain..." the boy continued rambling on about the cool things they had seen but Harper was drowning him out. THIS COULD NOT BE REAL. He looked at Ace then Jasper, "it sounds silly."

Riley was quiet. The thought of turning into a bunny guard wasn't exactly pleasant. The little things were mute and she wondered if that was so they couldn't talk about what had happened. It sounded crazy with a capital c, but they had just met a turtle dragon and even though she didn't want to think about the possibility, anything could happen in Nowhere.

Luke laughed, "where do you think everyone else is? On vacation?"

"They're bunnies now..." C mumbled quietly.

"SO," the young man turned to look at the humans with a smile, "wanna join the team?"

IT IS TIME TO MAKE A DECISION

”If you forget everything…you turn into a bunny guard.”

Impossible.

That was Harper’s immediate reaction, and that was what Leila wanted to make herself believe. Transforming a human body into the shape of a bunny guard was anatomically, physically, and practically impossible.

But just as she, as well as everyone else at the table, knew all too well - nothing was impossible in Nowhere.

Your memories are fading, aren’t they?

They were. And they were fading fast.

Leila reached for her shirt pocket, placing her fingers upon the blue notebook. She drew it out and turned to the place before the first page - the back face of the cover, packed with tidy, elegant handwriting:

My name is Leila Noelle. I am seventeen years old, born on...

And that was all of the passage she remained familiar with. The passage she wrote down in her time at the castle in hope that she wouldn’t forget, in hope that scripture will retain the memories so that her mind could hold out longer.

Perhaps not much longer her mind was going to hold out.

She winced as she shoved the notebook back into the pocket.

And we'll all be going home. All of us. We'd be working together so we can do it faster.

If they collect everything in time, they get to go home. Or at least they’ll be hope that they’ll get to go home.

If they didn’t...that notebook would belong to what would forever be a mute, mindless bunny guard. Or perhaps even worse: a mute bunny guard that wasn’t mindless.

She pulled her sight off the ground and looked around the table, as part of an attempt to chase that thought out of her brain - at least temporarily. The expressions of everyone around there, however - the Hooded figures, the Nobodies, her fellow humans - did nothing but enforce the pressing threat.

Questions remained. If they were in a race against time - a race against time where time wasn’t a valid concept - then why the fighting between them for the list and the items? If the threat they faced was the same, why weren’t them aligned to the cause in the first place? They were equally desperate - no, they were arguably even more desperate...the reasoning wouldn’t be valid in all but two cases: one, the Hooded figures were outright insane, and two, this meetup is a trap and they have been lied to.

Leila couldn’t express how unreasonably much she wished that it was the former. Or, on second thought, how much she wished that she was wrong. Now all she wanted to hold onto was whatever material there was to sustain the thought that they were going home - that they stood a chance at eventually getting home.

On the other hand, bunny guards...then, the Queen, Delirium who treated them as welcome guests and allowed their staying and providing them food, the Queen…?

She shook her head, burying her face in her hands with her elbows rested upon the table.

She didn’t see Luke’s smile when he said:

"So...wanna join the team?"

Leila slid her hands to expose her eyes, locked to the tablecloth and the half-empty glass of beverage in front of her.

She thought for moments. Then:

“...how long?”

She spoke, but did not answer their question. Her mind was still flooding with the dreadful images of past humans, trapped for an eternity in the bunny-shaped cocoons.

“How long did they have?” She asked. She hadn’t made her choice yet, but she wanted to know this regardless. The Nobidies and the Hooded Figures might not have the answer, but she needed to ask anyway. They said they’ve seen it happen.

“...how long do we have?”

When Toby got hit, she shook her head and merely sighed. "I told you so." That pole was in her sight though... One way or another, she did want to take it from Gary. After all, people with anger problems shouldn't have had weapons in the first place.

Well... It was nice to know that they were hesitant at first, and not as insane as they were. She supposed she could forgive Froggy and Marina. "To be fair, hah!" Ace looked over at Numair. "What we did was called self defense. It's a standard tactic all humans, and I'm sure nobodies know of. You hit first, which means we hit back. It's a common thing really. Being fair, is telling someone you want to fight and then meeting them to properly fight. That's fair." She leaned back on the table. "Argue? No one's arguing. We just want acceptable answers for this ridiculous meeting. And how about the leader explain the rest, since she was there during all of you guys' raids." Despite the new seriousness in her voice, she didn't speak with any malice. Ace picked up that skill, hearing her boss always making deals and negotiating with clients or other crime bosses.

She pretended to have an idea moment. "Has it occurred to any of you that maybe asking before you attacked us might have been a better suited deal?" While everyone spoke, Ace picked over the food. She ate a little, only enough to not have to think about eating later. The food was good, but that didn't excuse them from what they did. In the midst of it all, Toby of all people managed to get angry first. Towards his attack at Inadi, Ace....she laughed. It wasn't the appropriate thing to do, but she did. "Oh Toby, you must think this is supposed to be all happy go lucky and all, huh? We've had some...fall outs with these people. You wouldn't understand. Just calm down. Inadi has all rights to be as hostile as he wants. Just as long as he doesn't start fighting or anything." Though...that sounded like a fun idea.

She caught the frown Sacha gave and then playfully stuck her tongue at him. At the thought of her memories fading, she looked down at the plate she was picking at. Sure her memories were fading, but they were all minor details from get life. Then again, forgetting the name of the orphanage she was from and the name of her boss was pretty important to her. She didn't have much, and she wanted to keep what she did. Ace still remembered how old she was, and she remembered her name. She also remembered the importance of her hat. But obviously she didn't want to forget anything else. Who knew what everyone else had started to forget as well... especially the three who had been there longer than she had. She waited for the question by Leila to be answered, and everything else was clear before she spoke again.

It was time to make a decision. They couldn't ponder over this moment forever. "As insane as this all sounds, especially the bunny guard ordeal," She looked at Harper and Inadi, the two she looked up to as the 'leaders' of the group. "I say we take the offer." Ace raised her hand before they could protest. "Hear me out. We all know, whether we want to believe it or not, our memories are fading. We've been on some wild chase to grab these things, not knowing how they could possibly get us home. If we really don't want to end up as crazy as them," She gestured to the Hooded Figures casually, "Maybe we should just help each other. The Nobodies live here. They don't have to help us you know. But these weird people are just as ready to go home as we are. We have that in common. And I don't know about you guys but I don't want to become like that. And the more people, the more help...However!" She looked over at each of the Hooded Figures.

"Trust goes both ways you know. If we have to trust you, then you have to trust us. Since this was our mission, we should hold onto all of the items. All of the ones you stole too. But we all know we have to have all the items to get out of here. So.. you get to hold on to one item. One item is all it takes after all. But," Her gaze turned to her own friends. "That's just my opinion. I mean, majority rules."
She shrugged and went back to eating food. No need to starve after all. "Oh yeah! And... Can I have pinkie's pole?" It was worth a try before she started to try and steal it from her. It was completely off topic, but Ace decided to ask. She went from serious, back to her normal self in the matter.

Numair stood as the current speaker for the "opposition" and he explained that their main purpose was to get home, just like them. That part she knew from the item and list stealing, but she couldn't exactly point point why they hadn't peacefully explained themselves from the start. She would've gladly pleaded with the Queen to allow more humans to join in order to get home, yet the hooded figures decided to try and take the list and items for themselves. Reaching up to scratch her forehead, it was then that Inadi began to speak up. His tone was a bit threatening and betrayed, but she couldn't blame him. After a bit, his words were beginning to burden her and Toby didn't look too pleased. Eventually, the kid exploded and confronted Inadi.

Out of stress, Jasper grabbed a cupcake although she had no appetite just to relieve some frustration. Leila spoke up too, asking who was able to go home if they indeed joined the group. She thought that the list only applied to them. Little by little, the figures were starting to look less like criminals and maybe it was because they were surrounded with Nobodies they recognized and trusted throughout the item hunts in the past. As she munched slowly on the sweet whilst her mind sunk into thought, the conversation then turned to memory, but they seemed hesitant to let them know. She paused in her eating as she braced the continuation of the sentence. "Then what? What happens?"

"If you forget everything you'll turn into a bunny guard."

She was forcing herself to recall where she had previously worked in New York, her boss's name, the owner's of the apartment inwhich she lived... she could not remember any of them. It was then that she broke out into a panicked sweat. They were right. Now that she realized it, it was happening from the start, just a minor problem at first, but she was actually forgetting everything that ever mattered to her. Involuntarily, she smushed the cupcake that was in her hand. Getting up, she chucked the food into the trash can in a daze as she apologized for wasting perfectly good edibles. Wiping off her hands, the deal sounded great. They would find the items faster therefore getting home faster.

About the bunny guard issue, it was a little fishy as to why the poor things did not speak, but now it made sense. "S-so, those bunnies? All those bunnies... a-are.. or were, I mean, humans at one point?" She clutched her chest and felt sick to her stomach. Looking at Inadi, she couldn't quite read his expression, but he was feeling hostile towards the hooded figures at the moment so she could tell that he wasn't on board with joining. Ace on the other hand seemed for it, but only if they played according to their rules.

"She's right. If were going to join you, our rules must be followed."

Turning to face the group, "I believe they deserve the opportunity to return home too." With a gulp she cleared her throat. "They want to get home just as much as we do... I don't want anymore humans turning into bunny guards. Therefore, I... will join." The words were heavy with distrust, but it felt right. "I will join the group." That was it, it was her final decision. Glancing around uneasily, she got up and walked over to stand beside Luke and C with her head down in embarrassment.

The guy with the spear was pretty hostile, wasn’t he?

“Prick,” Numair muttered under his breath. Mr. Cuddles looked sadder by the second, but who wouldn’t be gloomy upon being called ‘Yogi’? Okay, maybe he was overreacting; the nobodies probably didn’t recognize the inside references Inadi was throwing, but Numair sure did and he was the one getting upset. His eyes narrowed when the other man went so far as to suggest a fight and thankfully Toby interrupted before the hotheaded surfer could do or say anything that would hurt the Hooded Figures’ cause.

A short stretch of silence followed Toby’s outburst, which Numair broke by saying, “Hey, thanks for the vote of confidence.” What a sweet kid. Gary could certainly learn a few things from him. The other humans started to react in a domino effect after that; Sacha was the one who answered their questions with some help from Luke and C.

"No offense, but why do you suddenly want to help us? Last time you hit one of our friends on the head and tried to take the list. If you really wanted to help us, couldn't you have told us from the beginning? Then again, you also saved us from the witch. Why did you do that?"

Uggghhh could somebody please take the role of ‘middleman’ from him now kthanks…

Hey cutie, we're a little confused right now, but we don't want to fight, so if you could just clear it all up?"

“I think he forgot that we asked first,” Gary whispered as she elbowed Numair. The surfer grabbed a caramel apple from a nearby plate then gave it to her, and the girl was distracted once more. He grinned back at Lesley and straightened up in his seat, the sour expression on his face quickly disappearing as he turned to Harper. “Harper, right? I kept calling you Harp before. So here’s the thing. I apologize on behalf of Gary, but seriously she’s a softie if you get to know her. Uh, asides from that… You do realize you lot were in Delirium’s territory most of the time? Heavy surveillance. Even we weren’t that stupid to bust in the castle and induct you guys into the Loco Order. Next! The witch,” The tanned young man leaned back against his seat and sighed. That witch was bad news for everyone. “Well. We couldn’t just leave you there to die, right? Although we did, I get it,” his gaze turned sharp and he suddenly scowled, “but don’t blame us for your comrades. We’re not superheroes and if we arrived too late to ‘save the day’, then boo hoo. Don’t pin that on us. I’ve had enough of that shit back home.”

"They are. Are...are your memories gone?"

“Not much. I’d say I still remember my last name, but yeah… Minor details went whoosh,” Numair waved his hand away dismissively as if to make his words sound less ominous. “This one though,” he gently prodded Gary with his other hand and she glanced up, irritated, “she’s pretty much going down the deep trench.”

“I don’t scuba dive, Numnums,” The pink-haired human muttered before she returned to her meals. “Point made,” he replied.

The talk about turning into a bunny guard sobered the group up.

“How long did they have? ...how long do we have?”

The really pale girl from the SSF seemed really shocked, though he couldn’t blame her for it. When the HF first told him, he almost went catatonic… or maybe that was a side effect of the painkillers he had ingested by that time? “Like Sacha said, it varies per person but…” Numair’s voice trailed off and his eyes shifted to the side in uncertainty. Gary wiped her mouth and raised her hand. “Liara and Caleb were the last in our group to go down, around… Hmm. A little over when the next train arrives? For you guys- and for us too, I guess- it’s…” She separated her thumb from her other fingers and squeezed down in the universal gesture of “tiny”. Despite the gravity of the news she just imparted, Gary didn’t seem to be bothered much… or at least that was what it looked like from the distance. All who were nearby could see her tapping the surface of the pole in a quick and irregular fashion, something she did under duress.

A red-haired chick suggested splitting up the items in some sort of “trust” alliance compromise thing. Numair’s eyebrows knitted together as he frowned. Her terms were pretty unfair and since he was the only sane- er, the sanest as of current- one in the Hooded Figures, he was the one who often stopped the others from getting duped. This was a prime example of said one-sided negotiation. “Two. Two items. And the pole is out of the question. Don’t even think about it, seriously,” The surfer extended his arm and pinned Gary back as an agitated snarl ripped out from her throat. “I’ll also enter that as a part of the compromise- nobody touches Gary’s pole because none of us have the right to, okay?” Besides, it would prevent the humans from having a vital organ ripped out and the Hooded Figures- er Sacha- from cleaning up the gore.

“Oh, mother of- C, what do you think? I’m done negotiating. I suck,” Numair raised his hands in the air when Jasper interjected with the “our rules must be followed” bit. Despite the humans being wary of the HF springing some trap on them, the Hooded Figures themselves were just as cautious. Well, at least Sacha and Numair are. “I push for two items left with us instead of one, plus a sub-tenet banning anybody from stealing or utilizing Gary’s pole without her express permission. That last bit is for the safety of everyone involved, okay? The rest is up to you, but that’s what I’m going to agree with in case the lot of them decide to throw their dice with us,” The surfer’s handsome face was filled with distress and a little bit of irritation, as he was expecting a violent reaction to his and Ace’s laying down the groundwork from… well, Inadi or the others..

Toby's explosion of agitation did nothing to Inadi as he fixed his glasses. The boy had just joined them and had little knowledge of these people in the end. They were just as dangerous as anything else in Nowhere, they just preferred to hide their faces for the most part. Letting a quiet sigh he turned back to Harper who was questioning the group again for their reasons for wanting to help them and join forces to find the rest of the list.

The mention of losing memories went right over Inadi's head as he simply thought it was a way for the hooded figures across from them to change the subject off of their past actions. But his eyebrow was finally raised and his nerves put on lock when they told them the fate of human's who failed to finish the list. They became bunny guards?! The same they had seen for so long in the Queen's castle every time they were there for a feast or to learn of the next thing on the list? Those guards?!

Inadi quickly shook his head back and forth trying to make sense of it. It seemed too outlandish to be true, but then again the Queen had never fully explained what happened to those who came before them and those who failed. And she even said it herself that they had gotten the furthest than any other group in the history of Nowhere. And yet every single time they came back from a successful fetch.....she would hold a dinner for them and keep them at the castle longer than she probably should if she knew they were turning into bunny guards.

The pounding in the man's head became heavy as he forced himself to stop thinking about the guards. If you lost all your memories you would turn into one of those guys right? Inadi began quickly going through his mind to try and remember all that he could. His first thought was back to his book he was working on back home. Thinking back to the title of it, it was.....it was......Inadi suddenly shot his look up across the table, but he was not looking at anyone. His eyes went wide as he realized that he couldn't remember the name of the damned thing he was resting his whole life on. He wanted to be a great author! That much he remembered. But how could he become that if he didn't even remember the title of the first book he was writing?

Instead of his title he decided to start thinking back to other things about it. The genre. Surely he remembered the genre of it. It was a romance novel if he thought back....wasn't it? No, no it couldn't have been. Inadi hated those kinds of stories. Maybe it was a science fiction novel? Or perhaps it was some kind of adventure book. Quickly realizing that he didn't even remember that made the man shoot out of his chair and walk away from the table and into the cover of some of the trees of the forest behind him. Hiding his face in his hand to keep everyone from seeing his frustration and stop the pounding of his mind. Looking back at the hooded figures, Harper, Ace, Riley and everyone else made him only quicken his pace.

His breathing became much heavier now that he was alone. How could he forget those things? Simple details that shouldn't take more than a few seconds to sort out. And here he was struggling to figure them out. Thinking back, he couldn't even remember the name of the coffee shop he went to when he wanted to find a place quiet to write away from his home. His mother always bothered him about it because of how much hot chocolate he would drink since he couldn't stand the bitter taste of coffee. She told him it would rot his teeth faster than anything. He could see her now saying it to his face....

Inadi's breath caught in his chest as he realized a terrible truth. He COULDN'T see his mother's face in his mind. He remembered her, her name and what she would say. But suddenly the face of the woman who brought him to this world was just a giant white silhouette in his mind's eye. Feeling his hand twitch on the grip of Kain the boy began trying to think of his father. The man who always told him that the writing was a great idea....or was it that he thought it was better for him to find something else to do with his life? Inadi quickly grabbed Kain and swung violently at the trees next to him, the clanking of the steel on the wood and the slashing of the air as in his rage he missed on more than a few swings. He couldn't remember his father's face or what he was like towards him. He had spent so much time focused on just the situation in Nowhere, he rarely thought back to his life back home since they arrived back in Sol practically. And it was clear what the affects were now.

His rage subsiding he looked up at the tree he swung at and saw cleaves in it that went deep and scattered randomly along the trunk. Feeling a strange moistness on his face he reached up to realize he had been crying all the while he was lost in his rage. Quickly wiping them away, he could not see the redness in his eyes or the shine on his cheeks. Coughing to clear his throat, he looked back at where the group was and felt a pang of disgust strike him. Walking back slowly, he eventually returned with his glasses low on his nose and his eyes closed slightly, as if he was trying to hide them from everyone.

Shooting glances at all the others at the table, he couldn't help but wonder just how much they had all lost on their journey. He had only recently joined and he already was losing so much. He hardly talked about his life back home, and now thinking back to how the others would mention their past selves he now saw it as some kind of therapy to keep those thoughts fresh. Then his eyes fell on the hooded figures and the scowl returned to his face.

“No matter where we go now....we've been used by someone. The hooded figures used us to complete the list so they could go home. And the Queen,” Inadi said as his head shook with frustration. “The Queen has been using us to practically entertain herself. She knew we would turn, and said nothing of it to us. And all those feasts. Maybe that was her way of trying to keep us here longer so we would lose our memories.” Inadi said looking back at Harper and then to Leila, as he knew she was very scared of the whole idea. None of them wanted this, but this was their life now. It was either go home, or stay here forever as something they weren't.

“Well I'm sick of being someone's pawn. I'm no tool to be used for someone else's desires,” He said with a defiant look in his eyes. Turning to Lesley and seeing his arm again only brought back the memory of what happened in the cabin with Avian. Back then he said that the human's shouldn't trust the Nobodies. And now learning about the Queen.....he knew he was right. Turning to the hooded figures and walking towards the group, he stopped near the one called C. “But you give me one reason or one idea that says you aren't as true to your word as you say, I'll be sure to laugh when the train door closes and you aren't on it.” He told her with a scowl as he went back to his seat. He pulled it out and looked over to Harper and then to Riley with an ashamed look in his eye. At the start of this he seemed like the one human who went in here with the least open minded about this group. But learning how empty his mind actually was, he saw that he needed to change.

He began dragging the chair over towards Jasper and slowly sunk into the chair. His eyes began to burn again, but he did what he could to keep it in. A few slid out, but with his head as low to the ground as it was, it was difficult to tell. Looking out of the corner of his eye and seeing Jasper was similar made him even more upset. “Pick your head up. You have nothing to be ashamed of. Not like me...” He told her as he began desperately thinking back to his mother. He tried remembering if it was her or his father that wore glasses like he did. But still, both figures just stood as silhouettes in his mind. The glasses on his face suddenly grew heavy, and they felt like they burned at his skin. Another tear streamed out and landed on the lens. The weight and lack of footing it had on his face made the pair fall from his face. In his desperate searching of his mind, he refused to even acknowledge that they had fallen. But staring at them with his clouded vision only reminded him of the shaky memories he had of his parents. He picked them up slowly, but merely rested them on his knee, his eyes burning even more than they had prior.

Ran remained quiet as the rest of the humans talked. Somehow he was glad his little speech went largely unnoticed. He chuckled as he continued tickling Cobalt. The whole thing seemed rather odd to him. Try as he might, Ran still can't figure out why the so-called Hooded Figures (aptly named considering their wardrobe) would actually go through such an elaborate scheme. It almost seemed like they were genuine about it. Almost.

"What do you think Tobs? I don't mind giving them a chance.. I just don't buy the whole bunny guard story."

He paused and then grinned slightly before putting on a serious face again. "Actually, it's kinda believable. Like one of those amnesia plot twist in mangas. Only difference is that we'll turn into something cute."

Trying to be too serious was a little hard, after all he and Toby hadn't experienced what the rest did. Respectfully he continued listening. He wouldn't mind adding these people into the group if the rest didn't. Neither he nor Toby were around long enough to know much. Everything boils down to what Harper and Riley feel.

"I'm fine with them joining us, but only if they return the USB."

He shrugged. "They can hold on to the Witch's Heart if it makes them feel safer."

That was the other item this bunch stole from the others - or so he heard. A loud scrapping sound made him turn his attention back to the bespectacled Inadi. He watched the younger man move closer to Jasper. Ran studied the couple for several seconds before looking back at the baby dragon now curled round him. While he could guess at the frustration Inadi was probably feeling, he believed Jasper would do a much better job at comforting the young man. She was Inadi's girlfriend after all.

The human gratefully sat down on an outstretched claw. His mind began drifting back to those lazy days in Aven. He thought about how he and Toby would blunder around messing up the chores. Finally his mind stopped at one memory in particular. His face fell a little.

"Do you remember the day you found me checking out Colby's scales?" He asked Ise.

He began tracing one of the many scales gently with his fingers. He knew his memory wasn't great, but it was quite uncomfortable to forget the little odd bits here and there. His car plate license, the exact font type and words on the signs near his New York apartment, the name of his neighbor's tortoise shell cat... most disconcerting of all... the faces of his workplace acquaintances. Even though he could still visualize their clothing right down to the last stitch, their faces were blurry.

At least he still remembered the faces of those he is closer too. Friends, former schoolmates, project members, distant relatives and his family. He could roughly remember how to cook too, so that was good. He wrecked his brain. Oh! He was starting to forget the names of the more obscure shades.

His finger rested on black scale with a blue hue. "I know I told you the name of this particular blue hue before. I just can't remember it now."

The illustrator shook his head in disbelief. "I would be sad the day I forget the terms periwinkle, auberinge, carmine, crimson, mustard, sunglow..."

"You know, Ise. Toby! Maybe we should have that cooking session sooner? I want to make you my croquette pies before I forget how to do it!" He exclaimed in an attempt to brighten up the gloom.

He then wrapped an arm around the Toby and Ise. He pulled them into hug. Ran gave them a wink. Nothing would be happier than having their little trio reunite...

Numair explained things as calmly as he could and Harper gave the surfer a wary nod. "Fair enough," he tried to keep his cool, but his insides felt like they were being turned to mush and the more he tried to remember the more his head throbbed. He felt like throwing up, but held his ground. Maybe the hooded figures were lying, after all, they had been here for who knows how long and they were alright, but what if they were telling the truth? If that was the case, walking away now would ensure their end. "I don't know." He finally muttered. "This is...risky."

They had known the queen since day one and to be honest he trusted Songbird, Martini, and Brandy a lot more than he trusted them. But if he had to choose sides then he'd follow his friends. "I'm not against it though, you guys...I have your back no matter what."

Riley nodded but before she could say anything Ace and Jasper agreed.

"I guess it's settled then..." Riley watched as Inadi left his seat and began unleashing his frustrations. She couldn't blame him, the moment she had heard the news all the cheer was sapped out of her and everything just turned bleak. "I don't know you like my friends do." She glared at Gary and Sacha before her eyes focused on C. "But I'm following them no matter where they go and if you do anything fishy...I-I'll give you hell!" She jabbed a fork in their direction for emphasis and Luke gave her a dopey looking smile. These hooded figures definitely had a few things wrong with their heads.



“Oh, mother of- C, what do you think? I’m done negotiating. I suck,”

Inadi marched towards her, but C didn't look fazed in the slightest. She focused her eyes on the human but gave Numair a soft pat on the shoulder, as if to say he had done a good job. None of them were very good at conveying what they wanted to anymore, so she appreciated the surfer's help. "Two items." She stated matter-of-factly before she turned to Ran. "We're keeping two items. The witch's heart and the USB."

Luke shrugged, he was still grinning like an idiot. "I say take it because we aren't handing you the witch's heart or the USB either." Rainbowzilla was seated beside him chomping away at the golden brown turkey, it looked like most of the food had been left untouched. "We have tarts and cookies, there's no reason to say no." He picked up a platter of brownies and made his way to the grouchy boy with the spear. "Here ya go!"

C pulled him back for a moment then focused her on the humans. "We have until..." the girl spaced out, "until new year's eve."

Time did not function in Nowhere, but it continued to march on in the human realm and five months had already passed. C looked at Ace. She didn't know if the group had a leader or not, but fiery redhead in the cap seemed to be their leader. "Is it a deal?"

The Nobodies waited silently while Ise and Ran talked in hushed voices.



Despite the tension it was nice to see them again. The room's atmosphere was heavy, but Ran talked cheerfully about Cobalt and their time in Aven. Ise couldn't help but smile a little. "I remember, I thought it was a little weird." She laughed a little, Ran's chatter was drowning out the tense discussion. She wondered how he and Toby weren't fazed then remembered that unlike the rest, they had only joined the scavenger hunt after the fight at the Forests of the Ancients.

"Pie would be nice, Ran." The man pulled them into a hug and she felt a pang of sadness for them and all the humans. "You know, we'll do our best so you don't forget." She was looking at Ran and Toby but her words were directed at all the humans. "That's why we're all here. You're friends Iro and Mado were sent to stay in Nowhere after they go sick, right? Well, something bad happened to them and a few nobodies found out...that's why we're here."

She gave Ran's arm a squeeze. "We're here to help you humans, but it's an offer and you are free to decline."

Harper squeezed his eyes shut. Iro...he could barely remember the magician. During their trip to Siren Lake the man had gotten sick and was sent to live with one of the nobodies in Nowhere's square. He assumed his friend was alright, but he guessed he had assumed wrong. "Okay," his voiced cracked, "I'm staying and...we're all going home together."