---

"Hey, do you know where we are? And if you do can you point me to the nearest exit please?" Tylissa looked over towards the person who asked this, but was too confused by his presence to answer the question. Unlike the two figures that were combating each other, this one seemed somewhat normal for what a human was supposed to look like. And although he may have looked young for one, this was definitely an adult that Tylissa was looking at, judging by the fact that he had to slouch in order put his eye level to meet her own.

"Huh. And here I was thinking that I was too old to be affected..." Tylissa noted aloud.

It was here that yet another man had showed up, having appeared from behind the both of them. This man had an attire that wouldn't be out of place in the military, which would make Tylissa wonder if he'd served the country at some point.

"WOAH!! THERE'S AN ARMY BOY IN HERE, TOO??!!" Tylissa exclaimed, "WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON??!!"

This in turn was only met by a shushing motion by the supposed military man in question. It seemed as though he would've made said motion either way, but he'd definitely would've with how loud Tylissa was back then. He then gestured for both Tylissa and the other guy to follow him. Tylissa was reluctant; after all, she hadn't even seen or heard enough about the fight to determine who the good guy was, and the spells they were firing off were an amazing spectacle to behold. But something about that man gave Tylissa a sense that she wouldn't be safe without him nearby. It was likely the fact that military personnel were usually more aware of their exact surroundings than civilians were... or, even if that wasn't the case, they'd at least be more capable of adapting on the fly.

...

Sure enough, everyone was far enough from the fight that there'd be no chance that they be caught in the crossfire. This was partially to Tylissa's dismay, as she really wanted to watch the two figures duke it out and see the good guy come out on top... although not knowing who was the good guy was making it harder to root for either one of them. In that respect, perhaps it'd be better if she didn't know who the victor would be. And if the good guy was defeated, who knew where the bad guy would go next? In any case...

"I'm guessing you two were also dropped into this world; through a mirror while you were dreaming, right?" asked the military man. That got Tylissa thinking, back to when that dream all started.

"Hey, yeah, that mirror. I remember reaching out towards it. Found out that my hand could phaze through it, then my hand got stuck; couldn't move it all. And then something dragged my whole arm in and took the rest of me...!" while she was describing what'd happened to her, she realized that she completely forgot to ask the obvious question, and slowly lulled her head over to one side as she looked over towards the military man, "Wwwwaaaaiiiiit aaaaa minute, how do you know about a mirror in a dream?"

"What about the gryphon or the mock turtle?" Maria asked the rabbit her knowledge wasn't the best on this subject but she was sure the gryphon was one of those who was one of Alice's main allies in the fairy tale. If she remembered one of the biggest evils per say from lewis carrol was the Jabberwocky. This concerned her quite a bit if the Jabberwocky was a thing it meant it could only be killed by the vorpal blade. "Does this mean the Jabberwocky is working with this queen figure." She added a bit of fear creeping into her throat that thing that chased them was bad as it was. The idea of facing something that needed a special weapon something that was unique is its existence spelt trouble. With a gulp, Maria looked at the white rabbit and with a solid look in her eyes, she stared at the rabbit that pulled them into the mess she was furious at it, yes but right now it was their only hope of surviving it seems. "You brought us here for a reason as you said now how do you expect us to fight or help?"

The little girl looked quite confused, was it the question or was she confused why Arthur was here. Even though there was two crazy...things throwing magic at each other, she didn't look scared or shaken. Arthur waited for a response from the child but got nothing but silence. hmmm she doesn't talk much, well at least she's human, hopefully.

"Huh. And here I was thinking that I was too old to be affected..."

"Wait, what do you mean too old to be affected?" Arthur whispers in a confused tone. Wait a minute. is she talking about P3? Arthur heard about P3 on the news. But they said that it only affected kids from ages 4 to 12, maybe they were wrong and just no one older or younger then those ages got affected, till today. "Wait, are you talking about P3?"

Before Arthur got a response from the little girl he felt a tapping on his shoulder. Arthur turned his head to face the person that poked him, it was what seemed to be a male soldier.

"WOAH!! THERE'S AN ARMY BOY IN HERE, TOO??!!"

"Quite, there's no need to scr.." Arthur was about to finish when he got cut off by the little girl.

"WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON??!!"

Arthur was quite surprised that she didn't attract the attention of two things fight over there. The soldier put his finger over his mouth, he tilted his head behind him and took a few steps back, he was probably signalling us to follow him. Arthur didn't really know if he should trust this guy yet, but at the same time it may be smarter to trust him and follow his lead, he is a soldier after all

"Who are you?" Arthur whispered, but before he could get a response the soldier and the girl started to run.

Arthur has two choices, stay where he was and probably get killed by thing one and thing two or run away with the soldier and the girl. "Fuck it!" Arthur started to run with the soldier, the soldier was fast but Arthur was able to keep up. Once we got far enough away from thing one and thing two the soldier stopped and began to talk.

"...We should be safe for now, but not for very long. There's a lot more monsters in these woods than just those two. ...I'm guessing you two were also dropped into this world; through a mirror while you were dreaming, right?"

"But not for very long?! What is going on I want some answers now, here's one, where the hell are we!" Arthur said in a very angry tone. So, I'm not the only one who had the dream than.

"Hey, yeah, that mirror. I remember reaching out towards it. Found out that my hand could phaze through it, then my hand got stuck; couldn't move it all. And then something dragged my whole arm in and took the rest of me...!"

I was just pushed inside the mirror. He would talk more about what happened in the dream but he didn't feel comfortable talking about it. He was still pretty shaken by what happened in that dream, it's not every day you get to see a house burn down with you inside it.

"Wwwwaaaaiiiiit aaaaa minute, how do you know about a mirror in a dream?"

"I pretty sure we all had these weird dreams, I'm just wondering if this is due to P3 or not." He says to the little girl. "Wait, before we go any further, I want to know your names." Arthur says in a calm voice. "I'll start, my name is Arthur Walsh"

@AdmrlStalfos19 @The Jest

Nicola Khumalo

Nicky was most deflated upon hearing that there was, as far as the bunny told them, no way out of this place. It only got worse from there. He spoke of how they were all in comas, that death here was for real, and apparently there was somebody hiding as an older boy among them this whole time. The last one was just a baffling cherry on top of this cake of negativity. Nicky didn't want to sit here and puzzle over why some young kid was pretending to be a larger teenager, she wanted to go home and crawl back in bed. Of course, it sounded like she really was still in bed in reality, but that didn't help her in the least.

Nicky was quite keen to tune out and resign herself to this misery when they started talking of the evil queen and the trapped children. Nicky was almost unhappy that they were even brought up. How could she rightfully ignore something like that? Her conscience started eating at the back of her head; no matter how much she didn't want to be a part of this, her heart could not ignore a the plight of these people.

"Um, I just want to say I'll help any way I can." Nicky piped up. That was all she wanted to say right now. She didn't have any deep questions about the group's cohesion or anything like that. She assumed they would be told what they would be doing in a few moments.

@The Jest

Jacob Michael Wolf
Another day in of living this hell hole of apartment, the floors are creaking and it smells like wet dog that just died. As soon I figure out how to get a job so can be able to get out Fucking nightmare, I skip dinner because I wasn't hungry since I eaten two burgers before hand, While I noticed the sun was setting and the clock was almost 7 p.m even though I didn't need to sleep I walk into my bathroom and grab some pills to help me sleep, I do quick brush on my teeth and decided to just skip the shower. My room was nothing more then a bed and lamp dresser next to it with only a clock and my wallet, the pills start to really take effect I quickly took off my glasses and slumped down face first on the bed with the pillow in my face. I often ignore my dream, because they are often dull or empty or maybe I simply don't remember...........

DREAM
My world was often grey, but tonight was different my dreams were mostly mountains and a huge lake in the middle and a tiny island with an odd looking building appearing as if it was always there. I approach the building and see it completely abandon, all dark and cold and water dripping everywhere I see a hallway in the corner their I stumble across portals on what appear to be mirrors or simply a window of some sorts, I don't know what to make of them, I'm now afraid what would happen if I touched one. They started glowing I had no idea what the hell was going on and all the lights started to really get in my eye's I keep bumping the walls, and then I felt something that was like jelly, but not sticky and my hand was being sucked into no matter how hard I struggle it keeps pulling me until my whole body it taken I move so fast I almost feel sick. I open my eyes to see some of forest from a stupid fairy tale cause I was clearly seeing some sort of weird looking animal with a hat on and smile if he tries to get his hands on me then I am gone, I quickly get up and walk away despite the that thing following me.

Luke mostly listened to the rabbit for the only thing he honestly cared about - the way out. This "looking glass" that the creature refered to was apparently the strange mirror that he had seen when he first entered the dream, and while he was getting sick of the small creatures condescending attitude, he refused to make a comment - mother always said to be nice to people if you could, and he didn't really want to get on the bad side of some demon monster, especially when he has no control over this dream. What did piss him off was how the rabbit blatantly admitted to bringing them despite knowing that they were unable to return. Luke quickly grew angry, preparing for the damn rat to stop rambling on and on so that he could interject - he was always taught never to interrupt, and the habit unfortunately carried over when speaking with someone as unpleasant as the rodent. That immediately stopped as soon as the creature pulled out a gun and shot another kid in the damn head. The wound was superficial at best, and there wasn't even any real blood, but Luke couldn't care less.

"The fuck are you doing ya damn rat!? You nearly killed the kid you brought over!?"

Luke felt the intense desire to strangle the damn rodent as he blatantly ignored Luke, continuing on his monologue. Eventually, the rabbit ended on the message of freeing the children that the news had been ranting on and on about for the last few months, those afflicted with P3 syndrome. While Luke did feel sympathetic towards them, he held the rabbit in extreme caution - the creature had to be keeping something secret, and was obviously unstable. It shot a fucking child for god's sake! A child that it brought into a nightmare specifically over to help.

This was the moment that Luke realized this wasn't a dream. He didn't do drugs, and he sure as hell wasn't this creative. But most of all, Luke couldn't imagine creating such an unlikable creature from his own subconscious. It was taking great willpower not to cuss the small creature out, but the boy that was shot quickly began to deform, resulting in a new appearance and a somewhat disgruntled child. The worry that Luke held rose even more considering his appearance had changed incredibly, and was only cushioned by the fact that the boy was generally uncaring towards the change. A blond child spoke, bringing up a very good point - the fact that most of the group didn't really care about each other. Luke didn't dislike any of the people that were present, but he couldn't really say he cared either. A far better option would have been to pull people who were sleeping in a close vicinity - at least then, they would be familiar with one another.

A man older than Luke brought up the best point so far - While Luke cared greatly for the sufferers of P3 syndrome thanks to his prior experiences with comas, he despised the rabbit for dragging them to some nightmare simply because they "needed help" against some queen. Perhaps a "Hey, please help out" rather than telling them what they had to do after dragging them into a figurative and literal deathtrap. Luke nodded as the man spoke. As soon as he found an opening, Luke began to speak.

"Fuck you, Mr. Rat. The guy in the trench coat is right. If we believe what you're saying, you dragged at least a dozen or so people into a world against their will, and one guy died because of it. For all he knew, this was a dream, and he wanted to be a big damn hero. Now you're telling us to help you, someone we should by all means hate right now? If you hadn't mentioned the P3 syndrome afflicted and didn't have that gun, I'd really want to kick your shit in."

@The Jest

The High Priestess - Meredith Fong

With her face scrunched up in thought, it could be seen that Meredith Fong was currently in the midst of an identity crisis.

Well, the use of the word 'crisis' was probably a bit way more intense than what she was really actually experiencing, so the young woman proceeded to mentally dial the severity of her terms down a few notches for a slightly more accurate description of the situation that had engulfed her.

With her face scrunched up in thought, it could be seen that Meredith Fong was currently debating the nature of her identity.

She hadn't really expected herself to be doing such a thing, not when she was learning all about the strange dream-like world that she and everyone had been throw head-first into from one of the natives (inhuman beings that called themselves 'Shadows', which was actually a pretty fitting name now that she thought a bit deeper into it - very Jungian fellows hidden behind a mirror in a 'Wonderland' where the ego rarely tread), but it was hard not to be thinking so hard when she, or whatever she was right now, was separate from her mind and body, the stuff that one would usually expect to be ... her.

If she thought herself to be Meredith Fong, currently a disembodied collection of ego and other parts of herself that was still recognisably her (maybe akin to a Hindu avatar with the exception of her not really being a divinity?), then was what was left behind still her? If the her in her day to day life was in a way comatose, then it was still breathing and doing things that she would usually be doing in the middle of a night time snooze, so wouldn't it be still her? Or, was it like trying to log into her Runescape account from another computer when she was already logged in on that World, so there was still just this disembodied bit of 'her' that hung around in sea of souls, and the her right now was maybe another physical terminal that was transmitting 'her' while the body she knew best was disconnected?

Hm, she was kinda seriously getting lost.

Back to the basics.

Theory Hypothesis 1: a blob of immaterial stuff was the real her, and the her right now was just a meat-suit, or maybe a suit of Shadow stuff, that was being powered by the blob of immaterial stuff.

Theory Hypothesis 2: there were now two Meredith Fongs.

Wondering about what type of thingajig her ego really was aside, that minor musing about Hindu avatars really seemed to make sense here. The rabbit alien wanted them to help it fight against its enemy aliens, who were responsible for the unfortunate states of the poor kids back on Earth. It had been a long-winded journey to this point, and while the way they were being recruited didn't really seem to her like a way to get a slick reception, she could see the appeal of it. Very much the departure stage, which means she could tentatively label them as "good" and the people who were holding the kids hostage as "bad".

And cycling that back to the avatar thing, even if the immaterial Meredith Fong didn't exist, she was pretty sure that avatarana could totally apply here. Not perfect fit, and maybe 'incarnation' in the Christian sense could be better? She didn't know any theologians who could help her out there, and - she glanced around at the assembled others, whose responses varied considerably - she didn't know if everyone else could help her out there either.

But anyway, she wasn't an unborn, changeless thing. Meredith Fong was very changeable.

But she had in some way descended from somewhere to help 'protect the good, destroy the evil and establish dharma'. Right? Because that sounded like the gist of what the rabbit wanted them all to do. Maybe it wasn't as simple as that, but that was okay to her. Even if the specifics were super vague, she could at least say that were really kids in danger.

Therefore, she decided she'd try save the kids.

She wasn't here to bring an end to the kali yuga.

She wasn't here to fight in a war alongside the Pandavas.

She wasn't here to be an ideal example of dharma.

She was more like a simple animal that was just here to bring some people back to their proper place, away from the "bad".

The thing/person/identity that considered itself Meredith Fong (she quickly decided that it was better to just think of herself as one-hundred-percent Meredith Fong for now, because she could ponder the consequences later) was perfectly willing to do that. Everything else could be dealt with later.

It wasn't good to leave so many parents worrying.

"I want to help the kids," she spoke out loud, a smile gracing her face as her crimson eyes crinkled. "That's fine, right?"

Rhys looked on in silent satisfaction as the group's guide finally began to disclose the answers they had been promised, despite the shows of boorish behaviour from some of the others. Though the answers the Rabbit disclosed were anything but what he, and likely the others wanted to hear. First and foremost, escape was apparently impossible as this "looking glass " was a one way trip for human beings. Rhys expected as such, but his expectations made the grim truth no easier to bear. They were locked in this world of nightmarish madness for the foreseeable future, yet for what cause?

Of course there's no way for us to leave, why would the White Rabbit bother bringing us to Wonderland if we could simply leave of our own volition?

The Rabbit's assailant from earlier seemed to be compelled to interject yet again, donning an insufferably arrogant look all the while. Rhys simply glared at him once more as he continued his childish tirade. The Rabbit's confession to summoning the group did not surprise Rhys in the slightest, what did catch his attention however, was the revelation that the group assembled before him was not deliberately picked. They were randomly summoned due to their collective possession of potential? There had to be some form of mistake in that case...
Sudden words of praise from the Rabbit pulled Rhys from his pondering as he bowed his head in order to show his respect. He lost himself in his thoughts for a moment as he questioned the supposed "potential" he possessed. Potential? Of what sort, I wonder? If we all have it, it cannot possibly be physical... Perhaps intellectual? But what purpose would that serve? What's the missing link in all this?

A question from one of the ladies in the group piqued Rhys's interest as well. If this truly was a dream world, the group would logically wake up at some point. The answer the Rabbit gave was simply put, a horrifying reality. The word "comatose" caused a chill colder than the grave to shoot through the boy's body as he realized that he and everyone else here had suddenly become prisoners of their own minds. Could this mean... No... Impossible... it has to be.... Out of sheer shock, Rhys struggled to formulate a clear train of thought, terrifying possibilities barraging him from all angles.

In the next instant, a deafening blast banished all of those imaginary insurgents, though what Rhys saw next was not much easier on his psyche. The man standing next to him now had a gaping hole where his forehead once was... and the one wielding the fatal instrument was none other than the White Rabbit. The man's form seemed to crack as if he were made of glass, and much like glass, the man shattered. Curiously though, a boy with similar features was left standing where the man he was conversing with was shot. A yet greater oddity was his seemingly nonchalant attitude regarding this event.

What in the name of all that is holy just happened?!

Rhys attempted to process this strange course of events as the Rabbit revealed that death was just as unforgiving in Wonderland, and that if they perished here, they would truly be cast into the eternal slumber. In that instant Rhys's thoughts drifted back to the other boy from earlier... He didn't realize it then, but now it was made clear. He had witnessed murder. The boy unknowingly marched to his death by the all-consuming blaze... A true tragedy.

Finally the Rabbit got around to what Rhys had wanted to know since landing in the forest, the reason that they were brought here. They were to assist in freeing the children stolen away by P3. A noble cause indeed, yet it was not as simple as that. There was a mastermind behind the abductions as well, something Rhys did not expect. As the White Rabbit spoke of this Queen and her multitude of misdeeds which included the kidnapping of the children, Rhys felt something deep down.

A rising righteous fury directed at the fell tyrant who would dare to abduct children. The Rabbit needed to say nothing more to convince Rhys to joining their rebellion, his mind was made up. He waited for the Shadow to finish as he internally tempered the anger he felt into a cold and ironclad resolve.

"Such a grand injustice demands retribution... I for one, would be more than happy to help you dethrone this despicable despot. Though that begs the question, just how are we able to help you? I highly doubt that anything we could currently do would be of much use. Does it perchance have anything to do with the potential you mentioned moments ago?"

@The Jest@Avant@EchoicChamber@CronicCrystalis@Crimmy@Petulant@Letter Bee@Duoya@rebthewriter@Etranger@Suku@Windstormugly

The situation... might be more dire than Jeremy had previously thought. If the White Rabbit was truthful, and no matter how intricate his dreams had a right to be, they wouldn't create this. He still wasn't convinced, but maybe this was more real than a simple dream.
The notion of not being able to leave, was far more impactful than the Rabbit telling them that the P3 kids had all been abducted into this "wonderland". Feeling any sense of duty to save those without power, was a weakness. The only thing of importance was that he got back to his own body, if the Rabbit was telling the truth of course. In which case the quickest way may not be helping them, maybe that "potential" could prove another way out as well.

One of them turning into a younger smaller version and the back and forth with the Rabbit indicated something like the mind, and especially the subconscious was the stronger forces in this place.
The younger man on the bench turned out to have one of the strongest opinions for the Rabbit, one that Jeremy could understand, but saw no profit from pusruing, the "shadow in their midst" as it were currently held all the cards, it would be better to gain more knowledge on the possibilities open for them. But then again, not everyone could be as calm and collected as himself, Jeremy thought as he brushed off some dust from his suit.

Now now everyone, if the situation is as dire as our host says, there has to be some plan or they woldn't have brought us here now rather than later. Mr Rabbit? Jeremy said. All those talking about their divided station were right, they had to unite or group firmly before any steps forward could properly be taken. He would wake up.

Hitomi couldn't help but notice that some of them were still terrified that this Rabbit was going to kill them all. Eh, then why did he saved them? He could've easily let them all be killed right there, but choose not to. They were just letting the trauma of being sent here drive them crazy. Sure, she was worried herself, but having it get to her head wasn't going to help the situation get better.

She listened to the Rabbit answering all their questions. Hitomi thought she could possibly understand what the White Rabbit was saying, "Let me see if I'm following with your answer; are these shadows the things that are made from the hearts and minds of people in our world?" She was surprised at the words of the children being captured, "If you need our help to save the lost children, then I'm sure that you do have some sort of a plan in mind to what we can do, right?" She couldn't imagine what was going to happen to them if they didn't try to help those children.

The shot that was fired at Gale's head took her completely by surprise. Her eyes widened at the sight of it but noticed there was no blood coming out of it. He wasn't in his normal form either. The light from him dimmed and it seems he was very...small now. She thought Gale was kind of...adorable at this point.

The White Rabbit's request then came out to them.

Hitomi found herself clenching her fists. She couldn't just sit here when all these children were getting hurt. She wanted to save them. They didn't deserve what was done to them. She took a step forward and spoke, "I'm in, but I do have another question for you, sir." She sighed, "I want to know what we can do to prepare for fighting the Queen. You have to have some sort of plan for us to prepare. Otherwise, you wouldn't have brought us here in the first place."

(Disclaimer: Petulant, due to personal circumstances on his part, is currently on temporary leave and has granted me permission to use his characters to keep the RP going.)

Butter Daisy Forest

The three shadows, titans each in their own right, continued their two-on-one battle within the further destroyed region of the forest, the trees and grounds around them, already seared by the great inferno that was once there, now being ravaged by other elements unnaturally thrown about. What was once scalding hot was now a freezing cold as ice started to blanket the burning lands, the powerful winds tearing apart the hardened trees around them, even electricity, lightning, could be seen flickering in the distance. It was as if nature was at war with itself.

As they thought however, the hatted one took a quick glance towards the direction his companions led the humans down, as if sensing that they were fine now...almost all of them anyways. With but a whistle, he called the Bandersnatch back to his side.

"Well now, this Farce has been fun as always, dear joker, but I'm afraid we must again call a draw. Farewell." He said to the Black Rabbit, and the two suddenly disappearing in a flash of light, leaving the Black Rabbit standing in the middle of a nature-torn wasteland that formerly belong to the forest it now contrasts, in silent frustration.

He knew already why the Hatter decided to leave; it was obvious. However, they could not stay where he hid them forever, eventually they will come out and into the open; it would be easy to erase them all once they crawl out of their haven... But no, this situation with the rebellion has swollen with the arrival of these humans in the first place, and so this must be reported to the queen immediately.

Still, he could not let this potential opening go to waste, and with that in mind, he made manifest a small deck of playing cards, a sudden gust of wind blowing eight cards - Specifically the Jacks and Kings of Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, and Clubs - out of his hand and scattering around him.

"My Royal house...come forth." He said to no one in particular, or so it seemed. The cards the flew from his hands suddenly stopped short of touching the ground, The cards suddenly faded out and shaded in all of the colors on their card until their backs and faces were nothing more than pure black. Suddenly, they grew large and shifted forms, becoming what appeared to be the silhouettes of eight humanoid figures, each and every one with yellow eyes like his own.

"You have seen all that I have seen; you know of the sins the White Rabbit has now commited, and who he brought forth. As soon as they leave their haven, intercept and destroy all but one of them...you know of the one I speak." The Black Rabbit said to them. Without a word, the eight silhouettes were scattered across the forest, while the Black Rabbit himself walked off, no doubt heading for the Queen's castle.

---

On the way back to the Sanctuary, the two rebels, Hatter in particular, crossed eyes with one of the newer humans, Jacob Wolf. Considering how fast he was going, combined with the way he looked and the fact that the man happened to be on the road the others took to get to his Sanctuary, it was only natural for him to assume that he was some inhuman creature that was following him. For that split second of contact, he noticed two things: First, that there were humans besides him in the distance that seemed to be heading his way. The Second: That the ol' Rabbit titan summoned up his goons and are doubtlessly scattering about. Under normal circumstances, he would guide them all to the sanctum every other human was, personally. However, now that his personal forces were here, he could not risk leading them to it as well.

Therefore the only other option, was to leave, and return with reinforcements, the other humans. With that in mind, he swiftly continued his run with Bandersnatch back into the Rabbit Hole.

Hopefully, the White Rabbit was done explaining things to the humans by now.

---

Tyler nodded in agreement with Arthur as he evidently answered Tylissa's question for him.

"As he said, I know because I saw the same mirror drag me out from my dream, and I'm certain now more than ever that the other humans I saw have the same story. As for my name: Tyler Blackmore. But that's not important right now. ...Listen carefully, Other humans outside the age of P3 syndrome were dropped into this world just like you two. They were being chased by that monster back there and were led down into that hole over there by a White Rabbit...I don't know the details, but it seems the rabbit was benign, so wherever that hole leads...it's safer than here. ...Or it could be a death trap they were lured into, I can't deny the possibility. Even so..." Tyler explained to the two, however before he could continue on, something caught the corner of his eye. He looked over to where he saw whatever it was, being sure to get in front of the other two so as to keep them safe behind him...only to look closer and notice that it was yet another human, this one a little more...heavy-looking and so easier to spot, and sure enough, it seems he happened to be walking the same forest path everyone else was, most likely without knowing it. While extending his finger towards the other two in silence, signalling them to wait, he approached closer into the path to take a closer look at the man. It seems, by the look of things, he only just got here, and had no idea where he was walking, only following the path.

"...Hey!" He said, trying to get the man's attention. He looked around quickly as he did, checking to see if it was safe for the other two, than signalling them to come over as the coast was clear. As soon as he did, he walked out onto the path towards Jacob Wolf, scanning the man from top to bottom for any injuries. By the sheer lack of them, it can be assumed that, like Tylissa and Arthur, he only just recently dropped into this world.

"Stepped through a mirror as well, right?" He asked this new man.

@AdmrlStalfos19 @Godlikeblade @Godzillafreak54

--------------------------

Hatter's Sanctuary

"Oh dear, the stupidity's worse than I thought."

The White Rabbit raised an eyebrow in response to the naysayers' comments, more specifically the brown-haired man who was comforting the child not that long ago...the child that was always a child, not the one the White Rabbit shot and became a child, an action of which he flat out ignored Luke's complaint about. He already knew what was going to happen, to explain his actions would have been a waste of time, it was much easier for the big man to see it for himself. He stayed silent while Cronic, Snow, and then Luke eventually stated their own complaints on the methods he used. ...Luke in particularly being more "aggressive" than the others.

"Rat...That's a new one." He thought.

"And here, it's considered rude to hide your true self under a such blatant veil of deceit, especially when it's towards yourself...dangerously so, in fact." He then said to Gale in response. He then sighed as he returned focus to Cronic and Luke, closed his eyes, and began rubbing his little hands all over his face at a rather fast pace, inhumanly so, and then heavily cleared his throat when he was done.

When he opened them up again, he suddenly had a goofy smile and large puppy-dog like shiny eyes on him, making the little rabbit look less like a walking version of the animal, and more like an exaggerated kid's mascot, staring into Cronic and Luke's eyes in particular.

"Hiya, I'm the White Rabbit and I represent Wonderland! I'm terribly sorry for interrupting your dream, but there's a war going on against a terrible queen in Wonderland right now, who's kidnapped a bunch of children kidnapped from your world and keeping them hostage in her castle! Will you join me, the Mad Hatter, and the rest of the rebellion to defeat the evil queen and save the children? Just know that if you enter Wonderland, you won't be able to leave until it's done, and if you get killed in Wonderland, you'll never wake up. But despite that, could you help us, pwetty-pwease!?" The White Rabbit asked, in an uncharacteristically, and almost intentionally annoyingly high-pitch, as if he dropped the mature character and just outright became a cartoon, his arms moving around as he spoke before holding them together in a begging notion as he finished, his large blue eyes looking watery.

In mere seconds, he returned back to his normal posture, holding a fist to his mouth and clearing his throat, even his eyes going back to how they were before, as if switching character yet again.

"Welp, just outright stole her shtick, she's not gonna stay silent for much longer after that. Things are gonna get annoying soon. ...But it had to be done, should just make the most of my time for now." He thought as he returned to normal once again, opening his eyes and looking at the group.

"Show of hands now, How many of you would have actually, honestly, believed what I just said? How many of you would have accepted that proposition, had I actually entered your dreams and asked you? Those whose hands are still up, answer me with all honesty, how many of you, had you believed what I said and entered here with me, would have done what that man did against the Black Rabbit? ...The fact is, if there's one thing I know for a fact about humans, it's that they're a real skeptical bunch. Anything that is outside your knowledge of reality you render as false, anything you can't understand, you fear and discard. Even after I said what I did, I bet some of you still believe this is merely a dream. I bet some of you still don't believe a word I said so far and will try to escape this world, even when you can't. If pulling you out of your dreams wasn't enough to convince you, what in the world makes you think that me going into your dreams and explaining there as oppose to here would be any different or better?" The White Rabbit said to them, before then proceeding to take hold of a few pocket watches.

"Besides... we don't have the luxury of time. The Looking Glass is only active for the hour of Midnight in your world. To top it off, The Queen has already stolen away a considerable number of children; even now as we speak more children are falling into this world and right into the hands of the queen's soldiers. It won't be long now before she has enough of them together in her castle, after which being stuck in this world will be the least of your worries." He then explained as he started handing over pocket watches to the humans one at a time.

"...What the hell is that suppose to mean?" Adam asked him.

"I will explain that later...well, I and not I at the same time. For now, the other questions come first." The White Rabbit said, the way he phrased that sentence outright perplexing both Adam and Alice. "I and not I"? What is that suppose to mean? Seems he wasn't going to answer that particular question. In reality, much like with the bullet, he's waiting to let them see for themselves what he means. He looked towards the ones who accepted the situation, who agreed to help him, and sighed again, this time it was clearly one of relief. Then, of the people who agreed, looked towards Hector, Rhys, and Maria, all of whom showed their respective acceptance of the situation...and effectively asked the same question. Maria seemed a little more... knowledgeable of the who's who of Wonderland, and Hitomi seemed to be learning about the situation well enough, so their first questions he decided to bring up first.

"We lost contact with Gryphon and Mock Turtle sometime ago... They could still be hiding, but it's just as possible that they were already executed. ...As for Jabberwocky, you need not worry. He is also an ally of the rebellion. As for you, yes that about sums up what we are. ...Now then, to answer the next question all of you have, I need to start off by returning to the point made by that boy there." The Rabbit said, first to Maria, and then Hitomi, before looking towards Snow.

"Like Time, we also didn't have the luxury of choice; not just anyone can be able to fight in this world, and we needed as many who can as we could possibly muster, regardless of their individual qualities. Believe me, if we had any say on the matter, we'd prefer more humans who would look more capable to commit to warfare, let alone with more cohesion. But the mirror chose you all because you have what they don't. Sir Sarcastic over there is correct under normal circumstances. The weapons you humans create in your world, and even ones formed here, are ineffective alone against the Shadows, as is your physical strength both there and here. The giant with the vulgar mouth could very well try and follow through on his words, for instance, but will soon find that it's useless...at least in his current state. Point being: Even if you aren't best for each other, you are all the best we have. If you can't work together then we will all suffer for it. The queen will not take your presence here lightly, and more feral shadows out there will treat you like their prey. You are all enemies of this land just as much as we are, and so we are all on the same boat. You will just have to work around this issue of division." The White Rabbit explained to him. As he did, the others would notice as smaller black globs began to crawl towards the Rabbit from behind, clearly coming from the mouse-hatted woman who guided them to this sanctuary in the first place. As soon as they touched the White Rabbit, they seem to phase right through his fur and disappear as if being absorbed into the Rabbit.

"My ability is not meant to be cuisine, White." She told him outright as she finished "feeding" the Rabbit with those things. It seems that she was silently giving the Rabbit the little shadows from seemingly out of nowhere ever since he requested it, and only just finished.

"I apologize, Dorm. There wasn't any time to work on mass-producing the chronovoker before the summoning, and I did not expect the amount we got."

"Chronovoker? ...You mean these Pocket watches?" Alice then asked as she looked at the one she was given.

"Yes, but they're not just any pocket watch, The Chronovoker is a device that taps into your consciousness and manifest the potential into power, as well as overall physical prowess. In other words, these watches are the means to defending yourself and fighting your enemies here. Using it is simple enough: Open the lid by pushing a button on the side, focus your thoughts into a resolve of some kind, be it determination to survive or defeat your enemies, until those thoughts gains shape inside the Chronovoker, then close the lid back up. You only have to do it once, then the Chronovoker imprints your ego into its glass and you only have to call it out and close the lid again. These Chronovokers are vital to your defense and survival, and as you may have noticed, it takes a lot out of me to create spares, so don't lose yours." The White Rabbit explained.

Alice listened on as he continued his explanations to the team, before finally speaking out.

"I'll go too. I don't really know about this stuff going on, but if what you said is true, then the consciousness of the effected kids are trapped here just like we are. If we can help them, I wanna give it a try." Alice said to the rabbit, him smiling as a result. Adam, looked to the ground, staying silent as the rabbit continued his explanation as he thought about the current situation at hand. After Alice said her piece, he looked over to her and then towards the White Rabbit.

"...Very well. If the children of P3 syndrome are here as you say, then I'll help in getting them back....I have to help in getting them back." He then said. ...Of course, if he has any reason to believe the White Rabbit or anyone else here was lying, or has shown to do anything to those kids, he'll every last one of these shadows pay for it.

One particular person, a fellow muscular man beside Luke, stayed silent throughout all of this explanation, simply listening to everyone's questions and the White Rabbit's answers, or lack thereof, while he sat on a chair by the tea table. Nevermind the fact that they were apparently trapped in this world with no way out, it was not hard to deduce another situation that could be a problem with time...

"If we're affected by P3 Syndrome as the Rabbit says, there's gonna be panic in the morning when everyone wakes up. People were fine as it is in the city, since it only effected children. We're the proof that whatever safety they have is thrown out the window. Hope you know what to do, old man." He thought. After some time, he finally stood up and looked towards them.

"...I'm in too." The man, Chase, simply said. The White Rabbit gave a smile as the people he gathered started to see things his way. However, he then noticed something going on with the child who asked about the situation, the same one in a panic earlier. There was a dark aura of sorts going around him, his eyes beginning to flow yellow. As he noticed this, the White Rabbit's own blue eyes shifted into a red color.

"Oh dear... GET BACK!" The White Rabbit yelled towards Cronic, his normal voice being heard as he expressed concerned, but when he yelled, it was with a completely different voice, more high-pitched, feminine even. The White Rabbit immediately jumped towards Cronic, and pushed him away from Snow before jumping back him(?)self. The dark aura, without a warning, a scream or even a sound, completely consumed the boy until he was completely out of sight in a cocoon of complete ebony. The cocoon thinned out and twisted, giant wings burst out spreading outward, the top of the cocoon opening up like a mouth stretching outward and upward before turning on itself and colliding back onto itself. The cocoon was pressed to the ground before dissipating and melting into the ground.

At the end of it all, there was nothing left...

"What, the, HELL, was that!?" Adam asked. He, and Alice both witnessed what happened to Snow with utter horror, Alice in particular holding her mouth as she watched, utterly speechless. Chase also looked in silent horror at what just happened to the boy, then towards the Rabbit that apparently saved Cronic from it effecting him as well.

"Mmm....Mmmph..." The Rabbit groaned, his pitch still higher than it was before. If one was to notice him, like Chase did, they would notice that the rabbit's clothes were, all of a sudden, different. Before, he had a red dress coat over his white body, giving him a look that was as pompous, suave, and aristocratic as he himself believes to be. Now he was wearing a rather...sillier white dress, puffed up and decorated in red trinkets like a clown's suit, complete with puffy clown collar. His single golden monocle was now apparently a pair of round reading glasses, and his sky blue eyes were now red, slowly opening them and, rather uncharacteristically, jumping in shock at the humans she saw there.

"Oh dear...Oh dear, oh dear, oh bun-making dear!" She said frantically, as she looked at them, then at the spot where Snow was.

"Umm...Rabbit? Are you okay?" Alice asked her.

"Forget about me, is everyone else alright!?" The rabbit said in response.

"What...I mean, I'm fine, but more importantly, What just happened!?" Adam said, being caught off guard by this sudden chain of events that occurred.

"Ummm...With that boy, or with me?"

"BOTH!" Adam yelled. Uncharacteristically for the Rabbit, who seemed calm and composed even when the others were throwing insults, sarcasm, and threats, The White Rabbit jumped in shock at his loud voice as if startled, pulling down her long ears to herself and reeling back in fear.

"...U-umm...That boy couldn't keep complete control over his emotions...It became a shadow and...and it ate him...Losing control here is dangerous, especially for people who already have the potential to use our powers like you guys...and as a result, his shadow...fought back. ...Grrr...I told them it was a bad idea...I did. Bringing untrained people to this world is dangerous. Nobody listens to the bunny!" The White Rabbit said in a fluster. Unlike the rabbit that they came to know, this one was clearly scared of everyone, and not quite as dedicated to the task...

It was as if...this White Rabbit was a completely different person.

"Odd for something like this to have Split Personality disorder..." Chase thought.

"You misunderstand, Jill. ...It's not that we did not listen to you, we all knew the risks of bringing them here like you have, but the current situation has become to dire to not take the risk." A voice said from behind, as out from the rabbit hole came the very two beings that assisted in their escape, the Bandersnatch and the Mad Hatter. The latter clearly the one speaking as he finished his statement as soon as he entered. As the Bandersnatch walked to his own little section of the Sanctuary, the Mad Hatter looked towards the area where Snow used to be, frowning as he did.

"Hatter, you're back!" The White Rabbit, known as "Jill", said.

"Hatter? ...So, you're the leader of this rebellion?" Adam asked.

"Yes...I am the one you humans have named the Mad Hatter. Allow me to apologize for luring you all into this predicament. We did not imagine the Black Rabbit would show up so soon...nor did we anticipate the possibility of instability. I assume Peter has already given you most of the situation before he exhausted himself." The Mad Hatter said to them as he walked towards the far end of the tea table, taking a seat on the throne he had there.

"Peter...?" Alice asked.

"Hm...I assume he hasn't explained his own part in this. ...The White Rabbit is special, even among shadows such as us. While it appears as one singular identity, it is in fact, two identities fused together to form his current self, a male and a female one. The male one that you met in the forest is identified as Peter White, while the one standing before you, is Jill White. They cannot harbor the same body at the same time, so they are always switching between each other whenever possible." The Mad Hatter said.

"In other words, Split Personality Disorder."

"I suppose you could call it that, but for Shadows like us, it's more like two shadows are within the same space at all times. It's not really two separate personalities within the same mind; it is much more akin to two identical but distinct shadows possessing the same space at the same time, an incomplete fusion, one might say."

"So...the White Rabbit is actually two people in one? ...More importantly, a boy was there until just moments ago, what happened to him!?"

"...Ah, ...it was a boy you say? The blonde one from the forest I imagine. ...I must sincerely apologize. Here in this realm, human emotions are made manifest and greatly exaggerate, as they are free from the subconscious cage that humans place them in often. To have the power to fight in this realm is to have the potential to wield our power, as I'm sure Peter has already explained, so it was assumed that such a tragedy was impossible to happen. To briefly summarize, Emotions and thoughts are power in this realm, they are to this place what life is to your world. An unstable thoughts, likewise, becomes unstable power here. If a human consciousness was to lose control of their thoughts and emotions, then those very same thoughts and emotions shall manifest themselves as shadows, a feral kind unlike us. The first instinct that will come to their minds upon breaking free of control, is to completely free themselves from their host, not knowing what will happen to themselves if they vanish. ...In other words, The boy's Shadow broke free and consumed him, unwillingly destroying themselves as a result."

"Consumed him!? You don't mean..."

"...It is as you are thinking, I'm afraid."

"...The Rabbit, the other Rabbit I guess, told us that you need us for our potential, that that's the only way to fight these enemies for you guys. ...That kid just died because of it, and you still demand us to take a spin at it!?"

"We were aware of several individuals in your world who would hone their powers without issue. There have been a record of unstable ones in the past as well, but only one was as naturally so as the boy's, the rest were unstable by artificial means. As long as one can take control of their own minds, so long as they do not let themselves be consumed by their own feelings, such incidents can not happen."

"You people dragged us out of our dreams into a death trap, and drafted us into a war we want nothing to do with, how the hell do you expect us to just keep calm and relaxed, especially now knowing that we'll be killed if we don't!?" It seems the other rebels, save the scared White Rabbit, were getting agitated with the way Adam was speaking to the Hatter, as if about to attack for the insolence of speaking like that against their leader, only for the same Hatter to raise his right arm, and just like that, the other Shadows calmed down and went silent.

"I have no intentions of hiding away from what we have done, nor intentions for deceit. Indeed it is true, we did not concern ourselves with who we gather, so long as it is as many with the potential as we can muster regardless of their feelings on the matter. If there was another option to take in this regard, we would have done so. We were...desperate. The Queen has already collected a considerable amount of children, and will soon be ready to encroach beyond this landscape, which will not just be bad for our own world, but for yours as well." Hatter explained.

"...If I may, you guys seem really strong yourselves. You seem better at fighting here then we would be...So with that said, if the Queen in question is such a threat as you say...Can't you do something about it?" Alice asked, careful in her wording so as not to offend the owner of this safe haven and his allies.

"If only it was so simple...We would not be so desperate as to involve such a large group of humans in our affairs were we able to strike. The Queen has an ability of dominance over all shadows of this land, us included. Were we to directly approach her throne, we would not be able to so much as touch her, and in turn we would be the ones open for attack. Humans like yourselves, however, are beings that transcends beyond her dominion; she wields no power over you, and so humans like yourselves poses a real threat to her. Though you are not capable of a direct attack against her or her armies as things stand, you shall be in time. ...It is no exaggeration to say that you are our only hope against her." The Hatter said, calm and composed as ever. As he spoke, a bunch of orbs came flying at him from the distant right-hand side of the sanctuary, which he caught with his free hand nonchalantly and placing them on the table as he spoke. Adam and Alice went silent in response.

"Now then, Has Peter told you the current strategy yet?"

"No... He was about to before Snow..."

"I see... Very well then, I suppose it falls to me. Your first task, once you all are ready, is to return to the Butter Daisy Forest. ...We did not choose that place as your destination in jest, after all. Even if you had the strength to do so, a direct assault against the Queen's castle is nothing short of impossible. It is held deep within the center of Wonderland itself, and even ignoring the royal guard that protects that place, it is an area that is normally impossible for lesser shadows, let alone humans like yourself, to enter on your own. However, we chose the forest because there is someone there who knows how to get to that castle. A lone caterpillar that rests at the forest's center. ...The Black Rabbit has left the forest so as to report about you all to the queen, which in turn gives us some time to prepare and take you there without issues from him. But that does not mean it is a safe journey. The forest is home to many lesser shadows, who would attack out of instinct and without distinction. Worse still, as we speak, some of the queen's better soldiers currently up there in the Black Rabbit's place. But fear not, we have been preparing for this moment for some time. Our carpenter has managed to produce these weapons for all of you to wield." The Hatter explained. He then walked over and placed an orb into each of the humans' hands alongside their Chronovokers.

"These...are our weapons? So we landed in a place filled with monsters, and our only weapons are a pocketwatch and a marble?" Adam asked.

"Those aren't just Marbles, they're energy in a sleeping shell! Give it a squeeze to wake it up and it'll turn to whatever weapon you want, whatever weapon you feel you can most handle in your heart." Jill White said in response. Adam looked at her, and then at the orb, squeezing it until it started to crack, and eventually shattered. The pieces floated around both of his hands, before they came together to form a sword and shield in his hands. Alice did the same, and came out with her knives, both attached to her index fingers via a thread of string connect to the bottom of the knives' hilt. Chase, on the other hand, refused the one offered to him, as fighting with weapons, should he ever have needed to before, was never his style; he preferred fighting with nothing more than his fists.

"Now, under normal circumstances, we would be showing you how wield your potential with the help of the Chronovokers the White Rabbit provided before we sent you off. ...However, it seems few more humans have somehow got thrown into Wonderland like the rest of you, and have yet to make it here. The forest is dangerous enough for those unprepared to fight with the lesser shadows that reside there. Now that the Black rabbit has sent out soldiers, I have no doubt they are in grave danger as we speak. As such, I would advise your first objective be their rescue from the Forest. Return them here so that we can equip them for the fights ahead, after which you are to head deeper into the forest to meet with the Caterpillar that resides there. Fear not, I shall send you some reinforcements to keep the particularly...troublesome ones in check, should the need arise." The Mad Hatter said.

"'Some'?"

"The Queen and her forces have no knowledge of this place...they are aware of the possibility of a sanctuary for us, but know not the way to it. We need to keep it that way at all cost, or we, all of us, lose our only haven to rest. The more we send out there, the more chances they have to track us back here. ...Jill, I am counting on you to guide them through." The Mad Hatter said in response, to which Jill White nodded. Alice looked over to the rabbit hole, and then towards where Snow was before he died. She took a deep breath, sighed, and jumped in, assuming it would send her back to the forest.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing!?" Adam said as he noticed her jump, before jumping in after her.

Jill looked at everyone and prompted them to follow as she jumped in as well.

------------------------

Butter Daisy Forest

The three were all thrown out back into the forest, in the exact same manner that they landed in the Sanctuary. The three then looked around as they waited for the rest of the humans to follow them through, assuming they do.

"Well...looks like the coast is clear for now." Adam said.

"...Be very careful though. ...Even without those mean soldiers, the place is loaded with shadows..." Jill said, as she looked around in fear.

@rebthewriter @CronicCrystalis @Crimmy @Petulant @Duoya @Etranger @Avant @Suku @Windstormugly @CriticalHit @EchoicChamber

Basement Workshop, London



Within the basement of a seemingly normal house, a brown haired male in a white lab coat sat dozing at a workbench, having fallen asleep while taking apart some age-old device for study, tools and schematics of various kinds lining the wall. The man in question wouldn't stir at all, as he was completely out of it. In truth, said man was already dreaming, and had been for a time, in which he was stood within a world where everyone was free of problems, and he'd created countless devices to make everyday life easier. But for some reason, that dream felt more real than usual... Up until it faded to black and he was dragged into a mirror.

------

Butter Daisy Forest

Unlike the others who experienced this same event, this one ended up a considerable amount of distance from the rest, and ended up wandering aimlessly through the forest, unknowingly away from the sanctuary of the forest... Up until the forest itself ended up a wasteland, and he was hiding behind the remnant of a stump, trying to calm his beating heart.

"I am pretty sure I'm not dreaming anymore... That heat... I know the feeling of a naked flame in your face, and that was like several times greater... No imagination would voluntarily call something that threatening up in a dreamscape." Mark thought to himself as he calmed down.

"Would that I could have some idea where I am right now... Besides the fact that a whole forest was turned into a charred waste in an instant." Mark thought to himself, checking the coast was clear before opting to move. Staying out in the open given that something or someone just incinerated a whole forest was just asking for a death sentence.

----

Crobalt Nicholas Crystalis - The Sun

Cronic took a deep breath to calm his nerves as he began to process what had just been described to him... Unaware of the time bomb in the guise of a child he was comforting until it was too late. When the rabbit flung Crobalt to safety, away from Snow, he hit the ground back of the head first, dazing him a little, but recovered just in time to witness the shadow dissappearing through the floor, and the ensuing explanations for what had transpired, and the laws of this world... And though he didn't get like this often... He was initially taken aback, but that quickly turned to fury that this happened, and a resolve for one simple goal; Not. One. More.

"...I just witnessed a young life with a whole future ahead of him... Snuffed out in an instant." Crobalt said, gritting his teeth as his hands balled into fists. Lives were the most valuable thing a person could ever own in his eyes, and to see one ended so casually... He wasted no time in pocketing his Chronovoker in his right coat pocket and shattering the marble given to him. In one hand, a double-edged, one handed sword manifested, and in the other, a plain kite shield made itself manifest, a strap to support the shield on his back when not in use and a belt to carry the sword's scabbard materialized around his torso and waist, respectively.

"And you say there are countless more children who have met with an uncertain fate as well? ...They're gonna pay for this." Gripping the shield firmly, letting his arm get used to any weight it may have, along with adjusting his grip on the sword to find a comfortable yet secure way to hold it, Cronic began to try to find a way to hold both steady without leaving himself open. Once their basic plan, find any stragglers who'd been dragged here too and guide them to sanctuary, had been established, and Alice, Adam and Jill leapt out to begin, Cronic was mere moments behind them.

Nicola Khumalo

Nicky was disheartened to see that there was a great deal of contention in the group. Some people seemed to want to poke holes in the whole idea, while others just seemed angry about the whole thing. She couldn't blame them for being angry or skeptical, but if there really were kids in danger, she hoped they could all come together and do something about it. Unfortunately, it seemed that the bunny wanted to do his best to antagonise the others right back. They were really going to need a lot of coaxing to actually work together, both themselves and the shadow people as it were. Rather than try to force herself in the middle of everything, Nicky chose to wait for things to be explained properly before saying a thing. Supposedly they were all to use some magical device that they had on hand to tap into their secret magical powers or...however it was supposed to work. Nicky wasn't really following at all, but if it worked it worked, and that was all that mattered.

Just as Nicky was thinking she could muster her courage and get on board with all this, a sudden commotion broke out in the group, and one of them underwent some kindof bizarre transformation and vanished. Nicky was flabbergasted enough by that alone before she noticed the shadow rabbit had transformed too, albeit much less horrifically. This was all so overwhelming. Now they were being told if they lost control of their emotions, they would turn into shadows themselves? This was getting worse by the minute! Nicky almost wished they hadn't been told how that had happened, because now she was worried it was going to happen to her next. How could she not be concerned, being trapped here and capable of warping monstrously if she ever "lost control"? It was all she could do to remind herself that she needed composure just to avoid whatever had just happened.

She tried her hardest to focus on what was being said rather than what could happen. The actual leader of the shadow group arrived, but that didn't comfort her much. Even less comforting was what they had to say. More on how they could be "consumed" if they "lost control", more on how there was a big bad threat looming over them and they had to fight. Nicky just kept repeating to herself that there was something at stake, not only for herself, but also for others. When they were handed their "orbs", what Nicky received from her own was a hand axe. She wasn't entirely sure why, but it felt right somehow. Eventually, it became clear that they were to head back to where it all began and go right into the danger. With her nerves frayed and frazzled, Nicky did not feel ready in the slightest, but she would just have to get through with happy thoughts. She followed the others when the rabbit hole was presented, determined to do her damndest.

Standing in the forest, Nicky glanced around worriedly, looking for the slightest sign of movement. Hopefully she could rely on the others to back her up when things got ugly.

---

"I pretty sure we all had these weird dreams, I'm just wondering if this is due to P3 or not."

'Again with this P3...' Tylissa noted, from the man who'd then introduce himself as Arthur Walsh no less. Then again, there was nothing else that could possibly explain why Tylissa, Arthur and the military man that was Tyler Blackmore would all be dreaming about a mirror in one instance, and then suddenly find themselves transported into a strange netherworld in the next. However, that still didn't explain how everyone was still alive. As far as Tylissa knew, the P3 Syndrome claimed lives...

"No way..." Tylissa shook her head. There was no way they'd all be dead in reality, was there? She had so much to live for...

"Listen carefully, other humans outside the age of P3 syndrome were dropped into this world just like you two. They were being chased by that monster back there and were led down into that hole over there by a White Rabbit...I don't know the details, but it seems the rabbit was benign, so wherever that hole leads...it's safer than here. ...Or it could be a death trap they were lured into, I can't deny the possibility. Even so..."

"WWWWWHOOOOOOOOOA(!!), whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa! Whoa. Whoa..." Tylissa paused, if only to give herself time to try to wrap her brain around what Tyler had just said, "You're telling me... or us, rather... that they're even more people that shouldn't be affected by this whole P3 thing but that are?! I'm sorry, but I... none of this makes any sense!"

Throughout that last outburst, Tylissa had been clutching her head in one hand, panic being written all over her face. The other arm had pressed hard on the stuffed toucan that she always cradled around her chest. It'd take a while before she'd calm again, and by that time Tyler had already ventured out on his own... again. He really needed to consider how unsafe his departures would make everyone else feel...

"Let's just go," Tylissa told Arthur, "I really cannot handle any more exposition dumps right now."

...

A brisk walk later, Tylissa and Arthur would find Tyler with yet another new person that presumably had just been transported from the real world. It looked as though Tyler was right; there were definitely more people here than that should be, and at this rate, there'd be more to come. Nonetheless, Tylissa seemingly smiled as she approached the newcomer. Though whether that smile would hold was another story.

"Hi there, mister. This is here Arthur, that there is Tyler, the army boy... Oh(!) and I'm Tylissa!" how she forgot to introduce herself earlier, she didn't know, but it saved her from having to say her name twice at least, "What's your name? And how are you today?"

Luke boiled as the rabbit responded, and the quick shift in appearance was only slightly jarring. More so, the way that the creature spoke was what pissed Luke off - Ask for help, than immediately treat the people you're asking like babies? To be fair, Luke didn't treat him with much respect - but then again, he sure as hell didn't feel that the kidnapper deserved much respect. Thinking on it, Luke quickly realized that it was an insult - the rabbit was mocking them for wanting a warning before they were kidnapped into a nightmare world where death was a very real possibility.

"I woulda liked you a hell of a lot more if you asked that before you dragged us here."

Luke kept his hand down as the Rabbit continued, this time speaking to the group as a whole rather than beratting Luke and the trench coat guy. Even with all this explained to him and the clear detail, the logical part of Luke's brain screamed at him that this was just a dream - that he didn't witness a murder, and that everything would be all right.

When the rabbit began to talk about strength, Luke grew intrested once more - apparently, against these strange creatures, Luke was just as weak as anyone else. That he didn't buy for a god damn second. The rat was trying to save his hide, no doubt about that... Then again, he also had a gun that caused people to become children, and has shown to shapeshift. Luke just prayed that the shit happeneing here didn't go any crazier.

The introduction of the small watches also caused Luke to doubt the seriousness present in anything happening - a pocket watch wouldn't be an appropriate weapon even in the realworld, so how would it protect against monsters? And the rabbit seemed to have a really strange obsession with psychology - Luke knew about Jung and Freud, but would get a B at best in high school psychology. As Luke thought of this, the rabbit leaped, pushing the trenchcoat kid out of the way a sanother child - one that Luke remembered being fairly bossy as they were running away earlier - was almost instantly consumed as darkness radiated from him.

"WHAT THE FUCK!?"

Luke screamed in a combination of fear and frustration. The rabbit, now in a more feminine form, explained what occurred - and as they did, Luke learned another thing he hated about the creature. It was so... cold. If this was real, this... thing, was responsible for the deaths of two people, and kidnapping several others. And it didn't display the slightest bit of remorse, or even sadness at the events unfolding. This made Luke bubble over in anger.

"Two! Two people have died here already! This is fucking unbelievable!"

Luke smashed his fist on the bench, the impact loud and vibrating, yet lost in the cacophony of voices and reactions to what was occurring. There were many moments in Luke's life where he felt true impotence and stability, but he never grew accustomed to it - this was one of those times. Even if they were strangers, those were human beings - one of them even sacrificed himself, even if he didn't know that he would die. Lives, snuffed out for no reason at all.

Luke nearly felt like crying - death happened all the time, and those people were strangers, but he was next to those people. He was within a dozen or two feet when the bossy kid died. His skin paled and his hands grew clammy - only ceasing when the Hatter placed the two objects in his hand. Following his instructions numbly, Luke easily crushed the marble-like orb in his hand - and in it's place, a heavy metal axe filled his grip. The weapon felt far more reliable than the damn watch did - at the very least, it was very comfortable to hold in his hands. A cursory glance revealed that the axe head had the roman numeral for 7 engraved on the side. An odd design choice, but he couldn't care less at this point. Luke spoke in a low voice, to the point where you would have to strain to hear him - or, at least humans would have to strain to hear him.

"If there weren't children involved in this, I would have left before the damn lecture - I'd be less pissed off..."

He then rose silently, his Axe gently sliding along the ground, before making his way to the rabbit hole and climbing in.

Hector wondered where all this outrage had been before the rabbit had explained himself. Rather than curse at him and questions his motives before he claimed to have a good motive, they chose to do so after he told them there was a very real threat to themselves. It flowed into what some of the other said, that their little group was unlikely to work together well. That much was absolutely true, but again, Hector could not see the point of pointing it out after he had told them he had limited choice in the way of people he could reasonably bring over. Amusingly, it was the young one that had made a point of screaming about how they needed to work together that chose to point out that they were all unlikely to work together. He couldn't fathom how saying that would help them work together any better, if that was really what he wanted. Even less helpful was the rabbit's dogged determination to remain vaguely condescending and standoffish at those he wanted allegiance from.

Going from worse to worse, the absolute disaster of this gathering turned even more sour as the aforementioned kid vanished in a cocoon of darkness, or something to that effect. After everything that had happened, Hector could only bring his palm to his face, wearing a look of intense frustration. Yet again, a life had been lost due to them being thrown in the deep end by this maddening group. The irony that it was one of their most fervent supporters was not lost on Hector. One consolation was that the rabbit had seemed to have undergone a transformation of their own, and for the better in his opinion. While they sounded nauseatingly sugary all of a sudden, they certainly sounded a great deal more conciliatory about the fact that yet another had perished for their recklessness. Hector imagined it was a slim chance that this transformation would be permanent.

In lieu of more reasonable leadership, their "Mad Hatter" arrived to deliver a far more reasonable explanation of events than this "Peter White" ever had. All the same details and more, without the condescension and dismissiveness he now associated the male rabbit with. This was all still far from ideal, but it was a marked improvement at the least. Ultimately, the Mad Hatter got down to business far faster than Hector had been hoping for. They now had a clear plan of action and a certain certainty in what they were to do. That was something Hector could appreciate. Taking possession of his "weapons", his own marble-thing manifested as an embalming knife. He recognised the type from a documentary. He wondered if everything in this land was going to be caked in symbolism, like the embalming knife for the mortician's son. He wasn't so sure he would enjoy that.

Nevertheless, they had their objective, and Hector was quite content to pursue it. There was little else to do here but stumble about blindly, so he would follow the given path until everything became more clear, following the others to their forested point of origin.

As the White Rabbit tended to the inquiries of the others, Rhys was busy contemplating the possible motivations of the malicious monarch.

If this queen supposedly rules over Wonderland with nigh-absolute authority, why would she bother abducting children from the 'real' world? What reward does she reap for reaching across reality for the minds of kids? I sincerely doubt that these abductions are a mere show of power to the other shadows... So what pray tell, is her scheme?

With no real conclusions to show for his pondering, Rhys shoved thoughts of the Queen's machinations onto the back-burner of his subconscious. Perhaps this was a mystery that he would unravel in time, especially seeing as there was currently no feasible means of escape from this strange and outlandish world. Once he'd turned his focus back to the group, Rhys's gaze was met by a much more... caricatured version of the White Rabbit asking. No, pleading for the groups assistance. This admittedly confused the boy for a short moment prior to the Rabbit discarding the childish charade and getting on with his explanations once again.

It wasn't long before Rhys was handed a pocketwatch by the shadow, much like everyone else in the sanctuary. He almost immediately began examining the exterior of the watch as the Rabbit carried on, running his fingers over every ornate detail and intricacy of the object. It was not unlike one he owned back in the UK, albeit his was silver rather than gold. His father had entrusted it to his only promising son that he had left... Rhys shook himself as he discarded that memory for the time being, for now was not the time to allow his thoughts to be so easily hijacked. These... Chronovokers, the Rabbit called them, were evidently the method by which they were meant to utilize their supposed potential. All the device required was the resolve of it's wielder, in all honesty it sounded far too good to be true. Though a device operated solely on willpower was certainly not the most absurd thing he'd borne witness to today.

...And finally the naysayers start to come around. He thought to himself as the other members in the group of humans began to side with the Rabbit. Perhaps this group would be able to overcome their divisions for the sake of survival. Yet tragedy had other things planned. Without warning, the child of the group was suddenly enveloped by a maelstrom of writhing black, and just as quickly as the child was swallowed did the pair vanish. The sudden disappearance left Rhys with a grim thought gnawing at the back of his mind.

Please tell me that he's not...

Much to his dismay the White Rabbit broke his hopes once more, though this Rabbit was far less... refined than he was before. The child couldn't control his emotions and so they utterly devoured him. So long as he kept his composure, he'd be fine. It certainly was not easy though, as that made it twice today that Rhys had witnessed meaningless death, deaths that they were all powerless to stop. All of it was so bitterly unfair.

As Rhys warred with himself as to not allow his emotions to boil over, the ringleader of the shadow rebellion made his entrance. His explanations were thankfully far less cryptic than Peter's had been, and the Hatter seemed almost amicable at that. Though a certain vocal member of the group utterly failed to reciprocate said amicability, and was swiftly angering the surrounding shadows. Rhys was about to step in and attempt to remedy the situation, yet the Hatter beat him to it and wordlessly pacified the shadows. The Hatter went on and explained all manner of things, including their first task before handing out strange orbs to the group.

Rhys pocketed the Chronovoker swiftly and looked over the orb before obediently shattering it in his hands. The crystalline shards and powder swirling around him for a brief moment before settling and materializing into a reflex bow and quiver that slung itself over his shoulder without any effort on his part. In his mind it made perfect sense to Rhys why he'd receive a bow, and so he was quite pleased. The limbs of the weapon were made of an ebony wood that had silver trappings, and the string itself donned a white colour. Examining the quiver and arrows for a moment, Rhys found that they shared a similar colour scheme to his bow, the majority of the quiver and the arrows haft's were black whilst the arrowheads and plumage along with minor parts of the quiver were argent in colour. Most notably, one of the silvered bindings on the quiver had the numeral VIII engraved into it, a questionable detail to be sure.

Only one thing to do now I suppose... Rhys thought to himself as he almost unconsciously walked back towards the rabbit hole that had brought him here. Swallowing his courage once more, Rhys plunged himself into the cavernous maw and emerged in the forest with the others, managing to not clumsily fall on his face this time. He reached for one of the arrows in his quiver and nocked it as he spoke in a hushed voice. "The more time we spend out here, the more likely it is that we'll find ourselves outmatched or surrounded. Or both perhaps. So let us be quick about this."

@The Jest@Avant@EchoicChamber@CronicCrystalis@Crimmy@Petulant@Duoya@rebthewriter@Etranger@Suku@Windstormugly

Following the group without hesitation she looked around curious on how things went from here. Maria thought back to what the rabbit said apparently they lost quite a bit of people it seems and thankfully the terror of lewis carrol known as the Jabberwocky was on their side so there was no need to go hunting for the vorpal blade at least. "If I may ask one more question this rebellion seems to have been going on for awhile yes? If so just how many people were lost that you would go to such lengths?" She asked her voice almost shaking as much as she would love to say all of this was a dream she couldn't it screamed it wasn't and it was kind of a horrifying thought.Things weren't right in wonderland it seemed as madness seems to spread and infect the land, not in a literal sense but an idea. This was far from the adventure that was promised in the situations more dire things more real than what you could read off the pages of a novel. Then there were these chronovokers something that would help them fight these things that infected the land "Curiouser and curiouser!" she said to herself as she felt the thing in her hand wondering how such a small thing would give them the ability to fight back? She would not delude herself into thinking she was special she would aid them cause it would be wrong to abandon them when they are in peril but she couldn't help but wonder just how something so small will grant them powers to fight back. The pocket watch in her hand this chronovoker was something else she was sure but appearances were certainly common if not plain. The dull golden sheen and feel of its cold metal in her hands certainly proved beyond a doubt even if she wanted to deny it that it was really tangible. It was certainly odd, to say the least, but with that said it was bound to be something if he truly meant what he said about it.

"Again with this P3..."

I don't know why she's complaining about me bringing up the P3 thing, she's the one that mentioned it in the first place. Arthur wasn't really listening to the soldier that much but instead was thinking about if this soldier is trustworthy or is he just another government asswipe trying to steal our free will. I don't like the idea that we're just following some random soldier, we don't even know what country he works for. But he does now a lot more about this forest then me and the girl so maybe its best to stick with him, for now at least.

"Listen carefully, other humans outside the age of P3 syndrome were dropped into this world just like you two. They were being chased by that monster back there and were led down into that hole over there by a White Rabbit...I don't know the details, but it seems the rabbit was benign, so wherever that hole leads...it's safer than here. ...Or it could be a death trap they were lured into, I can't deny the possibility. Even so..."

"WWWWWHOOOOOOOOOA(!!), whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa! Whoa. Whoa..." Arthur looks over at Tylissa with a face of concern Oh no, she's panicking. I can only imagine how scared she is right now, and the soldier is definitely not making it any better for her. Everything he's saying is probably scaring the poor girl, like why would he say they lured us into a death trap near a child? Well, it's too late to change what he said so all I can do is make sure she doesn't panic any worse than she already has.

"You're telling me... or us, rather... that they're even more people that shouldn't be affected by this whole P3 thing but that are?! I'm sorry, but I... none of this makes any sense!"

Shit, too late she's already getting worse... All of a sudden Tyler just walks off towards the nearby path, Arthur didn't quite know why he walked off until he looked over at the path and saw another human walking along the path What the hell is he doing!? We don't even know if that "Human" is hostile or not

"Let's just go, I really cannot handle any more exposition dumps right now."

Arthur lets out a sigh of disappointment "Am I the only one that's thinking that this human might be hostile... Fuck it I guess I'll go. Arthur says to himself.

Arthur followed the soldier with Tylissa by his side, during the walk Arthur started talking to Tylissa "Hey, I understand that you must be very scared right now by everything that's happening and I just wanted to let you know that I won't let anything bad happen to you ok? So there's no need to be scared just remember that if something that scares you shows up, just hide behind me" Arthur didn't get a response back from Tylissa.

As Arthur got closer to the man on the path, Tyler extended his finger out towards him and Tylissa signalling them to stay put. Please don't get his attention.

"...Hey!" For the love of god.

After Tyler looked around and made sure the area was clear he signalled Arthur and Tylissa to come and meet the man. "Did you make sure the area was secure, squad leader." Arthur says with a smug tone in his voice as he approaches Tyler.

"Stepped through a mirror as well, right?"

"I think all humans here went through that god damn mirror." Arthur says with slight frustration.

"Hi there, mister. This is here Arthur, that there is Tyler, the army boy... Oh(!) and I'm Tylissa!" Arthur was shocked at how she had just gone from sad and confused to happy and full of energy. Well at least she sounds happier.

Arthur stares down the other man, giving him the evil eye while scanning him from head to toe. Arthur doesn't really notice anything wrong with this man, aside from the terrible haircut. "Wait, have you seen any of the weird looking monsters around here?"

@The Jest@AdmrlStalfos19@Godzillafreak54

Jacob heard a voice calling out to him he notice someone another guy in the distance. He stopped moving and focused on whoever he was, until he approached him. The man glanced at him and seemed to scan him like he was injured or something with a surprise puzzling look on his face.

"Stepped through a mirror as well, right?" He asked him. Jacob didn't even smile or even looked surprised at all."I don't know man it's all crazy everywhere I look." Jacob replied he noticed two more people approaching, a girl and another guy who gave him the evil look, Jacob frowned at the guy back.

"Hi there, mister. This is here Arthur, that there is Tyler, the army boy... Oh(!) and I'm Tylissa!"
Jacob gave a surprise look at her then then both Arthur and Tyler. "Nice to meet you miss, and hi." He said to Tylissa and Tyler respectively, but said nothing to Arthur.".

"Wait, have you seen any of the weird looking monsters around here?" Arthur asked, Jacob was confused, A Monster, what? he thought."The only thing I saw was guy who called himself the mad hatter or something I don't know.,I've seen nothing else in this god damn forest."