Brittany gave an awkward smile at Alex’ sardonic statement, and shrugged her shoulders. “Hey, you’re not the only one who’s going to go through that: I also have to get these broken,” she spoke, showing the manacles from her sleeves. “Anyway, let’s go!” And so, the two made their escape, Alex’ notes guiding them through the corridors and halls of the Bastille until they successfully fled through the front entrance. Outside, Alex was met with the same kind of whimsical sight as from the window of his cell: Wonderland was a place of dreams and fairytales, where song was carried over the winds, and the gentle warmth of summer roiled through the grasslands and forests. A dirt road led from the Bastille to a bridge, beyond which a dark forest could be seen, as well as a signpost.
As the two approached the bridge, a green-brownish, brutish monster poked its head out from under the stone structure. It had two tusks jutting from its lower jaw, a large potato-shaped nose, and a hairy body, with a small tail tipped with a tuft of fur.
“Sorry, the bridge is closed. No Troll Toll, no crossing today.” He placed a construction warning sign on the center of the bridge. Brittany balled her fists up, looking angry.
“What do you mean it’s closed? Why can’t we cross?”
The troll sat down on a rock near the foot of the bridge.
“Union-mandated break. Sorry, can’t help you there.” He brought out a small metallic lunchbox painted red, and pulled out a sandwich from it.
“Come back in a couple of hours.”
Brittany tapped her foot, looking miffed, but then had an idea:
“Mister Troll, I understand that you are a hardworking member of this Union-”
“Bridge Troll Union, yes,” the monster corrected as he chomped on his sandwich.
“Yes, indeed. I am also a member of a worker’s union, more specifically the Outer Penrose Alliance. I understand the hardships of a blue-collar worker, having started as a lone entrepreneur with not a single Gold Coin to my name. In the spirit of camaraderie, how about I offer you a transaction of goods and services for your Troll Toll?” She brought out an item from her bag.
“In exchange for letting us cross, I could give you this Skyline Detector: with this, you can detect flying or overhead objects up to a 100 meters! Very useful for when you want to take a quick break without worrying about any eyes in the sky.”
The troll looked at the device, and shrugged.
“Fine. But if anyone asks, we never made this deal.” He took the Detector, and Brittany grinned with a thumbs up.
“Your fellow proletariat’s lips are sealed, my fine, furry friend.” She turned to Alex.
“Alright, let’s check out that sign over there.”
The sign next to the dirt road was simple, made of wood with black letters painted on the plank: Tulgey Wood.
“So this is the entrance to the forest the white lady warned us about, huh?” She looked up at the tall trees: the branches and leaves were so thickly layered that only beams of light managed to penetrate the shade, casting the woods in a gloomy pallor.
“So, any ideas on how to proceed? Should we crawl on our backs like in the Exorcist or something?” She asked Alex.
.:⋮All In The Golden Afternoon⋮:.Penny warmly accepted MDP’s embrace, and afterwards waved to the Knight of Tomorrow.
”My name is Penny Asimov. Pleased to meet you,” she added, though she could tell the modern crusader of chivalry seemed awkward meeting with her, and so decided not to further attempt to continue conversing with her: Lily looked like she needed to distract herself, so she let her take this one. She then looked down towards her glittering girlfriend, holding back her laughter as the latter slowly realized the change in her, and finally relented with an affirmative nod.
”Remember how I mentioned having some problems? Well, I finally managed to fix them thanks to a certain new friend. I might introduce you to her later,” she followed up, playfully parting a lock of hair away from MDP’s face.
Alicia felt the familiar breeze of Beacon’s teleporters activating, and saw Inquisitor Rachel arrive, alongside other Ascendancy members like Tsuki and Hudie. She was still typing something to her personal device before putting it away. “I’ve finished preparations on our side, Paladin Seraph,” she informed her. “What is the situation here? Has the plan remained the same?” She asked after checking that the cloaking field was indeed activated. She then glanced at Nefer: the artificer rummaged through her various gadgets and gizmos, having lost her interest in Melisa after the fairy-like girl fluttered away towards the other girls. “I think it’s somewhere in here…” She mumbled.
Lily nodded, attempting to power through her own apparent nervousness by taking both Connie and Mia’s hands in hers, followed by a smile to MDP. When Miko asked about how they would proceed, the green-haired girl answered:
”We’ll go to Wonderland and strike at that egg factory we talked about! And we’ll also find the prison Alex is taken to, and free him too! We just gotta find it first! But no worries: I’m sure if we work together, we can overcome anything with our friendship!” A cliche line she had recounted from a random magical girl show, but one she took to heart. Her friends, the people who have come such a long way with her, truly meant the world to her. She just had trouble expressing it beyond cheesy quotes.
Afterwards, she let go, and turned her attention to the Knight of Tomorrow.
“Ashley, is it? I’m Lily Lightning, but my friends call me Lily. You were at Bolorton helping evacuate the townsfolk, right?” She took the girl’s hand and lightly shook it.
“Thank you so much! I can’t wait to see what cool moves you can do! You practically emanate the ‘badass new addition to the main group mid-season’ vibe, you know? Just like Elise in ‘Souls of Steel’ when she joined the squad. She started as a tsundere and kept her distance due to her tragic backstory, but soon began to warm up to the others and-”It seemed that if let to continue, Lily would keep blabbering about her nerdy interests were it not for the small animals that suddenly distracted her.
“Ooh, you three! Didn’t I tell you to wait at home? I even poured you a nice big meal in your bowls! Oh, but you’re so cute I can’t stay mad at you…”She knelt down and let the suspiciously self-sufficient critters gather around and on top of her, as if she were a Disney princess come to life.
Soon, a familiar winged figure could be seen flying overhead, descending down towards the park. However, unlike the other times, she was not alone: her sister had also joined, her eyes staring at the group like a lost child.
”Apologies for my late arrival. Despite telling her she should stay in Silverburg, it seems Caroline is stubborn in her decision to join us," she informed the others.
“Big Sis…” the younger von Visceral muttered quietly, holding Justine’s hand. Justine sighed.
”Anyway, is this all of us?"Penny sent a new message to Mariette while she and MDP poked each other’s cheeks.
The park crew is assembling at a rapid rate. What is the situation on your end?
The Pea Princess seemed genuinely baffled by Mariette’s question.
“What fucking trick? I’m already struggling keeping all this straight and holding the damn meeting, let alone scheming against what seems to be a lost fucking cause anyway. The Bitch Queen could try to bribe me with another hundred of these stupid fucking beds, but it doesn’t matter! None of them work! All of them are a literal pain in my back, and in my ass!” She visibly kicked the back of her leg against the bed. When she did, Mariette’s Awareness kicked in, and subtly nudged her towards something unusual about the way the mattresses moved from the impact. Based on the strange crease, there was a tiny, round object the size and shape of what most likely was a regular pea tucked in between the mattresses, at about head level from Mariette. The Pea Princess continued on her exhausted, miserable rant.
“So if your paranoid ass keeps asking stupid fucking questions, I won’t hesitate to stop aiding this retarded rebellion and ensure you won’t get any-”
