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(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
Butter Daisy Forest

While Tylissa was focused on the Mad Hatter and Black Rabbit's fight, and Arthur appeared to ask her questions while also keeping tabs on the fight, yet another human, Tyler Blackmore, approached them from behind, and tapped lightly on both of their shoulders before Tylissa had a chance to answer Arthur. Should they turn to see him, he would immediately place his finger in front of his mouth in a shushing motion before taking a quick glance at the two still fighting, ensuring they didn't notice them, tilting his head behind himself, and taking a few steps back, so as to signal the two other humans to follow him away from what was going on.

Upon running far enough away from the battle at hand, Tyler stopped with Tylissa and Arthur supposedly at his side.

"...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?" Tyler asked them.

@AdmrlStalfos19 @Godlikeblade

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

Hatter's Sanctuary

It seems everyone was reacting about as...well, as the White Rabbit expected them to. He wasn't meant to show him what he really was, but alas, it was probably better this way. Rather they figure it out and let out their expressions of shock, fear, and...the rather intense sorrow the child seemed to be feeling. ...Was he that terrifying? The thought was slightly disheartening as he looked down at the grass, but only for a second. There was no time to show it, as one of the humans decided to get cute with the "subtle" disgust in his words towards the rabbit.

"Well, yes. If my strain was even nearly as terrible as your attempt at Sarcasm, that would be a problem, I suppose." The White Rabbit said to Hector. Unnecessary? Most likely. But he has a sense of pride to keep in tact, and if someone, human or otherwise, decided to challenge him, he could not just back down from it.

Alice and Adam were quick to notice the boy's breakdown into tears after seeing the Rabbit's hideous insides. Adam thought it odd how this boy was trying to lead them one minute, only to break down into completely in the next. But it was easy to think about and comprehend; Adam has seen his type before back in the Orphanage. He was a child with an inflated ego who thinks he knows best for whatever reason, only for a reality, be it disciplinary measure, other kids' action, or something as unfortunate as this, to crash it down to earth. Best thing to do in this case is to let someone else comfort him, like Cronic apparently did until he calms down. Alice, on the other hand, turned to Snow, dropping down to also comfort the boy.

"There, there...It'll all be fine." She said to him, in as gentle a voice as she could muster. She then looked at the others as they press the Rabbit for answers, noticing someone from the back who reached the front to ask him about it as well...someone she didn't realize was there while they were being chased.

"Now where in the world did you come from? You weren't with the others that were summoned here...and that form..." The White Rabbit said, looking at Gale, his eyes scanning him from top to bottom to top again. Before he could go any further with this man however, another girl decided to jump into the conversation, asking for a way to get back.

Honestly, she had a good point; it was somewhat surprising that no one bothered to ask that question before her. Everyone else seems to be focused on why they came here as oppose to how they can get back. Focused more on what they're here for, rather than running to escape. Is it because they still believe this is a dream they can wake up from even after what's happened to that other human, or could it be that they actually have a sense of immediate duty buried somewhere in their subconscious?

What an interesting race, these humans...

"I'm sorry my dear, but for now, leaving is not a possibility. The Looking Glass is a one-way door to this realm from your dreams, at least for humans like yourselves. The ones responsible for all of this made sure that only Shadows are allowed to access the Looking Glass both ways. " The White Rabbit said.

"By which you mean you made sure only you...'shadows', are allowed to go both ways." Adam quickly stated.

"Such a rude implication. I'll have you know, I would not have wasted time and effort to bring you all here if there was anything else we could have done."

"But you did bring us here, as you just admitted." Adam then said, a cocky smirk on his face as he did so. The White Rabbit sighed as he looked directly at Hector and Adam both, seemingly pinching the area between his eyes.

"Hatter help me, this is going to be more painful than I thought... Yes, I was the one who brought you all here to Wonderland, whether I wanted to or not. Regardless of that, however, no matter if it was myself, Hatter, or even the Black Rabbit out there, the point would still remain: Once you are brought into this world, you cannot leave. ...When you dream, your consciousness enters a state isolated from the body as you enter the ethereal realm shaped from your mind. The Looking Glass locked onto you, and thrown your consciousness from your dreams to here. But contrary to what you think, we did not choose all of you specifically. We detected multiple humans with the potential, regardless of who they are, and we sent a looking glass to bring you all here." The White Rabbit explained, muttering the first sentence under his breath before returning to a normal tone of voice, and a normal posture to explain the rest.

"...What? Are you saying we basically got chosen at random!?" Adam asked, annoyed and frustrated at the idea that this is happening just because of some sort of bad luck they all apparently have. Not helping matters was Rhys having the gall to essentially try and discipline him and Hector for getting justifiably frustrated at this...thing. Not helped was Hitomi's utter display of Naivete. The fact the Rabbit saved their lives doesn't negate what he just admitted, that he was the one who threw them all into this mess in the first place, and by the sound of things, for no good reason. That said, the White Rabbit looked at Rhys and Hitomi in relief; seems some of these humans were more sensible than the others.

"Good to see at least some of you can think rationally." The White Rabbit said after Rhys and Hitomi made their statements.

Meanwhile the chinese girl, Meredith, asked her question, making him raise an eyebrow in utter bewilderment.

"...Alien? What the devil is an alien? ...Well, Odd terminology aside, that is a proper summary yes. We are native here, this is a world connected to your own, and indeed as you already saw, we are currently at war with other shadows like the Black Rabbit." The White Rabbit responded to Meredith's question. Next up was Hitomi's questions.

"It's hard to explain the physics of this world. I can only say, that they are the same as in your world... until they're not. As for the other part of your questions...That is easier to explain, but I don't know if you will be able to...understand it. To put it simply, this world is connected to the hearts and minds of all living things in your world; a realm that exists in an immaterial way to your world with only a rare number of known ways to connect them. The Looking Glass entering your dreams, is one of those ways, albeit to a lesser extent since it does not reach your world directly." The White Rabbit explained. Alice, who was trying to calm Adam down while the White Rabbit was answering questions, looked to the ground after the Rabbit finished. Something about the Rabbit's explanation just now striking her as odd...Though she could not, for the life of her, put her finger on why. Deciding that it was not important for the moment, she shook away the thought, and decided to toss her own hat (no pun intended) into the ring.

"...Hey Rabbit, I know this is sort of an obvious question, but can't we just will ourselves to wake up? Regardless of how real it feels, this should just be a dream, right?" Alice asked the Rabbit after trying to calm Adam down.

"...Haven't some of you already try that yet? ...The short answer is no. Your consciousness was brought out of your mind through the looking glass, and made its way to Wonderland. Meaning it your consciousness is separated from your mind and body at this very moment. I believe you humans call it, a comatose. Surely you've dealt with this phenomenon while you were in the real world by now." The White Rabbit said, sighting after he asked his question, then taking a deep breath before speaking again.

"We're....We're all in comas?" Alice asked.

"Quite right... You are still attached to your five senses because your consciousness has taken physical shape in this world."

"You're not making any sense..." Adam said to him, getting more and more bitter by the second. That word, "Phenomenon" was something of a trigger, gave him a terrible feeling, and it didn't take long for him to figure out why.

"In this world, emotions, thoughts, egos and whole consciousnesses like yourselves manifests a physical form and can interact as if in your own world as a result. We shadows can take the shapes you see before you now because of this very reason, and likewise, there can be some with enough...idealism, to shape themselves how they see themselves. ...For example..." The White Rabbit then said. Before he could finish his sentence, he grabbed what appeared to be a gun from the pocket of his little red coat, a olden-styled flintlock pistol more specifically, and fired it, just above Gale's head, just grazing the skin of his forehead. But instead of blood, out instead came some sort of glowing white substance in its place.

"Hiding your true self does you no good here." He said to Gale. Adam staying silent as to try and comprehend what just happened and why.

"...You hurt him." Alice said, as if asking the Rabbit if he comprehended what he just did.

"But not killed him, important difference. He'll likely experience some pain in that area, but he'll be fine. Unfortunately that other boy back there...I'm truly sorry for that, it should never have happened." The White Rabbit said, rather solemnly.

"Sorry...? You don't mean..." Alice said.

"...Yes, if you die in this realm, your consciousness loses its shape and returns to the sea of souls, the collective unconsciousness that all life is connected to. ...It may be difficult for you humans to properly understand what that is and what it means for you. Therefore, I'll be frank with you and say this as simply as I can: Die in this world, and your physical body, in your own world...will never wake again." The White Rabbit then said. Alice looked with shock at this revelation, remembering all too well what that Black Rabbit did to Guiren.

"...So you're telling us, that you randomly selected us, and threw us into a death trap we can't escape from? ...Why? You still haven't answered that. Why bring us into this? What did we come here for!?" Adam asked, his patience now razor thin at this point.

"To help us. We know what's been happening in your world, we know why it's happening, we know about the Lost Children, and we need your help to rescue them." The White Rabbit said.

"The lost children...?" Alice asked. Adam clenched his fists as if to ventilate the anger rushing through him. It was just as he thought when the Rabbit similar phenomenons, now essentially confirmed.

"P3 Syndrome. ...You're basically saying, we all got hit with it, and that the other kids are here too?" Adam asked. The White Rabbit simply nodded.

"The Children entrapped by the melody of the Pied Piper, the Lost Children, were taken to this world and were immediately captured as soon as they arrived. Like us with you, it was no accident. They were drawn from their own dreams to Wonderland, then were captured like they were sent here to be." The White Rabbit said.

"Captured by who? Alice asked.

"...The Queen." The White Rabbit simply said. Alice looked to the ground the instant he said that, putting her hand to her chin in contemplation.

"The Queen? ...Why does that...sound familiar?" She thought. Adam, on the other hand, scoffed at this notion. This world is clearly inspired by the Lewis Carroll novels, so of course there's a queen at the center of the conflict.

"Which queen? White Queen, Red Queen, ...Queen of Hearts?" Adam asked the Rabbit.

"If I had to define her, I would have to say all of them, and yet none of them. She is simply the queen, and the only one. She rules over Wonderland, and is responsible for the situation that currently plagues your world, the children being kidnapped from their dreams ultimately being by her orders, and are currently held captive in her castle as we speak. That is why I summoned the Looking Glass and brought as many humans here as I could, by which I mean all of you. We need your help in rescuing the lost children and bringing them back to your world." The White Rabbit explained.

"We?" Adam asked, an eyebrow raised.

"The Queen has all of Wonderland under the unrelenting grip of her rule, but not all of us shadows are in support of that rule, or in support of her. This garden is a Sanctuary created kindly by our leader, the Mad Hatter, hide those among us shadows who wish to resist and rebel against the Queen's dominion. I, The Dorm Mouse, Bandersnatch out there, and every other resident of this garden have gathered into a rebellion against the queen and her army of loyalists. We do not agree with the Queen's ambitions, nor with her use of the children to further complete them. Likewise, once the Black Rabbit informs her of your arrival, she will surely send her soldiers after you. Whether you like it or not, we are on the same boat. If you can assist us in this war, I am certain we will be able to get you, and the children, back into your world. So...I would like to ask you all to help us fight the Queen." The White Rabbit explained.

@rebthewriter @CronicCrystalis @Crimmy @Petulant @Letter Bee @Duoya @Etranger @Avant @Suku @Windstormugly @CriticalHit @EchoicChamber
La Forzetta High School

Musical Accompaniment

"There he goes again..."

This was the one thing that could be heard among the cheerleaders as they see the great star athlete of the school Football Team, Luca Palladino, kick a foot/soccer ball straight into the face of the announcer who dared to call him a girl; a damn shame he missed. He's usually so cool, but it's right when you question his gender that the lid he calls a head pops off and he blows a gasket. Embarrassing as this is, the cheerleaders have gotten used to this behavior, but are fairly certain the only reason he's tolerated by the coach is because of how damn good he is at the sport.

One of them, still in her school uniform, couldn't help but laugh at this display. Well, she wasn't officially a member of the cheerleading squad per se, but is friends with them and often cheers alongside them in games. The real reason Alex "Modena" Vigilian is here is to assist the sports medic, her adopted brother Enrico, as his nurse during the game. Standing at the bleachers, she was as energetic and optimistic as ever.

"Awesome Kick Luca, just like that!" She said as she tried to imitate it...



Apparently not knowing of how little balance there is when standing on bleachers like she was.

"...I'm ok! ...The bleachers broke the fall..." She said, trying to keep a smile despite still clearly sore from the fall, giving a thumbs up signal in the air as she spoke.

------

Despite it being the weekend, there was one student still inside the school, even when everyone else clearly aren't. Sitting at one of the desks of his classes, the foreign student Akira Komaeda watched the people outside the window of the class as they attempt to begin their sports game. He looked as the boy kicked the ball towards the announcer's face, though missing only because the guy ducked to dodge it, sighing at the boy's malicious intent.

"His temper is duly noted. Could be trouble if left unchecked." He said to himself before casually returning to reading a book at his desk. The Book in question was the main reason he entered the school, a Mystery Novel he was interested in from the Library, and a perfectly quiet, isolated place to read it.

However, perhaps he picked a spot that's too good, as his eyes started to droop from drowsiness. It seems last night he was up late trying to solve a few mysteries on his own and didn't have much sleep afterwards. Finding a good spot to stop at and placing a bookmark on it, he placed his head on the desk and began to sleep.

...Until it was immediately interrupted by a girl who walked in.

"...Umm...Excuse me." She said to him, walking over to him to try and wake him up.



He looked at the girl immediately afterwards, going into a professional posture to fit with the nearly emotionless look on his face.

"Yes, what can I help you with...?" He asked her, his politeness contrasting with the stern look on his face.

"...Umm...I'm sorry if I bothered you, but...I hear you're some kind of junior detective right?"

"Scathing..." Akira thought as she asked that.

"Well...My textbook for my first class on Monday seemed to have disappeared, and I was wondering if you could help me find it. ...It's a Literature textbook, green cover, really thick..."

"Hmmm...Very well, It'll return to you by Monday." Akira said as he immediately stood up and walked out the door, before the girl could even have a chance to thank him for it.

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

Downtown Trespiano

Musical Accompaniment 2

Meanwhile, far off into the center of the city, the unsuspecting civilians were walking by, unaware of the loud monstrous voice that echoed high upon the rooftops of this town. It was at a high enough distance that none within town would be able to actively hear it, but the voice was so loud, so rough and disturbed, that if those below did hear it, they would shutter in terror as the owner of this demonic voice made his declaration:

"I'M BOOOOOOOORED! IT'S SO FUCKING BORING HERE, GODDAMMIT! YOU KNOW WHAT, FUCK ORDERS, FUCK CHAINS OF COMMAND, AND FUCK THAT POMPOUS SIR BULLSHITALOT FOR SENDING US HERE ON FUCKING STANDBY! JUST LET ME KILL SOMETHING FOR FUCK'S SAKE!"

The one yelling this was a man in a black tank top shirt, red jeans and matching sneaker shoes, his arms penetrated by multiple pipes as his hand were covered in black gauntlets with long sharp blades at the tip of each finger like claws. Such a daunting image was unbecoming the brown haired man as he threw himself around the rooftop as he yelled like a child throwing a temper tantrum.

Standing with him were two others, one was a red-haired and red-eyed woman with no signs of cybernetics outside of her body, wearing a rather thin-looking dress and high-heel shoes, grabbing at the top of her nose and sighing in embarrassment of the Demon's behavior.

The other, a long green-haired man with cybernetic black armor completely covering his arms simply looked at the people below with a pleasant smile through the scope he detached from his rifle, Nemesis, which he had strapped on his back. He was completely ignoring his partner's flustered ranting, being with him for so long that he learned how to tune him out when he does this. He seemed to be wearing his armor, but leaving the long coat holding his many guns and ammunition to his side, so as to not overheat.

"Honestly, you have the temper and patience of a five year old. We've only been here for two days." The woman, Temptress Pawn Anna Jackson, said.

"Exactly! Two whole days, 48 hours of fuck all! Give me a few coffees, and I could have burn this city and all its residents to ashes in that long. I thought we came here in preparation for a job, I swear if Knight had us waiting for 2 days and we get no job, I'm gonna start burning people anyways." The Demon Pawn, Benito Diauomo, said in response. The green-haired man, Abraham Vakivatamari the Sniper Pawn, immediately stood up as he looked towards the distance.

"...U-umm...Guys...Bishop's Dove is heading straight for us." He said to them nervously, not wanting to get involved in the bickering of his two partners, but what he did say caught their attention.

"Finally!" Demon said, as they spot the white dove seemingly covered in indigo flames flying towards them. With a gentle smile, Snipe extended out his arm so that the Dove can perch itself on it, which it proceeded to do. On the dove, wrapped around its body via a small string, tied around the torso, was a small roll of paper, which Tempt immediately grabbed and unrolled. There was only one word, eloquently written on the paper.

"Report."

The word then faded away from the paper almost immediately, as if washed off. It appears this paper was written in invisible ink. The Dove immediately started gagging, as a pen popped out of his mouth. In an instant and without hesitation, Tempt grabbed the Pen and started writing on it, Demon and Snipe looking over her shoulder as he did.

"Your Holiness, we are currently standing by in bay city of Trespiano, and awaiting instructions." Tempt written. The words became faded and vanished just like before, and as if through magic, another set of words faded onto the page in their place, word by word, as if they were being written by an invisible hand as she held it.

"Affirmative. We have managed to reach our client and have gained new information on the current target. As we have suspected, the Target currently resides in Trespiano, but until now, we had no other information on him. Now that we have gained new information, effective immediately, the three pawns are to be placed in active duty, and are responsible for the target's neutralization." The Letter then said.

"Yes!" Demon said out loud. The letter continued...

"Your assignment is one Luca Palladino, a fifteen year old freshman at La Forzetta School. Other than considerable talent in Football, the boy has little potential of threat currently speaking. There are rumors however, that the Vongola Decimo has his eyes set on the boy, though no confirmation as of yet to prove this." The Letter said, below the words faded in a very detailed portrait of Luca, seemingly drawn by the Bishop who is seemingly writing this letter.

"YES!" Demon then said out loud, not only was he going to finally get a chance to kill someone, but it was a high school freshman. He hasn't killed a child in a long time, but he remembered that their reactions before they died were... especially exquisite. Snipe, evidently noticing the murderous glimmer of excitement in Demon's eye, looked at the pen and then the letter, hinting at Tempt for the pen. Tempt was quick to notice and gave the pen to him, and with a silent thank you from Snipe, he began to write on the now-blank-again letter.

"If I may, Your Holiness, I'd like to confirm if we 'have' to kill this target." Snipe wrote on it. After a few seconds, a single word came into view.

"Negative."

"YEEE-Wait, What?" Demon asked, once again was going to go into a joyous outburst before interrupting himself halfway through, looking puzzled at what the letter just said. Snipe, meanwhile simply gave a gentle smile and a sigh of relief. A mission that doesn't have to end in bloodshed to be successful is nothing short of cathartic for him. As if uncaring for Demon's confusion, the letter continued.

"The Client has specifically requested no casualties unless necessary. Should the eyes of Vongola be on this boy as the rumors say, the risk of suspicion caused by his death would place a great risk on our client. The safety, confidentiality, and requests of our client takes precedence over all else."

"WHAT!?"

"Therefore, you may harm him if necessary, but you are not, under any circumstances, allowed to kill Mr. Palladino."

"...FFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-" The demon was then silenced as Tempt slammed her fist down on top of the Demon's head with inhuman strength, knocking him out.

"...That should give us a little peace and quiet for a while. Snipe, ask Bishop for more details. If killing is out of the question, then we need to consider our options." Tempt said to Snipe. He nodded and began to write again.

"Your Holiness, could you give us more information as to what you mean by neutralization, if elimination is not an option?"

"You are to first confirm whether or not the rumors about the potential candidacy of Mr. Palladino are true. You are to be absolutely certain on this decision, regardless of how long it may take. Should the rumors be confirmed as false, you are to report to us immediately. However, if the rumors are true, you are to ensure by any means other than death his discouragement and refusal to take part in Mafia activity or training for the candidacy. How you propose to do this is irrelevant: The objective is to ensure Mr. Palladino does not become a candidate for the title of Vongola Undicesimo, the method of how we are leaving to your discretion. Battle him and the potential guardians if you must, but do not kill."

"We understand."

"We expect to hear a report of success from you soon. Our reputation rides even on simple missions such as this...do not fail us." The dove immediately grabbed the pen with his beak and swallowed it again, the paper's writings fading again to become a blank piece of paper once more. Mist flames sparked and consumed the piece of paper before it too faded into nothingness. After that, the dove hopped off of Snipe's arm and flew away, leaving the three pawns on the rooftop.

"Well...I guess that means we have our mission like we wanted. ...So, umm, what do we do now?" Snipe asked.

"Easy: We find this Luca kid, and keep an eye on him for a few days to see if anyone shows up from Vongola on his doorstep. We find nothing happening, we report back to Bishop and His Majesty. If someone from Vongola DOES show up, we persuade Luca to not join them. Easy as cream pie. For now, finding this kid's our top priority. The Kid's a high schooler so...we should start with that." Temp said as she looked in the direction of La Forzetta high school.

"Umm...Ok, That's good and all but...What about Demon?" Snipe asked, about to grab hold of the unconscious berserker.

"...Ehh, leave him. It'd get real annoying real fast if he wakes up and starts something during our Recon of the target. At least starting something here will get him arrested at a far enough distance that the kid won't notice...Which reminds me, If anyone asks: he's not one of ours, and we have nothing to do with him. Now, let's get going." Temp said to Snipe, who nodded in response as they began jumping from rooftop to rooftop, Snipe looking back at the unconscious demon they're leaving behind before continuing their run towards the high school.
"Demons for hire!" The Mercenary Organization: "Incubus"




An organization of cybernetic DW flame-wielding mercenaries. Their exact origins are unknown, and not many are aware of them, seems even Vongola was left in the dark about their existence, need it be by other Mafia families, or by those within Vongola who did know. What is known is that they have been a group of assassins and wet-workers taking on the dirtiest tasks and clean-up jobs of mafias, cartels, yakuza, and other criminal syndicates and governmental bodies for generations, often working in the shadows to raise the reputation of their employers by removing any opposing elements. Assassinations, Kidnapping, bombings, torture, bodyguarding, Blackmail, silencing, you name it, they can do it for a price. It didn't matter how big or small the target was, from a homeless old man that needed to be reminded of his debts to a loan shark, to the leader of an entire country, they'll attack anyone for the right price. It should be noted that they name themselves and their successors after Chess pieces - the three lowest being collectively known as pawns but with their own special codenames - under the philosophy that they are simply tools for their employers will and nothing more. Much like the Vongola Famiglia, each member of Incubus serves a particular role in the group, which is driven as a reason to buy individual members or whole sets of them, depending on the what is needed for the time.

For the longest time, Incubus had no such abilities to invoke the dying will flames, relying solely on their exceptional skills as mercenaries to do the jobs given to them. The flames were a recent phenomenon for their families and were only being used for the past two or three generations.

This particular generation, however, gained cybernetic enhancements due to an experiment they participated in that gone awry, causing their respective flames to become unstable, using these cybernetics to keep themselves alive, as well as to further enhance and control their respective dying will abilities. As such, they are commonly seen by these enhancements, and their signature armor, each one the same model, but having their own unique features for each member, other than their weapons and cybernetics.

With one exception, All of the Cybernetics on Incubus contains a switch of some kind to regulate, focus, and release DW flames onto those respective parts of the body, empowering those parts with their entire body's worth of DW flames. This is known as "Release Mode" (RM), similar to Hyper Dying Will mode as a form of empowerment for a limited time. The RM focuses and releases all of member's Dying Will flames into their cybernetics until there is nothing left to safely release, after which the cybernetics automatically return to their dormant state, a cool-down of sorts, and leaves the members naturally exhausted. The amount of time they have until their RM disengages varies from member to member, It depends on how many parts of the body are cybernetic, and the size of those cybernetics. The cool-down limit, however, is generally the same for them all, it takes about 24 hours for their unstable flames to rekindle inside them again.

Another option they have, although suicidal, is the option to completely deactivate and remove the cybernetic regulators themselves, a strategy that must only be used in times of desperation and greatest emergency, known as "Fatal/Final Release Mode" or "FRM". By removing the Regulators completely from their bodies, via a keypad attached to their cybernetics and a special passcode, each one having a different passcode, their unstable DW flames will be released in full force without anything to stop them. The members entering this state will essentially reach the pinnacle maximum of their power, the full force of their respective flames exploding out of them, likely effecting the areas around them and the people within those areas by extension. But now, without anything to stop or control them, their flames will inevitably kill them by the end, making it a sort of "Kamikaze" mode.

(If Images are given to show the features of the unique features of the armor, replace only the color scheme and the helmet design of those images, with the image of the Incubus-Model Armor shown below.)















Butter Daisy Forest

Even from the distance they were at by this point and afterwards, Adam, Alice, and the White Rabbit could still feel the heat. Alice looked back at the inferno engulfing the area they were originally standing in, noticing the last faint silhouette of one of the boys who failed to adhere to the Rabbit and everyone else' warnings to run, before it faded in the flames and turned to dust. Alice honestly wanted to stop running and just fall to her knees, horrified at what happened; that boy didn't even have time to scream out in pain as he was burned alive, and while this could still just be a dream, a nightmare she wanted to wake up from, there was something in her gut as she viewed the embers behind them, that told her that she needed to run, that her life depended on it... and that this should never be allowed to happen again. Even if these people were just figments of her own imagination, she never wanted to see like this happen again.

Adam was about the same level of "done" that Hector was in the moment that he spotted Guiren consumed by what he could only describe as Hellfire, only continuing to run to ensure that he and anyone else here wasn't going to be fried along with him. The thoughts Hector had on what the Rabbit said to them was the same ones running in his own head as well, that this rabbit summoned them here, despite the now-obvious dangers, and that he was going to make a stew out of this rabbit if it's for anything less than somehow effecting United Kingdom, or the world...and either one seems frankly unlikely.

The White Rabbit took a moment, if only a moment, to look back at the inferno as well. The boy must have thought that this was only a dream, that he had nothing to fear if he stood around and let the flames hit...Not a difficult conclusion for any of them to reach by this point, which is why he had hoped he had a little more time to properly explain the situation to them. Now he has to explain to them that the incinerated boy is never going to wake up from his sleep, not a very easy task to think about when it's clear at least one or two of them are clearly effected by this.

But of course, he would not have had the time to think even about how sad the situation was, or how these people are taking it, had it not been for the ones who arrived to save their collective asses. He could not doubt that at the very least Chase, one of the last of the humans to begin running, would not have escaped in time, were it for the Mad Hatter protecting them. He saw the Dorm Mouse now taking the lead of these people, and the White Rabbit followed suit, as did Alice and Adam because, frankly, what other choice was there at the moment.

"Your timing is impeccable as ever, Dorm." The White Rabbit said to her as they ran. They were farther away from her, but he knew she'd be able to hear him say this. He then heard Hector demanding an explanation, only for the youngest human to tell them to keep it together, despite how difficult it was seeming for him to talk and run at the same time.

"Less pep-talking, more running!" Adam said to Snow, clearly noticing how exhausted he was getting, before turning towards the Rabbit again.

"Oi Rabbit, an ETA would be nice right about now!" Adam said to him.

"What in the world is an ETA?"

"You can't be serious... How long until we're safe to stop!?" Adam asked. The White Rabbit looked around and the further in front of him until he spotted something in the distance.

"...There!" The Rabbit said, pointing forward towards what appeared to be a perfectly circular hole in the ground, just large enough a radius for the rabbit, dorm mouse, and any humans to be able to enter.

"...Oh, you've got to be kidding me. Is this...a rabbit hole!?" Adam said to the rabbit, as they stopped around the hole, clearly perplexed at the implication that they have to drop into a hole in order to get to safety.

"The Hatter won't keep the Black Rabbit at bay for much longer, so hurry and get down there." The Rabbit said to them all.

"But it's a hole underground, how is that any safer than right now?" Adam asked.

"Grrr...Listen, this is a world of dreams; the physics of your world do not apply to this one. The holes we make do not just go 'underground' like I'm sure it does there. Besides, it's either dropping down there, or staying here and continuing to run from that." The White Rabbit said, pointing towards the inferno still lit up like an orange beacon behind them. Without another word, The White Rabbit jumped into the hole. While somewhat hesitant, Adam jumped in after him. Alice looked down the hole, then towards everyone else.

"Well...Let's hope for the best." Alice said to them, trying to put on a smile despite looking somewhat ready to cry before jumping into the hole herself.

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

Hatter's Sanctuary

Last Sanctuary

As soon as they reached the other side, they were no longer falling, but rather were shot upwards out of another Rabbit hole, much akin to how cartoons depict drilling through one side of the earth simply to come out the other.

The moment they would be popped out of this rabbit hole, however, they would be met with an unusual, fantastic sight before them as they land on the ground around the hole they came out of.They were now in what appeared to be a giant botanical garden, laced to the brim with steampunk-like contraption and machinery all around them, some of them fencing out the people from entering more green-filled areas of the garden, while others seemingly were nonsensical, seemingly unpractical, and outright impossible contraptions of a rough design seemingly assisting in someway to the well-being of its plant life. The whole of the area was also surrounded by a beautiful frame of bronze and copper of a Victorian design, walling in the garden like a cage. At the center of this garden laid a large rectangular table of refined, ebony-painted wood a large white sheet over the table top and an assortment of tea pots, tea cups, and plates all neatly organized for every chair around it, the at the far ends of each other having a more artistic, rich design to them, as oppose to the smaller chairs that line up on the table's sides, each one inconsistently designed, and some one could argue aren't really chairs at all, just small tables that are being used as chairs. There were hints of other life around, both natural and unnatural, the chirping of birds echoing through the plant life, merged with the sound of steps and the banging of metal.

"Here we are, you can rest now, humans. There are no shadows here but ones who offer you peace and sanctuary from the wonderland outside." The White Rabbit said as he hopped towards the large table in the center.

"Shadows...?" Alice asked.

"More importantly, where is here? We went down a rabbit hole, just to pop out of another one? are we on the other side of this world?" Adam then asked him.

"I already told you, this world does not function by the physics of your own, ...at least I don't think they do. I've never actually been physically to your world, so it's hard for me to accurately say that for certain." The White Rabbit responded, his back turned from the group as he seemed to be fiddling with something out of the humans' eyesight, before then revealing a golden pocket watch with a lid that he placed on the table...followed by a second one...and then a third one.

"As for where this place is, well it seems some of you are more aware of this world than I originally thought, so surely you would already know. This here is the garden of the Mad Hatter, a Sanctuary for rebel shadows like us. ...Oh dear." The White Rabbit said, the last comment seemingly not directed at the humans as more pocket watches were placed on the table. Interestingly, they were all quite large for someone like him to carry individuals, yet it seems as if he's had a number of these pocket watches on him...despite that they would have clearly been seen earlier by the humans if he had that many large pocket watches on him, but clearly it looked as if he had nothing of the sort when they first met him.

"Dorm, I'm going to need to borrow a few of yours. It seems I've overburdened myself a bit..." he said to the Bowler hat wearing mouse-eared human, who he assumed went down the hole before the other humans, given her orders from the Hatter.

"There's that word again, shadows. ...What are you talking about exactly?" Alice asked him.

"Oh...umm, It's probably for the best I let the Mad Hatter return before I get to explaining things, It may be difficult for you to comprehend where exactly you are and what we are by association." The White Rabbit said to them, his back still turned, which further irritated Adam.

"That's not how this is going to work, Rabbit. You said you were the one who threw us in here, you're the one who brought us into this without warning, and we just saw someone get burned alive, apparently just for being associated with you. We're not going to wait on this any longer, we demand an explanation for thi-" Adam said, although he sounded calm, it was easy to hear the seething venom with every word as he walked towards the White Rabbit and grabbed him, turning him towards the group. But he could not finish his sentence as he saw the Rabbit's front, his eyes widened as he drops him and steps back, tripping and falling accidentally, allowing everyone else to see what he sees.

The "White Rabbit" was now partly deformed in areas of his body, the white fur and parts of his coat now seemingly covered in an inky-black oil-like substance and seemingly began to melt off of him, before crawling back into itself. A part of his face was also like this, specifically the top left portion and the lower part of his ear, his left eye now a small glowing yellow orb as oppose to the blue eye his right one still was.

It was undoubtedly a horrifying look for him, something truly out of a nightmare or some kind of wonderland-inspired horror story, and yet he used his arms, or rather what's left of them, dust off what's left of his red coat as if this was a normal situation he was in, being careful that the black goop doesn't spread out as he did. Needless to say, Adam and Alice were both horrified at what they were seeing.

"Hmph! This was just the kind of reactions I did not wish to be bothered with, but I suppose it was inevitable to happen sooner or later." The rabbit said. While his voice was heard and movement could be seen in the inky goop of his face, his actual face didn't seem to move whatsoever, as if it wasn't real face at all, as if it was a mask despite realistic movements it showed before this happened.

"What...What in the world are you?" Alice asked him.

"Well I'll first state the obvious; I'm not exactly a White Rabbit as I appear to be...It is hard to accurately explain in detail, but to summarize, I am what you would call, a Shadow, as was the Black Rabbit and our allies out there, as are the people you will see here, and everywhere in this world, one that exists in correlation with your own." The White Rabbit said, casually explaining himself as if this was a normal conversation they were having right now, as he tries to reform himself. The black goop seemed to merge and take the shapes of his missing parts before the white fur, blue eye, and red coat reformed itself. The White Rabbit's face, now reformed, started moving again naturally as he opened and closed his jaws and eyes as if testing them out.

"Ah, There we go." The Rabbit then said, seemingly satisfied with his body's reformation.

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




Butter Daisy Forest

Oh no...

This was the only thing running through the White Rabbit's head the moment he heard the arrival of the mass of black. He knew exactly what it was; his eyes closed as he sighed before turning to face this giant behemoth of a man.

"...Black Rabbit." He simply said, as if trying to inform the others quickly as to what this...thing was. It was honestly not surprising that this monstrosity would come in so fast, but he hoped he had at least a minute more of time before he arrived. But now he has arrived, talking down to the White Rabbit for bringing the humans here, as a parent would to a troublesome child. The White Rabbit, trying to stand his ground while on shaky legs, simply said nothing, reaching his arms out to the sides of him as if prompting the humans to get behind him, trying - and failing - to look towards those yellow eyes he feared. As soon as this giant asked his question towards the Rabbit, that the rabbit immediately responded.

"Now's the time for running, everyone, Get going!" He said to the humans. At the very least, it seemed most of them finally believes him now, and fortunately enough, already began to retreat before he could say his order. He knew what the giant saw - but of course he would - so he had to get them all out of the giant's sight as quickly as he could, he himself hopping in the same direction once everyone else did so as well, not even giving the giant an answer to his question - not that he'd listen to a word he'd have to say about in his defense anyways.

Adam looked at this giant with considerable awe, he didn't need much more than this guy's appearance, this intimidating aura he displays by simply standing there and talking to the actual rabbit. The rabbit's affiliation with this one was something of note, and it seemed the kid figured that part out as well, but clearly, this wasn't the time for 20 questions.

"Don't have to tell me twice." Adam said to Rhys, as he made a run for deeper into the forest.

Alice was petrified with fear, she really wanted to wake up now, yet couldn't find any of the normal mental means of doing so working for her. This was getting too crazy for her to comprehend even as a dream; if this was truly a dream, why does this ominous feeling of dread this...thing give off, feel so real? Before she could even hear the Rabbit give his order, she felt the boy tug at her right arm, disorientating her for a second before getting back to her feet and running as soon as everyone else did so as well. It should be noted, she noticed the boy talking about protecting her, but she had no clue why this interest in her safety all of a sudden.

"Any idea if we can out-chase that thing!?" Adam asked the White Rabbit as he ran.

"Losing him is difficult even for us, let alone humans like you. The moment he comes running, he won't stop." The WR responded.

"What? Then what the hell are we suppose to do!?" Adam yelled back...For him, this really was like a dream, a nightmare of being chased by something that would eventually catch up, only for some reason, there's no feeling he'll wake up just before that happens.

"Don't worry, I did not make the effort of summoning the looking glass for such a long time to bring you all here without a plan for this situation. But until it can be sprung, just keep running." The rabbit said, not just to Adam but to everyone else as well.

@rebthewriter @CronicCrystalis @Crimmy @Petulant @Letter Bee @Duoya @Etranger @Avant @Suku @Windstormugly @CriticalHit @EchoicChamber
I will be showing off the first antagonist organization, as soon as I'm finished completing them. Until then, @Vongola_Hasayo, Here's my Cloud Guardian.

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


Akira Komaeda, 17



"...Akira Komaeda, ...My name. That's all you need to know for the moment."



P E R S O N A L I A



"Crimes have tried to be justified by their perpetrators since the dawn of time. Robin hood steals from the rich just so he could give it to the poor, vigilantes beats down and even kills others they claim to be criminals without any due process to prove them right. Even something as simple as stealing bread from a shop, as complicated as stealing money from a bank, can be justified as being for better causes than themselves. Maybe they did, have to take a innocent person's hard-earned money from them so that they could give their family food, cause God knows its easier than earning that money for yourself. ...Should we just allow these crimes to exist, these syndicates to exist, because their misfortune on some might benefit others? Should a bunch of ink-marked barbarians and murderers continue to run this country from the shadows because they benefit those supposedly beneath them? Mafias like them, organized crime syndicates like Vongola and other mafias like it, controls the world; above laws, above governments, above people, and they can do that because they can justify their actions...kill a cop, kill a detective, just because he got in the way of a crime I'm sure they can justify as beneificial as well. ...Let me be blunt with you. If I was given the choice, I would gladly take every mafia family, every Yakuza clan, every syndicate that has ever taken the easy way out by going above and below the laws, and without distinction, burn them all to ashes. I made it my goal to do just that, but I intend to do it the hard way, through the laws and rules of the world...That, is how I will justify my actions."

// P E R S O N A L I T Y
Much like the previous guardian of the Cloud, Akira is a cold, silent man with a tendency to stay isolated and away from groups of people. But it's not necessarily due to a hatred for being around others, but more because he prefers to train his mind with investigating mysteries in peace. He may act cold and insensitive around others, but beneath the icey exterior is a kind and loyal man of the people. When someone needs his help for whatever reason, he would be quick to try and solve their problems without much resistance. He would often point out that he usually requires payment for these actions, but he never enforced that notion nor reminded them to pay him for his service, practically confessing it was a joke without actually saying it.

He believes in the righteousness of the country's laws, laws made not by singular people atop ivory towers, but by the common people below that makes up the bulk of a country's civilization. No one is above, nor beneath the law, and no crime is beneath due process and fair trials. He is aware of its potential corruption, as well as its many faults and the unyielding difficulty that they create for justice, but feels it is the right way to do things, the way that causes the least harm to others, and is willing to walk that path regardless of the many failures it could bring. When he sees crimes being done, or committed, without a word, he would jump on solving it and bringing the criminal in question to justice.

Because of this and a past incident, Akira has a deep-seeded loathing of criminal organizations such as mafias, drug or slave cartels and Yakuza clans. To him, they are all an army of low-lifes and barbarians, who could not find their worth in society the hard way, so instead they take the easy way at the expense of others well-being and possibly lives. Even if a particular family or clan or cartel is less malicious than others, they are still committing crimes that endangers others so that they might help people in need. Even Vigilantism, while not as unforgivable to him as its usually for a justified cause, is still commiting brutality and death of someone without any trial or evidence to prove their claims. To see other children like himself be a part of these criminal organizations, such as someone being the heir to a Yakuza clan and possibly being in the same school as them, is a personal conundrum for him. While he would likely be very...bitter towards their family, silent and ignorant for the most part of them especially, at the same time, if they are truly in dire need of help...he simply cannot bring himself to tell them off or ignore those troubles. They are still students after all, and it's not as if they could choose who their parents are. That said, he would likely immediately go back to ignoring them once those troubles are gone.

Speaking of Parents, while his is still alive, he has essentially disowned them after the incident. In his mind, his mother sold her soul for personal gain and his father was a monster from the very start. he does not quite know the full story of what happened, or why his mother abandoned their heritage like she did, but he doesn't care either. The very mention of his parents serves as a major source of discomfort, prying into the matter will only serve to earn you his scorn.

It should also be noted that Akira is actually a Pyrophobic, traumatized after the Komaeda Estate burned down with him and his Grandfather still inside. Things like a lighter or someone activating DW flames won't cause too much of a reaction save for wanting to look away from it, and prefers to keep away from particularly hot places, but if there is a massive fire anywhere near him, he'll practically burst out of character, curling up in a ball and panicking.

// B A C K G R O U N D
The Komaeda Family has been around for many generations in the past As a family of private detectives of a particularly excellent quality, so much so that they managed to keep off the radar of federal authorities until recently, serving as Private Detectives with an unknown past and future, using their skills as a detective to find and capture criminals of the underworld.

The third latest generation, Naoto Komaeda, Akira's grandfather, decided in his early days to step the family out of the shadows so that they may help, not just because he felt it was the right thing to do, but because he felt it was the natural evolutionary step forward for a family like them. Akira's mother and Naoto's daughter, felt ultimately that the detective family business was unfit for someone like her and her child, her husband wanting her use those smarts she had with him for the sake of business opportunities.

Akira, on the other hand, loved his grandfather, was fascinated with the stories her mother told of him, and the stories he himself told of their ancestors. From childhood, Akira has always idolized his grandfather, and much to his parents' dismay, aspired to be a great Detective like him and the rest of his family, going as far as to live with him rather than his parents.

However, things did not go quite well for him as it were. As it turned out, the 'business' his father associated with was being a former Yakuza turned member of Vongola's CEDEF branch, working as an affiliated laison between Vongola and multiple Yakuza clans. While he indeed had good intentions, trying to keep the Yakuza in line in exchange for favors with Vongola, it was still seen by his grandfather as an utter betrayal, not that his mother cared.

However, The Yakuza found out who his father was married to, and wasn't too keen on trusting a woman whose father lived for the sole purpose of screwing them over, and from a family with a reputation of being a pain in the asses of organized crime everywhere. At the same time, they couldn't just kill her and make an enemy of something as powerful as Vongola. So instead, some of them took matters into their own hands to make an example be demonstrated to her.

This was the cause of the incident that froze Akira's heart shut.

That fateful night, A group of Yakuza henchmen, disguised as psychotic arsonists, snuck in and burned down the Komaeda estate with Akira and Naoto still inside. Naoto managed to use what strength he had in his olden body to grab Akira and escape in tow, the burning unbreathable air engraved in the boy's memory. That should have been the end of it right there. They didn't kill Naoto in the fire, but it would at least set an example to him. However, one of the henchmen broke orders after noticing he was still alive, and began to panic. Though they tried to stop him as he pulled out a gun to shoot them both, in the end, he pulled the trigger, and Naoto, noticing quickly that his grandson and himself was being aimed at, used himself to cover Akira, taking the bullet square in the back of his neck, and dying right in front of Akira's eyes. The other Yakuza grabbed the one that killed Naoto, and dragging him back to their headquarters for his punishment for screwing up, but Akira only saw them running off as the police finally came.

He must have cried for hours, his mind unable to process everything that happened, traumatized by his beloved Grandfather dying like that. The bright, dreaming, and optimistic boy died along with his grandfather that day, officially so when he found out about his parents' "job" for the Mafia, though he was unaware, and uncaring as to which mafia.

Seeking revenge and justice for his Grandfather, He strived to become a detective just like him, and vowed to take down all organized crime, one by one, his parents included.

Cut to the present, and he is now a second-year in High-School, A practical honor roll student, exercising his skills as a detective by helping fellow students privately, just as his ancestors did before. With each day, he's a step closer to becoming a true detective, and a step closer to having the power to take down any mafia who'd dare stand in the way of the law.

Little did he know that he was about to be unwittingly a part of the very thing he despised, as a Guardian of one of the most powerful Mafias in the world...and as it happens, the exact same one his parents are affiliated with.

...Fate truly does have a sense of Humor.


P A R A M E T E R S



"I should warn you: I'm not the type to stand down."

// F L A M E
Cloud

// A B I L I T I E S
Detective level intellect - While he is still in high school, Akira was training to be a detective like the previous generations of his family since childhood. As such, by the time he has reached high school, he managed to gain enough deductional skill to go beyond his current grade level. While he's not exactly a genius per se, even he feels he still has a ways to go before he can call himself worthy of being a detective, he is more than capable of figuring out things that may pass by the heads of others around him. He is quick-minded and perceptive enough to see through lies, deceit, and most traps, though there are times where he can let his guard down if his opponent is intelligent enough to keep him focused on one thing while they make a move somewhere else.

Skilled combatant - Combat was another thing he was trained since childhood to learn. As a detective, it would be all but inevitable to wind up in a fight with a criminal. Much like the previous guardian, Akira has a gift for being particularly strong and agile in a fight, and take down most opponents that come his way as a result, and in addition, he applies his own brains into the fights, creating strategies against particular opponents he can't just fight normally. But it should be stressed that he is by no means a master. He has no real discipline of note, mostly being self-taught as advised by his grandparents, and as such, can likely be defeated by those with the skill and mentality to use his physical gifts against him.

// E Q U I P M E N T
The Komaeda Cane - A very special cane passed down from generations of the Komaeda family lineage since the 19th century. As a Komaeda is always diving into danger of the underworld, this cane was made to combat its criminal dwellers there. While it looks like a normal cane, the stalk is metal and fragmented with a bladed edge, connected to a cord of tough nylon, making it capable of turning into a bladed whip of sorts, as well as a blunt instrument to hit people with. Eventually, the powers of the cloud flames shall allow the nylon and blades on the whip to multiply considerably, making it capable of wrapping around enemies with.
I can offer up Lightning and take Sun if that widens the search parameters. Or someone can double.


Appreciated, but I don't think changing one open spot for another may help.

That said, if @Vongola_Hasayo does not want to take Sun, I suppose I will double up and use Sun as well.
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