[PP-F08] Echoes in the Hollow

[Scar 0]

The forest on the Eight Floor breathed differently than any other place Jack had set foot in. It wasn't just the sound, although even that seemed to be alive, every drip of water and creak of wood echoing like a heartbeat. No, it was the way the air pressed close around him, damp and warm, filled with the scent of moss and rain-soaked bark. The trees towered above, their trunks thick as walls, stretching so high that the canopy blurred into a ceiling of green. Shafts of filtered light broke through in narrow columns, catching on the mist and turning it gold.

He had been walking for the better part of an hour without following any particular trail. The forest didn't lend itself to paths, not here. The elves didn't believe in scarring the ground with roads, and any animal track he'd stumbled onto vanished as quickly as it appeared. Still, Jack wasn't lost. The minimap flickered faintly in his peripheral vision, its edges washed out by the fog, but he could see the faint glow of Ellesmera far to the west.

He'd left it behind earlier that morning. Too many people. Too much perfection.

The elves were beautiful, everything about them sculpted, deliberate. Even their silence was of a kind that was very elegant and made Jack feel like he was not supposed to be there. He wasn't sure what he'd been looking for when he came up here. Maybe he'd just wanted to breathe somewhere that didn't make him feel small. The forest, for all its strangeness, felt honest. Wild. Untamed.

The thing is, as he was walking, that truth started to change.

It was very quiet at first, the sounds becoming fewer, the chirping of birds turned into a low, droning hum that appeared to come from the trees themselves. The ground dipped slightly, the air thickening until every breath felt like drawing through damp cloth. Jack slowed, scanning the woods ahead. The light here was different. Dimmer. Something was floating in the air like a very thin layer of something, but the air was without any fire smell.

Something cracked off to his left. A dry, brittle sound, a branch breaking underfoot.

Jack froze, every muscle tensing. His gaze swept the undergrowth, thick ferns, fallen leaves, a curtain of vines shifting slightly as if brushed by a hand. He waited, listening. The forest didn't return to normal. It stayed silent, heavy with the weight of something unseen.

Then came the laughter.

Soft at first, almost mistake for the wind, then again, louder, rising in pitch until it didn't sound quite right anymore. Human, but wrong. A shiver ran up his spine. He faced the source of the noise, eyes narrowing.

There was no system notification. No enemy indicator. Just that laughter, echoing faintly between the trees like it didn't belong to this world.

Jack hesitated. He'd learned long ago that curiosity in Aincrad could get you killed, but he'd also learned that ignoring someone in trouble could haunt you worse. He exhaled through his nose, drawing his weapon with a muted rasp.

"Hello?" His voice cut through the air, quiet but firm. "Someone there?"

No answer. The forest was so loud that it completely overwhelmed his words, and they got lost in it.

He waited a beat, then started forward, slow, deliberate steps over the mossy ground. The laughter had stopped, but the echo of it lingered, weaving through the canopy like smoke.

The trees began to thin just slightly ahead, and Jack could see light, the faint suggestion of an opening in the distance. Maybe a glade. Maybe something else. His pulse quickened as he moved toward it, the silence pressing in and around him once more.

Whatever it might be that was waiting out there, it was not a part of any quest he knew of. And yet, he couldn't stop himself from going.

* * *

Spoiler

Scar | HP: 420/420 | EN: 75/75 | DMG: 20 | MIT: 20 | True Tier 3

WC: 650

[Ceres 0]

Passing the tests, ‘Alice’ was freed from Tybalt after what felt like several months - but had only been two days. Guards gone, dead, and cursor flicking from green to orange and now back to green. A temporary debuff gone, much like Ceres’ sanity.

The woman was walking through the forests, collecting flowers for a show, collecting samples of all manner of things! Poisons! A drippy sticky sweetly kind of substance from a plant, more! More to explore! When…

She heard it, small footsteps of another. And so, the woman followed, quiet as a mouse, the doormouse- don’t you know?

"Someone there?"

“Someone? Maybe?” Her voice called out from above him, but with a nimble jump, and a slide down a tree trunk, unseen by the poor, poor, pauper. She spoke again. “Am I somEoNe? ~ Or am I No-One? If we haveN’t Met do I eVen Exist?”

Another shift, till she was standing behind him now.

“Boo~”

A shower of confetti fell over the poor confused man, tiny pieces of paper of red, blue and green and yellow and pink and even purple! 

Ceres  Alice appeared in front of the man, seemingly from nowhere. “Did I scare you~!” She asked, bouncing on one spot. Lavender eyes wide, maniacal, glistening and twitching as though there was a struggle behind that unwavering insane gaze. “Look at you…LOOk at you…” She began as Alice circled the man, perfectly polished heels navigating the uneven terrain with ease.

“Let me see… Let me see…” She mumbled, grabbing one of his arms and picking it up, giving it a wave as though she were inspecting an animal at a carnival show. “Hmm…boring…” A tap of sharpened manicured nails on his back, between his shoulder blades. Lowering herself with a crouch and holding out her hands as though she were measuring the girth of his calves. “Hmm Hmmm….”

Alice stood back in front of him and gave the man a low and sweeping bow, fuzzy fake ears twitching with the movement, and the wind. “I, Alice have deduced- that you, my wandering, waltzing, whispering, whimpering…WatChFul, WAsteFul..WaRy…” Her speech began to break, between fits of giggles as she lifted herself up, hand to her face, fingers digging into flesh. “But not WhimsiCal?!” A tilt of her head as she frowned then feigned a few sobs. “Where? WHere is yOur Whimsy?”

Her head tilted further, almost a sickening 90* angle that should not have been possible. “Do you beLieVe in MaGiC?”

[Scar 0]

"Boo~"

A shower of confetti burst over him, bits of color fluttering through the trees like glitched pixels. Jack spun around, muscles tightening, eyes scanning until they found her.

"Did I scare you~!"

Her voice carried that unsettling sing-song lilt, too cheerful, too sharp. Jack immediately put his guard up. Unfortunately, he didn't have a weapon equipped, nothing to defend himself with, and every instinct screamed that this woman was dangerous. Still, he stayed where he was, cautious, watching her every move.

"Look at you... LOOk at you..."

She moved around him in a circle, steps light, deliberate, almost like dance. He turned slightly to keep her in sight, shoulders squared.

"Hmm... boring..."

She crouched suddenly, hands hovering by his legs as if she were appraising a sculpture. Jack frowned, trying to make sense of her erratic behavior. What in the world is going on?

Then came the bow, low, theatrical, the kind that you'd see in anime. The soft breeze was making her fur ears twitch, and her lavender-colored eyes were shining with something untamed behind them.

"I, Alice have deduced- that you, my wandering, waltzing, whispering, whimpering... WatChFul, WAsteFul..WaRy..."

Without thinking he moved away from her, weight moved onto his heels. Her sentences didn't make any sense and she was jumping from rhyme to rhythm like it was a song only she could hear.

"But not WhimsiCal?!" she cried, laughter breaking into breathy sobs.

"W-Whimsy?" Jack asked, brow furrowed. "What are you talking about?"

She tilted her head. Once. Twice. Then further, too far. The sound of it, that faint crack, sent chills down his spine. However, his face did not reflect terror, rather, it was a silent, unsure kind of concern.

"Do you beLieVe in MaGiC?"

Jack exhaled softly, letting the tension ease just a fraction. Then he lifted his arm, palm facing her, voice dry but edged with humor.

"Like casting fireball?"

The faintest smirk tugged at his lips. The joke wasn't to mock, just to steady himself, to break whatever spell she was weaving with her madness. Around them, the forest felt still. Too still. Confetti clung to his gear, catching the dim light as it drifted to the ground.

And somewhere between them, something unseen stirred, watching, waiting, holding it breath.

* * *

WC: 377

[Ceres 0]

The man took a step away from her, and Alice took two steps forward, bouncing to and fro, humming softly, off-tune. The entirety of her just that slightly bit off kilter. As though not everything lined up quite right in that poor deranged and tortured noggin of hers.

“Fireball?” Her smile faded. “FiREbaLL!?” She shook her head wildly, “no! No! NO!” She stomped her feet, as though she was having a tantrum, this wouldn’t do. This wasn’t Right!

Her hands went to her head, clasping her skull as though it were pounding, Alice shook violently. “No! NO noO noO nO!” Announcing every little protest with another stomp of her heeled shoes. “My One EyeD Jack. NO!” This man was boring, dull, droll…he couldn’t see it, no. He couldn’t see at all. Not at all.

“Papa would be so disappointed…” She whispered beneath her breath. A pause, an inhale. But boring could be fixed. Right? Alice was doubled over, eyes staring at the ground. She closed them and inhaled. Calming herself. Her hands fell slack to her sides as she straightened herself. 

“Magic! Magic!” Alice screamed wildly, and with a flourish of her hand, three roses appeared, each a different colour. “See! See!”  The red one, she kept in her right hand, the blue, in her left. Then - with a clasp of teeth over thorns, droplets of blood trickling from a pierced lip.

“Now…wHy not StoP and SmEll the RosEs~!?”

[Scar 0]

When her hands flew to her head, Jack's first instinct wasn't fear, it was concern. The way she clutched her skull, the way her body trembled, made her seem less like a threat and more like she was in agony. His brow furrowed. What's happening to her?

But as the shaking intensify, her whole body jerking violently from side to side, he instinctively took a step back. His mind was full of confusion about what she might be doing, he was not aware if that was just a show of some kind, a warning or even something terrible but he still knew by instinct that he needed to keep some distance. Just close enough to be able to react if it got worse.

The next words that came next, icy, penetrating the quiet of the woods:

"My One EyeD Jack. NO!"

Jack froze, tilting his head. "One-eyed Jack?" he repeated softly to himself. The phrase made little sense, but the intensity behind it suggested importance. There was a threat in it, or maybe a memory, a personal mark. Whatever the case, it made his stomach tighten. He was ready to retreat, shifting his weight and slightly lifting his hands as if to get away if necessary.

She muttered some words that couldn't be heard clearly.

"Papa would be so disappointed..."

Jack's concern deepened. He scanned the surrounding forest as his mind worked to interpret her words. Your papa? Maybe he can help us out. he thought aloud, speaking to her with measured calm, hoping to anchor her, to buy a fraction of stability. "Maybe he can help us out," he added, glancing around for some figure in the trees, though the clearing held only shadows and drifting light.

And then,

"Magic! Magic!"

The shout came like a razor through the stillness of the air. The suddenness of the act made Jack uncautiously take a step back but then recovering his composure, eyes widening at the sudden display. With a flourish of her hands, three roses popped up: red, blue, and yellow, sharp as can be against the drab forest greens and browns. The suddenly display of raw magic was mesmerizing, and frightening.

His concern spiked when she bit down on the yellow rose, thorns piercing her lips, droplets of blood glinting in the dim light. Jack's stomach dropped. Without thinking, he moved closer, boots crunching over the soft forest floor. Stop her. Stop her from hurting herself.

"Let me smell this one!" he uttered swiftly, trying to sound calm, harmless, coaxing rather than commanding. His eyes darted between the roses she held in each hand. Red. Blue. Yellow, bleeding. He reached carefully toward the yellow one, fingers hovering just short of touching her lips. His mind raced, calculating how to keep her safe while keeping himself out of harm's way.

Jack's heart was thumping his chest more quickly as he looked her over, her large, shining eyes, the crazed way she tilted her head, the irregular movements which seemed almost as if they were untraceable. Time seemed to slow down, tension tightened like a coil around the little clearing.

Still, he didn't distance himself any further. He didn't want to escalate the situation. All he could do was move cautiously, react instinctively, and hope she didn't take offense at his interference.

The forest around them was still there, the leaves suspended mid-rustle as though the world itself had paused, holding its breath for what would happen next.

* * *

WC: 577

[Ceres 0]

“I’M loOking for my ONe. EyEd. Jack….Jack….Jack..Jack…” She started repeating the name over and over again, muttering under her breath like it was a whispered mad mantra. “Jack be nimble Jack be quick. Jack climbs up the bEanStalk, Jack and JiLl climBed up the HiLl…Always…AlWays Jack.” A mind so broken and tattered it struggled to focus on one thing too long, even before she was broken ‘Alice’ struggled to keep her thoughts steady. Now, they whirled around in her head, so fast, so dizzying. All she wanted was a very good show.

"Maybe he can help us out.”

“Y-You…want to meet my papa!?” Alice trembled with excitement as he stepped closer. Boring, but curious! Yes… this might work after all.

yes….YES…..Yes….yes.yesyes…yes..  

Alice dropped the other roses and plucked the yellow one from her mouth, “Yes!” She shouted, delighted. Her other hand darted out and grabbed the mans collar, roughly dragging him forward. “A choice! The illuSion of CHoiCe! bUt you ChoSe! FreEly! FreEly chose! Yes!” Alice held the rose out to the man, and with a press of its soft petals to his nose a puff of powder came from it.

“Tadaaa!” Alice released him and another sea of confetti was thrown into the mans face.

A powerful halluciogenic -spores from the Psilocybin mushroom, the exact thing the woman had been collecting here. What a delight! What a freight! “i’M sO ExCited!” Alice squealed as she discarded the used rose over her shoulder. “Please! Oh Please! Mista!” She clasped her hands together as she lifted a foot and stomped his chest, forcing him to tumble to the floor. Alice knelt down next to him, her wide eyes focused on him. Would it affect him? Did he breathe enough in?

A press of a finger to his cheek. “What do you see? WHat do you see~!? Do you SeE wOnDerLand?”
 

A step out and to the side, as she held her arms up wide, throwing more confetti in the air. "And He wants to see my Papa! You here that Papa! Huh?" A giggle and a laugh as Alice turned back to face Scar. "Papa may not be here, but don't worry, little lost lamb! I'm here!"

 

Edited 12 hours ago by Ceres

[Tybalt 1]

A whistle beneath a white mask of ivory, a cane tucked neatly beneath his right arm as it wandered in from seemingly nowhere. "What's all the hubub chum?" the man twists with a flick of the wrist, beckoning to them both before reaching to a top hat sat squarely upon his head. A roll of the hand sees it drift down his arm, being caught betwixt two fingers by the brim and pressed into his stomach. "Red, Yellow, Blue. What a choice what was stopping you?" He offers quizzically, a slight upturn in his voice as he does. "Chosen yellow, my my what a fellow. What was the last Alice? Was it Blue, or Red?" He remarks as he slides across the field in a chipper stroll, the cane having since left its tuck and beginning to twirl about like a propeller.

Tybalt rounds around behind Alice in all her chaotic glory, pinching a rabbit ear as he passes. "Such a sweet little thing isn't she? AND QUITE THE LOOKER!" He'd lean uncomfortably close, allowing Jack to see the very lines on that mask confirming the lack of eye holes or a space to breath through. "I couldn't be more proud... One eyed Jack was it? Jack be nimble..."

A glance to Alice has her recount with him, in that same manic mantra:

"Jack be quick."
"Jack be quick."

The man turns his back and strokes Alice's hair as he does. "Jack better run fast, BECAUSE JACK....." A shriek with both arms into the air, his cane flying out of sight as it clears the canopy. "....IS IN THE THICK OF IT." as he wanders out into the tree line, to the tone of manic laughter that echoes.

WC: 288

Post Action | Stealth Rating -> 256390, LD: 20 + 9 = 29 (Poof)

Tybalt | HP: 720/720 | EN: 106/106 | DMG: 23 | MIT:18 | ACC:2 | BH:36

Spoiler

Name: Tybalt, The Jester
True Tier: 4
Level: 34
Paragon Level: 0
HP: 720/720
EN: 106/106

Stats:
Damage: 23
Mitigation: 18
Accuracy: 2
Battle Healing: 36
Stealth Rating: 4

Equipped Gear:
Weapon/Armor/Trinket: 
  - Bladed Deck [Vanity Throwing]
Armor/Trinket: 
  - 
Shield/Armor/Trinket: 
  - 

Combat Mastery:
  - Combat Mastery: Damage R3

Combat Shift:
  - 

Familiar Skill:
  - 

Custom Skill:
  - 

Skills:
  - Battle Healing R5
  - Energist
  - Light Armor R3
  - Thrown Weaponry R5

Extra Skills:
  - Hiding R5

Inactive Extra Skills:

Addons:
  - Ferocity
  - Precision
  - Resolve
  - Stamina

Mods:
  - Meticulous
  - Surprise Attack: Trickster
  - Untraceable

Inactive Mods:

Battle Ready Inventory:

Housing Buffs:

Guild Hall Buffs:

Scents of the Wild Totem:

Wedding Ring:

Crafting Profession:

Gathering Profession:

 

[Scar 0]

Jack's instincts screamed as her hand shot out and grabbed the collar of his shirt. He yanked back, trying to resist, muscles tensing against her surprising strength. What is she doing? The forest around him seemed suddenly too tight, the light filtering through the leaves twisting oddly.

Just then, she presented the rose to him. While he was leaning backward, a sudden, earth scent hit his nose, damp soil, mushrooms, something rich and unsettling. His eyes widened just in time before she released him, sending another wave of confetti flying through the air. He swiped at the colorful paper instinctively, but a faint powder drifted straight toward his face.

In a fit of coughing, Jack covered his mouth and nose with his hand, trying desperately to avoid inhaling more. But it was too late. A warm, heavy feeling spread from his chest to his head, making the ground feel slightly unsteady beneath his boots. Focus.. focus, he thought to himself, but the words felt heavy, sluggish, like swimming through syrup.

Furthermore, Alice, who was not at all bothered by his efforts, pressed her foot against his chest, forcing him backwards. Jack's knees buckled, and he went down onto the soft forest floor, leaves crunching under him, arms bracing against the sudden impact. His vision flickered, the colors of the forest deepened, the greens and browns becoming impossibly vivid, almost liquid, as though painted on the world itself.

The edges of the trees bent unnaturally. Branches twisted upward into impossible angles, stretching toward the sky like the fingers of some giant hand. Jack blinked rapidly, trying to clear his vision, but it only worsened. The confetti hanging in the air above him seemed alive, each speck twirling and crawling like tiny insects, the colors bleeding together into shimmering clouds.

It was no surprise to Jack that his stomach was in knots. The powder, whatever it was, worked in its way into his mind, tugging at the edges of his thoughts. He could hear whispers echoing from every direction, some clear, some a warped hum. Whispering.. calling..

Alice knelt beside him, finger pressing lightly to his cheek. Her wide, gleaming eyes bored into him, unblinking. "What do you see? WHat do you see~!? Do you SeE wOnDerLand?"

Jack's head spun. The forest around him had transformed. The towering tree far away was seeming out of this world, its gigantic brown trunk was breaking apart into a hundred or more twisted limbs all of which were extending towards him. Shadows danced across the ground, not cast by the leaves above, but from.. something else, something unseen. He felt as if he were slipping, falling through layers of reality, the forest dissolving into a haze of color, sound, and movement.

He wanted to push back, to stand, to escape, but the hallucinogenic haze pinned him to the ground, his limbs heavy, unresponsive. His thoughts scattered like sparks in the wind. This isn't real.. It can't be real..

And yet, every blink brought new horrors, or wonders, morphing together, as if Alice had twisted the very world into her own deranged performance. The air shimmered around him, alive, suffused with the smell of earth and wild mushrooms, and Jack realized with a sinking feeling that the forest he knew was gone, replaced by whatever Wonderland she wanted him to see.

Through the swirling haze of color and confetti, Jack caught sight of another figure, a tall man, strange and precise, moving almost unnaturally through the trees. His mask gleamed faintly in the shifting light, ivory smooth and impossible, the cane twirling in one hand. Jack's stomach tightened. Who..?

Even through the fog of hallucination, he sensed the presence as deliberate, watchful, and far from benign. He tried to shift backward, footing uncertain on the uneven ground, heart hammering, every sense straining to understand if this new figure was a threat, or something far stranger.

The laughter, Alice's and this new presence's, echoed through the trees, warping around him, melding with the forest's distorted shapes. Jack's mind raced, trying to hold onto something real, anything solid, but the colors, the sounds, and the smell of earth and magic swirled together.

* * *

WC: 694

Edited 11 hours ago by Scar

[Ceres 0]

"PAapa!" 

Alice skipped over to Tybalt, wrapping her arms around him as he caught her and spun her around once, twice, thrice! She nuzzled the side of his mask with her face. "I didn'T ExPEct you~ A delight!" She stepped back, patting him down, removing an errant leaf from his shoulder. "Such Heights! What a FrEight!" Alice clapped as Tybalt took a bow. 

"Red and Blue!" A stomp on the blue rose, discarded on the floor,  "Blue and Red!" A stomp on the red rose, crushing it beneath her foot, as it snapped it fizzled and sizzled and the smell of burnt leather permeated from beneath her shoe. "Had he chosen red..." A draw of her nail across her neck, so sharp it left a thin red line. "Oh my! He'd be dead!" 

Alice followed Tybalt, humming happily as he stalked across the field, heading toward where the boring man had fallen. Tybalt wrapped an arm around her shoulders, drawing both her and him close, incredibly close to the scarred mans face, so close that Alice would watch as his eyes danced to and fro, seeing ghosts and goals and all a manner of shadow! Ah, what a show! "Looker!?? Alice cried out. "I hardly know her!" And somewhere, deep in the forest, canned laughter erupted as though there was a live studio audience. Alice turned and pressed her forehead into the side of Tybalts. "Papa is better!" She cooed.

Tybalt stood, muttering to himself, but Alice...was far too busy watching the dark, drab, boring man. Not her one eyed Jack. But maybe a Jack?

"Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water...." She began to sing, swaying to and fro as she shifted to cross her legs, watching the man with interest. "But JACK fell down! and broke his crown!" A pause as she started to laugh again. "OH! Will you break your crown!? Oh please I must know!"

 

[Scar 0]

The world seemed to turn upside down around him. The tree around him dissolved into a soft blue of color and noise, flowers falling like embers, laughter reverberating as if it was coming from very near. Jack could take a few steps without losing his balance, but his body seemed to be weighed with sand. He gasped for air in a more or less regular fashion but slow and it was as if the air was thickened honey.

He heard Alice's crazy laughter faintly and far away and a different voice, smooth, lilting, teasing, that twisted through the trees. But their words no longer mattered. His world was narrowing, tunneling inward.

Through the haze, something changed. The flicker of a campfire. The creak of wooden beams. The smell of coffee. The forest was gone.

He was in an inn.

Jack's brow furrowed, confusion blending with a strange warmth. He blinked, and there she was, Alinta. Her form clear as day, standing by the bedside. Her head tilted slightly as her familiar smirk curved her lips. "Hey, honey," she said softly, "What's your favorite ice cream?"

His throat tightened. That voice, gentle, teasing, alive. He tried to answer, his mouth dry. "My favorite ice cream..? I think it would be coo-"

He stopped. Something felt wrong. He shook his head, as though clearing water from his ears.

"Mine is coffee," Alinta said, smiling wider.

Jack's pulse stuttered. The warmth of the room suddenly cooled. He tried to sit up, but his body wouldn't respond. His limbs felt heavy, pinned by something unseen.

"But only if it has chocolate on it," she added.

He looked up at her again. Her eyes caught the light just right, but something about them wasn't right, they way they didn't blink, the way her shadow didn't move with her.

"If no chocolate sauce," she said, opening a small tub that materialized in her hands, "then it's cookies and cream."

He stared as she dipped the spoon, slow and methodical, like a ritual. His chest ached. Every instinct screamed that this wasn't real, but his heart.. His heart wanted to believe. To stay.

Jack swallowed hard, a tear almost threatening to form as his mind fractured between illusion and truth. The sweetness of her presence was suffocating, cruel in its perfection. No. No, she's not here.

But he couldn't move. Couldn't fight.

He wanted to reach her, to hold her hand, to tell her he'd become stronger. That he'd never let anything happen to her. But the words caught in his throat, drowned by the soft hum of her voice as she offered him a spoonful of the ice cream.

The scent of mint and ash filled his senses.

And then, the laughter returned. It warped the walls. The inn flickered. He saw flashes, the mask, the cane, the confetti still hanging in the air like smoke.

His breath hitched. Wake up.

But when he looked again, Alinta's smile was gone.

* * *

WC: 494

[Ceres 0]

"Hmmm?"

Alice watched as he twitched, eyes dancing to and fro. Tears streaking down his face. Crying? Why was he crying? Were his nightmares that bad? But Nightmares were glorious! They would set him free! Break his chains! Maybe he could become something more! Something more than a drab man dressed all in black! "OH! How I want to craWl InSIde youR Head!"

The woman stood and began to pace back and forth. There was a problem. "I can't see, no no..." She muttered to herself softly. "He's there, oh yes! He's somewhere, not here, but there! AnywherE? All in his mind! Stuck TraPped EnTwined!" Alice started to chew on her unusually sharp nail, ignoring or not realizing the drops of blood that fell from the corner of her down turned lips. She didn't like this she didn't like being left out. "I can't though! I can't see! Oh ... oh mistakes... Mistakes were made... He gets to go to wonderland...and I'm here...MaYbe YellOw was WroNG? 

Alice stopped pacing as the man began to murmur. "OH?" He was talking. Alice waltzed over to him and sat herself firmly on his lap. "What do you see? What do you Spy?" Alice asked, his hud lit up and she watched as he lifted a hand, very sluggish to open the messenger, but it fell flat. Allowing both him and Alice to read the messages as they popped up. "Oh! Oh my! And here I was thinking I'd be bored!" Alice gave the man a slap on his leg.  "You're a SwEll Guy!"

A pause.

"Alinta." The name fell from Alices lips like a delighted threat, a warning. As though just saying the name would cause the woman undue suffering. "LEts InviTe her!" Alice picked up his hand, and started to type out a reply to the woman. 

"giVe me a HAND why don'T you!?"

[Scar 0]

Jack's fingers twitched.

He was aware of the movement of his fingers, but it was not his own. The sluggish weight in his arm lifted, his hand rising as if pulled by invisible strings. His eyes widened faintly, pupils dilated and unfocused. Every muscle in his body felt disconnected, like he was watching himself from somewhere far away.

His hand hovered, shaking slightly. His lips parted, and a frail voice escaped. "What.. am I doing..?"

The screen in front of him was not steady. It was there and then it was not. The light was very strong, and the letters that were there seemed to be changing and moving. He was not able to read them, couldn't even tell if they were words or shapes or just the forest itself fracturing into symbols. Somewhere beyond it, he could hear Alice's laughter, high, musical, cruel.

Then, the world moved suddenly.

The forest faded. The sound of wind stopped. Coming in its place was the soft creaking sound of wood, the faint smell of coffee and smoke. The glow of lantern light brushed the walls of an inn that shouldn't exist. His heart stuttered, caught between fear and longing.

He blinked.

And she was there.

Alinta sat across from him at first, her hands resting on her knees. Then, somehow, she was closer, sitting on his lap, looking down at him with that familiar half-smile that always made him forget to breathe. Her hair brushed his cheek, soft and impossibly real. His eyes softened. The tension in his jaw eased.

"Alinta.." he whispered, voice trembling.

She tilted her head, studying him with warmth that almost felt genuine. Almost.

For a moment, everything was quiet. Peaceful. The borders of the universe were becomign light, and his breathing was getting slower. He wished to be here still. He wished to extend his hand holding hers and thereby losing himself in this fragile dream.

But something was off. Her eyes didn't blink. Her mouth moved before the sound came. And her shadow, her shadow leaned toward him when she didn't.

His pulse quickened.

The world rippled. The inn flickered. Behind her, he could swear he saw the outline of trees, a figure pacing, a faint voice muttering, "I can't though! I can't see!"

Jack's throat tightened. The hallucination was cracking, collapsing in on itself. His vision split again, Alinta's face overlapping with the chaotic blur of confetti, forest, and blood. He could feel someone sitting on his lap, but it wasn't her. It couldn't be her.

Still.. his mind refused to let go.

"Alinta.." he called again, softer, desperate.

The world wavered between dream and nightmare, between the comfort of love and the claws of madness, until he could no longer tell which one was real.

* * *

WC: 461

[Ceres 0]

The man twitched, itched, but did not move. Could not move? Perhaps!? Too lost in his dreams! So Alice typed out a message to this 'Alinta' person, inviting her along.

Scar--> Alinta: Come meet me in the forest! I found something fun! Meet me in WOnderland!

"ThEre!" Alice shifted her form up Scars body, leaning against his chest. "Boop!" She'd touch his nose with her finger. "KeEp DreAminG LittLe Doormouse!" A pat against his cheek. "dO you Like it TherE? Oh I bet you Do! I bet it's all WarM and Cozy!"

The messages would pop up on his screen, one after the other, but Alice had already began to shift off him after seeing the second.

Alinta--> Scar: What?
Alinta-->Scar: I mean sure! I'll be there soon!
Alinta __> Scar: You're kinda weird sometimes
Alinta --> Scar: I can't wait for you to show me what you found!

"She's cOming!" Alice called out in a little sing-song voice, louder and louder she screamed it. "oH ALINTA IS COmIng! AnothEr! AnoTher! Let More and MOre! Oh! I'M Not Ready! No nO This Won'T Do!"

Alice started to trawl through her inventory; out popped a giant beach ball, then a blow up flamingo. "Hmm No, No! Not that!" A gallon of Milk, to the floor. Alice laughed, giving the air beside her a nudge. "No use cryIng ovEr SpiLt Milk!" An odd canned laughter erupted from the forest around the two. And Alice knew, just knew it was her beloved Papa that was the cause of it. Always watching. The woman paused to clasp a hand over her heart. "OH PaPa~" A small sniff as she wiped an non existent tear from her eye. 

"But! WE'rE Late!" Alice pulled out a comically large stopwatch, the size of her head. "LaTe for a DaTe! for AlinTa!" Alice tossed it over her shoulder.

Pulling more and more things from her inventory, Alice began to set a little scene. A picnic table, checkered tablecloth, and three roses atop a silver dish. Red. Yellow. Blue. "Perfect! PERFECT!" She'd scream as she made some adjustments. "Oh I can't wait! What colour...what colour do you think she'll pick!?" Alice turned and asked the man. She held a hand out to her ear, as if she was listening to a reply. "Oh! The Red!" Alice laughed. "Oh! My My!" She broke into song again. "Pick the red, an you'll be dead~" 

Alice skipped around the scene, kicking the beach ball. Stepping over the gallon of milk. Side-stepping the flamingo. A rocking horse? Of COurse! a stick of butter, a single golden shoe! A random assortment of items, completely nonsensical scattered the forest floor, along with a carpet of confetti as Alice kept throwing it around. "ColouRs! Such Wonders~!"

 

WC: 458

[Alinta 0]

Alinta couldn't help but find it odd, how Scar had messaged her, without replying to her question about the ice cream. "I hope it doesn't melt in my inventory..." Alinta thought to herself, packing it away. Scar was only one of two people on her friends list, so when she arrived on the 8th floor, and cautiously stepped out of the city - she was able to slowly make her way towards him. "Wonderland..." She said quietly to herself, she opened up her HUD.

Alinta --> Scar; So...what do you mean by wonderland?
Alinta --> Scar: Like that movie with the queen of hearts and stuff?

Alice in wonderland.

That was the movie! Maybe Scar had found another quest that he wanted her to do with him. Or maybe this was his way of dragging her out on another date. Alinta quickened her pace at that thought. How cute would it be? A date in the forest like this? They could even share the ice cream she had bought. Further and further into the forest Alinta went, till she heard something odd that caused her to still. Loud and shrill laughter, almost maddening. Trilling and lilting like it was broken.

"H-Hello?" Is anyone there?"  Alinta called out.

"Anyone!? I'm not AnYone I'm SomeOne!" The Voice called back. And the forest fell silent, and Alinta wasn't sure why, but she felt like something was....off.

"S-Scar?"

Silence.

Alinta took three cautious steps back. What was happening? Where was Scar? "T-This isn't funny!" The woman tried to sturdy her voice, to show force but she couldn't help but tremble. The air smelt faintly sweet, and whilst such a scent would normally be welcoming there was something not quite right about it.

"Funny?" Came a voice from behind her, and Alinta almost fell over, bumping into a taller woman dressed up in an odd outfit. Fishnets, heels, and a bodysuit adorned with ears and topped off with a little fuzzy tail. The woman grabbed her by her wrist and jerked her forward with a strength that didn't match her slim stature. "Oh! ThE DooRmOuse! He's Here! He's HEre!"

"S-Scar is?"

"Yes! Yes! Come!"

Alinta readied her weapon, a thin yet durable string in her right glove, just in case but she'd hate to use it on anyone...she wasn't sure she even could. But...her heart was beating hard and fast against her chest. This all felt so wrong. If Scar was here, why didn't he call out to her? if everything was fine, why didn't he greet her?  Alinta's eyes darted up to the crystal above the bunny girls head. Green. That meant she was safe, right?

"S-So...you know Scar?"

The bunnygirl glanced over her shoulder and stared at Alinta. "Scar...SCarrr....Oh! Jack! Jack be Nimble Jack Be QuiCk~!" She sang. "Tell me Alinta! What colour RosE Do You LIke!?"

Alinta was dragged into a clearing filled with junk, and at its center a table, with three roses on it. "Is..Is this a present?"

The bunny girl clasped her hands together, jumping up and down. "Yes! YEs YeS YEs yES! For YoU! WhICh One!? WhiCih TwO? ALL THREE?"

"R-Red." Alinta stammered. "I like Red Roses."

 

WC: 526

Alinta Ombre | HP: 680/680 | EN: 86/86 | DMG: 8 | AA  | PHASE | STC: 40                                                                                                                            

 

[Scar 0]

"Sh-She's cOming!"

The words seemed to be barely perceptible. They looked like barbed wires, which cut, splintered and were impossible to ignore. Jack’s body shook very hard against the invisible force which did not let him go. His eyes kept closing and opening, his brain asking for logic, support, and even a little bit of help from anywhere. The world was changing very fast around him: flashing colors, sounds, and laughs were all mixed up into one very loud and irritating tick.

He didn't understand where he was anymore.

"She's cOming!" He faintly heard from his haze, and the words struck his chest like a hammer. His eyes shot left and right, searching through the hallucinations. "W..Who is coming?" The echo bounced off the tall trees, warped by the mist and the floating confetti. He blinked rapidly, trying to reconcile what he could see with what he could feel. The hallucinations, the floating stopwatch, the oddly placed beach ball, the milk, all blurred and pulsed in and out of focus. Every sense seemed heightened and distorted, each breath carrying both the earthy scent of moss and the sweet, sickly odor of hallucinogenic spores. 

"Oh ALINTA IS COmIng!" Alice's sing-song voice reverberated, snapping him out of the haze for the briefest moment. His heartbeat accelerated, pounding in his ears. He could feel the forest around him, but his mind was split in two, part of him aware of the danger, part lost in the softness of the inn room, the fleeting comfort of warmth and safety. His fingers twitched, his body refusing to move properly, yet his mind screamed with urgency.

His eyes scanned the surroundings, the floating stopwatch, the scattered picnic items, the confetti that was falling down in slow curves. A..Alinta? Why is she saying her name? The thought clawed at him as his mind tried to ping something solid amidst the chaos. His body remained paralytic, though he could wiggle his fingers slightly. One hand twitched, and he flexed it, trying to assert control, trying to anchor himself.

The memory of Alinta, soft smile, gentle voice, bubbled up from somewhere deep in his haze. He could even get the warmth of her being and the absolute calm that she was always able to bring him. But the hallucination around him distorted that, stretched it thin, and even added some sharp points. He wanted to speak, to scream, to warn her, but no sound came. The only control he had was the movement of a single hand, weak and trembling.

"Oh I can't wait! What colour...what colour do you think she'll pick!?" Alice's voice came again through the fog, interrupting it. His eyes widen. The repeated question seemed to hang in the air, vibrating with a tension he could feel in his chest. He ground his teeth, trying to summon strength, but the paralysis pressed down, heavy and immovable. He felt the weight of helplessness, of the inability to protect, pressing against him like the dark waters of some unseen abyss.

"Pick the red, an you'll be dead~" Alice was singing, her voice was going around him like a hypnotic binding. The threat twisted inside him, a knot of dread and fury. His heart raced uncontrollably, each beat a drum in his temples. He tried to lift his legs, to push against the floor, to move toward her, toward Alinta, but his body refused. The confetti, the floating objects, the distorted forest, they all seemed to taunt him, to blur the line between illusion and reality.

"H-Hello? Is anyone there?" He listened to a faint voice maybe that of Alinta, trembling and cautious. A shiver ran down his spine. Something inside him clung to it, a lifeline amid the chaos. His heartbeat quickened even more, thudding painfully against his ribs. His mouth opened, but no sound emerged. His chest heaved with panic and desperation. Alinta! Please! Run! He thought, mind screaming even as his body betrayed him.

"T-This isn't funny!" he tried to shout, a thin thread of panic threading through his chest. His hand formed a fist, was shaking, and the knuckles were of a whitish color. He had no weapons, no means of defense, and his instincts screamed at him to act. Every muscle felt heavy, sluggish, cemented to the forest floor by some unseen force. Yet he could feel the reality of Alinta being nearby, that she was in danger, and that alone sparked a surge of adrenaline through his paralyzed limbs.

"Tell me Alinta! What colour RosE do You LIke!?" Alice's voiced echoed, sharp and mocking through the haze. His eyes darted to the table with the roses, each a vivid flash of color amid the muted chaos. Fear and love collided inside him, a storm of urgency. He wanted to scream a warning, to grab her, to protect her, but his body felt like lead, and all he could do was watch.

"I like Red Roses." Her voice finally came through clearly, and it was enough to snap a piece of his resolve together. His chest heaved as if his lungs had been filled after a long drought. His mind and heart clashed violently, logic screaming of danger, but heart longing to be near her, longing to be the shield she needed.

He struggled to sit up, a monumental effort that left his limbs shaking violently. His hands clawed at the earth, grabbing roots and moss to stabilize himself. With every blink the image changed from wild to the cozy inn and the hallucinatory things appeared and disappeared around him. His vision blurred, colors and forms melting and reforming like liquid glass.

"A.." His voice was frail, shakily and it was trying to come through his terror. Tree with one hand he held on to, a little smile appearing on his face as the jagged side of the trunk deep in his palm. Sweat were creeping down from his temples. "S..Stop!" His shout was stubborn, ragged, and desperate, it bounced in the forest. Also, it was composed of terror, caution, and a plea for control in equal measure. Alongside every breath, adrenaline and dread were mingled. At last, he could sense an extremely faint grip of power which he used to support himself and get ready for what was going to happen.

His mind still teetered on the edge between hallucination and reality. Alinta was here, and that meant danger. That meant responsibility. And he would not allow the chaos surrounding him to take her from him. He was trembling, exhausted, heart hammering, but slowly, almost imperceptibly, he was reclaiming control, one trembling, faltering movement at a time.

* * *

WC: 1104

[Ceres 0]

REd! rED! OH She PiCkeD ReD!

Alice gave a happy little dance as she clasped Alintas hands within her own. “ReD!” She screamed at the top of her lungs. “RED! RED! RED!” Alice pulled Alinta close and then smooshed Alinta’s cheeks in her hand. “SO gloRiouS! MarVelouS! I want to See!” Alice wanted to see what kind of colour Alintas insides were. She wanted to see what kind of face she would make. What would the doormouse do? Oh this was so fun! Alice couldn’t help but stand back and clap, then shower Alinta with confetti.

“PAPA!” Alice called loudly. “A show! It’s a very merry show! Oh its Jack and Jill! It’s Jack and the Beanstalk!” A hand to her head as she looked up into the sky, “Ah! But where is that pesky giant!?” 

A glance to the little doormouse, eyes wide, chest heaving with fear. So lost in wonderland, he didn’t know which way was up or down! Alice picked up the rose and held it out to Alinta.

“A RoSe, as fine as you, as youUr Hair. Yes…For you…”

Alice could barely contain herself as Alinta cautiously reached out to it. Her hand wrapped around its stem, an all she had to do was lean that little. Tiny bit closer… Oh to see the delightful little summer flower shower her! Alice was exuberant.

“Uhm….You’re…Ceres, right?” Alinta asked. “From…the ball?”

A tick, a tock - and the clock on the floor began to buzz, a loud shrill alarm.

The show was over?

The rose fell as Alice lost her grip on it…just as Alinta had gone to reach for it, and the spray of acid from its leaves, sizzling and burning didn’t reach its intended target- instead of a face, it would land on Alintas arm, a scream was heard. But it was not the injured person.

It was Alice.

Alice held her head and screamed. A loud violent thrashing scream. “NO! SHUT UP!” That wasn’t her name! Who was CeRES? Why did this woman call her that? Who? Who?

Who?
WHio?
  WHo
  wHo?

“I’m not…” A hiccup as Alice’s body began to tremble. Her voice was weak. “P…papa…” A small and feeble cry for help. Alice felt nauseous, as though her body wanted to throw up. Scenes flashed across her mind, of a dark box that filled with blood, of saws grinding through flesh and sinew, drowning in strawberry milk. Snakes writhing beneath skin. “Shutup…SHUTUP! I’m ALiCe, I’M FrEe. I’m Alice…I’m Alice…Alice….Alice…Alice….Alice…” Alice stepped backwards till she hit a tree, and her legs collapsed beneath her, tears streaking down her face as she trembled. “Alice….Alice…Alice….Alice…Alice….I’m Alice…” 

She’d repeat herself over and over again, ignoring anything around her.

WC: 456

[Alinta 0]

Alinta followed, very confused. She recognized the woman, only vaguely. Mostly because she was acting completely differently…and dressed ….in much less clothing. There was something inherently off kilter about the way she was acting. It was like someone just turned off any semblance of sanity she had. Was she drunk? High? She kept on going on and on about the roses.  “Uhm…” Alinta tried to get the womans attention but she was too busy screaming and throwing confetti. Alinta took a step back. “Where’s….Scar?”  The table setting was nice, she had to admit, so Alinta tried to deflect to that. “This settings quite nice…and I appreciate you helping Scar with his date plans but…”

“A RoSe, as fine as you, as youUr Hair. Yes…For you…”

Alinta paused, the woman was just offering a single red rose. Alinta was a sucker for that sort of thing. Despite the odd way of offering it Alinta shook her head and smiled. Reaching out to accept it.

“Uhm….You’re…Ceres, right?” Alinta asked. “From…the ball?”

                            "S..Stop!"

Alinta turned, hearing Scar. He sounded hurt. Desperate. “S-Scar?”

Then, there was a sharp pain as her arm began to hiss. Alinta screamed as she jerked it away from the rose. “W-WHAT!??”  Her health bar ticked down, a small chunk of damage as her skin sizzled. It hurt. It hurt more than it should have. Weren’t there supposed to be pain limitors? “S-Scar….” Desperation in her voice as she looked around, stumbling away from Alice as she started to scream and bang her head against the tree.

“Scar?!?”

Alinta found him. Originally obfuscated by a beach ball and a flamingo. “W-Whats happening around here?” Alinta asked as she clutched a trembling arm. Raw red from a severe chemical burn. “W-why does this hurt so much…” She collapsed to her knees, a trembling hand pulling out a small crystal. “T-This is supposed to…” With a great deal of effort she crushed it in her hands. Mass Healing.  The two were showered in a soft blue light, and her wouns began to heal. Alintas arm hurt, but it was nothing more than a dul throbbing pain.

What was worse….was Scar.

Terror sat deep within her, Alinta wanted nothing more than to run away. Away from Ceres - or Alice, or whoever that woman was, away from this field, back to the safety of the towns. But before her, her rock…her strength. Her muse…he sat there, a shell of his former self. Eyes staring past her, sweat dripping down his head. “Scar….” Alinta reached out to him.

Why didn’t the healing crystal help? Why didn’t it heal him?

“Scar? Scar can you hear me?”

Trembling hands filled with panic found their way to his face, wiping sweat from his forehead. “C-C’mon we need to go…” Alinta tried to help lift him up, but she slipped on a banana peel and fell flat on her face.

Canned laughter erupted from around them. And that terrified her.

“W-What was that!?”

Alinta scrambled up, barely able to push herself to her feet again, her wrist flicked and a long, thing wire fell from it. Her weapon. It buzzed with the light hum of electricity. “WHERE ARE YOU?” She screamed out.