[01] Wonderland!

[Kill Town]

Wonderland!

4-person Cooperative

Summary: The players are teleported to Wonderland, the very location from the Lewis Carroll story. Here, they will be able to travel the area as they see fit, but eventually they will be captured by the Queen of Hearts and placed inside a prison cell to await their execution. The Cheshire Cat seems to have taken an interest in the party, however, and offers a way out: a potion that will grant each member to phase through the bars. The problem, however, is that the Queen’s card soldiers have eyes and ears all over Wonderland, and no escaped prisoner can get very far without their noticing. In return for his aid, however, the Cat wants you to rescue his owner, the Dutchess, who is being held in a tower elsewhere in Wonderland.

Opportunity: Yes

Hint: My preference is that you guys split this up into two sections: your first posts directed towards exploring the area and being capture, and the second breaking out and possibly rescuing the Duchess. I will be updating your situation once I see that the characters have been captured, so please don’t post Cheshire Cat’s proposition until I update you. Other than that preference, this is fairly freeform, and I will allow you to roleplay the rest as you see fit. The Dutchess rescue is only there for fodder in case you’re lost on what to write.

Restrictions: None

Participants: Sophia, Orion, Mirabelle, Szar

[Orion]

If there was one advantage to being dead, it was for crackpot kidnappings like this. First, his invitation to Dante's Abyss, a murderous survival tournament, came with no losses; if he won, he gained prestige and the satisfaction of knowing that his battle techniques were supreme. If he lost, he would get a moment of entertainment on the mortal coil before returning to his vigorous training. Although the latter occurred, he still thoroughly enjoyed himself, even if he felt his ejection from the competition was a tad premature. Plus, Damon Dukes was so generous as to provide an entire mini-fridge's worth of the genuine article; home brewed saiyan lager. Even the memory of that foamy liquor massaging his nostalgic taste buds was worth the humiliating defeat.

Hence his disappointment when he learned that this similarly outrageous tournament wasn't hosted by Dukes. No, it was the brainchild of some cretin called the Gamer, whatever the hell that meant. What sort of title was that, anyway? It didn't strike fear into the hearts of anything smaller than a common insect, and even then it was only scary to them because of the heavy boots that the name was attached to. Orion had already made the assumption that this Gamer was human, mostly due to the fact that they composed the populace strolling through the carnival. Such a foolish name. Humans.

Regardless, Orion was here and again in a prime position from a winning and losing standpoint. If he won, then good. Showing up humans had been hilariously entertaining at the carnival sideshows, and beating the socks off one intelligent enough to construct this tournament but too cowardly to reveal himself would be far more gratifying.

A swirling vortex of energies expanded right beside Orion. He couldn't see what was on the other side of the portal, but any idiot knew this was his cue to step through. He gave the carnival one last look before entering it.

Once the shimmering violets of the mystic passageway left his eye, the saiyan found himself in a rather large square room. From an initial glance, there were no doors; only a single table situated towards the far wall. A small vial sat atop it with a paper tag attached to it. No doubt it would explain what to do while in here, but despite the curious nature of the room, he was more concerned with the sudden presence of three other people.

The first to catch his eye was an exotically dressed woman, presumably human, gripping a white feathered fan. Her blonde hair was stylised fashionably, although Orion could care less about such insignificant details. Her attire, on the other hand, could have come straight from the tailors of Tolsiris. He doubted any solid connection to it, but the resemblance was uncanny.

Before he could muse longer on the topic, a flash of purple appeared in his vision. Its black horns jutting from its temples stabbed at Orion's memory instantly, as if a mental irritant was gnawing at his brain. Violet skin and a writhing, barbed tail sealed the conjecture; it was a changeling. A lizard.

Like a streak of lightning, Orion charged. Szar, having only just stepped out of his own portal, wasn't prepared for a sudden rush. The one eyed saiyan grabbed the changeling's collar, hoisted him up and thrust him violently against the wall. Murderous rage boiled in Orion's twitching eye, and Szar was well aware of it. In his free hand, the veteran warmonger congealed a large mass of ki, crafting it into an explosive orb.

"Hey!" Szar protested, digging his nails into Orion's hand. "What's the big idea?!"

"Lizard", Orion said menacingly. "I think you're in the wrong area."

Szar knew that term. "Lizard" was the changeling equivalent of "monkey", which his kind stereotypically used to denigrate the saiyan population. Although they were well behaved towards the Cold Dynasty for the most part, small pockets of the warrior race resented the changeling presence on Vegeta-sei and created the derogatory term for them. This blood lusting aggressor had to be a saiyan.

Orion's fingers pushed into Szar's throat, effectively blocking his airway. "Let ... go ..." Szar wheezed, struggling against the compressing grip.

The furious saiyan grimaced. "Not yet."

Suddenly, a silver streak appeared beneath Orion's chin. He felt the cold pressure of a blade resting against his neck. A simple movement and blood would be cascading from his body. He froze.

"Let him go," a feminine voice ordered.

That woman, the one dressed like a Tolsirian. She must have been a lizard lover. How could he turn his back on someone he didn't know anything about, especially in these circumstances? His compulsions clouded his normally sound judgments. He cursed himself for barrelling towards the changeling before assessing the situation with a clear mind.

"I'm not giving you a choice," the woman warned. "Drop him now."

"It's over before it's even begun, huh?" Orion commented. This distraction from his Heavenly training was going to be a lot shorter than he expected.

That was, if he slipped up. Which he wouldn't.

Orion's grip on Szar was relinquished. Before the knife wielder could react, the saiyan warrior shoved his elbow backwards, knowing he had found the mark when the female uttered a surprised "oof." He spun about on one foot, readying the ball of ki in his hands for the next blow. At least he was getting a mildly entertaining skirmish out of this whole carnival business.

When his eye stopped on the woman, he stumbled mid-attack, flinging the energy attack way off centre and into a wall where it detonated uselessly. The woman who held him at knife point wasn't the spiky haired blonde he noticed earlier, but another entirely. Her eyes, her nose, the length of her hair, her entire facial structure caused a lump to rise in Orion's throat. Normally he would be sprinting in for the next attack, but he couldn't bring himself to, just in case ...

He had to ask.

"El ... Eldina?"

"What?" Sophia asked, furrowing her brow. "You elbow me in the stomach and now you want to meet me?"

"I ..." Orion was still too stupefied by the resemblance.

"Having trouble speaking?" Szar asked ironically, clearing his throat.

Orion couldn't meet the gaze of the blonde woman. "I ... I thought you might have been ... somebody."

"Oh, so now that I'm not your friend, I'm nobody?" she questioned, plucking her sync weapon from the floor. "Shall we resume?"

Orion grunted. "No."

"Some team this is," Mirabelle commented surlishly. "We're off to a great start."

Orion clenched his fists. He felt incredibly stupid at that point. It was one of the few sparse moments in his storied existence where he genuinely felt embarrassed. Thankfully he lacked the cheek reddening blush that many humans experienced in a similar situation, and escaped without anyone noticing.

"Can we just talk for a moment?" Sophia offered, putting her sync weapon away, but not too far away. "We're all in this together."

"She's right," Szar agreed, rising to his feet. His voice was sounding normal again after the attempted strangulation. "We aren't here because we want to be. Who knows what's waiting for us out here?"

"Precisely," Mirabelle chimed in, waving her fan back and forth in an effort to cool herself. "Teamwork may be critical here."

"Are you asking me to team up with a lizard?!" Orion nearly shouted, directing his anger at Mirabelle only because she was the last to speak. "I can barely stand its presence."

"Wait!" Sophia cried out. She observed the hovering halo above Orion's head. "Are ... you dead?"

Orion returned her gaze. Any shyness had dissolved. "Yes."

"From hell, I presume," Szar added, who was also crowned with a golden ring.

Orion refused to look at the changeling while he spoke. "No. I've been training in Heaven."

"A saiyan? In Heaven? How preposterous."

"You know," Sophia began, cutting off Orion before he could work himself into a fit of rage, "you really should be nicer to him."

The one eye of the saiyan widened. "Nicer?!"

"I'm not sure I believe that you are in Heaven, but if you're ready to kill someone you don't know at the drop of a hat, I don't think you'd be very welcome there."

The gravity of Sophia's comment hit Orion like a tonne of bricks. Maybe she was right! What if he was being observed by King Yemma right now, just waiting for the opportunity to stamp the saiyan from the clouds and deposit him into the fiery wasteland of Hell? It's not like his history was filled with helping old ladies cross the street. Could someone be judged again if they started acting up? It was a curious and terrifying thought all at once, especially since the thought was fresh in his mind after the episode in the Ferris wheel.

Of course, she may have been trying to placate the warrior with lies. "How would you know?"

It was time for Sophia to use a half-truth. "Well, I am a priestess, you see. I know how the afterlife works. And if I were in Yemma's size twenty million shoes, I would give you a one-way ticket to the underworld."

She knew King Yemma's name! Maybe she wasn't bluffing. Could he risk it?

Orion frowned. "So be it," he grumbled.

Sophia seemed relieved at the saiyan's compliance, but both Szar and Mirabelle remained cautious. If he could explode just by the sight of someone, he was unstable. Who knew what else would set him off?

"Good, that's sorted," Mirabelle stated, walking forward towards the table. "I think introductions are in order."

[Jesper]

Sophia watched the argument take place between the Saiyan and the…”lizard,” as Orion called him with bated breath. She still was not used to the idea of aliens, as she hadn’t actually encountered any in her experiences spanning two lives, but she had to put her fears aside in the interest of keeping everyone…sane. The healer almost felt disgusted at the display of such animosity towards each other in a situation in which everyone was a prisoner, a victim of some teenagers power and ego trip. Luckily, however, the situation seemed to diffuse before anybody could even throw a punch.

“…I think introductions are in order,” the blonde woman who had been fanning herself for pretty much the entire time spoke up.

“Indeed,” the white and purple themed alien nodded. “I am Szar.”

“So somebody gave a name to their pet lizard, eh?” Orion sneered. “How precious.”

“What did we just talk about?” Sophia glared.

“I merely agreed not to kill him,” the man shrugged. “Nothing more.”

“I…am Mirabelle,” the other woman interjected before anymore could be said on the matter. “Mirabelle Calliope. A pleasure to meet you all, I am sure.”

“Orion.”

“And I’m Sophia,” the healer nodded. “Now…I think we should…”

“Late! Late! Why must I always be late?”

The panicked yells were the first things that anyone could here after coming down the rabbit hole, and it was those shouts that cut the healer off. The rabbit held his pocket watch with a death grip as he scurried his way towards the gate ahead. Each member of the Kill Town team raised an eyebrow (or where it would be, for Szar) as they examined the frenzied animals countenance. The one-eyed Saiyan happened to fall right in front of the frightened rabbit’s path, effectively causing the creature in crash into the side of his leg.

“Late!” he shouted once again before he realized what had happened. Understanding sank in, however, when his eyes focused in on his eyepatch. “Wait…who are…are you late, as well?”

“What are you talking…” Orion began to speak, but eventually closed his eye in disbelief. “A talking rabbit. I’m talking to a damn talking rabbit.”

“What a…curious creature,” Mirabelle, who had stayed relatively quiet until that moment, observed, picking up the smaller animal by the neck of his red vest. “Where do you suppose we have landed?”

“Beats the heck out of me,” Sophia replied, still looking around at their warped surroundings. The location was reminiscent of an old-fashioned house, with tile floors and papered walls—everything was squeaky clean, but everything from the furniture to the decorations were just slightly…off. “Everything about this place gives me the creeps.”

The rabbit had been observing the new-comers peacefully, but had apparently gone back to panicking upon the completion of Sophia’s sentence. “N-no, put me down, young lady! I’m late for a meeting with the queen!”

“Hm?” Mirabelle frowned. “Oh…excuse me, dear rabbit. I apologize. Please be on your way.”

“Thank you!” he said before he darted towards the gate once again. “I’m late! I’m late! The Queen…oh, she’ll kill me for sure!”

Every pair of eyes followed the cottonball-tailed rabbit until he could no longer be seen, disappearing behind the gate into which he sped. Sophia couldn’t help but scratch her head and look to her temporary comrades—Orion and Szar had similarly confused facial expressions, and although Mirabelle looked as calm and collected as she had been before, her constantly moving eyes told her that she was looking for answers as well, just in a round-about way. Sophia was about to turn and follow the rabbit, but something above her head caught her attention. Instead of a ceiling, a large hole gaped wide open above the party, sending a slight draft down on them. The healer shivered upon trying to figure out what its presence meant.

“Oh, holy shit!” Orion had found the same…inconsistency that Sophia had seen.

“This place is giving me the creeps, you know?” Szar glanced around cautiously. “Gamer probably has something nice in store for us.”

“If you’re scared, then stay here,” the Saiyan shrugged, turning towards the exit. He waved him off as he started walking. “I don’t need a lizard slowing me down.”

“Fuck you,” Szar hissed.

“Random animosity is beneath us all, Orion,” Mirabelle shot the man a cold stare. “If we are to survive, surely we must stick together.”

“Two women could slow me down, too,” Orion stopped his pace to look over his shoulder at the two females. “If you’re going to follow me, then follow me. If not, then stay here with that thing.”

He began walking away from them again, leaving the other three to simply stare at each other and shrug. Sophia shook her head and sighed—what a pain this was, to not only be cast into another rich madman’s elaborate game of death, but to play babysitter to people who apparently didn’t know any better. Szar seemed to take things in stride, but it was obvious that there was only so much that he could take, and he was a bullet train screaming towards that limit with each passing comment. The blonde woman fanning herself next to her, however, was…interesting. She carried herself with such…elegance, offsetting nearly everything around her. In some ways, Sophia was in awe.

“Well? Are you coming, or not?” Mirabelle had just started to walk, and stopped to check on the healer, who had been lost in thought as usual. “I doubt that those two will stay together for long without our presence.”

Sophia chuckled. “All they need is a woman’s touch.”

“Yes,” Mirabelle smiled only slightly, “that is precisely what I am saying.”

The two women caught up to the men as they passed through the gate, sunlight suddenly pouring into their sight, as if the stray beams had been hiding behind those metal bars. Neatly trimmed bushes served as walls for a garden of sorts. As they drew a little bit nearer, it became apparent that there was a woman standing in the middle, though they couldn’t tell exactly what she was doing. Orion and Szar stepped forward first, but were immediately halted by two black spears that crossed in an X not two feet in front of them.

“Halt!”

Sophia stood on the tips of her toes, peering over Orion’s shoulder to get a better look at what was going on. Orion raised an eyebrow and grunted, pushing her back down. From what she could see, two men had stopped them from proceeding, but she couldn’t get a good enough glimpse to be able to tell who or what they were. They sort of looked like playing cards, but Sophia knew that it was unlikely.

Orion narrowed his eye upon the warning. “A mistake.”

“Excuse me?” one of the men spoke.

“You’re making a mistake,” the Saiyan explained calmly. “Look, I don’t know who or what the hell you are, but it makes no difference.”

“Please stand aside,” Szar added. “We…”

“The Queen is busy attending to important matters,” the guard to their right replied. “So unless you have an appointment, which is appears that you do not, then I suggest you return to the area you came from.”

“It does not appear that she is predisposed in any fashion,” Calliope observed from the back.

“What…is it that she’s doing?”Sophia asked. The Queen had her back turned to them all, with her shoulders stiffened and her head bowed. The healer could only make guesses as to what she was doing—the priests and priestesses of her temple assumed the same position when they were in public prayer, as to strengthen their assumptions as holy men and holy women. Sophia almost thought that this woman was doing the same, but as if on cue, she swung a mallet to the side, which had previously been hidden from view by her rather…pudgy build. The hammer swung down in the motion of a pendulum, and cracked against a tiny ball, which rolled through a hoop that had blended from their sight in the grass.

“Excellent hit, your majesty,” the rabbit which they met earlier

“Yes!” the Queen laughed boisterously, doing a small jig in celebration. Every present Kill Town player facepalmed simultaneously.

“Busy playing a game, I see,” Szar shook his head.

“A fine observation for an animal,” Orion whispered.

“Quiet!” Sophia nudged the Saiyan in the arm, whispering in a similar tone.

The Queen gasped and turned around upon hearing the conversation. “Who goes there!?”

“See, she heard you!” the healer hit the Saiyan in the arm again.

“Will you stop it!?” Orion roared, forming a fist and raising it to strike at Sophia. The healer had raised an arm to attack, as well, but they were both halted by the piercing sound of a trumpet. Each pair of eyes turned towards the rabbit once more, noting the strength of his lungs to be able to make that kind of sound.

“Silence!” the Queen bellowed after the animal was done with his musical performance. “I will not tolerate such insubordination!”

“Insubordination?” Sophia raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about? We have done absolutely nothing wrong.”

“Y-you~…” the Queen widened her eyes upon seeing Sophia, who had been hidden in the background. “I KNEW YOU WOULD COME BACK, YOU SPOILED ROTTEN LITTLE GIRL!”

“Wh-what?” the healer took a step backward. “I think…I think you have the wrong girl.”

“…she does look a little different, your majesty,” the rabbit observed, his voice soft and wavering as if he didn’t even want to say it. “Different clothes, and she’s a little taller.”

“Silence! You dare defy me, as well!?” she kicked the rabbit to the side. “A change in attire does not fool me! She is undeniably the same foolish little girl.”

“Assume that Sophia was the girl to whom you are referring,” Mirabelle commented calmly. “Seeing how you want to kill her, why would she come back, knowing that?”

“I will not be questioned in my own kingdom!” she shouted back. She swung a fat arm out, pointing an index finger dramatically. “Guards! Attack!”

[Szar]

Szar groaned as the first of the guards moved in to attack. Sidestepping an encroaching lance, the Icer caught the weapon's shaft in the crook of his arm. As the card struggled to free his weapon, Szar chopped his hand down, rending the spear useless. Growling, the guard cast his broken weapon aside, instead trying to grapple Szar to the ground. Swatting the guard's hands away the Icer countered with a quick jab, the blow forcing the card-man back a step. Not wanting to give him time to recover, Szar lowered his head and charged, burying his shoulder in the card's midsection. The duo toppled over, with both combatants jockying for a better position. The brief scuffle ended with Szar on top, and with a powerful headbutt the fight ended, the card slumping into unconciousness.

Standing back up, Szar looked to his allies. Orion was swarmed by a group of five, but he held them off with expertly trained strikes and finely timed blasts of ki. Determining that he would be fine on his own, the Changeling searched for the two women. He found the younger of the two--Sophia, if Szar remembered correctly--being forced into a corner by a gang of at least fifteen. Her dagger was poised in front of her, and she chopped and sliced at anyone who came to close. The second woman, Mirabelle was flitting around the grounds, lobbing orbs of energy into the group that pursued her. As well as things appeared to be going, Szar didn't like that they were all spread out; it left them vulnerable to being overwhelmed.

"Everyone," he called, "form up!" Sophia turned up and nodded curtly, crouching down before leaping into the air, bounding off the heads and shoulders of the card-guards, before landing deftly next to Szar. Mirabelle was quick to join the group as well, and the three of them positioned themselves back to back ready to turn away any attackers. Not surprisingly, Orion ignored the Changeling's words having already dispatched the group that sought to capture him. Instead, he moved towards the Queen, his eye burning with saiyan pride and an almost palpable fury.

"Orion," Sophia hollered, ducking under a swinging halberd before snapping back up, her dagger raking along the card's 'skin'. "Get over here!"

"It would be a wise strategy if we worked together!" Mirabelle grunted in agreement as a stray blow caught her in the abdomen. With acute percision she shaped another orb of ki in her palm, slinging it forward. The card's face exploded in flash as the attack struck him cleanly, and he fell over dead. Szar didn't even care whether the saiyan joined them or not: if he wanted to unjustly hate Szar for the atrocities of his species, that was his business.

As more guards advanced on the trio, and the Queen's elite guard set to block Orion's movements, the Icer felt the cold sting of fear at the back of his mind. If they didn't get out of here soon, they might not make it out at all.

[Orion]

Dukes wouldn't do this to him. He was a gentlemen, a fine purveyor of televised entertainment while still holding his contestants' desires in the highest regard. This Gamer, however, saw fit to lump him into a team of two human women and a slimy, deceptive lizard. Gamer was either incredibly bereft of the knowledge of the history of the saiyan people or he was playing a strategic, sick little game with his grudges. It almost seemed too perfect that a cowardly human calling the shots from behind a faceless megaphone speaker wouldn't understand the conflicts that the saiyans had with the changelings.

Regardless, their current situation called for a clear state of mind. Mulling over the Gamer's intentions while in the epicentre of battle was counterproductive. His first instinct was to kill this haughty royal figure, evidently the Queen of these lands the way that the speech capable rabbit addressed her as "your majesty." If she was dead, there was no one left to bark orders, and the guards would have to think for themselves. In Orion's experience, a leaderless troupe was like a headless chicken; alive for a while but running around in pointless circles before collapsing as a twitching corpse.

On the other hand, Orion had never encountered a talking rabbit or halberd wielding playing cards before, so perhaps assumptions were best left for later, when he understood this preposterous dimension in greater depth. Being alone in this plane of existence was also unwelcome, so it made more sense to keep the ragtag crew alive as long as possible. Szar was expendable, but the woman named Mirabelle was cool-headed and spoke with authority, as if she had been in similar situations to this. Sophia ... well, Orion wouldn't admit it, but he just liked looking at Sophia.

The one eyed saiyan changed directions. Leaving the Queen to boil in her indignant fury, he spun and charged towards the encroaching army of playing cards surrounding his team. It was a one in a million sight to see life sized, flimsy cards brandishing sharp bladed weapons, and Orion was keen to test out just how much in common they had with their miniature cousins.

Apparently they hadn't noticed the veteran warmonger approach from behind, because Orion was able to burn clean holes through the papery material of around ten guards before they realised that he even initiated an attack. Half of the strike force remained focused on the other three while the second half set their glistening blades at Orion. Vicious swings came left and right, but the battle hardened soldier deftly weaved through them. A particularly aggressive card brought its halberd down at Orion's head, but he spotted the incoming attack and caught the descending weapon in his hands. Wrestling it free of the card, Orion whirled it about in his hands in both a display of skill and also to get a feel of the weight of the weapon before cleanly slicing his enemy in two weightless pieces.

"Orion!" Sophia exclaimed feverishly. "Get over here!"

A horde of the Queen's guards advanced on Orion, attempting to hinder his obvious objective. Judging by the fervent anxiety in the priestess' voice, the saiyan had no time to carve paper joyfully. He needed to end this skirmish swiftly so he could attend to the next.

"Come on!" Orion coaxed cockily to the cards, twirling the halberd in one hand while motioning with the other. "Surely all of you can take down one man if you try hard enough!"

The Queen's cards didn't need any provocation. They attacked in unison, closing in on their foe in a head-on rush. Thankfully, that's what Orion was counting on.

A tealish blue oval of energy suddenly materialised around Orion. The guards weren't phased in the slightest by this spherical colour change, continuing their aggravated strike in defiance. The eye patch clad mercenary sunk down on his knees, placing his weight on the balls of his feet. Just a moment longer ...

"Shockwave!"

A flurry of cards launched into the air, fluttering about like a real pack of cards that had been abruptly tossed haphazardly into the sky. Orion grasped the halberd tightly and moved with unobservable speeds, his body disappearing in a fading image of himself. It spontaneously popped into existence by one of the cards wafting on the breeze like a detached leaf from its branch, and in one well aimed slash, executed it. The saiyan perpetuated the falsity that he could teleport by dashing with such velocity between the airborne cards that a split second avatar was left in his wake. It was only the second time Orion utilised the After-Image technique and he was enjoying it immensely.

Soon enough, the croquet grounds was blanketed in diced playing cards. The paper precipitation was finally enough to distract the guards holding the other three at bay, and everyone found a chance to capitalise. Mirabelle floored several cards with a burst of energy bolts, while Sophia managed to cut another two to ribbons with her dagger. Szar fended off the remaining hostiles long enough for Orion to fall screaming from the skies like a horseman of the apocalypse and lop the cards' heads off.

Orion spun the halberd about and shoved the blade into the earth. "Here I was thinking this would be boring."

Szar knew the saiyan was referring to the excitement of battle rather than the terrifying ordeal of being set upon by royal guards, but he let the comment slide. "I don't think the Queen appreciated what we did."

The changeling officer was right on the money. The Queen was fuming. If it were physiologically possible, steam would have poured from her ears.

"Guards!" she shrieked. "Guards! Seize them!"

"Hey, lady," Orion called out rudely. "We just killed your guards, so unless you plan on us to die from papercuts, you should still your voice."

"She isn't referring to those guards," Sophia mentioned softly. She poked the saiyan and pointed behind him.

"What is it?" he murmured as he turned around. A massive club clobbered Orion across the face, flooring him in one blow. He fell limply and stayed deathly still.

A contingent of cards at least twice the height of Orion had arrived, brandishing rock like cudgels in their hands. They stared down at the remaining trio as if to warn them to behave. A quick glance at Orion was indicative of what awaited them if they were unruly.

The Queen, obviously in control again, sneered arrogantly. "Guards! Put them in shackles and take them to the jail!"

[Jesper]

Although Sophia watched events unfold right before her eyes, she could hardly believe what she saw. Dozens upon dozens of soldiers—paper soldiers, fashioned in the likeness of playing cards, no doubt—flipped onto their makeshift battlefield, replacing their fallen comrades easily as they descended upon the Kill Town players. Orion had already been clubbed in the face, and from the looks of it, he was out for the count. Szar and Mirabelle had faced their backs to each other, eyes darting back and forth as they made a quick attempt to count just how many cards were pointing various pointed objects at them.

“…what are you waiting for? Capture them!” the queen bellowed once more, prompting her guards to jolt into action even more quickly than they already had. Sophia found herself separated from the rest of the group as a fresh wave of card soldiers cut her off. As they dragged Orion away, the healer curled up a fist and cocked it back, springing it forward into the nearest guard’s face—or what she thought was a face, anyway. The paper of the card, though seemingly strong as steel, folded in on itself as the former priestess’ strike dented it in through the middle. When the card sank to the floor, Sophia was able to see her comrades fighting just ahead. The beautiful tactician had resorted to less elegant tactics, firing extraordinary beams of pure energy, knocking down opponents as if they were bowling pins, her “strike” coming in the form of a large explosion at the end. The alien, on the other hand, had gone into a frenzy, hitting his enemies with such resounding thuds that the healer thought the earth would cave in around them.

Unfortunately, it had all been for naught. They were overwhelmed and defeated in a matter of minutes. It all happened so fast that Sophia couldn’t even consider drawing her weapon or activate her newfound technique, much less do it. As each sheet of paper seemed to fold on top of her, the healer allowed one more glimpse at her pudgy captor—she was smiling maniacally, of all things, as Sophia’s consciousness was beaten from her.

*

“Do you think she’ll ever wake up?” a voice summoned her from the depths of her slumber, but Sophia didn’t let her eyes open. She was merely content with just…laying down, as if she was never going anywhere ever again. It was a sad concept for someone who had just escaped the afterlife, but there wasn’t much to live for when she had just been thrown into another madman’s game. She had tried to keep a positive outlook on the situation before, but there was just something about getting clubbed in the head several times that put a damper on her attitude. From the sound of it, it was Szar who had waken her up.

“Of course she will,” Orion’s distinctive gruff voice sounded—she could probably see the sneer just by listening to him. “We’re inside some sort of game, right? Do you really think she would be here if she was dead?”

“We have no way to be sure how anything works, Orion,” Mirabelle spoke up. “Besides, our friend is not dead. She is merely listening…clever girl.”

Sophia snapped open her eyes. “How did you know?”

“You would be surprised how differently you look when you are not snoring,” she said--jokingly, probably, though her expression and tone didn’t show it.

“I…I wasn’t snoring!” Sophia protested, sitting up quickly.

“Oh, you were,” Szar grinned. “You were snoring so loud that I thought your lungs finally gave out. That’s why I was worried.”

The three began to share a laugh, but were interrupted when the one-eyed Saiyan rapped on the metal bars of their cell door. “I’m sorry to ruin your little tea party, but if you haven’t noticed, we have a bit of a problem. Or did you forget that big ass fight we just had?”

“It was a little hard to forget,” Szar commented, rubbing a bump on his head gingerly.

“Fear not, I am thinking of something as we speak,” the older blonde woman spoke, looking around their cell. She sounded confident enough, and although Sophia had built a similar confidence on Mira’s intelligence, they both knew that she was at a loss.

Szar, on the other hand, scoffed and stood up from his crouched position. “This is silly. We’re powerful warriors, all of us! I’ve bent metal on several occasions. Why should this stop me?”

“You don’t think Gamer has that covered?” Sophia lifted her line of sight towards the sky, as if that was where the awkward teenager resided. She knew from a multitude of experiences spanning two lives that the whole pie-in-the-sky attitude didn’t really get her anywhere, however, and forced her glance back downward. “I mean, why have us get captured if we could easily break out?”

“A valid point,” the alien nodded, “but what harm is there to try?”

Motioning for his comrades to step back, Szar wound up a fist and slung it forward towards a metal bar. Sophia knew that the bar would have bent or completely shattered in a normal situation, but at the same time, she wasn’t surprised when all that came from it was a solid clank and a blood-curdling scream. As the changeling shook his hand wildly, every eye turned back to the tactician, who had started to fan herself once again.

“I have come to a conclusion,” the woman closed her eyes and said.

“Great,” Orion rolled his eye. “You’ve a plan, then?”

“…no,” Mirabelle said. “Gamer has all of his corners covered, so to speak. I cannot see a foundational weakness or any other way of escape. You can try, of course, but I doubt that your efforts would bear much fruit.”

The other three sighed at once.

“I have a suggestion, if you please,” an ominous voice echoed through their chamber. A chill ran down Sophia’s spine as she looked around for the source. She found something different in the area by glancing down at the spot behind Orion’s shoulder, though she couldn’t tell exactly what it was as it floated in mid-air. The Saiyan recognized that the human girl in front of him was staring at something behind him and turned to look. Orion and Sophia determined what it was at the same time, both jumping backwards a bit—a large grin hovered about with no face to match it with.

“Woah…what the hell are you?” the alien frowned.

The grin was quickly surrounded by the figure of a rather large cat, completing the picture. “I am simply what you see.”

“You’re a cat,” Sophia blinked.

“A Cheshire Cat, no less,” the animal responded indignantly. “Wonderland is a land filled with…well, what it implies. It’s up to you to determine what it is.”

“A land filled with wonder…simple enough, I suppose,” Mirabelle chuckled. “So tell me, Cat. How do you suggest we escape?”

“Now that is a heavy question, is it not?” the Cheshire Cat nodded. “You see, if someone were to aid a prisoner’s escape, that person would be executed. Or animal, as it were.”

“Don’t toy with us!” Orion narrowed his eye. “If you have an idea, then spit it out. Otherwise, go away.”

“Frustration in a frustrating situation. How upsetting,” the animal shook its head. “You see, I cannot aid your escape. I simply cannot.”

“Can you at least tell us how to get out?” the healer pleaded.

“Oh, there is certainly a way out,” the Cat grinned. “But I’ll never tell!”

“…I am not sure I approve of this creature’s antics,” the tactician surmised coolly. “But at least we know now that there is in fact a way out. There is value to such knowledge, at the very least.”

“Alas, my time is up,” the Cat sighed. “Visitation hours are fleeting, like youth. Perhaps a parting gift is in order, yes?”

“You’re quite the confusing character,” Szar crossed his arms.

“Logic holds little weight where madness prevails. Dreaming of the impossible equates to success,” the cat explained, fading out of sight before their eyes. “Now…farewell!”

With that, the creature disappeared completely, leaving behind only an outline where the cat’s grin had been, and a blue vial sitting underneath it. The Saiyan warrior mumbled and snatched the bottle, examining it closely. “Hmph…what do you guys suppose this is?”

“My guess is that it’s either a refreshment of sorts or…”

“…poison,” Mirabelle and Szar finished Sophia’s thought at the same time.

Orion sighed and shook his head. “Well…leaving it alone would be a bad idea, especially if by some miracle it’s useful for something. Besides, I’m thirsty.”

Before anyone could get a word in otherwise, the Saiyan twisted off the top and took a swig of the liquid inside. He gulped it down hard and swished the remaining liquid around inside the bottle. Sophia’s heart nearly leapt out of her throat when the warrior coughed and winced at a result, but he quickly went back to normal. “Goddamn, that tastes like shit. Here you guys go.”

He tossed the vial at Sophia and went to lean on the bars once again. However, to everyone’s surprise, he fell right through the bars as if they were just a figment of their imagination. The warrior rolled to his feet on the other side, frowning open-jawed at what had just transpired.

“…this makes little sense, you know,” Mirabelle suggested.

“Who the heck cares,” Sophia shrugged, taking a small sip in kind. “Come on, guys, take a drink.”

This counts as my update post, or whatever. Orion's opportunity was to take the vial himself or share it. He shared it. Hurray teamwork.

[Szar]

Szar's mind struggled to catch up with all that was going on. His right hand was still sore from striking the cell's bars--not one of his brightest ideas, to be sure. Next there was the matter of the phantom cat who had appeared in an instant and disappeared the next, leaving the Icer's very puzzled as to what his intentions actually were. Lastly, the fact that Orion had been able to, after bravely sampling the tonic the cat left in its wake, phase through the bars and escape the cell. Spohia was next to try the concoction, followed by Mirabelle. By the time it made its way to Szar, there was little left in the vial, save a few drops. Knowing his luck it wouldn't be enough to get him out, and he'd be left inside while the rest of the group moved on. Shrugging, he raised the bottle to his mouth, tapping the bottom with his finger to help move the droplets along. They inched closer, and Szar almost gagged when he tasted it. To say it was putrid would be an insult to all putrid things. Thankfully, it had in fact been enough, and he stepped outside of the cell to join the others.

"Well, we're out of there, at least." Sophia muttered. Szar had noticed a change in her demeanor from when they arrived to now. It was perfectly understandable, however, and the Changeling just nodded his acquiescence. If her shift in mood had any sort of detrimental effects on their proceedings, Szar would talk to her about it. Until then, he was content with letting her work out whatever problems she was having. Or maybe he was just imagining things, and she was the same as before? Shaking his head, the Icer tried to stop dwelling on it; thinking made his head hurt, no thanks to the savage blow he'd taken earlier. Looking around, Szar noted that they were in a long corridor, with cells lining both sides evenly. He also noticed that it was unnaturally quiet, and devoid of any activity. No roving patrols, no nothing. Assuming they were in the Queen's castle, why weren't there any guards on duty, or servants engaged in maintaining the grounds? Szar didn't like it, and he made it clear to the group that they should be on their way. They all were quick to agree, even Orion, and together they set off down the hall.

"So, what do you think we should do now?" the Icer asked the group as they walked, "We weren't given any sort of task to complete, or anything like that. So are we just supposed to wander around here until Gamer gets bored?"

"What does it matter," Orion grunted, not even turning to look at Szar. "We'll keep going until something happens, or until the event is over. It's as simple as that, though I'm not surprised that a stupid lizard like you--"

Sophia elbowed Orion in the ribs, and he glowered angrily at her. She returned the stare, and for a moment the two stood face to face, eyes locked. Finally, Orion turned away and stomped off further down the hall, leaving Sophia, Szar, and Mirabelle behind.

"What's his problem, anyway?" Sophia asked when Orion disappeared around a corner. "Why does he hate you so much?"

Szar groaned. He was hoping that he wouldn't have to explain the reason for the Saiyan's hatred. "Well, it's because my people...well, we enslaved the saiyans for some time."

Sophia's eyes widened and even Mirabelle looked shocked for a moment. Her calm demeanor was quick to set back into place, "Interesting," she said simply, "that would certainly explain why he is behaving how he is."

Szar shrugged. The truth was he could understand the Saiyan's anger completely. What his people had done was terrible, but that was a long time ago. The Changelings kept to themselves now; they stuck to interstellar commerce, establishing themselves as one of the premier trading hubs in the galaxy. The Saiyans didn't care, however, and several merchant ships from Frost had fallen under Saiyan attack while on their routes. Enslaving a race of warriors and using them to that end was one thing, but murdering innocents in the name of revenge was another entirely. "Sure, if you say so." Szar agreed reluctantly before moving ahead, rounding the same corner that Orion had only a moment ago. He stopped abruptly as he walked square into Orion's back. The saiyan was trembling, his fists balled tightly at his sides. Szar moved to stride past him, but the saiyan grabbed Szar by the shoulders and slammed him painfully into the wall. The Icer squirmed against the man's grip, but he held fast. Leaning in close, Orion whispered a few choice words: "You'd best watch yourself around me from here on. It may not be now, but soon I will teach you the humiliation that we saiyans endured for years. I will make you suffer as you have never suffered before." Then, without warning, Orion struck Szar in the abdomen with a quick punch, forcing the air from his lungs. Buckling over, Szar inhaled sharply, trying to keep his anger in check. Just then, Mirabelle and Sophia turned the corner, stopping next to Szar.

"Hey, have you seen Orion?" Sophia asked, looking down both sides of the corridor for the one eyed warrior.

"No." Szar growled, biting his lip, "Let's keep moving."

[Kill Town]

Gamer sat back in his chair, fingers twined in between themselves, as his eyes scanned the monitors before him. The round had only begun, and it already seemed like days had passed as he watched the events unfold. The first one that he thought to watch was the Wonderland event, as he was particularly fond of the Disney film. There was such a beauty there, an elegance that largely went untold, lost amongst the mulling sheep audiences, and yet there was also a danger there. People were executed in Wonderland, and if the Queen wasn’t a sadist, she was well on her way to becoming one.

“Hey, how’s the game going so far?”

Keith nearly jumped out of his chair as Lance spoke up behind him. “What the hell? Shouldn’t you be in the game?”

“You never put me in an event,” his friend shrugged. “I wasn’t about to sit around and wait for the next round to start. Mixie’s company can only do so much.”

“Yeah, well…sit down and shut up, will you? This event is already underway.”

“What’s happened so far?”

“Queen of Hearts got pissed. Dunno why,” Gamer shrugged. “Nobody ever knows why. Anyway, I programmed the Cheshire Cat to help them out. They broke out and now they’re just kind of…wandering around.”

“Exciting.”

Lance’s sarcasm was not lost on Keith, but the teenager knew that he was right. After all the excitement that came from the battle with the Queen’s guard, and the intrigue of the cat’s proposition, things had slowed to a painful halt. Orion had been throwing a hissy fit for being placed with an Icer pretty much the whole time, and the two women were still trying to calm them down. In some ways, Gamer had his fingers crossed for a fight between the two of them, but he wasn’t about to intervene in any way.

“So?” Lance tapped him on the shoulder. “Is the event over? It looks like I missed most of it.”

“Hm…no,” Keith responded. “Not quite over.”

He placed his fingertips on the home row keys of the board in front of him and lifted his chin slightly in thought—unfortunately, there wasn’t a button he could push or a lever that he could pull to make things more interesting; he had a variety of complex coding that he had to utilize. Several keyboard clicks later, he was able to sit back once more and watch the events unfold.


“Hey,” Sophia stopped as they all walked down the path, “did you guys hear something?”

“…indeed, I did,” Mirabelle froze, stiffening her shoulders as she listened. “Footsteps.”

“Lots of them,” Szar nodded. “Where the hell is that monkey when you need him?”

The changeling was answered not by words, but by a loud explosion to accompany the footsteps in the distance. The light splashed against the wall, and inside it was the shadow of the familiar figure of Orion. He had apparently tried to distance himself from the group, but had to double back because of a fresh wave of paper soldiers. The Saiyan warrior had taken out his fair share of them, his success somewhat masking the sheer number of opponents from the other players. It was only when he caught up with them again that they realized just how many there were.

Gamer added as many soldiers as he possibly could, just to spice things up. They would fight there, since there were no other options at that point, and the kid knew that his players were going to die. Such an idea usually sat pretty well with him, but it was too early for that just yet. Still, he wanted to test their concept of fear…a few more clicks, and every soldier darted at the group at once. They extended their sharpened weapons and shoved them towards the group—Gamer could almost taste their absolute fright all the way up to the point when he teleported them away.

“Oh man, that was priceless,” Lance slapped his knee in laughter. His attention was summoned away, however, when he spotted something on the screen. “Oh, but I think you got one of them.”

“Hm?” Gamer leaned in closer to look at the screen. Indeed, Mirabelle laid in a heap on the ground, stab wounds gushing out obscene amounts of blood as the cards wiggled away. “Oh shit, you’re right.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“Whoops.”

1st: Sophia – 40 monies
2nd: Orion – 30 monies
3rd: Szar – 20 monies
Mirabelle be dead. Real dead, ja feel me bruda?

I suppose now would be a good time to tell you that I’m being graded, as well. Not by myself, of course, but by Kaden. I didn’t see my scores until after I had graded Orion’s stuff.