but as I told you... I didn't chase the white rabbit!

[heartgatherer]

Who: The Alices and Clock
What: Open the first door and see what you find. Hopefully it's a key... maybe it's something more.
Where: World One - The Country of Clover
Warnings: General violence and disregard for life.

 '▒▒▒▒▒, you fool... it was all just a dream'...

If she could have thought that to herself, then she might have believed it. Here were the high vaulted ceilings of Clover Tower that she'd grown so used to since the shift to the Country of Clover. And yet her name was still lost to her. She could not think it... could not say it... It was as though someone had stolen it entirely, as odd of a thing as that sounded. That was all she needed to know to prove she wasn't dreaming. Then that meant it was as the rabbit and cat said-- in order to retrieve the rabbit's keys, they needed to enter the doors and the door took them straight into peoples' hearts.

This one no doubt was supposed to be her own. How else could this place be replicated so accurately? None of the others should know a thing about Wonderland. After all... this was her dream. Her messed-up, embarrassing, dangerous... oh no.

Outside the window the forest, the castle and the Hatter Mansion were all as they should be. But what had happened to the others? If they had been split up, there was no telling what manner of characters they might have met. While they should be safe as Outsiders, Clover has never seen any other Outsiders. Like this, there's no way to be sure they're safe.

Whatever's happened - this is no time to be sleeping. She needs to verify what's going on in this world and the whereabouts of the people that entered with her. If this was a true and accurate reflection of the world that she knew, then she needed to warn them of a great many things.

Down the tower stairs she goes... to investigate the fate of herself and those who had gone with her.

Comments

[notsogreedy]

[He raises an eyebrow. The immediacy of the answer is unexpected.]

Something else, then. [He honestly doesn't sound all that interested, so it's not necessarily a prompt for her to explain, unless she chooses to.]

[notsogreedy]

[He ignores Sebastian's question for now. Context should make the answer obvious, anyway.]

Would you take the clocks if they didn't, then?

[The way he says it is a little accusatory, because having the clocks disappear like that when they're supposed to collect them and put them in the door is annoying... and if the rabbit would do the same, it seems counterproductive to getting the key he claims he wants them to get.]

famous last words tbh

[zinit]

That's a thought we've all had - 'everyone else is a figment of my imagination.' It's a matter of scope. [And ultimately, Qilby will be very surprised if someone's dreams came up with something like him.]

[There it is. Qilby's hand goes to his gun, tucked away in its stupid little holster; he's ready to draw at C-ta's first sign of hostility. Still, he's smiling, though it's become more of a smirk about the eyes.]

If you take my heart out with an axe, I'll be quite impressed. [He's cocky as ever, not even registering that he might be facing down his first death in this world, for real this time.] Come, now; give it a try.

[dolosa]

Perhaps.

[ She'll keep that a secret for now, grinning as she places her index finger towards her lips. ]

[frozentear]

[So that's how he kept winding up back in Clover Tower. How were they supposed to get the clocks then, though?]

[mearry]

[ he shrugs in return ] If he cares for you, then he should be willing to forgive you, no matter what. Even if you do watch the world burn.

Although others might not be so forgiving.

UGHHHHH

[mearry]

With an axe? [ He laughs, cold and empty in his ears. ] No way, old man. An axe versus a gun has a clear winner-- and it wouldn't be me. On the other hand...

[ With a flick of his hand, the axe transforms into something much easier to handle-- a gun, of course. Has he ever fired one? No. But it feels so right in his hands, when he readies it to fire, aimed at the older male's head. C-ta's lips curl into a vicious grin.

If only that person was watching him-- who is it, though? ] This is a much fairer battle, don't you think?

THE TIME ARRIVES

[zinit]

[See? Now that's more interesting!]

[In lieu of portals (how bitter he still is, that this place took those powers away from him), Qilby resorts to the next best thing: he breaks into a zig-zag run, eyes never breaking from C-ta's position. If he can keep C-ta moving, he thinks, he can exhaust the kid and make him easy prey.]

Nice trick, but can you back it up? [He yells it almost over his shoulder once there's a bit of distance between them.]

[mearry]

[ Shit. This guy's fast. It's a little surprising, actually. The zig-zag run is annoying, too, since it makes it tougher to aim correctly.

But he's a teenager, and has the stamina of one. So he gives chase, his expression furious as he watches the man ( his prey ) get away from him. Oh, how he wants to kick him to the ground fill his head with bullets until the entire ground is dyed in red. How dare this asshole make light of him--!! ]

I'll kill you-- [ He shoots, once, twice. ] I'll fucking kill you!

[zinit]

Give it a tr-- Agh!

[Hubris: the downfall of man.]

[Where there was only amusement before, anger floods hot in his chest when one of the bullets hits his hip. He grits his teeth, falls to his knees, locks hot eyes on C-ta. The kid's going down, damn it, whether he likes it or not.] I guess you're not as useless as you look!

[At least now he's stationary, and so he can aim at C-ta and fire a couple times. Hey, one's bound to hit, and since the next shot C-ta fires will undoubtedly be the final one... He's going to take this child and his disgusting bloodlust with him.]

[mearry]

[ His expression shines with excitement when he sees the man collapse on his own feet, red seeping through the man's clothes. He's ready to gloat, too, maybe kick the man around a little before sending him off before--

A gun fires. It's not his. He forgot about Qilby's gun. The bullet strikes his stomach, piercing through in a nice, clean shot. C-ta barely has a chance to take notice of the wound on his abdomen before he's falling on his knees and his mouth tastes like blood. ]

Ha- ha ha! [ There's anger in his voice, but not because of the death that looms over him, but over the fact that he was taken down. By some four-eyed bastard. ] F-fuck you. I won't die before you. I won't die before you!

[ He lifts the gun again, aimed at Qilby, and shoots the rest of the cartridge. He doesn't care where it lands. Head, shoulder, chest, as long as it hits it doesn't matter.

All through the while, C-ta laughs. ]

[zinit]

It's not a race, brat. [Qilby laughs; it's something acrid, the wheezing noise that comes from his throat. Got him. He's about to snipe in another remark with what strength he has left, but he doesn't get the chance to.]

[The bullet strikes him clean between the eyes. His glasses, those 'four eyes,' shatter. Qilby doesn't get even a scream out before the bullet lodges itself in the left hemisphere of his brain. There's a sense he gets, every time he's died, of his soul separating like an egg; this time is no different.]

[Then, there's nothing to feel.]

[worldkeys]

[ Like all the ones before them, the strange inky black figures without faces will appear over Qilby's corpse. Some of them will disappear with it, leaving only the clock inside him behind. Several smaller ones remain, and the smallest inky figure picks his clock up.

It looks at C-ta, as if knowing what is coming, before disappearing with Qilby's clock into the shadows. It cannot be taken or interacted with; it is incorporeal.

Qilby will reawaken sometime later in Clover Tower, and when his eyes pop open, a small reign of confetti will appear to congratulate him on his first official death! ]

[apatheticguide]

[ A light snort. ]

... Don't be daft. Why would I do that? The clocks aren't related to me at all. All I need are my Keys. ... No, I only bring back the people who are foolish enough to die inside the Hearts. I take them from where I am, and I put them back in there. It's part of my duties.

[mearry]

[ C-ta feels lonely.

As the ticking of the clock in his chest slows down, it's the only emotion in his mind. A heartbreaking loneliness as he waits for someone that just doesn't come. Only the shadows do. Creepy.

His body falls to its side, too heavy to keep up. Maybe, if he keeps on waiting, then someone will come for him, whoever it is that can fill that hole in his heart.

The ticking of his heart stops. That person doesn't come. ]

[zinit]

[Things that are not good for an aging back: hard floors. Qilby remembers, though, that the floors aren't the only reason he feels like he's been hit by a couple of meteor showers.]

[He opens his eyes, readjusts his glasses on his face (taking the opportunity to feel that his brain is still in his head, too), and looks down at his hand. Huh; his skin and hair are still as they were, and he certainly still only has one arm, but he has the skin markings indicative of fusing with the Eliacube. (Or, well, indicative of taking in a large amount of wakfu.) He doesn't feel different, though. Strange.]

[... And then another ball of confetti opens over his head, as if to congratulate him on getting shot. Confetti rains all over his face, in his beard, on the dumb crooked top hat. It'll probably be there for awhile, too.]

[He sits up and emits the most unamused groan known to man. It's like a hangover, except thirty times worse.]

He's still here so he's going to just poke you

[apatheticguide]

[ ... He's totally not hiding a snicker behind his face, not at all.

Oh, did we mention he's here? Yes, the White Rabbit is here. Trying to suppress a rare snicker. ]

... This World really... likes you.

[worldkeys]

[ As C-ta's ticking heart comes to a stop, he will hear whispering in his ears. It's a young male's voice, one that seems so familiar to him, he could swear he's heard it someplace before...

"Hey... hey. It's all right. Just go find her. She'll fix it. She'll know what to do. The Foreigner. Don't let anyone else touch her. ... We're guards, aren't we? So go protect her from everyone else, already, especially the Queen's people."

Then, the shadowy figures will arrive and take his body and his clock in the same fashion as they did Qilby's. He will awaken about a minute or two after Qilby inside the ground floor of Clover Tower, body appearing a few feet from him just as the other has gotten to his feet. The feeling that he is missing something will have increased exponentially, and only being around Clock will fix it.

From the top floor of Clover Tower, the Magical Door that is locked has begun to emit thunking noises, and screaming can now be heard occasionally, as well as sobbing, on top of intermittent coughing fits.The voice of two other young women can be heard crying and arguing simultaneously, but cannot be made out into words. ]

[zinit]

[Goddess, everyone's so rude.]

[Qilby blinks, looks at the Rabbit (head still covered in confetti), and says flatly:] I'm glad. [And that's all the pretense he can keep up for now. He's still irritated about being killed.]

[But not a second later, he turns to the Rabbit and speaks again.] You'd said that you couldn't retrieve the keys for yourself; I'd assumed it was because you couldn't come into these doors.

[apatheticguide]

I cannot.

[ He'll run a hand through a nearby wall--incorporeal. ]

This is a projection. ... I came because you all are taking so terribly long. And when I finally found out what was going on... goodness me, Alice. Whatever is the hold up?

[dolosa]

As long as I don't hurt him and his friends... perhaps. But perhaps I am being a bit pessimistic. I don't think he would betray me.

[ There's just a slight pause in her words as her smile brightens. ]

Nevertheless, I don't really care much about others. They're not important to me. So if they're the ones that are unforgiving -- then, well. Let them.

[zinit]

The hold-up-- [Qilby manages a smile, but it's strained around the corners--] is that people cannot control themselves.

[Frankly, Qilby's finding it harder to control himself. He could kick himself for not extracting more out of Otoha - not taking his sword and asking all the questions he could. Something in him just told him to get it over with, shoot him and be done, and have him out of the way. Something in him liked how bloody it was.]

[That's a little scary, admittedly.]

[He gets up and dusts off the back of his pants.] As we agreed, and surely you've known, others' hearts are not the friendliest of places. It's even less so when you're given weapons and a hierarchy.

[stolenface]

[ Some time after C-ta's death, the Cat will seek her out. ]

Yo, Alice.

[ He's as dressed up as the rest of them, with a big fluffy boa on. ]

Havin' fun?

[apatheticguide]

Well, I did warn you all. Going into these places... that anything could happen. Most of you took my warnings lightly. I told you that it could potentially be difficult. That an unknown would lie before you, and that only the people around you could really say for certain what might be inside themselves.

[ He wasn't joking, you know. ]

Prying open someone's Heart... and the rebound of it being projected from inside the World... the effects can be quite nasty. I do hope you will be able to get my Keys. I will not be able to open the pathways to the remaining Doors without whatever Keys are hidden here.

[zinit]

[Is she one of those types of women who denies their feelings, despite acting in a way that clearly indicates they have feelings? Does she just have some sort of loyalty? Huh.]

A game like this one, or another? [A little chuckle.] Forgive me; I'm just curious. Of all the worlds I've seen, I've never seen one quite like this.