[WoD] Heart of the Mountain

[ExtraWhiteRice]

Johnny was...taken out. 'Michael' kicked himself for not immediately leaving the guards to go intercept Burns--he could have avoided Johnny getting beat up. He couldn't blame himself, though. After all, the IDIOT jumped up on the bar, pulled a gun, and threatened the owner of the place. Glancing over to the bar, he realized his drink was also knocked over...great, now he didn't even have anything to loosen up his emotions! It was probably poisoned anyway--though this was definitely going to be a topic with his next talk with Burns. 'Michael' glanced around, noting that he had no more roles he could play tonight. At least he had succeeded in delaying the guards. He was pissed with Johnny, but he was at a loss for how he was going to present the situation to Julia. He pulled out his phone as he walked away from the bar, towards the other end of the casino, taking cover behind the slot machines. Hastily, he sent a text to Johnny.

Johnny

them

This is Michael. This will probably be in the paper tomorrow. How do you want me to spin this to Julia? Maybe I can save both of our asses before she jumps to conclusions.

them

I have to give her my report in the evening. Think it over before responding.

With his hasty text sent off, he sat there a moment to gather his wits. His face held an apathetic tone to it. He didn't normally get nervous in tense situations, but it would have been hard not to get a bit shaken up. Slowly, he relaxed each portion of his body, forcing the tenseness out through slow, even breaths. He had failed. He had fucking failed. He was hard on himself for this fact--he knew he could have de-escalated the situation differently in retrospect, but he hadn't been quick enough on his feet. And it urked him that even though it was Johnny's fault that 'Michael' couldn't keep him from getting harmed, it was his mission that failed.


His mind trailed off of that topic, forcing it out of his mind as he re-approached his next negotiation with Burns. This would most definitely be a topic that was brought up, though 'Michael' would be straight to the point--he was going to find out if Burns knew anything about Terrance's activities, one way or another. "And it's MY ass on the line..." he mumbled, finally pushing himself off of the wall that he leaned against, putting on his best fake smile again, and confidently walking out of the casino.

 

[ValkyrieRose]

"I'm more worried about you." Caeda said. "Those guys beat you pretty badly." She says, looking at him in concern. "Besides that... I would say this date actually turned out pretty well all things considered. Not often I can show my moves off!" She says, grinning and flexing her arm. "Thanks for sticking with me this whole time... I'd like to go eat that chinese food now." She says


She blinks, peering over the phone Johnny had read to read the text message. "Is that so? What do we have here?"

 

[NovaPheonix]

@Xistund @ValkyrieRose


Caeda would see Johnny typing out the first message on the keypad, and 2 minutes later there was a rather shocking *Ding!* followed by a neat typed response. Another *Ding* went off shortly before as Michael had sent a text as well.

Terrance

me

Sorry Princess, I was getting the mortals, they're out like a light. The extract must have a delayed reaction. What should I do with them again? I've had one hell of a night and some biker tried to cave in my skull on the way out, so my memory is a bit fuzzy.

them

[5:22 PM] You must have gotten hit pretty hard! I thought you knew the Extract had a delayed reaction already? Whatever. Take them to the mirror, I showed you what to do. I'll serve you some warm tea to calm your nerves when you get here...

 

[Xistund]

Johnny smiled as he sent the message and showed it to Caeda "Well, how would you like see the person setting everything up." He said then got another text, this time it was from his own phone. Digging into his pocket he opened it up. He sighed a bit as he typed.


@ExtraWhiteRice

Michael

me

Tell her what you want, got a lead now can't lose it. Found something for the highwayman that the other newspaper stands won't know of. That should make Julia at least a bit less pissed if not actually happy

He moved back to the other phone and started to type on it, his fingers are so going to cramp after all this texting.

Princess

me

Right. The mirror...Can you go over it again, just to refresh my memory. Some tea sounds nice after all I've been through.

 

[NovaPheonix]

Terrance

them

Alright. Just focus your Glamour into the mirror and ask the doorway to open. It's not that hard.

It wouldn't normally be that hard, sure. However, Johnny had no idea what she was talking about.


Glamour? The word drew a blank to him, but it certainly seemed off when he saw it.

 

[ValkyrieRose]

Caeda's brow furrowed as she read the text. Glamour? Mortals? "Are these people... high or something?" Caeda asked. "Does the psychopath think he's above all of us? ... Or is this a code of some sort?" She asked, trying to think back to anything that might help. "And this mirror thing? I don't get it. They wanted us taken to a mirror?" She asked. "Bah, I hate cryptography."


She motions to a few of her fellow police officers. "We're going to apprehend the guy this psychopath was working for before they learn that the bartender has been arrested. By now it's probable cause so a warrant won't be needed. I'm going to need some backup, though." She says... a full set of policemen should be able to capture just about any target, or at least she figured it that way


"Can you get her to say where the mirror was? It would be so helpful."

 

[Xistund]

Wait, Johnny was having a brainstorm. Pieces were falling into place, he was connecting the dots. "Of course, that's an idea." He started to move back inside the Casino, "Hey can you bring the bartender back inside I want to test something?" He said as he started to head to the bar, He saw what he was looking for a mirror. "Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times, it's enemy action." He muttered as he started to feel around the mirror, hoping to see something happen, Johnny started muttering to himself as he looked. "Wonderland, traveling through mirrors, offering me tea...It can't be can it."

 

[ValkyrieRose]

"Since when are you james bond?" She blinks, thinking about what he was saying. "...Seriously? Alice Through the Looking Glass?" She blinked. "Wow... that's actually rather clever." She says. "If you're right I owe you a drink." She says


She motions to the police officer, indicating her consent to let the Bartender come back, though the officers weren't too far back. "Alright... let's see how deep the rabbit hole goes." She says, slightly giggling at her own joke as if it was funny.

 

[Umbrie]

After the fight was relatively over and after the arrests were underway, the small blonde waitress in the Alice Liddell cosplay from before had returned, the dwarf was there to watch the events that transpired, shaken by the imagery, but relatively safe from the conflict due to distance. She had returned to offer the officers a round of shots from the tray, and no, these ones weren't spiked. "The work you put into that arrest seemed highly difficult, and well, I figured I would offer you all a round of Shots on the behalf of Wonderland." she offered. "Consider this Tray of drinks a reward for stopping the conflict." the Waitress seemed consumed by her profession of serving drinks, and well, she seemed to be as sweet as she could be. well, she seemed harmless enough.


before she had left due to being relatively intimidated by the conflict, shaken by the aggressiveness, she was a fairly close friend of Terrance's, having associated closely in the bar, and often felt a bit comforted by his concerned stares. Or what she perceived to be concerned stares. the two had often bonded in the bar, and it was saddening for her to see him arrested, when he helped vouch for her employment in desperate times. Well, she would have to spend more time mixing drinks in addition to serving them, the second part of her harsh childhood that had consumed her adult life, not only has she generally served drinks, but she frequently mixed them as well, seeing him leave brought her to remember her earliest memories involving mixing and serving tea.

 

[Ten Fairfield]

"Well, so much for mutual progress." the doctor says under his breath as he walks away from the police officer. So close to his goal...He'd noticed the blue bottle on his last outing to the Casino, when he decided to sell some bikers some speed. At least they thought it was speed. Serves them right for assaulting that girl...Only fifteen, and she already suffered from PTSD on top of her long-standing schizophrenia. Abusing the vulnerable was bad enough, attacking the mentally ill, especially one of HIS clients...


The doctor shook himself. He found himself standing on the curb a little ways from the casino. His fists were clenched at his sides, his breathing accelerated. He sat down and began breathing slowly, deliberately. "The empathy of the caretaker. An occupational hazard indeed." He propped himself on his elbows. A grin began to overtake his face "I wish I could have seen their faces when they realized that they weren't getting higher, merely ascending to their ultimate purpose: re-establishing the cosmic balance. Bastards."


He sighed. So close...


Oh well. I'll speak to the officer in the morning, he thought to himself.


He turned to look at the burning building. He took out his headphones and popped them in, then qued up a song. He then opened a little black box from his pocket and took out what appeared to be a sugar cube. He lingered on it for a moment, popped it into his mouth, then closed his eyes and said "God bless you St. Timothy Leary..."


As he watched the flames, anticipating the trip, the Grateful Dead began to play, and he sang along: "Reach out your hand if your cup be empty. If your cup is full may it be again. Let it be known there is a fountain...that was not made by the hands of men.There is a road, no simple highway Between the dawn and the dark of night, And if you go no one may follow .That path is for your steps alone"

 

[Xistund]

"Since I'm the one with the hat I guess I'm as 'mad' as a 'hatter' then eh eh" Johnny said with a bit of a smile at his own joke as he looked around the mirror. He could not find anything with the mirror. "Damn." He said though finding a flask on the ground he picked it up and examined it. This must be the 'Truth goop' that the 'princess' mentioned. He wondered if it did as advertised. There was one way to find out.


He moved back to the bar tender. "So Terrance, I don't want to waste time while you're in an interrogation room, so what's a Glamour and how do we use it to get through the mirror?" He said and added. "And if you don't feel like talking maybe you'd like a drink to make you talk." He said holding up the flask, swirling up its contents. Even if the drug was not some kind of truth telling formula giving Terrance a taste of his own medicine sounded rather good to him.

 

[Ten Fairfield]

"To hell with it! My patience has limits!" The doctor rose up and wildly glanced around. That damned police officer still had the drug on her. She must be around here somewhere. It was RIGHT THERE! I COULD TEST IT RIGHT NOW!


He said through gritted teeth "Sorry, officer, you've got me on a bad day as well"


The doctor approached the police woman and said "Please hear me out" He then very slowly removed a small metallic case from his doctor's bag "I can test the drug right here, right now. No charge, no strings attached. But I want an opportunity to talk to your charge. He's obviously in decent enough state for you to talk to him before giving him medical treatment. My inquiry will be just as painless"

 

[ValkyrieRose]

Caeda turned as the men bothered her... again. Her eye twitched- she hated being pestered. "What did i JUST get through telling you?!" She asked. "For someone who wants something you have an odd way of getting it. I'm starting to think you're personally involved with this." She said. "I JUST said that you COULD NOT talk with him... and now that you're stopping me you're officially interfering with my investigation. I could have you arrested." She huffed... people were always trying to meddly in a police investigation.


She takes some of the liquid in the bottle with an annoyed sigh, pouring a tiny bit of the stuff into it. "There. Run your tests. Request to talk my suspect denied." She said, turning back to Terence, motioning for one of the officers to keep an eye out on that man... she did NOT want his interference again.

 

[Ten Fairfield]

The doctor recoils from the officer's reprimand. He kneels down, allows the chemical to fill the testing vile, and begins analyzing...


The toolkit's computer creates a list of chemical compounds and shows some on screen. The doctor swipes the pictures aside: oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, potassium, nothing noteworthy...


It was clear that based on the composition of the substance that it was some sort of liquid that was extracted from a plant. Though the chloroplasts were clearly different than any plant found on Earth. Could it even be considered a plant then? It was totally alien...


"What's this?" he mutters why squinting at his screen "Wha- What is that? Its atomic bonds keep...shifting... Is it decaying in real time? Then why is its mass fluctuating so much?" He stared at the bizarre figure in front of him in disbelief. Wait... Could it be? Tachyons?! HOW?! Tachyons were theoretical subatomic particles, how could his toolkit be detecting them? And why would they be fluctuating so much? He needs to further evaluate this.


With his analysis done, he printed out a small paper with a list of the chemical compounds. It was mostly composed of water, with about a fourth of its make-up being alcohol, and roughly a sixth being various assorted chemicals, nothing reactive. And there was no way to compute how much the unknown agent was part of it...


He handed the paper to the officer. "Here's a list of its compounds. Though let me tell you know, its like nothing I've ever seen. It seems to be mainly ingredients to make it easier to be ingested. If I found it in a syringe, I bet it would be largely composed of sodium chloride, to allow intravenous application. As for the unknown agent, I have a suspicion but I'll need to run some tests in my lab to be sure."


The doctor slowly packed up his things and said "You have broken my spirit officer. I can tell that you are flustered, and normally I would be more considerate, but I am also in a pained state" His entire body seemed to sag as he said, in a melancholy tone "This drug is responsible for the deaths of at least three individuals. They were my patients. They were given the drug by a foolish pusher who had no idea what he was dealing with. Their reaction time was inhibited, leading to lethal accidents. And one also combined it with a stimulant, killing him. For four months I have been searching for the source of this anomalous chemical, and thought your charge could help me. But this is no longer an option."


He turned around and began walking away. He said as he departed "I shall look elsewhere. Good day to you officer. The best of luck with your investigation."

 

[NovaPheonix]

"I'm not going to tell you anything. I'm going to show you." Terrance stepped forward, leaving the others behind him as he approached the mirror. He placed his restrained hands gently upon the glass, and looked around for any other witnesses before continuing. "You'll only have a few seconds, so don't just stand here." he gave them a warning, glancing at the two people that he tried to drug. "I only had to drug you because you wouldn't be able to handle the journey this way." He explained, still holding his hands against the glass and watching his own reflection. "I'd rather risk it than get another beating." he looked down towards his feet before looking back up. He took a breath, a long breath and knocked on the mirror with his fist.


Please let us in.


He spoke calmly and carefully, and in the blink of an eye, he started to move into the mirror. He sank into it, as if it wasn't there. His body fell into the solid surface that seemed now to show a reflection of a lush green forest on the other side. Terrance could be seen running through the thorn covered forest that suddenly appeared on the other side of the mirror. It seemed to continue moving outward, and led towards a large set of emerald hills. The handcuffs didn't prevent him from rushing his way towards the hills, moving through the twigs and bushes around the forest within the mirror. "C'mon!" they could hear him yell, as he rattled the chains above his head...


Entering into The Hedge.

Glamour: 2/10

S U C K E R S

Session 1 [Mirrors]


End
Credits Song


[media]

[/media]

@ValkyrieRose as Caeda, @Xistund as Johnny, @Karalexia as Meila, @Ten Fairfield as ???, @Umbrie as Selene, @ExtraWhiteRice as Michael

​

​

lll

 

[Xistund]

[session 2, Scene 1: Leap into the Water]

Johnny was mouth agape for what he just saw, "Holy fuck me with a pool cue, this is incredible! Real life occult shit, Oh fuck me I need to check this out!" His mind rushed all over. Think Johnny think! You only got a few moments to act. He pulled out his phone and took a picture of the portal, that would be all he had time for now. If he was right 'Princess' is there and if she's sending texts his phone should work too. He'd have to check it on the other side. He ran and lunged through the mirror, hoping to get through to the other side.

 

[ValkyrieRose]

"...What....the...hell..." Caeda said, her eyes going wide as she watched what happened.... he went in an actual mirror... this wasn't some magician's prank either. No secret levers here, pal. She turned, watching Johnny's excitement as he rushed in. "...So we're playing it fast and loose? I guess I don't mind, but you realize we're following the person that tried to kidnap us, right?" She asked, sighing as she walked through the mirror... just what had this bartender gotten her through, anyhow?

 

[Umbrie]

Dashing her way after the two who seek the mirror hoping to stop them from Sinking in, in an ill advised attempt to rescue them from a far worse fate, one she could recall very strongly, hoping to stop the mirror from taking yet another pair, only to find herself too late in her adrenaline filled rush of hurry. "No! don't Touch the Mirror!" she yelled at the top of her small and youthful lungs, and in a failed attempt to Stop Caeda from Sinking through the mirror, also found herself sinking through atop her. she wished to stop them from entering, mostly out of a lady like attempt to rescue them from a harsh fate. she had a secret that would soon unfurl as she sank her way through. the elegant and ladylike dwarf was just about to blow her figure as she sunk her way through the mirror, and in an attempt to rescue a pair of patrons and remove them from this twisted world, would attempt to bring them back before things got too bad.


She knew it would awaken past trauma, but she had no choice, her cover would be blown either way, and well, she felt she had no choice but to rescue the pair and convince them to stop or delay the investigation, even if it compromised her cover and reopened old scars. as she finished sinking though, "it isn't safe here." a youthful voice could be heard as something was coming through the mirror.

 

[peace2all2013]

She was running for her life, as fast as she could. The birds were close on her tail. Though, if they were actually on her tail, she'd be moving much more quickly.


Her long blue and purple hair trailed behind her. She feared that the birds may catch her by it, but she was far too proud of it to cut it off. Plus her 5'4 frame made her a bit harder to nab. She nimbly dodged over stumps and roots, easily circumnavigated trees, all in an attempt to lose her pursuers, but to no avail.


As she entered a clearing, she turned and saw the birds about to pass over the branches of the thicket she had just left. She cursed under her breath, and turned to run across the clearing.


As she began running, a blur popped up in front of her that showed itself to be a humanoid shape with a crop of red hair. As she ran towards him, her confusion made even worse, she blurts out "OUT OF THE WAY FOOL!" She swings at him but misses, and her momentum sends her sprawled on the ground. She looks up slightly puzzled, and sees a small group before her, including the red-headed fool. What was going on?!


Then she looked up to see the birds approaching overhead...

 

[Ten Fairfield]

The doctor saw something strange over his shoulder. He turned his head and froze "Umm... But it can't have kicked in THAT quickly... But what else could it be?"


He was commenting on the fact that he would have sworn that he saw the bartender pass through the mirror. Followed shortly by the police woman and her injured compatriot and the small woman who had brought him his gin earlier that night.


He thought to himself "I'll have to give my compliments to my connection. All I was expecting was a pure sample, but THIS... Such vividness, so quick to kick in..."


A grin crossed he face as he felt his trip begin. He ran towards the mirror singing "Remember what the door mouse said!"


As he passed through the mirror, he closed his eyes, fell to his knees and yelled "FEED YOUR HEEEEAAAD! FEED YOUR HEEEAAAD!"


He opened his eyes and saw before him the others from the casino, but next to them, sprawled on the ground, was an odd looking woman with strange hair. She was rather perplexing, and quite beautiful. He could not focus on this however as his attention was drawn towards the sky, to the veracious birds that resided there.


"Bad trip. Reeeaally bad trip..." He reached into his pack, looking for his bottle of sedatives. Where was it?! Dammit, he forgot it! Of all the times to not have his emergency sedatives...


He took out an empty bottle, and threw it to the ground saying "Never buying from that guy again."

 

[NovaPheonix]

It was beautiful, too beautiful. The sharp green thorns tangled around the nearby trees. He saw her coming, a girl. He ducked instinctively, the chains rattling around his hands. "Princess! Help!" He cried out, sounding less and less masculine as he ran screaming up the emerald hillside. As he attempted to defy momentum and walk up the thick grassy hill, he saw them. They looked like massive crows the size of with small black pupils for eyes. The carrion birds flew over the top of Terrance's head, blowing wind echoed down the side of the hill and he had to plant his feet to remain upright. "Blindbirds?! Here?!" He shrieked in terror about midway up the hill and attempted to continue his accent.


Meanwhile, around the others, the mirror that had created an opening behind them suddenly stopped showing the reflection of the other side. They would be unable to head back to the other side now. There was glass by their feet, cracked and broken bottles that seemed out of place among the high trees. The sky itself was a fluorescent neon green even brighter than the casino lights. The forest was not silent, it was now filled with the cawing of hungry crows. Four of them continued the chase after gliding down over the hill, and they spotted their prey along with more fresh meat.


"We will eat, we will eat!" The birds cackled out in harsh high-pitched voices. They flew in circles, turning away from the group and soaring towards Terrance. He was the weakest target.

 

[Umbrie]

Relatively uncaring about Revealing her true Appearance due to the circumstances, the form that fell in Caeda's general direction, though it felt familiar, like an Acquaintance, seemed to have a relatively different appearance. One slightly unrecognizable compared to before, a Slender and Gangly youthful form, appearing slightly taller than the Waitress from before, her ears were a bit longer than the human norm with a slight accented taper or point to their ends, she was extremely pale, pale enough to reflect moonlight, her slightly enlarged grape hued purple eyes possessed pupils of slightly enlarged size, her silvery white hair fell to her clavicle, also known as the collarbone, twas well kempt but wavy and silky, her form was roughly two inches taller than the waitress and quite gangly and slender, almost creepily so, but her youthful features combined with her gangly form could be considered attractive if you liked girls out of certain modern graphic novels. her form would be considered petite and childlike if it weren't for her creepy slender figure. this figure. if Johnny chose to take a gander, would remind him strongly of a creature from one of his prior magazine articles, and it would seem acceptable for a fantasy geek or occult magazine writer to mistake her for an elf at first glance.


the Waitress appeared to be nowhere in the area. as if when this Waitress disappeared, this gangly silver haired "elf" as one could assume on first glance could have seemed to take her place. well, 5'3" compared to the Waitresses 5'1". the slender figure was well aware of the dangers of this realm, and having noticed the closing of the gateway and noticing she was trapped, she had to help them find another gateway.


"You shouldn't be here." greeted the slender youth clad in the elegant black and pale blue Victorian Style Dress, a Fashion similar to that of Alice Liddel from Lewis Carrol's infamous novel, almost, a pair of stockings and formal boots were worn with this dress, but it would be the first thing to throw everyone off. the waitress was wearing a blue and white Alice Liddell dress, this youth was wearing a blue and black dress in nearly the same fashion, and looked radically different. after falling in Caeda's general direction but not quite on top of her, she stood herself and dusted herself off.


"A Harsh Fate Awaits you here, you should seek a way home as Quickly as possible." she would try to warn them. almost as if she knew what the fate was. in warning them, she gave the perfect ladylike curtsy, not too high to the point of suggestion and not low enough to be considered an insult.

 

[Wise Wolf25]

The bushes rumbled behind him as he wildly dashed up the hill. Branches and shrubs be damned, he was determined to never lose a race while breath still worked its way through his shallow and burning lungs. Every moment in his life had prepared him for this moment: every triumphant battle, every hard fought scar proving his experience, and especially the last hundred years he had spent in slavery to his enemies behind him. The sound of howls and horrible twisting screeches thundered in the air behind him, his enemies had been tracking him for the last 3 days and he had allowed them to come close this time in hopes that he could punish them for their hunt. The traps he had only served to embolden and enrage the noises behind him and so he began ascending the hill at a breakneck speed. After all wasn't it more virtuous to risk his own health and safety by tripping on the brush underneath him and breaking a leg rather than throwing away his life in a confrontation with the stalking horde behind him? To Gaius the answer was obvious. He had seen what they had done to his companions, so many under his command had died in so quick an amount of time that he had almost forgotten that he was free. One of his enemies had slain another and while he was certainly grateful for his fortune, he wasn't willing to give up his newfound freedom so easily. And though he wasn't a coward, he had found himself being pursued for the past few days, only stopping in the surrounding wilds of The Hedge to find food or water. In this exhausting fashion he had made his way towards where he knew a newly formed gateway lay hidden in the valley of The Hedge.


He took time now to calm his mind and detected a struggling life energy on the leeward side of the mountain he found himself on now. As he reached it's peak he doubled his speed. Shards of rock shot up striking his unprotected calves as his feet stuck the ground with all his force tearing the grass and leaving a trailing cloud of dust as closely on his heels as the warband behind him. His eyes narrowed at and his nose curled in disgust as he sees one of The Hedge's most disgusting creatures... blindbirds. The carrion had plagued his campaigns and harassed him and his soldiers routinely in this magical wasteland. This particular flock seemed to blot out the surrounding sky and actually seemed to be chasing the same life form he had discovered earlier. "Dammit! The gods have it out for me more than usual today." He smiled, not hesitating to break his strides as he now veered right towards the form stumbling up towards the mountain, at this point he noticed he was wearing handcuffs and attempted to subdue him before he could resist, he certainly wouldn't appreciate the muties that lay just over the lip of the mountain anymore than the carrion at his back.


Terrance had noticed him immediately, it's pretty hard to miss the missile of a man that was Gaius. It was a frightening scene, his head was like that of a canine creature and his hands contained a solitary spear, in all likelihood this soldier was here to punish him for his failure of serving his master the Princess.Terrance flung himself out of Gaius's grasp and while his hands were bound he certainly wouldn't allow himself to be captured so easily. In response Gaius bent down on his hindlegs staring Terrance directly in the eye with honey colored eyes.


"Don't be a fool criminal. If you had any sense you would allow me to take you to safety, unless you want to contend with the likes of beasts much less reasonable than I. I have been on the run for days and I don't have time or life to waste explaining our, now shared, predicament to one such as you."


Terrance just stammered...This monster wasn't here to murder him? In fact he seemed capable of human speech and emotion. How could this be? But this creature had a point, quite a sharp one at that. As Gaius now lifted his spear toward Terrance's throat. "If you prefer I will kill you myself, it will be painless which is a far better fate than what awaits you should you decline."


Terrance nearly fainted at the horror of that suggestion and Gaius, unwilling to waste any more time on this imbecile hoisted him onto his shoulder. This task complete, he gritted his teeth, and looked skyward at the murder of crows descending upon him. His grip on his spear grew tight, and his legs began to twist and expand wildly, sinews and tendons stretching and growing bigger as his energy expanded into his legs, veins rippling throughout them. Just as the flock began to reach him, he launched the duo in the air with a howl. Terrance screamed and cursed but Gaius only thought what fun! As they overshot the flock completely, landing not 3 feet away from the startled group and continuing sprinting right into the mirror! "Hang on tight young one," Gaius said, as he merged with the portal, leaving only traces of clouds of dust, a bitterly defeated hunting party, and Terrance's screams hanging eerily in the air as they vanished without a trace.

 

[ValkyrieRose]

Caeda was.... shell-shocked at everything that was going down. What she saw around her... it couldn't be real. it just... couldn't. A hallucinogen maybe? I mean she HAD been drugged so that was more than understandable... maybe the bartender had done a gas or some sort... but that wouldn't explain the feelings. She had. She blinked, looking behind her... she had the feeling there was no going back.


"Right, when I said 'Let's see how deep the rabbit hole goes' I was making a really lame Matrix pun. Not... this." She huffed. She took a breath, looking around... the sky was a bright green, like the grass beneath her; Looking at the floor where mirror and glass shards... that made her a tad uneasy... the cawing of crows.


She was about to give chase to Terence, but stopped... they had more important issues to deal with.


Then women appeared, one after another... the one she chose to adrees being the one in the Alice costume. "You're kidding..." She says, sighing. "So I AM high." She says. "Well, even high people need guides, I guess. Can you tell me what's going on? What awaits us and how do we leave?"

 

[Ten Fairfield]

The doctor rose from his kneeling position and for the first time took in his surrounding. Huh... not too bad after all. A quite beautiful area all around. Lots of nice greenery...


He felt dizzy for a moment as he rose, and rocked on his heels. This stuff was REALLY different. He noticed the similar affects: increased introspection, sensory differences, and he felt ready to laugh at the slightest provocation. He heard the crows above somewhere as well the sounds of people around him. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and savored the trip to come. He needed to take a break from the stress of today's events. A little respite to Wonderland would do wonders for his nerves. Considering the potency of this particular batch of LSD, he knew it would be quite the ride, and he planned on savoring it.


He assumed that he was still sitting in the casino, merrily grinning, exploring in his own mind. Considering that, he saw no reason to restrain himself in any degree. After all, it was HIS mind...


He walked up to Caeda et al (Their hallucinated forms at least) with his hands facing outwards and his arms wide saying "Peace be with you! How is everyone? This place is something else, isn't it? I can't wait to explore it. Who knows what we'll find?" He surveyed the motley crew before him, which included the short waitress in a beautiful Alice costume. He pointed at it and said "Far out! That's the spirit! I wish I'd remembered my top hat..." Then he laughed and said "So what shall we do first?"