Crash Into Me (Closed)

[Deleted]

Rolling onto his back, Hope Estheim groaned and opened his eyes.

Where the hell am I?

He sat up. Looking down now, his face warped with shock as the once pristine, perfect NORA lay in ruin. The cockpit had been entirely destroyed. From what he could see, the rest of the rubble that he sat in was nothing but minor damage. Hope was overwhelmed with his surroundings, a feeble, nervous laugh escaping his pursed lips, showing his attempt at concentration. The irony of his whole day was something to laugh at. Pulse was probably nothing but a cluster of rock and death, one of the only survivors was stranded who knows where, and there was no chance of escape, considering the fact that he had no idea where he was. Trying to think back to his pre-discussed course of escape, Hope found it impossible to remember where it was that he wanted to go.

He rubbed his head, attempting to figure out where he was. Somewhere on Pulse? An undiscovered moon? Or maybe where he wanted to be? Hope rose to his feet, the gravel grinding under his boots whilst he looked around again. This time he actually tried to make a few observations. One thing for sure was that it sure was barren. For miles he could see nothing, nothing but the sullen gray dirt and a few rocks here and there. Could this be some sort of burial ground? Or a battlefield? He shrugged the thought off as he deemed it unimportant, staring at a castle that could only have been a few hours away. Hopefulness flooded his clouded mind as he took a few steps. All of his bumps and bruises seemed to superficial. He took a few steps in the castle's direction, only to stop dead in his tracks.

The numb feeling that shrouded his emotions was beginning to wear off already, and a tear slid down his cheek. The only person he wanted to see was Lightning -- she'd know what to do. Lightning would tell him that everything would be okay, and that all he had to do was keep moving. But she wasn't here. She hadn't been there in ages and yet the pain of her absence was still so prominent. Hope sighed. He knew that only he could control his destiny. So he would. He began his trek.

OOC: omg sorry that was so short, i didn't really know what to say x.x they'll get longer, hopefully qq

[Ellie who has 0%]

//D: No worries...and I have no idea where he's at specifically, but I'm WINGING IT!\\


Wonderland was as chaotic as usual ever since it turned a complete 18o into the hands of The Red Lady. It all started with a checkmate, the fall of a crown, and an exchange from white to red, and from then, it seemed everything hit the gutter with carelessness and darkness. There were no such thing as a sunny day; every day was a thick grey overcast foreboding a storm or rain. The only storm they received was the tyrannous orders and screams from the Bloody Big Head. The colors and whimsical nutty nature of the world was bled out into desaturated hues; the humor was drained out in exchange for death. Even the Lotus Forest, which began to sprout lush tall grass from the gravel plain beyond the Battlefield, wasn’t a safe place anymore.

The mist made it hard to see who was approaching, watching, or hunting you. The new fiends and monster that stalks the forest made it feel like a jungle with the constant running and evading. Despite the incline of hazard, The Lady in Red had done nothing for the protection of Wonderland’s subject. Apparently her guardianship only extended to those in her court who lives in the vibrant domain of Royal Flush. With the appealing river of death, a sticky polluted mote of decapitated heads, a handful of Wonderland decided to survive in the Lotus Forest or move to White Castling, the lands of the White Queen. Although White Castling was a sanctuary, there wouldn’t be liberation as long as the Crown rests on the Red Lady’s head.

That was reason enough for rebels to stay in the Lotus to be closer to the Queen, waiting for the opportune moment to strike or sit and wait for the fabled Frabjous Day. The longer her reign persist, the more Frabjous day looked like a miracle and mythology, a sliver of hope one created just to push on. Some of the rebels disdain the sense of waiting and may act brasher to dethrone the Bloody Big Head; it came with the price of being blacklisted, arrested, and beheaded. The fear of dying too soon, without leaving a mark and start for the revolution, crossed the mind of a little petite mouse.

Clink clink clink clink clink clink

Filth covered red rusted armored card soldiers jogged throughout the Lotus Forest in search for assassin. There was a failed attempt of poisoning the Queen, and she demanded the culprit to be snuffed out. With a bloodhound they found a trail, but they hardly knew it belong to a small white dormouse. Mallymkum was a distinguished mouse; in the laid back years of the White Queen, she would drink tea until her little body was bloated and snooze away in a teacup. Every day was a party, which was literally true since there was always an Unbirthday to celebrate. Unfortunately, that playful and mad nature dimmed down when the Red Queen took the crown; now she’s a snappy little rodent with spice, and a pin to prove her point. Now the proud brash Mouse was panting on a high tree branched with soft round white ears flat against her head; they were coming for her.

Meanwhile not far from the edge of the Lotus Forest stood a lost boy near a pile of rubbish. The dull sky was clearer to see in the vacant plane before the Chess Field compared to the forested treetops in the Lotus. It was somewhat safer on the account to see around you, but the clouds were descending closer to the ground in a misty bog creeping over the ruins of the fallen aircraft. A crow cawed loudly before flapping away from the Lotus; it shouted a warning before one could hear the crunching of hooves against gravel. A mesmenir was strolling by tensely; it hooves stomped against the floor. It’s wrought iron spires protruded from the mist to reveal it’s armored head; it’s thick neck swayed with a threatening buck of its head, while walking backwards to retreat. Any other moment, it would’ve charged at Hope to wound to defend, but there was predator nearby it could feel and see standing right behind him, a bulbous round Large body with small yellow eyes peering from a helmet.

The obese fiend stood lazily with oversized arms swaying at its side. The small black head leaned to the side before blinking curiously at the smaller male. The dense heartless was contemplating which to take first the boy or the war-horse. With a heavy hand patting its stomach in a dominant stance, it made up its mind.

[Deleted]

Silence hung up in the atmosphere as Hope trudged along. It was actually quite the relief -- the rather hectic, to say the least, crash obviously had been chaotic, with the sirens and terrified screams bouncing off of the rather cramped walls of the gummi ship. In fact, for a few minutes he could still hear the sound of the alarm clanging as a warning of the sudden loss of engine power ringing in his ears freshly, but as he began to search for help, the apparent tinnitus quickly vanished. Hope could finally think, finally process what had happened.

It must have been some kind of side effect from the events on Pulse, it was the only explanation he could conjure. Hope shook his head as he tried to sort things out mentally. Even that just didn't make sense; what would cause that to happen? After much self-deliberation, Hope only found one answer in the depths of his rather densely packed brain -- there was still so much he didn't understand.

Rather suddenly, a thumping began, and the ground began to shake. Hope could feel his ear drums vibrating, as if a construction-site vehicle were passing by. His head whipped around, the rest of his body following. In front of him was a monster. He didn't know what to call it, it was nothing like anything on Gran Pulse or Cocoon. So big, so monstrous. Stumbling backward out of unpreparedness, Hope search himself for the Airwing, his boomerang weapon that was worth about as much as a stick when it came to battle. The massive sumo-wrestling fiend began running toward him, waddling quickly with arms stretched wide. He found himself diving out of the way of the lumbering monster and quickly gathering himself for an attack.

"Fira!" Hope bellowed, stretching out his own arm in the direction of the beast and launching a hurling ball of fire in its direction. Praying that it would hit, Hope began to run in the opposite direction, fumbling into the forest. Maybe it was the shock from the crash, but apparently he didn't quite have his legs back. A dog, quite a familiar looking one at that, scattered as he ran at it, its armor-cladden head clinking as it ran. I guess that thing is feared around here. He glanced over his shoulder; the monster was still looking around for him, the fool. Hope was lucky the thing was so stupid, considering the fact that they were in some barren field.

"Where am I?" he panted. Only a few trees and about 50 feet stood between him and what might have been his certain doom.

OOC: I did that old war zone you told me about, I don't remember its name. Again, sorry about the length, I didn't know if you wanted Mallymkum to jump in or what, so i just kept things brief.

[Ellie who has 0%]

Her chest rose and fell quickly a mile a second; big round expressive coal eyes blinked before a clawed paw whipped the sweat damping her fur.

Rustle rustle rustle

Round ears curved back hearing someone approaching from behind, and instinctively, the rodent grabbed her Needle. Peaking around the bend of the tree, Mally looked down watching someone fleeing her way. A handsome boy he was with a head full of silver hair that marveled the white queen. Was he from White Castling? White brows rose with twitch of her whiskers in a smile. YES, an ally! But wait, the cards, the cards were here! Being so far from home would only bring him misfortune. Crawling down the tree, she jumped to land on his broad shoulders. The fabric was soft enough to cause her to slip and dig her claws in them instinctively.

A paw hand touched his face, "Ssssh wha'ever you do, do not make a sound!"

Hearing another sound, Mally stood on her hind legs to see a black beast wobbling through the forest. Fortunately enough it diverted the cards a moment longer as they tried to maintain it. Panic was in her voice, "Oh nooo Beasts from thee Black Misssst."

"Okay, wha'ever you do don't panic. You are too far away from White Castling. Did The White Queen sent ya here?" Reverting on four legs, she moved to his other shoulder. The cards were starting the run, the Large Beast was charging, "MOVE! There's no safety near those cards or that beast!"

Jumping down, she landed on the floor, "Follow me quick if ya know what good for you. You can question my allegience la'er when ya still have yer head."

With that she was off, she tried to keep in sight, but sometimes the big leaves and tall grass shield her. Fallen branches cracked with the sprint of the armored cards and the Large Body. With a bump from its belly, some had tumbled over, while other flew ahead with the weight of their armoury. Victorously, the Large Body began beating it's stomach with both of its powerful arms, which seemed to encourage little buggers, the shadows, the uproot from the floor.

OCC// You're fine. XD

[Deleted]

Like glue, his eyes stuck to the monster. The thing was so colossal, yet it seemed so accustomed to this kind of area. Hope scratched his head. He wondered if there were more than just one wandering around. Taking a mental note, his concentration of the specimen was abruptly cut off as he felt a sharp pinch on his shoulder blade. His head swivelled. On his shoulder was a mouse! Not just a stray mouse you find in your garage, but one with clothes and a little sword and everything. Hope adjusted his expectations, trying to suppress his confusion with a rather blank expression. This place, where ever he was, had some strange surprises.

It could talk! Opening his mouth, Hope took head of the little rodent's warning and nodded his head quickly like an eager young student.

There was another sound. Following the mouse's gaze, there was some sort of beast out just a little ways away. Oh, what else did this place have in store?

He spoke too soon. Rotating his head again, Hope squinted his eyes. Was there still dust in them? Maybe this was a hallucination -- maybe he was dead. Yeah, that was probably it. Of course, he didn't feel dead, nor did he want to be, but what in Etro's name was going on? Whatever the case, his gut told him that this was real, and in this reality, some soldiers with the bodies of playing cards were marching in their direction.

Before he knew it, the mouse's soprano voice was piercing his ears again, barking orders and the small weight on his shoulders lifted. He spun, lacking any sort of words in his vocabulary that could come close to explaining his thoughts. The thumping and shaking of the ground began again, and he bolted, chasing after the small snow-white rodent acquaintance. As advised, Hope didn't worry about his trust in the mouse, he trusted it plenty, really, all he wanted was to keep his head. Whatever that meant.

Unless it was literal.

Adrenaline was such a magical drug. What did he feel on his face? Despite all that had happened to him, all that he had lost, Hope Estheim was grinning. And not just grinning because he was running and his lips were just kind of doing their own thing, but grinning ear to ear like you do when your best friend has soda dripping out of their nose. Oh, the adrenaline. The dodging of the vines and roots as well as keeping up with the small, nimble mouse was all just happening, like muscle memory or something. He was hardly paying attention -- all Hope could do was try and savor the sense of adventure he thought he lost with the vanishing of Lightning. Live and let die, huh?

"Where are we going?" truth be told, Hope didn't even care. He just wanted this sense of thrill to stay forever.

[Ellie who has 0%]

"W-w-we're," she started while trying to cover some distance, "going to Hatter's. It's thee only safest place here; even these woods be haunted with those fien-"

Before she could finish the word, she could hear an exploding puff of smoke; either the Large Body was vanquished, or the Cheshire was nearby. There weren't any pair of bulbous teal eyes anywhere or a flicking tail of a tabby. Her nose twitched just incase, but there wasn't any trace of him. Then again the Cheshire wasn't like himself as he used to be. In Hatter's words he became a cowarldy kurd.

"Oh bugger, we better get a move on, cause they'll be after us and off to the Red Queen!"

Tucking her Needle in its sheath, she bent down to run on fours, but with a jump, she landed on scaled hide. Her mouth opened in a rodent-like scream as a basilisk hissed and unraveled itself from its hidding coiled position. It's fins like ear flarred at her with a hissing rattle as it stretched is split hood. The red of its eyes reflected in Mally's brown ones. Finding strength in her legs, she ran before it snapped at her eating nothing but dirt.

It's pointed fangs dug into the earth, and the serpent squirmed to lift its head back up with four fangs sticking away from its mouth like a swordfish. Mally was able to turn around to climb on the White Castling's royal's leg. She didn't take a break until she was somewhat safe on his shoulders. Her little body was panting heavily, "Kill the bloody thing. If it eats me, you won't make it out of these woods."

Although Mally was a proud Rodent, she couldn't supress some natural fears even if she loathed admitting it. Although she'd gotten over her hesitations around cats, snakes was another subject. In Wonderland, people certainly had made their lives a higher priority, since they couldn't stay drunk and merry with the Red Queen's reign. Also with the Red Queen's reign, the world altered with the animals, and the basilisk wasn't a patient fiend as it lunged for a strike.

[Deleted]

Hope Estheim hated snakes. Hated them. Once when he was a kid, he was bitten by a snake. nothing venomous, but he was sent to the emergency room and had to stay overnight just in case there was a slow-reacting venom drifting through his veins. Then, he had to stay on an IV drip for three more days, and well, it sucked. The little fiend hissed at him, but, for the sake of the team, Hope chose not to falter as his little mouse companion scurried up his pant leg back onto her perch; his shoulder.

"Alright, alright!" he whined, once again searching for the Airwing just above his butt. This time he found it, leading him to silently wonder whether he'd just been so scared earlier that he simply ignored its existence or that maybe it was not there before. Choosing the first, Hope also decided that he was somewhat delusional and brushed the after thought aside.

It leaped. Letting out some sort of groan, the man side stepped, parrying the sharpened fangs of the reptile away with the practically useless, so-called weapon of a boomerang. He proceeded to whack the thing mindless as it tried to wrangle itself away from the blade. Somewhere in the back of his mind Hope heard the footsteps of the more serious enemy, and, more so out of panic than courage, he stomped on the things head, silencing it.

"Let's get moving!" he told the mouse, giving it a few moments to shimmy down to the jungle surface and begin to lead the duo on once again.

For a few moments he didn't even know whether he was trailing behind it or not -- his instincts simply led him in the right direction. But who was he kidding? Any direction that wasn't going to intersect with the enemy was the right direction. Soon enough, he found that he was leading, hoping that the mouse was following closely. Every once in a while he'd take a peek back to ensure that she still was bounding along, right there.

He came up to an intersection. A few paths seemed to meet up. Hope stopped, turning around. His eyes fell upon the mouse, and he waited for her to give direction once again.

"Which way are we going?" he questioned, scratching his head and resting his sweaty palms on his knees as he bent over from tire. Quite a bit of time had passed since he'd done anything like this -- give him a break. While he loved it, oh, was it taxing on the body. "Quick!" he muttered as the heads of the card soldiers came into view.

It had been the first time he'd seen them so up close. And honestly, he didn't need to see them any longer. They looked fierce and ready to take off his head.

[evian]

[[Hehe, thanks for letting me join this. I have a feeling that Mally isn't going to trust Fuu at all, and think she's a spy.]]

Hearing the sound of the Large Body dying, Fuu, like any other 'noble' beast in the forest, began to run in the opposite direction. However, she began to become disoriented, and slowly began to question if that tree was green or blue or if she had lost her shoe. It seemed that she had simply just made a very long detour past a 'lovely' grove of dead flowers and was now merely a few trees away from the Card Soldiers.

Fuu had spent her entire life on the 'redder side' of Underland. Of course, being the Court Witch to the Red Queen could make your lose your head, figuratively and metaphorically, but the perks were also worth stating. Fuu was never hungry as the Queen would hold her tea parties at three, a quarter to seven, two, and Red Queen Appreciation Hour, in that time order. She never had to care for herself, and she certainly never had to enter Wonderland's or Underland's Lotus Forest.... The last week living in the wild had made Fuu quite gaunt and sickly looking, even wild herself. Her skin was a little too pale; her eyes were a little too bruised, and her clothing was a little too loose.

Finding sunlight, she pushed through to the other side of the trees. Possibly the Card Soldiers were something that Fuu didn't want to see, but the emotion on her face was relief. The idea that she would be beheaded the moment she returned to the castle was still fresh in her mind, but the idea of slowly starving to death or becoming a meal of something in the forest was also there. Talk about choosing which Red Queen's tea party to attend!

In the forest, the green haired girl would certainly die, but there was just a very slim chance that all of her excuses for running away would work with the Queen. Fuu decided to go along with that chance. She walked out of the forest nearly as happy as a crazed savage could. The a-little-bit-too-high-pitched-nervous laugh she gave out only added to her rough appearance.

Fuu clapped once, the ribbon on the end of her wand trailing out from her sleeve. The fake grin on her face was nearly as wide as the Cheshire's.

She began to talk in a rapid and shaky voice like she was insane. Fuu might have been; years of working for the Queen, years of watching heads fall off, years of living on the Red side, weren't the cause. The idea of certain death at every corner no matter what she did was the cause of her hysteria.

"... and I ..... then I fell out thee window!" The witch stated jogging next to the running cards with an elaborate arm gesture towards the sky; everything else she had said was either too quick or too quiet for a human's ears. "...." Fuu laughed several times in a shaky and breathy way. She seemed to calm down immediately when she noticed that none of the cards were even looking at her.

All of the pretty little hearts were staring right at a pair, at least what seemed to be a pair, of running White Castlings. Of course, Fuu did know a quite vulgar word that the Queen used to refer to those on the 'nonsensical' side of Underland, but Fuu didn't care to say it at the moment.

The moment the white color caught her eyes, and she squinted slightly from the glint, Fuu saw a new possibility. She didn't have to die! She just had to find away to the light side of Underland! The look of fear and craze faded, and for a moment the witch stared at her only chance. However, she quickly pushed over as many of the cards that she could, somehow nearly tripping herself.

"WAIT!" The red witch called out, her arms flailing behind her and a strange ribbon still sticking out of her sleeve. She was quickly gaining on the pair, "TAKE ME WITH YOU!" Fuu screamed out still running at a strangely quick speed considering her ridiculous jester uniform.

[Ellie who has 0%]

Feeling a bit more at ease now that the snake was handled, she jumped down graciously on the floor before bounding off. Her paws dugged down into the Earth skidding to a halt once meeting a crossroad. Like a hound, she hopped from one path, stood on her hind legs, then sniffed the air for any hint of tea. Finding none, she'd done the same to the others, but it was harder to concentrate with the additional panic, "Aye, don't rush me. There's no use in a paniced Mouse."

Standing at the one towards the far right, she stood higher and gave a long wiff. Her round ears perked up with wide grin that reached her round eyes. There it was; they weren't lost, and she was getting close, "I found it this w-"

"WAIT!"

"What the duece was that?" Mally questioned leaning, while standing on two, then looked at Hope questionably.

"TAKE ME WITH YOU!" Running at them towards the crossroad was this Mad woman in a jester attire. Her hat bobbled and wobbled with each stride, and as the girl came closer, she looked like a bloody mess. Mally hardly ever recalled seeing her before, and her ears flicked backwards defensely. She wasn't from White Castling that's for sure, and with all the rubbish on her, she's been wandering in the woods for who knows how long.

"The bloody hell we aren't takin you with us. Who are ye anyways with the Queen of Hearts co-? Oh broken teacups, you are apart of thee court. For all we know they could be followin us for you. Nu-uh no way, you're on your own, lass." She took out her Needle to prove her tenacity, and her white fur ruffled more with her seriousness, "Follow us and I swear I'll pluck one of your eyes out and dunk it in a cup of tea!"

As Mally bantered the cards were charging closer.

//Eeeh bite me for the shortness.

[Deleted]

As the mouse continued to contemplate, Hope grew more and more anxious to be on his way. They were moving much faster than their adversaries, though waiting too long and falling into their line of sight certainly wouldn't help them lose the little stalkers. After continuously bothering the mouse, she snapped at him, and with reason. Hope settled down.

"WAIT!"

His head rotated and his eyes fell upon some sort of jester. He returned the utterly confused stare to Mally and shrugged as the woman ran at them. The Airwing in his hand now, Hope allowed his instincts to take control. He looked at her again -- she looked so harmless. Actually she looked afraid, a feeling a younger Hope certainly would have shared with her. As understanding flooded into his mouth, he spoke against the mouse. "Why would they be after her?" he muttered, ignoring the fact that time was of the essence.

"Give her a chance. Besides, she doesn't look like she's capable of taking us both down." he said, now facing the mouse. Hope glanced in the girl's direction.

"No offense."

His eyes fell upon the mouse once again and he sighed.

"The minute she acts up, I will allow you to...stab her eyes out and drink tea with them." He shuddered. Quite the vivid death scene.

"I'll keep the introduction short since our lives are all at stake and everything. I'm Hope." he said, taking a step back and glancing down towards the cards to make sure they hadn't seen them yet. Luckily enough for the newly formed trio, they were still probably puttering around, searching the bushes and looking behind trees. He sighed again, glancing back at his partners. They were quite the rag tag team, but it was better than him having to go it alone. Of course, if Lightning were here, she'd have killed them all by now.

He truly missed her. And Vanille. And Fang. And Snow. And all the others. He shook his head, returning to reality. It didn't matter right now, right now he was here with this mouse and this jester, end of story.

OOC: Glad to have you, Evian! Fuu seems like quite the character xD And don't worry about the length, Ellie xD

[evian]

Fuu did not like the mouse. The idea of the small creature stabbing a sewing needle sword into her eye and using her eye as a garnish for a cup of tea was... terrifying. The witch had lived in Underland long enough to know that cute little bunnies or pretty kittens were never what they seemed. Even just being stabbed by a needle in the hand sounded like a terrible idea.

When the human man finally seemed to agree to let her come with, a Cheshire smile came across Fuu's face. Oh? So the mouse didn't like her, eh? Well it seemed like the mouse wasn't in any executive position.

"Oh no offense at all! I'm completely harmless" Fuu stated, looking quite happy. Of course, it didn't seem like the little mouse warrior was happy about any of this. A Red slide would cover up a White one, but a White slide would only appear pink over a Red one [hmm I'll have to contemplate what that metaphor actually was...]. It was most likely a smart idea to not trust Fuu and her appearance.

The girl clapped once and looked back at the cards. "So where will we be running to? White Castling?" Of course she would be looking for the White Queen; she needed protection from the Red Queen. "Well I'm Fuu, and I'm ready to go right now." She stated almost putting a hand on Hope's shoulder to push him forward towards the sanctuary, but she remembered the small-angry-needle-wielding-mouse on his shoulder.

"Shall we go then?" She asked glancing back at the Card Soldiers as she adjusted her hat. Fuu could already see it; she'd be wearing a white jester suit once they reached the castle, she'd be looking out at a blue sea instead of a head-filled one, and she wouldn't have to deal with the Red Queen anymore. It was all thanks to Hope.

[Ellie who has 0%]

"Well I don't know whyyy they'd be after her, and certainly youwouldn't since yer on the wrong side of the forest. And bloody hell look at her probably of the court, not many lives out here, and she ain't one of em," Mallymkum argued with Hope, but he seemed adament in keeping her along, which only made her round ears flattened with a disdainful snort. Seeing how she didn't have time for this Mally let it slide while ignoring the question why she permitted Hope to get his way. She refused to think that she'd became a soft mouse.

"Great now what the deuce was I doing?" The Mouse muttered at her short attention span, and in frustration she rubbed her ears as if to clean them before shaking her round head. The white ears then flattened hearing this "Fuu" talk. What an odd name, but what in Wonderland wasn't odd? "The blood hell we aren't!"

The fuzzball tucked the Needle in her mouth as she crawled up Hope's frame quickly before using his shoulder as a platform. Using her needle, she pricked the girl on the hand before pointing it at her as a warning for her to not touch him. Why she'd gotten so defensive and possessive was another story, "there's not enough luck in the world to go that far and that'd be doublin back yer coot!"

"Look, look, someone's over there!" One of the soldiers pointed in their general direction, and the Mouse was now growling at the Jester.

"Oooh now you've done it! Let's go!" Leaping off of Hope, she landed on the ground and took the route to the right.

"Swing over and get them all," one of the cards shouted alongside the bark of a Hound dog, "They're trying to go towards the Tulgey!"

[Deleted]

Giving a hopeful grin to Fuu, Hope glanced at Mally. She was a stubborn little mouse, wasn't she? By the look in her eye as she glared at the jester, he could tell that she didn't give in often. This must have been some sort of exception. Exploring the shrouded depths of her charcoal eyes, Hope mentally shrugged it off, assuming she was only allowing him to be right because it was life or death right now.

Life being the better option for he and Mally. Maybe not for Fuu, Mally looked like she was about to bite her nose off.

As Mally returned to her train of thought, Hope gave Fuu another glance, this time a bit more cynical by nature. Basically, it was telling her that she'd better not screw up after he stuck his neck out for her...hopefully she understood that much. Itching the back of his neck, the mage shot a look over his shoulder, only to find that the card soldiers were done peering into the bushes and were beginning to make way toward them. He began to take a few silent steps, now holding a finger up to his mouth to signal for the others to quite down as well -- it didn't matter. Before he knew it, they were discovered.

The small weight that had been placed on his shoulder was lifted off and in the direction of the "Hatter's", whatever that was. There was no time for questions, in fact, in retrospect, Hope didn't even think there had been time for introductions a minute ago. Another mental shrug. Noting that she had chosen the path to the right in case they were to be separated, Hope continued to run at his fastest speed, whipping his head around to see behind him every few seconds.

The battalion hadn't followed them. He was confused -- but Mally wasn't.

"They're trying to go towards the Tulgey!"

"What the hell is a Tulgey?" he asked rather obnoxiously, feeling like Sazh for just a brief moment. His legs wouldn't and couldn't stop.

OOC: Sorry for the delay! I've been terribly busy. Also sorry for the length...again.

[Ellie who has 0%]

OOC: It's been a week and I'm pressing on. Lo siento por problemas con God modding

Mally didn't even give him an answer rolling her eyes as the ridiculous question. Was this lad truly so sheltered in White Castling to not know the landscape of Wonderland? Seriously if they weren't teaching him atleast geography or swordsmanship, since the lad uses a bloody boomerang, when what the bloody hell was he learning there, to look pretty?

"Oh just shut up and keep," whiskers twitched when she lost her words hearing the clanking of armour beyond her. They had circled in on them; they were trapped, "oh bugger."

Looking from Hope and towards the oncoming cards, "I'm sorry to say...they're gonna take us."

That was a change in her; any other time it would've been every man and mouse for themselves, but Mally found a sense of guilt to abandon the group, since she was who they were hunting for even if they didn't know the culprit was a mere rodent.

The mouse darted quickly towards Hope to crawl up the inside of his pants. She tried not to use her claws on his skin, but the britches as she hurried up to reach the ligh peaking in from his collar. A soft head poked out with round ears, "Don't resist them too much. It can only make matters worst, and don't worry I'll be with you. Just don't act stuuupid, be smart to live another day, especially when meeting that Queen

Shortly the cards came to arrest the pair both Fuu and Hope. The precise details of their fate was unknown as the red rusted cards jerked them to towards the Royal Flush away from the mystifying and lush grounds of the forest. Fortunately they wouldn't be prey to the heartless as they get closer towards the castle. With the guards constantly patrolling to protect the Queen heartless activity wasn't an abundance in comparison to the wild Lotus and Tulgey.

"So...why did you came all this way? Why so far from White Castling," the mouse whispered from within Hope's shirt, "Did the White Lady sent you here...this far from home?"

[Deleted]

Hope could feel their chances of escape draining right from his feet as they endlessly pushed the ground away, hoping to fly off into the atmosphere where they'd never be caught by a bunch of bloody cards. The soldiers -- who appeared to be seven or eight in numbers -- were much faster than you'd think, considering all of that resistance and aerodynamic flaw. In fact, his mind was racing with confusion as they caught him, and surprise warped his face to a reflective image as the gap narrowed.

Suddenly, he felt a pinching on his leg, not pants, but skin. Looking down at his feet, he saw nothing, no plants or bushes jabbing at him. Then, looking ahead again, he realized that it was Mally, and he stopped running, taking a hint from the mouse who'd apparently given up as well. Fuu's evasion came to a stop as well, and as the soldiers approached, a whisper from his collar caught his attention.

"Don't resist them too much. It can only make matters worst, and don't worry I'll be with you. Just don't act stuuupid, be smart to live another day, especially when meeting that Queen"

He nodded softly, raising his hands in the air the way he would back home. Hopefully they did that here, too, or he'd be looking rather silly. Instead, they didn't cuff him, nor the jester. All they did was shove them along, an action to which Hope refused to respond. He'd been in this kind of trouble before, and the mouse was right, just stay calm and cooperative, and things will be okay.

Another conversation arose from underneath his shirt, and Hope quietly replied, avoiding the earshot of the cards.

"I-I'm not from here." he said simply, hoping not to alarm the mouse. When he was a kid who didn't know much about Gran Pulse, he was equally cautious and wary of outsiders. Of course, Vanille and Fang changed that, as well as his frequent visits to the surface. I digress.

"I'm from the world Pulse." he added.

Wait, they had another queen? he wondered, having been given a bad impression of the Red Queen, if that was her name. Maybe the White Queen, presumably, was good, and she was the one to find for help with his ship. He cursed under his breath.

"Yeah, I --" Pain shot down his spine as the guard behind him cross checked him with his lance.

"Who the hell are you talking to? SHUT UP!" his voice was gruff and seasoned with what sounded like anger. Hope nearly shuddered, giving only a slight nod.

"Sorry, sir."

Only another few minutes passed before they were out of the forest, heading towards a massive castle. The whole thing was themed with the color red. Hope inferred that it belonged to the Red Queen, and continued to walk next to the jester, who said nothing.

He was a little nervous.

OOC: God mod ho! If she returns she can just jump back in is all. I had lots of Hope muse c: