Empyrea

[OiM-Martin]

Martin nodded at the MADHATTER deferentially. "I say, sorry HATTER dear. Those damn Workmen started quite the tumble within the manor - a definite violation of stringent rules, I do say! I thought it best to notify you, sir, before things escalated and some of us did something we might regret."

He rubbed the pocket watch nervously. "I do apologize if I've done wrong."  

[Miss Aeriya]

Arthur magically reappeared in the land of the living broke his reverie. What had happened? He had gone into shock. He stared at Ro in front of him. I'm still in shock. Grab him. Move out. Something is... weighting my mind. Got to get out of here. Follow the others. Move, Arthur. One foot in front of the other. He bent down, flinging Ro over both of his shoulders. Adventuring paid off here now.

Arthur began walking slowly, then he began a jog, then he began a run. His mind cleared under physical duress. He knew what he needed to do now, he had a purpose. He couldn't keep himself talking, but he could keep himself thinking, thinking about the pain in his muscles. That was good.

Up the stairs he went, struggling under the weight of another human being. He needed doors, that was it. The ground flashed before him, ever more insignificant. Doors. Doors were what was important. There were doors. Four was open. Go through four. That was it. Through four.  

[NativeForeigner]

The MADHATTER was silent for a moment. "That's quite rude of them." he commented. His voice carried and he sounded rather young, but he also had a tinge of insanity attached to his voice, mixed with an accent that could only be described as a slight Irish, yet not Irish, accent. He smirked and placed a hand on Martin's shoulder.

"You've done nothing wrong, lad! Don't apologize 'less you have a reason for me to forgive you!" he paused to reflect for a moment, looking at the holes in the wall, "Now what is that! It'll be rather drafty for a bit! They're getting more aggressive every day. Not a good sign. You know what would be a good sign? "Free Biscuits!" Who wouldn't like that?"

He spun on his heels to face Martin, "Now tell me what's happened! Quickly! Before I tire and get disinterested! You know how I am with I get disinterested, so...uninteresting! Oh, what's this?" The MADHATTER leaned to the side to look past Martin as the grass began to rustle.

Munkwon, slouched, emerged from the grass holding the back of his neck. His clothes were tattered and he was rather bloody on his torso from hitting the wall. He attempted to straighten up when he saw the MADHATTER.

"Ah! Munkwon! What's wrong with you, eh? You look like you were woken up this morning by a pile of stones falling on ya! What an unpleasant way to wake up. Who would do that? What's wrong with you?"

"MADHATTER, sir." Munkwon coughed out, "I, uh, got hit by that b*****d Carpenter. Knocked me through a wall, he did, but we got three of the kids, Max is getting another one, we're in a good way! (How do you tell if a way is good?)" he trailed off into a tangent with himself after he finished speaking.

"Excellent! This is great news! Bring out the urchins, we should celebrate! Martin, ready your castle! We're going there to celebrate and plan! Cheese for everyone! Wait... nevermind. Cheese for no one. That can be just as much of a celebration, if you don't like cheese. Right? No cheese yet. Well, maybe a little."  

[Jokerman-EXE]

Henry stepped forward, making sure that Andreas was with him. "MADHATTER, sir. I've heard a lot about you." He spoke rather impetuously, because he figured that the insane wouldn't really care. Still his TK was going crazy here, and if he didn't get away or at least sit down soon, he was going to faint.

Even so, he refused to show weakness in front of the MADmen. He stood his ground and waited to be acknowledged.  

[NativeForeigner]

MADHATTER spun around to face the two, "Are these the two? Well I would think so. Unless they just want our cheese..." he pause for a moment, bowing his head with his the tip of his cane to his chin, "Well you can't have any! It's our cheese, I say! Unless you're with us, in which case, you might be allowed a little."

He eyed Henry a little closer and began to approach, "You seem distressed, boy! Here, try some tea! A mighty fine tea it is!"

Henry, having now climbed down, followed by Andreas, took the cup, unwilling to offend the man. He eyed it nervously.

"Go on, drink! Or are you not a tea-person? I would hope not, otherwise I'd be tempted to drink you! I wonder what flavor you'd be?" he laughed, a sound matching the madness that he represented, before suddenly stopping and glaring at Henry with a cold stare that caused him to physically shiver, "Well we'll find out soon if you don't drink." he added in a threateningly mad tone.

Without another word, Henry quickly downed about half of the cup, not wanting to finish it in fear of angering the HATTER. It tasted sweet with a strange aftertaste, unlike any other tea he had tasted. Soon after he had ingested the liquid, Henry felt a strange calm come over him, and he found it easier to relax as his TK was no longer going haywire.

"Go ahead and finish, I'm not particularly fond of the flavor. Keep the cup, too! It's edible!"

As he spoke, he reached into his jacket, removed a piece of toast, and began munching on it.

"Come now, let's go!" he said with full mouth, pointing with the toast.  

[Venom3001]

Andreas pretended to drink the tea, a subtle use of his telekinesis holding it in as he held the cup to his lips and tilted his head back - normal physics applying, he would have ingested a substantial amount, but the liquid was almost all held within, save for a small amount he allowed to stain his lips. He nibbled gently at the edge of the supposedly-edible teacup as he followed.

--

"Exeunt left..." Mason muttered, taking the door to the Wasteland.  

[NativeForeigner]

Max closed the door behind him and looked around curiously before he began to walk down the stairs, his hands tucked behind his back and his posture straight as ever.

"Now isn't that odd? My siblings aren't here as they informed me...something must have happened." he continued toward the Dance Hall, Orion in pursuit, "Now isn't that something? The MADHATTER is here! His presence is unmistakable! You're in for a treat, my boy!"

He scanned the Dance Hall, taking in the damages, "My, my." he said quietly, approaching the edge of the nearest opening. He spotted the MADHATTER and the other Dukes, "Greetings!" he said, grabbing Orion and hopping down to join the others.

He bowed deeply, both to the MADHATTER and the new Guests in his presence, "Pleasure to meet you all! My name is Maximilian A. Driskoll, I'm glad to see you've decided to join our cause. May I ask your names?"  

[Jokerman-EXE]

"Henry Zidane," said the handsome bassist, feeling particularly relaxed due to the tea. He extended a hand and actually smiled at Max. "Nice to meet you, Max. When will we be leaving?"  

[NativeForeigner]

Max returned the smile and shook Henry's hand, "Pleasure to meet you." he repeated, "I see the MADHATTER has allowed you some of his delectable tea. Wonderful effect is has, don't you think?"

Max turned towards the MADHATTER and tilted his head slightly, wondering the same thing.

"Why we leave immediately! The trip will take some time, but it's an easy one at that! Once we arrive, we relax! Then up to business! Or is it down to business?"

The MADHATTER's attention immediately snapped to Orion, "Now who are you? You seem like a bright one! Would you like some tea?"

Munkwon, having finished his tangent, joined the others, he was in a rather poor physical state, but it was obvious that he would get over it.

"That rest sounds good, HATTER, they really did a number on me."

MADHATTER turned towards Munk for only a moment, "And what number would that be?" he said before returning to Orion.

"Good question! I would think a rather high one..." Munkwon answered, entering another tangent.  

[Dark Angel of Sol]

Orion entered the tower. It looked like he was back at the old Penfold Estate except for the fact that this wasn't old. Orion started to speak but Max entered and started looking around. The air was fresher then before and he decided it was safe to breath the air again. He removed his mask and put it away. Before he put the mask on in the first place, he took off his contact so it wouldn't irritate his eye. At the time no one would be able to see it so it didn't matter. Before he could put his contact back in Max was descending down the tower. He followed Max as he went towards the dance hall using his rifle as a walking stick. When Max called him a “boy” it felt weird. He was thirty-five and Max looked like he was about the same age as Orion. He didn't let the matter weigh on his mind though. What did was the fact that it was a treat to meet someone called the MADHATTER. Orion didn't even realize the witty comment that passed softly from his lips: “Am I in wonderland?”

He didn't have long to ponder before Max grabbed him and yanked him towards a good size group of people. As Max bowed to the tallest of the group, Orion guessed he was the MADHATTER and almost expected March Hare to show up. As he listened to the MADHATTER, several thoughts ran through his head. When the chance for him to speak came he took it with grace, “I am Orion Sol.” Just then his stomach growled softly as a wave of hunger passed through him. Orion quickly said, “If it's not to much trouble, I'll gladly take a cup.” Though I don't really like tea I need something in my stomach though. Orion followed the MADHATTER as they kept going. “I take it you guys were also 'invited'?” he said to the others showing the sliver coin.  

[OiM-Martin]

Henry nodded in response to Orion's question as Martin clapped his hands. "Excellent! We away, then!"

He led the way away from the Manor, trekking with the party for...well, it was hard to tell time in this place. Eventually, however, they found themselves climbing a long hill. Martin had been chattering the entire trip, but now he said, "Well, here we are! This is my castle, I do hope you enjoy it."

They topped the hill and had their breath taken away. Lying within a basin surrounded by hills was a magnificent example of Gothic architecture, in perfect shape and almost gleaming in the sun. The pennants and main gate were deep lavender, the color of royalty, and the stone was a light gray, almost white. A river ran across the far side of the basin, vanishing into the back of the castle.

"I say, shall we head in?" Martin asked merrily. He began to walk down the hill.  

[NativeForeigner]

After heading out the front gate of the estate and continuing forth, most of the landscape on their way was pretty uniform to the rest, tall grass (usually taller than everyone but the MADHATTER's hat), large fungi, and the occasional twisted tree or rustling in the grass.

No wildlife had been actually seen, but signs and sounds were everywhere.

After an hour or two (or at least it seemed) of walking, spontaneous conversation, and a couple of tea breaks, they topped a long hill and arrived at Martin's castle.  

[Anima Shadow]

At Some Unspecified Opportunity...

Her sudden bout of anger gone, young Rebecca once more became just that, a young girl in over her head. Violence had occurred and the floor had dropped out from under her, only to deposit her in the same exact room. It was too much. She wanted nothing more than to run down the stairs, out the front door, and across the lawn. She wanted to keep running until she was home, where she would wait out the weekend for her father to come home.

Then, she would show him the coin and tell him everything and he would laugh. He would tell her that it had only been a bad dream before explaining that the coin was from some ancient civilization.

Or something. Anything to refute the strange voice she heard speaking. She could hardly even make out the words, the accent was so unusual. Placing her palms against the soft rug covering the floor, Rebecca pushed herself up slowly until she was crouching, hidden by the others who had risen to the feet quicker than she had.

There was talk of games.

Kings and Queens. Questions. Answers.

Too much at once. The way to the stairs was blocked, but there were several other doors and the sudden over-crowding of the room gave Rebecca the perfect cover. Still crouching down, she quickly made her way to one of the doors, her footsteps muffled by the plush carpet. Taking the door knob in both hands, Rebecca took one last glance back.

Workmen and MADmen.

She opened the ninth door and stepped through.

But that was many days ago and it wasn't until the door swung shut that the young girl remembered that there was only one room on the third floor.  

[NativeForeigner]

Rebecca stepped through the ninth door and ended up in a half-buried city.