Door 1 - The Snow Realm (The North Pole)

[SirBayer]

"Hold on, Andreas," Arthur interrupted, "they're just injecting this into living organisms randomly? Not, say, using controls or running legitimate experiments?" Arthur wasn't a scientist but a lot of the methodology made sense, and he used a lot of it in his own medical procedures.

"I think that was pretty clear, Dad, they're just insane," Juliet observed. "They're not looking for results, or maybe they don't know how to. He's - Andreas, right? He's right. If this is... a sample of something important, it needs to go."

"I guess my question is what do they have here that they don't have elsewhere?" Arthur observed. "Can we study this, get something from it? Some way to fight it? I mean, if it's a virus, hard to deal with, but... can we just throw this intel away?"  

[Venom3001]

"What do you expect from people called the flipping MADmen?" Andreas cut in incredulously. "They had a freaking flatworm injected with it. We only found out how far it had progressed because it attacked us and got shot - oh right, I didn't mention that, their 'scientist' has an assistant, by which I mean a maybe-person with a hunting rifle, and also with a rabbit mask sewn to its face, that only moves when nobody is looking at it and never makes sounds. Are we- Are we clear on why I got the ******** out of Dodge yet? This isn't ambiguous, right?

"They wanted Santa's blood because he was far along in the infection. I'm almost certain he wants to see if he can make things start like Santa instead of having to wait for them to get like that. Don't think about anything virus-related they seek as having potential for a cure, because that's not what they're trying to do. You were right not to go along with them. The only thing I don't regret about having gone with them at all was that maybe, by the sabotage I am committing, we can stop them from turning the virus into a weapon more than I already have, so for the love of all things holy we are destroying this sample."  

[thegoodsamaritan]

Jasper held the vial in his hand, feeling its weight. So light, so small for something that had almost killed them all- or worse- since they got here. All of this for a virus- a horrible virus. He was convinced that the MADmen's intentions for the sample were less than benign. After all, according to the Majesty of Colors, they were the ones who sent the virus here in the first place. He looked at Ro, and then back at the sample, and the choice was clear. He threw the sample forward into the air, muttering, "Pull," to himself. He clicked the lighter in his left hand, conjuring a massive ball of crimson fire, and flinging this after the sample. The two met in midair in a fiery burst, the tinkling of shattered glass rising just over the sound. The sample, such as it was, landed, and Jasper spared not another thought as he let loose with a stream of flames at the point where it landed, carving a crater of melted snow right down to the ground beneath it.

Jasper closed the lighter, satisfied. He had expected to feel drained after using so much of his ability, but he almost felt the opposite. He felt... good. Invigorated, even, from using so much power. His body seemed to revel in the feel of the flames around his hands, the way its fiery voice seeped through his thoughts as he commanded it.

He hated it so much he wanted to scream.

"Good riddance," he said, turning back to the factory, conjuring a fireball by his shoulder. He motioned to Ro. "Come on- let's go see what the turncoat has to say." And without waiting for a response, he began walking toward the factory, his sleeves smoking slightly.

((I'm not coloring Jasper's posts anymore as I realized it made it hard to see when he was using Awesome Points. Also, sorry for taking so long to post.))  

[SirBayer]

"Okay, so this is potential material," Arthur observed, "but can we keep it secure and use it safely - ah. It's no longer a point of contention anyway." Arthur frowned. The MADmen clearly hadn't intended to do anything about it. That much was clear. Then again, Arthur was a doctor - he didn't specialize in that sort of thing, but there was work he could've maybe done with it.

"Seems solid to me. Are we expecting some kinda retaliation?" Juliet asked Andreas. She seemed, like her father, ready to just take him back - he was clearly earnest, at least as much as she could tell. And she was a cop, and she could tell this kind of thing pretty well, she thought.  

[Venom3001]

"We are absolutely expecting some kind of retaliation," Andreas replied. "I took the chance to ******** off from them now because, one, it was the best chance I was going to get out and it's something I don't think they can replace - if they can, it's not something they can replace easily - and two, I think there's.. there's something at their base that just... it ******** with your head. I'm hoping not to go back there ever again."  

[NativeForeigner]

((No worries on both accounts))

Ro followed behind Jasper, glad to be rid of the vile vial. He was eager to see what the deal was with Andreas.

*

Alastair looked Andreas over and shrug. "Well, I've go' no problem with ya rejoinin' us, lad. Ya brought us tha' sample we came to get in th' first place, so if no one objects, I suggest we go an' find the Majesty o' Colours again."  

[SirBayer]

"Yeah," Juliet added, "I don't like the idea of holing up." It was an uncomfortable concept in general. Admittedly in her line of work she'd not been in many firefights. There was that one time with the guy who had the sniper rifle, and she'd ended up crouching behind a car until somebody else took him out. It was then she'd determined she was in no way afraid of gunfire, as in all fairness "crouching behind a car," was less accurate than saying "sprinting between vehicles while a moron with a scope took potshots." In short, she was far more used to sieging than defending.

That said, she and her father were coming to the same conclusion: The MADmen would be impossible to hold off, especially here. Moving was a superior option. Even if that meant abandoning these elves to their fate. They couldn't stay either way, not with what they had.  

[Isa-sama]

Ton'yell was happy to see Pierre come back and almost chuckled at the sight of two new friends. "This'll be interesting." Pierre landed on her right shoulder while the blue beetles landed on her left.

She listened in on the argument over Santa's blood and fully supported destroying the sample. She asked Andreas, "You were there? What do you mean by something messing with your head? Are we talking hallucinations or violence or what?" She wanted to know what kind of insanity she would be dealing with. If this man had seen it, better to learn from him everything she could. "I'm Ton'yell by the way. You?"  

[Venom3001]

"I'm Andreas. The castle..." he grasped for words, nervously fingering the butterfly ring from the mere thought. "The room they gave was too good to be true. It... what they provide is exactly what you want without having ever asked. It's too-good-to-be-true defined." Andreas still had mortifying memories of his first manic episode. He never trusted anything he liked too much. "Then, Matthias - the MADman in charge of their science. He's... crazy. I mean, they all are, but he's a MAD scientist if ever there was one. No ethics, no control groups, no sanity. Oh, and he has a creepy... thing. The 'March Hare.' It's unsettling to be around and it shoots things and I want no part of it."  

[NativeForeigner]

After a brief discussion, the Guests decided that they trusted Andreas and that the best course of action would be to go to the Forest Green Forest and seek a counsel with the Majesty of Colours so that they could tell them what had just transpired and hopefully figure out what to do next.

***

Henry, meanwhile, left the Snow Realm and started on the long trek to Martin's Castle.