Empyrea

[iD bracerS]

((So this is SiberDrac; I posted under the wrong account; sorry! sweatdrop ))

To Jesse, Ton'yell's whispered words held their own bit of sting, and that sting resonated down into Alex and Chris as well. The trio were all stunned for a bit, until Jesse felt the weight of the others' disapproval force him from his height. A few blinks later, and Alex was back.

Before Jasper had a chance to approach, the softer-spoken boy told Ton'yell, "Jesse's sorry. He doesn't say so, but I think he really is." If only because he didn't want to be actually scolded. "I don't get what's so serious about it," Jesse grumbled disconsolately, but Alex hushed him.

The declaration of war was not something Alex wanted to hear. With Jesse no longer controlling things, he looked to the MADmen, wondering what had gotten into them and why they were acting so angrily. He didn't understand what was wrong - both parties were accusing one another of things, and then suddenly they were at war?

"Sheppard such a beast!" Jesse gleefully exclaimed.

Alex just leaned over to Ton'yell and asked, "What's going on, Miss Jordan? Do you know?"  

[Isa-sama]

Ton'yell looked at Alex with a small smile. "It's alright." She lightly squeezed the boy's shoulder to show she wasn't angry. Perhaps I should explain why this affects me so. Alex was all she really had and would die to protect; if they were going to be depending on each other to such an extent, then it was best for her to open up to him a little more than Counselor/Patient. "I just see this, and I can't help but think of all the families that would have been affected by their deaths. And I can't help but think of you," she looked at him. "I would hate to see you like that." She was worried, and Alex could see it in her eyes. She wasn't worried about herself, but more for the frail boy right beside her. It was painfully obvious how much she cared about him.

She didn't get to say anything more since Jasper had walked up to her. She studied his face, seeing no hint of falsehood in his simple question.

"I am fine, thank you." It wasn't that she didn't like the guy, far from it. She trusted him more than any of the other newbies there. She just couldn't let herself falter at that moment. Not when there was a high chance of them being pulled into the fight. She had to be strong. "I am rather worried about what's going on." She paused, "I think I'm going to side with the Workmen. I believe you two," she referred to Alex and Jasper, "have the right idea."

"As far as I can tell," she looked at Alex, "I think they rather hate each other. I don't know why because they've been irritatingly ambiguous about this whole mess. They're probably using us as an excuse to fight." She looked from one male to the other. "We three should stick together, regardless of what happens to the other four. I would love to have formed a group with them, but they're rather distant. You two are the only ones I can really count on here." I can't trust Tom to not run away again. She couldn't trust Tom's wife because they'd never talked. She couldn't trust Little Rebecca because of her rather crazy moment and then eery silence. She couldn't really trust the other two because they'd not made an effort to really make a group.

No, she would start an alliance with Jasper, and slowly see if she could get the others to join. "What do you think, Jasper? Alex?" She would trust the both of their opinions. I don't think we have a lot of time left, anyway. Not with the way the MADmen and Workmen were acting.  

[SiberDrac]

At Ton'yell's touch, Alex and the associated personalities felt a sort of warmth break up the tension that had built in them. He listened to her, and though Jesse grumbled about the stupidity of mourning the dead and Chris refused to comment, Alex nodded understandingly. To him, it was a strange mixture of apprehension and appreciation that accompanied hearing Ton'yell's reasoning. He liked the woman; that was certain. However, he didn't want her to be a mother to him. He already had one mother, and that mother, though almost impossibly difficult to live with, had raised him and cared for him. She had sent Miss Jordan, hadn't she? And so his mother deserved the love that is reserved for a mother, and no one else.

Despite that, he let nothing show in his features. They were both scared in this place. He turned as Jasper approached and listened to the conversation, rather than contributing. When she asked her question, Alex made sure to consult the other two. In big decisions, he knew their decisions were nearly as important as his own. Chris, being the more analytical, surfaced after the customary blinking.

Her voice somewhat higher and more formal than Alex's, she turned to Ton'yell and said, "I think you're right. I don't think we can trust those other four - they are far too volatile."

"I don't even know what that word means."

"That's... that's impossible, Jesse."

"We should do whatever we need to to get out of here, and the Workmen aren't insane. It seems a little simple-minded to trust someone who is characterized as mad."  

[thegoodsamaritan]

Jasper blinked in surprise at Ton'yell's declaration. He also felt touched a her opinion of him. Huh. Never would have thought. In any case, it was a perfect scenario; the two people whom he trusted most were on his side. Still, something was nagging at his thoughts.

"I agree," he said. "I can't help but feel we're part of something much bigger than we first imagined." He looked to the Workmen, who seemed to be engaged once again in a shouting match with the MADmen. Both of them had their faults, true- he still flinched whenever he looked at Carpenter- but at least the Workmen talked some sense. They needed some straight answers about this house, as soon as possible.

He looked back to Ton'yell and Alex. "The Workmen have outsiders like us, anyway. That counts for something, yeah?" He then indicated the other four, who had yet to contribute to any discussions. "Still, I'm worried about them," he said. "Eventually, if we want to get back to Corona, all of us need to be on the same side. But we'll get to that later."

He put his hand out to the other two in a familiar gesture. A little cliched, perhaps, but right now, Jasper needed something familiar. "No matter what happens," he said, smiling calmly, "we stay together. Agreed?"  

[NativeForeigner]

"Now, Martin! You know we can't be fighting in the manor. MADHATTER would be most upset!" Maria interjected, "We'll just have to show the little buggers why they should be joining us, we will." she added more quietly.

Carpenter, letting Shepard handle the verbal issues, took this time to gather us Andreas, Arthur, Henry, Gregory, and Ro.

"Now listen to me, kid," he began, "These people are the Dukes that Shepard and I told you about, they're no good and they're going to try to bring everyone here, including you, over to their side. They'll promise you power, wealth, and whatever they think you want to hear.

Now, honestly, kid, we don't know if they can actually keep those promises or not, but if they can, they'll probably trick you or go about it in a no-good way. Got it, kid? We need you to give some testimonials to help persuade these kids to our side."

Carpenter looked over towards Alex, Jasper, and Ton'yell, having overheard their conversations. "Good to hear it, kid." he told them nonchalantly, "You'll get your answers from the Majesty of Colour when we get there, it's kind of difficult to explain on it's own, but they can tell you our story."

Maria's head snapped in their direction, "Now wait just a bloody minute! That ain't fair, it ain't! The MADHATTER would gladly tell you our story if you ever met him!" she pouted.

"Yeah, your story, not the whole story." Carpenter 'corrected' without turning, "Ro, would you like to start?"

*

Ro took a deep breath and nodded, "Sure, I'll say a few things.

Ro made his way up to the stage, wary of the ghosts up there, and turned to get everyone's attention.
He cleared his throat loudly, "Uh, excuse me, everyone, I know probably just as much as you do about what the hell is going on, but what I do know is that the Workmen are good...um...people. And that they can be trusted. Sure, we stumbled into the freezing cold of the North Pole, were attacked my mindless elfs and crazy-a** toys...and we killed Santa...but that wasn't the Workmen's fault, they actually helped us get through it, and it's allegedly the Duke's that caused all of this madness.

So, yeah, think about it."

Gregory, meanwhile, was having an internal debate. Sure, the Workmen didn't seem all that bad, but they looked no good. The Dukes, at least, looked somewhat normal. And they didn't seem all that bad, sure, a little angry towards the Workmen, but still...

Maria noticed Gregory from the crowd and smirked, "Hey, you, you look a little uneasy, you do. Tired of these bastards putting you on the spot and forcing you to go through this? Come with us, Gregory, we'll keep you safe, we won't stress you out, we'll get you home as soon as we can."

Carpenter rubbed his face, "Don't listen to her, kid, she's no good, I'm telling you, don't do-" he was suddenly cut off by Gregory.

"Don't...don't tell me...what to do." he told Carpenter boldly, doing his best to sum up his courage.

"Whoa, Greg," Shepard began, only to be stopped as Gregory turned.

"My name's Gregory...not "Greg"." Gregory sternly informed him, only his sister was allowed to call him "Greg". He turned towards Maria, "I'm...I think I'm joining...I'm joining the MADmen." he said quietly before walking uneasily to joing Maria and Martin's side of the room.

Killing Santa, fighting Elfs, toys, crazy people, and wild infections was just too much to deal with, and that's all he got from the Workmen, maybe the Dukes would treat him better, keep him safer.

Maria wore a smug look of satisfaction as she wrapped a slender arm around Gregory's shoulders.  

[Jokerman-EXE]

Henry pulled out a particularly delicious-looking sandwich from his bag and munching it casually as he continued to watch in silence.  

[Elesariin]

Suddenly, a curtain off to one side of the ballroom moved violently aside, rippling and frothing like water, and from behind it came a blur of white, which shot toward Shepard. As it approached him, it made a somewhat absurd, flying leap, and landed on his back. Small, delicate arms clasped themselves around his shoulders, and the next second the face of a young girl-- maybe 10 or 11, tops-- poked up and into view. The face was dominated by enormous, unnaturally bright green eyes, an equally enormous but thoroughly innocent grin, and was topped off by a cascade of white-blonde curls. "Gotcha!" the girl exclaimed happily, "Now you owe me that piggyback ride."

Then she seemed to realize that things were not exactly normal, and surveyed the large group with wide, interested eyes. "Hey! People! I didn't know there were people! Are they Dukes? We could have an epic battle right here! She's pretty," she added, indicating Maria, "Is she a Duke, too? I thought that they were supposed to be mean! She doesn't look mean. Unlike my new horse," she giggled. That seemed to bring her back to her original point. "I do get a ride, right? That was the deal; if I could catch you, I could have a ride around the mansion."  

[SiberDrac]

Being a boy of many minds, the sudden interactions among the various MAD- and Work-men spawned a boil of internal debate.

Chris's voice was the first to fill the sudden silence in his head. Alex. Alex. Now, listen to me, Alex.
Jesse jumped in immediately. Chris, leave 'im alone. Let him do this himself.
Alex, be reasonable; you know the Workmen are reasonable people-
He doesn't want reason right now, Chris!
Finally, Alex took part in his own conflict. I... I can't believe it...
Alex, he was never real in the first place!
Woman do you have no heart? Jess fumed.
He was real!
Chris refused to give up. I really doubt he was the same one your mom told you about.
They killed him!
Jesse's voice took the side of reason that he knew to be true, as much as it irked him to agree with a girl. Okay, now Chris does have a point, Alex.
Santa!
Seriously, Alex?
They killed Santa!
We're losin' 'im, Chris - say something!
"We're" losing him? I'm losing him Jesse; if you don't override...!

"Miss Jordan, I think we should stay with the MADmen. I don't care what they sound like. I don't care what the Workmen say. I don't like them. I wanna stay with Miss Maria." He crossed his arms like a petulant child and wouldn't look at her. It was the fastest transformation he had gone through - one second, he had been sitting up straight, chest out and nose on the verge of turning up, and the next he was Alex - an Alex who wanted nothing to do with Workmen.  

[Elesariin]

The girl on Shepard's back blinked, then scrunched her face up as she attempted to pull herself up further. After a second or two, she managed. "Wow. Kids, too," she said blankly, "There haven't been other kids in forever." She frowned, then asked Alex, "But why don't you like them? They're the nicest people ever. Sometimes they're boring, like when the don't let me go 'sploring through door 2, but they take really good care of me, otherwise. Smith even made me a doll." She paused. "It's kind of ugly, though. Plus I'm too big for dolls."  

[Isa-sama]

Ton'yell smiled and took Jasper's hand and shook it. There was no time to say anything more since a man started talking and explaining why the Workmen were better. Needlessly attacked? By elves and toys? That certainly lowered her opinion of the Workmen; she did not want to put Alex in further danger. Wait. They killed...Santa? Ignoring the fact that Santa apparently existed, what worried her was the fact that they had killed a person. Would that mean that they had to kill?

What is the best for Alex?

Alex seemed to like the MADmen, while Chris and Jesse sided with the Workmen. Ton'yell was torn. The Workmen seemed to lead violent lives. The MADmen were unknown variables. Still, the Workmen promised us answers. Those answers and the newly created team made her kneel so that she could get Alex to look at her.

"Alex," she began, "I know that it's terrible that the Workmen killed Santa. It's horrible to kill someone, especially someone who is considered very kind." She paused. "But perhaps they had a reason for doing so. If elves and toys were attacking them, wouldn't they need to fight back? Perhaps they HAD to fight Santa. Shouldn't we at least listen to their story before making rash decisions?" She hoped she could reach the boy with her words.  

[NativeForeigner]

"Whoa, whoa." Ro said, approaching Alex and Ton'yell, apparently ignoring the new girl, "We...uh...killed Santa, the Workmen didn't touch him. But we really had no choice." Ro began to explain, kneeling down to Alex's level, "You see, Santa was sick, very sick. And probably in pain. And he was getting the other elfs sick, too, and making them crazy. When we found Santa, he wasn't Santa anymore, he was sick, mad, and already dead inside... he had Freddy krueger claws, a gas mask, and he attacked us, we had no choice. And do you know why Santa was sick? It was because of them." he pointed decisively at Maria and Martin, "They made him sick, they forced us to kill him."

*

Carpenter glanced over at Shepard and the girl and rolled his eyes before listening to Ro speak to Alex.  

[Elesariin]

The girl caught Carpenter's look, stuck out her tongue, and slid down off of Shepard's back, looking more than a little petulant. It was pretty clear that she didn't like being ignored, but she moved over to a wall, sat down against it, and started watching the Rewind Ghosts with the same bored expression that most kids wear when they watch a television show that doesn't actually interest them in the least.  

[Venom3001]

Andreas finished the last touches on something he'd been doing with his notebook. "Tell me, is this your idea of Santa?" he asked, turning his notebook around. It depicted Santa, down to the gas mask, the peg leg, and the gloves fused to his hands and the freakish veins. "Because we didn't see Santa. We saw this. Whatever he was, was officially disqualified from being Santa right about when he stabbed an elf in the head and tore its skull apart, then came after us. And if these Dukes are responsible for this having happened, who's next? They might infect, like, the Easter Bunny. I don't want to have to kill the Easter Bunny."

He turned to Gregory and stared him in the eye. "Gregory, you should come back. You've been through all this with us. You know you can trust us. They're promising you false comfort but in the end we both know you won't come out any better for this choice."