Hunters in Wonderland [plot: invite only]

Laeleps continues running from the tongues when David comes in. Help? Help?! TELL HIM TO PISS OFF! We need help shut your mouth you damned idiot! "Help would be much appreciated Just keep one of them busy!" Laeleps focuses his attention on one of the Humphrey's and begins formulating a plan. Dodge and hit? Dodge and hit! Laeleps stops abruptly and turns toward the Humphrey's tongue as it races toward him. He charges toward it and leaps over it heading toward the Humphrey's body. As he reaches the Humphrey Laeleps lets something inside him go wild and he just starts relentlessly punching the Hunphrey with all his strength. Jabs, uppercuts, hay makers, straights, and hooks rain down on the Humphrey's shell as quickly as he can using his naturally high strength and his mechanical arms.

As Malina closes in on the large Humphrey she quickly jumps and turns 180 degrees to face the tongue. Manticore shoots out from behind her and spins around the tongue in a spiral pattern. "This had better god damn work!" She yelled before attempting to tighten her tail around the tongue and capture it in Manticore's grasp.

As everybody attempts to make their move, all of a sudden the Humphreys all scream in high pitched noises. Every single one of them with the exception of the behemoth suddenly explode, shell pieces literally flying off and splatters of red slime burst from the innards. The massive Humphrey roared and the very ground itself started shaking.

"No, no, no, no, not now, not now," Alice yells in panic. She is frozen on her knees staring down at her pocket patch. A look of absolute horror on her face, Alice could only shaking her head and scream with tears in her eyes. "No, no, no, don't let it happen again!"

Dong.... Dong....

The sound of a deep resonating clock rings from everywhere. The world itself suddenly changes in an instant. The path made of glass marbles suddenly turned to a road of antique doll heads whose eyes were  replaced with balls of fire and instead of hair had varying insects crawling around and over each other on the heads. The giant lollipops turned into towering needles with baby doll head pitched to the points, blood pouring from their empty hollow sockets. The pretzel sticks turned to writhing centipedes, each leg a human finger wriggling and squirming. The sky turned red and you can hear the laughter of children resonating from all directions.

Dong.... Dong... Dong...

The puddles of ooze start bubbling and churning, writhing and rising. The remaining Behemoth rose into the air higher and higher. Suddenly it drops, falling rapidly from a high altitude. you can hear it screaming with the voice of a thousand anguished children before it smashes into the ground, breaking apart and splattering too pieces, only a smooth dome top remaining.  Everything was silent and still.

...... Dong....

"Oh..... it's tea time...."

All of the red slime and ooze suddenly float into the air and flew towards the giant mass, gathering, combining. The combined muck bubbled and grew larger and larger until it towered as high as a skyscraper. The white dome piece rests on the top.

Spoiler:

"Come and join usssss...." the behemoth moans, ".... for tea time...."

"Nobody attack!" Alice yells. "You can't beat it now! We have to run!"

Before anybody can react, the behemoth suddenly bends backwards, opening the giant mouth on its stomach. Dried corpses with glass marble eyes and needle point teeth swarm the inside of the mouth. Deep in the back they seem to pile over each other, climbing on top of one another  all hanging onto a single figure hanging by chains shackled to her wrists from the uvula. Her skin is fair, bare of clothes or cover. The corpses climb up, their dirty nails and teeth sinking into her flesh, tearing away pieces of her bit by bit, leaving parts of her as nothing but bare bones. As far within as she is, her voice seems to echo from all around in all direction, crying, pleading.

"Help me.... somebody... help me...."

Spoiler:

"Help me.... Help... Me... Hunter.... San... San...

That voice... Hunter no longer saw the carnage and the horror around him. He just stood there, wings on his back, staring at her.

"Help me.... somebody... help me...."
"Is that-?" Hunter slowly began walking forward towards her, one step at a time.
"Help me... Help me... Help me..."
"Lin..." There was no mistaking it. His pace became faster.
"It hurts. It hurts... You promised..."
"I know I promised. I'm coming." Hunter was now speedwalking, ignorant of the doll faces on the ground.
"You promised... Help me... Save me... Please..."
"I'm coming to get you." He entered a jog.
"Help me! Please save me!"
"Hold on, Lin!" Hunter was sprinting full speed at the 40 foot beast.
"You promised... Help me... Hunter..."
"I know, I know! I said I'll come help you whenever you--"

Suddenly, Hunter stopped in his tracks. He just stood there, out of the thing's reach as he looked at Lin, oblivious to the scene change.

"What... What did you just say?"

Vanille just stood in the weird space before her without emotion. She just witnessed someone being violently mauled to death and all she could do was stand there. She looked around surprisingly relaxed and shrugged and said. "What..just..happened?"She looked around at the obviously freakish environment and thought. "This guy's head we're in...is obviously a madman..."

David looked at hunter and yelled. "Hey are you nuts get back here!"

"San.... San.... help me," the girl moans in anguish, the corpses tearing at her flesh. Her moans of pain and torment echo from all directions.

Suddenly Hunter's hand is pulled from behind. Alice has dashed forward and grabbed his hand, trying to pull him back with her feeble strength. "Don't go! It's not what you think! It's just a nightmare!" Alice yells at Hunter trying to pull him back with little success. "This is Wonderland's power! It will bring your worst fears to life! It's a trap! Don't let it fool you!"

"Help me.... You promised me.... San.... San...."

"...Say my name, Lin." Hunter just stood there, everyone's words but a muted whisper to him. He didn't even feel his arm being tugged.

"Say it, Lin. Just say it."

David sighed and turned to Laeleps. "Is he crazy or something?"

"Help me! Help me!" The girl cries from the deep reaches of Humphrey's mouth. "Help me! Hunter!"

Laeleps stands at the ready his blade drawn facing the monster when David speaks to him. He does not break his sight with the monster but still answers the question. "This place and dark parts of our mind are not something to be taken lightly. We can't imagine what such a sight is doing to Hunter all we can do is prepare to help him should things go badly." I'm hurt that was a jab at me wasn't it hahaha you and your idiotic ideals always amuse me. Laugh while you can you won't have power over me forever.

Emerald walked up to the group thinking, I hope that guy isn't stupid enough to jump in there. I'm starting to think this might be too much gore. Starting to? You're unsure? Well, I need to be more balanced out. Maybe a bit more fighting. Maybe a prank. I don't know something to that affect. So glad no one else can hear you right now. What do you mean by that?! You understand perfectly well what I mean.

"Hunter!"

He just stood there, staring at Lin. A few moments of silence passed. That name...

He bowed his head slightly, closing his eyes and grimacing. Then, the wings on his back automatically transform back into their singular blade mode.

"No." Far from the reach of the monster he was oblivious of, he looked down, keeping his eyes closed.

"Help me.... help me..."

The girl's pained moans still echo from all directions. The behemoth slowly leaned over, coming closer and closer to Hunter as the girl continues to plea.

"IT HURTS! IT HURTS! HELP ME HUNTER!"

By the time the giant had started to bend down towards Hunter Malina had finished emptying out and discarding the casings left in her weapons and reloaded both of them. This thing that was 'attacking' them or 'talking' to them clearly couldn't be natural. This coming from someone who spent three years at Beacon, Malina knew that they were in an illusion, she knew this wasn't real, and she knew that whatever it was its meaningless pleas were getting rather bothersome. With that she spun the chamber in Summers Blaze to land on a random slot of dust before raising it, aiming at the girls head. "Have you have you ever heard of the seven deadly sins?" She asked the woman jutting from the substance calmly. "There's Sloth, Gluttony, Greed, Pride, Envy, Lust..." She readjusted her weapon to more easily grip it in her hand. "...and there's the one whom you really don't want to piss off." She spoke while staring into the girls empty eyes.

His mind raced as he stood there, eyes closed, ears deaf to the others. Memories of his several weeks of searches returned. The long nights, the hope and desperation, the sparks that glow when he hears her voice, then disappear when he realizes it was just another one of their Mimical droids. The same droids he hated. The droids that crushed his dreams every time. The droids that he always crushed. The droids that this... this... Fake. The droids that this fake reminded him of.

"IT HURTS! IT HURTS! HELP ME HUNTER!" The memories of his search swelled. The rage, the sadness, the depression. He forgot that he was stuck in a nightmarish WonderLand. Instead, he found himself in the Forever Fall Forest at one of their bases, feeling a part of him die away when he came across a Mimical. He dealt with it like he did with the others.

In his blindness, he pushed Alice to his side, far out of the reach of what he was to do.

"I said, 'NO'!" His right hand flashed up in a burst of blue Aura Speed, grabbed the grip of his sword, and in a quick motion, sent a fiery sword beam at "Lin" before Malina could even align the sights properly on her gun and fire. He stood there, took a deep breath, and launched another one.

"That is not the name you made me promise to! You never made me promise to that name! You told me, 'If I say your name, you will come and rescue me, just like in a fairy tale.' I did that for YEARS!" On the last word, another blast went for the girl, who had just earlier tried to mimic his lost girlfriend.

"When the Beowolf broke your bow and you called for me, I was there!" His blade's blue acceleration Dust glowed as he swung agin, the blue aura feathers that fluttered off of him moving due to the heat as he attacked.

"When the big Nevermore scared you and you called for me, I was there!" The blue began to mix with the red of his flames as he swung again at "Lin."

"Even when the Batusk was attacking your house," Suddenly, the Huntsman knelt down on one knee, Metaruhōku to his left and pointing behind him.

"and you called for me," The wingbuster began to glow red. First faintly, then brighter and redder like the skies as the sun began to set.

"halfway across the valley," Aero blue and azure blue feathers, manifestations of his Aura, floated off of him as Metaruhōku kept charging.

"I." The sword went up from his left to his right in a blink of an eye, the flaming sword beam headed directly at the girl inside. The feathers were blasted away as he moved.

"Was." His following fire arc from the right was also aimed at her.

"THERE." A third slash of red went for the center, making the last three strokes seem like they equally divided the beast into six parts. In the follow through of his attack, as he drew his blade back, he rotated three hundred sixty degrees, then stabbed into the air, pointing at the center. Another flame burst from the tip of his sword and went towards "Lin" as he continued to yell. "YOU NEVER CALLED ME BY THE NAME OF HUNTER. YOU NEVER EVEN KNEW THAT NAME. YOU WERE GONE WHEN I CHOSE THIS NAME. YOU WILL NEVER FOOL ME AGAIN, AMBUS. YOU WILL NEVER KNOW MY REAL NAME. ONLY SHE WILL. TAKE YOUR MIMICALS BACK TO THE PIT YOU CAME!"

In his rage and fury, Hunter's strikes of blazing fire lashed at the monstrosity. His attacks tear at the monstrosity, burning the corpses that swarm its massive like to ashes. The girl within the deeper reaches of the mouth screamed as fire burned away her flesh. Yelling, screaming, crying, she kept on calling out his name even as the fires burned and sliced her. Ablaze in the fire, the corpses and the girl moaned and screamed, the smell of rotting flesh burning stinks the air like a potent perfume. As the bodies burn away, Humphrey Dumphrey slowly closed the giant mouth, shutting away the painful wails of despair and torment.

The behemoth grumbled and groaned, burning cuts and gashes all over its body. Then in mere seconds the disgusting red ooze that made up his form melted together and he stood whole again and undamaged.

Raising a massive fist, the titanic monster swings down ready the smash Hunter where he stood, the creature letting out a deafening roar.

Suddenly, the fist stops meters away from Hunter. Something stood in the way stopping it in its tracks. As much as the creature struggled it could not get past the hand that raised up in front of its fist and stopped it.

"That's enough for now," Byron smiles as he held off the titan beast with his hand. With a minor shove, Humphrey Dumphrey's fist was thrown back and the beast reeled back with a shriek. "Go on, get out of here."

Byron looked at the monster with no more then a smile on his face. The creature stared back silently for some time. Then it slowly went into the ground, its body going under the dirt beneath without even disturbing the soil as if it was merging with the very ground. Disappearing bit by bit, the creature's head was the last to be seen before going underground and disappearing from sight.

Byron stares at the spot where Humphrey Dumphrey was just standing for a little while before turning on his heels and facing the group.

"I was worried about you guys for a while there. I was afraid you would all die before six o'clock came," Byron stated nonchalantly. "Sorry to cut to the point but if you have any questions then ask them quickly. I don't have that much time."

His aura feathers slowly became a lighter blue as his sword's flames died out. He fell to is knees, his blade clattering onto the ground. No one could see the single tear that materialized beneath his glasses.

When he came to his senses, he finally noticed the scene change, the doll faces on the ground, the twisted pretzel stick fingers, the mutant lolly trees, and the last bits of the monster that pretended to be Lin. Most importantly, however, he saw the boy responsible for all this.

"Bryon Hatter." Shakily, he rose to his feet and placed the still-hot wingbuster onto his back. "I am Hunter Thợ Săn, Leader of the Team SaiNTS. Would you kindly tell us how the hell we leave your world? I think all of us would appreciate it if you told us."

Byron raised his hand to the back of his head and gave an awkward smile as he looked at Hunter.

"Well.... that's sort of an issue," Byron bites his lower lip in thought as if trying to find the best way to explain this. "You see.... I have no idea how you're in here."

Pausing briefly to let that sink in, Byron begins his explanation.

"Wonderland is what you may call my.... inner self. Yeah that's a good of a description as anything. Wonderland is the manifestation of my true self. My thoughts, my personality, my believes, everything that make me me is Wonderland. You see, everybody has an inner self, a true persona of what they are. The only thing keeping it separate from their outer self is a.... a door, a gate of sorts. My semblance just gives me the power to open that door to release my.... inner world, the world that dwells within my soul, Wonderland, into the outside world in the form of... a dream. An illusion you can say.... but that's not the case this time.

"That semblance enhancer, that experimental device, it did something... Instead of opening the gate to let Wonderland OUT for the outside to see.... the gate opened and took those outside of it IN and into Wonderland. This world as it is now... is real. The only reason the beings in Wonderland can't physically interact with those in the outside is beside even though the gate is opened partially there is still a wall, a boundary, that keeps Wonderland and the world outside separate. But now... you all went pass that boundary and became a part of Wonderland.

"I know the scientists said that this would all have been a mere illusion but... that's no longer the case. This world is now your reality... you can be harmed here.... and you can die here. Do you understand? If you die here you will die for real."

Byron pauses again to let that sink in. He puts his hands to his hips and takes in a deep breath before continuing with his explanation.

"Ever since you guys disappeared I've been trying to open the gate to Wonderland again repeatedly, but something is keeping it locked tight. I've been working with the scientists to find a way to get you guys out. I'm going to do my best to get you back home so just try what you can to.... well stay alive. Don't worry about hurting the things in here either. The beings here in Wonderland are just personifications of my aspects. Let's see.... I assume you already came across trouble right? All of those things you beat down though do not die. You incapacitate them, but as long as they recognize themselves they will eventually piece themselves together and start walking again. You can't really destroy a personality, not physically anyway.... but if one persona takes the life of another, then it will die...."

Alice looks at the ground sadly, shuffling her feet.

"Anyway, I'll do everything I can on my side but I think you all have a better chance of finding the root of the problem. I'm running out of time. Do you have any other questions?"

Byron's form seemed to flicker like a movie projection before turning solid again.

"Oh, have I got a question?" Malina said with the barrel of the gun now pointed towards Byron. "You don't have any idea how we got here? You know damn well how. Those damned scientists used that machine and made the mistake of using someone who obviously can't control their own damn semblance." As she spoke Manticore raised itself slightly over her left shoulder, poised to strike. "No. You know damn well how we got here, and you're going to start getting us the hell out of your psycho head. If we can really die here, so can you." She paused, noticing the flicker in his image. "But you aren't really here...are you?" She lowered her weapon before looking to Hunter and seeing Alice standing behind him. "But....that little brat that 'embodies your heart is..." She turned her body to directly face Alice and raised the barrel of Summer's Blaze towards her head along with Manticore positioning itself in Hunter's direction. "...And since I'm guessing you can't live without you're heart...well I'd make haste." She said after turning her head to face the image of Byron with a stotic look in her green eyes.

David turned to Malina. "Are you deaf? He said we cant kill them physically remember. Do it and she will just get back up."

Hunter slowly moved to stand between Alice and the gun barrel as a precautionary measure. "Hear him out first before doing anything stupid, Malina. Besides, even if someone here can't be killed, they can go through extreme pain. You don't want to make a little girl cry again, do you?"

Laeleps looks at Malina pointing her weapon at Alice. "Malina she's still the only guide we have in this world and she saved us from the Humphrey's it would be best to keep her safe, don't you think?" He turns looking at Byron and sheathes his blade. "Have the scientist made any progress? I'd at least like to hear they've been able to accomplish something while we've been fighting for our lives."

"Somethings are worse than death. Like dying many, many times. Or perhaps a poison to paralyze her then throw her in a lake." She says to David without moving her head. She then looked Hunter right in the eyes. "Right. Right! I forgot, we should trust the psychopath who trapped us in his own damn head! How could I forget!? Let's just trust the complete stranger! That's sounds like a great plan for getting stabbed in the back." She almost snarls out the words to the boy.

Byron gives a pleasant smile as if non of this bothers him.

"It comes to no surprise. I understand if you can't trust me. It is my semblance that caused all of this after all. At least listen to this much, everything here is my inner self. Being a manifestation of the true self, everything here is unable to lie. Whatever you hear from someone or something here, it is the truth."

Turning to look at Laeleps as he asks his question, Byron answers as best as he can.

"They've been poking at me like crazy all day. They've got this hairdryer looking thing over my head right now trying to read my brain waves. When 6 o'clock came well.... they're going crazy over here trying to figure things out, but they think they're close to a break through. Oh, you're probably wondering what all of this is."

Byron gestures at the grotesque setting.

"This is what I call.... the Mad Tea Party. It happens at 6 o'clock every night and lasts for about 6 minutes. During this time, I'm much more in sync with Wonderland which causes me to act.... differently. During this time, my outer self and consciousness is able to look into and speak in this world. I will disappear the moment the Mad Tea Party is over."

As if on cue the entire world with flickering just as Byron had earlier. For a tenth of a second it was Wonderland as everyone had first saw it and then back to the horrid scene it became now then back again and again.

"Speak of the devil," Byron hums looking around. "Listen, I'm going to do everything I can to get you out of here. Do whatever you can to find your own way out on this end too. Remember, no matter what you must not--"

Byron's image flickers rapidly along with Wonderland and he disappears completely, Wonderland turning back to the strange candy land it was before. The sky had turned a dark blue though, turning to an early evening sky.

The skies had turned dark. Hunter took in his surroundings. No egg men, no 40 foot tall monster, no canined tongues, no Lin, no mimicals. Just the path to the Tea Party. He sighed. Bryon's manifestations had just brought to him one of his worst nightmares, and he lost control of himself, just like before. The experience was just too close to what happened the last time he found an Ambus outpost. He looked around at the group. At least no one got hurt when I lost it, he thought.

Hunter began walking, gently pushing Alice in front of him to keep Malina from shooting her. "Come on. We got a Tea Party to go to."

Emerald watching the commotion was thinking I'm not gonna be able to eat for a week after that. I WILL! You can eat after anything. How about I take control whenever we eat something for a while then. Okay, but only for that small amount of time. Fine. Why can't I take control? You know damn well why. He followed Hunter down the path.

((OOC: I couldn't think of a reaction for what just happened.))