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[hr]Location: Berry's Warehouse[hr][/center]
Step. Stop. Turn. Piroutte a half turn, drop - no, no, that just didn't quite work the same on Earth. Step. Stop. Turn. Pirouette a full turn, drop - same result. Alice dropped to the floor in frustration, her arms hanging limply at her sides. Her favorite dances were pretty enough on Earth, but they were never the [i]same[/i] as back home. It was the same action, the same thoughts, but never the same result, almost as if Earth just didn't care what you put in your head when you danced. How rude of it, to ignore one's dancing thoughts in such a way.

[color=99cfff]"Berry, when do we get to go home?"[/color] Alice called out, her voice resonating in the empty warehouse in which Berry had set up shop. She moved some stolen furniture into the old manager's office upstairs, pulled some strings (among other things) to keep the place powered, and let the main warehouse area be room for Alice and Berry's activities, like Alice's dancing. Much of "their people" like to stay closer to each other, many of them living in the same area. Alice was no different, though she spent a fair share of time at Berry's. Berry preferred to stay more isolated, though her warehouse was only really a short distance from everyone else, really.

[color=99cfff]"Berryyyy."[/color] Alice's voice was singsong and light; it was one of her better moments, when she was closer to her former self. Alice knew to appreciate these moments while they lasted. Lucidity did not come often to her, so when it did she was sure to take advantage.

Berry's head poked out from the office door. [color=ff69b4]"I said, I ain't got a clue. Hopefully soon, though,"[/color] Berry called back to Alice. The office overlooked the main area, accessible by old, rickety metal stairs scaling the warehouse along the wall.

[color=99cfff]"What are you doing?"[/color] Alice stood, slowly twirling her way towards the staircase.

[color=ff69b4]"I'm just thinkin' 'bout what we're gonna do today."[/color] Berry emerged from the office fully and began to make her way down the staircase. She met Alice at the bottom of the stairs, examining the girl's wardrobe for the day. Nothing spectacular, surprisingly, bar the hat on her head. [color=ff69b4]"Oh, sweetheart, where did you get that hat? Do you even know what a pussy is?"[/color]

Alice frowned and tilted her head in confusion. [color=99cfff]"The Hatter got it for me, of course. Isn't it just another name for a cat?"[/color]

Berry laughed, [color=ff69b4]"Oh, honey, no. Not at all. When did you see The Hatter?"[/color]

[color=99cfff]"I could have seen him yesterday, or the day before, or maybe even tomorrow, if I so chose to. It doesn't really matter when I saw him, so much as how I saw him."[/color] Alice began to spin away from Berry, across the warehouse floor.

[color=ff69b4]"Y'know, that actually makes a lick of sense. You don't often make sense when you give me those answers, but you did just then."[/color]

[color=99cfff]"I'm having a good time!"[/color] Alice flashed a wide smile at Berry. It was heartwarming to Berry to see Alice enjoying herself. Berry did her best to try to keep Alice more or less stable by keeping her occupied and giving her fun things to do, but Berry had long ago accepted that Alice could lose it at any moment. Whether or not the girl really could still hear the Madness speaking to her was irrelevant, at this point. It was a very real concern for Alice, and her happiness could be pulled away from her without notice.

[color=99cfff]"You have a phone call."[/color]

[color=ff69b4]"You can hear that? From all the way over there?"[/color] Alice had spun her way to the far side of the warehouse, though she had fallen back to the floor a while ago. Berry's phone was just at the top of the stairs in their room, ringing and vibrating faintly on a table.

[color=99cfff]"Something changes when it rings. I can feel it. In my ears."[/color]

[color=ff69b4]"Honey, that there is hearing."[/color]

[color=99cfff]"Not really. You wouldn't understand."[/color]

Berry let it go, instead bolting up the stairs to grab the call. She arrived just in time to see Lucy on the caller ID, though she missed it, as usual; Alice did the math once ([i]how[/i] she did it is an entirely different conversation) and Berry only ever answered Lucy maybe once every ten calls. She could only shrug as she listened to the message Lucy left. Poor Lucy was flustered, but the gist of the message was simple, if concerning. Berry stepped out onto the stairs, watching Alice count... something. She opted to respond with a text back to Lucy, so Alice wouldn't get too worried prematurely.

[center][b]No worries here, Alice is safe and with me. See y'all tonight.[/b][/center]
She pocketed the phone and made her way back down. [color=ff69b4]"So, I reckon I know what we're doin' tonight. Lucy wants us all to meet up tonight, says it's urgent."[/color]

Alice dramatically flopped back from her sitting position so she was lying on the floor. [color=99cfff]"But is it [i]really[/i] urgent? The meetings are no fun,"[/color] the girl complained. She began waving her arms and legs back and forth as if to make a snow angel, but the lack of snow made that a near impossibility.

With a stern look on her face, Berry laid down next to Alice, letting out a deep sigh. [color=ff69b4]"Sorry, honey, but yeah, it really is. Lucy says it could be serious."[/color]

[color=99cfff]"Like, bad serious?"[/color]

[color=ff69b4]"Maybe."[/color]

[color=99cfff]"Oh."[/color]

The two women let the conversation hang, drifting off into silence. Alice wondered what "bad serious" actually meant, as she hadn't properly wrapped her head around the phrase, while Berry debated how much exactly she should tell Alice and how much should be left for the meeting that afternoon.

[color=99cfff]"Does it have to do with the earthquake, Berry?"[/color]

[color=ff69b4]"Might be. Why?"[/color]

[color=99cfff]"I... I think I hear them again. I heard them again after the earthquake earlier, but they left. They're back now."[/color]

Berry frowned. Alice had been hearing the voices with alarming frequency recently. Rising from the floor, Berry extended an arm to lift Alice up, as well. [color=ff69b4]"I reckon we head over to your place. You'll feel more comfortable there, and if we're lucky, we can bump into someone you like on the way. After all,"[/color] Berry paused as she pulled Alice to her feet, [color=ff69b4]"ya can't spend your entire day with me, again. I'm pretty boring."[/color]

[color=99cfff]"But we aren't alone, Berry,"[/color] Alice replied, confused. She turned and waved her arm across the empty room, as if to showcase all the other people in Berry's warehouse.

Berry held back a frown, instead fighting through a half-smile. [color=ff69b4]"But I want you to find some friends, like The Hatter or Lucy."[/color] It was odd placing both The Hatter and Lucy in the same sentence regarding Alice's friends, but they were the first names that came to mind. It was a simple ploy she utilized often, recalling people from their world that made it to Mystvale in order to bring Alice back to their reality.

Huh. "Their" reality. Berry used to think of reality as a sure thing, as something that never changed, ever. But Alice saw reality as such a fickle thing, it was hardly surprising that Berry began to consider reality as a subjective concept.

This time, fortunately, Berry's ploy worked. [color=99cfff]"Okay, fine, we can go to my apartment. But stop babying me, I'm not a child,"[/color] Alice almost stormed off, lightly pushing past Berry on the way out the door. That was the hardest part of caring for Alice. When she regressed back to the Madness, she went wholly and suddenly. One minute, Alice was the sweet, innocent girl that was mentally far younger than her physical appearance would suggest, and the next, she was cold and callous, angry at the world for existing when hers did not. The only constant was her disconnect with reality, but even then it came in varying degrees.

Berry locked up the warehouse and followed Alice into Mystvale, heading for Alice's apartment building.