[b][u][i]Butter Daisy Forest[/i][/u][/b] Even from the distance they were at by this point and afterwards, Adam, Alice, and the White Rabbit could still feel the heat. Alice looked back at the inferno engulfing the area they were originally standing in, noticing the last faint silhouette of one of the boys who failed to adhere to the Rabbit and everyone else' warnings to run, before it faded in the flames and turned to dust. Alice honestly wanted to stop running and just fall to her knees, horrified at what happened; that boy didn't even have time to scream out in pain as he was burned alive, and while this could still just be a dream, a nightmare she wanted to wake up from, there was something in her gut as she viewed the embers behind them, that told her that she needed to run, that her life depended on it... and that this should never be allowed to happen again. Even if these people were just figments of her own imagination, she never wanted to see like this happen again. Adam was about the same level of "done" that Hector was in the moment that he spotted Guiren consumed by what he could only describe as Hellfire, only continuing to run to ensure that he and anyone else here wasn't going to be fried along with him. The thoughts Hector had on what the Rabbit said to them was the same ones running in his own head as well, that this rabbit summoned them here, despite the now-obvious dangers, and that he was going to make a stew out of this rabbit if it's for anything less than somehow effecting United Kingdom, or the world...and either one seems frankly unlikely. The White Rabbit took a moment, if only a moment, to look back at the inferno as well. The boy must have thought that this was only a dream, that he had nothing to fear if he stood around and let the flames hit...Not a difficult conclusion for any of them to reach by this point, which is why he had hoped he had a little more time to properly explain the situation to them. Now he has to explain to them that the incinerated boy is never going to wake up from his sleep, not a very easy task to think about when it's clear at least one or two of them are clearly effected by this. But of course, he would not have had the time to think even about how sad the situation was, or how these people are taking it, had it not been for the ones who arrived to save their collective asses. He could not doubt that at the very least Chase, one of the last of the humans to begin running, would not have escaped in time, were it for the Mad Hatter protecting them. He saw the Dorm Mouse now taking the lead of these people, and the White Rabbit followed suit, as did Alice and Adam because, frankly, what other choice was there at the moment. "[b]Your timing is impeccable as ever, Dorm.[/b]" The White Rabbit said to her as they ran. They were farther away from her, but he knew she'd be able to hear him say this. He then heard Hector demanding an explanation, only for the youngest human to tell them to keep it together, despite how difficult it was seeming for him to talk and run at the same time. "[b]Less pep-talking, more running![/b]" Adam said to Snow, clearly noticing how exhausted he was getting, before turning towards the Rabbit again. "[b]Oi Rabbit, an ETA would be nice right about now![/b]" Adam said to him. "[b]What in the world is an ETA?[/b]" "[b]You can't be serious... How long until we're safe to stop!?[/b]" Adam asked. The White Rabbit looked around and the further in front of him until he spotted something in the distance. "[b]...There![/b]" The Rabbit said, pointing forward towards what appeared to be a perfectly circular hole in the ground, just large enough a radius for the rabbit, dorm mouse, and any humans to be able to enter. "[b]...Oh, you've got to be kidding me. Is this...a rabbit hole!?[/b]" Adam said to the rabbit, as they stopped around the hole, clearly perplexed at the implication that they have to drop into a hole in order to get to safety. "[b]The Hatter won't keep the Black Rabbit at bay for much longer, so hurry and get down there.[/b]" The Rabbit said to them all. "[b]But it's a hole underground, how is that any safer than right now?[/b]" Adam asked. "[b]Grrr...Listen, this is a world of dreams; the physics of your world do not apply to this one. The holes we make do not just go 'underground' like I'm sure it does there. Besides, it's either dropping down there, or staying here and continuing to run from that.[/b]" The White Rabbit said, pointing towards the inferno still lit up like an orange beacon behind them. Without another word, The White Rabbit jumped into the hole. While somewhat hesitant, Adam jumped in after him. Alice looked down the hole, then towards everyone else. "[b]Well...Let's hope for the best.[/b]" Alice said to them, trying to put on a smile despite looking somewhat ready to cry before jumping into the hole herself. ------------------------ [b][u][i]Hatter's Sanctuary[/i][/u][/b] [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMIhGQH75ck]Last Sanctuary[/url] As soon as they reached the other side, they were no longer falling, but rather were shot upwards out of another Rabbit hole, much akin to how cartoons depict drilling through one side of the earth simply to come out the other. The moment they would be popped out of this rabbit hole, however, they would be met with an unusual, fantastic sight before them as they land on the ground around the hole they came out of.They were now in what appeared to be a giant botanical garden, laced to the brim with steampunk-like contraption and machinery all around them, some of them fencing out the people from entering more green-filled areas of the garden, while others seemingly were nonsensical, seemingly unpractical, and outright impossible contraptions of a rough design seemingly assisting in someway to the well-being of its plant life. The whole of the area was also surrounded by a beautiful frame of bronze and copper of a Victorian design, walling in the garden like a cage. At the center of this garden laid a large rectangular table of refined, ebony-painted wood a large white sheet over the table top and an assortment of tea pots, tea cups, and plates all neatly organized for every chair around it, the at the far ends of each other having a more artistic, rich design to them, as oppose to the smaller chairs that line up on the table's sides, each one inconsistently designed, and some one could argue aren't really chairs at all, just small tables that are being used as chairs. There were hints of other life around, both natural and unnatural, the chirping of birds echoing through the plant life, merged with the sound of steps and the banging of metal. "[b]Here we are, you can rest now, humans. There are no shadows here but ones who offer you peace and sanctuary from the wonderland outside.[/b]" The White Rabbit said as he hopped towards the large table in the center. "[b]Shadows...?[/b]" Alice asked. "[b]More importantly, where is here? We went down a rabbit hole, just to pop out of another one? are we on the other side of this world?[/b]" Adam then asked him. "[b]I already told you, this world does not function by the physics of your own, ...at least I don't think they do. I've never actually been physically to your world, so it's hard for me to accurately say that for certain.[/b]" The White Rabbit responded, his back turned from the group as he seemed to be fiddling with something out of the humans' eyesight, before then revealing a golden pocket watch with a lid that he placed on the table...followed by a second one...and then a third one. "[b]As for where this place is, well it seems some of you are more aware of this world than I originally thought, so surely you would already know. This here is the garden of the Mad Hatter, a Sanctuary for rebel shadows like us. ...Oh dear.[/b]" The White Rabbit said, the last comment seemingly not directed at the humans as more pocket watches were placed on the table. Interestingly, they were all quite large for someone like him to carry individuals, yet it seems as if he's had a number of these pocket watches on him...despite that they would have clearly been seen earlier by the humans if he had that many large pocket watches on him, but clearly it looked as if he had nothing of the sort when they first met him. "[b]Dorm, I'm going to need to borrow a few of yours. It seems I've overburdened myself a bit...[/b]" he said to the Bowler hat wearing mouse-eared human, who he assumed went down the hole before the other humans, given her orders from the Hatter. "[b]There's that word again, shadows. ...What are you talking about exactly?[/b]" Alice asked him. "[b]Oh...umm, It's probably for the best I let the Mad Hatter return before I get to explaining things, It may be difficult for you to comprehend where exactly you are and what we are by association.[/b]" The White Rabbit said to them, his back still turned, which further irritated Adam. "[b]That's not how this is going to work, Rabbit. You said you were the one who threw us in here, you're the one who brought us into this without warning, and we just saw someone get burned alive, apparently just for being associated with you. We're not going to wait on this any longer, we demand an explanation for thi-[/b]" Adam said, although he sounded calm, it was easy to hear the seething venom with every word as he walked towards the White Rabbit and grabbed him, turning him towards the group. But he could not finish his sentence as he saw the Rabbit's front, his eyes widened as he drops him and steps back, tripping and falling accidentally, allowing everyone else to see what he sees. The "White Rabbit" was now partly deformed in areas of his body, the white fur and parts of his coat now seemingly covered in an inky-black oil-like substance and seemingly began to melt off of him, before crawling back into itself. A part of his face was also like this, specifically the top left portion and the lower part of his ear, his left eye now a small glowing yellow orb as oppose to the blue eye his right one still was. It was undoubtedly a horrifying look for him, something truly out of a nightmare or some kind of wonderland-inspired horror story, and yet he used his arms, or rather what's left of them, dust off what's left of his red coat as if this was a normal situation he was in, being careful that the black goop doesn't spread out as he did. Needless to say, Adam and Alice were both horrified at what they were seeing. "[b]Hmph! This was just the kind of reactions I did not wish to be bothered with, but I suppose it was inevitable to happen sooner or later.[/b]" The rabbit said. While his voice was heard and movement could be seen in the inky goop of his face, his actual face didn't seem to move whatsoever, as if it wasn't real face at all, as if it was a mask despite realistic movements it showed before this happened. "[b]What...What in the world are you?[/b]" Alice asked him. "[b]Well I'll first state the obvious; I'm not exactly a White Rabbit as I appear to be...It is hard to accurately explain in detail, but to summarize, I am what you would call, a Shadow, as was the Black Rabbit and our allies out there, as are the people you will see here, and everywhere in this world, one that exists in correlation with your own.[/b]" The White Rabbit said, casually explaining himself as if this was a normal conversation they were having right now, as he tries to reform himself. The black goop seemed to merge and take the shapes of his missing parts before the white fur, blue eye, and red coat reformed itself. The White Rabbit's face, now reformed, started moving again naturally as he opened and closed his jaws and eyes as if testing them out. "[b]Ah, There we go.[/b]" The Rabbit then said, seemingly satisfied with his body's reformation. [@rebthewriter] [@CronicCrystalis] [@Crimmy] [@Petulant] [@Letter Bee] [@Duoya] [@Etranger] [@Avant] [@Suku] [@Windstormugly] [@CriticalHit] [@EchoicChamber]