[b][u][i]Butter Daisy Forest[/i][/u][/b] In Tyler's mind, he echoed a comment the girl recently made, how those beyond the P3 syndrome age limit getting caught in a comatose didn't make any sense. Indeed it was very strange. He's certain that he's right about this, but why were [i]they[/i] caught up in this too? Could it be that P3 Syndrome was spreading beyond its age limitations, or could it be that there was something special about these people in particular? These, however, were questions to be answered another time. Tyler listened to Arthur's comment about the human potentially being hostile before the meet-up with this new person. Indeed, he probably should have considered that as the man began speaking up his answer. But in a situation like this, whether or not the man in question was ready to attack them would be ultimately an irrelevant point. They were in a forest potentially surrounded by monsters, and while the possibility of a potentially psychotic human was there, it's not as if that gives an excuse to just leave him to die. Besides, while he would prefer not to fight...or kill, he would at least be able to incapacitate this guy if he decided to lash out. Personal army experience aside, it didn't seem likely that this person would be fast enough to hit him should he dodge. This of course, was followed by Arthur then mocking him, asking if he'd made sure the area was clear, something that made him quite irritated, but something he ignored. There's no way of knowing to be sure if the area is secure, they know nothing about their environment or what kind of creatures inhabit it. He's only seen the monsters in the woods by chance for split-seconds; there's no way of knowing what they are or what they can do if they decided to attack. He needed to get as many people out of harm's way as he could, and that included this man. The man then explained that the only one he saw was someone known as the Mad Hatter. "[color=green][b]Mad...Hatter?[/b][/color]" Tyler echoed, pondering about this bit of information. "Mad Hatter", as in a character from the Lewis Carol novels...He'd think him nuts normally, but one of those two battling it out [i]was[/i] some kind of humanoid with a hat on. He must have been that very same being, running past them after that battle they saw. ...But that means the other one is no longer preoccupied with him...Oh dear. As soon as he thought about it, he heard something in the distances, as his soldier's instincts began to kick in. He didn't know from where, or how far away they were, but there was a distinct feeling that they weren't alone, that people in the forest beyond the path was watching them. It was just a gut feeling...but then again, those gut feelings are usually right. "[color=green][b]...We have to get to that rabbit hole, fast. We're definitely not alone in here.[/b][/color]" He said to the trio. He began looking towards the path that the other humans went, prompting the others to follow him as he walked further into it. There was no guarantee that the hole they entered will be safe; it may very well be a deathtrap, but there's at least a chance at surviving this situation by heading for it, as oppose to standing on the road like sitting ducks while god-knows-what lurks around them. As the four headed towards the Rabbit Hole, with Tyler seeing it in the distance, he noticed some movement from the hole. Something seemed to be coming out, but it was hard to tell from the distance they were at. Tyler stopped the others using common military hand signs. Needing to do Reconnaissance while ensuring the others protection, he then pointed them towards the left side of the forest as he himself walked to the side, covering behind the trees while walking closer to whatever was coming out. As soon as he and the others had a more visible view of what was going on, suddenly out popped a large group of humans, the same ones as before, only now with weapons and apparently some kind of pocket-watches. The White Rabbit also seemed to come out, only it didn't seem like it was the same one that brought them there. Just about everything about this new rabbit gave a different vibe from the one he saw leading them there. With another few hand signs, Tyler essentially ordered the other three to keep watch as they continued the observation. --- Alice looked as the others are brought back up to the Forest, and once everyone was confirmed to have landed safely into the forest, she looked to Jill who proceeded to take the lead, heading deeper into the forest, with Tyler and his respective group not far behind, still hiding from sight. "[b]...Oh dear.[/b]" The little rabbit said stopping mid-way through the trail as if something stopped her. "[color=blue][b]What's wrong?[/b][/color]" Alice asked. "[b]Umm...Well...They're here. The Black Rabbit must have summoned them after he left to deal with us.[/b]" Jill nervously replied, looking around the forest as if trying to find something beyond the trees. "[color=Yellow][b]Summoned who?[/b][/color]" Adam asked. But before he could get an answer, a sudden sound of laughter echoed throughout the forest, heard by all humans within it. Tyler in particular looking around from his hiding spot behind the trees as if trying to track the source of it. Then those same laughing voices, all of them appearing to be female began to speak... "[i][color=turquoise]So, these are the cavalry humans those rebels decided to bring to this place?[/color][/i]" This voice was in the middle of pitch and tone, definitely an adult female and without much peculiarities. "[i][color=silver]Un-creative minds, confused and worried for life; a wasted effort in their disposal.[/color][/i]" This voice was without tone or expression of any kind, sounding soulless, like a machine that's trying to sound human. "[i][color=coral]Hmmm, I don't knoooow~ Some of them seem pretty cute.[/color][/i]" This voice was high-pitched and juvinile, almost akin to Jill's own voice. "[i][color=crimson]Wait, that one over there...the chick...Isn't that?[/color][/i]" This voice clearly was teenaged, with a hint of a gruff tone in it. "[b][color=indigo]SILENCE![/color][/b]" The last one yelled, its voice wild and monstrous as the scream of a banshee. So forceful was the scream, that a sudden gust of wind blew through the forest in the humans' direction, the trees shaking as it did. "[i][color=gold]Humans, Children of Man who unwittingly stepped foot in the domain of dreams. You stand upon the threshold beyond which lies the Kingdom of Bliss...Though without choice of your own, you sully this holy land with the taint of your reality, brought forth by breakers of royal oath. You have our pity, but by order of the Titan, we shall not allow you a step further. You shall be an example of the consequences of Defiance, and you Rabbit, shall not find the same solace in death we shalt give to these humans. You brought them here, and so we shall feed you to our royal majesty as punishment for this blasphemy.[/color][/i]" A more sophisticated female voice, the tone and expression of a professional or a politician, stated. Needless to say, this made Jill shiver in dread as her ears perk up in shock. Adam and Alice grabbed hold of the new weapons they got from the Hatter as they could now see what appeared to be humanoid silhouettes moving around in the forest, slowly coming closer. Tyler also noticed this, but something else caught his attention just before he could signal the rest of his group to continue onward. "[b][color=purple]Hmm...An example of defiance, you say? How typical of you girls to take a simple order from daddy dearest and blow its importance far out of proportion. Hunt down the humans and take them out, simple order, yet you're treating as if you're doing some grand scheme of weeding out treason just so you can...what, walk up to your pops and get a pat on the head?[/color][/b]" A familiar voice said. Alice, Adam, and Jill looked over towards the direction they were heading, until they spotted a familiar mouse tailed girl with her signature bowler hat. [b][color=yellow]Dorm Mouse![/color][/b] Adam said, surprised to see her up on the surface. "[b][color=purple]Sorry I'm late. As soon as you guys left, Contrary to how he looked, Hatter took some considerable damage from that titanic bastard. Had to make sure he got healed up before the cavalry charge. ...Your bug's up ahead down that path, trust me when I say you can't miss it.[/color][/b]" She said as she walked forward, as if to challenge the oncoming foes that continued to close in. "[color=gold][i]Dorm Mouse, admirably bold of you to stand alone whilst the insurgence continues to hide. How very brave...[/i][/color]" The leading voice from before said. "[b][color=purple]Yeah, and if praise from pretentious coattail clingers held any merit, that would actually mean something.[/color][/b]" The Mouse sarcastically said, not a hint of fear on her face contrary to the White Rabbit. Adam, for once, could somewhat relate to the White Rabbit in this regard, given how confident and menacing these particular shadows heading for them seemed, looking at his sword before looking back at the Dorm Mouse. "[color=yellow][b]Wait, are you sure you can handle this?[/b][/color]" He asked her, before she then looked back at the group. "[color=purple][b]Hey. I'm more than capable of keeping a few daddy's widdle pwincesses busy. Besides, I got this.[/b][/color]" Dorm Mouse gave them a grin and brought a butcher's knife. It was rusty, with nicks on the edge and speckles of dried blood on it. But over all else, it was huge. Like it was meant for a giant. (This particular part was made by Petulant.) Adam and Alice looked at it with awe at how something of that size could have appeared with the Dorm Mouse without noticing. [color=purple][b]Now get going! The Trees will be your guide.[/b][/color] She then told them. Alice and Adam looked at the group, then back at Dorm mouse before giving a silent nod. "[color=Blue][b]Let's get moving.[/b][/color]" Alice then said as she left with the White Rabbit down the path, prompting everyone to follow suit as the Dorm Mouse began to move towards the silhouettes in the forest. As soon as he saw them heading down the path, watching what was happening before his own eyes as well, Tyler proceeded to follow the humans from the shadows, giving silent signals for the others to come along as well. "[color=crimson][i]Hey, they're getting away![/i][/color]" "[color=turquoise][i]Leave 'em be. They've yet to awaken, the shadows of the forest'll deal with them. We got bigger fish to fry now.[/i][/color]" the voices said as they surround Dorm Mouse. --- As they ran off down the path, Alice and the others stopped as something began to block the road ahead. Tyler's gang seeing it in the distance as they continued to hide behind the trees. It appeared to be some kind of moving black slime, the exact same color and texture as the slime that took Snow away from them, as well as the same stuff that half of the White Rabbit melted into. "[color=green][i]...Ah great...more of them.[/i][/color]" Tyler thought. The black slime seemed to immediately converge around the main group, encircling and surrounding them in a ring. "[color=yellow][b]What in the world? What is this stuff?[/b][/color]" Adam asked. "[b]Th-They're shadows...[/b]" "[color=blue][b]You mean like you guys?[/b][/color]" "[b]Yes, but...these are different. The Shadows you've met up til now were awakened with egoes of their own...these shadows are more normal, more feral than us...it's hard to explain but, umm...these shadows can think and feel like us, but they're more limited, more instinctual than we are.[/b]" Jill explained as the masks start to break out of black goop, the slime seemingly beginning to shape themselves around the masks in question. "[color=orange][b]In other words, they're more like animals.[/b][/color]" Chase said. Jill nodded in agreement to that as the shadows started to finish taking shape. The resulting creatures were bizarre to say the least, Some of them turned into giant mouth balls with mouths on their fronts and their masks on their rears, some of them turned into some kind of monkeys hanging on the trees of the forest with masks over their stomachs, some of them didn't seem to even back taking shape at all, just being a masked puddle of slime with tendrils coming out of them. As they began to take their shape, more of them began to crawl out of the woods to do the same taking even more shapes as they did. Adam tried to cut one of the floating mouth balls in half with the new sword he got, only for it to essentially go right through them. "[color=yellow][b]...That can't be good. Oi, Rabbit, the weapons aren't working![/b][/color]" He said. "[b]That's because you guys haven't awakened yet. You need to use the Chronovokers![/b]" Jill responded. "[color=yellow][b]Ok, but you weren't very clear on how to use it. You wanna, you know, give us an example or something?[/b][/color]" Amidst everything, while Chase was extending his arms out to try and shield the party from the shadows on his side of the circle, Alice was looking around at these creatures, clearly getting scared, her mind flashing back to the younger days of the Dark Hour that these things were reminding her of. All of a sudden, however, everything around her became nearly silent, time slowing down, and amidst this bizarre phenomenon from out of the forest came a butterfly, glowing with a small but radiant light from its velvet blue wings, passing by her face. As it flew by, she could hear, no, feel something in her mind, words without a voice of their own silently rippling across her consciousness. She couldn't quite make out what was being said, but it felt as if whatever this butterfly was...it for some reason, somehow, is showing its support for them. "[color=black][i]Why do you hesitate child? A world beyond the norm awaits you, denizens of this dreamy domain and of your own have need of you and the others. Will you let fear of the unknown encroach upon you at this hour of desperation, even as it seeks to swallow those around you as it had before?[/i][/color]" A different voice then echoed in her head, flashes of what happened to Snow and Guiren appearing before her eyes. "[i][color=blue]No...I can't let that happen...Never again![/color][/i]" "[color=black][i]Then open your eyes, the door of time, and call forth what lies within.[/i][/color]" The voice said. Almost instinctively, she opened up the pocket watch the Rabbit gave her, the Chronovoker, and in seconds, the glass of the watch started to glow with a bright white light, the sound of the ticking getting louder as sparkles of colored light arose from the glass and started to mass and take shape of some kind of figure. As this is happening, the the ground just below her started to glow as well, a magic circle in the shape of a clock's face fading into existence beneath her feet. Alice looked on at this with wide-eyed bewilderment, at first with shock, but , Adam watching this as well, remembering what the Rabbit, the male Rabbit, said about the instructions. "[i]Using it is simple enough: Open the lid by pushing a button on the side, focus your thoughts into a [b]resolve[/b] of some kind, be it determination to survive or defeat your enemies, until those thoughts gains [b]shape inside the Chronovoker[/b], then close the lid back up. You only have to do it once, then the Chronovoker [b]imprints your ego into its glass[/b] and you only have to [b]call it out[/b] and close the lid again.[/i]" "[color=blue][b]...Per-[/b][/color]" The hands on the clock of both the ground and in her hand began moving in opposite rotations until they both struck twelve simultaneously. "[color=blue][b]...So...[/b][/color]" A beam of light shot up from the glass of the watch, splitting off into tiny particles of light showering down on her, like stars or tiny diamonds falling like snow around her. Tyler watched this from a far, awestruck at the wonder of it all. Jill was also watching in awe... "[b]This power...She's doing it. This is amazing! She's really doing it![/b]" She thought with a smile of joy. Adam and Chase had no words for what was going on, but while Adam's face was one of bewilderment, Chase With a smile of her own now completely on her face, turned into a confident grin, Alice uttered one last syllable. "[color=blue][b]...Na![/b][/color]" With that, she immediately pressed the cover of the pocket watch shut, the stream of light reflecting off the golden sheen of the cover and dividing the light stream into four streams shooting towards the sides, at least one hitting one of the shadows and making it cry out in agony as it crawled back into the forest. The 4 beams, straight at first, curved around as the slow ticking of the clock was heard, the minute hand on the ground moving clockwise as if time was starting up again. The beams and particles circled around the clock beneath her feet until they merged and split apart. The particles of light around gathered together again to form a shape, one of a girl in a dress, a basket in hand, and a black wolf-shaped tornado around her feet. Alice gave a smile as the ethereal appeared behind her; she could feel power, courage, or something akin to it well up inside her. It was as if she knew somewhere in her heart that she would be safe, that these people would be safe... That she had the power to protect now. "[color=Black][b]Thou art I, and I am Thou. From the sea of thy Soul I cometh. I am Dorothy, Traveller of wonders.[/b][/color]" The girl said, her voice sounding more sophisticated and booming than her appearance would suggest. With a wave of her free hand, the tornado at her feat roared and span around at a fast pace as a gust of wind came to blow away the monkey-like shadow, the wind tearing it asunder until it was nothing but particle of black scattered like dust in the wind. One of the flying mouths instinctively reacted to this by charging towards Alice, who instinctively slashed her knife at it, cutting it in half and causing it to explode into black particles and fade away as well. "[b]...That's it, That's the power you need! Now you can fight the shadows![/b]" Jill said. Hopping up and down as she did. "[b][color=green]What in the world is that...?[/color][/b]" Tyler seemingly asked his trio, but mostly was asking himself. "[b][color=yellow]That's the power we're suppose to have!?[/color][/b]" Adam asked. "[i][color=orange]So, this is the awakening they were referring to. Was this kind of power always ours? ...Old man, ...did you know anything about this?[/color][/i]" Chase thought as he looked at what transpired, then at his own Chronovoker. The shadows that encircled them clearly showed an instinctual fear of the Persona-user now that she has awakened, but then in their agitation prepared to attack them anyways. "[color=blue][b]Guys, Do what the Rabbit said before, it really does work how he said it would![/b][/color]" Alice explained. "[b]The giant mouths are Helberies, the masked slimes are Mayas, and the monkeys are Simies! They're all a bit varied from each other, so watch for their weaknesses...They all have something, and I can keep track of which one's which![/b]" Jill explained to them. Adam opened and closed his Chronovoker as one of the Helbeiries tried to attack him, and out came a lion-headed man in golden armor, with the roar of a lion, he raised his sword skyward, and from the sky came a bolt of lightning, down on the mouth, making it explode into black particles. Meanwhile a Simy tried to attack Chase as he silently opens and closes his own Chronovoker, a giant hand of an even bulkier man than he and Luke grabbing it, dropping it and cleaving it in two with his golden ax. Tyler continued to look on as these people began calling out their own powers on these guys, practically struck speechless at what he was seeing. "[b]I've got your backs guys. Let's go![/b]" Jill said as she continued her hopping, as the shadows began their own counter offensive against them. [@AdmrlStalfos19] [@Godlikeblade] [@Godzillafreak54][@rebthewriter] [@CronicCrystalis] [@Crimmy] [@Petulant] [@Duoya] [@Etranger] [@Avant] [@Suku] [@Windstormugly] [@CriticalHit] [@EchoicChamber]