[b][u][i]Butter Daisy Forest[/i][/u][/b]

As the kids all began summoning their personas, the amount of Shadows that were in the area brgan to greatly diminish. These children who were, a mere minute ago, like prey to them, were now the predators, and so the ones that weren't being destroyed by their persona-given might began to run and cower for their lives.

The hunters were now the hunted.

Alice made a sigh as thing started to die down, looking at her chronovoker in contemplation.

"[b][color=blue]So...This is the power we were brought here to use?[/color][/b]" Alice simply asked.

"[b][color=yellow]Looks that way...I guess the little 'Lassholemorph' was speaking the truth about all of this after all.[/color][/b]" Adam said.

"[b]Of course we were, silly! Peter's always been a little meanie killjoy, but he wouldn't lie to you about how things work around here.[/b]" Jill said, hopping back towards the main group with the others in tow. Chase immediately noticing said others.

"[b][color=orange]I'm gonna assume you three were thrown in here as well?[/color][/b]"

"[b]Hatter did mention other humans in this forest, and they're definitely not shadows...Wait, three...But there were...[/b]" Jill said, pausing herself when she noticed the inconsistency in what Chase said, looking towards the group of Jacob, Arthur and Tylissa, and noticing one of them was missing...Tyler.

"[b]HUH!? Where'd the other one go? He was with the others around the trees a few moments ago....around the...Oh Carrots, He must have fell into one![/b]" She said in a panic.

"[color=blue][b]Fell...[i]into[/i] one?[/b][/color]" Alice asked in confusion.

"[color=yellow][b]Really? None of these trees seem to have any holes to fall into...[/b][/color]" Adam mentioned, looking at one of the trees before touching one for himself.

His hand, much to his shock, phased through the trunk of the tree, as if passing through the surface of water, just like with the Mirror from before. However, with nothing pushing him in this time, he was quick to take his hand out of the tree.

"[b][color=yellow]What are these suppose to be? Some kind of traps?[/color][/b]" Adam asked.

"[b]They're not traps, they're world trees![/b]"

"[color=blue][b]World...trees?[/b][/color]"

"[b]Mmhm, mmhm...The trees of Wonderlands are friends, both with us and each other, they're all linked together and bond through their roots, and they allow us rebels to enter their trunks and travel across their connected roots at super-fast speeds. Since you guys are with us, they see you as friends too.[/b]" Jill explained.

"[b][color=yellow]Once again, your nonsense explanations never cease to amaze me. ...So basically, you're saying that we can travel all around this world...by jumping into trees?[/color][/b]" Adam asked.

[b]Yep-yep! Oh, but... that man must have touched one on accident and dropped into the World Tree network. Every tree is often connected to a different one, and we Rebels can tell which one goes where...But, I didn't see which tree he touched so...he could be anywhere in Wonderland by now.[/b]" Jill said sadly. Adam said nothing in frustration, did they just lose yet another human again?

"[b][color=orange]Hmm...It can't be helped. We need to get going.[/color][/b]" Chase added, turning towards where everyone was suppose to be headed.

"[b][color=yellow]Wait, are you simply going to leave it at that and move on?[/color][/b]" Adam asked.

"[b][color=blue]Ummm...We don't know for certain if that man is dead, right? We only know that he was spirited away somewhere else in the world. We can at least hope that he's still alive.[/color][/b]" Alice interjected.

"[b]That's true...He seemed like someone who can manage on his own, plus if we don't hurry, we might get attacked again, shadows are everywhere in this forest![/b]" Jill commented, before looking towards the trees, as if looking for something among them.

"[b]Hmmm.......Ah, Here it is![/b]" The White Rabbit said, as she looked at one of the trees, before hopping up and down as if for attention and looking at the others.

"[b]Remember what Dorm Mouse said, 'Let the trees be your guide'? This is what she meant by that. This tree here should take us to the Caterpillar.[/b]" The White Rabbit then said. Alice and the others walked on over to it, and touched it...

"[b][color=yellow]...Are you sure this is safe?[/color][/b]"

"[b]Yep-Yep! It works in the same manner as the Rabbit Hole, so it should be fine.[/b]" Jill answered. Alice was, needless to say, a tad on the nervous side of things. This is far from the strangest thing she's seen today, but it was still getting so off of the rails of reality that she's so used to, that it's a bit hard to swallow for her, even after she put her fingers through the trunk. Even so, she took a deep breath and entered the trunk, followed by Adam, Chase, and hopefully the others, the White Rabbit entering last after everyone else.

As Jill stated, the moment everyone entered the tree, they would feel the same sensation of falling that they did when they entered the Rabbit Hole. Only, instead of the feeling eventually becoming inverse, the wacky nonsensical twists and turns across the circular brown corridor that were apparently 'roots' made it feel less like they were falling, and more like they were flying through a tunnel at fast speeds, much akin to the feeling of a roller coaster ride, until they eventually all see a literal light at the end of the tunnel.

-----------

[b][u][i]Caterpillar Grotto[/i][/u][/b]

[hider=Location Theme][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOMkvWZVkL4[/youtube][/hider]

Once they come out the other side of the connected tree-root-tunnel...thing, they would come out in apparently another part of the forest if the familiar sight of a bunch of other trees are an indication. But something felt...different here.

For one, the place was much darker in terms of natural light than the area they were originally in, yet there was a very minimalist form of light coming from above the trees, like the light of stars and the moon trying in the night sky trying to pierce through the roof of tree branches and leaves and reach the ground, giving everything in this area a radiant early morning shade of blue. The area was quiet, not a sound of another living thing, until they showed up, not a shadow in sight, the only thing to see and hear, was the sounds of water flowing as pleasantly and peacefully as the sounds of the ocean waves hitting the beach side. If they looked over, they would see a giant pond of crystal clear waters, a river flowing...out of it...despite the river being elevated, a waterfall going in reverse as water magically flew upwards towards it, yet the pond is never drained or disturbed in the slightest. The waters reflect the blue light of the darkened night sky, making it glow a radiant blue. It seems it was the light from the sky, but from this pond, that served as the source of light for this area.

The final touch of beauty to solidify the peaceful atmosphere of this area were the butterflies, flocks of them, flying all around and above the Persona users or sitting upon the many branches of the many trees.

It would be when they looked towards the River that they would notice it, sitting upon a leaf the size of a king-sized bed, was an even bigger creature, a giant green caterpillar, marks on its body in the shape of different inked masks, and, just like in the works Lewis Carol, it held a large Victorian style smoking pipe in its upper-most left hand, a yellow butterfly sitting on its end.

"[b][color=lime]Ahhh...Children of man from the waking world, you came here much faster than I expected. ...I see you've also each awakened to the power within you as well. ...Good, very, very good. We bid you welcome you to our spring, my family and I. ...Do not be alarmed, we are aware of what has happened, and we mean you no harm. You are safe here...Now, speak your purpose.[/color][/b]" The caterpillar said with a deep booming voice, one that would normally be loud enough to make any birds or insects like the butterflies scatter, yet not these ones. Despite having a voice befitting its sheer size, there was a gentleness to his voice as he gave a big kindly smile towards them.

"[color=blue][b]...Umm...We came because we were told you could help us, that you had information.[/b][/color]" Alice said.

"[b][color=lime]I hold much information from across this world, very rarely does anything of this world escape my ears and eyes. The great Titan of the Queen, the Black Rabbit, has made known your appearance in this world. Her forces are now scattered across all of Wonderland, aiming to find you all. ...It seems that some of you have already sparked a peculiar interest in them. This information, plus the current whereabouts and status of the missing ones, I assumed you were already informed of. What else, in particular, do you wish to ask of me?[/color][/b]" He asked.

"[b]We...We need to go to her, we need to rescue those kids![/b]"

"[b][color=lime]...As you all are now, were I to tell you how to enter the Royal Domain, You shall not live to see past the gates. Awakened though you may be to your persona, it in itself is weak compared to her and they who guard her. What's more, within those walls lies a great evil, the Black Rabbit, and a great burden shall thrust itself upon you. ...Are you willing to face against them, to bear those odds? ...But very well, even if you are not ready, I shall at least show you the way.[/color][/b]" The Caterpillar said.

"[color=yellow][b]That was...oddly easy.[/b][/color]" Adam added.

"[color=lime][b]...My friends have been watching your movements ever since the White Rabbit summoned you here. They have deduced, and agreed, that you may stand a chance at returning this world's freedom, provided the proper training is established. Now then...[/b][/color]" The Caterpillar pointed towards the pond with his other hand, and as the ripples form in the center only to stagnate once more, from out of the clear waters came what appeared to be a giant map, a castle right in its epicenter.

"[color=lime][b]The queen resides in the royal castle at the center of Wonderland. This I am certain you were already told. ...What was not told to you was the impossibility of getting there as it stands.[/b][/color]" The Caterpillar said, using his pipe to draw a black circle around the castle, that circle being completely filled out with black except for the castle in its center.

"[color=lime][b]The queen has been made very well aware about the Rebellion led by the Mad Hatter. The members of Mad Hatter's rebellion, including the Mad Hatter himself, are a group of exceptionally powerful shadows, and so to protect herself and her plans, the queen had placed her castle, as well as the whole of her royal domain around it, into a state of unconsciousness and non-existence. While it appears to be where it has always been, in truth it is now rest at the center of the sea of souls, the collective unconsciousness through which all shadows and personas are born from, The black circle around the castle, is a wall between dimensions...under normal circumstances, Shadows cannot enter that realm on their own, lest they be consumed back into the sea from whence they came, but humans cannot properly comprehend the nature or vastness of that realm either, and so it is just as impossible for you to enter as it is for the children to escape.[/b][/color]" The Caterpillar explained.

"[color=blue][b]But, if that's true, then what about the Black Rabbit, and those others?[/b][/color]" Alice asked.

"[color=lime][b]You speak of the Royal House? ...Yes, they are the exception for good reason, as they shall be the key to bring you to the Queen and her castle.[/b][/color]"

"[b][color=yellow]Royal...House?[/color][/b]" Adam asked, but the Caterpillar said nothing, instead once again drawing on the map.

"[b][color=lime]This map represents the whole of Wonderland. ...Well, it may be more accurate to say, that it represents the whole of the Queen's dominion over Wonderland. The whole of this world is greatly vast yet greatly unknown to us. It is unknown if one could even call it land, if there's any land beyond the edge of this world, or how vastly different and chaotic it is regardless. None would dare venture into it, and I heard an interesting rumor that the queen is somehow involved, although that cannot be confirmed...and is irrelevant to the task at hand. Now then, The whole of Wonderland is divided into four large quadrants of land. To the north lies the Wonderland of Hearts, this forest being a part of this land, alongside what used to be the houses of the rebellion's leaders, and the former castle of the queen, now occupied as the core of that dominion. This land is one of distortion and chaos, where time and space holds little meaning. To the south lies the Wonderland of Spades, It is a land of brutal force, the strength of which altered and redefined the land itself and all things within it. To the west lies the Wonderland of Diamonds, a land run by the temptations and machinations of desire. It is a place designed to lead astray and lure in and entrap the unsuspecting. Finally to the east, lies the Wonderland of Clubs, The weakest suit, but also the most sapient, the most intelligent one of them all. Theirs is a land of illusion, trickery and mischief, a land in which nothing can be trusted for what it is. Deep within these four lands, guarded by the Kings of the Royal House, are keys to the castle, methods in which to open a path into the abyss of the sea of souls, where the castle and queen truly resides. All four keys are needed to open the way.[/color][/b]" The Caterpillar explained, dividing the map into four quadrants and drawing a Heart to the north, a spade to the south, a club to the east and a diamond to the west as he spoke.

"[color=yellow][b]So what you're saying is, we need to essentially waste time going on a stereotypical fantasy adventure while the clock is ticking?[/b][/color]"

"[color=lime][b]Unfortunately, yes. The Queen is stubborn and dedicated to her cause, she does not trust anyone in these lands that have not swore its allegiance to her in kind. ...Now, as you have already seen, The trees of this world shall be your way through these lands. Our small lagomorphic friend knows the paths to follow. I shall also provide you a way back to the Hatter's sanctuary. But first...I am a broker of information in this world, I know, all there is to know. If you have any questions to ask of me, you may do so now, or you may come back to ask me anytime.[/b][/color]" He said. The butterfly on his pipe touched the surface of the water like a water staider. As tiny ripples spread across the pond, the center glows blue as the butterfly flies back to the pipe.

"[color=lime][b]The Rabbit Hole is not the only means by which to travel to the sanctuary. A mirror, akin to a looking glass but different, shall also guide you there.[/b][/color]" The caterpillar explained.

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