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[Sub].:⋮Back into the shadows.⋮:.[/Sub]
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[color=9e0039][u][i]‘Acknowledged.’[/i][/u][/color] 

It was the only warning that Ronin and Miko got. Before the air below them was ripped open in a swirl of cerulean magic.

Sadly for the duo their landing wasn’t one that would be very soft, as while magic can do a lot, there wasn’t anyone on hand that could easily violate the conservation of momentum.

When the two of them recovered from their tumble, one that was shorter than it originally looked like it was going to be, they would recognize where it was they had landed. Though it had been quite a while since either of them had ridden within the hull of the Bastion.

All in all it looked much the same, outside of the addition of a good dozen or so other vehicles that lined the outer edge of the cargo hold.

[color=9e0039][u][i]‘Welcome aboard.’[/i][/u][/color] Penny’s voice would chime out over the ship’s PA system. [color=9e0039][u][i]‘I’m up in the command deck if you want to come chat, busy flying this thing or I’d come meet you.’[/i][/u][/color] 

[hr]

Without any real way of telling the passage of time it would be difficult to state how long it had been since Dormouse had woken up. Eventually however there would be cherry jingle that came from the large screen dominating the wall. The text displayed on it would change to ‘Incoming video call’ as the tone played out. 

It would ring for another moment before the screen flickered to display what looked like a command room. Dozens of screens displaying information of various kinds lined the walls of the room on the other side of the screen.

There were empty specialist stations, detonated by chairs, and a window that seemed to be opened out into the vast emptiness of space. In the center of the room standing over a large holo table, however, was Penny. But she wasn’t looking at the table, no, she was seemingly peering through the screen to Dormouse herself.

She was looking better, from what the captive could tell, or at least the damage had been repaired and the Queen of Penrose no longer had her bloody red gaze. She did seem exhausted however.

[color=9e0039][u][b]“Hey”[/b][/u][/color] She would say in a faint greeting before walking closer. The display was proportioned such that it seemed as if the screen was simply a plane of glass that separated the two of them, and knowing magic it was hard to fully write off that as what was happening.

[color=9e0039][u][b]“I was wondering if you’d be willing to answer a few questions of mine. Now that things have settled.”[/b][/u][/color]

Dormouse was lying in the corner when the screen opened up. Her eyes were still a slight reddish tone from the crying as she rubbed them. But when she saw Penny, any remnants of drowsiness had disappeared, replaced by fear. “Aaah!” She stepped back, and leaned her hands against the back wall while facing the screen. “Wh-what? What do you mean by settled? Did…Did something happen?”

[color=9e0039][u][b]“The invasion succeeded is what happened.”[/b][/u][/color] Penny would say with a sigh [color=9e0039][u][b]“As was the evacuation.”[/b][/u][/color] With a gesture a simple holographic projection of Wonderlands activities in Bolorton would appear off to the side displaying the final moments of the invasion from far above. [color=9e0039][u][b]“The town is Wonderland’s, but the citizens were gotten out before anything happened to them.”[/b][/u][/color]

[color=9e0039][u][b]“Death count is low, nearly negligible in all reality, and you were the only captive.”[/b][/u][/color] She would explain folding her arms. [color=9e0039][u][b]“The dust has settled from this skirmish. But the war is only starting.”[/b][/u][/color]

[color=9e0039][u][b]“And as I mentioned I’ve questions.”[/b][/u][/color]

Dormouse briefly looked at projection before she averted her eyes, holding her arm. "I see…"
She was quiet, pondering about something. "If I answer, will you let me go?"

[color=9e0039][u][b]“That depends on the answers,”[/b][/u][/color] Penny would say [color=9e0039][u][b]“I would like to let you go. Imprisonment isn’t something I want to inflict on anyone. It’s why I let Robert leave after all. As a matter of fact, my first question I wanted to ask was about him.”[/b][/u][/color]

[color=9e0039][u][b]“What happened to him? My understanding is that the Mad Hatter declared him a traitor, and according to what Robert said when we spoke, breaking Iracebeth’s, the Queen of Hearts, law results in a beheading.”[/b][/u][/color]

Dormouse looked surprised at first, but then remembered what happened. "So you were watching then…" She stared at a wall to her side, and then looked back at Penny. "Yes. Robert betrayed us, and for that he was beheaded. But, that sentence is not an execution as you might assume; he lives, but only to serve Wonderland as an undying soldier, and nothing more."

[color=9e0039][u][b]“He didn’t betray you.”[/b][/u][/color] Penny would say softly. [color=9e0039][u][b]“He likely didn’t know I was watching, or that I had hitched a connection to his camera. In all truth, had the Mad Hatter not sabotaged his efforts from the start, and had he not broken into my home. It wouldn’t have been hard for him to get the Sanctuary to be an ally to Wonderland at least at first.“[/b][/u][/color]

[color=9e0039][u][b]“Would it have been kinder to kill him?”[/b][/u][/color] She would ask [color=9e0039][u][b]“I let Robert leave as a mercy, despite his crime against me and mine, but there are fates worse than death. Is his unjust punishment one of them?”[/b][/u][/color]

Dormouse was shocked at the revelation about Robert. "No way…I should have figured there was more to it." She looked at the floor. "It is a fate I wouldn't wish for anyone, if that is what you're asking."

[color=9e0039][u][b]“Would it have mattered? Iracebeth already seemed to have it out for him from what I saw. To say nothing of the Mad Hatter.”[/b][/u][/color] Penny would state her tone lace with soft sorrow. [color=9e0039][u][b]“I worry that to have spoken out on your end would have simply drawn her ire against you as well.”[/b][/u][/color]

[color=9e0039][u][b]“Is it possible to heal from her beheadings?”[/b][/u][/color] She would go on to ask. [color=9e0039][u][b]“One of the mahou that assisted with the evacuation was beheaded by her. Though an ally of his was able to get both his head and body away from Iracebeth before anything else could happen.”[/b][/u][/color]

"I've never seen anyone recover from it, so I wouldn't know," Dormouse answered. "It is her strongest attack, and difficult to counter. Trust me, I've seen her previous victims try. But…I think she has a limit on using it. Must be taxing on her or something."

Penny nodded her understanding. [color=9e0039][u][b]“It tore through his weapon so I’ve no doubt. But If possible I’ll keep you in the know, we might be able to get Robert put back together.”[/b][/u][/color]

[color=9e0039][u][b]“I suppose the next question should be how much about Wonderland’s forces you’d be willing to tell me. And as a follow up, what you did for them. But I’m more worried about you, would you be safe going back to her?”[/b][/u][/color]

She turned away from the screen. "I…I don't think I can go back. I trusted her, you know? I really believed in her words of liberating us from the Powers' tyranny. But in the end, she threw me away." She sniffled, and wiped her tears. "She didn't care if I were to die. She never cared for any of us…" She slumped down to sit, her hands on her face. "What am I supposed to do now!? I can't go back! I'll just end up like Robert!" She cried, her sad sobs the only sound in the room.

The Penny on screen would place her hand on the screen as she watched the Dormouse break down. And for a moment it seemed like she would do nothing, but then Penny would seemingly meld out of the floor in the room, the depiction of her flickering away a frame after her entrance. Silently, on feet that never quite left the floor, the Queen of Penrose would glide over to her prisoner and gently pull her into a hug.

[color=9e0039][u][b]“I get it,”[/b][/u][/color] She would say softly [color=9e0039][u][b]“I get it. I’ve had someone betray me like that as well. Just let it out.”[/b][/u][/color] Softly supporting the other girl as she broke from the painful realization that someone who she had given her heart to simply didn’t care.

For a while, Dormouse wept her heart out, until finally she stopped, soothed by Penny's embrace. "You know, you're kind of…doing the interrogation wrong," she blurted out. "But I guess…this works too." She wiped her cheek. "I'll co-operate. I was just an assistant, so I don't know too much, but there are some things they let me in on. I'll write them out for you, I just…Need a moment."

[color=9e0039][u][b]“Hey no worries, and I’m glad that I’m not the best at them.”[/b][/u][/color] Penny would say with a soft smile. [color=9e0039][u][b]“Take your time. I’ve got to get us away from Bolorton as it is, and I’ll get you set up with a door so you can go exploring as well.”[/b][/u][/color] She’d say as she let Dormouse go.

[color=9e0039][u][b]“In the meantime, Welcome to the Sanctuary. It’s my home, and the home of those who need one.”[/b][/u][/color]

[hr]

Deep into the Bastion Penny opened her eyes, still a bloody red, though faded compared to how they would normally glow. She’d turn her head towards a room far away and give herself a short nod.

She was glad the soft touch worked. Her follow up options weren’t… pleasant to contemplate. She glanced down to the empty space that would one day hold a restraining chair. She’d need to follow through with the idea one of these days, she knew that, but was thankfully that today was once again not that day.

For now, it was time to head home.

With a few more directed thoughts, The Bastion plotted its course back to Penrose, quick and quietly. The fact she owned a warship was something she would keep up her sleeve for the moment. No matter her [color=9e0039][s][i]rain down hell fire on the town below[/i][/s][/color]  temptations. [color=9e0039][s][i]reduce it to slag[/i][/s][/color]  

She’d have a chance to do that later, she was sure.

War was coming. It was time to see what was to be done with the people of Sanctuary.