The Queen of Hearts seemed elated by the fact Mariette responded to her. “Oh, but of course, sweetie~,” she spoke as she placed a gentle hand on Mariette’s shoulder. “After all, you need a consort if you are to continue the bloodline after succeeding me as the queen~” she spoke with joy. She was about to answer Mariette’s question when she was interrupted: she blinked as Alexander yelled out, and turned to look at him as he stepped through the portal.
Of course, before he had the chance to properly challenge her, Mariette swiftly silenced him, her tendrils having wrapped around his entire body like a carpet. The red royal’s smile widened at the sight of her daughter’s quick reaction and magical prowess. “Yes! Such skill with arcane appendages! It seems you already know how to discipline your future consort. Excellent.”

She nodded patiently as Mariette finished her explanation of luring Alex using the name. “Marvelous. To think that you have already taken responsibility to protect our realm, and with guile and deceit…Simply wonderful.” She extended her free arm towards Alex, and red ribbons slithered from her sleeve; they spun around Alex and carried him towards the two of them until he was dropped before her feet. “I’m still getting used to these wonderful gifts that you have given to me, Alice. But once I have mastered them, we will be like two peas in a pod~”

She then looked towards the Green Helm convoy: the troops were repairing the vehicles that were still salvageable and carrying the injured to the trucks, intending to leave and continue carrying out their mission. “Speaking of…Why are the Green Helms this far from the Fields of Produce? Perhaps-”

[color=fff200]”Hey! Let go of Alex right now!”[/color]

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/72bEcUi.png[/img][/center]

Lily arrived on the scene with a dramatic brake of her bike, having driven right past Mayra as her attention was squarely on the newly arrived queen. She jumped off, and summoned her magical bow Ramuh, pulling back the bowstring made of electricity and aiming right at the Wonderland monarch with a lightning arrow.

[color=fff200]”Or you will regret it, Queen Meanie!”[/color]

The Queen summoned the Storyslayer in her hand.

“Oh? Are you perhaps this Lily girl my dear Alice spoke of?”

Lily blinked, but then re-drew her bow.

[color=fff200]”Th-That’s right! I’m Lily Lightning! What of it?”[/color]

She glanced towards Mariette, looking like she was about to say more. But, knowing how serious the situation was, she focused on the immediate issue.

[color=fff200]”What do you want with Alex anyway?”[/color]

The queen gave off a noblewoman’s laugh.

“Oh, I have chosen him to be king consort for Alice,” she spoke, the hold on her shoulder having turned slightly more obsessive. “He is quite rebellious, yes, but he will be soon molded into the perfect vessel for my grandchildren.”

Lily turned red in the face, disgust and anger flashing across her eyes. She summoned more arrows.

[color=fff200]”No! That is not happening! Release him, now!”[/color]

“You dare defy me, foolish girl? I should have you off with your head…”

But then, a manic smile spread across her lips, as she glanced down at Alex, and then at Mariette right next to her. She slowly lowered the blade of the Storyslayer…Until it was threateningly close to Alex’ neck.

Lily froze, having seen back in Bolorton that the queen was not only willing but fully capable of lightening shoulders with a head-rolling display. She held the bow for a moment longer, her hands trembling, until she dismissed it with a look of indignation at the queen.

The queen spoke. 
“I have come up with a better idea. Alice, as you see, this girl has committed treason against Wonderland.”

She looked towards her self-proclaimed daughter, and the smile widened, perhaps slightly bit more than was possible in Mariette’s eye.

“By your right and responsibility as Crown Princess of Wonderland…Punish her.”

Lily gasped, and she looked at Mariette with a look of shock.

“You may kill her if you wish, sweetie. As long as she suffers~”

Lily’s hands balled up.
[color=fff200]”You…monster…”[/color] Lily spoke before she realized it, having come out as a sincere display of her refusal to yield to the mad monarch. Still, she knew she couldn’t openly oppose the queen now that she had taken Alex hostage. She glanced at Mariette, and nodded: she knew that Mariette was probably in an even worse situation, as the queen made her prove her loyalty. She decided to trust in Mariette, no matter what happens.

The Queen waited patiently at Mariette’s response, still keeping one hand on Mariette’s shoulder and the other gripping the Storyslayer close to Alex’ nape, seemingly unaware of Connie, Gaia, and Chloe as they approached the scene of the conflict.

[hr]
[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/Rl7cktP.png[/img]
[Sub].:⋮Why Is A Raven Like A Writing-Desk?⋮:.[/Sub][/center]

The White King nodded, seemingly more than pleased by the prospect of getting to play the Magical Dream Princess’ game as she led both him and Mister Hatty by the hand, following after Rachel, Ashley and Alicia. Penny couldn’t help but give a little laugh at the line of chess pieces that hopped after them, following the pastel magical girl’s rhythm with their own.

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/K2ssvzh.png[/img][/center]
After the chess match had been played against the Mad Hatter’s malicious machines, Justine and Caroline descended down towards the group as they reconvened. 
[color=bc8dbf]”Caroline…You were too reckless in that battle,”[/color] Justine scolded her younger sibling, who whimpered from the wounds she had sustained, including a large gash on her arm.
“I’m sorry, Big Sis…” She mumbled.
However, the sour mood between the two of them was sweetened by the kindness that Ronin showed, having intoned a spell of restoration that mended her injuries. Caroline blinked, and stared at Ronin with wide, emotionless eyes…And then she took her hand. She gave it a slightly awkward shake, like a person who knows how to express gratitude, but not the exact mechanics for it.
“Thank you…Ronin,” she spoke, and the samurai magical girl would see the vampire girl’s cheeks form a little blush.
As the girl continued to hold the hand a bit too long than was probably comfortable for Ronin, Justine intervened after she gratefully received Miko’s healing in turn, thanking her properly as she did so, and gently placed a hand over Caroline’s.
[color=bc8dbf]”You can let go a bit sooner than that, Caroline. She understands that you’re grateful.”[/color]
Caroline released her hands, and averted her eyes despite continuing to stare into space, a sign of her developing embarrassment.

“Sorry…”

[color=bc8dbf]”It’s fine, Caroline. Now then, shall we continue?”[/color]

Miko once again pulled out the Super Map to determine the situation, which hasn’t changed too much: the Mad Hatter and some minions of his were still on the top floor, though he was now more erratic in his movements. More robots were being created in the factory buildings in the vicinity, and some even began to march outside as space started running out. However, the White King assigned some chess pieces to hold them back, ensuring they could continue unassailed into the central factory building.

[color=9e0039]”I’m glad you’re having fun in all this,”[/color] Penny mentioned as MDP left, and waited for Nefer and Akhenaten to catch up as the vampire girls and the twins went past her.
[color=9e0039]”How are you two holding up?”[/color] She asked them, but the secret Sinner scoffed back.
“Hey now, I’m not a wrinkly hag just yet! Don’t think I’m falling behind because of lack of exercise or something! Magical girls don’t have that!” She puffed up her cheeks.
“I simply let you cuties run ahead of me so I can enjoy the view~”
Akhenaten shook his head, and walked past her into the factory.
“Hey, I was just joking, okay? It’s really because I want to keep my machine safe in the backlines! Hey, Akhen!”
She yelled as she ran after the black golem. Penny gave one last look at the remaining white chess pieces, gave them a Metal enhancement spell, and ventured inside.

The central factory was a confusing tangle of corridors, stairways, and halls, with machinery of indiscernible purpose lining the walls and corners. However, it didn’t take long before Mac had followed Rachel to what was the biggest hall of them all, and where they saw their objective: the Conjuration Eggs.

Unlike the Egg that was deployed at Bolorton, these ones seemed to be slightly smaller, with more intricate and detailed sleeping faces adorning their sides, alongside magic circles and other arcane symbols. There were a total of four eggs, each of them sitting in a cup-shaped mechanical podium fitted with wires and blinking lights. The podiums were arranged in a square, with each egg in one corner of it: north-west, north-east, south-west, and south-east. 

Four transparent walls of magical energy surrounded the eggs in that square, reaching from the floor up to a lid-like platform that hovered over the square. The platform housed a giant bird nest, and four slides had been built to extend from the bottom of the platform to the four podiums.

It was quite apparent what sort of creature was capable of laying such bizarre eggs when one looked at the horrible monstrosity sleeping on the bird nest: a mish-mash of a black-feathered chicken and a green reptile with some cybernetic enhancements, with leathery dragon wings, gator-like scaled tail, a long beak riddled with fangs, and most noticeably, a face half-covered with a metallic plate, complete with a robotic eye with a closed eyelid.

Rachel adjusted her glasses with a look of disdain as the rest caught up. “So, this abhorrent abomination has birthed these benighted Eggs Benedict?” She asked with an uncharacteristically low voice.

“It seems so, yes,” Nefer spoke with a whisper. “Based on my research on magical creatures of Wonderland, I believe this to be a heavily mutated and modified variant of a cockatrice.”

[color=9e0039]”A cockatrice? But wait, aren’t those creatures capable of-”[/color]

“That’s right!” The Mad Hatter’s voice blared through the loudspeakers. “This is Chicken Ultra Crushing Mega, my greatest creation! And now, you shall perish beholding its majestic beauty!”

A button could be heard to be pressed, followed by a robotic hand with Michael Moose glove-like fingers descending from the ceiling and gently patting the monster. It then woke, opening its eyes to look at the invaders.

Caroline met the cockatrice’s gaze with her trademark unblinking eyes as she was floating in the air with her bat wings…And was petrified on the spot, turning into a stone statue. The statue then began to fall down, at risk of hitting the floor with a shattering impact.

[color=bc8dbf]”Caroline! NO!”[/color]