+ We are Under Attack! +

[vitaelamorte]

Who: EVERYONE
Where: EVERYWHERE
When: 9/14 - 9/21
Rating: PG-13, warn if going higher.
Summary: The Jabberwock is loose, and seemingly unstoppable, and her Majesty the Red Queen is nowhere to be found! Will you take up arms against the monster? Will you rush to the aid of others? Or will you need that aid yourself, as something much more powerful has also escaped?
The Story:

The Jabberwocky’s roar can be heard all across Wonderland, and the Red Queen is nowhere to be found.

However! Wonderland has scattered help across the mansion! Hidden in various places are duplicates of the Vorpal Weapons, ready to aid anyone who finds them in staying alive and uneaten as long as possible.

The mirror boundaries have shattered, leaving glass scattered everywhere, and Mirrors able to cross over as they like. But something else has crossed over with them - the entire contents of the Core are slinking around, waiting to snatch the memories of someone unfortunate enough to open up its hiding place.

Looking for more details, or have some questions? The OOC post is right over here!

Comments

RIP triangle

[tetractys]

Time to make the magic happen. Wonderland is easy.

The Jabberwock appears on the Real Side. Bill hovers above the action in the mindscape, invisible, watching without much surprise. Yeah, duh. Come on, of course it ate some of the yarn. Who wouldn't? Red Queen, as usual, isn't very competent with her resources, and has no idea how to predict other people's actions. Tsk tsk.

Bill's most recent 'friend' acquisition roars, frustrated, and Bill thinks thats as good a distraction as any. Claws with needle tips slip through the skin of the space the Jabberwock occupies, not existing in the real world at all - but getting a firm hold on the spirit inside. Puppet threads made of blue fire yank back like reins.

It's like being ripped out of your skin. By most spiritual and scientific measurements, it is death. Bill can't occupy a host body with someone else already in it, see, and this one... well, it's just about perfect. Doesn't sleep, so it won't eject him. Can't be killed permanently. Can't have its memories taken. Shapeshifts, just like his old one! Can move from plane to plane! And has some awfully interesting acquisition abilities he's just itching to try out.

Shift back to his natural form. Eat the Queens. Take the Sword, and the Shield, use the Vorpal Yarn to heal a fractured multiverse with himself at the center and then...

And then no one will be able to stick him in a little cage to watch him get tossed around by cute little regularly-scheduled 'events' any more.

Bill Cipher isn't fond of being used.

[manxomnivore]

The Jabberwock doesn't seem immediately aware of what Bill's trying to do, too busy being irritated that its prey is just gone. Sure, there's plenty of other prey wandering around, but none of them has the Vorpal Shield, which would be a fantastic acquisition.

Then it raises its head and whips it around, snapping at the air as though aware of those threads Bill has cast toward it.

[tetractys]

Ah, fuck, I can't believe you've done this?

This is not supposed to happen, see, the Jabberwock should definitely be having an out of body experience now.

Bill, desperate, is going to try to give one more sharp yank before fleeing the premises. Shit shit shit shit shit.

[manxomnivore]

Don't think it will let you get away so easily, Triangle.

The Jabberwock shifts its weight, then seems to phase out of sight, looking for Bill wherever he might be hiding. It's a creature that was made to transcend space and though it doesn't do so all that often, it is willing to when it's found worthy prey.

The Diner | OTA

[breakthecurse]

[Tohru is trying to keep calm, even though this seems much worse than any other time the Jabberwock has attacked. If it can't be destroyed, will it just keep attacking? Will it hurt everyone?

So, she does what she always does when the worst is happening - she tries to be a helper.

The Diner on the eighth floor has been made into a shelter. Tohru is there cooking for anyone who wants to hide there, and most of the tables and chairs have been pushed towards the door so it can be barricaded in a hurry.

It is a place to feed the hungry and a place to bring the hurt and the scared. Tohru isn't a doctor or a clinician, but she will do her best to console anyone who walks through her door.

And, should anyone arrive with a terrible injury, she will do her best to use the Vorpal Yarn in her apron pocket, though she isn't exactly sure how to yet.]

[ooc: You're welcome to put top levels here if you want to, if your character would be in the diner!]

[entreats]

[ Ange is not easily scared, but on the other hand, she's not enough of a fighter to believe she could just take down something like the Jabberwocky so easily. And just eating a meal sounds a lot better right now than wandering around out there feeling constantly paranoid. Not that the diner is 100% a safe haven, but Ange is.. Ange-y enough to seem calm despite the situation there.

She looks that way too as she peers at what Tohru is cooking. ]

So, got enough for two?

[breakthecurse]

[It might not be a safe haven, but Tohru and Souji are doing their best to reinforce things and prepare. The diner is more of a mess than usual - there are heavy objects by the door to barricade it if necessary, including most of the tables and chairs, and they've begun gathering futons in case anyone feels safer sleeping there.

But in addition to that, they're also cooking a lot. Tohru's at the stove preparing a large batch of curry, making sure they have food to feed any number of people they might have.]

Oh! Of course, absolutely! Do you like curry? I have more than enough here!

[entreats]

Anything is fine with me.

[ At least Ange isn't a very picky person. Not even just because of the knowledge that they're kind of in a limited situation here, but just in general. The choice of food is the least important concern right now.

Besides, she wouldn't dare be rude about the food someone relatively nice-seeming was making, no matter what Ange might seem like. ]

So.. sure. I'll try it.

[eatsyourscience]

[Souji has spent his time going between the diner and the clinic downstairs. Somewhere along the way, he came across a Vorpal Sword. Now he's got the idea that there must be other Vorpal items and he's been out looking for some.

He returns triumphant with some Vorpal Yarn and approaches Tohru.]

I think you might be able to use this.

[breakthecurse]

[Tohru has been very worried for him every time he leaves the diner. She knows he can take care of himself and knows that he's proficient with a sword, but she still frets for him. He's died so many times, and he's so close to death number five. He's taking a huge risk to help others, and even though it's really admirable she can't help her fears.

So every time he returns she's all smiles, as though they haven't seen each other in years.]

Souji! Welcome back! I--

[She stops as he holds something out for her. A tiny spool of glowing golden thread.]

This is for me? It's really beautiful...y-you didn't have to go out of your way for my sake though! But, um. Thank you very much.

OTA

[onlyredroses]

Three days into the battle, a new contender arrives. Or, more accurately, an old contender.

Her usually meticulous hair is wild, and there's fire in her eyes. Everything about her is tense, and she looks as though she's fought a battle already - as though she climbed from the depths of hell itself to stand where she is now.

She has her armor, but no weapon when she first appears. Nearby, a Vorpal Sword is sticking out of a large decorative pot, and Her Majesty narrows her eyes.

"...I suppose it will do," she says to no one.

The Queen of Hearts takes the Vorpal Copy, and while her arm is not quote complete again (it is not her sword, after all), it is enough to put up a fight.

"JABBERWOCK! SHOW YOURSELF AT ONCE, YOU COWARDLY SERPENT! REPULSIVE REPTILE! I'LL BURY THIS SWORD HILT DEEP IN YOUR HEART!"

It does not answer, of course. She sheaths her temporary sword. If the Jabberwocky will not come to her, she will go to it.

She can be found all across the mansion, sword by her side, either looking for the beast or putting up a fight against it until it escapes the battle.

[adaptiveimmunities]

Shaun isn't really one for close combat when he can avoid it. Sure, he likes poking zombies with sticks, but this is a completely different story, and if he has to deal with the Jabberwocky, he'd rather do it at a distance.

With a bazooka.

And maybe he should find someplace safe and hunker down, like a lot of others are doing, but... this is news. News is what he does. It's even his kind of news. So instead, he's moving around Wonderland with a vorpal blade, and honestly hoping he doesn't run into the thing at close range. If it were a vorpal gun, or a vorpal crossbow there would be no problem, but a sword isn't exactly his weapon of choice, no matter how cool it might look.

...It does look kind of cool.

He rounds a corner and stops in his tracks, frowning when he sees... the Queen of Hearts?

"What are you doing here?"

He is v. respectful.

[onlyredroses]

The Queen of Hearts looks offended by his tone. Who is he to talk to her in such a way?

"My job, obviously," she says. "No one else has managed to slay the Jabberwock thus far, so a professional is stepping in."

None of this acknowledges the fact that she seems to have crawled out of the depths of Wonderhell somehow. Clearly he should have been expecting her.

[agemofchange]

Steven had just unearthed a Vorpal Shield duplicate. He was leaning against a wall in a hall of the mansion and looked into it as he tried to figure out what to do next.

But his attention was quickly seized as he saw a certain familiar face storming by. There's no mistaking the Queen of Hearts. Steven might not have talked to her personally, but he'll never forget the sight of her being sucked up into the earth. It was a depressing fate, even for a bad person. And now she's back, as if nothing ever happened. Steven tries to process what he's looking at.

An eyebrow raised, he just looks right at her and responds with a surprised, and confused, "Yourrrr Majesty?"

[onlyredroses]

And she looks back at him, confused as to why anyone would be confused about her presence here. The Jabberwock battlefield is where she's always belonged, in the end. For a moment they stand there staring at each other, but then she simply cannot take it a second longer.

"Yes? What is it?" she asks, quick and agitated. "Spit it out - or has the Cheshire Cat got your tongue?"

[eatsyourscience]

Souji has also found a Vorpal Sword. Wandering the Mansion with it reminds him a lot of being inside the TV and it's both grim and...oddly comforting, actually.

He's on his way upstairs from the clinic when he sees the Queen of Hearts and stops in surprise.

"You're alive."

[onlyredroses]

"So are you," she says. "Frankly, given your track record, that's the more surprising thing happening here."

It's said dryly. Huh. Somehow, he hasn't been eaten by the Jabberwocky. What a shock.

[thereporter]

Having spent the day doing her best--and failing--to find one of the hidden Vorpal objects, Julia is digging through the music room in search of anything that might be of help. She's definitely avoiding the Jabberwock as much as she can, but she's not doing a good job of avoiding other less savory Wonderland residents when she pokes her head out of the room.

"Oh, fuck." Is this any way to speak to a Queen? Hardly. But now it's exactly the time for regal niceties. "So all it takes is a Jabberwocky to get you walking around with the rest of us mortals, huh?"

[onlyredroses]

It's no way to speak to a Queen at all, and she is terribly offended.

"You should be glad I'm here," she says. "I'm the most qualified to slay the Jabberwock - I've done it more times than you could ever count!"

Even more times that she could ever count. They all began to blur together after a while.

Clinic

[mourning_ghost]

Any Time
Nageki sticks to the clinic for as long as he can.

With no other doctors, he feels an obligation to at least be there for those who need help, even if all he can do is summon someone else to do the work. He makes sure the bandages and painkillers are within easy reach.

He keeps a close eye on the door, to ensure no monsters break in. His wings give him a great advantage in avoiding difficulties, but the same cannot be said for anyone who wanders in.

Later
Even with spending most of time trying to keep an eye on the current situation, Nageki poked his beak into something he shouldn't have. In this case, he's discovered the Core.

When he's not busy, he thinks back to that encounter trying to figure out what happened in those moments. He lost something, but he isn't sure what.

Stan Pines | OTA

[charlastan]

A. THE HALLS

[Stan's not exactly a big fan of going out and deliberately picking fights with monsters that want to kill and eat him, even if it appeared to him in his dreams as a hot mermaid. His own well-being and the well-being of his family is always more important, even if other people get hurt in the process.

On the flipside though, there's invincible weapons out here, and who couldn't use those with a Jabberwock around? He's hoping for a sword, really hoping for a sword, but also not willing to roam the halls longer than he absolutely has to. So, he takes the first thing he finds - an invincible Vorpal Shield.]

Huh. ...Wonder if it still works if you hit things with it.

[It's a good enough loophole for Stan. Besides, knowing his family, they're all probably running around out here because not one of them's got a self-preservation bone in their body. They could use the back up before they get devoured.]

B. CORE

[There's a closet that's just...glowing for some reason.

He doesn't for a second think of the other door in the mansion that glows constantly. The only thing it reminds him of is the vorpal yarn that glows in the same way. Maybe there's one hidden in there.

So, without weighing it too heavily for danger, he opens the door, and there's a flash.










And then he's on his hands and knees, feeling like he's gonna hurl. The door slams shut and the light goes out, and slowly the dizziness fades.]

Ugh...what the fuck was THAT?!

CORE

[powerofmabel]

[Having been a victim of the Core once in her life, Mabel sees the flash out of the corner of her eye and immediately panics. She's got a ball of yarn dangling from a belt containing her grappling hook and other assorted weapons and looks like she's armed for bear.

Her sweater is also faintly glowing gold boasting a crossed shield/sword combo.] Grunkle Stan?!

[She didn't even acknowledge the Swear. You know it's bad.]

Re: CORE

[charlastan]

[It takes Stan a minute to get up to his feet (and he'll happily let Mabel pull him up if she offers). He still feels sort of weird, and he holds his head.

But, when he looks at Mabel there is clear recognition in his face.]

Mabel! That door, it was--

[It was, but it's not now. It looks just like an ordinary door that doesn't contain a supernatural light.]

Wait, where'd it go? You saw that, right?

jumping in on A! HOW DO I NOT HAVE AN ICON FROM DUNGEONS, DUNGEONS AND MORE DUNGEONS

[mothmansplaining]

[This Ford has had it established that he can swordfight only because he spent some time in the Swashbuckle Dimension.

It's actually not a violent place at all. The constant swordfighting isn't for combat. It's a language: the way you parry, the grip on your sword as you lunge, all of it is used for communication.

So, of course, Ford holds the Vorpal Sword with absolute confidence when he finds Stan picking up the shield.]

Stanley! Good -- you're armed. Come on, let's find the kids.

[charlastan]

[Stan's never had to fight with a sword or a shield before, but it's better than nothing, he assumes. He's able to lift it easily enough though, and he's got to admit it feels kind of heroic to hold.

At least, until he gets a load of Ford with his sword and gets struck with an immediate pang of jealousy.]

Where the hell'd you find one of those?! I've been looking for ages!