You may find yourself living in a shotgun shack;

[vampdetective]

Who: Angel and YOU!
Where: Around the mansion as he gets his bearings and lurks in hallways looks around.
When: Evening, 9/29.
Rating: PG for now!
Summary: Angel arrives in Wonderland and is pretty sure that it's yet another cracked-out hell dimension.
The Story:

Angel’s first thought upon waking had been ‘hell dimension.’ The change of scenery had been sudden, the last thing he remembered being just about every monster imaginable crawling their way up through the that hellgate and preparing to let loose on Los Angeles. Their numbers had been thinned considerably. Gunn had been wounded, bleeding out but still standing, still ready to fight. Spike and Illyria were there, prepared to fight alongside him as they went forward to face impossible odds. Lorne was gone. Wesley hadn’t made it. It had only been the four them. Four against the forces of Hell and all that the pit had to offer.

It hadn’t mattered that they wouldn’t win. They were going to go down fighting. That was what people like them did. They were supposed to be champions. If nothing else, they would die like champions, throwing off Wolfram & Hart’s yolk that they had so willingly put on just a year earlier. That whole year had been wrong in so many ways. They had been able to fool themselves into thinking they were using this opportunity to do good, but Cordelia had seen right through it. Hell, even Spike saw through it. Trying to defeat an enemy from within the belly of the beast meant you had been swallowed.

So they’d decided to claw their way out. Hell or high water, they would brace themselves for the counter attack and go down fighting – but it would be one hell of a fight.

“Personally, I kind of want to slay the dragon.”

He couldn't remember anything after that. Climbing up on the beasts back, and then— and then what? This place? If he was dead, truly dead, this was one hell of an afterlife. He’d been killed in a back alley, buried in the earth only to rise again. He’d been impaled and sent to hell for some untold number of years, tormented mercilessly until some power had seen fit to bring him back. Death wasn’t exactly new for him, but this place was like nothing he’d ever seen before.

Hence ‘hell dimension.’ Had someone opened a portal, meant to take him and his allies out of the fight? If that was the case, it would have taken one heck of a bump to the head to knock him unconscious for the duration – either that or a doozy of a spell. He’d been to some pretty strange places in his long life, but this one was singular. Walls all but lined with mirrors that held no reflection – no change there, he surmised – with a décor that was strongly reminiscent of a funhouse. Or maybe Lorne’s place.

He grunted softly, rubbing at the back of his head as he began the slow and awkward shuffle down the corridor he’d found himself in. The countless doors reminded him of the hotel, except—

Except these rooms weren’t empty. Not all of them, at least. He could smell people beyond them, some human, some otherworldly, but all of them alive, breathing. He could hear their beating hearts from a distance, and it was distracting. He was injured, his clothes tattered and bloodstained, soaked through from the storm that had been raging when the battle began. He would heal quickly enough, but he would feel a whole lot better a lot faster if he found something to eat. The smell of blood and the faint but tempting thud of so many heartbeats would ebb away once he had. Something told him he wouldn’t be lucky enough to find a friendly butcher or a stray pig anywhere nearby, though. That presented a bit of a problem. And what about the allies he’d left behind? Were they here, too, scattered?

Damn it. He hated portals. Nothing good ever came from portal jumping.

Comments

For Cordelia

[vampdetective]

yesssss

[tact]

Cordelia was coming out of her room when she saw the back of a broad-shouldered man wearing a very familiar coat. Had her thinking about him over the last few days really brought him here? While Cordelia was keen on applying Angel to the man's back, she knew that things didn't work like that in Wonderland. What one person wanted was not something that they got — ever.

She'd come to realise that what she wanted was never a part of the menu. She wanted to go back, after it all, and help her friends fight a battle that she was determined to be a part of. She had never meant to be taken out of the race so early. Her promise to be there until the end was one she had always been determined to keep to Angel, but she knew that the moment she awoke from her coma that it wouldn't be a possibility.

While she wanted to doubt everything she saw and felt in that moment, Cordelia knew the back of that head like she knew the back of her own hand. Even though he was a good distance away, and could turn the corner at any moment, she knew. And while she was aware it could be a trick of the light, Cordelia Chase always followed her heart — and her gut.

Taking a few steps forward, she crossed her arms against her chest. She tried to keep her face blank, but the corners of her lips rose upward. "When I said I'd be seeing you, I was hoping it'd be in one piece."

His coat looked like crap. His clothes always looked like crap after a good mission well-done. She wondered where the hell he'd come from, since he hadn't been wearing that when she had left him, alone, in his office, in one piece.

It could still so easily be the trick of the light, but no one walked as strong and fearsome while carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders quite like Angel.

[vampdetective]

Her voice was enough to stop him in his tracks.

Was he hearing things? He had mourned her twice now, resigned himself to the fact that she was gone even though it hurt every hour of every day. Connor and Cordy were the two people he held most dear, the ones he'd had to say goodbye to without telling anyone else the real reason why. Hell, they didn't even remember Connor, but Cordelia... none of them could ever forget her.

When she was gone, really gone, they hadn't talked about it. He hadn't been able to. He'd already spent months standing by and waiting -- waiting for her to wake up, waiting for her to breathe her last, anything. Anything was better than not knowing, better than worrying about what was yet to come.

Losing her had been beyond painful. It was a devastating blow, one that would have crippled him in his fight if she hadn't made that one last appearance, spent that one last day with him and pushed him back onto the right track.

He was almost afraid to turn around. There was another moment of silence before he did, and when he finally turned to face her, his jaw went slack, his eyes raw and uncertain. Was he dead? Was this some demon wearing her face to get at him?

Doubt didn't last long. That attitude, those words. It was her. There was no denying it. He didn't know how, he didn't know why, but he knew it was her.

"Sorry... guess I've still got a bit of a rebellious streak."

There were so many other things he could have said, but he wasn't ready to voice them just yet. How are you here? What is this place? I missed you. His hands were deep in his pockets as he stood there, hesitant to move towards her, as if just staring would help to further convince him that she was real.

"There was a dragon. Someone had to take care of it."

[tact]

If Angel wasn't going to close the distance, then Cordelia would just have to do it herself. That wasn't any different to how things usually worked between them, was it? She made the leaps and bounds and pushed Angel while he sat stoically like a puppet.

And that heart of hers was hammering in her chest, but Cordelia tried to get it under her own control. That was his voice. That was his dry humour. Fighting dragons was a thing he did as a hobby, like knitting.

It was good to see he hadn't changed, even though Cordelia had no idea how he was here or, more importantly, from when. While she couldn't really compare the timeline differences with Buffy and Xander, since she had hightailed out of their lives right after graduation, she'd heard things about people being mismatched with memories. And since Angel wasn't in his suit … It wasn't difficult to process that this was Angel, but perhaps an Angel on the right track.

Cordelia honestly couldn't help but smile, despite trying to bite it down. She didn't know why she was approaching this as one would a scared puppy, but she was. When she had arrived, she'd dived straight into the rabbit hole, head-first and all, crashing and burning as she made misguided steps and ran her mouth as though it was home.

"A dragon?" Cordelia arched her brow. Dragons, green-skinned singing demons, they were practically the same thing, right? But Cordelia's never dealt with a dragon before. Those things belong in the storybooks, just like a vampire with a soul did. "Your hobbies have definitely changed into the fantastical, Angel."

She was slowly closing the distance between them. Maybe she wasn't approaching him as one would a snake for his sake, but for hers.

[seekinghome]

When Angel gets to the library, he'll find a short blond ensconced in the science section (as usual). This time, Ed's actually paying a bit of attention to his surroundings so it doesn't take long for Angel's presence to ping on his awareness, making Ed look up.

Then he blinks. "What happened to you?"

[vampdetective]

It took Ed actually speaking to get Angel's attention, otherwise preoccupied with taking in the the almost overwhelming number of books this place had stashed away. Wesley would have loved it here for this room alone. Books as far as they eye could see, any topic, any age. Better than the conjuring books the former Watcher had made use of back at Wolfram & Hart. He'd always preferred the real thing. Angel had, too. The smell and feel of real books was so much better than the pristine and impersonal conjuring volumes had been.

The vampire looks over at him, momentarily taken aback, though it was just the slightest shift in expression before he glances down at his own clothing. He really was a mess, wasn't he?

"There was a thing with a dragon and an unholy army. Long story."

Discretion didn't seem like it was worth too much here.

[seekinghome]

Ed would probably hate those books too. And he and computers would probably not be a good combination. It's best to give him normal books, really. Otherwise something unfortunate might happen.

Ed blinks several more times. "Sounds like it. I'm not sure if I want to know. I have a feeling it'll turn out to be one of the more interesting ones people that end up here have."

[vampdetective]

Which brings Angel back to the initial question he'd asked himself upon arrival: exactly what was this place? Some holding area for the dead? More colorful than what he would have expected from one of those.

He neither agrees with nor denies Ed's prediction about his story. It's too long to tell. Too raw and painful and personal in places to even think of sharing. It might have been interesting to some, but to him... to him it was history he didn't feel like delving back into.

"What kind of people come here?" The dead, the living, or something in between? People from similar walks of life or people with nothing in common but their destination. All he knew was that there were a lot of them. He can feel them, smell them.

"Do you know who's responsible for bringing us here -- how we got here?" Was it by a portal or some other means?

i am so excited rn

[hypercompetent]

The thing about being a busybody in the mansion is that you're, well, busy. Stiles Stilinski probably spends entirely too much time snooping-slash-"gathering information" about the various going ons in Wonderland, and that happens to be how he comes across the spiky haired cliche limping his way soaking wet and bloodstained down the hall. His mouth moves before his body does, and he definitely calls out, "Yo, Twilight, you're dripping down the carpet!" before he actively realizes that maybe he should ask if the dude's like. Okay, or something.

Whoops. He is curious enough to stop though, and he looks Angel up and down. Great. The last thing they need is another tall, dark, and broody. He does look vaguely injured, and Stiles pulls his Interrogatory Face, squinting and taking a step closer to him. "You look hella lost."

Calling him Twilight is hilarious because of his secret identity in the comics. >.>

[vampdetective]

He stops abruptly, frowning to himself. Twilight? The hell is that supposed to mean? He sighs, passing a hand over his face before giving the teenager addressing him a look that is nothing short of exhausted as well as irate. It's been a long day. Hell, it's been a long year. He's not sure he has time for namecalling.

But lost?

Yeah. He kind of does fit the bill.

"Just thinking that this place is like no hell dimension I've ever seen before." Of course, he's only been to the really fun ones. Flames and hot pokers, check. Gladiator demons with human slaves and no appreciation for music, check. Flesh-rending bug monster dimension? Check. Illyria had once mentioned a world with nothing but shrimp. He'd missed out on that one, but he was kind of glad.

He shifts awkwardly, pulling his coat closed in the front to try and hide his wounds. It doesn't work. "I'll heal. I liked this shirt, though."

I absolutely did that on purpose (unsure) ;D

[hypercompetent]

See, if Stiles were a less well adjusted person, he'd probably be freaking out right now. The phrases 'hell dimension' and 'I'll heal' belonged in Buffy tv shows. But seeing as how his life has more or less become one, it just makes any surprise on his face shift into a frown as he stares at the dude. "Aw--hell, seriously? There are more of you? I had the naive thought that maybe Beacon Hills was like the only werewolf-infested town in the world. I mean, Wonderland's different because it's already some kind of psycho fifth dimension crap, but dude, you definitely just can't go around being all--"

Stiles stops mid word and draws himself up, flattening his face into what he typically calls his Derek Hale impression (except it totally seems to apply to this guy, too), "--"I'll heal, I'm supernaturally powered, check out my broody man coat and my bloody accessories""--then stops it midway, "considering there are people here who are definitely not up-ay on the erwolf-way."

[chewstooloud]

When Carlos saw Angel, he was not at all surprised to see the remnants of what looked like a fight on the man. To be fair, they were somewhat of a common occurrence where he was from. Not that it was going to stop him from lending a hand.

He only hoped that there weren't any serious injuries. Those were way out of his depth, and he didn't know any doctors around in Wonderland yet.

"Excuse me, sir? Do you require basic first aid?"

[vampdetective]

He wasn't used to people asking him that, to be honest. Maybe it was because he spurned offers of help so often that he'd become deaf to them, or maybe it was just because he tended to duck away from a fight scene once the battle was over and run off into the shadows to handle his injuries on his own. He never really allowed himself many opportunities to accept help in the first place, if he thought about it.

"I'll be okay, but--" It took him a moment to change gears, to shoo away the initial brush-off he would have given just about anyone who tried to approach him back at Wolfram & Hart in their last weeks there. He had no idea where he was or what he was supposed to be doing here. He could afford to be polite. "Thanks. I'm a quick healer."

Still, it was enough to make him frown and look down at his chest, pulling some of the torn cloth of his shirt to allow himself a better look. It was nasty, but he'd seen worse. Short of a stake to the heart or a beheading, he was pretty damn well invulnerable. Didn't mean cuts and stabs didn't hurt, though. He winced.

"I guess I wouldn't hate some painkillers if there are any to be found around here, though."

[chewstooloud]

Carlos nodded thoughtfully, and decided against questioning the man's comment about being a quick healer. He doubted that was a question he'd get a straight answer on if he asked on a first meeting. Plus, this was as good a time as any to test what Cecil had told him about the closets giving them whatever they ask for.

"Are you allergic to certain ones? And are there any that you have a tolerance to?"

[unregenerate]

Apparently, The Powers That Be (haha) must be frowning down on him, because as he turns a random corner in some random hallway he'll come across Meg.

She has no idea who this guy is, apart from him being so obviously not human it's almost refreshing. This place seems to be stocked up on all kinds of humans, so when there's someone around who isn't? Meg feels like it's her personal duty to check it out.

For her own purposes, though. Not to actually help anyone, that would be nice and neighborly and all those things she is not (and will not ever be).

Leaning against the wall, she waits for him to turn that corner so she can give him a nice 'Welcome to Wonderhell' greeting that only she can give. Once she catches sight of him, her interest notches up a bit.

Here she thought she was the only one Wonderland kidnapped when she was bloody and torn.

"Looking good." Is the comment she throws out. Hey, she's not his keeper, if he wants to get cleaned up he can get himself cleaned up when he wants to.

[vampdetective]

She's not the first one to comment on his appearance, and he's starting to be able to have a sense of humor about it. He's kept a cool head so far, though he's still got a lot of questions he'd like to have answered before too long. He's a hands-on kind of guy. Exploring was the best way to do that, even if he wasn't in the best shape. Not like stitches or bandages would do a whole lot for him anyway. They'd protect his wounds well enough while he healed, but he didn't really need them -- medical attention wasn't a priority.

Food was. He'd have to figure that out sooner rather than later.

"Heard the grunge look was back in style," he shoots back, albeit a bit awkwardly. It's been awhile since he's had Cordelia around to keep his banter skills sharp, and any quips he traded with Spike usually devolved into unpleasant snapping and growling on both sides. Cleverness was never really an option with the latter.

He pauses, her scent and presence both hitting him at once, strong and unmistakable. She's not human. She looks it, sure, but it's not like Eve. Eve who looked and smelled and acted human while being anything but. This was something different. Something powerful, rather than a mere tool.

"What are you?" He lowers his voice, wary. Show him yours, Meg, and he'll show you his.

[unregenerate]

It's been a while since someone's commented on her rather non-human state. This is mostly due to the fact most of the supernatural beings around here either knew her from before, or don't care to ask her. Either way, it's interesting.

"Just a small town girl." Or, at least, her current body is. "Was just about to ask you that myself."

For a second, she wavers on flat out telling him, or maybe playing a little guessing game. She's in a frivolous mood, so game it is.

"Why don't you take a guess, hot stuff. I'll let you know if you're getting warmer or colder."

[rulebreaks]

Buffy was in her usual spot, knocking the hell out of the punching bag on the second floor. She was so glad that event was over, and now it was just her and her fists, the way she preferred it. Nothing short of an earthquake would've slowed her down as she went through the motions, breath coming in heavy as she worked. When she was fighting she felt alive, and it was the only time she really didn't mind feeling it.

Her heart was pumping in time with her music, playing loud and upbeat into the afternoon air, all the windows and the common room's one door open to the hallway. It was days like this Buffy thought she could get used to Wonderland, even if she never made it to Heaven.

Angel, your powers are actually gross.

[vampdetective]

It was the music that lead him that direction, piquing his curiosity. He'd found people wandering here and there throughout the corridors, but for the most part doors had remained shut, hallways quiet. He frowned to himself as he rounded the corner, and just as clearly as the music, he could hear the rhythmic punching of someone's workout -- accompanied a moment later by a familiar scent as he drew closer.

Impossible. This whole place was impossible, everything about it unbelievable in some way, but this... this was on a whole other level. Cordelia being here almost made sense, as if she were caught between worlds. If he'd died and that had been what allowed him to join her, he could understand.

But she shouldn't have been here. She wasn't dead. She had things left to do on Earth, Slayers to train, people to lead, a destiny to fulfill.

He paused when he reached the doorway, hands in his pockets, his expression carefully blank as he felt something big and heavy begin to form in the bit of his stomach.

"Buffy?"

no they're gr9

[rulebreaks]

And just like that, Buffy's world came crashing down.

She spun on her bare heel, clad only in leggings and a tank top, hair done up in a haphazard ponytail. She squinted through the shadows cast by the light outside, taking a few stilted steps forward, mouth hanging open.

"...Angel?" Her voice packed in all the incredulousness she felt, eyes wide and watery.

[eyecatching]

Lily was on her way downstairs when she caught sight of Angel and paused for a moment, taking in his appearance.

"I'm going to guess you're new here. If you need a doctor, there's at least two here that I know of." She watched him a moment before stepping into the hallway proper.

[vampdetective]

"Don't need one." He paused when she stepped into his path, idly passing his hand over his bloodied temple. His fingers came away mostly clean -- the blood had dried, for the most part. Soon enough, things would start knitting themselves together.

"... but thanks. I've gotten the speech. Still not sure I believe it."

An evil queen and a vampire. What can possibly go wrong with this scenario?

[moral_turnover]

Regina slammed the closet door shut, cursing as she turned her back to the thing and threw the covers from her bed. It wasn't working. None of it was working. She tried everything she could possibly thing of. The beans, Jefferson's hat. Anything that she could possibly make a portal out of from her world. But nothing came. Nothing came it was driving her mad with anger. But she had to pull herself together. She needed to get some air, anything to clear her mind. She was smarter than this. She could find a way, with or without the help of this god-damned world.

So, with a wave of her hand, she remade the bed before grabbing her jacket and phone and walking out of her room. She walked at a rather brisk pace, flying down several flights of stairs before a rather unruly sight caught her attention. Her eyes had fixated on a rather tall looking man who, quite frankly, looked like he had seen better days.

"Off fighting dragons in Wonderland are we?"

She hadn't the faintest idea if dragons actually existed in this world. But that's what it looked like. That is, of course, if his clothes were any sort of indication.

Nothing at all. Clearly this can only go well.

[vampdetective]

He had to bite back a mirthless laugh. What a greeting -- and far more accurate than she knew. The mention of Wonderland didn't surprise him at this point; he had already spoken to Cordelia, already gotten the rundown and while it was difficult to swallow... well. It's not as if he was any stranger to different worlds and different dimensions. He just didn't expect that someone had actually based a children's book off of one of them.

"The dragon was before I got here. Pretty sure I was winning."

As a matter of fact, he was pretty sure he hadn't been, but he had to make light of the situation. It was a hell of a fight to leave unfinished, though he was almost certain he would have ended it as a pile of dust. He wasn't being cynical, just realistic. They had all known that they were unlikely to survive their attack on the Circle of the Black Thorn.

Clearly :3<

[moral_turnover]

Judging by the looks of him, he was lying. But she wasn't about to stomp on his parade. He could have been telling the truth for all she knew.

"That is until Wonderland decided to drag you here."

She wondered if it was worth it to tell him he'll just go back to where he came from. She wouldn't, though. Best let him figure that little detail out on his own.