11778/Wonderland: Dreamers In The Woods

Wonderland: Dreamers In The Woods
Date of Scene:	03 July 2022
Location:	Dreamside Wonderland
Synopsis:	Our intrepid heroes try to rescue the Red King. It is a full-filling experience.
Cast of Characters:	Terry O'Neil, Michael Hannigan, Madison Evans, Jonathan Sims, Gar Logan

---

Terry O'Neil has posed:
The Dream Underneath Wonderland is a strange thing. Nick has seen it before, of course, but it's still a bit extra. Gone are the armies, and gone are their friends. The skies are midnight black, but that doesn't seem to impede vision as a Dreamtime counterpart of the Woods of No Names stretches ahead of them. It is a delicate arrangement of pastel foliage and muted bark, with the dusty sadness of memories long-forgotten. Stepping through the woods, fortunately, does not deprive anyone of their names. However, there is an almost unending susurration- something that is eerily like the whispering of treetops moving in the breeze... except treetops do /not/ form words.

... you let them go -

- she went -

- -is she safe?


The words flit into focus here and there, but on the whole remain in the background, unsettling.

The Nemonic Locator points the way still, as if it could sense the King, even through the Dream itself.

Michael Hannigan has posed:
One small step for people, one gi- Ok so it was a big step. They did step into a dream despite the company involved, it's still ...technically not an everyday thing to do.

"Eyes still closed and stay still." Nick reminds, tilting his head forward to take stock of where everyone has ended up standing. Okay. Maddie did not land anywhere suspect. That's good. Gar as well. Jon...

"Ok good. You can open up your eyes. Now good news is, last trip through here we determined this was a shared dream which should mean you don't need to maintain constant contact with me in here. And past experience has demonstrated that people physically can walk around in shared dreams... So that's a plus."

His part as taxi service done, Nick looks down to the locator, taking note that the shadow of an arrow is still visible in the odd light of the sky. "Alright. Indicator's pointing this way."

He glances over to Gar. "And yes. If you're ever in New York, check out Rock Wallz."

Madison Evans has posed:
    Madison remains dutifully still after that step, with her hand still on Nick's arm, and her eyes closed - until she's released with a loud exhale.
    ...had she been holding her breath, too? Seems like it.
    Opening her eyes, she twirls full circle and lets out a quiet, "Ohhhhh... This place is creepier! Do you think the flowers still smell like popcorn?" she asks in a curious tone.
    She takes a moment to glance at the arrow and then declares brightly, "Alright - we're off this way! The sooner we start, the sooner we finish. Right? I mean, that holds true even in Wonderland." Doesn't it?

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    "I would not presume that holds true in Wonderland, no," Jon replies to Madison. The wry tone he might normally have had is dampened by the feeling of the place. "Thanks," he adds to Nick.

    "It feels... like I feel, really." A brief furrowing of the brow. "All that chaos and bustle up above, out in waking... is that just a cover for /this/? Putting on a brave face, trying to..." They chew on their lip for a moment.

    "Sometimes," they say slowly, "depression does not manifest as obvious malaise. Sometimes, the patient covers it all up with smiles and outward cheer. Major depressive disorder with atypical features. 'Smiling depression' in a better parlance." A brief smirk. "'Stiff upper lip,' my Gran would've called it."

Gar Logan has posed:
To his credit, and as counter to the chaotic Cheshire side, Gar does not, in fact, open his eyes again until the all-clear has been given. When it is and he lets go upon looking around, he frowns. "This is decidedly unlike any of the forests I've been in around here. Colorful, yes, but lacking a certain je ne sais quoi if you know what I mean. Pardon my French."

He flashes Nick a considerably catty grin, then moves a few steps ahead. In doing so, his tail subtly leans in that direction without his notice, then he speaks to Madison. "I do love popcorn, so let us hope they don't. Otherwise I might grow distracted. And did anyone else hear that? There are whispers in the wind." He considers Jon's words, but does not add to them. Instead, with a gesture to the device he says, "Well, we'd best be going that way."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
And there beneath the gloomy eaves
underneath, while spiders weave,
a dream about himself unfurled,
there to flee the foresworn world:
The Red King dreams, and dreams alone
of sins too grievious to atone
And whispering winds wind 'round the wold
His past to keep, his grief to hold.
----Al Phred Lord Tennis' Son, "ID Ills Of The King"

The winding paths of the Woods are not threatening, but they become increasingly more complex. Occasionally, the team will have to walk in single file to get past a clump of trees crowding the road, or may need to split into threes to pass through various gaps in the treeline.

And all throughout, the whispering sounds closer.

There, to Madison's left, over her shoulder, she may catch a glimpse of red hair in a figure passing through the forest.

"Madison," is the voice that comes out through the trees, reaches for her, "Madison!"

It is Morrigan's voice.


The smell of water, and Gar can almost hear the water. There, through a break in the trees up ahead, there seems to be a river, with a familiar-looking boat on it. Two people, a man and a woman, are holding on for dear life, voices very familiar to Gar call out for help.

Cael's voice, or one that sounds very much like her, comes from nearby, over Jon's right shoulder. It's indistinct, but she sounds like she is in pain.

Through the trees, there's a sight that greets Nick that might be unsettling. Ruins of a vandalized grave.

His mother's

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Nick smiles over to Madison as she comments to the state of the dream. "They could." Nick allows, "It's rare but some people do dream smells and tastes. Sight and hearing are more common though."

Jon's further explanation to the feel of the place and the discussion of the possible reasons for the dream being as it is. "Survival. Others would call it. " Nick responds, looking to Jon, "This is where Terry and I encountered the girl I told you about."

Gar's words draw Nick back on to topic, eyes glancing down to the device. "Right. This way." He gives a nod, starting forward. The path gets a bit challenging and being that they're following the device itself, there's no BYPASSING this path. Not really. So on they go. Unaware to the distractions being thrown at the others, the musician's glance focuses upon the shadowy arrow. Until that arrow seems to bend at the marker in the ground in a state unlike the one he left it in earlier this month.

Nick halts. Taking a moment, he looks to the less than pleasant wordings spray painted on, the broken vase, and scratched engraving. Eyes narrow. This has happened before. Only that time around it was a bit more blatant. He glances to the trees. "This is NOT funny." He snaps, voice betraying much irritation to what is being shown.

Madison Evans has posed:
    "Wait - you're not feeling... happy?" Madison asks Jon. "I-" Whatever she was about to say, she stops herself - and her own expression, one almost invariably one of exhuberance and cheer falters, a more vulnerable expression taking its place. She looks... lost, uncertain, frightened and sad. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense," she admits.
    But as soon as it appeared, the expression is gone. "We're not alone though, yeah? And there's people that need our help, so...! FORWARD!" She charges on into the woods, though not without looking back, making sure everyone is nearby, and that they're staying together.
    "Last time I went into here I was invisible, and I thought my name was me! But it all worked out."
    As a voice starts calling out to her, the girl pauses, turning her head towards the sound - towards the flash of red hair. "Doctor MacIntyre? What're you-" she starts, taking a step - before she stops, and shakes her head. "No. You're- gone. I saw. You died."
    She shifts back to the middle of the path, looking to the others, and pointing off towards the woods. "Did you guys hear a lady's voice? Calling my name?"
    Her attention shifts briefly to Nick at his irritation, asking simply, "You okay?"

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon follows Nick down the path, frowning thoughtfully as they walk, turning his mind to figuring out what's going on here, exactly. When Cael's voice rings out he turns aside to blink in that direction, eyes narrowing.

    "That makes no sense," he says. Cael's at home, with Agnes and the cat and dogs. Why would she be here, in Wonderland? There's a moment's thought to go run off and investigate--but they're supposed to stay together. So if they're investigating, they're doing it together.

    He glances between Nick and Madison and then to Gar. "Alright. What is everyone seeing and/or hearing? I can hear my girlfriend's voice... but she has no reason to be here, and no way to /get/ here, without someone having alerted me to an emergency by now. So either something's gone very wrong, or..."

Gar Logan has posed:
Making their way through the limited pathways is slow going in spots, and in his own way the current Cheshire Cat takes to the trees themselves. Briefly, Gar sharpens his claws on the bark, and hopefully none of the trees shriek out. If so, oops. "Hey, remember this?" he calls for their attention, fading away until just his grin is visible. It dances along as he passes over to another tree, then he reappears in a crouch with his tail twitching, head tilting, focus suddenly elsewhere.

"Mom? Dad?" he asks in a small voice, a low, whining 'rowl' escaping his mouth. "How? Why? We're not..not at.." he says, his tail bristling at the memory, the nightmare. But they're in a Dreamscape, a Wonderland version of it, and the Cheshire's parents are not Gar's. There is enough of a crossover that after a few more moments, the reality of it all begins to set in.

Getting back over to the others, he shakes his head while rubbing the side of it, including his own feline ears. "It's trying to distract us, delay us. We must be getting closer. Just keep going. We have to get the Red King out. They're counting on us out there."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Threads are pulled, in desperation, as the spider weaves.

"Madiso... I am los... my chest ..." Morrigan's figure flashes here and there as it runs through the drees, occasionally being lit by a flash of sunlight from the trees above. Sunlight that isn't anywhere else.

A figure is chasing her. Madison has seen this figure, in her nightmares. Madison saw that figure in real life. It wields the spear. It moves through the trees, undeterred, chasing after the woman.
"Help me!" the shriek rings out.

The river fades, and suddenly it is as if Gar can see the edge of where the dream ends and Wonderland begins- he can see the battlefield, right through the trees. Kian is up in the air, blasting at towers that seem to move on their own. Green Lantern is assaulting the knights.

But Terry lies bleeding on the ground, an arrow in his stomach, bloody hands clenched around it.

Something may have gone wrong, in fact, because just beyond the trees, there seems to be a portal. Not unlike the kind that Troia would create, when she existed. Jon's apartment, the living room is in disarray. Cael's voice comes from somewhere off-frame. And there seems to be blood everywhere.

Nick's mother stares at him, standing just beyond her desecrated grave. She doesn't answer, but levels an accusing glance at him full of reproach and silence.

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Hearing Madison's protests to an unheard voice, the musician considers it confirmation to what the dream world is doing. Nick looks over to the Happy Harbor student. Noting the name she had said.

He gives Madison a small nod. "Dream world's trying to pick a fight." Nick answers, giving a small smile, "That's all. I only heard you responding to it so I'm assuming what you heard was tailored to you. It's trying to slow us down."

Nick glances over towards Jon and then Gar to see if either of them appear to be affected by something distracting. Jon's stated question seems to be confirm matters. "My mother's grave, vandalized."

He turns away, glancing back to the grave and the shadowy arrow on it. "Being she's buried in Gotham," Nick steps around the marker, still not having the heart to just step through what is confirmed to not really be there. "I doubt she made the trip."

Having stepped around, Nick shifts back into the path, following the arrow. "Like Gar said. We should keep going."

He takes a couple more steps before he pauses, looking to the visual of a woman missing half of her face. Nick pauses and swallows despite not actually needing to. "And there she is." He glances down for a moment before looking back to her. "This. Is not her. She would NEVER look at me like that. My aunt, fine. Hate and blame all around. But NOT her." He continues moving forward, once again stepping around the one he just called fake.

Madison Evans has posed:
    "No. NO! You're not real!" Madison shouts at the image of her headmistress in the trees - turning deliberately away from it. It's not real. It's //not.// And she's here, with friends, and she's fine. She's //fine.//
    "...Let's get this done. I don't want to be here anyore," the teen remarks. There's a faint quaver in her voice, but her attention is determined as she stomps through the fallen leaves after Nick.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon shakes his head. "You know," he comments, "I've had about /enough/ of Astral-dream-things trying to mess with people's heads lately. And, just, people in general." He raises his staff, twirls it, and sends a bolt of magical energy off toward the 'portal,' intending to either destroy or seal it. "It's the /new moon/, you idiot. Cael would /not/ have changed and hurt anyone, not with the spell Lydia and I came up with. Pull the other one, why don't you? It's got bells on."

    He looks around and raises his voice. "Whoever you are, /stop projecting/. This is /your/ fear you're showing us, /your/ pain. Come out here and play nice, so we don't have to dig you out. Because mandated therapy is rarely a pleasant experience."

Gar Logan has posed:
There is another pause as Gar is shown a vision of the fight back in the waking, wacky world of Wonderland. It's not that his own perception of it is especially great, but the Cheshire's chaotic magic twists the efforts of the Dreamscape, or the Red King, or /whatever/ is behind this around so much as to be comical.

So comical, the green feline doubles over in laughter, kicking up his feet, giggling. "Ohh, hahaha! You thought that was going to fool me? Fool us? Terry's hair is red, not blond! Kian's wings aren't black! He's not a crow! And blood is red, not green! /I'm/ the green one! Your colors are all wrong!"

It's a failed effort, remarkably so. Getting back to his feet, he reaches for each one with him to pat them on an arm and direct them to carry on, to ensure he's got their attention. "We're almost there. I can feel it. Let's go!"

To emphasize the point, half a dozen arrows of different shapes and sizes pop up around them, pointing in the direction the device is still leading them toward. A sign flashes: THIS WAY! HURRY!

Terry O'Neil has posed:
The dream changes as the trees wilt and become gloomy, desolate. There is no more whispering, except for the sound their feet make as they brush accross the grass on the path.

And then, finally, after a little more trekking ahead, after it seemed like the Dream would pull one last trick, there it is: a clearing, and in that clearing there is the dream glimmer of a man asleep, reflecting the real man who is in the Woods of No Names at this very moment, dreaming.

Dressed in rich, red robes, he appears exceptionally old, his beard reaching all the way down to his knees, braided and well kept, impossibly so.

Framents of half-spun dreams cling to him, slowly weaving themselves more whole with each second, only to tear themselves from him and fly away into the greater dreamer.

Madison Evans has posed:
    As they reach the slumbering King, Madison crows in triumph! "We got-! ...him?" The triumph quickly turns to puzzlement when she bounces him, and cannot grip him. "Huh."
    Pulling out her telescope, she looks through it - and tries to grab him again, with no success. "Huh. I thought that would work," she says with disappointment. Looking to the others she explains, "When I look through it, I can grab things! Even if they're far away. But if it's not in this //reality...// Huh. Can we open a door somehow? Then I can stand //here// and look through, and grab him. Right? Without ever entering the woods and becoming Me again."

Michael Hannigan has posed:
With Nick's general dislike of dream based opponents using depictions of his mom and friends as a means of distraction, followed by the encouragement of the Gar-brand Cheshire, Nick does pick up the pace. If there's any traveling music montage music that pops up at all in this dream world at this point. Well. Nick's not taking any of the credit for that.

Just saying. If there WAS.

As the visual of the red king comes into sight, Nick's pace slows down. "Oh good." Nick comments, looking to the others.

He looks over towards Madison as she points out what the telescope does. The musician's expression lightens. "That's perfect..." He looks over to Gar. A grin forming as he scoots over towards the Cheshi-Gar. "I'm thinking- If you're phantasmed while you're rabbit holing, this could do it. Just... focus on Wonderland first, and then once there, whatever focusing you do for the rabbit hole." He holds a hand over towards his shoulder, pausing for a moment. Once Gar's ready, he sets the hand down and feeds his ability in.

Gar Logan has posed:
Gar Logan's hands settle at his hips, and he mutters under his breath as a claw snags in the fabric, leaving him a moment to disentangle it without drawing any threads out too far. But, there's the Red King. The current Cheshire eyes Madison and her telescope, the brief bit of difficulty she has with it before figuring out another way to make use of it, then he steps up and cracks his knuckles. "Oh yeah. I got this. Check it out."

After Nick does the deal with the phantasming, Gar gestures along the lines of one Doctor Strange and he opens up a rabbit hole. When it's finished, Wonderland appears on the other side, showing the clearing with the Red King in sight.

Jonathan Sims has posed:
    Jon peers at the Red King for a long moment while Madison tries to grab him, brow furrowing. This is the man at the center of it all? Really? He clutches his staff as the plan comes together, watching warily for anything reaching out to come after them.

    Nothing does. Not at first.

    The Rabbit Hole opens, Madison readies the telescope, reaches out to grab the Red King--but something /else/ has noticed the King. The Cheshire's portal has alerted something that lurks at the core of Wonderland. Something terrifying.

Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!

    There's very little warning. The woods shake, creatures that have no names fleeing the thing that comes for the Red King.

And as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood
And burbled as it came!

    There's very little warning--but it's enough.

    As the Jabberwock bursts through the trees to pounce on the Red King, Jon moves. He doesn't even think about it, really. It's a simple thing. If the Jabberwock gets the Red King, then Wonderland, presumably, dies. And even were Wonderland not the home of a good friend, Jon would not want to see the whole place destroyed. So he leaps through the portal, not even thinking about whether or not he'll lose his Name. He knows who he is, name or no name.

    Teal flares in the Archivist's eyes, a buffer of Truth against the magic of the Wood. "Not today, foul creature! You shall not have him!" Their staff is raised against the Jabberwock, and for a moment it looks very much like maybe, /maybe/, they'll be able to prevail. But--let's be real--the Archivist does not have a vorpal sword, nor a vorpal staff. Not a vorpal anything. And the second coming of Alice is off elsewhere. And the Archivist, bursting with power to protect them from Wonderland's magic, is so terribly, /terribly/ tasty to a thing like the Jabberwock.

    A limb--or /something/--grabs the Archivist's ankle and they're suddenly dangling in the air, staring back through the portal toward the others still in the dreamscape. They know if the others come after them, all will be lost. Madison will be Me again, Nick might be Us, and who /knows/ what the Cheshire might be.

    Besides, can you /imagine/ if the Jabberwock got the Cheshire? Doesn't bear thinking about.

    So he stares at them, wide-eyed, teal overlaying brown, and says the first thing that comes into his head: "FLY, YOU FOOLS!"

    Yes, it's Tolkien. If those are Jon's last words, then they're apt. He was born in the place Tolkien is buried, and it probably seeped into the water or something. And anyway, he's a giant nerd. But he meant the words seriously.

    Hopefully they all turn and run before they can see the Jabberwock enjoy its meal, because very shortly the Archivist disappears right down its gullet.

Madison Evans has posed:
    "Perfect!" Madison crows as the portal opens. She brings up the telescope again, and uses one of her precious uses of its gift to grab hold of the Red King, and puuuuull (oh, gosh, he's heavy!) at his clothes. After a moment's thought, she relies on her gift - on the 'Force' - to strengthen herself so she can drag him through- just as Grand Moff Sims is leaping through. "No, no, no - you'll forget-!" she practically howls - and with the Red King finally dragged through to her side, she can only watch in horror as Jon is swallowed.
    "...no," she whispers quietly. Again. Why again? Why is she so helpless to-
    "We- we we we... we got to go." That's what Doctor MacIntyre told her to do, too. To run.
    Tears blurring her eyes, she tries to heft the Red King up, so they trio can flee, with a rescued monarch in tow.

Gar Logan has posed:
"Uh oh! There's a rumbly in my..nevermind. This isn't the Hundred Acre Wood. But we've got problems! The Jabberwock is coming! I can feel it!" Gar led the shadowy version of the thing - or maybe it was another form of the actual one - on a merry chase to allow the others to get to safety previously, and now it's coming back for them. Fine. All they have to do is be quick about it, get the Red King and get out, and...

Jon dives through. Or Ma'at. Or whatever. It doesn't really matter. It's happening, and it can't be stopped. "No! Wait! You fool!" he shouts, reaching out in vain. Gilbert Gottfried would be proud.

And then, CHOMP.

"That..was not supposed to happen." All impulse says to go through after him, to fight the Jabberwock. But, that way might lie certain doom. What good would they be if the Jabberwock got them, too? "Come on! We have to get out of here! We'll..we'll figure something out! But we have to regroup!" With the Red King secured, he shuts the rabbit hole down. Can't go that way. With those who are left, they hurry along in the opposite direction.

So. Much. Chaos.

The Cheshire in Gar loves it. Gar himself? Not so much.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
And they flee. They fly. They flew, through the dream within a dream with the dreamer inside it. They make great time, as the epicenter of the dream bubble seems to move with the Red King, and all obstacles part before his sleeping form.

And at the edge of the Dream Woods, Nick carries them over and onto the other side, onto Wonderland itself-

And the battle... the place looks like hell. And there are wounded. Terry sports a bloody gash across his forehead but seems otherwise fine, and it appears that the Titans have won the day, yet again, as Madison, Garfield and Nick appear in the middle of the field, hoisting the sleeping Red King with them.

Madison Evans has posed:
    Madison flees, with Gar and Nick helping bear the weight of the sleeping King, tears occasionally blurring her eyes. She doesn't want to be in these creepy woods. She doesn't even want to be in Wonderland. She wants to go //home.// Why is this happening?
    As they emerge from the woods, and from the dream, she stumbles a few steps as she looks around at the battle, and the injuries some of the Titan's sport. But they all look... okay. Right? And they're all there? Right?
    "We have to go back for Jon Jon!" she cries desperately.
    Maybe there's still something they can do! But how? If he'd even still been alive - wouldn't he have sufficated by now?

Gar Logan has posed:
Getting back out is a blur. They have Nick to assist, and that side of things goes as smoothly as it can. Once they're back on the battlefield, with it looking like everyone on the right side is in one piece - if a little worse for wear - they get the Red King situated and Gar hunches over to catch a breath, hands at his knees.

"Guys!" he exclaims, waving with both arms to get their attention, multiple sparkly, glittery signs popping up around him:

'LOOK HERE!'
'THIS WAY!'
'THIS MEANS YOU!'
'ARE YOU EVEN PAYING ATTENTION RIGHT NOW BECAUSE SERIOUSLY THE GREEN CAT IS YELLING AND EVERYTHING SO WHAT THE HELL ALREADY!'

He clears his throat. "I've got some good news and some bad news! First, the good news! As you can see, the Red King is secured! I repeat: target acquired! And you guys look like you rocked it!"

Then the other shoe drops. "As for the bad news, you might have noticed we went in with four and came out with four, not five. The one guy kiiiind of jumped through my rabbit hole and the Jabberwock kiiiind of had lunch. It was not cool. At all." He snap-points at Madison. "Yes. Jon Jon. So, that's very much not good, and it's probably coming for dessert."