Wonderland: Rise of the Jack (IC)

[Chainsaw Hobbit]

Catherine is seems surprisingly unbewildered by the unfolding events. She is, however, swaying where she stands.

"Sure. Cut the apple. Teehee. Cut it."

[Iethloc]

When Corwin emerged into the whiteness, he placed a hand on his brow to shield his eyes, and peered into the blank horizon. However, he re-focused once the clown appeared, and just stared at him...or it. The frowning clown's riddle did not make things any clearer, only making Corwin grimace a bit.

He calmed down, though, when at least one of the other people here seemed to be sane. "Cutting it in half would only make halves from a whole..." he mumbled. Corwin carefully walked over to the table, in case there was more perfectly white objects around, and laid his hands on it to feel whatever features it had.

"Well, I'm kind of out of my league here. I'm Corwin, by the way. What are you guys called?" he asked idly.

[Vixsor Lumin]

"My names Tony, yours?" he said eyeing the group. "Anyone have any idea what the hell just happened?"

[Iethloc]

"I don't know. As far as I saw, everyone went crazy after I tried that slot machine, and now we're...nowhere!" Corwin said. Since nothing on the table jumped out on him, he went back to focusing on the apple and the knife.

"Nothing else is here, so I'll just try the simple thing," he said, picking up the knife. Corwin steadied the apple with his other hand, taking the time to cut it precisely down the middle. Then he put the knife down and held each half of the apple in one hand, looking at the center a bit before pressing them back together.

[Zigwat]

The apple was cut in half, and then put together to make a hole.

The hole formed into a threshold, and there it was, Chessboard Two. Though it looked somewhat similar to the casino, there was no one there. The entire place was wrecked, broken, and everything was shattered across the ground. Not only that, but outside of the windows it seemed that a great fire raged on all around it. The sky was red, and the streets were very much the same as the casino, a complete dump. Cars were destroyed in their parking spaces, trash blew in a hot wind, and there was nothing but the crackling of fire to be heard.

Beyond that, silence. It was an eerie place, and all around, it always seemed like they were being watched by someone, or something. Upon closer inspection, there seemed to be something among the debris that still worked, or looked like it was in the most working order. A very old looking radio sat in the corner of the casino, and though it still looked like a hunk of junk, it had a red light that flashed on and off on the front of it. Around that time, there wasn't any radio like it, but the knobs still read in plain English with "on", "off" and "tuner."

[Vixsor Lumin]

"Forgive for being completelty obvious, but this is bad." Tony said stepping timidly through the hole. "But its gotta be better than that white place." He sighed and then saw the radio. "Guys think we should turn it on?" he gently gripped the dial but didn't turn it.

[Lady Serpentine]

Anrielle, unlike Tony, showed no fear of the place, smiling, and hopping lightly in after him; it wasn't (obviously enough, considering what they did) that she was braver than he was, exactly, but, as with the door, something about the place drew her in. The nearest analogy she could think of was a Siren's song, just on the edge of hearing - so faint she couldn't actually make out the words, or, most of the time, consciously tell that she heard it at all, but loud enough to lure her towards it.

"It's not that bad here," she said, looking around curiously. "Why not stay for a while before we mess with that, and see what else there is here?"

[Pokonic]

Looking around at the not-casino, which was at least better than the whiteness that all-but silanced him before, he half-heartedly attempts to mingle with the older crowd (which, by the way, he tried not to attract there attention due to the older girl who blew him off being within it). Looking at the big, strong guy who might have saved him, he says " Err, mister? I would rather not try to turn that peice of junk on. After all, what would could happen if we did? At the least, its probably a trap."

[Iethloc]

Corwin looked around the new, non-white surroundings with extreme caution. He had never been any sort of ruins before, so all the destruction left a knot in his stomach. ”This place gives me the creeps. I think I preferred the endless white,” he said.

The radio didn't elicit anything but mild bewilderment from Corwin. Any technology more complex than a lightbulb may as well have been magic to him, and in a place like this it seemed like a very reasonable assumption. ”The radio...people use that to talk to each other, right? Turn it on, we need to find out where everyone else is!” Corwin said, gesturing hesitantly at the device.

[Vixsor Lumin]

At the mention of a trap, Tony jerks his hand away from the radio. As he's about to turn away, the knob catches his eye. All thoughts leave his mind other than turning it on. And with the simple flick of a wrist, it was done.

[Zigwat]

( http://youtu.be/Bh0QZvHdSKo )

In the middle of the song, "Here comes the Boogeyman" by Henry Hall, the radio began to play as all of its lights flicked on with the power. It was obviously much more advanced and beautiful than anything that was out in the market in those days. As the song ended, a voice came onto the radio.

"That was Here comes the Boogeyman! Thank you for tuning in, and if you're listening, you're probably confused, bewildered, maybe even hating life right at this moment. That's okay, we like that a lot. You're listening to gray radio, the grayest, most depressing... actually the only station on the radio today. Let's take our first caller, shall we?

This is Amanda Wilkinson from Liverpool, and she has a slight problem. Amanda?"

There was a long pause.

"Oh, right, the problem she has right now is that she's dead. Probably for about fifteen centuries or so. This is Gray Radio. And now a word from our sponsors."

There was another long pause.

"Are you dead? Probably, if so, be quiet. I'm some random guy, and I approve this message."

"You're listening to Gray Radio on the south side of town. If you're not dead, this place may not make you want to kill yourself, which is always an improvement. And now, on with Mozart in one of his obvious classics, 'Requiem.' The name is quite fitting, no?"

The music began to play, and the flame outside continued to roar. What could possibly lie beyond that wall?

[Vixsor Lumin]

Chills run down Tony's spine as he listens to the voice. Once "Requiem" begins playing, he turns to the others. "Sorry about that, I don't know what possesed me to turn it on." He began pacing back and forth breathing a little erraticlly.(sp?) "At least its not another riddle..."

[Pokonic]

Yeah, it's not a trap. More like a distraction. With that playing, someones probably going to hear it. Can you please turn it off, mister? As if to make sure the far older person takes his advice, he attempts to make himself look taller.

[Vixsor Lumin]

Eyeing the boy, he clicked the radio off. "I agree, it could be dangerous." without taking his eyes off the boy he walked over to the main group.

[Chainsaw Hobbit]

Catherine was slightly put out when the song cuts end prematurely. She was quite enjoying it. She did not, however, enjoy the announcement afterwards. It sent awful waves of cold creeping down her spine.

"Alight," she barks. "I don't know what in the name of the Lord is going on, but I would like to make it out of this affair unharmed as much as you would. To survive, we will need to elect a leader, and I nominate myself."

[Vixsor Lumin]

Tony turns to face the woman and says, "I agree that we need a leader, but what makes you the most qualified? Not that I'm saying I am, I just want to make sure the best person gets the position."

[Chainsaw Hobbit]

"Well, I have something of an education."

[Iethloc]

Through a combination of curiosity and the sheer novelty this technology held for him, Corwin listened intently to the radio for the short time it was turned on. "Are...are all radios like that?" he asked. Regardless of any answers, he shook off the creeps this “Gray radio” gave him and focused on the situation again.

”I don't care about leaders! Let's just take a look outside. There's gotta be a way back home,” Corwin said, walking over to the doors. It was harder to keep his head during all this than he initially thought.

[Pokonic]

Attempting to put on a brave face at the nice guy (Tony, his name was Tony. Must remember his name.), he walked over to the gathering group, coughed, and said "Err, if I may be included, I have a idea. I think the person who has lived in this part of the city should lead. After all, if this place resembles the casino, than the rest of it should be the city, right? We could find a way out, or find somewhere safer than we are at, at the least."

[Vixsor Lumin]

Putting his hand on the boys shoulder Tony says,"Kids got a point, at least for now I think knowledge of the area is more valuable than the amount of books you've read."

[Chainsaw Hobbit]

"I suppose, but the one who seems to have to most street-smarts is little more than a child. This may not be wise."

[Pokonic]

Going from practicly beeming from the attention he was getting from Tony to visably riled, he looked at the high-class know-it-all girl in facing "Well, lady,if you have a better idea where to go, be my guest. After all, I think we saw how mature you acted when we saw that apple, right? If you dont mind, I would like at least some form of direction before we head out. After all," he griminced "the citys big, and I would think we would not have to run into any bad parts."

Spoiler

Show

Hopefuly not too smart-ish for a person with 6 inteligence.

I probably should have taken Sass as a Perk.

[Vixsor Lumin]

"well nobodies perfect right? I don't know about your queen, but back in the states even our president has advisors. I think we let the kid lead, and if he needs help, well he's not alone right?" he gave the boy a squeeze and a smile.

[Pokonic]

Looking at Tony and then back at the girl, he could only look into her eyes and stick out his tounge.

[Vixsor Lumin]

Tony lightly flicked the boys ear and smiled at him. "First advice is be humble. We all have to work together right?"

[Lady Serpentine]

"That depends on your goals," Anrielle points out, smirking wickedly, her calm, and with it her sarcasm, having returned. "There's nothing compelling us to work together, unless we wish to survive. Though," she continues, pulling the knife from the hidden pocket in the front of her dress, and tossing it into the air in a glittering circle, before catching it neatly by the hilt. "There are easier ways than dying of thirst if you don't, so I wouldn't suggest only not working with us."

[Iethloc]

”We're lingering a bit too long here, especially since it looks like there's a fire outside! Before we do anything about our...pecking order, let's take a look at the damage and try to think of somewhere safe to go,” Corwin declared. Without waiting for any dissenting opinion, he opened the doors and took one step outside. Unless there happened to be a fire right on front of him, he'd stand still for a few moments to take in his surroundings.

[Zigwat]

A great deal of the other buildings were nothing but smoldering structures. All of the grasslands were black, and brittle. The sky was red, and the clouds were gray with no sun in sight, nor a moon. The only light source was the fires that blazed all over the land. It was obviously hot, and hazy. While it was somewhat tolerable, it was amazingly uncomfortable to be in that desolate place.

No matter where they would go, it was as if everywhere they could go, there was a pair of eyes upon them. There were dark corners everywhere, in fact the light was seldom useful in such a urban area.

Though, what few buildings were left seemed entirely untouched, somehow.

[Vixsor Lumin]

Tony followed Corwin outside and said, "This place looks like hell...." He sure to stay close to the boy, so he wouldn't get lost, and he could keep an eye on him.

[Pokonic]

He could only dumbly walk out and stare at the surroundings. Yet, he could ony think that anything was better than staying inside in a distroyed building. He murmers to Tony " Well, we could go left. A few turns and we could be at my place. Even if it's like the other places outside, it would give us a good place to plan out what else we should do. And if it's not, there are maps and stuff in the basement."