(( So did Hatter just stab Rin? and do the Alices get powers too? >w< lol/ ))

Luka was half-dragged along, trying to regain her footing. She couldn't look back- if she did that she wouldn't be able to keep up with the boy in front of her. "Hattie," she gasped, breathing hard. "What about my friends? Shouldn't we have... seen them by now?" She clutched the kitten to her chest, unconciously gripping Hattie's hand.

[[Actually, I was thinking that as the story developes they'll all develope psionic powers... like telepathy and whatnot. :sweat: I should organize that better.]]

((Hatter just kicked Rin))

||Okee.

Rin gasped as he felt a pain in his side, stumbling and tumbling to the ground. "Hatter, what the--" he began in an annoyed tone when he turned to see a huge beast running in Hatter's place. "Jesus! Hatter! Wherd'ya go?" The beast was terrifying, covered in shadows it seemed. Rin stood slowly, trying to ignnore the throbbing pain in his side. He hade eye contact with the beast (who had probabaly eaten Hatter, either that or he was hiding) before sprinting off towards Luka. "LUKA!" he bellowed again. "LUUUUUUUKA!"

Hatter looked at the beast. It had uttred a cry that had sounded like... Luka???
"Rin is that you????" Hatter asked it.

Rin skidded to a stop, turning. Had the creature just adressed him? His voice sounded odd, and he had only heard that voice once before. "H-Hatter? Of course it's me, you dimwit. You're all... beasty... nstuff..."

Hatter looked at the beast, which was proabaly Rin, and said "you should look at yourself. You look like something out of nightmare."

"Well... something's up. it's probabaly one of dark Hatter's tricks," Rin suggested. He was a crafty one...

"yep more than likely. But he's soon gonna have a knife in him so I wouldn't worry to much" said hatter witha smile.

Rin smirked. "Alright, well we'd better catch up then," he said before running towards Hattie in a full sprint.

Hatter followed with his other knife out in case the first one hadn't hit Hattie.

(( I'm thinking we should wait for Hattie or Luka to reply ))

[[I'm waiting for hattie... :sweat: not much I can do without him, really]]

((I'm so so so sorry about disappearing like that! I've been having mini-crisis in my life, so I haven't been on much of late.))

Hattie gave a childish grin of glee as the two saw each other a beasts, but it quickly fell as a shimmer caught his eye. He threw an arm up to protect his face, and barely moved as the blade bit into his forearm. He lowered the bleeding appendage and grasped the hilt, pulling the blade out. He pouted at the tear and blood in his coat, but looked to the blade and licked the crimson off it. "The inhabitants are malicious, indeed, quickly now, we must be off, hasten with all speed!" He said as he gave Luka a push in the right direction. "Pray your friends did not wander into the dark wood as well! We have to save our selves before we can find them!" He said, getting a little anxious.

[[Aww, 'tis ok! I hope things are better]]
Luka kept going, but hesitated when she heard a yell that sounded distant, yet very close. "Wait, Hattie," she said, stopping and spinning around. "I think... I think my friends are back that way!" She almost turned tail and ran when she saw the huge monsters approaching, but stood her ground, a determined look on her face covering the fear she felt inside.

"LUKA!" Rin cried again as she turned and started running towards them. He grabbed her arm, pulling her towards him. "That guy's trouble, stay away from him, you idiot!" He turned to Hatter and saw he was a beast, remembering he was one too. This must've looked odd.

"Luka!" Hattie reached towards her with his now-bloodied hand. "These Beasts! They will trick you! They can see that you desire to see your friends. They mimic and will jest as you scream in terror!" He cried as he moved towards the two. They queen will not be happy if he lost the girl, not to mention if she finds out he tried to kill the other. "Luka, Please! Don't have me lose a friend because of these woods again!" He said, his eyes welling up with tears as he tried another approach.

Rin chomped on his lip, his eyebrow twitching. The way this Hattie guy was talking and acting was irritating him, not to mention endangering Luka. "Luka, you've got to believe me. It's me, Rin. Trust me. This guy is not your friend. He's an evil version, a dark version of the Mad Hatter. He did something to Hatter and I to make us look like monsters..." He chewed on the inside of his cheeks, realizing he knew nothing about Luka to prove that it was him. But...
Rin reached into his back pockets. He wasn't sure what it would look like to Luka, Hatter and Hattie. Probably fairly strange. From his back pocket, he extracted a pair of sticks, drumsticks to be exact. "See, Luka, these are my lucky drumsticks. I'm a drummer. Would a crazy beast have these? I don't think so." He glanced nervously at Hatter, hoping Luka would believe him with all his heart.

Luka stared at the so-called beast as it produced something from behind it, something that looked vaguely familiar.... but then, it looked like something that could hurt her, and Hattie was calling for her again. She turned to face him and found that he was actually tearing up... with one last backward glance, she took his hand, wincing at the blood on his skin. "L-let's go!" she said. Her steps were hesitant, and she looked back over her shoulder again, something tearing at her heart.

"Well, if you want to do it the hard way..." Rin's expression of desperation turned to one of determination as he tucked the drumsticks back in his pocket and ran towards Hattie, taking matters into his own hands. He jumped, and time seemed to slow down as he flew through the air towards the dark version of Hatter. He brought his legs up in the air, on somewhat of a cannonball position. He flew past Luka, his kneecaps contacting Hattie's chest as he brought him to the ground, thoroughly winding him. "Hatter! Grab Luka!" he called, grabbing Hattie's arms and pinning them to the ground.

Hattie grasped Luka's hand as she reached for him, the blood wet and thick between their palms. His eyes glinted with something other than wetness as he seemed to have won again, the girl about to lead them away. He glanced as he turned with the girl, just to see the human boy leap towards him. Hattie's mouth fell open in a bit of surprise as he tried to twist out of the way, his limbs bending to extremes, but to no avail, the human landed on him, the air forced out of his lungs painfully.

Luka fell back, her eyes widening in fear as she hit the ground. "Rin," she cried, then stopped, unsure of why she had done that. Rin wasn't here, so why was she crying for him? She clumsily scrambled to her feet, getting ready to tackle the beast when suddenly the cat bit her, hissing as it dug its fangs and nails into the tender, smooth flesh of her arm. She cried out wordlessly, dropping the kitten as she began to bleed. She dropped to her knees as she watched the cat charge at the beast attacking Hattie, hissing violently.

The Cheshire Cat:

Cheshire was wondering around, minding his own business… nah! Cheshire had just been at the palace. He had watched yet another head being chopped off. All this chopping of the head might go to his head. But then again it already did go to his head. As he was racing around in the trees, he jumped around from on branch to another, his small cat frame allowed him to move with ease. As he was headed to the underground, he heard some faint screams. Danger!
Racing as face as he could to the screams, he was in time to see a girl fall down to her knees. He could see the blood from her arms. He also noticed good and bad hatter. "This is not good." He jumped down and landed next to the girl. He watched as another boy was also in the fight. He did not understand much of what was going on but this girl seemed like she needed help. He swiftly changed form a cute little kitty into his normal human forum. Kneeling down he took the girl’s arm and soon looked over her cut. "It'll heal in due time, wash it off, burn the blood, and wrap it up." He nodded and ripped form fabric from his shirt and wrapped it around her wound.

Luka looked up at the boy, a dazzed, confused look on her face. "I-I'm so confused," she said unsteadily. She didn't understand what he meant by burning blood, but she was starting to think she'd never understand anything. "Please, you have to help... That... that beast is attacking Hattie, and I can't find Hatter or Rin, and I think I'm going insane!" She almost lost it then, almost broke down, but managed to hold on to the last bit of her dignity. She looked over at the struggle, her heart pounding. "And that monster looks so famliar... he doesn't feel evil at al..."

[[Poor Luka :sweat: she's loosing her mind.]]

Cheshire smiled softly. "You poor girl I'll help you dearie." He picked her up and carried her over to a tree. Sitting her down against it, he made sure she was comfortable."Don't worry my dear about going mad, since we are all mad here." He grinned that famous Cheshire cat smile. She did not know if he should do into the fights, but then remembered what was going on. He did not want to be trapped in Hattie’s spell, so instead he would stay with the girl, and try to explain a few things.

"Dearie understands something. Those terrible monsters you see, are not real, they are but your friends Rin and my comrade Hatter, the good Hatter. As Hatter might have told you already, there are double sides: good mad or insane mad. I my self are on the good mad side, and so is Hatter. That Hattie that you though t was nice is evil, he would have taken you to the evil vile queenie bee and your head would have been lost forever to us. Never trust an evil mad looking thing in these woods. Especially one that twists you in circles, round and round you went, fall into his trap and then snap!!" He clapped his hands together to add something to his words. "Your gone, doomed. Gone, lost, poofed, mad! What you are looking at is a cloud, a shroud, a veil of mystery that Hattie has put on the world. Those monsters are Hatter and Rin.. Thinking that each other is a monster. Must be stopped, we, you, I.. me! Stop them now. Faster and faster, they fight, when they stop, when one dies. Spell lifts and poof all done, all good, one dead other sad." He stood up to go on into the fight to help. Thinking about what he had told her, maybe she would not even understand his wording she would in time. "We are all mad, our speech is mad, this place, this air, that tree.. All mad, nuts, dead to sane."

He ran off to soon jump up into the air and change swiftly into the cute little kitty he is. Landing on Rin’s shoulder he whispered. "Stop fighting, your gona kill your friend, snap out, Luka's bleeding, burning, hurt, mad, help her, snap out. Shake your head, your mind. Become yourself. Gain control, see through the looking glass." Purring he climbed off and looked up at hatter, he could tell that Hatter knew what was up but could not help it. Yelling out to him, "Hatter, be one, be all, be you, be mad as a hatter!!"

He ran back to a tree and climbed up the branch. That was all he could do. tapper with a power and you shall fall as well.


[O.o why friends thought I was high when i wrote this O.o does it look like i was?]