Down the Rabbit Hole...

[Orestes]

Orestes materialized from a corridor of darkness, stepping forth into a...forest? He cast his gaze around, the lush, green trees almost cloying in their presence. He spun around, bringing his fist to crash into one, then stood back, waiting. After a few moments, the bark on the tree warped, twisted, and then the tree -exploded-.

Starting from the base and rippling up, the blast shredded the wood, sending splinters flying every which direction. A loud KRRRRRRRRR-ACK! echoed throughout the woods as bark, branch, and leaf was ripped asunder. Standing amongst the ruins of the tree, he snorted, his ears tweaking as he caught the sound of fast feet nearby.

Casually glancing over to the side, his vision caught sight of a waist-high rabbit racing towards him. The rabbit seemed to take no notice of him, blazing along the forest and kicking up a trail of dust. A pocket watch lay in his hand, and he looked at it with a scream, his large, floppy ears raising in alarm.

"Oh my fur and whiskers! Look how late it's getting! Woe is me, oh, can't you see, my schedule's so upsetting! Oh my fur and whiskers! I shall be too late! The Duchess will be savage if I make her wait!" The rabbit picked up speed as he neared Orestes, and he simply stuck his hand out, grabbing the rabbit by the ears.

Holding the furry creature, Orestes shook him savagely, staring deep into his shaking eyes.

"Hold it right there, fuzzball. Where am I? Is this Wonderland? If not, you've got about 10 seconds to show me where I can find it..." He held his hand out, and rocky dirt from the forest floor lifted up, sculpting into a menacing and savage rock spike. Orestes held the spike to the animal's throat, firmly to make his point.

"Speak up, bunny. Don't make me repeat myself..."

[Secondary Characters]

"Ooohh!!!" the rabbit would wail, flailing in Orestes' grasp. "It is! It is!!!" he panickedly yelled, flailing his hands. "Let me gooo! I have to go, you see I'm late!!" he tried to explain, hoping that it did SOME good.

Just then, a voice would chuckle behind Orestes. If he looked, he would see no one, yet the voice would raise up in volume slowly... "T'was brillig... and the slithy tothes did gyle and gimble in wabe. All mimsy were the borogroves and the momerathes out graaabe..."

Above, a great set of teeth curled into a wide grin would appear, followed by yellow eyes and a wide swipe of purple. The oddity would fill in and become the Cheshire Cat, who chuckled lightly at the scene before him. "What's this? Got yourself in trouble again, rabbit? The Duchess will not be happy..."

He then looked to the heartless, and chuckled. "Well well... yet more things of shadow come to Wonderland... Best be careful... when all the light is gone, how will you tell one shadow from the next?" And with that, he began to fade again, singing softy. "T'was brilling... and the slithy tothes...."

[Orestes]

Orestes kept his firm grip on the rabbit, watching him flail and laughing softly to himself. Amazing that such an energetic creature could be so pathetic and whimsical...Perhaps I can use him...

Orestes held the rabbit in front of his face, meaning to tell him something, but then a voice echoed all around him. He spun rapidly, trying to discern the direction of the sound, but to no avail. It seemed to echo from all of the trees at once, and a purplish head with a wide, toothy grin appeared.

After listening to the cat (at least, it -looked- like a cat) rant, Orestes turned back to the rabbit, fixing his gaze upon it once more.

"I tell you what, rabbit. You're late, for whatever, but I want to see this...Duchess. I'll put you on the ground, and you take me there. But be careful...make a wrong move or try to deceive me, and I'll impale you where you run."

He set the rabbit on the ground, tensing himself to follow in pursuit.

"Fly fast, little rabbit. I'm right behind you..."

[Secondary Characters]

The rabbit would quiver shakily at this threat, and nod in agreement when Orestes said he could go. He didn't care if the man followed him or not! Where he was going, there was protection, though he'd keep his mouth shut about that! The second his little lucky feet hit the ground, he'd take off like a bullet in the direction he was going.

"Oh, my fur and whiskers... the Dutchess won't like this!!" he complained, gripping his clock like it were his very life.

He would lead the man through the Tulgey Wood, and past a quaint house where a Mad Hatter and a Marsh Hare were having an afternoon tea and singing about unbirthdays to a sleepy doormouse. He lead him past a still-under-repairs home, and beyond a beach where some animals were having a joyous caucaus race before taking him through a hidden gateway and into a massive hedge maze of delightful (and freshly planted) red roses.

"Now was it this way... or that...ohhh... I can never remember in this confounded maze!" The rabbit would whine, before shrugging and slipping UNDER the hedge, bolting in a straight line toward the castle beyond...

[Orestes]

Orestes chuckled, following the rabbit easily as he took off into the woods. Coming past the scene where the strange man and his hat were having tea, he did a neat backflip over the table, patting the sleeping mouse-like creature on the back.

"Wake up!" he shouted, cackling as he sped off after the rabbit. They passed another scene, where a group of animals were having some sort of race. Pulling earth from the ground in front of several of them, causing them to trip, he laughed aloud, sprinting after the rabbit, closing in on some sort of unfinished house, then past that, a gateway.

As the rabbit wriggled underneath a bush in a maze of red roses, Orestes vaulted -over- the greenery, his eyes set on the rabbit scurrying towards the castle.

"And so it begins..." His feet neatly landing on the ground, he kept an easy pace behind the rabbit, willing him to lead Orestes straight to this "Duchess" character.

"And boy, do I have a surprise for her...and all these other weaklings..."

[Secondary Characters]

What Orestes would find would be nothing short of a surprise. You see, while he was bounding along, the rabbit was simply put much, much faster than he while darting in a straight line to the castle, his small size making him unhindered by the hedges, and his rabbit instincts making him rather speedy by default. The result was that he got there much sooner, and the result of THAT, Orestes would find once he landed in the courtyard of the castle.

"So! This is the ruffian going about threatening MY subjects, is he??" demanded the Queen of Hearts the second he landed, looking as high-and-mighty and pompous as always. Behind her, hiding out of fear, was the white rabbit.

"Y-yes my Duchess! Th-that's the-" he began, but was cut off by the queen herself.

"INTRODUCE, IMBECILE!!" she barked, waving a heart-shaped scepter at the man while looking to the rabbit.

"Y-y-yes! Er-hem!!" The rabbit squealed, then pulled out his trumpet to produce fitting fan fare. "Her royal majesty, the magnificent, the wonderful, the perfect and flawless QUEEN OF HEARTS!!" he called out, and for a moment was silent. This, however, would be corrected by a tiny man (almost the same size as the rabbit, actually), tugging at the lapine's coat and eagerly pointing to himself.

"...and the king..." the rabbit corrected annoyedly, to the delight of the king and perhaps ONE voice that no one could ever really pinpoint. When this little... exchange was over, the queen would clear her throat.

"Well, now that that's settled..." she said in a calm, sweet voice before throwing the scepter over her head and screaming in a blood-curdling angry voice "OFF WITH HIS HEAD!!!"

Suddenly, out of nowhere, hundreds of card soldiers would flutter at the heartless, much like the ultimate game of 52 pickup... OR DIE!!

[Orestes]

Orestes watched the rabbit race ahead, saw him enter the Castle. He estimated another thirty seconds or so before he would make his entrance. As he kept up his normal pace, he pulled the earth behind him to gather underneath his feet and arms. Bulky, jagged, and powerful-looking, his armor was a force to be reckoned with.

Nearing the large, crystal double doors that led the way into the courtyard, Orestes gathered himself up, slamming forward with a rock-covered arm. The doors exploded, shards of crystal flying in every direction as he rolled on contact with the ground, pulling the earth in with him. The rabbit was hiding behind who he assumed to be the Duchess.

As the rabbit went through shaky introductions, the Duchess' face was a mask of fury. Her complexion changed to a beet-like red, and she raised her scepter above her head, screaming "OFF WITH HIS HEAD!" shrilly. At that moment, hundreds of...playing cards? Began racing towards Orestes, and he smiled.

"Now that's more like it!" He said, flashing the Queen a bright, slightly maniacal smile before pulling an arm up, expanding the earth into a broad shield on his left arm. His right turned into a wickedly sharp blade-like weapon, and he began to slice into the cards, laughing all the while.

Blocking spear after spear, they thudded uselessly into his shield, and he let the bloodlust come over him, brutally slaughtering anyone that stood in his way. In a few short minutes, the majority of the card soldiers were finished. One lunged at him and missed, but cut across his cheek.

He flinched, turning back to face the solder with eyes full of rage. Screaming at the top of his lungs, he roared as he dropped the earth from his hands, bringing it around himself in a large barrier. Screaming once more, he slammed his fists into the ground, and shards of earth exploded out, finishing off the last of his foes...for now.

Picking up one of the spears, he broke it in half, flinging the sharp end towards the Queen, in which it slammed into her crown, pinning it to the wall with a sharp thud. He flashed her another bright smile, slowly walking up the red carpet towards her, clearing his throat.

"So...what else ya got?"

[Secondary Characters]

"What's this???" The Queen gasped, watching the slaughter of her card soldiers! She grew the color of a tomatoe, then threw her scepter forward to point it at the heartless.

"EXECUTE HIIIM!!!!" she screamed, the force of her yell literally causing gale force winds. Whe whirled in place and pointed her finger directly onto the nose of the Rabbit. "SUMMON THE JUB-JUB BIRD!!" she demanded, stamping her foot.

"R-r-r-r-right!!!" the rabbit fumbled, then bolted away with the trumpet blaring. "Summon the jub-jub!!!" he called.

On a high wall, another animal would call out. "Summon the jub-jub!!"

Somewhere on a high tower, another voice joined in. "Summooonn the JUB-JUB!!"

On cue, a horrible screech would fill the air. "JUB-JUUUUBBB!!!" it screamed, then swooped down. It would fill Orestes' entire vision, a massive bird that looked like the lost link between a pterodactyl and some kind of nightmarish, flying ostrich. Its claws stretched outward, the talons sharp and long as swords. It dived down and sliced at the man, attempting to grab and lift him into the air where he'd have no power...

[Orestes]

Orestes smiled at the Queen as she turned red, keeping his rock armor on for whatever else she threw at him. He kicked a card absently with his foot, stomping on it and looking around as she gave orders for some sort of bird creature...A Jub-Jub...? Whatever. He'd deal with it like the Leviathan.

As the creature swooped in from the sky, Orestes rolled neatly out of the way of its claws as it screeched its name. He closed his eyes, his face a mask of peace as he pulled his arms out from his sides. He began to thrust them upwards with great, jerking motions, and the ground of the courtyard would begin to rumble.

The rumble grew to a roar, filling everyone's ears as Orestes rose up from the ground on a single pillar of earth, at least six others rising up with him. The ground in the courtyard would remain the same, the throne untouched, as he pulled the earth from the middle, a great mound that extended deep into the earth and continued to grow.

With the seven pillars around him, and he in the center, Orestes observed the bird as it swooped around to him again. This was its territory, and he was the intruder. He extended a hand, bowing mockingly before he brought himself up in a ready stance, gathering his power.

"Come at me, and taste the power of the Heartless!"

[Secondary Characters]

The Jub-Jub was no mere mindless creature. It could reason, it could think. So, when he came into its territory, it would already be putting together ways of removing him from it. It swooped, fast like lightning and twice as deadly. Its massive size could crash through the earthen pillars this man had created, and with its amazing ramming powers, it was able to destroy first the ones around him in a large, circular motion, each one crumbling away before it would set its eyes on him.

Now, it WOULD have taken out his pillar, except that it fully expected him to leap onto itself, make use of the height. But the Jub-Jub was smarter than that. It would swoop in again, snapping its talons at the man dangerously close, but not close enough that the man could reach him. He was attempting to force him off the pillar, take him into the air, at best. Gravity would be the force of Orestes' defeat, then the Jub-Jub would feast on his dark flesh...

[Orestes]

Orestes stopped for a moment, watching the Jub-Jub as it circled him, but not too closely. Just to rough it up a bit, he began casting a few earth-lances at it, smiling in satisfaction as it nimbly dodged them. The Jub-Jub swooped down and raked its claws at him, and he stepped to the side, observing it as it swooped past him.

The bird continued to do this, swooping in but not close enough, attempting to rake its claws through his body, but not endangering itself. Once as it swooped past, Orestes reached out and raked a spike across its foot, making a neat, slightly thick red line show up. He smiled smugly as the bird cawed angrily at him.

Coating himself with earth once again, he looked down. It was a dizzying drop, but the earth could cushion him, if need be. He called out to the bird, leaping out at it and spreading his arms wide in challenge as he roared.

"C'mon! Come and get some, and I'll show you what happens when you take on the Lost One!"

As he flew through the air, he called out to the Darkness, beginning to summon his bretheren for the assault. The Queen and others below would suddenly find corridors of darkness opening up, and Heartless soliders pouring out, attacking anything that moved...

[Secondary Characters]

Entering the Jub-Jub's territory... was a bad idea. Without proper Earth underneith the man, he left himself entirely at the mercy of gravity and of course, the bird trying to pull his eyes out. Further, he spread his arms wide, which was twice over a mistake. The thing swept in at speeds it had not demonstrated before, snatching his arms in its talons and cawing loudly in triumph. Orestes... was ITS plaything now.

It swooped toward the walls, slamming the man into the stone there like one would expect an avian creature to in order to break open seeds and nuts. After a few slams, it would fly to the highest tower, where the shingles were made of metallic, jewellike slopes and pin him down. It would begin to peck mercilessly at his armor, the force comparible to being hit by a train time and time and time again. It would break this walnut open... and it would dine on the delicious flesh inside...

Meanwhile, on the ground, heartless would meet with the remaining card forces, resulting in all-out war. The Queen would bark orders angrily, waving her scepter this way and that to command her troops, but was it enough? "OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!!!" she'd scream from time to time, stamping her foot. "SHOW THEM THAT NO ONE DISRESPECTS THE RED QUEEN! NOBODY!!!"

[Orestes]

Orestes sailed through the air, the wind whistling past his face as he spread himself out. He kept summoning more Heartless into Wonderland, knowing that the Queen would soon be overwhelmed. He pulled the Heartless back momentarily, wanting to let the weakling squirm a bit. They simply drew into a tight formation, circling and gazing eerily at the Queen and her subjects.

Then the impact hit him, and all the breath was knocked from his lungs. The Jub-Jub had careened into him, slamming him into a wall on the side of the castle. He grunted, summoning up a large pillar of earth as he was dragged upwards. It flew to him, breaking into pieces to pelt at the Jub-Jub's feet, wings, face, anything. But to no avail. So he simply used it to re-strengthen his armor while it carried him upwards to the ramparts. It slammed him down again against a tower, where it was metallic and he could do nothing.

Then the pain started. The Jub-Jub slammed its beak downward, causing a bright flash of pain to thunder behind Orestes' eyes. He cried out, and the blows kept raining down, thunderous and loud. The cacophony drowned out the screams of the dead and dying below, and Orestes began to recede from the world. He so wanted to curl into a ball and let the darkness take him, to submit to its sweet succor and leave this planet...

No! His mind became enraged at the thought of all of his power, just wasted. He gritted his teeth, roaring as he brought his arms together and, with a mighty effort that left him nearly exhausted, -CAUGHT- the beak of the Jub-Jub as it careened towards him again. The bird began to struggle, and he held fast, his teeth gritting as he opened his mouth and roared at the beast.

"I will NOT become a mere splatter on this tower! You have trifled with the Heartless Army, and you will pay, you damned beast! No one endures the wrath of the Lost One and survives! I WILL TRIUMPH OVER YOU!"

His anger threatened to consume him, and Orestes gave himself over to the lust of battle, letting his mind go red. His laugh started small, then grew to a ferocious intensity, rising in volume and power until he was cackling madly. His eyes blazed, and his entire body began to glow with shadows as he pulled his fist back, a spear forming on the end of it. He kicked upwards violently with both feet, intending to distract the avian momentarily. Ramming the spear forward, he laughed with satisfaction as it entered the gargantuan bird-of-prey's eye. He didn't intend to kill it, just half blind it!

Dropping from its grasp, he motioned for his heartless soldiers to clear out of the way. A curtain of earth would come up from the middle of the Wonderland Castle Courtyard, and he slammed into it, sending a rolling shockwave all against the ground in the courtyard. Onlookers, knights, and even the palace jester would look on as he stood, his body bloody, one hand twisted back at an impossible angle, and the optic gore from the Jub-Jub spattering his rocky armor. His eyes burned with an intense fervor unlike anything before, and he smiled wickedly at the Queen.

"Oh Luuuuuuu-cyyyyyyyyyy!" he crowed, taking slow, deliberate, terrifying steps towards the Queen of Hearts.

"I'm hooooooooome!"

[Secondary Characters]

The jub-jub was distracted, squawking loudly above as it flailed about, trying to pry the spear from its eye. It was out of commision for now... but it wasn't out of the war for good.

Below, there were only a few remaining card soldiers, keeping their spears poised in case the gathered heartless tried to overwhelm them again. At the head of this rabble was the Queen of Hearts, her hair disshevled and her eyes red with rage. When Orestes landed and made his way toward her, she glared him down in open defiance before making an order that would send shivers down the spines of her men.

"UNLEASH THE JABBERWOCK!!!" she demanded. The skies above would grow dark, and the soldiers, what few that was left, would quiver backward in fear. Even the Rabbit would cower behind the queen, shaking in open terror as something... horrible... came into the battle.

What approached was nothing short of a nightmare born of the fractured mind of a warped and diseased child. To call it a dragon was not putting the directness of its ugliness forward enough. It was insectoid, humanoid, draconic, cephlopodic, and infernal all at once. With jaws that bite and claws that snatch, the Jabberwock appraoched, fire licking around its peeled-back lips and exposed, blackened gums which housed rows and rows of razor-sharp teeth. Its wings spread wide as it drifted from the dark clouds above and landed with an earthquake-level rumble before Orestes.

It opened its jaws wide, emitting a strange, warbling roar. Its segmented eyes flashed a golden color before it spewed blue flames directly onto the armored Heartless in a constant stream. This thing made the Jub-Jub look like a canary... and the bandersnatch a playful puppy.

Beware the Jabberwock, Orestes... for it is coming for your life.

[Orestes]

Orestes took the first half-minute of the flame with no problems. Then the rock began to glow red around his body, becoming extremely hot. He needed a way to break the flow, if only for a moment, so he could counter-attack the...he shuddered, not even being able to place it in a category of its own. Reptilian, insectoid, nightmarish, from the worst imaginings of a childhood gone horribly wrong.

The blast continued to raze at his armor, and he was forced to pull more pieces up to shield himself, forming a sort of large, earthen shield. The flames blasted around it, creating a cyclone of air that sucked the oxygen away from him. He began to struggle slightly, forcing himself a few steps forward. He gathered a massive ball of earth behind the shield, bracing himself...

-BLAM!- The ball exploded, propelling the earth shield forward at a rapid pace. Flames licked from the sides of it, and the Jabberwock would have to move quickly to avoid being impacted by it. But Orestes did not watch to see. As soon as he launched the shield, being cleared by fire, he disappeared into the earth, completely hidden from view. Molding the flow with his powers, he came up on the other side of the Wonderland Courtyard, leaping deftly up to a small flagpole and swinging into one of the lower walls that surrounded it.

Beckoning up to the Jabberwock, he grinned.

"They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but for your sake...I hope you've got something else besides that fire."