Wonderland, Scene V (Daphne, Erin, Underwood)

Sparky looked very, very excited, and beeped very, very excitedly. Underwood grinned. "You, Miss, have just disproven his hypothesis. He's going to be thinking about this the whole afternoon."

And indeed he did, until he got distracted by the view. Sparky stayed on Cinder's shoulder for fifteen minutes or so, watching for danger or shiny objects as the team bushwhacked through the thorns. After a short time, though, he discovered the hood on Cinder's sweatshirt: a new and exciting development indeed, given that his best friend wore suits almost all of the time. This, apparently, was some kind of ingenious phone nest attached to the back of a person's neck. The end result was that Sparky had a very cozy place to go into sleep mode for a while -- only to wake back up and skitter into Underwood's breast pocket when they reached the door. Moral support, and all that.

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"Jesus!" Underwood sprinted a couple steps to catch her, coming close to pitching himself off the walkway in the process. By some miracle, he avoided grabbing her on her newly torn wings.

"You and me, sister, we have different definitions of 'all right.'" The reporter was clearly seven kinds of uncomfortable with what had just happened, even after looking Erin over for lingering signs of malaise. Finding none, he patted her once more on the back and released his grip, still looking profoundly uneasy.

"We're going to get where we need to be, and we're going to get out. And we're going to do it quickly." In lieu of a flashlight, Sparky popped his head out of Underwood's pocket, only to be tamped down again by the reporter's hand. "Not now, kid. Got to keep on the down-low."

He dug his silver Zippo out of his pocket instead, sparking it for a halo of grey light. "Speaking of which…Miss Lamothe, d'you feel up to doing disguises? Better safe than the alternative…"

1 Success on Sorrow-Frozen Heart 2, Elements 1 Up

Erin obediently began to call forth the silver strands from her companion's temples - some from Sergei, some from Mary. In Arcadia, dreams were more real than reality, and she spun her threads with mind-warping swiftness...

At Dan's request, we're gonna try to cobblethought our more stand-outy party members, which is something like all of them. Let's see if we can't expedite the process a little or if we're going to be standing around the doorway for hours like derps.

Dice Roll: 11d10s8e
d10 Results: 7, 10, 6, 2, 4, 9, 1, 8, 3, 8, 6, 3 (Total Successes = 4)

A-LA-PEANUT-BUTTER-SANDWICHES

Dice Roll: 11d10s8e
d10 Results: 1, 6, 10, 4, 6, 10, 1, 4, 7, 6, 6, 5, 8 (Total Successes = 3)

Dice Roll: 11d10s8e
d10 Results: 7, 3, 7, 1, 5, 4, 2, 2, 8, 1, 5 (Total Successes = 1)

Dice Roll: 11d10s8e
d10 Results: 7, 8, 2, 2, 4, 6, 5, 3, 2, 4, 4 (Total Successes = 1)

Dice Roll: 11d10s8e
d10 Results: 8, 1, 9, 9, 2, 4, 4, 6, 6, 5, 4 (Total Successes = 3)

Dice Roll: 11d10s8e
d10 Results: 8, 10, 6, 2, 3, 9, 6, 4, 3, 9, 10, 6, 1 (Total Successes = 5)

Dice Roll: 11d10s8e
d10 Results: 3, 10, 9, 6, 4, 9, 6, 3, 8, 8, 3, 5 (Total Successes = 5)

Dice Roll: 11d10s8e
d10 Results: 10, 9, 9, 3, 8, 4, 9, 1, 5, 6, 8, 4 (Total Successes = 6)

ooh. That's actually Underwood and Sasha and Mary down. Let's see if we can't manage something for Cinder and Sergei.

Dice Roll: 11d10s8e
d10 Results: 1, 7, 9, 9, 5, 4, 9, 4, 4, 5, 3 (Total Successes = 3)

ZIZZY ZAZZY ZUK!

Dice Roll: 11d10s8e
d10 Results: 3, 3, 4, 1, 9, 8, 1, 6, 4, 1, 5 (Total Successes = 2)

Dice Roll: 11d10s8e
d10 Results: 4, 9, 2, 10, 10, 4, 2, 2, 5, 7, 1, 7, 5 (Total Successes = 3)

Dice Roll: 11d10s8e
d10 Results: 6, 7, 3, 3, 7, 10, 10, 4, 10, 7, 8, 1, 8, 9 (Total Successes = 6)

Dice Roll: 11d10s8e
d10 Results: 6, 1, 5, 4, 9, 10, 7, 8, 1, 8, 6, 4 (Total Successes = 4)

Dice Roll: 11d10s8e
d10 Results: 4, 8, 6, 3, 10, 1, 8, 4, 4, 2, 2, 2 (Total Successes = 3)

Dice Roll: 11d10s8e
d10 Results: 5, 7, 4, 7, 2, 7, 4, 1, 8, 8, 10, 4 (Total Successes = 3)

Dice Roll: 11d10s8e
d10 Results: 10, 2, 2, 3, 4, 2, 5, 8, 1, 7, 7, 4 (Total Successes = 2)

Well, that's one down...

Dice Roll: 11d10s8e
d10 Results: 6, 2, 6, 1, 5, 7, 6, 3, 2, 9, 10, 5 (Total Successes = 2)

EXPECTO PATRONUS!!!

Dice Roll: 11d10s8e
d10 Results: 1, 8, 1, 2, 7, 5, 5, 3, 3, 9, 3 (Total Successes = 2)

Dice Roll: 11d10s8e
d10 Results: 9, 1, 5, 10, 1, 9, 5, 8, 10, 5, 9, 5, 10, 6 (Total Successes = 7)

Dice Roll: 11d10s8e
d10 Results: 5, 7, 9, 3, 8, 10, 7, 7, 9, 10, 1, 7, 1 (Total Successes = 5)

Dice Roll: 11d10s8e
d10 Results: 8, 1, 1, 4, 8, 3, 2, 4, 4, 6, 1 (Total Successes = 2)

Dice Roll: 11d10s8e
d10 Results: 9, 5, 9, 1, 5, 2, 3, 1, 5, 4, 8 (Total Successes = 3)

Dice Roll: 11d10s8e
d10 Results: 5, 6, 8, 9, 5, 10, 9, 9, 3, 8, 7, 6 (Total Successes = 6)

Dice Roll: 11d10s8e
d10 Results: 8, 2, 2, 5, 9, 9, 6, 10, 4, 5, 9, 7 (Total Successes = 5)

So that's.... 2.4 minutes. Not bad for a day's work. I even have enough to magic up Heather and myself if we felt like it. Heather has my mirror contracts but hey, more layers can't hurt?

Oh, and these are all out of Sergei and Mary's heads, so we either look like gingham-coated 1950s folk or Muscovite mobsters and hookers. Take your pick. On the bright side, any real person I pull out of their heads is probably really dead, so guilt free disguises. Play ball!

"Oh god." Sergei said, and he was with Underwood, to catch Erin as she stumbled. The lanky Russian watched this entire scene with something akin to horror. Because, you see, he knew what it meant. He knew what it was in some deep-down corner of his psyche, and it was not so fatal a thing. But neither was it a comfortable one. "Angel... a seraph in truth."

"I am here. I won't be going anywhere." He said, holding Erin's hand in his own. He stroked her antennae, and he stayed close, and didn't move more than a step away. He wouldn't leave her side for so long as they were in this mad, mad world of Arcadia. "My own Erin, my own beloved Erin. I'm here."

Then Heather coughed as well. It was a wet, unpleasant cough, and Heather covered it with her mouth. But what she coughed up was blood, blood and bits of animal fur, and she shivered. "Let's... let's go. Let's go quickly." She whispered. This wasn't what she was expecting. This wasn't an enemy she could face. She coughed again, and there was soil mixed in with the blood as well.

"Miss Mary Mack / All Dressed in Black / She's got a Knife / Stuck in Her Back" Mary Mack whispered, and she didn't stop whispering it, no matter what happened. It was her mantra, it was her lodestone, it was this little tatter of twisted identity on which all the rest of the vampire focused in on. She didn't shudder and she didn't cringe, but held out her scissors in one hand, and she still she sang her little rhyme. "She Cannot Breathe / She Cannot Cry..."

Sasha merely grunted, and withdrew the large shotgun that was his weapon of choice. He, perhaps more than anyone else present, knew exactly what awaited them here. "Heather, someone should watch the exit. We'll need a way out later." He said calmly.

"Assuming we come out the same way we got in." Heather retorted. She was rubbing her throat. "No, we're good. Come on."

Cinder said nothing, but her body twisted and transformed, and soon next to Underwood stood a wolf of a monstrous size, like a small pony in truth, with shaggy, russet fur and mad and gleaming eyes. The wolf moved into the tunnel, and soon, you followed her.

Into Arcadia.

Proceed to Wonderland, Scene VI

Sergei turns on Dead Man's Boots, taking 1L, and 2WP to also rote:

Dex(4)+Doubled Stealth(8)+Adroitness(1):
Dice Roll: 13d10s8ez
d10 Results: 4, 7, 8, 7, 9, 2, 6, 2, 4, 4, 7, 1, 1 (Total Successes = 2)

Stealth (2)

Sasha stealths, willpowers

Dex(3) + Stealth(2) + WP(3):
Dice Roll: 8d10s8ez
d10 Results: 5, 10, 9, 4, 10, 6, 2, 8, 9, 6 (Total Successes = 5)

Stealth (5)

Heather stealths, willpowers

Dex(4) + Stealth(2) + WP(3):
Dice Roll: 9d10s8ez
d10 Results: 10, 8, 5, 2, 4, 1, 9, 4, 6, 1 (Total Successes = 3)

Stealth (3)

Mary Mack stealths, willpowers

Dex(4) + Stealth(3) + WP(3):
Dice Roll: 10d10s8ez
d10 Results: 2, 6, 4, 4, 1, 10, 2, 4, 3, 10, 8, 6 (Total Successes = 3)

Stealth (3)

Cinder turns into a wolf for the Dex boost, stealths, willpowers

Dex(4) + Stealth(2) + WP(3):
Dice Roll: 9d10s8ez
d10 Results: 3, 5, 5, 4, 1, 4, 5, 9, 9 (Total Successes = 2)

Stealth (2)

Sergei's Rote Action, forgot this had to be at the end.

Dice Roll: 11d10s8ez
d10 Results: 1, 9, 8, 10, 9, 10, 3, 6, 4, 10, 10, 10, 6, 7, 2, 6 (Total Successes = 8)

(8)