RPG: Wonderland

[Bubblegum Pop]

Raven couldn't help but smile, her plan had worked. Seeing Travis also take charge made her smile even more. If he was right, then all they had to do now was walk through the left door. But then she began to wonder. If they died in Wonderland, would they just wake up into their old lives...or...

She tugged on Travis' shirt a few times to draw his attention. Fear had struck her face, and her smile quickly vanished. "T-travis, what do you think will h-happen if we chose the w-wrong d-d-door? Wi-ill we be ok...?" Her face, was the same fearful face she made to her brother when she was in large crowds, or just scared in general. Let's hope she had asked the right question. If not then she would be the cause of their demise.

[Light Buster]

Joseph was quick to attempt to calm Raven with something that hit his mind right away.

(Joseph) "I'm sure you've made the right decision. And even if you didn't, I'm sure we'll work it out."

Joseph once again smiled at Raven. Even with every bad situation, he would try his best to stay in high spirits and try to keep everyone in high spirits, no matter how bad the situation may be, including Tsubame. Even she was impressed with his actions, but they have to keep in mind that this only the beginning of a long journey ahead of them.

[RyuTama]

Travis continued glaring at the young blonde boy. 'Is he going to tell us? What the hell is taking him so long?!' He thought, his teeth grinding from outrage and scorn for the boy. He had blurted out that answer without really meaning to. He was still certain it was a sufficient response to the riddle, but he mentally scolded himself for being so impulsive. That boy's emotionless stature was surely meant to irritate him; he couldn't let himself be caught in the trap. He squinted his eyes shut, inhaled the sweet, nostalgic scent of the garden, and slowly exhaled. His rage seemed to vanish instantly. It was almost impossible for him to be so irate in such a beautiful place... such a nice place... if only he could stay here, forever...

He felt someone tug at his shirt. At first, he didn't notice; he was too lost in his daydream. The scent had grown overpowering -- intoxicating. He felt himself sway slightly. By the fourth tug, he finally looked around and saw Raven behind him, her eyes full of fear and uncertainty, which quickly made him snap back to his senses. "T-Travis, what do you think will h-happen if we chose the w-wrong d-d-door? W-will we be okay...?" She asked him, trembling. Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes, threatening to overflow.

'No... no more crying...' Travis thought pleadingly. Whenever he saw such a face, he was immediately, painfully reminded of the heart-wrenching times he had seen his sister make the same expression; an expression that made him nearly go mad with grief. Once again, he was firmly gripped by the thought that this couldn't be a dream. 'Too real... too... painful.'

He turned all the way around to fully face Raven, trying his best to keep his own anxiety from showing. Before he could reassure her, however, the newest male in the group spoke up first.

"I'm sure you've made the right decision. And even if you didn't, I'm sure we'll work it out," he said with a smile. Somehow, despite the man's good intentions and encouragement, his words angered Travis.

'How dare you talk to her like you know her?' He thought, the rage swelling up inside of him again. 'She's MY little sist--'

He blinked and took a quick breath of a bit of the delicious, yet sickening air. He looked down at the girl that had been clutching his shirt. Not his sister; not Maylene. And yet so very much like her. Apart from the snow-white hair, she could very well be Maylene six or so years from now...

That is, if she were to survive until then.

Travis stopped dead. His muscles, thoughts, emotions; everything halted for a mere second. How could he think of such a thing? There was no way in hell he would let his beloved little sister die from leukemia; that's why he was in school, right? That's what all those months of studying medicine had been for. If he were to think of his sister dying while he was trying so hard to save her -- the idea made him sick. But what if... what if time was passing by right now, in the real world? Was Maylene lying in her hospital bed, waiting for him to come visit her, as he did every day?

He stared at Raven for a moment, and then gently, very gently, grasped the hand that had been holding onto his shirt. "No matter what happens, I won't let anyone or anything touch you. Even if it looks hopeless, I won't give up; and neither will you. Okay...? Raven...?"

He had made his decision. He would do whatever it took to get out of this deceitful, cruel world; he would make it back to his sister so that he could protect her. And until then, he would protect Raven.

[Yukari]

Anya gathered her first aid items and put them back in the box before pocketing the item. She stood up and watched the episode pass without saying anything. If Raven thought she knew the answer, what harm would it hurt? Either way, she was sure they could figure out the truth. It was just a bonus that Raven was smart enough to ask the right question.

She was proud of the young girl. She watched as two of the new people went to pick out there weapons and found what they choose rather interesting. She didn't see how those would be handy. SHe moved around Travis and Raven to the Weapon area, but before she got there she was stopped back Jackhammer.

She saluted back to Jackhammer recongizing the only person she knew from the real world. Maybe this is a dream after all she thought to herself after seeing Jackhammer.

"We need to grab at least 2 weapons and no more. Choose a ranged weapon and a close combat weapon would be best, because then you have an advantage in both areas." She told Jackhammer although since he was also military, she was sure he knew what she said already.

She moved to the area of weapons and went to the guns. She looked them over noticing the one she would choose. She bent over and grabbed the M4A1. It could shoot up to 30 rounds in the most effective range of 380-450 yards. It was also fully automatic.

Seeing another weapon she wanted was the ka-bar. It was effective in close combat because it could block but also effectively disembowel or behead an enemy in seconds. It also added length to the arm enabling her to take less steps to attack.

She threw the strap of the M4A1 over her shoulder and across her back but easy to swing around and shoot. She also strapped the ka-bar to her thigh which was at arm length to grip easily and pull out to attack in close combat.

She then stood back and awaited where the group would go next. "Since was know which door is the right door, shouldn't we open it?" she asked at the group wondering why everyone was just standing around.

[HateSpawn98]

"Well, now." Said the young blonde boy.
"It would seem that you figured it out but... can you really trust a girl, and a little boy? You all decide." He then walks into the right door with a twisted smile on his face. His body is then broken up into pieces and absorbed through the door.

When this happened people started to murmur. Wondering if they should trust them... of course they thought because he went through the right door that it was the correct one... or maybe it was a trap. Few of them started to enter the left and few entered the right. However way they went it was a 50/50 chance of living for the few that was not paying attention.

As this happened the thousands of people started to line up to each door, most hesitating at the door's because the thought of being broken down sounded painful. Some had weapons and some did not pick but nearly all of them were gone.

Pick a door.

OC:
@RyuTama - It has come to my attention that you seem to be controlling other characters emotions and I need you to stop doing that or try your best to quit it.

Rules: Honestly I don't mind a lot of posts it's just I got to focus on school so if it takes me a day or two to make a post just think about that and post in moderation.

The next thing would be god modding which is like being immune to all types of influence, injury, issues, or being almighty above everything and everyone. That's kinda why I did the stats thing so that would not happen, so please address your sign up when your fighting or figuring out puzzles.

The rest is just to follow the RP rules set by LPS and I love how you all think this is getting deep, because it only get's deeper. Have fun!

[Bubblegum Pop]

Raven held onto Travis' hand even tighter. Could she have been wrong? The little boy spoke as if she could not be trusted. But she knew what she needed to do. For the first time she made eye contact with Travis, "I-i'm going to go-o into a door. I ha-ave a plan. D-do you trust m-m-me?"

She looked around and noticed all the people who were going into the doors. She was willing to sacrifice herself so the others could make it safe.

[RyuTama]

The other light-haired woman that had helped Raven earlier had begun looking through the pile of weapons. She grabbed an an assault rifle and a wicked-looking knife. Travis shivered. 'Scary...' He thought. He never figured he'd see a girl choose such lethal weapons, even if they were going to be for self-defense. He himself had used those weapons multiple times in the videogames he had played, but he would never use them in real life.

"Since we know which door is the right door, shouldn't we open it?" She asked them curiously. Travis twitched and remained silent, still in a sort of shock. He stared at her disbelievingly; an automatic assault rifle slung over her shoulders, and a fighting knife strapped to her leg -- good lord.

"Well, now." Cut in the young blonde boy, interrupting his train of thought. "It would seem that you figured it out, but... can you really trust a girl, and a little boy? You all decide," he stated to the people that were gathered around. Once again, Travis couldn't help but be annoyed by the boy's words. 'Little boy? Look who's talking!' He thought with chagrin. Before he could give much more thought to the matter, however, the boy entered the door on the right with a malicious grin on his face. Almost instantaneously, his small body seemed to disintegrate, piece by piece, all the while retaining that twisted smirk on his face. Travis suddenly felt very dizzy.

Once the blonde boy had completely vanished, the people surrounding them began whispering and murmuring. He was quite sure they were discussing the same things that he was feeling: Had that been the door to death? But, the boy seemed fine when he entered... maybe it was a trap...? But, maybe not...

He stood there, hardly aware of the dozens of people that had begun grabbing their weapons of choice. Some proceeded through the left door, and others went through the right; however, it was impossible to tell which door led to where merely by watching others pass through the thresholds. He knew he would have to choose one of them eventually if he ever hoped to break out of this nightmare, but the thought still terrified him.

Just then, he felt Raven's grip on his hand tighten. He made eye contact with her, and she said in a small voice, "I-i'm going to go-o into a door. I ha-ave a plan. D-do you trust m-m-me?"

The look in her eyes made him flinch slightly. "You're not... you're not thinking of going through one of those doors on your own, are you?" He asked incredulously. "I won't allow that. I'm coming with you," he said firmly. He then looked at the weapon-clad woman and the other man that she seemed to know (he also appeared to be ready for heavy combat, which made Travis feel rather uneasy). He then noted the couple a bit farther away; an American man and an oriental woman. Both had weapons that resembled electric guitars strapped to their backs. "Listen," he spoke up to get everyone's attention. "It looks like we'll probably be together for a while... so, I'm Travis. And this is Raven," he added, figuring that she was already embarrassed enough from being in such a strange crowd.

[Bubblegum Pop]

Raven shook her head violently at his response. "No! I'm going alone!" She had actually yelled at him without stuttering. In anger she looked at the ground, her face slightly red and flustered. She didn't want to risk anyone else, she knew her plan would save them if it was a wrong door. "Y-you have to t-t-trust me Travis..." She looked up at him, her face still slightly angered but somehow she shown him a smile. "I k-know w-w-what i'm doing. I'll b-be f-fine."

She removed her headphones and gave him one end. the other end she held tightly in her hands. "I'll walk through the left door, and if it seems to be safe I will tug on the headphones. If it's dangerous...well I will let them go and see how long I can last." She smiled and shocklingly gave him a small hug. "Don't come back for me if I let go okay?" She smiled once again, waiting for his approval.

[CoRRuPTioN GaRDeN]

((I'm sorry for the late post... I had a bunch of homework last night and I'm still doing it as I'm posting this.))

By the time I had already fought through the throngs of people and managed to get to the silver-haired girl, a group of several others were already surrounding her--as well as two doors and a ring of weapons among the ground. Cocking my head to the side, I wondered what was going on, as earlier I'd thought I'd seen a blond boy standing by them. Walking a little closer, I tried to purposefully overhear their conversation; "I'll walk through the left door, and if it seems to be safe I will tug on the headphones. If it's dangerous...well I will let them go and see how long I can last." I watched as another girl with long silver-hair (which seemed to be a popular hair color here) hugged the brunette boy quickly and grinned, as if waiting for approval."Don't come back for me if I let go okay?" I blinked at the two who still hadn't seemed to notice me yet, and glanced away at the pile of weapons awkwardly. A few people were only selecting two or one weapon before backing up, which led me to believe only one or two weapons could be chosen.

But why only one or two weapons? I wondered to myself, silently approaching the weapon ring now. What would be the cost of taking three or four?

Assuming it obviously wasn't a good consequence--as nobody was choosing three--I quickly shifted through the pile and picked up a butcherknife and hatchet. "Hello," I said, noticing there was somebody else next to me--the other girl with silver hair, who I had come to in the first place. "It appears you attract a lot of people to you." I said with a smirk. "May I join your group?"

[Esiphas]

Jackhmmer nodded. "Yes Ma'am. I'll report back to you soon." he walked through the feild of weapons and selected a large monkey wrench, and a hand cannon. He lwalked back and shoved them ibto holsters. "Ready for duty ma'am. And its good to see you." Then he walked to the door and opened it.

[Aranneas]

Vane didn't quite seem to remember making his way through the crowd; somehow, he was just there, watching the confrontation at the gates. When he heard the figure of a child say something about weapons, his eyes narrowed. He was far too used to trickery of all kinds to trust something that was offered so lightly. Still, he didn't have any allies here, or even know where 'here' was. If there were consequences to deal with for taking the offer he'd just have to do it later. Right now he needed every edge he could get.

He stepped forward tentatively, losing himself among all the gleaming metal and wood. There were blades of every description, but those he walked past without even really looking at them. He'd never held a sword in his life and would be more likely to hurt himself than do anything useful with one. He finally came to a pile of blunt instruments beneath which he saw a glimmer that caught his eye. With a grunt, he pushed aside a hammer that looked like it weighed half as much as he did, kept digging; finally, it was in his grasp.

He turned the glove over in his hands. No... gauntlet, that was the word. Covered with layered metal plates, reaching up to the plated shoulder with an assembly of leather straps; there was a comforting feeling to the heft of it, oddly, but it was flexible and supple. He wouldn't have any trouble moving with it on. A plate covered the back of the hand, but the fingers were left free to move. It barely had the sense of a weapon to it at all; somehow, however, he knew that it was dangerous.

He was about to take his find back to the edges of the space when something else caught his eye. Digging deeper into the pile he grabbed the dull black butt of a handgun, and pulled it out. He stared at it for a moment without really understanding what he was seeing. He'd seen guns before, seen what they could do close enough that he had no particular desire to hang onto this object any longer than he needed to, but there was something strange about it. The surface was sleek, unbroken. He spotted the trigger, sort of a wedge that depressed into the bottom of the stock, but he couldn't find any other parts that seemed intended to move.

If this was a gun, how was it even supposed to fire?

The thought suited him fine. In reality he hoped never to have to find out. He tucked it through his belt and looked out at the gathering in front of the doors. Hopefully they hadn't taken too much notice of him yet and he'd be able to slip back into the crowd.

[RyuTama]

Travis stood rooted to the spot, stunned by Raven's raised, unbroken voice. It had been the last thing he expected from her. He held one end of her earphones loosely, wondering what he should do. What if he had blurted out the wrong answer? What if the boy had chosen the correct door? What if they were both a trap? At this point, Travis felt nothing but a vile contempt for the boy. How dare he take him away from Maylene? How dare he put Raven and the others through this twisted dilemma?

Quite suddenly, Raven had embraced him, once again breaking him out of his anguished thoughts. "Don't come back for me if I let go, okay?" She had asked with a slight smile. Travis looked down at her, torn between the choices he had. What should he do...? Raven was patiently awaiting his answer...

He glanced around; new people had made their way to the two gateways. He suddenly noticed that he seemed to be the only one without any weapons so far. His stomach churned sickeningly. He would need something for self defense, no? But he had never been involved in anything even remotely violent, save for High School football. Would he really need to carry a gun or a knife? Would he really need to shoot or stab someone? The mere idea of killing made him nauseous. He briefly left Raven and began rummaging through the few weapons that were left. Something caught his eye; the reflection of the sunlight made it glint brilliantly.

He noticed a small, slightly opened case, much like the old suitcase he used for work at the hospital. Inside was about a dozen stainless steel scalpels; some of the blades were nearly as long as the handles. Fascinated and frightened, Travis took one out of the case and admired it. After a few moments of inspecting the scalpels, he carefully placed them back inside the case and closed it. 'They could be useful for multiple things', he figured, 'not just for slaughter'. The case had a strap on it, and so he gently pulled it over his shoulders. He also noticed a wicked-looking amputation saw nearby. He picked it up, and was surprised at how sturdy it was for a simple saw. Looking for a piece of cloth or a sheath to keep it in, he finally found some loose bandages lying scattered about. He wrapped the saw up, and tied the loose ends of the bandages securely around his belt.

With a sigh, he turned back to face Raven and slowly approached her; he was sure he looked like a madman, what with a case of surgical tools to his right and a saw hanging from his left. He picked up the other end of her headphones again, and, taking a deep breath, said "alright. Go. We'll meet up on the other side."

He would have to trust in himself and her. And even if the wires of the headphones went slack, he would still go in after her.

[Bubblegum Pop]

With a giggle she bowed, then bowed to their small group behind them. "S-see you all o-o-on the the other s-s-side!" Then she moved to the front of the line, and walked right into the door. She held tight to her end of the headphones and she walked through, for a few seconds all was bright. She couldn't even open her eyes. She felt a few people bump into her, still bright. She fell to her knees, until the light started to clear.

"Oh my..." she responded as she took a good look around at her surroundings.

(OOC: Ill wait for hatespawn to come on so he can say what i see xD For now.. SUSPENSE! DUN DUNN DUNNNNN!!)

[Light Buster]

Joseph and Tsubame watched as Raven walked into one of the doors, disappearing into the light. The crowd was silent and both of them kept an eye on the cord. If the cord was loose, the worse was to come. If it was tight, then the best was the scenario there. As the cord stopped, Joseph and Tsubame wondered what just happened. Did Raven make it?

(OOC: And now, we wait...)

[HateSpawn98]

OC: I love this! You guys and your long detailed posts! Keep up the goo- no GREAT work! Also i'm only going to control Raven for this one post, I wont make her talk or anything big. I promise. XD

IC: As she entered the door way there where five doors with symbols above them, 4 of them were dimmed while a red one was bright and glowing. Standing in front of the door the blonde boy stands with a twisted smile.

"Welcome, however that would be cheating." He says to Raven but not doing anything.
"But, you wont last to long. Go ahead and pull the others inside." His smile disappeared as he spoke up re-appeared the more he talked.

Here that Raven pulled on the white cord letting the others know it was okay to enter the door.

The blonde boy started laughing uncontrollably. Then spoke "You won't make it past blue, or at least Travis wont."

OC: Let you guys take it from here. I should make the next post soon, like tomorrow or something. Maybe today... we will see... hehehehehe. Good luck all! ^_^

[Light Buster]

There was a tug on the line as Joseph and Tsubame spotted it move. It seems that her plan worked, for the time being.

(Joseph) "She's okay."
(Tsubame) "Raven's smarter than I anticipated. We better get moving."

The two went on, following the cord to the correct door.

[Aranneas]

Caution almost got the better of him.

The moment he saw the girl heading through the gate, Vane felt something creeping along the edges of his arms and legs; so strong was the sense that he had an image of spiders or something equally unpleasant bursting from the surface of his skin. The thought grabbed hold of him, would not let go; he could almost see them taking shape, tangible, in front of him, dropping to the ground in slithering hordes, watching...

Stop, he thought to himself. The only way out, was forward; even if he could find another way through this place than the one being offered, he would probably have to do so alone. Having to rely on himself was nothing new to Vane; this place, however was. Until he learned the rules he knew he would need help to continue and keep himself safe from harm.

He forced his natural reluctance to stick his neck out to the side. He took a breath to steel himself; a second, then a third. Took a moment to remember Emily's face. She seemed to smile at him in his mind's eye; that was enough. What spider could survive that? She would never have led him into danger. He took a running start towards the gathering ahead, strapping the strangely armoured contraption to his left arm as he went.

"Hey! Don't forget me, would ya?"

[Bubblegum Pop]

Raven stood paralyzed with fear. Those words the demented boy spoke haunted her mind, "You won't make it past blue, or at least Travis wont." That didn't make sense. She was a weak insecure person, and she looked up to him for protection and guidance. She couldn't let anything hurt him, she refused. Slowly,tears started to gather in her eyes as the image of her older brother flashed in her mind. How he would carry her home when she had breakdowns at school, how he would read her to sleep, spend every day with her. And here she was, in an unknown land relying on someone else who reminded her of him. She missed him, she felt like she was betraying her own brother and replacing him.

'No, i'm not replacing him. I'm just opening myself up to someone else. That's progress...the doctor said it would be hard for me to even open up to someone other than my brother. But here I am! But...I still miss him...I can't do this by myself. I can't lead this group further...what if I lead them into certain doom...'

She began to lose hope, and faith in herself. Why did she even speak up to choose a door in the first place. Why did she even take charge? Because of her Travis, no..EVERYONE could be in danger! The tears burst from her eyes as she began to cry loudly. Her throat began to swell up slightly, which always happened when she had major breakdowns. Her body collapsed on the ground. She covered her ears and curled up appearing like a little child curled up under her blankets hiding from a monster. At this point, she just wanted to disappear.

[RyuTama]

Travis held his breath. Waiting. He clutched the cord of Raven's headphones so tightly to the point where his knuckles began to turn white from the lack of bloodflow. 'Pull it,' he pleaded, 'Pull it now!'

He didn't know long he stood there; he just knew that it seemed to be for days. Finally, after several excruciating seconds, he felt a firm tug. He exhaled dramatically, and nearly collapsed from the indescribable relief that washed over him from head to toe. He remained frozen to the spot for a few moments, not daring to move, for fear of losing the remaining strength in his legs. Instead, he absentmindedly watched as some of the others headed for the door that they now knew was the Door of Truth. "It... it worked!" He whispered to himself breathlessly. Still quite unstable, he slowly made his way to the door. Then, just as he was about to step through the threshold, he glanced around. There were still other people in the distance that had not yet arrived to the gateways... He quickly scanned the few remaining weapons that lay scattered on the ground, and picked up a quiver full of arrows. He picked one from the quiver, and placed it in front of the Door of Truth, pointing out the right direction. Now no one else would have to risk walking through the Door to Death.

With that, he took a deep breath and proceeded through the door. A strange sensation swept over him, as if he were free falling. A sudden brightness made him squint his eyes shut. It only lasted for a short time, however, and he was soon in the same room as Raven. Wait... was room the right word...? To Travis, it looked more like an endless black abyss, with five different colored doors standing erect on an invisible black floor. And Raven...

Travis was shocked to see Raven standing there, her whole body shaking with uncontrollable sobs. He quickly ran up to her side to try and comfort her, but then... " YOU!" He yelled in outrage at the blonde boy, whom he had just noticed was standing a bit farther away. He glanced at Raven, then back at the boy; he looked like he had been laughing. "What did you do?! You little--!!"

Without thinking, he reached for the case of razor-sharp scalpels that was strapped around his shoulder. However, something stopped him. He could not move; an intense, overwhelming sense of ominous dread made his blood run cold. 'SNAP OUT OF IT,' he mentally ordered himself. He managed one trembling step toward the boy, and then collapsed, panting with exhaustion. 'PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER, TRAVIS!'

A cold sweat erupted on his forehead, making him shiver. He sat, motionless, glaring fiercely at the blonde boy. He was the one who made Raven cry; he was sure of it. And he was going to pay.

[Bubblegum Pop]

Her sobs continued. The tears were overflowing, her cries didn't quit down. She couldn't control herself, she needed her brother. She didn't want to continue on, but yet she did. Then she heard Travis. She looked up while crying, seeing him only made her cry more. She couldn't risk losing Travis. Even though they both just met, it was as if they had known each other for a long period of time.

She glanced up at the blonde boy once again, he was still laughing. It was as if wasn't human. No human was this evil and demented, what if this whole thing was a trap? Then what? She tried to shake these thought out of her mind as she attempted to rise to her feet, still crying but a little softer now.

"T-travis," She said trying to sound calm, "I-i'm ok." But she wasn't, her voice was still filled with her sobs and cries. "B-but I don't w-w-want to continue o-on..." Her voice trailed off as she turned away, as her cries began to calm down.

[HateSpawn98]

The blonde boy heard Raven say "T-travis, I-i'm ok. B-but I don't w-w-want to continue o-on..."

The boy started to laugh he could not stop his eyes and face were twisted with laughter. "Don't want to continue on, then I can kill you if you want, put you out of your misery. Make life that much easier. Do you want to give me your soul, because I will tell you a secret, if your hurt so is your soul and if you die here, well, It's ours to do as we please." He started to control himself.

"However Travis, go got some guts trying to attack me the fifth trail and my sister. Raven if you stay there the entire time I will send you into hell, I will kill you if you don't continue." He took another breath

"I will however take back what I said about Travis. He MIGHT make it past blue. The second trial." He laughed again, "If you attack me you will only get your self killed quicker however according to my agreement unless attacked I can not kill."

His laugh came back as he taunted Travis "But try me if you want! Come on! Let's see you do it! Kill me!" He laughed uncontrollably then his twisted smile returned.

"But you wont so I will let red handle you. Please enter the Red Door, or let me take your soul. Your choice. I leave it to you. However Travis, if you want to save your sister then I would finish this quickly. "

He then calmed down and opened the red's door....

OC: They unblocked this at school so I will be able to update once or twice during lunch. Thanks!

[Yukari]

Anya laughed a bit at Jackhammer and put an arm around him to guide him towards the door.

"Come on, Jackhammer. Seems it is our turn to enter the door." she said taking the lead as her arm dropped off of Jackhammer's shoulders. She moved through the door. She entered the scene to find Raven sobbing and Travis in a rage as the little boy taunted Travis.

Anya stood back and put a hand on her hip. "So what you are saying little boy is that if we don't attack you, you are under contract to not attack us? Not only that, if we refuse to move forward, you have a right to our souls?" she questioned just wanting to get some facts straight.

"The only thing we can do is move forward and have each other's back." she moved to stand in front of the Red door. "I'll go first this time." she stepped through holding her breath not sure what would be on the other side.

[Esiphas]

Jackhammer drew his handcannon and aimed it at the nagging boys head. "Your lucky. If i wasnt trying to conserve ammo youd have a bullet in your hade. So far it looks to me that your a whiny sod who cant do anything unless we find you worth wasting a bullet on. Now shut up, and open the door or whatever your doing nnow. And let the poor girl recover." He putt his pistol way. His shouldrs were still tingling from the hughe got from Anya. For now, he resisted the urge to hug her blindly nack.

[Aranneas]

People of all descriptions were milling around the two doors by the time Vane had scooted his way to the front of the crowd; one girl in particular caught his eye in some sort of oddly wrapped garment, though there was enough variety in human form and its alterations here to keep anyone who was even slightly interested occupied for days.

It was the door itself that Vane had come for and he barely noticed them in his focus. He stopped for a moment to catch his breath and observed his goal in all its glory. Massive, stretching, reaching to challenge whatever heavens this place might hide. The Gate of Truth. Ominous in name, but in nature...?

It was time to find out. Following a strong-looking fellow hefting a rather large gun and a young woman who vaguely unsettled him, Vane stepped through the portal.

[RyuTama]

"But try me if you want! Come on! Let's see you do it! Kill me!"

Travis remained crouched on the black floor, unable to do much more than pant and wheeze from the intense pressure that drained his strength. He wanted to comfort Raven, he wanted to make sure she was actually alright; she certainly didn't sound like it. He felt his hands tremble. The boy's taunting words made his blood boil. 'I would love to,' he thought bitterly. He would be happy to oblige the boy, but he knew he had to control himself. If he tried attacking him, what would happen to the others? Even if he were the only one to take a blow, would the boy go after everyone else as well? Travis couldn't stand to have that sort of blood on his hands... He took some calming breaths, and slowly but surely stood up on his two legs again. For a moment, he stumbled, and had to lightly grab onto Raven's shoulder for support. He quickly let go and ran his fingers through his hair, as he usually did when he was upset. He vaguely noticed the fair-haired girl from before address the other military officer as 'Jackhammer'. She then stepped toward the farthest door to the left, which was glowing a bright crimson red; the demented boy had apparently opened it earlier without him realizing.

As she disappeared beyond the red door, the man Jackhammer suddenly aimed an arm cannon at the boy. 'FOOL!' Travis thought, panicking. Jackhammer seemed to be threatening the child, but Travis' mind had gone too numb to register his words. Just as he was about to tackle the military officer for fear of him firing at the boy that had all of their lives in his hands, he lowered his weapon. Travis sighed and felt another fainting spell start to sweep over him, but it quickly faded. 'That was too close...' He thought, shaking.

Christ, how long was this madness going to go on? Surely something this sick and twisted had to be little more than an unusual nightmare... Despite that, Travis could feel, bit by bit, that this world was breaking him down. He had never felt such a livid hatred for anything before; he had never wanted to kill so badly. Travis shook his head fiercely. He would have to keep himself together. Judging from the five doors that stood in front of them, this was merely the beginning of the nightmare. He would have to hold out until then, but could he? Could he keep his urge to slice that arrogant boy up with his deadly new saw in check? Could he look after Raven and the others without letting himself get caught up in this horrible fantasy? Could he make it to the end without giving up or...

"There's no turning back, Raven," he said quietly. Then, clearing his throat and looking around at everyone else, he continued, "there's no turning back for anyone. What else can we do, other than move forward? I understand you're afraid; all of us are... but this is the only thing we can do," he glanced at the young boy, who still stood there, watching them. "If we stay here, who knows what HE," he went on, glaring venomously at the brat whom he blamed for everything, "could do to us."

Travis began to actually wonder what the boy's true powers were; if he could transport them all into this hell, then was there anything he couldn't do? Even though he was just a kid, was that just some sort of shell? A mask? Was something even more vicious and cruel lurking behind that seemingly harmless blonde hair and frail figure? He didn't want to find out; not ever. The faster they beat these obstacles and got out from this so-called Wonderland, the less time they would have to be in the presence of this omnipotent, twisted child.

"Besides," Travis said with the best smile he could muster, "this is just a dream, right? We'll wake up eventually. Come on," he continued, placing a comforting arm around Raven's shoulders. "We'll go in together."