Welcome to Gaia! ::

Mirroers mirrors everywhere. Why did this feel so familiar? It felt like walking through silver tower without so many stairs. And yet… the faced he didn’t recognize. Some were black, this was an eery place… echos.

He found a room with one mirror. Just one.

"Stand," booms a voice, but it is wispy and brittle, the sound of thousands of icicles bristling before a snowstorm, "stand, visitor, and listen. I cannot be freed so I am unafraid for I am [ Grief ] and a container. I exist to ease the pain of destruction. I will not move until this purpose is completed."

This was Grief? Ease the pain? He was unsure…

"Now, visitor, you cannot defeat nor free me. You may explore my castle if you wish, but I have a few questions. I have very little visitors as a prisoner. Answer my questions, tell me a story, tell me about your world, and I will give you something in return. May it serve you well if the fates misalign and I am freed one day."

I don’t not want to meet grief, I have had more than enough.

A queen or grief. It reminded him of a tree, a lake. Memories that were a bit faded.

“Myself…” what was there to tell, he wasn’t afraid of her ever getting free.

First, visitor, tell me about yourself. Your real self.

But there was no one else. What did it hurt? “I’m Andrew Conner, a flame demon.” That didn’t seem to be enough. “Child of Laura and Morgan, it is our policy to not give out our full names. I’m a creature of fire, home is full of lava and light. We bath in Lava and play in the ash dunes near volcanos. I grew up with soot and ash between my toes.”

Next visitor, I want to hear about your journey.

Well… I did all the quests… and met some people… I don’t really know how I got here, I feel down a rabbit hole.” He thought for a long moment, tail twitching. “I had to cross some water. It was during the promotion ceremony. Water is very scary for a flame demon but it was ok in this avatar.” He nodded a little. “And I met up with some friends.” He didn’t really expand.

Explain to me the world you live in. Not this one, the one your real bodies occupy.

He frowned tail twitching. “I live in amity… they aren’t very fond of flame demons. Back home fire is normal and beautiful and dances in the streets and homes everywhere but in amity they have a lot of trees and mist and fog. There are a bunch of ice demons there and a lot of other stuff, but none of them like fire. Especially not the undead. I wanted to go to school there to learn to be scary… but I don’t’ really have to work at people avoiding me.”

Have you ever been hurt by someone you love?
“Yes.” When she prodded further he wanted to take it back. But he couldn’t.
“It’s complicated.”
…
“I… I… I don’t want to talk about it.”
“It wasn’t on purpose.”
“She just…”
“I’m a flame demon.”
“And it was just a game.”
“And she’s an undead.”
“And… she was playing it with someone else.”
“I don’t know why it hurt so much.”

What are you afraid of?

“Water.” That was easy but she pressed. “Drowning, dying. Simple as that.” She pressed more. He could feel it.

The simple fears were not enough for Greif. The obvious answer.

Not enough.

“I… don’t want to be hurt.” He did not want to be hurt by those he loved. “I can’t give it out, not my heart. Please… Don’t make me say it.” But the pain of fear was clear on his face. It was all interconnected. The fear of loss, the fear of not being accepted, the fear of never being able to be with the ones he wanted to be around. Those he loved. The Fear of love itself.

Tell me a secret about yourself.

“Why do you keep going for the hard questions.?” She merely stared.

"A secret.”

“I think I love her.”

“Don’t tell anyone.”

What is it that you wish for the most?

“I wish… I wish… that it was easier. That… She wasn’t afraid of me. That only those who I wanted to be afraid were afraid and those who I don’t want to be were not… I wish I could trust them again.” He vaguely alluded the who of his words. He just wanted to allow himself to be happy. To not be on guard so much, but he couldn’t help it.


"It is strange." the White Queen finally responds, "You are different, and so are your memories. I feel as if something may, perhaps change. Thank you for your story. I hope we do not meet again."

He hopped so too. He did not want to meet grief again, but he knew he would.

BigMac himself was a touch awed by the room. It was obviously a great place, and the amount of mirrors suggested it's worth. But while it might have amazed him, it wasn't enough to give him pause. He moved forward, examining curiously until the voice reached him. The brittle sound was undermined by the words, and it seemed as if this had once been a powerful being indeed. And it seemed as though there were few options other than to comply, to give in and answer the questions.

Telling her about himself was not something he wanted to do, he wasn't much for talking about himself. "I am a guardian. I protect those I vow to serve." The room seemed to grow a bit chillier and he spoke a bit more. "I like trying to grow things and apples." Apparently enough, because the voice moved on.

His journey was brief to be sure, simply talking about the annoying trees, his few battles, and then the tea party. What was a bit more difficult was talking about the marriage, and he brushed past that quickly without fully giving all the details.

"In my world, we harvest Fear. The Fear of humans, and they are to bow to our will. We are the horsemen, the clans of the apocalypse. I come from Death, and it is Death who will reap the final benefits of Fear."

"Yes." She pressed on, and his lips tightened. "When she died, and I was no longer able to see her. To care for her." That was painful enough, and nothing that he really wanted to talk to her about.

"Afraid?" He knew she would not take that for an answer and sighed. "I am afraid to commit again. I am afraid to care for someone so deeply when they may be gone from one day to the next. I am afraid to trust."

Secrets were tricky things, especially to an unknown. "I still wish that my mother hadn't come back."

What was it that he wished for most? Not long ago it would have been easy. For Astridr to come back, but now it was not the first thing he thought about daily, the last thing he thought about before bed. "I wish to make good decisions," he decided. "I wish I had the strength to fully move on and continue to live my life without living in the past."

That was it. He was done.

Somehow she had gone to a path that seemed to wind and take her far away from the tea and accursed sugar. Ahead she could see the shape of the castle. It unimpressed her and she waved it off with a shrug, moving with the gates as they opened for her. r3d was done in trying to question things in this crazy place and followed along to the hallway. Though she wasn't questioning it she was still very wary of her surroundings.

Inside was a hall of some sort with mirrors on the end. r3d's eyes lazily moved across one and side and to the other as she could see the remnants of faces still in them. It didn't bother her - mirror monsters were easily defeated if it called for that sort of thing. As she continued she stopped in front of the empty throne, gazing at it curiously.

The curiosity faded at the voice and she moved low, ready to attack if necessary. Frantically her eyes tried to pinpoint the one speaking but they could not and she stood, staring at the throne and back around the hall again. "Grief, hm?" She snorted. Ease destruction? The idea made her nose wrinkle as she frowned, crossing her arms with an unamused look on her face. The voice continued on and r3d nearly laughed. Her, a guest in a castle? She might as well dye her hair bright pink.

She decided to indulge the disembodied voice, seeing the amusement in asking her to divulge anything. Actions spoke louder than words, after all.

About herself? r3d controlled herself to keep from snorting again.

"I am a warrior." She said with a smug smile. "I fight to bring destruction, I fight for war..." r3d nearly asked her how she could be eased but refrained, smirking at the thought of it in her head. "I think that's all that needs to be spoken." There was more, much more, but nothing she was willing to share with a voice of someone she couldn't even see. The voice moved on.

"My journey has been ridiculous." She bit at her tongue. "Talking trees, mushrooms that make you grow size, an overabundance of the abhorrent sugar treats." A pause. "Many battles though, and those I enjoy." There was a small hum to her voice as she twisted her body around, straining the uncovered eye to observe the area around her.

"My world is broken." r3d gave little hesitation and she moved her head, allowing her long red locks of hair to sway behind her. "It is no more but a shell of itself. We borrow the land we live on, but it is no home. It was stolen and so the only world I care for is the one for revenge." An ignition went off into her eye and it appeared to smoulder. "There are humans in their realm and we tolerate our situation, but it is still broken..."

It took her a moment to get back out of the question to shake her head slowly, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Most of them are dead. I have only one left and she is apart from me." She was evading it. "Things like that don't affect me." She lied.

An offended look graced her face and she turned her body more violently, pulling the crossed arms in tighter. The word was quiet when she spoke it, barely above a whisper. "Failure."

"Tch." r3d had lost her amusement. "A secret?" She thought it over to herself and shrugged. Was there a secret? There were plenty but what could be shared with a stranger? For that matter, why did she feel compelled to even answer? "I cannot remember." She paused. "I mean to say, most things since before..." Was that really a secret? r3d didn't care anymore. She was tired of the question and answer round.

"I wish to be strong again." Her voice regained its vivaciousness and she grinned. "To help war, to become stronger. A powerful ally to be needed."

At her words she felt them echo, the softer words of the one asking fading off as it became steadily silent again. Behind her she could hear the shatter and turned back. Clearly the one asking the questions had gone and now she was left to her own devices.

Raze frowned at the strange-a** decoration choices the White Queen's Castle made use of. She wasn't exactly ashamed of her reflection, she'd wear skirts and gave no ******** about the numerous scars she had, but lining the whole stretch of the hallway with that much?

"Overkill," she muttered to herself. And then Grief's voice boomed all around, the intensity vibrating through her body with the force of ten million bass woofers. Ears ringing, Raze shook her head, straining to hear the queen's question.

"Ha? Ano 'kamo?" she yelled, requesting a repeat. And this time, the words seemed to come directly into her mind. "Oh, is that all? I'm Ligaya delos Santos, people can me Joy or Lee. Sometimes Happy or Haps." She did not say that the Queen was allowed to call her that.

At the second question, she cocked her head, "My journey? It's not really much. Found out the trees here are creepy as ********, you should look into a good logger. The Jabberwock-thing kicks a**, just wish we had a chance to fight back. Aaaaand uh, dungeons, mob fighting, and I dunno, got into a guild too?" She glanced at the delicate band on her finger but decided the Queen didn't need to know sappy s**t like that.

The third question left her confused, "The ******** you mean world I live in? There's just one world, the real world. You know? Outside the internet? Where there's sunlight?" Joy refrained from speaking about the shadows. Not the kind that you cast from standing in the light, though. She meant The Shadows where unpleasant things lurked and waited, but again she kept her mouth shut. "You get to do stuff during your precious free time after your boring-a** office job? Stuff that isn't about being inside the house in front of a computer."

"Have you ever been hurt by someone you love?"

"The ******** kind of question is that?" She glowered, but after a while answered, "Yeah. There was this guy, Paolo. I thought we were buds and well, when it was time for junior Prom, shut up, I wanted to go to Prom, I asked if he'd be my date. And he laughed at me. Thought I was joking. I pretended I was but the ******** was lucky I liked him enough not to punch his lights out."

She folded her arms across her chest, "I'm not afraid of anything. Not pain. Not death." She grit her teeth as the queen pressed further, "Fine! If it'll get you to shut up, I'm afraid that I'll get stuck in the most boring-a** life ever. No way out and nowhere else to go. Happy?"

Joy threw her hands up, "Ampota, kapal ng mukha mo, ah! You want a secret? Alright, here's one! Even though we're not friend or close or s**t like that, here's one: I only said I lost my virginity during Senior Ball night so the other girls didn't think I was a lesbian."

And at the final question, she snapped, "I wish I knew what was going on. Why am I here? Why can't I wake up? Is this really a dream or am I already dead? Have I been fired from my work yet?"

Of course she got to response and was instead granted access to the rest of the White Queen's kingdom.

The hallway was long and eerie and dark, and iPink was relieved to finally get to the other side; however, although she could have sworn that she saw faces reflected along the mirrors in the hallway, the room was empty, save for a single throne. As she was about to explore, a voice asked - no, commanded - her to answer some questions, and she only nodded.

"I am Elizabeth Baines, but my friends call me Lizzy," She replied sheepishly, not quite sure where to look since there did not seem to be a physical person for her to look at. Instead, she focused on the throne, "I'm a spider demon, a black widow to be exact, and am soon to graduate from Amityville..." She would have graduated earlier if only she didn't face some setbacks.

"I was at first... Fascinated with this-" She made some vague gestures, "-whole place, but it's less fun when you realize that you can't leave whenever you want to... Um... I'm lucky to have met some really good people, who asked me to be a part of their guild, Penumbra. I think... I might had fallen into despair by now, if not for their support. But because I know that they will be there to help me despite my lower level, I feel a little braver."

The next question caused her to pause, and if not for the fact that she felt pressurized to answer quickly, she would have taken more time to think, "I came from a place called Halloween, where everything is made up of Fear, including its occupants. It's a really lovely place, with very lovely people... Oh! Amityville is the school I attend in Halloween, by the way." In case the voice wasn't sure what she meant when she mentioned Amityville earlier.

"... Yes," Her voice was soft, almost a whisper, as she looked down at her feet, "Someone I loved betrayed my love for him. He said that it was an accident. A mistake. But you can't undo what had already been done, accident or not. I really... Would rather not go into specific details, if you please..."

She inhaled deeply, holding her breathe for a few seconds before exhaling. When she looked up, she was smiling again, albeit a more solemn smile than before.

"I'm afraid of being alone, regardless of the cause," She confessed, tilting her head when the next question was asked, "Incidentally, my fear is also a secret. I don't think a lot of people know about it, and it's not something I like to go around announcing to others..." It was nothing to be proud of, after all.

"I wish for my friends to be safe and happy," She answered almost immediately, like she had wished for it a million times already, sometime in the past, "I know it's not the most original wish, but I sincerely hope for them to be happy. Happier than I am. If they are happy, then... Then I guess I can learn to be a little happier too."

Heaving a sigh of relief when she learned that the voice was done with asking questions, iPink curtsied, and quickly left through one of the mirrors.

As he entered the huge castle, Phones couldn't help wondering if maybe he was almost to the end of this dream, or game. Or whatever it was. This seemed very much like a place where things ended. It was odd that there was apparently no one around. Just mirrors upon mirrors upon mirrors. And an empty throne room. Wasn't this supposed to be the White Queen's castle? Where was she?

The voice that suddenly spoke startled him into yelping and jumping, turning around to focus on the throne. He frowned at her words, not really understanding how she could be trapped. But still, it meant he was in no danger... right? If she couldn't leave, she couldn't hurt him. Then came the questions, and Phones hesitated a moment before answering. It felt weird telling her all of these things, but it was also somehow ... freeing.

"First, visitor, tell me about yourself. Your real self."
He swallowed a bit nervously and his fingers toyed absently with the cord of his headphones. "My actual name is Donovan Blackwell. I'm an Urban Spectre and my pack lives near the human city of ... London, I think it's called." He stopped there, not sure how much detail she might want. But she seemed satisfied and asked another question.

Next visitor, I want to hear about your journey.
"Well ... I woke up here and drank something that said 'drink me'. Then there were talking trees that dropped these little diamond things if you agreed to help them. Bloody strange if you ask me." He pulled a few fragments out of his pocket to display. "There's a monster in the forest too ..." he started, then trailed off. No, he didn't want to think about that, or talk about it. "After I left the forest, there was a huge table with food, and I tasted something that had ... weird effects. And then I came here."

Explain to me the world you live in. Not this one, the one your real bodies occupy.
"That ... might take a while, it's a pretty complicated place," he murmured. "But uhm. I come from Halloween, like I said near the human world city of London. I don't know much about the humans, sorry. I left home a little while ago to try and get into a school called Amityville, it's supposed to be one of the best. I want to learn how to scare humans better but ... honestly I haven't gotten very far in trying to get into school." He shrugged it off as if that wasn't a bit deal, part of him wishing for a cigarette.

Have you ever been hurt by someone you love?
Phones frowned at that. He was starting to think she was getting a little bit personal here. But he had agreed to answer her questions. "No," he muttered. And when she asked why not, he just blinked a couple of times. "Love isn't really ... a thing in my life right now."

What are you afraid of?
Before he could really think about it, he was answering, almost as if he was under a spell of some kind. "Being exactly the same as everyone else. I want to be myself. Not just a face in the crowd." He hesitated, trembling slightly. "I don't ... want to lose myself."

Tell me a secret about yourself.
A secret ... "I saw the human world once, through a portal when some of the older ones left. I wasn't supposed to be there... "

What is it that you wish for the most?
"I wish ... " He paused, staring at the floor then looking up to meet her gaze. "I want to be one of the leaders. Of the packs. I want to learn enough to be different, to go home and command the others and stay myself."

Quite suddenly, he slumped and blinked several times, as if waking up from a dream. He felt strange, like he'd revealed too much but at the same time, just enough. The queen dismissed him, and he realized the broken mirrors were now doors. Wandering toward one of them at random, he left her sitting there alone.

The walk felt like it took forever but soon he reached a set of gates, long white elaborate gates that admittingly he took a pause to admire. Elegance was never overrated after all, at least not to a demon. Entering the gates as they opened he trailed inside. A little hesitant when seeing the unfamiliar faces in the mirrors around. But they were curious so he kept going.

Of course as he walked on in the mirrors that were broken captured a weary eye. Why would someone in such an elegant place allow for broken things? Dark things in all this that seemed to be light? When he approached the throne room, hesitantly slow steps were taken. There was no one inside, which while even curiouser, made him uneasy. Now paused in the middle of the room he stared at the mirrors alone with him.

"Stand," booms a voice, but it is wispy and brittle, the sound of thousands of icicles bristling before a snowstorm, "stand, visitor, and listen. I cannot be freed so I am unafraid for I am [ Grief ] and a container. I exist to ease the pain of destruction. I will not move until this purpose is completed."

"Now, visitor, you cannot defeat nor free me. You may explore my castle if you wish, but I have a few questions. I have very little visitors as a prisoner. Answer my questions, tell me a story, tell me about your world, and I will give you something in return. May it serve you well if the fates misalign and I am freed one day."

For the moment he did as Grief asked, standing, waiting. He would tell it whatever it wanted to hear, if only for the promise of a returned gift. "Ask away then," he encouraged, hands folding over his chest as he waited. However compliant he appeared, he was already plotting half-assed answers and truths.

First, visitor, tell me about yourself. Your real self.
His real self, the question put a smirk on his lips. "Which real self? I have many sides, like a pair of dice. If you want to know about my charming self well, " he bows dramatically before chuckling. "I'm a con, born of a frosted imagination." It was really as simple as that. And that seemed to work as the questions continued.

Next visitor, I want to hear about your journey.
Unfolding his hands he makes a gesture to his lovely new rabbit ears. "It all stares with a hare really, I began as a white rabbit and through many hours of wandering, questing and battling I became a white rabbit herald. I even got married oddly enough, though for treasure." Treasure, a ting of something hit him at the mention, something that made him miss being around DW. Rolling the ring around his finger he continued, "and now I'm here, tell you my tale I suppose."

Explain to me the world you live in. Not this one, the one your real bodies occupy.
The one his real body occupies, ok, what? For a moment he glanced around, right, this was a dream. On a laugh he shook his head and shrugged. What was there to say? "Well, I attend a school for creatures...Amityville, it's alright as far as schools go." He paused thinking for a moment why he was blabbering so much but added before waiting for the next question, "Halloween is where it's at..there are many different suckers just waiting for the scam there. So much to do."

Have you ever been hurt by someone you love?
"Once, but never again," he replied calmly, a face that of a bold lie. Before answering her next question with ease. "Because I don't allow myself to be, it's simple really. Love is something I'm not interested in.." Not at all. Nor was being hurt by it, be it unintentionally or not. FlukeFiend's pale eyes trailed to the ground, mind forcing thoughts of a curly head back.

What are you afraid of?
"Nothing." Another thing he had tucked away, but the single word didn't seem like it would work as the room got colder. "I love the cold, " he commented a bit sassy until the atmosphere changed. On a tight-lipped frown he mulled over a better answer, it was hard considering fear was something he misplaced years ago. "Fine fine...Emotions I suppose, they ruin the ruse. "

Tell me a secret about yourself.
"Nearly, mostly, over half of what I say is a lie, to anyone at any given time..For protection." It was technically a secret. Smirking he glanced around, hands finding his pockets to run the lining. This was getting boring, to close, so boring. But before he could speak up again another question came.

What is it that you wish for the most?
"Great power, if anything." He smirked as the room chilled again but refused to give anymore. Power was a wish, his most, well at one time it was. Now he wasn't entirely sure which was why it wasn't really a lie,.. really....

"It is strange." the White Queen finally responds, "You are different, and so are your memories. I feel as if something may, perhaps change. Thank you for your story. I hope we do not meet again."

FlukeFiend remained a moment longer before stepping towards the broken mirror that opened up. This place seemed kind of homey now that he thought about it, but it was time to move on. "Goodbye then." Chuckling he entered the mirror and was off on his next adventure.