Project ROSE (unfinished)

by StomachNLungPain

Summary:

Taii goes into the wonderland in search of Catt.

Chapter 1: Chapter 1

In the depths of the blue forest, a quiet equestrian-esque abnormality lies at the very heart. Surrounded by frost and ice, it dares not move in fear of all the ice crumbling in on it. Its long golden hair doesn't move as it looks around, a sufficient shield against the real world. It is hungry and thirsty. It waits for foolish prey to get near it. There is no worthy life to try sustaining, as it doesn't have a beating heart, so why bother trying to hunt. Why would you gift a bad person good things. It's just easier to accept that no one will care for you than to experience the heartbreak of when they don't. It's best to keep everyone else out with a wall of ice.

-

The wonderland was an odd place. It had trees made of dark brown wood that bled purple when hurt, the sky was a beautiful mix of neon hues, purple, pink, lilac, and white. There would be random infrequent chasms, filled with deadly sharp rocks and gaping holes ready to snatch you up at any moment. Sometimes, boulders rose so high they could easily be mistaken for mountains if it weren't for the lack of life on them. Occasionally, there were signs of civilization, such as huts made out of purple straw, tall modern streetlamps with broken lightbulbs, half-eaten human clothing, and mysterious technology from aboveground workshops. However, it was clear that it had been uninhabited for a long time. Small unimportant creatures would hang around the abandoned huts, lurking in the shadows. Tall carved rocks could always be found near those places, however, their function was unclear.

The plant life was the true mark of this realm as a wonderland. There were many overgrown vines, trailing across paths, branches, rocks, and anywhere they could reach. Some seemed to be infinite. Tree heights ranged from as short as a mere planting, to as tall as the clouds! Some were so high and wide, that they could easily have held generations of skeletons within them. At night, the trees would rustle and whisper. The ground was constantly in a disarray as well, with parts being littered in dead grey leaves and some having mysterious paths that lead nowhere and began nowhere. Overgrown magenta grass and grass green quicksand hid the fallen branches and logs from sight, granting the predators within them an advantage. Or perhaps a disadvantage if they hadn't adapted well, as demonstrated by the gaunt creature that was quickly drowning in such quicksand.

Taii watched it disappear completely before slashing at the dark bark of the tree, causing the thick purple liquid to ooze out uncontrollably. It smelt like burnt cookies. She leaned in closer to smell it, inhaling it deeply. Burnt cookies and old tea. Perhaps there was a tea party recently?

She ventured forward, pushing overgrown vines of pink, purple, and every colour out of her way. She used her blue thorn vines to quickly free a path, leaving behind a scent of elegant roses and light blue flower petals. She strode forward, unafraid as she knew Rose protected her. She always felt Rose, in her skin, under her eyes, whispering in her eardrums, hiding in her hair. Rose didn't truly die, she knew that. She didn't flap her wings and fly away to a heaven made for her. Instead, she stayed and protected Taii. Rose will light the path to Catt, much like how she lit the path for Catt to find Taii at that fateful moment.

"Taii?" Her walkie-talkie crackled with Flower's voice. Flower was monitoring Taii from Bloom Office, keeping a close eye on Rose using a tracking device if Taii were to ever lose her way. "Ella and Finn are over. They told me to tell you good luck in finding captain and that there's a sandwich waiting for you."

Taii crouched low as a huge elephant- if elephants were a light blue and wore top hats with silly flowers clearly drawn from a child's hand- lumbered by. She waited for it to move a bit farther before responding quietly, "Tell them thanks and that the watch parts Finn wanted from me are in a box labeled 'For Finn' under the desk at reception."

"Flower's on it! Stay safe Taii!" The walkie-talkie made the affirmative off noise.

Rose would always keep me safe.

-

 

 

 

Chapter 2: Chapter 2

Summary:

A tea party.

The Road Home, White Lake, Red Queen, Scaredy Cat, and Hookah Caterpillar all sat around a round table. Scaredy Cat was curled up under the table, laying on the soft blue grass. There were tiny biscuits, a mysterious pot of tea, and red cakes. The bright purple trees around them softly provided music by manipulating their hollow insides and the wind.

"Can someone pass me a biscuit?" asked The Road Home, "I don't have arms." White Lake hummed as she held out a biscuit for The Road Home with a picture of a sweet pink home, "This one looks like someone we know, doesn't it?"

The Road Home took a bite, "It tastes like home." She sighed unhappily, "We ought to get going soon, the energy around here is quickly dying. Can't you speed up the process a bit hookah?"

Hookah sadly shook its head. "Can't. Too tiring. Need to rest."

Red Queen poshly waited for a red minion to assist her. It lifted a teacup to her lips and she took a small sip before slicing it in half. "We'll soon be left with no choice at the rate the energy's going. We need an alternative power source."

Scaredy Cat gulped and pawed at the ground. He mewled and anxiously began biting his claws.  "I just want my arms back," The Road Home pouted unhappily, her little glass feet kicking frustratedly.

White Lake sniffed, "If it weren't for those meddling companies that took our energies and dismembered us over and over. Turning us into ugly clothing to protect them." She dramatically shuddered, however, it looked elegant and like it was made for her. Of course, none is more elegant than White Lake.

Except perhaps one. Or two.

The trees whispered, growing restless, 'A threat approaches.' No one heard the trees.

Titania and her one strolled into the clearing where the Tea Party currently camped. Titania, surrounded by her many tiny Fae helpers, followed by Al. An Al that had sporadically exposed muscles and tendons, that flew with his huge green bat-like wings, rather than his two legs. There was an odd concave in his chest, right above his shirt. It seemed to be missing something.

"I have a solution that you simpletons hadn't thought of yet," Titania stated. Her voice had a condescending edge to it that the others clearly didn't like, as even the normally pathetic Scaredy Cat's hackles raised. "Do you know of Catt? A recent distortion."

"They were a fierce captain in their day, however, ever since the falling of Lobotomy Corporation has not been seen. My little ones have told me they are in this realm, hidden behind strong walls of ice." The Road Home grimaced as she remembered how Catt disemboweled her that one time. That feeling when your head gets chopped off is something that just can't be forgotten.

Titania continued, aware of everyone's growing discomfort. She knew all, of course. "They are very strong and can radiate adequate enough energy to keep the realm alive until Hookah Caterpillar can do so. We'll have to be careful with our energy supplies until we can find them."

Hookah Caterpillar groaned. He did not want to ever encounter the wretched creature that constantly used to steal all his energy. A nearby tree fell down and shattered into dozens of broken pieces.

"Unfortunately as the Hookah Caterpillar is such a pathetic being," Titania said, "We'll need to find them soon. It mattes not how many appendages we lose, or whose head gets chopped off, for the fate of this world matters more."

Scaredy Cat whimpered loudly. He did not like the idea of being hurt again, and he could feel all the fear festering under his skin, making him restless and close to lashing out.

The Road Home peeked under the table and gently bumped his head with her head, "It's okay kitty. We probably won't have much trouble finding it."

Chapter 3: Chapter 3

Summary:

ur mom *explosion noise*

Within the depths of the Red Forest, lies a sleeping beauty on a bed of lavender roses surrounded by a diverse variety of roses, except for blue ones. Sharp thorned bushes and vines trap them within their resting place. They lay as if they were a vampire in a coffin, despite being too pure to be one.

They had been laying there for a long time. While chaos reigned and corporations fell in the above world, not once did the noise disturb them.

They have no weapons near them, nor any suitable protection. They wore a white suit that was perfectly smooth and clean, except for the blood stains near the collar. Their chest didn't rise or fall, but decay never appeared though there were no signs of life.

The sleeping beauty never stirred once, even when a blue rose bloomed.

-

"Taii! Flower's got a joke for you."

"What's the joke?"

"What do you say when a cat's being crazy?"

"What."

"Quit horsing around Catt!"

Taii frowned at her walkie-talkie. Maybe she should have asked Ella to watch over it today...

Flower logged off the walkie-talkie and left Taii in silence.

She checked her Enkephalin reader. There were still readings of Enkephalin energy, which meant that Catt wasn't quite close by.

She wondered, would Catt still want to see her? Would their feelings change or have they forgotten everything? Taii has nearly convinced herself several times that Catt wouldn't remember, wouldn't care anymore, but she knows deep down that just isn't true. 

The sound of ice tinkling danced along the wind, teasing her ears. She stopped, half in shock that she found Catt easily, half scared of the unknown possibility that it wasn't her Catt.

She took a deep breath and got ready to march on when she heard another sound. Not a good one. Taii dropped and hid in the nearest log, praying that there wasn't anything in there. 

A fairy soldier trooped by, and stopped, allowing Taii's worst nightmare to walk past. The Everlasting Tea Party was back. 

They weren't all Aleph level abnormalities, but in this Wonderland they would probably have the upper hand over her. The only Aleph abnormality was Titania. Should've only been Titania. 

Taii felt her blood pressure increase when a familiar face walked in. 

 Al. The thirsty dude who got so many people killed because he was too enamored by Rose. But Al... wasn't normal anymore. 

He seemed to be a hybrid of slinky human, Nothing Is, and Oberon. He had exposed red flesh sporadically appearing along his body, but he also had green membrane wings. There was an odd concave in the middle of his chest. 

Titania wasn't surrounded by her usual legions of fairies, except for that one soldier. 

Why are they here?

White Lake yawned, "Have we found them yet?" She was growing tired of all this travelling. 

Red Queen scoffed, "Clearly if you had followed my instructions we would have found them earlier."

Titania continued forward, ignoring them while Al dutifully stayed behind her. Taii stayed so still as they circled the area she was in, she didn't even know if time moved because her only priority now was surviving the Everlasting Tea Party. She might have had Aleph level E.G.O (that was made from her lover's skin) and weapons, but this was all new territory.

The Road Home began building a mini castle for Scaredy Cat to hide in.  Scaredy Cat seemed less scared as he watched her. Until Titania walked by and his soul practically left his body. Despite Al being the bigger threat, Titania seemed to be the leader. 

Hookah Caterpillar chose to sit on the log Taii was hiding in. So many other places for him to rest and he chose where Taii was hiding. 

Hookah yawned, "The wonderland isn't in that much danger if I'm honest. Sure it is slowly dying but we can last long enough till I regenerate."

White Lake sniffled, "Lakes everywhere have been evaporating. The Drowned Sisters have been filing complaints to me, even though it's out of my control."

The Road home looked up, "Surely you can't just make more water?" 

White Lake sadly shook her head, "Not enough energy."

Taii contemplated that. If they didn't have enough energy to sustain their own realm, surely they would be weaker right? Or was it the opposite?

Whatever the case, Taii wasn't allowed to think for long because Hookah shifted a little and his fat ass fell through the log and landed on top of her.

She froze. He froze. Everyone froze.

Taii let out what she considered her battle cry and slashed up with her sword while using her vines to wrap around The Road Home. Blue blood sprayed everywhere as Taii tried to cut through Hookah. Unfortunately, he was too thick to make a clean cut. The Road Home screamed as she couldn't escape the vines that were squeezing her to death. Her attempts at escaping using the golden bricks to cut herself out were proving futile as the vines were simply too strong. 

Acidic blue blood sprayed everywhere from Hookah's body as he helplessly flailed on the ground like a baby and scorched Taii's exposed skin. She hissed through the pain but continued hacking at every abnormality near her. White Lake screeched an unholy sound as Taii sliced off her arm. She flailed and hid from Taii as she nursed the bleeding stump that used to be her arm.

Taii jumped back as Red Queen tried to slash at her. Red Queen sent out a wave of Hate so powerful that Taii got physically pushed back. 

Titania and Al sat back, watching. They felt no need to help the others kill Taii as their efforts should be enough. Or perhaps Titania was simply enjoying a good show. 

The Road Home screamed louder as fractures started appearing. First from her chest, then it began spreading to her face, and then her whole body. Gold blood oozed from where the sharp thorns dug into her. Scaredy Cat was too overwhelmed to help. He knew he wanted to help but it was as if a heavy ball sat on his chest, preventing him from helping. Scaredy Cat was scared. He could hear it now. The taunts and jeers from others as they called him things like pussycat or wimp. The one fairy soldier tried to help in the fight, but he only got in the way of Red Queen's next attack, causing her to take off his head and eat his body.

Taii then saw Scaredy Cat standing, doing nothing so she lunged at him and took off his weak head in one clean movement. The Road Home cried out in despair as she watched Scaredy Cat's head roll off. Red Queen grew stupidly enraged as she wasn't the one that caused his head to roll. She had been craving a good beheading lately. She tried to stab at Taii again but instead, Taii turned back and chopped the tips of her fingers off. Red Queen cried out and clutched at her fingers as Taii kicked her down onto the ground and stomped on Red Queen's head, causing another fracture to appear in her ivory mask. She picked Red Queen up and smashed her head against the tree trunk, causing purple blood to spurt out and coat Red Queen's flawless face.

White Lake had been cowering at the back, but she screamed as Scaredy Cat's lifeless head came rolling to a stop at her feet. There was so much screaming that Taii's head was beginning to hurt. She looked up from Red Queen and spotted White Lake. She felt her eyes swimming with tears as Hookah's blood continued eating at her face so she quickly wiped it off and jumped for White Lake. She wiped her face using White Lake's slender aqueous body, relishing in White Lake's horror as White Lake desperately tried to free herself from Taii's grasp. Taii continued clutching at White Lake's waist as the searing hotness from Hookah's blood was instantly alleviated. 

Taii looked up at White Lake and grinned as she poked out with her sword, stabbing White Lake in the eye at the same time as The Road Home let out a bloodcurdling scream as she shattered into dozens of glass fragments. Gold blood and guts sprayed Taii and White Lake as The Road Home's entire being was squeezed to oblivion. White Lake began sobbing as she held her face, feeling all the liquid from her eye drip into the crevices of her graceful fingers. Her vanity would now permanently be ruined. Taii used the now free vine to wrap around White Lake.

Red Queen and Hookah decided that it was time to leave. It was a mistake trying to take on a high-ranking ex-employee of Lobotomy Corporation that possessed Aleph level E.G.O. They quickly fled the scene (Red Queen carried Hookah on her shoulders, even though she hate gross things she understood the importance of Hookah's energy), leaving behind a trail of red and blue blood that Taii could easily follow. Titania grew bored and gestured for Al to follow her and they also left, though Al was a bit reluctant to leave.

The only sounds remaining now were that of White Lake flailing in Taii's vines. They stood (or White Lake hanged) in a clearing decorated with blue blood, red blood, green blood, purple blood, and gold blood. Scaredy Cat's lifeless head lay near the edge. Fragments of The Road Home had landed and buried themselves into Scaredy Cat's headless body. 

Taii approached White Lake and held her sword just underneath White Lake's chin. White Lake gulped and stopped struggling.

Taii fiddled with another device at her waist, then put on her walkie-talkie. "Flower, you there?"

A moment passed before Flower responded, "Yes, need anything Taii?"

"I need you to begin recording this audio."

"Okie-Dokie Taii! Give Flower a moment to set things up."

White Lake listened fearfully as she heard sounds of heavy objects hitting the ground, mysterious switches being flicked and thumping. Thump. Thump. Thump. Like her heart right now.  She knew by listening that they were just setting up a recording thing, but when she heard more mechanics whirring her fear levels picked up drastically as she imagined a painful torture device.

"Who were you looking for?" Taii asked her in a voice that would've made White Lake pee her pants were she a pathetic human. 

White Lake hiccuped as she answered, "Th-they were looking for a power source." Though Titania hadn't helped at all and actually left, she still felt some loyalty to Titania because she believed Titania was doing what would be best for the Wonderland.

Taii's left eyebrow twitched. 

"Why do I have a feeling you're not telling the complete truth?" Taii questioned White Lake while smiling the same type of smile White Lake watched Blue Smocked Shepherd smile right before he happily abused his Reddened Buddy in many, many horrific ways. 

White Lake decided to stay quiet. Bad choice. 

Taii swung her sword and sliced halfway into White Lake's remaining arm. White Lake screamed.

"Just tell me the truth White Lake, Titania's not gonna give you a gold star for being a fool." Taii drawled at White Lake.

White Lake let out a cry of despair before responding, "They're looking for a horse that-that-th-" She hiccuped as she spoke, fear clogging her throat. Taii couldn't stand it and nicked off a bit of her arm. 

She frowned when White Lake cried more. "Just give me a name or something," Taii told her, "It'll make it easier on you."

When White Lake still refused to answer, Taii sneered and shook her around. Taii yelled at her, "You see all that blood? Do you see their bodies? Titania left. She left you to die. There's no point in being loyal to her anymore."

White Lake defiantly turned her head away, "You wouldn't understand what you'd do for someone you love that loves you back! I would never betray her." She spoke so vehemently that Taii almost believed that Titania did love her back, but Taii knew that Titania had too much hate in her heart for Oberon to ever love someone else. 

Taii pursed her lips, giving up on trying to get the words out without violence, "Last chance to 'fess up White Lake."

White Lake's lip trembled but she didn't say anything. Taii sighed and stabbed at White Lake's gut. She slowly lifted her sword back out, dragging solid blue substances with her.

"They're looking for a being called Catt!" White Lake finally screamed out, pain radiating throughout her whole body.

Taii released her from the vines and White Lake carelessly fell onto the ground. 

She sobbed and clutched at herself as Taii regaled everything again to Flower.

"Thanks Flower, knew I could count on you." Taii smiled at her walkie-talkie and then turned back to White Lake, her smile instantly dropping. White Lake trembled as she looked at the monster above her, "I-I thought you'd let me g-g-g...?" 

Taii cocked her head, "I never said I'd let you leave alive. Stop recording now Flower."

-

Taii sighed as she furiously scrubbed her nails in the bathroom. She was back in Bloom Office. Flower knocked on the door of the bathroom, "Your clothes are on the table." 

"Thanks, Flower!" Taii called out.

She bunched her pink hair up in her hands and gently ran her fingers through it, imagining that it was Rose or Catt. She imagined, Rose would caress her shoulders while Catt watched from the bathtub while playing with a rubber ducky.

Rose's slender pale fingers against Taii's dusky skin. Taii felt herself getting hotter at the thought. Rose would whisper sweet somethings in her ear, she'd tell her what a good job she did today, getting rid of three Abnormals.

Taii squeezed some soap onto her hand and began scrubbing up and down her body, imagining Rose holding her waist and guiding her hands. Rose would rest her chin on Taii's shoulder. Catt would watch, enjoy the show, and observe.

They would wash Rose's hair while Rose washed Taii's. Catt would be so careful in cleaning Rose's thick locks, and they'd take great care in tending to their wounds. Catt wouldn't say anything, but they didn't have to.

Taii felt tears prickling at her eyes, as was imminent every time she thought about the life the three of them could have had together. 

She suddenly felt a million years old. It was like they had known each other for their whole lives instead of just a few months, and now two out of three were gone. Taii felt like their time together was cut too quickly. It simply wasn't fair.

She liked to think they were made uniquely for each other. She loved to think, she loved to fantasize about what could have been but instead had been a distant past. Taii felt useless again, as she recalled how she had let Rose die and Catt be taken away.

It was the same thing every day, kill, search and cry. Taii's life had lost much meaning since Catt and Rose had cruelly been taken from her. The bright sides were Ella, Finn, Flower, and Bloom Office. Taii liked to console herself by thinking that Rose would be ecstatic about it and Catt would be proud.

Taii finished showering and put on the clothes Flower had left for her. A simple white shirt and shorts. Seemed like something Catt would wear if they wasn't wearing their E.G.O.

Time to rest, and do it all again tomorrow.

Chapter 4: Chapter 4

Summary:

yer' mam *cannon noises*

Al silently watched Titania rest. She might be a mighty fairy queen, but even they need to sleep. She was beautiful, indeed. Slender, tall, graceful, everything Al likes in a woman. He only thinks those qualities looked better on another particular woman.

His mind hadn't been terribly distorted yet, he wasn't in constant pain and agony because  Nothing Is and Oberon were trying to conquer his mind. 'Instead,' Al thought as he smirked to himself, 'I think I conquered them.' Initially, he had a hard time controlling Oberon and Nothing Is's annoying habit of randomly popping out wings or cocooning themselves, but he's fully mastered those abilities.

He thought back to what happened earlier. Taii, Rose's close friend, had been merciless in her slaughter. Rose wasn't there with her, which Al found odd, 'Perhaps she was resting at the above world and they took turns finding Catt? Taii's E.G.O would certainly suit Rose more.'

Al would never admit this out loud while Titania still breathed, but he quite liked the idea of seeing Rose wear Titania's skin. He decided right then and there, that he'll find Catt first, get rid of Titania then win over Rose.

-

The waterfall was deafening. It made her job just way harder than it was supposed to be, as Taii clung to the rocks. "Go to the mountain tops," said Finn, "Captain might be there. because there's usually ice and snow up there. And they'd be crazy enough to choose that spot to hide."

Taii had spotted a mountain top that was practically another winter ecosystem all on its own, however, it was near impossible to get to. The ground was surrounded by a lake. The 'mountain' had seemed to just rise straight from the lake. And after the lake, there were waterfalls. Not one, but several, and the very small tracks in between the waterfalls were so wet and muddy it would've been safer to just swim up the waterfall. It was truly a sight to behold though because the waterfalls emitted rays of sunshine and beautiful lights, and there were no sharp jagged rocks to worry about if you fell. Peaceful abnormalities not unsimilar to above-world fish and amphibians dwelled around it because the lake also had rich fertile land to rear on.

The middle 'layer' of the mountain contained a very rich jungle life, from what Taii could see. She didn't know much about it yet.

The top was, as Finn had said, covered in ice and snow. It was also surrounded by heavy gas, fog, mist, steam, or poison. Taii didn't know yet. It clung to the top of the mountain like a halo. It almost acted as a protective shield because no light penetrated it. Taii reckoned Catt would take solace there.

Taii had chosen to climb under the waterfall, using the dryness below it for better grip and friction. And, she figured, the water would be like a coolant, right?

Nope, the water was just too loud and too cold, and the hidden caves beneath the waterfalls were filled with dust, cobwebs, and other gunk Taii was too terrified to try feeling. The only comfort was that no abnormalities (except for small relatively harmless spiders) wanted to live here.

She noticed a small ledge and used her vines to help pull her towards it. Once on it, she instantly clapped and just rested. Her walkie-talkie crackled, "Hello? You there Taii?" It was Ella, inquiring about the Wonderland. They had made it a habit to call and talk about the geography of the Wonderland, as it interested Ella deeply and kept Taii sane in there.

Taii responded, "Yep, I'm at what's probably the highest mountain in this place." She listened to Ella scribble something in their journal.

"Fascinating," Ella hummed, "Is it normal?"

"Nope," Taii remarked, "The trees don't make sense, the animals don't make sense, the waterfalls don't make sense. Nothing in here makes sense."

"Isn't that the beauty of exploring the unknown?" Ella said, "You experience all these new phenomenons that surely seem unnatural to you, but are quite natural for its inhabitants."

Taii supposed there was some truth in that. She had seen a family of little rat-bats resting when the smallest suddenly got snatched up and killed by a flying snake. She had been horrified, but later she saw the same flying snake keeping the rat-bats warm. Ella and she had theorized that they gave the runt to the snake for protection. it seemed cruel, but for the rat-bats and snake, it was just a normal thing.

"Do you think they have their own Periodic Table of Elements?" Ella asked her. 

"Probably," Taii remarked, "There are so many crazy plants here."

"Can you please take some back for me?" Ella begged her. Taii could imagine their eyes going wide with wonder at the thought of studying all these plants. Why didn't they decide to join the Information department, Taii never knew.

Taii hesitated for a moment, "Maybe we shouldn't. Wouldn't want to accidentally upset some menacing plant abnormality."

Ella sighed, "That's fair, I suppose, as we don't yet know much of the Wonderland and its wonders."

Taii didn't want to say that she actually felt kind of bad for the Wonderland, and its slow-coming death.

 

Chapter 5: Chapter 5

Summary:

ur mom *sobs*

Notes:

sorry its been so late huehue been unwell also my keyboard doesn't respond sometimes so uh theres that specially the 'O' key idk what's up with that

The equestrian was growing distressed again. It swung its head back and forth causing its luscious gold hair to fly around wildly. It stomped its feet and did a quick little prance around. It felt a pain. A pain that had been there since the beginning of its miserable existence.

It couldn't breathe properly as something clogged its lungs,  could feel it in the alveoli of the lungs. Each breath was like breathing thorns, but it was always the same sharp thorns that never left, and with each day seemed to just get sharper.

Now, the pain had progressed into something more, something worse. It felt like another creature was trying to climb out by painfully breaking all its' rib bones and tearing each layer of flesh and skin off piece by piece. Its mind was in constant mental torture, it wanted to lay and despair but the pain made it want to cry out and gallop.

The equestrian reached down and tore off a bit of its' dress using its powerful teeth. It chewed the cloth until completely drenched in saliva and tried swallowing it, hoping to muffle the pain of the thorns. If it had a heart, it would've stopped.

-

Taii screamed as the primate abnormality swiped at her hair. She quickly backed away from its creepy smiling face while flattening her hair as much as possible. She knew Rose and Catt liked her voluminous hair, but she didn't anticipate that abnormalities would also like it. It was night time, she guessed. The tall trees had blocked the sun but everything was a just darker and bioluminescent plant life glowed, illuminating the rich night life of the Wonderland.

The jungle was indeed rich, day and night. As in, rich with absolutely everything. The trees and plants were gilded. They were still the 'normal' purple, but they now had beautiful gildings that felt very much like real gold. Fruits seemed to radiate a soft golden light. At night, the fruits kept glowing but now mushrooms and fungi joined and glowed as well. It was beautiful, and Taii knew that Rose would've loved it were she here. She could show this to Catt, and make her smile.

The wildlife was.. something else entirely. It held animals similar to ones you would find in a normal jungle, however, most had a unique feature that distinguished them from 'normal' animals. The 'elephants' were quite small, but had eyes all over their body.  They were purple and creepy and Taii did not like them.

Most, if not all, of the abnormalities here, avoided them, from the annoying blue primates with creepy smiles to the tiny bioluminescent chameleons who went out of their way to avoid the elephants. Taii had to admit, there was something eerie about those elephant abnormalities, especially since they had an odd black burnt mark where their heart would've been. 

The primate abnormality tried to lunge for Taii again, but she struck out with her vine and deflected it away from her. It howled in pain and scrambled up a huge tree. She hissed, touching a cut where the thing had gotten her. She knew she should've been more careful, especially since it was night and more nocturnal abnormalities came out to hunt.

Taii checked her Enkephalin reader again and noticed a huge uptick in numbers.

A new abnormality was in the area with her.

"Well hello there again," A raspy voice called out from above her.

She looked up and saw the Blue Smocked Shepherd sitting on a tree branch high above her. Their tattered blue coat was illuminated by the moonlight and enhanced their menacing presence. She took out her sword and backed away a bit. 

The Blue Smocked Shepherd grinned crookedly, "Hello again Taii, it's been a while hasn't it?"

Taii glared at them, "What do you want?" She detested them because of the way they treated Reddened Buddy. The Blue Smocked Shepherd was a different type of cruel to mistreat such a sad being and the fact that Taii knew the Reddened Buddy was initially an orphaned boy only enraged her further. They knew that she knew that, and that it infuriated her.

The Blue Smocked Shepherd hummed a little, "What do I want? That may be the irrelevant thing here, what do you want?"

They dropped from the branch and landed a few feet away from her. Taii watched as they pretended to look around and then take out a wilted rose. She forced herself to not give any reaction.

"They say this rose is dead," The Blue Smocked Shepherd said, "but you can easily revitalize it, no?"

Taii ignored them, but her mind was silently reeling. They remarked, "Just like the good old days."

How are they still alive? Didn't I kill them? I killed them and watched as they literally got  obliterated to dusty pieces.

"Some say abnormalities like us never truly die," he said, "Do you know why?"

The Blue Smocked Shepherd eyed her for a while, but when she still didn't answer they sighed, "It's because they say we're soulless abnormalities."

That peaked Taii's attention but she didn't let it show. Is it possible...?

They strutted towards her and Taii stuck out her sword, "Don't come any closer you scum." 

They put their hands up, "I'm throwing you a bone, is that not the human phrase? I would certainly never for my Reddened Buddy." They had the nerve to let out a little laugh before continuing.

"Is it possible that not just humans have souls?" The Blue Smocked Shepherd asked Taii, "Some even say only humans have souls!"

She sneered at them, "What are you getting at?"

They leered at her, "I think that's not true, personally. Abnormalities like I can have souls, whether tainted or pure. I have a few examples in mind." They whistled and a poor whimpering Reddened Buddy limped out of a bush. Badly beaten, bruised and suffering from cuts all over, he was such a pathetic sight Taii nearly wanted to drop everything and soothe him. 

The Blue Smocked Shepherd continued, "Did you know he was once a human boy with a soul?  But now he's a lowly abnormality. Do you still consider him to have a soul?" 

Reddened Buddy's tiny body jerked as a new gash appeared.

Taii growled, "What do you want?"

"I'm just asking," They replied, "If you would consider a human-turned-abnormality to have a soul."

"No," Taii said, "No souls come here willingly."

The Blue Smocked Shepherd quirked a sharp eyebrow at her, "Do you know what these elephants are? They're the souls of elephants carried over from the above world. This is the end game for all souls, it's just that some wanna come back up."

Anther lie. Taii knew that, "This isn't an end game nor salvation for souls. Do you know why? Because you're here, and you've dragged and corrupted others with you. These aren't innocent elephants, they weren't actually elephants and don't have souls. Everything in here is an abnormality because they eventually lose their soul, and they become abnormal versions of themselves, whether by their own fault or others."

Taii felt a sudden shock of realisation, "That's why you're back huh. A soulless being like you has no end game, no salvation, so you come back to torture others." She felt her eye twitch and her pulse rate increase. 

The Blue Smocked Shepherd cocked their head left and right, "Maybe you're right and I don't have a soul, but others in here certainly do. They might not be abnormalities but best believe that some souls do come here because of human justices."

"Like I," they continued, "Human authorities wrongfully sentenced me, they didn't even let me fight for my own justice but as an abnormality I didn't have to adhere anymore to that didn't I?" They smiled, "As an abnormality, I could kill them all. And I did."

"That's because you're an evil, evil creature." Each word was so strongly coated with hate and disgust, Taii was surprised at her own words, "There are four types of human justices; distributive, procedural, retributive, and restorative. You didn't receive any because you are truly vile but you may have felt that you should've."

She looked up at them with a smile, "So I'll give you justice. The justice is that I'll kill you again and make sure you stay dead."

In a split second, she had lunged at them and nicked the side of their head. The Blue Smocked Shepherd jumped back and took out their own weapon. It had changed. They held a long scythe, and it glinted in the moonlight as they swung it. The Reddened Buddy rocked back and forth while trembling, "My master needs help but I am only a weak pup."

Taii sidestepped their attack and jumped back, narrowly dodging as they tried to kick her. The Reddened Buddy whimpered again, "My master had a soul, but got no justice." The Blue Smocked Shepherd dropped their scythe to jump for Taii and grabbed her by her cape. They grappled with each other and dodged the other's attacks. She managed to stun them for a moment by striking the side of their head and pushing their hoodie back. As they scrambled to put it back in place to hide their scars Taii quickly got out a dagger and stabbed them in the cheek.

The Reddened Buddy howled pitifully, "My master feels pain for he has a soul." He kept howling as Blue Smocked Shepherd picked up their scythe and swiftly cut off the edge the hem of Taii's cape. Her blood raced as she thought of how they practically just ripped a piece of Rose from her. She glared at him, "How dare you." She screamed as she went for them again, her sword raised high.

They dodged her attack and kicked out with their leg, causing Taii to trip. She narrowly saved herself from falling on Blue Smocked Shepherd's scythe but her sword painfully gauged their eye instead. They cried out and Taii took the moment to stick the dagger down their throat.

"My master, an abnormal, has a soul,'" the Reddened Buddy cried as Blue Smocked Shepherd gurgled blood onto Taii's hand, "They brought me with him and tried to destroy my soul to make me a better wolf."

Taii slowly took out her hand and smirked at the Blue Smocked Shepherd. Their head twitched and they grabbed Taii's throat with their hands, scythe forgotten. Taii dropped her weapons to grab at their hands.

"My master needed a wolf to guide foolish sheep," The Reddened Buddy howled as he transformed into his wolf form, "Like how the horse needs a rose."

Taii dropped a hand to grab at the scythe and sliced off one of the Blue Smocked Shepherd's hands while also cutting off a good amount of her hair in the process. She rolled away just as the Reddened Buddy bounded at them. 

The Reddened Buddy tried lunging at Taii again but she held him off with the scythe. He growled at it and Taii. The Blue Smocked Shepherd looked at Taii from their spot on the forest floor, "Did you hear him?"

She hit the Reddened Buddy with the scythe's body and adjusted some of his teeth. It lunged at her again but she used the scythe to cut its neck and throw it away from her. She looked at the Blue Smocked Shepherd as Reddened Buddy whimpered in pain and shifted back to his original pathetic form.

Taii had heard what Reddened Buddy had said, but she didn't want to believe it. She looked at the Blue Smocked Shepherd and walked up to them. Once there, she held the scythe at their neck, "Your justice is death." 

Reddened Buddy sighed in relief as his soul was finally freed.

-

The equestrian coughed up a single rose petal. It was quite big, and very red. It whinnied softly and tore at the petal, ripping it to shreds effortlessly. It carefully sniffed and chewed up a tiny bit of the petal pieces. The petal tasted like roses, but it had a bittersweet tang the equestrian did not like. However, the petal piece did little to sate its hunger. Though its stomach still grumbled for more, and its heart ached, the equestrian did not eat the rest of the bits. It felt wrong, somehow.

It coughed again and again, but no more petals came out. 

 

Notes:

I don't think the argument made much sense sorry also sorry again because this chapter feels kinda lacking compared to the others imo

Chapter 6: Chapter 6

Summary:

poop *ur mom*

Catt was lying in a dark space of nothing. it was cold, and silent, the only sounds coming from Catt. Were they still alive or dead? How were they to know if no breath came out but they still moved around using their body? Catt didn't know what to feel about it. Catt didn't feel anything. 

Catt got up. They hadn't even realised they weren't standing. They looked around and saw an odd membrane at the top. It wasn't made of whatever normal membranes were made of clearly, because it was dark and pulsed as if it was a heart. However, the pulses were slow and somehow reluctant. It pulsed slowly, and each one seemed forced, as if it didn't want to ever move again. There wasn't a valve like in normal hearts.  It shone light through it, although the light was incredibly dim.

Catt didn't see any clear entrances or exits, so they came to the conclusion that they were permanently trapped in here, lest they reached the skylight somehow. It was fitting, Catt supposed, a prison to rest in. A prison I would've made for myself eventually.

Catt began walking around the empty space. They put their hands out as if to feel for something, but there was always nothing there.  Cat felt nothing in this cold prison.

Catt grew frustrated. They began running laps around this empty chasm of nothingness, hands out and desperately hoping to feel something. But no matter how fast or how long Catt ran for, they still felt nothing. The only thing here with Catt was the membrane skylight.

It was so high, impossibly high for someone like Catt. Catt couldn't imagine ever reaching it because it was practically worlds away. It was simply too high for Catt. They were too short. Rose was tall and probably could've reached it.

Rose...

Rose was indubitably worlds away from Catt, because Rose was dead.

Dead because of Catt.

Perhaps this realm was their demise, the ending they deserved. After all, Rose died because of them. The option was between the two of them, after all. But Rose was chosen, because Catt wasn't good enough, wasn't strong enough. Catt had no one to blame but themselves. 

If only Rose hadn't accepted that dreaded Rose. The irony wasn't lost on Catt. What a cruel fate for an angel like Rose, to die by their own. Catt hated that. Rose was now permanently gone, never to be seen again due to Catt's own personal failures. Catt's dead heart pumped once, sending warmth into their cold body. It burned and sizzled and made Catt's brain melt. 

Catt freaked out but the warmth left as suddenly as it came. 'Oh,' Catt said simply. 'That's kinda pathetic.' I can't even handle phantom sensations. How weak.

Perhaps it would be better if Catt stayed in the negative space.

-

Taii was shocked. 

The Wonderland was truly bizarre. She had finally reached the border that separated the winter and forest. She nearly couldn't believe it because of how abrupt the cut was. It went straight from exotic tropical plant straight to cold dense gas.

"Taii?" Finn called from the walkie-talkie, "Try waving your hand through the gas."

Taii did as he said and the gas clung to her hand.

"It's sticking to my hand." Taii reported, mystified at the mysterious grey gas. Although it appeared grey on the surface, Taii could see a prism of colours within it, but no matter which way she turned her hand, the grey always covered it.

"That's not a good thing," He said, more to himself than Taii, "Wear the mask I gave you."

Finn had given Taii a modified gas mask for her travels in the Wonderland. Instead of polyester, it was made of the strongest metals Finn could get his hands on. It could withstand incredibly hot acids like sulfuric acid and extreme temperatures ranging from hot to cold. He even added a function that allowed Taii to maintain the internal temperature. It still maintained its base function, which was filtering gases of course. The mask was custom designed to match with Catt's E.G.O as well. 

Furthermore, Finn had added thermal vision and eyepieces, giving it the function of binoculars but cooler. She could even adjust it to comfort! 

"Good luck Captain." Finn told her. After Taii had agreed to let Finn and Ella to work at Bloom Offices, they and Flower had taken to calling Taii 'Captain'. Usually, she felt extremely flustered when they called her this, but now she embraced the title with pride. 

Taii took a deep breath and pushed herself into the gas. Instantly she was engulfed by gas so dense and thick she could barely see her own hand. The eyepieces instantly frosted over. She held on tight to the wall with her left hand while her right hand quickly turned on her thermal vision. She noticed red in her peripheral vision and followed it while trying to keep silent. It was a gamble, it could be a dangerous blood-thirsty abnormality or it could be a helpful one. 

Not only was the gas so dense and thick that she couldn't see, it also didn't howl or anything so Taii had to be quiet when walking. She shivered, suddenly fearing that there was perhaps an abnormality that had adapted to the low-visibility of the gas and that it was hiding, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. She slowly breathed in and out trying to rein in her irrational fears. Finn's thermal vision would pick up on any abnormalities. Taii trusted Finn, after all they went through together.

She kept her calm and continued slowly inching along the wall of the mountain. By the time she had reached the opening of the cave, her gloves were covered in bits of snow and ice, and small seedlings. Oops, didn't mean to wreck an ecosystem.

She peeked inside where the gas thankfully dissipated. Something huge was sleeping under a battered blanket. It had huge furry feet and although she couldn't see its face, it had huge tusks on the top of its head that curled like a mountain goat's. Taii took out her Enkephalin reader and checked it. Zero. She shook the machine and checked it throughly, ensuring that it wasn't broken or anything. It was possible that the extreme temperatures could have ruined it, but as far as Tai could tell it wasn't broken or anything.

She sucked in a sharp breath. Could it be? 

It groaned and moved causing the blanket to fall off of it. "Just come in," it called out in a guttural voice. Taii hesitantly stepped in, partly because the cold was becoming too much and partly because she was just too curious about it. It got up and stared at Taii.

It was tall and had impressively proud shoulders. Although its feet were extremely furry, its calves and thighs were hairless. Scars, new and old, criss-crossed its olive legs, all of them somehow intrinsically beautiful though they probably caused it extreme pain. The upper half of it was...something else. It had a very muscular hair-fur?-less human torso, but it wore a Hawaiian shirt that poorly hid the tattoos on its' chest. From what Taii could see, the tattoos had goats, boats and coconuts. Its' arms were huge and lined with surprisingly clean fur. It stared at Taii with its two blue human eyes. It had a regular human face, except for the two tusks, of course. 

"Huh," it grunted at Taii, "Never expected to see a human in the Wonderland."

She snapped herself out of her stupor, "Oh yeah, I suppose. The Wonderland is a crazy place." She nearly gasped, what if she had accidentally offended it?!

It huffed, "Yep, full of crazies in here." It wasn't being sarcastic or anything, just saying it as if it were a fact, "Nothing in here makes sense. I wash and air-dry my blanket," It gestured to the beaten up blanket, "out on the cliff there everyday and it never gets soggy."

"Oh, yeah," Taii replied, "Uh, so..uh." She didn't know how to politely ask it what it was. She tapped her foot nervously which made her Enkephalin reader tumble out of her pocket. She scrambled to grab it but the creature picked it up first. 

"Oh, an Enkephalin reader," It said, surprised, "Been a long time since I seen one of these things. You one of those Lobotomy folks?'" It looked at Taii expectantly. 

"Yeah, actually." She rubbed her hands together, "How did you know what that is?"

It smiled grimly, "Used to work at Lobotomy myself as a legendary Department Head myself." Its' face darkened as it recalled the story. Taii leaned in closer and tentatively placed a hand on its' shoulder. It relaxed under the touch, and continued, "I was the best of the best, a mighty beast like no other as they used to say. They used to cheer whenever I came back from a mission or suppression. I had slain, studied, researched and created so much. Employee worshipped me like a God, and civilians fell over themselves to join. My employees were happy and calm and had no freakouts because of me. I had a partner that I loved dearly and who loved me back. I was the cool Department Head that had the prowess of a mountain lion and mountain goat combined, all contained within a body that people loved to claim was sculpted by the Gods themselves that wore flowery Hawaiian shirts. I even had funny tattoos!

I had soaked it all up, thinking I was the best, but eventually my greed came bursting out and drowned everyone.

I made a mistake. A very simple mistake that had caused nearly a thousand people to die. I became careless, and once whilst doing a daily security check, I had accidentally left a door open because I was too busy signing cards. I left the hallway, and it only took two seconds for the screams to start. The Second Trumpet immediately began blaring, and chaos reigned as the abnormality began killing everyone nearby. I turned back to go fight, but too many people were rushing through, eager to fight because they believed they could. Because I believed they could. However, that abnormality was just too strong. I was the only one that could successfully suppress it, but I didn't. Because I was too busy getting my lover to safety. He had cried and begged me to let him go fight, but I knew it was simply too dangerous. 

After I had kicked him out and safely deposited him somewhere, I came back to join the fight. But it was too late. I could never forget the feeling of having to wade through the thick blood of everyone who had admired me, knowing that I had caused them their untimely deaths. The abnormality had been waiting at the end of the hall for me. It had cocked its' head at me, as if to say, do you know what you just did?

Blood dripped from every pore of its' body, but it didn't terrify me at all. No, I had run and killed it, just like I had any other abnormality. But do you know what did terrify me?"

Taii stared at it in silence. "What?" she finally whispered.

It looked up at her, "That I would do it all again as long as my Peter was safe."

It leaned back and sighed heavily, "I knew then I was no longer fit for it. How could I? When I sacrificed a thousand people for one. Peter never knew my true intentions, and he never will. That day, when I came home and saw him through the window, sobbing because of the news broadcasting about the fallen corporation because he was the only one out of the thousand that survived. He had believed I died killing that abnormality. He had believed I died in glory and honour. I lost it. I didn't like, go berserk and began killing everyone or something, no. The fact that I killed all those people just hit me, like a train that was bursting with love. 

My mind practically exploded, I was in terrible agony. It screamed at me about how selfish I was, how heartless I am to have let all that happen. My thoughts tumbled all over each other, I couldn't make sense of anything. Only one thought maintained clarity. Peter. How would he react if he knew what I did? How could he ever love me again? How could I even protect him like this? 

I could never forget the pain. My heart had been ripped and torn apart into sharp painful pieces, and those shards were being used to repeatedly stab me anywhere I could. The scars you see on my legs? It's the pain of having to walk away from Peter, knowing that I would eventually ruin him."

It chuckled grimly, "It's funny, you know. That very day, Peter had told me, 'Be careful. You might be regarded as a God, but even Gods get hurt sometimes.' I had laughed at him and told him I always was, then I grabbed,... you know what.. you don't need to hear all the details of that. But besides that, he had given me such sound advice, but I hadn't listened.

Now, my ears hear everything, from truths to lies to when newcomers appear."

Taii ruminated over that while fat heavy tears fell from her eyes. It was a tragic story but the one thing that stuck with her was its' love. 

The goat creature watching her got up and left, leaving Taii to think alone. 

Catt had loved her and Rose dearly, but still shut themselves of because of how painful it would be to lose them. The goat creature had also loved someone so powerfully, that they left, despite the immense pain they faced.

Taii laughed softly to herself, "No wonder the Wonderland is so crazy. Love makes people do crazy things, after all."

 

Notes:

I LOVE YOU GAMINGDRAGON123!!!!