[Entranceway IC Inbox]

[mypartnerintime]

[Her voice is light and cheerful on the pre-recorded message.]

Do the thing!

Comments

text

[mypartnerintime]

Gotcha! Be there in a jiffy.

[This time without Chloe to worry about. And hopefully they're not going to end up in trouble or Chloe will be so pissed...

Max packs up her bag to leave her room, excitedly stepping out the door before- wait a minute.] Err the tea room on which floor? ^_^

text

[uncaging]

Fifth floor! The one that's the Queen's chamber on the other side. It seemed somewhat fitting.

text

[mypartnerintime]

[Well, that's not the answer she wants to hear. She's not overly fond of her last run-in with the Queen.

She thinks dully of telling Chloe but decides against it. It's just exploring...

A few minutes later she shows up at the door of the tea room, nervously looking inside.]

text

[uncaging]

[Elizabeth's sat there stirring sugar cubes into her tea, looking rather exhilarated from her adventure and the chance to tell it. The beat up old phone that Max loaned her is on the table, still in perfect working order.]

Have some tea?

text

[mypartnerintime]

Sure. [Max helps herself to a cup and pours out some tea from a nearby teapot. She looks up expectantly at Elizabeth, excited to hear the news.]

or I could actually use the right account

[uncaging]

[Elizabeth sips her tea, quickly deciding it's too hot and returning the cup to the table.]

That recording device you loaned me was very helpful. There's something on there you'll want to listen to - although it took me a long time to get to. There was a jigsaw puzzle waiting outside, buried there just like pirate's treasure! And after that I had to solve another code, which took hours without you.

lol it happens to everyone

[mypartnerintime]

[Max glances down at her phone.] Sorry. [Her expression turns sheepish. It does kinda suck she wasn't able to help with that other code, but Chloe needed babysitting... and that night ended pretty well for them both.

She reaches for the phone, swiping her finger across the screen to open up her voice recordings.]

It's on here now?

[uncaging]

[Elizabeth nods excitedly, eager for Max to hear the strange recording.] It should be, if I've gotten it to work correctly.

[When Max plays the recording, she'll hear this.]

[mypartnerintime]

[Max plays the recording and holds the phone up to her ear so she can hear it properly. Her expression begins as being surprised, but quickly changes to a look of curiosity and... well, nervousness.

The recording comes to an end before she speaks.]

Well that's not creepy at all. Is it Wonderland?

[uncaging]

I'm not sure. [As creepy as Elizabeth finds it, she still looks rather exhilarated at having uncovered something so potentially illuminating ... or potentially even more confusing.] Wouldn't that be something, though? For the place itself to have a-- a consciousness of sorts?

[mypartnerintime]

[Max thinks about that, gently holding her head in her hands. That would be interesting, and actually explain a lot.]

We always say things like "Wonderland's mean" or "Wonderland's crazy," or like it actually does things. We basically treat it like a person sometimes, don't we?

[Text]

[mourning_ghost]

Ms. Caulfield,

I'm sorry for attacking you in Neverland.

-Nageki Fujishiro

[Just sorry, especially over text, doesn't seem like enough.]

[Text]

[mypartnerintime]

you werent the only one

its all part of Wonderland I guess. Dont worry about it.

[uncaging]

It makes a lot of sense. [Elizabeth glances round almost in wonder, thinking that the walls and floor around them may pulse with life and consciousness. It explains how the rooms are always changing, at the very least.] But ... how?

[mypartnerintime]

Beats me. How does anything happen here? [She follows Elizabeth's gaze around, then shrugs.] Magic.

[uncaging]

[She frowns a little, not liking such a simplistic answer but knowing it's the only one she's going to get.] I wonder what the Queen of Hearts thinks of all this. Does Wonderland itself having such magic mean that she has any power at all?

[mypartnerintime]

She doesn't seem powerless. That's for sure. [The few times Max has seen her have been pretty scary.] And the mirrors follow her, right? Maybe Wonderland is the same.

[uncaging]

So they're sort of in opposition to one another? Does that mean we follow Wonderland in the same way our mirror versions follow the Queen? [Elizabeth feels like she's getting more confused than anything.]

[mypartnerintime]

[Max rubs her finger along a cheekbone, wondering.]

I was thinking more like Wonderland follows the Queen... just like a mirror. Maybe they need each other.

[But this is all just wild speculation. Max holds up her hands in the universal gesture for "but I really have no idea".]

[Text]

[mourning_ghost]

Are you alright?

[Text]

[mypartnerintime]

Honestly I dont have the slightest clue

Thats not on you Nageki. It was a dumb event.

[Text]

[mourning_ghost]

It was.

Feel better soon, Miss Caulfield.

[uncaging]

[Elizabeth rubs at her temple, feeling a little overwhelmed by the gravity of the possibilities here.]

That would mean there's no way to take down the Queen, right? Without destroying Wonderland, that is.

[mypartnerintime]

I don't... know. [Max sighs, a little let down at herself.] Honestly I'm no good at speculation. It usually gets me in trouble.

[uncaging]

[Elizabeth smiles ruefully.] I've always found that, too. But I'd choose trouble over being cooped up in here forever.