entranceway | M e s s a g e 3 8

[The first thing anyone sees, even before the person posting...is a little pig, in one of the tea rooms. It snuffles and sniffles and sweeps the room for signs of danger, and once it is satisfied it trots away.

Then in a blink, Alice is standing in the middle of the room, pig cradled in her arms. And for the first time ever on the network, her face has wide blue eyes. She's a bit frantic, but otherwise unharmed.]

I think I'm starting to get used to doing that on purpose... Ah, hello everyone! It's...been some time, hasn't it?

[Even Alice can't seem to hide the fact that it's rather awkward to suddenly have eyes when she did not before. The pig squirms and she lets it down, as she's discovered it's wisest to listen to what the Duchess' pig wants.]

I'm so sorry to interrupt everything, but I need to warn you all! Something-- something terrible is going to happen soon! I don't want to cause anyone alarm, but it may very well be the worst thing that's ever happened to you.

[It's all distressing, and Alice crouches down to the pig's level so she can play with it's ears absently as she talks. It lets her.]

I'm afraid I still can't explain how I know, and the details are...rather distressing. But I promise, I'd never lie to all of you! I could never!

[She's adamant about that much at least. Even if her message isn't clear, there's more clarity in the way she speaks about it - she understands the importance of these messages now, in a way she'd forgotten for so long.]

Please, everyone. Take care of yourselves this weekend. I think it may be all you can do.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

We got in the same way so...so yeah. Glad she helped us, too.

[Jay is just gonna try not to panic for the next twelve hours now.]

Sounds like you, uh, know who she is. The Red Queen, I mean. I know she got trapped in the Core with the--the Jabberwocky, but I mean...do you know why?

Oh, certainly! The only thing that can slay the Jabberwock is the Vorpal Sword, but it was missing the last time it attacked, so...sealing it away was the best thing they could do. She stayed there to make sure it stayed too.

[Then, Alice brightens up a bit.]

I put on a puppet show about it once!

[She sends Jay a LINK to what is hopefully the greatest puppet show he's ever seen in his life.]

[This is the greatest puppet show Jay's ever seen in his life.]

Holy sh...cow. Holy cow.

[Jay Merrick smiles are few and far between, but right now, he is grinning. He is actually grinning. The Red Queen just...punting the Jabberwock off the side. Amazing.]

So does the pig-lady...the, uh, Duchess still have the real sword?

[Alice is absolutely thrilled he likes it.]

Oh, not anymore. The Queen of Hearts took it back. Little baby jabberwocks tried to sneak out, but the vorpal sword put a stop to that. It's also why the Duchess lost her head for a while there!

It's quite a long story...actually, it would probably make another good puppet show someday, now that I think of it.

Do it. I mean, I'd watch.

[Information's information, and Alice's last puppet show was informative and hilarious.]

So if the Jabberwocky gets out again, we can just...ask the Queen to deal with it for us?

I'll keep it in mind then.

[It's a bit difficult while she's on the run, but maybe someday.]

Mm...I don't think you'll have to. She usually knows about it before we do. The Jabberwocky always attacks Mirror Side first.

[Jay's eyebrows raise.]

Good to know.

[He pauses, fidgeting again with his hat.]

You, uh...gonna be alright this event?

I think I'll be okay. Thank you for worrying about me though. Please, be careful okay?

[He'll have more to worry about than she will, probably.]

[And now he's got a literal child (albeit one who is great at both puppet shows and exposition) telling him to be careful. She thinks she'll be okay, but she's worried about him.]

[This does not bode well.]

Al..alright. I'll try, I guess.

M e s s a g e 3 8

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