( one; voice )

[cursebreaking]

[Emma has read what information has been made available, she’s walked the grounds and the corridors of some of the mansion’s ground floor, and she’s combed through what public postings she could find to look through on the device she’d found in the pocket opposite of where she kept her own phone. She’s been digging for evidence since she got here, but what she’s found?

She’s not buying it. The message that comes through is voice only, not wanting to reveal her face or her exact location right away-- though she’s pretty damn sure that whoever’s responsible for this is watching her and has a good idea of where she is, if not who.]

Look. I know someone is out there listening.

[She doesn’t know exactly who, but someone.]

This game of yours? I’m not interested. I don’t know how you got me here, or how you set all this up. Maybe it’s some messed-up alternate reality game, but I didn’t opt in for any of this. I don’t care how elaborate it is, or how much work went into it-- my kid is at home waiting for me, and I am not screwing around.

[Her tone is hard, angry rather than anxious, determination winning out over uncertainty.]

‘Wonderland.’ Cute, but I’m not impressed. All I want is for you to point me towards the exit. You can do me a solid and we can do this the easy way-- or we can do it the hard way. Trust me, whatever weird stuff you might be into, I can promise you won’t be happy if we go that route.

[She stays on the line, just to wait for any kind of possible response-- but she doesn’t really know what to expect. This entire thing has her out of her depth, even if she’s not willing to admit it.]

Comments

SOBS voice;

[henrydaniel]

Finally.

[ The voice on the other end seems so relieved. ]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who showed up with zero chances of subscribing to magical fairy tale worlds. I was brought here too, just a couple weeks ago, actually? I get the feeling a lot of us, probably all of us are sort of...here without wanting to be.

[ He pauses for a beat. ]

I'm sorry about your kid, but from what I've pieced together, he shouldn't even know you're gone? It still sounds insane though, so. I have no idea if it's believable or not.

get ready to cry

[cursebreaking]

Thank you.

[She still sounds impatient and irate, but she's glad someone seems to be on her side. She's read everything that supposedly explains this place, and she's not buying what 'Wonderland' is selling.]

I read that, too. That 'time stops,' which is just impossible.

[Short of some very recently discovered miracle of science, it's just not happening.]

Got any theories on what the real deal is here? Whoever put this place together must have a hell of a lot of money and way too much time on their hands.

voice;

[saunteredvaguelydownwards]

Mind if I ask what this 'hard way' of yours is? Because I'll tell you right now for free, this place doesn't give one single shit about whether or not you want to be here or who it took you away from.

[Not the first person to roll in here making threats and demanding answers, and won't be the last. Crowley is audibly unimpressed.

Not that he supposes she'll care about that, one way or another.]

Really, I'm intrigued. But just eff-why-eye, no one will know you're missing.

voice;

[cursebreaking]

Depends. You the creep who made this happen?

[She grimaces, unseen.]

Yeah, I read that in the 'tourist's guide' this place provides. That doesn't make it true. Anyone can write whatever they want on a piece of paper or post whatever they feel like on a network.

[That doesn't make it real, or even remotely believable.]

[mulletrock]

Don't waste the energy sweetheart. No one's listening, and if they are, they don't care. The abduction scenario's a regular trick and the local powerhouses aren't big on do-overs.

[cursebreaking]

If it's a regular thing, how the hell has nobody caught them yet?

[Seriously, is everyone at the N.Y.P.D. asleep on the job? Actually, scratch that, she already knows the answer, given how much time she spends working cases to find people they lost. This place is definitely big enough that it should be hard to miss, but given the state of the grounds, her current bet is that she was somehow drugged and dragged upstate.]

Don't bother telling me to 'save my breath.' My being here, wherever this actually is, means my son could be in danger.

[Which means she's not shutting up or giving up looking for answers anytime soon.]

voice;

[morework]

Your messages are broadcast to this entire world. Everyone is listening, but none of us are in a different situation than yourself.

[ Or could, if they had a mind to. Cullen rarely does it to engage, he has grown no fonder of the device since his arrival. Lately... he has been kept indoors more than usual. Long enough to... attempt a contribution. ]

Time spent here has no bearing on time in the world you came from. Your child will be fine. [ The other way around is- probably a different matter. ] What else we know of our circumstances is kept in the library, but leaving voluntarily is not among it.

voice;

[cursebreaking]

Good. If enough people hear this, at least one of them has to be the right one.

[Or so she figures. Her tone is still shot and clipped, impatient. Whoever is responsible better learn not to mess with Single Moms.]

I read some of it already, at least what I could get my hands on right after I woke up. People have said that time stops 'back home,' which is just-- it's crazy talk.

[How is everyone else just okay with that?]

Whoever's in charge must have this place locked down pretty good, to keep this many people here indefinitely.

[ voice ] »

[divaricate]

Hell of a bad acid trip, huh? [She's pretty sure of the other universe theory, but, she'll...humor the voice here.]

[cursebreaking]

It's high on my list of theories, at this point.

[Because this place can't be what people claim it is. There are a million other possible explanations.]

audio;

[blackbirdsing]

[ Sarah gets it, she's seen it, but one thing in particular sticks out to her and she feels that very familiar twisting in her chest at the thought of Sawyer. ]

I have a kid at home, too. And everyone's told me what should be happening, but I can't help it, some nights I can't sleep. I feel like I can't breathe at the idea he might be missing me.

I'm sorry you're here, that you have to go through that, too.

audio;

[cursebreaking]

[Sarah's is the first response that actually gives Emma pause, gives her a reason to soften. Her ire is starting to burn out now-- she's no less furious, but she's quickly coming to the conclusion that nobody she can reach through this device is going to help her anytime soon.]

You're the first person who's gotten it.

[The first one to understand that no matter what anyone says, no matter how many 'facts' they spout off, it's not enough. Nothing can ease that kind of anxiety.]

What's his name?

voice;

[madehervows]

[She'd known it was possible, that Emma would one day find her way back to Wonderland. There was no chance she'd remember being here, of course, but it would still mean she was back. That finally, Henry would have both his mothers again like he deserves.

And God knows she could use the help with this latest curse.

The thought crosses her mind that if Henry's cursed, Emma might be too, but... There's too much at stake right now to dance around the subject.]

You always did have a habit of showing up when you're needed most, Emma.

voice;

[cursebreaking]

[There are a number of questions that Emma could ask, the least of which being how self-assured this woman sounded in addressing her, like they actually knew one another.

Given the fact that she's been abducted, someone here knowing her doesn't exactly bode well. In fact, whoever this woman is, she just rocketed her way to the top of Emma's lists of suspects.]

I don't remember giving my name.

voice

[screwedontight]

The hard way's fun. I blow shit up. I fight with the mirrors. I break whatever I can and spread a few threats around. So far it hasn't done much but you're welcome to look over the arsenal or ask the closet for whatever you want. It will arm you to the teeth, but doesn't always do you much good.

Also, when you get bored with that, because it happens, try talking to Chloe Decker. She started a parent support group for all of you that got shafted on your kids. I don't have any but it might help.

voice

[cursebreaking]

[At least this guy is speaking her language a little better than most.]

I came armed, but backup never hurts. The creep that brought us here doesn't care if we have weapons?

[Interesting quality in a kidnapper.]

There's enough of us for a support group. [She sounds a little incredulous, but honestly sad, as well. That's a lot of parents being pulled away from their kids, for whatever reason.] Has whoever's responsible for this ever gone after the kids, too?

voice;

[choosetruth]

[Oh boy, one of these people.]

I understand how difficult this is to accept. Believe me, I'm from a world where there's nothing resembling magic. [THE ZOMBIES ARE VERY SCIENTIFIC.] But unfortunately, all evidence points to this really happening.

voice;

[cursebreaking]

Of course you're from a world where there's nothing resembling magic. Magic doesn't exist in the real world.

[Multiple worlds? Yeah, that's right out. She's not tryin' to hear that.]

voice

[krmvgivv]

Yeah, let me know if you find that exit. You'd be the first.

voice

[cursebreaking]

Yeah, I'll definitely make time for that while I'm on my way out to get back to my kid.

[She's so not interested in all of the snide and frankly unhelpful replies she's gotten. Although-- of course she would say something, once she found the way.

She exhales, almost apologetic.]

When I get out, everyone else is welcome to follow. Nobody should be kept here.

action b/c i'm a rebel

[beautifullies]

[ Claire is on her way outside, determined to get some final things planted that need it in the winter. She's dressed for the chill seeing as how it snowed just the other day and has a basket on one arm. She's single-minded until she sees a woman with a very persistent scowl looking about and realizes she must be new. She'd been that person once before and in need of dire help. She had also promised to extend that kindness as often as she could, for as long as she was in Wonderland. So, she speaks, head canted toward the probable new arrival. Her accent is British, face friendly. ]

Pardon me, but have you just arrived? I feel like I've seen that look before on others.

the friendliest rebel though!

[cursebreaking]

[It's a more even-keeled approach than most of the responses she's received so far, and Claire is the first person she's actually physically encountered since she got here. Emma's walls are still up, defenses prepped, but she can at least engage, as curious as she is cautious.]

I'm starting to get the feeling you see a lot of this look.

[The number of kidnapping victims just keeps rising.]

Yeah. Fresh off the-- whatever it was that brought me here.

voice

[directed]

Unfortunately the only ones who will respond to you are those just as trapped as you are.

[But Rip does understand that frustration, and that desire to leave. She's hardly the first to show it--and not even the first to cite the presence of a child.]

There is little comfort to be found in the nature of these circumstances to be sure, particularly in light of your skepticism. [Understandable though it is; Rip himself wouldn't have believed half of what he heard if it had not come from the mouth of a trusted ally first, and even then it had been rather hard to swallow.]

You seem to have heard some of the general notions behind this dimension. Though you may not yet believe it to be true, there is one positive note to be made: because the universe we're in is separated from the normal flow of time, your child is unaware of your disappearance. They will not know you are gone, and when you are eventually returned, it will be from the exact moment you were drawn from.

[So while this woman bears the weight of that absence, at the very least her child will not.]

voice

[cursebreaking]

[At least he's thorough in his approach to telling her what she's read and heard is true. It's still way too much for her to swallow, but it's possible that they'll actually be able to converse, if he's willing to be at least a little bit patient with her. So far, so good.]

I'd heard that-- about time stopping. Everyone really believes that?

[How?]

It's just-- it's just not possible.

[That skepticism runs deep, but there's a definite weariness settling in beneath her words, beginning to grow exhausted with repeating herself. How can all of these people believe the same impossible things? Have they all been brainwashed by whoever brought them here?]

I'm willing to hear you out, if only because you mentioned a return. How do I get out of here?

voice

[scoutsniper]

[Goddammit, now he knows how people felt when he'd arrived.]

I'm already not happy. What's your next step?

voice

[cursebreaking]

[Well, if he's already not happy, at least that means he doesn't have a lot left to lose.]

Unless you're about to tell me you can get me back to my son or know where he is, I don't have to tell you.

[voice]

[jivitadana]

[Minato thought that she had heard a lot from the others already. He may as well add in a couple of cents.]

You probably don't want to hear about the Mirrors, but you should know about them.

[While she was here and all.]

[voice]

[cursebreaking]

I read about them.

[Her tone makes it pretty clear that she's not sold on the idea.]

Doppelgangers? Really?

[video]

[punful]

[Hey look a skeleton that's neat.]

you got the "alternate reality" part right. subtract "game" and you're right on the money. welcome to wonderland. no exits, sorry.

[video]

[cursebreaking]

[She stares for about half a moment-- if that.

Nope. No way. Not something she's dealing with right now. She's heard enough crazy for today, she doesn't have time to put up with someone's attempt to prank her by making it look like there's a talking skeleton on the line. Her kid is either here somewhere, lost, or back in New York on his own. Neither is a good option, but that's all her mind is on at the moment.

The video feed closes immediately, with no response other than a very brief widening of her eyes and a grimace.]

voice

[middlefinger]

None of us opted in to this but the powers that be don't give a shit about what we might have waiting for us back home. And believe me, this place is anything but cute, a lot of the time.

voice

[cursebreaking]

Given my current theory is "tackily-decorated murder house," yeah, 'cute' is right out the window.

[She's been tossing a few different ones around so far.]

voice }

[deathlessness]

[Freya is a couple sheets to the wind already, so ... sorry in advance, Emma.]

When you've exhausted your search and have moved forward towards a mild acceptance there's a bar on the fifth floor. And a club on the sixth. And another bar on the eighth. I prefer the fifth.

[The people of Wonderland have their priorities in order. That being said:]

But I assure you that your child will be fine while you are trapped here. I can speak from experience in that they return you from right where you left off.

[Unfortunately.]

voice }

[cursebreaking]

Good to have a recommendation, at least.

[Her voice is terse, although she's starting to lose some of her wind.]

You've really bought into all this? Different worlds, time stopping?

[She's never seen so many people so convinced of something so implausible.]

video;

[walkingheroin]

If I were to list off all the so-called 'weird stuff' I'm into, we might be here all evening.

Wonderland itself isn't all that interested in that sort of thing, however.

video;

[cursebreaking]

[Emma hesitates for a few moments before opening her own video feed, but at this point, she figures whoever is responsible has already seen her face. She's frowning tightly when the feed opens, her eyes set into a hard glare.]

Alright, so what is 'Wonderland' interested in?

[You can definitely hear the air quotes.]

video;

[powerofmabel]

[I can't remember if Mabel ever met Emma, but she definitely knows of her from Henry, so the point is moot.]

Ugh. Why can't you people ever remember anything?

[...Yeah, this is what you needed in your life, Emma. SHE'S STILL TRAUMATIZED FROM YOUR SON.]

video;

[cursebreaking]

[THEY MET AT LEAST A FEW TIMES IT WAS A THING. Emma is getting less vigilant about keeping her video feed closed, especially given that Mabel is a kid-- probably not a murderous mastermind, which definitely works in her favor.]

What am I supposed to be remembering?

[She raises an eyebrow. Okay, Mabel, she's listening.]

ROLLS IN NINE YEARS LATE WITH audio.

[scathefires]

[Hear that? That's some slow, sarcastic clapping.]

Nice speech. Gotta ask, though - does that "hard way or the easy way" thing ever actually work?

[If Emma scrolled back far enough, she may recognize this voice as belonging to that asshole who showed up talking about shoving heads in a duffel bag. Emma, meet Jason.]

I'M SO INTO THIS ALREADY slides back in post-finals

[cursebreaking]

Wasn't expecting to have it rated, but thanks.

[Her tone is flat, deadpan to match those golf claps of his.]

Works about half the time. I chase down a lot of creeps in my line of work. Most of them opt for the hard way. Generally doesn't go well for them.

Voice;

[restinglichface]

Not nearly as flashy as my entrance, but I'll give you a few extra points for the emotion behind it. [It's strange to think that not too long ago Lup had been in Emma's position, demanding answers and a way out, and now she's here, greeting newcomers with the same bad news she'd been given.]

Hate to break it to you, but the door is one way only. Lots of people stroll on in, but there's no exact way to get out.

IT'S TIME

[cursebreaking]

There's a hell of a lot more where that came from.

[Her ire hasn't calmed down much by the time Lup's response gets to her, although she's starting to sound tired. She's hearing a lot of things that don't make sense to her, and none of them are making her feel any better about the potential safety of her son-- whether he's here or back home. His location is still unknown.]

As kidnappings go, it's pretty elaborate. I've seen a lot of bad people do some weird stuff in my time, but nothing this large scale.

[Her money is pretty much on 'cult' at this point.]