1. Hello, There
This is the story of a Hatter
Unlike the one so well-known
Tea time to her doesn't matter
And she's not quite fully grown
The girl skipped from tree to tree, perfectly content to chase her prey through the woods. She had been on the hunt for hours, each monster easier to slay than the last. She held her blade balanced, a smile spreading across her face. The quarry was slowing. A lone cyberus. Nasty little creature. She scampered across a thick bough directly above the cyberus, feet lighter than a hummingbird's wings. The tree didn't even shake with her weight. With a skip, a dash across a limb, and a final leap, the girl landed squarely on the beast's back. She swung her blade, effectively detaching a head from a neck. The cyberus's head managed a slight yelp before it was so abruptly cut off and landed with a heavy thud on the marshy ground. There was a nanosecond of stunned silence. Then the middle head turned to grab the girl's sword between its metal teeth, yanking upward. The girl, still holding on, was whipped into the air. The creature let go, thinking to fling the girl against a tree. Instead, up she went, laughing, flipping twice in the air before slicing off yet another head on her descent.
She stood before the cyberus, or what remained of it, barely half its height. The last head, the left one, growled, red eyes sparking. The girl grinned maliciously, growling as well, much like a mad dog. The cyberus made the first move, attempting a head-on attack. Its opponent somersaulted to the left, landing in a crouched position. The cyberus instead charged into a large tree. It recovered quickly, shaking its head. The girl twirled her sword in one hand like a baton, holding a hand over her mouth in a yawn. As the cyberus crouched and walked in a slow circle around her, the girl watched with neon green eyes, smile slowly vanishing. As the beast launched, the stranger's eyes completely changed colors, switching in a half-second from inhumanly-bright green to hellish orange, complete with dark circles around them. Scowling, she ducked under the monster, blade sinking through its metal exoskeleton. She didn't even look up as she twisted the sword and flung the heavy beast off of her. Her eyes cooled to their normal neon color. She flashed the dead animal a smile, wagging a finger at it.
"Naughty little doggie." The girl sheathed her weapon and skipped into the underbrush.
She made an odd-looking individual, walking along her merry way. There were her eyes, of course, but there was also her bright purple hair held in place by two frayed pigtails. Her outfit was custom. No long sleeves or pant legs to slow her down. Rather, a puffy, grass green dress that stopped just above her knees. A tight white top with short sleeves, complete with a black and gold waistcoat, perfectly matched her knee-high white socks and her shiny black shoes, with only a slight heel to them. And of course, there was the hat. She would give an arm for it. It was hers, that dark velvet hat top hat with a black ribbon around it, a purple peacock feather tucked into the ribbon. All hers.
These woods seemed slightly more... foreboding than the girl remembered. They were darker, deader. It was silent, but for her own footsteps. And the loud commotion to her right, of course. The girl reacted quickly, leaping behind a tree and peering around the trunk. She spied a boy. Tall...ish. Taller than her, at any rate. Brown hair, a green coat, or something like it, and odd blue trousers. The girl had never come across such a strange outfit. It was nothing like the clothing worn where she came from. The boy was maybe a year or two older than her, and jumping around and around yet another cyberus, fiddling with a watch of some sort, while, at the same time, blasting at it with some sort of gun. Multi-tasking was not this individual's forte. The girl tsked.
"That's no Vorpal Blade, dear," she said, stepping out from behind the tree. The boy looked back, and the girl winced. Mistake. The cyberus knocked him to the side. Before the boy had landed, the girl had her sword out, gripped tightly in both hands, and was charging the animal, who had still barely registered her existence. She lopped off its front legs before it could even fully turn to look at her. With all three heads in the mud, the creature was disposed of with a quick snick! snick! snack! The girl adjusted her hat, which had become slightly off balance in the scuffle. She angled her head towards the boy, who was standing up now. He seemed alright. Bruised, no doubt, but perfectly fine.
"Eh... thanks...?" he said, uncertain. The girl gave him a grin. He seemed put off by it.
"Oh, 'twas no problem. I'm Olivia," she introduced herself. She frowned suddenly, pulling the brim of her hat down, "But if ye call me that, Ah'll have to correctcha like Ah did to the wee beastie," Olivia said, voice getting slightly rougher, changing dramatically from what could be considered British to Scottish, pointing to cyberus with her sword.
"So...?" It was a question. A hesitant one at that. The boy wasn't entirely sure what to make of the odd-sounding girl before him, or her identity issue. Or her purple hair.
"Ah've only e'er heard another name for me. The Mad 'Atter." The boy snorted. A few cards short of a deck, this one. Olivia looked up, eyes darkening. She marched off.
"If we e'er meet again, be sure to call me Maddie. Ya owe me tha' much, ya baby," she snapped over her shoulder. She froze for a beat, and then turned on her heel, facing the boy again. She smiled.
"Look at that. Me, calling you a baby. Though it isn't undeserved," she giggled maniacally. Her voice was back to normal, if a bit...unnerving. Giving a little wave, she skipped into the woods. The boy hesitated until he was sure he would lose her if he didn't move quickly. He scrambled after her. She was surprisingly adept at winding through the tangled bushes and trees. He couldn't see her face, and she always seemed to be two steps ahead of him, silent as the grave, ignoring him completely, despite his somewhat clumsy movements and loud crunches from the bracken.
"Hey, Oliv-" he began, forgetting the girl's warning. Maddie wheeled on him, sword at his throat.
"Ain't me name, laddie," she said, frowning, voice changed again. The boy nodded, and Maddie removed her sword. The boy tried again.
"I'm-"
"Ben," Maddie interrupted, voice light and airy again.
"Uh... yeah. How'd you-"
"You look like a Ben, you know?" Ben ran a hand through his hair. Maddie stuck out her hand.
"Hattie." Ben looked at her, confusion evident in his features.
"You just said your name was-"
"Maddie? I was upset, Ben. Mad, Maddie. Happy, Hattie. Understand?" Ben blinked several times before shaking his head, as if to clear it.
"Right. Listen, uh, Hattie? That thing back there-"
"The cyberus," Hattie said, turning and walking away from him.
"Yeah. Listen, this is a bad... uh... spot. There are always more of them stalking around here. You shouldn't be hanging around alone." Hattie jumped and twisted in midair, so that she was walking backwards.
"I know that, Ben. What did you think I was doing around here? Having a tea party?" Hattie giggled again, "That's not till two, silly." Ben persisted, scrambling after her. He chose to ignore her ridiculous statement.
"Seriously. This is an Infected Zone. And..." he thought of something, "...How'd you get in here? Are you an operative?" Hattie continued walking backwards, seemingly with no effort whatsoever.
"An operative? That implies that there is someone in charge. No one's ever told me what to do, Ben. I made sure of it. By moving out here. Oh, I was quite happy where I came from, but..." Hattie's eyes darkened to burnt orange and dark circles appeared under her them, "But then, the bluddy beasties showed up. It made me upset tha' there were so many of tha damned creatures in me area. They were messin' with tha nat'ral order, ya know. Terrible things, Ben. Terrible. An' no one did a damned thing abou' it. So, Ah took matters into me own hands." Hattie eyed her sword lovingly, face brightening, voice changing with each word, "As you can tell, Ben, I've been a little... off-center... because of it." Here Hattie's eyes widened and an insane grin spread across her face. She laughed crazily. Then she stopped suddenly.
"Am I scaring you, Ben? I'm terribly sorry. I don't handle violence particularly well. I fear I enjoy it just a tad too much." Hattie faced forward, walking normally. She was quiet once again. Ben shivered in spite of himself.
"Hattie... I think you should come with me. Even if you come just to get out of the Infected Zone. You could become an operative if you wanted." Ben silently wondered whether he wanted her to agree or decline. Hattie paused and cocked her head to the side.
"Operative... yes. Talking to oneself can be such a bore. I suppose..." She placed a finger to her chin, eyes staring up and to the left, thinking. She wheeled on him.
"Very well, I accept." She held a hand to the side of her mouth, as if to whisper something, "I just hope everyone there is right in the head. No need for crazies, right, Ben?" Ben sighed and nodded. Somehow, he knew he was going to regret ever speaking to this nut.
The trip alone was psychotic. Ben could barely keep up with Hattie/Maddie's personality changes. And she kept shifting her eyes. Right. Left. Right. Left. Up. Left. Down. Right. Etcetera. Ben had to lead the way, as Hattie was unfamiliar with the area they were now traveling in. Over time, Ben figured out the whole "Hattie/Maddie" thing. When her eyes were green, she was a perky, jovial nutjob. When she had orange eyes, she was generally silent, brooding, angry, explosive, and kept mumbling. During this time, she kept her hand over her shoulder, gripping the hilt of her sword. Ben made sure to walk just a bit farther than her when this happened. More than once he wondered if he was doing the right thing by bringing a head-case into...regular society. But, she could fight. He had to give her that. He could have handled the cyberus very well without her. But she was fast. Though her comment shadowed the edges of his mind. Vorpal Blade. Where had he heard that before?