A/N: FINALLY! After over a year, I have updated! Yay! Go me! LOL! Seriously, life can be a real pain in the ass sometimes. Well, here's chapter 10. Enjoy!
As I made my way out of the auditorium, I noticed a small red button by the door. I stared at it for a moment contemplating weather or not I should press it. Finally, I just shrugged and pressed it.
Well, let's just see what it does.
The sound of something descending made me turn around. I was kinda surprised to find that the little trap doors had gone back down, but the children were still on the stage, laughing and clasping their hands in glee. I smiled and left the auditorium. I looked around to make sure no enemies were present and quickly made my way to the door on my right.
Okay, time to start finding the rest of the potion's ingredients.
I cringed at the thought of what that potion might taste like. I didn't have much time to dwell on it however, because the next thing I knew I was pushed so violently into the room that I lost my balance and fell face first onto the floor and heard the door slam shut behind me. After a moment of cursing under my breath, I felt myself being helped back up.
"I'm terribly sorry about that Libia, but a Boojum was coming and would have gotten you if I hadn't pushed you in here. I didn't to push you so hard and make you fall, though." A male's voice said.
I smiled.
"Rabbit. I was wondering when I'd run into you. Don't worry about it. Thanks for saving me from another shriek fest." I said.
Rabbit laughed and gently patted the top of my head.
"Think nothing of it. Do try to be more careful, though. Those bloody bastards won't waste anytime attacking you if you aren't paying attention." Rabbit said.
"No kidding. So, what are you doing here, anyway? I didn't think I'd see you again until I got to..." my voice trailed off.
Rabbit sighed.
"How many times must we tell you? This isn't the game, Libia. You wanted to see me, so here I am." Rabbit said.
I raised an eyebrow and cocked my head to the side.
"But if this isn't like the game, then the bloody hell does it look like it?" I asked.
Rabbit frowned.
"Because you've already gotten this far into the game. I warn you though, things may look like you expect them to now, but that will change soon enough. Things are not what they seem here." Rabbit said.
"Okay, that answers that question, but how did you know I wondering about you?" I asked.
"Cat came and told me. He said you were getting a little worried, so I decided to pay you a visit even though I wasn't supposed to." Rabbit said.
"What do you mean you weren't supposed to?" I asked.
"The queen. If she sees any of us running off to places we aren't supposed to be she'll suspect something is amiss. We don't want her to know that you're here. You aren't even supposed to be here yet. That's why you must take care not to call on any of us too often, especially Cat. Don't worry about us, we'll always come and check on you whenever a chance presents itself." Rabbit said.
I frowned.
"But Rabbit, shouldn't she be able to find out that I'm here regardless of weather or not you and CC coming running to my aid? She is the queen after all." I said.
Rabbit shook his head.
"She's not expecting you yet, so she's not paying attention." Rabbit said.
"Which means I'm at a slight advantage, right?" I asked.
"Until the queen finds out, yes. We must keep her in the dark about you being here as long as possible." Rabbit said.
I sighed.
"Alright. I'll try not to call on CC or you too often, but since you're here maybe you can answer something for me." I said.
"Actually, Cat is really the only one you can summon. You're going to have to wait until either you're supposed to see me, or I get a chance to escape." Rabbit said.
"Escape? You mean from the queen?" I asked.
Rabbit nodded.
"Exactly. I can't stay with you for much longer, so what is it you want to know?" Rabbit asked.
"CC said something about my true purpose here and my having to make "the ultimate choice". Do you have any idea what he might have been talking about?" I asked.
Rabbit began to get fidgety and nervously looked around the whole room. I sighed.
"If you can't tell me, then don't worry about it. I don't want to get you guys into..." I was cut short as Rabbit put a hand to my mouth. I looked at him confused.
"Shh, I hear something." Rabbit whispered.
Rabbit removed his hand from my mouth. I strained my ears to listen and heard what sounded like a mirror breaking. I saw Rabbit's eyes grow wide as he knocked me down to the floor. I looked up to find some broken mirror shards hit the wall by the door. I got up and went to examine the shards.
"What was that?" I asked.
"A warning." Rabbit said.
"A warning of what?" I asked.
"I'm sorry Libia, but I must leave you now. Don't worry, you'll know everything soon enough. For now, just get the potion and hurry. Caterpillar is anxious to see you." Rabbit said.
He turned to hop off, but he hesitated and turned his attention back to me. The look on his face frightened me to say the least.
"Rabbit, what's wrong? Are you alright?" I asked.
"The mirrors. Beware the mirrors, Libia." Rabbit whispered.
Before I could make a move to stop him, Rabbit hopped off. I watched him until he disappeared from my line of sight. I looked at the broken shards and picked one up.
What did he mean 'beware the mirrors'? It looks just like a normal mirror shard to me.
I walked further into the room and noticed a broken mirror on the opposite wall.
So, that's where the shards came from.
I walked up to the mirror and took a good look at it. It had a big oval shaped silver frame with a crown of red roses around it.
Wow. It's beautiful. It looks just like the one mom had when I was a kid.
I lifted a hand to touch the silver frame. I sighed and closed my eyes as the memories came flooding back to me. When I opened my eyes I noticed that the remaining shards in the mirror were glowing a bright blue. I removed my hand from the mirror and stared in shock.
What's going on? Why is the mirror glowing?
I lifted my hand again to touch the glass, but a chorus of piercing screams stopped me. I snapped out of my trance in time to see a rock hit the mirror and shatter the remaining shards. I felt a light tug on my hand and looked down to find that it was the children I had seen in the auditorium earlier.
What the... How did they get in here?
I turned my head back to take one last look at the mirror. I gasped as the mirror turned a charcoal black and became nothing but ashes at my feet. That seemed to calm the children down seeing as how they were no longer screaming. I bent down and grabbed the ashes watching it flow through my fingers back onto the floor.
I can't believe it. That mirror really did turn to ashes, but how is that possible?
I heard a gruff laugh and turned to see the old man behind me. I dusted the remaining ashes from my hands and got back on my feet. The children swarmed around him laughing.
"The children may be insane, but they are no fools. They know what a looking glass can do." he said.
I cocked my head to the side confused.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
He sighed.
"Nevermind. Just be sure you don't look into the mirrors. Expect for any small heart shaped ones you find." He said.
"Why? What's wrong with the mirrors?" I asked.
"They're dangerous, that's all you need to know. Now come along. We have to find the ingredients for that potion." he said.
I frowned. I knew I wasn't gonna get any more out of him so I decided to just drop it and followed him further into the room. After a quick look around, I realized I was in the library. I looked up and saw the alcove that I needed to reach by the roof. I sighed.
Oh, I am so gonna hate this next part.
As we continued walking, the children ran off into different direction laughing and clapping merrily.
"Hey, aren't those the kids from the auditorium?" I asked.
The old man nodded.
"How did they get here? They're not following me, are they?" I asked.
He shrugged. I had to bite my lip to keep my self from spiting an acidy remark at him. He was being so rude and it was really being to piss me off.
What the hell? First he's all nice and says he'll help me and now he's not talking to me! What is going on here?!
After another minute of silence I couldn't take it anymore and decided to give the old geezer a piece of my mind. Before I could say anything though, he turned around to face me.
"I'll have to leave you now. Just make your way through the library to find the "Book Of Bizarre Things". The instructions for making the potion are in there." he said.
He disappeared before I could even open my mouth. It didn't matter though, I knew where he went. I closed my eyes and sighed in frustration.
Well, I better get to it. I know I said I liked the Fortress Of Doors, but I wanna get out of here already. This place is giving me the creeps.
I took one last look around and found the lift that I needed to ride to get to the next floor. I shrugged.
Well, better get to it.
Figuring I had already wasted enough time, I slowly made my way to the lift. A silent prayer quickly forming in the back of my mind.
As I made my way out of the auditorium, I noticed a small red button by the door. I stared at it for a moment contemplating weather or not I should press it. Finally, I just shrugged and pressed it.
Well, let's just see what it does.
The sound of something descending made me turn around. I was kinda surprised to find that the little trap doors had gone back down, but the children were still on the stage, laughing and clasping their hands in glee. I smiled and left the auditorium. I looked around to make sure no enemies were present and quickly made my way to the door on my right.
Okay, time to start finding the rest of the potion's ingredients.
I cringed at the thought of what that potion might taste like. I didn't have much time to dwell on it however, because the next thing I knew I was pushed so violently into the room that I lost my balance and fell face first onto the floor and heard the door slam shut behind me. After a moment of cursing under my breath, I felt myself being helped back up.
"I'm terribly sorry about that Libia, but a Boojum was coming and would have gotten you if I hadn't pushed you in here. I didn't to push you so hard and make you fall, though." A male's voice said.
I smiled.
"Rabbit. I was wondering when I'd run into you. Don't worry about it. Thanks for saving me from another shriek fest." I said.
Rabbit laughed and gently patted the top of my head.
"Think nothing of it. Do try to be more careful, though. Those bloody bastards won't waste anytime attacking you if you aren't paying attention." Rabbit said.
"No kidding. So, what are you doing here, anyway? I didn't think I'd see you again until I got to..." my voice trailed off.
Rabbit sighed.
"How many times must we tell you? This isn't the game, Libia. You wanted to see me, so here I am." Rabbit said.
I raised an eyebrow and cocked my head to the side.
"But if this isn't like the game, then the bloody hell does it look like it?" I asked.
Rabbit frowned.
"Because you've already gotten this far into the game. I warn you though, things may look like you expect them to now, but that will change soon enough. Things are not what they seem here." Rabbit said.
"Okay, that answers that question, but how did you know I wondering about you?" I asked.
"Cat came and told me. He said you were getting a little worried, so I decided to pay you a visit even though I wasn't supposed to." Rabbit said.
"What do you mean you weren't supposed to?" I asked.
"The queen. If she sees any of us running off to places we aren't supposed to be she'll suspect something is amiss. We don't want her to know that you're here. You aren't even supposed to be here yet. That's why you must take care not to call on any of us too often, especially Cat. Don't worry about us, we'll always come and check on you whenever a chance presents itself." Rabbit said.
I frowned.
"But Rabbit, shouldn't she be able to find out that I'm here regardless of weather or not you and CC coming running to my aid? She is the queen after all." I said.
Rabbit shook his head.
"She's not expecting you yet, so she's not paying attention." Rabbit said.
"Which means I'm at a slight advantage, right?" I asked.
"Until the queen finds out, yes. We must keep her in the dark about you being here as long as possible." Rabbit said.
I sighed.
"Alright. I'll try not to call on CC or you too often, but since you're here maybe you can answer something for me." I said.
"Actually, Cat is really the only one you can summon. You're going to have to wait until either you're supposed to see me, or I get a chance to escape." Rabbit said.
"Escape? You mean from the queen?" I asked.
Rabbit nodded.
"Exactly. I can't stay with you for much longer, so what is it you want to know?" Rabbit asked.
"CC said something about my true purpose here and my having to make "the ultimate choice". Do you have any idea what he might have been talking about?" I asked.
Rabbit began to get fidgety and nervously looked around the whole room. I sighed.
"If you can't tell me, then don't worry about it. I don't want to get you guys into..." I was cut short as Rabbit put a hand to my mouth. I looked at him confused.
"Shh, I hear something." Rabbit whispered.
Rabbit removed his hand from my mouth. I strained my ears to listen and heard what sounded like a mirror breaking. I saw Rabbit's eyes grow wide as he knocked me down to the floor. I looked up to find some broken mirror shards hit the wall by the door. I got up and went to examine the shards.
"What was that?" I asked.
"A warning." Rabbit said.
"A warning of what?" I asked.
"I'm sorry Libia, but I must leave you now. Don't worry, you'll know everything soon enough. For now, just get the potion and hurry. Caterpillar is anxious to see you." Rabbit said.
He turned to hop off, but he hesitated and turned his attention back to me. The look on his face frightened me to say the least.
"Rabbit, what's wrong? Are you alright?" I asked.
"The mirrors. Beware the mirrors, Libia." Rabbit whispered.
Before I could make a move to stop him, Rabbit hopped off. I watched him until he disappeared from my line of sight. I looked at the broken shards and picked one up.
What did he mean 'beware the mirrors'? It looks just like a normal mirror shard to me.
I walked further into the room and noticed a broken mirror on the opposite wall.
So, that's where the shards came from.
I walked up to the mirror and took a good look at it. It had a big oval shaped silver frame with a crown of red roses around it.
Wow. It's beautiful. It looks just like the one mom had when I was a kid.
I lifted a hand to touch the silver frame. I sighed and closed my eyes as the memories came flooding back to me. When I opened my eyes I noticed that the remaining shards in the mirror were glowing a bright blue. I removed my hand from the mirror and stared in shock.
What's going on? Why is the mirror glowing?
I lifted my hand again to touch the glass, but a chorus of piercing screams stopped me. I snapped out of my trance in time to see a rock hit the mirror and shatter the remaining shards. I felt a light tug on my hand and looked down to find that it was the children I had seen in the auditorium earlier.
What the... How did they get in here?
I turned my head back to take one last look at the mirror. I gasped as the mirror turned a charcoal black and became nothing but ashes at my feet. That seemed to calm the children down seeing as how they were no longer screaming. I bent down and grabbed the ashes watching it flow through my fingers back onto the floor.
I can't believe it. That mirror really did turn to ashes, but how is that possible?
I heard a gruff laugh and turned to see the old man behind me. I dusted the remaining ashes from my hands and got back on my feet. The children swarmed around him laughing.
"The children may be insane, but they are no fools. They know what a looking glass can do." he said.
I cocked my head to the side confused.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
He sighed.
"Nevermind. Just be sure you don't look into the mirrors. Expect for any small heart shaped ones you find." He said.
"Why? What's wrong with the mirrors?" I asked.
"They're dangerous, that's all you need to know. Now come along. We have to find the ingredients for that potion." he said.
I frowned. I knew I wasn't gonna get any more out of him so I decided to just drop it and followed him further into the room. After a quick look around, I realized I was in the library. I looked up and saw the alcove that I needed to reach by the roof. I sighed.
Oh, I am so gonna hate this next part.
As we continued walking, the children ran off into different direction laughing and clapping merrily.
"Hey, aren't those the kids from the auditorium?" I asked.
The old man nodded.
"How did they get here? They're not following me, are they?" I asked.
He shrugged. I had to bite my lip to keep my self from spiting an acidy remark at him. He was being so rude and it was really being to piss me off.
What the hell? First he's all nice and says he'll help me and now he's not talking to me! What is going on here?!
After another minute of silence I couldn't take it anymore and decided to give the old geezer a piece of my mind. Before I could say anything though, he turned around to face me.
"I'll have to leave you now. Just make your way through the library to find the "Book Of Bizarre Things". The instructions for making the potion are in there." he said.
He disappeared before I could even open my mouth. It didn't matter though, I knew where he went. I closed my eyes and sighed in frustration.
Well, I better get to it. I know I said I liked the Fortress Of Doors, but I wanna get out of here already. This place is giving me the creeps.
I took one last look around and found the lift that I needed to ride to get to the next floor. I shrugged.
Well, better get to it.
Figuring I had already wasted enough time, I slowly made my way to the lift. A silent prayer quickly forming in the back of my mind.