((Continued from Coffee Dates and Kidnappings))

"Andrea..." Zaid felt his leg twitch with the first claws of consciousness, body feeling stiff and sore. His back was a pattern of cuts, slabs of what felt like bandaging strapped crudely over the wounds. His head was swimming, ears flat with the lack of energy to stand upright. As his vision started to clear, he noticed a pristine porcelain cup set in front of him. The image of a deck of cards was etched across it's body, and a white table cloth was spread beneath it. 

"Where...Andrea..." His throat was raw, the words painful to say. As he moved, he noticed his hands were tied behind him, a flowery scarf holding him upright. The scents here felt heavy and fragrant. Tea mingled with the smell of a hundred roses. Flowers...so many flowers. It was like he was seated in a flower shop and suffocating from the fragrance.

He was starting to get a bad feeling from that sensation alone. 

I must be dreaming. This has to be a dream. Andrea is okay, we just...We will be fine.

That was it. He was just trapped in a dream. 

As he glanced down, his face went absolutely scarlet. 

No, this was not a dream. This was a nightmare. 

Memories of the words from before rushed back to him. "I know exactly where to send you." "We will get him dressed before we go." He never expected the words dressed meant, well, dressed. 

He was in a Lolita style dress, with red and black patterns and silver stockings. (Dress) His feet were placed in red flats, tiny gems stitched across their tops. The dress was so ruffly, he felt a little like he was sitting inside a giant cupcake. One of his ears started to wake up, brushing awkwardly against something on his head. A wig? Stars and aces, if he looked in a mirror and found he was wearing makeup to, he was going to feel a little sick. 

He watched enough anime and spent enough time on the internet to know there were some freaky kinks in the world. Being a bunny mutant, he prepared himself to meet some of those individuals, who found the very concept of bunny ears sexy. The imagery of rabbits and, well, intimacy, were well documented. But he never dreamed he would get caught in something quite so, disturbing. 

He wiggled, testing his bindings, drawing a flush of pain through his body. His wrists felt numb from how tight the ropes were, and his shoulders tested the binding on his torso. If he could just...slide down far enough, maybe he could bite it? 

Just then, there was noise and he froze. Someone else was arriving. 

Okay, so this was going to be a bit of a hard one to live down, she had to admit. Because she hadn't been very sociable of late, her aunt Edna, the executor of her father's estate, was withholding her trust money until she proved to be active once more... Greedy b*tch. So, Ella Louise had made the somewhat coarse decision to make some of her own money!

The easy way.

By selling some of her time on a darkweb kink website. At first she'd just been curious, but when she saw how many zeroes this person was willing to add on the end of her check... Just to have a Tea party in the type of clothing she wore on a regular basis? No naughty stuff? Sure, no questions asked, but for 50k she would walk in wearing a walrus suit and dance the macarena naked. 

So, there she was, dressed as Alice, and being escorted into a... large... indoor garden? Woah, neat. She hadn't met the master of the house yet, but damn, he had vision, that was for sure. L toed the grass, identifying it as fake, but... expensive. The man in a suit and dark glasses that was leading her looked back, and waved her into a small gated area with hedges around it. As she walked through the gate a table came into view... it was... well, it looked almost like a replica of the old Alice in Wonderland cartoon movie Tea Party set.

It was impressive. It was also... Off-putting? There was a fluorescent glow to the room that made it all feel a little sterile. Also, was there a tied up bunny girl sitting at the table?

Eeeeyup. 

No questions, L. 50k. L. No questions.

She was seated across from the Bunny.  She stared with blank eyes at the well made-up girl... wait... boy? No, girl. She... They, they were adorable, but... well. "You're tied up." It wasn't a question.

"That what you're into? You the owner here?" #@$^, those were questions. Did that count? She wasn't leaving without her money.

Zaid was surprised when a girl walked into the room. She was sporting a rather well made Alice dress, and unlike him, she was walking on her own free will. Did that mean she was part of this? Was she in charge? The surprise in her expression seemed to suggest otherwise. Zaid would know that one-two glance anywhere. Considering he had no chest, but was wearing a wig, the androgyny was stronger than ever.

”You’re tied up.” she remarked.

”You’re not.” Zaid responded. His eyes narrowed, and he tugged at the wraps again. The effort caused more pain but he didn’t want to focus on that.

”No, this is not what I’m into! I wasn’t—“ a loud whistle sounded, making him flinch like he was struck across the skull. The pitch was much higher than a human would take note of, but to his sensitive ears, it was horrible. His ears gave a very noticeable flinch and flattened again, and he tugged once more on his bindings.

“Now now, why don’t you be a good rabbit and just play along? See how much nicer it is when you participate?”

The voice echoed through a speaker, distorted by some type of voice changer. Ahh, a puppet master showed itself. Zaid tried to twist his fingers, looking for anything to grip to start his escape. He needed to find Andrea!

One of the servants moved forward and set a teapot on the table. Zaid felt his nose twitch, and he recoiled away.

That, that wasn’t tea.

“Serve the other kettle for the lady,” the voice instructed. Zaid bared his teeth, already understanding this game. Tears or punishment huh? If he played along, the good tea. If he didn’t? Well, he didn’t want to find out what was in the other kettle.

The Bunny looked... somewhat nervous, not to say that wasn't perfectly reasonable, being tied up and all. He, the voice helped signify, albeit shakily, started to respond that this wasn't all his thing when... Well, for some reason he just stopped talking, flinched as if someone was about to strike him, and then a voice rang in over the speaker. The voice was distorted. Maybe her benefactor wasn't going to show his actual face?

"Ohhhh, boy, I really signed up for a doozie here, didn't I." She muttered to herself as the Mr Sunglasses at night poured her a cup of tea. The bunny seemed nervous as the existence of the other teapot, though. Strange. 

She stared down at the teacup she'd been offered, and blinked a few times. 50k. Fifty Thousand Dollars. She slowly forced her face into a smile, and daintily grabbed the teacup's handle with a thumb and index finger, lifting it to her lips pinky up, and taking a long sip.

It was hot, but she couldn't be burnt, so she didn't need to wait for it to cool. It was a nice tea... A bit of a floral note, a little bitter. Pricey sort of stuff, but that wasn't surprising given the obviously deep pockets present here. 

"So... What... You're late for a very important date, then?" 

She had to figure out exactly what was going on, here. Was it a strange kink party for the bunny boy? Was this some sort of captive situation? Was she in wayyyy too deep? 

On one hand, if it was a kinky sorta dom thing, she might ruin the moment if she spoke out, but on the other hand, if this were some sorta very illegal hostage situation, they probably weren't exactly planning on letting her walk away from this.

"You have a name, or is it just The White Rabbit in this scenario?"

TSigned up for a doozie... Zaid's ear swiveled her direction, and he blinked several times to clear his thoughts. Things were making sense now. The girl, whoever she was, came here as a participant. Paid, presumably. Zaid was purchased in a different manner but was also along for the ride. The mastermind (How Zaid had dubbed 'Hatter' for the time being, because he was a FRICKIN PSYCHO!) brought them here for a purpose. Figuring out the purpose could possibly get their freedom.

Failing, judging by the smell from the kettle, could be deadly.

"Important...date," Zaid repeated slowly, stalling as he tried to think. "I suppose, in a way, I may be. But you aren't the person I really want to be meeting." Zaid sighed. He dug around with his foot, testing his range of motion. He let his nose fill in what else it could. There were flowers, deep red, lining the garden. Some of them smelt normal, while others had a strange iron stench to them his nose could barely make out. Some of the walls had paintings of giant playing cards. Another flickering light seemed to be set up to reflect the eyes of a Cheshire cat.

Although, if a real Cheshire cat was brought, he was going to find anyway possible to noppppppe outta here.

You have a name?"

He was torn. Using a fake name seemed more logical, using his real name could help someone find him in the future. Then he considered his dress. Well, not like anyone would recognize him in this outfit anyway. "Zaid." He said it quietly, and looked her way again. "And, do you always go by Alice?"

Zaid took the distraction with the tea to free one foot from a shoe, and after a few painful attempts, managed to tear the stupid stocking off one foot so he could feel. Fake grass, and a cold floor beneath. Then, a crease in the ground. Like, a door? He tried to turn his head to look at the other seats when the whistle blew again. A few sentences of Japanese curses let the Hatter know what he thought about the warning.

L stared at the crossdressing bunny boy in silent observation as he replied to her stupid Alice joke. He... wasn't turned on right now. Not a normal observation she would be looking for, but even an eternal 12 year old could read enough body language to know when someone wasn't feeling it, and bun bun over here wasn't in to getting tied up for fun. At least he wasn't right now. 

That meant this was the more dangerous of the two situations. "I'll forgive you for feeling that way. You're honestly adorable, but you're a bit young for me." The 12 year old took another sip of tea. She looked about the room under the guise of a long sip, and set her tea plate down with the cup on it. She was trained in propriety, so all of her physical actions at the tea table were dainty and noble. 

The room was well secured. There were... lots of small entrances. She didn't notice the trap doors underneath, though she did spot silhouettes moving behind the rose bushes fencing them in. People?

"You can call me L, dear. I fathom we are in a bit of a jam, aren't we?" As if to reply to her statement, a voice spoke up, tinny over the speakers.

"Well, would you look at the time! It is... TEA TIME!" A distorted chuckle rang out until the speaker cut off, and a bunch of people started entering their little nook. Seven in all, men, wearing leather pants, cufflinks, and oil on their chests. Oh lordy. Offputting, though, because each had giant caricature masks on, one a walrus, one a mouse, one a clam, etc. They all almost ballet pranced up to different chairs and took a seat.


"Oh... Wow. That's... Wow." L spoke up as all of the new guests struck up almost sensual model poses in their chairs and froze in place. The man in the glasses walked up and unsecured the bunny from his chair, still keeping him roped well to himself. He then stepped back to observe.


"We are going to play a fun game! The rules are simple! I will say change places! When I do, you will pop up and move to another around while the music plays! When it stops, you will take a seat! Then... One chair disappears~" L rolled her eyes... They were about to play some sort of musical chairs? Great. She was amazing at these sort of games, with her short stubby legs and weak constitution. Awesome.


"Now... CHANGE PLACES!"  Off tune music started paying as everyone hopped up and seeked a new chair. Everyone was moving too fast, it wouldn't be easy to just make a break for it... Great. The music stopped, and she scrambled into a small seat. When everyone was seated, there was a pause as the oiled up men seemed to get a little tense, and then... 

With a yelp, one of them fell through the floor. 

What in the world? After a moment there was a loud crash below them.

Oh hell. They really were in trouble, here. All of the rest of the actors in there with them seemed to hesitate for a moment, and then ease into their dramatic poses again. Yup... This was creepy. Where was Bun bun? Was he seated near again?

Zaid knew about the trap doors, so he had enough sense to be afraid when the other actors arrived. He pieced together the situation while L was talking, although he was aware enough to note she called him too young for her. He wondered if that meant she reaaaaaally liked old guys, or if she was older than she looked. She talked older, at least.

The new arrivals were, uh, quite something to look at. Zaid was terrified for his life but even he glanced twice at the literal man buffet seated around him. Stars, this guy had a rabbit fetish, a child present, and now exhibit dancers? This felt like top level psychological issues Zaid could not wrap his brain around.

He was brought to his feet and the bindings were secured to his body so only his legs were free. He was aware he was short a shoe now, but felt it was inconsequential. With a little wiggle, he managed to kick off the other one. At least now he wouldn’t be trying to survive in heels. THAT would have been a terrible way to die. The music started and he was forced to scramble forward or get mowed down by the dormouse actor behind him, who had the most glorious shade of red hair Zaid ever saw. The pain of running made that hair remind him of a fire, ready to burn his poor bunny tail.

Stop. He sat quickly, perched on the edge of the chair with his ears quivering. He heard the gears shift before the actual chair dropped, and the falling actor and crunch of death was faaaar too vivid in his enhanced senses. He smelt blood. It was faint, but now that he recognized the stench, he felt like the garden was surrounded by it. The roses, the paintings. ”One chair gone, let’s see who will drop out of the running next!”

Drop...out. Ha. Creative.

The next round brought him closer to L, and the actor in the Walrus mask tried to catch the edge of the door, muscles straining with effort to survive. The calm man with glasses walked over, and took what looked like a polo mallet and swung. Zaid shut his eyes, but couldn’t block out the sound. His stomach rolled, and he turned sideways, gagging into one of the rose bushes. Sadistic laughter rang through the speakers.

“Now now, we still have two rounds to go. Try to remain presentable. Or would you rather watch Alice fall next? Down down the rabbit hole...”

Zaid shot a look to the small girl. He felt sicker than ever. If it really came down to one or the other, would he let he take the fall? Something about her attitude seemed to suggest she was not afraid like he was. Well, if she is tough enough to survive that, there is no use taking the risk unnecessarily.

Did that make him a bad person? Maybe. But he thought of Andrea, of Jude, and everything he needed to get back to. He needed to stay focused on survival.

The music started and he ran, foot catching on a splinter of the wooden mallet, making him wince and stumble. He landed in his chair a little awkwardly, which may have been to his luck. As his tail brushed the seat, he heard the rumble of gears. NO!!! he sprang, legs coiling powerfully and sending him onto the table as the chair fell out from under him. Tea cups flew all directions, the large teapot sloshing, something silver and boiling splashing to the fake grass. The man with glasses reached for another mallet, and Zaid panicked, leaping sideways and sending the table spilling over.

The ensemble of actors scattered, some splashed by the liquid and crying in pain. Nope, definitely NOT tea.

“Looks like our rabbit is late for another date. But we aren’t done with our festivities, my long eared friend!”

”Consider your invitation rejected!” Zaid yelled, diving behind a rose bush, glancing back once toward L.

Damn, the bunny was several seats down. No chance to talk. That meant no plan for escape. This Wonderland's Alice let out a long sigh as she looked around at the actors. Some of them were maintaining a bit of a cool, but most were also looking around. Had they all been tricked here as well? They had to have been offered more than 50k for this kinda @#$%. 

A yawn caught her at an odd moment, and she sniffed up a bit of a sniffle. Damn cold was resurfacing again. Always happened when she was a little stressed. 

Just like that, it was time to change places again. She hopped up and crawled under the table, coming up on the other side as the Walrus tried to sit. Nope. Rather than pick another chair, the man turned and ran for the door. L tensed a bit as Shades played wack-a-mole with him. This time, though, her plan to cross closer to Bun Bun went well. 

"It's okay, kid, We'll find a way out of here, Kay?" L tried to comfort the boy, who had just vomited into one of the fake bushes. 

"Look, if it comes down to it, use me as a human shield, okay? He probably doesn't want his Alice dead yet." What he might want her alive for, she didn't want to know. She was glad she hadn't disclosed that she was a mutant to this guy, just that she was older than she looked. 

Round three started, and she tried her same trick again, but encountered a set of legs blocking her way. #@$^! She turned, and then froze in place as she saw rabbity feet sit at a chair, and then leap as the trap door underneath opened up. To her side a tea pot splashed and... boiling metal splattered out? Should she really be surprised at this point? Over screams of pain she heard a thump as the table above her tilted over, and she looked up to see Bunny boy dive behind a rose bush.

Shades was on his way over with another mallet. She made eye contact with the boy, and then gritted her teeth.

The big man with the glasses spotted the bunny, and raised his weapon, which appeared to be weighted more for crushing than croquette. He stopped, however, when searing hot mercury was splashed all over the back of his head. L hissed loudly from behind him. "Cmon, we gotta go!" 

The little girl dropped the pot as she heard the announcer scream something angrily over the radio. She couldn't make it out, and didn't care, as she was too busy trying to grab the bunny's hand and lead him toward one of the open pits in the floor. 

It was around that time that all of the doors shot open, and... men and women in.. card suits? Like, playing cards, but with face holes and... A**less? What? Like, faces and hams only? Why? They all had cattle prods. 

L Glanced down the hole, and looked over to Zaid. It was an almost comically long drop into sharp looking stuff. She looked at him with a sort of sadness in her eyes. There was no way he was surviving that fall... She could, though.  The cards were closing in.

Despite the girl's early attempts to reassure him, Zaid found it hard to believe escaping could be easy. He was somewhat touched by the efforts she took to comfort him though. Diving under the table and working her way to talk to him was pretty brave. Okay, so it was a little strange that she was here in the first place, and working for the creepy bad guy (why else would she be walking around by her free will?) But she at least seem to take pity in his captivity and the imposing threat of death.

Between the tables flipping, the splashing liquid, and the opening of trap doors, Zaid momentarily lost L. He finally found her hiding, before she jumped to his defense and spilled the hot mercury on their warden. We gotta go!

Clang, clang, whoooosh.... Zaid's ears were filled with the noises of the marching cards. He glanced once, did a double-take, and realized he really did NOT want to question what he saw. Cattle prods. Really? This was like the idiots guide to kink and beginner level serial murder, but the pictures got mixed up with scenes from a children's book.

That...was too much to think about.

L pulled him to a hole and he glanced into the eerie pit of doom. He was pretty sure his stomach dropped to the base of his tail. That was not an escape he would EVER want to try taking. L seemed to consider it though. Zaid may not know much about her, but her lack of fear and general disregard for danger made him suspect she was along the lines of 'super healing' mutant. Erik had been like that. Reckless, uncaring when knives or fists flew at him. Stars, he could really use someone like that on his side. Despite her efforts, he felt L was not that person.

"If you can go, do it. I'll find another way," Zaid whispered, before turning toward the cards. Well, it would come down to this then.

He ripped the wig off and threw it at the first card before crouching and springing into the air. He used playing cards like spring boards and did a mad scramble as they started to tumble, looking comically like a card-tower caving in. With a roll and an extraordinarily painful dive, he made it through an open door before it could shut. Temporarily scrambling on all fours, he looked like an uncoordinated impression of a cat running from a vacuum cleaner. He raced up stairs, around corners, and then burst into---

"Stars and aces..." Zaid breathed. His knees went weak and he put a hand to his mouth. He almost lost his lunch again.

The room...was a taxidermy shop. On every wall, display and corner was a different stuffed rabbit. Rabbits sipping tea, rabbits with bonnets, rabbits in dresses. Rabbits playing cards. Then, there were hats. Bowler hats, top hats, fancy little hats with ribbons and bows. Hatter...was really...a mad hatter.

A shrill whistle blew and Zaid yelped, falling to his knees and covering his ears. He heard footsteps, then a rather scratchy voice spoke out from the darkness. "Oh, little bunny no longer wishes to play. Good bunnies get to drink tea, but I'm sure you've learned what happens to the bad ones?"

Zaid shivered, backing up. The door opened and in filed several of the comical looking guards. The voice continued, and Zaid didn't have the courage to even look up.

"I will give you one chance, my little white rabbit. You will think about your choice overnight. If you are good and play, I will let you back in my tea room. If not, I can just add you to my collection"

Electricity hit him from behind, and darkness took over.

-------------------------------------------------

When he awoke, he was curled in a ball, body icy cold. The dress was gone, and he found himself stripped down to his boxers. It would have been an improvement, if he wasn't in a steel cage, the icy bars digging into his bleeding back. His tail trembled, ears flat to his head as he hugged his knees to stay warm. The tiny cage wasn't big enough for anything else. One night? One night to try and figure a way out? He felt all his energy fading. Andrea...I hope wherever you are, it is better than this...[/i][/i]

She gave him one last look as he blessed her leaving. "I'll try to get someone here to save you... Hang on, okay?" A card stepped toward her, and he leaned back.

One fall down the rabbit hole later she was laying in a pile of chair, smashed person, and shattered tea cups. Quickly she stood to her feet, completely unscathed by the long, long drop. No one was down here, just as she thought. Why guard a room that was essentially just a large trash pit? It was a large room with a drain on the floor, and blood was already draining into it. There was one exit. As she ran to the exit a man walked in rolling a mop and bucket. 

He seemed surprised to see her. She hit him with a running elbow to the groin, and he dropped like a sack of potatoes. Several face stamps with heels later he was out. She sniffed up a runny nose, and hurried out, following clearly marked exit signs until she saw light. 

When she was free, she looked back, gritting her teeth once more. She would get help. She had to. Hopefully the kid could hang in there until then.