Looking Glass IC

[Thaelasan]

While everyone else was practicing or talking about their new forms, Ryuki was off from the group with Nekomi, talking about his day and telling a few jokes. But at the mention of separation, Ryuki paused a moment.

"Well then, I already know who's going with me." he said, thumb to his chest. Nekomi nodded in agreement with Suzuki bounding up behind them both.

"Leave a dimension to us!" Suzuki said to Rachel and Shadow, saluting proudly.

"Yes, please. I don't know everyone else very well..." Nekomi began, gesturing to the rest of the room. "But.. I do know how Suzuki-chan and Ryuki-kun move and fight. If you would..."

"No. Not if you would. That's my dealbreaker." Ryuki crossed his arms at the rest of the room, frowning. "You want our help, you want us to be heroes and save this world - I'll gladly offer my life. But only if I can stand alongside those I love and respect. And if you can't give me that, then what sort of heroism is this? I think I'm allowed to be selfish in that regard. Dying fighting with those who you don't even know... that's not the way I want to go. I'd rather die fighting to protect those I actually want to give everything for."

"Senpai..." Nekomi began.

"Dying? But you won't die though, Onii-chan. Quit talking like that or I'll kick you." Suzuki grimaced. "You aren't dying while I'm around."

"See?" Ryuki held out his arms to Rachel and Shadow as if to say 'that's how it is.'

 

[dracofyris]

Evert didn't say anything, instead he ran laps around the gym to get a better feel for how his new body moves. He even decided to practice using his ice breath on various objects.

He didn't know any of these people and didn't know if they'd even like him or not. What if two were in trouble and it was him or one of the others? Would they choose to save the other person instead? If this were a video game he could take care of himself, but this is real life. He can't pull off the stunt that earned him his nickname online. A real person can't kill a real monster with barely any life left, they wouldn't be able to fight.

 

'You worry too much' Evert thought to himself while freezing a basketball goal. 'You're a powerful 8 foot beast with ice breath, you ARE a dungeon boss from a video game.'

 

But if we were picking teams, would he end up stuck with the 'teacher', like in every class group project ever? Did he even want to work with only the ones who brought them here? The others maybe, but the thought of getting stuck with Shadow was terrifying. Evert, the ice beast, was unnerved by Shadow's presence. 'Lets just make sure she doesn't know that' he thought.

[TehUltimateMage]

((Short post before bed.))

 

Carol was mortified, and glared daggers at anyone who laughed, lingering for a few more seconds on Ryuki for the stupid joke. A low growl resonated from his body, and he fluffed up his fur to appear larger. "No touchi---ahhh!" He was about to tell Suzuki to back off, but he was already being grabbed by Cygnis' form and fondled like some sort of hamster. He could tell she was being smug and superior about this, despite her beak being unable to make standard human facial expressions.

 

Figures. Carol strut away on four legs, mirror in his jaws, head and tail held high. Until Jessie came rushing at him.

 

Dog! dog dog dog! dog!! His senses were clear on what exactly was happening (it was another dog!!), but he forced himself to remain stoic, even as Jessie bent down to sniff him. His tail betrayed him, however, as it wagged vigorously. He put down the mirror to speak. "It probably could cast spells or something, and it does feel pretty sharp. I could probably run someone through with this thing," he jokingly threatened. If anything, it was possible this form could be like a killer rabbit: small, but capable of decapitating several men. He hoped that was the case.

 

While the bird and the dinosaur were busing doing their respective laps around the gym, Carol focused on the magic in his horn. It lit up, then formed into a ball, a bright tennis ball made of light, before the object gained mass and fell to his feet.

 

Oh boy!! Ball!! He nuzzled it towards Jesse.

[skwerl56767]

Jessie perked her ears at the responses to her suggestion. Ryuki, Nekomi and Suzuki all seemed insistent on staying together; which, considering their close bonds to one another, isn't really something one can argue with. Cygnis would rather be alone, while the others didn't seem to care.

Funny. It seemed a lot of people in the gym was indifferent.

With Evert and Cygnis exercising their new forms, Jessie turned her attention back to Carol, who was a fluffy little ball of ferocity. For some reason though, he seemed more comfortable around her.

" It probably could cast spells or something, and it does feel pretty sharp. I could probably run someone through with this thing." He said, and Jessie laughed.

<And being so small, they couldn't get you back!> She added jovially. Carol paused for a moment, and his horn started to glow; like any other dog, Jessie gave it a curious sniff. It was only a few moments before a ball materialized from its light and fell to the ground.

 

A ball! No way! Those were her immediate thoughts as she nuzzled it, before grabbing it in her jaws and doing some happy dog-circling around Carol.

<You made a ball! A ball!!> She chanted, way more excited than usual. She was interrupted by a screeching roar that made her-and everyone else-jump several feet into the air. Shadow jumped up and immediately morphed into an Ice Spirit, taking on a battle pose and glaring at everyone.

" What in the blazes?!" She screeched, wing scales still coming in.

" Whoops..." Cygnis's apologetic, innocent voice. Jessie turned and saw that the floorboards of the gym were rippled and cracked, as though a boulder fell from the ceiling. Shadow relaxed from her pose and looked up, obviously thinking to herself "Really?", but saying nothing and returning to her spell work. Jacob too had switched form-an instantaneous shift into an Phoenix-but was quickly returning to normal with the same, berating look.

" Let's hope no one heard that." Rachel said. Jessie perked her ears, but heard no commotion outside of the gym; either that, or the walls were very solidly built.

<I think we're good?> She said cautiously. Suddenly, the gym doors were thrown open with the sound of approaching footsteps.

" What was that?! Did the portal open wrong?" Crystal's voice.

<No, just an excited recruit.> Jessie reassured her telepathically. Crystal gained a curious look in her eyes, but didn't comment; instead, she held out her hand, which had various strings and ribbons grasped in it.

 

" It's all I could find; we'll use them to string the mirrors into pendants. That way our shifters can have two hands free-er, paws too." She nodded to each person in particular, and allowed them to choose whichever string they liked; her eyes then fell on Shadow. " Shock-morphed, huh?"

" Habit." She grumbled, scales clanking together in agitation. " I'll switch out before I leave."

<You're coming with us, right? Right?> Jessie's tail wagged a bit as she begged. <Pleeaaaase?>

" Why would I?" Shadow shrugged, standing up from her invisible rune on the floor and taking a few steps back.

<Because!> Jessie insisted.

" I'm sure that's convincing." Crystal muttered. " Have we decided on-"

" Yes, we have!" Rachel interrupted her. " Those three are staying together, and those two are together." She pointed at Ryuki's group and Carol and Jessie respectively. " Teams of two going to two dimensions, and teams of three going to the others."

" Well... " Crystal still seemed distant concerning the idea of joining the shifters. " Shadow, what are the different dimensions?"

The mentioned being slumped, tail thumping on the ground. " I'm trying to do a spell here!"

" One question!"

 

" Fine: there are four dimensions. I didn't spend much time in any of them. Two of them seemed to be isolated buildings, one of them a house and another some kind of place of business. The other two are like forests; one is a really weird, twisted forest, and the other was mostly floating with lots of fast travel. That's all I can tell you."

" Can't you elaborate?" Crystal persisted. Shadow gave her a classic, yellow Ice Spirit glare.

" Not really. Except, the one forest felt like there was a lot of... political strife isn't the word... there was some kind of powerful rivalry going on. And that 'business building' felt extremely deceptive."

" None of those sound particularly scary." Jacob judged. Shadow switched the glare onto him, and he avoided eye contact. " Forget I said anything..."

" The floating forest sounds kind of interesting. I'll go there." Rachel spoke up, suddenly interested.

<The house! That should be easy, right? Right?> Jessie claimed the next dimension. Crystal shot her a warning glance.

" Our mirror-shifters should decide; they're the ones going there, after all." She turned to the mentioned group. " Anything sound interesting to you guys?"

[dracofyris]

'She's really scary!!' Evert's thoughts shouted when he saw Shadow's transformation. The fear caused him to scramble away, crashing into some of the things set out for the party and falling over. "Ow!" He called out.

 

He got up slowly and approached the others even more slowly, but sped up with thoughts of 'you're an 8ft tall beast, why are you scared?'. "The business building seems easy, maybe we should get those ones taken care of first." Evert replied through a bit of difficulty born out of fear.

[Thaelasan]

(( Don't expect another post for another day or so, unfortunately. This one is all I can do, I think. ))

 

Ryuki turned to Nekomi and Suzuki, pondering.

"A floating forest!? Like floating platforms and lots of flying?! OOOOH!" Suzuki's eyes went wide.

"No, that's more for people like dragon guy over there, Suzu." Ryuki stated firmly, hand to his armored chin. "We may be able to fly but our combat skills in air are severely lacking. We're better for ground based combat."

"Huh?" Nekomi said, slightly impressed. "You're actually considering this logically. I expected more impulse, with all of this."

Ryuki shook his head.

"I'm about to take my two favorite people into danger. I'm not about to treat this like a pleasure cruise." he assured, thinking hard. "But the business area wouldn't be right. If there are other people in that dimension, we don't really fit in in our shifted forms. Buildings could be good cover during combat though but we could easily get lost. We can't forget we don't know the territory."

"We have good senses of direction, though, Senpai." Nekomi retorted, arms crossed. "That's not really a huge problem. And we could draw maps."

"True..." Ryuki sighed. "I'm kind of interested in the house, especially if it's some sort of haunted house."

"OOH! GHOSTS!" Suzuki jumped up and down excitedly but Nekomi was hesitant.

"We're not made for battling ghosts. I'm the only one who could-"

"You can banish them, right?" Ryuki turned, thoughtful. "I mean, it's obvious your powers are more based on spirits and souls, Miss Shrine Maiden."

"....Maybe. But let's not base our choices on speculation." Nekomi sighed. "What if you're wrong?"

"Dammit, if we knew more ABOUT the locations it'd make this choice a lot easier. I don't like thinking of throwing us into something we don't understand or know. Changing forms is one thing. Being in a completely different world... that's another entirely"

"Agreed." Nekomi nodded.

"Does anyone here know anything ABOUT these dimensions were going to? A bit more detail would be nice." Ryuki asked, turning to Shadow. "These descriptions are too obscure - too vague. We're about to charge into unstable dimensions to save the world. We should at least do a bit more ground covering - learn more about these areas we're having to invade. I mean, what languages do the people speak? We shouldn't just assume every entity in these dimensions is hostile, right? Or is that the point?"

Suzuki actually nodded, agreeing.

"Yeah... to be honest, Onii-chan is right. I don't wanna hurt innocent people. That's not what saving the world is about." Suzuki said firmly. "You're not sending us off to go hurt people without reason, right? We're not invading somebody's world and fighting them for nothing?"

 

[skwerl56767]

" The business building seems easy, maybe we should get those ones taken care of first." Evert suggested. Crystal nodded, though she looked at him full of worry. He was the biggest one here, and yet he was a bit skittish in his new form... well, she couldn't blame him, considering the circumstances. This was all new, sudden, and strange. Ryuki and his group contemplated on where to go as Shadow finished the spell. Once the latter had finished, she began to turn back into her human form, with the spell ready to be activated.

It was almost time to leave...

 

" Does anyone here know anything ABOUT these dimensions were going to? A bit more detail would be nice. These descriptions are too obscure - too vague. We're about to charge into unstable dimensions to save the world. We should at least do a bit more ground covering - learn more about these areas we're having to invade." Ryuki suddenly spoke up. " I mean, what languages do the people speak? We shouldn't just assume every entity in these dimensions is hostile, right? Or is that the point?"

Suzuki quickly backed him up in agreement. " Yeah... to be honest, Onii-chan is right. I don't wanna hurt innocent people. That's not what saving the world is about. You're not sending us off to go hurt people without reason, right? We're not invading somebody's world and fighting them for nothing?"

Shadow simply stared at them, as though she was trying to figure out what to say.

" Limbo isn't exactly a place; it's more like a state of existence, like being angry or afraid. Limbo likes to slowly tear things apart and consume them. If there are any people, I doubt they're still people." She paused to fold her arms, thinking. " If I were you, I would treat everything with caution and hostility. Language shouldn't be a problem; that's a part of limbo I haven't figured out yet. As for details, I can't give you anything else. I visited the dimensions in a different form, so everything was blurry and distorted; for the correct perspective, think of me visiting in my dreams. Everything must be interpreted, so I can only say what I felt or perceived."

" Can you tell us how you felt about them?" Crystal butted in. " I mean, you said the one dimension was deceptive. What about the others?"

 

" Hm." Shadow pulled a wry face. " Snippets of information. The business building felt cold and empty, even though it was active. The longer I stayed, the more deceptive I realized it is. I don't trust anything I've gathered from it, so I won't plague you with the information. The floating forest, as said before, feels like a battleground between two powers. There were... lots of colors. And the floating seemed random or displaced, like there was no "ground" to float from."

<What about the house? Is it really just a house?> Jessie asked. Shadow shrugged, even more indecisive.

" I... can't really tell. It was large, very large, and the basement-or what I thought was a basement-is... overwhelming, somehow. It makes you want to leave. I figured it was a house because I had the impression that someone took care of it, but I could be wrong. It's like..."

<Like a mansion?!> Jessie was bouncing up and down.

" Maybe?" Shadow said slowly.

" Okay, and the other forest?" Crystal pressed. Shadow shrugged.

" Don't remember. It was just twisted and weird, and felt off. Very quiet, too."

 

Rachel huffed, sitting on the ground. " Well that's not helpful at all. I'm sticking with my initial choice. What about you Jake? Are you coming?"

Jacob jumped, yanked out of his thoughts. " Huh? What? I wasn't... um... yeah, I'll go. With whomever. Uh... do we know where we're going?"

Rachel rolled her eyes. " So far Jessie and Carol are heading for the house-mansion-thing, I'm going to the floating forest, and Evert might be heading to the deceptive-business-whatever."

Jacob frowned. " Descriptive."

" Tell that to Shadow." She scoffed.

" I'll go with Evert." Crystal offered, shooting the ice-beast a glance. " So, deceptive-building."

" Then I'll go to the last place." Jacob said, clearly still unsure about what was going on. " The uh... twisted forest. Yeah."

" Maybe Cygnis should go there too; if the forest is as tangled as it sounds, it would be more convenient to fly over it." Crystal suggested.

" If she wants; I could care less." Shadow said indifferently. " The spell is ready, so you guys should make up your minds now while I can still tell the Nexus where to send you."

Edited January 19, 2016 by skwerl56767

[Thaelasan]

))

Ryuki sighed, rubbing the side of his plate armor with a frown as he unshifted, his hand finding purchase in his hair. Nekomi cocked her head, confused.

"Aren't we about to head into danger? Why'd you turn back?" she asked, concerned.

"It's simple. Staying in that form is a bad idea." Ryuki replied. "If we can only stay in it for roughly four hours, tops - and probably less for us since we haven't used it often - we should probably just stay out of it until we need it."

"I don't know. What if we get ambushed?"

"Hmm... good point. Cycling then? Who first?"

"Me! ME ME ME!" Suzuki waved her hand. "I'll do it first! You two can rest!"

"We're counting on you, Suzu." Ryuki nodded. "But now for the choice..."

"Hmm....." Nekomi pondered.

"Such a difficult choice.." Suzuki said, hand to her chin.

"Well, if it's based on dreams, it's obvious that the more people in it, the more stable it becomes, right?" Ryuki asked, arms crossed. "The more minds perceiving a reality, the more it should become real. One person perceiving something can be called false by others. But several minds perceiving a theory can make it a fact, right?"

"Right." Nekomi nodded. "And there's three of us. So we should tackle the hardest realities."

"Agreed." Ryuki put his hands in his pockets, frowning. "Oh. We should probably call home though, right? Mom would pitch a fit if I kept Suzu out, especially tonight. What about you, Nekomi?"

"My mother knows I'm usually around you and doesn't seem to mind it much, oddly." Nekomi smirked. "In most other worlds, knowing your daughter is with an older boy is probably cause for concern."

"Yeah but she met me." Ryuki grinned. "What am I gonna do?"

"I just sent Mom and Dad a text." Suzu held up her phone helpfully. "Do you think that's enough?"

"What'd you tell them?"

"Nothing too amazing." Suzuki replied, putting her phone back in her pocket. "So what now, Onii-chan?"

"I'm really feeling that mansion. I like the creepy vibe, and it IS Halloween." Ryuki grinned. "Yeah. I think I wanna go there."

"Senpai, I don't like the sound of this at all." Nekomi replied, anxious.

"You can't be scared, right?" Ryuki asked.

"N-no."

"Liar. And you should be. I am too." Ryuki assured. "Besides, you're not alone, right?"

"Yes, but.."

"Hey." Ryuki laid a hand on her shoulder. "What do you want to do then? You pick."

"....I was kind of interested in that floating forest.. It sounded beautiful.. And Suzuki liked it too."

"Yeah! Flying!" Suzuki added.

"Well then, if no one else wants it, we'll go there." Ryuki turned to Shadow, waving. "The forest, if you would. We'll be off when you want."

 

(( Personally I was interested in the mansion but my characters decided it's forest time. Funny how it works. :3 ))

[dracofyris]

'Oh no, stay cool. Use your gaming expertise to your advantage!' Evert kept repeating inside his mind when Crystal decided to go with him. He'd never been picked for a team project in school and figured this would be a similar scenario. "Um, yeah the deceptive building. Sure." His smile looked kinda awkward, as if he was trying too hard to look chill. In an attempt to look even more chill, Evert tried leaning on one of the tables. This resulted in him breaking it under his new weight and becoming acquainted with the floor.

[Thaelasan]

"We should probably stop destroying parts of the gym if we can help it." Ryuki chuckled, gesturing to the broken floor from earlier and now a table shattered on the ground. "Are you guys really that awkward? It's not that hard."

Nekomi tried to hush him with her finger but he ignored her protests as he rubbed a hand through his wild hair with a flourish.

"Don't just be a form, BECOME the form, envision it as yourself - not as something you become." Ryuki suggested, holding out both hands to emphasize his point. "You are no longer your human self, your original body, but something beyond it. So don't just treat it like you are a human who BECAME something, treat it as you were once that thing, and being human is just... the other half of it."

He crossed his arms, gesturing to Suzu.

"Though, I admit, just gaining armor and a bit of size isn't much of a change compared to turning into - say - an eight foot dragon or something, it's still different. You may not see it... but.... Well, Suzu, take off your helmet a second."

Suzuki looked slightly confused but obliged, removing her draconic adornment to reveal ... someone very LIKE Suzuki, but not.

Finally, it could be assumed this WAS Suzuki, as she would be in five years. The woman standing before everyone looked roughly 19-20, with longer hair, tied in the familiar twintails Suzuki bore. Her face had lost the childish look, becoming more refined. All in all, the cute, fifteen year old girl was now an adult female knight.

"For me and Nekomi, it's not as blatantly obvious, but we do change body size and height. Best I can wager, we age five years at once." Ryuki said, shrugging. "So, like you, our bodies alter in a way they aren't normally."

Suzuki replaced her helmet easily and calmly as Ryuki looked to Shadow, concerned.

"Far as I can tell, very few people in this room seem comfortable with their new bodies - comfortable enough to send them into danger, anyway. Time may be of the essence but they're just not ready. A group of amateurs is inferior to a single professional, and in far more danger. Even if we send them together into these worlds, it's still a long shot." he frowned. "I just hope you know what you're doing and willing to accept blood on your hands if they don't make it."

[skwerl56767]

((Permission from Mage to move on. Silver hasn't responded.))

 

Shadow simply stared as Ryuki and his group pondered their decision; Crystal watched her closely. She was neither denying nor confirming their logic. Should she be worried?

" The forest, if you would. We'll be off when you want." Ryuki finally told her.

" Um, yeah the deceptive building. Sure." Evert added. Shadow said nothing, simply turning back to her spell and muttering a few things, ignoring the sudden crash from Evert as he tried to relax on a table. Jessie barked out a laugh.

<I hope the school has more of those! Hah hah!>

" Jessie!" Crystal chided. The husky just kept yipping comically.

" We should probably stop destroying parts of the gym if we can help it." Ryuki commented. At that, Crystal shot a worrisome look at Cygnis, who was still getting used to her form. She hasn't decided yet on where to go... She glanced over at Jacob, and he returned the baffled look.

" Huh?" Another glance at Cygnis. " Oh. Hey Shadow, is it fine if Cygnis and I hang back for a bit?"

" Sure, whatever. Don't take long." Shadow said indifferently. Jacob looked back at Crystal and shrugged with a small smile.

" Now we won't die."

" Not really what I was worried about... " Crystal faltered.

 

Ryuki suddenly spoke up again; he certainly seemed to be the one in charge in his little group, as he addressed Shadow again. " Far as I can tell, very few people in this room seem comfortable with their new bodies - comfortable enough to send them into danger, anyway." He pointed out. " Time may be of the essence but they're just not ready. A group of amateurs is inferior to a single professional, and in far more danger. Even if we send them together into these worlds, it's still a long shot. I just hope you know what you're doing and willing to accept blood on your hands if they don't make it."

Shadow suddenly barked out a creepy laugh. " Blood on my hands? Too bad I didn't wash them before!" She regained her serious composure. " Relax; we chose you guys for a reason. There were no hats, straws, or gambles with fate. I'm certain that everyone will be fine as long as they remember the form limits." She paused, thinking. " Oh yeah, and if you see a weird, writhing black fog, don't touch it; that's limbo in it's raw form."

" You decided to throw that in now?" Rachel said incredulously.

" We'll be with them!" Crystal butted in before Shadow could respond. " We have our gifts, and they have their mirrors; everything will be fine."

<I hope so. Dogs don't believe in subtle emotions, and the last thing I need right now is to be upset.> Jessie said, pawing her muzzle.

 

Shadow simply smiled, going back to her spell. "This is finished; shall we activate it?" A few glances were exchanged, but nothing was said. " Good. Spells don't last forever." She walked out in the center of the group and held her hands out, closing her eyes and saying nothing. Jessie sniffed the air, but nothing seemed different...

Then, the gym lights flickered, as though the electricity was being drained from them. Everything became very, very quiet. The "runes" that Shadow was drawing before were invisible before, as though she was just imagining the spell, but suddenly a huge circle of light enveloped the group, etching the gym's floorboards with designs as the runes began to glow and spread out like frost forming on a window. Geometrical figures filled up the rest of the circle, reaching its perimeter where the design began to move straight up and etch out doorways in midair. There were four doors forming a square inside the perimeter, and once the glowing designs finished sketching out the doors they solidified into existence, the designs disappearing into the wood.

Four, seemingly random doors. If it weren't for the still-glowing floor, one would think this was an elaborate prank set up by some clique. The doors seemed normal enough, but they did look strange... one was made of some kind of purple, oozing wood, and was contorted and skewed. Another was a hefty, solid door looking as though it belonged to a mansion, complete with an elaborate iron-wrought knocker. Another door looked rather ordinary and wooden, aside from the huge gouges and scratches marring its surface. The last door was plain and smooth, made of black, beaten metal.

 

" Four exciting doors." Rachel said sarcastically. " Now what?"

" Go in them." Shadow answered, lowering her hands and looking rather drained. Her stiff composure was replaced by a more limp one, and she touched her head as though she had a migraine coming on. Jessie immediately jumped up and sniffed all of the doors, huffing particularly at the black one.

<UGH! It smells like smoke!>

" Which is which?" Crystal spun around, looking at each knob. " I mean, I'm guessing that's the house and that's the forest?"

" Who cares? This is cool!" Jacob was more exciting about the conjuring of the doors. " I wish I witnessed this spell sooner!"

" Never doing that again..." Shadow muttered to herself, forcing herself to stand up straighter. " Black one is uh... uh... deceptive building. Purple door is twisted-forest; I can tell by the ways the door is uh... "

" Twisted." Crystal finished.

" Yeah."

" Are you okay?"

" Fine!" Shadow snapped, though she almost fell over. " I'm fine... Heavy door is the house, scratched door is the floating forest... Knock yourselves out."

" Not if you do first!" Jacob raced over to support her as she nearly fell again. She huffed, but didn't complain. Crystal walked up to join Evert, looking nervously at the different doors.

 

" Will those still be here?" She asked. " I mean, can you hold the spell long enough?"

" It's running partly on electricity and partly on me... so... I might be unconscious." Shadow didn't get much else out, though she did manage to point out the dimmed gym lights.

" What about what we're looking for?"

" It'll... apparent... special items for yourself..." Aaaand Shadow was out. Jacob stood there awkwardly, looking strained from supporting a limp body. Crystal bit her lip.

<I remember something about certain items in a dimension causing the destabilization, like uh... like corrupted items in video games! Yeah!> Jessie recalled. <And it's just self-evident that they're corrupted or something?>

" So we're looking for these things? How does that even work?" Crystal questioned, staring at Shadow as Jacob lay her on the floor. " Not like we can ask... " Rachel crossed her arms and walked over to the scratched door, her stride confident.

" Well, let's get this over with. Don't want Shadow blowing another fuse." She waved her finger in the gesture for "crazy".

" I'll wait for Cygnis until she's ready to leave." Jacob said. Jessie raced over to the heavy mansion door, tail wagging in excitement.

<Oh boy! This is going to be sooooo fun!>

 

((That was way longer than I anticipated. When you guys open the doors it'll just be darkness, that way I can get right to describing the new areas once you step through!))

[Thaelasan]

Nekomi laid a hand upon the forest door, frowning.

"It seems... in pain." she muttered, turning to the other two. "No matter what they say... this place seems... pained. Like it has its own emotions. Is that... so weird?"

"With what's happened so far, no." Ryuki shrugged.

"Open it! Open it!" Suzuki said, holding her hands out.

As Ryuki stood there, staring at the door, he could only gaze quietly at Nekomi as she moved around, examining the wood. It was hard to believe, only a year before, he'd only just met her. And during the course of that year, they had moved, they had traveled across the world together, just to be here. It had to be part of some grand design - some outside hand of fate - keeping them together for some purpose.

Whatever it was, he thanked it. No matter what was before him, as long as he had her...

He shook his head slightly.

"Hey, you ok?" he asked her, concerned. She turned slightly, confused.

"I ... I think so. Why?"

"If you start feeling anxious, I will too." Ryuki said, laying a hand on the door handle. "Just like if you feel brave, I'll feel even braver, I guess. So just keep that courage, like Suzuki. Don't treat this like... a dangerous journey. Treat it like... a new adventure."

"Why doesn't this feel... Weird? We're high schoolers. We should feel more in danger, more cautious. Everyone else feels awkward. Why does it feel so normal to me? To you? To Suzu-chan?" Nekomi asked, worried. "Why doesn't it feel like we need to be scared?"

"Because we don't. We're together." Ryuki laid his other hand on her shoulder. "Right?"

There was a long silence before she nodded, determined.

"Right."

"AND YOU HAVE ME!" Suzu said, waving slightly. "I'll keep you guys safe. Promise!"

"We're countin' on you, Suzu." Ryuki repeated, patting her arm. "Well then... Let's go.."

He pulled the door open, feeling the change in air as the darkness beyond beckoned the three.

 

There are those who are offered doors in life, stories that are unwritten, adventures never undertaken. But you, boy, are special. Every adventure, every story, you always took it upon yourself to try and see it through.

And now this darkness beyond calls you three so strongly and you face it as beacons of hope.

Interesting... very interesting.

 

He stepped across the threshold as the voice spoke to him, deep in the back of his mind.

 

But remember you can always fail. You can always fall. You are only mortal.

 

He took Nekomi's hand as she stepped across the gap between the landscapes, Suzu following eagerly.

The door shut behind them, clicking softly.

 

Will you turn back now, then? Knowing this? Knowing you are not guaranteed to succeed?

 

"No.." Ryuki whispered under his breath inaudibly.

[skwerl56767]

((All right, if no other posts will be made...))

 

[Forest Group: Ryuki, Nekomi, Suzuki, Rachel]

 

When stepping through the door it was like going into a pitch-black freezer. There was no wind, no light, no warmth, and yet... there was some kind of indescribable momentum, some sort of feeling that despite standing in the empty space, you were moving. Finally though, as the long moments of being blind passed by, the small band of four could finally see something. Color.

Colors slowly came into focus, splashing their way above their heads. Details grew, and the splotchy landscape quickly formed before them solidifying into some sort of reality.

 

The four found themselves standing on a cobblestone road, ill-tended judging by the amount of grass and dirt budging up between the rocks. The landscape was hilly and grassy, dotted with evergreen trees that were almost black in the dim light. Judging from the light levels it was like nighttime with a bright, full moon, but rather if one looked up one would be greeted by an entirely different sight: it was as though everything within the cosmos made up the sky! The majority of the color was presented by vivid nebulae, the stars were innumerable, and odd celestial objects dotted the scene. One particularly bright star seemed to be the cause of the light in the world, mimicking a moon because there didn't seem to be an actual moon in sight. All of this celestial glory made the simple landscape pale and dull by comparison.

 

Despite this though, the said landscape was fairly spacious, and rather comfortable. The cobblestone road wound its way up ahead and a little to the left, veering off into an impressive mountain range where the trees grew less and less. Behind the group, the path ran off into the forest, where everything grew much thicker, denser, and darker. The thick forest seemed to dominate the apparent south where everything grew less hilly, and up north there were simply mountains; a very obvious divide. The only guidance the group had was a beaten sign up ahead on the road, the only words discernible on it being "to", "this", and a huge red "WARNING" splashed over the rest of the text.

 

Rachel caught her breath upon stepping out of the door, and made a wry face.

" That experience was... less than pleasant." She muttered, allowing the others to come through the door before closing it. The door was the same here as it was back home, even had the same gouges. " At least it didn't vanish or anything when we came through." She commented. After looking around the landscape she glanced up at the sky, but for some reason it didn't have an effect on her; her expression simply said "Yup, that's a nice sky alright". Instead, Rachel looked up ahead at the sign, and then glanced behind the group into the thickening forest.

" Well... if you ask me, neither option looks favorable. Where do you guys want to go?" She asked.

[Thaelasan]

Nekomi looked over at Ryuki for his response but he was currently enamored with the sky, hands in his pockets, eyes gazing over every star and every moving celestial body. Standing on the hill, a slight wind moved his clothing with silence, brushing his hair into his face. Suzuki was standing right next to him, her eyes wide underneath her helmet.

"Those aren't Earth constellations." Ryuki stated with certainty as he moved his hair from his eyes. "None of them are. And that's no moon. There're astronomers - my Dad included - who'd lose their minds coming out here. Are we allowed to take pictures?"

He turned to Rachel, grinning as he snapped a few photos with his phone quickly.

"Ah, don't worry. Even if I did show my Dad, he wouldn't tell anyone unless we agreed to it. But I think we'll keep this a secret for a long time." he assured, turning back to the other two in the group. "You guys ok? You don't need to be so silent."

Suzuki was still staring at the sky in fascination but Nekomi was trying to read the sign ahead of them with confusion.

"These are... English letters. That's strange." Nekomi frowned. "I mean, it wouldn't be as weird if it were some form of Cyrillic or Kanji, even Katakana. But.... it's English. Pure English."

"Meh. I'm learning not to question it. Remember, this is a reality trying to use our minds to form itself. Otherwise, we couldn't make sense of it, right?" Ryuki replied, shrugging.

"It's a weird thought." Nekomi frowned. "Wouldn't that mean if no one is here, it'd be a shapeless mass?"

"No. It'd have shape. It'd still be a forest. It's like a dream. Like... A creation made by someone without the real idea of what it should be in his head, a painting done by a guy without references. We're like the people who come afterward." Ryuki replied casually.

"Hmmm... Still... it doesn't make it any safer, does it?"

"Helllll no." Ryuki said, chuckling. "In fact, might make it more dangerous - especially if we come to something our minds haven't seen before. Then, how can we project a reality on it?"

"All this complicated talk is booorring." Suzuki moaned. "Besides we don't have much time before my transformation runs out right? Let's gooooo!"

"Go where, Suzu?" Ryuki asked, looking down.

"Uhhh... Hmmm.... That forest looks freaky enough." Suzuki grinned. "Wonder if it's haunted!"

"I'd rather not." Nekomi said quickly. "The mountains look more open, free from ambushes."

"I agree with Neko." Ryuki said, pointing to the mountains. "Besides, it's harder to get lost in a mountain range, and if we find a high enough one to scale, we might be able to see more of this landscape and get a better grip on where the item is, right?"

"Right!" Suzuki nodded.

"But ... then again, what if it's in the forest? We wouldn't be able to see it..." Nekomi crossed her arms.

"Do you suggest splitting up then?" Ryuki frowned.

"BURN THE FOREST DOWN!" Suzuki piped up, excited.

"Wow what." Ryuki could only blink, confused. "Suzu, you can't be serious."

"Hey, it's a crazy world full of danger and the forest would take a long time to navigate. I say we burn it and then-"

"Then search the ASHES for the item? That'd take even longer." Ryuki sighed. "Besides, we don't even know what we're looking for. What if it's made of wood?"

"Gah. It's always got to be so unnecessarily complicated. If it turns out to be in the forest and it ISN'T made of wood, I'LL NEVER LET YOU FORGET IT, ONII-CHAN."

"Right." Ryuki began to walk towards the direction of the mountain.

[skwerl56767]

Rachel simply shrugged as Ryuki snapped some pictures with his phone. " I've seen it before." She murmured, the memories fresh in her mind. Too bad she didn't have a phone then... Then again, it probably would have lost charge or been thrown out into a snowdrift before she could capture the night sky there...

" Ah, don't worry. Even if I did show my Dad, he wouldn't tell anyone unless we agreed to it. But I think we'll keep this a secret for a long time." Ryuki assured the group, putting his phone away. " You guys ok? You don't need to be so silent."

" These are... English letters." Nekomi spoke up. " That's strange. I mean, it wouldn't be as weird if it were some form of Cyrillic or Kanji, even Katakana. But.... it's English. Pure English."

English? Rachel looked back at the sign. Shadow did say the language barrier wouldn't be an issue, but wouldn't the writing change? Ryuki's explanation for the oddity seemed simple enough, but Shadow never said it was correct... well, it's all there is for now. Maybe she stayed quiet because she was surprised by the shifter's deft mind. Rachel, admittedly, wouldn't have noticed or even cared that it was English. She was much more like Suzuki: Burn the forest down, make things easier! She actually laughed at the statement before it was shot down, and then she realized something; this is the first living dimension she's ever been too! Her stay in the first one consisted mostly of beaten, reddened wasteland, the second one a mountainous tundra. The third was also a wasteland, but much more brown and dead than the other too combined. But this place was alive! It had grass, trees, even a pretty sky. The mountains looked a little bare, but they still had shades of green on them.

Hm... a nice change. Hopefully any natives of the place were welcoming.

 

Ryuki began walking up the road toward the mountains, his group following him closely, and Rachel caught up to hold the rear. She fingered the hilt of a sword over her shoulder.

You could probably put the strap on the outside now; no point in still hiding it. She thought, though it was way too embarrassing of a thought, taking her shirt off to readjust the sword's sheath. Nope, keeping it as is. She decided bitterly. Leather isn't exactly comfortable against your skin unless it has been treated to be soft, and the dastardly strap was beyond "soft".

Well... with luck there will be a shelter up ahead where she could change. As the group neared the mountains though, and the trees thinned out to scrubby bushes, they were greeted only by a tight mountain pass.

Weirdly enough, it was blocked by a rockslide... but none of the boulders had dirt between them, and they hadn't entirely settled yet. Rachel ran ahead up a bit, examining the magnitude of the boulders and finally deciding to scale a smaller one. It was easy to do, as rough as the rock's surface was, which wasn't a good sign... Standing shakily at the top of the boulder, Rachel tried to look through the landslide, but could only glimpse a few openings between the larger stones.

 

" It's not looking good." She informed the others below. " If there was a path here, it's gone now." A few rocks fell from a nearby cliff, but a quick glance told her that it wasn't caused by a living thing... She carefully slid of the boulder, almost falling on her face at the bottom.

You really need to improve your balance. She thought grumpily, quickly regaining her composure despite the dirt on her jeans.

" There might be another pass through the mountains that isn't marked, but... seems unlikely right? Maybe that's what the sign was trying to tell us..." She frowned. " I think the mountain route is still a good choice, so I vote for finding another pass." Besides, that forest was creepy. She added silently to herself.

Edited January 28, 2016 by skwerl56767

[Thaelasan]

Ryuki whistled as the group approached the mountain, hands in his pockets, staring at the rocks with a frown.

Another pass? Ryuki rubbed his chin a moment.

It seems his little sister was sharing his thought process as she readied her lance, face pleased under her mask.

"Try... right about there." Ryuki suggested, pointing at a crack between the rocks.

"But that one might be TOO unstable." Nekomi warned, realizing what they were planning.

"Really? Oh, there is another one behind it. I can see it now. Alright, try... that one then, based on the weight..."

"That one looks good, yes."

Suzuki rolled her eyes and walked back a few paces, keeping her aim trained firmly on the rock they had mentioned. Ryuki called to Rachel.

"You might want to get down from there fairly quickly." he suggested.

Suzu waited a few moments, and then charged forward. Ice and wind channeled around her as she began to build up speed in the short distance between herself and the boulders. The howl of a blizzard accompanied the thundering sound of shattering rock as a fraction of the landslide - disappeared.

Pieces of rocks fell around her as Suzuki adjusted her armor, allowing her lance to fall back down to her side.

"Avalanche Charge...." she whispered, giggling, naming the skill in her mind as stone and debris rained down in the area surrounding her. She turned back to the group.

Ryuki gave her a thumbs up while Nekomi clapped. Suzuki, excited, jumped up and down.

"But... don't get TOO excited yet, Suzu." Ryuki said, hand hanging back down by his side. "You're not finished."

Suzuki turned back to the rest of the rocks, a field of stone separating them from the exit.

"Roger roger." she smiled, flipping her visor back down as she prepared for another charge.

Edited February 3, 2016 by Thaelasan

[skwerl56767]

(( Thanks!))

 

Rachel simply stared as Suzuki utilized one of her new abilities, clearing away the rockslide.

Wouldn't be the first time we simply drilled through a barrier... though it probably would have been easier to just go around. She thought. She kept her distance near the end of the group so that none of the debris could cause any damage, simply following along as Suzuki exercised her ability.

 

----------

 

With all of the noise the group was making, a small creature couldn't help but drag itself toward the pass, looking down from above. With shards of rock flying into the air, it pulled away from the edge a bit, raising its eye to look down into the pass.

Too much debris. Move over a bit. The voice in its head commanded. It squeaked and dragged itself closer to the pass entrance, dodging flying pebbles that were thrown up from below.

What it is? Is it one of her minions again? The voice snapped. The creature shivered and peered over the edge, giving the creature possessing it a clear view of the cause.

... Humans. Regular... humans? The one was wearing some kind of armor, and was leading the small group. It was also miraculously destroying the rocks!

What? HUMANS?? Fools! Now we'll have to construct another barricade! The voice hissed. The creature pulled back from the edge, squeaking, and began crawling back along the length of the pass, away from the group through the mountain range.

Send a couple of those rock worms to stop those idiots before they reach the pass's end. We can't have a clear path straight into the heart of the territory, now can we?

The creature simply squeaked in agreement, pausing in its dragging to wave a tentacle around in the air for a spell. A loud crack penetrated the air as the spell was finished, and it resumed to dragging itself onward. Its master, satisfied with the work, left the reaches of its mind, allowing the scout a bit more freedom with its movement as it returned to home base.

 

----------

 

Rachel paused, listening. Was that crack from Suzuki's lance, or was it something else? They weren't disturbing the mountain, were they?

Nothing bad could happen yet, right? She wondered. Besides, these guys seem pretty comfortable in their shifts. It's not like anyone will be clumsy and cause more damage... She paused again, but she couldn't hear anything over the thunder of the rockslide being eliminated. Catching back up to the group, she looked up and realized that they had completely tunneled through the debris.

" Dang Suzuki, I didn't think you could just do that." She commented, surprised. Parting from the group a bit, she looked up ahead down the short pass. " It looks like it's another rockslide, but it should be nothing, right?" She smiled. " When Shadow said you guys would have abilities, I didn't realize she meant these kinds of..."

Her grin faded. Suzuki had stopped, so what was that rumbling...?

Random rumbling usually meant danger, so she quickly jumped up and resumed her position behind the group, unsheathing her sword and holding out steadily.

" I don't think that's-!"

 

Crack! The earth split! The ground bulged at the blocked end of the pass, before erupting in a shower of dirt and pebbles. The ground shook as a pillar of stone rose up from the new hole, twisting like a living thing before its top bloomed into a mouth filled with hundreds of teeth. The pillar was... drooling?

Okay. That was not a pillar of stone. That was a thing; a living thing! And it didn't look friendly.

With a guttural roar, it lunged at the group, its maw opened wide with malicious intent.

 

((I had too much fun writing that.))

Edited February 3, 2016 by skwerl56767

[Thaelasan]

(( I could tell near the end. ))

 

Suzuki panted a few times as she finished, her arm sore. No matter how much she wanted to hide it, this wasn't easy. She stabbed her lance into the ground, resting on it.

"Suzu-chan, you didn't have to push yourself so hard!" Nekomi said, laying a hand on her shoulder. "Are you feeling hot? Feverish?"

"Just... tired.." Suzuki assured, breathing hard. "Is it... gone though?"

"Most of the rocks, yeah. Take a breather. I don't want you getting hurt when you don't need to, Suzu." Ryuki said, walking past them both. "Neither of you."

As he stepped forward, he felt a slight tremor, but ignored it... for a moment. Something seemed off. The whole time they'd been walking, it felt like another presence was watching them, someone beyond the group. It felt off. Sickening. He looked to the top of the mountain pass, concerned.

Dense vegetation growing on the side of the mountain had made it almost impossible to simply walk up on it from this angle, and it probably would have taken two hours to walk around to a good side. The forest was still present here, a few trees grasping into the stone of the mountainside with their roots digging deep into the rock. It looked like, at one point, this mountain pass hadn't been here, and then been formed in an instant - not over years. Not even an earthquake....

People then? He pondered for a long while, frowning. He hadn't seen enough people here or remains of any settlements in the forest. Besides, for some reason, he doubted they had enough technology to blow up a mountain pass without bringing it down on them. Then again, that explained the rockslide.

Something just didn't add up. It was as if something huge had burrowed through a mountain, a giant arm punching a fist through solid rock. None of it made any sense.

Another tremor. Ryuki paused. Wait, there were things that did that. Things in movies. Things which... would only be physically possible in dreams. Things which would manifest...

Rachel shouted. Ryuki was already moving. Nekomi fell over as Suzuki stumbled, the entire mountain seeming to shift with the force.

"A literal Earth Worm..." Ryuki grimaced at the bad joke, running to Nekomi's side and lifting her with as much force as he muster. But Suzuki didn't move.

"SUZU!" Ryuki shouted, as the beast bared down upon her. "SUZU! MOVE!"

Suzuki grabbed her lance, but Ryuki couldn't see her expression as the beast devoured her.

There was a moment of quiet silence, and time seemed to stand still. In but an instant, Ryuki's sister had seemingly been taken from him and all that he had thought impossible became true.

All he could feel was fury.

Immediately he grabbed the mirror from his neck and stared into it, his armor sliding over his body as a sound emerged from his mouth that was indescribable. It was a primal shout of anger, filled with brutal rage and a vehement frenzy.

He lunged at the skin of the worm, shoving his swords into the stone, sliding them between the stone plates that made up the thing's body.

Just as he did so, a sound emerged from the depths of the beast as ice began to coalesce over its body in a certain point. Soon, the tip of a lance burst from its back, a body following soon after covered in blood and entrails. Suzuki landed outside of its body, then fell to a knee, utterly exhausted.

"ONII-CHAN! I'M....!" she began, before the two were separated as the beast slid between them both, still very, very much alive, and very angry.

[skwerl56767]

The rock worm was not amused by its lunch's reaction, bellowing as she cut herself outside of it. Falling between her and one of the other humans, it opened its jaws and slithered tentatively. It still seemed to be in one piece... It turned threateningly at the human with two swords, not noticing that he has suddenly changed shape, only recognizing that he was an enemy.

 

" That thing is made of rocks." Rachel muttered incredulously. " How are we supposed to fight that?!" She was aware that her sword could cut through almost anything, but it seemed to require something for it to work, something she hasn't figured out yet... intent, maybe? Fury? Whatever it was, she knew she didn't have enough of it to cut through solid rock!

Could the others though? Suzuki seemed to have only a little trouble cutting herself out of it, though the wound was minor to the beast, and right now its appetite had switched to Ryuki. This wasn't good... it didn't even have eyes for weak points!

Weak points... hm...

Standing next to Nekomi with her sword at the ready, Rachel's eyes darted over the worm's body. There had to be something that was vulnerable!

 

The rock worm lunged at Ryuki, too big to dodge any swings he could make but preferring the blunter approach regardless. Maybe if it could swallow this morsel it could keep the other one down?

[Thaelasan]

Even the sharpest fangs cannot carve through rock. Only earth may wound the earth truly. Only earth may shatter itself.

You are cornered, wolf. Your pack is broken. Your female lies stunned. Your sibling is weakened. Your own body is proud but frail.

How will you handle this situation when the fangs of your mighty jaw have no neck to dig into, no blood to spill?

What do you do when faced with the strength of stone given life, blind but still able to see, strong but foolish? How does one conquer this?

Only earth can destroy earth.

 

----

 

Ryuki slid to the side as the beast slammed into the mountain, sending stones and rock flying around him in a cloud of dust, obscuring all vision. He coughed slightly, covering his mouth with one free arm as the other arm bared his sword at his enemy fiercely.

Only Earth can destroy earth.

How was he supposed to solve this? Diamonds? There were no diamonds here! No strong rocks, no stones of density! Only natural boulders and metamorphic rock, from what he could see. What could he do here?

Frowning, he rolled again as the worm shoved at him, the teeth sharp and ferocious. He could feel heat from within it....

Within.

Only Earth could destroy earth.

But the inside wasn't made of rock. Somewhere, deep in there, had to be some form of beating heart, a core which gave it life. A pulsating, beating relic that still gave it energy when it should have none.

"Rachel! Give Suzuki time, and cover Neko!" Ryuki yelled over the din of the worm's thrashing. "Suzuki, ICICLE JAVELIN! GET IT READY, AND AIM IT ABOUT...."

He paused a moment, diverting the attention of the creature as best he could.

"FIFTY DEGREES! JUST DO IT!"

Suzuki, still dizzy but hearing her brother's words, gripped her lance tightly and stood to her feet. She bore the lance, hefting the weight in her right hand and aiming it as best she could. Ice began to form around her, focusing around the tip of the weapon. It would take time, it was obvious, time that Ryuki was trying to buy her...

[skwerl56767]

The rock worm was not the least bit dazed as it crashed into the sides of the pass and into the ground, trying to get at its new target; it was, however, very frustrated. It let out a low gurgle reminiscent of a grumble and thrashed, scattering dust and debris everywhere.

" Rachel! Give Suzuki time, and cover Neko!" Ryuki's voice rose out of the din. Rachel simply watched the worm writhe, not entirely sure how she could distract it without having it attack both her and Nekomi. Finally though, she jumped up and flourished her sword, shouting at the worm.

" Come over here, you gluttonous pile of rocks!!" She screamed. " Come on!! Don't I look tasty?!"

Probably the first time I've done that in my entire life. Her thoughts added grimly. The worm gurgled again, sliding across the ground, its bulk threatening to take up the entire pass. It mashed its four jaws together, unable to decide between one morsel and the next.

" Are you deaf or just stupid?!" Rachel roared, picking up the largest rock she could heft with one hand and chucking it at the worm. It did practically no damage, but it certainly caught its attention.

With its target chosen for it, the worm lunged toward Rachel, ignoring Ryuki and Suzuki; and yet was coming dangerously close to Nekomi.

 

Rachel leaped aside, trying to stray its path from her allies, and while the worm's maw followed her as she ran its bulk smashed into the ground and widened the hole it came from, forcing boulders out and nearly trapping Suzuki against the pass's wall. It was also starting to form a barrier between Nekomi and the others.

Rachel bolted toward the blocked end of the pass, knowing that it was a dead end yet being confident enough that Suzuki could attack the worm in time.

" I hope you know what you're doing!!" She shouted at Ryuki.

Edited February 9, 2016 by skwerl56767

[Thaelasan]

Ryuki held his sword aloft, channeling whatever energy he could as the other one hung at his side.

"En garde." he whispered, charging forward at a very quick pace before leaping and aiming himself at the top of the worm. It seemed not to notice him now, trying hard to get Rachel. But from up here, for a mere moment, he could see the whole field.

Nekomi. Suzuki. Rachel. He had to do this for their good as a whole, including his own. The thought alone gave him new strength.

He landed on the worm's head and shoved both swords through the earthen plates, where they were connected. The worm roared in anger, all the mouths moving viciously as it tried to find its new assaulter - unable to discover it was on its very skull... er, head. Whatever this part was.

Ryuki held on, giving his swords gentle force to urge the worm to begin to turn. It thrashed, now ignoring Rachel and everyone else to find this new foe, slamming its tail into the sides of the mountain pass. Ryuki pulled again and finally forced the worm to face Suzuki. He then pulled his swords from it and ran forward, kicking off hard as he jumped from its head and gave it a grin.

"Sayonara." he said, pleased, as he held up his hand for Suzuki.

Suzuki nodded immediately, excited, as she released her lance. Ice and snow flew around it as it flew into the mouth of the beast, heading down the full length of the worm.

 

(( I wasn't sure if I was right about the core thing so I didn't know if I should say it died or not. Leaving it to you. ))

[skwerl56767]

((Hm, it technically has a core...))

 

Being forced to turn on the spot was not very appealing to the giant rock worm, though it couldn't help but curl where the pain was least. It ended up facing its first morsel, who was ready to attack.

The rock worm bellowed out a challenge. The girl charged with full-on fury. The result was a clash of elements.

Rachel bolted behind a boulder for cover as there was a thunderous roar, accompanied by a sound like hundreds of windows shattering. Pieces of rock and ice flew into the air, penetrated by the rumbling and groaning of the worm as its inner core froze solid and the ice cracked and forced apart the stones making it up. The worm thrashed and crashed into the blocked end of the pass-scattering Rachel in the other direction along with plenty of large, threatening boulders-before curling up at the pain, and raising its form with the head lowered to allow shards of ice and chunks of stone to tumble out of it.

It wasn't dead... but it certainly wasn't interested in fighting anymore.

 

With several more groans, the worm curled and moved painfully toward the hole it came from, the boulders making up its form still crumbling under the stress of the ice magic, revealing darker, more fragile rocks underneath that obviously weren't supposed to be exposed. Only a few moments later, and it crawled down into the deep hole, leaving its annoying morsels behind.

 

Rachel stopped running once she came to Nekomi, before watching the worm's tail disappear back down its tunnel. She stared at the destruction the skirmish had caused.

Large dents in the surrounding pass walls, plenty of tumbled boulders, and wet spots where ice had melted on the stone; a few of the larger shards still remained. Oh yeah, and the giant hole the worm came from. It was a mess, suffice to say, but Rachel was more interested in what lay beyond the pass, through the rockslide that the worm had opened up in its struggle.

A large wooden door framed by iron, evidently a gate of some kind; maybe to a castle or a town? Two towers bordered it, both with lights in them, suggesting that there were some guards out on the gate. Whether or not they were still there considering the battle that went on though is debatable.

" You think there are people and that they're friendly?" Rachel asked, pointing at it. " Assuming they didn't all run away considering, you know, we practically totaled the place..." She paused, then grinned. " You know, you guys make a really good team!"

Edited February 10, 2016 by skwerl56767

[Thaelasan]

Ryuki held up a hand a moment as he took time to breath, Suzuki dragging herself over to him to high five him.

"Yeah. Good team. Right. I would hope so." Ryuki coughed, the adrenaline from the encounter beginning to wear away, being replaced by exhaustion and dizziness. "I expected large beasts, yeah, but this is definitely more than just dreams becoming reality - this is dreams desiring to BE real... and something..."

He coughed a moment, taking a deep breath. Suzuki piped up, her energy almost back to average levels.

"Something is trying to force them to become what they want to be?!" she asked, hopeful.

"Ex.... exactly." Ryuki rubbed his face. "Switching quickly is not a good idea. It works but it feels uncomfortable and now..."

He trailed off, breathing deeply.

"It feels like the weight is finally beginning to adjust itself again. But I think Shadow mentioned that anyway." he pondered, standing back to his full height and rolling out his shoulders experimentally. "We need to start being more careful about how we use our mirrors. But for now, there are things more important to me than discovery or words."

He stepped back over to Nekomi. She hadn't been knocked unconscious or slumbering, just awestruck and wounded. Closer inspection revealed that a rock shard from when the beast had emerged had shot out and slashed across her lower left leg, leaving a deep, painful looking gash right below the knee. Ryuki winced as Nekomi sighed.

"It'll be fine. It just needs... time to heal, and something to keep it sealed." she assured. "It's starting to hurt a bit more now."

"The shock was preventing the pain." Ryuki commented, kneeling. He rubbed his face, then turned to Rachel.

"You have anything on you besides clothing to make a rag? I'd rather we not start stripping each other but..." he sighed. "I don't have any cloth on in this form. Otherwise I would..."

[skwerl56767]

Rachel bluntly shook her head. " I tend to travel light, and I don't think denim would work very well..." She glanced down at her jeans, reminding herself that she really should have chosen something a bit shabbier. " All I can think of is to see if this gate leads anywhere. Or, we could turn back and go through the portal again, assuming it's still there."

Should be. She thought. Shadow said she would keep them open as long as she possibly could. Then again, the image of the said being lying unconscious on the floor from the effort was less than comforting. Rachel glanced warily back at the wooden gate.

There's a chance that it's occupied by people, or it's vacant. There's also a chance that if it is occupied, that the people would be either friendly or hostile. And then there's another chance of them being able to help Nekomi once they went through the gate. She didn't like those odds... but would it be worth it, helping the girl hop all the way back to get to the portal? If she was losing too much blood the trip would only make things worse... but plowing ahead might take them back to square one.

 

Darn that stupid earth-worm-thing! Her conscious grumbled. Then suddenly, she had an idea.

" Excuse me for a moment." Rachel said, rushing behind a nearby boulder. She hastily took her shirt off, then unlatched the strap holding her sword on her back, letting the two items fall to the ground. The sheath was just that, a leather strap, but it might be useful. It's the one thing she had on her that she didn't necessarily need.

Donning her shirt again, Rachel picked up her sword and pulled it out of the leather strap before running back out to Ryuki, holding it out in front of her.

" I can just carry my sword, but will this work? It's not really cloth, but it might be enough to restrict the blood flow so she doesn't bleed as much." At least, I think that's how it works... She added in her mind. Maybe trying to lead a profession in fashion design wasn't the best idea...