Those Who Watch For Aeons

[nomadicdesert]

Luna frowned at Kyun as the alien creature spoke, seemingly confused at what she had said.

He didn't appear to know anything and didn't seem to be threatening so Luna slowly lowered her bow and let it disappear into nothingness.

 

"I'm talking about Homeworld the place where..." Luna paused then, a confused look on her face as she realized she couldn't remember. "It's the place that, that was bad I think. I fought against them I think but, I don't remember why!" Luna said her voice tinted with panic. "This doesn't make sense, I know I should remember this, I remember I fought in a rebellion but I don't know why. What happened, why can't I remember?" Luna asked in a pleading tone to the two beings in front of her.

 

She looked up when she realized that Kyun had described what had happened to her though and nodded quickly.

"That's what happened to me! A big black thing grabbed me and destroyed my physical form and then I was here! Do you know why we're here or where we are?" She asked, seeming to latch onto these simple questions so that she felt in more in control and less lost.

[TehUltimateMage]

A close plinking sound. Grip's eyes snapped open, in time to witness the small pebble that fell from the sky glow and form a humanoid, much like how Weapons transformed themselves. His confusion was further enhanced when the figure pulled a glowing weapon out of their gemstone -- even in the rare cases of Weapon fusion, he had never heard of anything like this. He stepped back in fear, but only two steps before he hit the wall of the corridor.

 

Thankfully, Kyun's confusion made the strange glowing girl stand down. At that moment, he realized that other than the memory breach, none of the terms anyone was using seemed even slightly familiar. His first instinct was 'Witch' (she looked like one...) but even if she was, she was in the same mess as they found themselves in.

 

"Something might be toying with us," Grip theorized. "I felt something drag me here too. Nothing any of you have said rings a bell, and I don't think it's because of the memory thing. Safe to guess that neither of you know anything about Demon Weapons or Witches."

 

~~~

 

Milla shifted her weight from one leg to the other, relaxing her stance and putting her free hand onto her hip. The armored humanoids looked awfully tense, but one of them had admitted that they had no answer to her question.

 

"I see."

 

Assuming they knew nothing more, Milla turned around and began walking the other way, back through the mist, although her senses were still on high alert in case one of the two glowing figures did decide to pounce. She gambled on the fact that it would be inadvisable to do so, with a scuffle in the distance already drawing the attention of the increasing number of creatures in the area. Another fight would only draw fire from whoever else was beyond the fog.

Edited April 29, 2017 by TehUltimateMage

[skwerl56767]

Shadow sighed quietly and sheathed her glaives so they wouldn't flash the light, brooding. What chatter she could hear was of confusion; not too surprising, considering they must have all been teleported here without consent... Why did that sound familiar.... no, really, she couldn't remember. Deja vu comes from the soul though; knowing that the Creator was guiding her with little hints still just agitated her more about her amnesia. She didn't used to need help! He may be an omnipresent, all-powerful god, but she hated needing support from him. The hilarious part is that he insists on helping anyway in his own, subtle ways...

Eeerrghh....

 

The clashes of battle eventually reached her ears, and she perked up immediately. As a Karitzuian it was in her blood to be a fighter, even if she preferred not going around bruising people; her and her Arch Angel peers, it seemed. It would be stupid for her to jump in even though it was so tempting... but she could at least take a peek... and hey, maybe someone will die and she'll have a free soul!

Dismissing her ethereal limbs, the cloaked figure eagerly went toward the noise, moving with the faint clink of armor and regarding those she passed with caution. As she neared the fighting, a glow showed itself: bright, orange, and localized. Fire! She loved fire! Ooo, this was going to be a good fight... The fog hindered her ability to see, but once she was close enough she could make out two figures in it. One looked more human, while the other best resembled a werewolf or other, bipedal canine. They fought with swords, and the fire came from a glowing patch on the ground by the canine's feet; a quick glance told Shadow that a nearby mage was interfering. In a bright flash, the embers on the ground shot upward in a fiery column, scorching the canine. It howled and headed for the mage, even as its first assailant followed with more swipes and punches.

Heh heh heh. This was good.

 

Shadow gave her surroundings another check to make sure no one had spotted her, before returning to the show, spectating with arms crossed and secretly hoping for a free soul. If they dragged her into it, she would give them a fight, but with any luck, this will be easy come, easy go! Plus, with any more luck, one of those beings will be particularly powerful and influential... which means more power for her. Win-win!

[nomadicdesert]

"Witch?" Luna asked in a confused tone, her eyebrows furrowed as she turned her gaze to the blonde haired being which turned out to look like a human.

She opened her mouth to shout in joy but then realized that she didn't know why humans were important.

She recognized what a human was but why they were important, and she did know that they were important, was beyond her.

 

Her brows still furrowed she moved forward slightly and reached out to gently touch the human's arm, her own bluish skin brushing up against his.

"You're human right?" She asked almost in awe. "I...I remember humans! I remember they were, they were part of the reason for the fight I think. But they didn't look like you, they were darker and didn't wear clothes like you..."

 

Luna prodded Grip's arm again, trying her best to remember why it was so important to see a human before finally shaking her head and straightening. She turned to look around, her gem projecting light like a flashlight into the gloom around them as she tried to figure things out.

 

"I don't know what witches are, and the only weapons I can remember are some of the ones used in the rebellion and mine." Luna said, finally answering Grip's questions. "And if something is playing with us then how did it make it so I can't remember things? I know I should remember them, they're important and I know I was thinking about them before it took me. There's just nothing there though, it's like everything went away. How could they do that? They'd have to have messed with my gem and that's fine, you guys saw me reform. I don't think I was in it for more then a few minutes and nothing feels different except all the blank spaces..."

 

 

[DuskOfTheStars]

Kyun looked around, before replying. The power pilsed beneath them. It made them nervous. It shouldn't be... be... why? Why did it unnerve them so? Kyun shook their head. Danger was in the sir, it felt, and they couldn't do nothijg. But what could they--

 

A voice snapped thrm back to reality. The yellow creature thought for a bit, before replying.

 

"I don't know... I have the same problem. I know something unnerves me about here. But why?" Their voice raised a bit. "I can't even remember what I am right now! It's like something's messing with... memory... but..."

[TehUltimateMage]

"Yeah, I'm human." That was truth, without a doubt. Even if some people classified people like him as... something else.

 

The pale girl's skin felt like a human's, but was slightly chill to the touch. He wordlessly let her prod. His fear had settled somewhat -- he decided to believe her claim that she fought for humans, for whatever reason that she couldn't remember.

 

Kyun, on the other hand, was still looking around distractedly. It reminded Grip that despite making friends, they were still in the middle of unknown and possibly hostile territory.

 

"Don't know about you, but I know of beings that can effortlessly throw humans or other creatures into the pits of Madness. Stuff like this isn't unheard of from where I'm from. There's usually only two ways to break the spell: leave the area of influence, or defeat the source of the magic."

[nomadicdesert]

Luna's brow furrowed again at Kyun's words and she looked confused as she considered them.

"If something like that exists then I've never heard of it." Luna said slowly. "Or at least I don't remember anything like that. It doesn't even seem like something I remember forgetting like the other things." Luna continued to think for a few moments then shook her head.

"Well whatever did this we need to end it since our memories might help us beat whatever did this and get us back home. So I say we try your way and try to get out of the range of whatever's keeping us from remembering." She said. "But first, do you remember your names? Mines Moonstone but my friends call me Luna. I'm a gem." She said pointing to the bluish-white stone at her throat.

[DuskOfTheStars]

Kyun's head turned slowly as they heard Grip's words. ...this... it seemed Grip had an idea of what was going on. They opened their beak to query what dirt of creature could do so, when the blue one spoke.

 

She introduced herself as Luna. A... gem...? The only gems Kyun knew of were dead. Nsver alive. They furrowed their brow.

 

Though. Their tail twitched. They'd been asked for an introduction.. "I'm Kyun. Uh... I can't remember what I am."

[TehUltimateMage]

A gem? Like a gemstone? Guess there really was a whole bunch of things that they didn't teach at school. Like an entire species that can transform from rocks.

 

"Huh? What you just did was pretty magical. Well, looked like transformation and summoning magic, kind of like what I do. My name's Grip," he introduced himself. "I'm human, right, but I'm also a Weapon."

 

To demonstrate, he stuck out his left arm. It took on a searingly bright orange glow, before the light rapidly reformed into the hooked blade of a scythe.

 

"I can transform fully, but I'm pretty useless without my partner though, hate to say..." The blade brightened again and he reversed the process. He wiggled his fingers now that he had them back. A little more confident now that he had some allies, Grip began pacing in the direction opposite to where he heard the fighting, continuing down the corridor.

[padfoot]

Roxy was relieved when one of the figures acknowledged her sweeping question.

 

"I'm not sure. I would have said this was some part of the Interdimensional Rift or maybe even the Otherverse, but if it is, I need to contact and write some.... Strongly worded letters to some of the members of the Mage Society," the female shouted back.

 

Magic? She was talking about magic! Just like Skinner and Ashgard used to talk about. She was familiar, at least in that sense. Roxy collapsed the space between them, stepping across and appearing in front of the woman in an instant.

 

"But those stuffed shirts should know what they're doing. Most of the time. In short, I'm trying to figure that question out myself, mind helping?" the woman said in a louder tone than usual. Roxy giggled, her hair changed to a muddy pink as she stifled the laugh.

 

"Absolutely I'll help you!" she said just as loud to the girl a few feet away, "Did you say Interdimensional rift? Oh man! I should be back in [i]my[/i] universe. I have a lot to clean up if the damn universe is colliding with another." Her mohawk brightened to a deep red as she spoke.

 

Roxy closed her eyes and let out a deep breath to calm down. Her hair drained into a unusual teal then she opened her eyes. There was no point getting worked up about it. This girl was here to help. Right?

 

Roxy extended her hand to shake, "I'm Roxy....and...I think.... I had something to do with space?" she said, unsure of that sentence. It felt right to say, but she had no memories to back it up. Roxy looked troubled and outstretched her arms. Using her power, she gauged the size of the room. She scoffed and dropped her hands, "I'm sorry. I can't tell how big the room is or if there is an exit." she said, her bright tone clashing with the bad news, "Buuuuut, I did feel a few groups of people nearby. Maybe they know more about this situation?". The extra bit of information was small but it was all she felt. Something in the room was interfering with her powers. That, or interfering with the very physics she controls.

 

Roxy really hoped it was the first one.

Edited May 2, 2017 by padfoot

[nomadicdesert]

"Well it is magic and so am I." Luna said with a warm smile when Grip mentioned magic. "I remember that much at least but I don't know how or why. But see I can make a weapon like you." Luna said as she reached to the gem at her throats which had begun to glow again.

 

Luna's hand seemed to grip something just above her gem's blue light and then she was pulling a long blue shape out and into the air. Within a few moments the shape had resolved into the bow that she had threatened Grip and Kyun with. She pulled the string back and a blue arrow with a white arrowhead appeared there which she fired into a wall where it embedded itself a foot or so into the stone.

 

"That's what I remember how to do." Luna said as she opened her hand and let the bow disappear into nothingness. "I don't know if I can do anything else besides making light and making the bow but that's the pretty cool by itself." Luna said as she watched Grip's demonstration.

 

When his arm transformed she made a sound of wonder and gently touched the blade before pulling back as it disappeared once more. "That's cool!" She said excitedly. "Are you a gem too?" She paused and shook her head. "No you're human you said so." She said in a puzzled tone before shrugging and turning to Kyun. "Well whatever you are you seem nice enough so let's get moving so we can get our memories back!" She said, her long and poofy, light blue hair bouncing with her every movement. She stopped and looked both directions then shrugged and looked at Kyun and Avril. "Any idea which way to go?" She asked, knowing that they probably didn't know.

 

If no answer was forthcoming then Luna turned on the spot and headed the opposite way then she was facing, the beam of light from her gem lighting the way as they walked.

[Pyrowings]

Aerith gasped as the man and the monster both grappled into the fira spell as it faded. She desperately reached for the songs she heard just then and felt one of them seemed to sing of healing, of bones and flesh knitting, of skin growing. As quick as she could, praying that the song really was for healing, she tossed the spell towards the man.

 

~~~

 

"Absolutely I'll help you!"

 

Isadora jumped back upon hearing the loud voice suddenly beside her--"XXX!"

She looked at the strange woman who had suddenly appeared in front of her, one hand rubbing the back of her head and wondering how she didn't notice the wall earlier.

 

"Did you say Interdimensional rift? Oh man! I should be back in my universe. I have a lot to clean up if the damn universe is colliding with another."

 

To her surprise, the woman's strange hair turned a shade of red--But on closer inspection, it seemed too stiff to be just hair--as she closed her eyes.Her universe? Colliding with another...? A transient memory seemed to flit by, but the feeling disappeared.

 

"From what I've read, the Interdimensional Rift exists as a extra dimensional conglomeration of all locales and pasts that had ever occurred. Which means... Which means, if universes were colliding, there should be an increase in anomalies if we were in it," Isadora thought to herself for a moment--was it just her head hurting or was there something wrong with this place? How did I forget what I was going to say so easily? Okay, interdimensional rift, aggravated letters, anomalies... Anomalies... Ah, right. "And if this is the rift I mentioned, then the aforementioned stuffed shirts had been embarrassingly inaccurate in their descriptions of what this place looks like. But I haven't been there personally before," Isadora admitted.

 

As Isadora finished, the other woman exhaled. Her "hair" turned an impressive shade of teal, and she extended her hand and spoke. "I'm Roxy....and...I think.... I had something to do with space?"

She--Roxy--sounds oddly confused. Isadora looked at the proffered hand and was about to ask what she wanted before a memory of chatting with some Pandemonians came to her. Handshakes. Right. Perhaps Pandemonians got or given the handshake custom to the other races they met as their world drifted.

 

"I'm Isadora, Head Librarian of Grand Blue Lore. I have a few other titles, but that one describes me most succinctly."

As an afterthought, Isadora mentally ran down the list, or at least tried. This headache really was getting to her...

 

That formality done, Roxy extended her hands, that same confused expression still on her face. Is something wrong? The confused look soon disappeared, replaced by a peevish look before she scoffed. "I'm sorry. I can't tell how big the room is or if there is an exit," Roxy said unexpectedly brightly. Isadora raised an eyebrow at the news. She can discern that? I suppose that was what she meant by "something to do with space."

"Buuuuut, I did feel a few groups of people nearby. Maybe they know more about this situation?".

 

"Thank you, Roxy," Isadora smiled, both genuinely glad for the information and quite impressed with the woman's abilities. "They would probably be the best option for doing so, but I feel unsure about simply approaching any of them for a chat. Can you tell how hostile they are?"

Isadora rubbed her temple. Something was nagging her... She looked over Roxy again, from her strange "hair" and skin... The woman also had fins...."If you don't mind, where are you from? I'm from Arad. The continent on top of Behemoth to be precise."

[Esko]

"Jess? You know what that could be over there?" Kyle pointed to the shadowy shape up ahead. Jess rubbed her eyes and squinted to see. Even after dropping her glasses, she was still able to make something out.

 

"No clue." She then bent down and felt for her glasses. "What I'd do to have 20/20 sight." She muttered while feeling around. Kyle also bent down and looked along with her. He had to admit, the fog was certainly messing with his vision. "Can't believe I just noticed that my glasses were missing. I know my memory is sh**, but I can't remember anything."

 

Nah, your memory is just sh**. He was tempted to tell her that, but he kept his mouth shut. Maybe the fog contained some sort of memory-screwing agent; Jess was the big science-y one, maybe she'd know if one of those existed. Not to mention her dad dealt with chemicals all the time. His hand brushed something solid, and he picked it up. Lo and behold, it was her glasses, somewhat bent and with a cracked lens. That's sure to bug her until the end of time. He brushed off the dust and placed the glasses on her face. "Better?" She stood there for a few seconds, blinking. Her expression became agitated, surely at the broken lens.

 

"At least it's the right lens and not the left." She grumbled. Suddenly, she remembered there was something on her neck. "My camera!" She suddenly exclaimed, looking down at the professional camera hanging from the strap on her neck. Well, it wasn't really hers, but she had been allowed to use it by her dad. Even worse. She pressed the button to turn it on, and to her relief it worked. The lens wasn't broken, and it appeared to have a mostly full battery. She decided to flip through the pictures, and as she looked her eyebrows furrowed. A funny picture of a cute boy with fluffy-looking brown hair. He looked faintly familiar, but she couldn't remember why or what his significance was. Another was what looked to be a...what was the term? Something that began with an S. It was her, Kyle and some other dudes, including the cute boy, all looking excited. Why were they excited again? "I don't remember who the f*** these people are." She commented, growing more and more confused.

 

Kyle rubbed the back of his head. "Hm...I can't remember what I had for lunch today..." He remarked in a curious tone.

 

Jess shot him a look. "Nobody remembers their lunch, Kyle."

 

"Yeah, but there's a certain forgetting-lunchiness to it."

 

"'Forgetting-lunchiness'? I swear to God, you're worse at making up terms than me."

 

"I dunno how else to describe it!"

 

"Whatever, Let's keep going and see if we can find ourselves a way out." She grunted, walking forward. To Kyle's surprise, she was walking towards the figure. He didn't feel like telling her this was a bad idea; he was too tired to do so. She was one of the most stubborn people he knew, anyway.

 

Even though Kyle knew the thing was probably dangerous, he couldn't brace himself for what he was about to see. They both heard a deep voice, demanding to know who they were. Jess stepped forward, and Kyle followed. I'm gonna regret this so bad... They emerged from the mist to find...

 

What was that?!

 

Immediately, Kyle screeched and dove behind his friend, one hand on her shoulder and the other on her opposite arm. He shivered, and he stuttered a few times before he was finally able to speak. "Holy sh**! Is that a f***ing dinosaur?!" He exclaimed. Jess was too busy looking at the thing with wonder.

 

"Woah...so cool!" She said, almost jumping with excitement. "It looks like some sort of dragon. Like something I'd draw." She came closer to it. "Were you the one who spoke? How do you know English? Do you have a name? Are you a real dragon?"

 

Kyle groaned, his hands over his face. Of course. As soon as she sees something that looks like a moving dragon, she's up and close to it, ignoring any sort of danger. At this point, it would be a miracle if they survived to get out of this fog.

 

---

 

It was just another day in the country; bright and sunny, with a cool breeze moving through the grass. The Great River flowed normally, with all its might. brimming with juicy fish. Gamma was standing by the river, crouched down, trying to see if he could spot something. He was hungry and it wasn't quite lunchtime, but he would've snatched something from the pantry if Tralk didn't come by with his gang of goons. Every young male in the village looked up to Tralk; he was allowed to do whatever he wanted, including skip school. Gamma wasn't low on the cool meter himself, but impressing Tralk was something he aimed to do. So, he aimed to do it by catching the biggest fish in the river. Suddenly, he spotted something. It looked to be an amazingly large fish, just asking to be caught. He opened his jaws when...

 

He heard something tear behind him, but before he could turn around, something hit him in the back of the head. He stumbled a little before blacking out, being sucked into a hole...

[DuskOfTheStars]

Kyun growled in confusion. Magic. But... why? And how was... the power. The power.They knew what it was now. They knew! The creature staggered back - befire noticing Luna and Grip were fetting a move on. Even if this was magic, they were still the only more-or-less friendly faces Kyun had met.

 

So the yellow creature followed them. Voices through the mist soynded, but Kyun couldn't understabd them wven if the others could.

 

---

 

Once he asked, the shorter-furred one jumped and started screeching. They seemed to like obscenities, and he was tempted to growl at them a bit. He's never heard of the term dinosaur, though. Odd.

 

He settled for "What was that about?"

 

Then the other one started. "Woah...so cool! It looks like some sort of dragon. Like something I'd draw. Were you the one who spoke? How do you know English? Do you have a name? Are you a real dragon?"

 

The questions were... slightly annoying. At least this one got what he was right, though. Even if they were jumping all over in... excitement?

 

"Yes. I was. ...I was speaking in Basic. My language." They called Basic... English? Odd name. "My name is Ashur. And I am a dragon." By now, the Tenebris was hoping this one was done with her question and answer session. Though...

 

"I believe I asked who you were." Now to wait for a response.

 

---

 

Asterix's burns healed as the burst hit him, and his movements were now swifter. The creatures barked and snapped, its own burns still affecting it, and as it lunged, hus blade found jts way to the mondyer's gut. A whining noise, and it vollapsed on the floor, dropping its weapon. He watched the thing for a bit until he was satisfied that if it were to get up it wouldn't attack again.

 

"Thanks for the save, uh..." Asterix paused, realising he didn't know the woman was. "Excuse me. My name's Asterix, and may I ask yours?"

Edited May 15, 2017 by Dusky_Flareon

[padfoot]

Roxy laughed at the woman's surprise. She would be lying if she said that wasn't the reaction she was hoping for. She loved popping up on people and startling them.

 

"From what I've read, the Interdimensional Rift exists as a extra dimensional conglomeration of all locales and pasts that had ever occurred. Which means... Which means, if universes were colliding, there should be an increase in anomalies if we were in it," The woman said thoughtfully, "And if this is the rift I mentioned, then the aforementioned stuffed shirts had been embarrassingly inaccurate in their descriptions of what this place looks like. But I haven't been there personally before,"

"I...I have no idea what you are talking about. Do you have some kind of interdimensional bureaucracy where you are from?" she asked. That was quite advanced compared to the civilizations she had visited in her travels. That aside, she did know that she hated bureaucrats.

 

Roxy's hair turned pink when the woman shook her hand, well, at least that's still universal she thought happily, dropping her hand back to her side. "Anomalies huh? I ran across one of those wrecking a space station. In fact, it was right before I ended up here" she said, pointing at the ceiling to indicate that's where she came from.

 

"I'm Isadora, Head Librarian of Grand Blue Lore. I have a few other titles, but that one describes me most succinctly." she said.

wow Roxy nodded with a smile, an impressed color bled up her mohawk.

"Wonderful to meet you Isadora. I may not know what that means but it sure sounds important" she said. Roxy was beginning to realize that this woman was just as alien as she was. It was just for different reasons.

 

"They would probably be the best option for doing so, but I feel unsure about simply approaching any of them for a chat. Can you tell how hostile they are?" she asked, looking into the fog as if trying to see who she was talking about. ."If you don't mind, where are you from? I'm from Arad. The continent on top of Behemoth to be precise. confusion flashed across her hair and face again but only for a moment. She had never heard of that planet. The universe was a big place though, there were lots of places she hasn't been yet.

"No. I can't say I have ever been there. I'll add it to the list...I we can find a way out of here" her her hair betrayed her doubt with a deep blue,"I'm from Phang. It's a little comet world that passes between the Almaach and Marrach systems in the Andromeda Galaxy"

she said, "It's a nice little place....well, except the whole religious center"[/color]

she scratched the back of her head.

 

Roxy was not able to discern if they were hostile. Her powers could only tell distance and relation in space. 'Hang tight. I'll go check if they are friend or foe"

she said, facing the small group she felt earlier, "Back in a flash" she said with a wink. Then she was gone.

 

Roxy appeared a few feet away from a group of a few humanoids and a large scaled.... salamander? She wasn't sure what it was but that didn't really matter. She waved for a moment, "Hey. Does anyone know what the hell is going on?"

she asked after a few seconds, "I 'm asking for a friend"

Roxy jerked her thumb towards Isadora.

Edited May 7, 2017 by padfoot

[skwerl56767]

The corner of Shadow's mouth twitched as she watched the progress of the fight. She didn't know any of these people, so she didn't mind who died, as long as the soul wasn't "blacklisted" from her for whatever reason; like that one skeleton who had his soul vaporize when he died.... extremely annoying... So she could care less how pure the person was. It could be the great and noble knight who lived, or the scourge of the Earth; the only difference really is she might end up killing the scourge too anyway. Those people irked her.

 

She felt a hint of annoyance when the mage appeared to panic, then flung some kind of spell at the more human being of the duo; judging by how the human seemed to recover immensely upon its impact, it was a spell of healing. She suppressed a growl.

Don't heal them! They can't die when they're healthy. She thought. She kept her feet firmly planted to the ground though, still only watching the battle; which, apparently, was about to wrap up. With the healing spell on his side the human had a quicker wit, and after parrying with the canine he made a quick lunge for its stomach.

It was a strike! The canine buckled, then collapsed. Shadow felt excitement mounting inside her when she saw its eyes flutter closed. YES!

 

The human swordfighter observed the body for a bit, before deciding it was safe and turning to the mage; his considerable relaxtion said he was more interested in being friendly now. Figures. Shadow studied the body of the canine, manifesting her eyes for only a moment.

Ah, the soul was still in there. Good. She blinked to make the ability dissipate, focusing on the corpse. She just had to come close enough... but that would involve coming into view of the mage, even if she tried to go behind the swordfighter so he didn't see her. She wavered for a bit, thinking... she felt confident enough in her remaining power to defend herself in case these people tried to pull anything, so being seen isn't something she would mind. Not too much, anyway. She needed to grab that soul before it dissipated though, or was claimed by whatever spirits rule this realm.

 

She eventually decided to come forward, observing the remaining combatants supiciously and her reflexes on a hair trigger. She tried to remain behind the male, since in her experience it was easier to anticipate the tactics of females; or maybe that was just because she was female herself, who knows? Once she had come to the canine she flanked it, before kneeling down to examine the body.

That soul.... She outstretched one hand over it hungrily, summoning the soul to come to her.

It... struggled?

She suddenly stopped when the body heaved a breath at the strange pulling sensation. WHAT?! It's still alive? She thought angrily. She looked down at the blood she was kneeling in, furious; first at the canine for not actually being dead, and then at herself for not checking thoroughly first. What is wrong with me? Greed is not my greatest sin! What happened?

Still though, she kept her fuming to herself, only glancing up at the duo nearby to ensure she was safe. She would just sit here for a while, and wait for the soul to detach in its own time... Normally she would do it herself, but she was always iffy about killing in cold blood. Had she been fighting it earlier, well, that's a whole different story; this was just a stranger though. Might as well be its company.

[TehUltimateMage]

Cheria didn't remember much.

 

She recalled a taloned arm flinging her into a rock wall and shouts all around her, before she tumbled for what seemed like an eternity and a half, her eyes half-closed and her mind in a state of delirious dreaming. It was like that time when they were all kids, where she thought she was going to die -- and she saw the memory, mirrored almost exactly by the recent world-tearing event, enough times to banish it from her head.

 

The tiled floor seemed inviting, with its soft glow shining in her eyes. She had landed in a heap, not gracefully at all. Slowly she got to her feet, dusting and smoothing her skirt. Still dazed, she took a cautious step. She breathed in, ready to call the names of her teammates, but it seemed unlikely that they would be around. The strange mist was thick yet fluid. What a strange place. It felt a little like catacombs, and the thought made her nervous.

 

Cheria lingered around, listening but not quite approaching anyone. Strangers. Strangers, some of them who didn't seem human, that were just as confused as she was. And the sound of a scuffle -- she drew a few daggers in case she needed to protect herself -- but once she could see the fight her grip on the knives loosened until she decided to put them away.

 

It wasn't hard to imagine someone starting a fight because they were afraid, and she was a little surprised that people began to trust each other so quickly instead of turning their blades against each other. If only nations were so understanding. The mage with her brown hair in a braid healed the mustachoid man, but the other figure... It didn't look human, but maybe it wasn't a monster like everyone assumed. Determined, she came forward to examine the creature's wounds.

 

When she was getting close, she thought she saw movement and her whole body froze when she noticed the shadow kneeled down beside it. How did she not see it before?

 

"Grim Reaper...?" The words absently tumbled out of her lips, and she took a step back, a hand covering her mouth. Was it just a hallucination from the mist?

 

~~~

 

((Description of the next room given by Dusky))

 

Grip shrugged, though he couldn't help but give a toothy smile at Luna's curious bewilderment. "You have some pretty cool abilities too!"

 

As they walked down the direction he chose, Grip glanced over his shoulder to see if anyone was following them. Didn't seem like it. Whichever way they chose to take in the hall would have been better than loitering around over there. He did notice that the fog was thinning, and the ground getting brighter as there were less and less damaged tiles among them. He could see where they were going a bit better.

 

The corridor ended in a room with a white glowing spot on the floor. His instincts on high alert for traps (it was taxing on him to be observant, since he usually delegated the task to his partner), he took the initiative to go ahead and examine the spot. Seemed safe, so he motioned the other two to follow. "Hey, come check this out."

 

Grip had to squint to see what was there, and even then he couldn't really make out the glowing symbols until his eyes adjusted. It appeared to be a plaque of some sort bolted to the floor, with a message.

Edited May 7, 2017 by TehUltimateMage

[nomadicdesert]

Luna stayed at the front of the group both because she had the only real source of light and because it felt right to be there. She didn't know why she wanted to be at the front, only that it seemed like the place she should be.

 

Luna's every sense was on edge trying to find any sign of movement or sound beyond the small groups. She kept her bow in her hand for the time being, an arrow knocked but not drawn. She didn't particularly want to get into a fight but if that's what it took to get her memories back then so be it.

 

When they entered the new room Luna carefully checked the places where enemies might hide including the roof and corners before padding over to Grip.

"What is it?" Luna asked as she squatted down to look at the glowing spot and tried to peer into it. "Looks kinda like writing doesn't it?

[Lemniscate]

"I see."

 

The humanoid relaxed slightly before turning away, though its stance indicated it was still ready to retaliate in case of an attack. After the humanoid was out of combat range, Tetra called down her drones and began to move towards the crowd in the distance, letting Penta overtake her. He was better with groups, and she would be able to cover him more easily from behind. The haze still made her head ache, but she pushed it away in favor of single-minded focus on her goals. Observe the commotion. Analyze the lifeforms. Eliminate hostiles.

 

Before long, they came into view of the group, taking in the multiple lifeforms and scanning them. The earlier altercation appeared to have been resolved... but the defeated creature was still hostile. Another lifeform was crouched over its body, seemingly working magic over it, though the nature of the spell was still unclear. More information would be needed to deduce the alliances and abilities of the crowd. But as of now, the fallen creature was definitely hostile, and allowing it to remain alive would result in unnecessary danger and complications. She turned towards Penta, asking a silent question and receiving the slightest of nods in response.

 

In a coordinated motion, she stepped back to allow Penta to come forward and speak, positioning herself in view of the hostile creature. Her drones were already set to fire at it, but she would wait for Penta first.

 

"Greetings. We are not hostile and will not attack unless you are aggressive, but if you are..."

 

He trailed off intentionally, nodding to Tetra. Instantly, her drones materialized a projectile between them and fired it at the creature on the ground, vaporizing it with uncanny accuracy. There was no waste, no smell, no warning - simply a pulse and then nothing. Clean. Efficient. Deadly.

 

"...you will be eliminated."

 

With the hostile gone, Penta stepped back from the center of the group and moved to Tetra's side. It was a bit dramatic for his liking, but the creature had to be eliminated, and simply blasting it without warning would trigger hostility. At the very least, this was an intimidating display and would ward off any ideas of aggression, despite its brutality. It's a shame Tetra likes to blast things so much, otherwise I would have tried to introduce us in a not-so-deadly way. We were going to incinerate that creature eventually though, and it's better to get it over with sooner rather than later. He didn't think anything was going to try and jump at them after that display, but a quick re-scan wouldn't hurt.

[DuskOfTheStars]

Asterix jumped back as the creature was suddenly vapourized by two new people. They were clean and stark, with odd marks on them. He hadn't encountered a weapon capable of doing that to a limited target...

 

---

 

Kyun followed the others until the area suddenly opened up and the fog thinned. They stopped, and looked around. The room seemed less damaged than the area they'd been dumped into.

 

A raised plaque, glowing white. Kyun followed the others, squinting, trying to make out the lettering as the gem and Meister talked... negore the light began to recede. It seemed to gold into the plaque and weaken in brightness. Enoufh that that ever-shifting letters could be made out, shifting between all known typsets and many thst Kyun didn't know - a multiverse's worth.

 

When they were in the script Kyun could read, they formed a message...

 

 

...

 

 

...

 

Aeons ago there was nothing but an eternal void

From that void was forged an entity just as dark and it was Creation the First Aetherial

It brought forth empty realms and wandered for aeons

 

The text ended abruptly, as though it were just part of a greater whole.

 

"...what in Spode's holy name?"

 

---

 

Reshiram soared in the bright sky. It was cloudy, and the clouds shifted. The world felt wrong, the air pushing them down, wind looping and gusting in all directions. Abysses yawned across the sky. Somwthing was wrong...

 

They didn't have to look far. On the ground beneath them, something was there. Threatening their realm. Reshirsm snarled. They would find out what this... thing was. Why it was threatenibg their homeland.

 

Now they swooped down. The air became thick, snd though they strained mightily, it resisted their wings, their motion. The creature beneath was inducing a sense of unreality as things glickered to life and disappeared in instants - and then they heard a nightmarish, wrathful screech from beneath. The thing moved and slashed the air, and a great abyss opened up in front of Reshiram.

 

And then the air was near-nonexistent. Reshiram's heart raced as they gasped for air - and plummeted into the portal. They could breathe again. Then it got suffocating... then thin...

 

Then there was mist, mist rushing up to meet them - into the pink mists with their grey-blue strands - and they crashed to the ground in a heap. When they forced themselves up, their head rang slightly. They blinked, looking around, seeing humans. One - two - three - four - and five stood there. One of them looked a bit nervous - he now noticed the dragon, the nervousness remaining and slight confusion visible - and one of the two white-cloaked ones had... a weapon out?

 

What was this place?

 

Why were they here?

 

And what was that accursed horror that had been rampaging across Unova?

Edited May 8, 2017 by Dusky_Flareon

[skwerl56767]

((Darn it Silver I love your characters but whyyyyy?!

In all honesty though don't change it, it's fantastic!))

 

Shadow blankly watched the creature's breaths heave, before hearing a thud somewhere, making her look up. She didn't see anyone else... but who could arguably see well in this blasted fog? She decided to ignore the noise, looking back at the dying canine.

So close...

A clacking sound in the room began to near her and the conversing duo nearby, but again, she only took note of it and didn't look up. Her head jerked upright though when she heard someone from a different direction.

Female? Female something?

Who said that? Shadow wondered, looking around. She spotted a humanoid close to her right, and tensed up. She didn't recognize the girl... from any universe, really. She knew she recognized things by their universes, but it was hard to tell if she just forget where this girl was from or if she actually didn't know...?

This mist. She thought bitterly, remaining static by her prey. A couple of voices started up from her left, but she assumed it was simply the duo again. If only I could remember-

 

TZAAAP! Shadow jumped three feet into the air when the canine suddenly vanished!

" Satro'roth Malthael thakai?!" She swore aloud in Akrai. She hunched up in self-berating shock when she realized she just screeched out the name of another Death... Oops. Wait a second though; why did she remember his name?! Why couldn't she remember... remember.... everyone else? Even her mental imagery was blurry...

She looked up and spotted two new figures to the scene; they appeared to be androids. Were they the ones that vaporized the canine...? Or was it someone else who was here already? It certainly wasn't the girl to her right; she was looking at her when it happened.

But hey, did it matter? This was convenient! The blame will be on them! Free soul!

...Oh crap, THE SOUL!!

Shadow was so shocked by the canine's body being vaporized that she completely forget to check for its soul. She finally manifested her face, her vision becoming filled by bright obnoxious colors, trying to find where it went. If the body was gone it had to be free, right? But where was it?!

It didn't vaporize too, did it?! She frantically looked around, circling in her place. It HAS to be here somewhere!

 

She immediately broadened her search upon not finding anything, hesitating when her eyes fell on the androids. There were just empty obstructions where she was supposed to see the colors of their souls... She flashed off her ability for a second with a blink - proving to herself that yes, that was what she was looking at - then reactivated it, assuring herself that they must be androids. An android wouldn't have a soul. Unfortunately that meant they weren't prey, but as long as they didn't bother her it wouldn't matter.

Where is that stupid soul? She thought bitterly, searching the ground for a mass of swirling colors, ignoring those around her in her focus. She edged closer to the androids, before spotting a mass of disoriented, swirling colors by the feet of the taller one. Ah hah!

MINE! She lunged and swiped at the soul, grabbing its core and amassing the energy as a glowing, translucent orb in her hand. She stood up with complete disregard to the android, smiling gleefully at the orb as she squeezed it with her claws; at least, until she looked down at an empty face.

...Where did these guys come from again? Did she know these people?

 

There was a heavier thud somewhere out in the fog, making Shadow look up, her smile fading. She could see a rather large shape out there, picking itself up off the ground, but didn't recognize what it was supposed to be... something winged? Well, her soul sight wasn't really good at shapes anyway. She put a respectable distance between her and the android, just in case she needed her glaives. Hopefully not though; not with this new prize in her claws!

[TehUltimateMage]

"Aeons ago there was nothing but an eternal void," Grip read, now that the plaque reacted to their presence. "From that void was forged an entity just as dark and it was Creation, the First Aetherial. It brought forth empty realms and wandered for aeons."

 

Whatever that meant. Sounded like a creation myth of some sort, though understandably nothing like he creation myths he knew. The First Aetherial, wanderer of a eternal darkness...

 

"You think there's more to it?" he asked no one in particular.

 

He was content to have Luna light the way, wherever they decided to head to next. There wasn't really any clue other than that in the room, it seemed. He put a hand to the writing, as if trying to stop it from flashing like that -- and half hoping something would happen at his touch.

 

~~~

 

The reaper gave her an inquisitive look, or as inquisitive a look a cloak could give with a face shrouded in darkness. Cheria was about to ask another question, a completely separate voice spoke from another direction, from one of the approaching humanoids. They were like... they were like the ones she had encountered on... During her journey. With her friends.

 

"Greetings. We are not hostile and will not attack unless you are aggressive, but if you are..."

 

Before Cheria could understand why the words felt so chilling, one of them unleashed a bolt-like attack, and vaporized the dog-like creature. No bones, no ashes. Not even dust.

 

For a few horror-filled moments she gave the attacking one a cold stare with her brown eyes, frozen to her spot. She couldn't see through the helmet... No way a human could be behind there. They didn't even give the fallen creature a chance. Her emotions boiled in her throat; she bit them down to stop them from reaching her eyes. If only she had been there a couple moments earlier, she might have been able to revive the body and prevent the unjust death.

 

The mechanical humanoids were the threat here, no matter what they said -- she thought she had a stray memory of encountering something similar but with equal disregard for life, but she banished the thought. They probably wouldn't hesitate to fry her too and leave her dust to flow away in the mist, and her soul to be collected by the reaper.

 

So be it.

 

Cheria's daggers were in her hands, one between each finger. "How could you?" she shouted, her voice breaking. "How could you do such a thing? It was lying defenseless!"

 

In a flash, she lunged towards the duo and tossed both sets of knives charged with lightning, flying true towards Tetra's drones before following up with a second attack -- exhausting her combo in a burst.

 

"Pour! Freezing Rain!"

 

Throwing another knife upwards without skipping a beat, Cheria reached a hand to the sky and down came a shower of magical icicles.

Edited May 9, 2017 by TehUltimateMage

[Pyrowings]

"No, not a bureaucracy. How do I put it... It's more like... A... Door, of sorts, to any time and and place imaginable. It's hard to describe," Isadora explained. After the two talked a bit more, Roxy had disappeared again, presumably with the same technique she had used when startling her. Isadora was about to protest, worrying for the other woman's safety, but she teleported away before Issa managed to say a word, leaving the latter with the questions on her mind. Who didn't know what a librarian was? A comet near systems in the Andromeda Galaxy? Since when was there a galaxy named after that girl? And the planets she had never heard about, even from the head astronomers she knew of. It's preposterous to assume we have every star and planet marked, but an entire galaxy? But then.... Isadora looked towards the shadows where Roxy presumably was. Are we even from the same universe? She knew common Aradian, and quite well, as a result, so laws of probability say yes, but it isn't as if anyone had--! Isadora's eyes widened and she smiled at the idea. Something newly discovered such as this? What could people find out from this spot?

But before I get any wild ideas, I need a way back home. Isadora resolved, then looked back at the wall she had banged her head on before getting closer and pressing an ear to it. Nothing. She closed her eyes and tapped her nails against the wall--It sounded hollow?

"El..." Isadora blinked as the name faded from her mind. What was with this place? She rolled her eyes and pushed her sleeve back. No matter. Using her left hand, she traced out a circular shape on the wall, the edges of which started to give off a dim glow. When she finished and stood back, the edges seemed to get brighter momentarily before fading, though as the light winked out a glowing star-like symbol appeared near her shoulder and started hovering around her. Time to try something a little more heavy-handed, I guess. Isadora reached into a sleeve and pulled out her knife before sucking a breath in and giving her pinky a cut. With her blood, she drew a decidedly smaller circle on the wall, then added a few more lines to it as an afterthought. This done, she touched the back of her hand with her pinky before licking it and rubbing the rest of the blood away on her sleeve. Finally, she took a step back before pressing the dot on her hand with her palm.

The dot flared with heat before fading, and the symbol she drew on the wall seemed to glow a faint red before the entire section of wall was covered by what best can be described as an explosion of darkness... As well as giving out a strong scent of blood. Isadora winced. She had forgotten about that part.

 

After waving the smell out of her nose, Isadora examined her handiwork. The hole was too small for her to fit through, unless she tried a transformation spell, and was seemingly concentrated around the area where she drew the symbol. She peered in and her eyes widened at seeing the room. Softly glowing, pinkish runes formed a circular shape on the floor, though apart from that, nothing seemed too remarkable about the room. Isadora stood straight and looked around warily, one hand stuffing the light rune she made in her sleeve. After her display there, would it even be safe to try opening the wall up any more?

 

~~~

 

The monster was down! The man had stabbed the thing in its guts before looking up at her. He was surprisingly short.

 

"Thanks for the save, uh..." the man paused. "Excuse me. My name's Asterix, and may I ask yours?"

 

"I'm Aerith," she introduced herself with a smile. It was her name. It felt right, it felt familiar to her. Aer-rih-th. There was something about the short man that looked off to her, but she couldn't place the emotion.

 

"Greetings. We are not hostile and will not attack unless you are aggressive, but if you are..."

She looked up and frowned. Two people, wearing extremely strange armor... And... Something about them also felt off. She couldn't quite place why, but there was just something unnatural about them--

There was a pulse of energy. Aerith looked at the place where the dog monster had fallen and felt chilled to the bone. There was a girl there who she hadn't noticed before, staring at where the monster was. Was. There was nothing there now, no ashes, no smoke, nothing. Aerith felt a twinge of sympathy for the monster. Yes, it had tried to kill her and the man beside her, but there was something uncanny about how the person--yes, for some reason, she was sure that was a person--just... Killed like that.

 

"...you will be eliminated." One of them finished and stepped back. He sounded like a male.

 

The man-Asterix--beside her had understandably jumped back at the display. Aerith didn't blame him--Even if she was sure, for some reason, that the two armored people were, well, people, she still felt unsettled. Her hand clenched her quarterstaff tighter, taking comfort in the songs coming from it.

 

"How could you? How could you do such a thing? It was lying defenseless!" The kneeling girl shouted. Aerith looked at her with surprise, then horror as she ran toward the duo, hands gripping knives Aerith didn't notice where she had stashed. She made a slashing motion and sent lightning flying towards the strange woman, then raised a hand--

 

"Pour! Freezing Rain!"

 

Icicles seemed to form above the armored-no, mechanical-woman's head. Aerith's mind whirled. The mechanical woman would probably be fine, but with the way she had destroyed the monster so easily...

 

"Calm down! The monster was attacking Asterix!"

[TehUltimateMage]

After that strange encounter with the armored beings who decided to leave her alone, Milla sheathed her sword and went to examine the two walls of the hallway on her own. Apparently she wasn't the only one with the idea, when she stumbled upon a woman with a purple hood tapping the wall inquisitively and trying a spell. She watched as the mage guessed correctly, and the small explosion was rewarded by the sound of crumbling rock. She could see on the other side of the lady another room with a glow beyond.

 

Milla pressed her glove over her nose. The sudden sharp scent of blood was overwhelming, though it was hard to pinpoint the cause. Might have been something in the wall.

 

"Excuse me. I can assist you with that, if you give me some space?" She held her palm out in front of her, near the opening. Efreet would make quick work of the rest of the bricks. No summon came, though.

 

Out of mana? Her expression turned puzzled. The boundless supply she was used to seemed to be runny dry. The frustration was an unpleasant feeling, but she tried a less draining spell.

 

"Flare Bomb." Holding out her other hand, she materialized a fireball to create a small explosion and widen the hole. Stray rubble and dust fell, but now it was wide enough for a person to try and squeeze through. Milla honestly thought it would have done more damage, but she was satisfied that it worked.

Edited May 9, 2017 by TehUltimateMage

[padfoot]

Roxy took a few tentative steps back when the two humanoids robots vaporized the wounded creature on the ground. Weird that she didn't notice that before. They were flanked by two hovering drones which she had seen before. It didn't mean it made her feel any better to see something familiar. They looked like the assist drones that followed law enforcement on planets within the Galactic Federation. They were like attack dogs.

 

She had never seen a drone with such firepower. The dog creature was...gone. Not even a scorch mark on the tiled floor. It was like they were outfitted with mining lasers.

 

A woman with a long braid and a staff stepped forward and demanded why they had done that. Before they could answer, she attacked. Flinging spinning blades at the two robots and shouting,

"Pour! Freezing Rain!"

 

Roxy didn't see the rest. She vanished without a sound.

 

The space witch appeared in an instant where she had left Isadora a few minutes ago. At first, she didn't see her. A small explosion caused her to whirl around. Her new friend was joined by another woman with long flowing hair and a rockin body. The woman had done something to blow a hole in the wall.

 

"Jeez Isadora. Who's your friend?" She asked, drawing closer. This damn fog was making it incredibly difficult to see. It was obscuring up to five feet in front of her.

"If anyone minds. I'm going to do something about this fog" She said.

 

Roxy brought her fingertips together in front of her. Focusing on the small space between her palms, she condensed gravity inwards from all directions. The force generated slammed the individual particles of fog into a liquid sphere. the ball continued the pulled droplets inwards as it increased in size. With Roxy's help, the ball grew from the size of a marble to the size of a basketball in a few seconds. She released the orb above her head and smiled with smug satisfaction as the area began to clear. The liquid planet was beginning to develop a solid core as the gravitational pressure forced the liquid at the center into metal. Rings of orbiting droplets began to form around the spilling ball. The surface was banded with multi-colored clouds much like the surface of gaseous planets. The miniature planet spun higher into the room to collect more fog. It wouldn't clear the room but at least it was working on their general area.

 

"That's better" she said, dusting her hands, "The group was, in fact, hostile. Should have listened to you". With the fog clearing, Roxy could now see the hole in the wall the two women had created. Her face lit up, "Wow, you guy's got the wall open?" She said happily, "Maybe now we can get out of this weird place". The hole was small but had just enough room to squeeze through. If not, Roxy could always make it bigger.