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DuskOfTheStars

Those Who Watch For Aeons

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Roxy raised her hands to show that she was defenceless when one of the women summoned a bow and aimed it at her. Her hair turned yellow in fear, "Don't shoot! I just got seperated from my group". What was the blue girl looking at? She followed her gaze to her right hand, the hand that was still holding Issadora's knife.

"Oh! Sorry" she said quickly, stashing her knife away in her hip bag, "There. Now I am unarmed". Her hair then bled to a light pink.

 

Now that attention was turned on her she got a better look at who was threatening her. She was strangely familiar. Not the woman herself, but how she looked. Same with the gray tinted one.

 

"We don't know anything, but first who are you?" she demanded, the arrowpoint still trained to skewer her. Well, that was a long shot anyway. She really needed to find someone who works here or something.

 

"My name is Roxy Locus" she replied. She startled them, it was the least she owed them. She wouldn't lie about that anyway. She never saw the point.

 

"What are you?" The blue woman then asked.

 

"Rude" she replied, "I'm a Phangite. What are you?" she asked back.

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Luna's bow never wavered as she watched Roxy put the knife away, waiting until the new person was truly unarmed before relaxing a little. She listened closely to Roxy's reply before glancing at the others.

 

After a few tense seconds the bow was lowered and disappeared in a sparkle of light. Luna was still watching Roxy carefully but seemed to have relaxed somewhat. Of course with the reflexes that she had demonstrated it was obvious that she could have the weapons back out with little to no delay.

 

"My name's Luna." Luna said politely, letting the others answer for themselves. "I'm a gem." She continued, pointing to the gem at her throat. "I don't suppose you know anything about Homeworld or the rebellion? I can't except that those two things are important."

 

Luna looked up at the ceiling suddenly, then back at Roxy. "More importantly how did you come through the ceiling like that? Nobody else but us was here a few seconds ago so how did you pass through a solid object?"

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"Thank you," the girl said as she stood.

 

"You're welcome!" Aerith replied, "But don't get yourself hurt like that again, okay?"

The girl offered her a hand. Aerith stood up and couldn't help but smile at the cute pout on the girl's face.

 

"My name is Cheria. It doesn't sound like anyone really knows what's going on around here... but it's a pleasure to meet you," Cheria introduced herself. Cheria. That was an interesting name. Why did she think that?

 

"Hello, I'm Aerith, and... I had something to do with flowers," Aerith trailed off, then gave a shake of her head. She might not be able to remember, but she would in due time. Besides, there were people here, who didn't mean her any harm! "But anyway, you too!" After saying this, Aerith gestured to the short man. "And this is Asterix."

 

Aerith looked around the place they were in to try and see if there was anything else. Fog, fog, and more fog. She could feel more beings around apart from the two robots, but they were far from where they were. "Well, there's no point in staying here all the time, so why don't we go explore this place?" Saying this, she held Princess Guard in both hands and looked around, waiting for a monster to sneak up on them.

 

~~

 

Isadora tensed when the woman stared at her eyes, though she relaxed a bit when the woman didn't comment on the matter. The woman still looked thoughtful, though, and Isadora wondered if she should return her eyes to normal.

 

"What was that?" A voice echoed through her mind. Telepathy? Isadora raised an eyebrow and looked at the woman, but she didn't seem to be the one who did that. Besides, the voice didn't match. The woman looked at her right back and decided something.

 

"Who are you?" she. Isadora turned and looked around. Not a single other soul in the room. She peered out the hole they originally made. Had it been that big? The woman's fireball opened it up more, but they all had to squeeze to enter. Yet it apparently was now big enough for any one of them to walk in easily. Come to think of it, that white thing was immense... Isadora looked at the bigger hole and walked over to it, looking out. Across an empty void, she saw another room with another hole, and there was something flying up--A dragon?! But it seemed to be covered in fur, and was that a tail...? It looked more like a cone made of bands and plates, though a better look showed there seemed to be a tail inside.

 

"There's a dragon over there, Isadora said to the woman. Would it be able to hear her? Was it who had sent the message? "From what I can see, it's flying up, has claws, fur, and a contraption of some sort on its tail."

She was more interested in the void, though. Was this structure just floating in it? Isadora looked up and noticed what could be taken as a floor plan. I would bet my mask on that being another level to this structure. Why didn't she see any of this when she was falling?

 

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Roxy's hair turned pink with wonder as the woman made her weapon vanish in a flash of light. that was pretty cool. Cool and vaguely familiar. Roxy felt better now that there wasn't a deadly weapon trained on her left eye. The woman was still tense as she watched Roxy answer her questions. It seemed that this building was pulling in people by random. There were so many people from alternate earths and other planets. Roxy hoped this wasn't Galactica Fight!, a non-consensual combat game show where they kidnap fighters from all across the universe. Roxy was flattered if that was the case. She always knew she would murder at this game then make the executives wish they never created it.

 

"My name's Luna." She said, the tension in her voice replaced with a pleasant tone, "I'm a gem."

 

Gem? Why does that sound familiar? she wondered. She could feel the memory but she couldn't access it. She had noticed that her ability to concentrate and recall information was growing more and more difficult the longer she hung around. Roxy absentmindedly began to create another planet with the mist. She didn't like the way it felt on her skin. It was sticky as if it was made of soap.

 

"I don't suppose you know anything about Homeworld or the rebellion? I can't except that those two things are important." She said. Roxy's face lit up and so did her hair with a bright shade of orange.

 

"Homeworld! That's why you sound familiar. When I first started drifting, I helped a huge orange woman named Topaz fly her ship out of Trade Federation controlled space. She couldn't remember if she was going anywhere, I just remember her saying a war was starting so she needed to leave" Roxy replied. As she spoke, details on the memory began to fade. She wasn't sure she could tell it the same if she tried. Roxy pushed her grapefruit sized planet up above them to collect more mist and draw it away from the group. She watched it spin, applying pressure to the core with her power to help it solidify. Now that she was thinking about it, she could create a black hole and instantly suck all the mist out. She refrained from doing that because it would also drain the atmosphere from the building and potentially kill everyone else.

 

She would just deal with the mist this way instead.

 

"More importantly how did you come through the ceiling like that? Nobody else but us was here a few seconds ago so how did you pass through a solid object?" Luna asked, glancing at the ceiling. Roxy looked up with her, her hair turning a very confusing gradient of color.

 

"How did I do what? I can't pass through solid objects...well, not without destroying them" She rambled, trying to decode what the woman had said. It suddenly clicked, "Oh! No, I teleported here" She said, instantly moving a dozen feet to the left to demonstrate, "Personal wormhole travel. Even if it has been acting wonky since I got to this freaky place" Roxy crossed her arms and glanced around the room. The mist was clearing but slowly. It was strange considering what Roxy has faced in her life but she was genuinely scared of this place.

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(Where is Esko I need him to respond. Also in regards to Grip I know I didn't respond to him but I figured that since we're introducing new characters he would interact with them as well. If not I can add something.)

 

Luna listened to Roxy's tale excitedly then paused when it ended, trying to think. She didn't remember anyone named Topaz, nor did she remember anything else about the war or why she disliked homeworld so much.

 

Roxy's abilities broke Luna out of her thoughts and she focused instead on the woman who teleported a few feet, made her hair change color, and could make little balls that sucked the mist in.

 

"Wow that's really cool." Luna said genuinely as she moved over to Roxy again. "I don't remember if I've ever seen anything like that but if I have then I bet I still think it's awesome." She said happily, her eyes turning upward to Roxy's hair. "How come your hair keeps changing color?" She asked, standing on her tiptoes to try and get a better look at it. "Hey yours looks different then that humans." Luna said after a moment as she pointed at Grip.

 

It was almost comical to watch Luna who just seconds before had been a serious warrior and was now a happy smiling blue woman who was excited at the smallest of things. It was almost like watching a child explore a new place for the first time, except this child could turn into a cold eyed warrior at a moment's notice.

 

Meanwhile the mist was slowly thinning and when Luna noticed this her eyes turned to the little orb nearby which appeared to be sucking the mist in.

"What's that? Did you make that?" Luna asked as she approached and eyed the orb thoughtfully. "Is it just something that sucks stuff up?" She asked, her eyes turning back to Roxy. "Or does it do other stuff?"

Edited by nomadicdesert

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Kyun's weapon wavered as Luna hugged the other - but suddenly, something was there. The alarmed creature whipped around, firing a stray bolt that cracked a wall. However, they didn't seem aggressive? Luna spoke, and Kyun decided to watch.

 

The mist was thinning...

 

Yes... Kyun... was a Mpere... but from ehere? They still didn't remember. And then they saw a orb sucking in the m8st. Cautiously, they approacyed and eyed it. They weren't sure how it worked, and clacked their beak in confusion.

 

---

 

Asterix didn't move when Aerith introduxed him yo the new woman. She seemed nicer thsn those people with their strange weapons, st least.

 

Aerith suggested exploring the place, snd now Asterix spoke as he unsheathed his weapon. Poijting in the direction the creature came from - the hallway entrance, he stated "That thing came from over that way. There might be something over there."

 

---

 

It was a strange place, this... abyss? The construction visible was a mystery, held up by phantasmal supports or by powerful magic. It reminded Reshiram of Palki for some reason they couldn't place. The gravity returned to normal, and now mighty wings beat, keeping in the air? If you could call ot air. Above them, plots stretched out, pink sgainst the darkness of the abyss. Fog billowed out from the holes in the floor Reshiram flew alongside, spiraling upwards, beyond their sight.

 

A voice called out, asking who was speaking.

 

Reshiram's telepathic voice reached out. "I am the White Dragon of Truth, Reshiram. I hail from Unova. Who are you, yourself?" The speaker's voice had been coming from the direction of where they had been bladted from, hadn't they? Another voice spoke, describing them and solidifying Reshiram's assumption of where the voices came from.

 

White wings beat. A tail blazes, propelling Reshiram towards the holes. Into the room, and the turbine goes out. Reshiram comes in for a landing, the great dragon breaking a few tiles beneath their claws. There were two humans there, and Reshiram assumed one was the speaker. One of the two was the one from earlier, who'd been lying against the wall, and now she (?) was looking out into the void.

 

The white dragon settled, deciding to await an answer.

Edited by Dusky_Flareon

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"I don't remember if I've ever seen anything like that but if I have then I bet I still think it's awesome." Luna said, stepping up to her to get a better look. She remembered Topaz being this invasive when she was interested in something.

 

Roxy's hair turned a deep pink, "thanks...That's....Your the first person to tell me something like that in a long time" she said, realizing that sad fact was true. Since Roxy drifted aimlessly across the universe she never really got close enough with people. Of course she made friends, but she always held her cards close to her chest. Despite Roxy only wanted to do good in the universe like she is suppose to, she still had a lot of people that wanted to kill her out there in space. Like the gang of them is the reason Roxy cannot visit earth anymore. She didn't want them to catch a scent where she is through someone she cared about.

 

"How come your hair keeps changing color?" Luna asked, breaking Roxy from her thoughts. She blinked in confusion, her hair reflecting it with a confusing reddish green. Then she noticed she was staring at her mohawk. "Hey yours looks different then that humans."she pointed out, gesturing to the boy that said that there was a second floor.

 

Roxy bent down and ran her hair backwards through her "hair". The strands that made up her mohawk were more like porcupine quills. They sprung back into place with a series of soft clacks after her hand passed to the back. "Well...that's because I'm not human, I'm Phangite. My hair changes color depending on what I'm feeling . That's just part of being from Phang." She said, unsure how else to explain it. The people of Phang were very honest and very good a twisting the truth. Their unique quirk of muilticolored mood hair made interactions with offworlders difficult because she relies so heavily on everyone broadcasting their feelings.

 

"What's that? Did you make that?" She asked, pointing at her miniplanet growing off to the right. Roxy smiled and followed her over, "Is it just something that sucks stuff up?", Luna turned to face her, "Or does it do other stuff?". At this point, the strange creature with the long neck came over to investigate the planet.

 

"Yeah I made it. It's a...gaseous planet I guess? I tried it in a different room and it worked pretty well. It just collects particulates in the air, I just make conditions right." [/color]

She answered, watching the blues and violets swirl across the surface, "No, it's just a planet" she said with a shrug. She supposed she could serve it like a volleyball and something and do ??? Roxy wasn't sure. In her experiences, she had only hit people with normal sized planets.

 

"So, how did you do the laser bow thing you threatened me with", she asked.

Edited by padfoot

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" Excuse me for interrupting..."

 

Grip jolted, startled by the sudden voice that didn't seem to come from any of the people over there he was trying to address. He frantically looked around, until he spotted the source that now had a soft blue glow through the mist. A different glow from Luna's.

 

The being had a cloak that billowed behind it and obscured all its features. Grip could only make is outline, lit from the back by glowing skeletal limbs -- two wings and a bony tail. It reminded him of Lord Death, not only by appearance, but through a feeling within his very being. It was possible that there could exist more than one Reaper, but only one true lord would exist at a time. He locked his knees, resisting his instinct to bow until he got a better idea of who this cloak was. He was sure, though, that it was a soul collector with significant power.

 

"U-up," Grip stammered, though was compelled to tell the truth. Its voice was soft and polite in contrast to its appearance, but appearances were often deceiving. "There weren't any split paths, so it could only have gone up through the stairs. I didn't see any others, but you're right, something weak like that probably isn't working alone."

 

He frowned. Following that logic, he would have run into something nasty if he had kept running after the shard. It was a good thing he turned back.

 

((posting for Cheria and Milla tomorrow))

Edited by TehUltimateMage

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"Where would we go next, New?" Asked the unlively Blank, a strange perhaps human with not much of emotions. Standing on the back of his black dragon friend, New. "I would suggest, someplace that brings more of you." She said, lying on the soft green grass. Lying beside an akasha tree. Lying within the plains.

"More? ... more..." the usual no idea Blank mumbled, as he touched New's rough skin. "A favor my friend, let us fly. Shall we?" He tells New. "Very well, master." New replied, and Blank holds tightly to her horns as she stands on her hands and legs. Her wings unfolded and spreaded, showing her glorious grey wings. New walked for several hundred meters, her speed increasing every step as her wings slowly flapped. Out a heavy breath before New's hind propelled her flying into the blue. Blank feels the strong breeze of wind passing along. The shine of the calm light, suddenly turned black.

 

The usual temporal effect of universe leaping. Blank standing on New's back, they flying unto the screens of darkness. Then these spiral lights started to illuminate, spinning, towards the epicenter shows a certain location. Undetermined yet, New feels uneasy and cautious. "It's fine New. I feel nothing coming, yet." Blank lets New at ease. Confident of his master's words, New hasten her approach. Passed towards the hole, they arrived at this rather big room, three figures down ahead. One was large and white, looking like a dragon. The other two had the same shape as Blank, to New's perspective. She lands a bit further to not cause a commotion, easy hovering that doesn't make too much noise. "Hmm, master, what do you think those are to you? I feel they're not too friendly." New asked to Blank on what his thoughts towards the three beings.

Blank gets off New, and walked towards the three. "I do not know yet New. But their presence are strong, so must they be not too fond of their own. Nonetheless, I am curious." Blank continued walking, and New followed. Calm to their steps, they approached closer, revealing the white figure to be a dragon (Reshiram) and the other two humans. Blank is already waiting for a response as he walked closer, but New cannot help but feeling prepared.

Edited by Edge45

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Milla closed her eyes, trying to picture what Isadora was describing. She did remember seeing something white, feathered, and dragon-like, but did she really? The fog was rather inconvenient.

 

The telepathic voice replied. "I am the White Dragon of Truth, Reshiram. I hail from Unova. Who are you, yourself?"

 

A spirit? Unova was an entirely foreign word in both the human and spirit realms. How strange...

 

"I am Milla Maxwell, Lord of Spirits," came her assertion. Every time she said her name, it fought against the memory-altering mist. The dragon shared its title and she felt it would be useful to share her own before it was lost again, with the small possibility that -- if it were indeed a spirit -- she would hold some authority. "I come from Nia Khera."

 

"Lead me towards it, Issadora," she requested. The other woman seemed to be able to see through the ever-thickening fog while she herself could see only shapes.

 

More approaching shapes.

 

Milla turned, cautious. The two new figures she could now make out -- one human, the other another dragon -- seemed to be walking at a relaxed pace. They reminded her of the beast-tamers of the north who held monsters under their command, and she removed the fingers from the hilt of her blade. "And who might you be?"

 

~~~

 

"Nice to meet you too, Asterix," Cheria answered. The man was short and had an interesting winged hat. Unlike the blue-glowing humanoids, it seemed like he was legitimately acting in self-defense. After that bout, it was right for him to be cautious and have his weapon drawn. It was nice to have allies again, or at least some friendly people to talk to.

 

With a flick of her wrist, she recalled her knives and tucked them back into her sleeves. No use wasting energy creating more magical copies if these were easily retrievable.

 

"Did the beastman attack you while you were heading that way, Asterix?" she asked while walking through the fog in that direction. She still had mixed feelings about the issue, but she wasn't mad at the mustached man.

Edited by TehUltimateMage

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"And who might you be?" Was a question asked by one of the human individuals.

 

"Master?" Hearing the supposedly human's response, New faced Blank. Guessing from her face, she wanted Blank to answer. "Who? ... us? ...." Wondered Blank on an expressionless face. He stopped, and speaks to answer the person's question politely. "We are ... how to put this, from another world perhaps." He replied.

Blank faced New as soon as he answered. "Was it right my friend? How can I say that will let them believe." He pondered. "Master, it was fine, we can only await their answer." Whispered New to Blank only they can hear. Facing and waiting for a reply from them.

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Shadow was surprised at the reaction she received; the human - or who she presumed was human - looked shocked, as if he recognized her from somewhere? It took him a few moments to respond.

" U-Up. There weren't any split paths, so it could only have gone up through the stairs."

Shadow paused for a moment, unwonted to the fact that she didn't have to struggle to follow his words. She was too used to foreign words and butchered accents of alien prey she could only half-understand; interesting... it said a lot about where he came from. She then digested what he said: The stairs? A direct path to another level? Hm... crawling up through something is harder than falling down. It has the advantage up there.

" I didn't see any others, but you're right, something weak like that probably isn't working alone." He finished, while Shadow straightened up with her arms folded. Admirable; the human was using his head. So he must be from a world similar to the Earth she knew. Or perhaps she was just being presumptuous?

" There must be swarms of them up there..." She murmured, a bit light-headed at the thought of so many souls. The human frowned at the implications. It was tempting to just rush off to the stairs and start fighting, but with her current power level, crowd-control was going to be a challenge... fun, but a challenge.

 

She studied the human in front of her, noticing that his demeanor was... different, somehow. He was still nervous, but it didn't manifest as victimized fear; it was more respectful than that. Almost as if he was afraid of offending her. She did enjoy this particular form for its stereotype, yet she a had feeling that his stereotype was different... Oh well. No use lingering on it.

" If there are multiple enemies up there, we should kill them before they kill us. There is no telling when an ambush would be set up." She mused, looking over at the others in his group. Another stranger had shown up, clearly more alien than human, and had attracted the attention of the others. Shadow sized up her wardrobe with a displeased look; A delinquent? She then looked at the male human, realizing that he wasn't much better, but at least his clothes covered most of him and didn't look like they went through a meteor belt.

" So... your friends..." She tossed her head in the direction of the others. " Are they decent fighters?"

Edited by skwerl56767

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So, one of the humans was named Milla Maxwell. While the last name sounded like something they might hear in this Unova after their millennia of slumber, the first name seemed a bit off. From elsewhere. There was also her title, Lord of Spirits, that made Reshiram think Milla wasn't from their world. Because in Unova - on Pokéarth - spirits weren't things that were controlled, nor were they often seen. Often as in often to a mortal...

 

Anyhow. They turned to where the voice had come from - one of the humans - and walked toward them. Out of the corner of their eye, they noticed... something in the mist.

 

A shape?

 

No...

 

 

Two shapes.

 

Reshiram jerked their head around to look at the very moment the figures in the mist - one large, one smaller - spoke. Another... realm? This... what reslm? The large figure didn't seem shaped like anything Reshiram revognized, and the smaller looked somewhat like a human. But.... not quite, ir was it? The mist made it hard yo tell.

 

Their telepathic voice called out. "Who are you?" Reshiram watched the shapes warily. They weren't sure if the shapes might turn aggressive once they got a better look at what lay waiting. But if they were hostile, they'd had good chaance to attack... Reshiram decided to wait for now.

Edited by Dusky_Flareon

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"My... Friends?" Grip answered the reaper. "I think they can hold their own in a fight..." He glanced over Luna, who seemed to know how to use her bow, and Kyun who was still nervously holding their blaster in their beak while eying the mini gas planet. The lady who just teleported here looked much too relaxed and although she had all the strange traits of being a witch from the abilities to the eclectic wardrobe to the magical hair, she claimed she was something else -- another kind of alien? No witch would let their pride lie about their race.

 

Aliens. This was getting pretty spooky even for Academy standards.

 

"I haven't seen anyone fight yet, actually," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "We haven't encountered any enemies so far. I myself am a demon weapon, though I cannot fight without a meister wielding me. And with the displacement, well..."

 

Grip remembered he had a partner, yes. Thanks to Roxy, the fog was clearing and he could remember the people he usually worked with: bright haired Tabitha, and his quiet older brother. The returning memories made him nervous for his own current state, but also nervous for the state of his school.

 

He looked toward the direction of the stairs with resolve. "Looks like we have no choice but to push ahead?" Going backwards would only lead them back to the room they started in.

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Cheria greeted Asterix courteously, making Aerith smile. It was nice to see people getting along like that, and she found a few allies for now. That was always nice. After the pleasantries were exchanged, Asterix pointed towards the direction the monster came from, and the girl sheathed her knives to leave. So that was it. Aerith absentmindedly dusted her dress off as she looked into the fog. She couldn't see where the two mechanical people went off to, but she could feel them nearby, along with a few more presences, some stranger than others, but she wasn't quite able to pinpoint why she felt that way. Oh well, time to head on. Aerith walked towards where Cheria was going for a moment before pausing and looking at Asterix.

 

"Asterix! Are you coming?" Aerith asked. "I don't know if there are any monsters up ahead," she added as an afterthought, then hurried to catch up to Cheria at the thought of it.

 

~~~

 

The telepathy sounded again... The voice was from the dragon she saw. A dragon--She thought about the stories she heard about Hysmia, of Skasa, of Spirazi, and all the other great dragons, then shook her head. She shouldn't judge. She should be the last person to. And it hailed from a place called Unova. Well, that didn't sound like it was a place in Arad, that was for sure. Beside her, the woman called a reply.

Milla. Right. That was the other woman's name. And she... Was the Lord of the Spirits? Isadora thought about the Spirit Lord she knew and tried to match his features' to

Milla.

 

There! She saw the dragon approaching quickly through the hole, with something that seemed to glow behind it, then land with a loud cracking sound. Probably the tiles under its feet.

 

"Lead me towards it, Isadora," Milla ordered. Isadora glanced at her, wondering if that warranted a retort before dropping the subject. Probably not, and it would be pointless to get into an argument right now.

 

"Reshiram is over there," Isadora pointed, then tapped the light rune floating next to her, making it glow brighter. "Hopefully this rune is visible through the mist," she half said to herself, then cautiously walked towards the dragon. It seemed to have pinpointed them and was striding towards them as well.

 

"I suppose you've heard, but I'm Isadora, the head librarian..." Isadora trailed off when the dragon stopped and turned its head. And she started when she saw another dragon, with a person, approaching at a calm pace.

 

"And who might you be?" Milla asked. Isadora watched as the dragon faced the person, almost worriedly, then the person spoke.

 

"Who? ... us? ...."

 

"Yes...." Isadora said uneasily. The person's face was... Odd. Perfectly straight and immutable. That wasn't normal; even for that one person she joked only had two expressions...

 

"We are ... how to put this, from another world perhaps."

 

The dragon had more expression than the man. After speaking, he seemed to turn to it to talk.

 

"I think we all are," Isadora simply replied.

Edited by beiningtian

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.....................no.

 

 

A crate of colored vials tinkled together, glass nudging glass in a kaleidoscope of colors. Somewhere, rolls of parchment were spread, examined with a knowing hand, then rebound. Ligaments snapped into place and hard-cover edges tapped the shelves' backing when their respective notebooks were found unworthy of the trip, and in the light of a single candle, the only travelers packed for the journey were three: one staff, a hooded cloak, and them. No other else was needed; everything this library could have offered them had been long since exhausted, and anything else could be wrought in a matter of hours if needed. Even the comfort of a bed could be forgone for longer than the average person, and anyway, they had grown weary of the dressings of stone and wood suffocating them.

 

 

 

Maybe they never had been meant to stay. She would be disappointed with them.

 

 

 

A whirl of their cloak and a creak of the door and they were gone. Left behind was not a trace of them. No keepsakes. No clothing. Not a crease in the covers. And the even the flame they'd set to the candle soon followed suit, light falling to dark as the spirit took its last bite at the wick. No scent of burning lingered afterward, and when they turned from the door and shut it quietly back, the orange glow of the nearest sconce could hardly brush a finger along them before they vanished.

=======

 

Outside, it was a completely different matter. The sky was lit gold by the lights of the inner city, roads and alleys utterly alive with the sound of laughter and conversation. Somewhere, some poppers echoed on the street, children screeching with joy at the noise. They took this as a sign to retreat to the shadows, and good thing--soon following came the parents, scooping up their young and twirling them about. A flash of a grey tail, ears...but they didn't feel anything. No snide internal remarks or even the involuntary recoil of the past. But they moved on. Don't dwell on it.

 

 

A burst, color overhead bleeding them through with blues and greens. They looked up and found great mum-shaped apparitions spreading and fizzling out in the sky, crackling into the backdrop of a shade of night made indiscernible by the pollution. They jogged to a halt and took a moment to admire the sight, hearing the mortars go off in volleys. The smell of sulphur was rich, mingled with sweet and alcoholic bitterness that wafted down the way. What a time for celebration, and what a way to do it. Loud, flagrant...filled with the same sounds that would mimic a battlefield. The people were out on the lawns and perched on the fountains, strumming lutes and nursing wine. Freed from the tyranny of fear. But strangely, they didn't mind it. Were they anyone else, perhaps they'd even enjoy it, this victory they'd secured. Theirs was no small participation, after all. This was a well-fought respite. One they deserved.

 

 

 

A glimmer in the sky as they neared the outskirts, different than that made of materials or magic. Soft blue. A pinprick.

 

 

 

 

I see you.

 

 

 

 

 

They hurried onward. He was waiting.

 

=======

 

 

 

Some day they too will write your name upon the stars.

 

...do they have to?

It's another way to pay you homage. A tale to tell their children and their children's children when they lay upon the grass of the land you freed. They'll be like us right now--pointing at the sky and making shapes, acting like we knew them.

 

In that case, all of us'll be up there. I don't think there's enough sky for us all.......but there certainly would be enough stories. True as they may or may not be.

 

Maybe so...but only yours will be remembered.

 

 

 

 

 

.......well, if that's how it's gotta be, then at least make a constellation for me first, will you?

Why?

 

Because you actually give two figs about me. And so that I can watch over you. I don't know how real the afterlife is, but hey. It doesn't hurt to make sure, does it?

 

....I-I....yes, I will.

 

But keep it a secret just between us, okay? And when I go, put one of you up there with me so I'll know where to look. Alright?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The blue star was just overhead, no longer occluded by the shimmering city in the distance. Here, in the verdant forests chirruping with life, the sound of a stream nearby populated with frogs, the star shone bright and purely, the only light in the sky they cared for. Be gone the moon and the cloudy nebulae, let them fall to ruin and darken the day forever--so long as this one star stood resolute, the night would not be so long for them. Their hand extended toward the star, pale flesh made white in its glow, and when it fell between their fingers like his own the memory came clear. They tightened their grip on the phantom warmth, swallowing down the tight knot growing in their throat and managed a shaking smile.

 

"I'm coming. Just a little longer..."

 

Yes...just a little longer. But hadn't it been long enough? The years were crawling by them...and time was stretching into eternity. The mechanisms of their world evolving before them...and they...hardly adrift so much as stuck...

 

 

They must hurry.

 

 

It was this thought that forced them to withdraw their hand from the sky and continue along their path. They'd wasted their time long enough in this place, the one they'd sworn away so long ago, fighting in a war they had no place in. Maybe it had been a latent sense of responsibility that had drawn them back, or maybe they hadn't lied when they'd said they were in it for the deed. But whatever the case, they'd served their purpose and their service had come to an end. This would be the last night their feet would brush the grounds of Melior. Forever.

 

They would leave as they had come. Without ceremony. Their celebration was yet to come. A silent communion between them, as they wanted. As he would've wanted.

 

Soon.

 

The treeline was barely a stone's throw away--

 

 

"Ah! Here you are."

 

They turned. They knew that voice well, strong but feminine, befitting of the queen who bore it. She carried herself with an incredible air of grace for a woman that had evidently been trailing them through the countryside in heels; a hiss of bitter-laced amusement escaped them as they picked out the mudstains all around her train.

 

"Why am I not surprised to see you here?"

 

She ran a hand through her short green locks, her laugh coming easier than theirs.

 

"Because you know me too well." She tilted her head at them. "You sound almost dismayed that I tracked you all the way here."

 

"No, no, not at all. This is just another display of you incompetence. Rather, I'm used to it by this point." They flicked the staff at her slightly.

 

"Are you even aware of your station? If you enjoyed being a target on the battlefield, then you're in for a treat at home. Rebels vying for your head, auctioning your life for cold coin...I'm at risk of assassination by proxy as we speak." Another cold half-hiss, but she didn't recoil in disdain of them. Instead she retorted back, just as playfully venomous:

 

"Listen to you talk to me like that. How ever did he put up with that mouth of yours?"

 

They repressed the urge to respond with lewdity. Instead:

 

"I never bowed my head to you when we first met. What makes you think I would now?"

 

"Oh, I didn't forget. Durkon nearly offed you right there in my court. The other guards were hardly impressed, either. But I suppose that's part of your charm: a complete lack of courtesy or respect." She clicked her tongue. They felt themselves draw away internally, but not due to her complaint. It was the reason they'd wanted to avoid her at all costs, the reason she was so relaxed and comfortable with them...

 

"I refuse to respect dogs." They said it quickly, brushing off the tease before it devolved into further banter. There was no time for this. "Enough of this. Why are you here? And what do you want?"

 

She shifted her weight and set her hands on her hips. They way she moved, they knew it wasn't purposeful but it...

 

 

Her gaze tensed.

 

 

"I followed you because I'm worried about you. And because, well..." she shifted again, eyes finding the ground before settling on them again. "...I suppose I always knew this is where you'd be. On the night you were supposed to be happy."

 

'Supposed to be'...their rankled reaction read too clearly through their hood.

 

 

"...I'm sorry." They turned away. The hurt on her face for hurting them was...irritating. By the color of the sky, they knew time was wasting away. She would keep them here till daylight if they didn't expedite this situation. They tapped their staff against the ground, breathing in.

 

 

"I don't expect you to understand me, Queen Marcella." What they must do. Why they could never stay...even though they'd divulged much of themselves to this woman, it had been in a moment of weakness--not out of a sense of camaraderie or companionship. It didn't take eyes to assume she thought otherwise, and was now trying to use her wiles to keep them by their side. They scoffed against the tightness in their chest as they weighed their own feelings against that pitiful assumption. No matter how relieving it had been...it had only been that--a means for relief. Nothing more.

 

"You're right. I can't even begin to know your sorrow."

 

 

A touch at their shoulder. They flinched, but didn't wrench away.

 

 

"But I know you don't have to be alone."

 

 

Alone? Alone? They shook their head at her, this preposterous woman. This presumptuous wide-eyed fool who thought she knew their heart.

 

 

"Then you have certainly misunderstood me. I revel in my solitude."

 

 

"That's a lie."

 

 

The urge to turn was strong. The urge to argue against her was so palpable that it charged a coursing of magic throughout them, stirring their clothes without a breeze. They felt her stern glare through the back of them, but refuse to give her the satisfaction of their consideration.

 

 

 

It was too painful to look back. After several seconds of silence, they took a step.

 

 

 

"Goodbye, Marcella. May we never meet again."

 

A warp point pre-constructed for them was in sight. A one way trip back to their cabin in the snowy woods, back to the tomb constructed for him out of respect. It would be his last visit back.

 

 

Feet clashing against the grass. Knowing the feelings weren't there. A heart made for one person. Secretly despising its craft.

 

 

"No! Don't let it end like this!!!"

 

 

It was time to go home.

 

 

"S-!!!"

=======

 

 

"A-agh--?!?"

 

 

Their hands clutched first at their throat. No air. No voice. No matter how hard they pushed,

their words would not leave their lungs. Mute.

 

"Kthh...rr..." They writhed against the invisible chokehold on them, kicking out and screaming in silence. The motion spun them around, flipping their hood and tossing their hair wildly through immovable black. Suffocation, drowning...their eyes snapped open, determined to fight the throes of death--

 

 

And they saw it.

 

 

 

Some thing. Some ethereal, unwhole miscreation. All bones and spindle, no hair or hide about it. It rumbled and tore at the existence around them, but the words of the voice were lost to a fog.

 

 

And then.

 

The coldness.

 

The pain of their life force being chewed away, the breaking of the black into squared tiles that cut at their skin. Gravity found them and yanked at their spine, pulling them down, down, down down downdowndowndowndown---

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THUD

 

 

 

 

The impact tore the held breath from their lungs with such force that they heaved, arching off the ground before rolling to their side in a near-vain attempt not to vomit. Their staff was dug painfully into their ribs but they could do little to relieve it. For now, they lay, coughing and gasping into the icy mist-covered tile below until their senses stopped spinning, and when they had recovered enough to drag themselves up into a sitting position, they could see just what they had fallen into.

 

 

But it was impossible.

 

 

The floor was positively radiating with magic. All around was tiling of blue-grey and pinkish, a set of colors that were garish enough to unsettle their stomach. It was hard to make out, even harder when their ears were left ringing, but there was a faint sound of voices somewhere not far from them. While it was of interest, they were more drawn by a rectangular piece in the room, and when they squinted, they could just make out the details of writing or symbols. That would be the best place to start investigating...whatever had just happened to them. It certainly wasn't death...or they were oddly sure of it...but it didn't feel like reality either. They clutched their hands around the staff's head and pushed themselves to their feet, wobbling slightly from the foggy dizziness clouding their mind.

 

Focus. Get to the plaque. There must be something of use there...

Edited by Sugar-Free

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Healer Party

 

"The beast attacked suddenly through the mist without warning while I was wandering," Asterix explained. The short man with the winged helmet kept up his pace, looking ready to defend the two girls from any other attackers.

 

Cheria didn't say anything more. Silence hung over them as heavy as the ever present fog. Back over that way she wandered over from -- there were only really a couple directions to go but with the limited field of view, every step seemed like a new one.

 

"Look, over there," Asterix suddenly spoke up, a hand shielding his eyes like a visor as he squinted into the distance. "There's a light."

 

The pink haired girl stopped and looked where he was looking; there was indeed a white spot through the curtain of dark purple. A constant ray that didn't seem to blink or waver or even move. Cheria focused on it, changing direction so she was walking towards it in a trance-like curiosity. Anything to break the monotony of the glowing dungeon tiles under her feet.

 

((The light is NOT Luna, by the way.))

 

~~~

Central Room [uPDATE: Penta/Tetra/Lazer/Ashur/Kyle/Jess/Pouncer]

 

The floor tiles of the area -- at least the working, glowing ones -- all flicker in unison, blinking once, then twice, before shutting off completely. The mist still carried a subtle light to it, enough to still see through the darkness.

 

A hot wave of air passes over Kyle, like the rotting breath of an infernal beast.

 

Runes flare to life in the air in front of the two humans and the dragon, the same color of magic as the magenta floor tiles but searingly brighter. The text -- snippets of words that collected to read Servant of Memory -- is of no known language and yet written in every known language in the history of the universes and while the jumble of characters was meaningless, the streams of letters revealed a darker blue form previously hidden in the shadows.

 

Purple light reflected off of the creature's bright white teeth as it snarled, rising up on its hind legs and becoming and intimidating ursine figure easily two or three humans high. Rings of written memories circled its form like streams of data, and its fur was shiny and sharp like glass. No intelligence -- at least, not anymore -- could be seen in those glazed grey eyes, and the guardian made its intention clear by swiping a massive paw downward, shattering the already broken tiles.

 

 

~~~

 

Ring Room

 

The room with the mysterious oval still had its magic power despite the one adjacent to it -- seen through the first hole they made -- getting all the energy sapped away.

 

Milla followed the light Isadora conjured until she was face to face with the white dragon (although she had to look up to make eye contact). It was the monster that triggered the magic oval earlier, but now that she had a good look at it, it was definitely not a spirit. Not a monster, either...

 

The fog seemed to be affecting the newcomer as well, as he had no answer to her question. No one seemed to have any answers in this realm, only questions. "Different worlds, yes," although it was incredibly strange to acknowledge there was something outside the world she governed.

 

~~~

 

The Nomad [uPDATE]

 

As the Nomad approached, the plaque before them responded by revealing its shifting white text in an infinite number of languages:

 

And for aeons did the First Aetherial wander alone
It grew restless with the aeons that it walked and waited
And so did it forge others

First were Time and Reality 
and in their eterne did Time bring possibility 
as Reality anchored the eternal realms

 

Unlike the thoughts affected by the mind-altering mist, the words of the plaques were immutable, unforgettable, able to be recited from memory.

Edited by TehUltimateMage

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" My... Friends? I think they can hold their own in a fight..." The human looked uncertain, glancing over at the others while rubbing his neck. Shadow tilted her head in curiosity, recognizing the mannerism yet unable to place it. " I haven't seen anyone fight yet, actually."

Really? Shadow was admittedly shocked, looking over at the group. With their murmuring and comfortable postures, weapons held either low or at no particular target... okay, so it was possible that they were entirely passive, but only multi-species settlements were used to strange figures simply popping up out of nowhere. The blue girl had shown her guard earlier, but her threats so far were empty. The others seemed comfortable enough with each other, so wherever they came form must lack racial bias. What kinds of origins do these beings have?

While Shadow stared at the strangers, the human went on: " We haven't encountered any enemies so far. I myself am a demon weapon, though I cannot fight without a meister wielding me. And with the displacement, well..."

Shadow whipped around to stare at him intensely. Demon weapon? Meister? 'I'??

 

The human trailed off with a question, looking back the way he came, but Shadow strafed back into his vision.

" What do you mean, you're a 'demon weapon'?" She asked, interest piqued. " You look like a human. Are you some kind of shifter? An illusionist?"

Before she could continue interrogating him, an immense thud echoed from somewhere in the room, the entire floor jumping at the impact and making her wince and look out into the fog. She could hear the snarling of something big... yet she couldn't see anything different. Well, if it was another battle, she would have to wait it out anyway. So far no one has dragged her into a fight... yet... so she was free to take her time. At the same time though, she couldn't help but stare hungrily in the direction the sounds came from.

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Velcheck's fingers passed through solid-seeming wood, and Ashur snarled. "Illusion?" Yep, most likely an illusion. He wasn't privy to the art of illusionmaking, but he'd seen it used by both sides of the war. For a moment he could scent blood and death --

 

The brown woid disappeared - like thevillusion it was - replacing it with a robot? Which then chirruped loudly, causing a snarl from the dark dragon as it chirped twice before running in his direction. The bot skidded to a halt before crashing into him as Ashur swung his tail around, before it scrambled back... and threw up a bag illusion? Odd. Very odd. Ashur rumbled, his tail still at the ready.

 

 

 

And that was when the light of the tiles flickered. The room was plunged into darkness, barely wnough light left to see even with decemt night vision, fitting for a creature of dark magic.

 

Brilliant magenta runes in a language Ashur doesn't know. And then text forms. He can read it somehow, but it's not anything the dragon knows even as it's his language. Something's not right... like anything was right about this whole scene.

 

It reads Servant of Memory. Memory is capitalized. What does it mean? Memory's not a thing you can serve, least far as the Tenebris knows.

 

More magenta letters wend through the air. A dark, spiny, sheened blue figure appears. It's a quadruped with thick legs, rounded ears, and a blunt snout, the whole thing covered in spikes of glass fur, that's about twice his size. Its eyes were glazed and grey, lit alongside its fur by magenta streams of memory in written text. The creature bashed a great paw into the broken geound, causing shards of tile to go flying.

 

Ashur growled and raised his tail, muscles tensing for a fight with this thing. He wouldn't just roll over and be defeated by a monster...

Edited by Dusky_Flareon

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The mechanical hound whined, but sat down and accepted his offer. He'd barely started looking at the damage when the wound suddenly sparked, causing him to leap back at the hound's resulting jump. It didn't seem intent on biting him though, even apologizing for its actions. He smiled at it beneath his mask, a pointless action since the hound couldn't see it, but one he did anyway.

 

"It's okay. You're a boy, right? You're very well-behaved, thanks for letting me take a look."

 

He gave a gentle pat to the hound, making sure not to damage the metal with his suit. With that settled, he began to circle slowly around the hound, scanning the extent of the damage he had received. He looked quite a bit worse for the wear, almost as if he'd been in several fights before dropping here, but that was somewhat predictable considering the type of damage the hound had. Normal wear and tear didn't result in loose wires and crackling circuits like that.

 

The tech of the hound was unfamiliar to him, but his scan had given him enough information for him to patch the hound up temporarily. More extensive repairs could be made when they arrived in a city or trading post. For now, the first order of business would be patching up that wound under his jaw. He'd need materials for that, but it was nothing Tetra couldn't provide.

 

{Hey, Tetra, mind making me some circuits?}

 

{Why? Are you damaged? I have repair systems for that.}

 

{No, they're not for me. I want to fix up this hound.}

 

{I don't see why we should waste materials and energy on it, but if you're that set on it... I guess I'll have to, won't I?}

 

{You know me too well. Let me send you what I need.}

 

He called up the data on the circuits, then sent it to Tetra. No doubt she was rolling her eyes at him again, but he didn't care. All that mattered was that she listened to him and made the parts, waiting for him to retrieve them, which he did. Alright! Now he could get to work fixing the hound! He turned back to the wound on the hound's neck, calling out his smaller drones so that he could do some precision work. Depending on how the hound was built, cutting into wires could hurt, so it was probably best to warn him.

 

"I'm gonna remove all the damaged parts so that I can fix you, just hold still a second. It might hurt."

 

He braced himself for the worst as he cut out the unrepairable parts, fitting the new ones into place. It didn't take long for him to put everything into place, connecting the last few wires and declaring his work done. Hopefully, the hound didn't have some mystery technology his scanner didn't pick up on, but he felt pretty confident about the compatibility of the circuits.

 

A sudden flicker caused him to jump back into an alert position, sensors notifying him of the sudden change in light as if he couldn't see it himself. He scanned the area, noticing the gathering magic before it even condensed to reveal a monstrous bear. Boss time already? Well, might as well have some fun doing what he was programmed for. He turned and checked on Tetra, seeing she was already dashing towards the bear, then shrugged and deployed his blades.

 

The lack of light didn't bother him, but he figured he'd turn up the glow of his circuits for the others who might accidentally hit him. He hadn't had the time to check the programming of the hound, but hopefully he could defend himself? It would be a shame if he fixed the hound only for him to get killed by a stray attack. Oh well, he might as well hope for the best, since there was nothing he could do about it except kill the bear quickly. As he drew up next to the bear, he motioned to Tetra, positioning his blades above his head.

 

She caught the signal and began to charge up her drones, taking a running start and pushing herself off of his blades. In midair, her drones circled up, focusing to launch a devastating blast at the back of the bear's head. It hit the bear square on, searing the flesh off its face in a second and leaving nothing but an exposed obsidian skeleton.

 

"Now!"

 

As she fell downwards, he leaped up, hovering in the air for a fraction of a second before she tossed him upwards and landed lightly on her feet. He didn't need to right himself - Tetra's throw had been perfect. Instead, he zeroed in on his target, fusing his blades into a single large ring.

 

 

A second longer...

 

 

 

he wound up...

 

 

 

 

and now!

 

 

 

 

*CRACK*

 

 

 

 

With a single slice, he felt the vertebrae shatter under the pressure, splintering into shards and sending the skull flying. The runes circling around the bear faded, but didn't disappear completely. Instead, they concentrated around the headless stump of the bear, pulsing weakly.

 

Aw, dangit! I was sure I had it! Next time, maybe.

 

He spun around in the air, landing gracefully with a flourish of his blades. As the blades separated and returned to their spots on his arms, he walked over to the severed skull and held it up with a grin.

 

"Trophy!"

 

"...are you serious?"

 

"Why wouldn't I be? It'll make some cool armor, or at least fetch a decent price. If nothing else, you can at least vaporize it into your construction system."

 

"You seem to have forgotten that the bear isn't actually dead yet."

 

"Nah, I got it. We gotta leave some for the rest of the group, don't we?"

 

"Oh, so it isn't just you being too lazy to finish it off?"

 

"Hey! I did more damage than you, just for the record."

 

"Whatever you say."

 

He pouted behind his mask, but smiled on the inside. Tetra really was improving, though it was taking time.

Edited by Silverphoenixx

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What had been nothing but gibberish rearranged itself into perfectly readable letters situated into two neatly stanzas. But what the Nomad read was not immediately recognizable as a poem, or not at least one meant for song or oration. They touched a finger to the plaque as they read, not to keep place, but more out of curiosity. Though lit, the plaque was cold, and there was a sense of something arcane willing the runes into familiarity. How odd. It responds to my language, but how is it possible? Their fingers glossed across the smooth surface, not an indent present for the words to fall in. Was it metal? Was it stone? Lacking as well was a particular signature for the magic that must make the thing. They called to each element without a word--Fire, Thunder, Wind, Light and Dark--measuring the reactions of the harmless corporializations against it, but found no advantage or deficit in turn. With a hum, their hand returned to their side, and they focused properly on the words that were before them. They hardly had to glance when the words were ingrained into them:

 

 

And for aeons did the First Aetherial wander alone
It grew restless with the aeons that it walked and waited
And so did it forge others

First were Time and Reality 
and in their eterne did Time bring possibility 
as Reality anchored the eternal realms

 

 

Another hum, this one more ponderous than the last. Aetherial? What kind of creature...? The Nomad touched a triad of fingers to their lips, drawing them closed until they folded to knuckles. Bones...thin...colorless...but they didn't remember. But something was there, a connection to what was happening and what had happened. These words responded to a moment in their memory--"correlation". But the image wouldn't come. The harder they thought, the further it retreated, covered in a mist they could not dispel. But where frustration would have come to replace it, there was only placidity. Something stirred inside them, phantom unease and panic from a "them" that was occluded...but for now, there was nothing much to do about it. The Nomad needed to dissect the information they were given. They needed to remain calm.

 

Let's see...an "Aetherial." The first, so, some form of progenitor, if "first" implies more came after. That supports the "wander alone"...ah yes. It does appear that it made more in its lonesome.

 

The same feeling. Stirring, nervous and cold. They held their free hand to their chest and closed their eyes.

 

Wandering...alone... But yet again, the source remained hidden. Nails twisted into the fabric found there for a second before they got ahold of themselves.

 

...mgh...and...the first progeny it created were the concepts of Time and Reality. But that could easily be metaphor in the form of religious text. There wasn't enough information to dismiss it as such, though, and even in that case, the implications on what culture--if there was one--had created it would be important to keep in mind should the text or environment reference it again. But as they read onward, it did appear to be a basic mythology. A basic explanation for the movement of the stars and the continuation of existence--very par for the course. Could there be more to it? That....that they did not know. As they looked around, perusing the corners and nooks of the room, nothing else was to be gleaned at this time. Their answers would come soon...surely.

 

I should be getting on now. There's nothing left for me here.

 

A common sympathy. They adjusted their cloak and made for the hall, a hand ever-present over the wall, drawing and reciprocating the magic lying there.

===========

 

A right turn later and the hall gave way to a stair, with a garble of noises further straight. The Nomad had no interest in company. If they were to meet, they'd make their alliances then--they would not seek them. Numbers were wise to bolster their defense and capability with, but little had managed to overcome them since they'd began their long walk. Numbers meant personalities, and that invited conflict: something they could do without. The Nomad turned and ascended quietly. They were missing the support of an army, and it'd be unwise to barge upstairs singlemindedly.

 

As they went, the burden of the unknown presence above weighed their shoulders....

Edited by Sugar-Free

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Roxy fell silent after a shadowy figure concealed in a inky black robe. It began to ask the human male about the capabilities of the rest of the group. Roxy's hair leaked orange from her scalp and she narrowed her eyes at the figure.

 

Roxy settled on she based on the sound of the voice drifting from the impenetrable darkness of her hood. She was defiantly very reaper-y and Roxy dug it. Something about her was familiar, like she had met this woman before. She did know that this was not a person you wanted to piss off.

 

That sense of authority was not enough to keep her her annoyance to grow. She hated being spoken about in the third person while she was present. Roxy couldn't fault her though, she carried herself like Roxy did. This being was powerful and was confident she could take on anything.

 

Roxy kept silent about her combat capabilities. Years of being trained by to Consolium on Phang had taught her how to use her newly forming powers. After that, The Seer taught her how to use her powers in the way she was meant to on the planet Yimr before it collapsed in on itself. Years and years after that she was on her own, wandering the cosmos and helping planets and their inhabitants the best she could. Yeah, Roxy considered herself a good fighter. What she lacked in form and grace she made up for in raw power. Roxy just hoped that none of these people learned that the hard way. She didn't want to hurt anyone, even if they start it.

 

As the hooded figure and the guy dressed the the main character in a cartoon continued to speak of demons and weapons, Roxy's hair began to settle on a gold after her hair strobe multicolored as she thought. If had finally hit her.

 

"I thought I recognized you." she spoke up, her arms crossed and her eyes peered into the darkness of her hood,

"You were there on that day in the Weorbit System" She accused, "When Amir and Roll fell out of orbit and collided"[/color]

 

Roxy's hair began to bleed into a rust color as she spoke, "three hundred and thirty three trillion people died and millions more beings on those planets perished."she fell silent, the moments before the impact running through her head, "I tried to stop it. Something dampened my powers and I coulnd't get a grip"

 

Roxy dropped her eyes, her hair betraying the sadness she felt. She didn't mean to get emotional, this robed woman was bringing back some bad memories. The worse was the most people she had ever witnessed die

Edited by padfoot

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The Hound felt comforted by the humanoid's praise; at least he was friendly.

" Yes. He confirmed the human's query. " All G models are..." He trailed off, trying to remember the rest of the message. Not even his preprogrammed messages were intact? " We are male for psychological purposes." He finished, dissatisfied with the ambiguity he had to give.

He obediently waited for the humanoid to finish assessing his damages, then begin patchwork. He was certainly tech-savvy, even giving a pain warning first, which the Hound was grateful for. The power around the wounds couldn't be cut, but he was at least patient about it, finding the soldering to be soothing. Once he felt some of the final wiring slide into place, he turned his eyes gratefully up at the humanoid.

" Thank you. I am in debt." He said. The humanoid seemed happy enough with the repairs, and the Hound promptly began to forge new connections in his mind. Everything seemed compatible enough! He finally was able to recall a few things, and additionally revived a fragment of a memory: a dark camp, a kind face, something alien... somehow friendly? Then an orange symbol. Was it important too? The memory was so badly affected by static he couldn't grasp what any of it meant... Perhaps it wasn't important. It was certainly a lower priority than finding his Master.

 

Master... The Hound debated for a moment about asking the humanoid where his Master was, except there was no reason for him to know. That would be a silly question. Still though, with data flowing cleanly through the new circuitry, the Hound's head felt very... empty. So much was lost... but he could at least defragment what was already there.

" I am going to try something." He said, mimicking the humanoid's previous courtesy. While still sitting there, the Hound went back into his mind and pulled up the restart codes, then began defragmentation; by default he was supposed to prune out corrupted data as well, but he kept it on the off-chance that it might be useful later.

Unfortunately, the process took up the Hound's focus, making him stiffen up like a statue and become completely oblivious to everything.

Defragmentation at 10%... 25%... 45%... 60%... It began to slow considerably. 70%... 75%... 76%...

Something suddenly rolled straight toward the Hound, making him jump back into reality and - quite literally - onto his feet!

" Trophy!" The blue humanoid's voice. The Hound stopped defragmenting his memories and backed away from the foreign object, emitting a confused whine as the humanoid retrieved it. Trophy? That doesn't look like a trophy. That appears to be a head! The Hound cocked his head as the humanoid began bickering with his companion about the object. Why is the head important to them? He looked past the humanoid and noticed a giant lumbering shape aggressively swiping at the air.

A BEAST?! Where did it come from?!

 

The Hound didn't know what the beast was or where it came from, but it looked unlike anything he had ever seen before! The fact that it swiped haphazardly at the humanoids while they kept their distance, clearly considering it hostile, made the Hound further conclude that it was a threat to them and himself. The thought of them getting hurt when they had just helped him was not something he would put up with; he owed them!

The machine jumped into action, strafing so he faced the headless monstrosity and the path was clear of others. With his new circuitry he now recognized the assuring weight on his back; he would use it.

Locking on! The command rang out in his head. His target paid him no attention, first attacking another large shape in the fog; the Hound disregarded it. FIRE!

An intense heat exploded from behind the Hound as fiery red spires flew toward the beast. They struck it true, shards of the beast's hide - or what could be called hide - shattering outward, some of them melting on contact. However, the missiles only seemed to anger the monster. It turned to face him, rearing up on its hind legs. The Hound backed up in anticipation of a direct attack, but instead the creature roared, the glowing circles on its body exploding outward.

JUMP! The Hound's immediate response. He kicked off the glowing tile floor, just in time to avoid the brunt of the shockwave; however, he still felt an invisible impact as the purple wave flung itself past him.

Agh! It felt like his new circuits were exploding in his brain! No! He just had these repairs!

The Hound landed awkwardly, his forepaws sliding out from under him and smashing his head into the ground. He whined and picked himself up, letting the pain come to him... Good, nothing was permanently damaged. He'll be fine.

 

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

 

The Pouncer Drone was less lucky than its rival on the other side of the arena. It had heard the growl of the large creature it bumbled into, yet maintained its hologram, deceiving itself more than those around it. For a moment it felt its position was secure; then an immense rumble manifested beside it.

It foolishly stayed put, freezing in place. The beast that appeared a short ways away was unfathomable to the little machine, but as far as its primitive programming was concerned, it wasn't a threat until it was attacked. The large, scaly creature it ran into thought otherwise though: it could feel the heavy impact of its footsteps as it flanked the beast, then swung its tail hard into its side. Through the mist the drone could see other figures attacking the monstrosity, yet still it felt no danger; not even when fire exploded from the beast's other side and prompted it to counterattack.

It numbly stayed put, still expecting a signal from the N.E.S.T. Then the beast roared.

 

The drone was suddenly slammed with an intense force, making it stumble and drop its hologram. The force kept pushing it, and it let out a frightened chirp.

DANGER! DANGER! Its mind panicked as it was rolled away, flailing, almost comically. It suffered no severe damages, but was traumatized regardless. Where were its orders when it needed them?! Its friends?!

The drone finally came to a dizzying stop, and it lay there for a while, completely disoriented. It wasn't sure what just happened... but it didn't like it.

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((Quick Grip post before I move the rest along))

 

"Ah, uh, yes," Grip stammered. Guess this Shinigami wasn't too familiar with Demon Weapons. It was a mistake to assume that anyone in this realm knew anything he was talking about. "I'm a weapon shifter. I can take the form of a scythe and collect corrupt souls."

 

While he was explaining, the cool-looking woman with the planet and the mohawk seemed to stare at the reaper intently, until finally a gold color spread through her hair like the physical manifestation of an exclamation mark. From her words it sounded like she was well-traveled for an alien, even though the names and numbers went way over his head. Such a large scale of the universe was incomprehensible to him, as someone who had only really experienced Earth.

 

Grip let out a long, breathy sigh, slouching over and letting his arms hang in defeat. Seemed like rainbow punk knew everybody here. Or at least, way more people than he did.

 

"Sorry to interrupt your long time friend reunion but," with his palm he tapped the hallway wall with urgency -- and coincidentally at that moment a roar rumbled through the stones and shook free some rubble -- "We should probably start walking before whatever that was manages to find us." Showing his pointed teeth in a nervous grin, he motioned with his chin the path further into the mist.

 

 

~~~

 

Nomad

 

As the Nomad ascended the stairs, the mist began to thin and afford them some clarity of mind. The walls had fallen away once the Nomad reached the top, allowing them to peer down to the maze of floors below with nothing to stop their fall. Looking up, there were many more similarly floating floors above. A purple light at the very top cast the shapes in silhouette, hinting to a larger dungeon than what might first have appeared.

 

Near the center of the wall-less room was a figure lying in a heap, face down and tangled within its dark green cape. Upon approach, it had a golden breastplate and a gloved hand had fingers curled around an iron sword -- and most startling of all, the shiny green skin of a frog. Its globe-like eyes were shut, but it still showed signs of labored breathing.

Edited by TehUltimateMage

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((Sorry 'bout the wait. ))

 

 

Jess looked to see if there was a source of the image, and eventually she spotted the outline of something...something she couldn't recognize. Something that seemed to jump straight out of a futuristic movie, or some sort of Transformers crap. Kyle yelled and jumped away from it, only for it to briefly vanish in the fog. The dragon growled at something, but Kyle wasn't there to see what. He broke into a run, aiming to get away from whatever ran towards the dragon. "KYLE!" Jess barked, bolting after him. "Kyle, wait up! Where are you running to, anyway?!"

 

"Away from whatever's over there!" He called back. Jess rolled her eyes, but kept running; damn, he was fast. Compared to her, anyway. She panted, but kept going. She caught up to him and grabbed him by the arm, stopping him in his tracks and nearly knocking the two of them over. "Ack! You're kidding, right?"

 

"What's there to kid about? You can't be scared of everything, Kyle."

 

"Somebody has to take caution! If it's not you, it's me!" He snapped back. Before Jess could yell any more, however, everything suddenly went...dark. Jess jumped in surprise, and Kyle shouted. The two could barely make out each other's faces in the dark. "F**k!" He reached out and touched his friend's face. "Oh good, you're still there." Some other people came along, but Obsi didn't bother talking to them. She let the other gem do the interacting, and instead stayed still. Looking around, she tried to see if there was any sort of clue as to where an exit could be. The fog didn't help anything, and there didn't seem to be anything in this particular hall that she could escape with. Damn.

 

 

"Why...why would I not be?" She asked, raising a brow. Suddenly, a bright flash caught their attention, and they turned to see...letters? The words weren't in any language he knew, but somehow, he could understand it. It flowed through as naturally as English did. "Servant of Memory." Jess read out loud, in a skeptical voice. "Kyle, you sure nobody could've slipped acid into our food?"

 

"I couldn't tell you. But if we're both on acid, why are we seeing the same thing?" He moaned, suddenly scared. Jess couldn't remember anything, which was bad; she had trouble with small things like a homework assignment, but she picked up names and identities perfectly. The fact that she couldn't remember anybody from Terrible Squad was bad. He rubbed his head...and felt a wave of moist, sickly heat wash over him. "Bleugh, what was that?" He grumbled, turned around...and saw a set of gleaming teeth in front of them. Some sort of monster rose to its hind legs, tripling the height of a human. "Jess, RUN!" Kyle yelled, turning on his toes and heading back. However, the monster had other plans. It slammed its paw on the tile, sending a shockwave. Jess dove to the ground, striking her shoulder on the tile. She looked up to see Kyle flung back, screaming as he flew.

 

"Kyle!" She yelped, gripping her shoulder. Ow ow, landed a bit too hard. She got up, slowly backing away from the monster. "N-nice monster, good monster..."

 

---

 

Obsi listened to the gem, utterly confused as in a split second, she went from held at arrowpoint to hugged. Obsi squeaked a little when the glowly girl wrapped her arms around her, blubbering about once being friends or whatever. I can't remember jack squat, but I have a feeling that's not true at all. Then again, she might know more than me, so maybe I should take her word for it? "Uhm, sure. We might've been." She tried smiling, but it felt awkward. She really is a cutie...but I have to focus on getting out of here, and oggling her isn't getting me anywhere.

 

The yellow-haired dude spoke, just as a rumble shook the hallway. "We probably should." Obsidian agreed. "Sorry lassie, we can hug later." She smiled coolly at the other gem.

 

---

 

Eventually, Kyle landed, rolling on the dark tile before slowing to a stop. He moaned a little and laid there -for how long he didn't know- trying to collect himself. It was so dark...it would probably be cold if not for his jacket...what was the type of jacket? He couldn't remember. Frankly, he couldn't remember who he was. He felt he should have an identity, but no sort of thing came to his mind. He had a...name, right? A name was something someone called you, he could remember that. Only blurred memories of who he was came back to him. There was one word though, one word that seemed to ring to him...'Baritone'. He heard it loud and clear, so it must be something important. Maybe that's my name. That's a start. Running a hand through his hair, he slowly stood up and looked around. Nothing could be seen through the fog...wait! There was some sort of pink glow in one direction. Light was good. Following the light would be best. He made his way towards the pink thing.

 

The pink glow grew brighter and brighter, until at last it was clear. It was through some sort of hole. The fog was much thinner in here, but still prominent. But he could see. "Baritone" stepped through the hole, to see the source of the light. A bright pink circle, maybe about as wide as his arms outstretched. The moment he set his eyes on it, they were locked there. It was quite possibly the most beautiful thing he ever saw. It enticed him, stuck him in a trance. Whoever else was in that room, he didn't care about them, for they were not as stunning as this circle. I have to...I have to touch it. "Baritone" walked towards the circle, reaching out his hand...his hand went through the circle and onto the tile below, but pink smoke poofed around him...

Edited by Esko_the_Wolf

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