Posted October 23, 2019 Vyre landed on a strip of beach, far away from the chaotic colors of what looked like the main city of the island. He frowned, kicking at the ‘sand’ on the ground. Didn’t feel much like sand. He looked around himself, sizing up the place. It didn’t look like anyone was here so far. There was an unusually large group of trees up the coast, and ocean behind him. He was wary of confronting any people, unsure of how they’d react to him. Still, maybe he should have landed closer to a city. Vyre shook his head with a scowl. He’d figure it out. He could do this. It probably would be a good idea to arm himself, though...just in case. He took ten heartbeats to summon his Honorblade and headed up the coast. The four of them stood in tense silence as Renarin mentally cataloged what in the world had just happened. The metal not-thunderclast had some kind of intelligence, was able to speak and communicate, and--bizarrely--seemed to be more afraid of him and the other man than he was of it. Then there was the transforming sword. Renarin had had the briefest thought of jumping forwards and wielding it when it landed, but suddenly it had transformed into him--a wary, pale-skinned, blond man who was now in a fighting stance that reminded Renarin of an ardent’s hand-to-hand combat style. And finally, there was the man Renarin had healed, up and moving and looking like he was about to make a break for it at any second. Honestly, Renarin didn’t blame him. They might be standing here forever--none of them wanted to risk provoking the others. Might have stood there forever, that is, if the other power his bond with Glys granted him hadn’t kicked in. As Renarin stared at the others, panels of glass started to form in his vision. They unfolded from each other, changing color and shape, forming a stained glass panorama that half-blocked his view of the others. Storms, not now! Wait! It will help, it will help! Oh, Renarin really hoped Glys was right about that. The glass...showed a small room. Maps and odd, glowing windows covered the walls, showing a mish-mash of unfamiliar locations and scribbled words that Renarin could make no sense of. Someone in a dark cloak, hood pulled over their face, sat hunched over one of the windows, delicate hands resting on some kind of board with upraised buttons. Renarin’s gaze trailed left. The next panel-scene was a mix of people and creatures standing under crumbling ruins. There was green grass at their feet and odd blob creatures in the background--it looked like it was somewhere close to where they were now. He saw himself and the other three, a large green creature, a scattering of humans; mostly pale-skinned; a tiny horse, and a bipedal furred creature quickly replaced by another human. They all looked tense, but not about to attack. So we’re going to come together…? The glass started to fold together, the vision drawing to a close. Before it ended, the scene changed again, showcasing a small, plain hut. Renarin couldn’t see much of it before the vision dissolved entirely. ...Well, that had been something. He glanced around again. Everyone was just as tense as before, nobody was staring at him, and they didn’t look anywhere close to breaking the standoff. It came down to him, apparently. Renarin sighed internally. At least he could heal. He stepped forwards, hands up in the universal sign of surrender. Storms, what to say…? “Hello. Uh.” Great start, me. “Clearly we’re all...tense. I...none of us are from here, right? We’re all confused and don’t know what’s going on. So let’s...let’s just agree that we won’t hurt each other and see if we can figure out what’s happening.” Please let this work. Share this post Link to post
Posted October 24, 2019 (edited) [K - Sector 2 - Avalar] Neither of their attacks hit. If Kouji were in human form, he would feel his temple throbbing by now. He glares at this hunk of metal, who starts bragging about how he's going to "tear them to shreds", which in any other situation would scare him. But he's pissed off. He's not going to let fear get in the way of this fight, not when multiple lives are at stake here. Those blades are deadly. The robot flings a blade at Naomi, but to Kouji's relief it whizzes by and lands into the stream with a ker-plunk. Then it flings another one at him, which he parries with a sword. The blade falls to the ground. "You really thought that'd work, huh," Kouji sneers. He's more than angry at this point. At least in digimon form he has the luck of turning back into a human if he's seriously injured. But if Naomi or Biyomon were to be hurt... No. He doesn't even have the means to provide first aid, nor is he properly trained. If the three of them can work together on this, maybe they have a chance to take this guy head on. While he thinks of a plan, he holds up his left wrist and peers into the lens on the weapon that comes out. Gathering energy into that wrist, he takes aim. "Howling laser!" The bullet of light flies true, sailing through the air and hitting the walking statue square in the chest. He grins. Bullseye. [U - Sector 1 - East Midsection] "Hello. Uh. Clearly we’re all...tense. I...none of us are from here, right? We’re all confused and don’t know what’s going on. So let’s...let’s just agree that we won’t hurt each other and see if we can figure out what’s happening.” The man who healed Utakata breaks the silence. He turns to face him, noting again how odd his two-colored hair is. But he refuses to say anything about it. He does, to his dismay, seem to relax a little. What the hell is his body doing relaxing like this? He should be ready to bolt at a moment's notice! What if nobody here is interested in making peace, what if someone attacks him? He needs to be ready! His body really betrayed him, didn't it. Utakata sighs. Anything to keep his attention from the giant walking statue or the angry sword man. He takes a moment to think of what he'd even say. A thank you would suffice, this man just healed his wounds. "...Alright," he says. I'm in no condition to fight anyway, I don't think my chakra is quite restored yet. "I suppose we should keep our weapons down. ...Er... Thank you, by the way, for healing me. I owe you one." Then he turns to face the other two, who don't seem all that convinced. Utakata is doubtful himself, but he knows better than to bite the hand that feeds him. He puts the tube of bubble fluid and the pipe in the belt under his kimono. "He's right, as far as I'm concerned this land isn't all that familiar. It'd be best for us to work as a group for now. Anyone okay with that? We don't have to like it, we just need to survive until we can figure out what the actual hell is going on." [R - Sector 1 -North Midsection] Riza expected neither the strange shaped dragon nor the oddly colored unicorn. Things she had only heard of in myths, she wonders how these things can exist. Yet she keeps her questioning to herself- after all, questions are rather unnecessary at this time. Instead, she looks at the unicorn with concern- it seems very frightened. Riza wishes she had a little treat or something for it, but alas she doesn't. She approaches, carefully, and kneels down. "Hi there... Are you alright?" Edited October 25, 2019 by Mikasa361 Share this post Link to post
Posted October 25, 2019 Neea Neea heard something akin to a blade whistle past her after she withdrew from the edge. She barely had time to process the sound before programming forced her to drop onto her belly, not taking the chance that it was coming for her. All she could think when she abruptly found herself prone was, A weapon? An attacker?! The whistling thing hit the ground with a solid thunk. It was followed by a tense silence, then some scuttling beneath her. The fact that it didn't whip by again made her wonder if it had been a bullet and someone was shooting at her, but oddly enough, it didn't come from the people she was near. It had come from the sky! The mech looked up really quick to see if she could spot something up in the clouds - maybe one of those giant shzyke-looking things? - but saw nothing. Maybe the one giant, flying creature she saw was the only one? One giant shzyke is enough for me, she thought, though there must be more... I'll worry about that later. Neea circulated a bit more air, slowly to try and calm herself. You're armed. You can talk to those people. Stop being a wuss and just do it! Despite her little self-pep-talk, the Sniper model still hesitated to combat-crawl to the edge again, still frightened by whatever unknown capabilities the fluff-headed people had, and whether there was a shooter waiting to get a good shot at her. The two stressed-out threads ran parallel with each inch she crawled forward; the inside of the mech's mind was starting to feel unbearable. No sudden movements, no sudden movements, no sudden movements... She pulled herself to the edge and peeked over. She didn't see a blade or a bullet hole, but there was a third addition to the tense group, nearly identical in likeness except its fluff was yellow, and its clothes were as pale as its face. It, too, glanced up and noticed her. She just froze, even while the thread concerned about the possibility of her being sighted in by a scope started to panic. Finally, one of the strange people - the one with yellow and brown hair - started making noise. Not frightened noises, or animal noises; this was clearly rhythmic and intentional. It sounded vaguely like speech, but it definitely wasn't Xinschi. She didn't have a clue what this thing was saying! It was speaking so slowly and yet so quickly all at once. Juss... tugree... haa... haa-puh? Neeng? While she tried to figure it out, one of the other beings definitely understood, and started talking back, in the same language! Fum-fumeelar, it-dih... it-dih, okay, uh... for... srr...vaiv? She tried to focus on the behavior of the people below her, to figure out what they were saying, to determine who knew who just as she was taught, but the panicking thread wouldn't wait forever. Bullets don't wait! One shot and she was gone! A second could be the shot! This second could be the shot! Or this one! Or this one! Scree-scra-scra-scra-FWUMP! Neea suddenly went into a scramble and threw herself off the edge like a hot iron impaled her! She fell in an undignified heap in front of the strange people before rolling over and flattening herself against the wall, looking up and expecting to hear a shot......... None came. She slumped down, pink eye wide in distress, feeling ridiculous and still scared, not fully understanding what was going on; and what was even better is now she put herself between all three aliens. Great job getting yourself surrounded! her combative side snapped; not that it had much influence over her. She looked nervously at each being, not knowing what would happen next and keeping her arms pointed at the ground. Her main rifle she couldn't help... Oh Gryn, unless I hit the one- she suddenly realized, but the thought ended with a little relief when she looked to the left and saw it wasn't injured. She shriveled up uncomfortably, her voice coming out tiny and weak from her speaker: "Uh... uh... shzik?" Why should I bother apologizing to them... ---------- Ionhazard The sensors registered clean, moist air. The temperature had changed. The smog and dust he had settled in was gone. Yet, the subconscious did nothing more than record the oddity and resume its sleep. Lick. What's this? Moisture? The sensors didn't mind. Could have been anything. Again, it was recorded, then the computer ignored it. “Hello!?... Are you a dragon!?” That shook the computer up. That voice was distinct: human! The low thrum of the machine's engine abruptly kicked up a gear, then the next, then the next, up until it hit full load, priming itself as complex layers of software were shaken from sleep mode. The engine coughed for a second before thrusting full plumes of thick, noxious smoke from the exhaust vents, expelling a few embers with it. The machine's eyes lit up a brilliant orange - one on its serpentine face, and one on two tails each - the engine reset back to first gear, and suddenly the machine found electricity reaching throughout his form. It had been a long nap. He anticipated that. He didn't anticipate the flood of colors and light in his cameras. He snarled and blinked, shying away for a second before looking back to glare at the landscape. "What the hell?" he muttered. It was an island! Well, maybe. It was definitely a small spit of land, stretching out into the ocean. Mountains came in on either side of him, blocking much of his view, but he could still distinguish the vibrant greenery, blue sky, and the grey ruins of something. It looked like buildings, but they certainly weren't the buildings he had collapsed in. He didn't have a good line of sight to the ocean, but the advanced atmospheric sensors told him all he needed to know about the place: long story short, it wasn't where he stopped. That meant something moved him. The first thing the machine did was look around at his level. Mountains to the left, mountains to the right, the stretch of land up ahead, and behind him - without needing to turn around - he saw the happy greenery stretch out farther, past another bottleneck in the mountains which turned just enough to be inconvenient to him. So, if he was on an island, he at least wasn't at the end of it. More somewhere in the middle. Then the machine looked down, searching for the face to the voice that woke him up in the first place. There was something small and blue by his left claw. He bent over for a closer look, ignoring the terrible scraping sound as his back plates creaked from the motion, showering sand down from their joints. Well... this is new. The humans must have made corpotransation public, he thought, staring at the tiny person, though granted, all things were tiny to him. It was a she, with somewhat darker skin, vibrant blue hair, and canine ears and a tail to match. What he normally dismissed as a cosplay was clearly real as the ears were twitching and the tail wrapped around his claw, evidently not made of pipe cleaner. What was really odd is that she didn't look the least bit afraid, hugging him like a lost teddy bear. A fifty-five foot tall, metal teddy bear. Ionhazard tilted his head at it, optical mechanisms clicking as he studied the girl. She was definitely human. No human was this comfortable around him, the iconic killing machine, Executioner, commander of... wait, were the other Commanders here? He zoned out for a second, noting with dull interest that he was alone. No other pings entered his mind. Hmph. The rest of the Commanders must still be asleep, and if Archivist is out of orbit, it'll take a few hours for him to circle back around, he figured. He looked back at the girl, still staring at him and trying to be all cutesy. He recalled Mother Machine saying there was still a small support group back on Earth, but he didn't believe it was real. What sane human would ally with him? Then again, what sane human would pilot a manufactured furry body? Where the hell was he, anyway? Ionhazard removed his claw from the girl, though not with intention to harm since she might actually be one of the crazies who identified as a machine and helped with the war; he could give those people an ounce of respect for ratting out so many military bases for him. "Who are you, he asked rudely, the rough voice echoing off the valley walls, "and where is this?" Share this post Link to post
Posted October 28, 2019 ~~~~ Zephyr ~~~~ It didn't take much for the dragon to keep pace with Noelle as she walked, the dragon was big enough to keep close to her. It was a big help to both of them that the messenger had wind mana coursing through her and the dragon was a wind mana dragon. Of course he wouldn't be able to lift a claw to help battle until the human summoned him to help out with fighting. Zephyr had to agree with Noelle as she mentioned that it seemed troubling. They didn't have any allies here and the birdish dragon sort of missed the fellow dragons of the Dragon Roost. "I don't think this one is dangerous," he muttered to Noelle as the man they were approaching, finally able to shake the potless slime. However, when the man finally took notice of him, Zephyr was taken really aback, not expecting the man to suddenly freak out on them. Had he never seen a dragon before? The guy talked funny and the dragon tilted his head in high confusion as the human accused them of bringing him here… to wherever here was and Noelle was trying to talk, looking up at him for help. What exactly was a stand? Was that like a kingdom? Humans and their silly names sometimes! "Why would you say we brought you here?" he asked, seeing the messenger girl take out a piece of paper to start writing, hearing her . "We aren't from this world either. I'm sure my friend here can explain further than I can if you allow her to finish writing." ~~~~ Mystical ~~~~ The humans were talking about something, the Galarian Ponyta noticed, but it was something Mystical wasn't going to get involved in as she already came in the middle of it and she was already on her way elsewhere. But oops, it seemed that one of them was unaware of her presence and the unicorn paused, looking over at the one who almost tripped over her. 'Please be careful of where you step,' she urged gently, looking around to see one staring at her in somewhat disbelief while the third human was kneeling down to see if she was alright. 'I'm fine, I'm really sturdy for my size.' She just wasn't expecting one of the humans to almost walk all over her. However, the unicorn made a happy neighing sound, main and tail glowing for a second as she was called cute- something that she loved to be called before the glowing stopped. Share this post Link to post
Posted October 28, 2019 Seto Kaiba <Status: Stable> <Active Monster(s): Assault Wyvern> <Location: Sector 1, North Midsection> <People: Hibiki | Riza | Mystical> Hibiki Tachibana <Status: Stable> <Gungnir Symphogear: Inactive> <Location: Sector 1, North Midsection> <People: Kaiba | Riza | Mystical> ~~ Hibiki beamed at seeing the unicorn so happy (and at hearing that it was okay after she'd almost tripped on it). Still, she hadn't expected it to be so small... so it was no surprise to Kaiba when she turned to him. "Can we bring it with us, Kaiba-san? Can we, can we, can we?" "Okay, fine, the unicorn can come, too. Just make sure it doesn't get in the way and doesn't get hurt - I don't need the guilt of a wounded unicorn on my conscience." Or worse, a dead one, he added in his thoughts, especially not by my hand. Of course Kaiba had noticed the mane and tail glowing when the unicorn had reacted happily to Hibiki calling it cute, but he didn't bring it up; he didn't find it important. "If either you or Hawkeye forgot, we're headed east." "Yeah - I remember, Kaiba-san." Hibiki smiled. "...I wonder if the unicorn has a name. We can't just keep calling it 'the unicorn' all the time, can we?" "I mean, I can. But I can see how that can get tiring for you, Tachibana." Kaiba once again turned toward the east, motioning for Assault Wyvern to follow. "Are you two coming?" "O-Oh, yeah! Wait up, Kaiba-san!" Looks like they had one more coming. Kaiba hoped this unicorn didn't get in the way of him or his dragon. Share this post Link to post
Posted October 29, 2019 [ Sector: One] [ Location: Midsection - In Pond] [ Nearby People: Noelle, Zephyr ] The stranger’s bewilderment caught Doppio off guard. “What do you mean ‘what’s a stand’?” Doppio asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “You’re trying to trick me. You obviously have one standing next to you!” Despite his accusation, Doppio felt himself deflate. His finger that was once staunchly pointed droop downwards and his shoulders slumped. The girl’s confusion appeared genuine. Even if she was an enemy it didn’t make sense to very obviously have her stand right next to her and then claim she had no idea what a stand was. Doppio frowned. Idly, he raised a hand and pushed back his damp hair. Maybe she was a natural born user who hadn’t encountered other stands before so she didn’t understand the correct terminology? It was hard to imagine someone being born with a stand and yet never encountering another stand user until they were… what? Doppio squinted his eyes intently at the girl as she began rummaging through her bag. How old was she? Her outfit was foreign, befitting more of an older European style, but her face was young. She appeared to be Doppio’s age which only confounded him further. Stand users were practically attracted to one another; it was nearly impossible to be near or in your 20’s and never have encountered a stand user before! So why was she claiming to—she was pulling something out of her bag. Doppio let out a loud eep! and leaped backwards, preciously balancing himself on one leg as he held up both of his hands. In his effort to make sense of the situation, he had completely forgotten she was a stand user whose ability he didn’t understand. For all he knew, her ability was tied to her satchel and she was about to attack or do something far worse. Her stand moved closer to the pool. Doppio felt himself shiver underneath its unwavering green stare. It spoke in a masculine tone, pleading for Doppio to wait until the girl had finished what she was doing. What? Doppio blinked and stared at the stand with a mystified expression. Stands usually shared a voice with their user, but the stand had a distinct voice. What was going on? Was the bird not the girl’s stand? Was there a second stand user somewhere nearby? Doppio lowered his foot back down and his hands followed. “W-What do you mean?” Doppio asked. He tried to sound intimidating, but his voice cracked giving way to his uncertainty. “There’s no one else here!” Doppio feverishly glanced around hoping to spot where the second user could be hiding. “I’m not stupid!” Doppio ceased checking his surroundings so he could glare at the strangers. “There’s nothing in the world that could drag people to another world besides a stand! Besides, there’s no such thing as a bird that looks like that.” Doppio motioned towards the stand. “You can’t trick me! I know better than that!” Share this post Link to post
Posted October 30, 2019 (edited) ~~~~~~ Vuljak ~~~~~~ Recovering from being blinded for a moment, Vuljak was still able to keep pace with the other two. No amount of light would block out his sniffer, but fortunately his sight was quickly refocusing. Glancing around for a moment as he eyed the surroundings, the Zoroark noticed they were heading away from the most likely more interesting thing. Typical humans... and not human. He had to look almost offended as the wolf human said he smelled funny. "Excuse me, I don't think there's anything wrong with my scent," Vuljak replied, crossing his arms. It wasn't like she smelled any better! Though it appeared she was getting annoyed by whatever that faint sound was. As someone with far higher hearing and smelling than humans, he'd always taken to being cautious with pointing things out and he was right to not do so as the other woman even said the wolf girl had superior hearing. Instead he had to act surprized she could hear such a thing. "Ah I think-" but it was too late, the girl had bolted for the sound and transformed into a wolf. "Well that isn't something you see every day," Vuljak commented as he watched her go. Strange, he'd never seen a human nor pokemon with any move or ability like that- it didn't seem to be an illusion like he was using. Then again, it wasn't like he'd met every species of pokemon out there, so many there was a wolf-like pokemon out there that could turn into a human shape. The world was weird. Glancing back the the remaining lady, the Zoroark hummed. "So you gonna go after her or continue on your way because I'm following the other chick," he stated, turning back to head in the direction the girl ran. He was only walking though, no need to sprint, it was easy enough to follow the noise and that scent trail. "Sure you said it could be dangerous, but its also the only thing of interest around here!" He chuckled slightly. Where there was something of interest, that's really where he wanted to be. ~~~~~~ Noelle ~~~~~~ Caught in this ...odd situation, Noelle was figuring out what to do and how to go about it. Here in front of her was clearly a misguided and confused man and she needed her way to clear the situation. That was harder than it seemed but fortunately Zephry was by her side to help. It was better than being stuck alone for sure. The dragon had made the statement this man was probably harmless. The messenger was inclined to believe that true after what she witnessed, which meant she had to convince him the two of them weren't a threat. As such, Noelle was trying to work out her letter as she scribbled on the paper. Zephyr was kind enough to try and tell the man that, though he still seemed nerous and squeaked when she took the paper out in the first place. She glanced up at him, a look of more concern on her face. What was scaring him so much about her? Or was it Zephyr? Maybe he'd never seen a dragon before, this place seemed to be a far place from the Halidom and the rest of Alberia after all. Looking back down at her paper, Noelle quickly went back to writing and erasing and trying to find the write words. 'Hello there sir, I am a messenger by the name of Noelle and my companion is a dragon named Zephyr. We were last in the Kingdom of Alberia, however just like you we're very confused on where we are now and don't mean any harm. We'd seen you struggling with the potless slime and had come over to help, but I see our help wasn't needed! I'm very unsure of what a 'stand' is, but maybe if you explain it it I'll understand! 😃 I please ask you to calm down for a moment so we can come to an understanding. I'm sure niether of us are to blame about what's going on and maybe we can work together to figure out what happened.' The letter was accompanied by a few doodles of herself, Zephyr and the strange man, names over the two fo them to mark who was who clearly, though '???' over the purple man's head. With it written, Noelle gave a satisfactory nod before glancing up to the purple man again. He was nervous and a voice crack made that clear and searching for someone? Was there anyone else here? Standing more alert as the man exclaimed he wasn't stupid, the messenger shook her head. "We aren't, um... trying to trick you," Noelle mumbled out, checking her letter over again. "O-Ok, um... here!" She said, stepping closer to hold out the letter. "Just... read this and, uh, yeah." The man was giving a glare though, but she wouldn't back down in the face of trouble as she lightly smiled. Edited October 30, 2019 by MiserablePileOfSecrets Share this post Link to post
Posted October 31, 2019 Glail and and her new... friend? Glail stared up at the giant metal creature as it began to move. It pulled its leg away which made her a little upset. Maybe it didn’t like her trying to hug it. “Who are you. Where is this?” It asked her in a rough voice. Glail covered here ears once again as the voice seemed to echo around the walls of the valley. Pouting she called out to him, “I’m Glail! I’m a wolf! Can you be a little quieter please! You’re really loud!” She called out, covering her ears, the hair on her tail standing on end to display her anger. Ionhazard refrained from laughing, although he grinned. So she believes she's a wolf, hm? How cute, and confirming. Normally it wasn't in his interest to play along, but until he had a grasp of where he was and what was going on, he might as well have an ally for a short while; at least, until he grows hungry. "I can't be any quieter, Glail," he answered, "it's physically impossible." Despite him actually telling the truth, the machine attempted to lower his volume. "So, if you're a wolf, can you sniff out where we are?" Keeping her hands on her ears Glail looked around. “Well it doesn’t smell like my home. My home is really dry and sandy, this place is really green and wet. It’s actually pretty nice,” Glail responded looking around. “I don’t know where we are. I met a couple other people but they don’t either... I miss my dad though,” Glail continued, her voice breaking slightly. “Nice”, the machine’s thoughts echoed, the only nice thing about life is the ability to kill it. Watch it shrivel up and die. Damn, filthy lifeforms. Ionhazard snarled to himself, glancing up at the bright, happy greenery around him. He ignored the girl’s growing distress, considering whether it would be wise to explore first before wiping out life here, or if he should get started right away. He did have orders to set up a new base for the facility once awake. Thing is, he had no contact with any of the other Commanders… so technically it didn’t matter when he started. The machine’s previous entertainment from the corpotransation girl’s behavior dissolved into a frown, which honestly, was how he looked most of the time. Perhaps his next best bet was to find these other people the girl mentioned, and see if they were like her; at least, after he first verified that she is what he thought she was. “You… your father… you must be the idealists, correct? Or one of the other factions that have helped us in the past?” He cocked his head at the blue girl. “It’s okay to tell me. I’ve been one of many machines protecting your faction.” Glail tilted her head in confusion. “Ummm I don’t know. I think my dad was a war hero from what my mother told me, though I don’t see her as often. She said that he protected you guys though so maybe you were allies? I don’t know I wasn’t born until after the war ended,” Glail admitted, hanging her head slightly. That was conclusive enough for Ionhazard. Surprising, the idealists have lasted this long, though clearly history has been muddled. I don’t remember humans ever protecting me, but maybe that’s just how they thought of it. Figures, his thoughts scoffed. He looked back at the girl. Lifeforms are frustratingly efficient with survival, and the girl might know where the rest of her faction is. It would be worth it to group up a little following. “Your father fought for a good cause,” he assured her, deciding to play it smart, “though now we must regroup. I need to scout out a new location for the machines; you can help me.” He offered one hand to her, palm up and open. “First, you can show me where these ‘other people’ are. If they are with us, we can recruit them.” Glail looked surprised at the hand and then looked up at him. “Well I only met two people. And I don’t know where they were from they both dressed funny. The girl was nice but the boy smelled funny. I don’t know if they’re who you’re looking for,” Glail said as she leaned in and sniffed the hand before climbing up onto it. Ionhazard stared at her. That wasn’t a direction, but knowing humans, they wouldn’t have traveled far. He didn’t make a comment and brought the girl up to shoulder height, before standing up, forcing the rock piles that had collapsed around him earlier to settle further down the sides of the pass. He disregarded them. Glail held on tightly to the joints in his hand. Wow this was really high up. The area around them shook as the rocks crumbled as he moved. When the hand seemed to stabilise glail raised her arm and pointed back the way she came. “I came from over there,” She said. That’s better! he thought, feeling more satisfied. It was just ahead of him, in a somewhat larger, rounder valley past the mountaintops; if you could call them mountains. They were much smaller than he expected, more like glorified hills. As tempting as it was to bust through the mountainside - if he even could - it wasn’t wise, so instead he picked up his claws and stuck them into the mountain, lifting himself up it. The girl seemed to be holding on fine while he crawled between the brown, barren peaks into the next fertile valley, scattering rock down where he had been. It only took one reckless slide to descend into the valley, gouging the stone with his claws as he braked against gravity before he hit solid, grass-carpeted earth. Not the most graceful descent I’ve ever done, but at least I didn’t destroy anything. Not that it matters once I set up base for the machines… Ionhazard made a mental note to keep a ping out for Archivist the next time the Commander swung around in orbit. Of all the Commanders, he was the one Ionhazard knew was still awake and functioning, even if just barely. On that note, he briefly wondered just how much time had passed for him to be in such a drastically different place than he started in, but figured it wasn’t important; especially after he set his eye on two humans, standing within the valley. Even with his great height, his cameras could pick out their skin color, their heights, their hair and clothing… what struck the machine as odd though was that they didn’t match any nation he knew: one appeared to be a Japanese girl wearing a short dress, who was farthest away, and the other was a… person in a suit, it wasn’t clear if it was a boy or a girl, who was practically at his claws. Judging by the crazy haircut, this person wouldn’t be part of any faction Ionhazard would trust, anyway. He squinted, immediately uncertain of what he was looking at, but these people didn’t remind him of the blue girl he was holding, so chances are they weren’t anyone he should concern himself with... well, unless he needed a snack. Or unless they’re corpotransations as well, he reminded himself, but it still didn’t quite click to him; Why would a human go through the effort of acquiring corpotransation just to turn into another human? It wouldn’t protect it. He thought for a moment if he should just eat the two humans, but waited to see if the blue girl would have something more to say. “Wow, we’re so high up! Also where’s all the smoke coming from is that you?” Glail wondered allowed, gazing out over the green fields. Ionhazard just refrained from letting his amusement show. How charmingly naive. She was more interested in the view than the people below him. He looked expectantly at the closest one, scrutinizing it from afar, before shifting his gaze so he could keep the Japanese girl in his peripheral. “I don’t imagine either of you know where we are?” he rumbled. Share this post Link to post
Posted October 31, 2019 (edited) [R - Sector 1 -North Midsection] Riza looks in the direction of Kaiba and Hibiki, who start heading southeast towards the loud noise they all heard. She looks down at the unicorn again, turns her head back east and stands up. As she starts walking, she says, "Come along" to the unicorn. The noise is almost unbearable, but Riza does what she can to tune it out. Whatever it is, it's definitely moved closer. Moving forward, she takes a moment to process what's going on. She appears to be in an entirely new world. There doesn't seem to be any immediate danger, but she's not going to toss her pistol to the side and say "oh yeah, we're all safe, time to find an island and relax for the rest of our lives!" Had she ever thought that before, she'd kick herself for that. Riza looks around carefully, almost putting a hand to her gun every time she sees one of those colorful slimy things laying around. Those, she realizes, seem genuinely harmless. What about the Colonel? Is he going to be alright without her? What'll happen if something happens to him and she never comes home? No. She wouldn't be able to forgive herself, sure, but Colonel Roy Mustang is a capable man. He has her father's knowledge of flame alchemy, and he hadn't gone as far as he did with her holding his hand. There's no way he'd die that easily. Although he's probably terrified and confused by now. As is she. Edited October 31, 2019 by Mikasa361 Share this post Link to post
Posted November 1, 2019 ~~~~ Zephyr ~~~~ Confused by this odd human who dressed weirdly, Zephyr had to tilt his head in massive confusion as the guy mentioned that he, the dragon, was a stand. Did… the man just call him a human tower? Looking at his left wing, before looking at his right, Zephyr was pleased that he was still a dragon and that somehow he didn't turn into a human thing like the man was obviously claiming. Hopefully Noelle could convey here thoughts much better on a piece of paper than anything. Right now, she scribbled away and the dragon was hoping it was words of encouragement and the like to help further convoy the situation. "I'm not sure why you would think I'm a human tower," Zephyr said, trying to be more approachable with his tone if the human was going to freak out with almost every single thing. Maybe he should back up and let Noelle handle this? He didn't care much for helping humans unless they were praising his name or bound by the pactstone, something he obviously had with the messenger. She was scribbling non stop, stopping every so often to possibly erase words and rewriting them. Thankfully Noelle seemed to be done as she fumbled over her words, claiming that they weren't trying to trick the man before moving closer to hand him the letter. It seemed the man was convinced that Zephyr was a human tower and that they had the power to drag people into other worlds. It made the dragon shrink back slightly in fear and wondered how the hell humans can make things like that. "Ah, I'm still not sure why you think I'm still a human thing," he spoke. "But I am a dragon, which I can be summoned to help from the pactstone Noelle is holding." Common knowledge really, everyone should know the stories and all that by now of them. ~~~~ Mystical ~~~~ It was at this point that Mystical had mixed feelings of the humans, but so far they didn't seem to be harmful towards her as the human who called her cute turned towards the male human and asked if she could come along. Well, it wouldn't be too bad if they managed to end up protecting her against more scarier things that could easily harm her. Like dark types. With the humans starting to walk, along with that weird creature, the one who had been kneeling down, Hawkeye, told her to come along and she figured she didn't have a choice in the matter. 'Very well,' Mystical said as she trotted slightly to catch up before resuming walking normally. Oh, but now the first human, Tachibana, wanted to know her name. 'My name is Mystical, and you're sort of right when I'm a unicorn. My species name is actually Ponyta. However, there's two forms of us. The Kanto Ponyta which has flames instead and the Galarian Ponyta, which I am.' She was hoping that at least one of these people were from her realm, which was the Pokemon Universe. There were many people from different worlds and not just from her own, which is all she wanted to do was to go home. She'll figure it out one day. For now, the Galarian Ponyta was just thankful to have protection that didn't seem to want to harm her. Share this post Link to post
Posted November 1, 2019 (edited) [ Sector: One] [ Location: Midsection - In Pond] [ Nearby People: Noelle, Zephyr ] While the girl continued to scribble on the hopefully harmless paper, the stand craned its head down to get a better look at Doppio. Like any rational person, Doppio took a few steps backs, clenching his hands into fists least the stand attempted to strike him. He wasn’t truly prepared for a fight, not without a weapon or King Crimson with him, but he was less prepared for the stand’s strange accusation. “What?” Doppio asked, brows furrowing. “Human tower? That’s—no!” Doppio shook his head furiously. “That’s not what a stand is! Do you really not understand what I’m saying?” This was getting ridiculous! Doppio sighed, lifting his hand so he could press the bottom of his palm into his forehead. This was either one of the most frustrating cover-ups he had ever seen or the strangers truly had no idea what was going on. How could that even be possible? The bird was obviously just some sort of stand because there was no other possible explanation… was there? The girl quickly finished up whatever she was writing before slowly rising to her feet. Doppio jolted back when she held the paper out for him to take it. He narrowed his eyes, waiting to see what trick she had up her sleeve. The girl did not move; she simply stared at him with a patient smile. Doppio tilted his head ever so slightly, eyebrow raised. He took a cautious step forward. Then another, and another until he was within arm’s length of the stranger. Hesitantly, he extended his hand forward and gently pried the paper out of the girl’s hand. He took a few steps back for good measure, least the girl try to activate her stand’s power, and then glanced down at the paper in his hands. It was a letter of some description. The handwriting was well-practiced with defined lines and gentle loops that made it both legible and aesthetically pleasing to look at it. At the bottom of the page was what one might call crude drawings of Doppio and the two strangers, but Doppio found the drawing to be immensely adorable. Doppio snorted in amusement, feeling some of the tension leave his body. The message was cute, informative, and a tad confusing. She had reiterated that she didn’t know what a stand was, but some of the other information she tacked on along with it. Doppio didn’t know anywhere called the “Kingdom of Alberia” or what a potless slime was. Doppio lowered the letter, giving both Noelle, as she called herself in the letter, and Zephyr an inquisitive look as the latter began rattling off about dragons and pactstones. This was all very sudden. Doppio carded his fingers through his hair, tapping his foot restlessly at the bottom of the pool. Hypothetically, if he hadn’t been attacked by an enemy stand and really was in some other world or place or whatever for a different reason, what would be the most appropriate action to take. Briefly, Doppio thought about what Boss would do, but he dismissed that thought quickly. Boss would have killed the two strangers already and Doppio had neither the means nor orders to do such a thing. Boss wasn’t available to talk to either. Meaning, Doppio had to figure out what his next move was. By himself. “I think you were right about there being some misunderstanding between the three of us,” Doppio began slowly. He had to be careful with his words, but he was terrible at both of those subjects. He was incredibly clumsy and stuttered through important conversations. Doppio raised a first to his lips and cleared his throat. “Where I’m from, nothing like this—” Doppio gestured around vaguely. “—would happen unless a stand was involved. We definitely aren’t from the same place because neither of you know what a stand is and I don’t know what Alberia or pactstones are. None of those words really mean anything to me.” Doppio trailed off, his eyes drifting to the side. He anxiously rubbed the back of his head as he bit his lip. Oh dear, he had been really rude to them, hadn’t he? He didn’t have conclusive proof that this wasn’t an elaborate stand attack, but he was starting to believe that less and less. Boss would come save him if he was really in trouble so he had to be safe, right? From the distance, Doppio could hear the booming noise from earlier grow louder. Normally, he would bolt away from such a terrifying noise, but he couldn't tell if it was getting closer. Besides, he had another problem at hand. “Um! I’m sorry about my behavior earlier,” Doppio said. He shamefully ducked his head down and locked his gaze to the water lapping at his ankles. “I thought you were trying to, uh, y’know. Hurt me. Well!” Doppio’s head sprung back up. He clapped his hands together excitedly. “That’s all over now. My name’s Doppio and I guess the three of us are stuck here together, huh?” With the imminent threat of death gone, Doppio finally took the time to observe his surroundings more closely. “Have either of you two been here for long?” Doppio asked, tapping his chin thoughtfully. “I just got here and I really don’t know where to go from here or what else is around here.” Edited November 1, 2019 by Doctortear added a few sentences about ionhazard existing Share this post Link to post
Posted November 1, 2019 Seto Kaiba <Status: Stable> <Active Monster(s): N/A> <Location: Sector 1 - North Midsection> <People: Hibiki | Riza | Mystical> Hibiki Tachibana <Status: Stable> <Gungnir Symphogear: Inactive> <Location: Sector 1 - North Midsection> <People: Kaiba | Riza | Mystical> ~~ God, the noise was deafening. And the more eastward they traveled, the worse it got. Kaiba almost resorted to covering his ears, but resisted the urge. Still... there was no need for Assault Wyvern to be present, and thus he recalled it back into the card and deactivated the Duel Disk for the time being. As adamant as he was about not making friends, he didn't want to make a bad first impression on anyone else they could possibly meet. Meanwhile, Hibiki occasionally glanced back down at the unicorn. Mystical did seem like a good name now that she thought about it. "Mystical...? That's a good name." "Is that what you're calling the unicorn?" "It's better than 'the unicorn', isn't it?" Kaiba shrugged. "Fair enough. Now if only it could help us figure out where we are..." "Maybe one of your Duel Monsters can do that, Kaiba-san? If Assault Wyvern can fly, then you surely have others that can!" "Look, Tachibana, as much as I don't want to make friends, I don't want to needlessly scare anyone, either. And having a dragon following me is a great way to scare someone on accident. We'll lose more potential allies to bad first impressions than we will to a loss of trust if such a thing happens." "...good point." Hibiki then beamed her smile. "Don't worry, though - where ever we are, we'll find the rest of your cards and a way home! And if you really want to, once you're back home, you can pretend that you never met any of us." Kaiba hoped she was right - he wanted nothing more than to reclaim his cards and go home. God, he missed his other two Blue-Eyes already. If they were as alive as Assault Wyvern... He hoped they were okay without him... ~~ Gaius van Baelsar Legatus of Castrum Multaversum <Status: Stable> <Location: Sector 14 - Castrum Multaversum> ~~ A knock at the door. "Enter." In walked a messenger, decked out in clothing of black and red - the national colors of Garlemald. "Lycus pyr Abito, reporting in, sir!" "Now, let us start with the most important one. The cohort sent to Sector 5?" "A-All dead, sir. Even the Decurio we sent to oversee the castrum's construction didn't survive." "A shame. At any rate, I received a message from the emperor while you were gone. He has forbidden all further contact with Sectors 3, 5, and 10, due to the heavy losses incurred within those sectors by all known forces. Therefore, the venture into the construction of Castrum Infernum has officially been deemed a failure and all further projects regarding it have been terminated. Let the rats in Sector 5 have whatever managed to be built." "O-Of course, my Lord. Anything else?" "Yes. Arrange for a meeting with Shem-Ha. We need to discuss the 'shooting stars' she recently saw." Lycus raised an eyebrow. "...may I ask why, sir?" "They were living beings. While I have no further details at the moment, that they survived such a fall tells me that these are no ordinary men and women. Be sure to relay as much to Shem-Ha." "Of course." The messenger shuddered a little - he hated having to speak with the self-proclaimed goddess, but his Lord's orders were absolute. "You are dismissed. Head to Sector 7 without delay." "At once, my Lord!" Lycus pyr Abito then left the room, leaving his Lord, Legatus Gaius van Baelsar, to ponder the situation alone. The presence of more living beings was concerning... especially if they had been warped in, as the villains had. He had a feeling he would need to prepare his forces to mobilize - he feared that these newcomers were likely heroes. And heroes always meddled in his affairs regardless of whichever world he happened to be in. He rose to go rouse his forces, but then he remembered. He needed to check on something first. Something important. He went down to a laboratory inside the fortress instead. Inside the large room was a dragon with scales of pure white and bright blue eyes, bound in chains and surrounded by more men in black and red uniforms. It roared angrily upon seeing him. One of the men turned and saluted Gaius. "Lord van Baelsar! This is a surprise." "It shouldn't be. How is the progress on this beast going?" "Not well, sir. All attempts to break it thus far have failed. We are beginning to consider the possibility that it may have another master." "Then continue attempting to break it. If it does have a previous master, it must be shown that we are its masters now." "Of course, Lord van Baelsar." The man then turned to the others. "You heard the Legatus! Get back to it, men!" Gaius turned and left, leaving the dragon to be tormented once more. Share this post Link to post
Posted November 3, 2019 (edited) [ Breaking the Standoff ] [ Location: Sector One ] [ Form: Human ] The one in blue held his hands up, palms forward. It was to show that he wasn't holding anything... but one could never be too cautious when magic could be involved. “Hello. Uh. Clearly we’re all...tense. I...none of us are from here, right? We’re all confused and don’t know what’s going on. So let’s...let’s just agree that we won’t hurt each other and see if we can figure out what’s happening.” Even assuming that he was lying, Rude didn't think he had a choice when it came to playing along. He grunted in affirmation and, slowly, lowered his fists in response to the dark-skinned man. If this were a witch's trap, it could be just as likely that others could have been caught in the same way. That was good, if he could confirm that it were true. Perhaps he could search for a new Meister while looking for his brother, because otherwise he would have to only rely on the rings on his knuckles. The Japanese guy chimed in. "I suppose we should keep our weapons down. ...Er... Thank you, by the way, for healing me. I owe you one." He mentioned healing magic? Rude's eyes darted to the first man. The fact that he could use magic was potentially alarming, but healing magic was the most benign, almost beneficial type. "He's right, as far as I'm concerned this land isn't all that familiar," he had said. "It'd be best for us to work as a group for now. Anyone okay with that? We don't have to like it, we just need to survive until we can figure out what the actual hell is going on." Rude simply scoffed. He'd decide later if he was to follow the group. He still had to find Grip, after all. "None of us are holding weapons, unless you're count that pipe of you-- Woah!" The blond man tumbled forward out of reflex before something heavy dropped beside him and even then, he had to dodge the thing's wild movements as it swung its turret around. All of the young man's senses were on high alert, ready for a fight. He didn't think that his fists would do anything against the robot's metal chassis but if he could cut through the joints--- The robot didn't actually make any further attempt to attack them. Instead, it behaved a little liked a frightened animal, letting out a small vocalization, shriveling back with its guns pointed to the ground. Rude raised an eyebrow, blinked a couple times in disbelief, then relaxed his stance. If it were an immediate threat, the bot could have easily ripped them apart in one of several ways. But what was more pressing was the rumbling in the distance, as if rocks were being crushed or forcefully rubbed together, coupled with the sound of several motors. He lifted his chin to try and pinpoint the location but he barely needed to look, given that there was a giant black creature nearly the size of the mountain it had scaled. Thick plumes of smoke rose from its exhaust. Usually, when something let out that much smoke, it was a bad sign... If these people in front of him were so keen on working in a team, it would be best not to dilly-dally. He didn't like to waste words. "That thing looks dangerous. We should move." Edited November 3, 2019 by TehUltimateMage Share this post Link to post
Posted November 4, 2019 Amazingly, Renarin’s awkward attempt at peacemaking does seem like it’s working. The man in the odd robe backs him up after a quick ‘thank you’ for healing him, to which Renarin can only offer an awkward nod and a mumbled “no problem.” The blond man still looks tense, but he’s dropping his fists to his side when the not-thunderclast crashes to the ground in front of them all in a distinctly uncoordinated tumble of limbs and stutters out something that sounds, of all things, scared. Despite himself, Renarin feels a pang of empathy for it. Alien as it is, he can almost recognize the way it cringes back, the way it stutters over its words. He’s seen himself do it often enough in the face of stinging insults and backhanded comments. There’s no time to step forward and offer reassurance, though, because then there’s an unfamiliar roar in the distance. Not rocks--well, not just rocks--but something harsher, louder, that Renarin doesn’t recognize. He slams his hands over his ears to muffle the sound with a flinch, squinting at the ground. The blond man’s mouth is moving. Renarin doesn’t uncover his ears; he’s close enough that he’s able to parse the words. “That thing looks dangerous. We should move.” That thing…? Renarin looks up. Oh. It’s another not-thunderclast, but this one is the size of an actual thunderclast. Damnation, I wish Glys’ Blade form wasn’t blocked! Renarin nods in agreement, glancing around. If anything is familiar from his vision, then…ah. There. He removes one hand to point towards a small group of people-shapes, then winces and puts it back over his ear as a fresh spurt of noise rises from the distant not-thunderclast. “Those look like other people. Maybe we should try to meet up with them?” Share this post Link to post
Posted November 5, 2019 [U - Sector 1 - East Midsection] He grimaces when the blonde makes that snide remark. Jeez, did your mother teach you how to be so rude? But he shrugs it off, thankful that the healer responded in a reasonable way. Of course the loud noises coming from the east aren't quite as assuring. He can't tell what the blonde man said, but the man with two toned hair seemed to. He does catch a few things- "move" and "meet up with them". In that direction, coming from the west, is a small group of three. They're far enough away that he can't get much off of them, but from what he can tell, he sees two brunettes and a blonde. That's it. And they seem to be wearing funny clothes. Yeah, that's useless. Utakata sighs and nods. He tries to yell, "Yeah, I've heard worse ideas. As long as we can get away from whatever the hell that is, I'm good." Share this post Link to post
Posted November 5, 2019 (edited) “Is there any information from the homies?” Katakuri asked. “Yes Sir! It seems to be a brown-haired man. He came falling from the sky and landed on the beach, he hasn’t moved since arriving and appears unarmed,” The Chess Soldier reported. Katakuri leaned forward in his seat, his eyes focused. His haki wasn’t showing him any immediate danger, however… “Straw-hat was unarmed and look what happened. Most of the crew is gone now so we have to be vigilant with any threats. Are any officers available to go investigate, what about the other Sweet Commanders?” Katakuri asked. The soldier saluted and glanced down at a small list of notes. “Commander Cracker is still in the infirmary and Commander Smoothie is seeing to the reinstallation of the mirror system with Brulee and Oven. Here on Whole Cake Island the only officers are yourself and Daifuku,” he concluded. Katakuri leaned back, since half of the family disappeared; including their mother and his eldest brother Perospero, he had been put in charge. While he would like to go and investigate the issue himself, he had to oversee all repairs across the entire archipelago following the disastrous Wedding. “Contact Daifuku. Confirm that the intruder is alone and whether or not he has any abilities, remember, we’re no longer in our world. They may possess abilities beyond the scope of devil fruits,” Katakuri ordered. “Right away Commander Katakuri!” The Soldier barked and began hurrying out of the room. “Wait. If it’s a creature from the nearest sector, instruct Daifuku to be cautions. And if it’s the subordinate of one of those annoyances on the mainland, get them off our island. Dead or alive,” Katakuri added, his gaze menacing. The soldier felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as chills raced through him. “Yes sir!” He replied, rather hastily, and hurried out. Katakuri leaned back in his chair and glanced at the clock. It wasn’t three. He sighed in disappointment and lightly tossed a jellybean in the air, before flicking it forward and the bean embedding itself in the stone wall, leaving a small hole. ---------------------------------------- Daifuku frowned as he trudged his way through the Seducing woods to the beach. “Oooh are you going to attack master Daifuku?” “He’s going to unleash his Djinn!” “Go get him Daifuku!” The cheery voices of the denizens of the seducing woods were really grating on his ears. He snarled, another damn intruder, well this one won’t get away like the straw-hats. The trees moved out of the way for him, a small retinue of chess soldiers was at his side. Daifuku was annoyed that his brother had decided they should accompany him, his brother was being far too cautious. As the report said, he could make out a solitary figure on the beach, from the looks of him, he didn’t look to be related to any of the powers on the mainland. “Hey! Who the hell are you! Talk fast or I’ll take your head!” Daifuku called out from atop the ridge leading down towards the ocean, his hands hovering close to his stomach; ready to attack should the man raise his sword. Edited November 5, 2019 by Marcus Pheonix Share this post Link to post
Posted November 7, 2019 (edited) [ Sector: Two ] [ Location: Burned Lands ] [ Nearby People: N/A ] He had been a terrible friend. Just a few months ago, the entire El Search Party had gathered together and made a vow to one another. They had promised to not only protect the El once they found it, but to also protect and cherish one another as though they were family. Raven had broken his vow. In the distance, he could hear Elsword screaming his name, begging for him to turn around. Raven could hear Lu shouting him down, telling him that they needed to leave while they still could. Raven kept his head trained straight ahead. He didn’t think he would have the willpower to remain if he turned around and saw Elsword desperately trying to reach him while Lu, Ciel, and Ara held him back. The ground underneath Raven’s feet began to rumble as the titanic machine in front of him advanced. There was no hope of defeating it, but Raven could delay it long enough to give the others time to escape. The machine threw its head back and screamed, the room filling with a cacophony of mechanical shrieking. A plume of smoke burst out from the palm of Raven’s Nasod arm. Elsword’s cries were deafened by the machine’s yelling. Raven threw his hand forward as fire exploded out of his arm. “You won’t hurt anyone else on my watch!” he yelled. The machine lowered its head, letting out a low growl. Raven grit his teeth and took a step forward. The ground creaked underneath his feet, but he paid it little head as he sprinted towards the machine in front of him. It reared its head back, it's cold eyes glaring down at him. More flames leaped out of Raven’s arm as he lifted it up, pointing its palm at the titan. He was going to make sure the others were safe. No one else was going to die because of him. Everyone was going to be— Crack! The ground gave way. Raven lost his footing, yelping as he lurched forward. Instinctively, he tried to grab the ledge of the hole that had formed underneath him, but the rock he reached for broke under his grasp. The ground in front of him shattered giving way to the nothingness below. He wildly flung his arms about to reach for something to find purchase upon. He flailed wildly as he began to fall down deeper and deeper. He could scarcely see the machine falling into the ever-growing pit just as the light disappeared and there was nothing but darkness. Then, very suddenly, he could see the sky. He landed hard against the ground, pushing the window out of him. He gasped aloud, coughing as he slowly rolled himself over on his side. The ground beneath him was firm and hard like the rock ground had been fighting on just earlier. He had fell hard onto the ground, but nothing appeared to be broken. Raven groaned, shaking his head as his vision tried to adjust. Was it just him or was the ground… hot? Raven pushed himself onto his knees just as his eyes began to focus. If Raven were religious enough, he might have thought he had just fallen straight to hell. Around him were was ravine of black rocks coated with a thin layer of ash. In the not so far distance was a coursing river of lava that gently oozed over the jagged rocks in its path. The sky above was a stark red and darkened by gray plumes of smoke. Or perhaps those were clouds? Raven shook it head. It didn’t matter. Raven rose to his feet, brushing dust off his pants. He straightened his back and took a cursory glance around. His opponent didn’t appear to be anywhere nearby, but perhaps it landed in a different area of… wherever this was. It didn’t make sense for him to fall through the ground and then land above ground, but that meant one thing. Something, or someone, had teleported him to his current location. The Nasod engineer came to mind, but Raven had no reason to suspect that Add would try to rescue him so it had to be somewhere else. Raven sighed, rubbing the back of his neck with his human hand. It was a good thing he had grown tolerant of such high temperatures, otherwise he’d be in a lot of trouble. First things first: he had to figure out where he was. Turning away from the lava river, Raven turned around and began marching off towards the unknown. Edited November 7, 2019 by Doctortear Share this post Link to post
Posted November 8, 2019 ~~~~~~ Noelle ~~~~~~ In this odd situation, Noelle was still trying her best to keep her composure and get to the bottom of whatever was going on. Words could be hard to speak, but on paper, they were much easier. It wasn't because she was shy in the end, more because she overthought what she often wanted to say. That's why writing was truly easier, because she had the time to think about her words and see them before her. Though now wasn't such a time to think everything out with the purple man freaking out. With Zephyr explaining that they didn't know what a stand was, it only seemed to frustrate the man more. Apparently these stands were commonplace wherever he was from, whatever they were. But she'd done it, the messenger had finished her message and waited patiently for the purple man to grab it. Surey after that Noelle could help him out of the water. Step after step he approached, yet al she did was patiently smile until he finally took the note from her hand. Folding her hands together, Noelle waited and watched as he read it over, hoping what she wrote was reasonable and clear. A glance to he dragon next to her was filled with slight hope this situation would get better before she looked back to the man. There were odd sounds in the area though, a loud booming for one, but she wasn't sure what it could be or if it was a concern. Zephyr was here to help if any trouble arised fortunately. Hearing him finally speak, the messenger lit up slightly and nodded. "We're um... We're both lost, aren't we?" Noelle idly mused. Right, they clearly were from very different places as while stands meant nothing to her, pactstones meant nothing to him. "I'm glad we can clear things up... Um sorry, I'm, um... not the best with words..." she replied to the man- Doppio as he introduced himself -as she fidgited with the strap of her bag. "It's nice to, um, meet you. We've only just... got? here ourselves... I-I still don't knwo where here... well, is..." the messenger murmured before extending a hand to Doppio. "Here- Let me help yo- Ahh!" Having attempted to reach out and help Doppio out of the pool, Noelle had slipped up and promptly tumbled into the pool of water herself- Landing face first in the water.After a moment, she sat up, merely blinking and trying to register what just happened. "...Oops." It seemed she lost her footing and glanced up at the others sheepishly and tried to stand back up. At least she was never one to be bogged down by water easily. Share this post Link to post
Posted November 10, 2019 (edited) DIO BURNING CANYON Moderate Fraction's Leader & VEIGAS TERRE Messenger of Destruction "If you don't behave, I'll sell you to an orphanage," Dio growls at the smaller demon currently in the process of trying to cut off his arm. His demonic arm flared angrily in response, not impressed as Veigas rolls his eyes and flicks his fingers, dissipating the brief dimensional warp that is trying to flay Dio's skin from his body. "She told us to get along," Dio says, annoyance rising in his chest even as he keeps his voice level, "so you better put in some effort." "Fall off a cliff and perish," Veigas replies, inspecting his fingernails. The smaller demon refused to even look at him, instead levitating himself with ease as he sweeps a hand up and destroys a part of the countryside with dark energy, watching the grass grow black with faint interest. For the most part, Dio ignores him, too-used to Veigas' quirks and his inability to handle his urge for murder. What surprises him, however, is when Veigas' energy fails to dissipate after the initial outburst; Dio watches as the black mass heads slowly, but surely, towards a village in the distance. "Veigas," he warns, voice low, and the little demon has the gall to snicker. "What's wrong?" Veigas asks, sing-song -- he crosses his legs, still floating, and tilts his head back smugly. "Something unexpected?" "You wouldn't dare." "Try me." They are caught in a brief stalemate, neither willing to submit to the other's will, before Dio, long-suffering, sighs heavily and lashes out with his arm, summoning a spear from seemingly nowhere to crash straight into Veigas' ball of demonic energy. The spell dissipates with the faint hissing of his magic through the area, and his arm glows a bright blue that warns Veigas against further action. For his part, the smaller demon seems unaffected; Veigas raises an eyebrow and spins his cube around his form, before coming to rest on the tips of his outstretched fingertips. "You anger so easily," he observes, sounding bored, and shakes his head. "It's hardly fun." "Because you give me cause for it," Dio snaps. "I fail to see how," Veigas responds. "Really, Lord Dio, you're acting like a human -- suppose I was to murder your family in front of you; would you cry like the humans do?" Dio growls, a warning note. "Oh," Veigas snickers, a mocking note in his voice, "I forgot, it may take even less than that to make you cry. During your childhood, didn't you used to weep whenever the prisoners were tortured? Don't tell me ... do you feel 'sympathy'?" Crack! Dio's response is lost as his summoned spear suddenly breaks, the noise echoing off the fabric of space itself, and a wave of unknown energy sweeps across the both of them. It blinds him near-instantly, blocking his senses altogether, and a panic he does not feel often fills Dio's lungs as he grasps for something steady in the wave of turmoil, instead finding nothing. Was this another trick? By Veigas, or perhaps an enemy leader -- but what was the difference, really? The chaos lasts for only a second longer before his feet find solid ground; Dio steadies himself near-instantly, wings summoned in the span of a split second to catch himself and break his fall. The ground beneath his feet is firm, hard, real -- and that allows himself to find his thoughts once more. Where -- is he? The land is unfamiliar, although it reminds him of the grand lands of Starkiln, the God of Fire. The very skies above his head were dyed a dark blood-red, lava coursing without pause through the lands, streaking the ground before his feet in sharp lines of blinding yellow and red. What a violent area, and something unexpected -- a curse, or perhaps a trick? But this was no illusion. The air before him feels solid as his wings beat onto a familiar rhythm, and he dissipates them as soon as he finds himself once more. Calm, Dio, he reminds himself -- it would do nothing to panic in an unknown space. Slowly, he finds himself calming down. His fear is almost instantly dissipated when a second later, he turns around to hear an unsuspecting, undignified yelp, and has the absolute pleasure of watching Veigas tumble out from seemingly nowhere, the Magi falling to catch himself as he rolls facefirst onto the dirt. The Magi stops just shy of rolling into the lava entirely, and Dio clicks his tongue -- a real shame. Regardless, the smaller demon has more than a couple questions to answer. He stalks forwards almost immediately, thundering his steps as he does so; the sudden rage he feels at the Magi's cowardly trick makes him lose himself in his thoughts, releasing a bit more demonic power than usual as the air around him begins to vibrate. His arm glows a bright blue, as he grabs Veigas by the collar and lifts him up, the tiny body easily nothing to his magically-enhanced claws. "What did you do?" he demands, shaking the demon once as he holds him over the lava. "Nothing," Veigas says, surprisingly compliant in his grasp. Dio raises an eyebrow, realising immediately that this must be a trick. "Tell me now," he commands, "or I will drop you into this river and hold you in it until your face melts off." "Dearest Lord Dio," Veigas replies, his voice surprisingly soft -- only for the two of them to hear, it seems. "You know best that won't kill me." Then, before Dio can respond to this obvious taunt, Veigas raises his voice, mimicking the cry of a lost child. "Help!" he calls. "Help, he's trying to kill me! Please! I just want my family! Mother! Father!" Dio jerks back, surprised by this sudden slow of weakness, completely taken off guard by Veigas' act, before he realises -- There is a man, standing a little off to the side, currently walking towards them and now standing absolutely still, watching the scene. "He's lying!" Dio calls back. "He doesn't even have a family!" "Because you killed them!" Veigas wails back. "Please, I just want to live!" "Shut up," Dio hisses, waving Veigas around like a ragdoll over the lava. "I was there when you killed your own father," he whispers to the Magi. Veigas winks back, quick, and Dio is suddenly filled with a hatred for all living children. "I am doing the world a service," Dio enunciates clearly, hoping his clear-pronunciation will convince the human of his legitimate cause, "by eradicating you from this world." Veigas says nothing, simply opening his mouth to wail, and Dio shakes him again; he doesn't miss how Veigas changes the atmosphere around his body easily, reducing Dio's shakes to nothing as purposefully shakes his legs around to give the impression of helplessness. "You're crying now?" Dio asks, exasperated. Edited April 29, 2020 by Edelgard Share this post Link to post
Posted November 10, 2019 [ Sector: Two ] [ Location: Burned Lands ] [ Nearby People: Dio, Veigas ] The piercing cry of a child caught Raven’s attention. His head immediately snapped up. What in the Goddess’s name was a child doing in such a horrific place? He scanned the area, desperately searching for the source of the wailing. There! Within eyesight, perhaps only 30 or so feet away, was a man dangling a small child high over a small cliff that gave way to the river of lava. Raven gave a startled gasp before instinct propelled Raven forward. He began sprinting towards the two figures as they began to have a loud back and forth between the two of them. The child was continuing to cry out about the man killing his family while the man denied the everything the child was claiming. Their conversation was odd, at the very least. It wasn’t an exchange Raven normally heard when confronting a killer and their victim, but he had no time to contemplate their words until he reached them. When Raven arrived several feet away from the two, he halted. Steam released from his Nasod arm as he raised it upward, holding it in front of his chest with his claws extended. Heat began emanating from his arm as the cracks within it began to glow dangerously. Raven narrowed his eyes, glancing between the two individuals. Neither of them were humans, that was for sure. Their ears were pointed like that of the dark elves, but their skin was too light and while their skin and facial features would fit a harpy they were of the wrong gender and lacked wings entirely. Thinking about it more clearly, Raven realized the two bore quite a resemblance to Lu, Raven’s demonic companion. Lu had told him that some demons who had their power stolen could revert to a more childlike form which did fit the child’s appearance. The man, to put it bluntly, was handsome enough to be a incubus and his entire appearance fit that of most incubi Raven had encountered. Still, even if they looked like demons that didn’t mean that they were demons nor did it mean that the child was lying about the man killing his family. Raven clenched his fist, eliciting a wave of steam to burst out of his arm. Something wasn’t right here. “What’s going on here?” Raven asked, glancing between the two strangers. Common sense would dictate he take out his sword and slice through man in order to save the child, but Raven’s hand never strayed to his sword’s pommel. His time with the El Search Party had taught him many lessons. He knew from experience that he always had to expect the unexpected. Currently, he had been dragged to a foreign world for reasons he didn’t understand and now he was face to face with two strangers who resembled a species of people that were known for their mischievous nature. As much as Raven’s heart begged him to come to the child’s rescue, he knew he had to assess the situation further least this was all a trap. “I won’t ask a second time,” Raven said, his tone growing darker. Fire spurted out of the center of his Nasod arm. Embers danced about in the palm of his hand. “Who are you and what are you doing?” Share this post Link to post
Posted November 10, 2019 DIO BURNING CANYON Moderate Fraction's Leader & VEIGAS TERRE Messenger of Destruction Now that the newcomer was closer, Dio gets a better look at the other man. He is, bluntly put, a roughened kind of handsome; with long, careless black hair streaking down his back and firm golden eyes, currently narrowed in their general direction. Strangely enough, the man's arm is covered in a kind of black material, and seems to react to his words -- as he addresses them, demanding to know the gist of their current situation, the arm glows a bright ember red and flares with fire. Flame energy? Perhaps they were in Starklin's lair once more. But no, the Gods of Xenia did not employ simple humans to do their bidding, which only begs the one question: is the man human? Human or not, that is a cause for later. Dio is attracted to the other man with a kind of primal energy, suddenly, and it is not unheard of -- demons of his realm were impatient, lustful, and prone to taking whatever they deemed theirs. For the most part, though, he has spent the better part of his life resisting the demonic urges of his clan, and forging his own identity. That, and he would die before showing such a weakness of emotion to Veigas, of all people. Speaking of Veigas, he only shoots the smaller demon a disgusted glare before dropping him from his hold entirely. It is clear the other man is not working with him -- after all, Veigas wasn't one to really put himself in the line of fire of any of his pranks, and to no one's surprise Veigas easily levitates as soon as Dio releases him, crossing his legs and folding his arms in the air as he watches them with the smug expression of a satisfied cat. "Really, Lord Dio," he drawls. "Couldn't keep up the act?" Then, his expression slides over to the other man, the same way one might look at a trapped animal, and Dio recognises his intentions almost immediately. He steps firmly in front of Veigas and the other man, angling himself so Veigas would have to adjust -- and therefore give the other man time to react -- if he wanted to instantly murder the human. "Nothing's happening," he says, firm. "I'm babysitting." He is wary to give the other man either of their names, afraid of being recognised -- the black-haired man doesn't look familiar, but Dio does not know what kind of rumours the humans may spread among themselves. "Kidnapping innocents," Veigas calls over his shoulder. Ignoring him, Dio continues talking. "Do you know where this is? We're ... lost." Share this post Link to post
Posted November 10, 2019 Zagreus Allies: Caspian Status: Uninjured Weapon: Stygius, Blade of the Underworld Location: Sector 1 Panting with exertion, Zagreus dashed to the side to avoid a thrust of the bident, bright blue waves splashing away from where he landed. After a brief pause to reorient he charged in, swinging Stygius in wide slashes. With each swing the power of Zeus burst forth, bright arcs of lightning striking his target. "Your cannot control your brutish strength," Hades growled as Zagreus dashed away with another splash. Hades let his bident spin around him in the air, preparing for another attack. "Not interested in the commentary, Father," Zagreus retorted, trying to reach the shelter of a large rock. He's a bit too late, and a red-green laser leaves a deep burn on his arm. Ugh, this was bad. His father was approaching death, but that hardly mattered when he doubted he'd be able to survive another hit himself. Well, the only way forward was to attack. As soon as the lasers cleared he charged, throwing out the golden disk of Athena's cast to deflect Hades' own cast as he did so. Maybe he could- Too late, he saw his father preparing to spin his bident. Eyes wide, Zagreus tried to dash out of range, but he wasn't fast enough to escape the tip of the bident cutting through his midsection. "No, wait--!" Once again, and almost certainly not for the last time, he finds himself falling, falling, through thick blood. He automatically climbed up and out, shaking the blood from his hair, but from the moment his head rose from the blood he could tell something was wrong. No. something was right. He blinked open his eyes, then involuntarily screwed them back shut, blinded by the light. He could feel a breeze on his skin, and the air smelled fresh and floral. It was nothing like the dank, coppery smell of the House. Against the will of his body he forced his eyes back open, desperate to see. The land was similar to Elysium, filled with strange ruins and bright vegetation, but it was infinitely better. The air was alive, moving around him and cooling his skin, and he could see the sky. The sky, free from clouds! He laughed, releasing some of the sheer joy he felt. He was out. How, he had no idea. Some machination of Chaos? It didn't fit, when Chaos had always offered clear trades. Did it even matter? Distracted by how bright and blue and clear the sky was, he didn't notice another man stumbling into him. He fell to the ground with an oof, flat on his back. The man that had landed on him didn't seem hostile- if anything, he seemed just as confused as Zagreus was. "Erm, hi," he said, making no move to try to get up. The other man was so light and looked almost delicate, with a fine, elegant bone structure, large blue eyes, and carefully braided pink hair. "Nice to meet you. I'm Zagreus." good riddance Share this post Link to post
Posted November 10, 2019 Zagreus Allies: Caspian Status: Uninjured Weapon: Stygius, Blade of the Underworld Location: Sector 1 Zagreus chuckled, quiet, hoping to calm the nervous man - Caspian. It's not a name that he's ever heard before, but that's hardly surprising. He'd talked to and overheard hundreds of shades, but they didn't always offer up their names and were only a small segment of the thousands that crossed through his father's realm. "It's fine," he said. There are multiple strange, blobby creatures around, moving with cheerful hops. Unlike almost everything Zagreus had encountered, they didn't seem hostile. They seemed almost friendly, one rubbing against Caspian. Zagreus had no idea what that meant, but Caspian didn't seem disturbed by it. Curious. He took a moment to card his fingers through the grass, reveling in its lushness before standing as well. "So it seems," he said. Was it rude to land in the blobby things' nest? He didn't want to be a poor guest, after all. "Hello, little… guy?" he said, not entirely sure how to address the blob. He doubted it could understand him anyway, but that had never stopped him before. It made a soft sound at Cas' refusal to accept the rubbing and hopped over to Zagreus instead and started rubbing against his leg. "Er…" He reached down and started scratching behind its ears, lighter than how he'd pet Cerberus. The blob was pretty cute. It started growling softly and Zagreus jerked his hand away, worried that he'd bothered it, but this only caused it to whine and stare up at him with sad eyes. The growling was happy…? He reached down and started petting the slime again, and it resumed its contented growls. How strange and delightful. Abruptly he realized that he'd been ignoring Caspian and he looked up at him, not ceasing petting the growling creature. "Terribly sorry, sir. Please accept this gift," he said, digging into his pockets to find a bottle of shining gold ambrosia and holding it out to Caspian. He gave ambrosia to everyone new he met; seeing someone's face light up at the gift was far better than eating it himself ever was. "And I'm sorry if this is a strange thing to ask, but do you happen to know where we are?" Not the Underworld, certainly, but apart from that he had no idea. His relatives had never mentioned anything like the blobs (admittedly most of them were rather one-track). to all the thieves Share this post Link to post
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