Murder Game XII: Welcome to the Falls

[Khan of the Mardu]

"Murr, murr murr," Aster told Zinnia, explaining to her that the pink individual was telling them his name.

Zinnia raised an eyebrow, skeptical. "Are you sure his nickname isn't just Kirby and he's actually a Jigglypuff?" she questioned, frowning when Aster shook her head. "Very well, my sweetheart, I'd never question your brilliant judgement!" She turned to Kirby and smiled brightly. "Greetings, Kirby the non-pokémon! Tell me, what do you know of this Gravity Falls I have had the pleasure of waking up in?" she asked.

@Nater Taters
​

"I have no blade," Zinnia stated to a nearby fellow. "All I have are my five poké--" The draconid woman glanced to her belt, gasping as she realized all of her possessions were gone. "My pokéballs... my... pokémon! They're gone!" She narrowed her eyes.

But why? Who would want to take them from me? This is... odd.

@The Tactician​

Jack sighed as the woman began to panic at the realization that her possessions were gone as well, "I see, so it is not just I who has lost something dear... Perhaps then we can assist one another?" His back bent slightly forward, a sign of respect for the woman before him, "Others call me by the name of Jack. I will help you find your lost items if you will help me."
​

Strange. Unexpected.

Yet perhaps not completely surprising.

That was what Koyomi had thought when Kanbaru would suddenly begin cuddling Shinobu upon first glance, seemingly unaware that Koyomi was familiar with her. Actually, hell, the fact that she was unaware of Shinobu's relationship to him meant that as far as she was concerned, she was just some random little girl lying in the middle of nowhere, which made it even weirder for her to cuddle her.

When Ougi would appear, diverting Kanbaru's attention, Koyomi would take this chance to "steal" Shinobu from her, snaking her small body out of the Rainy Devil's grasp by dragging her by the leg away. It was like a bad anime with too much exposition and fanservice for its own good rather than focusing on believable physics.

Yokai.

Still, while he tried to keep a low profile, trying to stuff Shinobu back into his shadow (not that that was possible without her consent, most likely), making him look like some sort of lunatic as, from an outsider's point of view it looked like he was softly hitting her head against the wooden floor over and over again, Koyomi could only think for the moment of how miraculous it was that Ougi came out unscathed. She really was like a damned witch, wasn't she?

Before long, however, a foreign voice would stop Koyomi in his tracks.

Question.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, an unfamiliar man would pose a question about an unfamiliar sword, asking everyone nearby. Though Koyomi, at the moment, had his back turned to the man, the teen did take note of the man's oddly polite and reserved tone. He wasn't used to that. Hearing a guy talk in such a calm, almost completely benign, voice.

...

Then again, he wasn't used to hearing guys speak, period.

Standing up and turning his head to face Jack, but his back still facing him, the young man would briefly freeze in surprise as he would take in the older man's features. A... samurai kimono? A tied up haircut? And even talking about a lost sword. What was he, a samurai? Well, he was probably some overeccentric cosplayer, possibly suffering from chuunibyou or something of the sorts, but Koyomi decided to play along, if only for the darkness from earlier that had sucked them all into this strange realm, full of different creatures like the pink ball and other people, some talking of strange terminology he didn't recognize, others he was sure was not from around, as some looked more... American than others.

Strange.

It was like he was in an entirely different world. Some sort of twilight zone, even.

Briefly looking around for the sword that the man claimed to have lost, it would seem that wherever it was, assuming it even existed, Koyomi wouldn't be able to find it with a quick scan.

"Ah... No, I haven't. Sorry," he replied to Jack.

...

Before remembering that he was still holding a certain little girl up by her legs, the girl's unconscious body swaying a little in the air.

So much for subtlety.

@The Tactician @T.O.M. @Kaykay​

Returning to his proper height, Jack eyed the strange teen with something akin to cautious hostility, watching as the young girl's body swayed, "Thank you, you man, but..."

"Perhaps you would like to explain how that young lady ended up unconscious?"
​

...Wow. Even for general Gravity Falls strangeness, this was a bit much. Wendy Corduroy was aware of this, at this point. So rather than interjecting, she more or less watched with eyes wide open, her eyebrows raised as she glanced the group over. Yeah, so... This would be fun. If they didn't all know where they were, though, she had to wonder just how they'd all gotten here. Maybe it had something to do with the 'other Stan' and the 'portal' Soos had been raving to her about for days.

Her brief bout of dumbfounded silence was sliced through when she took notice of Kirby, though. Glancing both ways and then kneeling down for a moment, the teen spoke to the pink blob.

"...Woah. Back up, man. You should be careful, or else Stan might try to get you to be one of his attractions," she whispered with a serious expression. After doing so, she righted herself again, a less serious expression returning to her features. Returning her attention to Zinnia, the redhead offered a shrug. "Look, I dunno what this Rayquaza thing is or where Kalo-whatever is, but you've stepped into the..." Stepping up one foot onto a bar stool, Wendy continued. "...USA! USA! USA!"

Haha, joke chanting for the win.

Casually returning her foot to the floor, Wendy gave Zinnia a smile, finally stopping to provide a serious answer. "...Not really surprised you haven't heard of this place. It's not the most popular place," she explained. That was before people seemed to start noticing their possessions were missing. Holding her hands up as though in defense, she replied quite simply: "Hey, don't look at me. I haven't got anything to do with it."

@Klutzy Ninja Kitty @Nater Taters @The Tactician @Yun Lee @Everyone​

"U... SA? I am sorry, miss, but what is this place you speak of? I am not quite sure where I am..."

While Jack appreciated the honesty of the girl, the confused samurai's disorientation regarding where he was was barely answered by the phrase she chanted.

The people of this land must have been an excited sort to be as passionate as this girl was.​

 

[DapperDogman]

"sup nerds"
​

Jack sighed as the woman began to panic at the realization that her possessions were gone as well, "I see, so it is not just I who has lost something dear... Perhaps then we can assist one another?" His back bent slightly forward, a sign of respect for the woman before him, "Others call me by the name of Jack. I will help you find your lost items if you will help me."
​

Returning to his proper height, Jack eyed the strange teen with something akin to cautious hostility, watching as the young girl's body swayed, "Thank you, you man, but..."

"Perhaps you would like to explain how that young lady ended up unconscious?"
​

"U... SA? I am sorry, miss, but what is this place you speak of? I am not quite sure where I am..."

While Jack appreciated the honesty of the girl, the confused samurai's disorientation regarding where he was was barely answered by the phrase she chanted.

The people of this land must have been an excited sort to be as passionate as this girl was.​

"dude, is that a dress?"​

 

[Midnight Maiden]

Jack sighed as the woman began to panic at the realization that her possessions were gone as well, "I see, so it is not just I who has lost something dear... Perhaps then we can assist one another?" His back bent slightly forward, a sign of respect for the woman before him, "Others call me by the name of Jack. I will help you find your lost items if you will help me."
​

Returning to his proper height, Jack eyed the strange teen with something akin to cautious hostility, watching as the young girl's body swayed, "Thank you, you man, but..."

"Perhaps you would like to explain how that young lady ended up unconscious?"
​

"U... SA? I am sorry, miss, but what is this place you speak of? I am not quite sure where I am..."

While Jack appreciated the honesty of the girl, the confused samurai's disorientation regarding where he was was barely answered by the phrase she chanted.

The people of this land must have been an excited sort to be as passionate as this girl was.​

"You know, the... United States... of America?" she spoke, slowly, tilting her head at the samurai. Normally, she would've assumed one was joking if they were to ask such a thing, but this guy seemed sincerely oblivious. And he was wearing... A robe. "...We're in Oregon, man. Gravity Falls, Oregon. Don't worry about the country. I guess."

Yup. Wendy was having a great day already. Men in dresses and--
​

"sup nerds"
​

"dude, is that a dress?"​

"...Ooh, harsh, dude."

@DapperDogman @The Tactician​

 

[Khan of the Mardu]

"sup nerds"
​

"dude, is that a dress?"​

If the glare that Jack wielded could cool others off, the skeleton would be frozen to the bone marrow with his Curt reply not helping warm him back up, "No, it is a kimono, talking skeleton."​

 

[Gummi Bunnies]

Still crying, Meteo tried to get up, trying to get himself together... but it was no longer possible for him to help himself.

"Who are you?"
​

"Ahh!" Just as soon as Meteo tried to get up, he was brought back down by some kind of girl?

"Who are you, Wiruko?" Meteo said, catching on her name.

@Gummi Bunnies @Klutzy Ninja Kitty​

"Huh? You're not crying anymore?"

Wiruko blinked, seeing that the boy had stopped crying. Guess he wasn't upset over the same thing she was upset over.

"Okay~ Wiruko's name is Wiruko! Nice to meet ya!"

Looked like she calmed down from her whole "no internet" rant earlier.

@Bomb @Klutzy Ninja Kitty​

 

[Khan of the Mardu]

"You know, the... United States... of America?" she spoke, slowly, tilting her head at the samurai. Normally, she would've assumed one was joking if they were to ask such a thing, but this guy seemed sincerely oblivious. And he was wearing... A robe. "...We're in Oregon, man. Gravity Falls, Oregon. Don't worry about the country. I guess."

Yup. Wendy was having a great day already. Men in dresses and--
​

"...Ooh, harsh, dude."

@DapperDogman @The Tactician​

Well, at least he knew a name to add to the place. However, it did not help the warrior much, "I am sorry, but no. I have never heard of such a realm as these United States. I only learn the land's name if I happen to wander through it in my journey."​

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

Kirby wasn't sure what to say to this female, he was never one to speak a whole lot, even back home. Still, he clearly had no idea about Gravity Falls, was that the name of some kingdom? The pink puffball had never heard of such a place

All Kirby could do was shrug and give Zinnia a confused look, hoping she got the message.

When Kirby shrugged, Zinnia's smile fell. Clearly, this little guy wasn't going to be the one to answer her questions. The draconid woman turned from Kirby, her tattered cloak smacking him in the face as she did. "Very well, pink one, thank you for your time. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to see if I can find some answers."

Zinnia would move away from Kirby, but she didn't move very fast. He could still follow after her if he chose.
​

Still crying, Meteo tried to get up, trying to get himself together... but it was no longer possible for him to help himself.

"Who are you?"
​

"Ahh!" Just as soon as Meteo tried to get up, he was brought back down by some kind of girl?

"Who are you, Wiruko?" Meteo said, catching on her name.

@Gummi Bunnies @Klutzy Ninja Kitty​

"Huh? You're not crying anymore?"

Wiruko blinked, seeing that the boy had stopped crying. Guess he wasn't upset over the same thing she was upset over.

"Okay~ Wiruko's name is Wiruko! Nice to meet ya!"

Looked like she calmed down from her whole "no internet" rant earlier.

@Bomb @Klutzy Ninja Kitty​

"Who am I?" Zinnia, questioned, musing for a moment. "That's always been a difficult question. I'm simply a soul who failed to become what she was born to be, a soul searching for her purpose. Hahaha, but, whatever! It doesn't matter! Who might you be--"

Zinnia cut herself off, surprised when some girl kinda went cray-cray on Meteo. "Hahahaha! Now that's one heck of a greeting! I like you, Wiruko!"
​

Casually returning her foot to the floor, Wendy gave Zinnia a smile, finally stopping to provide a serious answer. "...Not really surprised you haven't heard of this place. It's not the most popular place," she explained. That was before people seemed to start noticing their possessions were missing. Holding her hands up as though in defense, she replied quite simply: "Hey, don't look at me. I haven't got anything to do with it."

Jack sighed as the woman began to panic at the realization that her possessions were gone as well, "I see, so it is not just I who has lost something dear... Perhaps then we can assist one another?" His back bent slightly forward, a sign of respect for the woman before him, "Others call me by the name of Jack. I will help you find your lost items if you will help me."

"Jack, eh? Well, why not! I have nothing better to do! I will aide you with your quest to find your missing possessions. Call me Zinnia!" she told him, a wide grin spreading over her lips.​

 

[Bomb]

"Huh? You're not crying anymore?"

Wiruko blinked, seeing that the boy had stopped crying. Guess he wasn't upset over the same thing she was upset over.

"Okay~ Wiruko's name is Wiruko! Nice to meet ya!"

Looked like she calmed down from her whole "no internet" rant earlier.

@Bomb @Klutzy Ninja Kitty​

"Hi, Wiruko..." Meteo said, looking off into the ground, still depressed at his turn of the events. He didn't want to be alone with the others in a place he did not know. Was this a secret place hidden in heaven?

@Gummi Bunnies​

 

[dalecOoOoOoOoOper]

The Hit

Dark, cold days. A new hit for Golgo. It was simple really. Find the target. Survey the target. Kill the target. Eliminate evidence and go. Worked all the time, and Golgo was damn effective at his job. He'd find an way to effectively kill his target, but for now it was simply to wait. The time for the meetup was too early. Deciding some sleep was necessary, Golgo would take some time to rest, waiting for the moment his Hit would come in sight to finally take him out.

-

Golgo awoke again. He was always a heavy sleeper, so any fall from a short height didn't do much to cause a reaction from him. When he did wake up though, his eyes sprung open at the change of scenery, quickly throwing himself up as he reached inside the jacket of his suit for his revolver before feeling the empty pocket. "Damn... Someone must have taken it." Golgo thought to himself as he looked around, he did notice the place was full of trinkets, stupidly overpriced as he walked around a bit, looking at the girl with the ushanka. She seemed to know where they were, everybody was. Although he heard the words that would for him, not mean security and safety, but evasiveness and, possibly, his new hits. "FBI." The words rung in his ear as he made a mental note to avoid them at all costs. Golgo then approached the girl, staring down at her as Golgo spoke clearly, a deep voice that could unsettle the light hearted escaped his mouth.

"Who are you? And where are we?"

@TheSilverPaladin @Hospes​

 

[Verite]

Returning to his proper height, Jack eyed the strange teen with something akin to cautious hostility, watching as the young girl's body swayed, "Thank you, you man, but..."

"Perhaps you would like to explain how that young lady ended up unconscious?"
​

Well, at least he knew a name to add to the place. However, it did not help the warrior much, "I am sorry, but no. I have never heard of such a realm as these United States. I only learn the land's name if I happen to wander through it in my journey."​

"N-No, this isn't what it looks like. You've got it wrong!"

Crap. This was bad. Okay then. Time to come up with an explanation so that he wouldn't seem so suspicious to the outsiders. Time to put to use his expert charisma and quick thinking skills!

"Well, I found her like thi--"

Try again.

"I must have accidentally knocked her around when she was inside--"

Try again.

"..."

Try again.

"... Yeah, I just found her like this."

You get a 45, mostly for effort.

Still, when the topic would move on, Koyomi would raise an eyebrow at Jack's interactions with the other... strange people (He'd react to the oddly dressed skeleton, but along with the living pink mass, nothing seemed to make sense in this world), seeing that the man dressed up as a samurai claimed to not know what America was. Any other person afflicted with chuunibyou would probably have claimed America to be capitalist scum, or a realm run by wicked old men who had no idea what they were doing, or some other subtle social commentary, yet this man just... claimed to not know what America was at all.

It was almost like he was a real samurai.

...

I can't even joke about it.

The sad part was, Koyomi couldn't even stand to scoff at such an idea. After all, just a week ago, he had encountered an immortal oddity possessing a samurai armor with regeneration capabilities and energy drain powers. The sky really did seem to be the limit when it came to dealing with oddities, but it still felt like he was pushing new highs (or lows) the longer he lived.

He just hoped Gaen-san or someone else wouldn't suddenly show up and lecture about his irresponsible actions that nobody in his position could have possibly known about.

Either way, this wouldn't even be the first instance in which he had traveled through time against his own will. Assuming all these people were actual people, and not strange illusions, then... Did that mean that they had also encountered the darkness?

"Hmm, how annoying," Koyomi murmured to himself, now turning to face Jack completely, the unconscious little Shinobu completely visible now, not that he cared anymore, "Your name wouldn't happen to conveniently be Musashi Miyamoto or Sasaki Kojirou, would it?"

May as well namedrop some random samurai to see if this man would recognize them, eh?

@T.O.M. @The Tactician @Hospes @Anybody​

 

[Kaykay]

Despite running and running and even a last ditch attempt at jumping away, even Karen couldn't escape the black hole that was chasing everyone. Finally, she gave it one last kick which, unsurprisingly, did absolutely nothing as she was sucked up with everyone else.

Like everyone bar a certain mysterious girl, she was a little dazed upon landing. She sat up holding her head for a little while before shaking it off. Where was this? Who were all these people? Actually, Karen didn't really care about any of that. There was only one question on her mind at the moment.

"Nii-chan...who is that?"

Of course, by who Karen was referring to the unconscious girl Koyomi Araragi was currently holding onto. It wouldn't have been strange for him to know someone she didn't. However, she hadn't been with them when they were swallowed by that black hole and thrown here, and he seemed pretty familiar with her. What exactly was her older brother doing holding what looked like an 8 year old girl unconscious?

Well actually, for him, that might not be that unexpected.

@T.O.M. @Verite​

 

[CrunchyCHEEZIT]

....

....

....

....

His eyes opened.

The familar crinkle of leaves and grass underneath him, Zeus has awoken.

"Oh, no, not again."

@The Tactician @Gummi Bunnies @Hospes @Bomb @DapperDogman @Klutzy Ninja Kitty @ResistingTheEnlightened @GIBE DA RP B0SS​

 

[Gummi Bunnies]

"Who am I?" Zinnia, questioned, musing for a moment. "That's always been a difficult question. I'm simply a soul who failed to become what she was born to be, a soul searching for her purpose. Hahaha, but, whatever! It doesn't matter! Who might you be--"

Zinnia cut herself off, surprised when some girl kinda went cray-cray on Meteo. "Hahahaha! Now that's one heck of a greeting! I like you, Wiruko!"​

"Hi, Wiruko..." Meteo said, looking off into the ground, still depressed at his turn of the events. He didn't want to be alone with the others in a place he did not know. Was this a secret place hidden in heaven?

@Gummi Bunnies​

"Wowwie! Someone likes Wiruko already! Wiruko is super pleased with this~!"

Wiruko happily cheered to herself, overhearing that Zinnia liked her style of doing things. Though, she returned her attention back to Meteo, who seemed to be depressed over something.

"Oh, are you still feeling down? Well... Wiruko isn't sure how to help with that, because all she knows what to do is to eat yummy data from all sorts of technology. Maybe from Wiruko's analysis of Master's web history before being sent here, maybe some cat videos would help..."

As soon as Wiruko said something about cat videos, Hideo was up and over there faster than you could say "superfragilistic..." You know what, let's just say that he got there really fast.

"H-Hey! Don't be telling other people what I watch on my free time, Wiruko!"

Clearly the blue-haired male was not pleased with this.

"... so no cat videos, Master?"

@Bomb @Klutzy Ninja Kitty​

 

[Yun Lee]

...Wow. Even for general Gravity Falls strangeness, this was a bit much. Wendy Corduroy was aware of this, at this point. So rather than interjecting, she more or less watched with eyes wide open, her eyebrows raised as she glanced the group over. Yeah, so... This would be fun. If they didn't all know where they were, though, she had to wonder just how they'd all gotten here. Maybe it had something to do with the 'other Stan' and the 'portal' Soos had been raving to her about for days.

Her brief bout of dumbfounded silence was sliced through when she took notice of Kirby, though. Glancing both ways and then kneeling down for a moment, the teen spoke to the pink blob.

"...Woah. Back up, man. You should be careful, or else Stan might try to get you to be one of his attractions," she whispered with a serious expression. After doing so, she righted herself again, a less serious expression returning to her features. Returning her attention to Zinnia, the redhead offered a shrug. "Look, I dunno what this Rayquaza thing is or where Kalo-whatever is, but you've stepped into the..." Stepping up one foot onto a bar stool, Wendy continued. "...USA! USA! USA!"

Haha, joke chanting for the win.

Casually returning her foot to the floor, Wendy gave Zinnia a smile, finally stopping to provide a serious answer. "...Not really surprised you haven't heard of this place. It's not the most popular place," she explained. That was before people seemed to start noticing their possessions were missing. Holding her hands up as though in defense, she replied quite simply: "Hey, don't look at me. I haven't got anything to do with it."

​

Aran looked at his fellow redhead, feeling a kinship with her over the fact that they had red hair (though he really considered his blood orange). However, seeing her burst of patriotism for the U Suck of Arse (the American boxers in the WVBA just loved it when he called it that) made the kinship vanish. America was a dumb country and the boxers there weren't much better. Some disco dancing pansy, an overbearing brute and champion of the Association, a Californian...bah!

"Well girlie, someone better be giving up my gloves soon!" He glared at everyone who had spoken up, from two fellows who were dressed up like Jehovah's Witnesses, to some Asian people (they all looked the same to him anyway), to a...what the hell was that pink thing?! "Ohhh, heh heh, I know what's going on!" Aran nodded, his confusion and dumb anger gone as he crossed his arms, nodding with a know-it-all grin. "This is just a dream, is all! I bet I drank one too many pints last night, and now I'm seeing pink blobs and Sascrotches!" Sascrotch, of all the things to wake up under. Aran reckoned he really was a dick, even to his own dreamself.

@Hospes

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

"Wowwie! Someone likes Wiruko already! Wiruko is super pleased with this~!"

Wiruko happily cheered to herself, overhearing that Zinnia liked her style of doing things. Though, she returned her attention back to Meteo, who seemed to be depressed over something.

"Oh, are you still feeling down? Well... Wiruko isn't sure how to help with that, because all she knows what to do is to eat yummy data from all sorts of technology. Maybe from Wiruko's analysis of Master's web history before being sent here, maybe some cat videos would help..."

As soon as Wiruko said something about cat videos, Hideo was up and over there faster than you could say "superfragilistic..." You know what, let's just say that he got there really fast.

"H-Hey! Don't be telling other people what I watch on my free time, Wiruko!"

Clearly the blue-haired male was not pleased with this.

"... so no cat videos, Master?"

@Bomb @Klutzy Ninja Kitty​

"Sure, why not?" Zinnia offered, throwing her hands up. "I might as well like a few people around here. How can I resist such an adorable girl with a good case of s-t-y-l-e!" the red-eyed woman proclaimed.

She glanced over at Meteo with a frown. "Your tears are wasted. Stand up and overcome your sadness." Zinnia crossed her arms. She wouldn't even bother trying to cheer him up. It was pointless! Tears never got a person anywhere. She had learned that from her own personal experiences. She had cried for ages over Aster, but crying certainly didn't bring her back, did it?

"Cat videos? A man such as yourself likes adorable felines!? Hahahahaha! I like you, kitty boy."

Zinnia was finding a lot of people she liked today. :3

@Bomb @Gummi Bunnies​

 

[Chewy Rabbits]

Strange. Unexpected.

Yet perhaps not completely surprising.

That was what Koyomi had thought when Kanbaru would suddenly begin cuddling Shinobu upon first glance, seemingly unaware that Koyomi was familiar with her. Actually, hell, the fact that she was unaware of Shinobu's relationship to him meant that as far as she was concerned, she was just some random little girl lying in the middle of nowhere, which made it even weirder for her to cuddle her.

When Ougi would appear, diverting Kanbaru's attention, Koyomi would take this chance to "steal" Shinobu from her, snaking her small body out of the Rainy Devil's grasp by dragging her by the leg away. It was like a bad anime with too much exposition and fanservice for its own good rather than focusing on believable physics.

Yokai.

Having been satisified with Ougi's answer but missing how snarky Ougi had intended it to be, Kanbaru turned back to the adorable girl she had in her arms. After all she was supposed to be looking after this girl! Well, actually Araragi Senpai had apparently been doing the 'looking after' part but Kanbaru had an inkling she'd be able to manage it just a bit better than him.

"You see? That's Ougi-chan! She doesn't let anything get to her! Not even being pulled into some black void that's dumped us into a place we're not familiar with! With people we don't even know! With no conceivable way home!" Kanbaru exclaimed cheerfully before adopting a serious tone in her words. "But have no fear, Kanbaru Suruga will keep you safe hehehehe.." The teen leered with a giggle before noticing how onesided this conversation was. Sure, the girl was unconscious but how long would that last? She couldn't be asleep forever could she? Oh no, what if she was!? What would Kanbaru have to do to wake her up?!

"Don't worry, girl I'll think of-"

Girl

There was no longer an adorable blonde haired girl in a dress clutched so tightly to her chest. A smile rested upon Kanbaru's features for a moment or two before she realized. That she had lost track of the girl among a crowd of people she didn't know. Oh, and a few people she did know. But that wasn't important. Where had she gone to?! Glancing around, Kanbaru eventually saw Araragi Senpai hanging onto the girl. Well, she supposed that as long as Koyomi kept an eye on her, it'd be fine. Which lead Kanbaru right back to what she was originally going to do.

Finding Karen-Chan among this crowd of strangers!

​

Returning to his proper height, Jack eyed the strange teen with something akin to cautious hostility, watching as the young girl's body swayed, "Thank you, you man, but..."

"Perhaps you would like to explain how that young lady ended up unconscious?"

"Hah."

"Hah."

The sudden laughter near Jack would have signaled him to the strange looking girl(?) that had seemingly just appeared next to him. Holding their sleeves out in front of them, they'd lean back while looking straight in Koyomi's direction.

"Yes, yes, certainly a most interesting question Araragi Senpai. I'm curious to see how you answer."

As Koyomi attempted to explain to Jack that 'it wasn't what it looked like!' they let out another laugh or two.

"Oh, what a pitiable answer, Araragi Senpai. Surely you could have come up with something more convincing than that."
​

"Nii-chan...who is that?"

Of course, by who Karen was referring to the unconscious girl Koyomi Araragi was currently holding onto. It wouldn't have been strange for him to know someone she didn't. However, she hadn't been with them when they were swallowed by that black hole and thrown here, and he seemed pretty familiar with her. What exactly was her older brother doing holding what looked like an 8 year old girl unconscious?

Well actually, for him, that might not be that unexpected.

Finally spotting Karen, Kanbaru let out a sigh of relief. She had friends, sure. But it was Karen who looked up to her like a role model. So to see her up and about was a weight lifted off Kanbaru's shoulders. Though she did raise an interesting question. Making her way back over to the two, Kanbaru nodded in agreement before tilting her head to the side.

"Yeah, aside from being absolutely adorable..Who's that?"

Noticing the confusion that Shinobu's appearance seemed to be inspiring in Kanbaru/Karen, Ougi moved once more. This time appearing right next to Koyomi, dangerously close this time around. Not bothering to look at him, they spoke in a hushed tone so that only Koyomi could hear them.

"Keeping secrets Araragi Senpai? How...foolish."

@Kaykay @Verite @The Tactician





​

 

[Crow]

"Oh crap. I forgot to put on my Fortress armour!"

"And I forgot to put on my Arcana Sword dons!"

"Gran! Djeeta! Keep cool!"

"That's right! Everyone, do your best!"

"I don't think my best can penetrate this... door thing."

"..."

"It's always been that way, partner. That's just how these big bosses work. Let's wear it down! LET'S DO THIS!"

"YAAAAAAAAAAA!"

As they unleashed their not-so-full power, the gate-like being simply opened, sucking the lass and lad to an alternate reality...

"!!!"

"!!!"

"!!!"

"!!!"

"WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE SILENT PROTAGONISTS! WE DON'T GET TO SCREAM OR SHO- AAAAAAAHHHHH!"

"DJEETA, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

---

What was actually a long time felt like minutes. The two woke up in a... what was this place? Oh wait. This was normal by their standards.

"What a place. Well, let's regroup, or at least, find a-"

"KATALINA-SAN!"

"Well, that was fast- wait a second!"

The blonde lass wasn't hugging any form of 'Katalina'. She was hugging a certain monkeyish girl of Asian ethnicity.

"What made you come to the conclusion that that is, in any way, Katalina?"

"She sounds like her."

"I've never confused you for a squid before," with a sigh, the lad apologises to the monkeyish person. "Sorry Miss, my friend here isn't the sharpest tool in the shed. My name is Gran, and her name is-"

"-DJEETA! Gran, at least let me say my own name when Lyria and Vyrn aren't here to speak for us," this 'Djeeta' pouted.

"So, we're in the same boat, huh?"

@Verite @Kaykay @DapperDogman @T.O.M.
@Hospes​

 

[DapperDogman]

If the glare that Jack wielded could cool others off, the skeleton would be frozen to the bone marrow with his Curt reply not helping warm him back up, "No, it is a kimono, talking skeleton."​

"gesundheit"​

"You know, the... United States... of America?" she spoke, slowly, tilting her head at the samurai. Normally, she would've assumed one was joking if they were to ask such a thing, but this guy seemed sincerely oblivious. And he was wearing... A robe. "...We're in Oregon, man. Gravity Falls, Oregon. Don't worry about the country. I guess."

Yup. Wendy was having a great day already. Men in dresses and--
​

"...Ooh, harsh, dude."

@DapperDogman @The Tactician​

Slowly, a skeletal hand, clad in neon blue fingerless gloves, would extend to high five the redhead

@The Tactician @Hospes​

 

[Khan of the Mardu]

When Kirby shrugged, Zinnia's smile fell. Clearly, this little guy wasn't going to be the one to answer her questions. The draconid woman turned from Kirby, her tattered cloak smacking him in the face as she did. "Very well, pink one, thank you for your time. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to see if I can find some answers."

Zinnia would move away from Kirby, but she didn't move very fast. He could still follow after her if he chose.
​

"Who am I?" Zinnia, questioned, musing for a moment. "That's always been a difficult question. I'm simply a soul who failed to become what she was born to be, a soul searching for her purpose. Hahaha, but, whatever! It doesn't matter! Who might you be--"

Zinnia cut herself off, surprised when some girl kinda went cray-cray on Meteo. "Hahahaha! Now that's one heck of a greeting! I like you, Wiruko!"
​

"Jack, eh? Well, why not! I have nothing better to do! I will aide you with your quest to find your missing possessions. Call me Zinnia!" she told him, a wide grin spreading over her lips.​

A well-tempered and courteous smile twitched at the edges of his lips as he nodded at the young woman's response, "It is wonderful to meet you, miss Zinnia, though if you would please excuse me for a moment..."​

"N-No, this isn't what it looks like. You've got it wrong!"

Crap. This was bad. Okay then. Time to come up with an explanation so that he wouldn't seem so suspicious to the outsiders. Time to put to use his expert charisma and quick thinking skills!

"Well, I found her like thi--"

Try again.

"I must have accidentally knocked her around when she was inside--"

Try again.

"..."

Try again.

"... Yeah, I just found her like this."

You get a 45, mostly for effort.

Still, when the topic would move on, Koyomi would raise an eyebrow at Jack's interactions with the other... strange people (He'd react to the oddly dressed skeleton, but along with the living pink mass, nothing seemed to make sense in this world), seeing that the man dressed up as a samurai claimed to not know what America was. Any other person afflicted with chuunibyou would probably have claimed America to be capitalist scum, or a realm run by wicked old men who had no idea what they were doing, or some other subtle social commentary, yet this man just... claimed to not know what America was at all.

It was almost like he was a real samurai.

...

I can't even joke about it.

The sad part was, Koyomi couldn't even stand to scoff at such an idea. After all, just a week ago, he had encountered an immortal oddity possessing a samurai armor with regeneration capabilities and energy drain powers. The sky really did seem to be the limit when it came to dealing with oddities, but it still felt like he was pushing new highs (or lows) the longer he lived.

He just hoped Gaen-san or someone else wouldn't suddenly show up and lecture about his irresponsible actions that nobody in his position could have possibly known about.

Either way, this wouldn't even be the first instance in which he had traveled through time against his own will. Assuming all these people were actual people, and not strange illusions, then... Did that mean that they had also encountered the darkness?

"Hmm, how annoying," Koyomi murmured to himself, now turning to face Jack completely, the unconscious little Shinobu completely visible now, not that he cared anymore, "Your name wouldn't happen to conveniently be Musashi Miyamoto or Sasaki Kojirou, would it?"

May as well namedrop some random samurai to see if this man would recognize them, eh?

@T.O.M. @The Tactician @Hospes @Anybody​

His eyes burrowed into the boy's own, seeking any attempt at deceit in his tone and his eyes, "And you see fit to hold her in that strange way for what purpose? As for my name..." He shook his head at the names the boy supplied, clearly unfamiliar with them, "No, those are not my names. Though of my homelands, they have no claim to belonging to me..."

"My real name has no value here, not until I return home. Instead, many of those I have met have begun to call me by the name of Jack, one given to me by the first men I met in the time I found myself in."​

 

[Khan of the Mardu]

"gesundheit"​

Slowly, a skeletal hand, clad in neon blue fingerless gloves, would extend to high five the redhead

@The Tactician @Hospes​

"I did not sneeze. In fact, why do you know such a phrase when you do not normally have need of it?"

He without a nose is also without a sneeze, skeleton man.​